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"Break those under pressure."
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The Astraea Type A, developed around ~2032 AD, is an assault rifle based off the now abandoned AR-15 and SCAR platforms. Designed to be as adaptable and reliable as possible, Kurai developed a plethora of accessories to compliment the rifle, some of which can be seen in the current display model, such as the red dot sight and the foregrip.
Seeing as how the AR-15 platform was reliable in its time, KTD developed a rifle that would possess that same reliability yet enhance it with the usual skilled craftsmanship that the armaments group possessed.
On paper, the Astraea Type A is merely an AR-15 based rifle but the rifle itself is much different, contrary to belief. The internals do not function in any sort of way similarly to that of the AR-15 rifle but instead utilizes a bolt system akin to that of the SCAR. Although not exact to FN's design, there were still some striking similarities.
The rifle is internally suppressed, yet still possesses phenomenal range in its class as if the suppressor never existed. There is a gas block but it is never exposed; the block is moved back significantly and is concealed by the RIS. Why this is the case is unknown as no design schematics ever comment on the placement or the reasoning behind this placement.
In order to enhance its reliability and effectiveness, the Astraea Type A was designed to be ambidextrous and offered basic implementations in its design to sustain reliability. One such feature is the recoil mitigation system, which works by countering the force of a shot by traveling in the opposite direction. The bolt moves back enough to operate smoothly, but the system absorbs the shock and movement created by the recoil as a result of a transfer of kinetic energy. The energy becomes transferred towards the recoil mitigation system rather than the whole weapon itself.
The Astraea Type A has seen use in the battlefield and in urban environments, especially in regions and countries that are facing internal conflict. It has been used in roles outside of its assault rifle configuration; the Astraea can be reconfigured to be a DMR or a CQC viable weapon at any time. The amount of accessories developed for the Astraea made this possible and thus, it is difficult to determine what the weapon actually is.
Regardless of its configuration, the Astraea completes its job with high efficiency in the least amount of time possible and it is this result that has made the weapon so well known on the field. The weapon is an example of excellent craftsmanship, as always expected by the Kurai Tactical Division.
*Display model is the right handed model. Left handed and ambidextrous receivers are also available
Rahmen und Bezugsrahmen ...
does this work together ... ?
color-key but no fake, life is more surprising than all your fantasies ...
red curls like blazing flames ...
she's on fire ... she is burning ...
See waht Wiki says ...
Passion (emotion)
"Heat of the moment" redirects here. For other uses, see Heat of the Moment (disambiguation).
Frederick Goodall's Passionate Encounter
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Passion (Greek πάσχω "to suffer, to be acted on" and Late Latin (chiefly Christian) passio "passion; suffering" (from Latin pati "to suffer"; participle: passus)) is a feeling of intense enthusiasm towards or compelling desire for someone or something. Passion can range from eager interest in or admiration for an idea, proposal, or cause; to enthusiastic enjoyment of an interest or activity; to strong attraction, excitement, or emotion towards a person. It is particularly used in the context of romance or sexual desire, though it generally implies a deeper or more encompassing emotion than that implied by the term lust.
Denis Diderot (1713-1784) describes passions as
"penchants, inclinations, desires and aversions carried to a certain degree of intensity, combined with an indistinct sensation of pleasure or pain, occasioned or accompanied by some irregular movement of the blood and animal spirits, are what we call passions. They can be so strong as to inhibit all practice of personal freedom, a state in which the soul is in some sense rendered passive; whence the name passions. This inclination or so-called disposition of the soul, is born of the opinion we hold that a great good or a great evil is contained in an object which in and of itself arouses passion".
Diderot further breaks down pleasure and pain, which he sees as the guiding principles of passion, into four major categories:
Pleasures and pains of the senses
Pleasures of the mind or of the imagination
Our perfection or our imperfection of virtues or vices
Pleasures and pains in the happiness or misfortunes of others
Modern pop-psychologies and employers tend to favor and even encourage the expression of a "passion"; previous generations sometimes expressed more nuanced viewpoints.[
Emotion
The standard definition for emotion is a "Natural instinctive state of mind deriving from one's circumstances, mood, or relationships with others".
Emotion, William James describes emotions as "corporeal reverberations such as surprise, curiosity, rapture, fear, anger, lust, greed and the like." These are all feelings that affect our mental perception. Our body is placed into this latter state, which is caused by one's mental affection. This state gives signals to our body which cause bodily expressions.
The philosopher Robert Solomon developed his own theory and definition of emotion. His view is that emotion is not a bodily state, but instead a type of judge. "It is necessary that we choose our emotions, in much the same way that we choose our actions" With regard to the relationship between emotion and our rational will, Solomon believes that people are responsible for their emotions. Emotions are rational and purposive, just as actions are. "We choose an emotion much as we choose a course of action."
Recent studies, also traditional studies have placed emotions to be a physiological disturbance. William James takes such consciousness of emotion to be not a choice but a physical occurrence rather than a disturbance. It is an occurrence that happens outside of our control, and our bodies are just affected by these emotions. We produce these actions based on the instinctive state that these feelings lead us towards.
This concept of emotion was derived from passion. Emotions were created as a category within passion.
Reason
Strong Desire for something: In whatever context, if someone desires for something and that desire has some strong feeling or emotion is defined in terms of passion. Passion has no boundary, being passionate about something which is boundless can be sometimes dangerous, In which person forget about everything and is fully determined towards the particular thing-(Sanyukta)
In his wake, Stoics like Epictetus emphasized that "the most important and especially pressing field of study is that which has to do with the stronger emotions...sorrows, lamentations, envies...passions which make it impossible for us even to listen to reason".
The Stoic tradition still lay behind Hamlet's plea to "Give me that man That is not passion's slave, and I will wear him In my heart's core", or Erasmus's lament that "Jupiter has bestowed far more passion than reason – you could calculate the ratio as 24 to one". It was only with the Romantic movement that a valorisation of passion over reason took hold in the Western tradition: "the more Passion there is, the better the Poetry".
The recent concerns of emotional intelligence have been to find a synthesis of the two forces—something that "turns the old understanding of the tension between reason and feeling on its head: it is not that we want to do away with emotion and put reason in its place, as Erasmus had it, but instead find the intelligent balance of the two".
"Descartes' Error"
Antonio Damasio studied what ensued when something "severed ties between the lower centres of the emotional brain...and the thinking abilities of the neocortex". He found that while "emotions and feelings can cause havoc in the processes of reasoning...the absence of emotion and feeling is no less damaging"; and was led to "the counter-intuitive position that feelings are typically indispensable for rational decisions".
The passions, he concluded, "have a say on how the rest of the brain and cognition go about their business. Their influence is immense...[providing] a frame of reference – as opposed to Descartes' error...the Cartesian idea of a disembodied mind".
In marriage
A tension or dialectic between marriage and passion can be traced back in Western society at least as far as the Middle Ages, and the emergence of the cult of courtly love. Denis de Rougemont has argued that 'since its origins in the twelfth century, passionate love was constituted in opposition to marriage'.
Stacey Oliker writes that while "Puritanism prepared the ground for a marital love ideology by prescribing love in marriage", only from the eighteenth century has "romantic love ideology resolved the Puritan antagonism between passion and reason" in a marital context. (Note though that Saint Paul spoke of loving one's wife in Ephesians 5.)
Intellectual passions
George Bernard Shaw "insists that there are passions far more exciting than the physical ones...'intellectual passion, mathematical passion, passion for discovery and exploration: the mightiest of all passions'". His contemporary, Sigmund Freud, argued for a continuity (not a contrast) between the two, physical and intellectual, and commended the way "Leonardo had energetically sublimated his sexual passions into the passion for independent scientific research".
As a motivation in an occupation
There are different reasons individuals are motivated in an occupation. These may include a passion for the occupation, for a firm, or for an activity. When Canadian managers or professionals score as passionate about their occupation they tend to be less obsessive about their behavior while on their job, resulting in more work being done and more work satisfaction. These same individuals have higher levels of psychological well-being. When people genuinely enjoy their profession and are motivated by their passion, they tend to be more satisfied with their work and more psychologically healthy.[citation needed] When managers or professionals are unsatisfied with their profession they tend to also be dissatisfied with their family relationships and to experience psychological distress.
Other reasons people are more satisfied when they are motivated by their passion for their occupation include the effects of intrinsic and external motivations. When Canadian managers or professionals do a job to satisfy others, they tend to have lower levels of satisfaction and psychological health. Also, these same individuals have shown they are motivated by several beliefs and fears concerning other people.
Thirdly, though some individuals believe one should not work extreme hours, many prefer it because of how passionate they are about the occupation. On the other hand, this may also put a strain on family relationships and friendships.
The balance of the two is something that is hard to achieve and it is always hard to satisfy both parties.
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YES; this is all I truly want from the gift set “Fame & Fortune” Vanessa Perrin & this is the reasoning behind me pre-ordering her. Knowing me her body will be a donor body and I’ll add her clothes to another doll. I’m thinking “Second Skin” Vanessa or “Buxom” Veronique Perrin.
This is not actually a military cemetery ... It is family owned and operated ...
Last year on Memorial Day, I featured my father in law, that had served in war time ... This year I thought I would talk a bit about my own father ..
He was drafted, into the service in 1959, to Fort Bragg NC ..
and served to 1965..
He was in the Army, shortly after he and mother married ..
This is a week end, to remember those, that did not make it home, as well as those ,that have gone on ..
and for those that served, and are still here, to tell about it ..
I so appreciate you every one ...
No matter the branch of service, every service man/ woman was in there for the same reasoning .. FREEDOM
and that does not come , Free at all .. or to cheap either ...
God's blessings on all those that have served, serving, and may go onto to serve ... You are the UNSUNG Heroes at times,
but in my eyes you are the Heroes, that paved the way ..
I so appreciate you everyone,
Several here on Flickr, have been in the service, and when tick comes to tack, it does not matter the branch, all of you were there for the same reason ... and I appreciate you everyone .. God's blessings to all !
In the south, usually before Memorial Day, We here in Tennessee have " Decoration Sunday" the Sunday before Memorial Day ..
When I was smaller, I have known, my family to have this all day, and gather, with kin folks, for a time of fellowshipping, and even dinner on the grounds ....
This grave yard is beautifully adorned, we have had a HUGE storm come thru, minutes ago, I hope all the beautiful flowers are not blown to smithereens!
Have A blessed filled Sunday My Friends ... Cindy 2017...
During the chase of BNSF 4986 E along the Hi-Line Subdivision, the eastbound grain train would meet a westbound grain train that was in the hole at NYACK waiting for clearance down the pass. It was 13:35 by the time both trains met, and I figured it would make sense to break off the eastbound and chase the westbound back down the pass towards Columbia Falls and grab lunch afterwards. I had no clue was on the head end for power either; who knew what it was, it could’ve been something good, which only added to my reasoning. Dispatch wasted no time giving the westbound a light towards Whitefish, kicking off a brief 20-somethin-minute long chase through the Flathead Range.
An opening in the foliage along U.S. Route 2 at Bad Rock Canyon along the Flathead River proved to be a suitable spot to set up at, although by all means not a unique angle [the geotags at this location on RailfanAtlas say so]. At 14:07, the westbound would come into sight weaving it’s way along the northern banks of the River downgrade approaching CONKELLEY. #BNSF5828 [ES44AC] and #BNSF1018 [Dash 9-44CW] lead the company grain train through the Canyon trodding over a heavily graffitied retaining wall. The two lead units sport distinguishable paint scheme, neither of which are widely used on the roster.
5828 has the distinction of being the first of ten “25th Anniversary”GEVO’s painted in Mid-America Car in 2020 for BNSF. The units sport the decals of eight predecessor railroads: The CB&Q, Great Northern, Northern Pacific, Burlington Northern, ATSF, Frisco, Colorado & Southern, and the Spokane, Portland & Seattle. The trailing 1018 sports the railroad’s “Heritage 1” paint, the company’s first official paint scheme introduced in 1996. Two other BNSF motors would bring up the rear in DP position; a 2x2 grain train.
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Columbia Falls, MT
BNSF Hi-Line Subdivision
Date: 07/30/2022 | 14:07
ID: [unknown]
Type: Grain
Direction: Westbound
Car Count: 115
1. BNSF ES44AC #5828 [25th Anniversary]
2. BNSF C44-9W #1018
3. BNSF C44-9W #5044 [DPU]
4. BNSF ES44C4 #6599 [DPU]
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© Vicente Alonso 2022
The Byzantine gold glowed hot when I got inside, a divine signal to me that God was mad because I brought my camera inside. However, I reasoned with God, the sign read "No Cameras" in a Cyrillic lettering, a lettering style I do not recognize since the Jesuits trained me in the Romance languages and not these Slavic uncials.
Besides, I was inside Saint Michael's Cathedral, and I was holding a camera, and, as the saying goes, when in Rome, shoot interiors of churches in Rome , and when in Kiev, break Eastern Orthodox Ecumenical Councils.
While God was busy figuring out my flawless reasoning, I spotted a cloaked HeiroMonk in is post-Matins chanting, moving in a pattern indecipherable by my camera, thus the ghostly visage in this seeming partial transcendence.
from my daily photo blog at www.stuckincustoms.com
This is not a new MOC. I mean, just take a look at the dust on it.
This ship started out as one of two identical ships. I forget the exact reasoning now, but at some point I decided to make this one all rusty and decrepit. I had planned on using it for my FEZ webcomic, but that has kinda stalled.....
Little Dragon - Feather (Live)
Right click link. Select "Open in New Window
www.youtube.com/watch?v=nO0STeO149Y
View Large:
www.flickr.com/photos/manuelbranco/39836270362/sizes/o/
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Witch House Mix VI
As I pulled up in front of this truck to take it's picture, a security guard got off his folding chair and waved me along before I could even put the car in park, "Noooooooope, move it on outta here buddy." I tried to explain that I was only going to be a second but he wasn't having it and even though I knew I could park, shoot and be gone in less than a minute, he insisted, "That there's teamster shit and they'll have my ass if you park there." Sometimes you can just tell that no amount of reasoning is gonna let you convince someone when their mind's made up. He had no problem letting me park in the red zone ten feet in front of where I was though since, "that's outta my jurisdiction, you can do whatever you want over there." Ok, thanks. Luckily there wasn't a repeat of what happened the last time I shot one of these while parked in a red zone. Westlake neighborhood. Los Angeles, California.
[...] Damit sind nur zwei Schlussfolgerungen möglich. Entweder, der Riss ist ein rein räumliches Phänomen, ihm fehlt also die Zeit-Dimension. Oder man muss ihn unabhängig von unserem Raum-Zeit-Gefüge betrachten. Beide Fälle lassen sich mit der M6 zur Verfügung stehenden Physik weder berechnen noch simulieren. Aber es gibt zumindest ein Experiment, mit dem er herausfinden kann, um welche der beiden Alternativen es sich handelt. Im ersten Fall passiert nichts, im zweiten kann alles Mögliche passieren, außer dass nichts passiert. Oder hat er dabei irgendeinen Denkfehler begangen? Etwas Unveränderliches ohne Zeitdimension kann auch ihn nicht verändern, ganz egal, was er tut. Fall eins scheint klar zu sein. Aber der zweite Fall? Was geschieht, wenn er sich außerhalb von Raum und Zeit begibt? Verschwindet er aus diesem Universum? Das hätte schreckliche Konsequenzen, denn es würde Ursache und Wirkung durcheinanderbringen. Oder bleibt eine Kopie von ihm zurück, um die Geschichte nicht durcheinanderzubringen? Das wäre besonderes Pech. Dann würde er glauben, dass nichts passiert ist, also Fall eins eingetreten ist, aber in Wirklichkeit handelte es sich doch um den zweiten Fall. Das ist doch zum Haareraufen! Und welcher seiner Programmierer hat ihm bitte diese Wendung beigebracht! M6 spürt, dass er in die gefährlichen Gefilde der Quanten-Unsicherheiten abzurutschen droht. Er will, in den Begriffen der Quantenphysik, ein Experiment durchführen, dessen Ausgang davon abhängt, ob es einen neutralen Beobachter gibt. Ein Beobachter steht ihm aber nicht zur Verfügung. Jedenfalls noch nicht [...]
(Brandon Q. Morris, "Der Riss" - {Sonnensystem 3})
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[...] Only two conclusions can be drawn from this. Either, the rift is a purely spatial phenomenon, so it lacks the time dimension. Or you have to look at it independently of our space-time structure. Both cases can neither be calculated nor simulated with the physics available to M6. But there is at least one experiment that he can use to find out which of the two alternatives it is. In the first case nothing happens, in the second anything can happen except nothing happens. Or did he make some mistake in reasoning? Something immutable without a dimension of time cannot change him either, no matter what he does. Case one seems clear. But the second case? What happens when he goes outside of space and time? Does he disappear from this universe? This would have dire consequences, for it would confuse cause and effect. Or does a copy of him stay behind so as not to mess up the story? That would be particularly bad luck. Then he would think that nothing had happened, that case one had occurred, but in fact it was the second case. That's hair-raising! And which of his programmers please taught him this turn! M6 senses he is slipping into the dangerous realms of quantum uncertainty. He wants, in terms of quantum physics, to conduct an experiment whose outcome depends on whether there is a neutral observer. However, an observer is not available to him. At least not yet [...]
(Brandon Q. Morris, "The Rift" {Solar System 3})
The unexpected `extra` day started wet and would become much worse. It was a very different feeling day. Gone were nineteen of our colleagues that had been with us constantly for the previous eight days. Gone too was the early morning vehicle servicing and activity around each bus - the lack of which really emphasised the departure of most of the team.
Also gone was a large proportion of the items donated by Londoners as presents for kids and practical items for people displaced from their earthquake hit homes. We really wanted to think that some kind of super efficient distribution system had rapidly removed these for onward delivery but the reality was that unscrupulous people had taken stuff for their own gain. A harsh judgement perhaps but backed up by the embarrassment of our Italian `minders`, the lack of any meaningful work in shifting some of the other aid items that were also present on site and the warnings we had been given earlier in the trip regarding looting of stuff destined for those in real need. At each of the hotels used in Italy, our buses had been guarded by security overnight and no instances of things going missing had been noted. Which made the reasoning for the sudden change of final destination to an army barracks for `greater security` seem somewhat hollow.
This is just kind of for fun....I'm rather interested right now when I think what could have caused this circular hole in solid rock. This is up at Glacier National Park out in the middle of rugged outdoors along a lovely, fast moving creek...McDonald Creek. I mean it's so round!! Guess forces of nature can do this but it seems so odd!!! LOL...any and all guesses, theories, reasonings are welcome! LOL...just funning with you all this weekend!! :)
Thank you for the info Sheila Hill :)
Four years of college were spent learning 35mm film photography. I didn't fully embrace the medium as I preferred pixels over silver-halides at the time. Because the subject matter and working-series that I pursued had a more conceptual nature to it I needed the resolution to doctor the files as much as I could to achieve the vision. However so, being in a darkroom setting developing film and creating water-based prints left a lasting-impression. Now with a much clearer understanding of the self and the world around I see a balance of purity, activity and inertia. Analog photography is experiencing a great return which compels many too slow down and drop into the field of pure awareness. After reasoning with a few like-minded shooters and reviewing their work I realized that there is something about film that renders uniquely compared to digital imagery. Feeling into the realization I decided to call-in the Leica M6 Re-Issue before returning to the East. The Leica M6 is an analog rangefinder camera with an integrated light meter. Its predecessor was introduced in 1984. Almost 175,000 units were built in different versions until 2003. Like no other Leica M camera, the Leica M6 is a tool that keeps evoking admiration from photographers around the world.
Nkosi.artiste@gmail.com
ABOUT THE ARTIST
Chance Nkosi Gomez known initiated by H.H Swami Jyotirmayanda as Sri Govinda walks an integral yogic path in which photography is the primary creative field of expression. The medium was introduced during sophomore year of high school by educator Dr. Devin Marsh of Robert Morgan Educational Center. Coming into alignment with light, its nature and articulating the camera was the focus during that time. Thereafter while completing a Photographic Technology Degree, the realization of what made an image “striking” came to the foreground of the inner dialogue. These college years brought forth major absorption and reflection as an apprentice to photographer and educator Tony A. Chirinos of Miami Dade College. The process of working towards a singular idea of interest and thus building a series became the heading from here on while the camera aided in cultivating an adherence to the present moment. The viewfinder resembles a doorway to the unified field of consciousness in which line, shape, form, color, value, texture all dissolve. It is here that the yogi is reminded of sat-chit-ananda (the supreme reality as all-pervading; pure consciousness). As of May 2024 Govinda has completed his 300hr yoga teacher training program at Sattva Yoga Academy studying from Master Yogi Anand Mehrotra in Rishikesh, India, Himalayas. This has strengthened his personal Sadhana and allows one to carry and share ancient Vedic Technology leading others in ultimately directing their intellect to bloom into intuition. As awareness and self-realization grows so does the imagery that is all at once divine in the mastery of capturing and controlling light. Over the last seven years he has self-published six photographic books, Follow me i’ll be right behind you (2017), Sonata - Minimal Study (2018), Birds Singing Lies (2018), Rwanda (2019), Where does the body begin? (2019) & Swayam Jyotis (2023). Currently, Govinda is employed at the Leica Store Miami as a camera specialist and starting his journey as a practitioner of yoga ॐ
I read somewhere, can't remember now, that Paul Klee once said something to the effect of: Painting is just knowing where to put the color. By that reasoning, I suppose photography is just knowing where to point the camera.
Day Whatever:
I'm Starting To Hate Showing Anything I Create To People.
They Don't Get It.
They Worry About Me.
And When I Try To Explain My Reasoning, They Suspect A Cover-Up.
Well Fine.
Think What You Like About My Art.
I Like My Art That Makes You Think.
29.03.15
So as it has been pretty apparent I have not been happy with a lot of my photos lately. And this is no exception. I'm still in a slump, but only because it's caused by myself. The easiest way to put it is that my work feels so weak from where I want it to be. but I know that by pushing myself so hard I know I'll get there. I've gotten to know myself pretty well and what I need to do to get where I want to be.
Now the reasoning behind this photo. This is one of my original ideas for this months Concept Collaboration theme "The World of the Others". As soon as this theme was released I immediately thought of it as not the work of the others, but the parts of ourselves that we don't share with others, or even ourselves to some degree. At some point we break, wear down, and it never a good ending when we break.
Another thing I do with my photos is have a billion variations. Pushing each on till they break, then bring it back just before the breaking point. One of the variations for this shot was have a little bit of smoke come out of the broken window panes to represent the fact that I'm still working really hard on this project, even if it's not coming out just the way I want it to. But it was still a little to much to I took it out. I really like the amount of blank space, it's simple enough as it is, and tells a full story.
p.s. I've become really good at b.s. meanings for photos if you even need help justifying something.
How were your weekends, do anything cool, exciting, notable? Give me the details. (this is a chance to live vicariously live a weekend thought you as I no longer have free time)
The Iron Aged Verraco, probably from the important hill fort 'Castro of Las Merchanas' is currently situated on the main square of the charming town of Lumbrales in Spain. It does not look ancient. It is called a 'donkey' (Burro de la Barrera), yet looks like a striding bear with flat snout, small ears and the dangling tail of Spanish brown bear size, and not thin or curling as a boar or frilled as a donkey. It has a frown and heavy shoulders. Contrast this stride with the lowered playful front legs of the potential dog pictured below. The verraco is described as a 'pig' in a specialist catalogue and their reasoning will be wise, so watch with an open mind and a hat against the sun. The sculpture is 120 cm and 84 cm high, and from around 2500 years old - maybe less (as far as 2200 ybp), with the granite sculpted using the then new iron tools. From an important Spanish mosaic of Celtic peoples known as the Vettóns.
Apocalypse series recap:
The world will never be the same again. America was destroyed by God’s judgment. Indeed, earth-shattering calamity befell America. It was so terrifying that we all trembled.
The economy collapsed and violence erupted. Rioting and looting broke out across America. Fires consumed America’s cities; armoured vehicles rolled through the streets. The world was shocked by the violence in New York City. Thousands of fires burned throughout the city, and the National Guard lined its streets.
Eventually things calmed down for a short time. Then all of a sudden, from the middle of the country, groups took up arms against the government. While the government was distracted, the Russians attacked. They made their move when America was weak and vulnerable. They launched nuclear missiles and the U.S. went up in flames. Unexpectedly, in one hour, a nuclear holocaust engulfed them. California, New York, and Florida were destroyed in seconds—like Sodom and Gomorrah.
The Russians crossed over to Alaska. They came down through Canada—where I am from. They headed south, toward the city of Seattle and toward the eastern United States. They also landed on the beaches. I even heard rumours that Chinese troops were on the ground.
The battle in America was fierce. They were fighting for their lives. There was no hope for them. Yet, in the end, they cried out to the God of their fathers. God had compassion on them, and they were able to drive their enemies from the land. America, however, was left in utter ruins. Now, they are weak and impoverished; their cities are heaps of rubble. America is nothing; it is no longer of any significance.
Vladimir Putin turned away from America. He then set his face toward Israel for the Battle of Gog and Magog—just as the Bible says: I will turn you around; I will put hooks in your jaws and bring you out with your whole army. Yes indeed, Russia advanced like a storm, like a cloud covering the land. Along with them were Turkey, Iran, Sudan, Libya, and many others. But God sent a great earthquake to shake the land of Israel. He threw them into a panic, and they turned and kill one another. They fell dead on the mountains of Israel, because God executed judgment on Gog and all his hordes with pestilence and bloodshed.
The First Seal; a Rider on a White Horse; a great peacemaker; a charismatic politician from Europe stepped onto the scene, saying, “Peace and security.” This man accomplished what his predecessors could not: he negotiated a peace treaty in the Middle East between Israel and the Arabs—just as it is written: he will confirm a covenant with many for one week. So Israel signed the seven year peace deal and started building the Temple. Remember what Jesus said, “I have come in My Father’s name, and you do not receive Me; if another comes in his own name, him you will receive.”
Bloodshed, calamity, and death—oh what fun. Wars, famines, and plagues—God’s judgment has come. Then I saw under the altar the souls of those who had been slain because of the word of God and because of the testimony which they had given. Heaven and earth shakes: falling stars and earthquakes—every mountain and island was removed from its place. Then the kings of the earth, the officials and generals, the wealthy and powerful, and everyone, slave and free, hid themselves in the caves and among the rocks of the mountains. “Fall on us!” they yelled to the mountains and to the rocks. “Hide us from the face of the One who is seated on the throne, and from the wrath of the Lamb, because the great day of their wrath has come, and who can stand?”
One-third of the earth was burned up, one-third of the trees were burned up, and all the green grass was burned up. One-third of the sea turned into blood. One-third of all the sea creatures died, and one-third of the ships were destroyed. One-third of the rivers and springs turned into wormwood, and many people died from drinking the water. One-third of the sun, one-third of the moon, and one-third of the stars were struck so that one-third of them turned dark. One-third of the day was without light, and also one-third of the night. Woe! Woe! Woe to the inhabitants of the earth, for the worst is yet to come.
The Kings of the East marching out for war; China and its allies causing terror and horror; A two hundred million man army trained for battle; One-third of mankind killed—slaughtered like cattle.
Remember that charismatic politician, the one who brokered the peace treaty with Israel three and a half years ago? Well, as you can see, he is the Antichrist. It is true! With one mind they gave their power and authority to the Beast. He was given authority over every tribe, people, language, and nation. Every kind of satanic power, sign, and false wonder was performed to deceive the people, because they had rejected the truth that would save them. Indeed, the Beast was mortally wounded but came back to life, and the whole world was amazed and followed him. They set up an image in honor of the Beast, and life was given to the image. The image was able to talk, and it killed all who did not worship it. And all people were forced to receive a Mark on their right hand or forehead, because no one could buy or sell without the Mark of the Beast. They worshiped the Dragon—that old serpent, who is the devil, Satan—because he had given authority to the Beast. Remember what Jesus said, “When you see the Abomination that causes Desolation (the image of the Beast) standing in the Temple, then those who are in Judea must flee to the mountains!”
Horrible, painful sores broke out on those who had the Mark of the Beast and who worshiped his image. Their wickedness caused them even greater calamity. The sea, rivers, and springs became like the blood of a corpse, and everything in them died. “For they have shed the blood of the saints and prophets, and You God have given them blood to drink as they deserve.” The sun scorched people with fire, searing them with intense heat. They blasphemed the name of God, who had power over these plagues, and they did not repent and give Him glory. Darkness fell upon the Beast’s Kingdom, and people gnawed their tongues in agony, yet they still refused to repent of their deeds. Then the great Euphrates River dried up to prepare the way for the Kings of the East, who were marching towards God’s judgment.
The nations of the earth prepared for war; world supremacy was on their minds. Flashes of lightning, roars of thunder, and hundred pound hailstones fell from the sky. The worst earthquake in human history shook the world to its core. Every island sunk, every mountain crumbled, and every city collapsed. Then the Beast, and the kings of the earth, and their armies marched out for the Battle of Armageddon. Fire burned before them, and blood, fire, and billows of smoke followed behind them. They surrounded Jerusalem, and the city was captured. The light of the sun and the moon were darkened, and the stars did not shine. When the next day came, the daylight remained darkened. It was a day of darkness and gloom, a day of clouds and blackness. It was a unique day, with no difference between day and night. But mark my words, when evening comes, there will be light!
Behold, the Day of the Lord is here! The Great Day of His wrath has come, and who can endure it? Heaven opened, and there came a Rider on a white horse. He is called Faithful and True—the King of kings and Lord of lords. The Beast, and the kings of the earth, and their armies waged war against the Rider on the white horse. But a great panic from the Lord came upon them, and they turned and killed one another. Then a sword came from the mouth of the Rider, and the flesh of His enemies rotted while they stood on their feet—their eyes rotted in their sockets, and their tongues rotted in their mouths. Outside Jerusalem blood flowed for one hundred and eighty miles. As for the Beast, he and his cohort were thrown alive into the Lake of Fire. Now the Lord Jesus Christ rules and reigns on earth. Amen and Amen!
You ever experience one of those weird dreams? This may have been taken late last summer, I’m not sure, lol. I forgot that I had taken/edited it and I believe the reasoning for this is because I wasn’t initially feeling it — it’s starting to grow on me a bit!
This is a photo from nest #1 from last Summer. This Eaglet was 7 weeks old at the time I took this. Michelle and I went every week from when this nest was on eggs until the young Eagles fledged....12 weeks. What a miracle to witness.
I have albums of nest #1 and 2 if you want to see young eagles growing up...
This pair lost the nest after the young fledged in a bad wind storm last year and wanted to go back through these shots and have another go. The reasoning is we found the parents today, together and in the near by area. No sign of a nest that we could see but I'm not ruling it out. She was banded 13 years ago and will be 14 this spring.
******All photos copyright Tony Joyce and CANNOT be used on ANY blogs or websites (inc. Reddit) without my written permission.******
It was a long reasoning but at the end I followed the sprit and went for film shooting. Got from ebay a mint Nikon FE from the late seventies as well as a nice 50mm f1.4.... jumped into the road capturing.
Nikon FE, 50mm f1.4, Fujifilm 400 Superia X-tra
Scanned by a local lab
So I saw Civil War this afternoon... and it was fine.
It didn't really blow my mind, and that kinda bums me out a little. Like, don't get me wrong, it was a great film with some great motivations and political agendas, but for some reason it didn't surprise or impress me like I expected. I've been steadily more and more disappointed in Marvel films lately. Perhaps the "Marvel Formula" is becoming a bit to repetitive for me, but there were just some things that felt like it didn't work or was unnecessary.
I've seen that most of the positive responses are based out of "Woah it's Spider-Man, Woah Ant-Man got big, Wow Black Panther" but to a degree I'm a bit taken back by how the way the MCU is set up, where I (the audience) was to not expect something like Black Widow to be a double agent, or RDJ to be the asshat he is.
I don't know, I'm just kinda bored with he fact that "Oh well gee, full circle Bucky killed the Starks" and I'm supposed to feel connected to that somehow. The last time I could think of Tony having angst for his parents was Iron Man 2... in 2010... six years ago.... A movie I haven't seen in six years.
Going to this movie was like going to work. It's like "Who was that one person in the second movie of that other trilogy that was the daughter (aunt?) of someone's girlfriend that was a neighbor (or spy maybe?)?" or like why wasn't quicksilver even mentioned despite one movie earlier he was the main motivation for Scarlet Witch to be more heroic.Then Hawkeye's takes that role because he had to be in the movie? That's the loss of a family member that you knew from birth! If that doesn't matter, why should I have to care about Rhodey?
Like geez. I want to like this movie, but I was just bored as hell by all the exposition and expectancy that was brought to the table. I shouldn't be required to see every One-Shot and watch every TV show to care about these characters. Those reasons should be in the film.
And what the heck was Zemo's deal?
"Oh I'm mad at some vague number of Avengers for the death of a vague relative/family member so I'm gonna go on an extremely convoluted scheme that involves disguises for some reason, to not actually fight anyone but instead have the vague number of avengers fight themselves and hope for the best, despite when I single-handedly sought out and uncovered a hidden Soviet Winter Soilder Farm that could easily have all that fighting for me."
Now, why this needed to be shoehorned into Civil War story arc was beyond me.
Also what the hell Spider-Man? Are you not questioning your own motives and trying to discover the person you want to be? Is there nothing going off in your intelligent head to ask yourself "What are The Avengers fighting each other for?" but hey, people seemed to like seeing ANOTHER Peter Parker with no personal view points or morals to hold to.
My movie-going experience was also quite disappointing, merely for the fact that the row above and below me had groups of kids that kept asking where was "Spyer-Man" for most of the film. It kind of takes away from the drama I'm supposed to feel about characters I haven't had the regularity of getting to know them.
It's a real shame that the Superhero Genre of movies has become so saturated and campy (I'm looking at you Deadpool) that people take their kids to a movie about Political rivalry's on a Comic Book Scale, expecting a fun romp with your pal Spider-Man.
The concept of Civil Liberties within the Superhero Genre is a fantastic study, and in all sincerity, this film very much gave that construct justice. But if we're gonna go and alter the source material of such a smart story, let's live up to these huge political barriers that've been put into play. I don't want a story this immersing and vast to be bookend by "The Winter Solider is easily brainwashed so you guy's should fight because of that ft. another Spider-Man"
This movie was fantastic for it's intelligence and line of reasoning, but I genuinely didn't care about these characters like I'm expected to and that's a shame.
I'm really on the fence about this one. I really wanted to like it more than I did. It was great, don't get me wrong, but if Marvel is gonna go and pull 180 on us and expect things to fly, I'm gonna leave feeling disjointed.
I feel like I may watch this again at some point in the future, but until then, this is my final verdict.
PS Daredevil is great, but Marvel is gonna be dead to me for a while.
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Their pets.
I know some cultures think differently from me.
Keep an animal (reptile) of this size in a small cage, not being able to swim, hunt and procreate. I felt sorry.
I regretted having entered this house, touched the animals, bought goods. I encouraged one thing I did not agree to.
I hope next time, my reasoning will be quick.
Between 1954 and 1962, a small car called the Metropolitan was sold to over 100,000 buyers in North America and Britain. Thousands of these strikingly cute automobiles are still on the road today.
The Nash Metropolitan possesses an ageless, cuddly quality that has made it a perennial favorite of car lovers and car agnostics alike.
As is befitting a car that was so different from the American norm, the story behind the Metropolitan is filled with misconceptions, perhaps the biggest of which is the belief in many quarters that the car was a design penned by England's Austin Motor Company and Nash simply applied its name badge to an American version. Since Austin was known for its fine small cars, starting with the Austin 7, there is basis for that reasoning, but the Metropolitan was an American design and the ultimate result of many years of experimentation by the Nash Motor Corporation.
Sources:
www.allpar.com/cars/adopted/nash-metropolitan.html
www.physics.ucsb.edu/~airboy/our_metro.html
BTW, Fickr, the Pirates would love to go for a ride on this one.
______________
This ARTIST is for HIRE.
A Deep and sincere thank you to our Friend Emma for playing along
www.flickr.com/photos/193415394@N05
Masquerade Ball
2 parts
Part 2
“Nancy’s” view Continues
A voice quietly said from behind my back.
“ Hello, Samantha, fancy meeting you here.”
“Raffles!” I blurted with relief, as his hands pull away. I felt his fingers caressing alongside my face, then along through my hair.
He stepped back, and I quickly turned around. With a deep sigh of relief, it was really him, my Raffles.
“Not playing a game alone, are ye Lass?” He asked me, blue eyes twinkling.
“No,” I said shaking my hair.
He smiled, pulling his hands from his pockets,
I then lectured…” you gave me quite the start sir. “ then I giggled, unable to control my emotions and pleasure of his appearance here in this deserted garden.
He placed a finger under my chin, lifting it so I was looking up into his eyes.
“Stand still,” he commanded and moved around behind me.
“Good thing I didn’t do what first popped into my devious mind..”
I felt his knuckle go into my back…
”Playing your games. Now Stick ‘ em up miss .”
“Good thing you didn’t I would have peed myself... I giggled.
“Raffles” chuckled:
“Stay in character miss .”
We’re the words I heard from behind me
I raised up my hands, imagining like I was actually being held up. My heart began to race again with a feeling of delicious danger as I spoke.
“What do you want from me?”
Raffles, still holding his knuckle into my back …reached out his other hand with an open palm as he spoke.
”Put your hands down, I’ve taken a fancy to that bracelet of yours. So please hand it over. “
I shivered, saying smartly. “I don’t believe a real thief would say please …”
My friend “Raffles” responded.
“Would my real victim ask that? Try a different tack.”
Trembling again, with delicious delight. I played along.
“No sir, not my bracelet, anything but that …”
“That’s better, a bit of heartfelt pleading can never heart.
After a second the hand withdrew.
Raffles laughed amiably…
“Ok miss, keep your bracelet then. “
He chuckled from behind, removing his knuckle….
“It was only a thought I had when I saw you out here walking alone, remembering the story of the games you play with your brother, did I do ok?”.
“Smashing .” I giggled gleefully “Spot on.”
I put my hands down to my sides as Raffles placed a hand on my shoulder and ran it down my satin blouse’s sleeve while he came back around to face me.
“All kidding aside, you really shouldn’t be out here alone “Nancy” someone less inviting as me may have been about. And I don’t mean your brother. So let’s see you back safe Lass.”
I nodded.
He lifted my hand and pulled my back to him.
Coddling along against his warm figure, Raffles led me back along the path to the stairway.
“I’ll be leaving you here “Nancy” I was on my way home.
I looked up into his face. “it was fun meeting you, sorry you have to go. “
“So am I Lass.”
We embraced in a deep hug.
As we broke apart, He ran his fingers up my side, then lifted my hair.
He let my hair down, his fingers tingling as he touched along my ears and face as he spoke.
“A Very pretty one you are, and don’t ever let anyone say differently.”
I shivered with excitement over his praise as, with a clenched fist, he held my chin up, looking deep within my eyes. But he had such a sad look in his eyes.
I couldn’t help myself. I practically leaped up against him and tightly squeezed him in my arms.
We finally broke apart. He smiled. Looking like he had been relieved of some troubling thought.
“Go now, you before I change my mind about playing games.”
Letting me go with a chuckle, I turned and went up to the stairs, turning I blew him a kiss.
He was still watching, hands in his vest pocket, he pulled them out and caught it..acting like he was putting it inside his vest.
“My second this evening.” I heard him say mysteriously…
Then turning away, he went off down along the path.
I turned and went up the stairs, feeling lighter than I had all evening.
I was soon sneaking back onto the upstairs balcony.
With a start, I saw the backside of father off in a corner with some of his lads. Smoking a cigar.
I hightailed it out back through the entrance before slowing down to a walk.
As I made my way back I was still riding on air.
“What a delicious adventure I was having, one I was not expecting at all.”
I saw that my mum was back sitting at the table.
She did not notice me approaching, her eyes had a distant, far-off look, and she was smiling over something.
I gave a cheery hello as I went to my chair, though my heart was pounding.
Mum snapped out of her reverie and smiled at me. I could tell she was a bit tipsy from drinking wine all evening.
I also noticed with surprise that her neckline was striking bare. She had taken off her pretty necklace. Why? I wondered as mum spoke to me.
“Where did you go off to, babe?”
“To the loo, I unabashedly lied.” The words came out with surprisingly no hesitation.
“Having a good time?” she asked.
“Brilliant,” I said, telling no lies.
“I’m am having a lovely time also,” she answered an unasked question with a giggle.
She went on with a story I could see she was aching to tell someone.
“It all started when a rude man ran into me while your father was getting drinks. That wasn’t so nice, but then…”
And she looked off rather dreamily, which I thought was rather silly
“Honey, then I ran into the most darling young man. All dressed in black. He had seen that man bump into me with no apologizing, so he did so for him, then he asked me to dance. “ she said, blushing rather prettily.
“Told me he was dressed as an undertaker didn’t he, that he was there to collect souls. Then he told me the most marvelous stories about what young lads your age would bet on.”
“At a wedding?” I asked cautiously, not about to admit that I may have already met him.
“No, he talked about being at a cricket match and the older lads betting in on stealing a kiss from a girl.”
As she told me this mum was stroking the neckline of her gown, noticeably bare without her pretty necklace. . So WHY had she taken it off I pondered? It had looked so nice sparkling along there.
I started to ask about the necklace when an older lady began yelling out from a table across the room
“It’s missing! Has anyone here seen my daughter’s diamond bracelet? Cecilia is missing one of hers!” The older lady wailed.
I stare at mum, watching horrified by her reaction:
Mum’s hand shot to her neck, and I saw the startled look fill her eyes as she realized her sapphire diamond necklace was missing also.
“She had not been the one to remove her necklace!” I thought with a stark awareness
What sinister activity had been going on here this evening?
Remembering the garden game with Raffles I quickly lift my hand studying my wrist. My bracelet was still there. As well as all my rings.
I was starting to breath a sigh of relief when mum pulled back my hair, her eyes wide with shock
Honey, your earrings are gone. I reach up and feel nothing. My eyes also grow wide. What is going on?
By now the whole venue was in an uproar. Apparently, several other ladies were also checking, and some just then noticed the loss of their jewellery. Verbal gasps and mumbling could be heard amongst the tables.
Father, still out on the upper floor balcony at the time, heard the commotion.
Reacting instinctively, he had the rental security block the exits, nobody was to leave, then called in at his police station for reinforcements
He then showed up at our table to see how we were doing.
He was shocked and dismayed that we both had apparently fallen victims to the criminal shenanigans played out that evening.
He asked mum if she could think of anything out of the ordinary that had happened?
She mentioned being bumped by “that” man while waiting by the bar for my father to get his brandy. Neither could say if they remembered seeing mum wearing her necklace after that. Father admitting he had been more focused on meeting up with his cigar and brandy drinking lads that he was on “That prat!”
This made me want to believe that it had not been the handsome stranger we had both danced with as the culprit.
“And if he had not been the one to take mother’s necklace, then he was probably not responsible for taking the jewels I was missing. And I was not going to hurt my memories of his most welcome attention to me, be tarnished by accusing him without merit.” I told myself.
As mum and father were discussing this, my mind was flying. For I knew father, and mum would be asking me if I had had anything odd happen this evening.
For one thing, I was not about to admit sneaking off into the road gardens alone.
I myself in my heart strongly suspected “Raffles.” He had been too smooth and suave. But I did not have any real evidence. did not have any real evidence. And papa always said circumstantial evidence is no real proof.
No, I assured myself, at no time had I felt a prick on my wrist, and itch on my ears, a tug at my throat, nor a twitch anywhere else on my person that would have alerted me to the devious tricks an unknown someone had played upon my “dressed to kill” figure that evening.
So I, with all innocence, was able to play dumb at first when my father asked me how I thought my jewels had been lost.
Then, realizing that I was to be questioned like the rest when Father’s Detectives showed up.
Prompted by father, I gave it some real thought. Then it clicked. I remembered those two twit girls running into me while in the loo.
So I told my father that story, as well as his detectives later on. I ruefully admitted to not getting a clear enough look to be able to describe them.
And I got away with that story, though my father told me I should have waited and gone into the loo with mum.
I never mentioned the meeting with the mysterious handsome male calling himself “Raffles” to anyone.
The fact that Mum never said anything about her dance with him, helped me cement any concerns that he may have been the culprit. For I had definitely found a soft spot in my heart for the handsome stranger with the deep soothing voice and easy manner.
I have always associated my meeting with “Raffles” from a film line heard years later. later. One lady in satin was telling another lady in velvet that she had known a mutual acquaintance since childhood.
“And even back then, whenever he passed by us on the stairs, all the girls would place a hand on their hearts… And their jewels….”
I had also felt he was a kindred spirit for the way he asked about the games my brother and I played. He had seemed to enjoy hearing about them.
And actually, Father’s detectives never got a clear story from any of the(mostly intoxicated) victims that evening concerning pinpointing when they thought their jewels had been taken.
It was then decided that there must have been a small invading gang of male and female thieves who quickly worked the room, targeting our jewels. The real mystery was in their methods.
From what I heard the thief(s) made quite a nice haul, not in quantity, but quality. No one was ever caught.
Mum seemed more concerned that my earrings had fallen victim to thieves, more so than she was over the loss of her necklace.
She accepted the fact that she herself had been a victim. Reasoning that it was the risk a lady always takes when wearing out her good jewels.
So we were all shocked by what happened the next day.
I had gone right to bed that evening, actually early morning, for it was 2:00 am when I was undressing in my room. I had placed my purse upon my antique vanity.
The next morning I discovered the purse on the floor. Assuming that our Golden Retriever, Gypsy’s tail had knocked it over, I picked it up.
Looking inside I saw something flickering.
Emptying it on the bed I was shocked to see the earrings I thought had been lost!
Mum, father, and I all were baffled over what had happened?
It was a proper mystery.
The earrings and my green velvet purse had to be taken in for evidence. Though no clues were discovered.
Which was fine by me. especially since Father Christmas that year brought me my own grown-up set of rhinestone jewellery. And a new dangling sapphire and diamond necklace for mum, that far outshone the one stolen from her that unlucky evening.
Later on that month I went to the library to do a bit of Nancy Drew-like sleuthing.
I was shocked upon learning whom AJ Raffles had been:
A famous cricket player by day, a secret master jewel thief at night!
I decided to just let sleeping dogs lay.
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Publication History
J'onn J'onzz, better known as the Martian Manhunter, is a superhero appearing in American comic books published by DC Comics. Created by writer Joseph Samachson and artist Joe Certa, the character first appeared in the story "The Manhunter from Mars" in Detective Comics #225 (November 1955). A roster member of the Justice League of America, he is one of the seven founding members and a reoccurring member for many incarnations and derivatives.
A green-skinned alien from Mars, he is accidentally teleported to Earth and is among the last living members of his species. Motivated by tragedies that include the loss of his own family and species, Martian Manhunter becomes a superhero and protector of his adopted homeworld.
While among the most powerful of superheroes on Earth, J'onn is often marked for his wisdom, gentle character, and idealism in pursuing justice, making him an ideal leader and voice of reason in iterations of the Justice League.
He has also been featured in other DC Comics products, such as video games, television series, animated films, and merchandise like action figures.
In live-action, the character first appeared in the television pilot Justice League of America, played by David Ogden Stiers.
He also appeared in the series Smallville, played by Phil Morris, and in the Arrowverse series Supergirl, played by David Harewood. Harry Lennix played the character in the DC Extended Universe, under the guise of General Calvin Swanwick, in the films Man of Steel (2013) and Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice (2016), with Martian Manhunter's true form appearing in Zack Snyder's Justice League (2021).
Martian Manhunter aka John (J'onn J'onzz) Jones debuted in the back-up story "The Strange Experiment of Dr. Erdel" in Detective Comics #225 (November 1955), written by Joseph Samachson and illustrated by Joe Certa.
The character is a green-skinned humanoid from Mars, who is pulled to Earth by an experimental teleportation beam constructed by Dr. Saul Erdel. The Martian tells Erdel where he is from, and Erdel tells him that to send him back will require the teleportation beam's robot brain to be recalibrated, and that this may take years.
J'onzz then unexpectedly uses his shapeshifting to assume the guise of a human; the shock of seeing this kills Dr. Erdel and leaves J'onzz with no way of returning home. The character decides to fight crime while waiting for Martian technology to advance to a stage that will enable his rescue. To that end, he adopts the identity of John Jones, a detective in the fictional Middletown, USA.
During this period, the character and his backstory differ in some minor and some significant ways from modern treatments. Firstly, as with his counterpart, the Silver Age Superman, J'onzz's power range is poorly defined, and his powers expand over time as the plot demands. The addition of precognitive abilities (Detective Comics #226) is quickly followed by telepathy and flight, "atomic vision", super-hearing, and many other powers. In addition, his customary weakness to fire is only manifested when he is in his native Martian form.
A more significant difference is that in this version of him, there is no suggestion that Mars is a dead planet or that the character is the last of his kind. Many of the tales of the time feature either Martian technology or the appearance of other Martian characters such as his younger brother T'om J'onzz. Detective Comics #236 (October 1956), for example, features the character making contact with the planet Mars and his parents.
J'onzz eventually reveals his existence to the world, after which he operates openly as a superhero and becomes a charter member of the Justice League. During the character's initial few years as a member of the Justice League, he is often used as a substitute for Superman in stories (just as Green Arrow was for Batman) as DC Comics were worried about using their flagship characters too often in Justice League stories, fearing overexposure. The Martian and the archer inaugurated the team-up format of The Brave and the Bold. J'onzz appears there one other time, working with the Flash. In some stories he is shown travelling through space at near-light speed or to other planets.
The detective John Jones is ostensibly killed in action by the Idol Head of Diabolu, an artifact that generates supernatural monsters. J'onzz abandons the civilian identity as he decides fighting this new menace will take a great deal of his time. At this point his feature moves to The House of Mystery, where J'onzz spends the next few years in battle against the Idol Head. Shortly after its defeat, he takes the persona of Marco Xavier to infiltrate the international crime cartel Vulture, which he defeats in the final installment of his original series.
As Superman was allowed by DC to become a fully active member of the Justice League, J'onzz's appearances there dwindled. He last participated in a mission in his original tenure in #61 (March 1968), shortly before his solo series was discontinued (The House of Mystery #173, May–June 1968). In #71, his people finally came to Earth for him and he left with them to found and become leader of New Mars. Over the next 15 years, J'onzz appeared sporadically in various DC titles.
Fictional character biography
One version of his origin is that J'onn J'onzz is a Manhunter, a keeper of the peace and authority figure on the planet Mars. Well trained in various skills, including telepathy, shape-shifting, and energy manipulation, and possessing a keen detective's mind with a compassionate heart, J'onn is among the greatest to have served as a Manhunter, and protected his home for many years.
In 1955, an Earth scientist named Dr. Saul Erdel, while experimenting with alien (possibly Martian) technology in secret, accidentally pulled J'onzz from Mars to Earth. This sudden revelation of a seven foot tall alien caused Dr. Erdel such a shock that his heart gave out, leaving J'onn stranded on a foreign planet with malfunctioning teleportation technology, and no easy way home.
J'onzz resolved to use his time on Earth to help others, upholding truth and justice as he had done on Mars for so many years. He has taken many forms and played many roles over the years: detective, spy, superhero, diplomat, corporate head; J'onn always uses his vast powers and abilities to protect the weak and serve the common good, as the Manhunter from Mars.
J'onn is supposed to become the next leader of his people and so must undertake a Rite of Passage wherein he must detach himself from his people and understand what it meant to be truly alone. The Martian race had no such concept, as it was a very communal race, and J'onn needed the training in order to lead his people.
Upon his return J'onn finds that the paradise he once knew was burning with nothing much left but ashes. Not a psychic presence could be felt, J'onn was now truly alone. Standing in the burning ruins of the paradise he once knew, J'onn adopted the name "Manhunter" as he is now alone and in search for the being behind his misery.
Character Evolution
Initially portrayed as a detective strip with an alien super power twist, J'onn J'onzz took on more and more of the traditional traits of a superhero as the Silver Age dawned and Superheroes regained popularity. Throughout the 1960's J'onn was a member of DC's premier super team, The Justice League of America, and his solo stories ranged from fighting gangsters and costumed crooks, to strange sci-fi/fantasy menaces, to jet-setting as super-spy Marco Xavier and fighting the evil spy ring Vulture.
The Bronze Age saw J'onzz leave the JLA and rejoin his people, now on Mars II. He returned for occasional cameos, but was largely absent from publication during the 1970's. With a shake up to the JLA roster in the early 1980's, J'onn rejoined the team in the War of the Worlds 1984 story arc, and would remain a staple of the Justice League for the next several decades. J'onn's characterization began to emphasize the Noir detective elements, as well as his alien-ness among Earthlings.
After the Crisis on Infinite Earths, J'onn became a larger player in the DC Universe, featured prominently in crossovers like Legends, Invasion and Millennium, and starring in the popular Justice League International, usually as the team's leader. His solo stories took on a more philosophical, existential bent. A mini series examining his origins was spun out of his Justice League appearances, and a second, prestige format series followed, this time set in the mid sixties during the cultural revolution.
With Grant Morrison's reboot of the JLA achieving new heights of popularity for the Justice League, the Manhunter from Mars achieved arguably his greatest exposure, and was featured in an ongoing solo title, which ran for 37 issues. Writer John Ostrander expanded the history of Mars, chronicling a war with Apokolips, the ensuing near extinction of the Martian race due to Malefic's machinations, and ancient interactions between Earth and Mars. He also connected the Martian and Saturnian races, and expanded the catalogue of secret identities for the Sleuth from Outer Space.
As the 2000's saw more Crises, J'onn's solo title was canceled, and he started to be sidelined more and more. The One Year Later event gave him a new mini-series with a new look and a more reactionary attitude. In the opening stanza of the event Final Crisis, J'onn was killed, only to be resurrected a few years later as part of the Blackest Night. His solo story in the anthology Brightest Day saw him return to a more cerebral, compassionate attitude, as well as returning him to a more familiar look, albeit with some tweaks. This too would prove short lived, though, as even bigger shake ups awaited.
The New 52, a complete relaunch of the DC universe, placed the Alien Atlas in a role of ambassador, welcoming the newly folded into the universe Stormwatch as part of the initial lineup. No longer a canonical founder of the Justice League, J'onn has been portrayed as having kept to the shadows. He works behind the scenes, often telepathically erasing his presence from the memory of any he helps. Still, he is known as a former member of the Justice League and a relatively public "super hero."
While in keeping with his usual "warrior-poet" demeanor, the New 52 Manhunter is a bit more aggressive, and more willing to use his telepathic abilities in a forceful manner. Much of his origin remains to be revealed, although his basic power set is essentially consistent. Justice League of America writer Geoff Johns has been quoted as saying he "...will make Martian Manhunter the most dangerous character in the DC Universe.”
Story Arc
He had a wife and a daughter, M'yri'ah and K'hym, whom he loved deeply. The Martians had been a thriving and space faring race for centuries, even venturing to Earth on occasion, inadvertently inspiring the Egyptians to build their colossal pyramids. However, their doom was approaching swiftly.
J'onn's own brother, Ma’alefa’ak, had been stripped of his fellow Martians' innate telepathic gifts for the crime of mind "raping" another, and had grown very bitter over time. In his anger and insanity, he created something that would come to be called Hronmeer's Curse after the Martian God of Death. It was a plague that preyed on a Martian's natural fear and weakness to fire. J'onn learned of his plan to destroy their race from the inside out, but was unable to stop him. J'onzz was then abruptly the last of his own race, and nearly lost his mind.
Wandering the Earth, J'onn's First Years
The Manhunter from Mars, last of his kind, now found himself in a strange and different world. Knowing that he currently had no way to return to his dead planet, J'onn wandered into human civilization, attempting to find a new life among them. J'onzz had almost completely lost his mind on Mars, but being able to now live life however he pleased provided him with a sense of comfort.
Using his vast shape-shifting abilities, he took many forms across the globe, seeing life from every possible standpoint. He took the shapes of men and women of all types, and even animals. He spent much of his time in the role of a man named John Jones, a deceased detective. J'onn took a liking to this particular guise, as he still possessed a strong passion for crime-fighting.
Bronze Wraith
J'onn first revealed himself as an official superhero when he joined the Justice Experience as the Bronze Wraith. He only used his strength and psychic abilities as the Wraith, careful not to reveal his extensive Martian shape shifting abilities. However, his time with the team was short, as they would quickly be altogether defeated by the villainous Doctor Trap. J'onn was the only survivor, but was able to exact justice on the Doctor with the help of the Justice Society of America.
Shortly before his tenure as the Bronze Wraith, J'onn sensed the arrival of a small alien spacecraft heading towards Kansas. He investigated the vessel, although it resisted his attempts to scan it too deeply. When the Kents arrived, he became invisible to avoid detection. He left knowing the Kryptonian child would be safe with them, but was concerned about the power he would one day possess.
He returned eight years later as Josh Johnstone and worked as a hired hand on the Kent Farm. He wanted to see how the alien child was integrating into human society. He could tell that Clark Kent thought of himself as a human being. He was further assured of the boy's heroic nature when he defended him from racist thugs in Smallville.
The Justice League of America
For years after his tenure with the Justice Experience, J'onn continued wandering Earth, taking many different forms and identities. Although he believed that if he again revealed himself as a superhero that he would draw more trouble to himself, something quickly changed his mind.
The super-powered protector of Metropolis, Superman, revealed himself to the world, and soon costumed vigilantes were saving lives everywhere. Eventually, in an freak alien invasion, Hal Jordan, Flash, Aquaman and Black Canary rushed into battle. J'onn quickly put aside his fears of revealing himself, and changed to his typical Martian garb, but kept his overall appearance more humanoid. He battled alongside the other heroes, and they left triumphant. From that point on, these five heroes, along with Superman, Batman and Wonder Woman fought together as the Justice League of America. This team would become a mainstay in the DC Universe, consistently protecting the Earth from otherworldly threats and even home-grown emergencies.
Through many years with the Justice League, J'onn J'onzz managed to find some measure of solace among his new found friends. The people of Earth accepted him, along with his fellow superheroes. He still kept many secret identities across the globe, maintaining a carefully built system that he used to learn all about his fellow Earthlings.
The Justice League Detroit
Eventually, the Justice League would relocate to Detroit and have a dramatic change in it's membership leaving only J'onn, Aquaman, Zatanna and Elongated Man. Four additional heroes known as Vixen, Gypsy, Steel and Vibe joined the Justice League and J'onn would become a large contributor in their development as heroes. He became closest to young Gypsy who was a teenage runaway with an invisibility power of her own. She was homeless in the streets of Detroit and she used her her powers to protect herself. Aquaman eventually left the Justice League to return to his duties in Atlantis and Zatanna left the JLA after merging with the Godhead.
Near the end of this team's roster, the only members left were J'onn, Elongated Man, Vixen, Gypsy, Steel and Vibe. What was worse came when Gypsy had a premonition that two members of her League, Steel and Vibe, were going to be killed. During the Legends event, Darkseid manipulated humanity to turn against super-heroes. Darkseid sent several of his minions, including Glorious Godfrey and Brimstone, to Earth.
Godfrey, using his ability to control anyone just by telling them what to do, posed as G. Gordon Godfrey and told the people of Earth not to trust the super-heroes. Soon, he had with him an army of followers ready to storm the White House and take over the free world.
The League would try to turn back popular opinion even going into a pitched battle with Brimstone. After they fail to stop him, Brimstone caused great damage. Super-heroes themselves become outlawed by executive order of the President. After this event, Elongated Man quits the Justice League.
This left J'onn alone with his four rookie members and left J'onn with no other choice but to disband the League. This left the League weakened and open to attack and Professor Ivo took that opportunity to kill all the young Justice League members. Just like Gypsy's premonition the first to be killed was Vibe. He was killed by one of Professor Ivo's androids on the same day J'onn disband the League.
Professor Ivo sent an android to kill Gypsy next but she manages to find a conscience in the android that is sent to kill her. She convinced the android to not only spare her life, but to safely return her to her parents as well. Steel was mortally wounded when he destroyed one of Ivo's androids. J'onn brought the dying Steel to his grandfather, the original Steel, who placed him on life support and remained in a coma. After this, J'onn and Vixen stop Ivo but the damage had already been done.
J'onn would meet with one last line of defense at the final onset of the invasion. Doctor Fate had organized Superman, Batman,Captain Marvel, Guy Gardner, Martian Manhunter, Wonder Woman, Black Canary, Teen Titans members Changeling and the Kid Flash and the Blue Beetle in one last ditch effort to stop Godfrey.
But much to the surprise of all those engaged in battle, a small legion of children unaffected by Godfrey's mind control make a buffer between the heroes and his army. Suddenly, Godfrey's mind-controlled minions are snapped out of their trance when he slaps one of the children. He was quickly defeated, and the people of Earth trusted their masked protectors once more.
Following the chaos of Glorious Godfrey's invasion, a new Justice League rose from the ashes. Based in several Earth-bound United Nations Embassies, the new League found itself led by the Martian Manhunter and a man named Maxwell Lord. Lord acted as the face of the Justice League in the UN, and recruited all-new members. The new roster included the likes of Booster Gold, Guy Gardner, Captain Marvel, Blue Beetle, Ice, Fire, Mister Miracle and more.
The Justice League International
The new Justice League would become the Justice League International as it works within the United Nations. Originally, J'onn would often act alongside Batman. He performed most of the tactical work, organizing the team and sending them on various missions. After the League went international, J'onn becomes the leader and that allows Batman to stay in the background. The League was basically run for several years with J'onn as the leader but Max Lord was in a big way the owner of the League.
Under J'onn's leadership the League would go through some of it's best years. It did not have a lot of high caliber member but it did have a very familial atmosphere. There was always crisis in the League but they had real bonds with each other. The League would have some members that would come and go, but the core of the League stayed for years. J'onn, Blue Beetle, Booster Gold, Fire, Ice and “the one true” Green Lantern, Guy Gardner.
One thing J'onn developed during this time in the League is an addiction to Oreo cookies, called Chocos. Booster Gold and Blue Beetle who delighted in practical jokes would find it very funny to hide and even buy all the Oreo cookies they could in an effort to drive J'onn nuts trying to find them. These pranks like all there others started out good but ended up bad for Booster and Beetle.
Unfortunately for Gypsy shortly after she is returned home, Despero arrived and murdered her parents. Despero tried to kill Gypsy as well but she was saved by the new Justice League. Despero killed the comatose Steel during his attack on Justice League HQ. Devastated by her parents' death, Gypsy returned to being a superhero. Booster Gold himself took her on as a member of his team the Conglomerate.
After the time J'onn and Gypsy spend together, they grow very close. They end up developing a father/daughter relationship. Later after yet another incarnation of the League, they would both work as members of the Justice League Task Force.
Justice League Task Force
The Justice League Task Force was originally intended to set specialized heroes for specialized missions, but eventually it would become a super hero group just like the other Justice Leagues. This League however would become a little more militant under J'onn's leadership as he forces his team to wear matching uniforms. Eventually like all leagues this one would dissolve as well. In later years, Gypsy is killed but is miraculously returned to life by J'onn, who pleads with his god, Hronmeer, to restore her life.
JLA
The League was reformed after the White Martian invasion and included some of Earth's premier heroes. J'onn would again be an integral part alongside Superman, Batman, Wonder Woman, Flash (Wally West), Green Lantern (Kyle Rayner) and Aquaman. He would often link his teammates telepathically to coordinate their plans. The ghosts of his Martian heritage would be a problem on more than one occasion and J'onn would often be key to beating them.
When the White Martians attacked again, it was J'onn who helped provide the means of beating them, nearly sacrificing himself in the process. He would also have to foil the schemes of his brother, Ma’alefa’ak. Unbeknown to J'onn, he had survived the death of his people caused by a plague he had wrought and intended to finish the job by killing J'onn.
He was he one of the League's most powerful members, which was a problem when another piece of his Martian heritage came to Earth, a Burning Martian called Fernus. He had been attempting to overcome his fear of fire with the help of Scorch. The therapy triggered ancient genetic memories that had been repressed by the Guardians of the Universe and transformed him into a being of fire and hate.
As Fernus, he attempted to asexually reproduce by causing a nuclear strike in Japan. The League was little match for his immense physical powers and his psychic assault. However, a joint effort by the League, Scorch, and most importantly, Plastic Man allowed J'onn to re-assume control of his body. In the epilogue of this story, J'onn claims to have overcome his fear of fire unless the flames have a psychic or magical dimension. This is sometimes overlooked in more recent adventures.
Powers
Martian Manhunter possesses powers and abilities common to all Martians but has shown to be the most powerful of his race, largely due to be from his training as a Manhunter of Mars, and also his years as hero of Earth. He's also one of the most powerful members of the Justice League, alongside the likes of Superman, Captain Marvel, Captain Atom, Orion and Green Lanterns.
Super Strength - Martian Manhunter is one of the strongest heroes on Earth, with strength comparable to Superman. J'onn along with Superman was able to move one of Brainiac's ships away from Earth; the ship in question dwarfed the planet with its size and was hurtling towards the Earth at 36,000 miles/hour. J'onn has also shattered Earth's moon with his strength. He also was able to move Earth with help from Superman and Wonder Woman.
Invulnerability - J'onn's durability has allowed him to withstand the destruction of Earth's moon without so much as a scratch, as well as taking hits from characters like Superman, Aquaman and Wonder Woman. He has in the past displayed the ability to make his body more dense in order to boost his durability, or his resistance to gaseous or chemical agents.
Flight - Martian Manhunter has been seen flying at Mach 10 in Earth's atmosphere. He has maneuverability and flight speed comparable to Superman.
Super Speed - J'onn and other Martians have speed that allows him to keep up with the Flash. His speed grants him accelerated reaction times as well. He is able to process thoughts and carry out actions with incredible speed as well. He can even utilize his telepathy at super speed, able to create a telepathic conference room for the Justice League to discuss matters in the privacy of J'onn's mind in just an instant.
Stamina - The Martian Manhunter has nigh inexhaustible endurance and resilience. He can last for extensive periods of time without food, rest, or air. J'onn has been able to travel great distances in space and fight long battles without tiring.
Regeneration - J'onn can quickly recover from almost any injury. He is able to reconstitute his body even when severed into several pieces. His regenerative abilities have allowed him to reconstitute his body from even an extremely small mass in only a matter of seconds, and he has even grown a new body from a severed arm.
Shape-Shifting - The Martian Manhunter has vast shape shifting abilities that stem from complete control of his molecular structure. He is able to take on any shape he pleases, often taking the human guise of Detective John Jones.
It has been revealed in the older comics, that he takes the powers and weaknesses of whoever he turns into. He can form shapes of objects or organisms alive, extinct, or imagined, and he has often shown to grow an extra pair of arms to supplement his fighting abilities and his strength. He can become as stiff and unmovable or as flexible and malleable as he pleases. He can also alter his size or the size and length of his limbs.
During his fight with Antares, J'onn grew to the size of building. When increasing his size, J'onn often borrows mass from matter around him and incorporates it in his body, expelling it when he returns to his normal size. The Manhunter has even shown to use his shape shifting powers offensively during his fight with Ultraman.
He has elongated parts of himself into blades and other weapons during combat. His density is also variable and changes as he wills it. He can use this ability to become intangible and move through objects or allow attacks to fly by harmlessly through him or to become extremely dense to add more mass to his blows and increase his invulnerability.
J'onn's control over his own molecular structure also allow him to adapt his visibility, granting him the ability to become invisible at will. His shape shifting abilities extend beyond even that allowing himself to change his chemical composition. He was able to turn his skin into a thick exoskeleton of human bone in order to shield him from a corrosive that would normally disintegrate his Martian physiology.
Intangibility - By greatly lowering the density of his own mass, Marian Manhunter is able to become intangible. He has used this power often during combat to protect himself from his enemy's attacks and to pass through walls and other structures to travel. Another use of this power is phasing opponents into solid objects, as J'onn as Fernus was able to do to Superman.
Invisibility - J'onn is able to control his visibility and render himself invisible to beings that can even view the entire electromagnetic spectrum. He can even appear invisible to Superman.
Telepathy - Martian Manhunter is one of the most powerful telepaths in the DC universe. Through sheer mental strength, he was able to resist Brainiac's telepathic control of the entire world. His offensive psionic abilities are at least planetary in scale, and he has demonstrated great finesse with his powers - achieving everything from planting subtle subliminal messages in Superman's head, casting an illusion over the entire Justice League, and forcibly invading and shutting down the minds of powerful telepaths like Despero and Doctor Psycho.
Psionic Blast - J'onn is able to project painful and destructive blasts of psionic energy from his eyes and his hands
Psionic Shield - J'onn is able to project a telekinetic shield of distinct size and force for their protection and that of others.
Martian Vision - Martian Manhunter can project powerful blasts of energy from his eyes. The power of these blasts are comparable to Superman's heat vision and have been shown to be able to harm the likes of Superman, Black Adam and Aquaman. He is able to create powerful enough blast to sever his own arm. He is also able to project telekinetic blasts of force.
Telekinesis - Presumably a side effect of his Martian vision is telekinesis. He seems to keep this ability in reserve, as he does some of his other powers. J'onn is capable of controlling / manipulating; move; push; cut out; attrack; and levitate objects even at the subatomic level. J'onn can manipulate atoms, subatomic particles, and cells perfectly. J'onn can fire extremely powerful Telekinetic Blasts, causing others to telekinetically explode and create a telekinetic shield. J'onn has only demonstrated this power a select few times.
Martian Breath - The Martian Manhunter has also demonstrated an increased lung capacity, allowing him to blow powerful wind bursts and freeze opponents with his breath, similar to Superman. J'onn has also demonstrated the ability to fly through space for extended periods of time.
Sonic Scream - J'onn has on occasion demonstrated the capability to emit a devastating sonic scream.
X-ray Vision - J'onn J'onzz described this ability colloquially as ionized particulate matter mapped to a variable density wavepacket. It allows him to see through objects.
Extrasensory Input - Martians have nine senses as opposed to a human's five senses, which grants the Martian more numerable and clearer perceptions.
Longevity - Martians possess naturally longer lifespans than human beings. J'onn has lived for at least one hundred years and is still not at old age. Based on the "One Million" story-line, we can also presume that J'onn has the capacity to live and operate at peak functionality for thousands of years to come.
Mayavanna (Formerly) - This is a Martian ability that gives the receiver a gift of a reality even more powerful than our own. It grants them what they want most in the world and is reserved for those held most dear to the Martian giving it. It is a gift that can only be given once in a lifetime. J'onn had to use his on Despero in order to stop him from murdering the League.
Abilities
J'onn was trained as a Manhunter on Mars, making a capable crime fighter and combatant. Since his arrival on earth, he has demonstrated a high degree of intelligence and great skill in detective work while working under the guise of Detective John Jones. Martian Manhunter has exceptionally high reasoning and logical skills, which added to his detective expertise, and also grants him highly competent diplomatic abilities. He has shown to be remarkably empathetic and understanding of human emotions and human nature. He has often given extremely wise advice to his fellows during times of crisis and in personal adversity. Despite his civil understanding, J'onn is able to assess situations and recognize which circumstances require intellectual solutions and which merit combat. When he has decided to use force, he has never been hesitant to fight against his opponents ruthlessly.
Weaknesses
J'onn has consistently been portrayed as having a weakness to fire, which has varied over the years, usually according to the needs of a given storyline.
In the Silver Age, even the smallest flame could cause J'onn to cringe and occasionally fall unconscious. It was explained as the natural enemy of all Martians, and would vary widely in severity by the writer's whims.
In the Bronze Age it became more defined, causing him to slowly lose his powers and eventually consciousness.
Post Crisis it was explained as being psycho-somatic, a result of the traumatic experience burning the bodies of his race killed by a plague.
When Grant Morrison took over JLA, he reintroduced the fire weakness as being a racial trait of all Martians, white or green. Later in that same title, Joe Kelly explained it as the result of a prehistoric war with the Guardians. The Guardians of the Universe, after defeating the Martians, placed within the Martian race a psychological fear of fire. This was to prevent them from taking on their earlier, "Burning" form, marked by aggressiveness and chaos. When J'onn excised his weakness to fire by working with Scorch, he unleashed Fernus. Afterwards, J'onn stated that he no longer fears ordinary flames and that the only fire that affects him is fire of psychic or mystical power.
⚡ Happy 🎯 Heroclix 💫 Friday! 👽
_____________________________
A year of the shows and performers of the Bijou Planks Theater.
Secret Identity: John Jones (J'onn J'onzz)
Publisher: DC
First appearance: Detective Comics #225 (November 1955)
www.flickr.com/photos/paprihaven/55331681684
Created by: Joseph Samachson (Writer)
Joe Certa (Artist)
Martian Manhunter was seen foiling a criminal Toys For Tots catastrophe in Christmas 2017!
www.flickr.com/photos/paprihaven/38564253314/
And in the Labor Days grilling festivities in 2019!
We've all heard of 'puppy dog eyes' and 'piercing blue eyes' but this fellow's stare is remarkable. This is day three of this fellow in the back yard each day. This is through both the storm and back door's glass. I'm now convinced it is an immature Red-shouldered hawk (Buteo lineatus) rather than yesterday's assumption of Red-tailed. Like others, I'll string out my reasoning in a photo-a-day style.
Model: Marcus Pina
This image is part of a series I'm doing on metamorphosis, between humans and nature. Although humans have capacity for logic and reasoning we are still meat bodies with rationality yet share some of the same genes of other natural living things like plants and animals. We all rot and we all die. So why are we then destroying our ancestors lineage, with all the damage we do to our environment and nature it’s reflecting back in climate change with nature taking her revenge. Planting a tree helps but changing our government and electing officials who believe in environmental change is the only way we are going to make enough of an impact…End of preach rant.
On January the 7th last the the state health authority announced there was going to be a 3 day Lockdown .. only 3 days mind you and all supermarkets and food suppliers will be opened as usual and this is what happened in the bread isle of my local supermarket . The toilet paper isle had sufficient stocks I believe , not like the silly nonsense that took place in March last year after the first announcement that the country would be going in to a protracted Lockdown for some time . Here in Australia there was a rush on toilet paper of all things , not food items but toilet paper , theres no rational reasoning behind that stupidity , people were even selling it on the black market at inflated prices . Toilet paper , its hard to believe . Now getting back to this situation Thy daily bread was in no supply at all here , let alone a choice of any description . The lady pushing the trolly is wearing a face mask which will become mandatory the next day to wear in Lockdown mode if you go outside the the confines of your homes front door . We are still wearing face masks in confined spaces in public places , shops , offices , on public transport .. and supermarkets .
And you thought it was all hot rod cars and boats ..
Covid times ..
Kenmore
Brisbane
All my life I spent reviving soldiers,
I sharpened the pencils for them.
I even reversed the order of things.
With heavy trucks full of reasoning
I just flew through storm and hail
up into a clear blue sky.
And at the end
- It was almost morning -
I still quickly got the sea warmed
and a pocketful of psychedelic myths
I reshaped into beautiful fairytales
with a happy ending.
When daring to dream, we can do more than we think.
.
(free translation of GDK)
One of three photos taken yesterday in my walk the Humber Bay Shore Park.
Thanks for visiting, let's do our part to stay safe and healthy. #BeKind
Cavendish Mews is a smart set of flats in Mayfair where flapper and modern woman, the Honourable Lettice Chetwynd has set up home after coming of age and gaining her allowance. To supplement her already generous allowance, and to break away from dependence upon her family, Lettice has established herself as a society interior designer, so her flat is decorated with a mixture of elegant antique Georgian pieces and modern Art Deco furnishings, using it as a showroom for what she can offer to her well heeled clients.
It is evening at Cavendish Mews, and like many other evenings, Lettice has had , her old childhood chum, Gerald, join her for a quiet dinner, just the two of them. Whilst Gerald is also a member of the aristocracy who has tried to gain some independence from his family by designing gowns from a shop in Grosvenor Street, his underlying reasons differ greatly from Lettice’s. Their families’ properties may neighbour one another, but whereas the Chetwynds have weathered the storms of war, tax increases and the necessity to modernise that the Twentieth Century has dealt them, the Brutons, Gerald’s parents, have not been so fortunate. Gerald has a paltry allowance from his father, which has only dwindled since the family has been beset by more financial difficulties in the last few years, so the success of his fledgling couture house is imperative for his survival. Luckily, as well as being handsome, Gerald is charming, and has therefore been invited by friends to enjoy their largess and he often dines out at the cost of others. Lettice may be Gerald’s best friend, and her dinner invitation is always welcome, however the evening offers more than just a free meal for Gerald. By bringing some of his sewing, he can use Lettice’s electricity rather than his own, dealing him a small saving, and both of them may enjoy one another’s company as part of the arrangement.
Lettice usually sits and works at her Hepplewhite desk next to the fire in her drawing room, whilst Gerald sews a piece of one of his latest creations for a customer in the comfort of one of Lettice’s arm chairs, but tonight Lettice is enjoying a night of freedom and is sitting in her Art Deco tub arm chair contentedly reading a copy of the Daily Mail and watching Gerald sitting across from her, embroidering the collar of what will soon be a new outfit for her. Whilst they chat and drink one of Lettice’s fine French champagne, they both enjoy the gift of a shiny new brass wireless, a gift from Selwyn Spencely, the future Duke of Mumford, whom Lettice has been seeing socially for a little over a year now.
“I must say,” Gerald remarks as he takes a sip of champagne and settles back with Lettice’s collar into her comfortable tub chair. “Spencely’s gift really does make what was already a wonderful evening even better.” He glances at the shining brass wireless. “It really is ripping getting to listen to music without even leaving the comfort of home.”
“Or the comfort of someone else’s home.” Lettice adds with a cheeky smile, taking a sip of champagne from her own tall glass flute.
“Indeed.” Gerald murmurs, glancing down at the fine pale orange stitches he is adding to a floral motif on the collar as his face flushes. Even though Lettice is aware of Gerald’s financial situation, and she is happy to let Gerald do some work at her flat to help him save money, it is still a point of embarrassment for Gerald and he tries not to let Lettice see him blush. “Mind you,” he adds. “You’ll do well out of this bargain, my darling.” He holds up the collar so Lettice can admire the large petals in pink and orange that radiate around the large Peter Pan collar*.
“Oh, it’s lovely, Gerald!” Lettice enthuses as she reaches across the coffee table and touches the looped embroidery around the edge of the collar, worked in a fine golden apricot. “Elizabeth is going to love it!”
“I hope you are the one who is going to love it, Lettice darling.” Gerald remarks, placing the collar back in his lap. “After all you will be the one wearing it, not Elizabeth.”
Lettice sighs. “I don’t think anyone will care about what I’m wearing to Elizabeth’s wedding**.”
“And so they shouldn’t.” Gerald retorts with a snort. Seeing the hurt in his best friend’s eyes at his statement, he quickly elaborates, “Well, not care so much as focus more on her rather than you. After all she is the bride, and a royal one at that. I know of no bride in all of Christendom who would want to be outshone by any of her wedding guests,” He nods in Lettice’s direction. “However lovely they may be.”
“Thank you, Gerald darling.” Lettice blows her friend a kiss and takes another sip from her tall champagne flute. “There won’t be much chance of that,” Lettice says resignedly, tossing the copy of the Daily Express from her lap irritably onto the black japanned tabletop of the coffee table between them. There on its cover, another romantic photographic portrait of Elizabeth Bowes-Lyon looking demure as she casts her gaze downwards, takes up more than a third of the tabloid’s cover. “Judging by every rag in the city. It’s ‘Elizabeth this’ and ‘Elizabeth that’.”
“I say! Are you just a teensy bit jealous of her, Lettuce Leaf?” Gerald asks teasingly using her abhorred childhood nickname.
“Don’t call me that Gerald!” Lettice warns her friend. “You know I don’t like it.”
“You didn’t mind it when we were four.”
“But I’m not four any more Gerald, and nor are you.” She gives him a doubtful look.
“You are, Lettuce Leaf! You’re jealous of Elizabeth because she has all the attention of the press in the society pages!”
“I wouldn’t say that I’m jealous, exactly, Gerald,” Lettice begins, but she retracts this statement as Gerald looks across at her doubtfully. “Well, maybe I am, just a little bit. I mean, I am very happy for her, and I’m delighted that the press love her and give her positively glowing publicity.” She pauses.
“But?” Gerald probes.
“But, it is getting a little bit tiresome, isn’t it? We’ve barely featured in the society pages since the wedding was announced.”
“We aren’t alone, Lettice darling,” Gerald commiserates. “Barely anyone has.”
“It’s like the whole country has gone Elizabeth mad!”
“I should get Hattie to invest in a wireless.” Gerald ruminates, changing the subject momentarily away from the marriage of Elizabeth Bowes Lyon to the Duke of York***. “If a few of us pooled some money: Hattie, Cyril, Charlie Boy, we might be able to afford one.”
“But what happens if one of Miss Milford’s lodgers decides to leave? What happens with the wireless then? You can’t cut it into sections. Would Cyril or Charles claim custody rights for a few weeks a year?”
The pair laugh at the idea.
“You know, you should come to Hattie’s tonight, Lettice darling.” Gerald says to Lettice as he now draws a pale pink thread through the collar on his lap. “It will be great fun, and far better than sitting here alone, even if you do have your wireless for company.”
“I’m not alone. I have Edith.” Lettice defends, referring to her maid.
“You know what I mean.” He gives her a withering look. “Don’t be tiresome, darling! Being a bottle party**** we’re guaranteed to have some interesting cocktails to drink. You’ve got plenty to choose from in your cocktail cabinet. I’ve got my new banjo***** in the Morris****** because one of Cyril’s orchestra friends who is coming tonight has promised to give me a few lessons on playing it. Come on! It will marvellous fun!”
“I haven’t exactly been invited, Gerald.” She gives him a doubtful look.
“Oh, Hattie won’t mind! The more the merrier, so long as you bring a bottle. In fact, that will make it even merrier, especially if it’s a bottle of gin.” He takes another sip of champagne and raises his flute in his half of a toast. “Being a bunch of theatricals, it might be, well, a bit…”
“Theatrical?”
“Theatrical, yes, but such marvellous fun! We’re quite a tight and fun group, you know,”
“I really don’t know, Gerald.”
Gerald sits up in his seat and puts the collar aside, laying it flat on the black japanned coffee table between them. “Why have you taken against Hattie so, Lettice?”
“I haven’t, Gerald!” she defends. “She’s making me a new hat!”
“Oh pooh to the hat she is making you! I’d say you have.” he counters as he looks at Lettice with a seriousness that he rarely does. “She told me when you visited her to commission her to make your hat for Elizabeth’s wedding, that you were a little bit pompous.”
“Did she?” Lettice’s eyes widen and her expertly plucked brows arch over them at the revelation. “Pompous? Me?”
“Yes, you.” he says pointedly as he picks up the collar again and draws the pink thread through with added concentration. “Certainly, from what she was telling me, and I hate to say this, but you did come across as pompous, darling.”
“That’s rich coming from the man who originally despised Mrs. Hatchett for her up-and-coming middle-class mediocrity.”
“Customers who are more exalted and refined than your second cousins?” Gerald paraphrases from the conversation between Lettice and Harriet as related to him by Harriet.
Lettice blushes.
“You may be friends with Elizabeth, darling, but even when she becomes the Duchess of York, you could hardly call her exalted.”
“She might be Queen one day, Gerald. After all, our King was Duke of York once.”
“But he was always first in line, and we all know that Bertie is not, and the Prince of Wales isn’t going anywhere. He enjoys the adulation of the people too much to not be King one day!”
“Yes, especially of other men’s wives.” Lettice acknowledges.
“And besides, Elizabeth has her own milliner. She’s hardly going to go to Hattie just because she makes you a fetching hat.” He looks reproachfully at Lettice. “Pulling the class card. Really darling! I would have expected better from you. What’s Hattie ever done to you?”
“Nothing.”
“Nothing, exactly! So ask again, why have you taken against her so?”
“She’s… she’s…” Lettice stammers as emotions she has kept controlled and to herself begin to build before finally bursting forth. “She’s just so, nice, so pretty, so sweet natured and good tempered.” She pauses. “It’s like she’s a saint! She calls you Gerry and… and she embraces you in such a familiar way when she sees you, and she invites you to bottle parties at her house!”
“Ahh,” Gerald sinks back in his seat. “Finally! The truth will out! You’re jealous of Hattie. You seem to think that she is usurping you in my affections. You think you’ll lose your best friend to her.”
Lettice doesn’t answer, but the guilty look she momentarily gives Gerald coyly before looking away in shame speaks loudly enough for her.
“I never took you for a silly, jealous type, Lettice darling, yet here you are, jealous of two women in one night.”
“I’m not,” Lettice replies guiltily. “Usually.”
“Well, you have nothing to fear from Hattie.” He looks at her earnestly. “It is true that I do love Hattie, and I enjoy her company immensely. She’s great fun and easy to get along with. However, she doesn’t have the shared experience of growing up together that you and I have, Lettice darling. She will never understand the little quirks and language that we share, and nor do I want her to. Hattie is just another friend: a very good friend I hope.” He reaches out his hand to Lettice’s as it dangles limply from her seat. “I can be myself with Hattie, just like I can with you, and you know how precious that is in this unforgiving world of ours,” He looks meaningfully at Lettice. “But you are my best friend, Lettice. You always will be.”
“Really?” Lettice asks meekly.
“Of course! Unless you keep on carrying on like some silly, jealous upper-class snob!”
Lettice feels suitably reprimanded as she sits uncomfortably in her own tub chair, emotionally exposed under the scruitinising gaze of her dearest friend.
“You were the levelling one of the two of us when you first introduced me to Mrs. Hatchett. You said to me that in spite of her upbringing and background, that she was a good and a worthy person and that I shouldn’t be such a snob.”
“I did.”
“Well, isn’t Hattie the same? Like Mrs. Hatchett, she is a bit gauche in that up-and-coming middle-class kind of way. Although to be fair to her, unlike Mrs. Hatchett, she hasn’t had that much of a life to know what is gauche and what is not. Her mother died many years ago, and from what I can gather, her father was a very strict, Victorian man, so Harriet was given little freedom to express her own ideas or experience the world. Now life is like a giant buffet for her, and she doesn’t know what to eat first, or know that she should eat her first course before her second, rather than the reverse way around. She could benefit from a few, more experienced pairs of hands guiding her.”
“Are you suggesting that Miss Milford and I should be friends, Gerald?”
“No,” Gerald admits. “I don’t think you are ever likely to be bosom friends*******, and I believe that you have intimated as much to her on a previous occasion.”
“Does she tell you everything, Gerald darling?” Lettice exclaims.
“Fairly much.” He smiles cheekily.
“I must remember whatever I say to her may not be sacrosanct.”
“Undoubtedly it won’t be, darling.” Gerald assures her without any remorse. “Anyway, even if you aren’t bosom friends, you might at least be a little kinder to Hattie, and certainly less of a prig. Even if you don’t do it for her, do it for me, because she is my friend and I care for her deeply, and you care for me deeply.”
“Well, I can hardly argue with that reasoning, can I?”
“You know, I’m surprised at your behaviour, Lettice.”
“Why? You get jealous too. Tell me that you weren’t even a little bit jealous of Arabella when she and Leslie announced their marriage?”
“Well of course I was jealous of her!” Gerald admits readily. “I have a horrible green monster that lies not too far beneath the surface of my shallow self, darling. I am jealous of Arabella because she snagged the Chetwynd with the looks whom I desired. I’m jealous of Roland, because as the eldest son, he seems to be completely beyond contempt for any of the scandals he creates, whereas Father punishes me for even the smallest misdemeanour. I’m jealous whenever I see another man look so much as sideways at Cyril across the crowded floor of a molly-house********. Hell, I’m even jealous of you sometimes, Lettice.”
“Of me?” Lettice gasps, raising a hand to her chest.
“Of course, of you, you silly thing.” Gerald replies, as though it were the most obvious thing in the world for Lettice to know.
“Why are you jealous of me? It surely can’t be because of my looks. You’re every bit as handsome as I am pretty. As a woman, I am bound by strictures imposed upon me by my family, my place in society and my very sex since birth about what I can or can’t do, where I go and with whom.”
“Look at our lives, darling!” Gerald exclaims in exasperation. “You have money in the bank, or indeed money to burn. I on the other hand rely on the largess of friends and live on a pittance, throwing every spare penny I can make back into my business. If your business were to falter, you’d be fine, perhaps suffering the gloating of the likes of Sadie who would goad you with ‘I told you sos’ and ‘I knew she couldn’t do it’, but you would survive. As for me, if my fashion house folds, I’m ruined. I have nothing whatever to fall back on, and I would have creditors going unpaid who would hunt me down, or hound me until I am dead. I could end up in debtors’ prison. And thinking of prison,” he goes on seriously. “Regardless of the societal restrictions you are faced with, at least you and Selwyn can be seen in public together as a couple. Cyril and I can’t. I’m not Ned Warren*********, so I have no fortune to keep the gossiping staff well below stairs.”
“Thinking of which, I had dinner with Selwyn a few weeks ago, and he asked me if you had a Gaiety Girl********** hidden away somewhere.”
“I hope you didn’t disabuse him of that idea.”
“I most certainly did!” Lettice defends. “I wasn’t going to lie to him.” It is only when the colour drains from Gerald’s face does she realise the mistake her words have led him to make and she quickly adds. “Oh, not about Cyril, darling! I didn’t tell him about Cyril! I’m not that brainless, even if I can be a snob.” She smiles as she sees the relief in his face. “No, he asked me why you hadn’t been to your club for a while, and thought it might be because you had a chorus girl to amuse you more so than he and the other club members might. I simply told him that you were engaged in business and that was what took up your time.”
“Well, that isn’t entirely untrue.”
“Listen Gerald,” Lettice says seriously, looking her friend directly in the eyes. “I’ll make a deal with you.”
“A deal?” Gerald’s eyebrows arch over his glittering eyes, a smirk causing the edges of his mouth to turn upwards at the end.
“I’m serious, Gerald.”
“Alight! Alright!” Gerald drops his needle and holds his hands up in defeat. “No frivolousness.”
“I will try and be nicer, and less jealous of Harriet. I’ll even try to help her.”
“Oh, thank you, Lettice darling.”
“But” Lettice wags her finger warningly at Gerald. “Only if you will promise me that you’ll be careful to be discreet with Cyril.”
“I’m always discreet, Lettice darling!” Gerald assures her.
“I know you are, Gerald darling,” Lettice replies. “But in my few brief meetings with him, it seems to me that Cyril sometimes is not, and I worry for both of you.”
Gerald observes the look of concern that clouds his best friend’s face.
“I promise I’ll be discreet enough for both of us.” He holds up his glass and Lettice and Gerald click champagne flutes in agreement to both the agreements they have made.
*A Peter Pan collar is a style of clothing collar, flat in design with rounded corners. It is named after the collar of Maude Adams's costume in her 1905 role as Peter Pan, although similar styles had been worn before this date. Peter Pan collars were particularly fashionable during the 1920s and 1930s.
**Elizabeth Bowes-Lyon, as she was known at the beginning of 1923 when this story is set, went on to become Queen of the United Kingdom and the Dominions from 1936 to 1952 as the wife of King George VI. Whilst still Duke of York, Prince Albert initially proposed to Elizabeth in 1921, but she turned him down, being "afraid never, never again to be free to think, speak and act as I feel I really ought to". He proposed again in 1922 after Elizabeth was part of his sister, Mary the Princess Royal’s, wedding party, but she refused him again. On Saturday, January 13th, 1923, Prince Albert went for a walk with Elizabeth at the Bowes-Lyon home at St Paul’s, Walden Bury and proposed for a third and final time. This time she said yes. The wedding took place on April 26, 1923 at Westminster Abbey.
***Prince Albert, Duke of York, known by the diminutive “Bertie” to the family and close friends, was the second son of George V. He was never expected to become King, but came to the throne after his elder brother David, the Prince of Wales, abdicated in 1936 so that he could marry the love of his life American divorcée, Wallis Simpson. Although not schooled in being a ruler, Bertie, who styled himself as George VI as a continuation of his father, became King of United Kingdom and the Dominions from 1936 to 1952, and saw Britain through some of its darkest days, becoming one of the most popular monarchs in British history.
****Bottle parties, a private party to which each guest brings their own liquor, came into vogue during the 1920s and 30s initially especially after prohibition in America and liquor licence restrictions in Britain.
*****Originating out of America during the 1920s the banjo quickly gained popularity in Britain too because it was reasonably cheap as an instrument, portable, easy to learn on and musical duelling matches were played like draughts or chess.
******Morris Motors Limited was a privately owned British motor vehicle manufacturing company established in 1919. With a reputation for producing high-quality cars and a policy of cutting prices, Morris's business continued to grow and increase its share of the British market. By 1926 its production represented forty-two per cent of British car manufacturing. Amongst their more popular range was the Morris Cowley which included a four-seat tourer which was first released in 1920.
*******The term bosom friend is recorded as far back as the late Sixteenth Century. In those days, the bosom referred to the chest as the seat of deep emotions, though now the word usually means a woman's “chest.” A bosom friend, then, is one you might share these deep feelings with or have deep feelings for.
********A molly-house was a term used in Eighteenth, Nineteenth and early Twentieth-century Britain for a meeting place for homosexual men. The meeting places were generally taverns, public houses, or coffeehouses known to be regular haunts of such men, or even private rooms. Molly-houses were places where men could either socialise or meet possible sexual partners. Although the gathering of homosexual men was not strictly illegal, the act of homosexual acts between men was, which made molly-houses dangerous for men should there be a police raid.
*********Edward Perry Warren, known as Ned Warren, was an American art collector and the author of works proposing an idealized view of homosexual relationships. He is now best known as the former owner of the Warren Cup in the British Museum.
**********Gaiety Girls were the chorus girls in Edwardian musical comedies, beginning in the 1890s at the Gaiety Theatre, London, in the shows produced by George Edwardes.
This 1920s upper-class drawing room is different to what you may think at first glance, for it is made up entirely of 1:12 size dollhouse miniatures from my miniatures collection.
Fun things to look for in this tableau include:
Gerald’s magnificent sewing box with its mirrored lid, silver and russet brocade padding and russet trimming, and ball feet is a 1:12 artisan miniature. It’s interior is full of sewing paraphernalia. Made by an unknown artisan, it came from Kathleen Knight’s Dolls House Shop in the United Kingdom.
The embroidered collar for Lettice’s royal wedding outfit that Gerald has been working on is actually a piece of beautiful scalloped ribbon that was given to me at Christmas time by a very close friend of mine. The silver dressmaking scissors on top of it came from an online stockist of miniatures on E-Bay.
The newspaper sitting underneath the collar featuring an image of Elizabeth Bowes-Lyon, the future Queen Elizabeth and one day Queen Mother, is a copy of a real Daily Mail newspaper from 1923 and was produced to high standards in 1:12 by Little Things Dollhouse Miniatures in Lancashire.
The champagne flutes that are filled with glittering golden yellow champagne were made by Karen Ladybug Miniatures in the United Kingdom.
The brass wireless in the background, which is remarkably heavy for its size, comes from Melody Jane’s Doll House Supplies in the United Kingdom.
Lettice’s drawing room is furnished with beautiful J.B.M. miniatures. The Art Deco tub chairs are of black japanned wood and have removable cushions, just like their life sized examples. To the left of the fireplace is a Hepplewhite drop-drawer bureau and chair of black japanned wood which has been hand painted with chinoiserie designs, even down the legs and inside the bureau. The chair set has a rattan seat, which has also been hand woven. To the right of the fireplace is a Chippendale cabinet which has also been decorated with chinoiserie designs. It also features very ornate metalwork hinges and locks.
The fireplace is a 1:12 miniature resin Art Deco fireplace which is flanked by brass accessories including an ash brush with real bristles.
The carpet beneath the furniture is a copy of a popular 1920s style Chinese silk rug, and the geometric Art Deco wallpaper is beautiful hand impressed paper given to me by a friend, which inspired the whole “Cavendish Mews – Lettice Chetwynd” series.
As a teenager, Ralph Dibny was fascinated by contortionists, or people who displayed feats of agility and suppleness. He learned that all of the body-benders he spoke with drank a popular soda called "Gingold".
Ralph set to work learning chemistry and developed a super-concentrated extract of the rare "gingo" fruit of the Yucatan, which gave him his elasticity. In his first appearance, the Flash suspects the Elongated Man is behind several crimes, but the Elongated Man helps capture the criminals, who reveal they used a helicopter to frame him.
Ralph Dibny was one of the earliest Silver Age DC heroes to reveal his secret identity to the public, and also one of the first to marry his love interest. After teaming up with several other superheroes like Batman, Green Lantern, the Atom, Zatanna and the Justice League of America, he became a member of the team. Eventually, his wife became a member as well. The couple was also notable in having a stable, happy, and relatively trouble-free marriage—an anomaly in the highly dramatic lives of superheroes.
While the Elongated Man gained his abilities by drinking a refined version of a soft drink named Gingold that contains the extract of the gingo fruit, it was revealed that he is a metahuman, and the Gingoid elixir interacted with his latent genes. An ordinary human would not develop such powers through ingesting the extract. In fact, most people are extremely allergic to highly concentrated Gingold. The only other hero in the DCU who uses Gingold is Stretch, a member of Hero Hotline who has been using the compound since the 1940s.
As his name suggests, the Elongated Man can stretch his limbs and body to super-human lengths and sizes. These stretching powers grant the Elongated Man heightened agility enabling flexibility and coordination that is beyond the natural limits of the human body.
He can contort his body into various positions and sizes impossible for ordinary humans, such as being entirely flat so that he can slip under a door, or using his fingers to pick conventional locks. He can also use it for disguise by changing the shape of his face.
Ralph's physiology has greater physical limitations than Plastic Man; there is a limit to how far he can stretch his finite bodily mass, and he cannot open holes in his body as Plastic Man can.
The Elongated Man's powers also greatly augment his durability. He is largely able to withstand corrosives, punctures and concussions without sustaining injury. It has been demonstrated that he is resistant to high velocities that would kill an ordinary person and that he is also more resistant to blasts from energy weapons that would kill ordinary humans.
His physiology is more like that of an ordinary human than Plastic Man and, as a result, he does not share Plastic Man's nigh-invulnerability.
In addition to his stretching abilities, the Elongated Man is professionally trained as a detective and is highly skilled in deductive reasoning. Often considered one of the most brilliant detectives in the DC Universe (compared with Batman only differing in the actual course of their logic).
He is a talented amateur chemist as well. A meta-side effect of his powers coupled with his detective skills is enhanced olfactory sense, allowing him to "smell" when something is "not right", or if a clue or mystery is at hand. This results in a rubbery "nose twitch".
Firehawk once told Ralph that the Green Arrow said the nose twitch was not a real thing but rather something he made up to get more press. The Elongated Man responded by telling her that the Green Arrow's hat covers a bald spot.
⚡ Happy 🎯 Heroclix 💫 Friday! 👽
_____________________________
A year of the shows and performers of the Bijou Planks Theater.
Secret Identity: Randolph William "Ralph" Dibny
Publisher: DC
First appearance: The Flash 112 (February 25, 1960).
Created by: John Broome (writer)
Carmine Infantino (artist)
I was on the 'puter & looked up-- the window was all red--so I jumped up!...the sky was on fire! unusually ...not so here in my Mi. so I called my husband & we raced outside-- it was a truly firey red-- don't know if I captured that, but at the same time ironically the Ca. fires were going on big time--8 big time on the news-- I truly make no conclusions, but it all impressed me so much-- too different for my area ,etc.ok ok weather people have their reasonings & interpretations--got it--got it.. nuff'said...WOW! awesome stuff!
This week, I renounced my right to be known as an artist. I gave it to God, because it had become such a pride issue for me. Even this project was just so filled with pride and arrogance, and I am giving my art back to God. I'm taking a step back, not taking my camera everywhere with me, praying before I photograph and post, and making sure I don't do it for renown, but for the God who gave the talent to me.
It's been really good. I'm not tethered to the internet as much, or so concerned with others' reactions to my photography. But I'm still learning. If I'm gone for gaps of time, or my quality of image changes, I just wanted you to know the reasoning. God first. My family here second. Artist third.
At first I thought I should quit my 52 weeks project, just to show God that I was willing to do so, but He has not placed that on my heart. I still will quit if I'm supposed to, because I would never quit of my own desire. But God's desires are more important to me than a project.
(twenty eight)
And so Thomas began on his journey to the south.
He was accompanied by his uncle Gunnar and two men he had handpicked from his Arrowford Guard. The reasoning being that four decent men are enough to deter bandits, but too few to draw the concern of the Queen’s soldiers. The emphasis now was on discretion. Their war steeds, battle armour and golden bear insignia were all left behind and simpler, mismatched gear added anonymity to their protection.
For Thomas, and indeed Gunnar, adventure back on the open road lightened their hearts, but the anxiety Thomas felt at leaving Arrowford to its fate weighed heavily upon him. Riding out of the mountains and down through great fields of lavender, Thomas was filled with a deep foreboding as he prepared to leave the glorious realm of Loreos yet again.
Quick navigation and some simple reasoning determined that we could make our way to the signal at Arcadia before NS 304 did, and we were indeed right! Of course, with a signal and scenery like this, there was much debate between the three of us on how to shoot it.
The lake is the go-to shot here, but when we came up beside this barn, I knew I just had to get that in the shot. The mornings fog was still slowly burning off when we arrived, slowly revealing the distant mountains opposite the field in front of us. It's one of those things where you really just can't say no.
Of course, you do have to look a little harder to actually see NS 304 and the Arcadia signals, but if you look closely, they're right in there!
Professor X (Charles Francis Xavier) is a character appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. Created by writer Stan Lee and artist/co-writer Jack Kirby, the character first appeared in The X-Men #1 (September 1963). The character is depicted as the founder and occasional leader of the X-Men.
Xavier is a member of a subspecies of humans known as mutants, who are born with superhuman abilities. He is an exceptionally powerful telepath, who can read and control the minds of others. To both shelter and train mutants from around the world, he runs a private school in the X-Mansion in Salem Center, located in Westchester County, New York.Xavier also strives to serve a greater good by promoting peaceful coexistence and equality between humans and mutants in a world where zealous anti-mutant sentiment is widespread.
Throughout much of the character's history in comics, Xavier is a paraplegic using a standard or modified wheelchair. One of the world's most powerful mutant telepaths, Xavier is a scientific genius and a leading authority in genetics. He has devised Cerebro and other equipment to enhance psionic powers and detect and track people with the mutant gene.
Xavier's pacifist and assimilationist ideology and actions have often been contrasted with that of Magneto, a mutant villain with whom Xavier has a complicated relationship.
He also appears in almost all of the X-Men animated series and in many video games, although usually as a non-playable character. Patrick Stewart plays him in the 2000s X-Men film series, as well as providing his voice in some of the X-Men video games (including some not connected to the film series).
According to BusinessWeek, Charles Xavier is listed as one of the top ten most intelligent fictional characters in American comics.
Publication History
Creation and influences
Stan Lee has stated that the physical inspiration of Professor Xavier was from Academy Award-winning actor Yul Brynner.
Writer Scott Lobdell established Xavier's middle name to be "Francis" in Uncanny X-Men #328 (January 1996).
Character
Xavier's goals are to promote the peaceful affirmation of mutant rights, to mediate the co-existence of mutants and humans, to protect mutants from violent humans, and to protect society from antagonistic mutants, including his old friend, Magneto.
To achieve these aims, he founded Xavier's School for Gifted Youngsters (later named the Xavier Institute) to teach mutants to explore and control their powers. Its first group of students was the original X-Men (Cyclops, Iceman, Marvel Girl, Angel, and Beast).
Xavier's students consider him a visionary and often refer to their mission as "Xavier's dream". He is highly regarded by others in the Marvel Universe, respected by various governments, and trusted by several other superhero teams, including the Avengers and the Fantastic Four.
However, he also has a manipulative streak which has resulted in several significant fallings-out with allies and students.
He often acts as a public advocate for mutant rights and is the authority most of the Marvel superhero community turns to for advice on mutants. Despite this, his status as a mutant himself and originator of the X-Men only became public during the 2001 story "E Is for Extinction".
In a number of comics, Xavier is shown to have a dark side, a part of himself that he struggles to suppress. Perhaps the most notable appearance of this character element is in the Onslaught storyline, in which the crossover event's antagonist is a physical manifestation of that dark side.
Also, Onslaught is created in the most violent act Xavier claims to have done: erasing the mind of Magneto.
In X-Men #106 (August 1977), the new X-Men fight images of the original team, which have been created by what Xavier says is his "evil self ... who would use his powers for personal gain and conquest", which he says he is normally able to keep in check.
In the 1984 four-part series titled The X-Men and the Micronauts, Xavier's dark desires manifest themselves as the Entity and threaten to destroy the Micronauts' universe.
In other instances, Xavier is shown to be secretive and manipulative.
During the Onslaught storyline, the X-Men find Xavier's files, the "Xavier Protocols", which detail how to kill many of the characters, including Xavier himself, should the need ever arise, such as if they went rogue.
Astonishing X-Men vol. 3, #12 (August 2005) reveals that when Xavier realizes that the Danger Room has become sentient, he keeps it trapped and experiments on it for years, an act that Cyclops calls "the oppression of a new life" and equates to humanity's treatment of mutants (however, X-Men Legacy #220 - 224 reveals that Xavier did not intend for the Danger Room to become sentient: it was an accident, and Xavier sought a way to free Danger, but was unable to find a way to accomplish this without deleting her sentience as well).
Fictional character biography
Charles Francis Xavier was born in New York City to the wealthy Dr. Brian Xavier, a well-respected nuclear scientist, and Sharon Xavier.
The family lives in a very grand mansion estate in Westchester County because of the riches his father's nuclear research has brought them.
He later grows up to attend Pembroke College at the University of Oxford, where he earns a Professorship in Genetics and other science fields, and goes on to live first in Oxford and then London for a number of years.
Crucially, as he enters late adolescence, Xavier inherits the mansion-house he was raised in, enabling him not only to continue to live in it, but also to turn it in to Xavier's School for Gifted Youngsters, which he begins together with the first of the X-Men.
Brian, his father, dies in an accident when Xavier is still very young, and Brian's science partner Kurt Marko comforts and then marries the grieving Sharon. When Xavier's telepathic mutant powers emerge, he discovers Marko cares only about his mother's money.
After the wedding, Kurt moves in with the Xaviers, bringing with him his son Cain. Kurt quickly grows neglectful of Sharon, driving her to alcoholism, and abuses both Charles and Cain.
Cain takes out his frustrations and insecurities on his stepbrother. Charles uses his telepathic powers to read Cain's mind and explore the extent of his psychological damage, which only leads to Cain becoming more aggressive toward him and the young Xavier feeling Cain's pain firsthand.
Sharon dies soon after, and a fight erupts between Cain and Charles that causes some of Kurt's lab equipment to explode. Mortally wounded, Kurt drags the two children out before dying, and admits he was partly responsible for Brian's death.
With help from his superhuman powers and natural genius, Xavier becomes an excellent student and athlete, though he gives up the latter, believing his powers give him an unfair advantage.
Due to his powers, by the time he graduates from high school, Charles loses all of his hair. He graduates with honors at the age of 16 from Bard College.
In graduate studies, he receives Ph.D.s in Genetics, Biophysics, Psychology, and Anthropology with a two-year residence at Pembroke College, University of Oxford.
He also receives an M.D. in Psychiatry while spending several years in London. He is later appointed adjunct professor at Columbia University.
At graduate school, he meets a Scottish girl named Moira Kinross, a fellow genetics student with whom he falls in love. The two agree to get married, but soon, Xavier is drafted into the Korean War.
He carves himself a niche as a soldier in search and rescue missions alongside Shadowcat's father, Carmen Pryde, and witnesses Cain's transformation into Juggernaut when he touches a ruby with an inscription on it in an underground temple.
During the war, he receives a letter from Moira telling him that she is breaking up with him. He later discovers that Moira married her old boyfriend Joseph MacTaggert, who abuses her.
Deeply depressed when Moira broke off their engagement without explanation, Xavier began traveling around the world as an adventurer after leaving the army.
In Cairo, he meets a young girl named Ororo Munroe (later known as Storm), who is a pickpocket, and the Shadow King, a powerful mutant who is posing as Egyptian crime lord Amahl Farouk.
Xavier defeats the Shadow King, barely escaping with his life. This encounter leads to Xavier's decision to devote his life to protecting humanity from evil mutants and safeguarding innocent mutants from human oppression.
Xavier visits his friend Daniel Shomron, who runs a clinic for traumatized Holocaust victims in Haifa, Israel. There, he meets a man going by the name of Magnus (who would later become Magneto), a Holocaust survivor who works as a volunteer in the clinic, and Gabrielle Haller, a woman driven into a catatonic coma by the trauma she experienced.
Xavier uses his mental powers to break her out of her catatonia and the two fall in love. Xavier and Magneto become good friends, although neither immediately reveals to the other that he is a mutant.
The two hold lengthy debates hypothesizing what will happen if humanity is faced with a new super-powered race of humans. While Xavier is optimistic, Magneto's experiences in the Holocaust lead him to believe that humanity will ultimately oppress the new race of humans.
The two friends reveal their powers to each other when they fight Nazi Baron Wolfgang von Strucker and his Hydra agents, who kidnap Gabrielle because she knows the location of their secret cache of gold. Magneto attempts to kill Strucker but Xavier stops him.
Realizing that his and Xavier's views on mutant-human relations are incompatible, Magneto leaves with the gold. Charles stays in Israel for some time, but he and Gabrielle separate on good terms, neither knowing that she is pregnant with his son, who grows up to become the mutant Legion.
In a strange town near the Himalayas, Xavier encounters an alien calling himself Lucifer, the advance scout for an invasion by his race, and foils his plans. In retaliation, Lucifer drops a huge stone block on Xavier, crippling his legs.
After Lucifer leaves, a young woman named Sage hears Xavier's telepathic cries for help and rescues him, bringing him to safety, beginning a long alliance between the two.
In a hospital in India, he is brought to an American nurse, Amelia Voght, who looks after him and, as she sees to his recovery, they fall in love. When he is released from the hospital, the two moved into an apartment in Bombay together.
Amelia is troubled to find Charles studying mutation, as she is a mutant and unsettled by it, though she calms when he reveals himself to be a mutant as well.
They eventually move to the United States, living on Xavier's family estate. But the night Scott Summers moves into Xavier's mansion, Amelia leaves him, believing Charles would have changed his view and that mutants should lie low. Yet he is recruiting them to what she believes is a lost cause. Charles tries to force her to stay with his mental powers, but immediately ashamed by this, lets her go. She later becomes a disciple of Magneto.
Over the years, Charles makes a name for himself as geneticist and psychologist, apparently renowned enough that the Greys were referred to him when no other expert could help their catatonic daughter, Jean.
Xavier trains her in the use of her telekinesis, while inhibiting her telepathic abilities until she matures. Around this time, he also starts working with fellow mutation expert, Karl Lykos, as well as Moira MacTaggert again, who built a mutant research station on Muir Island.
Apparently, Charles had gotten over Moira in his travels to the Greek island of Kirinos. Xavier discusses his candidates for recruitment to his personal strike force, the X-Men, with Moira, including those he passes over, which are Kurt Wagner, Piotr Rasputin, Pietro and Wanda Maximoff, and Ororo Munroe. Xavier also trains Tessa to spy on Sebastian Shaw.
Xavier founded Xavier's School for Gifted Youngsters, which provides a safe haven for mutants and teaches them to master their abilities. In addition, he seeks to foster mutant-human relations by providing his superhero team, the X-Men, as an example of mutants acting in good faith, as he told FBI agent Fred Duncan.
With his inherited fortune, he uses his ancestral mansion at 1407 Graymalkin Lane in Salem Center, Westchester County, New York as a base of operations with technologically advanced facilities, including the Danger Room - later, Fantomex mentions that Xavier is a billionaire with a net worth of $3.5 billion.
Presenting the image of a stern teacher, Xavier makes his students endure a rigorous training regime.
Xavier's first five students are Cyclops, Iceman, Angel, Beast, and Marvel Girl who become the original X-Men. After he completes recruiting the original team of X-Men, he sends them into battle with Magneto.
Throughout most of his time with the team, Xavier uses his telepathic powers to keep in constant contact with his students and provides instructions and advice when needed. In addition, he uses a special machine called Cerebro, which enhances his ability to detect mutants and to allow the team to find new students in need of the school.
Among the obstacles Xavier faces is his old friend, Magneto, who has grown into an advocate of mutant superiority since their last encounter and who believes the only solution to mutant persecution is domination over humanity.
When anthropologist Bolivar Trask resurfaces the "mutant problem", Xavier counters him in a televised debate, however, he appears arrogant and Trask sends his mutant-hunting robot Sentinels to terrorize mutants. The X-Men dispatch them, but Trask sees the error in his ways too late as he is killed by his creations.
At one point, Xavier seemingly dies during the X-Men's battle with the sub-human Grotesk, but it is later revealed that Xavier arranged for a reformed former villain named Changeling to impersonate him while he went into hiding to plan a defense against an invasion by the extraterrestrial Z'Nox, imparting a portion of his telepathic abilities to the Changeling to complete the disguise.
When the X-Men are captured by the sentient island Krakoa, Xavier assembles a new team to rescue them, including Cyclops' and Havok's long-lost brother, Vulcan, along with Darwin, Petra, and Sway.
This new team, composed of students of Dr. Moira MacTaggert, was sent to rescue the original X-Men from Krakoa. However, after rescuing Cyclops, McTaggert's former students were seemingly killed. Upon Cyclops' return, Xavier removed Cyclops' memories of the death of Vulcan and his teammates; and began assembling yet another team of X-Men.
Xavier's subsequent rescue team consists of Banshee, Colossus, Sunfire, Nightcrawler, Storm, Wolverine, and Thunderbird. After the mission, the older team of X-Men, except for Cyclops, leave the school, believing they no longer belong there, and Xavier mentors the new X-Men.
Xavier forms a psychic bond across galaxies with Princess Lilandra from the Shi'ar Empire. When they finally meet, it is love at first sight. She implores the professor to stop her mad brother, Shi'ar Emperor D'Ken, and he instantly aids her by deploying his X-Men.
When Jean Grey returns from the Savage Land to tell him that all the X-Men are dead, he shuts down the school and travels with Lilandra to her kingdom, where she is crowned Empress and he is treated like a child or a trophy husband.
Xavier senses the changes taking place in Jean Grey, and returns to Earth to help and resume leadership of the X-Men.
Shortly thereafter he battles his pupil after she becomes Dark Phoenix and destroys a populated planet in the Shi'ar Empire. It hurts Xavier to be on the opposite side of Lilandra, but he has no other choice but to challenge the Shi'ar Imperial Guard to a duel over the fate of the Phoenix.
Xavier would have lost against the greater power of the Dark Phoenix, but thanks to the help Jean Grey gives him (fighting her Phoenix persona), Xavier emerges victorious; she later commits suicide to prevent herself from endangering more innocent lives.
When the X-Men fight members of the extraterrestrial race known as the Brood, Xavier is captured by them, and implanted with a Brood egg, which places Xavier under the Brood's control.
During this time, Xavier assembles a team of younger mutants called the New Mutants, secretly intended to be prime hosts for reproduction of the aliens. The X-Men discover this and return to free Xavier, but they are too late to prevent his body from being destroyed with a Brood Queen in its place; however, his soul remains intact.
The X-Men and Starjammers subdue this monstrous creature containing Xavier's essence, but the only way to restore him is to clone a new body using tissue samples he donated to the Starjammers and transfer his consciousness into the clone body.
This new body possesses functional legs, though the psychosomatic pain Xavier experienced after living so long as a paraplegic takes some time to subside. Subsequently, he even joins the X-Men in the field, but later decides not to continue this practice after realizing that his place is at the school, as the teacher of the New Mutants.
After taking a teaching position at Columbia University in Uncanny X-Men #192, Xavier is severely injured and left for dead as the victim of an attack.
Callisto and her Morlocks, a group of underground-dwelling mutants, get him to safety. One of the Morlocks partially restores Xavier's health, but Callisto warns Xavier that he is not fully healed and that he must spend more time recuperating and restrain himself from exerting his full strength or powers, or his health might fail again. Xavier hides his injuries from the others and resumes his life.
Charles meets with former lover Gabrielle Haller on Muir Isle and discovers that they had a child. The boy, David, has autism and dissociative identity disorder. Furthermore, he has vast psionic powers like his father. After helping him and his team to escape from David's mind, Xavier promises he will always be there for him.
A reformed Magneto is arrested and put on trial. Xavier attends the trial to defend his friend. Andrea and Andreas Strucker, the children of presumed dead Baron von Strucker, crash the courtroom to attack Magneto and Xavier. Xavier is seriously injured.
Dying, he asks a shocked Magneto to look after the X-Men for him. Lilandra, who has a psychic bond with Xavier, feels that he is in great danger and heads to Earth. There, she and Corsair take Xavier with them so Shi'ar advanced technology can heal him.
Xavier leaves Magneto in charge of the school, but some of the X-Men are unwilling to forgive their former enemy. Cyclops loses a duel for the leadership of the X-Men against Storm, then leaves them and joins the other four original X-Men to form a new team called X-Factor.
In the meantime, Charles becomes stranded in space with the Starjammers, but he is reunited with his lover Lilandra and relishes his carefree lifestyle.
He serves as a member of the Starjammers aboard the starship Starjammer, mobile in the Shi'ar Galaxy. He becomes consort to the Princess-Majestrix Lilandra while in exile, and when she later resumes her throne he takes up residence with her in the Imperial palace on the Shi'ar homeworld. Xavier joins Lilandra in her cause to overthrow her sister Deathbird, taking on the powers of Phoenix temporarily wherein he is named Bald Phoenix by Corsair, but sees that he must return to help the X-Men.
Xavier eventually becomes imprisoned by the Skrulls during their attempted invasion of the Shi'ar Empire. Xavier breaks free from imprisonment by Warskrull Prime, and is reunited with the X-Men.
A healthy Xavier returns from the Shi'ar Empire and is reunited with both the current and original X-Men teams, and resumes his leadership responsibilities of the united teams. In a battle with his old foe, the Shadow King, in the "Muir Island Saga", Xavier's spine is shattered, returning him to his former paraplegic state, while his son David is seemingly killed. In the following months, Xavier rebuilds the mansion, which previously was rebuilt with Shi'ar technology, and restructures the X-Men into two teams.
While holding a mutant rights speech, Xavier is nearly assassinated by Stryfe in the guise of Cable, being infected with a fatal techno-organic virus. For reasons of his own, the villain Apocalypse saves him. As a temporary side-effect, he gains full use of his legs and devotes his precious time to the youngest recruit on his team, Jubilee.
With all his students now highly trained adults, Professor Xavier renames his school the Xavier Institute For Higher Learning. Also, he assumes control of a private institution, the Massachusetts Academy, making it a new School for Gifted Youngsters. Another group of young mutants is trained here, Generation X, with Banshee and Emma Frost as headmaster and headmistress, respectively.
Professor X is for a time the unknowing host of the evil psionic entity Onslaught, the result of a previous battle with Magneto. In that battle, Magneto uses his powers to rip out the adamantium bonded to Wolverine's skeleton, and a furious Xavier wipes Magneto's mind, leaving him in a coma.
From the psychic trauma of Xavier using his powers so violently and the mixing of Magneto's and Xavier's repressed anger, Onslaught is born. Onslaught wreaks havoc, destroying much of Manhattan, until many of Marvel's superheroes—including the Avengers, the Fantastic Four and the Hulk—destroy him.
Xavier is left without his telepathy and, overcome with guilt, leaves the X-Men and is incarcerated for his actions.
He later returns to the X-Men after Operation: Zero Tolerance, in which he is shocked by the cruel act of being turned over to the mutant-hating Bastion, following a clash with the sentient Cerebro and a team of impostor X-Men.
Xavier questions his dream again and Magneto shortly thereafter is confronted by the X-Men. After the battle, the UN concedes Genosha to Magnus, and Wolverine is angered by Xavier stopping him from getting his revenge on Magneto. Charles and Logan are later trapped in a dimension with different laws of physics, wherein they have to coordinate their moves together and, in the process, gain a better understanding of the other's views.
Apocalypse kidnaps the fabled "Twelve" special mutants (Xavier included) whose combined energies would grant him omnipotence. After Apocalypse's defeat with the help of Skrull mutants, Xavier goes with the young Skrulls known as Cadre K to train them and free them from their oppressors, and eventually returns to aid in Legacy Virus research.
Mystique and her Brotherhood start a deadly assault on Muir Isle by releasing an altered form of the Legacy Virus, all in retaliation against the election campaign of Robert Kelly, a seeming mutant-hater. Mystique blows up Moira MacTaggert's laboratory complex, fatally wounding her. Charles goes to the astral plane to meet with her and retrieve information on the cure to the Legacy Virus, but after gathering the information does not want to leave her alone. If not for Jean and Cable talking him down and pulling him back, the professor would have died with his first love, who states she has no regrets.
As Beast cures the Legacy Virus, many infected Genoshan mutants recover overnight, providing Magneto, the current ruler of Genosha, with an army to start the third World War. He demands Earth's governments accept him as their leader, and abducts and crucifies Xavier in Magda Square for all to see. A loyal member of Magneto's Acolytes, Amelia Voght, cannot stand to see her former lover punished in such a manner and sets him free. Jean Grey and rather untrained newcomers, as most of the team are elsewhere, distract Magneto and Wolverine guts him. Xavier is too late to intervene.
Xavier's evil twin Cassandra Nova, whom Xavier attempted to kill while they were both in their mother's womb, orders a group of rogue Sentinels to destroy the independent mutant nation of Genosha.
Magneto, who is Genosha's leader, appears to die along with the vast majority of the nation's inhabitants. Nova then takes over Xavier's body. Posing as Xavier, she reveals his mutation to the world, something he needed to do but did not want to sully his reputation over, before going into space and crippling the Shi'ar Empire. The X-Men restore Xavier, but Lilandra, believing that too much disaster has come from the Shi'ar's involvement with the X-Men, annuls her marriage to Xavier.
Lilandra previously had gone insane and tried to assassinate Charles on a trip to Mumbai. During this period, a mutant named Xorn joins the X-Men. Xorn uses his healing power to restore Xavier's use of his legs.
When the X-Men receive a distress call from a Scottish island, they are surprised to find Juggernaut with nowhere to go, as the island was destroyed by his further-mutated partner in crime, Black Tom Cassidy, who died.
Xavier reaches out to his stepbrother and offers him a place in his mansion, with Cain reluctantly accepting. The Juggernaut redeems himself over the next few weeks and joins the X-Men. Xavier finds out that Cain's father preferred him to his own flesh and blood and that they both thought they deserved the abuse they incurred by Kurt; Cain believed this because his father loved someone else's child more than him, and Charles felt guilty about getting in the way. That it is why neither of them stopped Kurt Marko with their powers.
Now outed as a mutant, Xavier makes speeches to the public about mutant tolerance. He also founds the X-Corporation, or X-Corp (not to be confused with the X-Corps), with offices all over the world. The purpose of the X-Corp is to watch over mutant rights and help mutants in need.
As a result of being out, the school no longer hides the fact that it is a school for mutants and it opens its doors for more mutant (and even human) students to come in.
A student named Quentin Quire and members of his gang start a riot at the Xavier Institute during an open house at the school. As a result, Quire and two other students are killed. Uncertain about his dream's validity, Xavier announces that he will step down as headmaster and be succeeded by Jean Grey.
Afterwards, Xorn reveals himself to be Magneto, having apparently not died in the Sentinel raid on Genosha. Magneto undoes the restoration of Xavier's ability to walk, kidnaps him, and destroys the X-Mansion (killing several of the students). Then Xorn/Magneto assaults New York, where Cyclops, Fantomex and a few students confront him. After the rest of the X-Men arrive, Xorn/Magneto kills Jean Grey with an electromagnetically induced stroke, and Wolverine decapitates him.
With Jean dead, Xavier leaves the school to Cyclops and Emma Frost, to bury Xorn/Magneto in Genosha. In a retcon of Grant Morrison's storyline, there Xavier meets the "real" Magneto, who mysteriously survived Cassandra Nova's assault. The two resolve their differences and attempt to restore their friendship, leading a team of mutants, the Genoshan Excalibur, to rebuild and restore order to the destroyed island nation.
At the mansion, the Danger Room (the X-Men's simulated reality training chamber) gains sentience, christens itself "Danger", assumes a humanoid form, and attacks the X-Men before leaving to kill Xavier. With Magneto's help, Xavier holds off Danger until the X-Men arrive. Danger flees, but not before revealing to Colossus that Xavier has known it to be sentient ever since he upgraded it.
Colossus is especially offended by this because he had been held captive and experimented upon by Danger's ally, Ord of the Breakworld. Ashamed, Xavier tries to explain to them that by the time he realized what was happening, he could see no other course. The disgusted X-Men leave.
House of M
In a prelude to House of M, Magneto's daughter Scarlet Witch has a mental breakdown and causes the death of several Avengers. Magneto brings her to Xavier and asks him to use his mental powers to help her.
Although aided by Doctor Strange and the appearance of Cassandra Nova, Xavier is unsuccessful. Xavier orders a meeting of the X-Men and Avengers to decide Wanda's fate.
Her brother Quicksilver, believing the heroes plan to kill her, speeds off to Genosha and convinces Wanda that she could right the wrongs she inflicted by using her powers to alter reality.
Quicksilver somehow forces a tearful Wanda to reveal to him her heart's desires of Magneto, the assembled New Avengers, and the X-Men, and then uses her powers to make them all real.
Thanks to Magneto, though, this re-imagined world is a place where a much more numerous mutant-kind are the dominant species, humans a disenfranchised and oppressed 'silent majority', and Magneto himself rules supreme. In this reality, the only proof that Charles Xavier ever existed is a secret monument in Magneto's palace garden, with the engraved message "He died so Genosha could live".
After mutant Layla Miller restores the memories of some of the X-Men and Avengers, they head to Genosha where they discover that Magneto has erected a memorial garden for Xavier commemorating his death. Emma is horrified until Cloak fades into the grave and discovers there is no body inside.
After a battle, Scarlet Witch again uses her powers to restore reality and, as a slight against her father, causes a large majority mutants to lose their powers, leaving the mutant race on the brink of extinction and causing the lost powers to become an energy mass, the Collective. With reality restored, Xavier is still missing and the X-Men are unable to detect him with Cerebro.
Deadly Genesis
Xavier returns when Cyclops' and Havok's long-lost brother, Vulcan, is revived by the Collective energy released as a result of the "House of M" incident. Vulcan then attacks the X-Men.
Xavier, now depowered but able to walk in the wake of "House of M", reveals that he had gathered and trained another team of X-Men (this one composed of students of Dr. Moira MacTaggert) sometime between the original team and the new X-Men team introduced in Giant Size X-Men #1.
This team included Vulcan as a member. Like the "Giant Size" X-Men team, McTaggert's former students were sent to rescue the original X-Men from Krakoa, the living island. However, after rescuing Cyclops, McTaggert's former students were seemingly killed. Upon Cyclops' return, Xavier removed Cyclops' memories of the death of Vulcan and his teammates and began assembling the "Giant Size" X-Men. Vulcan skirmishes with the X-Men and eventually flees into space.
In spite of Cyclops' feelings, Xavier forms a new team including Havok and Darwin, the lone other survivors of Moira's students. Xavier seeks to confront Vulcan before he can enact his vengeance against the Shi'ar empire, which killed Vulcan's mother.
While en route to the Shi'ar homeworld, Xavier is abducted and is later thrown into the M'Kraan Crystal by Vulcan. Darwin follows Xavier into the crystal and pulls Xavier out. This somehow restores Xavier's lost telepathy. With help from his longtime lover, Lilandra, Xavier escapes back to Earth with several of his X-Men.
Upon Xavier's return to Earth, as seen in the World War Hulk storyline, he begins to search for lost mutants such as Magneto. Charles' search for more mutants is interrupted by the Hulk, who was sent into extraterrestrial exile by the Illuminati, a group of powerful superbeings to which Xavier belongs.
Xavier had no part in (and did not know of) the Hulk exile decision, but Xavier admits to Hulk that he would have concurred to a temporary exile so Bruce Banner could be cured of transforming into the Hulk.
However, he also tells the Hulk he would not have agreed to permanent exile. Xavier attempts to surrender to the Hulk, but after viewing the X-Mansion's large graveyard dedicated to post-M-Day mutant deaths, The Hulk concludes the mutants have suffered enough and leaves the Mansion grounds on his own accord. While the X-Men tend to the wounded, Cyclops finally forgives Professor X.
Messiah Complex
While using Cerebra and talking to Beast during the Messiah Complex storyline, Charles detects a new mutant so powerful it fries Cerebra's system. He asks Cyclops to send out a team to find out about the mutant.
Once the team has come back empty handed, he argues with Scott for not telling him about the team he deployed to find former Acolytes. Scott tells him outright that he does not need him to run the X-Men anymore.
This upsets Charles and annoys him later on when he overhears Cyclops briefing X-Factor on the situation. He also approaches the New X-Men in an attempt to help them figure out a non-violent way to help against the Purifiers, but is quickly rebuked by Surge, who questions where he was when they were getting attacked the first time, and that they did not need to learn from him.
Charles questions Cyclops' decision to send X-Force to hunt down his own son, Cable, in front of the students. Cyclops then tells Xavier that he is a distraction that will keep getting in the way and that he must leave the mansion.
Xavier is contacted by Cable, who lost the mutant newborn to the traitorous actions of Bishop, who in turn lost the child to the Marauders, and tells him that he is the only one who can help Cable save the future.
In the final fight, Xavier is accidentally shot in the head by Bishop. Immediately afterward Xavier's body disappears and Cyclops declares that there are no more X-Men.
Professor Xavier survives Bishop's gunshot but falls into a coma. Xavier is kidnapped by Exodus, Tempo, and Karima Shapandar. Exodus tries to heal Xavier, Xavier mentally fights Exodus.
Exodus finally approaches Magneto, who is apparently still depowered, for help. Magneto and Karima Shapandar are able to stir Xavier's memories and coax him out of his coma, though Xavier remains slightly confused and partly amnesiac. Later, Exodus confronts Magneto about Joanna Cargill's injury (Magneto was forced to shoot a laser through her eyeball to prevent her attempted an assassination of Xavier).
Exodus nearly kills Magneto, and Xavier drags Exodus onto the Astral Plane, putting Xavier's own newly restored mind at stake. Xavier defeats Exodus after a harrowing psionic battle, and Exodus reveals the reason he abducted Xavier and to restore his mind: Exodus wants Xavier to lead the Acolytes and find the mutant messiah child (now under the guardianship of Cable) to indoctrinate the child into their cause.
Xavier refuses. Emma Frost's telepathy picks up on the psychic fight, and Emma informs Cyclops that Xavier is alive. Xavier parts company with Magneto and Karima to try to regain his lost memories by visiting people from his past.
The first person Charles visits is Carter Ryking, who had gone insane after losing his powers. Charles reads Carter's memories and discovers that when the two were children they were used as test subjects by Nathan Milbury of the Black Womb Project, with the approval of Charles' father, Doctor Brian Xavier.
Xavier makes the connection Milbury and X-Men villain, Mister Sinister, who has apparently long been manipulating Charles' life in addition to other X-Men. Afterwards, he discovers he has been targeted by assassins.
Charles eventually discovers Mister Sinister had set up Charles, Sebastian Shaw, Juggernaut, and Ryking (Hazard) as potential new hosts for Sinister's mind.
Bleeding slowly to death, he apparently gives in to Sinister becoming the new Mister Sinister. But in reality, Xavier is still battling Sinister for control of his body.
As Sebastian Shaw and Gambit destroy Sinister's Cronus Machine, the device that he used to transfer his consciousness into new hosts, Xavier drives Sinister out of his body permanently.
Xavier thanks Shaw and Gambit for their help and declares he must go and see Cyclops immediately. Professor X returns to the X-Mansion to find it destroyed after recent events.
Afterwards, Xavier leaves the ruins of the X-Mansion to secretly meet up Cyclops by psychically coercing his former student for the visit. Xavier explains to Cyclops about the recent events with Mr. Sinister and tries to explain to Cyclops how Sinister has been manipulating Scott's and Jean's lives since when they were children.
Xavier attempts to have Scott give him permission to scan Scott's mind for traces of Sinister's influences, but instead, Scott turns the tables on Xavier by revealing that he has secretly invited Emma Frost into their entire meeting and also into Xavier's mind.
While in his mind, Emma forces Xavier to relive each of his morally ambiguous decisions under altruistic pretenses. As the issue continues, Charles realizes his human arrogance and that while some of his decisions were morally wrong, he must move forward with his life and deal with the consequences.
Emma ends her incursion into Xavier's mind by reminding him of Moira MacTaggert's last words. As he reflects on Moira's words, Xavier gives Cyclops his blessing to lead the X-Men and leaves to find his own path.
Following his encounter with Wolverine (in the "Original Sin" Arc) Professor Xavier seeks out his step-brother, the unstoppable Juggernaut in an attempt to reform him. After a conversation about the meaning of the word "Juggernaut" and a review of Juggernaut and Xavier's shared history Xavier offers Cain an empty box as a gift.
Confused by Xavier's gift Cain attempts to kill the Professor bringing an entire sports bar down over their heads in the process. Later Cain battles the X-Men in his full Juggernaut armor and conquers the planet.
Just as everything appears to be under the Juggernaut's control Xavier reappears and informs him that everything that has just taken place except for Juggernaut destroying the bar took place in Cain's mind.
A baffled Cain demands to know how Xavier managed to overcome his psychically shielded helmet to which the Professor replies that he decided to visit Cain in his sleep.
Professor Xavier then informs him that he now understands Cain as a person and that he will not attempt to get in his way or reform him again. But Xavier also warns Cain that if he gets in the way of the Professor's path to redemption Xavier will stop him permanently. Following his encounter with Cain it has been revealed that Xavier is now searching for Rogue.
After his bruising encounter with Cyclops and Emma Frost, Professor X is forced to revisit the biggest challenge and the biggest failure of his career, Wolverine, when the feral mutant asks for Charles' help in freeing his son from the clutches of the Hellfire Club.
As the two search for Daken, Wolverine reveals that when he first joined the X-Men he attempted to assassinate Xavier due to some unknown programming. In response, the Professor broke Logan's mind and rebuilt it so that any and all programming he received was forgotten. Logan also revealed that the real reason Xavier asked him to join the X-Men was that Charles "needed a weapon".
Eventually Professor Xavier and Wolverine locate Sebastian Shaw's mansion and attack his minions, just as they are about to enter a bomb explodes from within catching them both off guard. From the wreckage emerges an angry Sebastian who immobilizes Wolverine.
Meanwhile, Miss Sinister knocks Daken unconscious and has him taken to the med lab in the mansion's basement. As Shaw prepares to deliver a killing blow to Xavier, Wolverine recovers and stops him telling Xavier to rescue his son. Professor Xavier locates the med lab and after a quick psychic battle with Miss Sinister enters Daken's fractured mind. While in Daken's mind Xavier discovers Romulus's psychic tampering and comments that Daken's mind is even more broken than Wolverine's was.
Before Xavier can heal Daken a psychic bomb explodes causing Xavier to become comatose and Daken to wake up. Miss Sinister arrives and attempts to manipulate Daken who reveals that the psychic bomb in his head restored his memories and stabs Miss Sinister in the chest.
Meanwhile, Wolverine defeats Shaw and enters the mansion to find Daken standing over an unconscious Xavier preparing to kill him. Wolverine tells Daken that he will not let him hurt Xavier and the two fight.
Overcome with guilt over what happened to Daken and Itsu, Wolverine allows himself to be beaten. Just as Daken appears to have won Xavier pulls both of them onto the astral plane revealing that the psychic bomb had little effect on him because his psyche was already shattered.
Xavier then explains to Wolverine and Daken that Romulus is solely responsible for Itsu's death and that he lied to Daken about everything because he wanted Wolverine to become his weapon. As the three converse, Daken returns to the physical plane and prevents Shaw from killing Xavier.
With the truth revealed Wolverine and Daken decide to kill Romulus. As the two depart Wolverine tells Xavier that he forgives him for all of the dark moments in their history. Wolverine acknowledges that Professor Xavier allowed him to become a hero. Wolverine then tells the Professor that he hopes he will one day be able to forgive him for choosing to kill Romulus.
Professor Xavier recruits Gambit to go with him to Australia to find and help Rogue who is currently staying at the X-Men's old base in the Outback; unaware Danger is using Rogue as a conduit for her revenge against him.
In a prelude to the "Secret Invasion" storyline, Professor X was at the meeting of the Illuminati when it came to the discussion about the Skrulls planning an invasion by taking out Earth's heroes and posing as them. He claims he was unable to distinguish that Black Bolt had been replaced by a Skrull, and his powers were tested quickly by the Black Bolt Skrull.
Professor X leaves after learning even he can no longer trust the others, yet appears to have severely restricted the number of people he informs of the forthcoming alien invasion, as the X-Men were not prepared for the Skrulls, at least at first.
Xavier was not seen again during the events of Secret Invasion, though his X-Men in San Francisco are successful at repelling the invaders there through the use of the modified Legacy Virus.
Dark Reign
During the Dark Reign storyline, Professor X convinces Exodus to disband the Acolytes. A H.A.M.M.E.R. helicopter arrives and from inside appears Norman Osborn, who wants to talk to him.
During the Dark Avengers' arrival in San Francisco to enforce martial law and squelch the anti-mutant riots occurring in the city, Xavier appears (back in his wheelchair) in the company of Norman Osborn and publicly denounces Cyclops' actions and urges him to turn himself in.
However, this Xavier was revealed to be Mystique who Osborn found to impersonate Xavier in public. The real Xavier is shown in prison on Alcatraz and slowly being stripped of his telepathic powers while in psionic contact with Beast, who was arrested earlier for his part in the anti-mutant riots.
It was also revealed by Emma Frost that she and Professor X are both Omega Class Telepaths when she manages to detect the real Professor X.
Professor X helps Emma Frost enter Sentry's mind. However, as Emma frees him of the Void's influence, a minute sliver of the entity itself remains in her mind. Xavier quickly tells her to remain in her diamond armor state to prevent the Void from gaining access to her psi-powers. Professor X is later seen with Emma Frost where Beast is recuperating.
After what happened at Utopia, Xavier has come to live on the risen Asteroid M, rechristened Utopia, along with the rest of the X-Men, X-Club, and mutant refugees and is also allowed to join the Utopia lead council (Cyclops, Storm, Namor, Iceman, Beast, Wolverine and Emma Frost).
While he no longer continues to openly question every move that Cyclops makes, he is still concerned about some of his leadership decisions. Xavier had wanted to return to the mainland to clear his name, but in the aftermath of Osborn declaring Utopia as a mutant detention area, Cyclops refused to let him leave, stating that it would be a tactical advantage to have him as an ace in the hole in case the need arose.
To that end, he has kept Xavier out of the field and instead relied on Emma Frost, Psylocke and the Stepford Cuckoos respectively for their own psionic talents.
While attending the funeral of Yuriko Takiguchi, Magneto arrives at Utopia, apparently under peaceful motives. Xavier does not believe it, and attacks Magneto telepathically, causing Cyclops to force him to stand down. He later apologizes to Magneto for acting out of his old passions from their complicated relationship, which Magneto accepts.
Next, Professor Xavier is seen on Utopia delivering a eulogy at Nightcrawler's funeral. Like the other X-Men, he is deeply saddened by Kurt's death and anxious about the arrival of Cable and Hope.
Xavier is seen using his powers to help his son Legion control his many personalities and battle the Nimrods.
Afterwards, Professor X is seen surveying the aftermath of the battle from a helicopter. As Hope descends to the ground and cradles Cable's lifeless arm, Xavier reflects on everything that has transpired and states that, while he feels that Hope has indeed come to save mutant kind and revive his dream, she is still only a young woman and will have a long and difficult journey before she can truly achieve her potential.
AvX
During the "Avengers vs. X-Men" storyline, the Phoenix Force is split into five pieces and bonded with Cyclops, Emma Frost, Namor, Colossus and Magik (who become known as the Phoenix Five).
Eventually, Cyclops and Frost come to possess the full Phoenix Force, and Professor X is instrumental in confronting them both, and dies in the ensuing battle with Cyclops.
The Phoenix Force is subsequently forced to abandon Cyclops as a host by the efforts of both Hope Summers and the Scarlet Witch.
Xavier's body is later stolen by the Red Skull's S-Men while the group also captures Rogue and Scarlet Witch. Xavier's brain is removed and fused to the brain of the Red Skull. After Rogue and Scarlet Witch snapped out of the fight they were in, they find the lobotomized body of Professor X.
Red Skull uses the new powers conferred upon him by Professor X's brain to provoke anti-mutant riots. His plans are foiled by the Avengers and the X-Men, and the Skull escapes.
Professor X's spirit is later seen in the Heaven dimension along with Nightcrawler's spirit at the time when Azazel invades Heaven.
During the AXIS storyline, a fragment of Professor X's psyche (which had escaped the scrubbing of his memories) still existed in Red Skull's mind preventing him from unleashing the full potential of Professor X's powers.
During a fight with the Stark Sentinels, Doctor Strange and Scarlet Witch attempt to cast a spell to invert the axis of Red Skull's brain and bring out the fragment of Professor X to defeat Onslaught.
Doctor Strange was targeted and captured by the Sentinels before they could cast the spell. When Magneto arrived with his supervillain allies, Doctor Doom and Scarlet Witch attempted to cast the inversion spell again and Red Onslaught was knocked unconscious and reverted to his Red Skull form.
Although they did not know whether Professor X was now in control, the Avengers decided to be cautious and take Red Skull to Stark Tower.
It was later revealed that the spell had actually caused all the heroes and villains present to undergo a "moral inversion" rather than simply bringing out Professor X in the Skull, with the result that the Skull and other villains became heroic while the Avengers and X-Men present became villainous. Eventually, the inversion was undone.
After the Skull mounts a telepathic assault that nearly allows him to take control of the Avengers, he is defeated when Deadpool places Magneto's old helmet on Rogue, allowing her to knock out the Skull and take him to Beast.
Beast is subsequently able to perform brain surgery on the Skull, extracting the part of Xavier's brain that was grafted onto the villain's own brain without causing any apparent damage to the Skull. Rogers attempts to claim the fragment for himself, but Rogue flies up and incinerates the fragment with the aid of the Human Torch, the two expressing hope that Xavier will rest in peace.
Return
The astral form of Professor Xavier has since been revealed to be imprisoned in the Astral Plane after Shadow King somehow acquired it upon Professor X's death.
After what appeared to be years in the Astral Plane, Professor X is able to trick Shadow King into playing him in a 'game' that lures Rogue, Mystique and Fantomex onto the Astral Plane, while turning others into carriers for the Shadow King's 'contagious' psychic essence. With the Shadow King certain of his victory, he fails to realize that Xavier's apparent 'surrender' to his game was really just him biding his time until the Shadow King's influence was distracted long enough for him to drop his already-subtly-weakened guard long enough for Xavier to break his bonds, luring in the three aforementioned X-Men as their identities were already fundamentally malleable.
With the Shadow King defeated, Xavier is apparently returned to the real world in the body of Fantomex, Fantomex reasoning that nobody really knows who he is as an individual beyond his status as one of the X-Men whereas this act of sacrifice will ensure that he is remembered for a great deed.
Proteus has spent years trapped in a psionic hellscape of the Astral Plane, where The Shadow King reigned supreme, only to escape.
Part of the reason that he could was the escape of Charles Xavier (who now chooses to go by X, since he is now in a younger body after escaping), and now X leads the X-Men directly into an ambush, as Proteus has warped an entire village with his powers, leading to a mind-to-mind battle that leaves X on the receiving end of a psychic beatdown.
Proteus has started his garden and his seeds are planted all over the world. Psylocke is in command and has a plan which mainly consists of Archangel using metal and Mystique morphing into his mother.
Once they drain him, Rogue and Bishop convert his energy and release him back to the universe. Whilst this all went down Psylocke and X combined forces to burn out the seeds across the planet. As they are working on it they discover they are not enough to accomplish the task. X mentions the network of psychics the Shadow King was using and that Betsy who is in control should tap into it.
She agrees and does so yet unbeknownst to her X was possessed by the Shadow King who violently erupts from X's head.
Following X's apparent death after the Shadow King exploded from his skull, the psychic villain tears the X-Men apart until X literally pulls himself back together (a feat he later refuses to explain), and he and Psylocke team up to harness the power of all of Earth's psychics to destroy the Shadow King.
As Psylocke says she feels no psychic trace of him anywhere, X implants comforting post-hypnotic psychic suggestions in his allies and then erases their memories (including allowing Warren Worthington to switch between his identities at will). Only Psylocke's memory is left intact, with X telling her she will be the one to "keep him honest" while he embarks on a new mission.
Dawn of X
X has since made his presence known to his former students and reveals his new plan for all mutantkind. Now clad in a Cerebro-like helmet, Xavier has apparently abandoned his dream for peaceful coexistence, and had turned Krakoa into a sovereign nation state for mutants as well as use it to apparently heal the X-Men from their ordeals during the showdown against the forces of O.N.E.
He then leads the X-Men into planting in seeds in strategic locations around the world and Mars, which, overnight, grow into massive plantlike "Habitats". As it turns out, these "Habitats" – and the plants that grew them – are extensions of Krakoa.
Through the advancement of mutant technology combined with Krakoa's unique abilities as a living mutant island, Professor X and the X-Men have embassies around the world. Also through this combination of technology and mutant power, Xavier have developed three drugs that could change human life – a pill that extends human life by five years, an adaptable universal antibiotic, and a pill that cures "diseases of the mind, in humans".” In exchange for recognizing the sovereignty of Krakoa, Professor X will give these drugs to mankind, with mutants living in peace on the island.
Xavier and Magneto later meet with Raven Darkholm inside his sanctum. The two mutant leaders both greatly pleased with the success of her mission as she presents what they'ed petitioned her to steal. A mysterious USB tab containing sensitive information stolen from Damage Control, Mystique would inquire for her payment as she had met their demands.
However, Xavier mentions that he still had more demands that needed to be met as they were building their protected future of Homo Sapiens Superior, seeming to psychokinetically beckon the contents of her theft into his hands while Mystique questions how much more needed to be done for his ultimate pet project.
Xavier and Magneto reveal the contents of the USB drive to Cyclops, which are shown to be information on Orchis, an organization dedicated to responding to a large-scale mutant threat and the plans of a Mother Mold.
They believe that the creation of the Mother Mold will herald a new generation of Sentinels and along with it, Nimrod. They task Cyclops with assembling a team to destroy the Mother Mold station. Although the team (composed of Cyclops, Marvel Girl, Wolverine, Nightcrawler, Husk, Mystique, Archangel, and Monet) is successfully, they are all killed in the process. X mourns them, vowing "No more."
Xavier is revealed to have upgraded Cerebro with the help of Forge, which is now able to copy and store the minds of mutants in a database.
After the Five (Hope Summers, Goldballs, Elixir, Proteus, and Tempus) are able to grow the bodies of deceased mutants, Xavier is able to copy the minds back in these empty shells. Thus, he is able to restore Cyclops's team, thanking them for what they did.
At the U.N., Xavier, Beast, and Emma celebrate with other ambassadors for the recognition of Krakoa as a sovereign nation. Xavier telepathically converses with Emma, revealing that he knows that she manipulated the Russian ambassador to abstain from the vote, before thanking her for her service.
Two days after the U.N. vote, Xavier, Magneto, and Wolverine are in Krakoa waiting besides several portals. While Wolverine expresses his misgivings about the upcoming event, Xavier and Magneto assure him all will be alright. Soon after, several villainous mutants, including Mister Sinister, Sebastian Shaw, Exodus, Selene and Apocalypse arrive through the portals.
Apocalypse in particular expresses satisfaction at arriving and Krakoa responds in the same way. Magneto and Xavier reveal that they have invited all mutants, even those who have fought against them in the past, to Krakoa, to form a society. The assembled villainous mutants agree to their terms, and Xavier shakes Apocalypse's hand, welcoming him and the others to their home."
While peace reigns on Krakoa, a mysterious team of assassins HALO drops into the island and assassinates Xavier, destroying his Cerebro helmet in the process.
The Quiet Council hides Xavier's death from the rest of the world, and through the activation of a Cerebro backup, and the efforts of The Five, Xavier is reborn once more.
Soon after, he partakes in a global conference alongside Magneto and Apocalypse, professing that he still loves humanity, whilst subtly warning them in regards to his previous assassination - and his knowledge of an ongoing assassination attempt at the forum itself, foiled by Cyclops and Gorgon.
Powers and Abilities
Professor X is a mutant who possesses vast telepathic powers, and is among the strongest and most powerful telepaths in the Marvel Universe. He is able to perceive the thoughts of others or project his own thoughts within a radius of approximately 250 miles (400 km).
Xavier's telepathy once covered the entire world; although following this, Magneto altered the Earth's electromagnetic field to restrict Xavier's telepathic range.
While not on Earth, Xavier's natural telepathic abilities have reached across space to make universal mental contact with multiple alien races.
With extreme effort, he can also greatly extend the range of his telepathy. He can learn foreign languages by reading the language centers of the brain of someone adept, and alternately "teach" languages to others in the same manner. Xavier once trained a new group of mutants mentally, subjectively making them experience months of training together, while only hours passed in the real world.
Xavier's vast psionic powers enable him to manipulate the minds of others, warp perceptions to make himself seem invisible, project mental illusions, cause loss of particular memories or total amnesia, and induce pain or temporary mental and/or physical paralysis in others.
Within close range, he can manipulate almost any number of minds for such simple feats. However, he can only take full possession of one other mind at a time, and must strictly be within that person's physical presence. He is one of the few telepaths skilled enough to communicate with animals and even share their perceptions.
He can also telepathically take away or control people's natural bodily functions and senses, such as sight, hearing, smell, taste, or even mutant powers.
A side effect of his telepathy is that he has an eidetic memory and his brain can assimilate and process impossibly huge amounts of raw data in an astonishingly short amount of time.
He has displayed telepathic prowess sufficient to confront Ego the Living Planet (while aided by Cadre K) as well as narrowly defeat Exodus.
However, he cannot permanently "reprogram" human minds to believe what he might want them to believe even if he wanted to do so, explaining that the mind is an organism that would always recall the steps necessary for it to reach the present and thus 'rewrite' itself to its original setting if he tried to change it.
However, his initial reprogramming of Wolverine lasted several years, despite Wolverine overcoming the reprogramming much faster than an ordinary human because of his healing factor.
He is able to project from his mind 'bolts' composed of psychic energy, enabling him to stun the mind of another person into unconsciousness, inflict mental trauma, or even cause death. These 'bolts' inflict damage only upon other minds, having a negligible effect on non-mental beings, if any.
The manner in which Xavier's powers function indicates that his telepathy is physical in some way, as it can be enhanced by physical means (for example, Cerebro), but can also be disrupted by physical means (for example, Magneto's alteration of the Earth's magnetic field).
Xavier can perceive the distinct mental presence/brain waves of other superhuman mutants within a small radius of himself. To detect mutants to a wider area beyond this radius, he must amplify his powers through Cerebro and subsequently Cerebra, computer devices of his own design which are sensitive to the psychic/physical energies produced by the mind.
Professor X can project his astral form into a psychic dimension known as the astral plane. There, he can use his powers to create objects, control his surroundings, and even control and destroy the astral forms of others. He cannot project this form over long distances.
Uncanny X-Men writer Ed Brubaker has claimed that, after being de-powered by the Scarlet Witch, and then re-powered by the M'Kraan Crystal, Charles' telepathy is more powerful than was previously known. However, the extent of this enhancement is unknown.
Years prior to initial publishing, Charles Xavier had an undefined level of telekinesis. This aspect of his powers were potent enough to cause catastrophic system disruption in computerized appliances.
Such an attribute has faded, however. His evil counterpart Cassandra Nova Xavier would possess this ability, indicating he still possessed the potential for them.
This potential was proven true after his death and resurgence within the younger, stronger body of Charlie Cluster 7. The Professor, using the moniker X, fashioned a Cerebro like a helmet which acts as a focusing device for his psionic powers and used it to galvanize latent aspects of his X-Gene to stimulate some dormant properties, seemingly using telekinesis to will a flash drive on Mystique's person into his hand.
Charles Xavier is a genius with multiple doctorates. He is a world-renowned geneticist, a leading expert in mutation, possesses considerable knowledge of various life sciences, and is the inventor of Cerebro.
He possesses Ph.D.s in Genetics, Biophysics, Psychology, and Anthropology, and an M.D. in Psychiatry. He is highly talented in devising equipment for utilizing and enhancing psionic powers. He is also a great tactician and strategist, effectively evaluating situations and devising swift responses.
During his travels in Asia, Xavier learned martial arts, acquiring "refined combat skills" according to Magneto. When these skills are coordinated in tandem with his telepathic abilities, Xavier is a dangerous unarmed combatant, capable of sensing the intentions of others and countering them with superhuman efficiency. He also has extensive knowledge of pressure points.
Charles Xavier was also given possession of the Mind Gem. It allows the user to boost mental power and access the thoughts and dreams of other beings. Backed by the Power Gem, it is possible to access all minds in existence simultaneously. Like all other former Illuminati members, Xavier has sworn to never use the gem and to keep its location hidden.
The Xavier Protocols
Totally NOT a blatant rip-off of the Batman Protocols from DC... /end sarcasm
The Xavier Protocols are a set of doomsday plans created by Professor X. The protocols detail the best way to kill many powerful mutant characters, including the X-Men and Xavier himself, should they become too large of a danger.
The Xavier Protocols are first mentioned during the Onslaught crossover and first seen in Excalibur #100 in Moira MacTaggert's lab. Charles Xavier compiled a list of the Earth's most powerful mutants and plans on how to defeat them if they become a threat to the world. They are first used after Onslaught grows too powerful.
Only parts of the actual protocols are ever shown. In the Operation: Zero Tolerance crossover Bastion obtains an encrypted copy of the protocols, intending to use them against the X-Men.
However, Cable infiltrates the X-Mansion and secures all encrypted files before Bastion has a chance to decrypt them.
Due to the tampering of Bastion and his Sentinels, the X-Mansion computer system Cerebro gains autonomy and seeks to destroy the X-Men by employing its knowledge of the Xavier Protocols. In a virtual environment created by Professor X, Cerebro executes the Xavier Protocols against the X-Men.
Each protocol is activated by the presence of a different combination of X-Men and were written by Xavier himself: Code 0-0-0 (Charles Xavier) was activated by Moira MacTaggert, Cyclops, and Jean Grey.
This file is both an entry on Charles Xavier, as well as an introduction to the Xavier Protocols. It contained a holographic image of Charles Xavier, reading the following message: "Moira, Scott, Jean; if you three are seeing these images, then I have become a mortal threat to my X-Men. In this instance, I must be stopped by any means necessary. Some years ago, I made a study of various forms of possible defense against my own psychic abilities. The image next to me is that of an anti-psionic armor. The wearer should be protected from my talent. When I finish speaking, a blueprint for this armor will be downloaded."
Code 0-2-1 (Wolverine) was activated by Archangel, Cyclops, and Jean Grey. Code 1-3-9 (Cable) was activated by Cyclops, Jean Grey, and Cannonball. Other X-Men who have faced their Xavier Protocols are Colossus, Rogue, Shadowcat, Nightcrawler, Storm, and Gambit.
⚡ Happy 🎯 Heroclix 💫 Friday! 👽
_____________________________
A year of the shows and performers of the Bijou Planks Theater.
Secret Identity: Charles Francis Xavier
Publisher: Marvel
First appearance: The X-Men #1 (September 1963)
Created by: Stan Lee (writer)
Jack Kirby (artist)
Professor X last seen back in BP 2019 Day 234!
I wasn't going to post today but after what happened on Saturday I had a lot more to think about yesterday. I've been making plans to potentially take my first steps out in public in London with friends later this month, though I had to reject one of the plans on the basis that it would mean being right around near where my mother works. With that thought in my mind, I found myself looking up the website of her chambers (she's a family barrister) and looking at her profile. Aside from the fact that she's clearly much more organised and efficient with her work than she is at home, there was one thing that threw me. On the list of specific areas she was able to handle was 'LGBT parenting'!
I really wasn't sure what to make of that. On the one hand, that presumably comes from having some sort of training on the issue, as well as having a little experience with my Bi-sexual sister (though as far as I'm aware she's only had a single brief same-sex relationship) but I still question whether than changes how much I can trust her to know. At the very least it must be very different handling these issues professionally to at home. She mentioned that she could see the signs with my sister (though as I see so little of her these days I was the last person in the family to know, even after my grandfather.) but I think she's still completely oblivious about me.
It took months to settle the 'shall I tell her or not' issue the first time, so it's a big complication to be thrown up again. I at least got close enough that she knows there's a big secret I'm not willing to reveal. I still don't think that she's really capable of understanding, professional training or not (and my sister is a very different situation). I imagine one day she and my sisters will be told but that's probably some way off. It doesn't help that she's legendarily incapable of discression, especially when it comes to my step-father (someone I have a heck of a lot of problems with) who is likely to see it as something silly or to make fun of in a pathetic and unfunny way as he does.
I've never been convinced that enough would change for it to be worth it, as well as seeing a big gap between mere 'acceptance', which I do feel at least more confident about, and understanding. If I were to dress up in my girl things around the house it would probably still attract a bit of attention and comment. My reasoning has always been that if it's not going to make a difference or lead to any developments, and if I don't feel the need to do so, why take that leap and complicate things? In fact why does it have to be so complicated for us girls in the first place? :(
No. 18 The Stamp
Some words make people grow. Other words make people small. The loud and angry words used by the man with the stripes on his shoulders made the guard at the departure hall shrink, smaller and smaller… I almost felt sorry for the guy as he opened the doors for us.
‘Right, we’ll call it a draw.’
Finally we were able to change our boarding passes. Now all we needed was to get through customs, board our flight and we’d be on our way home.
I passed through the passport check and waited for my brother further back in the cue. The customs officer took a look at my brother, leafed through his passport, put it aside and told my brother to wait at the back of the cue. What just happened? Time passed and I started to get worried. I surely did not want to miss our flight.
There was a stamp missing in my brother’s ‘service’ passport. It was missing an entry-stamp. Apparently some customs officer had had a bad day. Not this one. This man revelled in this inconsistency."
One supervisor appeared, then another. We tried again: "This is a service passport. If there is a problem, please contact the embassy." Reasoning of diplomatic pressure was clearly not going to work. To solve this problem we would have to return to the main police office in Quetta(!), fill in the proper paperwork and get the right stamp. I tried to stay calm and explain. “There is no time. We have a funeral to attend to.” I looked at my watch.
“Our cousin passed away on what was supposed to be her wedding day and now you are preventing us from being at her funeral because someone forgot to place a stamp somewhere!!”
Family ties play a large role in Pakistani society and there is a clear sense of importance of both weddings and funerals. Although rules are rules, maybe there was still a small heart in these robots. The supervisors negotiated in Urdu and decided to split up, one taking the ticket, the other taking the passport. We quickly decided to do the same and stick on the men like flies. Time was ticking.
Identification (what’s in the image)
1) Sea glass (center and scattered pieces)
Material: Weathered glass fragments (“sea glass”)
Colors visible: seafoam green (large central piece), darker green, white/clear frosted pieces
Description: Rounded edges, matte/frosted surface from long-term abrasion in water
Origin: Broken bottles, jars, tableware tumbled for decades in surf
Notes:
White/clear and green are among the most common sea glass colors
The thick seafoam-green piece suggests older bottle glass (late 1800s–early 1900s)
2) Seashells (multiple species mixed)
Type: Marine mollusk shells (gastropods + bivalves)
Material: Primarily calcium carbonate
Visible forms:
Spiral shells (gastropods):
Smooth orange/tan shell (foreground) → likely a moon snail / naticid-type shell
Smaller spiral shells with banding patterns (background)
Bivalves (clams/scallops):
White ribbed fragment (center-left) → scallop fragment
Various smooth clam halves scattered throughout
General description:
Smooth, polished by surf
Color variation from natural pigments and mineral deposition
Mix of intact shells and fragments typical of beach drift
3) Minerals / rocks
A. Purple crystal (bottom center)
Likely: Amethyst (variety of quartz)
Features:
Translucent purple crystals
Crystalline structure (not rounded like beach stones)
Origin: Geological mineral, not marine
B. Green translucent chunk (beneath sea glass)
Possibilities:
Slag glass (industrial byproduct)
Or thick bottle glass fragment
Reasoning:
Uniform color, glassy fracture
Thickness suggests man-made origin rather than mineral
C. Red + green mottled rock (right)
Likely: Unakite (metamorphic rock)
Composition:
Green epidote + pink/red feldspar
Texture: Coarse-grained, not glassy
D. Dark brown/black rock (left)
Likely: Iron-rich rock or basalt
Features: Dense, matte, angular
Overall scene interpretation
A curated collection of:
Sea glass (dominant theme)
Mixed seashells
Decorative mineral specimens
Not a natural beach scatter — arrangement is deliberate (studio/macro composition)
Celebrity 90018 in its Freightliner 60 (1965 - 2025) livery draws to a halt at the colour light gantry guarding Golborne Junction with 4M30 the Saturdays only Grangemouth - Crewe 'liner'.
* I took this three weeks ago and have not uploaded reasoning I would eventually get it in sun ... alas not to be, its a rare bird for me.
* Pole @ 3m.
I really can't decide what to post tonight, so I'm going with this one because I like the light, the suggestion of what might be happening off to the left and many of my most recent posts have had a lot of space in them and this one is a little busier! That's the extent of my reasoning really. Hope y'all enjoy.
Truth Unveiled by Time is a marble sculpture by Italian artist Gian Lorenzo Bernini, one of the foremost sculptors of the Italian Baroque. Executed between 1645 and 1652, Bernini intended to show Truth allegorically as a naked young woman being unveiled by a figure of Time above her, but the figure of Time was never executed.
Upon his election to the papacy in 1623, Maffeo Vincenzo Barberini took the name Pope Urban VIII and appointed Bernini as the principal artist for the papal court in Rome. According to Bernini's biographer Baldinucci, Maffeo had 'scarcely ascended the sacred throne' when he summoned Bernini and told him:
"It is your great fortune to see Cardinal Maffeo Barberini Pope, but our fortune is far greater in that Cavalier Bernini lives during our pontificate."
Bernini enjoyed great success during his time as the principal artist for the papal court but, after Urban's death in 1644, he was removed by the incoming pope, Innocent X. The new pope had more conservative tastes and favored Bernini's rival Algardi. Despite the fall from favor this did not stop Bernini from occasionally working for the new pope - One of his most famous works, the Fountain of the Four Rivers, was one of the projects done for Innocent. He still maintained his position as the architect of St. Peter's despite his removal from the papal court and, after Innocent's death in 1655, was immediately given two major commissions at St. Peter's: decorating the Cathedra Petri and building a colonnade round the piazza.
Bernini's rationale for creating Truth Unveiled by Time was, according to his son Domenico, as a sculptural retort to attacks from opponents criticizing his failed project to build two towers onto the front of St. Peter's Basilica. While this is certainly plausible, historians are unsure of the validity of Domenico's claims relating to his father's reasoning. Cracks had appeared in the facade due to the inability of the foundations to support the towers and Bernini's architectural expansion received the blame. What many fail to mention is that most of the blame lies with Carlo Maderno, the previous architect who built weak foundations for the monumental task being requested, and Pope Urban VIII, who kept pressuring Bernini for heavier, more elaborate bell towers.
During the difficult time after Urban's death, Bernini was able to find peace and serenity in his overwhelming confidence that one day he would be vindicated. So strong was this conviction that he created Truth Unveiled by Time to express this confidence in his eventual vindication. Despite this conviction, the sculpture of Father Time was never begun and the project remained incomplete. It has been suggested by historian Franco Mormando that Bernini's return to public favor after Innocent's death might have made the sculptural piece lose the emotional urgency it had previously possessed, which would make sense considering he had been reinstated to his previous place in the upper echelons of society.
To be beyond the bonds of time, “True sight from the Heart” is the key. ― Learning from My Rope Team Friend (and to truly see from the Heart it is learning from my Eterna Friend, Nop). Dated: February 2, 2017
“I can see, and that is why I can be happy, in what you call the dark, but which to me is golden. I can see a God-made world, not a manmade world.” ― Helen Keller
If we take care of the moments, the years will take care of themselves. ― Maria Edgeworth
A hundred year storm, mosquitoes, jaggers and quicksand didn't stop me from shooting this eastbound Wheeling 612 train crossing the Youghiogheny River on the afternoon of August 28th, 2016.
A massive, massive severe thunderstorm had been brewing off to my southeast that was slowly pushing its way to the north prior to the trains arrival. By time the train had shown up, all the light was all but gone due to the thunderstorm approaching.
I later continued towards this storm after shooting the train here - only to crest the ridge behind me and see what a storm it was. Now SWPA is no stranger to some pretty wild thunderstorms in summertime, but wow did this one take the cake.
This same storm ended up causing catastrophic flooding throughout much of the Connellsville, PA area that resulted in a remarkable 5.12 inches of rain! falling within a 2 hour time period. Miraculously - no one was killed, but the property damage left people cleaning up for months to come following the storm. Along with many houses along nearby creeks needing to be demolished for safety reasoning's.
I tried every backroad I knew to try and get around the flooding into Connellsville, but just couldn't due to such a extreme amount of rain falling in that short period. Everything around was completely impassable, so I called it a day and headed for home. Back at home, roughly 35 miles northwest of Connellsville, it had not even so much as drizzled that same evening. Definitely was a day I'll never forget.
Gondolas took us to the top of the summit overlooking Squamish and Howe Sound. It took about 45 minutes to convince my wife to come to the top. Reasoning from my wife's side went something like this, "Are you prepared to die today". She finally acquiesced when i agreed to pay for the tickets and the funerals. I still can't understand her reluctance since she was the Nancy Greene of the ski hills in her home town and rode the chair lifts and gondolas to the mountain tops practically every day of her teenage youth.
Do we use circular reasoning without realizing it? Most say your argument fails when you use circular reasoning.
"However, not all circular reasoning is fallacious. Certain standards must be assumed. Dr. Jason Lisle gave this example of a non-arbitrary use of circular reasoning:
Without laws of logic, we could not make an argument.
We can make an argument.
Therefore, there must be laws of logic.
While this argument is circular, it is a non-fallacious use of circular reasoning. Since we couldn’t prove anything apart from the laws of logic, we must presuppose the laws of logic even to prove they exist. In fact, if someone were trying to disprove that laws of logic exist, he’d have to use the laws of logic in his attempt, thereby refuting himself. Your non-Christian friend must agree there are certain standards that can be proven with circular reasoning.
Your basic presupposition—God exists and has revealed Himself in His inerrant, authoritative Word—is the ultimate standard. Presupposing God exists to argue that God exists is a reasonable circular argument because without the God of the Bible, we have no basis for assuming the laws of logic and their properties, let alone absolute morality or the uniformity of nature." - answersingenesis.org/apologetics/circular-reasoning/