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Source: en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ludwigsburg
Ludwigsburg is a city in Baden-Württemberg, Germany, about 12 kilometres (7.5 mi) north of Stuttgart city centre, near the river Neckar. It is the largest and primary city of the Ludwigsburg district with about 88,000 inhabitants. It is situated within the Stuttgart Region, and the district is part of the administrative region (Regierungsbezirk) of Stuttgart.
Source: en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ludwigsburg_Palace
Ludwigsburg Palace (Residenzschloss Ludwigsburg), also known as the "Versailles of Swabia", is a 452-room palace complex of 18 buildings located in Ludwigsburg, Baden-Württemberg, Germany. Its total area, including the gardens, is 32 ha (79 acres)—the largest palatial estate in the country. The palace has four wings: the northern wing, the Alter Hauptbau, is the oldest and was used as a ducal residence; the east and west wings were used for court purposes and housing guests and courtiers; the southern wing, the Neuer Hauptbau, was built to house more court functions and was later used as a residence.
Eberhard Louis, Duke of Württemberg, appointed Philipp Joseph Jenisch to direct the work and construction began in 1704. In 1707, Jenisch was replaced with Johann Friedrich Nette, who completed the majority of the palace and surrounding gardens. Nette died in 1714, and Donato Giuseppe Frisoni finished much of the palace facades. In the final year of construction, Eberhard Louis died and the Neue Hauptbau's interiors were left incomplete. Charles Eugene's court architect, Philippe de La Guêpière, completed and refurbished parts of the New Hauptbau in the Rococo style, especially the palace theatre. Charles Eugene abandoned the palace for Stuttgart in 1775. Duke Frederick II, later King Frederick I, began using Ludwigsburg as his summer residence in the last years of Charles Eugene's reign. Frederick and his wife Charlotte, Princess Royal, resided at Ludwigsburg and employed Nikolaus Friedrich von Thouret to renovate the palace in the Neoclassical style. Thouret converted much of Ludwigsburg's interiors over the reign of Frederick and later life of Charlotte. As a result of each architect's work, Ludwigsburg is a combination of Baroque, Rococo, Neoclassical, and Empire style architecture.
The constitutions of the Free People's State and Kingdom of Württemberg were ratified at Ludwigsburg Palace in 1919 and 1819, respectively. It was the residence for four of Württemberg's monarchs and some other members of the House of Württemberg and their families. The palace was opened to the public in 1918 and then survived World War II intact. It later underwent periods of restoration in the 1950s, 1960s, and 1990s and again for the palace's 300th anniversary in 2004. The palace had more than 350,000 visitors in 2017 and has hosted the Ludwigsburg Festival every year since 1947.
Surrounding the palace are the Blooming Baroque (Blühendes Barock) gardens, arranged in 1954 as they might have appeared in 1800. Nearby is Schloss Favorite, a hunting lodge built in 1717 by Frisoni. Within the palace are two museums operated by the Landesmuseum Württemberg dedicated to fashion and porcelain respectively.
Source: traveltips.usatoday.com/worlds-largest-pumpkin-festival-g...
The German city of Ludwigsburg hosts the largest pumpkin festival in the world, held annually from early September to November. Bringing in more than 400,000 pumpkins grown in southwest Germany, the city arranges them based on a theme that varies year by year. The festival includes more than 450 species of pumpkins, some of which are edible and others that are solely used for display purposes.
Themed Displays
The annual Ludwigsburg Pumpkin Festival has a different theme each year, with pumpkins stacked together to create shapes unique to a subject. In 2011, the pumpkin garden was transformed into a "Jurassic Park," with pumpkins arranged in the shape of dinosaurs. The 2010 festival was island-themed, featuring pumpkins arranged as an octopus, a mermaid, a lighthouse and other sea creatures. In 2012, the festival was Switzerland-themed, with pumpkins displayed to resemble the Swiss flag, livestock and the Alps. Thousands of pumpkins are stacked together to build each year's unique creations.
Food and Drink
The German festival offers an array of pumpkin-flavored dishes, including pumpkin soups, "maultaschen" (ravioli), risotto, strudel and spaghetti. Visitors can also order pumpkin-flavored sparkling wine. Previous festivals have offered various types of the gourd-like squash, including the "Blue Banana," the "Speckled Hound," the "Little Blue Hungarian" and the "Japanese Microwave Pumpkin," all of which can be used for cooking. For those interested in making their own dishes, the festival shop also sells pumpkin seed oil, marmalade, chutney, seeds and cookbooks.
Activities
The Ludwigsburg Pumpkin Festival features various autumn-themed activities. Using a spoon and a carving instrument, visitors can choose to carve their own pumpkins or watch sculptors transform them into artwork. On Saturdays, you can listen to live music while drinking pumpkin-flavored sparkling wine. Families with kids can let their children roll around in the "playground," a large pen filled with hay. Past festivals have hosted costume contests and pumpkin-carving competitions during the week of Halloween.
Annual Events
On one day each fall, the festival includes a race featuring canoeists paddling across a lake using boats made from hollowed-out pumpkins. The annual race takes place on the lake across from Ludwigsburg Castle. With the pumpkins frequently weighing more than 200 pounds, they are difficult to keep afloat. Ludwigsburg also features an annual competition to find Europe's heaviest pumpkin. On the last day of the festival, which marks the end of the season, the winning pumpkin is smashed after being on display for weeks.
Source: Andel, J. et al. Ladislav Sutnar: Prague – New York – design in action, Prague: Museum of Decorative Arts in Prague & Argo Publishers, 2003.
Source: Scan of an original.
Set: WOO01.
Date: c. 1960.
Repository: Form the collection of Mr N. Wood.
Local Studies at Swindon Central Library.
Taken from Water Source Meditation series. Let yourself connect and ground to Earth with these binaural recorded sounds of nature. Full 1 hour video with binaural sound here:
Source: scan of an original print.
Image: P50614.
Date: 1960s?
Copyright: © SBC.
Donated in 2020 by G. Carter.
Repository: Local Studies at Swindon Central Library.
Source Meditation
Source of every thing
HKD
Wer kennt sich mit sich selbst schon aus?
Die mitreisende Freundin stellte der Studentin immer neue Fragen über ihren letzten Yoga Kurs, denn sie hegte ebenfalls die Absicht, sich bei dem gleichen Lehrer anzumelden.
Vivienne und Sandra waren beim letzten Halt des Zuges zugestiegen und hatten seit einer knappen halben Stunde kein neues Thema angeschnitten. Die Intensität, mit der sie das Thema behandelten fing an, mich zu faszinieren, denn sie waren an einen Punkt angekommen, an dem es um tiefgründigere Aspekte ging als um Haltungen, Formen oder Atemübungen.
Der Lehrer, ein Yogi aus Indien, mache seinen Schülern bewusst, dass Yoga ein Fahrzeug sei, um über den Körper das Bewusstsein zu erweitern und zwar nicht nur über denselben, sondern die Erfahrung mit der Wahrnehmung. Diese ließe sich verfeinern, vom grobstofflichen Bereich, dem Körper, zum feinstofflichen Bereich, den Energiefeldern.
„Energiefelder“ sagte Vivienne, „sind seiner Aussage nach nicht nur Empfindungen wie Wärme oder Vibrationen im Körper, das sind auch Emotionen, zum Beispiel Trauer oder Freude. So kann man durch die Einnahme bestimmter Positionen die Stimmung von trübsinnig auf heiter verändern. Das geht nicht immer in vollem Ausmaß, aber der Yogi sagt, er sei zufrieden mit seiner inneren Balance. Wer ihn kennt, weiß ja auch, wie gut er drauf ist. Beneidenswert.“ Und dann bekräftigte sie: „Da will ich hin.“
„Ich auch“, sagte Sandra und fingerte in ihrem Handbeutel nach Pfefferminz. Sie bot auch mir eines an, was ich mir dankend in den Mund steckte.
Der Yogi, so fuhr Vivienne fort, ginge davon aus, dass der Psychologe C. G. Jung diese Felder als Archetypen bezeichnet hätte, und dass er stets auf deren übermächtige Kraft hingewiesen habe.
Dass die Energiefelder autonom seien, bestätigte Vivienne ihrer Freundin auf deren Nachfrage.
„Wenn man sie erweckt, muss man lernen, damit umzugehen.“
Nach einer Darstellung in dieser Richtung gefragt antwortete Vivienne mit einem Beispiel aus dem Bereich des Eros. Man könne durch bestimmte Übungen die unteren Chakren stimulieren, genauer, die sexuelle Energie. Das könne bei beiden Geschlechtern zu heftigen erotischen Begierden führen.
Es gebe auch Positionen, die kindliche Bedürfnisse nach Nahrung und Schutz weckten, und auch die aggressiven Energien könnten so weit verstärkt werden, bis man mit seiner Durchsetzungskraft zufrieden sei.
Sandra ging es eher um die Kraft, sich ausreichend verteidigen zu können als um die Energie, bestimmte Vorstellungen durchzusetzen.
„Mir reicht es schon, wenn ich endlich meinem Freund auch mal ‚Nein’ sagen kann.,“ meinte sie. „Manchmal nervt mich seine ständige Geilheit… Du weißt schon.“
Vivienne lachte und sagte, dass es auch Techniken gäbe, die sexuelle Energie zu beruhigen.
„Wenn ich ihn dazu bewegen könnte… Aber wer weiß, vielleicht will es eine bedeutende Teilpersönlichkeit in mir ja nicht. Wie ich bemerke, kenne ich mich im eigenen Haus noch nicht sonderlich gut aus.“
HKD
Digital art based on own photography and textures
HKD
Who Even Knows Themselves?
The young woman continued asking the student she was traveling with additional questions about her last yoga class, because she inwardly intended to register with the same teacher.
Vivienne and Sandra had boarded the train at the last stop and for almost half an hour had broached no other subject. The intensity with which they treated the subject began to fascinate me because they had reached a point in which they were focusing on more profound aspects than asanas, forms, or breathing exercises.
The teacher, a yogi from India, made his students aware that yoga is a vehicle to expand one’s awareness of the body, but not just of the body. One’s experience of perception could be refined from the gross realm, the body, to the the subtle realm, the energy fields.
"According to him," said Vivienne, "energy fields are not just sensations in the body like heat or vibration, but they’re also emotions like grief or joy. So by using certain asanas, you can change your mood from melancholy to cheerful. This doesn’t always work completely; however, the Yogi says, he is satisfied with his inner balance. Anyone who knows him knows very well how good he is at this. Enviable." And she reiterated, "I want to go."
"Me too," said Sandra, and fumbled in her handbag for a peppermint. She also offered me one, which I put gratefully into my mouth.
The yogi, continued Vivienne, said that the psychologist Carl Jung would have called these fields archetypes, and that he had always emphasized their overwhelming power. In response to her friend’s question, Vivien confirmed that the energy fields operate autonomously. "When you awaken, you must learn to deal with them."
Asked for an illustration along this line, Vivienne replied with an example from the realm of Eros. Through certain exercises, you can stimulate the lower chakras, specifically, sexual energy. In both sexes, this can lead to intense erotic desires. There are also asanas that awaken our childlike need for food and protection, and aggressive energy may also be increased until you are satisfied with your level of assertiveness.
Sandra was more interested in the power of being able to adequately defend herself than in specific ideas to implement this energy. “I've had enough already. If I could sometimes say no to my boyfriend,” she said. “Sometimes his constant horniness annoys me ... You know.”
Vivienne laughed and said that there were also techniques to calm sexual energy. “If I were to encourage him... But who knows? Maybe a major part of my personality doesn’t even want it that way. How do I know? I still don’t know my own house very well.”
HKD
Translated by Cougar Brenneman – Many thanks!
Source: en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Grand_Canyon
The Grand Canyon is a steep-sided canyon carved by the Colorado River in Arizona, United States. The Grand Canyon is 277 miles (446 km) long, up to 18 miles (29 km) wide and attains a depth of over a mile (6,093 feet or 1,857 meters).
The canyon and adjacent rim are contained within Grand Canyon National Park, the Kaibab National Forest, Grand Canyon–Parashant National Monument, the Hualapai Indian Reservation, the Havasupai Indian Reservation and the Navajo Nation. The surrounding area is contained within the Baaj Nwaavjo I'tah Kukveni – Ancestral Footprints of the Grand Canyon National Monument. President Theodore Roosevelt was a major proponent of the preservation of the Grand Canyon area and visited it on numerous occasions to hunt and enjoy the scenery.
Nearly two billion years of Earth's geological history have been exposed as the Colorado River and its tributaries cut their channels through layer after layer of rock while the Colorado Plateau was uplifted. While some aspects about the history of incision of the canyon are debated by geologists, several recent studies support the hypothesis that the Colorado River established its course through the area about 5 to 6 million years ago. Since that time, the Colorado River has driven the down-cutting of the tributaries and retreat of the cliffs, simultaneously deepening and widening the canyon.
For thousands of years, the area has been continuously inhabited by Native Americans, who built settlements within the canyon and its many caves. The Pueblo people considered the Grand Canyon a holy site, and made pilgrimages to it. The first European known to have viewed the Grand Canyon was García López de Cárdenas from Spain, who arrived in 1540.
Source: en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Grand_Canyon_National_Park
Grand Canyon National Park is a national park of the United States located in northwestern Arizona, the 15th site to have been named as a national park. The park's central feature is the Grand Canyon, a gorge of the Colorado River, which is often considered one of the Wonders of the World. The park, which covers 1,217,262 acres (1,901.972 sq mi; 4,926.08 km2) of unincorporated area in Coconino and Mohave counties, received more than 4.7 million recreational visitors in 2023. The Grand Canyon was designated a World Heritage Site by UNESCO in 1979. The park celebrated its 100th anniversary on February 26, 2019.
Source: www.nps.gov/grca/index.htm
Entirely within the state of Arizona, the park encompasses 278 miles (447 km) of the Colorado River and adjacent uplands. Located on the ancestral homelands of 11 present day Tribal Communities, Grand Canyon is one of the most spectacular examples of erosion anywhere in the world—a mile deep canyon unmatched in the incomparable vistas it offers visitors from both north and south rims.
Additional Foreign Language Tags:
(United States) "الولايات المتحدة" "Vereinigte Staaten" "アメリカ" "米国" "美国" "미국" "Estados Unidos" "États-Unis" "ארצות הברית" "संयुक्त राज्य" "США"
(Arizona) "أريزونا" "亚利桑那州" "אריזונה" "एरिजोना" "アリゾナ州" "애리조나" "Аризона"
(Grand Canyon) "جراند كانيون" "大峡谷" "גרנד קניון" "ग्रांड कैन्यन" "グランドキャニオン" "그랜드 캐니언" "Гранд-Каньон" "Gran Cañón"
Source: en.wikipedia.org/wiki/New_York_City
New York City (NYC), often called the City of New York or simply New York (NY), is the most populous city in the United States. With an estimated 2018 population of 8,398,748 distributed over about 302.6 square miles (784 km2), New York is also the most densely populated major city in the United States. Located at the southern tip of the U.S. state of New York, the city is the center of the New York metropolitan area, the largest metropolitan area in the world by urban landmass. With almost 20 million people in its metropolitan statistical area and approximately 23 million in its combined statistical area, it is one of the world's most populous megacities. New York City has been described as the cultural, financial, and media capital of the world, significantly influencing commerce, entertainment, research, technology, education, politics, tourism, art, fashion, and sports. Home to the headquarters of the United Nations, New York is an important center for international diplomacy.
Situated on one of the world's largest natural harbors, New York City is composed of five boroughs, each of which is a county of the State of New York. The five boroughs—Brooklyn, Queens, Manhattan, the Bronx, and Staten Island—were consolidated into a single city in 1898. The city and its metropolitan area constitute the premier gateway for legal immigration to the United States. As many as 800 languages are spoken in New York, making it the most linguistically diverse city in the world. New York is home to more than 3.2 million residents born outside the United States, the largest foreign-born population of any city in the world as of 2016. As of 2019, the New York metropolitan area is estimated to produce a gross metropolitan product (GMP) of $2.0 trillion. If greater New York City were a sovereign state, it would have the 12th highest GDP in the world. New York is home to the highest number of billionaires of any city in the world.
New York City traces its origins to a trading post founded by colonists from the Dutch Republic in 1624 on Lower Manhattan; the post was named New Amsterdam in 1626. The city and its surroundings came under English control in 1664 and were renamed New York after King Charles II of England granted the lands to his brother, the Duke of York. New York was the capital of the United States from 1785 until 1790, and has been the largest U.S. city since 1790. The Statue of Liberty greeted millions of immigrants as they came to the U.S. by ship in the late 19th and early 20th centuries and is a symbol of the U.S. and its ideals of liberty and peace. In the 21st century, New York has emerged as a global node of creativity and entrepreneurship and environmental sustainability, and as a symbol of freedom and cultural diversity. In 2019, New York was voted the greatest city in the world per a survey of over 30,000 people from 48 cities worldwide, citing its cultural diversity.
Many districts and landmarks in New York City are well known, including three of the world's ten most visited tourist attractions in 2013. A record 62.8 million tourists visited New York City in 2017. Times Square is the brightly illuminated hub of the Broadway Theater District, one of the world's busiest pedestrian intersections, and a major center of the world's entertainment industry. Many of the city's landmarks, skyscrapers, and parks are known around the world. Manhattan's real estate market is among the most expensive in the world. New York is home to the largest ethnic Chinese population outside of Asia, with multiple distinct Chinatowns across the city. Providing continuous 24/7 service and contributing to the nickname The City that Never Sleeps, the New York City Subway is the largest single-operator rapid transit system worldwide, with 472 rail stations. The city has over 120 colleges and universities, including Columbia University, New York University, Rockefeller University, and the City University of New York system, which is the largest urban public university system in the United States. Manhattan is home to the world's two largest stock exchanges by total market capitalization, namely the New York Stock Exchange, located on Wall Street in the Financial District of Lower Manhattan, and NASDAQ, headquartered in Midtown Manhattan.
* 35 (thirty-five) is the natural number following 34... (source Wikipedia.com)
* 35 mm film is the basic film gauge most commonly used for both analog photography and motion pictures
* In Ancient Rome, 35 is the age of a man in his prime, at which he was eligible to become a consul.
I'm writing this note with a bit of sadness. Today is my last full day in Tokyo. I feel like I just got here. I was just getting warmed up. On the opposite end, I am beaming with contentment and satisfaction. Veni, vidi, vici once more!
It was just a few months ago that I felt 'called' to Tokyo. I thought about traveling to Beijing and Thailand. I thought about traveling to a few great cities in Europe once more. Japan isn't the sexy pick by any means, but it was absolutely the right pick.
Solo travel, while cool in its planning phases, becomes daunting the closer the date draws near. You can plan it to greatest detail possible given the information available to you. But, the reality is that you really don't know until you hit the ground. Depending on where you go you don't know the language. You may not know the landscape. Or, you may have under or overestimated the time involved to do something. Or, it can be as simple as not planning for the weather. I've run into all of the above.
But, that's the point. If it were easy then I wouldn't do it. My 10-day solo jaunt from Madrid to Rome to Florence and Athens taught me that I must persist, that I must keep moving regardless of the circumstances. Solo travel is much like a mission. One, two or even six unplanned events cannot disrupt the mission. The unfamiliar is no longer a barrier. They're simply challenges to be won. I don't care what it takes. If and when it comes down to the success of the mission, I will force the issue. I simply will not be stopped.
I've learned to apply those principles to my life. Because of that, I am very clear on who I am as a person, both personally and professionally, what I want and don't want, and what I will and will not accept. I make no apologies. I'm not trying to step on anyone to achieve my mission. But, if I have to run through someone, I will. It should never come as a surprise to anyone. I make myself very clear to anyone that I will do whatever is necessary to complete my mission.
Life is simply too short to simply accept what people give you, and for them to dictate when you can and cannot. It's up to each of us to have the courage and fortitude to decide what is important to you and what you want to do. The message to those who think they can dictate is "This is what I have decided to do. It is not something for you to consider. There will be no compromises." I've found that people often respect another's resolve once it has been articulated and stood up for.
I believe that's what my calling to Japan represented. This country can be very unkind to those who have difficulty adapting and / or are easily discouraged. Very little here is written in English. I think much of it is intentional. Regardless, I didn't let the language barrier stop me.
For one full day, I was very uncertain about whether this would be a pleasant trip. I had to travel from Tokyo to Hakone to Kyoto. I underestimated what was involved to travel from Tokyo to Hakone. All I cared about was seeing Mt. Fuji. My patience was put to the test. Doubts started to cloud my purpose. But, I made it to Hakone successfully.
I didn't get to see Mt. Fuji because of the weather, but I did get to rest at her foot. That's good enough for me. While resting, I developed a bond with someone that I never felt very comfortable with. This Internet thing is pretty crazy. Resting at the foot of Mt. Fuji at 3:30am while having a cool conversation with someone stateside who is on a flight at 30,000+ feet is pretty surreal!
I moved on to Kyoto early the next morning. I couldn't allow the weather to delay me any further. I made it to rainy Kyoto. I arrived very agitated because I got off at the wrong train station and ended up walking in circles in the rain for 45 mins because I couldn't understand the train lines or stops. Everything was in Japanese. People from Kyoto are very accommodating, however. The train conductor saw me and left his post to ask me which stop I wanted to go to. I told him and he pointed it out on the rail map. That's when bowing in the Japanese custom took on meaning for me.
The Sun Is Rising In the Land Of The Rising Sun
The hotel staff in Kyoto were very pleasant and considerate. The hotel concierge, a woman, greeted my taxi. She saw that I was drenched from the rain. But, her smile, and the desk clerk making every effort to provide exceptional service quickly made me forget about the lack of English and proper direction for the non-Japanese speaker. My hotel room wasn't very nice, but it didn't matter. These are very nice people.
I set off to tour Kyoto early the next day. In my typical globe trekker fashion, I decided to do the tour on foot. 10 minutes into my trek, I remembered that the hotel offers a bike rental. I paid $6.00 to rent a bike for half the day. It was $6.00 well spent. I got to see much of Kyoto in that half day. Plus, I had a blast while doing it. I was a kid riding around the streets of Kyoto with my backpack, my camera and headphones.
It was so much fun, that I spent another $3.00 to rent the bike for the whole day. That gave me a chance to see Kyoto from a local's perspective. I met some really nice people along the way, the old lady in the stationary store, and the post office, bagel shop and music store clerks.
I wrapped up my trip to Kyoto. It was on to Nara. It's a sleepy little town that was the ancient capital of Japan. I met some really nice kids who wanted to tell me about their church. When I told them that I traveled from NY, they each had looks of amazement on their face. I told them "You must come someday. It's an amazing city. You would love it."
The next day it was time to head back to Tokyo. Kyoto and Tokyo helped me regain my momentum. Japan was starting to grow on me. I arrived without incident. Everything was going so smoothly, that I decided to hang out in Tokyo Station and take pictures of the famous bullet train. I can't say enough words about it. It's an engineering marvel.
I made my way to my hotel, the Mitsui Garden Yotsuya. The room was beautiful. I had to check my reservation again to see how much I was paying to stay there. It was way too nice for the money I paid!
After settling in to the hotel, I decided to go out for lunch. I found a jazz cafe down the street. The sound of Jazz music was blaring out on to the street. I decided to follow the sound. It let me downstairs. Lining the stairs were countless posters of famous Jazz musicians. I made my way down the stairs quietly in hopes of avoiding being whisked into the cafe to buy something I didn't want. I dropped my camera lens cover down the stairs. Strangely, my cover wasn't blown.
I peeked into the cafe. WHOA! Are you kidding me?! This place is COOOOOOOL! I've never seen anything like this. I was a kid in a candy store. That was when I instantly fell in love with Tokyo.
I can give you countless different details about my experience there. But the highlight was watching a guy sitting directly across my from my table vibe to jazz tunes while smoking a cigarette, watching another guy read old Jazz magazines, and talking to another guy who was in love with my camera tell me about his Canon 5D Mark II in the best English he could muster. I just found my new career, experiencing life. I absolutely have to keep doing this.
But, the real highlight... the cafe DJ accommodating my request to play Thelonious Monk's 'Round About Midnight' piano solo. There's not enough I can say. I love you, Tokyo!
I can write a book chronicling the rest of my experience here in Tokyo, but I have to hit the streets on my final day here to close out this phenomenal experience. There's just too much to tell and not enough time. I've seen so much. This city is a wonder. I promise you that I will bring you my experiences through images, video and words once I've had time to fully digest this experience and think about how to best present it, so as not to fall short of any part of it. It was simply too valuable an experience.
To close out this experience on my 35th birthday is beyond words. I get to celebrate it on opposite sides of the world. Amazing!
I've seen a lot, done a lot, and made some important decisions about my life. I feel so fortunate to be at this place in my life. The struggles I've endured along the way were well worth it to be at this place in my life. I am proud to share it all with you.
Thanks to all of you who have followed me along the way, and are curious about me and this experience. It's great to know that I am never truly alone no matter where my travels carry me. You all are the best.
Cheers!
P.S. Now for the soundtrack. I really hope you will listen to at least one of these songs. These are songs that were part of the journey, and are relevant to me and this experience.
1. www.youtube.com/watch?v=6NtqA5zywQA
2. www.youtube.com/watch?v=tdMIf9DSe0M
3. www.youtube.com/watch?v=eaDxKKnZzIc
4. www.youtube.com/watch?v=OMmeNsmQaFw
5. www.youtube.com/watch?v=wTxma3wyrjU
6. www.youtube.com/watch?v=nqmhxvrQxxA
7. www.youtube.com/watch?v=qKISz8vWlNY
8. www.youtube.com/watch?v=KUDpc04r_QM
9. www.youtube.com/watch?v=aScHDjMJjfg
10. www.youtube.com/watch?v=pFq1eT9tMJ4&ob=av2e
11. www.youtube.com/watch?v=kiF1dXopPBo
12. www.youtube.com/watch?v=74VfY5094pc
13. www.youtube.com/watch?v=kLlJsW2kXd8
14. www.youtube.com/watch?v=Bw2kRyFdBEA
Wilson's Snipe
Gallinago delicata
Ridgefield NWR
Washington State
2017:09:18 16:34:42
Pentax K3 - Sigma 500mm
500mm
1/1000 sec, f/8, ISO: 2500
Metering: Spot
Source: en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kansas_City,_Missouri
Kansas City (abbreviated KC or KCMO) is the largest city in Missouri by population and area. As of the 2020 census, the city had a population of 508,090 in 2020, making it the 36th most-populous city in the United States. It is the most populated municipality and historic core city of the Kansas City metropolitan area, which straddles the Kansas–Missouri state line and has a population of 2,392,035. Most of the city lies within Jackson County, with portions spilling into Clay, Cass, and Platte counties. Kansas City was founded in the 1830s as a port on the Missouri River at its confluence with the Kansas River coming in from the west. On June 1, 1850, the town of Kansas was incorporated; shortly after came the establishment of the Kansas Territory. Confusion between the two ensued, and the name Kansas City was assigned to distinguish them soon after.
Sitting on Missouri's western boundary with Kansas, with Downtown near the confluence of the Kansas and Missouri Rivers, the city encompasses about 319.03 square miles (826.3 km2), making it the 23rd largest city by total area in the United States. It serves as one of the two county seats of Jackson County, along with the major suburb of Independence. Other major suburbs include the Missouri cities of Blue Springs and Lee's Summit and the Kansas cities of Overland Park, Olathe, Lenexa, and Kansas City, Kansas.
The city is composed of several neighborhoods, including the River Market District in the north, the 18th and Vine District in the east, and the Country Club Plaza in the south. Celebrated cultural traditions include Kansas City jazz, theater, which was the center of the Vaudevillian Orpheum circuit in the 1920s, the Chiefs and Royals sports franchises, and famous cuisine based on Kansas City-style barbecue, Kansas City strip steak, and craft breweries.
Source: en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kansas_City_Union_Station
Kansas City Union Station (station code: KCY) is a union station opened in 1914, serving Kansas City, Missouri, and the surrounding metropolitan area. It replaced a small Union Depot from 1878. Union Station served a peak annual traffic of more than 670,000 passengers in 1945 at the end of World War II, quickly declined in the 1950s, and was closed in 1985.
In 1996, a public–private partnership undertook Union Station's $250 million restoration, funded in part by a sales tax levied in both Kansas and Missouri counties in the Kansas City metropolitan area. By 1999, the station reopened as a series of museums and other public attractions. In 2002, Union Station saw its return as a train station when Amtrak began providing public transportation services and has since become Missouri's second-busiest train station. The refurbished station boasts theaters, ongoing museum exhibits, and attractions such as the Science City at Union Station, the Irish Museum and Cultural Center, and the Todd Bolender Center for Dance and Creativity. Since 2016, it is also a stop on the KC Streetcar.
Source: en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Science_City_at_Union_Station
Science City at Union Station is a family-friendly interactive science center that features traveling exhibitions, The Arvin Gottlieb Planetarium, City Extreme Screen theatre, and more than 120 hands-on displays. It is located inside Union Station at 30 West Pershing Road in Kansas City, Missouri.
It was the main feature in the bi-state renovation vote of 1997. It was part of a renovation plan for Union Station after being closed for a short period of time when Trizec, a Canadian redevelopment firm had failed to redevelop the station. It opened in November 1999.
Source: en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Philadelphia
Philadelphia, commonly referred to as Philly, is the most populous city in the U.S. state of Pennsylvania and the second-most populous city in the Northeast megalopolis and Mid-Atlantic regions after New York City. Philadelphia is known for its extensive contributions to United States history, especially the American Revolution, and served as the nation's capital until 1800. It maintains contemporary influence in business and industry, culture, sports, and music. Philadelphia is the nation's sixth-most populous city with a population of 1,603,797 as of the 2020 census and is the urban core of the larger Delaware Valley (or Philadelphia metropolitan area), the nation's seventh-largest and one of the world's largest metropolitan regions consisting of 6.245 million residents in the metropolitan statistical area and 7.366 million residents in its combined statistical area.
Philadelphia was founded in 1682 by William Penn, an English Quaker and advocate of religious freedom. The city served as the capital of the Pennsylvania Colony during the British colonial era and went on to play a historic and vital role as the central meeting place for the nation's founding fathers whose plans and actions in Philadelphia ultimately inspired the American Revolution and the nation's independence following the Revolutionary War. Philadelphia hosted the First Continental Congress in 1774, preserved the Liberty Bell, and hosted the Second Continental Congress during which the founders signed the Declaration of Independence, which historian Joseph Ellis has described as "the most potent and consequential words in American history". Once the Revolutionary War commenced, the Battle of Germantown and the siege of Fort Mifflin were fought within Philadelphia's city limits. The U.S. Constitution was later ratified in Philadelphia at the Philadelphia Convention of 1787. Philadelphia remained the nation's largest city until 1790, when it was surpassed by New York City, and it served as the nation's first capital from May 10, 1775, until December 12, 1776, and on four subsequent occasions during and following the American Revolution, including from 1790 to 1800 during the construction of the new national capital of Washington, D.C.
With 18 four-year universities and colleges, Philadelphia is one of the nation's leading centers for higher education and academic research. As of 2018, the Philadelphia metropolitan area was the state's largest and nation's ninth-largest metropolitan economy with a gross metropolitan product of US$444.1 billion. The city is home to five Fortune 500 corporate headquarters as of 2022. As of 2023, metropolitan Philadelphia ranks among the top five U.S. venture capital centers, facilitated by its proximity to New York City's entrepreneurial and financial ecosystems. The Philadelphia Stock Exchange, owned by Nasdaq since 2008, is the nation's oldest stock exchange and a global leader in options trading. 30th Street Station, the city's primary rail station, is the third-busiest Amtrak hub in the nation, and the city's multimodal transport and logistics infrastructure, includes Philadelphia International Airport, and the rapidly-growing PhilaPort seaport. A migration pattern has been established from New York City to Philadelphia by residents opting for a large city with relative proximity and a lower cost of living.
Philadelphia is a national cultural center, hosting more outdoor sculptures and murals than any other city in the nation. Fairmount Park, when combined with adjacent Wissahickon Valley Park in the same watershed, is 2,052 acres (830 ha), representing one of the nation's largest and the world's 45th-largest urban park. The city is known for its arts, culture, cuisine, and colonial and Revolution-era history; in 2016, it attracted 42 million domestic tourists who spent $6.8 billion, representing $11 billion in economic impact to the city and its surrounding Pennsylvania counties.
With five professional sports teams and one of the nation's most loyal fan bases, Philadelphia is often ranked as the nation's best city for professional sports fans. The city has a culturally and philanthropically active LGBTQ+ community. Philadelphia also has played an immensely influential historic and ongoing role in the development and evolution of American music, especially R&B, soul, and rock.
Philadelphia is a city of many firsts, including the nation's first library (1731), hospital (1751), medical school (1765), national capital (1774), university (by some accounts) (1779), stock exchange (1790), zoo (1874), and business school (1881). Philadelphia contains 67 National Historic Landmarks, including Independence Hall. From the city's 17th century founding through the present, Philadelphia has been the birthplace or home to an extensive number of prominent and influential Americans. In 2021, Time magazine named Philadelphia one of the world's greatest 100 places.
Additional Foreign Language Tags:
(United States) "الولايات المتحدة" "Vereinigte Staaten" "アメリカ" "美国" "미국" "Estados Unidos" "États-Unis"
(Pennsylvania) "بنسلفانيا" "宾夕法尼亚州" "Pennsylvanie" "पेंसिल्वेनिया" "ペンシルベニア" "펜실베니아" "Пенсильвания" "Pensilvania"
(Philadelphia) "فيلادلفيا" "费城" "Philadelphie" "फिलाडेल्फिया" "フィラデルフィア" "필라델피아" "Филадельфия" "Filadelfia"
Source: livinghistories.newcastle.edu.au/nodes/view/29587
This photograph is from the collection of Mr Phillip Onion who has kindly given Cultural Collections at the University of Newcastle, NSW, Australia, access to his collection and allowed us to publish the images.
This image can be used for study and personal research purposes. If you wish to reproduce this image for any other purpose please obtain permission by contacting the University of Newcastle's Cultural Collections.
Please contact Cultural Collections at the University of Newcastle, NSW, Australia, if you are the subject of the image, or know the subject of the image, and have cultural or other reservations about the image being displayed on this website and would like to discuss this with us.
If you would like to comment on the photograph, please contact Cultural Collections at the University of Newcastle, NSW, Australia, or leave a comment below.
Date: Circa 1880s
Source Type: Trade Card (chromolithograph)
Printer, Publisher, Photographer: Major and Knapp Lithographic Company
Postmark: Not Applicable
Collection: Steven R. Shook
The Ghost Story!
THE moral of this, the Sixteenth Card of our Series, is that, if young ladies would avoid creating a scene, similar to the one the artist, Mr. R. W. Buss, gives us in this admirable picture, they had better forego reading ghost stories at bed-time.
As the rough, wintery season of the year approaches, do not forget that a Cold, once contracted, demands prompt treatment, lest the accompanying Cough should inflame and rack the Lungs, and induce the formation of tubercles. By the use of DR. JAYNE'S EXPECTORANT, in small doses, -- repeating same according to the urgency of symptoms, -- your Cold will speedily yield, and your Lungs escape a dangerous ordeal. If you should be seized with a Sore Throat, Bronchitis, or any Bronchial Disorder, the EXPECTORANT will subdue the inflammation of the parts, detach the mucous matter which clogs them, and gradually promote a cure. In case of Asthma, the EXPECTORANT overcomes the cause of the trouble, and a prompt restoration follows. If attacked by Pleurisy, or any Acute Inflammation of the Lungs or Throat, take the EXPECTORANT according to directions, -- bathing the parts thoroughly with DR. JAYNE'S LINIMENT, -- and covering up warmly in bed. The EXPECTORANT, if taken in quite small doses by Consumptives, will ameliorate the symptoms, and especially ease the Cough as well as the oppression and soreness of the Lungs and Throat. It is a helpful remedy also in cases of Croup and Whooping-Cough, checking the violence of the attacks, and relieving the attending distress.
A Trusting Family Tonic
Is at the service of those possessing a bottle of DR. JAYNE'S TONIC VERMIFUGE. For the Dyspepsia of Adults, Indigestion, Sout Stomach, Oppression at the pit of the Stomach, and Low Spirits, it is an excellent remedy, -- the bowels in such cases being kept open, when necessary, by DR. JAYNE'S SANATIVE PILLS. Worms in Children it destroys with certainty, removing them and the distressing symptoms to which they give rise. As a Strengthening Tonic for feeble, sickly children, it renews the appetite and rebuilds the general health, and it has a curative effect in the Fever and Ague of the young.
PRESENTED BY
C. C. PIERCE,
Boone Grove, Porter Co.,
Indiana.
THE MAJOR & KNAPP LITH. CO. N.Y.
Copyright 2015. Some rights reserved. The associated text may not be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwise, without prior written permission of Steven R. Shook.
Source Images:
_MG_2974.CR2 (Av: F8.0; Tv: 1/100 sec.; ISO: 100; FL: 11.0 mm)
Processing:
Fusion F.1 (HDR; Mode 1)
plaster cast of a gem - Oxford; Beazley Gem database
www.beazley.ox.ac.uk/databases/gems.htm
****************************************************************
Source: Scan of original item.
Date: 30/10/1963.
Repository: Local Studies at Swindon Central Library.
www.swindon.gov.uk/localstudies
Scan of cover of the 1963 sale catalogue for house built by Alfred Williams and his wife c1920. They gave the house the Indian name Ranikhet, after the Indian hill station to which Alfred had been posted during the First World War.
Re Mrs M.M. Manners, deceased,
Freehold Stone and Slated Detached House being an ideal subject for modernisation.
Ranikhet, South Marston, Swindon, Wilts.
Which Hobbs & Chambers will offer for sale by public auction on the property, on Wednesday, 30th October, 1963, at 2.30pm.
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This shot from myself and James of The Half Sisters made it onto the front cover of the Brighton Source magazine this month.
It's the first thing of I've been involved in to make it into print so as Brad from Neighbours would say "I'm pretty stoked"
Come make friends with The Pistoleers
+++ DISCLAIMER +++Nothing you see here is real, even though the conversion or the presented background story might be based historical facts. BEWARE!
In October 1933, Hermann Göring sent out a letter requesting aircraft companies consider the design of a "high speed courier aircraft" - a thinly veiled request for a new fighter. In May 1934, this was made official and the Technisches Amt sent out a request for a single-seat interceptor for the Rüstungsflugzeug IV role, this time under the guise of a "sports aircraft". The specification was first sent to the most experienced fighter designers, Heinkel, Arado, and Focke-Wulf.
Heinkel's design was created primarily by twin brothers Walter and Siegfried Günter, whose designs would dominate most of Heinkel's work. They started work on Projekt 1015 in late 1933 under the guise of the original courier aircraft, based around the BMW XV radial engine. Work was already under way when the official request went out on 2 May, and on 5 May the design was renamed the He 112.
The primary source of inspiration for the He 112 was their earlier He 70 Blitz ("Lightning") design. The Blitz was a single-engine, four-passenger aircraft originally designed for use by Lufthansa, and it in turn was inspired by the famous Lockheed Model 9 Orion mail plane. Like many civilian designs of the time, the aircraft was pressed into military service and was used as a two-seat bomber (although mostly for reconnaissance) and served in this role in Spain. The Blitz introduced a number of new construction techniques to the Heinkel company; it was their first low-wing monoplane, their first with retractable landing gear, their first all-metal monocoque design, and its elliptical, reverse-gull wing would be seen on a number of later projects. The Blitz could almost meet the new fighter requirements itself, so it is not surprising that the Günters would choose to work with the existing design as much as possible.
The original He 112 was basically a scaled down version of Heinkel’s aerodynamically highly refined He 70 and shared its all metal construction, inverted gull wings, and retractable landing gear. Like the He 70, the He 112 was constructed entirely of metal, using a two-spar wing and a monocoque fuselage with flush-head rivets. The landing gear retracted outward from the low point of the wing's gull-bend, which resulted in a fairly wide span track, giving the aircraft excellent ground handling. Its only features from an older era were its open cockpit and fuselage spine behind the headrest, which were kept in order to provide excellent vision and make the biplane-trained pilots feel more comfortable.
The He 112 V1 started in the head-to-head contest when it arrived at Travemünde on 8 February 1936. The other three competitors had all arrived by the beginning of March. Right away, the Focke-Wulf Fw 159 and Arado Ar 80 proved to be lacking in performance, and plagued with problems, and were eliminated from serious consideration. At this point, the He 112 was the favorite over the "unknown" Bf 109, but opinions changed when the Bf 109 V2 arrived on 21 March. All the competitor aircraft had initially been equipped with the Rolls-Royce Kestrel engine, but the Bf 109 V2 had a Jumo 210. From that point on, it started to outperform the He 112 in almost every way, and even the arrival of the Jumo-engined He 112 V2 on 15 April did little to address this imbalance.
Eventually, the Bf 109 was chosen as the Luftwaffe’s new standard fighter, and Heinkel was left with an excellent but unwanted fighter. However, the He 112 was subsequently marketed to foreign customers, including Yugoslavia, The Netherlands, Finland, Romania and Hungary, and saw a mild export and license production success during WWII’s opening stages.
In the autumn 1937, a Japanese military delegation visited the Heinkel Flugzeugwerke's Marienehe plant. Impressed by the high performances and clean lines of the He 112 V9, an order for thirty similar He-112B-0s was placed, with options for a further 100 aircraft. The delegation returned to Japan, not only with the signed contract documents but with a demonstration aircraft, presumably the He 112 V5 (D-IIZO).
However, the Japanese Navy, at that time looking for a replacement for its A5M fighter was not impressed by the He 112 V5’s handling characteristics, and since it was unlikely that the He 112 could be modified for carrier operations, this option was not further pursued and eventually Mitsubishi's famous A6M fighter became Japan's standard fighter for naval operations.
Things changed quickly, though. The Japanese expansion to the Asian mainland in the Second Sino-Japanese War required a huge number of land-based aircraft, preferably with a long and the current types appreared obsolete. In order to bridge this gap until indigenous designs had entered full scale production, Japan once more turned to Germany and requested assistance in the form of aircraft deliveries or even license production.
Having been aware of the superior He 112 V9 and the resulting He 112 B-0 as production standard, a Japanese delegation visited Germany in summer 1940 and tested the more modern aircraft. The maneuverability of the Heinkel fighter was again found to be inferor to the Japanese A5M2, but the Imperial Japanese Navy purchased 12 Heinkel He 112B-0 fighters, which it designated both as the Heinkel A7He1 and as the "Navy Type He Air Defense Fighter", and secured rights for license production for the airframe as well as for German aircraft engines, namely the Daimler Benz 601Aa, which later became the Kawasaki Ha40.
The Japanese flew the A7He1 only briefly during the Second Sino-Japanese War, but phased it out of service before the attack on Pearl Harbor in December 1941 in favor of the Mitsubishi A6M Zero. Allied Forces assigned the reporting name "Jerry" to the aircraft.
The A7He1 was disappointing, though, and as a result of the field tests the Kaigun Koku Gijyutsusho's (Testing Unit) issued a final report which concluded that the A7He1 was not the right choice as the main IJN fighter type, and cancellation of the options on additional aircraft was recommended. However, with the purchase of various production rights and tools it was decided to develop the aerodynamically highly sophisticated and sturdy A7He1 further, outfitted with a considerably more powerful Ha40 engine and other refinements and adaptations.
The resulting aircraft was the A7He2, but its development, as well as the integration of domestic parts and setting up serial production (also of the Ha40 engine), took until early 1943. The first Sentai (Air Group/Wing) fully equipped with the A7He2 were allocated to the Kwantung Army in Manchuoko, and additional deliveries were later made to units supporting Japan’s Fifteenth Army in Burma.
However, the machines were sent off of the production lines into a difficult theatre, where jungles and adverse weather conditions, coupled with a lack of spares, quickly undermined the efficiency of both men and aircraft. Because the A7He2 was totally new and the maintenance crews only used to more robust air-cooled radial engines, the type inevitably suffered from teething problems and the A7He2 tallied a disastrous series of failures and ongoing problems.
As a consequence, the pilots did not trust the new aircraft and morale was low. Beyond constant technical issues, the A7He2 was also unpopular due to its very different flight characteristics. Japanese pilots and aerial combat tactics had traditionally relied on agility, and the A7He2, with its focus on speed and superior rate of climb, was a totally different concept.
In fact, the A7He2 was not accepted as a classic fighter at all, and since the more "traditional" A6M had become available in ever growing numbers and updated variants, the A7He2 was soon relegated to ground attacks and CAS missions, in which its heavy gun armament, flight stability, endurance and the ability to take a lot of punishment (esp. hits from small caliber weapons) came in handy.
Occasionally, the A7He2 was deployed in interceptor missions against Allied bombers flying at high altitude, too, but direct dogfight confrontations with fighters were avoided and, if available, any other type was preferred by the IJN pilots.
In order to improve the situation, the A7He2 was modified in the field In the course of its limited career. Most notable changes were the addition of imported dust filters for the touchy engines, and some machines had their original pair of 7.7 mm (0.303 in) Type 97 aircraft machine guns with 500 rounds per gun on top of the engine replaced by two heavier 13mm Type 2 machine guns, for which a modified cowling with characteristic bulges had to be mounted. The machines retained their original designation, though.
Total A7He2 production reached roundabout 300 aircraft and ceased in 1944, when IJN officials recognized that the A7He2 was a dead end and the resources devoted to its production would be better spent in more capable aircraft. Anyway, due to material shortages, the "Jerry" remained in service, even though most machines were gradually replaced by A6M in frontline units until early 1945.
General characteristics:
Crew: 1
Length: 9.22 m (30 ft 11 7/8 in)
Wingspan: 9.09 m (29 ft 9¾ in)
Height: 3.82 m (12 ft 6¾ in)
Wing area: 17 m² (183 ft²)
Empty weight: 1,617 kg (3,565 lb)
Max. takeoff weight: 2,248 kg (4,957 lb)
Performance:
Maximum speed: 580 km/h (360 mph; 313 kn) at 5,000 m (16,000 ft)
Range: 1.150 km (715 mi)
Service ceiling: 9,500 m (31,200 ft)
Rate of climb: 17.0 m/s (3,345 ft/min)
Wing loading: 132 kg/m² (27.1 lb/ft²)
Powerplant:
1× Kawasaki Ha40 inverted liquid-cooled V-12 piston engine, 864 kW (1,159 hp)
Armament:
2× 20 mm Type 99-1 cannon with 100 RPG in the outer wings
2× 7.7 mm (0.303 in) Type 97 aircraft machine guns with 500 RPG
or 13mm Type 2 heavy machine with 250 RPG guns on top of the engine
2× 120 kg (265 lb) bombs or 2× 200l drop tanks under the inner wings
The kit and its assembly:
Another converted Heller He 112 B-0/B-1 in disguise, and this time I spun the type's potential career in/with Japan further. In real life the story ended with the delivery of a dozen He 112 B-0s, which were relegated to training duties and not much liked at all.
However, I had a spare He 112 in the stash and also a surplus Ki-61 fuselage at hand, and wouldn't a combination of the sleek He 112 airframe with a better engine (even of German origin!) be a plausible evolution? Well, said and done...
The He 112 remained close to the original, I just swapped the front end and the propeller (taken completely from a Fine Molds Ki-61 II, which is actually the Hasegawa Ki-61 I with extra parts) and replaced the large OOB stabilizers with more delicate parts from a Hobby Boss A6M5 - IMHO an overall improvement concerning the aircraft's proportions.
Small additions are the protruding gun barrels (hollow steel needles) and the pair of small bombs under the inner wings, inside of the landing gear.
The radiator bath was also enlarged, reflecting the engine’s higher output level, but it basically remained in the original position.
Painting and markings:
A slightly more tricky part - choosing a unit and a scheme were not easy, and I eventually ended up with a mash of styles for a machine of the IJN’s Tainan Air Group based on Formosa.
In 1943, most Japanese aircraft wore toned-down camouflage, the days of an overall light grey livery with flashy unit markings were over. However, I wanted to incorporate some old-school elements and eventually ended up with a basically all-grey aircraft (all-over Tamiya XF-12), onto which green makeshift camouflage (thinned acrylic Revell 363) had been added later in the field, applied around the original hinomaru and tactical markings.
Another unique design element, somewhat lent from the A6M, is a black engine cowling that elegantly merges with an anti glare panel in front of the windscreen. It gives the aircraft almost a racy look, and it underlines the He 112’s elegant lines, too, even with the bigger engine grafted onto it.
Being an aircraft of Japanese manufacture, the cockpit was painted in greenish yellow (“Bamboo”) and the landing gear wells, as well as the flaps’ interior, became Aodake Iro, a home-made mix of acrylic Revell 99 (Aluminum) and a teal clear window painting color. The effect is pretty good.
The markings were improvised and gathered from several sources. The hinomaru originally belong to an Airfix Ki-46, the blue stripes were manually cut from generic blue decal sheet (TL Modellbau); the tacticla code on the fin is of uncertain origin - very old, decals which ,unfortunately, partly desintegrated in the course of the build and had to be repainted manually.
The grey coat received a black ink wash and some panel shading; once the decals and the green camouflage had been applied, the surface was wet-sanded carefully, revealing again some of the grey basic paint and the risen surface details of the Heller kit.
Finally, some soot and exhaust stains were created with grinded graphite, and the kit finally sealed with matt acrylic varnish; the lower part of the black cowling received a sheen finish, though.
The third and last iteration of the Heller He 112 kit, at least for the moment. The engine change is not highly visible, and the paint scheme makes you think that it's rather an A6M with an inline engine than anything else? The wing shape also suggests a beefed-up A5M, it's really weird how a paint scheme can play tricks with your expectations and perception. The whole thing looks very elegant, though, and for a moment I was even tempted to leave the green camouflage away, because in its all-grey livery and with the black engine, the A7He2 looked almost like a race aircraft - and also very German!
Source: en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Paris
Paris is the capital and most populous city of France, with an area of 105 square kilometres (41 square miles) and an official estimated population of 2,140,526 residents as of 1 January 2019. Since the 17th century, Paris has been one of Europe's major centres of finance, commerce, fashion, science, and the arts.
The City of Paris is the centre and seat of government of the Île-de-France, or Paris Region, which has an estimated official 2019 population of 12,213,364, or about 18 percent of the population of France. The Paris Region had a GDP of €681 billion (US$850 billion) in 2016, accounting for 31 percent of the GDP of France, and was the 5th largest region by GDP in the world. According to the Economist Intelligence Unit Worldwide Cost of Living Survey in 2018, Paris was the second-most expensive city in the world, behind Singapore and ahead of Zurich, Hong Kong, Oslo and Geneva.
The city is a major rail, highway, and air-transport hub served by two international airports: Paris-Charles de Gaulle (the second busiest airport in Europe) and Paris-Orly. Opened in 1900, the city's subway system, the Paris Métro, serves 5.23 million passengers daily, and is the second busiest metro system in Europe after Moscow Metro. Gare du Nord is the 24th busiest railway station in the world, and the first located outside Japan, with 262 million passengers in 2015.
Paris is especially known for its museums and architectural landmarks: the Louvre was the most visited art museum in the world in 2018, with 10.2 million visitors. The Musée d'Orsay and Musée de l'Orangerie are noted for their collections of French Impressionist art, and the Pompidou Centre Musée National d'Art Moderne has the largest collection of modern and contemporary art in Europe. The historical district along the Seine in the city centre is classified as a UNESCO Heritage Site. Popular landmarks in the centre of the city include the Cathedral of Notre Dame de Paris and the Gothic royal chapel of Sainte-Chapelle, both on the Île de la Cité; the Eiffel Tower, constructed for the Paris Universal Exposition of 1889; the Grand Palais and Petit Palais, built for the Paris Universal Exposition of 1900; the Arc de Triomphe on the Champs-Élysées, and the Basilica of Sacré-Coeur on the hill of Montmartre. Paris received 23 million visitors in 2017, measured by hotel stays, with the largest numbers of foreign visitors coming from the United States, the UK, Germany and China. It was ranked as the third most visited travel destination in the world in 2017, after Bangkok and London.
The football club Paris Saint-Germain and the rugby union club Stade Français are based in Paris. The 80,000-seat Stade de France, built for the 1998 FIFA World Cup, is located just north of Paris in the neighbouring commune of Saint-Denis. Paris hosts the annual French Open Grand Slam tennis tournament on the red clay of Roland Garros. Paris hosted the Olympic Games in 1900, 1924 and will host the 2024 Summer Olympics. The 1938 and 1998 FIFA World Cups, the 2007 Rugby World Cup, and the 1960, 1984, and 2016 UEFA European Championships were also held in the city and, every July, the Tour de France bicycle race finishes there.
Source: en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Paris
Paris is the capital and most populous city of France, with an area of 105 square kilometres (41 square miles) and a population of 2,206,488. Since the 17th century, Paris has been one of Europe's major centres of finance, commerce, fashion, science, and the arts.
The City of Paris is the centre and seat of government of the Île-de-France, or Paris Region, which has an estimated official 2018 population of 12,246,234, or 18.2 percent of the population of France. Besides this, the Paris metropolitan area had a population of 12,532,901 in 2015. The Paris Region had a GDP of €681 billion (US$850 billion) in 2016, accounting for 31 percent of the GDP of France, and is the 5th largest city by GDP in the world. According to the Economist Intelligence Unit Worldwide Cost of Living Survey in 2018, Paris was the second-most expensive city in the world, behind Singapore and ahead of Zurich, Hong Kong, Oslo and Geneva.
The city is a major rail, highway, and air-transport hub served by two international airports: Paris-Charles de Gaulle (the second busiest airport in Europe after London Heathrow Airport with 69.5 million passengers in 2017) and Paris-Orly. Opened in 1900, the city's subway system, the Paris Métro, serves 5.23 million passengers daily, and is the second busiest metro system in Europe after Moscow Metro. Gare du Nord is the 24th busiest railway station in the world, with 262 million passengers in 2015.
Paris is especially known for its museums and architectural landmarks: the Louvre was the most visited art museum in the world in 2017, with 8.1 million visitors. The Musée d'Orsay and Musée de l'Orangerie are noted for their collections of French Impressionist art, and the Pompidou Centre Musée National d'Art Moderne has the largest collection of modern and contemporary art in Europe. The historical district along the Seine in the city centre is classified as a UNESCO Heritage Site. Popular landmarks in the centre of the city include the Cathedral of Notre Dame de Paris and the Gothic royal chapel of Sainte-Chapelle, both on the Île de la Cité; the Eiffel Tower, constructed for the Paris Universal Exposition of 1889; the Grand Palais and Petit Palais, built for the Paris Universal Exposition of 1900; the Arc de Triomphe on the Champs-Élysées, and the Basilica of Sacré-Coeur on the hill of Montmartre. Paris received 23 million visitors in 2017, measured by hotel stays, with the largest numbers of foreign visitors coming from the United States, the UK, Germany and China. It was ranked as the third most visited travel destination in the world in 2017, after Bangkok and London.
The football club Paris Saint-Germain and the rugby union club Stade Français are based in Paris. The 80,000-seat Stade de France, built for the 1998 FIFA World Cup, is located just north of Paris in the neighbouring commune of Saint-Denis. Paris hosts the annual French Open Grand Slam tennis tournament on the red clay of Roland Garros. Paris hosted the Olympic Games in 1900, 1924 and will host the 2024 Summer Olympics. The 1938 and 1998 FIFA World Cups, the 2007 Rugby World Cup, and the 1960, 1984, and 2016 UEFA European Championships were also held in the city and, every July, the Tour de France bicycle race finishes there.