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I'm going to enter this image in a show. I can't decide which crop I like better - this one or the one in the comment section. Feedback and constructive criticism from everyone is helpful & welcome!

 

Mayor Bill de Blasio and Schools Chancellor Carmen Farina attend a family night at Brooklyn Generation School to meet with parents and answer their questions. Wednesday, September 30, 2015. Credit: Ed Reed/Mayoral Photography Office.

 

This photograph is provided by the New York City Mayoral Photography Office (MPO) for the benefit of the general public and for dissemination by members of the media. The photograph may not be manipulated in any way and may not be used in commercial materials, advertisements, emails, products or promotions that in any way suggests approval or endorsement of the City of New York, the Mayoral administration, or the de Blasio family without prior consent from the MPO (PhotoOffice@cityhall.nyc.gov). Any use or reprinting of official MPO photographs must use the following credit language and style: “Photographer/Mayoral Photography Office”, as listed at the end of each caption.

Our Trooper looked around and decided he just had to know...

 

Being a teacher I have heard just about every question there is to ask. I think this is do to the fact that I encourage my students to ask questions; regardless of how silly or ridiculous they may seem.

 

Today is a day for them. Today is National Ask a Stupid Question Day!

 

Enjoy!

 

This is an Alternative Version for one of my daily shots of 365 Days of Clones.

 

Subscribe to 365 Days of Clones via RSS | Email | Tumblr | Twitter

 

Visit our troopers at www.365DaysofClones.com.

Right my little group of wildlife loving flickrites – iv got some dragonfly related questions!

 

I was really trying to get some pics of them at the weekend and went to two reserves – and it is difficult! In fact got quite disenchanted by how tricky i found it! Iv mentioned it on a couple of people’s streams recently as i have even more respect for other people's shots of them now as it’s so hard!

 

I saw a lot of the small blue damselflies, and some red and green ones – they seemed to settle quite a lot so these weren’t too bad. These were mostly flying around in pairs – with the male leading the female around by the head

 

Then there were some smaller red dragonflies that settled a couple of times – but usually on the floor or on some other un-natural looking background!

 

Then there were these huge ones flying about – a gentleman told me they were brown, and common, hawkers. They were buzzing about frantically and i was surprised at how loud they were, you could hear their wing as they flew around your head – but they whenever they got close to each other the noise intensified and they sounded like little helicopters! A couple looked like they were scrapping in mid-air!

 

Round and round and round they went never stopping! Where do they get all this energy! And what’s it all about? Are they displaying for a female?

 

The whole time i was there this is the only time one stopped, and i got this shot! Not a natural back ground but at this stage i took what i could get! This is a flag in the marsh, by the pond he was circling.

 

You can’t really see from this photo, as he was flapping away – but his wings were really tatty! Im guessing he was more of a fighter than a lover!

 

Back to the question then – i was watching one of the big ones (probably a brown hawker) and still amazed by their aerial ballet, i had just started to say “look he’s chasing that butterfly . . .” when he grabbed it!! He then flew about all over the place carrying it!! (i was a cabbage white i think)

 

I tried to tell myself that he was actually giving the butterfly a nice little ride, like they do on cartoons like Antz, but i fear this wasn’t the case!

 

Do dragonflies hunt butterflies?

 

PLEASE NO GROUP INVITES OR AWARDS WITH FLASHY BADGES

Mercredi 15 octobre, Nicolas Sarkozy se rendait à Saint-Cyr-sur-Loire où il a pu échanger avec les habitants d'Indre-et-Loire, dans le cadre de la campagne pour la présidence de l'UMP. Après un discours d'introduction, il a répondu aux questions de la salle mais aussi à celles des internautes. De nombreux sujets ont ainsi pu être abordés, de la défense au nucléaire en passant par la politique internationale, l'éducation et l'économie.

 

CREDIT : VALENTE - DALIPHARD / E PRESS PHOTO

a quick poll among my flickr friends: which of these 2 patterns do you like more?

Modeling 45surf shirts, hats, hoodies, and t-shirts!

 

Sony A7R RAW Photos of Pretty Blonde Bikini Swimsuit Model Goddess in Sea Cave! Carl Zeiss Sony FE 55mm F1.8 ZA Sonnar T* Lens! Lightroom 5.3 !

 

New blog celebrating my philosophy of photography with tips, insights, and tutorials!

45surf.wordpress.com

 

Ask me any questions! :)

 

Sony A7R RAW Photos of Pretty Blonde Bikini Swimsuit Model Goddess! Carl Zeiss Sony FE 55mm F1.8 ZA Sonnar T* Lens! Lightroom 5.3 ! Pretty Hazel Eyes & Silky Blonde Wavy Hair!

 

And here're a couple of HD video movies I shot of the goddess with the 4K Sony:

vimeo.com/45surf

 

Enjoy! Be sure to watch in the full 1080P HD!

 

The epic goddess was tall, thin, fit, tan, and in wonderful shape (as you can see).

 

Check out my greatest hits compilation, and let me know what you think:

www.elliotmcguckenphotography.com/45surf/45SURF-Heros-Ody...

 

Epic Goddess Straight Out of Hero's Odyssey Mythology! Pretty Model! :) Tall, thin, fit and beautiful!

 

Welcome to your epic hero's odyssey! The beautiful 45surf goddess hath called ye to adventure, beckoning ye to read deeply Homer's Iliad and Odyssey, whence ye shall learn of yer own exalted artistic path guided by Hero's Odyssey Mythology. I wouldn't be saying it if it hadn't happened to me.

  

New 500px!

500px.com/herosodysseymythology

 

New instagram! instagram.com/45surf

twitter.com/45surf

 

Pretty Swimsuit Bikini Model Goddess! :)

 

Follow me on facebook! facebook.com/elliot.mcgucken

 

vimeo.com/45surf

dailymotion.com/45surf

 

Nikon D300 Photos of Beautfiul Sexy Hot Brunette!

 

She was a beauty--a gold 45 goddess for sure! A Gold 45 Goddess exalts the archetypal form of Athena--the Greek Goddess of wisdom, warfare, strategy, heroic endeavour, handicrafts and reason. A Gold 45 Goddess guards the beauty of dx4/dt=ic and embodies 45SURF's motto "Virtus, Honoris, et Actio Pro Veritas, Amor, et Bellus, (Strength, Honor, and Action for Truth, Love, and Beauty," and she stands ready to inspire and guide you along your epic, heroic journey into art and mythology. It is Athena who descends to call Telemachus to Adventure in the first book of Homer's Odyssey--to man up, find news of his true father Odysseus, and rid his home of the false suitors, and too, it is Athena who descends in the first book of Homer's Iliad, to calm the Rage of Achilles who is about to draw his sword so as to slay his commander who just seized Achilles' prize, thusly robbing Achilles of his Honor--the higher prize Achilles fought for. And now Athena descends once again, assuming the form of a Gold 45 Goddess, to inspire you along your epic journey of heroic endeavour.

 

ALL THE BEST on your Epic Hero's Odyssey from Johnny Ranger McCoy!

 

Modeling the Gold 45 Revolver Gold'N'Virtue swimsuit. :)

 

A laid-back,classic, socal lifestyle shoot!

 

May the 45surf goddesses inspire you along am artistic journey of your own making!

 

All 45surf Hero's Odyssey Mythology Photography is shot in the honor of Truth, Beauty, and the Light of Physicist Dr. E's Moving Dimensions Theory's dx4/dt=ic . The fourth dimension is expanding relative to the three spatial dimensions at the rate of c. Ergo relativity, time, entropy, and entanglement.

 

All the best on your Epic Hero's Odyssey from Johnny Ranger McCoy!

 

New blog celebrating my philosophy of photography with tips, insights, and tutorials!

45surf.wordpress.com

 

Ask me any questions! :)

collage on photo / 2016

A full interview with the Israeli painter Raphael Perez (in Hebrew Rafi Peretz) about the ideas behind the naive painting, resume, personal biography and CV

Question: Raphael Perez Tell us about your work process as a naive painter?

Answer: I choose the most iconic and famous buildings in every city and town that are architecturally interesting and have a special shape and place the iconic buildings on boulevards full of trees, bushes, vegetation, flowers.

 

Question: How do you give depth in your naive paintings?

Answer: To give depth to the painting, I build the painting with layers of vegetation, after those low famous buildings, followed by a tall avenue of trees, and behind them towers and skyscrapers, in the sky I sometimes put innocent signs of balloons, kites.

A recurring motif in some of my paintings is the figure of the painter who is in the center of the boulevard and paints the entire scene unfolding in front of him, also there are two kindergarten teachers who are walking with the kindergarten children with the state flags that I paint, and loving couples hugging and kissing and family paintings of mother, father and child walking in harmony on the boulevard.

 

Question: Raphael Perez What characterizes your naive painting?

Answer: Most naive paintings have the same characteristics

(Definition as it appears in Wikipedia)

• Tells a simple story to absorb from everyday life, usually with humans.

• The representation of the painter's idealization to reality - the mapping of reality.

• Failure to maintain perspective - especially details even in distant details.

• Extensive use of repeating patterns - many details.

• Warm and bright colors.

• Sometimes the emphasis is on outlines.

• Most of the characters are flat, lack volume

• No interest in texture, expression, correct proportions

• No interest in anatomy.

• There is not much use of light and shadow, the colors create a three-dimensional effect.

I find these definitions to be valid for all my naive paintings

 

Question: Raphael Perez Why do you mainly choose the city of Tel Aviv?

Answer: I was born in Jerusalem, the capital city which I love very much and also paint,

I love the special Bauhaus buildings in Tel Aviv, the ornamental buildings that were built a century ago in the 1920s and 1930s, the beautiful boulevards, towers and modern skyscrapers give you the feeling of the hustle and bustle of a large metropolis and there are quite a few low and tall buildings that are architecturally fascinating in their form the special one

Also, the move to Tel Aviv, which is the capital of culture, freedom, and secularism, allowed me to live my life as I chose, to live in a relationship with a man, Jerusalem, which is a traditional city, it is more complicated to live a homosexual life, also, the art world takes place mainly in the city of Tel Aviv, and it is possible that from a professional point of view, this allows I can support myself better in Tel Aviv than in any other city in Israel.

 

Question: raphael perez are the paintings of the city of Tel Aviv different from the paintings of the city of Jerusalem

Answer: Most of the paintings of Jerusalem have an emphasis on the color yellow, gold, the color of the old city walls, the subjects I painted in Jerusalem are mainly a type of idealization of a peaceful life between Jews and Arabs and paintings that deal with the Jewish religious world, a number of paintings depict all shades of the currents of Judaism of today

In contrast, the Tel Aviv paintings are more colorful, with skyscrapers, the sea, balloons and more secular motifs

 

Question: Raphael Perez Tell us about which buildings and their architects you usually choose in your city paintings

Answer: My favorite buildings are those that have a special shape that anyone can recognize and are the symbols of the city and you will give several examples:

In the city of Tel Aviv, my favorite buildings are: the opera building with its unusual geometric shape, the Yisrotel tower with its special head, the Hail Bo Shalom tower that for years was the symbol of the tallest building in Tel Aviv, the Levin house that looks like a Japanese pagoda, the burgundy-colored Nordeau hotel with the special dome at the end of the building, A pair of Alon towers with the special structure of the sea, Bauhaus buildings typical of Tel Aviv with the special balconies and the special staircase, the Yaakov Agam fountain in Dizengoff square appears in a large part of the paintings, many towers that are in the stock exchange complex, the Aviv towers and other tall buildings on Ayalon, in some of the paintings I took plans An outline of future buildings that need to be built in the city and I drew them even before they were built in reality,

 

In the paintings of Jerusalem, I mainly chose the area of the Old City and East Jerusalem, a painting of the walls of the Old City, the Western Wall, the Church of the Holy Sepulcher, the El Akchea Mosque, the Tower of David, most of the famous churches in the city, the right hand of Moses, in most of the paintings the Jew is wearing a blue shirt with a red male cord I was in the youth movement and the Arab with a galabia, and in the paintings of the religious public then, Jews with black suits and white shirts, tallitas, kippahs, special hats, synagogues and more

 

I also created three paintings of the city of Haifa and one painting of Safed

In the Haifa paintings I drew the university, the Technion, the famous Egged Tower, the Sail Tower, well-known hotels, of course the Baha'i Gardens and the Baha'i Temple, Haifa Port and the boats and other famous buildings in the city

 

Question: Have you created series of other cities from around the world?

Answer: I created series of New York City with all the iconic and famous buildings such as: the Guggenheim Museum, the famous skyscrapers - the Chrysler Building, the Empire State Building, Lincoln Center, the famous synagogue in the city, the Statue of Liberty, the flags of the United States and other famous buildings

Two paintings of London and all its famous sites, Big Ben, famous monuments, the Ferris wheel, Queen Elizabeth and her family, the double bus, the famous public telephone, palaces, famous churches, well-known monuments

I created 4 naive paintings of cities in China, a painting of Shanghai, two paintings of the city of Suzhou and a painting of the World Park in the city of Beijing... I chose the famous skyline of Shanghai with all the famous towers, the famous promenade, temples and old buildings, two Paintings of the city of Suzhou with the famous canals, bridges, special gardens, towers and skyscrapers of the city

Answering any questions you may have, post them here :)

****************************************

For a while now it has been very difficult to find the time to reply to all of the comments made on my photos as I did in the past. The main problem being time and the fact that there are so many photos and the amount of followers are always increasing and has now reached a point that has me snowed under.

 

However, I have been reading all of your comments, and with the new Flickr app it has made it difficult to get back to them to reply, especially where questions were asked, so please use this upload as a central place for now, if you have questions that can't go unanswered!

 

xx

-Tawney

questions to ask your health teacher

Tim League, Robert Rodriguez, Daryl Sabara, Danny Trejo, Michelle Rodriguez, Jeff Fahey, and Mayra Leal

INSTALAÇÕES | INSTALLATIONS

 

Ali Miharbi - Movie Mirrors - Estados Unidos | United States

Anne Save de Beaurecueil + Franklin Lee / Equipe SUBdV (Victor Sardenberg, André Romitelli, Lucas de Sardi & Fabrício G. de Oliveira) - High Low - Brasil | Brazil

Annica Cuppetelli & Cristobal Mendoza - Nervous Structure - Estados Unidos | United States

Ben Jack - Elucidating Feedback - Nova Zelândia | New Zealand

Eric Siu - in collaboration with the member of Ishikawa Komuro Laboratory, University of Tokyo, Yoshihiro Watanabe, Ohno Hiroaki & Takeoka Hideki - Body Hack 1.0 - Japão | Japan

Hye Yeon Nam - Please Smile - Estados Unidos | United States

Joon Y. Moon - Augmented Shadow - Coréia do Sul | South Korea

Julian Palacz - algorithmic search for Love - Áustria | Austria

Juliana Mori - timeLandscape - wool rhythms - Brasil | Brazil

Karina Smigla-Bobinski - ADA - analoge interactive kinetic sculpture - Polônia e Alemanha | Poland and Germany

Kimchi & Chips - Link - Reino Unido | United Kingdom

Kimchi & Chips - Journey: Seoul - Reino Unido | United Kingdom

Lars Lundehave Hansen - Spiderbytes - Alemanha | Germany

Lawrence Malstaf - Nemo Observatorium 02002 - Bélgica | Belgium

Matt Roberts - Waves - Estados Unidos | United States

Ryoichi Kurokawa - rheo: 5 horizons - Bélgica | Belgium

Yujiro Kabutoya & Kazushi Mukaiyama - IJIROS - Japão | Japan

 

HIPERSÔNICA | HYPERSONICA PERFORMANCE

 

Alfredo Ciannameo - Ionesis - sonic plasma - Holanda | Netherlands

André Rangel, Anne-Kathrin Siegel & Fernando Alçada - SynDyn - Portugal | Portugal

Eduardo Nespoli, Projeto Aquarpa (Thiago Salas Gomes, Lucas Almeida, Flavio Jacon de Vasconcelos & Leandro Pereira Souza) - Mnemorfoses - Brasil | Brazil

Eduardo Patrício - Zin - Brasil | Brazil

Euphorie - França | France

Giuliano Obici - Concerto para Lanhouse - Brasil | Brazil

Nicolas Maigret - Pure Data read as pure data - França | France

 

HIPERSÔNICA | HYPERSONICA SCREENING

 

Alison Clifford & Graeme Truslove - Substratum - Reino Unido | United Kingdom

Fernando Velázquez - auto-retrato - Brasil | Brazil

Fernando Velázquez - the mindscapes suite - Brasil | Brazil

Jaap: Harriet Payer & Jorge Esquivelzeta - Cyberspace Photsynthesis - México | Mexico

Jaap: Harriet Payer & Jorge Esquivelzeta - Dog's Eye View - México | Mexico

Paul O Donoghue aka Ocusonic - Phasing Waves - Irlanda | Ireland

Warsaw Electronic Festival 2010: Przemyslaw Moskal - Digital Sculptures for Analog Sounds - Estados Unidos | United States

 

HIPERSÔNICA PARTICIPANTES | HYPERSONICA PARTICIPANTS

 

Alvaro X - Dead in DUMP - Brasil | Brazil

Bernhard Loibner - Unidentified Musical Subject - Áustria | Austria

Claudio Parodi - The things that are missing - Itália | Italy

CLEBER GAZANA | SIMPLE.NORMAL - F. WILL I DREAM? - Brasil | Brazil

DANIEL GAZANA - NOSOCÔMIO - Brasil | Brazil

Joaquin Cofreces - Hamoni Lapude Anan ( "we used to make canoes" in yaghan language) - Argentina | Argentina

The Tiny Orchestra - Time Wounds All Heels - Canadá | Canada

Juan Pablo Amato - Duo Encaprichado en alisar rugosidades mentales - Argentina | Argentina

Mauro Ceolin - Spore's Ytubesoundscape and his wildlife - Itália | Italy

Panayiotis KOKORAS - Magic - Grécia | Greece

FaoBeat - Beat'nTime / Lift'nBeat - Brasil | Brazil

Philip Mantione - Fabrics - Estados Unidos | United States

Music For Installations - Braindamage - Bélgica | Belgium

RINALDO SANTOS - MUSICONTOS - Brasil | Brazil

Sergio Cajado - Constatações Urbanas - Passado, Presente e Futuro - Brasil | Brazil

Sergio Granada Moreno - Digital Rainbow (2009) - Colombia | Colombia

Sol Rezza - Preguntas - Questions - México | Mexico

 

MÍDIA ARTE | MEDIA ART

 

A. Bill Miller - gridSol-precomps - Estados Unidos | United States

A. Bill Miller - gridSol-altar1 - Estados Unidos | United States

Aaron Oldenburg - After - Estados Unidos | United States

Agam (A.) Andreas - La Resocialista Internacional - Holanda | Netherlands

alan bigelow - This Is Not A Poem - Estados Unidos | United States

Alcione Godoy, Camillo Louvise, Bruno Azzolini, Rafael Araujo, Rodolfo Rossi, Marina Maia & Vinicius Nakamura - Hipercepção - Brasil | Brazil

Alex Hetherington - Linda Fratianne - Reino Unido | United Kingdom

Anders Weberg - P2P ART - The aesthetics of ephemerality - Suécia | Sweden

Anders Weberg - JE SUIS PÈRE ET MON PÈRE EST PÈRE I'm a Father and my Father is a Father - Suécia | Sweden

Anders Weberg - Expose Yourself - Suécia | Sweden

Anstey/Pape: Josephine Anstey & Dave Pape - Mrs. Squandertime - Estados Unidos | United States

Balam Soto - Self Portrait Videos - Estados Unidos | United States

Bárbara de Azevedo - VIDEO ESTADO SIMULACRO CINEMATOGRÁFICO - Brasil | Brazil

Ben Baker-Smith - Infinite Glitch - Estados Unidos | United States

Brit Bunkley - Pardox of Plenty - Nova Zelândia | New Zealand

Brit Bunkley - Up River Blues - Nova Zelândia | New Zealand

Brit Bunkley - Springfield Paradox - Nova Zelândia | New Zealand

Bruno Xavier, Fabiane Zambon, Felipe van Deursen, Frederico Di Giacomo & Kleyson Barbosa (Equipe principal) | Ana Freitas, Ana Prado, André Sirangelo, Alisson Lima, André Maciel, Alexandre Versignassi, Dalton Soares, Daniel Apolinario, Douglas Kawazu, Emiliano Urbim, Érica Georgino, Leandro Spett, Gil Beyruth, Gustavo Frota, Marina Motomura, Maurício Horta, Rafael Kenski, Renata Aguiar & Simone Yamamoto (Parceiros e colaboradores) - Newsgames da Superinteressante - Brasil | Brazil

charly.gr - peronismo (spam) - Argentina | Argentina

charly.gr - Joan - Argentina | Argentina

Chen, I-Chun - Measuring Distance Between the Self and Others - Taiwan | Taiwan

chiara passa - the virtual prigione - Itália | Italy

Christopher Otto - PXLPNT - Estados Unidos | United States

Cleber Gazana / Daniel Gazana - UNTITLED - Brasil | Brazil

Daniel Duda - Araucaria angustifolia - Brasil | Brazil

David Muth - 1 C A a 01x - Reino Unido | United Kingdom

David Sullivan - Fugitive Emissions - Estados Unidos | United States

Doron Golan - Waking Quad - Israel | Israel

Douglas de Paula - Interfaces Predatórias / Plundering Interfaces - Brasil | Brazil

Elétrico: Ludmila Pimentel, Carolina Frinhani & Bruna Spoladore - Experimento de Corpo - Brasil | Brazil

Grupo Vertigem: Juliana Rodrigues, Natalia Santana & Ygor Ferreira - Downtown 2.0 - Brasil | Brazil

Jarbas Agnelli - Birds on the Wires - Brasil | Brazil

Jason Nelson - Sydney's Sibera - Austrália | Australia

Jessica Barness - Common Sounds: Positive Elements, Negative Spaces - Estados Unidos | United States

Joana Moll & Heliodoro Santos - THE TEXAS BORDER - Espanha | Spain

jody zellen - Lines of Life - Estados Unidos | United States

Jorn Ebner - (L'ultimo turista) - Alemanha | Germany

jtwine - ONSPEED - Estados Unidos | United States

Kenji Kojima - RGB Music News - Estados Unidos | United States

kinema ikon: calin man - kinema ikon - Romênia | Romania

Leyla Rodriguez & Cristian Straub - Isle Of Lox "The face" - Alemanha | Germany

Luca Holland - rain.html - Reino Unido | United Kingdom

Luis Henrique Rodrigues - Internet Series - Brasil | Brazil

Luiz Gustavo Ferreira Zanotello - N.A.V.E - Brasil | Brazil

MALYSSE - THE BIOPERVERSITY PROJECT #1 - Brasil | Brazil

Matt Frieburghaus - Song - Estados Unidos | United States

mchrbn - Afghan War Diary - Suíça | Switzerland

Members: Aymeric Mansoux, Dave Griffiths and Marloes de Valk - Naked on Pluto - Holanda | Netherlands

Michael Takeo Magruder - Data Flower (Prototype I) - Reino Unido | United Kingdom

Nagasaki Archive Committee: Hidenori Watanave, Tomoyuki Torisu, Ryo Osera & others - Nagasaki Archive - Japão | Japan

Nanette Wylde - MettaVerse - Estados Unidos | United States

Nicholas Economos - Apophenia - Estados Unidos | United States

Nicholas Knouf - Journal of Journal Performance Studies (JJPS) - Estados Unidos | United States

Nurit Bar-Shai - FUJI spaces and other places - Estados Unidos | United States

Osvaldo cibils- everything breathes - Itália | Italy

Owen Eric Wood - Return - Canadá | Canada

Paolo Cirio - Drowning NYC - Reino Unido | United Kingdom

Quayola - Strata Series - Bélgica | Belgium

rachelmauricio - [[o]] - Brasil | Brazil

rachelmauricio - 3Y - Brasil | Brazil

rachelmauricio - ldj8jbl - Brasil | Brazil

Rayelle Niemann & Erik Dettwiler - www.citysharing.ch - Suíça | Switzerland

Remco Roes - Everything in between - Bélgica | Belgium

rage - Impermanência Formal - Brasil | Brazil

Representa Corisco: Vj Eletroman - Representa Corisco - Espanha | Spain

Richard J O'Callaghan - 'thechildrenswar' - Reino Unido | United Kingdom

Rodrigo Mello - Faces - Brasil | Brazil

Rosa Menkman - Collapse of PAL - Holanda | Netherlands

Santiago Ortiz - Impure - Espanha | Spain

seryozha kOtsun - Synesthesiograph - Rússia | Russia

Stuart Pound - Green Water Dragon - Reino Unido | United Kingdom

Stuart Pound - Time Code - Reino Unido | United Kingdom

TAMURA YUICHIRO - NIGHTLESS - Japão | Japan

TOMMY PALLOTTA: Submarine Channel - Collapsus: The Energy Risk Conspiracy - Holanda | Netherlands

Vladimir Todorovic - The Snail on the Slope - Singapura | Singapore

Vladimir Todorovic - Silica-esc - Singapura | Singapore

 

MAQUINEMA | MACHINIMA

 

André Lopes aka spyvspy aeon - Clockwork - Brasil e Portugal | Brazil and Portugal

André Lopes aka spyvspy aeon & slimgirlfat - MooN - Brasil e Portugal | Brazil and Portugal

Bernard Capitaine aka Iono Allen - Fears - França | France

Bernard Capitaine aka Iono Allen - Fusion - França | France

BobE Schism - Love Is Sometimes Colder Than Ice - Reino Unido | United Kingdom

C.-D. Schulz aka Rohan Fermi - 9 - Alemanha | Germany

C.-D. Schulz aka Rohan Fermi - Order in chaos - Alemanha | Germany

Chat Noir Studios: Sherwin Liu & Kate Lee - Death in Venice - Estados Unidos | United States

Chat Noir Studios: Sherwin Liu & Kate Lee - Incubus - Estados Unidos | United States

David Griffiths aka nebogeo - Missile Command - Finlândia | Finland

Evan Meaney - The Well of Representation - Estados Unidos | United States

Gottfried Haider - Hidden in plain sight - Áustria | Austria

Harrison Heller aka Nefarious Guy & Amorphous Blob Productions - Clockwise: Part 1 - Estados Unidos | United States

Harrison Heller aka Nefarious Guy & Amorphous Blob Productions - Stop, Rewind - Estados Unidos | United States

Henry Gwiazda - history - Estados Unidos | United States

Henry Gwiazda - infectious - Estados Unidos | United States

Iain Friar aka IceAxe - Trichophagia - Reino Unido | United Kingdom

Jun Falkenstein, Ben Covi, Brad Mitchell & Pete Terrill - The Lake - Estados Unidos | United States

Kerria Seabrooke & Paul Jannicola - Tiny Nation - Estados Unidos | United States

LES RICHES DOUANIERS: Gilles RICHARD & Fabrice ZOLL - The Lonely Migrant - França | France

Nonsense Studio: Drozhzhin, TimaGoofy, ultraviolet, ElGrandeBigB, Radiated & Takuhatsu - Johnny Cash - God's gonna cut you down - Finlândia | Finland

Pierre Gaudillere, Thomas Van Lissum, Oliver Delbos, Audrey Le Roy & Jonnathan Mutton - Unheimliche - França | France

Piotr Kopik - Psychosomatic rebuilders animation #002 - Polônia | Polland

Piotr Kopik - Psychosomatic rebuilders emoticons machinima - Polônia | Polland

Pooky Amsterdam, Draxtor Despres & Samuel's Dream - I'm Too Busy To Date Your Avatar! - Estados Unidos | United States

Saskia Boddeke aka Rose Borchovski - Lost in counting - Holanda | Netherlands

Saskia Boddeke aka Rose Borchovski - WHY IS THERE SOMETHING? Part 5: Greek Myth, The Battle of the Gods - Holanda | Netherlands

Saskia Boddeke aka Rose Borchovski - WHY IS THERE SOMETHING? Part 6: Israel Myth, The punishment - Holanda | Netherlands

Tom Jantol - Dear Fairy - Croácia | Croatia

Tom Jantol - Duel (Part) - Croácia | Croatia

Tom Jantol - The Remake - Croácia | Croatia

Tony Bannan aka ammopreviz - Selfish Gene - Austrália | Australia

Trace Sanderson aka Lainy Voom - Ctrl-Alt-Del - Reino Unido | United Kingdom

Trace Sanderson aka Lainy Voom - Dagon - HP Lovecraft - Reino Unido | United Kingdom

Tutsy Navarathna - My familiar dream - Índia | India

 

DOCUMENTA

 

Garry Shepherd – Global Shuffle - Austrália | Australia

Jim Haverkamp e Brett Ingram – Armor of God – Estados Unidos | United States

Khaled D. Ramadan – Psychic-Dentity - Dinamarca | Denmark

Lucius C. Kuert – Project 798, New Art In New China – China | China

Teilo Vallacott e J.A. Molinari – Altered_Egos – Reino Unido | United Kingdom

Vincenzo Lombardo – The VEP Project – Itália | Italy

Watch Mojo - A História do Daft Punk – Canadá | Canada

 

FILE ANIMA+

 

8-Bits Team: Valere Amirault, Jean Delaunay, Sarah Laufer & Benjamin Mattern - 8-Bits - França | France

Alan Becker - Animator Vs Animation - Estados Unidos | United States

Alessandro Novelli - The Alphabet - Itália | Italy

Alexander Gellner - 1 Minute Puberty - Alemanha | Germany

Andrew Huang - The Gloaming - Estados Unidos | United States

Ben Thomas & Leo Bridle - Train of Thought - Inglaterra | England

Birdo Studio: Luciana Eguti & Paulo Muppet - Bonequinha do Papai - Brasil | Brazil

Birdo Studio: Luciana Eguti & Paulo Muppet - Caixa - Brasil | Brazil

Birdo Studio: Luciana Eguti, Paulo Muppet & Allan Sieber - Animadores - Brasil | Brazil

Birdo Studio: Luciana Eguti, Paulo Muppet & Jimmy Leroy - Pequeno Cidadão - Brasil | Brazil

Brendan Angelides & Cyriak Harris - Eskmo - Estados Unidos | United States

Christopher Alender - Eye of The Storm - Estados Unidos | United States

Coala Filmes: Cesar Cabral - Dossiê Rê Bordosa - Brasil | Brazil

Dante Zaballa & Matias Vigliano - The Head - Argentina | Argentina

David O’Reilly - Please Say Something - Irlanda e Alemanha | Ireland and Germany

David O’Reilly - The External World - Irlanda e Alemanha | Ireland and Germany

David Wilson - Japanese Popstars “Let Go” - Inglaterra | England

Dominik Käser, Martin-Sebastian Senn, Mario Deuss, Niloy J. Mitra & Mark Pauly - Silhouettes of Jazz - Estados Unidos | United States

Esteban Diácono - Ólafur Arnalds - Ljósið - Argentina | Argentina

Fábio Yamagi & Denis Kamioka ‘Cisma’ - Photocopy Romance - Brasil | Brazil

Fernando Sanches - Xixi no Banho - Brasil | Brazil

Gabrielle Lissot, Pierre Lippens, Laurent Jaffier & Nicolas Deprez - Tous Des Monstres (All Monsters) - França | France

Guilherme Marcondes - Tyger - Brasil | Brazil

Guillermo Madoz - Head Honcho - Argentina | Argentina

Hi-Sim - Jump - Inglaterra | England

Home de Caramel - Alone Together - Espanha | Spain

Jasmin Lai - Brave - Estados Unidos e Tailândia | United States and Thailand

Jason Wishnow - Oedipus - Inglaterra | England

Jean-Paul Frenay - Artificial Paradise, Inc - Bélgica e França | Belgium and France

Joanna Lurie - Tree’s Migration - França | France

Joaquin Baldwin - Sebastian's Voodoo - Estados Unidos | United States

Joaquin Baldwin - The Windmill Farmer - Estados Unidos | United States

Ken Turner - TIM - Canadá | Canada

Lee Tao - Seedling - Canadá / Canada

Lemeh42 - Wool & Water - Itália / Italy

Leszek Plichta - Dreammaker - Polônia e Alemanha | Polland and Germany

Malcolm Sutherland - Bout - Canadá | Canada

Malcolm Sutherland - Umbra - Canadá | Canada

Marc Silver - There Are No Others - Inglaterra | England

Marlies van der wel - Protest Flatness - Holanda | Netherlands

Martin Piana - LUMI - Argentina | Argentina

Martin Woutisseth - Stanley Kubrick, a filmography - França | France

Matatoro Team: Mauro Carraro, Raphaël Calamote & Jérémy Pasquet - Matatoro - França | France

Matthias Hoegg - August - Inglaterra | England

Matthias Hoegg - Thrusday - Inglaterra | England

Max Hattler - SPIN - Inglaterra | England

Meindbender Animation Studio - The Pirate - Suécia | Sweden

Michael Paul Young - The Interpretation - Estados Unidos | United States

Michal Socha - Chick - Polônia | Polland

Michal Socha - Koncert - Polônia | Polland

Mr McFly - Baseball - França | France

MUSCLEBEAVER: Tobias Knipf & Andreas Kronbeck - How your money works - Alemanha | Germany

Napatsawan Chirayukool - What makes your day? - Tailândia e Inglaterra | Thailand and England

Pahnl - Nowhere near here - Inglaterra | England

Peppermelon TV - Advanced Beauty - Inglaterra e Estados Unidos | England and Unites States

Peppermelon TV - First - Inglaterra e Estados Unidos | England and Unites States

Peppermelon TV - Target - Friends with you - Inglaterra e Estados Unidos | England and Unites States

Robert Seidel - Vellum - Alemanha | Germany

Rogier van der Zwaag Nobody Beats The Drum - Grindin - Holanda | Netherlands

Ross Phillips - 5 Second Projects ( Ballons) - Inglaterra | England

Ross Phillips - 5 Second Projects ( Reverse) - Inglaterra | England

Sasha Belyaev - The Rite of Youth - Letônia | Latvia

Scott Pagano - Pororoca - Estados Unidos | United States

Scott Pagano - Trust In The 'M' Machine - Estados Unidos | United States

Serene Teh - Parkour - Cingapura | Singapore

Stephen Irwin - Black Dog's Progress - Inglaterra | England

Stephen Irwin - Horse Glue - Inglaterra | England

Sylvain Marc - Cocotte Minute - França | France

Sylvain Marc - Fertilizer Soup - França | France

Tanya Aydostian - L'autre - França | France

Taylor Price - Hunt - Canadá e Estados Unidos | Canada and United States

Treat Studios - E4 - Inglaterra | England

Veronika Obertová - Viliam - Eslováquia | Slovakia

Wesley Rodrigues - Pinga com Saquê - Brasil | Brazil

Zach Cohen - The Chair Not Taken - Itália | Italy

Andrew Ruhemann & Shaun Tan - The Lost Thing - Austrália / Australia

Animatório - Neomorphus - Brasil | Brazil

Bertrand Bey & Pierre Ducos - La Détente - França | France

Birdo Studio: Luciana Eguti, Paulo Muppet & Amir Admoni - Monkey Joy - Brasil | Brazil

Coala Filmes: Cesar Cabral - Tempestade - Brasil | Brazil

Fábio Yamaji - O Divino, de repente - Brasil | Brazil

Max Loubaresse, Marc Bouyer & Anthony Vivien - Salesman Pete - França | France

 

GAMES

 

Adam Saltsman & Danny Baranowsky - Canabalt - Estados Unidos | United States

Alex May & Rudolf Kremers - Eufloria - Reino Unido

| United Kingdom

Alexander Bruce - Hazard: The Journey of Life - Austrália | Australia

Binary Tweed - Clover: a Curious Tale - Reino Unido | United Kingdom

Cats in the Sky - Cargo Delivery - Brasil | Brazil

Christoffer Hedborg - Toys - Suécia | Sweden

Colibri Games - The Tiny Bang Story - Rússia | Russia

Edmund McMillen & Tommy Refenes - Super Meat Boy - Estados Unidos | United States

ENJMIN - Paper Plane - França | France

Evan Blaster - Infinite Blank - Estados Unidos | United States

Frictional Games - Amnesia: The Dark Decent - Suécia | Sweden

Gaijin Games - BIT TRIP BEAT - Estados Unidos | United States

Kiaran Ritchie, Jasmine Ritchie & Francisco Furtado - Beep Game - Canadá | Canada

Mark Essen - "Nidhogg" - Estados Unidos | United States

Mediatronic - Monsters Probably Stole My Princess - Reino Unido | United Kingdom

Nicklas Nygren - Saira - Suécia | Sweden

Paolo Pedercini / Molleindustria - "Every Day The Same Dream" - Estados Unidos e Itália | United States and Italy

Richard E Flanagan / Phosfiend Systems - FRACT - Canadá | Canada

Spaces of Play - Spirits - Alemanha | Germany

State of Play Games - Lume - Reino Unido | United Kingdom

Tales of Tales - The Path - Bélgica | Belgium

 

FILE TABLET

 

Aircord: Toshiyuki Hashimoto, Masato Tsutsui & Koichiro Mori – REFLECTION – Japão | Japan

Alex Komarov & Sergey Rachok – ACCORDION – Estados Unidos e Rússia | United States and Russia

Cruz-Diez Foundation - CRUZ-DIEZ "INTERACTIVE CHROMATIC RANDOM EXPERIENCE" – Venezuela | Venezuela

Fingerlab: Antoine Lepoutre & Aurélien Potier – MULTIPONG – França | France

Jason Waters – SPIROGROW – Estados Unidos | United States

Jay Silver & Eric Rosenbaum - SINGING FINGERS – Estados Unidos | United States

Nate Murray & TJ Fuller - IPAD GAME FOR CATS - Estados Unidos | United States

Pavel Doichev - ART IN MOTION – Estados Unidos | United States

Pavel Doichev - LINE ART – Estados Unidos | United StatesPavel Doichev – TESLA – Estados Unidos | United States

Rob Fielding – MUGICIAN – Estados Unidos | United States

RunSwimFly - Richard Harrison – GLOOP - Austrália | Australia

Scott Snibbe – ANTOGRAPH (ou MYRMEGRAPH) – Estados Unidos | United States

Scott Snibbe – BUBBLE HARP – Estados Unidos | United States

Scott Snibbe – GRAVILUX – Estados Unidos | United States

Scott Snibbe – OSCILLOSCOOP – Estados Unidos | United States

Scott Snibbe – TRIPOLAR – Estados Unidos | United States

Smule - MAGIC FIDDLE – Estados Unidos | United States

Spaces of Play: Mattias Ljungstrom, Marek Plichta, Andreas Zecher & Martin Strak – SPIRITS – Alemanha | Germany

Ted Davis - TEXT2IMAGE – Estados Unidos | United States

Typotheque / Resolume - DANCE WRITER – Estados Unidos | United States

 

WORKSHOP

 

Workshop Fiesp - AA School: Franklin Lee, Robert Stuart Smith (Kokkugia), Anne Save de Beaurecueil (SUBdV), Sandro Tubertini (Environmental Engineering Agency, BDSP), Thiago Mundim, Ernesto Bueno, Arthur Mamou-Mani, Arya Safavi, Yoojin Kim & Victor Sardenberg

Parametric Architecture - Reino Unido | United Kingdom

The question has been asked on flickr who this belongs to, i can tell you it still belongs to Harry Shaw H15URE is a Volvo B10M / Vanhool Alizee C70F that s seen at the beginig of my stream in Oarange and as a 53 seater it came to Shaws from Walter Mills on the closure of that business. Photo taken 20/05/12

 

The 'Park of Honour of Those Who Were Shot'

 

Memorial and graves of resistance heroes and martyrs - brave Jews, brave Christians, dissidents, anti-fascists, socialists, rebels, samizdat journalists and organisers - those who dared to question and fight oppression, and the evil Powers That Be.

 

Here you see the faces of my brothers, my own dear family, my partners in fighting sheer political evil - resting in their graves here, in perhaps the most poignant place in all of Brussels, Belgium. Here lie those in Belgium who were shot fighting the Nazis of the 1940s - as I myself have nearly been killed fighting the more recent fascists, some of the 'new Nazis' of the 21st century.

 

Shortly after I arrived in Brussels as a political refugee from the US, under threat of murder by far-right political figures, this is one of the first places I visited. I came here to weep some tears amid the companionship of my anti-fascist comrades, who also looked death in the eye as they tried to speak and act for what is right.

 

The camera used here, and the chance to make these photos, are gifts of the brave dissident US Jewish physician, Dr Moshe 'Moss' David Posner, who risked and gambled his own life, to support me and help keep me alive in the face of threats by neo-Nazi assassins.

 

These are photos from the daily life of writer and political refugee from the US, Dr Les (Leslie) Sachs - photos documenting my new beloved home city of Brussels, Belgium, my life among the people and Kingdom who have given me safety in the face of the threats to destroy me. Brussels has a noble history of providing a safe haven to other dissident refugee writers, such as Victor Hugo, Karl Marx, Charles Baudelaire, and Alexandre Dumas, and I shall forever be grateful that Brussels and Belgium have helped to protect my own life as well.

 

(To read about the efforts to silence me and my journalism, the attacks on me, the smears and the threats, see the website by European journalists "About Les Sachs" linked in my Flickr profile, and press articles such as "Two EU Writers Under Threat of Murder: Roberto Saviano and Dr Les Sachs".)

 

This extremely moving memorial and gravesite, is known locally as the Enclos des Fusillés - Ereperk der Gefusillerden (Brussels is bi-lingual French- and Dutch-speaking, so place names are given in both languages here.) - In English, the name is perhaps best rendered as the "Park of Honour of Those Who Were Shot".

 

The Enclos des Fusillés - Ereperk der Gefusilleerden includes many martyrs of the Belgian resistance of World War II, being both their gravesite and also the place where many of them were shot to death by a Nazi firing squad. - And it is also a memorial and the place of death, of other heroic figures who were shot to death in the previous German occupation of Belgium during World War I. One heroine from the First World War who was shot by the Germans and is now commemorated here, is the famous British nurse Edith Cavell.

 

The reason that this was a convenient place of execution by firing squad, is that it was originally part of a Belgian military training area and rifle range that existed here once upon a time, and you still see here the tall hillside that served as an earthen 'backstop' to safely absorb high-powered rifle bullets. The hillside was thus ready-made for the German commandants who occupied Brussels in both wars, to carry out their firing-squad executions.

 

Nowadays, the Enclos des Fusillés - Ereperk der Gefusilleerden appears quite 'central' in urban Brussels, as it lies in the Schaerbeek - Schaarbeek commune, directly in the path from the EU institution area toward the roads that lead to the airport, and very near to the 90-metre high VRT-RTBF communications tower that has long been a major Brussels landmark.

 

The Enclos des Fusillés - Ereperk der Gefusilleerden is walking distance from the eastern Brussels 'prémétro', which is a grouping of tram lines that run underground for several stops on both the eastern and western sides of the Brussels city centre, supplementing the regular métro underground system with a similarly high frequency of service and also underground. If you continue along the prémétro lines south from the Diamant stop which is near the Enclos des Fusillés - Ereperk der Gefusilleerden, you shortly arrive at the elaborate 19th-century military barracks buildings which once housed the soldiers who used the rifle range and parade grounds, which later become the place of martyrdom for members of the anti-Nazi resistance.

 

This is a place of great emotion for me personally, because the resistance martyrs who lie in these graves - a number of them socialists, journalists and with Jewish-heritage, critics of corruption just like myself - are my comrades in my own ordeal. I barely escaped alive out of the USA, nearly murdered by neo-Nazi-linked thugs, who themselves spoke favourably of Hitler as they moved toward killing me, as well as trying to ban my ability to write and speak.

 

It is sad that this place, Enclos des Fusillés - Ereperk der Gefusilleerden, is very little visited nowadays. Most of the time when I come here to contemplate and shed a few tears amid my comrades, and also to gain strength from their brave spirits, I am alone. Many of the family members and children of those who died or are buried here, have now themselves often passed away.

 

But on occasion there are people visiting, and on one day I was privileged to meet the daughter of one of the resistance martyrs who is buried here. She spoke to me of being a little girl, and seeing the Nazis arrest her father inside their home. She spoke about how they tied his hands behind his back, and yet how bravely he looked at her one last time. - She never saw her father alive again, and she is now in her seventies. - But when she spoke of her father, her voice grew energised and strong. She said she remembered the day of her father's arrest like if it was yesterday. And as she spoke, I could feel it and almost see it, as if I had been there myself.

 

The heroes in these graves are quite alive for me still. I am a religious man, a person of faith, and I believe in the life hereafter. - Many people have been afraid to help me, abandoning me to be murdered by the powerful forces of the American government - people too frightened to dare oppose the deadly US power of global assassination, the vicious US global media slandering of a dissident's reputation - Yet when I walk here at the Enclos des Fusillés - Ereperk der Gefusilleerden, I feel myself amid a powerful throng of comrades, among brave people who understand me, people who know what it is like to be menaced with murder and to look death straight in the eye. - I feel the spirits in these graves support me and sustain me, that they welcome me as one among themselves.

 

It is my privilege now to honour these brave companions of mine, giving their memory some further renown and support. And I have wanted very much to do so, as the Enclos des Fusillés - Ereperk der Gefusilleerden still is in need of expanded documentation on the Web, before some of what can be seen here fades away much further.

 

One of the most powerful aspects of visiting this tree-lined and grassy cemetery and memorial, is that you see on a number of the grave markers, not only names and comments from loved ones, but in some cases actual pictures of these brave people, pictures rendered into sepia-type photos on porcelain. Though efforts were made to make these photographs permanent, the elements and the years and decades have taken their toll. Many of the pictures are now faded, or cracked, or broken, or fallen on the ground from their mountings. In one case I held a cracked porcelain image together with one hand, while taking the photo with the other hand. The years are passing, and I have wanted to document the faces of these brave heroes before they disappear, before time takes a greater toll on this place of sacred honour.

 

You look into the eyes of these brave people, and you see and feel the spirit of true bravery, of genuine resistance of oppression, resistance to the point of death, their hope that sacrificing one's own life in the fight, will yet do some good for others in the world. Look into their eyes, and you see their faces, faces of real people, quite like anyone in some ways, but in other ways very special, with a light in them that carries far beyond their own death - people who yet had the fire of faith in that Greater than mere earthly existence.

 

In this hillside that you see in the photos - the hillside in front of which many of these heroes stood in the moment as they were shot to death - in that hillside is a large memorial marker to the heroes of World War I who died here. On that marker it says:

 

Ici tomberent

sous les balles allemandes

35 héros victimes de leur

attachement à la patrie

 

Hier vielen

onder de duitse kogels

35 helden ten offer

aan hun liefde voor het vaderland

 

Here fell 35 heroes

who offered their lives

for their country

shot by the Germans

 

You'll notice that the 4th name down on the marker is that of Edith Louisa Cavell (1865-1915), with just her initial and last name and the date of her death here, on 12 October 1915:

 

Cavell E. 12-10-1915

 

The banners that you see here, in the colours of red, yellow, and black, are in the three colours of the national flag of Belgium

 

There are 17 rows of graves here at the Enclos des Fusillés - Ereperk der Gefusilleerden, 12 on the upper level closer to the hillside, and then five on the lower level below. Between the upper and lower levels is an obelisk serving as a kind of centre for the memorial as a whole. On the obelisk it says, on one side in Dutch, on the other side in French:

 

Opgericht door de Verbroedering van de Vriendenkringen der Nazikampenen Gevangenissen

XXVe Verjaring

April 1970

 

Erigé par le Fraternelle des Amicales de Camps et Prisons Nazis

XXVe Anniversaire

April 1970

 

In English this would be:

Constructed by the Association of Friends of Those in the Nazi Camps and Prisons

25th Anniversary

April 1970

 

Around this obelisk lay some faded but still visibly grand wreaths, placed here by the highest figures of Belgian public life. One great wreath at the centre, placed here by the King of the Belgians, Albert II, and his wife Paola, whose royal household has very quietly but effectively supplied some of the protection for me in Belgium, that has so far prevented me from being murdered here by foreign powers. - You see the ribbon say simply 'Albert - Paola'.

 

And another large wreath has a ribbon saying 'la Gouvernement - de Regering', from the government of Belgium.

 

Though many of the resistance martyrs buried here, were shot by firing squad right on this spot, a number of these martyrs died in other places, most especially in the Belgian concentration camp at Breendonk (Breendonck), which due to its stone structure is one of the best-preserved Nazi concentration camps. Breendonk can be visited today, about 40 kilometres north of Brussels in the direction of Antwerp, very near the Willebroek train station.

 

Among the graves here, a number are of heroes of the anti-Nazi resistance whose names are unknown: 'Inconnu - Onbekend' say the grave markers in French and in Dutch. In one row, there are six unknowns side-by-side; and then the entire final last row of the Enclos des Fusillés - Ereperk der Gefusilleerden, is all the resting place of unknown heroes, 21 altogether.

 

In any struggle against oppressive government, there are often unknown heroes. - And as I myself am a victim of brutal deceptive media smear campaigns, as well as the US regime ordering search engines to suppress my own websites, I can testify as to how hard the evil powers work, to try to see that those who fight the system, remain unknown, or else smeared and slandered with propaganda and lies.

 

There are perhaps yet other heroes of the World War II resistance, whose anonymous graves somewhere, may yet one day be found. One of the photos here is of a maintenance area by the side, where fresh grave markers are ready, some with crosses, some with a star of David, awaiting use for some other hero whose remains are yet to be discovered.

 

In addition to the photographs on the grave markers, which speak for themselves, a number of the graves are also marked with heartfelt statements by those who loved and honoured them. Most are in French, and with photos where there are such engraved statements, there are transcriptions of what you find, along with a translation.

 

Many of these resistance martyrs to the Nazis who lie here, are of course Jewish. The majority are Christians of Belgium, but a significant proportion of the heroes who lie here, are Jewish resistance martyrs of the Holocaust. And even more than one from the same family - the Livchitz brothers who lie here. Moreover, some of the Christians who are buried here, are of Jewish heritage as well - as I am myself, a unitarian Christian.

 

My own heritage on my mother's side is Jewish, and it was my commitment to honour the memory of relatives and other Jews who died in the Holocaust, that led to my being forced to become a political refugee from the United States. - Back when living in the US, I received a letter threatening the book-burning of the books of this Jewish-heritage writer, and I responded strongly. A few weeks later my freedom to speak and write was banned, and threats to extort and murder me were put in motion. This story has been told in other places (see link to press articles in my profile), but suffice it to say here, that it was my honouring the memory of murdered Jews, which led me to be a Jewish-heritage political refugee today in Brussels.

 

Though I am unitarian Christian by faith, the old Jewish sites of Brussels and Belgium strike deep chords within me, as I very much feel the spirit of the Jews who suffered and died under the kind of racist threats I have also suffered.

 

One of the things I am often-asked, as a Jewish-heritage political refugee, is why the Jewish groups and Jewish leaders, do not say or do more to defend me, against the threats to have me murdered, against the lies and hoaxes spread about me, against the blocking of my own journalism sites from the internet search engines. - For example, in my efforts to stay alive these last few years, I have received much more comfort and assistance and support from brave Muslims, than from the Jewish people who share my own heritage.

 

There are two main reasons for this kind of neglect of someone like myself by Jewish leaders. One is that I am not a political Zionist - I favour peace and justice for all the residents of the ancient holy lands of Palestine. - A second reason, is that there is a sad heritage among Jewish people, to stand by and do nothing while other Jews are attacked by the dominant power of the day. - It was that way in the old pogroms of Eastern Europe, it was that way under the Nazi-era exterminations, and it is that way today regarding the case of the United States. - Since it is the US regime which has been attacking me and forcing me to be a refugee here, Jewish 'leadership' simply does not want to confront the USA. Given that I am a non-Zionist, and a unitarian Christian in faith, well, that settles it as far as Jewish leaders are concerned, and they turn away and say nothing.

 

There are still some brave Jews, however, like one brave Orthodox Jewish physician in America, a friend who has helped me to be able to be here now, supplying these photographs of the Jewish and other martyrs of anti-Nazi resistance.

 

And the Jewish heritage is there in me, and I am glad I honoured the memory of the Holocaust dead, even though it led me into terrible sufferings at the hands of US political figures and the US regime.

 

There is a sense of profound spiritual achievement that I have, as I place on-line this historical record of the martyrs of the Enclos des Fusillés - Ereperk der Gefusilleerden. It is perhaps only by the grace of God that I was able to escape the US alive, from the clutches of the people menacing to illegally jail me and murder me in a US jail cell. - My now being able to honour the memory of my fellow anti-fascist figures in Belgium, who were shot dead by the Nazis of an earlier era, feels to me to be one of the important purposes, for which I was kept alive by divine hands.

 

To visit the Enclos des Fusillés - Ereperk der Gefusilleerden, you can walk about 600 metres from the Diamant 'prémétro' or underground tram stop which includes tram lines 23, 24, and 25. If you wish to get even closer by bus, you can take buses number 12, 21, or 79 the two stops from Diamant to the Colonel Bourg - Kolonel Bourg bus shelter sign. Alternatively, if you are in the EU area, you can take these same buses 12, 21 or 79 directly from the Schuman métro station by the EU's main Berlaymont building. Another route is that bus 80 from the Mérode metro station will also take you directly to the Colonel Bourg - Kolonel Bourg stop. A few tens of metres west of where the bus halts, along the rue Colonel Bourg - Kolonel Bourgstraat, you see the sign directing to the entrance of the Enclos des Fusillés - Ereperk der Gefusilleerden.

 

 

The 'Park of Honour of Those Who Were Shot'

 

Memorial and graves of resistance heroes and martyrs - brave Jews, brave Christians, dissidents, anti-fascists, socialists, rebels, samizdat journalists and organisers - those who dared to question and fight oppression, and the evil Powers That Be.

 

Here you see the faces of my brothers, my own dear family, my partners in fighting sheer political evil - resting in their graves here, in perhaps the most poignant place in all of Brussels, Belgium. Here lie those in Belgium who were shot fighting the Nazis of the 1940s - as I myself have nearly been killed fighting the more recent fascists, some of the 'new Nazis' of the 21st century.

 

Shortly after I arrived in Brussels as a political refugee from the US, under threat of murder by far-right political figures, this is one of the first places I visited. I came here to weep some tears amid the companionship of my anti-fascist comrades, who also looked death in the eye as they tried to speak and act for what is right.

 

The camera used here, and the chance to make these photos, are gifts of the brave dissident US Jewish physician, Dr Moshe 'Moss' David Posner, who risked and gambled his own life, to support me and help keep me alive in the face of threats by neo-Nazi assassins.

 

These are photos from the daily life of writer and political refugee from the US, Dr Les (Leslie) Sachs - photos documenting my new beloved home city of Brussels, Belgium, my life among the people and Kingdom who have given me safety in the face of the threats to destroy me. Brussels has a noble history of providing a safe haven to other dissident refugee writers, such as Victor Hugo, Karl Marx, Charles Baudelaire, and Alexandre Dumas, and I shall forever be grateful that Brussels and Belgium have helped to protect my own life as well.

 

(To read about the efforts to silence me and my journalism, the attacks on me, the smears and the threats, see the website by European journalists "About Les Sachs" linked in my Flickr profile, and press articles such as "Two EU Writers Under Threat of Murder: Roberto Saviano and Dr Les Sachs".)

 

This extremely moving memorial and gravesite, is known locally as the Enclos des Fusillés - Ereperk der Gefusillerden (Brussels is bi-lingual French- and Dutch-speaking, so place names are given in both languages here.) - In English, the name is perhaps best rendered as the "Park of Honour of Those Who Were Shot".

 

The Enclos des Fusillés - Ereperk der Gefusilleerden includes many martyrs of the Belgian resistance of World War II, being both their gravesite and also the place where many of them were shot to death by a Nazi firing squad. - And it is also a memorial and the place of death, of other heroic figures who were shot to death in the previous German occupation of Belgium during World War I. One heroine from the First World War who was shot by the Germans and is now commemorated here, is the famous British nurse Edith Cavell.

 

The reason that this was a convenient place of execution by firing squad, is that it was originally part of a Belgian military training area and rifle range that existed here once upon a time, and you still see here the tall hillside that served as an earthen 'backstop' to safely absorb high-powered rifle bullets. The hillside was thus ready-made for the German commandants who occupied Brussels in both wars, to carry out their firing-squad executions.

 

Nowadays, the Enclos des Fusillés - Ereperk der Gefusilleerden appears quite 'central' in urban Brussels, as it lies in the Schaerbeek - Schaarbeek commune, directly in the path from the EU institution area toward the roads that lead to the airport, and very near to the 90-metre high VRT-RTBF communications tower that has long been a major Brussels landmark.

 

The Enclos des Fusillés - Ereperk der Gefusilleerden is walking distance from the eastern Brussels 'prémétro', which is a grouping of tram lines that run underground for several stops on both the eastern and western sides of the Brussels city centre, supplementing the regular métro underground system with a similarly high frequency of service and also underground. If you continue along the prémétro lines south from the Diamant stop which is near the Enclos des Fusillés - Ereperk der Gefusilleerden, you shortly arrive at the elaborate 19th-century military barracks buildings which once housed the soldiers who used the rifle range and parade grounds, which later become the place of martyrdom for members of the anti-Nazi resistance.

 

This is a place of great emotion for me personally, because the resistance martyrs who lie in these graves - a number of them socialists, journalists and with Jewish-heritage, critics of corruption just like myself - are my comrades in my own ordeal. I barely escaped alive out of the USA, nearly murdered by neo-Nazi-linked thugs, who themselves spoke favourably of Hitler as they moved toward killing me, as well as trying to ban my ability to write and speak.

 

It is sad that this place, Enclos des Fusillés - Ereperk der Gefusilleerden, is very little visited nowadays. Most of the time when I come here to contemplate and shed a few tears amid my comrades, and also to gain strength from their brave spirits, I am alone. Many of the family members and children of those who died or are buried here, have now themselves often passed away.

 

But on occasion there are people visiting, and on one day I was privileged to meet the daughter of one of the resistance martyrs who is buried here. She spoke to me of being a little girl, and seeing the Nazis arrest her father inside their home. She spoke about how they tied his hands behind his back, and yet how bravely he looked at her one last time. - She never saw her father alive again, and she is now in her seventies. - But when she spoke of her father, her voice grew energised and strong. She said she remembered the day of her father's arrest like if it was yesterday. And as she spoke, I could feel it and almost see it, as if I had been there myself.

 

The heroes in these graves are quite alive for me still. I am a religious man, a person of faith, and I believe in the life hereafter. - Many people have been afraid to help me, abandoning me to be murdered by the powerful forces of the American government - people too frightened to dare oppose the deadly US power of global assassination, the vicious US global media slandering of a dissident's reputation - Yet when I walk here at the Enclos des Fusillés - Ereperk der Gefusilleerden, I feel myself amid a powerful throng of comrades, among brave people who understand me, people who know what it is like to be menaced with murder and to look death straight in the eye. - I feel the spirits in these graves support me and sustain me, that they welcome me as one among themselves.

 

It is my privilege now to honour these brave companions of mine, giving their memory some further renown and support. And I have wanted very much to do so, as the Enclos des Fusillés - Ereperk der Gefusilleerden still is in need of expanded documentation on the Web, before some of what can be seen here fades away much further.

 

One of the most powerful aspects of visiting this tree-lined and grassy cemetery and memorial, is that you see on a number of the grave markers, not only names and comments from loved ones, but in some cases actual pictures of these brave people, pictures rendered into sepia-type photos on porcelain. Though efforts were made to make these photographs permanent, the elements and the years and decades have taken their toll. Many of the pictures are now faded, or cracked, or broken, or fallen on the ground from their mountings. In one case I held a cracked porcelain image together with one hand, while taking the photo with the other hand. The years are passing, and I have wanted to document the faces of these brave heroes before they disappear, before time takes a greater toll on this place of sacred honour.

 

You look into the eyes of these brave people, and you see and feel the spirit of true bravery, of genuine resistance of oppression, resistance to the point of death, their hope that sacrificing one's own life in the fight, will yet do some good for others in the world. Look into their eyes, and you see their faces, faces of real people, quite like anyone in some ways, but in other ways very special, with a light in them that carries far beyond their own death - people who yet had the fire of faith in that Greater than mere earthly existence.

 

In this hillside that you see in the photos - the hillside in front of which many of these heroes stood in the moment as they were shot to death - in that hillside is a large memorial marker to the heroes of World War I who died here. On that marker it says:

 

Ici tomberent

sous les balles allemandes

35 héros victimes de leur

attachement à la patrie

 

Hier vielen

onder de duitse kogels

35 helden ten offer

aan hun liefde voor het vaderland

 

Here fell 35 heroes

who offered their lives

for their country

shot by the Germans

 

You'll notice that the 4th name down on the marker is that of Edith Louisa Cavell (1865-1915), with just her initial and last name and the date of her death here, on 12 October 1915:

 

Cavell E. 12-10-1915

 

The banners that you see here, in the colours of red, yellow, and black, are in the three colours of the national flag of Belgium

 

There are 17 rows of graves here at the Enclos des Fusillés - Ereperk der Gefusilleerden, 12 on the upper level closer to the hillside, and then five on the lower level below. Between the upper and lower levels is an obelisk serving as a kind of centre for the memorial as a whole. On the obelisk it says, on one side in Dutch, on the other side in French:

 

Opgericht door de Verbroedering van de Vriendenkringen der Nazikampenen Gevangenissen

XXVe Verjaring

April 1970

 

Erigé par le Fraternelle des Amicales de Camps et Prisons Nazis

XXVe Anniversaire

April 1970

 

In English this would be:

Constructed by the Association of Friends of Those in the Nazi Camps and Prisons

25th Anniversary

April 1970

 

Around this obelisk lay some faded but still visibly grand wreaths, placed here by the highest figures of Belgian public life. One great wreath at the centre, placed here by the King of the Belgians, Albert II, and his wife Paola, whose royal household has very quietly but effectively supplied some of the protection for me in Belgium, that has so far prevented me from being murdered here by foreign powers. - You see the ribbon say simply 'Albert - Paola'.

 

And another large wreath has a ribbon saying 'la Gouvernement - de Regering', from the government of Belgium.

 

Though many of the resistance martyrs buried here, were shot by firing squad right on this spot, a number of these martyrs died in other places, most especially in the Belgian concentration camp at Breendonk (Breendonck), which due to its stone structure is one of the best-preserved Nazi concentration camps. Breendonk can be visited today, about 40 kilometres north of Brussels in the direction of Antwerp, very near the Willebroek train station.

 

Among the graves here, a number are of heroes of the anti-Nazi resistance whose names are unknown: 'Inconnu - Onbekend' say the grave markers in French and in Dutch. In one row, there are six unknowns side-by-side; and then the entire final last row of the Enclos des Fusillés - Ereperk der Gefusilleerden, is all the resting place of unknown heroes, 21 altogether.

 

In any struggle against oppressive government, there are often unknown heroes. - And as I myself am a victim of brutal deceptive media smear campaigns, as well as the US regime ordering search engines to suppress my own websites, I can testify as to how hard the evil powers work, to try to see that those who fight the system, remain unknown, or else smeared and slandered with propaganda and lies.

 

There are perhaps yet other heroes of the World War II resistance, whose anonymous graves somewhere, may yet one day be found. One of the photos here is of a maintenance area by the side, where fresh grave markers are ready, some with crosses, some with a star of David, awaiting use for some other hero whose remains are yet to be discovered.

 

In addition to the photographs on the grave markers, which speak for themselves, a number of the graves are also marked with heartfelt statements by those who loved and honoured them. Most are in French, and with photos where there are such engraved statements, there are transcriptions of what you find, along with a translation.

 

Many of these resistance martyrs to the Nazis who lie here, are of course Jewish. The majority are Christians of Belgium, but a significant proportion of the heroes who lie here, are Jewish resistance martyrs of the Holocaust. And even more than one from the same family - the Livchitz brothers who lie here. Moreover, some of the Christians who are buried here, are of Jewish heritage as well - as I am myself, a unitarian Christian.

 

My own heritage on my mother's side is Jewish, and it was my commitment to honour the memory of relatives and other Jews who died in the Holocaust, that led to my being forced to become a political refugee from the United States. - Back when living in the US, I received a letter threatening the book-burning of the books of this Jewish-heritage writer, and I responded strongly. A few weeks later my freedom to speak and write was banned, and threats to extort and murder me were put in motion. This story has been told in other places (see link to press articles in my profile), but suffice it to say here, that it was my honouring the memory of murdered Jews, which led me to be a Jewish-heritage political refugee today in Brussels.

 

Though I am unitarian Christian by faith, the old Jewish sites of Brussels and Belgium strike deep chords within me, as I very much feel the spirit of the Jews who suffered and died under the kind of racist threats I have also suffered.

 

One of the things I am often-asked, as a Jewish-heritage political refugee, is why the Jewish groups and Jewish leaders, do not say or do more to defend me, against the threats to have me murdered, against the lies and hoaxes spread about me, against the blocking of my own journalism sites from the internet search engines. - For example, in my efforts to stay alive these last few years, I have received much more comfort and assistance and support from brave Muslims, than from the Jewish people who share my own heritage.

 

There are two main reasons for this kind of neglect of someone like myself by Jewish leaders. One is that I am not a political Zionist - I favour peace and justice for all the residents of the ancient holy lands of Palestine. - A second reason, is that there is a sad heritage among Jewish people, to stand by and do nothing while other Jews are attacked by the dominant power of the day. - It was that way in the old pogroms of Eastern Europe, it was that way under the Nazi-era exterminations, and it is that way today regarding the case of the United States. - Since it is the US regime which has been attacking me and forcing me to be a refugee here, Jewish 'leadership' simply does not want to confront the USA. Given that I am a non-Zionist, and a unitarian Christian in faith, well, that settles it as far as Jewish leaders are concerned, and they turn away and say nothing.

 

There are still some brave Jews, however, like one brave Orthodox Jewish physician in America, a friend who has helped me to be able to be here now, supplying these photographs of the Jewish and other martyrs of anti-Nazi resistance.

 

And the Jewish heritage is there in me, and I am glad I honoured the memory of the Holocaust dead, even though it led me into terrible sufferings at the hands of US political figures and the US regime.

 

There is a sense of profound spiritual achievement that I have, as I place on-line this historical record of the martyrs of the Enclos des Fusillés - Ereperk der Gefusilleerden. It is perhaps only by the grace of God that I was able to escape the US alive, from the clutches of the people menacing to illegally jail me and murder me in a US jail cell. - My now being able to honour the memory of my fellow anti-fascist figures in Belgium, who were shot dead by the Nazis of an earlier era, feels to me to be one of the important purposes, for which I was kept alive by divine hands.

 

To visit the Enclos des Fusillés - Ereperk der Gefusilleerden, you can walk about 600 metres from the Diamant 'prémétro' or underground tram stop which includes tram lines 23, 24, and 25. If you wish to get even closer by bus, you can take buses number 12, 21, or 79 the two stops from Diamant to the Colonel Bourg - Kolonel Bourg bus shelter sign. Alternatively, if you are in the EU area, you can take these same buses 12, 21 or 79 directly from the Schuman métro station by the EU's main Berlaymont building. Another route is that bus 80 from the Mérode metro station will also take you directly to the Colonel Bourg - Kolonel Bourg stop. A few tens of metres west of where the bus halts, along the rue Colonel Bourg - Kolonel Bourgstraat, you see the sign directing to the entrance of the Enclos des Fusillés - Ereperk der Gefusilleerden.

 

"A photograph is a secret about a secret. The more it tells you the less you know."

 

~Diane Arbus

 

Created for the Our Daily Challenge topic:

 

Half Full/Half Empty is the topic for Tuesday 24thh November 2020

KABK Graduation Festival

Den Haag 2016

 

Connection between humans is created through eye contact, smell, temperature, magnetic field, verbal communication, gestures, meaningful smile, etc. Through the evolutionary traits of empathy and anthropomorphism, that we as species have evolved, we are able to connect with other species, but also with inanimate objects, such as man-made machines. We are even capable of creating empathy towards a machine that has no visual nor functional similarities to a human. To connect we need one of forementioned senses, or sensors. A camera lens works technically as a simplified version of an organic eye. Hence, I became curious about the mechanic perception and recording distorted landscapes, where objects blend together as they were never apart.

 

THESIS: Connection between an inanimate object and a human

I am interested in prosthetics, robotics, and have been working with depth-camera images. Something that connects all these topics, is that they relate to inanimate objects. A question that follows is: “How human are they?” Each thing listed works towards the same goal, that is simulation. New media technology has opened a door to the artists creativity. It can let the audience experience a more diverse stage of performers at this period of time.

Few questions about what it is. It is frame of a mirror. :D

   

Would this look better painted gray instead of silver?

Same tree. Different day.

Question mark cloud ?

When I cut this yam, this milky substance oozed out around the edges of the cut surface. Is this normal? Update: Yes, apparently.

First, it's "Streetcar Sunday" so here you go (sigh). Have to get this out of the way...

 

Second, very recently I made a trip down to Tacoma to support a friend and attend a City Club of Tacoma luncheon regarding Sound Transit 3 (ST3) and transit democratization. TVW kindly recorded the luncheon and at 55:40 of the link some Joe asked a question: goo.gl/VxFQCR . So enjoy this transit photo...

 

PHOTO CREDIT: Joe A. Kunzler Photo, AvgeekJoe Productions, growlernoise-AT-gmail-DOT-com

The KOM League

Flash Report

For

July 19, 2019

 

Anyone curious as to what possibly could be left to write about, regarding the KOM league, there are two items in this week’s report One contains old news and the other a current event.

www.flickr.com/photos/60428361@N07/48317007492/

 

Over the course of documenting the history of KOM league players there are some names that have a question mark beside them. In those instances the old batboy is relatively sure he has found the former player but has no conclusive evidence that would stand up in court.

 

A former player meeting those criteria was a short-term pitcher for the Bartlesville Oilers that was identified as Joseph Radamacher. Many trips have been made through Ancestry.com files and about a half dozen years ago it was believed the fellow was Joseph John Rademacher Jr. of Escanaba, Michigan. That name went on the KOM database with a question mark attached thereto.

 

In the past week a birth announcement was found in the January 3, 1928 Escanaba Daily Press that Mr. and Mrs. Joseph Rademacher of Escanaba had given birth to a 10-pound boy the previous day.

 

There were numerous references to Joseph Jr. as he made his way through grade and high school. He attended St. Joseph’s High School in Escanaba. The Escanaba Daily Press reported on December 17, 1946 that Joseph Jr. had been accepted to attend the Bartow, Florida baseball school from January 6 through February 13, 1947. The supervisor for the school was George “Snuffy” Stirnweiss, Yankee second baseman www.google.com/search?q=snuffy+stirnweiss&oq=snuffy+s...

He was assisted by Fred Vaughn of the Washington Senators, www.google.com/search?q=Fred+Vaughn+baseball&oq=Fred+...

Burt Shotten of the Brooklyn Dodgers, www.google.com/search?q=burt+shotton+baseball&oq=Bert...

Ed Murphy coach at Holy Cross www.google.com/search?q=Ed+murphy+holy+cross&oq=ed+mu... and Doc Meek the trainer of the Newark Bears.

 

By January 27, 1947 the Escanaba newspaper reported Rademacher had been tagged as a youngster with talent and was offered a contract by the Pittsburgh Pirates. The article stated he had been given the choice of signing a Class B or C contract and chose the lower classification in order better himself in a career he envisioned would put him in the major leagues later on.

 

After extensive research all that could be found, for 1947, was his brief appearance with the Bartlesville Oilers.

 

In a May 18, 1948 article a headline in the Escanaba Daily Press stated “Ford River Hurler Wins First Game in Kentucky: Will Stay.” The article that followed read “Joseph Rademacher Jr. of Ford River, who left a month ago to play baseball with the Jenkins, KY team, has informed friends here that he intends to stay. He pitched the season opener for Jenkins a few days ago and the team won.”

 

It appears that the stay at Jenkins, in the Mountain States league, was brief for he was back in Michigan for most of the summer of 1948 pitching for Channing, a semi-pro team, in the Northern Wisconsin-Michigan league.

 

At the start of the 1949 season Rademacher was in the Blue Ridge league playing for the Elkin Blanketeers. He posted a 2-4 record in 11 mound appearances and left that team prior to mid-July. I suspect he was unconditionally released for he was free to try out for another team

 

On July 14, 1949 the Chicago White Sox held a tryout camp where three boys from Escanaba attended. Of the three only Rademacher made an impression. There were “rave” comments about him in the press and it stated the 6’ 2” 195 pounder had the appearance of the making of a good major league pitcher. The news coming from that tryout was the White Sox signed him for one year and that he would report, in the spring of 1950 to their minor league training facility in Hot Springs, Arkansas. The word was that when he made it in that organization he would be assigned to the Class C Superior club in the Northern league. Nothing indicates that he played in 1950 but records do show that he was in the Korean War by 1951.

 

A number of articles, bearing his name, appeared in the Escanaba Daily Press, over the years. He was active in civic affairs and even in building baseball fields for youngsters in his home town. His occupation appeared in city directories as a sheet metal worker.

 

Joseph John Rademacher died October 25, 2011 in his native hometown. In searching other files something was found that I hadn’t expected. On a family site was his photo which was probably taken when he was in his 60’s. www.flickr.com/photos/60428361@N07/48317007492/

 

A comment was posted on the site where the photo was found and possibly a member of the family will be in touch. No baseball record book shows he ever played in the Mountain States or KOM leagues and its possible no one in his family ever knew about it either. By the time he was married, in 1949, his baseball days were over and his first child was not born until 1957.

 

If you think the name Rademacher rings a bell, it probably does. The bell rings in a boxing ring when, in 1956, a young man by the name of Pete Rademacher was the. Olympic heavyweight boxing champion. magazine.wsu.edu/2016/04/29/pete-rademacher/

 

He had a bout with champion, Floyd Patterson, after the Olympics and got his bell rung. Now, if you think I’m going to tell you Pete and Joseph Rademacher were brothers, you would be incorrect. Were they kin in any manner? That I don’t know as the boxing Rademacher was from the State of Washington. But, if they were kin it will probably take me another 25 years to determine. Just as it has taken that long to document some aspects of the life of Joseph John Rademacher.

 

______________________________________________________________________________

The Bionic Bob Speake

 

During this past week an e-mail was received from the daughter of Ray Etzel who pitched for the Chanute, Kansas Athletics in 1946. Etzel was a native Topekan and lived there until his passing in May of 2006. My wife got to know his wife while working at the VA Hospital in Topeka but neither realized a common link until they met at a KOM league reunion a number of years later. Since the death of her mother and dad, Sharon has kept in touch with the KOM league news through the Flash Reports. Here is what she shared. “Hi John: We enjoyed your photos of the deer. You probably already know this, but Bob Speake is being inducted into the Shawnee County Baseball Hall of Fame tonight. I’m sending a link to the article in today’s Topeka Capital-Journal.”

 

www.cjonline.com/sports/.../speake-parlayed-baseball-into...

 

After opening the aforementioned link I sent the following note to Bob and Joan Speake. “I got a notice on the e-mail a few minutes ago about Bob being inducted into the Shawnee County Ball Hall of Fame tonight. I enjoyed the article except for the part where the writer had Bob playing for Joplin in the KOM league. Hope you are all doing well.”

 

Upon arising from a night of not much sleep I was made to feel better by this note from Joan Speake. “Haven't been on the computer for a couple of days but was just sitting down to write you and tell you a woman sent Bob a note saying she had sent you a link so you could see the article. There WERE a few mistakes, the first one being Joplin instead of Carthage!! The man was very nice and he and Bob had a long time together here and he was taping their conversation so how he got Joplin I don't know. Also, we have 8 grandchildren, not only 4 and Bob has never called me Joanie ...ever! His family does and all my friends in Springfield but not here because he never called me that and so our friends here always called me Joan. So another ? as to where Joanie came from? Outside of that, the rest of the article was very good, I thought. The event is a fund raiser for youth baseball in Topeka and there was a pretty good turnout.

 

We are doing ok. Bob is due to have cataract surgery soon, have to get that set up. We have the consultation date set. He has a pace maker now so he is getting close to being the bionic( is that the word?) man.

 

Hope you both are doing well and still keeping up with those cute little ones. We now have 4 great grandsons and expecting another boy in Jan. which will make 5 under the age of 4. They all live here and pretty close to us which is nice.

 

We miss the days of the Reunions but could not keep up with it now. Bob isn't much of a traveler any more but lots of good memories. We keep in touch with Frank Hungerford some and Paul Nichols occasionally since they were school buddies of ours and I think Barb and Gale Wade are coming through some time this year but I hope they aren't traveling in this hot weather! 114 heat index today!! Stay cool! Love, Joan and Bob.”

 

It was my intention to share the Topeka Capital Journal article and then point out the factual errors as it pertained to the KOM league. But, Joan took care of that in her note. In all deference to sportswriters of 2019 it is only fair to point out what transpired in 1949 is now ancient history. However, as the unofficial historian of the KOM league it does seem incumbent upon me to point out obvious errors. It could be that in another few years someone will write about the KOM league and show Joplin as a member of it with Bob Speake being their first baseman. That would cause old Carthage Cub fans to roll over in whatever place they might be by that time.

 

For those who care to see how Bob Speake appears today and to read the article from the Topeka Capital Journal they can click on the site cited. For those who don’t click on URL’s this is the article.

 

 

Sluggers capable of chasing Mickey Mantle for a league home run title certainly possess some prodigious power.

 

Bob Speake, however, used more than just his bat to challenge the Yankees icon. He also engaged the Mick in foot races.

 

Those skills eventually helped Speake reach the major leagues. On Tuesday, the longtime Topeka resident will be inducted into the Shawnee County Baseball Hall of Fame during a 5:30 p.m. banquet at the Ramada Hotel and Convention Center.

 

While playing for Joplin in the KOM League as a Class D player in 1949, Speake slugged 14 homers to seven for Mantle, who played for Independence. A year later, both played in Topeka while in the Class C Western Association. Mantle flexed his power and topped Speake in homers that year.

 

However, a different pregame exhibition — this was the minors, after all — is what Speake, 89, remembers best.

 

First, a 60-yard dash was contested down the baseline.

 

“Zoom,″ Speake recalled, “I remember seeing that No. 7 on his back. So, he starts giving me the what-for and I told him, ‘I’ll get you on the next one.’ ″

 

That contest had Speake running from second base to home; Mantle from home to second. The first to get to his destination, running the same distance, prevailed.

 

“Well, I had a crossover technique in running the bases,″ Speake recalled. “Of course, he’s starting at home plate with a dead start. I’m pushing off the bag. So, I won and I told him, ‘That one’s for you.’ ″

 

Baseball would not become the kind of career bonanza for Speake that it was for Mantle. But when he retired after the 1959 season, Speake leveraged his time in the game.

 

As one of the founding executives of American Investors Life, Topeka has been home to Speake. He and his wife, Joanie, raised three children here. They have four grandchildren and five great-grandchildren.

 

Speake learned all he could about the all-important marketing arm of business when he teamed with other businessmen in his hometown of Springfield, Mo. Automatic pinsetters had just been introduced to bowling centers and the group wanted to capitalize on what was then a growing sport.

 

“I said, ‘Now, you guys are all businessmen. If you want to talk baseball I can talk all night. But if you want to talk business, talk slow,’ ″ Speake recalled.

 

“Baseball gave me a front relating to people. Business is all about marketing. My time in the bowling business gave me an education, because when I went into starting the (insurance) company, I could contribute.″

 

The baseball stories Speake shares to this day are wonderful, beginning with the contests against Mantle after growing up in the same region of the country at the same time.

 

Both were talented, though the appraisals they received from big-league scouts grew clear one day when both were in line for their Army physicals.

 

“Mickey had a briefcase and I didn’t have anything,″ Speake said. “I went through, and he went back to New York.″

 

The Army stint kept Speake out of professional baseball for two years. While training at Fort Riley, Speake played 8-man football for the base team, a natural fit since that sport was his first love and one he played collegiately for one season at what is now Missouri State. While overseas, Speake played baseball for his base team.

 

Eventually, Speake played all or part of nine professional seasons.

 

When he got his first crack at the majors in 1955 with the Chicago Cubs, he was asked by manager Stan Hack if he ever played outfield. Hank Sauer, the 1952 MVP of the National League, was out and a replacement was needed. Speake, a first baseman, recognized the opportunity.

 

“I played outfield one game in the service, but I wasn’t lying to him,″ Speake said. “We were in Brooklyn and after that game I played left field. I went to the public library and picked out books on playing the outfield. So, I became an outfielder. You don’t say no.″

 

The Cubs were glad he didn’t. That May, Speake slammed 10 home runs, though the left-handed pull hitter was not well-suited for the prevailing wind in Wrigley Field.

 

Speake eventually bounced between the big leagues and Triple A, hitting .256 at all levels with 137 home runs. During the era in which he played, Speake also saw first-hand the Hall of Fame impact Jackie Robinson had breaking the color barrier.

 

With the Cubs, Speake played with Ernie Banks. After he was traded to the Giants, he played with Willie Mays. As one of the original San Francisco Giants, the prospect of playing regularly seemed promising — until the Giants brought in Bill White, Orlando Cepeda and Willie McCovey as first basemen.

 

“So, my time with the Giants (81 games in 1958 and ’59) is because the Jackie Robinson experiment was successful,″ Speake said. “Now, not successful from my perspective, but for the good of the game. The writing was on the wall.″

 

As a successful businessman who was one of the original investors in the diamonds that have long housed the Ken Berry League, Speake still made the most of his baseball career. And he made far more than the $400 bonus he received to sign with the Cubs organization and the $10,000 stipulated in his top big-league contract.

 

“Again, baseball was my front,″ Speake said. “I don’t pretend to be any more than a baseball player with a few good games. My dad, when I signed my first contract, said, ‘Boy, I want to tell you one thing. Always remember, whatever your dream is, there’s always room at the top.’ ″

 

Eventually, Speake ascended to that very spot, as a businessman.

 

Ed comment:

 

One other item catching my eye was Joan Speake’s mention of Barbara and Gale Wade coming this way in the near future. They have to pass through Columbia, Mo. on their way to Topeka and eventually Bremerton, Washington. In times past the Wade’s have called my wife and I and we have met at a local eatery to savor some “great” food such as Scorned Woman hot sauce. Gale loves the tongue scorching, belly burning elixir. When I know his automobile will be headed west on I-70 I’ll be sure to have some on hand and we can douse or breakfast eggs or lunch barbecue with it.

 

Joan mentioned the past reunions in her note and stated she missed them but it wouldn’t be likely they could attend any if they were held. It dawned on me that the last one was held 11 years ago and if we scheduled one now it would be tough to find enough attendees to fill a telephone booth. But, in the era of cell phones it would be tougher to find a telephone booth than in locating enough people to fill it.

______________________________________________________________________________

That does it for this time around

 

If any reader has something to share, do so. The old brain of the Flash Report editor has about atrophied to the point where nothing much emanates from it that is worth reporting.

  

There are many things to question about the automotive world, but why did the Wedge ever take off?

 

With that said, I give you the Triumph TR7, British Leyland's once great hope for domination of the American market, crushed by poor design, miscommunication, terrible advertising and shoddy workmanship.

 

The Triumph TR7 was first launched in 1974 as British Leyland's top ranging sports car. Looking very sheek and stylish (and like a block of cheese with pop up headlights) with its low riding wedge shape, the car did indeed look the part...

 

...minus a few things here and there. One was that massive composite bumper, which was yoked onto the front of the car to conform with American safety legislation. Another was the roof design, which was hastily slapped on to conform to American safety legislation. And finally there's the tail lights, which were not designed to conform with American safety legislation, they were just poorly put together.

 

Yes the TR7 was in the grip of American safety legislation. Following the tragic death of James Dean, America planned to ban convertibles, and thus car manufacturers across the globe had to redesign their cars in order to work with this new legislation. However, instead of taking a leaf out of their own book and giving the TR7 a curious T-Bar arrangement like on the Triumph Stag, they decided to slap on a roof that completely compromised the profile of the car.

 

But styling was the least of the TR7's worries, it was then bogged down with how it was built. Underneath that wedgie body, the TR7 was nothing more than a humble Triumph Dolomite, powered by the fundamentally flawed Twin Dolomite V8 and built on the same chassis. The result was a car so faulty that it would hardly ever run, as was found in the filming of the popular British TV show, the New Avengers, where the character of Purdy was coupled with a yellow TR7 much like this one. Apparently the car was so unreliable that all the filming involving the car had to be done in 20 minutes or less before the car broke down again!

 

It was also interesting to note that when the car underwent trials Frankfurt Motor Show in 1977, the car overheated on a 2.5 mile speed test, and after 19 days in a shed, a troop of British Leyland engineers still couldn't figure out what was wrong with it.

 

But set aside the failure in giving it a reliable engine and a good design, the TR7 was then botched by Red Robbo's rowdies at the Speke Factory in Liverpool. Strike after strike occurred and cars were released onto the roads only half put together. The results were either massive unreliability, leaking panels, electrical infidelity and/or other problems, such as hitting the indicator switch which would cause the horn to blow. This downfall was assisted by the factory shutting down for nearly a year due to seemingly constant industrial action, with many unfinished TR7 shells rotting out in the Liverpool drizzle.

 

Eventually, order was somewhat restored when production moved to the factory in Coventry, and reliability began to improve, but with its reputation in tatters, the TR7 simply would not sell, even with promotion on the New Avengers. However, in the end the threat of American legislation was lifted, and the cars were allowed to be sold as convertibles, which were quite handsome looking machines. This was later added to by the fitting of a Rover V8 engine to replace the unreliable Dolomite engine, and as such the formula was perfected in the form of the Triumph TR8...

 

...only to be axed the following year in 1981 as that poor reputation mixed with build quality issues and an unusually strong Pound meant the car was surprisingly more expensive than its rivals, and so the TR7 and TR8's were dead. But even so, towards the end they did begin to sell well, and a TR8 also found its way into the world of Rallying under the command of Tony Pond, the 300bhp monster he drove was simply untouchable.

 

Today these cars can be common if you know where to look, but don't expect to find many in everyday usage as like most British Leyland cars, they don't react well to the rain.

Depuis seize ans, Iouri travaille au centre d’observation météo de la baie d’Ouzouri, au nord de l’île d’Olkhone. À l’heure de la retraite, il n’envisage pas de quitter « le » Baïkal.

 

Alors que l’heure de la retraite sonne, Iouri n’a pas l’intention de quitter la station météo de la baie d’Ouzouri, à l’extrémité nord de l’île. Jadis, il rêvait de finir ses jours dans les environs d’Irkoutsk. La soixantaine venue, il n’en est plus question. « Cela n’a pas de sens d’aller chercher quelque chose de meilleur ailleurs, dit-il. Ici, c’est le point final, on ne bouge plus. »

Son épouse Natalia opine, en riant. « Le Baïkal, disent-ils en chœur, c’est la nature, l’air pur, les espaces vastes à l’infini, la visibilité à 100 km, la tranquillité, la paix… Le lac est devenu notre patrie. » Et Iouri d’ajouter : « Quand je fais un cauchemar, j’imagine que nous avons quitté le Baïkal… Ici, tout est clair à cause du sable, du ciel. J’ai peur de perdre cet endroit. »

 

« Le lac Baïkal vous attire et vous aspire », dit encore Iouri. Et puis, insiste-t-il, « toute la famille est près de nous ». Sa fille travaille désormais à la station météo, sa belle-fille aussi. Son fils est employé par le relais téléphonique, son gendre par l’Institut d’observation solaire.

Car, dans ces quelques isbas en rondins qui abritent la station météo et ses employés, cohabitent deux autres instituts de recherche. « Au total, neuf personnes habitent ici. Notre famille et un autre météorologue, un peu âgé », précise Iouri. Chacun améliore l’ordinaire en cultivant un lopin de terre, en élevant quelques animaux.

 

Iouri est né à Novossibirsk, une ville de 1,4 million d’habitants à l’extrémité ouest de la Sibérie, à 2 800 km de Moscou. « Au départ, je suis un gars de la ville. Mais, dès l’enfance, j’ai lu des tas de livres sur la taïga, la pêche, la chasse », se souvient-il. Du temps de l’URSS, il n’était pas facile de s’installer sans raison dans ces vastes étendues déshéritées.

 

C’est pour pouvoir le faire que Iouri est devenu météorologue.

 

Staline avait en effet installé sur tout le territoire soviétique des postes d’observation météo… Ainsi Iouri a-t-il pu travailler d’abord dans les montagnes du sud-ouest de la Sibérie, puis, au nord, dans la réserve de Bargouzine, sur la rive orientale du lac Baïkal. Là-bas, il vivait dans la toundra avec les Evens, un peuple autochtone de Sibérie.

 

Puis, il y a seize ans, il est arrivé avec sa famille sur l’île d’Olkhone qui compte deux stations météo, l’une à Khoujir où le climat est plus doux (la ville donne sur la « petite mer », le bras d’eau située entre l’île et le continent), l’autre, dans la baie d’Ouzouri, ouverte sur le lac.

 

Un vent glacial presque toute l’année

 

Un travail très prenant l’y attendait. Dans ces centres isolés, toutes les trois heures, ces météorologues doivent noter la température de l’air et du sol, la force du vent, le taux d’humidité. Puis ils communiquent ces données, par radio, au poste central, à Irkoustk.

 

Iouri est évidemment intarissable sur le climat d’Olkhone. « Les vents qui soufflent ici ne sont pas les mêmes qu’ailleurs, explique-t-il. N’empêche, à l’automne, le vent souffle en permanence, glacial. Sur le lac, beaucoup de bateaux sont alors renversés. Mi-janvier, dès que le lac gèle, la température se stabilise et le vent se calme. En juin, le vent souffle de nouveau jusqu’à ce que la température de l’eau monte au même niveau que celle de l’air. »

 

À la longue, Iouri a appris à connaître « le Baïkal » mieux que personne. Il avait d’ailleurs servi de guide à l’écrivain-voyageur Sylvain Tesson en 2004, lors de sa première expédition à moto sur le lac. C’était l’hiver, une saison particulièrement rude dans ce coin de Sibérie. En 2010, lorsque Sylvain Tesson vécut en ermite pendant six mois dans une cabane en rondins, sur la rive occidentale du lac, Iouri lui rendait visite de temps en temps.

 

« C’est un garçon compliqué mais intéressant, il aimait bien picoler », remarque-t-il à propos de l’écrivain français. « La Sibérie vous impose la consommation d’alcool fort, sinon il n’est pas possible d’y vivre », corrige-t-il aussitôt.

 

L’hiver sibérien est particulièrement rude. Mi-janvier, la température tombe à -25 °C, et parfois, jusqu’à -40°C, voire en dessous encore. Le lac est alors gelé. Piétons, motos et voitures circulent sur la glace où des trous sont percés pour puiser de l’eau ou pêcher.

Puis, peu à peu, la glace se fissure, craque, se déforme, s’ouvre. Les accidents sont fréquents, des véhicules sont engloutis dans des failles. En mai, c’est la débâcle… « Ici, l’hiver dure douze mois, après c’est l’été », blaguent les Russes.

 

Quoique habitué à cette vie rude, Iouri n’est pas très optimiste pour l’avenir. « Le climat se refroidit, lentement mais sûrement. En s’appuyant sur les données recueillies pendant des années d’observation, on peut prévoir ce que ça va donner dans le futur. La moyenne des températures va peut-être baisser de 2 ou 3 degrés. C’est du moins ce que disent nos scientifiques », se reprend-il, lorsqu’on lui objecte que, dans le monde, la plupart des climatologues sont désormais d’accord pour diagnostiquer un réchauffement climatique général. « D’après nos scientifiques, rectifie-t-il, il existe des cycles climatiques d’environ trente ans. Le cycle du réchauffement climatique finit, nous entrons dans un cycle de refroidissement… ».

  

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Au centre de la Sibérie orientale, la région où se trouve le lac Baïkal, le climat, très continental, donc très rude, se caractérise par des écarts importants de températures entre l’hiver, glacial, et l’été, chaud. Cependant, aux abords du Baïkal, l’inertie thermique des immenses quantités d’eau contenues dans le lac tempère le climat.

L’hiver, la température moyenne y est de -15 °C, mais de -26 °C en janvier, si bien qu’une couche de glace de 80 centimètres, parfois plus, se forme sur le lac. L’été, la température moyenne est de 13 °C (et même 19 °C en juillet).

 

La région du Baïkal est sèche. Les précipitations sont particulièrement faibles sur l’île d’Olkhone, où il tombe seulement quelque 200 mm d’eau par an. L’ensoleillement dépasse les 2 500 heures par an, ce qui vaut parfois au Baïkal le surnom de « royaume du soleil ».

Question and Batgirl beat up Riddler as Superboy looks on.

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.… (portrait of devotees of St. Agatha) ….

  

.… (ritratto di devoti di Sant' Agata) ….

   

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the slideshow

  

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Fear of the unknown, the fear of losing own physical or mental health, or worse, having already lost it, possible problems with work (if a work has it), old age advancing, awareness of the existence of a Higher Being, are just some of the reasons that push people to search for a contact with the Divine, with the supernatural, leading them to plead for help, but this is not enough to completely explain the close link fact of absolute devotion and enormous affection that the people of Catania (province) have towards their young martyr Agatha; an entire city partecipate in these days to ceremony and procession, one can not help but ask this question, what binds in such a profound and peculiar citizens to their Patron Saint Agata? Maybe I was lucky enough to capture photographically what is a partial response: a child at a very early age is brought to the window from her mother while passing the float of St. Agatha, so it's easy to understand... the devotion and attachment to the Martyr starts very young , transmitted by their parents as a treasure to be preserved and grow throughout their lives, which leads you in the days of the feast to a great collective.

This is a short-long report I did this year 2016, in the city of Catania (Sicily) in occasion of the feast of her patron saint Agatha, which took place on the 3, 4 and 5 February (this dates commemorates the martyrdom of the young Saint), and on 17 August too (this date celebrates the return to Catania of her remains, after these had been transferred to Constantinople by the Byzantine general Maniaces as war booty, and there remained for 86 years), when the Sicilian city is dressed up to feast, with a scent of orange blossom and mandarins, and its citizens show that they possess an extraordinary love and bond with the young martyr saint Agatha.

The religious sicilian feast of Saint Agatha is the most important feast of Catania, its inhabitants from five centuries, during the three days of the feast in honor of her "Santuzza" (young Saint), create a unique setting, with celebrations and rituals impressive, which means that this event is regarded as the third religious festival in the world (some say the second ...) after the "Semana Santa" in Seville and the "Corpus Christi" in Cuzco, Peru. Unlike other religious holidays, more sober, to Sant'Agata highlights a vocation exuberant typical of the south Italy, who loves to combine the sacred with the profane.

The cult of the young Santa dates back to the third century, when the teenager Agatha was martyred for refusing the roman proconsul Quintiziano. One year after the death of the young Agatha, on 5 February of the year 252, his virginal veil was carried in procession, and it is said it was able to save Catania from destruction due to a devastating eruption of Mount Etna.

The festivities begin with the procession of Candlemas (this year were in greater number, perhaps 14 instead of the 11 years of the other years); the "Candlemas" are giant Baroque wooden "candlesticks" paintings in gold, each representing an ancient guild (butchers, fishmongers, grocers, greengrocers, etc.), which are brought by eight devotees; the "cannalore" (candlemas) anticipate the arrival of the "float" of Saint Agatha during the procession. Devotees, men and women, wearing a traditional garment similar to a white bag, cinched at the waist by a black rope, gloves and a white handkerchief, and a black velvet cap, and it seems that such clothing evoke nightgown with the qule the Catanese, awakened with a start by the touch of the bells of the Cathedral, welcomed the naval port, in 1126, the relics of the Holy which fell from Constantinople. On float, consisting of a silver chariot sixteenth of thirty tons, which is driven by a double and long line of devotees with the robust and long ropes, takes place the bust of Saint Agatha, completely covered with precious stones and jewels. On February 4, the parade celebrates the so-called "external path" that touches some places of martyrdom in the city of Catania; the next day, the 5 instead the procession along the "aristocrat path", which runs along the main street, Via Etnea, the parlor of Catania. On this day the devotees carry on their shoulders the long candles of varying thickness, there are some not very big, others are fairly heavy, but some skim exceptional weights.

  

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La paura dell’ignoto, il timore di perdere la salute fisica o psichica, o peggio, averla già persa, possibili problemi col lavoro (per chi un lavora l’ha) o peggio non averlo dovendo così “inventarsi” la giornata, la vecchiaia che avanza, la consapevolezza dell’esistenza di un Essere Superiore, sono solo alcuni dei motivi che spingono gli uomini a cercare un contatto col Divino, col Sovrannaturale, portandoli ad invocare il Suo aiuto, ma tutto ciò non basta assolutamente a spiegare lo stretto legame fatto di assoluta devozione ed enorme attaccamento che gli abitanti di Catania (e provincia) hanno nei confronti della loro “Santuzza” la giovanissima martire Agata; nel vedere partecipare quella che sembra essere una città intera a questi giorni di rito e processione, non ci si può non porre questa domanda, cosa lega in maniera così profonda e peculiare i cittadini Catanesi alla loro Santa Patrona Agata? Forse ho avuto la fortuna di cogliere fotograficamente quella che è una risposta parziale e certamente non unica alla domanda: un bimbo in tenerissima età viene portato alla finestra dalla sua mamma mentre passa la vara di S.Agata, ecco… la devozione e l’attaccamento alla giovanissima Martire inizia da piccolissimi, trasmessa dai propri genitori (e non solo…) come un tesoro da custodire e coltivare per tutta la vita, che porta che nei giorni della festa ad un fantastico rito collettivo al quale nessun Catanese sembra non possa o non voglia rinunciare.

Questa è un breve e lungo report, da me realizzato nel febbraio di quest’anno 2016, nella città di Catania (Sicilia) in occasione della festa della sua giovane santa patrona Agata, che ha avuto luogo come ogni anno il 3, il 4 ed il 5 di febbraio (questa data commemora il martirio della Santa giovinetta), festa che viene ripetuta anche il 17 agosto (questa data rievoca il ritorno a Catania delle sue spoglie, dopo che queste erano state trasferite a Costantinopoli da parte del generale bizantino Maniace come bottino di guerra, spoglie che ivi rimasero per 86 anni); per questa occasione la città siciliana è vestita a festa con profumi di fiori d'arancio e mandarini, coi suoi cittadini che mostrano di possedere uno straordinario amore e legame con la giovane martire Agata.

Gli abitanti di Catania, oramai da cinque secoli, nei tre giorni della festa in onore della "Santuzza", danno vita ad una scenografia unica, con celebrazioni e riti imponenti, che fanno si che questo evento sia considerato come la terza festa religiosa al mondo (qualcuno dice la seconda ...) dopo la "Semana Santa" di Siviglia ed il "Corpus Domini" a Cuzco, in Perù. A differenza di altre feste religiose, più sobrie, quella di Sant'Agata mette in luce una vocazione esuberante tipica del meridione, che ama unire il sacro col profano.

Il culto della giovane Santa risale al terzo secolo, quando l'adolescente Agata fu martirizzata per aver rifiutato il proconsole romano Quintiziano. Un anno dopo la morte della giovane Agata, avvenuta il 5 febbraio dell'anno 252, il suo velo virginale venne portato in processione, e si narra esso riuscì a salvare Catania dalla sua distruzione a causa di una devastante eruzione del vulcano Etna.

I festeggiamenti iniziano con il corteo delle "candelore", queste sono dei giganteschi e pesanti "candelabri" in legno, in stile barocco, dipinti in oro, ognuna rappresentante una antica corporazione (macellai, pescivendoli, pizzicagnoli, fruttivendoli, ecc.), che vengono portati da otto devoti, le quali "cannalore" durante la processione anticipano l'arrivo della "vara" di Sant'Agata. I devoti, sia donne che uomini, indossano un tipico indumento simile ad un sacco bianco, stretto in vita da una cordicella nera, guanti ed un fazzoletto bianchi, ed infine una papalina di velluto nero, sembra che tale abbigliamento rievochi la camicia da notte con la quale i Catanesi, svegliatisi di soprassalto dal tocco improvviso delle campane del Duomo, accolsero al porto navale, nel 1126, le reliquie della Santa che rientravano da Costantinopoli. Sulla vara, costituita da un carro argentato cinquecentesco di trenta quintali, trainata da una doppia e lunghissima fila di devoti tramite delle robuste e lunghe funi, prende posto il busto di Sant'Agata, completamente ricoperto di pietre preziose e gioielli. Il 4 febbraio, il corteo compie il cosiddetto "giro esterno" che tocca alcuni luoghi del martirio nella città catanese; il giorno dopo, il 5, il corteo percorre il "giro aristocratico", che percorre la strada principale, la via Etnea, salotto buono di Catania. In questo giorno i devoti portano in spalla dei lunghi ceri di vario spessore, ce ne sono alcuni non molto grossi, altri sono discretamente pesanti, ma alcuni sfiorano pesi eccezionali.

 

Questions for our Skype chat this week with the Rauch Brothers:

rauchbrothers.com/blog/

  

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