} These are events set shortly after my previous issue “Atychiphobia”, wherein Clayface’s personalities are put in flux. {

 

*Overview of the slums bordering Midway City, Michigan, on an unusually humid night. A perfect blend of place, time and atmosphere that would discourage most from partaking in a recreational stroll. Additionally, as a landmark notable for housing not one but two guilds dedicated to super-heroics, crimes here are exclusive committed by the ignorant, or the heedless.

 

*Cut to a dolly zoom of an unimpressive three-story apartment building. We see a woman, clad in red and white athletic wear, scaling the forest of brick and metal with swift, elastic maneuvers. A final sling of her arm, and she stretches up to a fire escape. A noise complaint from the neighboring structure was placed not ten minutes before, and this heroine, known as Elasti-Girl, arrived at the scene alongside Midway police officers. Taking into account the warnings made by concerned residents that the prior commotion had sounded excessively violent, Elasti-Girl insists upon entering the premises first, and the officers, in turn, have not forgotten her past reliability, as well as stubbornness in matters of crisis. They accommodate her selflessness, and form a perimeter around the building in preparation.

 

*This is not to be a routine arrest. What will occur in a few short moments is, in every sense of the word, a coincidence. Stars have seemingly aligned in order for the forthcoming events to take place; two vessels that crossed on a treacherous sea, in years past, are to be reacquainted on this unanticipated evening.

 

*Low-angle shot as Elasti-Girl vaults through the window in question, compressing herself on the landing in order to remain inaudible. The living room which she finds herself in is no more homely than the sticky air and concrete to be found outside. No lights are switched on, though she can distinguish cheap furniture, chipped wallpaper, and a worn rug. Rounding the divide to the kitchen, the odor belonging to scorched, spoiled meat reaches our heroine. Nearly stumbling over a sizable lump on the tile, she retreats a step, then kneels to make out its condition.

 

*A stray gust of wind upsets the blinds leading to the street-side balcony, and the minuscule glow of the lampposts lining the sidewalk below identify Elasti-Girl’s find: A man in a tattered bathrobe, unscathed on his limbs and body, but the face… The face is more scab than skin. The nose, lips, hair, earlobes and eyelids are seared off. Miraculously, patches of the marred, red flesh pulsate with blood flow, and shallow breath expels from between the protruding teeth. Elasti-Girl swivels to check the oven, and sure enough, it is still warm from its now-apparent deleterious usage.

 

*In the corner of her eye, she sees, from the same aperture in the blinds which revealed the victim, an object of human height. She reaches a hand across the room and pulls back the obstruction, to be met with what could be mistaken for a large melted candle. A few cautious steps towards the thing causes Elasti-Girl to recoil, in spite of herself, as she now perceives a face side-eyeing her within the heap of grunge. Twin yellow orbs sit deep inside their sockets, and the dribbling mouth beneath them calls the unsettled heroine by name.

 

Myself: Rita…

  

} MANY YEARS EARLIER {

  

Rita Farr made note of the sound stage’s patent aroma of cedar and hand sanitizer, as she lugged a suitcase containing one-third of her worldly possessions the last few steps of her journey to a movie studio in Atlanta, Georgia. Boom mics, ladders and lunches were being whisked about on all sides of her, not in a manner of tumult, but rather like schools of fish with a daily routine. Ms. Farr expected as much, and during her flight, began enforcing a mental note not to be swept up by the current, as she had been with previous bit parts handed to her.

 

Rita (to self): Seventh time’s a charm…

 

Finding a calmer spot, Rita unceremoniously drops her baggage, and peers upward at the reconstructed Spanish galleon positioned triumphantly as a centerpiece to the hangar. Cast and crew mill about the deck as they do on the ground level, tying ropes and checking props. Just as a sense of tranquility begins to seep into her consciousness, Rita detects movement in her direction in the corner of her vision. She faces the approaching man, rigid like a soldier in line-up, awaiting the inevitable tirade on the subject her five-minute tardiness, or how a fellow actor has had a breakdown. Instead, she is greeted by a small bow, that which may have seemed curt or sarcastic, if not for the candid grin on the dark-haired stranger’s face. He straightens, first his back, then his Georgian-era apparel, and speaks.

 

Stranger: I gather from your less than period-accurate garb, as well as that holdall, that you are a new arrival? One with a face like yours would not be working behind the camera.. Ms. Rita Farr, I should think? Marvelous! There’s no cause for alarm; you are presently quite ahead of our schedule.

 

Rita (still processing the first half of his chatter): Um, yes, I’m Rita. My agent was told one of the lead actresses was indisposed, though it wasn’t really made clear over the phone.. This isn’t an audition? I’m the only one they contacted? The thing is, I’ve never been given a part that was billed before the end crawl of the credits…

 

Stranger (beaming): It all sounds akin to what we call a “big break”, Ms. Farr!

 

Rita (to self): Not a first-name-basis type of place. I guess that’s alright.

 

Stranger: .. And, you would be correct on the subject of your predecessor. As cruel as it may come across, none of us were surprised to see Ms. Mona Taylor’s drinking habits get the better of her. I don’t like to speak ill of those unable to defend themselves; however, most denizens of this little production will tell you it is well rid of her presence.

 

Rita: Well, that… sort of puts a damper on my thankfulness for the opportunity…

 

The stranger ignores this, instead turning to welcome another actor passing by.

 

Stranger: Ms. Farr, this is Takeo Sato, a performer all the way from Tokyo, playing the part of one of our film’s roguish corsairs. Sato, Ms. Farr is Ms. Taylor’s stand-in.

 

Takeo (equally pleasant): A delight to make your acquaintance.

 

Rita nods politely, almost missing a second man, dressed just like Takeo, take an indirect route around their group, halting behind the yet-to-be-introduced stranger. He seemed the same age as Rita (years younger than the other actors), but a permanently sour expression and hunched frame made him appear infirm, unwell. Takeo and the stranger took no notice of him.

 

Stranger (to Takeo): Has “he” yet to master his choreography?

 

Takeo: Mr. Lord is working fervently, for one his age.

 

The two direct their attention to the ship’s deck, Rita following suit.

 

Stranger (waving a hand to an older gentleman in green and yellow, fencing with a stuntman near the rigging): Our fearless leader, Jonathan Lord.

 

Rita (agog): I had no idea he was attached to this! Or that he was still in the business.

 

Stranger: He is quite adamant to not wash up like many a typecast action star has. His friend Simon Trent, for example, has gone that way I’m afraid. Thus, a twelfth “Silverblade” motion picture was thrust into production, at his request.

 

Takeo: It saddens me to see a legend such as him work not out of passion, rather out of necessity.

 

Rita watches Lord trip the stuntman with a swipe of his rapier. She hated to see a ghost of an actor too, but there was still plenty of fight left in Lord.

 

The stranger once again takes control of the conversation, steering the ensemble towards two other actors chatting by the vessel’s bow. One, a man in deep blue carrying a haughty look about him; and a woman in red, with jet-black locks and a dour mien. Rita saw that the sour-faced man was still tailing the group from behind the talkative stranger, yet remained even further away from these two.

 

Stranger (nodding at each respectfully): Ms. Farr, meet Farley Fairfax, and Madame Laura De Mille. Th-

 

Laura (speaking over his exposition, in a French accent): Rita? Oh yes, Mona’s replacement. We’re finally rid of “ehr majesty”.

 

Rita: It’s nice to meet you; what is your roll in-

 

Laura: You ahre not going to be anothair detriment to zis picture, like she was, no? Your face, it is too sweet and unspoiled to be full of hot air yet.

 

Rita: That’s… relieving.

 

Farley: We hope you take a liking to our little company here. Always a pleasure, ushering in bright young people to the world of stage and screen. Farley Fairfax; more than happy to show you the ropes.

 

Rita: Oh I’m, eh, not exactly new to all this, but that’s generous of-

 

Stranger (once again intercepting the conversation, with a somewhat hurried and ruffled tone): There will be no showing of the ropes from you, Fairfax. Really, you seem to be swayed by the delusion that your smirk will every time win you an immediate “fidus Achates”.

 

Farley: My VERY old friend, I wouldn’t presume to hold the monopoly on using a few flashy words and shiny teeth to make a good impression.

 

Stranger: It’s a wonder to myself and the world of science that you attract anything, Fairfax.

 

Rita (over her shoulder and under her breath): You’re the one that introduced me to the two of them…

 

She is surprised to hear Takeo smother a laugh upon catching her comment, unbeknownst to the rest of their gathering.

 

As the situation seemed to be headed towards a scuffle between the stranger, Farley, and a simultaneously disinterested and aggravated Laura De Mille, the most colorful character yet to appear totters up to the impending drama; A bucktoothed fellow wearing green and lavender, and a battered brown hat atop his head. Farley and the others seem to drop their quarrel punctually upon his arrival, and Rita, at this point, is on the verge of booking a flight straight back to Michigan.

 

Laura: Not ‘im again! I cannot listen to zat imbecile one more MINUTE.

 

Rita: Who-?

 

Stranger (upon the bucktoothed man’s obtrusion): Mr. Spelvin, you’ve… found a way into the lot. Once again. Much to the dissension of the studio, as you may recall.

 

Mr. Spelvin: Hey, it’s “George” to my friends, remember? How’s it hangin’ kids? Boy, this is a real get-together, isn’t it?

 

Laura: You ahre like a goat, Monsieur Spelvin. A black ‘ole for wit and the relevance of whatevair space you occupy.

 

Mr. Spelvin: Always good for a yuck, Laura! Ha!

 

Farley: Spelvin, really, you can’t carry on like this. How many times now have you disrupted a take? Which line do you plan to botch this time?

 

Mr. Spelvin (finger guns): I read you, Farls, and I gotcha covered!

 

He moves to put a hand on the dark-haired stranger’s shoulder.

 

Mr. Spelvin: I asked a pal of ours to put in a good word for me with Mr. Lord.. for all those little unforeseen mix ups I’ve been affiliated with in the past, y’know how it is.. So, Lord gave me a bit, right, chum?

 

Stranger: I did not speak with Mr. Lord, Spelvin.

 

Mr. Spelvin: You eh… didn’t…

 

Stranger: I will not prevaricate. You are unwelcome to this location and its occupants, for the duration of our filming. It is expected of you to cease these infringements that only further solidify a poor image of your person. They have all, and will all, be in vain.

 

Mr. Spelvin (his bubbly facade now crumbling away): Now… look, I know you’re only teasing to toughen me up, but see this? The costume people don’t even need to make me a getup; I put this together at home! I-I thought the purple would be a nice contrast to the Silverblade costume, and well, the hat is iffy, I’ll grant you, but if we got like some safety pins we could bend it into a tricorne…

 

Stranger: Spelvin, Mr. Lord does not wish you to be here! You are a frustrated man incapable of bearing success.

 

Farley and Laura look crossly between the verbal duelists. The sour-faced man still lingers behind the stranger, hardly looking troubled in the slightest. Rita, by comparison, senses the imminent eruption. Takeo’s brow furrows.

 

Mr. Spelvin: Well… in all fairness, I was prepared for you saying something like that. Heheh, you… you might say I’m PACKING accordingly, heheheh…

 

His hands shift to their coat pockets. Rita feels opposing forces within her wanting to run, and to make a grab for whatever Spelvin is about to reveal. The sensation is like a frigid, iron grip on her very essence.

 

Mr. Spelvin (unadulterated bitterness clouding his words): Dismissal. That’s all life’s dealt me. A little thing I’ve picked up over the years, though… all that pain, that feeling of ostracism… nothing a little accelerant and igniter can’t wash away. Leastways, that’s how it works for me.

 

He cocks his head to the stranger, who still stands firmly in opposition of the madman. A scream within Rita, desperate to warn everyone, never makes it out.

 

Mr. Spelvin: Nighty-night, Sloane.

 

His hands whip out a can of hairspray and a lighter, aimed straight for the stranger, “Sloane”. As Spelvin flicks the mechanism, and a burst of flame reaches out to mar Sloane, Takeo leaps between them, palms out as though he is catching a softball. The fire sputters mid-flight and bends into tendrils, wrapping around Takeo’s fingertips. They absorb into his skin, leaving a faint orange glow. All but Takeo himself stand with mouths agape.

 

Mr. Spelvin: You’ve gotta be SHI-

 

With the debate having transitioned into an uproar, two stunt performers drop from the deck above and pin Spelvin to the floor before he can recuperate. His arms and legs flail, with the expected result of more pressure being applied to detain him.

 

Stuntwoman: Give it up; my friend here survived a POW camp breakout in Vietnam before he was doing fake falls, and I chewed up pipsqueaks like you when I was still in middle school. It’s pointless, mister. Futile.

 

Mr. Spelvin: NRAAAAGHH-

 

“Sloane”: My… undying gratitude… Ms. Sutton, Mr. Savage.

 

The stuntman gives a taciturn nod back, while wrestling Spelvin away.

 

Sloane: And… Takeo…

 

Rita looks about with Sloane for the superhuman within their midst, to see that Takeo Sato has been swamped with onlookers expressing their shock, and agents already trying to nab him for their next picture. Takeo seems overwhelmed, not wishing to drag out his moment of glory. Laura and Farley have gone off skulking away from the hubbub, obviously envious of Takeo’s attention.

 

Rita: So… “Sloane”.

 

Sloane (no longer his composed self): … You must forgive me, how silly; yes, that is my name. Paul Sloane, at your service…

 

Rita: NO one knew Takeo had… those powers?? It looks like this is his first time exposing them..

 

Sloane (trying to make merry): No people like show people, Ms. Farr, as they say, eh?..

 

Jonathan Lord calls down to Sloane from the mast.

 

Lord: Everything in order, Mr. Sloane?

 

Sloane: Eh, yes Mr. Lord..

 

Lord: No injuries? Good; let’s round up our people. We have a film to shoot.

 

Rita (to Sloane): Do you need to sit down? You’re pale.

 

Sloane: That would be an immense aid to my wits, thank you. Mr. Lord expects order, however, and-

 

Rita: … and I can chip in. I may be new around here, but I can carry my share of responsibilities. I also didn’t just have my life threatened. Come on, it’s the least a regular, un-powered human like me can do.

 

Sloane, wordless and debilitated, gives a look of appreciation, and moves away to a more restful area.

 

Rita spies the sour-faced man. He seems to notice her watching, and begins to move after Sloane.

 

Rita: Hey, he never introduced you.

 

The man stops. He offers only a glimpse of his eyes, still standing in profile to her.

 

Rita: You’re a friend of Paul? Sloane?

 

Man: .. Yeah. He’s… the best man I know. I wouldn’t be in show business, without him.

 

Rita: Why didn’t you announce yourself?

 

Man (shrug): I just follow along. That’s what I’m good at. Sloane knows how to best handle… stuff.

 

Rita (big sigh): Are we talking about the same gentleman who nearly got himself charbroiled a minute ago? To tell the truth, I can do without all the fancy talk and putting-on-airs. You got a name?

 

Myself (many years ago): … Basil.. Bas is fine.

  

} PRESENT DAY {

  

Rita stands stunned, nay, horrified, by the sight of me.

 

Myself: Oh, there’s no need for those dramatics. You would have, by now, heard tell of my “condition”; the exploits of Gotham’s Batman and his nemeses are national news after all. Thought our paths would never converge again, did you? That I would remain in Gotham to the last? How you must have prayed for that. No, that place, inciting mayhem, challenging The Bat… this offers me no solace any longer. Most of us CAN’T leave, you know. Riddler stays out of internalized necessity; Black Mask, for fear of losing his empire. Catwoman for “this” reason, Freeze for another… But I am privileged to come and to go as I please. It’s something I’m quite good at.

 

Rita: You’ve just assaulted someone, Basil. He’s nearly dead.

 

Myself: I’m… sorry, I don’t remember how to respond… to some things… The other ones are talking, and it’s hard to concentrate on… just one…

 

I trail off. Still wary of me, Rita’s eyes drift to the chair-side table beside her. On it, an unlit lamp, and a framed photo. The one I subconsciously began staring at.

 

Rita (trembling): Basil… Oh my god, Basil, do you know who’s house this is? That’s Paul Sloane you've done this to. Basil, why?

 

What are the words I had planned for this? They were just there…

 

Rita: Basil, you’re not well. I need to take you away from here. Paul needs medical attention.

 

Myself (unable to hold the tide of voices in my head at bay): Oh, she’s trying to mask her abhorrence for us with stoicism, bless her. How very genuine, personal. This moves us greatly.

 

Rita: WHY, Basil?

 

Myself (I’m… sad now?): … I thought… if I got rid of him, maybe I… wouldn’t be a lie. I can’t be whole. Not while HE’s here.

 

Rita (pleading): Even before you had this gift, you felt you had to be someone else to be worthwhile. You DON’T. You can leave all of this behind. Find the real you again and hold onto it.

 

Myself: YOU THINK I’VE NEVER TRIED? Tried to find normalcy in this maelstrom of raving madness that persists both within me and in the outside world? Let me spell something out for you, “Ms. Farr”; There is to be no normalcy in the lives of people like us. Do you recollect Farley Fairfax? Takeo? In years gone by, both have since died in unrelated attacks by DEMONS. Mona Taylor is imprisoned for crimes committed on behalf of a costumed gang in Gotham. You yourself were blessed with abilities from exposure to volcanic vapors, and you STILL battle your old rival Laura De Mille on occasion, assisted by your very own band of incorrigibly heroic freaks. Really, Rita, your taste in companionship…

 

Rita: Don’t do this to yourself.

 

Myself (droning): Mr. King Savage, our stuntman friend, was inducted into a covert special forces unit later on, and was never heard from again. Oh, have you ever heard of the actor Steven "Champ" Hazard? He vanished into thin air one day, quite literally. Delores Winters. It was hearsay for a while that her mind was stolen by a telepath…

 

Rita: I can’t help you anymore, Basil. The police will be taking over in a minute, and I can’t stop them. I wouldn’t want to.

 

She sounds hurt, though I can’t seem to distinguish why anymore.

 

Myself (wetly laughing): You need not feel guilt, this form is merely residue, only a spent shard of Basil, and it will die hastily. This one couldn’t kill Sloane, and we banish any part of us that harbors those pointless sentiments for the old days, you see… The rest of us is already down there. An officer, a citizen, it makes no difference…

 

Rita watches as I relax into a puddle, drizzling through the balcony slats down to the pavement.

 

Myself (faintly): You won’t find me. You won’t see me, ever again.

 

Pounding footsteps come from beyond the front door Rita has failed to unlock. Police shout for Elasti-Girl to dictate the situation.

 

Rita (without so much as a slight crack in her voice): I haven’t seen Basil in years.

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

MANIFESTO GLEITZEIT 2015

BY STELLY RIESLING

Featured below is another original art work of mine in homage to THE PIONEER OF INVISIBLE ART — PAUL JAISINI. Forget all the copycats that came after him — Master Paul Jaisini was the *FIRST* of a totally original concept and the *BEST*. My favorite thing about him is that he’s a voice, not an echo, which is quite rare.

DISCLAIMER: This is for anyone who is a hater OR wishes to better understand me, what I’m all about, so you can decide whether I’m weird or normal enough for you — a kind of very loose manifesto, rushed and unrevised, full of raw uncut emotion that I don’t like to be evident in my writing as lately I prefer a more professional, formal style, so we can consider this a rough draft of the more polished writing to come when I have extra time. I might return to this text later and clean it up or break it into separate parts. Right now it’s a long-winded hot mess, so if you manage to make any sense of it, BIG PROPS TO YOU. lol …and if you manage to read it ALL, you have my solemn respect!!! in a day when reading has been reduced to just catchy headliners and short captions of images once in a while. The consequence of this one-liner internet culture is non-linear, tunnel thinking, which is baaaaaad.

There lives among us a most enigmatic and charismatic creature named Paul Jaisini who led me into the wonderful world of art, not personally, but through descriptions of his artworks in essays written and published online by his friend, which painted the most fascinating images in my mind. Early on as a kiddo, I experimented with photography, simple point and shoot whatever looked attractive to me. Digital manipulation of my photographs with computer software followed… and somehow I learned useful drawing techniques along the way to combine existing elements with nonexistent ones, which allowed me to elevate the context for my ideas. Later, I started creating my own digital art from scratch for my friends and family as a favorite pastime. They would shower me with praise and repeatedly encouraged me to share my “different” vision with the rest of the world… it took a while and wasn’t easy to overcome the insecurity of not being good enough along with a gripping fear of being harshly criticized, but one day I woman-ed up and started publishing my work on the web, reminding myself that my livelihood didn’t depend on a positive reception.

Paul Jaisini’s role in all this has been to not disgrace myself, even if what I do is just a hobby. And I would never do him and other genius artists the disservice of calling myself a professional because I know I’ll never be as good as any of the GIANTS of pre-modern history. Be the best or be nothing, no middle ground.

People’s jealousy in the past, future and present over my obsessive love of Paul Jaisini, which they are well aware is purely plutonic, has caused them to despise the man and has made many relationships/friendships impossible for me. I refuse to have such people in my life because by harboring any negativity towards Paul, they unknowingly feel that way about me and express it to me. It’s their own problem for not realizing this. Paul’s new art movement, Gleitzeit, shaped me into the allegedly awesome girl I am today, giving my art more edge, more “sexy” because it refined my vision of the world and propelled me to attain the skills necessary to not dishonor my family name through tenacious pursuit of perfection. Since the beginning of my life, I attempted to depict what I saw in visual, musical and literal forms, but continuously failed without adequate training and determination. Paul Jaisini’s Gleitzeit was the answer to my prayers. Who I am today I owe mostly to him and his selfless ideals of the artverse that I’ve given unconditional loyalty to (he has this cool ability for hyper-vision to see whole universes, not itty bitty worlds, hence I call it an artverse instead of art world, with him in mind). So again, anyone who hates Paul Jaisini hates ME because, regardless of what he means to you, he is the most important person in my life for making me ME. The way a famous actor, dancer or singer inspires others to act, dance or sing, Paul inspired me to become a better artist, better writer, better everything. More people would understand if he was a household name because they’re wired to in society. But we’re inspiring each other all the time in our own little communities without being famous, so if someone has the ability to change even ONE person’s life immensely with creativity, it is a massive achievement. And passionate folks like myself are compelled to scream it from the cyber rooftops. So here I am. It’s whatever.

Furthermore, I’d like to address here a few pressing matters in light of some recent drama brought on by both strangers and former friends. To start, I never judge the passions, interests or likes of others, which are often in my face all over the place, so likewise they have no right to judge any of mine. It is quite unfortunate and frustrating how very little understanding and education the majority of people have or want to have. Their logic is as primitive as a chipmunk when it comes to promotion of fine art on the web: “spamming, advertising, report!” It’s their own problem that they fail to understand what it’s about due to the distorted lens through which they see the world or inability to think for themselves; an inherent lack of perception or inquisitiveness. Well, guess what? Every single image, every animation, every video, every post dedicated to Mr. Paul Jaisini and “Gleitziet” (to elaborate: a revolutionary new art movement Paul founded with his partner in crime and personal friend, EYKG, who discovered him and believed in him more than anyone) has an important purpose. Every one of those things you run across is a piece of a puzzle, a move in a game, an inch down a rabbit hole; the deeper you go, the more interesting it gets; the more levels you pass, the more clues unfold, the greater the suspense and nearer the conclusion (yet further). You earn awesome rewards like enlightenment, spiritual revelations, truths, knowledge, wisdom and the most profound reward of all: the drive to improve yourself to the absolute maximum, so an unending, unshakable drive. People often make a wrong turn in this cyber game and go back a few levels or get stuck. Those that keep on pushing, however, will come to find the effort has been worth it. And what awaits you in the end of it all? The greatest challenge to beating the game: YOUR OWN MIND. You will be forced to let go of every belief you held before you had reached the last level, to completely alter your mindset and perception of the world, of life, of yourself. But by the time you’ve gotten to that point, it will be as easy as falling off a cliff! (It is a kind of suicide after all — death and rebirth of spirit.)

Paul Jaisini does NOT, *I repeat* does NOT use mystery and obscurity to his advantage as a clever marketing ploy, no, he’s too next level for that with a consciousness so rich, he should wear a radioactive warning sign (he’ll melt your brain, best wear a tinfoil hat in his presence as I certainly would.) The statement he makes is loud and clear, hidden in plain site for those who take the time to connect the dots and have enough curiosity to fuel their journey into unknown territory (an open mind and flexible perception helps a lot). Actually, anyone with an IQ above 90 is sure to figure it out sooner or later. Hint: You don’t have to SEE an extraordinary thing with your eyes to know it exists, to understand it and realize its greatness — you can only feel it in your bone marrow, your spinal fluid, your heart and soul. The moment you do figure it out, as the skeleton key of the human soul, it will unlock the greatness and massive potential buried deep within, changing the doomed direction humanity is undoubtedly headed. I don’t speak in riddles, I speak in a clear direct way that intelligent humans will understand, so I’m counting on them.

GIG is an international group of artists and writers that support Paul Jaisini’s Gleitzeit. We started off as an unofficial fan club of Jaisini in 1996, comprised of only 6 individuals spanning 3 countries, and eventually escalated in status to an official fan group across the entire globe. A decade later it had grown to hundreds of fans. Nearly another decade later, there are thousands. Let’s not leave out another delightful group of vicious haters that have been around for nearly as long as us since the late 90s and have also grown in impressive numbers. Now, for the record (and please write this one down because I’m sick of repeating myself), Paul Jaisini himself is not part of our group and has nothing to do with us. He loves and hates us equally for butchering his name and making him appear as a narcissistic nut-job in his own words. He casts hexes on us for the blinding flash we layer over the art that members contribute to GIG — “disgusting-police-lights, seizure-inducing-laser-lightshow, bourgeois-myspace-effects retarded-raver shit” in Paul’s words. Ahh, how we love his sweet-talking us. In a desperate attempt to please him, those among us who make the art and animations have spent countless hours and sleepless nights trying to solve a crazy-complex quantum-physics type of equation = how to not create tacky or tasteless content. He does fancy some of it now, we got better, that’s something! In the reason stated below, our mission just got out of hand at some point.

What little is known about Paul Jaisini, even in all this time, is he’s a horrible perfectionist who slaughtered hundreds of innocent babies — I mean — artworks of remarkable beauty created by his own right hand (mostly paintings, some watercolors and drawings). He’s a fierce recluse who wants nothing to do with anyone or anything in life. But those few of us who know of an incredible talent he possesses (one could go as far as calling it a superpower), could not allow him to live his life without the recognition he FUCKING DESERVES more than any artist out there living today and, arguably, yesterday. We use whatever means necessary to reach more people, lots of flash and razzle-dazzle to lure them into our sinister trap of a higher awareness. Mwahaha! The visual boom you’ve witnessed in both cyber and real worlds, that is GIG’s doing — two damn decades of spreading an art virus — IVA. InVisibleArtitis… or a drug as in Intravenous Art. It’s whatever you want it to be, honey.

Our Gleitzeit International Group (GIG) started off innocently enough and gradually spiraled out of control to fight the haters, annoying the hell out of them as much as humanly possible. They don’t like what we do? WE DO MORE AND MORE OF IT. But never without purpose, without a carefully executed plan in mind collectively. If we have to tolerate an endless tidal wave of everyone’s vomit — e.g., idiotic memes and comics; dumbed-down one-liner quotes; selfies; so-called “art photography” passed through one-click app filters; mindless scribbles or random splatters by regular folks who have the nerve to call themselves serious/pro artists; primitive images of pets, babies, landscapes, random objects, etc… then people sure as shit are gonna tolerate what we put out, our animated and non-animated visual art designed for our beloved master, Paul Jaisini, who has shown us the light, the right path to follow, taught us great things and done so much for us — and so in our appreciation of him, we stamp his name on everything, for the sacrifices he has made in the name of art, to save our art verse, he’s a goddamn hero. There’s a book being written in his dedication where little will be left to the imagination about him.

If Paul Jaisini was as famous as Koons or Hirst, for example, people would know it’s not him posting stuff online with his name on it but fans creating fanart like myself among others. But noooooo, such a thing is unfathomable to most people - the promotion of another artist. Like, what’s in it for us? Uhh, nothing?? This is all NON-PROFIT bitches, the way art should be. It’s a passion FIRST, a commodity/commercial product/marketable item LAST and least. Its been that way for us since the early 90s to this day. Not a single member of GIG has sold an art work (neither has Paul Jaisini who’s a true professional) and we want to keep it that way. We do it for reasons far beyond ego. So advertising? Really? How the hell do you advertise or sell thin air, you know, invisible paintings, invisible anything? Ha ha, very funny indeed. The idea here is so simple, your neighbor’s dog can grasp it. Our motives: replace fast food for the mind with fine art, actual fine art. You know, creativity? Conscious thought? Talent? Skill? Knowledge? All that good stuff rolled into one to bring viewers more than a momentary ooohand aaahh reaction. Replace the recycled images ad nauseum; repetitious, worn-out ideas; disposable, gimmicky, money-driven fast art for simpletons. Stick with the highest of ideals and save the whole bloody planet.

Fine art is often confused with craft-making. This often creates bad blood between classically trained artists who put out paintings that leave a lasting impression, that make strong conversation pieces, that are thought-provoking and deep… and trained craftspeople whose skills are adequate to create decorative pieces for homely environments — landscapes, still lifes, animals, pretty fairies, common things of fantasy, and other simplicity. Skills alone are not enough for high art, you need a vision, a purpose, the ability to tell a story with every stroke of your brush that will both fascinate and terrify the viewers, arousing powerful emotions, illuminating. I have yet to see a visible painting in my generation that does anything at all for me, other than evoke sheer outrage and disgust. What a terrible waste of space and valuable resources it all is.

Paul Jaisini leads, we follow. He wishes to remain unknown - so do most of us. I’m next in line, slipping into recluse mode, no longer wanting to attach my face, my human image to my art stuff. I wish to be a nameless, faceless artist as well, invisible like P.J., and in his footsteps I too have destroyed thousands of my own artistic photography and digital art made with tedious, labor-intensive handwork. The whole point of this destruction is achieving the finest results possible by letting go of the imperfect, purging it on a regular basis, to make way for the perfect. I love what I do so it doesn’t matter, I know I’ll keep producing as much as I’m discarding, keeping the balance. Hoarding is an enemy of progress, especially the digital kind as there’s absolutely no limit to it. It’s like carrying a load of bricks on your back you’ll never use or need.

The watering down of creativity that digital pack ratting has caused as observed over the years is most tragic. For the creative individual, relying on terabytes of stock photos or OSFAP as I call them (Once Size Fits All Photos) instead of making your own as you used to when you had no choice, being 100% original, is a splinter in the conscience. It’s not evil to use stock of, say, things you don’t have access to (outer space, deep sea, Antarctica, etc.), but many digital artists I know today can’t take their own shot of a pencil ‘cause they “ain’t got no time for that!” How did they have time before? Did time get so compressed in only a decade?

Ohhhhh, and the edits, textures, filters, plug-ins and what-have-you available out there to everyone and their cats… are responsible for the tidal wave of rubbish that eclipses the magnificent light of the real talents.

I can tell you with utmost sincerity there is no better feeling on earth than knowing your creation is ALL yours, every pixel and dot, from the first to the last. It’s not always possible to make it so, but definitely the most rewarding endeavor. I’m most proud of myself when I can accomplish that.

Back to Paul Jaisini, from the start there have been a number of theories floating around on what his real story is. One of my own theories is that he stands for the unknowns of the world who can’t get representation, can’t get exhibited at a decent gallery because highly gifted/trained artists aren’t good enough - those kind of establishments prefer bananas, balloon dogs, feces, gigantic dicks/cunts, and all kinds of what-the-fucks…

So again, you don’t get the Paul Jaisini thing? That’s your problem. Don’t hate others for getting it. People are good, very good, at making baseless assumptions and impulsively spewing it as truth. They criticize and judge as if they’re high authorities on the subject yet they clearly lack education in fine art or art history and possess little to no talent or skill to back up their bullshit. My little “credibility radar” never fails. When they say I know this or I know that, I reply don’t say “I know” or state things as fact as a general rule of thumb - instead say “I assume/believe” and state the reasons you feel thus to appear less immature, especially about a controversial topic like invisible art. I have zero respect or tolerance for egomaniacs who think they know it all and act accordingly like arrogant pricks. Who can stand those, right? Once again, a good example would be: I, Stelly Riesling, believe everything I’ve written in this little manifesto to be correct based on personal experience and observation from multiple angles, thorough research and sufficient data collected from verifiable sources (and don’t go copying-pasting my own words back at me, be original). Just because you or I say so doesn’t make it so. Just because you or me think or believe so doesn’t make it true or right. I only ask that my opinions are regarded respectfully and whoever opposes them does so in a mature, civilized manner. We should only be entitled to opinions that don’t bring out the worst in us.

I don’t normally take such a position, but the time has come to stand up for what I believe in! It’s quite amusing and comical how haters think calling me names, attacking me or my interests or members of the project I’m part of for years is going to change something. It only makes more evident the importance of what I’m doing so I push on harder still.

Words of advise to those who can identify with me, with my frustrations over people’s reluctance to change their miserable ways, with our declining art world…

DON’T waste time on people who sweat the small stuff, whose actions are consistently inconsistent with their words. DO waste time on people who always keep their eye on the ball—the bigger picture of life.

Paul Jaisini’s invisible paintings are more than hype, more than your lame assumptions. Here’s one I got that’s pure gold: a cult! It started out as A JOKE OF MINE that was used against me. I told a then-good friend that he should come join our little “art cult” in a clearly lighthearted manner, and later he takes this idea I put in his head first and accuses me of being in an (imaginary) cult—the jokes on me eh?. But wait, aren’t cults religious? Our group consists of people around the world of different faiths (or none at all) so how could that ever work? If religion was about making fine (non-pop) art mainstream and bringing awesome, fresh, futuristic concepts to the collective consciousness, the world would not be so fucked up today because talent, creativity, originality and individuality would be the main focus, not superficial poppycock; those things would be praised and encouraged and supported in society by all institutions, not demonized and stigmatized.

Here is one thing I CAN state as solid fact: only one person close to Paul Jaisini knows the TRUE story, or at least some of it: EYKG. Everything else that has ever been said about him is myth, legend, gossip, speculation, the worst of which is said by jealous non-artists (wannabes, clones, posers, hang-ons, unoriginal ppl in general) and anti-artists (religious psychos, squares, losers and -duh- stupid ppl). Sadly, people are unable to see the bigger picture by letting their egos run their lives or repeating after others as parrots.

Commercial art, consumerism, and ignorance of the masses truly makes me want to curl up in a ball, not eat or drink or move until I die, just die in my sleep while dreaming of a better world, a world where real fine artists rule it with real fine art as they used to and life is beautiful once again….

Well I hope that settled THAT for now, or perhaps inadvertently made matters worse. I hope I didn’t sound too pissed from all these issues that keep popping up like penises on ChatRoulette… just got to me already! Can you tell? I had to put my foot down, stomp ‘em all!

To be continued, still lots more ignorance and pettiness to battle… Till then peace out my bambini. MWAH!

 

I was privileged to photograph some poignant WWI war photos and clean them up for our neighbours for publication. They kindly gave me permission to post on Flickr (a book is also being written in Australia) a memorial of a forgotten real story of sacrifice and heroism which makes the Hollywood film 'Saving Private Ryan' pale into insignificance.

 

Seven brothers served king and country in WW1 but only three of them made it home and only one of the brave Cranston lads survived World War I unscathed. The scale of the tragedy drove their mother from their home in Haddington, East Lothian, to eventually finish up in a mental hospital in Australia. Distraught Elizabeth was frequently seen standing on a railway platform “waiting for my boys to come home”.

 

Now, after her great-grandson’s campaigning for a permanent memorial to the Cranstons’ sacrifice, in their home town, Stuart Pearson is collaborating with Haddington author and historian Bob Mitchell on a book about his forebears. Stuart travelled from Australia – where the family settled after the war to present his case for a dedicated memorial and the good news is that there will indeed be a permanent memorial.

 

The tragic tale started three years before the 'war to end all wars' (in 1911) when dad Alexander died of cancer, leaving wife Elizabeth to raise their 11 surviving children. The couple’s first child, their daughter Margaret, died from burns in 1881, aged 16 months. By 1916, three of her brothers had joined her in an early grave.

 

On May 18, James, 28, died from tuberculosis contracted while training as a sapper with the Royal Engineers at Aldershot, Hampshire.

 

His brother John, (in picture) 34, was a company sergeant major in the Queen’s Own Cameron Highlanders. He died as the result of shell fire in the First Battle of the Somme on July 16. He received a posthumous Distinguished Conduct Medal for “conspicuous bravery under fire”.

 

On November 13, Royal Scots Fusiliers private Adam, 30, was listed as missing, presumed killed in action. He was one of 100,000 soldiers of the British 5th Army who marched in formation across no man’s land in the Battle of Ancre. Thousands were mown down by German machine guns.

 

The oldest brother, Royal Engineers Sergeant Alexander, 39, was posted missing, presumed killed at the Second Battle of the Somme on March 22, 1918.

 

The lives of two more enlisted Cranston brothers were changed forever by the war. William, a talented violinist, lost an eye and three fingers under fire in France in July 1916 and George, a lance corporal with the 8th Royal Scots, was so severely gassed in France in 1918 that his skin would periodically peel off for the rest of his life.

 

Only Robert, who joined the Royal Flying Corps when he turned 18, survived unhurt. He worked as ground crew far from the front. After the war, he was an aviation inspector in Australia and died from a heart attack in 1950.

Two brothers did not enlist. Andrew was rejected on health grounds. He died from TB in 1923. Angus was too young to serve but fought in World War II in the Australian army. The family emigrated to join their mum in Sydney in 1921, but tragically poor Angus suffered survivor guilt and became an alcoholic.

 

Elizabeth never recovered from her sons’ deaths and had a mental breakdown, living out her days in a mental hospital in Sydney.

 

Processed with VSCO with m5 preset

she is truly one of the most selfless, giving, patient people i know

    

To my mother....and all the mothers ....Happy Mother's Day! (May 13th)

 

**View On Black**

  

www.youtube.com/watch?v=vC-D6RLsGXY

 

Thank you for watching over me

All of the sleepless nights you lay awake

Thank you for knowing when to hold me close

when to let me go

 

Thank you for every stepping stone

And for the path that always leads me home

I thank you for the time you took

to see the heart inside of me

 

Thank you for every sunlit day

That filled the corners of my memory

Thank you for every selfless unsung deed

I know you did for me

 

Thank you for giving me the choice

To search my soul till I could find my voice

And I thank you for teaching me

To be strong enough to bend

 

You gave me the roots to start this life

And then you gave me wings to fly

And I learned to dream

Because you believed in me

 

There's no power like it on this earth

No treasure equal to its worth

The gift of a mother's love

 

I thank God for a mother's love

 

© All rights reserved Anna Kwa. Please do not use this image on websites, blogs or any other media without my explicit written permission.

Autumn mushroom picking - a beautiful wicker basket full of edible mushrooms in the Carpathian forest.

 

Free for You under CC-BY 4.0

Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International licence !!!

 

You can support my photographic artistic work by making a selfless donation of any amount to my Paypal: www.paypal.com/ncp/payment/Q88NZ4CBEJLCA

 

Thank you very much and best regards,

Andrew from ASPhotography.

Yad Vashem is Israel's official memorial to the victims of the Holocaust. It is dedicated to preserving the memory of the dead; honouring Jews who fought against their Nazi oppressors and Gentiles who selflessly aided Jews in need; and researching the phenomenon of the Holocaust in particular and genocide in general, with the aim of avoiding such events in the future.

Dedicated to all of the brave, selfless and courageous individuals who do their job to try and make the best of the worst. Heading full speed toward what everyone else is running from. To all of our First Response / Search and Rescue personnel, both paid and volunteer, front lines and behind the scenes. Thank-You!

 

www.limebluphotography.com

While we all know that building a new nest is for most species one of the rituals of spring, with the shortened season this year, perhaps some non-enterprising pair might take advantage of those that have overwintered remarkably well...such as this one. A little spit and polish and it would be good as new.

 

Maybe it might even attract those slovenly, parasitic cowbirds who merrily sing their breeding songs while waiting for their cousins to industriously build a nest into which they might slip an egg or two. But I guess not, because then they might have to raise them. Last summer, I watched the spectacle of a tiny finch working diligently and selflessly to raise and support a cowbird twice its size. I named the cowbird Mitt.

Behind everything is your ego: "I, I, I, I." But in seva (Selfless Service) there is no "I," because it has to be done for someone else. It is for the need of the time, or surrounding people, that you do it. I was so amazed to see the seva bhaav in people at Golden Temple.

Happy Gurunanak Jayanti to all of you..!

 

This is an out-of-focus bokeh of Golden Temple, Amritsar. Taken during the Diwali Celebration

Those who have given the last, full measure. Politically or philosophically, we can disagree, but we cannot deny their courage, devotion and selflessness. Fort Rosecrans National Cemetery.

I wanted to create a series a raw images that would showcase the work of my BFF LouLou Teichmann. She selflessly took much time and love to transform my bare sim into a winter wonderland. Unfortuantely, I don't think I could ever take enough shots to show all the ornate detail in every area my home. I figured I will would take a small set of pics each day, just to cover my favorites spots. Thank you, LouLou!!! I love you <3

Weekly random pics

View On Black

 

Photographed at the entrance of the Seal Museum. The National Navy UDT-SEAL Museum is the only museum dedicated solely to preserving the history and heritage of the Navy SEALs and their predecessors. Located in Fort Pierce, Florida, the birthplace of the Navy Frogman. Museum contains an incredible number of exhibits. All displays, except one, have been involved in coombat or the planning thereof. The lighting is subdued and green as if one were seeing through night goggles.

We're here to honor to remember the sacrifice these artists have made in honor of G-d, as the g-d's opponents in re-creation of the odd universe. We're here today to honor these "revels with unknown cause" to remember their achievements and their dedication, and to say thank you for what they did. Thinking of the great egoists who join us today only in spirit.

They possessed pride, determination, selflessness, dedication to their minds' sickness - all the qualities needed to serve rich bastards as themselves.

Today, people throughout the world will gather together to remember and to pay gratitude to those famous artists who have served the "top of the social pyramid" and "money bags"... they were one small spark that created a flame that will burn to the ground not only human achievements, but all the harmony created by G-d himself smile emoticon

The real artist's enormous dedication in the past creates a new under-educated and brainwashed "majority" drowning our planet's beauty in its own negative reflection.

One small way we can honor those who have made the ultimate sacrifice so that we can live in freedom of thought lies within our Paul Jaisini's presence here today, and that of the people gathering across the world, is a homage to those who created Paul Jaisini's presence.

From the spirits of those pioneering fine art, who shivered and starved through the winter in the muddy trenches of 19th century France, to the young new-thinking artists following the Messiah of the future...

It is a way to say: we are ready, Paul Jaisini!

it made me smile n nostalgic.

gain an understanding, become selfless and you will find freedom

If there's something strange in your neighbourhood

Who you gonna call? (Ghostbusters)

If there's something weird

And it don't look good

Who you gonna call? (Ghostbusters)

 

Gavin Williams, the British Defence Secretary (in the picture on the right), has just redefined the UK's military strategy in the post-Brexit world (on the left). "When the world needs leadership", he said, people ought to turn to the UK. Hello world, do you want to be British again? Want to be guided by the selfless saviour from London? Who you gonna call?

7Artisans manual lens at F16; 16mm macro extension tube; edited in Fujifilm's raw converter and refined in Luminar.

"I, the prisoner in the Lord, implore you to lead a life worthy of your vocation. Bear with one another charitably, in complete selflessness, gentleness and patience. Do all you can to preserve the unity of the Spirit by the peace that binds you together. There is one Body, one Spirit, just as you were all called into one and the same hope when you were called. There is one Lord, one faith, one baptism, and one God who is Father of all, over all, through all and within all."

– Ephesians 4:1-6, which is today's 2nd reading at Mass.

 

Mosaic from the Stanford Memorial Chapel in California.

St. Marguerite Bourgeoys, Founder - Feast: January 19th

 

French-Canadian foundress of the "Congregation of Notre Dame". She poured out her soul in selfless service to God, through the education of poor and illiterate native-Canadians. She died in 1700 and was Canonized in 1982. May she intercede for our personal needs and the needs of the entire Church.

 

Photo: Theca w/a fragment of her bone, "Des Ossements".

Selflessness is the sign of the selfless;

Bow down at the door of the selfless.

The selfless are of the highest authority,

The kings of the time and the wearers of the crest and crown.

Weekly random pics

Something from a while back, I wasn't too happy with my initial edit so took me a while to get round to re-doing it.

 

I also had to run away from the farmer coming over the hill half naked which was fun.

Ok the second 2 last pic of this photo shoot

Btw I her ends look really fried in this pic but there not fried at all

Song: Someone Else by miley cyrus

Sometimes, i tend to forget about the middle way between:

selfless compassion ~ sacrificing your happiness and yourself for the sake of others and

selfish compassion ~ caring only about yourself and forgetting about others

Middle way ~ to focus on the relationship you have and that is to see what lies between us, what unite us.

 

Honestly, i tend to lean a little towards selfless compassion and it sometimes drain up a lot of my energy. But thankfully, i have my amazing mister to constantly remind me, to show me and to push me back into balance in our relationship. I am reminded again that in any relationship, there is something bigger than me or you. We tend to forget to look at the bigger picture of what lies between us, what unite us ~ it is US, the love, the cooperation and to see more than our difference.

 

My sweet little new Forty Winks Doll Studio girl, Grace a Hollywood Blythe custom, and her friends were having fun trying to showcase this balance between Miss Mushroom representing selfless compassion and Miss Pink Kitty representing selfish compassion.

Sofia : "Grace, you are not balancing Miss Mushroom and Miss Pink Kitty at all!"

Grace: "That is why i am practicing."

We are always practicing to be a better person, to cooperate with each other and to see something more than our difference.

 

Hope you're well out there.

Back to work ~ making progress on my second knitted hat

Love to you and yours.

.... Henry Norman Bethune ( March 4, 1890 – November 12, 1939 ); Chinese: 白求恩; pinyin: Bái Qiú'ēn) was a Canadian physician, medical innovator, and noted anti-fascist. Bethune came to international prominence first for his service as a frontline surgeon supporting the democratically elected Republican government during the Spanish Civil War. But it was his service with the Communist Eighth Route Army during the Second Sino-Japanese War that would earn him enduring acclaim. Dr. Bethune effectively brought modern medicine to rural China and often treated sick villagers as much as wounded soldiers. His selfless commitment made a profound impression on the Chinese people, especially CPC's leader, Mao Zedong. The chairman wrote a famous eulogy to him, which was memorized by generations of Chinese people ....

“What Does It Take To Be A Man?"

 

Recording of this Song by Boston:

www.youtube.com/watch?v=uL8Nh_1mTv0

 

"What does it take to be a man?

What does it take to see it’s a heart and soul,

a gentle hand?

So easy to want and so hard to give.

How can you be a man until you see beyond the life you live?

Oh what does it take to be a man?

 

We can be blind, but a man tries to see.

It takes tenderness for a man

to be what he can be.

 

And what does it mean if you’re weak or strong?

A gentle feeling can make it right or make it wrong.

What does it take to be a man?

 

The will to give and not receive.

The strength to say what you believe.

The heart to feel what others feel inside.

To see what they can see.

 

A man is somethin’ that’s real.

It’s not what you are,

It’s what you can feel.

It can’t be too late

To look through the hate and see.

I know that’s what a man can be."

 

By T. Scholz, 1986

From Boston’s Album: Third Stage

 

I went through an old box of Narayan’s cd’s today and found this one on top. Narayan loved the song “Amanda” but when I played the album, I felt really drawn to another track. It reminds me of him and the deeper qualities Narayan emulated. He was someone who could bring out the best in others around him. I know my dad and my brother were profoundly affected by the integrity and wisdom that Nararayn shared at such a young age. My posting today is to uphold a vision that young men may find the truth of who they are within themselves and build a much more powerful and just world. It was definitely a vision Narayan felt very strongly about…

 

NO Self promotion by Image / HTML or WEB Link

NO Faves With out Comments plz,

Doing such act might cause you A Block from Me

Only Appreciation. Critics . comments Faves, Notes , Blog it And Own Comments are welcome and NO Round Up Comments plz !!

Take Some time with me to share your feelings here,

____________________

,

 

824917012011

.

,Pay Visit to my:

 

Light Box

 

Getty Image Here

Twitter Here

Face Book Here

  

________________________

.

 

The Edit of this Photo Demands Your View In BLACK with Large size for better out put, Plz Press L for Black

 

___________________________

  

Description

The wonderful sun set sometime may not always and with every one , travel from past to present , and following the future. The sensational mood shall depend on the place and the environment of which the sunset made an image in a human mind.

 

Even with to an honesty to corruption [ here corruption mens with environmental injustice] everyone has different feelings during a twilight at different place even at the same place by different person,

I noticed b4 , the birds enjoying twilight in this Horizon When Time Truned Away [সূয্য ডুবার পালা -1] at here , and Also shown you in my photo Nature Teaches Selflessness here How rude the people with nature, still the sun is selfless to the nature .

 

No I am No More trying to contradict the ppl with nature here , My subject is Traveling through twilight [Ttt] when I see through my lens from Dhaka BANGLADESH and Shown the world flickr community here , is almost its traveled all alone the world, But One traveling from past to present through twilight is a matter of his / her understanding to the climax in his life cycle, Climax in his relationship, and a climax through the age and age over and over !!! .

 

Let there be Light and twilight in every human mind and travel Through be past , present or Future,

  

______________________

Thanks In Advance for not Inviting me to any Group and Attaching Graphics to this picture as a part of your comments, I appreciate you to view my photo , click Faves and write your comments instead you copy pest your comment to me.

 

Press F to Faves This Photo

  

-Please don't use or alter this image on websites, blogs or any other media without my explicit permission. © All rights reserved,

NORTH HOLLYWOOD - The selfless efforts of an a observant plumber and other motorists helped save the life of a despondent teen precariously perched on a Hollywood (SR170) Freeway overpass on December 28, 2012. © Photo by Mike Meadows

 

LAFD.ORG | Blog | Facebook | Twitter @LAFD @LAFDtalk

The Postcard

 

A postally unused postcard that was printed in England by Fincom Holdings Ltd. The photography was by Bryn Colton, and the card has a divided back.

 

The Wedding of Prince Charles and Lady Diana Spencer

 

The wedding of Prince Charles and Lady Diana Spencer took place on Wednesday 29th. July 1981 at St Paul's Cathedral in London. The groom was the heir to the British throne, and the bride was a member of the Spencer family.

 

The ceremony was a traditional Church of England wedding service. The Dean of St Paul's Cathedral Alan Webster presided at the service, and the Archbishop of Canterbury Robert Runcie conducted the marriage.

 

Notable figures in attendance included many members of other royal families, republican heads of state, and members of the bride's and groom's families. After the ceremony, the couple made the traditional appearance on the balcony of Buckingham Palace.

 

The United Kingdom had a national holiday on that day to mark the wedding. The ceremony featured many ceremonial aspects, including use of the state carriages and roles for the Foot Guards and Household Cavalry.

 

Their marriage was widely billed as a 'Fairytale Wedding' and the 'Wedding of the Century'. It was watched by an estimated global TV audience of 750 million people.

 

Events were held around the Commonwealth to mark the wedding. Many street parties were held throughout the United Kingdom to celebrate the occasion.

 

The couple separated in 1992, and divorced in 1996 after fifteen years of marriage.

 

The Tragic Death of Diana, Princess of Wales

 

Diana, Princess of Wales died after a high-speed car crash at the age of 36 on the 31st. August 1997 at the Pitié-Salpêtrière Hospital in Paris.

 

When Diana married Charles, she was a naïve yet hopeful young woman seeking true love. But by the time she died, Diana was jaded, bitter, and impossibly scarred by her disastrous marriage and being hounded by the media.

 

Twenty years after Princess Diana's funeral, people recall the iconic moments, from the sea of flowers and mementos left outside Kensington Palace to the heart-breaking image of Prince William and Prince Harry walking behind their mother's casket.

 

Diana’s younger brother Charles, the ninth Earl Spencer, held nothing back during his funeral oration. Funeral attendees may have been expecting a tearful remembrance of Diana’s life. Instead, they felt the full brunt of her brother’s fury at those he felt were responsible for her death.

 

In paying tribute to his sister, the 9th Earl Spencer reportedly angered the Queen and created a rift in the royal family that has only begun to heal in recent years with the births of Prince George and Princess Charlotte.

 

What Charles Spencer said in Westminster Abbey is as follows:

 

Charles Spencer's Funeral Speech

 

'I stand before you today, the representative of a family in grief in a country in mourning before a world in shock.

 

We are all united not only in our desire to pay our respects to Diana but rather in our need to do so.

 

For such was her extraordinary appeal that the tens of millions of people taking part in this service all over the world via television and radio who never actually met her, feel that they too lost someone close to them in the early hours of Sunday morning. It is a more remarkable tribute to Diana than I can ever hope to offer her today.

 

Diana was the very essence of compassion, of duty, of style, of beauty. All over the world she was a symbol of selfless humanity. All over the world, a standard bearer for the rights of the truly downtrodden, a very British girl who transcended nationality. Someone with a natural nobility who was classless and who proved in the last year that she needed no royal title to continue to generate her particular brand of magic.

 

Today is our chance to say thank you for the way you brightened our lives, even though God granted you but half a life. We will all feel cheated always that you were taken from us so young, and yet we must learn to be grateful that you came along at all. Only now that you are gone do we truly appreciate what we are now without, and we want you to know that life without you is very, very difficult.

 

We have all despaired at our loss over the past week and only the strength of the message you gave us through your years of giving has afforded us the strength to move forward.

 

There is a temptation to rush to canonise your memory, there is no need to do so. You stand tall enough as a human being of unique qualities not to need to be seen as a saint. Indeed to sanctify your memory would be to miss out on the very core of your being, your wonderfully mischievous sense of humour with a laugh that bent you double.

 

Your joy for life transmitted where ever you took your smile and the sparkle in those unforgettable eyes. Your boundless energy which you could barely contain.

 

But your greatest gift was your intuition, and it was a gift you used wisely. This is what underpinned all your other wonderful attributes and if we look to analyse what it was about you that had such a wide appeal, we find it in your instinctive feel for what was really important in all our lives.

 

Without your God-given sensitivity we would be immersed in greater ignorance at the anguish of AIDS and H.I.V. sufferers, the plight of the homeless, the isolation of lepers, the random destruction of landmines.

 

Diana explained to me once that it was her innermost feelings of suffering that made it possible for her to connect with her constituency of the rejected. And here we come to another truth about her. For all the status, the glamour, the applause, Diana remained throughout a very insecure person at heart, almost childlike in her desire to do good for others so she could release herself from deep feelings of unworthiness of which her eating disorders were merely a symptom.

 

The world sensed this part of her character and cherished her for her vulnerability whilst admiring her for her honesty.

 

The last time I saw Diana was on July the 1st., her birthday in London, when typically she was not taking time to celebrate her special day with friends but was guest of honour at a special charity fund-raising evening. She sparkled of course, but I would rather cherish the days I spent with her in March when she came to visit me and my children in our home in South Africa. I am proud of the fact apart from when she was on display meeting President Mandela we managed to contrive to stop the ever-present paparazzi from getting a single picture of her -- that meant a lot to her.

 

These were days I will always treasure. It was as if we had been transported back to our childhood when we spent such an enormous amount of time together -- the two youngest in the family.

 

Fundamentally she had not changed at all from the big sister who mothered me as a baby, fought with me at school and endured those long train journeys between our parents' homes with me at weekends.

 

It is a tribute to her level-headedness and strength that despite the most bizarre-like life imaginable after her childhood, she remained intact, true to herself.

 

There is no doubt that she was looking for a new direction in her life at this time. She talked endlessly of getting away from England, mainly because of the treatment that she received at the hands of the newspapers. I don't think she ever understood why her genuinely good intentions were sneered at by the media, why there appeared to be a permanent quest on their behalf to bring her down. It is baffling. My own and only explanation is that genuine goodness is threatening to those at the opposite end of the moral spectrum. It is a point to remember that of all the ironies about Diana, perhaps the greatest was this -- a girl given the name of the ancient goddess of hunting was, in the end, the most hunted person of the modern age.

 

She would want us today to pledge ourselves to protecting her beloved boys William and Harry from a similar fate and I do this here Diana on your behalf. We will not allow them to suffer the anguish that used regularly to drive you to tearful despair.

 

And beyond that, on behalf of your mother and sisters, I pledge that we, your blood family, will do all we can to continue the imaginative and loving way in which you were steering these two exceptional young men so that their souls are not simply immersed by duty and tradition, but can sing openly as you planned.

 

We fully respect the heritage into which they have both been born and will always respect and encourage them in their royal role. But we, like you, recognise the need for them to experience as many different aspects of life as possible to arm them spiritually and emotionally for the years ahead. I know you would have expected nothing less from us.

 

William and Harry, we all cared desperately for you today. We are all chewed up with the sadness at the loss of a woman who was not even our mother. How great your suffering is, we cannot even imagine.

 

I would like to end by thanking God for the small mercies he has shown us at this dreadful time. For taking Diana at her most beautiful and radiant and when she had joy in her private life. Above all we give thanks for the life of a woman I am so proud to be able to call my sister, the unique, the complex, the extraordinary and irreplaceable Diana whose beauty, both internal and external, will never be extinguished from our minds'.

 

Anne, Princess Royal

 

Anne, Princess Royal, was born Anne Elizabeth Alice Louise on the 15th. August 1950. She is the second child and only daughter of Queen Elizabeth II and Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh, and the only sister of King Charles III.

 

Anne is 16th. in the line of succession to the British throne, and has been Princess Royal since 1987.

 

The Princess Royal's ancestry can be traced as far back as Cerdic, King of Wessex (519–534).

 

Born at Clarence House, Anne was educated at Benenden School and began undertaking royal duties upon reaching adulthood.

 

She became a respected equestrian, winning one gold medal in 1971 and two silver medals in 1975 at the European Eventing Championships.

 

In 1976, she became the first member of the British royal family to compete in the Olympic Games. In 1988, the Princess Royal became a member of the International Olympic Committee (IOC).

 

The Princess Royal performs official duties and engagements on behalf of her brother, the King. She holds patronage of over 300 organisations, including WISE, Riders for Health, and Carers Trust.

 

Her charity work revolves around sport, sciences, people with disabilities, and health in developing countries. She has been associated with Save the Children for over fifty years, and has visited a number of their projects.

 

Anne married Captain Mark Phillips in 1973; they separated in 1989 and divorced in 1992. They have two children, Peter Phillips and Zara Tindall, and five grandchildren.

 

Within months of her divorce, Anne married Commander (later Vice Admiral) Sir Timothy Laurence, whom she had met while he served as her mother's equerry between 1986 and 1989.

 

Princess Anne - The Early Years

 

Anne was born during the reign of her maternal grandfather, King George VI, at Clarence House on the 15th. August 1950 at 11:50 am, the second child and only daughter of Princess Elizabeth, Duchess of Edinburgh, later Queen Elizabeth II from 1952, and Philip, Duke of Edinburgh.

 

A 21-gun salute in Hyde Park signalled the birth. Anne was christened in the Music Room of Buckingham Palace on the 21st. October 1950 by the Archbishop of York, Cyril Garbett.

 

At the time of her birth, Anne was third in the line of succession to the British throne, behind her mother – at that time Princess Elizabeth – and older brother, Charles. She rose to second after her mother's accession; she is currently 16th in line.

 

A governess, Catherine Peebles, was appointed to look after Anne and her other siblings, Charles, Andrew, and Edward, and was responsible for her early education at Buckingham Palace. After the death of George VI in February 1952, Anne's mother ascended the throne as Queen Elizabeth II.

 

Given her young age at the time, Anne did not attend the coronation in June 1953.

 

A Girl Guides company, the 1st. Buckingham Palace Company to include the Holy Trinity Brompton Brownie pack, was re-formed in May 1959, specifically so that, as her mother and aunt had done as children, Anne could socialise with girls her own age.

 

The company was active until 1963, when Anne went to boarding school. Anne enrolled at Benenden School in 1963. In 1968, she left school with six GCE O-Levels and two A-Levels. She began to undertake royal engagements in 1969, at the age of 18.

 

In 1970, she briefly had a relationship with Andrew Parker Bowles, who later married Camilla Shand. Shand much later married Anne's brother Charles as his second wife. Anne was also briefly linked to Olympic equestrian Richard Meade.

 

Princess Anne's Equestrianism

 

In spring 1971, Princess Anne finished fourth at the Rushall Horse Trials. At age 21, Anne won the individual title at the European Eventing Championship, and was voted the BBC Sports Personality of the Year in 1971.

 

She also rode winners in horse racing, competing in the Grand Military Steeplechase at Sandown Park Racecourse and Diamond Stakes at Royal Ascot.

 

For more than five years, Anne also competed with the British eventing team, with her home-bred horse, Doublet suffering an injury during the 1972 Badminton Horse Trials, and winning a silver medal in both individual and team disciplines in the 1975 European Eventing Championship.

 

The following year, Anne participated in the 1976 Olympic Games in Montreal as a member of the British team, riding the Queen's horse, Goodwill, in Eventing.

 

Anne suffered a concussion halfway through the course, but remounted and finished the event; she has stated she cannot remember making the rest of the jumps. The British team had to pull out of the competition after two horses were injured.

 

Anne finished sixth at the Badminton Horse Trials in 1979.

 

In 1985, she rode in a charity horse race at the Epsom Derby, finishing fourth. Anne became President of the Fédération Équestre Internationale from 1986 until 1994.

 

On the 5th. February 1987, she became the first member of the royal family to appear as a contestant on a television quiz show when she competed on the BBC panel game A Question of Sport.

 

The princess has been a patron of the Riding for the Disabled Association since 1971, and became its president in 1985, a position she still holds.

 

Princess Anne's Marriages and Children

 

-- Marriage to Mark Phillips

 

Anne met Mark Phillips, a lieutenant in the 1st. Queen's Dragoon Guards, in 1968 at a party for horse lovers. Their engagement was announced on the 29th. May 1973.

 

On the 14th. November 1973, the couple married at Westminster Abbey in a televised ceremony, with an estimated audience of 100 million. They subsequently took up residence at Gatcombe Park.

 

As was customary for untitled men marrying into the royal family, Phillips was offered an earldom, which he declined; consequently their children were born without titles. Anne and her husband had two children: Peter (born 1977) and Zara Phillips (born 1981). Anne and Phillips have five grandchildren.

 

On the 31st. August 1989, Anne and Phillips announced their intention to separate; the couple had been rarely seen in public together, and both were romantically linked with other people.

 

They shared custody of their children, and initially announced that there were no plans for divorce. However, on the 13th. April 1992 the Palace announced that Anne had filed for divorce, which was finalised ten days later.

 

-- Marriage to Sir Timothy Laurence

 

Anne met Vice Admiral Sir Timothy Laurence, a commander in the Royal Navy, while he was serving on the Royal Yacht Britannia. Their relationship developed in early 1989, three years after he was appointed as an equerry to the Queen.

 

In 1989, the existence of private letters from Laurence to the Princess was revealed by The Sun newspaper. The couple married at Crathie Kirk near Balmoral Castle in Scotland, on the 12th. December 1992.

 

Approximately 30 guests were invited for the private marriage service. Unlike the Church of England at the time, the Church of Scotland permitted the remarriage of divorced persons under certain circumstances.

 

Anne became the first royal divorcée to remarry since Princess Victoria Melita of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha, granddaughter of Queen Victoria.

 

For the wedding ceremony, Anne wore a white jacket over a demure, cropped-to-the-knee dress and a spray of white flowers in her hair. Her engagement ring was made of a cabochon sapphire flanked by three small diamonds on each side.

 

Following the marriage service, the couple and guests headed to Craigowan Lodge for a private reception. Laurence received no peerage.

 

The Kidnapping Attempt

 

On the 20th. March 1974, Princess Anne and Mark Phillips were returning to Buckingham Palace from a charity event when a Ford Escort forced their Princess IV car to stop on the Mall.

 

The driver of the Escort, Ian Ball, jumped out and began firing a pistol. Inspector James Beaton, Anne's personal police officer, exited the car to shield her and to try to disarm Ball.

 

Beaton's firearm, a Walther PPK, jammed, and he was shot by Ball, as was Anne's chauffeur, Alex Callender, when he tried to disarm Ball. Brian McConnell, a nearby tabloid journalist, also intervened, and was shot in the chest.

 

Ball approached Anne's car and told her that he intended to kidnap her and hold her for ransom, the sum given by varying sources as £2 million or £3 million, which he claimed he intended to give to the National Health Service.

 

Ball told Anne to get out of the car, to which she replied, "Not bloody likely!" She reportedly briefly considered hitting Ball.

 

Eventually, she exited the other side of the limousine, as had her lady-in-waiting, Rowena Brassey. A passing pedestrian, a former boxer named Ron Russell, punched Ball and led Anne away from the scene.

 

At that point, Police Constable Michael Hills happened upon the scene; he too was shot by Ball, but he had already called for police backup. Detective Constable Peter Edmonds answered, gave chase, and finally arrested Ball.

 

Beaton, Hills, Callender, and McConnell were hospitalised, and recovered from their wounds. For his defence of Princess Anne, Beaton was awarded the George Cross by the Queen, who was visiting Indonesia when the incident occurred.

 

Hills and Russell were awarded the George Medal, and Callender, McConnell, and Edmonds were awarded the Queen's Gallantry Medal.

 

It was widely reported that the Queen paid off Russell's mortgage, but this is not true. Russell said in 2020 that a police officer suggested that it might happen, so he stopped paying his mortgage in anticipation, and nearly had his house repossessed after four months.

 

Anne visited Beaton in hospital and thanked him for his assistance. In 1983, she spoke about the event on Parkinson, saying she was scrupulously polite to Ball as she thought it would be 'silly to be too rude at that stage'.

 

Beaton, who had been Anne's sole bodyguard, later said about royal security:

 

"I had nothing… There was no back-up

vehicle. The training was non-existent;

but then again, we thought nothing was

going to happen.

They are highly specialised now, highly

trained."

 

Immediately after the attack, the use of only a single protection officer was stopped, and the Walther PPK pistol was replaced.

 

Ball pleaded guilty to attempted murder and kidnapping. As of September 2022, he was still detained under the Mental Health Act at Broadmoor Hospital, having been diagnosed with schizophrenia.

 

The attempted kidnapping of Princess Anne was the focus of the Granada Television-produced docudrama To Kidnap a Princess (2006) and inspired story lines in Tom Clancy's novel Patriot Games.

 

Activities

 

Anne undertakes a number of duties and engagements on behalf of the sovereign. Kevin S. MacLeod, the then Canadian Secretary to the Queen, said of Anne in 2014:

 

"Her credo is, 'Keep me busy. I'm here

to work. I'm here to do good things.

I'm here to meet as many people as

possible'."

 

It was reported in December 2017 that the Princess Royal had undertaken the most official engagements that year out of all the royal family, her mother the Queen included. Among her royal visits, the Princess has toured Norway, Jamaica, Germany, Austria, New Zealand, and Australia.

 

Anne's first public engagement was at the opening of an educational and training centre in Shropshire in 1969. Anne travels abroad on behalf of the United Kingdom up to three times a year.

 

She began to undertake overseas visits upon leaving secondary school, and accompanied her parents on a state visit to Austria in the same year.

 

Her first tour of Australia was with her parents in 1970, since when she has returned many times to undertake official engagements as a colonel-in-chief of an Australian regiment, or to attend memorials and services such as the National Memorial Service for victims of the Black Saturday bushfires in Melbourne on the 22nd. February 2009.

 

In 1990 she was the first member of the royal family to make an official visit to the Soviet Union when she went there as a guest of President Mikhail Gorbachev and his government.

 

Anne is involved with over 200 charities and organisations in an official capacity. She works extensively for Save the Children, serving as president from 1970 to 2017, and has been patron since 2017. Anne has visited the organisation's projects in Bangladesh, Sierra Leone, South Africa, Mozambique, Ethiopia, and Bosnia and Herzegovina.

 

As a result of her work, she was nominated for the Nobel Peace Prize in 1990 by Kenneth Kaunda, President of Zambia.

 

She initiated The Princess Royal Trust for Carers in 1991.

 

Anne is the patron of Transaid, a charity which aims to provide safe and sustainable transport in developing countries. She is also the royal patron of WISE, an organisation that encourages young women to pursue careers in science, engineering and construction.

 

Her extensive work for St. John Ambulance as Commandant-in-Chief of St. John Ambulance Cadets has helped to develop many young people, as she annually attends the Grand Prior Award Reception.

 

Anne is patron of St. Andrew's First Aid. She is a British representative in the International Olympic Committee as an administrator, and was a member of the London Organising Committee for the Olympic Games. She also serves as president of the British Olympic Association.

 

She was president of BAFTA from 1973 to 2001. In 1985 she became president of the Riding for the Disabled Association after serving as their patron for fourteen years.

 

In 1986 she was appointed Master of the Worshipful Company of Carmen. She maintains a relationship with student sport, and is the patron of British Universities and Colleges Sport.

 

Anne has been patron of the Royal National Children's Foundation since 2002 and the Industrial Heritage Museum since 2016.

 

Following the retirement of the Queen Mother in 1981, Anne was elected by graduates of the University of London as the Chancellor, and has been in the position since that year.

 

Throughout May 1996, Anne served as Her Majesty's High Commissioner to the General Assembly of the Church of Scotland, and held the post again in 2017.

 

In 2007, she was appointed by the Queen as Grand Master of the Royal Victorian Order, a position her grandmother had also held.

 

Anne is a Royal Fellow of the Royal Society, and the Academy of Medical Sciences. Royal Fellows are members of the royal family who are recommended and elected by the Society's Council.

 

Anne was elected Chancellor of the University of Edinburgh effective 31st. March 2011, succeeding her father, who stepped down from the role in 2010. Likewise, she accepted in 2011 the roles of president of City and Guilds of London Institute, Master of the Corporation of Trinity House, and president of the Royal Society of Arts, also in succession to her father.

 

Anne has been the president of the Commonwealth Study Conference, an initiative founded by her father. She is also patron of the Royal College of Occupational Therapists, Royal College of Midwives, Magpas Air Ambulance, Edinburgh University's Royal School of Veterinary Studies, Royal Holloway, University of London, International Students House, London, Acid Survivors Trust International, Townswomen's Guilds, Citizens Advice, and the Royal Edinburgh Military Tattoo.

 

Anne represented Great Britain in the International Olympic Committee at the 2014 Sochi Winter Olympics in Russia. In August 2016, she returned to the country to visit the Russian city of Arkhangelsk for the 75th. anniversary of Operation Dervish, which was one of the first Arctic convoys of World War II.

 

In September 2016, the Princess had a chest infection and was required to cancel official engagements. In late October 2016, she visited the Malaysian state of Sarawak for a two-day study tour.

 

In 2017, she became Prime Warden of the Worshipful Company of Fishmongers and a Governor of Gresham's School.

 

In 2021, Anne became patron of Mercy Ships, an international charity that operates the largest non-governmental hospital ships in the world.

 

In April 2022, Anne and her husband toured Australia and Papua New Guinea to mark the Queen's Platinum Jubilee. In the same year, Anne was named honorary chair of National Lighthouse Museum's Illuminating Future Generations campaign, a project aimed at raising funds for the museum's gallery space.

 

On the 12th. September 2022, in St Giles' Cathedral, Edinburgh, Anne became the first woman to participate in a Vigil of the Princes, guarding her mother's coffin. This was repeated at Westminster Hall on the 16th. September.

 

It was later revealed that she had been the informant at her mother's death at Balmoral, a witness who signs, along with the doctor, the death certificate.

 

Princess Anne's Public Image and Style

 

Anne has been called the royal family's "trustiest anchor" and a "beacon of good, old-fashioned public service", having carried out over 20,000 engagements since her 18th. birthday.

 

In her early adulthood, she was cited as a "royal renegade" for choosing to forgo titles for her children despite being the "spare to the heir".

 

The media often called the young Anne "aloof" and "haughty", giving her the nickname "her royal rudeness".

 

She spurred controversy for telling photographers to "naff off" at the Badminton Horse Trials in 1982. Vanity Fair wrote that:

 

"Anne has a reputation for having

inherited her father's famously

sharp tongue and waspish wit".

 

Of her early public role, Anne has said:

 

"It's not just about 'can I get a tick in the box

for doing this?' No, it's about serving…It took

me probably 10 years before I really felt

confident enough to contribute to Save the

Children's public debates because you needed

to understand how it works on the ground, and

that needed a very wide coverage. So my early

trips were really important."

 

Anne remains one of Britain's most popular royals. Telegraph Editor Camilla Tominey called her a "national treasure", writing that she is "hailed as one of the great English eccentrics", whose work ethic contributes to her regard.

 

Tominey wrote that Anne's public role is:

 

"A contradiction of both protocol

taskmaster and occasional rule-

breaker".

 

Reportedly, Anne insists on doing her own make-up and hair, and drives herself to engagements, having pleaded guilty to two separate speeding fines on account of being late.

 

She does not shake hands with the public during walkabouts, saying:

 

"The theory was that you couldn't

shake hands with everybody, so

don't start."

 

Members of the public have seen her mending fences at Gatcombe Park, and queuing up for the Portaloos at her daughter's horse competitions.

 

Her reputation is also coupled with her advocacy for causes out of the mainstream, such as Wetwheels Foundation's commitment to accessible sailing and the National Lighthouse Museum.

 

On her 60th. and 70th. birthdays, the BBC and Vanity Fair both asked whether she would retire, and she denied it both times, citing her parents' example as well as her commitment to her royal duties.

 

Anne's public personality has been described as "not suffering fools lightly" while maintaining a "still-impressive level of grace and courtesy".

 

British Vogue editor Edward Enninful has said that:

 

"Princess Anne is a true style icon

and was all about sustainable fashion

before the rest of us really knew what

that meant".

 

Her style has been noted for its timelessness; she relies almost solely on British fashion brands, with tweed and tailored suits as her hallmarks.

 

She is known for recycling outfits, such as her floral-print dress worn both to the wedding of the Prince of Wales in 1981 and the wedding of Lady Rose Windsor in 2008.

 

Anne is the patron of the U.K. Fashion and Textile Association. She has been noted for wearing "bold patterns and vibrant pops of colour".

 

Her style choices often reflect her equestrian interests as well as the practicality of her fast-paced schedule.

 

In the 1970's and 1980's, she was often photographed wearing trends such as puff sleeves, cardigans, bright floral patterns, and multicoloured stripes. Anne is also one of the few women in the royal family to wear a military uniform.

 

According to The Guardian, she is rarely seen without a brooch during royal events. Her millinery styles have included jockey caps and hats of multiple colours and bold patterns.

 

She presented the Queen Elizabeth II award for British design at London Fashion Week in 2020.

 

Anne has appeared on three British Vogue covers; after first appearing on the 1971 September issue at age 21, she also featured in the May and November 1973 issues, commemorating her engagement to Mark Phillips. She was featured in the cover story for the May 2020 issue of Vanity Fair.

 

Anne is the first member of the royal family to have been convicted of a criminal offence. In November 2002, she pleaded guilty to one charge of having a dog dangerously out of control, an offence under the Dangerous Dogs Act 1991, and was fined £500.

The forces of Justice and selflessness that are seldom ever found among us create heroes unlike any that have ever existed, the make them more then men, they make them gods among us. To stop all tyranny that plagues are planet and save the innocent from the destructive nature of evil.

Batman; one of the three original founders of the league, he is one of the most intelligent men on the planet and always has a few tricks up his sleeve, some that may surprise. He funds the league with the money he gains from Wayne Enterprises and uses it to build the Watchtower and keep it with all the advancements of modern day discoveries. The dark justice that lives in all of us is what created the Batman, a man who will not kill, the mortal who can take down gods and always knows what is going on. Batman is the brain of the league and often leads the league into battle and uses his well thought out plans to save countless lives.

Superman; another of the original founding three, Superman is the hero that the public knows all to well. He is said to embody all that is good to us and will seek what is right for the world that has adopted him, coming from a dying planet the son of Krypton defends his new home from any villainy among its people or those who seek to destroy from outside the world. Superman is the voice of the league and keeps the public from holding resentment to the heroes and does whatever he can to ease tension in an uneasy situation.

Wonder Woman; the last of the three founding members, Wonder Woman comes from an island hidden from the rest of the world known to few as Themyscira, home of the Amazons. Enhanced with the powers of her own race and the sacred armour she possess Wonder Woman enters man's world in hopes to better it and stop conflict from destroying it. Wonder Woman is the reasoning of the League, she often shows the true statement in times of need and keeps her head down and on the objective and though she is a little arrogant and new to the world around her she is a true hero at heart.

Green Lantern; the first human to possess the green ring of will, Hal Jordan keeps his home world safe as well as sector 28114 that he is assigned to by the Guardians. He was chosen to bear the ring from the dying alien Abin Sur and was propelled into the legendary Green Lantern corps, an intergalactic police force entrusted to uphold the law in all of the universe. Hal Jordan showed some of the greatest will in all of the Lanterns history, which gives him power among the corps, perhaps being a little brash and self absorbed, Hal Jordan has kept himself to the side of good and has saved the earth multiple times from oncoming danger. Hal is the Will of the League and is the one that keeps them going in times of need.

Flash; after a freak accident in a science lab Barry Allen was gifted with incredible speed becoming the Flash the fastest man alive and the Crimson Speedster, who protects Central City from evil talking Gorillas, living shadows, cold hearted villains and multiple fiends the Flash is light hearted and will do the right thing no matter what the cost. Flash is the spirit of the League, providing its hope when necessary and managing to give everyone a smile when it's most needed

Martian Manhunter; the last of his kind, the remaining Martian, after his brother destroyed his race with the White Martian war and the Fire Plague committing genocide which is right in his crazed mind. J'onn came to earth to stop the evil that occurred on his planet from happening to his new planet. Blending in with its people J'onn became detective John Jones in Gotham city, using the tips and leads he acquires using his telepathy. This was blown over when his brother arrived on earth attacking him and revealing himself to be a Martian to on lookers he ran in fear. He went into hiding and was found by Batman in hopes of restoring his status and using his powers to better mankind. He serves as the Leagues conscious and provides Intel when needed and acts to show the humane way to end a conflict.

Aquaman; King of the seas and of Atlantis, Arthur left the oceans to learn better of the surface dwellers and discover what they valued. Aquaman soon found the land was ridden with crime and evil, he became the hero among the oceans, Aquaman stopping those who would destroy the water and seas with his powers that he possess through Atlantian physiology and magic. Aquaman joined the league to fight along side the men of the earth and save more then just the ocean his family reside in. Aquaman is the Determination of the league and stays focused and on task, but will show flaws in plans and explains what he thinks would be a better plan of attack.

Green Arrow; Oliver Queen was inspired as a child to be a master archer as a child by Merlyn the Magician, the greatest archer who ever lived. After the man vanished Oliver trained to take his place and continue the legacy of archery. Becoming the hero of Starling City with his trick arrows and knowledge of the city he became the Green Arrow one of the greatest archers that ever lived, only second to the of a returned Merlyn, this time instead of a performer was a assassin. Green Arrow is the heart of the league, full of compassion the man would save as many lives as he can in times of worry and believes love shall keep evil at bay.

Black Canary; Dinah Lance the daughter of the original Black Canary, Dinah was inspired by her mothers stories to help those in need and began training to become the hero her mother was. Training with the likes of Wildcat and Lady Shiva, she became the Black Canary named after her mother, using the meta-gene found in neither of her parents giving her her "Canary Cry" and her expert in combat she fights alongside the league as a more human member. Black Canary is the inner mind, using her degree as a therapist she uses her knowledge of the mind to anticipate what someone of evil nature may do

Together they create the greatest team of good who shall ever exists fighting the never ending battle they are...

...

...

...

The Justice League!

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

So there's my next project complete, next I'm probably going to do scenes for each character fighting there nemesis and there may be a storyline in the works for the League and Legion.

NORTH HOLLYWOOD - The selfless efforts of an a observant plumber and other motorists helped save the life of a despondent teen precariously perched on a Hollywood (SR170) Freeway overpass on December 28, 2012. © Photo by Mike Meadows

 

LAFD.ORG | Blog | Facebook | Twitter @LAFD @LAFDtalk

This gentleman exhibits his pride for service to his country. My hat is off to veterans all over the world. What a hard job they have had! (I don't get into politics...just want to thank those who gave selflessly for their countries.)

 

EXPLORED....thank you friends!

 

..the word mother? It will mean a million different things to all of us..selflessness, hard work, joy, thankfulness..helplessness..I would not have missed the attempt to mother for the world. And to all you gorgeous young mothers out there, be gentle on yourselves, it's ok that you don't fit the yummy mummy image, in fact don't even try to, you'll find life a whole lot more real and rewarding. So put ya daggy trackie dacks on and go roll in the grass with your little one. Happy, happy mothering day;)

52 week self-portrait project (5/52)

 

Please forgive the creative license taken with the caption -- a little bit of a word play on a famous MLK quote:

 

“Every man must decide whether he will walk in the light of creative altruism or in the darkness of destructive selfishness” --MLK

 

What did y’all do on Saturday night? Me: grabbed a few strobes, light stand, tripod and headed off to the nearby prairie path. My original idea involved wardrobe change and a garbage dumpster in an unsavory part of Aurora..

 

Happy “ BIG GAME” Sunday, kids!

 

♫ ♪ ~~ Tune: M83 - “Midnight City” ~~ ♪♫ (don’t worry mate…opens in new window…click it!)

 

Strobist: Two Yongnuo YN560 - one subject left with Honl speed grid & orange gel, second strobe on ground 10’ behind camera with snoot. Cowboy Studios wireless trigger

 

Kind of better seen large

This is a Magic Lantern slide showing the view looking east towards Coventry Street and on the left, Shaftesbury Avenue. The photograph is full of detail but unfortunately the bill at the London Pavilion is indecipherable, at this time it was used for its original purpose as the West End’s Music Hall. There are two police officers walking past the London Pavilion, the one in front is a sergeant and the officer following is a police constable. The police constable is wearing the 1864 pattern tunic with eight silver buttons and no breast pockets, this pattern was replaced in 1897 with a five silver button tunic with two breast pockets. However, the clue to the date of the photograph is the low wall surrounding the Shaftesbury Memorial. The low wall was an afterthought by one of the numerous committees tasked with the erection of the Memorial, Sir. Alfred Gilbert, the sculptor of “Anteros”, the God of Selfless Love and brother of “Eros”, was against the idea and was also against the idea of a drinking fountain being incorporated. He did not attend the unveiling ceremony on 29th June 1893 and washed his hands of the project a short time later. The day after the unveiling, six of the eight drinking cups which were chained to the fountain had been stolen or damaged, this set the tone surrounding the Memorial which attracted idlers and gangs of young boys who plastered the Memorial with mud and rubbish. The London County Council provided a park keeper to keep order for several months after the unveiling. In April 1894 the Improvements Committee at the London County Council decided to remove the low wall which did not fit in with the Memorial, the work was carried out in the summer months of 1894. For one member of the public the features of “Anteros” proved a constant reminder of his youth. In April 1940 a Daily Mirror journalist, prompted by the removal of the statue because of the war, went to a Solicitor’s Office in Craven Street, just off the Strand and spoke to the solicitor’s clerk. Mr. Angelo Colarossi was the model for the statue which is now known as “Eros”, Mr. Colarossi was a sixteen-year-old assistant in the studio of Sir. Alfred Gilbert at the time of the commission and remembered long days on tip toe whilst Sir. Alfred sculpted the statue. He died in February 1949 aged 74 years, he was barely five feet tall and still had his youthful figure. My bet is that the date of the photograph is summer 1893 shortly after the unveiling, it makes sense that this most famous of London’s landmarks should have been recorded by a Magic Lantern Slide manufacturer whilst public interest was current.

“We forget that the sweetest joys are found in the simplest acts: hugs, laughter, quiet observation, basic movements, holding hands, pleasant music, shared stories, a listening ear, an unhurried visit, and selfless service. It is sad we forget a truth so elementary.”

― Richelle E. Goodrich, Making Wishes: Quotes, Thoughts, & a Little Poetry for Every Day of the Year

 

If I had my way this year I would just opt out of the entire holiday season. But, I guess I can’t. I woke up today, knowing it was

Thanksgiving and I should be counting my blessings... yes, as far as I know, I am healthy and I wake up every morning, I have a job,

2 jobs, in fact and I am thankful for friends and family. But what I was really thinking was that I would welcome the zombie apocalypse.

Yes, bring it on. It would level the playing field, take emphasis off of my own private struggles and give me the opportunity to fight side by side

with others against a common enemy. We’d all be in it together. I’d take my chances against the zombies (With or without Daryl Dixon). I’d prefer

the zombies to the bloodsuckers and soul suckers that have taken up residence in my life, and I’d have a better chance against them. I think I could outrun

them, at least for awhile. Anyway, that’s just me...

 

I was thankful to have Thanksgiving dinner with my family... thankful that both Wade and Dayna are doing well, working, have roofs over their heads and

are in good relationships with good people, and they still want to spend the holidays with me. (Yey, something went right!) And thankful to have a new face at

the Thanksgiving table, as Dayna brought her boyfriend, that she met on instagram, because he also has a Siberian Husky ... and he survived our dinner... and

photo sessions... and didn’t run screaming out into the street.

 

I’m thankful that she has someone to stand beside her, to walk beside her, and to hold her hand... because EVERYONE should have that... all of us...

And I am thankful that I still have good friends that are willing to stand with me, and listen to me, and they have not all run away... because I know that

I have not been very much fun. Eventually, I’ll get better, I think. Usually I would say to my friends... just shoot me.... please.... but with where I work now,

I probably should take that phrase out of my vocabulary. Anyway, now I am off to work ... and hopefully Dunkin Donuts is open all night... and I’ll have a chance to

walk there with my friends... and someone that will hold my hand.... even if it’s only in fun...and even if I am perfectly aware that when he hugs me or puts his arm around me...

I am really just holding him up... hey.... it’s what you do for friends!! ; ) Thank God some people can still put up with me!

 

Happy Thanksgiving! Hope it was a good one!

NORTH HOLLYWOOD - The selfless efforts of an a observant plumber and other motorists helped save the life of a despondent teen precariously perched on a Hollywood (SR170) Freeway overpass on December 28, 2012. © Photo by Mike Meadows

 

LAFD.ORG | Blog | Facebook | Twitter @LAFD @LAFDtalk

they are everywhere Oo look around, you are never safe.

like clones they come over us and kills our taste and eyes.

sad damaged faces, with wide hips to be ready to jump on

2 horses! they get you.....

try to stay your style, dude.... be strong, be you!!!

 

(thank you scar for be selfless, to save the world with your help!)

081124

 

Make my soul pause.

Squeeze the juice from my fruit,

and drink my beauty and sweetness,

 

Taste movement.

Feel the heat of selflessness,

and bath in the energy of my blood.

 

Hear the unspoken.

Connect with me on faceook: www.facebook.com/JenniferBlakeleyPhotography

Follow me on Instagram: www.Instagram.com/JenniferBlakeley

Website: www.JenniferBlakeley.com

This is a song by KCi and Jojo that I had never heard before until she gave it to me and asked me to listen to every word of it and imagine it was she who was saying this all to me. She told me she meant every word of this song, keeping me in her mind. This was her first ever dedication. This was amongst many more other proofs of her unconditional, selfless love to me.

 

I wonder how could she forget that all - without any reason, without any reason or fault involved at all!

  

I will never find another lover sweeter than you,

Sweeter than you

And I will never find another lover more precious than you

More precious than you

Girl you are

Close to me you're like my mother

Close to me you're like my father

Close to me you're like my sister

Close to me you're like my brother

You are the only one my everything and for you this song I sing

 

And all my life

I've prayed for someone like you

And I thank God that I, that I finally found you

All my life

I've prayed for someone like you

And I hope that you feel the same way too

Yes, I pray that you do love me too

 

I said you're all that I'm thinkin' of.....baby

 

Said, I promise to never fall in love with a stranger

You're all I'm thinkin' of, I praise the Lord above

For sending me your love, I cherish every hug

I really love you

 

And all my life, baby, baby, I've prayed for someone like you,

And I thank God that I, that I finally found you, baby

All my life I've prayed for someone like you

And I hope that you feel the same way too

Yes, I pray that you do love me

 

You're all that I ever known

When you smile, on my face, all I see is a glow

You turned my life around

You picked me up when I was down

You're all that I ever known

When you smile on your face all I see is a glow

You picked me up when I was down

You're all that I ever known

When you smile on your face all I see is a glow

You picked me up when I was down

And I hope that you feel the same way too

Yes I pray that you do love me too

 

All my life

I've prayed for someone like you

And I thank God that I, that I finally found you

All my life I've prayed for someone like you

Yes, I pray that you do love me too

All my life I've prayed for someone like you

And I thank God that I, that I finally found you

All my life I've prayed for someone like you

Yes, I pray that you do love me too

   

I was almost about to lose my faith

Was still dreaming but feared it was too late

But then you came along to my surprise

And stole my heart before my very eyes

  

You took me right out of the blue

Simply by showing that you love me too

Only by giving me your everything

With a love so true you took me out of the blue

 

I was wondering what love was all about

I was trying but couldn’t work it out

But then you came along to my surprise

And made my frozen mind come alive

 

You took me right out of the blue

Simply by showing that you love me too...

 

You let me out of the darkness

You brought me out in the sun

I think you must be the only one for me

’cos you took me right out of the blue

 

Simply by showing that you love me too

Only by giving me your everything

Breathing air below my wings

You took me right out of the night

Simply by filling my heart with light

Only by giving me your energy

With a love so true you took me out of the blue

“Let our souls turn into a mirror longing to reflect the essence of beauty”- Rumi

 

“Having a selfless attitude will uplift us. By helping others we are, in fact, helping ourselves. On the other hand, every time we do a selfish action, we are harming ourselves. Learn to bless everyone. Don’t ever curse anyone, because a human being is not just a bundle of flesh and blood. There is consciousness at work within everyone. That consciousness is not a separate, isolated entity; it is part of the whole, a Supreme Unity. Whatever we do is reflected in the Whole, in the one Universal Mind – and it returns to you with the same intensity. Whenever you do a good or bad action, it is reflected in the Universal Consciousness. Therefore, learn to be selfless and learn how to send blessings to everyone. Pray for everyone, because we need the support and blessings of all of Creation for our upliftment. When we pray for others the entire universe prays for us; and when we bless others the whole universe blesses us, because man is one with the cosmic energy.”—Amma, Awaken Children, Vol. VIII