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"Enough is Enough!"
Anti-UCP Rally
Edmonton, AB
From the event organizers:
"We're here to unite concerned citizens of Alberta in a movement against the current government, the United Conservative Party (UCP), because Enough is Enough.
We believe the UCP has let us down across various fronts, failing to prioritize the needs of everyday Albertans. Whether it's healthcare, electricity pricing, forest management, climate change, education, housing, the cost of living, renewables, or any other issue affecting our province, we share a common frustration: our government isn't working for us.
It's time for change. It's time for a government that truly represents the interests of all Albertans, present, and future. Join us as we mobilize and demand accountability. This is democracy in action.
Enough is Enough! Together, let's make our voices heard and build a better future for Alberta."
note: rl is kicking my butt.. if you are part of my inner circle, you already know what is happening... if you do not, don't take offense. i will still be able to blog but, it will only be between certain hours, when i have access to the wifi. and, i am going to prioritize rl for this week. if you need me, find me on discord. thank.
In June 2020, after experiencing a devastating spring due to COVID, New York State announced that certain businesses could begin partially opening again. New York City’s response included a program called Open Restaurants, which allowed restaurants to use sidewalks and parking spaces for outdoor, socially distant dining. Owners quickly built temporary enclosures in the streets in front of their businesses to try and recover from months of shutdown. Small stretches of Brooklyn in early 2021 display the variety and feel of these enclosures. Hopefully, the Open Restaurants initiative will help these businesses to survive and may even lead to a more permanent reorienting of streets to prioritize people over cars.
This Day of the Chase I was off to a bit of a slow start. I inadvertently overslept and the first several runbys/shots things were very disjointed, obviously, as I struggled to get my feet under me.
As I entered the town of Fair Oaks, I found myself slightly ahead of the train and I was prioritizing getting though and out of town ahead of the train. I saw a RR-xing sign ahead and was a bit confused because I didn't think the tracks that Big Boy was running on crossed the Highway again so soon.
Turned out that there was a diamond with a UP Memphis Sub here. I screeched to a halt immediately after the grade crossing and jogged over to check things out. One spot at the end of the photo line remained and I had just enough time to set up both video and stills before the symphony of clattering across the diamonds started up. No one in my shots and no one talked on the video...and it was all pretty much luck.
The sounds of the train hitting the diamond was just the shot in the arm I needed to get things going right again on the day! Watch the video here: www.youtube.com/watch?v=IQ4jNCKUiUc
-Union Pacific 4-8-8-4 Big Boy #4014
-UP Train PSLNL, Heartland of America Tour
-UP (ex-Cotton Belt) Jonesboro Sub, CP CB172 Fair Oaks
-UP (ex-MoPac) Memphis Sub, CP Y316 Fair Oaks
-Along US49/US63, Fair Oaks, AR
-September 14, 2024
TT1_8190_edited-1
With all my ❤️ I thank you for your ⭐ or 💬 or just for 👀 it.
A 📷 taken by me
THIS PHOTO IT'S NOT AI 📀
You can look at the Exif data on your right.➡️
In 299 seconds, which is equivalent to 4 minutes and 59 seconds, you can accomplish many things.
These are just a few ideas. Time can be used in many ways according to your interests and needs. I used them to create this beautiful image.
Here are some ideas:
Looking: a beautiful picture in flickr.
Take your camera: and take a photo.
Reply to emails: You can reply to a few quick emails or organize your inbox.
Make a to-do list: Take a moment to plan and prioritize your activities for the day.
Quick call: Make a brief phone call to confirm an appointment or discuss a simple matter.
Stretching exercise: Do a series of stretches to relieve muscle tension.
Meditation or breathing: Spend a few minutes meditating or doing deep breathing exercises.
Drink a glass of water and a healthy snack: Stay hydrated and energized.
Listen to a song: Enjoy a short song or part of a playlist.
Read an article: Read a brief article or part of a book.
Play a short game: Play a quick game on your phone.
Watch an educational video: Watch a short video on YouTube or a learning platform.
Review vocabulary: Learn or review some words in a foreign language.
Read the news: Catch up on the latest news headlines.
Write: Write a paragraph for an article, a story, or a journal entry.
Draw or color: Create a small sketch or color a page.
Play an instrument: Practice a song or scale on your musical instrument.
Send a message: Send a text or voice message to a friend or family member.
Check social media: Spend a few minutes checking and responding on your social media accounts.
Greet a colleague: Grettings from Peñíscola, Spain
In June 2020, after experiencing a devastating spring due to COVID, New York State announced that certain businesses could begin partially opening again. New York City’s response included a program called Open Restaurants, which allowed restaurants to use sidewalks and parking spaces for outdoor, socially distant dining. Owners quickly built temporary enclosures in the streets in front of their businesses to try and recover from months of shutdown. A small stretch of Brooklyn in February 2021 showed the variety and feel of these enclosures. Hopefully, the Open Restaurants initiative will help these businesses to survive and may even lead to a more permanent reorienting of streets to prioritize people over cars.
Google AI
"This image shows a CCN-51 (Colección Castro Naranjal 51) cacao pod growing on a Theobroma cacao tree.
CCN-51 is a high-yielding, disease-resistant variety of cacao developed in Ecuador in the 1960s.
It is widely cultivated and known for its productivity, often yielding two to three times the typical harvest of traditional varieties.
The CCN-51 variety is a hybrid cross involving Iquitos, LAN 21 Criollo, and Amelonado genetic groups.
It is commonly used in the commodity chocolate industry due to its robust nature. "
www.thechocolatejournalist.com/blog/good-bad-ugly-cacao-c...
The characteristics of CCN-51 appeal to those that prioritize productivity. This is in fact a high yield kind of cacao that can grow in full sun and is resistant to fungal diseases. It produces four times more than fine flavor varieties. A real cacao machine!But it's not gold all that shines. CCN-51 is also known for its mediocre, if not awful flavor that chocolate expert Ed Seguine defines as “acidic dirt”. In a more polite way, top craft chocolate reviewer C-Spot emphasizes the lack of a "flavorful rainbow" in any new and improved varieties of CCN-51.
Presented as the solution to a potential cocoa shortage, this kind of cacao is dreaded by fine palates. But what is dreaded by fine palates is often a matter of survival for farmers. The high-productivity of CCN-51 can be a blessing for cocoa farmers that are dealing with wages below the poverty line.
We can now understand why CCN-51 unleashes a wide range of emotions among chocolate professionals. Opinions are different and vary based on expertise and specific positions in the supply chain.Here are the biggest topics of such tangled debate.
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Theobroma_cacao
Theobroma cacao (cacao tree or cocoa tree) is a small (6–12 m (20–39 ft) tall) evergreen tree in the Malvaceae family.[1][3] Its seeds—cocoa beans—are used to make chocolate liquor, cocoa solids, cocoa butter and chocolate.[4] Although the tree is native to the tropics of the Americas, the largest producer of cocoa beans in 2022 was Ivory Coast.
We took an all-day photography tour with Oahu Photography Tour. It was a lot of fun. I recommend it highly.
Our second stop was at Waimea Valley Botanical Garden.
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Waimea_Valley
Waimea Valley is an area of historic cultural significance on the North Shore of Oahu, Hawaii. The valley, being an important place in Hawaiian religion, includes several historical structures including stone terraces and walls constructed during the time of the Hawaiian monarchy. The nutrient-rich volcanic soil combined with a rainy environment provided the resourceful Hawaiians of the area the opportunity to create one of the most prosperous farming communities in all of Polynesia. The area had complex fish ponds, domesticated animal pens, various large farming beds, and was famous for the cultivation of pink taro root stock, a coveted item to the Ali`i (the Hawaiian elite).[1][2] Much of the garden floor was once cultivated for taro, sweet potato, and bananas, with new crops and orchards introduced by Europeans after their arrival.
Formerly known as the Waimea Valley Audubon Center and the Waimea Arboretum and Botanical Garden, the Waimea Valley is a historical nature park including botanical gardens. It is located at 59-864 Kamehameha Highway, Haleiwa, Oahu, Hawaii and is open daily except for Christmas and New Year's Day; an admission fee is charged.
www.waimeavalley.net/admission
Hawaii 2025
Oahu 2025
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For more information or for a private tour, contact Dresden Couerblanc. Thanks & see you soon! 😉
New Year’s Eve-2024
Ninety-nine percent of good railroad photography is just getting out the door with your camera. Once that’s accomplished, you still have one percent to work with. That was my thought when a FB private message from DC Hammon popped up on my phone. DC allowed that a westbound CSX empty hopper train was enroute from Kingsport to Loyall, with the Clinchfield heritage unit on the point. It was gloomy and misting rain, but after about ten seconds of pondering, I elected to engage the ninety nine percent part of the mission.
I haven’t been on FB much lately. Even though I had a flu vaccine a few weeks ago, on Saturday I was in the Ballad urgent care facility in Norton. I was coughing, congested, chilling, and with all the characteristics of something nasty. It wasn’t COVID, but a strain of flue that must have been a variant not included into blend of vaccines I had received earlier. That’s not unusual, of course, but it doesn’t often happen to me.
Wilma has also been sick, and Walnut has really been having a tough go of it (although in her case I think it’s just her declining age). We haven’t been much, if at all (except for a few runs to pick up essentials). At last, I was feeling more like myself, so this would be a good way to change the afternoon routine. I thought the experience of doing some train photography would be worth the effort, even if I wouldn’t come back home with some masterpiece of imagery worthy of a CRPA award (like that’s ever gonna happen!).
I encountered CSX 1902 West sooner than I had anticipated, at Duffield. I had left the house half thinking of going to Natural Tunnel, but I gave up on that when I realized I had left my wide angle lens at home. I wheeled through a crossover on US 23 and backtracked (no pun intended) until I could crank off a couple of “poke and hope” pacing shots in a short stretch where the highway paralleled the track without major obstructions. I mostly was trying to avoid veering into another lane in front of a semi---but traffic was very light.
Pushing ahead, the unexpected growth of lineside vegetation had erased some earlier “honey hole” spots, but I pulled up to a small clearing and got the train as it passed my spot at the passing track at Jasper. What next?
Photo locations on lines where you’ve photographed trains for decades are like a mental Rolodex, prioritized by train direction, lighting, foreground clutter, backgrounds, and on and on. I decided to drive in to “furnace dip” to get him dropping downgrade from East Stone Gap and across the short South Fork of Powell River Bridge. The weather was going from crummy to extra crummy.
After getting that shot, I drove out and headed home. As I was crossing the East 19th Street crossing, I reflexively looked right to see if the EOT was clear of the distant junction. Instead, I saw the head and ditch lights of an eastbound NS run. Instead of going over the hill toward the house, I drove to the old depot site to get a shot of my buddy Brian Richardson handling an eastbound coal train with three big NS units.
Happy New Year, Brian, and thanks for the tip, DC!
In fact, Happy New Year to everyone!
In Life There Is Time For Everything,,,The Worst Thing That Happens Is Many Do Not Know How To Allot It... Prioritize It,,,And Spend Time On Creativity & Selfless Service To Less Privileged.
So Dear Friends , NOW Is The THE TIME To Enjoy And Share Your JOY Especially With People Who
Need Your Attention And Assistance.
The population of the Caucasian-Anatolian squirrel is undeniably dwindling across the Northern Aegean region of Türkiye. Conversations with local olive growers reveal their observations of increased numbers of field mice and snakes this year, signaling potential ecological imbalances. While reports on the impacts of the climate crisis inundate newspapers and TV news, the actions taken by humanity to address these issues remain uncertain.
Amidst the global preoccupation with wars, viruses, and economic turmoil, humanity's role in preserving nature often takes a backseat. The sight of a female Caucasian-Anatolian squirrel perched atop a centuries-old olive tree holds profound significance for me. As I contemplate the precariousness of their existence in this natural habitat, I can't help but wonder how many more years these remarkable creatures will have to perpetuate their lineage.
The answer to this question may seem inconsequential to many, but for scientists and conservationists, it embodies the urgency of safeguarding biodiversity and mitigating the anthropogenic threats faced by vulnerable species like the Caucasian-Anatolian squirrel. As stewards of the Earth, it is our collective responsibility to prioritize environmental preservation and enact measures that ensure the continued coexistence of humans and wildlife.
The Caucasian-Anatolian squirrel, scientifically known as Sciurus anomalus, is a captivating species endemic to the lush woodlands of the Caucasus region and certain parts of Anatolia in Türkiye. Renowned for its striking appearance, this arboreal mammal boasts a distinct black and white fur pattern, making it easily recognizable amidst the verdant foliage of its habitat.
These agile creatures navigate their arboreal homes with remarkable dexterity, effortlessly traversing the canopy and executing gravity-defying leaps between branches. Their acrobatic prowess is not only a spectacle to behold but also serves as a testament to their evolutionary adaptations for life among the treetops.
Inhabiting predominantly forested areas, the Caucasian-Anatolian squirrel sustains itself through a varied diet consisting of nuts, seeds, fruits, and occasional insects. Their foraging activities play a crucial role in the dispersal of seeds, contributing to the regeneration and diversity of their forest ecosystems.
Despite their resilience, these enchanting squirrels face challenges stemming from habitat loss and fragmentation, primarily driven by human activities such as deforestation and urbanization. Conservation efforts aimed at preserving and restoring their natural habitats are imperative for safeguarding their populations and ensuring their continued existence in the wild.
Observing the antics of the Caucasian-Anatolian squirrel in its native habitat is not only a delightful experience for nature enthusiasts but also serves as a poignant reminder of the intricate ecological relationships that sustain life on our planet.
The Caucasian-Anatolian squirrel, belonging to the Sciuridae family, is a medium-sized rodent with a body length ranging from 20 to 25 centimeters and a distinctive bushy tail measuring approximately 15 to 20 centimeters in length. Its fur exhibits a striking contrast between jet black and pristine white, with the black coloration extending from the head down to the tail, while the underbelly and parts of the face and limbs showcase a pristine white hue.
These arboreal creatures possess sharp claws and robust hind limbs, facilitating their adept climbing and leaping abilities. Their keen senses, including sharp eyesight and acute hearing, aid in detecting predators and locating food sources amidst the dense foliage of their forested habitats.
Caucasian-Anatolian squirrels are primarily diurnal, meaning they are most active during the day, engaging in foraging expeditions and social interactions with other members of their species. However, they may exhibit some nocturnal activity, particularly during periods of abundant food availability or in response to environmental factors such as temperature fluctuations.
During the breeding season, which typically occurs in the spring months, male squirrels engage in spirited displays of courtship to attract potential mates. Following a gestation period of approximately 38 to 42 days, females give birth to litters of two to six offspring, known as kits. The young squirrels are nurtured in intricately constructed nests, known as dreys, meticulously woven from twigs, leaves, and moss high in the tree canopy.
The survival of the Caucasian-Anatolian squirrel is intricately intertwined with the preservation of its forest habitat, which provides not only essential food resources but also refuge from predators and adverse environmental conditions. Conservation efforts aimed at mitigating habitat destruction, implementing sustainable forestry practices, and raising awareness about the ecological importance of this species are vital for ensuring its long-term survival.
By celebrating the unique beauty and ecological significance of the Caucasian-Anatolian squirrel, we deepen our appreciation for the rich biodiversity of our planet and reaffirm our commitment to coexisting harmoniously with nature.
I've captured some memorable moments with my camera, and I genuinely hope you'll experience the same joy in viewing these images as I did in capturing them.
Thank you immensely for visiting my gallery, whether you leave comments, add favorites, or simply take a moment to look around. Your support means a lot to me, and I wish you the best of luck and beautiful light in all your endeavors.
Lens - With Nikon TC 14E II - hand held or Monopod and definitely SPORT VR on. Aperture is f8 and full length. All my images have been converted from RAW to JPEG.
I started using Nikon Cross-Body Strap or Monopod on long walks. Here is my Carbon Monopod details : Gitzo GM2542 Series 2 4S Carbon Monopod - Really Right Stuff MH-01 Monopod Head with Standard Lever - Really Right Stuff LCF-11 Replacement Foot for Nikon AF-S 500mm /5.6E PF Lense -
© All rights reserved by R.Ertug. Please refrain from using this image without my explicit written permission. If you're interested in purchasing or using it, feel free to contact me via Flickr mail.
Your comments and critiques are highly valued.
Thanks for taking the time to stop by and explore :)
An aerial photo shows a small section of the atoll that has slipped beneath the water line only showing a small pile of rocks at low tide on Majuro Atoll in the Marshall Islands on Nov. 8, 2015. For decades, the tiny Marshall Islands has been a stalwart American ally. Its location in the middle of the Pacific Ocean has made it a key strategic outpost for the U.S. military. (AP Photo/Rob Griffith, File)
___________
AP NEWS
WELLINGTON, New Zealand (AP) — For decades, the tiny Marshall Islands has been a stalwart American ally. Its location in the middle of the Pacific Ocean has made it a key strategic outpost for the U.S. military.
But that loyalty is being tested amid a dispute with Washington over the terms of its “Compact of Free Association” agreement, which expires soon. The U.S. is refusing to engage the Marshallese on claims for environmental and health damage caused by dozens of nuclear tests it carried out in the 1940s and ’50s, including a huge thermonuclear blast on Bikini Atoll.
The dispute has some U.S. lawmakers worried that China might be willing to step into the breach, adding to a bruising competition for geopolitical dominance between the two superpowers.
Since World War II, the U.S. has treated the Marshall Islands, along with Micronesia and Palau, much like territories. On the Marshall Islands, the U.S. has developed military, intelligence and aerospace facilities in a region where China is particularly active.
In turn, U.S. money and jobs have benefited the Marshall Islands’ economy. And many Marshallese have taken advantage of their ability to live and work in the U.S., moving in the thousands to Arkansas, Hawaii and Oklahoma.
But this month, 10 Democratic and Republican members of the House of Representatives wrote to President Joe Biden’s national security adviser, Jake Sullivan, about the U.S. compact talks with the Marshalls, Micronesia and Palau.
“It is distressing that these negotiations do not appear to be a priority — there have been no formal meetings since this Administration began — even as our international focus continues shifting to the Indo-Pacific,” they wrote.
The lawmakers said the delays were putting the U.S. in a weaker position, and “China is all too ready to step in and provide the desperately needed infrastructure and climate resiliency investment that is sought by these long-time partners.”
China’s Foreign Ministry said the U.S. should face up to its responsibility to restore the environmental damage it caused with its nuclear tests. It said China was willing to engage with the Marshall Islands and other Pacific island nations on the basis of mutual respect and cooperation under the “One China Principle,” in which Taiwan is viewed as part of China.
“We welcome efforts to boost economic relations and improve the quality of life between the sides,” the ministry said in a statement.
China has steadily poached allies from Taiwan in the Pacific, including Kiribati and the Solomon Islands in 2019. Just this week, angry protesters in the Solomons set fire to buildings and looted stores in unrest that some have linked to the China switch.
James Matayoshi, the mayor of Rongelap Atoll on the Marshall Islands, said he and hundreds of others have remained displaced from their atoll since the nuclear tests and want to see it revitalized. He said officials have been talking with potential investors from Asia, after a previous proposal by a Chinese-Marshallese businessman fell through.
“It would be a business transaction. We don’t advocate for war or any superpower influence,” Matayoshi said. “But we want to be able to live in our backyard, and enjoy life here.”
Like many others on the Marshall Islands, Matayoshi believes a U.S. settlement of $150 million agreed to in the 1980s fell well short of addressing the nuclear legacy. He said his late mother was pregnant at the time of one massive nuclear blast and got exposed to radiation that was the equivalent of 25,000 X-rays before giving birth to a stillborn baby.
But the U.S. position has remained static for more than 20 years, the last time the compact came up for renegotiation. The U.S. maintains that nuclear compensation was dealt with in a “full and final settlement” and cannot be reopened.
Marshallese Senator David Paul — who is on the islands’ negotiating committee and also represents Kwajalein Atoll, which is home to a major U.S. military base — said continuing high cancer rates and the displacement of people remain huge issues.
“Everyone knows the negotiations at that time were not fair or equitable,” Paul said. “When you look at the total cost of property damage and the ongoing health issues to date, it’s a drop in the bucket. It’s an insult.”
Various estimates put the true cost of the damage at about $3 billion, including for repairs to a massive nuclear waste facility known as the Cactus Dome which environmentalists say is leaking toxic waste into the ocean.
A report to Congress last year from the U.S. Department of Energy said the dome contains over 100,000 cubic yards (76,000 cubic meters) of radioactively contaminated soil and debris but the structure wasn’t in any immediate danger of failing. The report concluded that any contaminated groundwater flowing beneath the structure was not measurably impacting the environment.
As it did in earlier compact negotiations, the U.S. has stonewalled discussions on the nuclear legacy, something that American officials acknowledge.
“We know that’s important, but there is a full and final settlement, and both sides agreed to it,” said a senior U.S. official who wasn’t authorized to publicly discuss the issue and spoke on condition of anonymity. “So, that issue is just not subject to being reopened. But, we’re still quite willing to work with the (Marshallese) on the broader issues that are important to us and that’s what we hope to do.”
The U.S. State Department said the Indo-Pacific is central to U.S. foreign policy.
“We are prioritizing achieving success in the negotiations related to the Compacts with the Freely Associated States as a regional foreign policy objective,” the department said.
The frustrations of the Marshallese were apparent in a letter sent last month by Foreign Minister Casten Nemra to Rep. Katie Porter, a California Democrat who chairs the House Natural Resources Committee’s oversight and investigations panel.
“The State and Interior Department officials involved have been unwilling to discuss an agenda for the talks and tried to confine the discussion to their own limited proposals,” Nemra wrote. “The nuclear issue clearly was one reason. All issues raised by the Marshall Islands were met with assertions that they did not have authority to discuss the matters without any indication that they would seek it.”
Sen. Paul said the American approach needs to change.
“I believe the U.S. has the legal and moral obligation to make sure they clean up this debris,” Paul said. “We want to make sure we get a better deal this time around. As they say, the third time is a charm.”
In June 2020, after experiencing a devastating spring due to COVID, New York State announced that certain businesses could begin partially opening again. New York City’s response included a program called Open Restaurants, which allowed restaurants to use sidewalks and parking spaces for outdoor, socially distant dining. Owners quickly built temporary enclosures in the streets in front of their businesses to try and recover from months of shutdown. Small stretches of Brooklyn in early 2021 display the variety and feel of these enclosures. Hopefully, the Open Restaurants initiative will help these businesses to survive and may even lead to a more permanent reorienting of streets to prioritize people over cars.
Mural by ROSHI aka @dirtyoldroshi and Mister Toledo aka @mister_toledo, seen at 2268 Venice Boulevard in Los Angeles, California.
ROSHI states: "The foundation of self reflection always comes back to duality- the contrast of light/dark, good/evil, yes/no- the binary nature of mind in its attempt to understand, construct, and solve problems through a structure of coupling relativisms. We build perceptions on meaning and challenges to prioritize with this operating system. A crux of human experience: to be caught between the omnipotent state of being part of the collective godhead of creativity and the isolated fragment of being an individual satellite viewing their collective home from afar. Fun stuff to ponder on."
Drone photo by James aka Urbanmuralhunter on that other photo site.
Edit by Teee.
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California has been hit hard the past few weeks with storms. Storms bring lightning and lightning strikes cause wildfires. Currently there are at least five fire complexes in the area including River, Fork, South, Route and Mad River.
The Mad River complex is a series of seven lightning fires that started on July 30th, 2015 after a lightning storm moved through Northern California. After initial firefighters responded, 25 fires were reported and most of the fires were contained. Some additional fires might be detected from the original lightning storms in the upcoming days and will be attacked once they are found. Damage assessment is ongoing and crews will determine the extent of structures and equipment damaged or destroyed.
The River Complex is managing a total of 5 fires due to fires merging together on the Shasta-Trinity and the Six Rivers National Forests. Winds from the west are expected to lift the inversion today resulting in active fire behavior.
The Fork Complex consists of over 40 fires, all of which were ignited by lightning between July 29 and 31, 2015. These fires are still being identified, assessed, and prioritized. Updated acreage and information about specific fires will be published as it is known. Fire activity moderated throughout last night (8/4) with the smoke inversion layer remaining in place today. Hopefully this will create favorable conditions for fire crews to take direct fire attack on the fires edge, construct dozer line and scout for best firefighting locations on all fires in the complex.
The South Complex consists of approximately nine known fires, five of which are currently over 100 acres. The fires are active and defense of structures and point protection are in progress. The weather is trapping smoke in the valley causing very poor air quality. As the smoke lifts the fire activity increases.
Firefighters will continue to provide point protection on structures and to look for opportunities to build direct and indirect containment lines.
The Route Complex currently stands at 12,164 acres from seven separate fires and is at 2% containment. The overall acreage has been reduced because the South Fire on the nearby South Complex is merging with the Johnson Fire in the Route Complex resulting in decreased and revised fire perimeter acreage.
This natural-color satellite image collected by the Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) aboard the Terra satellite shows smoke rising and drifting northwest from the various fire complexes. It was captured on August 04, 2015. Actively burning areas, detected by MODIS’s thermal bands, are outlined in red.
NASA image courtesy Jeff Schmaltz, MODIS Rapid Response Team.
NASA Goddard Space Flight Center enables NASA’s mission through four scientific endeavors: Earth Science, Heliophysics, Solar System Exploration, and Astrophysics. Goddard plays a leading role in NASA’s accomplishments by contributing compelling scientific knowledge to advance the Agency’s mission.
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He has this sinking feeling…………
This is rather long and somber, I would skip reading it :)
His performance review at his place of employment is coming up within the next month. He is an architect and he loves his job. The job has a built in renewal and variety because each project is different and each typically has a relatively short time frame. He is able to explore emotional, physical and spiritual connections in conceptual design. He engages in technical and administrative problem solving during documentation. He wings it during the free-for-all that is construction. A project goes through all of the phases and then the next project starts anew.
He learns something new every single day. Although he still has much to learn, he has his moments where he is good at his job. He has been working on construction administration for the past two years on a single project, which is much longer than usual but the project is much larger. He has an acute understanding of the need for efficiency in his work, proper prioritization and the importance of highlighting potential construction and/or liability issues to his firm. This protects the firm financially and legally – which provides him with a salary and job security. It also protects his personal time which provides him with a well-rounded life – time to spend with her and the boys, time to play with pictures and time to do laundry.
His review one year ago was excellent. This is about to change this year – and he was forewarned in his mid-year review. The focus is shifting from his performance. His firm is instituting ‘performance management’. This is more of a cultural phenomenon than an architectural one. She is a speech language pathologist, also is facing some aspects of this at her place of employment and he has heard of other industries incorporating this as well.
‘Performance Management’ first establishes your job description. Part of your review is based on your ability to achieve your job requirements. Then you must then establish personal / professional goals that fall outside of the scope of your job description. Goals that increase the marketability of the firm and directly benefit the firm are greatly encouraged. Reviews to track goal achievement status are held bi-monthly.
Essentially what this means is that you have to do work for and on behalf of your firm on your personal time.
The emotionally intelligent response is to find goals that are mutually beneficial to you and the firm. At this particular stage in his life, however, he does not have any available free time to devote to extra work projects. Either she, the boys or personal hygiene would need to be sacrificed. Maybe he should stop showering until his new ‘personal’ goals have been attained.
One of the reasons that he loves working at his firm is that they are very smart and have excellent processes. Intelligence is something that he values greatly, but they have totally dropped the ball on this issue. They present this nonsense to him as if they are doing this for his benefit and that it is in his best interest – although he does not need help deciding how to use his free time.
Unemployment in the United States is an issue, particularly in architecture. Now he is in a difficult position. He can choose to sacrifice his personal life to maintain his standing in his firm and keep his job. Or he can play the survival game of trying to get through bi-monthly reviews that highlight his lack of achievement for as long as he can until his job is lost. There are many qualified candidates out there – and many of those would gladly devote their free time to the firm in exchange for being employed.
Choosing between having a life and working to survive isn’t much of a choice. It is simple, crass exploitation. It’s disappointing. He thought we were better than that – he guesses we are not.
And he has this sinking feeling…………..
I spent two weeks in East Africa in December and January -- for this nature nerd, the absolute trip of a lifetime. I took 10,000 photos in two weeks and a ton of video. I have way too much to share, but I'll share a few highlights, starting with this elephant family in Amboseli National Park, at the base of Mount Kilimanjaro in southern Kenya. Seeing wild herds of elephants - so obviously intelligent, social, and loving - brought tears to my eyes. I just hope that we humans can pull it together to prioritize their conservation. Without a dedicated effort to stop poaching entirely, elephants will be gone in just 20 years.
“One of Webb’s most complex instrument modes is with the MIRI Medium Resolution Spectrometer (MRS). The MRS is an integral-field spectrograph, which provides spectral and spatial information simultaneously for the entire field of view. The spectrograph provides three-dimensional ‘data cubes’ in which every pixel in an image contains a unique spectrum. Such spectrographs are extremely powerful tools to study the composition and kinematics of astronomical objects, as they combine the benefits of both traditional imaging and spectroscopy.
“The MRS is designed to have a spectral resolving power (observed wavelength divided by the smallest detectable wavelength difference) of about 3,000. That is high enough to resolve key atomic and molecular features in a variety of environments. At the highest redshifts, the MRS will be able to study hydrogen emission from the first galaxies. At lower redshifts, it will probe molecular hydrocarbon features in dusty nearby galaxies and detect the bright spectral fingerprints of elements such as oxygen, argon, and neon that can tell us about the properties of ionized gas in the interstellar medium. Closer to home, the MRS will produce maps of spectral features due to water ice and simple organic molecules in giant planets in our own solar system and in planet-forming disks around other stars.
“In order to cover the wide 5 to 28 micron wavelength range as efficiently as possible, the MRS integral field units are broken up into twelve individual wavelength bands, each of which must be calibrated individually. Over the past few weeks, the MIRI team (a large international group of astronomers from the USA and Europe) has been focusing primarily on calibrating the imaging components of the MRS. They want to ensure that all twelve bands are spatially well aligned with each other and with the MIRI Imager, so that it can be used to place targets accurately into the smaller MRS field of view. We show some early test results from this alignment process, illustrating the image quality achieved in each of the twelve bands using observations of the bright K giant star HD 37122 (located in the southern sky near the Large Magellanic Cloud).
“Once the spatial alignment and image quality of the several bands are well characterized, the MIRI team will prioritize calibrating the spectroscopic response of the instrument. This step will include determining the wavelength solution and spectral resolution throughout each of the twelve fields of view using observations of compact emission-line objects and diffuse planetary nebulae ejected by dying stars. We show the exceptional spectral resolving power of the MRS with a small segment of a spectrum obtained from recent engineering observations of the active galactic nucleus at the core of Seyfert galaxy NGC 6552. Once these basic instrument characteristics are established, it will be possible to calibrate MRS so that it is ready to support the wealth of Cycle 1 science programs due to start in a few short weeks.”
Read more:
blogs.nasa.gov/webb/2022/06/16/webbs-mid-infrared-spectro...
This image: These are the first engineering data cubes for each of the twelve MRS spectral bands, illustrating the astrometric registration and image quality for observations of HD 37122. In each panel the dashed cyan circle shows a 1 arcsecond radius region around the expected location of the star in celestial coordinates. While the star is bright at short wavelengths it fades toward longer wavelengths, where the MRS also detects thermal emission from Webb’s primary mirror. Credit: NASA, ESA, and the MIRI Consortium.
In June 2020, after experiencing a devastating spring due to COVID, New York State announced that certain businesses could begin partially opening again. New York City’s response included a program called Open Restaurants, which allowed restaurants to use sidewalks and parking spaces for outdoor, socially distant dining. Owners quickly built temporary enclosures in the streets in front of their businesses to try and recover from months of shutdown. Small stretches of Brooklyn in early 2021 display the variety and feel of these enclosures. Hopefully, the Open Restaurants initiative will help these businesses to survive and may even lead to a more permanent reorienting of streets to prioritize people over cars.
The Royal Navy was fairly late to the heavy cruiser, mostly due to limited funding until the Naval Act of 1936. The plus side of this is that they were never a signatory of the Eiswald Naval Treaty (a fact which they would exploit brutally), the downside being that they had a lot of catching up to do. After months of consulting naval analysts and taking notes on foreign designs, with many more devoted to a uniquely painstaking design process, the Odyssey class was cleared for construction in 1937, with the first, Achilles, (pictured here) being launched in early 1940. Following the Royal Navy's principles of gunnery and ruggedness before anything else, the Odysseys (like most succeeding Royal Navy cruisers) lacked the torpedoes that made many foreign equivalents powerful strike vessels. This was due in part to a design prioritizing fleet defense before offensive capabilities, but mostly because Nenya's torpedoes of this time were notoriously short ranged, and it simply wasn't worth installing them on a ship the size of an Odyssey. And boy were they big. At 219 meters long and 24 meters wide, they were among the largest cruisers in the world. Although initially designed with twelve eight inch guns in four triple turrets (to counter the plethora of heavily armed cruisers present in other nations), this design was scrapped in favour of a stern seaplane facility, complete with a heavy-lift crane with space and stores to operate four scout aircraft. The tonnage saved by the nerfing of the artillery allowed for a little more speed, while the spare weight was awarded to the massive anti-aircraft complex. Built around a series of the Navy's new Tachynometric Fire Computers, the AA suite consisted of twelve 5in guns, nineteen 40mm guns on raised pedestals (of which 16 were aided by the Tacky Computers) and twenty 20mm guns spread around the deck. In fact, preliminary designs utilizing the Papillon method of quad turrets could have allowed for a staggering forty to sixty 40mm cannons, but this was brought down to be kinder on weight and ammunition storage, as such an extreme measure was not deemed necessary, even for a ship intended to be a floating AA battery (The current year is also 1940, not 1945). Despite being so heavily armed and armoured, with the additional weight of a lot of fancy mechanisms, the Odysseys actually met their weight quotas just as planned, thus avoiding the seakeeping issues that seem to plague many other large cruiser designs, and are surprisingly maneuverable despite their size (the secret is to set out with a plan for a 14,000 ton cruiser from the start, and not change your mind along the way). Although they lack the punching power and night-fighting capabilities of torpedo-armed ships, their combination of firepower, armour and survivability mean that they should be able to hold their own in a gunfight against anything short of a capital ship. Combined with perhaps the most powerful AA setup of any cruiser class, they are indispensable defensive assets to any fleet. Of course, it's not exactly clear how many of them will see service, as they aren't cheap ships, and the nation which they serve isn't exactly rich.
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At 219 studs, or five foot seven, this is the largest and grandest LDD model I have built to date. It started life as a Cleveland-style light cruiser, which was to be followed up by a Baltimore modification, but I decided to go heavy cruiser first due to the nice big 8in turrets I made, and how well they fit the deck. Also the whole thing about twelve main guns was just text flavour, I wouldn't have been able to fit that many turrets on. Although said deck and hull were complicated, and took a while to finish, the hardest part for me was the superstructure. There was just so much space to fill! And aiming for quality, I couldn't just fill all that space with junk. I was aiming for a Baltimore or Cleveland sort of look, but decided to go with the Des Moines (although I didn't realize the schematic I was copying was Des Moines until it was practically finished) with extra gun directors, smaller structure, one less midships AA mount a side and a single funnel. Although even more afield of the groups' date than the original Baltimore plan, it was the only structure I could make fit. Furthermore, finding an AA setup that both looked good and kept to Divide and Conquer VII's time frame was a challenge, but I'm fairly happy with the dual 40mm mounts.
Credit to Backward Matt for the hull and deck technique, to Awesome O'Saurus for inspiration on the variety of weapons designs and to Ian, because I definitely I used some of his techniques (the anchor, spotlights and single 40mm guns to name a few). I have tagged all three.
Also, thanks to Lego Pilot for the render! I swear I'll have my own POVray working soon.
I'm probably gonna take a short brake from ships this size, after which I'll (probably) make the light cruiser and light carrier modifications off this hull. Then I'll move onto an even larger ship, projected to be 250-270 studs (6.5-7 feet, god help me with this scale).
Edgar Germain Hilaire Degas created 18 paintings, 4 drawings and 5 letters while here in New Orleans in 1872 and 1873. Also, Portraits in an Office, The New Orleans Cotton Exchange painting, the only painting to sell to a museum in Degas' lifetime, was painted here! However, the most important of his New Orleans accomplishments was his change in artistic style, creating (in his words), "Better Art", and re-prioritizing the goal of his youth, to begin a new art movement. This came to pass one year after leaving New Orleans and on his return to Paris, at the birth of the Impressionist Movement of 1874 and beyond!
Maisons des Ilustres! The Houses of the Illustrious!
Degas House is the only home or studio of the French Impressionist Master Edgar Degas, in the world, and is now included in the French Ministry of Culture's network of the Maisons des Illustres or Houses of the Illustrious. Degas House is now in the company of 236 houses in the global network, including the houses of Napoleon, Joan of Arc, Monet, Matisse, Renoir, Ravel (the composer), Louis Braille, Marie Curie, Louis Pasteur, The Chateau of Monte Cristo, French President Mitterrand, President de Gaulle's, Jules Verne; Albert Schweitzer; Victor Hugo; Cezanne and Nostradamus.
Degas House is only the second house in the U.S to be included in the network and is one of only four included that are not in France or one of the French territories!
In a ceremony at the Degas House on July 15th, 2019, French Ambassador Philippe Etienne presented the official marker of the Maisons des Illustres and remarked that the Degas House is now a monument or an institute. The marker was unveiled by the French Consul General, the French Heritage Society, the Lt. Governors Office, the City of New Orleans Mayor's Office, as well as the New Orleans Chamber of Commerce representatives, in a ceremony on October 23rd, 2019. The marker is positioned on the front porch of the house, where it will remain in-perpetuity.
www.degashouse.com/the-inn/about-degas-house.html
Esplanade Avenue
New Orleans, LA
2024
We will never forget him or the thousands of others murdered in Egypt for their passion for freedom and Justice.
On 2 February 2018, about fifty people gathered outside the Egyptian Embassy in London for a vigil to mark the second anniversary of the discovery of the horrificly mutilated corpse of Cambridge university student, Giulio Regeni, at the edge of the Cairo-Alexandria desert road in Egypt.
Within hours of the discovery of his body, his family knew that he must have been the victim of the most appalling sustained violence. His corpse was so terribly disfigured that his mother explained he was virtually unrecognisable. She could only identiy him from the tip of his nose.
But what was equally striking was the location where the body had been dumped, on one of Egypt's busiest highways close to the watchtowers of a security services base.
On 25th January 2016, the fifth anniversary of Egypt's 2011 uprising, a thirty year old Italian national Giulio Regeni disappeared from the streets of Cairo.
He was a student of one of Britain's most prestigious universities - Cambridge and was researching the crucial role of trade unions in relation to Egyptian political power and workers' rights.
During his research he managed to cultivate contacts with numerous key individuals within several Independent trade unions which the Egyptian government planned to make illegal. He often expressed fear to his friends that he might be detained by Egyptian authorities.
It was not until 3 February 2016, nine days after his disappearance, that Regeni's half-naked and battered corpse was found dumped by the roadside. His mother remarked that Giulio's disfigured face carried "all the evils of the world."
A senior Egyptian police official, who it was later discovered had a prior criminal record for both torture and murder, announced that Regeni had been the victim of a road traffic accident.
However an Italian autopsy indicated that he had been tortured to death over a period of approximately one week and had suffered over 24 bone fractures, multiple stab wounds, numerous cigarette burns and sharp razor cuts and that all his finger and toe nails had been yanked out.
On 21 April a Reuters correspondent reported that he had received confirmation of Regeni's arrest and detention by Egyptian security services in January from no fewer than six sources in Egypt's police and intelligence services but Egypt's Interior Minister angrily denied the report as having "no basis in truth."
The Regeni case is not an isolated incident - every month dozens of Egyptians, from among those who either dare to criticize the government or dare in anyway not to conform, are forcibly disappeared from their homes or from the streets and many of them either die in detention or eventually appear months later in court charged with offences, such as protesting without a license or spreading false information against the state.
Recent estimates put the number of political detainees in Egypt's prisons at approximately 60,000.
The Italian government have been infuriated by the lack of any honest attempt by the Egyptian authorities to discover and punish those responsible for Regeni's murder. Although some Italians have been disappointed by the very limited scale of Italian diplomatic and economic reprisals - they have at least gone further than the British government - withdrawing their ambassador in April 2016 for consultations and on 30 June the Italian senate voted to halt aviation supplies for Egyptian military aircraft including F-16s.
Meanwhile the British government has done virtually nothing - except issue a brief statement after it was embarrassed into action by an online parliamentary petition - prior to which I'm unaware of any statement on the issue by British diplomats who appear to wish to prioritize profit and trade over human rights.
More information about the Regeni case and the human rights crisis in Egypt can be found from
The Egypt Solidarity Initiative at
egyptsolidarityinitiative.org/
and also on Facebook or from Amnesty International at
www.amnesty.org.uk/blogs/press-release-me-let-me-go/truth...
Update April 2020 -. If anyone is interested in the forgotten history of British imperialism and how it impacted the lives of millions of people around the world including Egypt from the 1700s until today - I've posted over 600 short articles on the following website. roguenation.org/ including the following page where you can select from over 600 pages according to country - roguenation.org/choose-by-country
Sorry to be posting this pretty late in the month I was going to do it earlier but I've been pretty prioritized with school. Anyways let's get to the figs...
From L-R:
Solomon Grundy (Updated): Cyrus Gold (Solomon Grundy), is a Zombie supervillain who has clashed with many heroes over the years, including Green Lantern, Superman, Batman, the Justice Society of America, and the Justice League of America. Solomon Grundy frequently dies and resurrects in new incarnations, each of varying levels of strength and intelligence. Although primarily evil, some of his incarnations have shown the capacity for heroism.
Fig Formula: Hair (70162: Solomon Blaze), Head (71031: Zombie Captain America), Torso (71028: Griphook), Arms (70903: Batman), Hands (41255: Guy Diamond), Hip & Legs (71031: Monica Rambeau)
John Constantine (Updated): John Constantine is an occult detective from Liverpool, England. His violent and anti-social attitude makes him a formidable anti-hero, and he's known for doing whatever it takes to get the job done.
Fig Formula: Hair (76143: Captain America), Head (71018: Roman Gladiator), Torso & Arms (71031: Loki), Hands (71018: Yuppie), Hip & Legs (71031: Loki)
Design Inspirations Below:
Solomon Grundy - (static.wikia.nocookie.net/swampthing/images/5/5d/Solomon_...)
John Constantine - (static.wikia.nocookie.net/hellblazer/images/0/0d/013013_c...)
John Constantine is inspired by Steel Brick Customs design. Comment & fave below to let me know what you all think.
The Days We Wear Masks 20210226
People age 60 and older and health care workers among some 2.4 million people currently prioritized to receive the vaccines can make their appointments online to get the jab at one of the eight community vaccination centers or 18 outpatient clinics across Hong Kong.
(20210226 The Standard)
I truly believe that long lasting happiness depends on your capability to prioritize. also, I truly believe that everyone needs a hot sauce in their fridge.
It feels a bit odd, in my view at least – I can't identify with this trend of prioritizing a device, even if there are people on the other side of it, over real, "live" faces in front of me... and if turned around, from the other side, I feel even more out of place.
I'm a bit old-fashioned in this regard, maybe... but it feels the way it feels.
On the other hand, Anny is really pretty here, very subtly lit by her phone ;)
---
UPDATE: it was pointed out to me that the text above can be read in more than one way; thanks and sorry for that; to remove any ambiguity, I'll try to clarify: this caption is about my reaction to a trend of the last several years, a set of actions and things people do (not excluding me, by the way; though I try to avoid it, as much as I can), and that some aspects of this trend confuse me while others I like.
P.S. ...and did I mention that I really, really love that light? ;)
July 18, 2023 The Hill Live brings together caregivers, patients, clinical experts, and lawmakers to answer these questions and more as we discuss the fight against Alzheimer’s and breakthroughs in providing relief to those who suffer from agitation and aggression.
Alzheimer’s disease affects about 55 million people worldwide, including 6.5 million Americans, and has no cure. Some patients with Alzheimer’s sometimes show signs of extreme aggression or become restless and anxious as their brains lose the ability to negotiate with new stimulus.
Agitation is a common neuropsychiatric symptom in Alzheimer’s dementia and one of the most complex and stressful aspects of caring for people living with the condition. It is reported in approximately half of people with Alzheimer’s dementia and is associated with earlier alternative living placement.
What do patients, caregivers and families navigating the complexities of agitation associated with Alzheimer’s need to know? How are researchers and doctors better understanding risk factors and diagnoses? What policy actions can prioritize research, detection and treatment? And what are the access considerations for patients and their caregivers as they navigate this difficult symptom?
LOCATION
National Press Club Holeman Lounge, 529 14th St. NW, 13th Floor, Washington, DC 20045
+++ DISCLAIMER +++
Nothing you see here is real, even though the model, the conversion or the presented background story might be based historical facts. BEWARE!
Some background:
The Georgian Air Force and Air Defense Division (თავდაცვის ძალების ავიაციისა და საჰაერო თავდაცვის სარდლობა; tavdatsvis dzalebis aviatsiisa da sahaero tavdatsvis sardloba) was established on January 1, 1992, and in September the Georgian Air Force conducted its first combat flight during the separatist war in Abkhazia. On August 18, 1998, the two divisions were unified in a joint command structure and renamed the Georgian Air Force.
In 2010, the Georgian Air Force was abolished as a separate branch and incorporated into the Georgian Land Forces as Air and Air Defense sections. By that time, the equipment – primarily consisting of Eastern Bloc aircraft inherited from the Soviet Union after the country’s dissolution – was totally outdated, the most potent aircraft were a dozen Suchoj Su-25 attack aircraft and a handful of MiG-21U trainers.
In order to rejuvenate the air arm, Tbilisi Aircraft Manufacturing (TAM), also known as JSC Tbilaviamsheni and formerly known as 31st aviation factory, started a modernization program for the Su-25, for the domestic forces but also for export customers. TAM had a long tradition of aircraft production within the Soviet Union. In the 1950s the factory started the production of Mikoyan's MiG-15 and later, the MiG-17 fighter aircraft. In 1957 Tbilisi Aircraft State Association built the MiG-21 two-seater fighter-trainer aircraft and its various derivative aircraft, continuing the MiG-21 production for about 25 years. At the same time the company was manufacturing the K-10 air-to-surface guided missile. Furthermore, the first Sukhoi Su-25 (known in the West as the "Frogfoot") close support aircraft took its maiden voyage from the runway of 31st aviation factory. Since then, more than 800 SU-25s had been delivered to customers worldwide. From the first SU-25 to the 1990s, JSC Tbilaviamsheni was the only manufacturer of this aircraft, and even after the fall of the Soviet Union the production lines were still intact and spares for more than fifty complete aircraft available. Along with the SU-25 aircraft 31st aviation factory also launched large-scale production of air-to-air R-60 and R-73 IR guided missiles, a production effort that built over 6,000 missiles a year and that lasted until the early 1990s. From 1996 to 1998 the factory also produced Su-25U two-seaters.
In 2001 the factory started, in partnership with Elbit Systems of Israel, upgrading basic Su-25 airframes to the Su-25KM “Scorpion” variant. This was just a technical update, however, intended for former Su-25 export customers who would upgrade their less potent Su-25K export aircraft with modern avionics. The prototype aircraft made its maiden flight on 18 April 2001 at Tbilisi in full Georgian Air Force markings. The aircraft used a standard Su-25 airframe, enhanced with advanced avionics including a glass cockpit, digital map generator, helmet-mounted display, computerized weapons system, complete mission pre-plan capability, and fully redundant backup modes. Performance enhancements included a highly accurate navigation system, pinpoint weapon delivery systems, all-weather and day/night performance, NATO compatibility, state-of-the art safety and survivability features, and advanced onboard debriefing capabilities complying with international requirements. The Su-25KM had the ability to use NATO-standard Mark 82 and Mark 83 laser-guided bombs and new air-to-air missiles, the short-range Vympel R-73. This upgrade extended service life of the Su-25 airframes for another decade.
There were, however, not many customers. Manufacturing was eventually stopped at the end of 2010, after Georgian air forces have been permanently dismissed and abolished. By that time, approximately 12 Scorpions had been produced, but the Georgian Air Force still used the basic models of Su-25 because of high cost of Su-25KM and because it was destined mainly for export. According to unofficial sources several Scorpions had been transferred to Turkmenistan as part of a trade deal.
In the meantime, another, more ambitious project took shape at Tbilisi Aircraft Manufacturing, too: With the help of Israel Aircraft Industries (IAI) the company started the development of a completely new attack aircraft, the TAM-1 “Gvelgeslas” (გველგესლას, Viper). It heavily relied on the year-long experience gathered with Su-25 production at Tblisi and on the tools at hand, but it was eventually a completely new aircraft – looking like a crossbreed between the Su-25 and the American A-10 with a T-tail.
This new layout had become necessary because the aircraft was to be powered by more modern, less noisy and more fuel-efficient Rolls Royce AE 3012 turbofan engines - which were originally intended to power the stillborn Yakovlev Yak-77 twin-engine business jet for up to 32 passengers, a slightly derated variant of the GMA 3012 with a 44 in diameter (112 cm) fan and procured via IAI from the United States through the company’s connection with Gulfstream Aerospace. Their larger diameter (the Su-25’s original Soyuz/Tumansky R-195 turbojets had a diameter of 109,5 cm/43.1 in) precluded the use of the former integral engine nacelles along the fuselage. To keep good ground clearance against FOD and to protect them from small arms fire, the engine layout was completely re-arranged. The fuselage was streamlined, and its internal structure was totally changed. The wings moved into a low position. The wings’ planform was almost identical to the Su-25’s, together with the characteristic tip-mounted “crocodile” air brakes. Just the leading edge inside of the “dogteeth” and the wing roots were re-designed, the latter because of the missing former engine nacelles. This resulted in a slightly increased net area, the original wingspan was retained. The bigger turbofans were then mounted in separate pods on short pylons along the rear fuselage, partly protected from below by the wings. Due to the jet efflux and the engines’ proximity to the stabilizers, these were re-located to the top of a deeper, reinforced fin for a T-tail arrangement.
Since the Su-25’s engine bays were now gone, the main landing gear had to be completely re-designed. Retracting them into the fuselage or into the relatively thin wings was not possible, TAM engineers settled upon a design that was very similar to the A-10: the aircraft received streamlined fairings, attached to the wings’ main spar, and positioned under the wings’ leading edges. The main legs were only semi-retractable; in flight, the wheels partly protruded from the fairings, but that hardly mattered from an aerodynamic point of view at the TAM-1’s subsonic operational speed. As a bonus they could still be used while retracted during emergency landings, improving the aircraft’s crash survivability.
Most flight and weapon avionics were procured from or via Elbit, including the Su-25KT’s modernized “glass cockpit”, and the TAM-1’s NATO compatibility was enhanced to appeal to a wider international export market. Beyond a total of eleven hardpoints under the wings and the fuselage for an external ordnance of up to 4.500 kg (9.900 lb), the TAM-1 was furthermore armed with an internal gun. Due to procurement issues, however, the Su-25’s original twin-barrel GSh-30-2 was replaced with an Oerlikon KDA 35mm cannon – a modern variant of the same cannon used in the German Gepard anti-aircraft tank, adapted to the use in an aircraft with a light-weight gun carriage. The KDA gun fired with a muzzle velocity of 1,440 m/s (4,700 ft/s) and a range of 5.500m, its rate of fire was typically 550 RPM. For the TAM-1, a unique feature from the SPAAG installation was adopted: the gun had two magazines, one with space for 200 rounds and another, smaller one for 50. The magazines could be filled with different types of ammunition, and the pilot was able select between them with a simple switch, adapting to the combat situation. Typical ammunition types were armor-piercing FAPDS rounds against hardened ground targets like tanks, and high explosive shells against soft ground targets and aircraft or helicopters, in a 3:1 ratio. Other ammunition types were available, too, and only 200 rounds were typically carried for balance reasons.
The TAM-1’s avionics included a SAGEM ULISS 81 INS, a Thomson-CSF VE-110 HUD, a TMV630 laser rangefinder in a modified nose and a TRT AHV 9 radio altimeter, with all avionics linked through a digital MIL-STD-1553B data bus and a modern “glass cockpit”. A HUD was standard, but an Elbit Systems DASH III HMD could be used by the pilot, too. The DASH GEN III was a wholly embedded design, closely integrated with the aircraft's weapon system, where the complete optical and position sensing coil package was built within the helmet (either the USAF standard HGU-55/P or the Israeli standard HGU-22/P), using a spherical visor to provide a collimated image to the pilot. A quick-disconnect wire powered the display and carried video drive signals to the helmet's Cathode Ray Tube (CRT).
The TAM-1’s development was long and protracted, though, primarily due to lack of resources and the fact that the Georgian air force was in an almost comatose state for several years, so that the potential prime customer for the TAM-1 was not officially available. However, the first TAM-1 prototype eventually made its maiden flight in September 2017. This was just in time, because the Georgian Air Force had formally been re-established in 2016, with plans for a major modernization and procurement program. Under the leadership of Georgian Minister of Defense Irakli Garibashvili the Air Force was re-prioritized and aircraft owned by the Georgian Air Force were being modernized and re-serviced after they were left abandoned for 4 years. This program lasted until 2020. In order to become more independent from foreign sources and support its domestic aircraft industry, the Georgian Air Force eventually ordered eight TAM-1s as Su-25K replacements, which would operate alongside a handful of modernized Su-25KMs from national stock. In the meantime, the new type also attained interest from abroad, e. g. from Bulgaria, the Congo and Cyprus. The IDF thoroughly tested two early production TAM-1s of the Georgian Air Force in 2018, too.
General characteristics:
Crew: 1
Length: 15.53 m (50 ft 11 in), including pitot
Wingspan: 14.36 m (47 ft 1 in)
Height: 4.8 m (15 ft 9 in)
Wing area: 35.2 m² (378 sq ft)
Empty weight: 9,800 kg (21,605 lb)
Gross weight: 14,440 kg (31,835 lb)
Max takeoff weight: 19,300 kg (42,549 lb)
Powerplant:
2× Rolls-Royce AE 3012 turbofans with 44.1 kN (9,920 lbf) thrust each
Performance:
Maximum speed: 975 km/h (606 mph, 526 kn, Mach 0.79)
Range: 1.000 km (620 mi, 540 nmi) with internal fuel, clean
Combat range: 750 km (470 mi, 400 nmi) at sea level with 4.500 kg (9,911 lb) of ordnance,
incl. two external fuel tanks
Service ceiling: 7.800 m (25,550 ft)
g limits: +6.5
Rate of climb: 58 m/s (11,400 ft/min)
Armament:
1× 35 mm (1.38 in) Oerlikon KDA cannon with 200 rds in two magazines
under the lower forward fuselage, offset to port side.
11× hardpoints with a capacity of up to 4.500 kg (9,911 lb) of external stores
The kit and its assembly:
This rather rigorous conversion had been on my project list for many years, and with the “Gunships” group build at whatifmodellers.com in late 2021 I eventually gathered my mojo to tackle it. The ingredients had already been procured long ago, but there are ideas that make you think twice before you take action…
This build was somewhat inspired by a CG rendition of a modified Su-25 that I came across while doing online search for potential ideas, running under the moniker “Su-125”, apparently created by someone called “Bispro” and published at DeviantArt in 2010; check this: (www.deviantart.com/bispro/art/Sukhoi-Su-125-Foghorn-15043...). The rendition shows a Su-25 with its engines re-located to the rear fuselage in separate nacelles, much like an A-10, plus a T-tail. However, as many photoshopped aircraft, the shown concept had IMHO some flaws. Where would a landing gear go, as the Su-125 still had shoulder wings? The engines’ position and size also looked fishy to me, quite small/narrow and very far high and back – I had doubts concerning the center of gravity. Nevertheless, I liked the idea, and the idea of an “A-10-esque remix” of the classic Frogfoot was born.
This idea was fueled even further when I found out that the Hobbycraft kit lends itself to such a conversion. The kit itself is not a brilliant Su-25 rendition, there are certainly better models of the aircraft in 1:72. However, what spoke for the kit as whiffing fodder was/is the fact that it is quite cheap (righteously so!) and AFAIK the only offering that comes with separate engine nacelles. These are attached to a completely independent central fuselage, and this avoids massive bodywork that would be necessary (if possible at all) with more conventional kits of this aircraft.
Another beneficial design feature is that the wing roots are an integral part of the original engine nacelles, forming their top side up to the fuselage spine. Through this, the original wingspan could be retained even without the nacelles, no wing extension would be necessary to retain the original proportions.
Work started with the central fuselage and the cockpit tub, which received a different (better) armored ejection seat and a pilot figure; the canopy remained unmodified and closed, because representing the model with an open cockpit would have required additional major body work on the spinal area behind the canopy. Inside, a new dashboard (from an Italeri BAe Hawk) was added, too – the original instrument panel is just a flat front bulkhead, there’s no space for the pilot to place the legs underneath the dashboard!
In parallel, the fin underwent major surgery. I initially considered an A-10-ish twin tail, but the Su-25’s high “tail stinger” prevented its implementation: the jet efflux would come very close to the tail surfaces. So, I went for something similar to the “Su-125” layout.
Mounting the OOB stabilizers to the fin was challenging, though. The fin lost its di-electric tip fairing, and it was cut into two sections, so that the tip would become long enough to match the stabilizers. A lucky find in the scrap box was a leftover tail tip from a Matchbox Blackburn Buccaneer, already shortened from a former, stillborn project: it had now the perfect length to take the Su-25 stabilizers! To make it fit on the fin, an 8mm deep section was inserted, in the form of a simple 1.5mm styrene sheet strip. Once dry, the surface was re-built with several PSR layers. Since it would sit further back on the new aircraft’s tail, the stinger with a RHAWS sensor was shortened.
On the fuselage, the attachment points for the wings and the engine nacelles were PSRed away and the front section filled with lots of lead beads, hoping that it would be enough to keep the model’s nose down.
Even though the wings had a proper span for a re-location into a low position, they still needed some attention: at the roots, there’s a ~1cm wide section without sweep (the area which would normally cover the original engine nacelles’ tops). This was mended through triangular 1.5 mm styrene wedges that extended the leading-edge sweep, roughly cut into shape once attached and later PSRed into the wings’ surfaces
The next construction site were the new landing gear attachment points. This had caused some serious headaches – where do you place and stow it? With new, low wings settled, the wings were the only logical place. But the wings were too thin to suitably take the retracted wheels, and, following the idea of a retrofitted existing design, I decided to adopt the A-10’s solution of nacelles into which the landing gear retracts forward, with the wheels still partly showing. This layout option appears quite plausible, since it would be a “graft-on” solution, and it also has the benefit of leaving lots of space for underwing stores, since the hardpoints’ position had to be modified now, too.
I was lucky to have a pair of A-10 landing gear nacelles at hand, left over from a wrecked Matchbox model from childhood time (the parts are probably 35 years old!). They were simply cut out, glued to the Su-25 wings and PSRed into shape. The result looked really good!
At this point I had to decide the model’s overall layout – where to place the wings, the tail and the new engine nacelles. The latter were not 1:72 A-10 transplants. I had some spare engine pods from the aforementioned Matchbox wreck, but these looked too rough and toylike for my taste. They were furthermore too bulky for the Su-25, which is markedly smaller than an A-10, so I had to look elsewhere. As a neat alternative for this project, I had already procured many moons ago a set of 1:144 resin PS-90A engines from a Russian company called “A.M.U.R. Reaver”, originally intended for a Tu-204 airliner or an Il-76 transport aircraft. These turbofan nacelles not only look very much like A-10 nacelles, just a bit smaller and more elegant, they are among the best resin aftermarket parts I have ever encountered: almost no flash, crisp molding, no bubbles, and perfect fit of the parts – WOW!
With these three elements at hand I was able to define the wings’ position, based on the tail, and from that the nacelles’ location, relative to the wings and the fin.
The next challenge: how to attach the new engines to the fuselage? The PS-90A engines came without pylons, so I had to improvise. I eventually found suitable pylons in the form of parts from F-14A underwing missile pylons, left over from an Italeri kit. Some major tailoring was necessary to find a proper position on the nacelles and on the fuselage, and PSRing these parts turned out to be quite difficult because of the tight and labyrinthine space.
When the engines were in place, work shifted towards the model’s underside. The landing gear was fully replaced. I initially wanted to retain the front wheel leg and the main wheels but found that the low wings would not allow a good ground clearance for underwing stores and re-arming the aircraft, a slightly taller solution was necessary. I eventually found a complete landing gear set in the scrap box, even though I am not certain to which aircraft it once belonged? I guess that the front wheel came from a Hasegawa RA-5C Vigilante, while the main gear and the wheels once belonged to an Italeri F-14A, alle struts were slightly shortened. The resulting stance is still a bit stalky, but an A-10 is also quite tall – this is just not so obvious because of the aircraft’s sheer size.
Due to the low wings and the landing gear pods, the Su-25’s hardpoints had to be re-arranged, and this eventually led to a layout very similar to the A-10. I gave the aircraft a pair of pylons inside of the pods, plus three hardpoints under the fuselage, even though all of these would only be used when slim ordnance was carried. I just fitted the outer pair. Outside of the landing gear fairings there would have been enough space for the Frogfoot’s original four outer for pylons, but I found this to be a little too much. So I gave it “just” three, with more space between them.
The respective ordnance is a mix for a CAS mission with dedicated and occasional targets. It consists of:
- Drop tanks under the inner wings (left over from a Bilek Su-17/22 kit)
- A pair of B-8M1 FFAR pods under the fuselage (from a vintage Mastercraft USSR weapon set)
- Two MERs with four 200 kg bombs each, mounted on the pylons outside of the landing gear (the odd MERs came from a Special Hobby IDF SMB-2 Super Mystère kit, the bombs are actually 1:100 USAF 750 lb bombs from a Tamiya F-105 Thunderchief in that scale)
- Four CBU-100 Rockeye Mk. II cluster bombs on the outer stations (from two Italeri USA/NATO weapon sets, each only offers a pair of these)
Yes, it’s a mix of Russian and NATO ordnance – but, like the real Georgian Su-25KM “Scorpion” upgrade, the TAM-1 would certainly be able to carry the same or even a wider mix, thanks to modified bomb racks and wirings. Esp. “dumb” weapons, which do not call for special targeting and guidance avionics, are qualified.
The gun under the nose was replaced with a piece from a hollow steel needle.
Painting and markings:
Nothing unusual here. I considered some more “exotic” options, but eventually settled for a “conservative” Soviet/Russian-style four-tone tactical camouflage, something that “normal” Su-25s would carry, too.
The disruptive pattern was adapted from a Macedonian Frogfoot but underwent some changes due to the T-tail and the engine nacelles. The basic tones were Humbrol 119 (RAF Light Earth), 150 (Forest Green), 195 (Chrome Oxide Green, RAL 6020) and 98 (Chocolate) on the upper surfaces and RLM78 from (Modelmaster #2087) from below, with a relatively low waterline, due to the low-set wings.
As usual, the model received a light black ink washing and some post-shading – especially on the hull and on the fin, where many details had either disappeared under PSR or were simply not there at all.
The landing gear and the lower areas of the cockpit were painted in light grey (Humbrol 64), while the upper cockpit sections were painted with bright turquoise (Modelmaster #2135). The wheel hubs were painted in bright green (Humbrol 101), while some di-electric fairings received a slightly less intense tone (Humbrol 2). A few of these flat fairings on the hull were furthermore created with green decal sheet material (from TL Modellbau) to avoid masking and corrections with paint.
The tactical markings became minimal, matching the look of late Georgian Su-25s. The roundels came from a Balkan Models Frogfoot sheet. The “07” was taken from a Blue Rider decal sheet, it actually belongs to a Lithuanian An-2. Some white stencils from generic MiG-21 and Mi-8 Begemot sheets were added, too, and some small markings were just painted onto the hull with yellow.
Some soot stains around the jet nozzles and the gun were added with graphite, and finally the kit was sealed with a coat of matt acrylic varnish.
A major bodywork project – and it’s weird that this is basically just a conversion of a stock kit and no kitbashing. A true Frogfoot remix! The new engines were the biggest “outsourced” addition, the A-10 landing gear fairings were a lucky find in the scrap box, and the rest is quite generic and could have looked differently. The result is impressive and balanced, though, the fictional TAM-1 looks quite plausible. The landing gear turned out to be a bit tall and stalky, though, making the aircraft look smaller on the ground than it actually is – but I left it that way.
Sandeman winery, in Vila Nova de Gaia, Porto. We did a workshop on Porto Wine reportage and this is one of the things I drew. Now I did do a lot of writing and other sketches around it but I've cut those out of the sketch; I need to finish those off (part of the reportage, which was a bit rushed) but I liked the sketch by itself. The cable-car flew high above. I never took that, I would have liked to, but it cut into sketching time. I did look around Sandeman, but I didn't do the tour of the cellars, it cut into sketching time. Sketching time, sketching time, I prioritized that over everything... Maybe I'll do those things when I come back some day. I've drawn most of Porto by now...
Martina is about the nicest wife anyone can imagine. I am told by friends and family all of the time what a sweetie she is and how lucky I am. We all have our surface personalities and for my wife Martina hers is sweet and nice. She is that way 99% of the time. That 1% of the time, typically happens when she has a paddle or cane in her hand. I am the only one to gets to “experience” the 1% Martina.
We are a typically kinky couple playing with bondage and spanking and dominating each other. We play games to see who will be “The Slave” the next weekend and half the time, we are both trying to lose. For the last six months or so, things have been shifting to Martina being more the dominant. I’d say the transition happened about a year ago when we started playing with Chastity.
I had been following some Chastity Blogs and had sort of been addicted to a few that pumped out daily Chastity Memes. One day I showed her some of them on my laptop. While we went through them, she shivered with excitement on some of them. It was like a whole new world with new ideas and concepts had opened up. She asked me to save the “good ones”. Every week or two, she would snuggle up next to me on the couch if I had my laptop and say, “Lets look at what is new in the chastity world”. We would go through the new meme’s I had collected and some of her favorite older ones. This activity almost always ended the same way. She would talk about keeping me locked up. She would say she was going to lock me up for a month and then decide to add another month. Or she would tell me that Chastity was going to be my new normal and she would be the queen of my world. Then things would boil over and a few minutes later we would be undressed and making love.
We did actually get a chastity belt (or 5 while we experimented with fit, longevity and security) a year ago. It is definitely a part of our lives; I am belted 2-3 times each month. Typically for 1-3 days while she teases me or we have something to do and she wants me focused. Of course I’m belted the 4 days a month that her body tells her, “Belt Him, he is useless”.
While Martina talks a great chastity game and loves the ideas behind the meme’s she is a disappointing keyholder for long term. And I am fine with that. She always asks if I am ok or if it hurts. I can tell after she asks she realizes she made a mistake, she really wants to be a harsh keyholder. We have had a few good runs but the longest I was ever in chastity was after a required 4 days because of her monthly cycle, she was going away for the weekend. She really wanted me belted but had to make sure about 5 times that it was ok with me to wait for her return. I was belted for 6 days and nights and after a year of chastity games that is the longest I have ever been belted.
Our fetish area’s extend beyond bondage. I have a MAJOR wool and sweater fetish. I beg her to wear thick and fuzzy sweaters and buy them for her all the time. Last Spring it was too warm for a big sweater and we were going to a BBQ on Sunday. It was overcast and I begged her to wear a sweater. She finally agreed when I offered to put the chastity belt on for a week if she would do it. I was only locked for 5 days, but that opened the door for similar deals.
One time I wanted to buy myself a very expensive thickly knitted turtleneck sweater and I had to ask because it was so expensive. She told me that when the package arrived, I had to go in the chastity belt and stay a day for every 10 dollars the sweater cost. Then I told her the sweater was $270 dollars so that would be 27 days. She asked if I still wanted the sweater. I hesitated for a whole day. Then I told her that I want the sweater and we ordered it. She was so excited when it arrived. I have to admit getting a new sweater is a very sexual experience for me and having it in a chastity belt was very frustrating. It was fun, and it was probably very fun for me because after 6 days she got the keys and said “Get that big sweater on and get the belt off and come to mama”. The following days she was very disappointed in herself for not going the 27 days. That was sort of typical for the first year of Chastity. She was a fun key holder but not like the women on the meme’s that got her so excited.
Lately we have been doing the memes even more and she has shown interest in the anal training memes. She asked if it was true that a man can cum from anal. We looked it up and it’s true. She wanted to know if a man could cum from anal while in chastity and we looked it up and it looks true too. She thought that was very hot. She asked me about my experience had I ever….. I had to disappoint her that I had never tried anal and only a few times worn a butt plug for a short time. Based on this interest, once she had me locked up for a day and used a dildo on my behind and while it felt weird and maybe a little bit good, I didn’t cum nor did I feel like I ever would. Still it became a fantasy for meme time.
She had several meme fantasies that always got her going probably number 1 was “I’m adding an extra month because you tried to get me to unlock you” At some point I realized that this was exciting to her because I never really asked her to let me out. I certainly never begged. She almost always ran to get the keys the instant I suggested we make love. Her number 2 favorite was the “Hey welcome to vacation, by the way, I left your keys at home” She loved that one. The 3rd one was probably a tie between “This is your new lifestyle get used to it” and “I am going to train you to cum from anal so I never have to unlock you”.
It was last Spring and I have some time off in June, So I booked a 4 day weekend in late May at a resort. I selected the resort for two reasons. 1) They have a killer golf course and I could play golf all day while Martina hangs at the pool or spa 2) The room had two bedrooms both with big cast iron beds. We can sleep in one room and set the other one up as a bondage room. Maybe she will even leave me tied up all night like she did once at another resort.
I emailed her the reservation and expected to get MEGA points for being a great husband. Instead I got “Golf really? What if I keep you in chastity all weekend. Can you still play golf? Do you still want to go there?” I had to reply that I have played golf in chastity at least a dozen times and while I don’t love it, I still enjoy the game and if she wants me to play golf in chastity, I am happy to oblige. And of course, I took the chance in my reply to tell her the evenings in May are cool enough for sweaters and I offered to pack some for her. (knowing I would pack much thicker fuzzier sweaters than she likes)
We made the booking and for the next six weeks before the trip she would look at me and say “Gee I hope I don’t forget to pack the chastity keys for our trip” and then she would shudder with excitement. I would counter with you won’t be able to reach the keys because I’m keeping you chained to the extra bedroom the entire weekend, gagged and diapers so you know you won’t be getting unchained. She would shudder at that too.
Saturday Night the week before the trip I was teasing her about keeping her in bondage for 4 days. She sat up straight and said, “I’ve got a serious issue with this trip. I’m worried that the first night we are going to have a furious night in bed and just drain all of our energy for sex and then I’m going to be in the condo and at the pool for 3 days board out of my mind while YOU are on a golf vacation.” I assured her that would not happen. She thought “Monday Morning put on your chastity belt and give me the keys, I want you good and horny by Thursday Night when we check in and I want to decide when it comes off.” I replied that keyholders always decide when it comes off (Even though we both knew this wasn’t really true) and I thought the idea was really effing hot. Finished by saying “So you are ordering me into chastity, I like it”
Thursday was stressful while we packed for 4 days of fun. We had two large bags I packed that were very heavy and all they had in them was chains, locks handcuffs, collars, dildoes, gags, paddles a whip, a cane six thick fuzzy sweaters of both male and female variety. We had a little fight but that was normal and the car ride was enjoyable. We talked about sex once, but I changed the subject because my “interest” was causing pain due to the chastity belt confinement. She figured it out and we had normal conversation.
We arrived at 8pm just before sunset. We decide to quickly get everything from the car to the top floor condo and make drinks to watch the sunset on the deck. We didn’t unpack but tossed bags into rooms and the golf clubs in the hallway. She was on the deck as I walked up with the drinks. She looked so happy. We watched the sunset and decided to make more drinks. This time she said “I’ll make the drinks and a snack. You go unpack the playroom, the deck will cool off so you better come back with some sweaters. I want you in that thick black cable turtleneck and I’d like you to pick for me the sweater that you would most like to make love to me in while I wear it. Ya know, old fashioned sweater sex.
She went to make the drinks and I went to unpack, I knew I had time because she was cooking a snack. So, I unpacked and set up the corners of the bed with chains and laid out wrist and ankle cuffs along with locks and keys neatly organized on the bed. I had brought a thick fuzzy pink turtleneck for her and I selected that for her to wear. When I came out she was just finishing the drinks and I was walking slightly bent over with short steps. All the excitement and my chastity belt where really starting to hurt me. I was too excited.
She was just finishing the drinks and saw the pink sweater. “oh you really want to fuck me tonight don’t you” I handed her the sweater with a wince. She noticed, “Trouble down under?” I shrugged and said, “Someone locked me in a chastity belt and I can’t even get a hard on when I see my beautiful wife”. She giggled and we went outside.
I sat down, it really wasn’t cold enough for these sweaters, I thought. She didn’t sit down instead something inside her snapped. She was jumping up and down, she was giggling and started to say out loud, “I did it, I did it!” and it got louder until she leaned over the balcony and yelled to the world “I DID IT” and someone on a deck below yelled back “Congratulations”. That embarrassed her and she shut up and sat down. Red faced and looking so “sweater sexy” she looked at me and said “I did it, I am so proud of myself, this is a wonderful feeling, I didn’t think I could do it, But this feels great, I am so happy” I asked if she quit her job or something. She looked deep at me and said “I forgot your chastity keys at home” then she made quotes with her fingers and said “Forgot” and laughed and laughed. “I really did it. Now we are going to experience that Chastity vacation together and I did it!”
She saw me wince again. All dressed up for sweater sex and no place to go…. I knew I was now going to be belted until at least Tuesday Night when we got home and that would be a new record of 8 days. For reasons that are not logical, this caused my member to be uncontrolled in it’s desire to achieve full status, I was getting 100% excited and I could not stop it. Some part of me loved this.
The next day playing Golf in Chastity was tough. Partly because I didn’t remember how tough chastity golf was and partly because Marina had waited till our 3rd drink then chained me spread eagle to the play bed, with just my sweater and chastity belt on. She then pulled out a stack of adult diapers we only used for extreme long bondage sessions and put on one me. She kissed me and said she wanted to sleep in the king bed alone tonight and assured me I would be unchained in time for my tee time. When you sleep chained spread eagle, you wake up sore. My golf game suffered.
Friday was warm and when I returned, I begged her to wear a sweater to dinner. She declined but said that maybe she would wear one for breakfast because cooler air was moving in. I started to beg, with my stuff locked up, sweater play was my only play. She stopped me and said: “I’ve already experienced the absolute joy of “forgetting” your keys” do you really want me to experience the joy of adding weeks to your chastity sentence on only our first full day of vacation? .... Do Ya?” I put my head down submissively, lowered my eyes and shook my head no. She put her hand on my head and said, “Oh I like how this works”
Saturday my tee time was not till 10am, we planned to eat breakfast together at 8am. I woke up sore. I was once again chained and diapered all night. It was 7:50 and she was ready for breakfast and unchaining my locks on the play bed. She said, “sorry I didn’t get you up earlier but you looked so peaceful sleeping all tied up, we both have to hurry to get ready.” I got up and went into the bathroom to change. I came out at 8AM and I started to get my golf stuff in the room together. I heard her from the hallway. “I’m going down to get a table and a mimosa. Don’t be too long.”
I was probably taking too long, it had probably been 10 minutes. That is when my phone buzzed and it was her. She used her selfie stick to send me a pic from the restaurant lobby. It was the photo from this post with a note, “We are being seated now, every minute you are late is equal to one day.” OMG I never saw her in that sweater!! She bought a new sweater! I dropped my golf stuff and flew out the door, ran down the stairs and got to her just as she was being seated.
She asked me where my sweater was? She indicated that when it’s summer and she is all sweatered up for me, she expects me to be sweatered too. She would explain this later tonight in case I don’t understand. I knew then I was in for a paddling tonight as she “explained” it to me.
I just kept gushing at the table about how sexy she looked in that sweater and the sweater and shorts were incredible. It took a long time to get us seated because she had asked for the table in the corner of the room away from everyone.
At a break in the conversation, I was thinking I should be wonderful and get her mind off of tonight’s spanking. I looked at her and I told her how horny I was being locked up and knowing I was going to be locked up all vacation, Then I told her how proud I was that she had taken the step to leave the keys at home and how fun it was to watch her revel in the achievement. I had no idea how difficult it had been for her.
She replied by telling me how she really struggles with being the Key holder. Part of her wants to be a ruthless keyholder and keep me in a sexual state all the time, but the bigger part of her does not want to be mean to me or make me uncomfortable so she lets me out. She said every time she locks me up she tells herself it will be a week to a month and almost every time she feels bad and lets me out in 2-3 days. She frowned and said, “It makes me feel like a failure”. She frowned a little then said “And I know you take advantage of me in this regard.” She paused and nodded, I knew she was right. “No more”
“What changed or inspired you” I asked.
“Mona” she said and I tried not to cringe. Mona is her friend who doesn’t really like me and is aggressive and kind of mean. But they are best friends and have been since before Martina and I met. “Did you know that Mona and Dave have done chastity for 5 years?” I had no idea that my wife even talks about this sort of stuff with other people. “Mona and I went through the chastity meme’s and she told me that most of them are simply male fantasy and very few women would ever say that. She told me her chastity system and says she would never have life any other way. She keeps a journal. When she gets a hankering to lock up Dave, or Dave is a dumbass, she writes down five things: 1) Why she feels that way 2) How long she wants him locked up 3) What she wants sexually for herself out of the locking up 4) What she wants Dave to experience sexually (if anything) during the lock up and 5) What she wants done and accomplished non-sexually before he gets unlocked.
She writes those five things down and she says that if a woman is going to be true to themselves and enjoy the power of having the key , while prioritizing to ignore male suffering, then she MUST make sure the list is complete before the belting is ended AND she NEVER tells Dave how long she is planning on having him belted. She will share things with him about the goals, especially things like… one time……ha (she laughed) Do you remember when Dave got it in his head that he was going to paint the whole house in a week all by himself? So do you remember that? Yeah. We thought Dave was crazy and he was, but it was not actually his idea. After being belted for 2 weeks, Mona told him he gets out AFTER the whole house is painted and not a minute before. She said he never worked so hard on anything ever. He never complained he just worked for his goal.
Last week I wrote down my five things. I read them three times each day to cement them in my head and make sure that is what I wanted. Now I am your Key Holder and I am confident with my plan and feel great about it. How do you like it so far? I replied that I really wanted to have sex with her but being belted on vacation with the keys at home was a really hot surprise.
She smiled big. You are so wonderful I have another surprise for you. I’m going to tell you some of the things I wrote down. (I thought, AWESOME) I wrote down that as my gift for you sexually I am going to spend the entire day and night with you and I’m going to wear this new thick fuzzy sweater all day long. I will be your smok’n hot, drink buying, golf partner, but I won’t play because golf is stupid. (she always said that), I will wear it after golf for whatever you want to do and I will wear it out to dinner when you take me to a nice restaurant tonight to celebrate. I will wear it when I serve you a nightcap back at the room.
Wow.
“And in return for this wonderful gift, you will be giving me, one month in chastity that starts today.”
“Holy Cow, I like the sweater part a lot”, I said. I was in a big panic. My world chastity record was 6 days and this was going to be 36 days, at least.
I got myself together and said, “How about I stay in Chastity till next weekend and every day next week we turn down the A/C and I pick a sweater for you to wear every night?”
She laughed and said, “It’s so cute you are trying to negotiate, remind me again who has the keys?”
“OK, OK, Chastity for 10 days from now, no sweaters and I’ll clean the kitchen every night, that will be 16 days in chastity and more than double my world record” and with that I gave her my most manipulative, please please, I love you so much face I could muster.
“You are staying belted until one month from now, I don’t see how that could possibly change, unless I decide to add time beyond a month. I do like the clean the kitchen every night. I’m sure you will do that anyway, because you might fear that I will add days for not doing so. Now, I expect you to clean the kitchen every night you are belted or that day does not count. I’m tired of this conversation. I am going to let you give me one more lame attempt to put conditions or propose changes to MY plan. Just one more time you can ever mention it. You have until the end of breakfast. Then any further requests for release or suggestions about my keyholding and your one month will automatically become TWO MONTHS. I suggest you at least be entertaining with your suggestion.”
The waiter arrived with breakfast, perfectly timed, so I would shut my mouth.
We didn’t say much during breakfast. At some point, she reached over and touched my hand. “You are pretty sexy when you are thinking so hard”
I knew I had to go back to the meme’s and the things that she seemed to really like. Suddenly I couldn’t remember any of it. As breakfast was almost done, I had it. “I’m ready, for my last lame attempt to get out of this chastity belt before one month”
“Good, I can’t wait, then we have a tee time”. She said it like it was just a formality and this was a pointless exercise in my using my mouth to say nothing important.
“I will submit to you for any action whatsoever for the next 10 days. I challenge you to train me to cum in my chastity belt from anal.” Her mouth dropped open, her butt wiggled a little bit and I knew that the juices had started to flow. I continued: “You have ten days to train me to cum from anal, not just drip a little, but to make me an anal whore. If you fail, on day #11 I am release from the chastity belt. But IF you are successful, and I hope you are, Then I want to be an anal whore and you have to make me cum from anal at least two times every week, further, if I am horny and want to be fucked, you cannot refuse me, unless I have already cum twice in the last 7 days.
She leaned back in the chair and one hand went under the table then suddenly rocketed back to the top of the table. I knew I did something good, because she was going to rub herself and had forgotten we are in a restaurant. After a minute if thoughtful gazing at me.
“I will accept your challenge, if you still want to do it, because I will not agree unless, after I have trained you to be an excellent anal whore, the rule will be, before you can cum, you must first be tied up, gagged and spanked heartily. Most times probably on the spanking bench but I want to also be creative. After your spanking I might just make you cum on the bench still tied up or untie you for some other adventure in cummies.
I didn’t like that additional terms, I don’t enjoy being spanked However, the chance to get out in 10 days or at least get some relief if she is successful, sounded pretty good. We agreed. I typed it all out onto an email and sent it to her. She replied confirmation that was the agreement. Apparently, putting an agreement in writing was also a Mona thing, so that there was no confusion later about agreements.
The check arrived and it was time to go get my golf clubs. Now my only concern was looking at her in the sweater as much as possible and remembering this day for the rest of my life. She is so sexy. And she will probably be very hot in the sweater too.
It was late morning and still cool, but her sweater was defiantly too much sweater for a normal person. The sweater got her noticed and two women approached her separately to tell her what a wonderful sweater she had on and ask if she made it herself. I caught the golf cart attendant checking her out seriously, he wasn’t looking at her rear or legs, he was definitely a sweater person too.
I started with a six pack of beer and a six pack of water and lots of ice from the snack shack. I figured it’s a great day to drink beer and stay hydrated. My golf game was ok. I had a birdie and I had some trouble. We were on the back nine where there were no houses or roads. I had just blasted my ball way down the fairway with a driver but at the last moment, my ball hit a little hill and bounced forcefully into the woods. I drove the cart up to the woods parked in the shade for Martina who was now a little red faced with heat, but being a super sexy woman and also drinking most of the beer.
The group behind us was four guys that started with a crapload of beer and we had not seen them for 5 holes, I bet we were 30 minutes ahead of them. And the group in front of us was fast so it was like we had the course to ourselves.
I decided that I could find my ball and probably play it. I grabbed a few clubs and walked into the woods to find my ball. After a minute or two I found it and hit a killer shot between the trees right up the fairway and almost to the green. I was happy to still have a chance for par.
As I came out of the woods Martina looked like she was passed out. She was leaning all the way back in the seat with her head back and her eyes closed. As I approached, I said, “What are you doing?” and at that moment I could hear her breathing. She was breathing hard. Her hand was down in her crotch. As I got to the cart, I just stopped. She was rubbing the outside of her shorts and masterbating. She looked like she had been doing this a while. I just stood there looking at her. My Chastity belt signaled that it was still in place and my heart sunk when I remembered the keys where at home and then sunk again when I remembered the belt might be my closest friend for the next month.
Sheepishly I said “Whatcha do’in?”
She gasped and didn’t move her head or open her eyes. Breathlessly she said, “I started thinking……..What if after a month……. You really like this ……….. (a longer pause for a few hard strokes) What if I really like this ….. or maybe we both really like this” With those words she gasped hard as if saying those words out loud was the trigger to her orgasm. Then her eyes shot wide open. She raised her head and looked at me …… “This could be a lifestylllllllllllllll Ahhhhh God please!!” Then as if speaking those words was a trigger to heaven, she came like a freight train for over a minute. I just stood there dumbfounded while I watched her cum more than one time.
As she settled down, I was still standing there looking at her. She opened her eyes again and turned her head toward me. She bit her lip in the most sexy way and took her hand off of her now noticeably wet crotch. She sat up a little and said, “I have 10-Days to make you the man of my dreams”
♦ Instructions available at Rebrickable ♦
"This is where the fun begins!"
My latest ship from the Prequel Trilogy has arrived, and it surely was a lot of fun to make: here's Obi Wan's Eta-2 Actis Interceptor from Episode III - Revenge of the Sith and The Clone Wars.
This small unit consists of 281 pieces (stand included), and has one major feature: true Minifig scale!
There's a handful of beautiful MOCs of this ship out there already, but most of them are based on the huge cockpit piece from the playsets, so they're drastically oversized. So here I am with a, dare I say, more accurately scaled version.
It does come with a drawback, you guessed it: you can't put a fig inside. A bit ironic I know, but I chose to go for a brick-built cockpit in order to get as close to the original design as I could, prioritizing accuracy over playability, as usual.
The wings were pretty challenging given the ridiculously small scale, and my goal was to have them as thin as possible without compromising the SNOT look.
I'm quite happy with the result and I think this makes a nice little display piece. It's also very swooshable despite the intricate wing design.
I'm usually not a fan of stickers, but I thought this one deserved some sweet markings. I used the sticker sheet from the playset - it is included in the parts list. The color scheme can be changed to red with only a few part swaps (see last page in the instructions).
► Instructions for the Eta-2 Actis Interceptor are available at Rebrickable!
'Sculpture Garden'
Geneva Biennale .. ⟨3rd Edition⟩
The ambition of this project is to establish itself as a major summer artistic event for the region, offering Geneva, its inhabitants and its many national and international visitors an outdoor exhibition of high-caliber during the whole summer period.
A monumental installation of five larger-than-life vessels used to store and carry water.
The artist draws attention to the lack of available fresh water being and ecological consequence of government policies that have prioritized oil extraction above nearly all else across the Arabian Gulf (where she comes from).
Fiberglass and Polyester Resin
Genève ⇀ Quai Gustave-Ador
Three Known Frames:
bubblegum tongue, your hand (my hand?), cherry blossoms
* * *
Yesterday I made a (half) joke that I only shoot multiple exposures in order to save money on film costs. But I like how shooting atop my own already-shot film deflates the preciousness of each shot. When you choose not to preserve an image the way it was initially framed, you prioritize the final photograph not by how the self has made choices but how chaos has chosen to represent the self.
Here's another from my recent Minnesota trip that was on my wish list. When we were here in May we only got one train here at the 37th Avenue crossing and it wasn't the classic head on view of a train coming south under the DMIR docks, so I prioritized that this time.
This is an interesting stretch of track because it sees trains of four different Class 1s operate on it, owner BNSF, and trains of CPKC, UP, and CN which are successors to legacy Twin Ports carriers Soo, CNW, and DMIR. Dating from 1892 the tracks here were once owned by the short Duluth Transfer Railway, a Northern Pacific subsidiary. Note the twin mileposts with the 2.51 at right being the BNSF's ex NP/DTRR mileage and the 0 at left which is the beginning of CN's ex Missabe mainline. To learn more about the NP and the Duluth Transfer check out this tremendous link: zenithcity.com/archive/historic-industry/the-northern-pac...
Just about to cross Merrit Creek and 37th Avenue is a CN Proctor Yard job bringing a string of ore hoppers down to the waterfront presumably for limestone loading at CN-Hallett Dock 5. The train is led by a pair of rebuilt tunnel motors bracketing an SD40-2, BLE 903, IC 6261, and DMIR 408 all in CN dress.
In the background at right berthed up beside CN's ex DMIR Dock 6 taking on a load of iron ore is the Interlake Steamship Company's M/V Mesabi Miner. The self unloading bulk carrier was laid down in 1975 by American Shipbuilding of Lorraine, OH and christened in 1977 to honor the men and women of Minnesota’s Mesabi Iron Range. She has always been part of the Interlake fleet and at 1004 ft long she was the 4th thousand footer on the Great Lakes and one of 13 still sailing (including one which is technically and ITB).
Duluth, Minnesota
Sunday October 8, 2023
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instagram: @BoulevardP
email: BlvrdP@gmail.com
"Enough is Enough!"
Anti-UCP Rally
Edmonton, AB
From the event organizers:
"We're here to unite concerned citizens of Alberta in a movement against the current government, the United Conservative Party (UCP), because Enough is Enough.
We believe the UCP has let us down across various fronts, failing to prioritize the needs of everyday Albertans. Whether it's healthcare, electricity pricing, forest management, climate change, education, housing, the cost of living, renewables, or any other issue affecting our province, we share a common frustration: our government isn't working for us.
It's time for change. It's time for a government that truly represents the interests of all Albertans, present, and future. Join us as we mobilize and demand accountability. This is democracy in action.
Enough is Enough! Together, let's make our voices heard and build a better future for Alberta."
New Year’s Eve-2024
Ninety-nine percent of good railroad photography is just getting out the door with your camera. Once that’s accomplished, you still have one percent to work with. That was my thought when a FB private message from DC Hammon popped up on my phone. DC allowed that a westbound CSX empty hopper train was enroute from Kingsport to Loyall, with the Clinchfield heritage unit on the point. It was gloomy and misting rain, but after about ten seconds of pondering, I elected to engage the ninety nine percent part of the mission.
I haven’t been on FB much lately. Even though I had a flu vaccine a few weeks ago, on Saturday I was in the Ballad urgent care facility in Norton. I was coughing, congested, chilling, and with all the characteristics of something nasty. It wasn’t COVID, but a strain of flue that must have been a variant not included into blend of vaccines I had received earlier. That’s not unusual, of course, but it doesn’t often happen to me.
Wilma has also been sick, and Walnut has really been having a tough go of it (although in her case I think it’s just her declining age). We haven’t been much, if at all (except for a few runs to pick up essentials). At last, I was feeling more like myself, so this would be a good way to change the afternoon routine. I thought the experience of doing some train photography would be worth the effort, even if I wouldn’t come back home with some masterpiece of imagery worthy of a CRPA award (like that’s ever gonna happen!).
I encountered CSX 1902 West sooner than I had anticipated, at Duffield. I had left the house half thinking of going to Natural Tunnel, but I gave up on that when I realized I had left my wide angle lens at home. I wheeled through a crossover on US 23 and backtracked (no pun intended) until I could crank off a couple of “poke and hope” pacing shots in a short stretch where the highway paralleled the track without major obstructions. I mostly was trying to avoid veering into another lane in front of a semi---but traffic was very light.
Pushing ahead, the unexpected growth of lineside vegetation had erased some earlier “honey hole” spots, but I pulled up to a small clearing and got the train as it passed my spot at the passing track at Jasper. What next?
Photo locations on lines where you’ve photographed trains for decades are like a mental Rolodex, prioritized by train direction, lighting, foreground clutter, backgrounds, and on and on. I decided to drive in to “furnace dip” to get him dropping downgrade from East Stone Gap and across the short South Fork of Powell River Bridge. The weather was going from crummy to extra crummy.
After getting that shot, I drove out and headed home. As I was crossing the East 19th Street crossing, I reflexively looked right to see if the EOT was clear of the distant junction. Instead, I saw the head and ditch lights of an eastbound NS run. Instead of going over the hill toward the house, I drove to the old depot site to get a shot of my buddy Brian Richardson handling an eastbound coal train with three big NS units.
Happy New Year, Brian, and thanks for the tip, DC!
In fact, Happy New Year to everyone!
“It is not what we give, but what we share, for the gift without the giver is bare”
~James Russell Lowell
I have spent the better part of my life, living with and around more than enough. More than enough food. More than enough clothes. More than enough shelter. More than enough support. More than enough love.
When life events brought me to Buffalo, NY in the Fall of 2012 I thought it was for a short visit in between jobs. Little did I know I would end up living on the East Side of the City of Buffalo in a humble old home. The home was owned by Pastor Giles. Pastor Giles has been chest deep in helping individuals, families, and the community for over 20 years; often times helping people in the very worst of times and situations. Less than 3 miles from my home was Back to Basics Outreach Ministries - a Beacon of Hope for community members in dealing with homelessness, hunger, violence, and trauma that can and does suck the life and sometimes hope out of the strongest of people. It was at Back to Basics that community members continued to invite me in to their lives. Sharing laughter, tears, loss, and yes, small and big successes.
More than enough. Back in Central Florida in storage I had more nice clothes and shoes and sneakers than any man should own. Big Screen TVs, electronics, antiques and nice furniture with area rugs and over 400 picture frames of all sizes. More than enough material things...and most of my life I wanted bigger TVs, newer and better electronics, more clothes...More.
My idea of more than enough has changed. Seeing every day for nearly 3 years kids and adults alike who didn't know where their next meal is coming from IS supposed to change a person.
The most recent data available regarding poverty in the city of Buffalo, NY shows 54% of children living in poverty - more than half.
Abandoned, shuttered, and demolished houses can be seen on nearly every block. Approximately 10,000 homes are counted as vacant in the City; second only to St. Louis in the US.
We lived on a street that years ago had been in the heart of the proud Polish Community. 150 yards up the road was a beautiful, grand Catholic church. The church was still operating but was lacking in funds to make needed structural repairs. On our street there was a mixture of home owners who had the means to care for their houses, and vacant, boarded, and destroyed homes.
In 2015, 41 percent of all fires in Buffalo were in vacant buildings, and more than 90 percent of all arson cases involved abandoned houses.
The above picture was taken about 2:30am. The house on fire was abandoned but nearby homes were occupied. Our home was about 40 feet from the burning building in the back. I had already prioritized our important material things and readied the car for a quick escape if needed to be before taking pictures.
God Bless our Leaders, Fire Fighters, Police Officers, and all who they serve. And let me always keep in the front of my mind I have more than enough; and something I have someone might need.
“It is not what we give, but what we share, for the gift without the giver is bare”
~James Russell Lowell
I heard a teacher once use the above quote and then said..."We don't know what we truly have until someone else needs it."
Welcome aboard The Multidimensional Ship! Its observation deck is your entire perceptual reality. And it is now in motion. YOU are now in motion. If you only realized how fast you were going, you would probably feel a bit ill. In truth, many of you are currently experiencing signs and symptoms of what we call Global Acceleration Syndrome. We provide this title to honor your medical paradigm, even though it is not any kind of official medical diagnosis. Muscle aches and pains, lethargy, fatigue, spacey-ness, panic attacks, depression, insomnia, memory-loss, confusion---these are just a few of the uncomfortable side-effects produced by the incredible velocity at which you are traveling.
Your world appears to continue as it always has because YOUR MIND requires this in order to keep from flying apart. Your anxiety and hesitancies are the same feelings shared by those who sailed with Columbus. Bound for a new world, they trembled as they sailed, believing their world to be flat. Even so....... many of you also tremble---certain that you may "go over the edge" at any moment!
If you can receive assistance by a health care professional, and your inner guidance affirms this course of action, we encourage you to do so. However, if everything you try seems empty and useless......be strong! Be patient. Deliverance is soon at hand. The journey has begun, and there are wonders ahead, and beauty beyond imagining. The travails of childbirth are many, but the prize that follows far outweighs the pain. Believe this, receive it, and your anxious heart will slowly learn to find rest.
INSIDE THE SHIP
Spaceship Earth is a Holographic Being. Structurally, it is like a gift box that some imaginative person sends you for Christmas. When you remove the lid, you find a slightly smaller box, fully wrapped---just like the first one, containing another (even smaller) box, which contains yet another, and another, and another.........all the way down to your one-celled creatures. Each "level" of your Ship contains all of the basic elements of every other "level." Some of the features are minimized, in certain aspects, so that others can be maximized and focused upon. But it's all there! And it's all synchronized, like moving parts in a pocket watch. It all blends together beautifully.
You have been packing for this journey for quite sometime now. Around the planet there has formed a band of energy---several concentric bands, in fact. The one of which we speak is electromagnetic in nature. It contains diagrams, spreadsheets, poetry, tables of elements, fragments of speech, music, data, archives of human history, bits of TV shows, radio broadcasts, faxes, motion pictures, cell-phone conversations, digital art, and much more besides. When you prepared for this particular journey, you knew you had to pack LIGHT.......because you knew that was the only thing that could go! We are speaking here of your Earth Essence Timeless Capsule.
This "Level" of the Planetary Ship is connected to and modulated by sacred powerspots all over the planet. It is, literally, an ARC of Energy..........not unlike that other Ark which was built by Noah, so long ago. Within it, you have placed the best of you---your creations, your memories, your very lives! However, be advised. Entry onto The Arc is not made two-by-two. This "level" of the Oneself is leaving duality behind. Each individual must pass through what is called the "Eye of the Needle," as a Unified Oneself, in order to come aboard.
Meanwhile, back on the "hard deck," a good portion of humanity is determined to stay the course, fully in denial---apparently choosing to "play it cool" all the way through the Fourth Dimensional Corridor. Now *that* should make quite a picture, indeed.
But you, Dear Ones....... you need not suffer any longer with this illusion. Everything you have felt within---the many surges and flashes of energy up and down your spine---are quite real. They are transmutative jump-starts for new and important programs that have been installed in your consciousness. Soon, all your new perceptual software will come completely online. And then, the fun begins! A very wise man once said: "Don't compare your insides with other people's outsides." We underscore this message whole-heartedly. You are not crazy, and you are not falling apart. It just occasionally feels that way. In fact, you are really falling together! So let it be.
MORE ABOUT THE PORTALS
There is no one present upon Planet Earth at this time who is not regularly traversing Energy Gates and Portals. Some are very aware of it, and even relish the idea. Others are quite disturbed, because the experiences are not exactly what they had planned, or seem beyond their immediate understanding and control. Still others have found effective ways to insulate themselves almost entirely from this knowledge---which serves a purpose, albeit a temporary one. Soon all humanity will be speaking fluently about Trans-Portals, though they may be called by many names. Indeed, these Energy Gates will soon form a good deal of the conceptual framework for your upcoming human journey.
We are The Reconnections. We are all those parts of your Expanded Self which you had to forget about when you came into physical form. We've never been very far from you, just far enough. If there is something that you currently believe about yourself, we make up *everything else* that you could also believe. If there is something that you deny about yourself, we form a repository for that energy until you feel ready to take it up again. Endless variety, endless ability.........all neatly catalogued for your use at any time or place. If something is not present *within* you, then it is being stored here, *within* us. This is because, in Oneness, there really is no such thing as "out." All doorways are marked "enter," and all pathways lead directly home.
MEETING YOUR OPPOSITION
Before a person can successfully fight a battle, he must define who the enemy is. Though we have frequently reminded you that everything is a reflection of self, you must realize that there are aspects of that "self" that have been created to oppose you, as grounding elements, or for educational purposes. As you will see later in this transmission, identifying and meeting your opposition is crucial to your next levels of unfoldment.
Every birthing process involves both expansion and contraction. One part of the body pushes forward, while other parts resist. This is your dance of positive and negative energy. It is rapidly becoming impossible for a person to achieve enduring success without making contact with the "rest" of who he is. We are speaking now of the Multidimensional Self. There is much more to any situation than meets your physical eye. In truth, the puppets that currently dance in the theater of the physical are manipulated by strings being held by unseen hands. Every dance, every drama that is being enacted here, is designed to teach you more and more about those unseen forces.
Relationship conflicts, financial difficulties, and political upheavals are perfect venues for a reconnecting soul to learn how to identify with *all sides* of any question. It is only when you are able to lift yourself out of a polarized state, into The Oneself, that you become able to access the necessary elements which will turn the tide for whatever physical challenge that is before you.
Many people today are desperately looking for peace and safety. If something seems to be thwarting their goals, or irritating their status quo, they want to deal with it, so they can bring about a rapid resolution. They will choose to fight, or to negotiate---whichever seems most effective in the moment---and then they want to be able to return to "business as usual." But Friends, business can never be "usual" again. And any attempt on your parts to make it so will simply result in deeper and more complicated upheavals. The "box" in which you have all been living is being heated up from the outside. Aspects of your Expanded Self are stirring things up energetically so that you will be forced to look *outside of the physical world* in order to understand what has been creating your reality all along.
THE ASTRAL PLANE
Beyond the borders of your physical world, there are levels of consciousness that vibrate so rapidly that their purpose and presence often escapes the notice of those who are living and functioning in 3D. The Astral Plane contains beings that are either moving toward or away from physical density, yet which often have considerable influence over what is explored there at any given time.
If you were to equate levels of human consciousness to keys on a piano, you would find that each "note" or tone represents one of the energy centers (chakras) functioning within, for example, your human body. You begin your tonal scale with "do," which is the first (root) chakra of that body, and you move up.......through "re" (the second chakra), mi (the third chakra), and so on..........all the way up to "ti," (the crown chakra) where you find yourself ready to begin playing again at a new octave. The Astral Plane begins the gateway into the next octaves of your conscious experience.
Those who have made serious studies into ethereal reality tend to be somewhat negative in their attitude towards the Astral Plane. Many think of it as an etheric "junk yard," wherein divergent and confused energies wander aimlessly, trying to make sense of where they are, and how they came to be there. But these judgments are usually drawn by those who have already committed themselves to something. They forget how blissful it can be to simply window shop, to consider, and to resonate with several potential realities at once.
Beyond the Astral Plane exists the Reconnected Oneself. Whereas the Astral is made up of consciousness that thinks or believes it knows things..........the Unified Oneself is the part of you which absolutely knows. It KNOWS because it contains all possible levels of every possible situation or interaction.
When a person is finished with window shopping---having sufficiently explored all the possibilities---he or she will begin Reconnecting to Oneness. This is a process that can only be accomplished while that person is still present in physical form. In order to do it, he must be willing to forego all his mental ponderings, judgments, and emotional reactivity that makes up most of the drama in your everyday life. He must find a way to go above it, or perhaps to tunnel under it, connecting directly to the Universal Touchstone of Oneness with everything and everyone. When contact with that level of being is reached, all of his attachments and bondage to earthly outcome are erased. At that point, anything becomes possible.
THE VALLEY OF THE SHADOW
Consider for a moment the image of a strong man, standing on a mountain peak, high above the Earth. Through the mist that surrounds his mountain, the man sees a second peak, directly across the valley. The thought enters his mind that he would like to experience that other peak, but there is way too much valley between the two. If he chose, the man could climb down from his mountain, travel through the valley, which seems rather dark and forboding, and climb up the mountain on the other side. The mere thought of moving through that shadowy void, however, makes the whole prospect seem fearsome and impossible.
The primary obstacle which blocks the attainment of this man's desire is the separation which he perceives between the two mountains. There seems to be just too big a gap for him to leap across. In many ways, this "gap" is at the root of nearly all problems which arise today in 3D reality.
Change the scene. Two men meet together in a public park. One of them says or does something which deeply offends the other, and a shouting match occurs. The topic could be politics, religion, finances, or romance. It usually does not matter. This encounter is a programmed response, anyway. As each continues to speak his mind, the "gap" between them grows deeper and wider. Resentment, hatred, and disdain now exist where once there could have been trust and goodwill.
Both of these men are Multidimensional. They are jewels with many facets. Each of them have selves that live high, on the mountain top, and each of them has variations of selves that live deep down in the Valley as well. In the Valley there are horrors galore---guilt, shame, and anger that never seems to be satisfied. What creates a shadow is some object or person that stands between a reflecting surface and the light. In the language of metaphor, your shadow is the part of your own self that is hidden from you because you are standing in your own way.
What each man in the above story is reacting to is his own Shadow Reflection, seen in the face of the other. We have spoken about this principle at length in our transmission entitled "Relationships: A Time for Healing." For many years, this process of Creative Shadow Work has provided your planet with tools to complete certain alchemical changes that are required for the Reconnection of your Mental Body. Now it is time for you to begin penetration into your Emotional Body. It is time for you to leave the Valley of the Shadow and to learn the art of building Astral Bridges.
WHAT IS AN ASTRAL BRIDGE?
In the above story of the two mountains, our wishful climber could surely benefit from some form of Connection, spanning peak to peak, which would allow him to avoid having to go down his mountain and through the Valley to get to the other side. If he knew about his Divine Multidimensional Nature, and had knowledge of how to build an Astral Bridge, his problems would be solved.
"Many of you may remember a film that was released a few years back called "Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade." This film includes a particularly inspiring scene, in which the hero finds himself needing to cross from one high place to another (very much like in our story above). In a required act of faith, appropriate to the plot, he places his foot upon what *appears to be* empty air, and a bridge instantly appears beneath his feet, allowing him to cross safely to the other side."
In another famous film, "The Matrix," released only a couple of years ago, one of the heros demonstrated a mastery of physical force, using what was called a "Jump Program," which enabled him to leap across a huge expanse of physical space, moving freely from one high building to another. Even characters in the film exclaimed "Whoa! That's impossible."
An Astral Bridge begins as an Etheric Connector which brings together two points in physical space which appear to be separated by a gap. The Bridge itself originates somewhere else in the Multiverse---performing a clear purpose within an alternative level of here and now. Through a process we shall explain shortly, a perceptual cursor is passed over the image, and it is highlighted and copied (to use familiar computer terms) to a place where it is desperately needed.
At the moment of its transposition, an Astral Bridge is constructed almost entirely of faith. It has been written that "faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen." People don't believe in things because they appear. Things appear in physical space because people believe in them. So it is with an Astral Bridge. At the moment it is required, the Bridge gets pasted directly into your NOW.........in a process that only could be described as miraculous........even though it often appears to be a natural part of your flow.
HOW MANIFESTATION OCCURS
As we mentioned in Trans-Portals 1 and 2, the key to travel within the Multiverse is found in a person's ability to detach himself from his current surroundings, by finding a state of neutrality, so that he can journey anywhere else he wishes to go. What keeps you all trapped in your current 3D context is your continuous *clinging* to outcomes (cause and effect relationships) that you imagine are in operation there. My Dear Friends, this is ILLUSION.
When something manifests in your 3D world, it arrives because you *called for it* with your mind and heart. It makes little difference whether your call was a conscious one, or whether it was something that was issued from beneath your Veil of Forgetfulness. It came from you, and you need to own that before you can break free from its influence. Those who have trouble with this concept may need to circle back and do some Creative Shadow Work, as we mentioned a bit earlier in this transmission.
Basically..... a successful "call" for reality manifestation involves (at least) two elements:
1. A clear statement of belief or intent, spoken or held in a positive way........followed immediately by........
2. A complete release of the outcome into the hands of the Expanded Self.
A person doesn't manifest his or her world out of nothing. Rather, each of you forms your personal reality from the *everything,* which exists all around you. In order to make something physical, you simply focus upon it.....(which slows down the vibration sufficiently for it to solidify), and then you install Perceptual Veils around it, to block out the awareness of everything else that is there. This is your own perceptual equivalent of putting blinders on a horse.
As you begin your process of focusing, you must clearly realize how the creative element of your mind works. The explanation we are going to make for you now is a linear one, because you are currently operating within a linear reality base. Please realize that you have the power to change the order or the rules of this process at any time.
Like the printer on a computer, which faithfully stacks and programs its activity based upon keys hit by the operator, your very own Creative Manifesting Mind begins printing out reality based upon statements which you, yourself, hold to be true. Even though your statement is uttered only within your own mind, and is held for just one second, it has absolute power to form your world. And it frequently does!
Your affirmative statements, especially when accompanied by true desire and passion, are like Genies from a bottle, granting you everything you could ever wish for. As one Dear Entity once phrased it: "The universe rearranges itself according to your beliefs about what is real." It does this through your own declarations of *what is,* not through declarations of *what is not.*
The programming software in your Creative, Manifesting Mind *does not* recognize or respond to words like "no," "not," "don't," or "can't." It automatically eliminates them from your command line. Therefore, whenever a person declares, within himself: "I don't want to smoke" or "I am not going to be angry today," the Creative Manifesting Mind hears (and responds to) an affirmative version of those statements. What it hears is: "I do want to smoke," and "I am going to be angry today."
You must realize that physical reality is created from FOCUS. If you are constantly focusing upon what you *don't want," rather than on what you *do want,* your manifestation power will tend follow that focus. The locus of power in a Call to Manifest is located between the subject and the desired (or declared) action or outcome. The commands are stacked and prioritized in your printer, according to the following factors:
1. The "Level" of Self that is making the command (The more Expanded Aspects of you get the most clout when it comes to ordering up your manifestations)
2. The Desire, Intensity, and Clarity behind the declaration.
3. The Order of Command Presentation to the Creative Mechanism.
If the desire and intensity of command lines are equal, and they all come from the same level of Self, the manifestations will print out according to the order in which the commands were made. Indeed, this is a very 3D explanation, and we realize that. However, it absolutely works, as long as you are still operating within a 3D format. If a command line comes in from "outside the box" (from your Expanded Self), it will automatically hold precedence over commands that are presented from the Ego Aspect. In other words, it gets to crowd ahead of you in the cafeteria line. But the Ego still has creative power, as all aspects of you have divinity.
Statements of similar velocity, which are contradictory, tend to cancel each other out. Their expression is like a husband and wife who go together to vote in a public election. He votes republican and she votes democratic. In truth, the 3D effect produced is no different than if they would have stayed home (except for the satisfaction they receive from exercising their options). In the same way, your inner consciousness frequently entertains divergent points of view. At times, many aspects of you can be barking contradictory commands with virtually the same intensity. If this occurs, your printer gets jammed, and you may end up having to reboot!
LETTING IT HAPPEN
When using Trans-Portals, either for personal travel or to take delivery on key aspects of your current reality, it is crucial that you learn to *let go of the process* after you have clearly issued the command line. In essence, the Trans-Portal System in the Multiverse functions very similar to the digestive tract in the human body. After materials and energy are introduced into the system, you need to relax and allow the mechanism to do its job. You must let go of your focus *entirely,* and go busy yourself with something else.
Clearly making a statement of desire and intent leaves an etheric impression in the "reality bubble" of a person's existence. It registers, whether he is aware of it or not. An order gets introduced. As long as a "cancel order" is not sent in after it, the Creative Mechanism (the internal search engine) will begin collating results and alternatives to meet the command.
Following a command statement with an attitude of *complete release and confidence* (in other words......with faith)...... pulls the Ego of the operator away from the keyboard, for reassignment elsewhere. Energetically, this produces a backdraft of energy (a vacuum) which accelerates the "digestion" process and speeds up delivery. In essence, your attitude of trust actually *sucks* your order through the pipeline more quickly, drawing to you whatever it is that you desire.
To place an order, and then to stew over it, creates an attitude of doubt in your creative ability. It's like sitting down to eat with 20 people watching your every bite. After awhile, you begin to get a lump in your stomach. The digestive juices become inhibited, and the whole system slows down. It is no different with Trans-Portals. Your desires and commands are transmitted organically, and your physical body (especially your nervous system) is very much involved in the process.
BUILDING ASTRAL BRIDGES
Now that we have briefly explained the process of everyday manifestation, we will teach you how this applies to Astral Bridges. As we have said, the need for a Bridge involves the presence of a GAP that exists between two or more objects (or individuals) in physical space. This can either be a physical distance, or it can be a relationship impasse that has formed, keeping folks from understanding and integrating with each other.
The need to get from "here to there" in 3D arises from a belief in and support of a paradigm of Separation. The Valley of the Shadow represents all the reasons why the Separation formed in the first place. When this situation involves people separating themselves from other people, the Shadow Effect is created because there are aspects of your "other" that you have difficulty accepting as self. Until now, your focus in Reconnection has been to examine this other person, and mentally analyze what it is about this person that you have been denying in yourself. And this is all very good. It feeds your consciousness, and expands awareness. But there is more to full integration than that.
The reason you find it hard to "digest" certain types of people into your Oneself Body stems not from what exists in that person, but what is missing in you. We call your attention back to our analogy of Trans-Portals being similar to the human digestive system. When people demonstrate an "allergy" to certain foods, it usually stems from some *processing element* (like an enzyme, for example) that is missing from their digestive process. For some reason, their body doesn't create that chemical, and the whole process suffers because of it. Despite their best attempts to prepare the offending foods properly, with style and variation, the digestive system continues to have problems until the necessary supplement gets added to the process.
Not all the people and situations you encounter in physical space are meant to become permanent parts of your life. Sometimes, they simply appear as catalysts for you to reach into your Multidimensional Self and discover new qualities or elements that you have forgotten. And, during a time of conflict, your task of integration and acceptance may not always be focused upon the person who is irritating you. That may only be incidental to the bigger picture.
You must remember that both you and the people with whom you have conflicts are Multidimensional Beings. If you are having a dance with someone in current 3D reality, you can count on the fact that there are dances going on between you all up and down the vibrational spectrum---literally involving a whole spreadsheet of possible/probable contacts--many of which are quite pleasant.
The resolution of present-moment conflict with another person (or society, for that matter) is brought about by opening a Portal between the physical aspect of you that exists *here* and an alternative aspect of you that exists *elsewhere*---particularly an aspect that is currently enjoying harmonious contact with the very same type of energy which is giving you such heartburn in this current moment.
My Friends, if it were possible for you to analyze the energy "chemistry" of the version of you that exists HERE, and the alternative version of yourself that is functioning THERE, you would notice that one or more key elements are missing. To remedy this, an Astral Bridge is formed by taking a "soul sample" of that alternative self and infusing it into yourself here. This is all done in just the ways we outlined for you above.
Once the required "energy supplement" gets added to your digestive system, you will find that the whole TONE of your current relationships begin to change. And, it happens automatically, without conscious effort or struggle. The only thing you require is a clear statement of intent (which would be blending with a more Expanded Level of Yourself), and the faith that is required to bring it all about.
With all of this in mind, the process for Building Astral Bridges in a relationship would be as follows:
1. Notice the exact SENSE of dissonance that exists. Many people are not aware of their sensory impressions, or of any hard feelings that exist between themselves and others. The same is true with allergic foods. Because you aren't aware of what is happening, you keep eating the offending foods, and you keep Shadow Boxing in your current relationships, rather than calling for the necessary "medicine" to complete your process, so your systems can begin to function at a new level.
2. Notice how you FEEL when you are in the presence of your "other." How does your body react when he or she approaches you? This is very important information if you are going to command a "search engine" to locate an alternative version of you that can assist in the integration process.
***A Key Principle: The first step toward feeling better is becoming better at feeling.
3. Ask yourself what you WANT to be different in this relationship. When you do this please *do not* concern yourself with whether or not the change would be possible. Anything is possible if you can believe.
4. Make a clear statement of intent, asking your Multidimensional Self to help you find a "Guide" that possesses the "medicine" which you require. A statement that might serve the process might be:
"I am Stephen, of the Oneself. I am seeking to contact a level of my Multidimensional Self that is now enjoying a harmonious relationship with this energy currently mirrored to me in Fred. I wish to begin a blending, a sampling of energies with that Self, so that I may be transformed---so that I may be let go of all resistance to accept Fred as a valid and beautiful part of my universe. In faith, I believe. In perfect timing, I shall receive. So let it be."
(The wording will come to you when you are ready. These are not established formulas, but simply samples of what is possible if you are ready to move into this process)
5. Turn the outcome completely over to the universe. If the offending individual tries to engage you in debate, deep discussion, or argument, you can say to him (as politely as possible) "I am unable to discuss this with you now, but I will get back to you as soon as I can." Then, forget about it. Involve yourself with other tasks. Do not analyze it further, and do not approach the person (unless you must, in order to handle necessary business together) as long as there is any remnant of dissonance remaining. Your sense of continued discomfort is your indicator that the required "enzyme" has not yet spread itself throughout your system. And your relief from same will be your barometer concerning when you have had enough of this particular medicine.
If two individuals in a relationship space are performing this alchemical process together, it can be Onederful, but only one "operator" is really required. That is because there is only one of you there anyway! When your "digestion" processes begin to change, you will be amazed at how your own perception of this person begins to shift. It will be like gazing at a hologram in a painting. The picture looks a certain way in one moment, and it changes completely in the next. Realize now that this is due, almost entirely, to energetic changes that have occurred in you.
Reconnection to Oneness involves making contact, first and foremost, with your Expanded Self, with your own "Big Story." Only then will your "small story" sub-plots begin reflecting the harmony that is your birthright. As the Psalm clearly states: "Yea, though I walk through the Valley of the Shadow..........I will fear no evil.......for thou art with me." In these powerful days of Phase Shifting and Alchemical Blending, the Expanded Oneself is not just with you.......He/She/We are *within you* as well. You will be rapidly developing your own functional immunity to the many energetic "diseases" that have troubled your soul during this outgoing Paradigm of Separation. In fact, the very word "immune" almost brings to mind the words "I AM IN YOU," does it not? And so it is becoming, My Friends.
STANDING ON A MOUNTAIN TOP
It is the privilege of The Reconnections to "fill in all the gaps" that separate your Limitation Self from your Expanded Self. We do it slowly, and with much love. There is no need to rush. You have all the time in the world. Each of you came to this place from realms of expression that were nothing less than fantastic. In your "former estate," you were able to do or have anything you wished, just by thinking it. Being natives of such splendor, you yearned for a vacation, of sorts. You wanted to know what it would be like to embody *something* rather than to be *everything.* You wanted to distinguish yourself from others, from various objects and animals, and you wanted to learn what it feels like to need.
Soon your research project will be completed. Has this form of reality gotten your goat? Never fear, he's right up there.......perched upon that mountain top. Watch him as he leaps from peak to peak, with perfect grace, perfect ease. Travel freely the Bridges Across Forever!
There are Portals, Gates, Bridges, and Inner Pathways all around you.......each volume on a bookshelf, each picture that is hanging on the wall. Words can be a Portal, a statue can be one, or even a rose. An encounter with any symbol can be a spark of remembrance, leading you through a perceptual doorway---into a limitless storehouse of possible/probable versions of that same one thing. Connect two of them, or three, or four.........and the dance goes on into infinity.
Some of you will begin to perceive immediately, with no help. Others may need to initiate visualization or meditation processes to tap into their stored memories. All you need do is drop your shields, and the guiding energy will begin to open your eyes. Some will do it sooner, others will do it later. Each person to his own plan, and his own style of unfoldment. As we have said previously, each event is its own miracle. However, some people require more "nudges" than others in order to shake off their slumber.
Remember that everything is perfect, and everything is there, filed neatly within the Multiverse. The primary purpose of your physical journey is to explore details, and make alchemical adjustments before you make the leap to more expanded realms. As always, we shall be available to you on the inner planes. Look for us there, and we shall appear to you in whatever form you require.
Ah, sure, i'll chuck this one in. I need two filler photos. This is another MANviro that i needed a retake of, and it is one that is yet to undergo a repaint. Maybe next year. It seems Hull are prioritizing MANs and other depot vehicles at the moment. Let's see what 2022 brings, maybe every single MANviro repainted?
Stagecoach Hull 24163, a 2009 MAN 18.240LF ADL Enviro 300, was seen coming up Holderness Road, whilst operating a service 4 to Bilton Grange. Although Hull doesn't really have a particular allocation, this was one of the more unusual vehicles on the 4 yesterday, considering it is typically E400 MMCs.
New to Stagecoach Merseyside & South Lancashire.
Five Eyes and Two Sorcerers
Perpetuating wartime structures
Through peacetime violence
Maintaining cultures of force
An everyday daily life experience
Simply acceptable
Postcolonial trauma
From royal decree to state legitimization
The removal of customary values
As basis for social order
Continuous socio-economic upheaval
To prioritize revenue gain
Enforced understanding
Of where each and every one stands
All for those at the top
Resources
Benefits
For those at the bottom
Lower health status
Political disarmament
Read more: www.jjfbbennett.com/2019/12/melbourne-to-darwin-november-...
One-off sponsorship: www.paypal.me/bennettJJFB
Designed to rapidly respond to security threats across corporate space, the Whiplash fleet saw extensive service across Imyr.
The Whiplash was a response to irritating, profit-reducing pirate raids along the shipping lanes to Campria, and as such prioritized speed and situational awareness over bulk and heavy weapons. It served well in this roll, and was produced in-system in some numbers under license by Nebulite Mining after the initial purchase from Sungdai spaceyards.
Dear Flickr Friends,
Today I finished my second 365 and will be taking a Flickr and BK break. 2012 was a long year! There were many highlights...BlytheCon Dallas and BlytheCon Manchester being the two most memorable events!! There were also some yucky moments but we won't talk about those.
Scotty-daddy-poopy-pants and I sold our house this week. I will also be returning to work after a long personal health break. The next few weeks are to prioritize, inventory, and sort out life so to speak. My account here will also be changed over to a private one. Most of my regular contacts have been added to my friends list. I will be around, just not active for awhile.
I wish everyone well and will miss you all! You all know how much you mean to me and I shall not forget the friendships and kindnesses extended to me and my dolly family these past two years!
Love Juliet
Effective Range: Medium
Classification: Intelligence / Recon
Armaments: (1) SMG-UZ01A, (1) HR-HIBMSU01
One reason why the New Earth Strategic Trust faction is such a dominant force in the Quorus Wars is due to their supreme tactics and efficient strategies and have outfitted specific units like the Eagle EWAC to prioritize recon and intelligence gathering.
The Eagle EWAC is actually based on the NESF-M05E Eagle, a standard combat type reFrame that is deployed in heavy combat areas and serve as a main unit in NEST Special Forces ranks. The EWAC (Early Warning And Control) unit allows for efficient intelligence gathering that is sent to NEST's tactical HQ as data to create up-to-date battle strategies. Extra thrusters were equipped on the Eagle EWAC to give it better mobility in order to move faster to key locations for data scanning as well as avoid enemy units. It is equipped with a light submachine gun (SMG-UZ01A) and a hand cannon mounted on its left arm for emergency combat purposes.
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Build notes:
You can find more about the build in my blog article :D
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More info, WIP details, and other LEGO mechs over at my blog:
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For those interested in LEGO mech building, I put out an eBook over at Amazon Kindle a while back called Mech Wars Instructional Primer. If you’re looking for a resource that could help you start or even improve your mech building skills, you might find this eBook useful :D
Biennalist :
Biennalist is an Art Format commenting on active biennials and managed cultural events through artworks.Biennalist takes the thematics of the biennales and similar events like festivals and conferences seriously, questioning the established structures of the staged art events in order to contribute to the debate, which they wish to generate.
-------------------------------------------
links about Biennalist :
Thierry Geoffroy/Colonel:
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Thierry_Geoffroy
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Emergency_Room_(art)
www.emergencyrooms.org/formats.html
—--Biennale from wikipedia —--
The Venice International Film Festival is part of the Venice Biennale. The famous Golden Lion is awarded to the best film screening at the competition.
Biennale (Italian: [bi.enˈnaːle]), Italian for "biennial" or "every other year", is any event that happens every two years. It is most commonly used within the art world to describe large-scale international contemporary art exhibitions. As such the term was popularised by Venice Biennale, which was first held in 1895. Since the 1990s, the terms "biennale" and "biennial" have been interchangeably used in a more generic way - to signify a large-scale international survey show of contemporary art that recurs at regular intervals but not necessarily biannual (such as triennials, Documenta, Skulptur Projekte Münster).[1] The phrase has also been used for other artistic events, such as the "Biennale de Paris", "Kochi-Muziris Biennale", Berlinale (for the Berlin International Film Festival) and Viennale (for Vienna's international film festival).
Characteristics[edit]
According to author Federica Martini, what is at stake in contemporary biennales is the diplomatic/international relations potential as well as urban regeneration plans. Besides being mainly focused on the present (the “here and now” where the cultural event takes place and their effect of "spectacularisation of the everyday"), because of their site-specificity cultural events may refer back to,[who?] produce or frame the history of the site and communities' collective memory.[2]
The Great Exhibition in The Crystal Palace in Hyde Park, London, in 1851, the first attempt to condense the representation of the world within a unitary exhibition space.
A strong and influent symbol of biennales and of large-scale international exhibitions in general is the Crystal Palace, the gigantic and futuristic London architecture that hosted the Great Exhibition in 1851. According to philosopher Peter Sloterdijk,[3][page needed] the Crystal Palace is the first attempt to condense the representation of the world in a unitary exhibition space, where the main exhibit is society itself in an a-historical, spectacular condition. The Crystal Palace main motives were the affirmation of British economic and national leadership and the creation of moments of spectacle. In this respect, 19th century World fairs provided a visual crystallization of colonial culture and were, at the same time, forerunners of contemporary theme parks.
The Venice Biennale as an archetype[edit]
The structure of the Venice Biennale in 2005 with an international exhibition and the national pavilions.
The Venice Biennale, a periodical large-scale cultural event founded in 1895, served as an archetype of the biennales. Meant to become a World Fair focused on contemporary art, the Venice Biennale used as a pretext the wedding anniversary of the Italian king and followed up to several national exhibitions organised after Italy unification in 1861. The Biennale immediately put forth issues of city marketing, cultural tourism and urban regeneration, as it was meant to reposition Venice on the international cultural map after the crisis due to the end of the Grand Tour model and the weakening of the Venetian school of painting. Furthermore, the Gardens where the Biennale takes place were an abandoned city area that needed to be re-functionalised. In cultural terms, the Biennale was meant to provide on a biennial basis a platform for discussing contemporary art practices that were not represented in fine arts museums at the time. The early Biennale model already included some key points that are still constitutive of large-scale international art exhibitions today: a mix of city marketing, internationalism, gentrification issues and destination culture, and the spectacular, large scale of the event.
Biennials after the 1990s[edit]
The situation of biennials has changed in the contemporary context: while at its origin in 1895 Venice was a unique cultural event, but since the 1990s hundreds of biennials have been organized across the globe. Given the ephemeral and irregular nature of some biennials, there is little consensus on the exact number of biennials in existence at any given time.[citation needed] Furthermore, while Venice was a unique agent in the presentation of contemporary art, since the 1960s several museums devoted to contemporary art are exhibiting the contemporary scene on a regular basis. Another point of difference concerns 19th century internationalism in the arts, that was brought into question by post-colonial debates and criticism of the contemporary art “ethnic marketing”, and also challenged the Venetian and World Fair’s national representation system. As a consequence of this, Eurocentric tendency to implode the whole word in an exhibition space, which characterises both the Crystal Palace and the Venice Biennale, is affected by the expansion of the artistic geographical map to scenes traditionally considered as marginal. The birth of the Havana Biennial in 1984 is widely considered an important counterpoint to the Venetian model for its prioritization of artists working in the Global South and curatorial rejection of the national pavilion model.
International biennales[edit]
In the term's most commonly used context of major recurrent art exhibitions:
Adelaide Biennial of Australian Art, South Australia
Asian Art Biennale, in Taichung, Taiwan (National Taiwan Museum of Fine Arts)
Athens Biennale, in Athens, Greece
Bienal de Arte Paiz, in Guatemala City, Guatemala[4]
Arts in Marrakech (AiM) International Biennale (Arts in Marrakech Festival)
Bamako Encounters, a biennale of photography in Mali
Bat-Yam International Biennale of Landscape Urbanism
Beijing Biennale
Berlin Biennale (contemporary art biennale, to be distinguished from Berlinale, which is a film festival)
Bergen Assembly (triennial for contemporary art in Bergen, Norway)www.bergenassembly.no
Bi-City Biennale of Urbanism\Architecture, in Shenzhen and Hong Kong, China
Bienal de Arte de Ponce in Ponce, Puerto Rico
Biënnale van België, Biennial of Belgium, Belgium
BiennaleOnline Online biennial exhibition of contemporary art from the most promising emerging artists.
Biennial of Hawaii Artists
Biennale de la Biche, the smallest biennale in the world held at deserted island near Guadeloupe, French overseas region[5][6]
Biwako Biennale [ja], in Shiga, Japan
La Biennale de Montreal
Biennale of Luanda : Pan-African Forum for the Culture of Peace,[7] Angola
Boom Festival, international music and culture festival in Idanha-a-Nova, Portugal
Bucharest Biennale in Bucharest, Romania
Bushwick Biennial, in Bushwick, Brooklyn, New York
Canakkale Biennial, in Canakkale, Turkey
Cerveira International Art Biennial, Vila Nova de Cerveira, Portugal [8]
Changwon Sculpture Biennale in Changwon, South Korea
Dakar Biennale, also called Dak'Art, biennale in Dakar, Senegal
Documenta, contemporary art exhibition held every five years in Kassel, Germany
Estuaire (biennale), biennale in Nantes and Saint-Nazaire, France
EVA International, biennial in Limerick, Republic of Ireland
Göteborg International Biennial for Contemporary Art, in Gothenburg, Sweden[9]
Greater Taipei Contemporary Art Biennial, in Taipei, Taiwan
Gwangju Biennale, Asia's first and most prestigious contemporary art biennale
Havana biennial, in Havana, Cuba
Helsinki Biennial, in Helsinki, Finland
Herzliya Biennial For Contemporary Art, in Herzliya, Israel
Incheon Women Artists' Biennale, in Incheon, South Korea
Iowa Biennial, in Iowa, USA
Istanbul Biennial, in Istanbul, Turkey
International Roaming Biennial of Tehran, in Tehran and Istanbul
Jakarta Biennale, in Jakarta, Indonesia
Jerusalem Biennale, in Jerusalem, Israel
Jogja Biennale, in Yogyakarta, Indonesia
Karachi Biennale, in Karachi, Pakistan
Keelung Harbor Biennale, in Keelung, Taiwan
Kochi-Muziris Biennale, largest art exhibition in India, in Kochi, Kerala, India
Kortrijk Design Biennale Interieur, in Kortrijk, Belgium
Kobe Biennale, in Japan
Kuandu Biennale, in Taipei, Taiwan
Lagos Biennial, in Lagos, Nigeria[10]
Light Art Biennale Austria, in Austria
Liverpool Biennial, in Liverpool, UK
Lofoten International Art Festival [no] (LIAF), on the Lofoten archipelago, Norway[11]
Manifesta, European Biennale of contemporary art in different European cities
Mediations Biennale, in Poznań, Poland
Melbourne International Biennial 1999
Mediterranean Biennale in Sakhnin 2013
MOMENTA Biennale de l'image [fr] (formerly known as Le Mois de la Photo à Montréal), in Montreal, Canada
MOMENTUM [no], in Moss, Norway[12]
Moscow Biennale, in Moscow, Russia
Munich Biennale, new opera and music-theatre in even-numbered years
Mykonos Biennale
Nakanojo Biennale[13]
NGV Triennial, contemporary art exhibition held every three years at the National Gallery of Victoria, Melbourne, Australia
October Salon – Belgrade Biennale [sr], organised by the Cultural Center of Belgrade [sr], in Belgrade, Serbia[14]
OSTEN Biennial of Drawing Skopje, North Macedonia[15]
Biennale de Paris
Riga International Biennial of Contemporary Art (RIBOCA), in Riga, Latvia[16]
São Paulo Art Biennial, in São Paulo, Brazil
SCAPE Public Art Christchurch Biennial in Christchurch, New Zealand[17]
Prospect New Orleans
Seoul Biennale of Architecture and Urbanism
Sequences, in Reykjavík, Iceland[18]
Shanghai Biennale
Sharjah Biennale, in Sharjah, UAE
Singapore Biennale, held in various locations across the city-state island of Singapore
Screen City Biennial, in Stavanger, Norway
Biennale of Sydney
Taipei Biennale, in Taipei, Taiwan
Taiwan Arts Biennale, in Taichung, Taiwan (National Taiwan Museum of Fine Arts)
Taiwan Film Biennale, in Hammer Museum, Los Angeles, U.S.A.
Thessaloniki Biennale of Contemporary Art [el], in Thessaloniki, Greece[19]
Dream city, produced by ART Rue Association in Tunisia
Vancouver Biennale
Visayas Islands Visual Arts Exhibition and Conference (VIVA ExCon) in the Philippines [20]
Venice Biennale, in Venice, Italy, which includes:
Venice Biennale of Contemporary Art
Venice Biennale of Architecture
Venice Film Festival
Vladivostok biennale of Visual Arts, in Vladivostok, Russia
Whitney Biennial, hosted by the Whitney Museum of American Art, in New York City, NY, USA
Web Biennial, produced with teams from Athens, Berlin and Istanbul.
West Africa Architecture Biennale,[21] Virtual in Lagos, Nigeria.
WRO Biennale, in Wrocław, Poland[22]
Music Biennale Zagreb
[SHIFT:ibpcpa] The International Biennale of Performance, Collaborative and Participatory Arts, Nomadic, International, Scotland, UK.
—---Venice Biennale from wikipedia —
The Venice Biennale (/ˌbiːɛˈnɑːleɪ, -li/; Italian: La Biennale di Venezia) is an international cultural exhibition hosted annually in Venice, Italy by the Biennale Foundation.[2][3][4] The biennale has been organised every year since 1895, which makes it the oldest of its kind. The main exhibition held in Castello, in the halls of the Arsenale and Biennale Gardens, alternates between art and architecture (hence the name biennale; biennial).[5][6][7] The other events hosted by the Foundation—spanning theatre, music, and dance—are held annually in various parts of Venice, whereas the Venice Film Festival takes place at the Lido.[8]
Organization[edit]
Art Biennale
Art Biennale
International Art Exhibition
1895
Even-numbered years (since 2022)
Venice Biennale of Architecture
International Architecture Exhibition
1980
Odd-numbered years (since 2021)
Biennale Musica
International Festival of Contemporary Music
1930
Annually (Sep/Oct)
Biennale Teatro
International Theatre Festival
1934
Annually (Jul/Aug)
Venice Film Festival
Venice International Film Festival
1932
Annually (Aug/Sep)
Venice Dance Biennale
International Festival of Contemporary Dance
1999
Annually (June; biennially 2010–16)
International Kids' Carnival
2009
Annually (during Carnevale)
History
1895–1947
On April 19, 1893, the Venetian City Council passed a resolution to set up an biennial exhibition of Italian Art ("Esposizione biennale artistica nazionale") to celebrate the silver anniversary of King Umberto I and Margherita of Savoy.[11]
A year later, the council decreed "to adopt a 'by invitation' system; to reserve a section of the Exhibition for foreign artists too; to admit works by uninvited Italian artists, as selected by a jury."[12]
The first Biennale, "I Esposizione Internazionale d'Arte della Città di Venezia (1st International Art Exhibition of the City of Venice)" (although originally scheduled for April 22, 1894) was opened on April 30, 1895, by the Italian King and Queen, Umberto I and Margherita di Savoia. The first exhibition was seen by 224,000 visitors.
The event became increasingly international in the first decades of the 20th century: from 1907 on, several countries installed national pavilions at the exhibition, with the first being from Belgium. In 1910 the first internationally well-known artists were displayed: a room dedicated to Gustav Klimt, a one-man show for Renoir, a retrospective of Courbet. A work by Picasso "Family of Saltimbanques" was removed from the Spanish salon in the central Palazzo because it was feared that its novelty might shock the public. By 1914 seven pavilions had been established: Belgium (1907), Hungary (1909), Germany (1909), Great Britain (1909), France (1912), and Russia (1914).
During World War I, the 1916 and 1918 events were cancelled.[13] In 1920 the post of mayor of Venice and president of the Biennale was split. The new secretary general, Vittorio Pica brought about the first presence of avant-garde art, notably Impressionists and Post-Impressionists.
1922 saw an exhibition of sculpture by African artists. Between the two World Wars, many important modern artists had their work exhibited there. In 1928 the Istituto Storico d'Arte Contemporanea (Historical Institute of Contemporary Art) opened, which was the first nucleus of archival collections of the Biennale. In 1930 its name was changed into Historical Archive of Contemporary Art.
In 1930, the Biennale was transformed into an Ente Autonomo (Autonomous Board) by Royal Decree with law no. 33 of 13-1-1930. Subsequently, the control of the Biennale passed from the Venice city council to the national Fascist government under Benito Mussolini. This brought on a restructuring, an associated financial boost, as well as a new president, Count Giuseppe Volpi di Misurata. Three entirely new events were established, including the Biennale Musica in 1930, also referred to as International Festival of Contemporary Music; the Venice Film Festival in 1932, which they claim as the first film festival in history,[14] also referred to as Venice International Film Festival; and the Biennale Theatro in 1934, also referred to as International Theatre Festival.
In 1933 the Biennale organized an exhibition of Italian art abroad. From 1938, Grand Prizes were awarded in the art exhibition section.
During World War II, the activities of the Biennale were interrupted: 1942 saw the last edition of the events. The Film Festival restarted in 1946, the Music and Theatre festivals were resumed in 1947, and the Art Exhibition in 1948.[15]
1948–1973[edit]
The Art Biennale was resumed in 1948 with a major exhibition of a recapitulatory nature. The Secretary General, art historian Rodolfo Pallucchini, started with the Impressionists and many protagonists of contemporary art including Chagall, Klee, Braque, Delvaux, Ensor, and Magritte, as well as a retrospective of Picasso's work. Peggy Guggenheim was invited to exhibit her collection, later to be permanently housed at Ca' Venier dei Leoni.
1949 saw the beginning of renewed attention to avant-garde movements in European—and later worldwide—movements in contemporary art. Abstract expressionism was introduced in the 1950s, and the Biennale is credited with importing Pop Art into the canon of art history by awarding the top prize to Robert Rauschenberg in 1964.[16] From 1948 to 1972, Italian architect Carlo Scarpa did a series of remarkable interventions in the Biennale's exhibition spaces.
In 1954 the island San Giorgio Maggiore provided the venue for the first Japanese Noh theatre shows in Europe. 1956 saw the selection of films following an artistic selection and no longer based upon the designation of the participating country. The 1957 Golden Lion went to Satyajit Ray's Aparajito which introduced Indian cinema to the West.
1962 included Arte Informale at the Art Exhibition with Jean Fautrier, Hans Hartung, Emilio Vedova, and Pietro Consagra. The 1964 Art Exhibition introduced continental Europe to Pop Art (The Independent Group had been founded in Britain in 1952). The American Robert Rauschenberg was the first American artist to win the Gran Premio, and the youngest to date.
The student protests of 1968 also marked a crisis for the Biennale. Student protests hindered the opening of the Biennale. A resulting period of institutional changes opened and ending with a new Statute in 1973. In 1969, following the protests, the Grand Prizes were abandoned. These resumed in 1980 for the Mostra del Cinema and in 1986 for the Art Exhibition.[17]
In 1972, for the first time, a theme was adopted by the Biennale, called "Opera o comportamento" ("Work or Behaviour").
Starting from 1973 the Music Festival was no longer held annually. During the year in which the Mostra del Cinema was not held, there was a series of "Giornate del cinema italiano" (Days of Italian Cinema) promoted by sectorial bodies in campo Santa Margherita, in Venice.[18]
1974–1998[edit]
1974 saw the start of the four-year presidency of Carlo Ripa di Meana. The International Art Exhibition was not held (until it was resumed in 1976). Theatre and cinema events were held in October 1974 and 1975 under the title Libertà per il Cile (Freedom for Chile)—a major cultural protest against the dictatorship of Augusto Pinochet.
On 15 November 1977, the so-called Dissident Biennale (in reference to the dissident movement in the USSR) opened. Because of the ensuing controversies within the Italian left wing parties, president Ripa di Meana resigned at the end of the year.[19]
In 1979 the new presidency of Giuseppe Galasso (1979-1982) began. The principle was laid down whereby each of the artistic sectors was to have a permanent director to organise its activity.
In 1980, the Architecture section of the Biennale was set up. The director, Paolo Portoghesi, opened the Corderie dell'Arsenale to the public for the first time. At the Mostra del Cinema, the awards were brought back into being (between 1969 and 1979, the editions were non-competitive). In 1980, Achille Bonito Oliva and Harald Szeemann introduced "Aperto", a section of the exhibition designed to explore emerging art. Italian art historian Giovanni Carandente directed the 1988 and 1990 editions. A three-year gap was left afterwards to make sure that the 1995 edition would coincide with the 100th anniversary of the Biennale.[13]
The 1993 edition was directed by Achille Bonito Oliva. In 1995, Jean Clair was appointed to be the Biennale's first non-Italian director of visual arts[20] while Germano Celant served as director in 1997.
For the Centenary in 1995, the Biennale promoted events in every sector of its activity: the 34th Festival del Teatro, the 46th art exhibition, the 46th Festival di Musica, the 52nd Mostra del Cinema.[21]
1999–present[edit]
In 1999 and 2001, Harald Szeemann directed two editions in a row (48th & 49th) bringing in a larger representation of artists from Asia and Eastern Europe and more young artists than usual and expanded the show into several newly restored spaces of the Arsenale.
In 1999 a new sector was created for live shows: DMT (Dance Music Theatre).
The 50th edition, 2003, directed by Francesco Bonami, had a record number of seven co-curators involved, including Hans Ulrich Obrist, Catherine David, Igor Zabel, Hou Hanru and Massimiliano Gioni.
The 51st edition of the Biennale opened in June 2005, curated, for the first time by two women, Maria de Corral and Rosa Martinez. De Corral organized "The Experience of Art" which included 41 artists, from past masters to younger figures. Rosa Martinez took over the Arsenale with "Always a Little Further." Drawing on "the myth of the romantic traveler" her exhibition involved 49 artists, ranging from the elegant to the profane.
In 2007, Robert Storr became the first director from the United States to curate the Biennale (the 52nd), with a show entitled Think with the Senses – Feel with the Mind. Art in the Present Tense.
Swedish curator Daniel Birnbaum was artistic director of the 2009 edition entitled "Fare Mondi // Making Worlds".
The 2011 edition was curated by Swiss curator Bice Curiger entitled "ILLUMInazioni – ILLUMInations".
The Biennale in 2013 was curated by the Italian Massimiliano Gioni. His title and theme, Il Palazzo Enciclopedico / The Encyclopedic Palace, was adopted from an architectural model by the self-taught Italian-American artist Marino Auriti. Auriti's work, The Encyclopedic Palace of the World was lent by the American Folk Art Museum and exhibited in the first room of the Arsenale for the duration of the biennale. For Gioni, Auriti's work, "meant to house all worldly knowledge, bringing together the greatest discoveries of the human race, from the wheel to the satellite," provided an analogous figure for the "biennale model itself...based on the impossible desire to concentrate the infinite worlds of contemporary art in a single place: a task that now seems as dizzyingly absurd as Auriti's dream."[22]
Curator Okwui Enwezor was responsible for the 2015 edition.[23] He was the first African-born curator of the biennial. As a catalyst for imagining different ways of imagining multiple desires and futures Enwezor commissioned special projects and programs throughout the Biennale in the Giardini. This included a Creative Time Summit, e-flux journal's SUPERCOMMUNITY, Gulf Labor Coalition, The Invisible Borders Trans-African Project and Abounaddara.[24][25]
The 2017 Biennale, titled Viva Arte Viva, was directed by French curator Christine Macel who called it an "exhibition inspired by humanism".[26] German artist Franz Erhard Walter won the Golden Lion for best artist, while Carolee Schneemann was awarded a posthumous Golden Lion for Lifetime Achievement.[27]
The 2019 Biennale, titled May You Live In Interesting Times, was directed by American-born curator Ralph Rugoff.[28]
The 2022 edition was curated by Italian curator Cecilia Alemani entitled "The Milk of Dreams" after a book by British-born Mexican surrealist painter Leonora Carrington.[29]
The Biennale has an attendance today of over 500,000 visitors.[30][31][32]
Role in the art market[edit]
When the Venice Biennale was founded in 1895, one of its main goals was to establish a new market for contemporary art. Between 1942 and 1968 a sales office assisted artists in finding clients and selling their work,[33] a service for which it charged 10% commission. Sales remained an intrinsic part of the biennale until 1968, when a sales ban was enacted. An important practical reason why the focus on non-commodities has failed to decouple Venice from the market is that the biennale itself lacks the funds to produce, ship and install these large-scale works. Therefore, the financial involvement of dealers is widely regarded as indispensable;[16] as they regularly front the funding for production of ambitious projects.[34] Furthermore, every other year the Venice Biennale coincides with nearby Art Basel, the world's prime commercial fair for modern and contemporary art. Numerous galleries with artists on show in Venice usually bring work by the same artists to Basel.[35]
Central Pavilion and Arsenale[edit]
The formal Biennale is based at a park, the Giardini. The Giardini includes a large exhibition hall that houses a themed exhibition curated by the Biennale's director.
Initiated in 1980, the Aperto began as a fringe event for younger artists and artists of a national origin not represented by the permanent national pavilions. This is usually staged in the Arsenale and has become part of the formal biennale programme. In 1995 there was no Aperto so a number of participating countries hired venues to show exhibitions of emerging artists. From 1999, both the international exhibition and the Aperto were held as one exhibition, held both at the Central Pavilion and the Arsenale. Also in 1999, a $1 million renovation transformed the Arsenale area into a cluster of renovated shipyards, sheds and warehouses, more than doubling the Arsenale's exhibition space of previous years.[36]
A special edition of the 54th Biennale was held at Padiglione Italia of Torino Esposizioni – Sala Nervi (December 2011 – February 2012) for the 150th Anniversary of Italian Unification. The event was directed by Vittorio Sgarbi.[37]
National pavilions[edit]
Main article: National pavilions at the Venice Biennale
The Giardini houses 30 permanent national pavilions.[13] Alongside the Central Pavilion, built in 1894 and later restructured and extended several times, the Giardini are occupied by a further 29 pavilions built at different periods by the various countries participating in the Biennale. The first nation to build a pavilion was Belgium in 1907, followed by Germany, Britain and Hungary in 1909.[13] The pavilions are the property of the individual countries and are managed by their ministries of culture.[38]
Countries not owning a pavilion in the Giardini are exhibited in other venues across Venice. The number of countries represented is still growing. In 2005, China was showing for the first time, followed by the African Pavilion and Mexico (2007), the United Arab Emirates (2009), and India (2011).[39]
The assignment of the permanent pavilions was largely dictated by the international politics of the 1930s and the Cold War. There is no single format to how each country manages their pavilion, established and emerging countries represented at the biennial maintain and fund their pavilions in different ways.[38] While pavilions are usually government-funded, private money plays an increasingly large role; in 2015, the pavilions of Iraq, Ukraine and Syria were completely privately funded.[40] The pavilion for Great Britain is always managed by the British Council[41] while the United States assigns the responsibility to a public gallery chosen by the Department of State which, since 1985, has been the Peggy Guggenheim Collection.[42] The countries at the Arsenale that request a temporary exhibition space pay a hire fee per square meter.[38]
In 2011, the countries were Albania, Andorra, Argentina, Australia, Austria, Bangladesh, Belarus, Belgium, Brazil, Bulgaria, Canada, Chile, China, Congo, Costa Rica, Croatia, Cuba, Cyprus, Czechia and Slovakia, Denmark, Egypt, Estonia, Finland, France, Georgia, Germany, Greece, Haiti, Hungary, Iceland, India, Iran, Iraq, Ireland, Israel, Italy, Japan, Korea, Latvia, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Macedonia, Mexico, Moldova, Montenegro, Netherlands, New Zealand, Norway, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Russia, San Marino, Saudi Arabia, Serbia, Singapore, Slovenia, South Africa, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, Syrian Arab Republic, Taiwan, Thailand, Turkey, Ukraine, United Arab Emirates, United Kingdom, United States of America, Uruguay, Venezuela, Wales and Zimbabwe. In addition to this there are two collective pavilions: Central Asia Pavilion and Istituto Italo-Latino Americano. In 2013, eleven new participant countries developed national pavilions for the Biennale: Angola, Bosnia and Herzegowina, the Bahamas, Bahrain, the Ivory Coast, Kosovo, Kuwait, the Maldives, Paraguay, Tuvalu, and the Holy See. In 2015, five new participant countries developed pavilions for the Biennale: Grenada,[43] Republic of Mozambique, Republic of Seychelles, Mauritius and Mongolia. In 2017, three countries participated in the Art Biennale for the first time: Antigua & Barbuda, Kiribati, and Nigeria.[44] In 2019, four countries participated in the Art Biennale for the first time: Ghana, Madagascar, Malaysia, and Pakistan.[45]
As well as the national pavilions there are countless "unofficial pavilions"[46] that spring up every year. In 2009 there were pavilions such as the Gabon Pavilion and a Peckham pavilion. In 2017 The Diaspora Pavilion bought together 19 artists from complex, multinational backgrounds to challenge the prevalence of the nation state at the Biennale.[47]
The Internet Pavilion (Italian: Padiglione Internet) was founded in 2009 as a platform for activists and artists working in new media.[48][49][50] Subsequent editions were held since,[51] 2013,[51] in conjunction with the biennale.[52]
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وینسVenetsiya
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One of Webb’s most complex instrument modes is with the MIRI Medium Resolution Spectrometer (MRS). The MRS is an integral-field spectrograph, which provides spectral and spatial information simultaneously for the entire field of view. The spectrograph provides three-dimensional ‘data cubes’ in which every pixel in an image contains a unique spectrum. Such spectrographs are extremely powerful tools to study the composition and kinematics of astronomical objects, as they combine the benefits of both traditional imaging and spectroscopy.
“The MRS is designed to have a spectral resolving power (observed wavelength divided by the smallest detectable wavelength difference) of about 3,000. That is high enough to resolve key atomic and molecular features in a variety of environments. At the highest redshifts, the MRS will be able to study hydrogen emission from the first galaxies. At lower redshifts, it will probe molecular hydrocarbon features in dusty nearby galaxies and detect the bright spectral fingerprints of elements such as oxygen, argon, and neon that can tell us about the properties of ionized gas in the interstellar medium. Closer to home, the MRS will produce maps of spectral features due to water ice and simple organic molecules in giant planets in our own solar system and in planet-forming disks around other stars.
“In order to cover the wide 5 to 28 micron wavelength range as efficiently as possible, the MRS integral field units are broken up into twelve individual wavelength bands, each of which must be calibrated individually. Over the past few weeks, the MIRI team (a large international group of astronomers from the USA and Europe) has been focusing primarily on calibrating the imaging components of the MRS. They want to ensure that all twelve bands are spatially well aligned with each other and with the MIRI Imager, so that it can be used to place targets accurately into the smaller MRS field of view. We show some early test results from this alignment process, illustrating the image quality achieved in each of the twelve bands using observations of the bright K giant star HD 37122 (located in the southern sky near the Large Magellanic Cloud).
“Once the spatial alignment and image quality of the several bands are well characterized, the MIRI team will prioritize calibrating the spectroscopic response of the instrument. This step will include determining the wavelength solution and spectral resolution throughout each of the twelve fields of view using observations of compact emission-line objects and diffuse planetary nebulae ejected by dying stars. We show the exceptional spectral resolving power of the MRS with a small segment of a spectrum obtained from recent engineering observations of the active galactic nucleus at the core of Seyfert galaxy NGC 6552. Once these basic instrument characteristics are established, it will be possible to calibrate MRS so that it is ready to support the wealth of Cycle 1 science programs due to start in a few short weeks.”
Read more: blogs.nasa.gov/webb/2022/06/16/webbs-mid-infrared-spectro...
This image: This portion of the MIRI MRS wavelength range shows engineering calibration data obtained of the Seyfert galaxy NGC 6552 (red line) in the constellation Draco. The strong emission feature is due to molecular hydrogen, with an additional weaker feature nearby. The blue line shows a lower spectral resolution Spitzer IRS spectrum of a similar galaxy for comparison. The Webb test observations were obtained to establish the wavelength calibration of the spectrograph. Credit: NASA, ESA, and the MIRI Consortium.
A gentle curve of architectural elegance defines this photo of the grand staircase at The Phillips Collection in Washington, D.C. The soft arching forms and golden-toned railings create a visual harmony that feels both modern and timeless. Photographed in warm ambient light, the scene captures the intersection of architecture, art, and atmosphere.
The staircase flows upward like a ribbon, inviting visitors into the museum’s upper gallery spaces. Its cream-colored balustrade contrasts subtly with the brass handrails and the charcoal-toned carpeted steps. There's a quiet grace to the ascent—each element has been designed not just for function, but to contribute to the viewer’s sense of spatial rhythm. The warm wood borders of the steps peek out from beneath the runner, adding a grounding detail to the otherwise airy palette.
Light gently illuminates the curved wall, creating a soft gradient that mimics the arc of the staircase itself. At every step, the architecture seems to whisper instead of shout—offering a moment of calm before you turn the corner into the next artistic experience. The subtle lighting also emphasizes the smooth plaster texture of the walls, revealing the care and craftsmanship that went into their creation.
Just beneath the sweep of the upper curve, part of a vivid, abstract painting emerges—an echo of the color and creativity housed throughout The Phillips Collection. The composition of this photograph is deliberate: the stairway leads the eye naturally into the world of art, both literal and figurative. The railing becomes a line of inquiry, the steps a metaphor for progression—an ascent into discovery.
Though clearly modern in execution, the staircase hints at Art Deco and Streamline Moderne influences in its curvature and elegance. The pairing of painted surfaces with rich brass and wood detailing is a nod to luxury without excess—refined and tasteful in a way that suits the museum’s broader sensibility.
As with many parts of The Phillips Collection, this staircase was designed with the visitor in mind. Its comfortable treads and sweeping form prioritize accessibility while still delivering a visually powerful experience. It's no wonder that this spot is a favorite among photographers, architecture enthusiasts, and museum-goers alike. Whether ascending to a new exhibit or simply admiring the lines and light, one can’t help but pause and take in the serenity of this beautifully crafted structure.
More than just a passageway, this staircase is a sculptural moment within the museum’s architecture—a physical bridge between eras, styles, and stories. With every footstep, you’re part of the museum’s evolving narrative.
Belvedere Palace / Wien
One of Gustav Klimt’s final artworks, Adam and Eve is unfinished due to Klimt’s sudden death on February 6, 1918. Biblical themes were rare for Klimt, and while Adam and Eve does show the artist’s prioritization of the female form, Eve is blond—a departure from his typical dark-haired muses.