View allAll Photos Tagged The trouble with Steve
Photos and text by Randall Cook, he and Mac Miller ran the car. "We ran the Boyle Valve car at Lawrenceburg last night in conjunction with both USAC sprint cars and a full modified program. We were pitted in a pretty hot spot as well with the sprinters being started just behind us and then returning from their runs in front of our spot in the pits. You really had to keep your head on a swivel.
It was a night show and my camera had problems with both low light and lots of dust floating through the air. And I had trouble getting any really good on track shots since the infield was kept clear of people and the entire track was surrounded by a pretty fine mesh catch fence. Some of them came out halfway decent.
Lawrenceburg has been extensively modified over the last few years to where it is now a very fast 3/8 high banked dirt track. And since VARC actually races in their heats and features the Boyle car mostly ran at its own pace down low and out of the way of the leaders who would flash by at speeds easily over 100 MPH. But Tom still looked solid in both of his runs.
Dr. Dicks must have hit a big hole at some point during the first heat since he managed to break off the right side headers off of his engine. Several cars then proceeded to run over the broken header so Tom will have to make an entirely new one this winter. At least this happened at the end of the season and not the beginning.
Weather permitting the BVS car will be at the Jungle Park Reunion next Saturday.
Note: For identification purposes please note that there are several photos of both Tom and Dr. Dicks with former modified and sometime IMCA sprint car driver Steve Perkins. Steve is now very involved in vintage racing and has become a friend to us all over the last few years.
RJC"
East-German postcard by VEB Progress Filmvertrieb, Berlin, no. 2.205, 1964,
Corpulent, balding Oskar Sima (1896-1969) was the king of the supporting roles of the Austrian and German cinema. From the 1920s to the late 1960s, the Austrian actor played character roles in over 250 comedies, film operettas and a few dramas.
Oskar Michael Sima was born in Hohenau an der March, Lower Austria, in 1896. He was the son of a baker. Sima attended high school in Vienna, followed by a trade school and then studied acting at the Vienna Conservatory. In 1919, after his military service during World War I, he received an engagement at the Deutsches Theater in Prague, then at the Deutsches Volkstheater in Vienna. In 1927 he went to Berlin where he worked under Max Reinhardt and Erwin Piscator. Reinhardt recognised his singular comic talent and had him cast in satirical or comedic roles. Sima’s film career started in 1921. Notable among his silent films are the Austrian Pat and Patachon comedy Schwiegersöhne/Sons in Law (Hans Steinhoff, 1926), and Leontines Ehemänner/Leontine's Husbands (Robert Wiene, 1928), with Claire Rommer and Georg Alexander . Sima was frequently cast as the comic villain whose machinations get everyone into trouble, although many a times his villainous stature was used to more chilling effect. An example was the German silent crime film Kolonne X/Column X (Reinhold Schünzel, 1929), starring Schünzel, Ernst Stahl-Nachbaur and Grete Reinwald. The film attempted to imitate the style of American crime films, switched to a German setting. Interesting was also the German silent drama Die Frau, nach der man sich sehnt/The Woman One Longs For (Kurt aka Curtis Bernhardt, 1929) starring Marlene Dietrich, Fritz Kortner and Frida Richard. In 1929, Sima married actress Lina Woiwode. The couple remained married until Sima's death. One of his first sound films was the drama Skandal um Eva/Scandalous Eva (Georg Wilhelm Pabst, 1930 in which he co-starred with Henny Porten. But in the following years, he played only supporting parts, such as in the German comedy frama Die Gräfin von Monte-Christo/The Countess of Monte-Christo (Karl Hartl, 1932) and starring Brigitte Helm, the Austrian-German romantic comedy So ein Mädel vergißt man nicht/You Don't Forget Such a Girl (Fritz Kortner, 1932) starring Willi Forst and Dolly Haas, and the comedy Der Glückszylinder/The Magic Top Hat (Rudolf Bernauer, 1932) with Charlotte Ander and Felix Bressart. Many of these directors and actors soon fled the country, including Fritz Kortner, Dolly Haas and Felix Bressart.
During the national socialist era, Oskar Sima was identified as being an active supporter of the Nazi Party. In 1938, he applauded Austria's 'Anschluss' with Germany, and his career thrived during the 1930s. In Hungary he played in the German comedy in Budapest/Scandal in Budapest (Steve Sekely, Géza von Bolváry, 1933), starring Franziska Gaal. It was made by the German subsidiary of Universal Pictures, and a separate Hungarian-language version was also made. The film was remade in Hollywood as Top Hat (Mark Sandrich, 1935), starring Fred Astaire and Ginger Rogers. Sima appeared at the side of Heinz Rühmann in the German comedy Heinz im Mond/Heinz in the Moon (Robert A. Stemmle, 1934), but also with Willy Fritsch and Lilian Harvey in the German romantic comedy Glückskinder/Lucky Kids (Paul Martin, 1936). I.S. Mowis at IMDb: “His stock-in-trade character was the surly curmudgeon: sometimes villainous, cigar-chewing and choleric, sometimes shifty and scheming, all the while deceptively amiable. At other times, he provided effective, often scene-stealing comedy relief, as pompous, easily deflatable editors, industrialists or burgomasters.” Sima regularly returned to Austria for films, e.g. the operetta Zauber der Boheme/he Charm of La Bohème (Géza von Bolváry, 1937), starring Jan Kiepura, Mártha Eggerth. After Austria had been incorporated into Greater Germany following the 1938 Anschluss, Sima often played in prouctions by Wien-Film, a Vienna-based company set up by the Nazis. He co-starred with Hertha Feiler and Attila Hörbiger in the drama Frau im Strom/Woman in the River (Gerhard Lamprecht, 1939), and appeared with Marte Harell in the musical comedy Wiener G'schichten/Vienna Tales (Géza von Bolváry, 1940). For the Ufa, he appeared in the propaganda film Über alles in der Welt/Above All Else in the World (Karl Ritter, 1941), made to promote Nazi Germany's war aims in the Second World War. However, Oskar Sima was a curiously ambivalent man. I.S. Mowis at IMDb: “He went as far as to join the NSDAP, ostensibly, in order to continue performing. On the other hand, Sima appears also to have been associated with at least one resistance cell during the 1940's.”
After World War II, Oskar Sima returned in the cinema in the West German musical crime film Die Dritte von rechts/Third from the Right (Géza von Cziffra, 1950), starring Vera Molnar. During the 1950s, Sima was frequently asked as a character actor, causing his biographer to write, "... there was hardly a film in which Oskar Sima didn't act." His films ranged from the Heimatfilm Grün ist die Heide/The Heath Is Green (Hans Deppe, 1951) starring Sonja Ziemann and Rudolf Prack to the Austrian historical drama Kaiserwalzer/The Emperor Waltz (Franz Antel, 1953), and starring Maria Holst as Empress Elisabeth of Austria. One of his best films of this era was the British musical Oh... Rosalinda! (Michael Powell, Emeric Pressburger, 1955), based on the operetta Die Fledermaus (The Bat) by Johann Strauss, but updated to take place in post-war Vienna as occupied by the four Allied powers: the United States, the United Kingdom, France and the USSR Wikipedia: “Oh... Rosalinda!! is a light-hearted Technicolor romp that makes full use of the new CinemaScope process, and is not just a film of a staged production but a filmic operetta.” He appeared in several 1950s remakes of major hits during the Weimar and Nazi eras, such as Der Kongreß tanzt/The Congress Dances (Franz Antel, 1955), Die Drei von der Tankstelle/The Three from the Filling Station (Hans Wolff, 1955), and Kirschen in Nachbars Garten/Fruit in the Neighbour's Garden (Erich Engels, 1956), in which Sima played the leading role. Later he appeared in a new, Austrian version of Die Fledermaus )Géza von Cziffra, 1962) starring Peter Alexander, Marianne Koch and Marika Rökk. His film career finished with the sex-comedy Susanne, die Wirtin von der Lahn/The Sweet Sins of Sexy Susan (Franz Antel, 1967). The commercial success of the film triggered the Frau Wirtin series of five films on later adventures of Susanne Delberg, all of them featuring Teri Tordai in the title role. Oskar Sima suffered a heart attack in 1968 and he retreated to his horse ranch near Vienna. He languished for nearly a year before succumbing to his illness. In 1969, he died in his home town Langenzersdorf, Austria, at the age of 72. Shortly before his death he received the Filmband in Gold, the film award for many years of outstanding achievements in the German cinema.
Sources: I.S. Mowis (IMDb), Filmportal.de, Wikipedia (German and English), and IMDb.
Stiff Little Fingers are a punk rock band from Belfast, Northern Ireland. They formed in 1977, at the height of the Troubles.
Jake Burns, lead singer, Guitar, original bass guitarist Ali McMordie, Steve Grantley, Drum Kit, Ian McCallum, Vocals, Guitar.
#1 in the UK Rock Album Chart: Stiff Little Fingers' new album No Going Back!! Thanks to fan-funding, Stiff Little Fingers has released a new studio album to tremendous response. With song titles like Liar's Club, Trail of Tears, and My Dark Places covering topics such as the recent economic collapse, continuing racism in the U.S., and Jake's personal battle with depression, Jake said, 'You've probably worked out by now, I don't do comedy songs'. But the songs continue to inspire fans old and new.
Stiff Little Fingers are a punk rock band from Belfast, Northern Ireland. They formed in 1977, at the height of the Troubles.
Jake Burns, lead singer, Guitar, original bass guitarist Ali McMordie, Steve Grantley, Drum Kit, Ian McCallum, Vocals, Guitar.
#1 in the UK Rock Album Chart: Stiff Little Fingers' new album No Going Back!! Thanks to fan-funding, Stiff Little Fingers has released a new studio album to tremendous response. With song titles like Liar's Club, Trail of Tears, and My Dark Places covering topics such as the recent economic collapse, continuing racism in the U.S., and Jake's personal battle with depression, Jake said, 'You've probably worked out by now, I don't do comedy songs'. But the songs continue to inspire fans old and new.
In Oahu Hawaii, on a 97 foot sail boat , this is a sophisticated therapeutic program for young boys 13 to 18. 28 days+ where the young people get a jump start therapeutically to resolve their problems or become more prepared and diagnosed to move on to a longer term school setting to meet their academy and behavioral needs.
Maximum of 20 boys, full time licensed therapists, two captains. These kids learn how to navigate and sail through life’s issues while visiting many islands in Hawaii. Good food and great intervention for the troubled teen.
Steve Bozak’s visit
Stiff Little Fingers are a punk rock band from Belfast, Northern Ireland. They formed in 1977, at the height of the Troubles.
Jake Burns, lead singer, Guitar, original bass guitarist Ali McMordie, Steve Grantley, Drum Kit, Ian McCallum, Vocals, Guitar.
#1 in the UK Rock Album Chart: Stiff Little Fingers' new album No Going Back!! Thanks to fan-funding, Stiff Little Fingers has released a new studio album to tremendous response. With song titles like Liar's Club, Trail of Tears, and My Dark Places covering topics such as the recent economic collapse, continuing racism in the U.S., and Jake's personal battle with depression, Jake said, 'You've probably worked out by now, I don't do comedy songs'. But the songs continue to inspire fans old and new.
Jacob Hoobler III was a fourth generation descendant of Jacob Hoobler, who traveled from Germany in 1733 and landed at the Port of Philadelphia. The travels of Jacob Hoobler took the first family westward to the Tulpehocken Valley of Pennsylvania - Cumberland County, Pennsylvania - Germantown, Ohio - Taylor’s Creek, Ohio (near Cincinnati) - and Fountain County, Indiana, near Veedersburg, where Jacob III was born November 21, 1847.
When he was three years old, the Hoobler family moved to Streator, Illinois, where young Jacob grew to manhood. On September 3, 1867, Jacob III married a Streator home town girl, Margaret Elmira Smith, who was born November 20, 1848.
Jacob III and Margaret had thirteen children, the first seven were born in Streator. Two children died at birth. The Streator children were Minnie Estella, William, Ezra, John and George. In 1877 the family bought $5 an acre railroad land along the Kansas river, near St. Marys, Kansas, where they begin farming on a large scale.
Jacob III and Margaret had six more children born in St. Marys, Kansas. The children were; Myrtie, Alta, Frank, Mabel, Elva and Clarence. Floods probably prompted the next move, which was led by Myrtie, her husband Lewis Ramsey and her brother George. They settled near Anselmo, Nebraska.
Many from the St. Marys area soon followed, including Jacob and Elmira and Frank, Mabel, Elva, Clarence and John and his small son, Francis, in 1902. They purchased a large tract of land in the Dry Valley district, in Loup County.
In 1905, a large two story house and a huge barn were erected. They sold their Kansas property to Estella and her husband, Steve Smith. After Elmira’s death, October 27, 1910, the family scattered. Myrtie and Lew Ramsey, Alta and Fred Smith, Mabel and George McCleery, and Clarence and Nellie Hoobler went to Texas.
William and Anna Hoobler went back to Kansas. John and Pearl, George and Dora, Frank and Lona Hoobler, and Elva and Elmer Dunbar stayed in Nebraska.
Jacob purchased property in Texas and went to live there in 1918, returning to Nebraska often to care for his ranch there. He passed away at his home in Texas, February 11, 1937 and was laid to rest beside his wife in the Moulton Cemetery, Loup County, Nebraska.
All of his children have long since passed on and many of the grandchildren, but those who are left continue to carry on a wonderful tradition started by Jacob and his children - family reunions. The last ones the elders attended were in 1929 in Nebraska, 1930 in Texas, and 1931 in Kansas.
Plans had been made to go to Oklahoma in 1932, but the depression put a stop to it. In 1970, cousins revived that tradition and they have met every two years since, rotating among the three states, Texas, Kansas and Nebraska, where Jacob’s children reared their families.
Jacob Hoobler III, born in Van Buren Township, Fountain County, Indiana, moved with his family south of Streator in Livingston County, Illinois, shortly after 1850. There on beautiful farmland along the Vermilion Riv-er, he grew to manhood. There was a huge colony of Hooblers and related families near the prosperous little town of Manville, as witnessed by the tombstones in area cemeteries. In 1867; he married Margaret Elmira Smith. In 1877, they joined the westward movement, buying $5 an acre railroad land along the Kansas River in Kaw Township, Wabaunsee Co. They lived in St. Marys while they built their home. An April 1878 St. Marys Twp. re-cord shows he bought 15 bridge tickets, allowing him to cross the iron bridge for 15 cents, with two horses and one wagon. On the 1885 Kansas census, his parents, Jacob II and Mary Dice Hoobler were living with the family, Jacob had 300 acres valued at $9000, and he raised corn, wheat, cattle, and swine. By 1895, the value of the farm had grown to $12,000; all was under fence, 200 acres were corn, 20 acres timothy, and 2 acres were Irish potatoes. He had 27 horses, 5 mules, 30 swine, 1 dog, 26 cattle and 100 bearing apple trees. One of his Sons remembered “Jake” as a white shirt—bow tie farmer, strictly a boss and never a laborer. “I never saw my father dirty,” he said. Elmira was a frail woman, but she drove her own team and buggy to town, while he loved to race his spirited team. When the Kansas River flooded the Hooblers joined in the Nebraska movement. In the Sand Hills of Loup County, he built a huge barn and ranch house. After her death, he moved to Texas about 1918. Jake must have made a break with the Illinois relatives; (he is not mentioned with the Kansas brother William and sister Mary Anderson in his parent’s obituaries). Still, he loved his family, and began the reunions in 1929, which were revived by Texas cousins in 1970. We hope it's a tradition that will continue for many more generations.
Margaret Elmira Smith was born in Streator, Ill., on Nov. 20, 1848, and died at her home in Dry Valley on Oct. 27, 1910, at the age of 61 years, 11 months, 7 days. She was married to Jacob Hoobler at Streator, Ill. on Sept. 3, 1867, and they made their home at this place for several years, coming to Loup County about 8 years ago. Her husband, 11 children, 29 grandchildren, and one great-grandchild survive her. Thirteen children were born to Mr. and Mrs. Hoobler, two having died in infancy. All the children - 6 sons and 5 daughters - were present at the obsequies, also a sister, Mrs. Amy Hoobler of Streator, Ill.
Mrs. Hoobler had not been in very good health since last spring, when she was quite seriously injured by a fall. Her last sickness, liver and stomach trouble was of one week's duration, which caused her much suffering. She called the family to her bedside at one o’clock on Thursday morning, bade each one goodbye, and peacefully breathed her life away, death occurring at 5:35 in the evening. The deceased endeared herself to all by her goodness, her cheerful disposition, and her kindness to everyone. She was devoted wife, a loving mother, and a sincere friend. Many tears fell as the silent form was lowered into its resting-place to await the coming of the Lord.
Mrs. Hoobler had often remarked that when she passed away, that her daughters should prepare her body for the casket, and that her sons should act as pallbearers, which request was complied with. O.O. Wood of Taylor, who preached a very eloquent and comforting sermon, conducted funeral services at the home on Sunday, Oct. 30. The choir under Mrs. Jameson's direction rendered several favorite selections. Interment was at Moulton Cemetery. About 200 friends and neighbors were present to pay their last respects to their departed friend. Mr. Hoobler, sons and daughters, have the sympathy of the entire community.
Jacob Hoobler was born Nov. 21, 1847 in the state of Indiana, and passed away Feb. 11, 1937 at his home near Canadian, Texas at the age of 89 years, 2 months, and 21 days. When three years of age, he moved with his parents to Streator, Ill., where Jacob grew to manhood. Sept.3, 1867, Jacob Hoobler and Margaret Elmira Smith were united in marriage. Ten years later, they moved to the vicinity of St. Marys, Kansas, where the family lived until 1902. Mr. Hoobler was a farmer and stockman in a big way. His greater interests in the latter were the motive for seeking a location in Loup County, in the grazing area, where he bought a large tract. In 1902, the Hooblers came to make their home here. He built a large ranch house and conducted farming and stock operations on a wide scale for many years.
Mrs. Hoobler died in 1910. After this great loss, Mr. Hoobler’s int-erest wandered. He made investments in Texas, and finally in 1918, went to Canadian to make his home in a warmer climate. He was, however, attached to Loup County; several of his children lived here, and he was still interest-ed in a financial way. He made many trips back to Nebraska. Aug. 6, 1929, the Hoobler family had a reunion at the Hoobler ranch, now owned by a son, John. They were host and hostess to approximately 80 relatives and a host of friends. -This was one of the most enjoyable events in the aged fathers advancing years. Three following reunions were held at Canadian, Tex., Madison, Ks., and Rosedale, OK. Mr. Hoobler was blessed with excellent health and amazing vitality almost to the last. A businessman said of him, "Jacob Hoobler possessed a keen mind for business transactions even to the year 1936.” Mr. Hoobler leaves to mourn his passing four daughters and six sons: Estella Smith, Rosedale, Oklahoma; Myrtle Ramsey and Mabel McCleery, Canadian, Texas; Elva Dunbar, Loup Co.; William, Madison, Kansas; Frank, Halsey, Nebraska; Dr. George, Sargent, Nebraska; and Clarence, Canadian, Texas. 49 grandchildren, 50 great-grandchildren, two children died in infancy, and daughter Alta Smith in 1920. Funeral services were held in the Taylor Evangelical Church Sunday, Feb. 14. Internment was in Moulton Cemetery. Pallbearers were Leo, Ray and Vern Hoobler, and Earl, Mark, and Arnold Dunbar.
Suspended Animation Classic #989 First published December 2, 2007 (#48) (Dates are approximate)
Amazing Spider-man
by Mark Allen
For those who have yet to delve into the “Brand New Day” storyline in Marvel’s The Amazing Spider-man, this is your spoiler warning: Go away NOW.
That said, allow me to express my excitement at what the publisher is doing with it’s flagship character. Having gotten rid of Peter Parker’s wife, Mary Jane (No time to tell you how - go ask a comic book retailer or fan about “One More Day.”), and re-established him as a single man, Marvel has increased the possibility of many more interesting relationship dynamics, which is part of what made the character much more interesting 20 years ago.
Additionally, the creators have wasted no time ramping up the drama with fascinating goings-on in the super-hero’s life. Let’s sum up: J. Jonah Jameson has lost the Daily Bugle to a competitor, and is lying in a hospital bed. There are two new, and very intriguing, villains giving Spidey a lot of trouble, and one of them spends time disturbingly close to Peter’s Aunt May in his “alter ego.” Old spider-tracers (tracking devices used by Spider-man) are turning up on murder victims around New York. And, as if all of that weren’t enough, one of the most notorious crime families in the Marvel Universe has made the do-gooder one of their favorite people, adding to his already-dismal public approval ratings.
The first three issues of the now-thrice-weekly series were written by Dan Slott and drawn by Steve McNiven (one of the best Spider-Man artists in a long time, in my opinion), with issues 549 and 550 written and drawn by Marc Guggenheim and Salvador Larroca, respectively, and herein lies the only problem I see with the book. Changing up creative teams every three issues could make Amazing difficult to follow for fans, especially where varying art styles are concerned. My advice: Go back to a monthly schedule and one creative team.
Amazing Spider-Man is still recommended for older teens and up.
Washington DC, Saturday August 28, 2021. Thousands gathered here today on the 58th Anniversary of the March On Washington to renew their commitment to civil rights for all. Reverend William Barber II kicked off the event with a Make Good Trouble rally in front of the Lincoln Memorial. There were more gatherings, including a March On For Voting Rights rally with speeches at other locations on the National Mall.
bonus track
on the way from
bonus track
on the way from
night city is endlessly fascinating and photographable
if I lived in the city I'd have major trouble getting myself off the streets and back in at night
=================
It's been a while. Last time I saw a dude on stage playing guitar was ... well it was what it seems like 29 years ago, a couple of days before the first lockdown hit us I went to see Midge Ure. Then shit hit the fan as they say in movies. I do not condone this sort of language. Anyway, Steve Hackett, for my money he's solidly in top ten of the greatest guitar artists, in no particular order, Prince (ok, this one is in particular order being the greatest who will not be surpassed), Brian May, Zappa, Steve Rothery, David Gilmour, Mark Knopfler, Clapton sneaks in on a good day, Santana makes a cut, Vini Reilly ... and Steve takes his well deserved spot . So I had to see him. A guitar magician in his own right and a part of one of those unique weird formations in 60s/70s/80s Britain when a bunch of seemingly random dudes came together in an unexplainable mysterious random fashion only to form a unit which becomes much bigger than the sum of it's parts and gives birth to gems of beauty, you know Beatles, Floyd, Crimson, Genesis.
Selling England by the Pound is one of those rare gems of beauty and genius and Steve with his remarkable band played it last night in its entirety and I was there.
It is also one of those weird rare occasions when the heritage of a great band, after departure of its charismatic front man, a unique leader, years later gets picked up by a new front man who walks right in into the role as if he was born to be there. Nad Sylvan is great.
Steve is a funny bunny. He's a bit like Mike Oldfield, a musical genius with a very questionable taste and a charisma of a loaf of bread but someone who looks like a "I am a good man" dude. They both look like Roger Hodgson type bloke, the one look at and you know this bloke is a good bloke. They both authored rare gems of music but occasionally they produce flat out pedestrian rubbish. They both sport the most disgusting hairdos a bloke could sport and they do it consistently for decades.
But when Steve is great, which is a regular occurrence, he is top 10 of the greatest great.
His apt is across street from google bus stop where a bus was blocked Dec 9
He was #evicted & locked out on Wednesday
The trouble with his landlord began after he reported a gas leak to PG&E
He came to Causa Justa on Feb 26 They wrote a letter to his landlord, but harassment & eviction threats increased
Google bus protest
Copyright 2014 Steve Rhodes Do not use without permission (srhodes at gmail) or available here
www.demotix.com/news/4191696/eviction-protest-across-goog...
Photos from blockade of Facebook and Google bus
www.demotix.com/news/3727620/san-francisco-gentrification...
photos from Dec 9 google bus protest available at
www.demotix.com/news/3462853/gentrification-protest-block...
Apple bus protest
www.demotix.com/news/3543244/protest-blocks-apple-bus-san...
Eviction protest
www.demotix.com/news/3532706/protestors-fight-against-evi...
Twitter protest
www.demotix.com/news/3169971/protest-san-francisco-twitte...
More at
www.flickr.com/photos/ari/collections/72157641264907255/
www.corbisimages.com/photographer/steve-rhodes
More info
techcrunch.com/2014/01/20/google-sends-high-handed-memo-w...
svenworld.com/2014/01/15/the-google-shuttle-effect-on-san...
#protest earlier blocking an #applebus (last time it was a #googlebus ) #sanfrancisco #applebusprotest #themission #gentrification #appleshuttle #stopsfevictions #stoptheevictions #techboom
#googlebus #google #protest #sanfrancisco #googlebusprotest #themission #gentrification #googleshuttle
modernluxury.com/san-francisco/story/tweet-tweet-synopsis...
www.metafilter.com/134606/You-cant-afford-it-You-can-leave
www.businessweek.com/articles/2013-12-31/are-the-techno-r...
svenworld.com/2014/01/15/the-google-shuttle-effect-on-san...
OK - so I'll post one or two shots of the Yellow-crowned Night Heron. She seemed to be having a bit of trouble getting this thing down, swallowed it and yacked it up once or twice for retakes.
This is a threatened species and can be very tough to find - especially odd to find them in a very crowded county park with people just a few feet from them walking dogs, etc.
© Steve Byland 2012 all rights reserved
Unauthorized use or reproduction for any reason is prohibited.
Please do not link to or blog this without contacting me first.
Akon @ VIP party following mushmusic awards.
Aliuane Badara Thiam, better known by his stage name Akon is a Wolof Senegalese-American hip hop and R&B singer-songwriter, rapper, and record producer. Akon rose to fame in 2004 following the release of his single "Locked Up" from his debut album Trouble. His second album, Konvicted, earned him a Grammy Award nomination for the single "Smack That". He is the founder of Konvict Muzik and Kon Live Distribution. He is well known for singing hooks and has over 145 guest appearances and 21 Billboard Hot 100 songs to his credit. He is the only artist to ever accomplish the feat of holding both the number one and two spots simultaneously on the Billboard Hot 100 charts twice.
lifeboatenthusiasts.com/the-early-development-of-maritime...
The Early Development of Maritime Rescue in the United Kingdom: The Story of the Tyne Lifeboat Institution and Volunteer Life Brigades by Steve Landells
BY CALLUM IVES
The communities of South Shields, North Shields and Tynemouth, at the mouth of the River Tyne on the north east coast of England, hold a unique position in the establishment and development of maritime rescue. In South Shields the first purpose designed lifeboat, Original, was launched in 1790, followed by a second lifeboat for North Shields, the Northumberland, in 1798. It was this same pioneering spirit that led to the first Volunteer Life Brigades being established, at Tynemouth in December 1864 and South Shields in January 1866, these, the forerunners of today’s H.M. Coastguard Rescue Service in the United Kingdom. It was also at North Shields, in 1905, that the Royal National Lifeboat Institution (RNLI) stationed its first petrol engined lifeboat.
The Origin of the Original
To lifeboat enthusiasts, Willie Wouldhave and Henry Greathead are synonymous with the design and construction of the lifeboat with claims by both men as being the “inventor” of the lifeboat. This created a controversy that actually ignored those who were the main driving force behind the creation of the first purpose designed lifeboat.
Prior to the completion of the North and South Piers in 1909, the entrance into the River Tyne was totally exposed to the full force of north easterly to south-easterly gales, with the Black Middens rocks to the north, the Herd Sands to the south, and the notorious Tynemouth Bar between. During winter gales, it was not uncommon for 6 or more ships to come ashore in a single day.
It was not until March 1789, following the wreck of the Adventure, that the first steps were taken towards establishing a lifeboat service when Nicholas Fairles, a local businessman, Magistrate andmember of the ‘Gentlemen of the Lawe House’, a group of local shipowners and marine insurers, who having been appalled at the loss of life and the inability of anyone to help rescue theAdventure’s crew, proposed a competition, offering a prize of 2 Guineas, to find a rescue boat capable of operating in the breaking surf at the river mouth.
Two entries were received, one from Willie Wouldhave Parish Clerk of St. Hilda’s Church, SouthShields, a tin model that demonstrated the concept of a self-righting boat, and from Henry Greathead, a local boat builder, a flat bottomed, wide beamed boat that resembled the troop carrying barges Greathead would have been familiar with during his time as a ship’s carpenter in the Royal Navy, during the time of the American War of Independence.
Neither entry found favour with the judging Committee. Greathead’s model was described as inappropriate for the local conditions, and Wouldhave’s boat, which was self-righting and to be built in copper sheeting, was found to be too radical a design. Whilst accepting Wouldhave’s idea ofinternal buoyancy, they only offered a Guinea for his trouble, which he declined to accept, but left his model with the Committee.
With no conclusive result, it was not until the Chairman of the Competition Committee, Nicholas Fairles, and Committee member, Michael Rockwood, met by chance and combined their knowledge gained from the competition to make a clay model of a boat that they considered would be best suited for local sea conditions.
Following Committee ratification, the model was given to Greathead to build, whose only contribution to the design was a curved keel, to assist in its manoeuvrability. The resultant boat, with design influences taken from the Northumbrian Coble and Norway Yawl, was non-self-righting and double ended, 28 feet 6 inches long by 9 feet 6 inches beam and 3 feet 2 inches depth amidships. The hull was clinker built with cork buoyancy fendering around the midships gunwale. It rowed 10 oars, was steered by a long oar from the stern, and had a crew of 12.
The boat was not named but became known as the Original, and was kept on a carriage in a lifeboat house located at the river mouth, at South Shields, and crewed by local pilots. The total cost of £159, and subsequent operational costs, was met by local shipowners. The new boat first launched on service on January 30th, 1790 when a vessel came ashore on the Herd Sand.
In 1802, the patent on another early sea rescue pioneer’s work, Lionel Lukin’s ‘unimmergible’ boatwas due to expire and with this knowledge, Greathead in October 1801, embarked on a public campaign to be recognised as the Inventor of the Lifeboat, and to market his boat building business.
He first sought the help of the Gentlemen of the Lawe House requesting them to sign his certificate stating that he was the inventor of the lifeboat. Nicholas Fairles refused to sign suggesting that he should show his model to see if it indeed resembled the Original.
Undaunted, his first successes were financial rewards from Lloyds of London and Trinity House, and then, in July 1802, with the patronage and sponsorship of local Members of Parliament, Parliament awarded Greathead £1200, recognising him as the Inventor of the lifeboat. In his evidence, he stated that the wreck of the Adventure gave him the idea of the lifeboat competition, and that his model – he showed Parliament the Original – had won the competition.
News reached Wouldhave of Parliament’s decision, but without the financial means and social status, he could do little to mount a successful challenge. In any event, Wouldhave, whilst designing a self-righting lifeboat, did not design the Original.
Fairles, the driving force behind the Original, stated in correspondence in 1806, that neither Greathead nor Wouldhave could be considered as being the inventor of the Original.
Prior to his campaign Greathead had built only five lifeboats, but during 1802, his yard built a further 10 boats, peaking in 1803 with another 14. Output diminished thereafter with only 12 boats built between 1805 and 1810. Having been declared bankrupt in 1807 and 1810, and imprisoned for debt in 1813, he died in 1818 aged 63. Willie Wouldhave, at the age of 73, died penniless, in 1821.
Wouldhave’s 1789 Tin Model and the South Shields Lifeboat, Tyne, built in 1833
The Beginnings of an Organised Lifeboat Service
The success of the Original, and an increase in shipwrecks led, at the behest of Nicholas Fairles, to a second Greathead built boat, Northumberland, being stationed at North Shields in 1798, this funded by the 2nd Duke of Northumberland, both stations being managed by a local committee.
The Original served at South Shields until January 1830, when she was wrecked on the Black Middens rescuing the crew of the brig Glatton. She never lost a single life during her 40 years service. Due to the lack of finance, it was not until 1833 that she was replaced by the 32 ft. longTyne, stationed at South Shields until 1887 where she saved 1024 lives.
The delay in replacing the Original led to the Newcastle Shipwreck Association requesting the National Lifeboat Institution to place a boat at Tynemouth Haven in 1832, this being on station for 10 years.
Due to recession, funding from local shipowners reduced to such an extent that in November 1808, following a public meeting in South Shields called and presided over by Nicholas Fairles, a permanent lifeboat fund was established, which essentially set-up a commercial lifeboat service, shipowners subscribing 10s6d per ship per annum, in return for which no charge was made for the lifeboat going to the assistance of any of their ships. Similar arrangements were established for the North Shields lifeboat. 5 Guineas was charged for the services of the boats to non-subscribers in addition to the payment made to the lifeboat crew of 1⁄2 Guinea each.
Nicholas Fairles was murdered in 1832, when attempting to resolve a coal miners strike.
This arrangement worked well until 1840, when after the crew of the brig Friendship was rescued, the owner declined to contribute to the fund. Judgement was given against him in the local Court, but with no legal means to enforce payment. At a meeting of local shipowners soon afterwards, it was decided that every vessel using the Tyne should voluntarily contribute to a lifeboat fund based on vessel tonnage. At the same time the management of the South and North Shields boats was consolidated into the Tyne Lifeboat Institution.
The Tyne at Coble Landing, South Shields, in 1858. The Providence can be seen in the boathouse and to the right of the boathouse, the former North Shields lifeboat, Northumberland, built by Greathead in 1798, and purchased by local Pilots in 1842, and used as a salvage boat.
This organisation, renamed the Tyne Lifeboat Society, in 1905, was independent of the Royal National Lifeboat Institution.
The 1841 reorganisation led to a major overhaul of the lifeboat service. New boats and boathouses were built for both the existing North and South Shields stations, and new stations were established at Tynemouth Haven and on the Herd Sand at South Shields.
In addition to maintaining and manning a floating fire engine for use on the river, the local institution also undertook humanitarian work in looking after rescued seamen who had lost all their possessions, by giving them clothes to wear, finding and paying for temporary accommodation, giving financial assistance for passages home and finding berths on ships for seamen to continue in employment.
By 1862, there were 4 local institution boats: the Providence and Tyne both at the Coble Landing, South Shields, and the Prior in the South Beach boathouse, South Shields, and the secondNorthumberland at North Shields. Following the RNLI establishing the Tynemouth Lifeboat Station at the Haven in 1862, the Prior was moved to the South Beach boathouse.
Replacement boats were also constructed with, in 1872, the Tom Perry and in 1878 Willie Wouldhave both for South Shields and in 1884, the James Young for North Shields. The last boat to be built, in 1886, was the Bedford, together with a new boathouse next to the 1841 double boathouse at the Coble Landing South Shields.
In 1905, a new boathouse was constructed at the Pilot House Jetty, South Shields to replace that at the Coble Landing, further upstream. This new boathouse was directly opposite the moorings of the new motor lifeboat stationed at North Shields by the Royal National Lifeboat Institution.
The design principles of these later boats, 33ft in length and 11ft. beam, still reflected those of the first Greathead built boats, and it was not until 1935, that the Bedford, now in the Pilot Jetty boathouse, was fitted with a petrol engine. However, this significantly affected her sea-keeping qualities. She performed the last service launch of a Tyne Lifeboat Institution boat in 1937.
Of the last remaining boats, the 66-year-old Tom Perry was sold in 1938 and used as a diving boat, and the 57 year old James Young, together with the new Tynemouth RNLI motor boat, John Pyemont, were destroyed, in their adjoining boathouses, during an air raid in April 1941. The Willie Wouldhave and her South Beach boathouse were destroyed in an arson attack in March 1947.
The 1849 Lifeboat Disaster
Tragedy hit the community of South Shields on December 4th 1849, when the Providence lifeboat capsized with the loss of 20 of its 24 crew of Tyne pilots. She had launched to the brig Betsy drivenonto the Herd Sands, in an easterly gale, and when alongside, a huge sea swept around the brig’sstern and capsized the lifeboat. The North Shields lifeboat Northumberland launched and rescued the crew of the Betsy and one of the lifeboatmen who had climbed aboard. The South Shields lifeboat Tyne also launched and picked up 3 survivors clinging to the keel of the Providence.
As a consequence of the disaster, the 4th Duke of Northumberland, President of the National Lifeboat Institution offered, in October 1850, a prize of 100 Guineas for the best model of a self- righting lifeboat. The competition was won by James Beeching of Great Yarmouth, whose design,adopted the principles of Wouldhave’s 1789 model. It was the publicity from this disaster and competition that led to resurgence in the fortunes of the National Lifeboat Institution.
Rescues
Although lifeboats began operating on the Tyne in 1789, only the service logs for the years 1861- 1870 and 1882-1910 remain and what narrative remains today largely comes from newspaper articles and local wreck registers.
During two weeks of south easterly gales in January 1854, the lifeboats launched to over 50 ships driven ashore. One night, 12 ships came ashore between 2100 hours and 0200 hours, the lifeboatsTyne, Providence and Northumberland not returning to their boathouses until 0300, having rescued 87 seamen.
Saturday, 9 February 1861, proved to be a busy day illustrating the necessity of having four lifeboats that could deal with multiple wrecks. A north easterly gale had created atrocious sea conditions on the Bar and within the space of seven hours five ships were wrecked.
The first vessel to come ashore on the under-construction South Pier was the brig Minerva of Whitby, her crew being rescued by the Providence. Next to come ashore was the schooner Fowliswithin yards of the Minerva. The Providence, Tyne, Northumberland and Prior all launched with theProvidence hitting the rubble stone base of the pier, returning for repairs, and the Prior being forced back ashore. The Providence put off a second time and upon reaching the wreck was unable to maintain her position in the high seas and was again forced ashore.
The Tyne returned to the beach and took on board a number of the local Coastguards and their rocket apparatus and anchoring to seaward of the wreck, fired a line across the schooner and hauled the crew aboard. Thirty minutes later, the schooner Caesar of Whitstable came ashore on the Herd Sand, with the Tyne and Northumberland each rescuing four of its crew of eight, after which the crew of the brig Indus, ashore on the Herd Sands, were rescued by the Northumberland, and later, the brig Sarah Anne of North Shields came ashore on the Herd Sands, the Tyne rescuing her crew of six.
On Friday, January 28, 1910, in a severe easterly storm with frequent snow squalls, the Norwegian barquentine, Alphonse, came ashore on the Herd Sand. The Volunteer Life Brigade fired a number of lines but the crew made no attempt to use the breeches buoy. The Willie Wouldhave, having last performed a service in January 1892, launched into the breakers, came around the stern of the ship and onto her leeside and took off all 29 crew.
On Sunday 19th November, 1916, during a south easterly gale, with sea conditions at the entrance to the harbour so bad that both pier lighthouses were at times completely obscured by breaking seas, the Fred Olsen Line mail boat, Bessheim, was driven onto the Black Middens.
The Tom Perry and Bedford launched from South Shields followed by the Tynemouth motor lifeboatHenry Vernon, and the Tynemouth Volunteer Life Brigade setting up the rocket apparatus.
The two rowing lifeboats boats slowly made their way towards the Bessheim, half a mile away, battling the heavy seas and a flood tide when the Henry Vernon overtook them, reaching the stranded ship just as the second rocket had been fired, the Henry Vernon nearly being hit by the falling rocket.
The Henry Vernon navigated between the rock outcrops on the Middens, her keel hitting the rocks. When she reached the ship’s ladder which had been rigged on the leeside of the mailboat, 32 passengers dropped into the lifeboat, returning them to the Fish Quay. The South Shields lifeboat,Tom Perry, then went alongside and took off 16, transferring them to the Henry Vernon, which had now returned, and on the rising tide, the Henry Vernon went alongside a second time, taking off 34, with a third journey to take off the remaining 30 crew and six passengers. Tynemouth Volunteer Life Brigade, using the breeches buoy, rescued three of the crew.
On the morning of Sunday 9th November, 1919, during an easterly force eight gale with snow showers, the steamship Linerton came ashore on the Herd Sands, to the south of the South Shields Volunteer Life Brigade Watch House. After the force of the gale blew several rockets, fired by the Volunteer Life Brigade, back onshore, the Willie Wouldhave was launched, the ferocity of the seas driving her back onto the beach, narrowly missing the timbers of the Constance Ellen, wrecked in 1901. With the help of the Volunteer Life Brigade, she got away and reached the leeside of theLinerton rescuing 24 of her crew, being constantly filled by the breakers as she surfed back towards the beach. She launched again and took off the remaining 21 crew. This was the last service call for the 41-year-old Willie Wouldhave.
Although no comprehensive records of the Tyne Lifeboat Institution’s work remain, the number oflives saved by the Shields Lifeboats is estimated at over 4000. The Volunteer Life Brigades were established following the wreck of the steamship Stanley, on the Black Middens, in November 1864.
Despite the heroic attempts of the Tyne lifeboats Providence and Tyne, together with the Tynemouth RNLI lifeboat, Constance, which lost two of her crew, and the efforts of the local Coastguard, who did not have the manpower or resources to affect a successful rescue, 25 passengers and crew on the Stanley perished.
The wreck of the Stanley
The disaster highlighted the need for a volunteer shore-based rescue organisation to work with the full-time Coastguard, who were then the only people trained in the use of rocket and breeches buoy rescue equipment.
After a series of public meetings, Tynemouth Volunteer Life Brigade (TVLB) was established in December 1864, followed by Cullercoats, 1.5 miles to the north, in 1865 and South Shields, (SSVLB) on the south side of the river, in January 1866. Over 500 Brigades served around the coast of the country, these gradually becoming absorbed into the HM Coastguard Rescue Service.
The South Shields Brigade comprised of four divisions each of 50 men, and became the first volunteer group to undertake a breeches buoy rescue, in April 1866, with the rescue of the crew of the Tenderten. That same year, the rules of TVLB were adopted by the Board of Trade and circulated nationally to encourage other volunteer life saving brigades to be established around the coast.
At South Shields, a timber watch house was built in 1866, at the start of the South Pier, with the addition of a lookout tower and infirmary by 1879. A wooded equipment store was built in 1868 and replaced by the present brick building in 1894. A watch house at Tynemouth was built on a prominent site overlooking the harbour entrance in 1866. This site was requisitioned by the military and a new watch house was built nearby in 1874, where it still stands today. Both are protected historic buildings and are still the operational headquarters of both lifesaving brigades that also house museums outlining the history and development of the Brigades.
Today, only three Volunteer Life Brigades remain, those at South Shields, Tynemouth and Sunderland, with other Brigades having been absorbed into the HM Coastguard Rescue Service. TheBrigades are all operational ‘Declared Facilities’ now specialising in coast and cliff rescue, working directly with HM Coastguard, the RNLI lifeboats from Tynemouth, Cullercoats and Sunderland and the Coastguard search and rescue helicopters.
The Visit of Charles McClellan
In July 1883, USLSS District Inspector Lieutenant Charles McClellan visited South Shields and witnessed a breeches buoy drill by SSVLB on the 25th July as well as inspecting two of the 33ft. surf lifeboats of the Tyne Lifeboat Institution, the Tyne and Tom Perry.
The drill, requested by Lt. McCellan, had been arranged through the Board of Trade, in order for him to obtain a complete knowledge of the working of the rocket apparatus, as part of his factfinding trip to the United Kingdom.
A report in the 26th July edition of the South Shields Gazette, stated that after the drill, Lt. McClellan was introduced to the assembled crowd, where he expressed his pleasure and thanks to the Brigadesmen for their drill, which he considered to be highly professional. He concluded that if ever he had the misfortune to be shipwrecked, he would like it to be in the vicinity of South Shields Volunteer Life Brigade, the crowd applauding his short speech. Upon his return home, McClellan embarked on a programme of improving lifesaving equipment and surf boat design, as outlined in the USLSS Board of Lifesaving Appliances reports of 1886,1888,1892 and 1893.
McClellan proposed and obtained approval in October 1884, from the Board of Life Saving Appliances, for the adoption of a hawser cutter that had been designed and developed by a member of South Shields VLB. It is interesting to note that the 1884 report states that the hawser cutter had been obtained by Lt. McClellan on a recent visit to England, as adopted by the Board of Trade for use at stations of the Royal National Lifeboat Institution, albeit that it was H.M. Coastguard and VLB’s,and not the RNLI that operated this apparatus.
The Shields surf lifeboats had raised water tight decks, air cases, through deck relieving tubes and valves, water ballast and external fenders, The Tyne, built in 1833 on the lines of the earlier Greathead built lifeboats, and which McClellan had inspected, had these features added during a refit in 1845, with these being standard in all subsequent boats, such as the 1872 built, Tom Perry.
Whilst the Beebe surfboat resembled the lines of the Original, improvements in USLSS surf boat design, through the work of Lieutenant J.C. Moore and the evolution of the Beebe-McClellan surfboat, progressed during 1887 and 1888, with new build boats, and modifications to existing surfboats including the features found in the Shields lifeboats With no direct evidence, it is onlyspeculation as to whether McClellan’s visit to the South Shields, and his inspection of the local lifeboats, had any direct influence upon the subsequent design and development of USLSS surfboats.
Both the Tynemouth and South Shields Brigades were instrumental in the development of life saving apparatus, with the Board of Trade using TVLB to evaluate new equipment, whilst SSVLB also developed a new traveller block and recommended and implemented talley boards being in foreign languages, this after the crews of a number of foreign vessels that came ashore did not know how to rig the breeches buoy. TVLB also campaigned for instructions, translated into a number of languages, on rigging a breeches buoy, to be put on brass plaques permanently attached to all ship’s masts.
In September 1877, TVLB undertook a drill for the benefit of General Ulysses S Grant who was visiting the Watch House.
The celebrated artist, Winslow Homer, lived in nearby Cullercoats, a small fishing village, between spring 1881 and November 1882, residing in a house that overlooked the harbour, the Cullercoats VLB Watch House and RNLI boathouse. During his stay he would have witnessed a number of shipwrecks and rescues by the local lifeboats and Volunteer Life Brigades. His painting of the ‘Wreck of the Iron Crown’, on display at the Baltimore Museum of Art, shows the Tynemouth RNLI lifeboatCharles Dibdin battling through surf to the barque ashore on the rocks of the Black Middens. Five crew were rescued by TVLB with the remaining 17 by the lifeboat.
Upon his return to the United States, he applied his understanding of violent seas, as witnessed at Cullercoats and Tynemouth, and after seeing a demonstration of a breeches buoy drill at Atlantic City, painted, in 1884, the ‘Lifeline’ now displayed in the City of Philadelphia Museum of Art.
The RNLI and the Shields Lifeboats
Since the establishment of the Royal National Lifeboat Institution, in 1824, the Tyne Lifeboat Institution resisted numerous requests to become a part of that organisation on the grounds that their boats were better suited for the local sea conditions and that they had the financial resources to operate a successful service.
Despite the Tyne Lifeboat Institution operating four lifeboats, the RNLI decided to open their own station at Tynemouth Haven in 1862 with a second station and boat, overlooking the Black Middens, soon following in 1865, as a response to the wreck of the Stanley. A report in the Lifeboat Journal at that time, states that “as the neighbouring life-boats, at North and South Shields, provided and supported by a local life-boat society, are on the old “Greathead” plan, an opportunity will no doubtbe afforded for testing the comparative qualities of the two descriptions of boats, as no winter passes by without the occurrence of wrecks on the Herd Sands and the shore contiguous to ourgreat coal port.”
Both the Tyne Lifeboat Institution and RNLI boats worked in conjunction with each other on wreck services. However, during the 1880’s and 1890’s, the Honorary Secretary of the Tynemouth RNLI Station wrote to the Tyne Lifeboat Institution on a number of occasions, requesting that a portion of their funds collected as harbour dues be handed over to the RNLI, requests that if accepted would have seen the financial collapse of the local institution.
The Tynemouth RNLI stations had also, for a number of years, been experiencing difficulties in launching and recovering their boats at low tide, whilst also having difficulties in getting a full crew for their boats. The local institution boats being able to launch and reach wrecks far more quickly than the RNLI boats further compounded the operational ability of the RNLI.
To resolve these problems the RNLI, in August 1903, proposed, to construct a new boathouse and slipway near to the Black Middens, connected to the shore by a gangway, and the Tynemouth RNLI Committee approached the Tyne Lifeboat Institution to discuss the relocation of the Tynemouth station and the future of local lifeboat provision, an invitation that was declined.
By August 1904, the Tyne Lifeboat Institution were concerned about the overtures from the RNLI, and decided to secure their legal protection, applying to the Board of Trade for registration under the Companies Act 1862. The application was contested by the RNLI on 10 grounds at a hearing held in London in December 1904. However, the Board of Trade granted the Licence of Incorporation, in January 1905, recommending that the local institution change their name to the Tyne Lifeboat Society. Following this decision, the RNLI were contemplating closing both Tynemouth stations on operational grounds and the high cost to construct a new station. A solution to these problems came when the RNLI decided in March 1905, two months after the Board of Trade decision, to station the first petrol engine motor lifeboat, the J. McConnel Hussey, at Tynemouth, a move that immediately rendered obsolete the Shields rowing surf lifeboats.
With a greater speed, endurance and carrying capacity than the rowing surf lifeboats, the RNLI, unlike the Tyne Lifeboat Society, had recognised the changed operational conditions arising from the completion of the Tyne Piers, with the majority of services likely to occur outside the piers. This is indeed what resulted.
The End of an Era
The Tyne Lifeboat Institution doggedly retained the principles of operating surf lifeboats, considering that this type of boat was best suited for the conditions at the mouth of the Tyne, despite the fact that the construction of the piers had removed many of the dangers previously encountered at the harbour entrance. As a result, the number of service calls dramatically reduced to only a handfulduring the 1920’s and 1930’s.
The failure of the Tyne Lifeboat Institution to adapt to these changing circumstances and financial inability to modernise and replace an ageing fleet of lifeboats, was eclipsed by the far more technically advanced, and better resourced RNLI, who in placing a motor lifeboat on the Tyne resolved a number of operational and political problems prevalent between the two organisations.
The history of the Tyne Lifeboats and Volunteer Life Brigades can still be seen today. Wouldhave’stin model together with other related artefacts are on display in South Shields Museum. The only remaining Shields lifeboats still in existence are the Bedford, currently being restored by the North East Maritime Trust, in South Shields and the Tyne, also displayed in the town. The Redcar LifeboatZetland, built by Greathead in 1802, is displayed in the town’s Lifeboat Museum. The museums in both Volunteer Life Brigade Watch Houses display many artefacts from shipwrecks together with rocket rescue and breeches buoy equipment.
The dedication and determination of the early rescue pioneers is still continued today by the crews at Tynemouth Lifeboat Station, with their 17m, 25 knot, Severn Class lifeboat Spirit of Northumberland named after the first lifeboats at North Shields. The Volunteer Life Brigades are now specialist search and cliff rescue teams, whilst the Tynemouth Brigade still maintains a breeches buoy capability using equipment developed in the offshore oil industry, despite the breeches buoy being withdrawn nationally in 1988.
For these pioneering communities, the accolade of being the ‘Cradle of Lifesaving’ in the UnitedKingdom is both justified and deserved.
Steely Dan is an American rock duo founded in 1972 by core members Walter Becker (guitars, bass, backing vocals) and Donald Fagen (keyboards, lead vocals). Blending rock, jazz, latin music, reggae, traditional pop, R&B, blues,[2] and sophisticated studio production with cryptic and ironic lyrics, the band enjoyed critical and commercial success starting from the early 1970s until breaking up in 1981.[2] Throughout their career, the duo recorded with a revolving cast of session musicians, and in 1974 retired from live performances to become a studio-only band. Rolling Stone has called them "the perfect musical antiheroes for the Seventies".[4]
After the group disbanded in 1981, Becker and Fagen were less active throughout most of the next decade, though a cult following[2] remained devoted to the group. Since reuniting in 1993, Steely Dan has toured steadily and released two albums of new material, the first of which, Two Against Nature, earned a Grammy Award for Album of the Year. They have sold more than 40 million albums worldwide and were inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in March 2001.[5][6][7][8] VH1 ranked Steely Dan at #82 on their list of the 100 greatest musical artists of all time.[9] Founding member Walter Becker died on September 3, 2017, leaving Fagen as the sole official member.
Contents
1History
1.1Formative and early years (1967–1972)
1.2Can't Buy a Thrill and Countdown to Ecstasy (1972–1973)
1.3Pretzel Logic and Katy Lied (1974–1976)
1.4The Royal Scam and Aja (1976–1978)
1.5Gaucho and breakup (1978–1981)
1.6Time off (1981–1993)
1.7Reunion, Alive in America (1993–2000)
1.8Two Against Nature and Everything Must Go (2000–2003)
1.8.1Firing of Roger Nichols
1.9Touring, solo activity (2003–2017)
1.10After Becker's death (2017–present)
2Musical and lyrical style
2.1Music
2.1.1Overall sound
2.1.2Backing vocals
2.1.3Horns
2.1.4Composition and chord use
2.2Lyrics
3Members
3.1Timeline
4Discography
5See also
6References
7External links
History
Formative and early years (1967–1972)
Becker and Fagen met in 1967 at Bard College, in Annandale-on-Hudson, New York. As Fagen passed by a café, The Red Balloon, he heard Becker practicing the electric guitar.[10] In an interview, Fagen recounted the experience: "I hear this guy practicing, and it sounded very professional and contemporary. It sounded like, you know, like a black person, really."[10] He introduced himself to Becker and asked, "Do you want to be in a band?"[10] Discovering that they enjoyed similar music, the two began writing songs together.
Becker and Fagen began playing in local groups. One such group, known as the Don Fagen Jazz Trio, the Bad Rock Group and later the Leather Canary, included future comedy star Chevy Chase on drums. They played covers of songs by The Rolling Stones ("Dandelion"), Moby Grape ("Hey Grandma"), and Willie Dixon ("Spoonful"), as well as some original compositions.[10] Terence Boylan, another Bard musician, remembered that Fagen took readily to the beatnik life while attending college: "They never came out of their room, they stayed up all night. They looked like ghosts—black turtlenecks and skin so white that it looked like yogurt. Absolutely no activity, chain-smoking Lucky Strikes and dope."[10] Fagen himself would later remember it as "probably the only time in my life that I actually had friends."[11]
After Fagen graduated in 1969, the two moved to Brooklyn and tried to peddle their tunes in the Brill Building in midtown Manhattan. Kenny Vance (of Jay and the Americans), who had a production office in the building, took an interest in their music, which led to work on the soundtrack of the low-budget Richard Pryor film You've Got to Walk It Like You Talk It or You'll Lose That Beat. Becker later said bluntly, "We did it for the money."[12] A series of demos from 1968 to 1971 are available in multiple different releases, not authorized by Becker and Fagen.[13] This collection features approximately 25 tracks and is notable for its sparse arrangements (Fagen plays solo piano on many songs) and lo-fi production, a contrast with Steely Dan's later work. Although some of these songs ("Caves of Altamira", "Brooklyn", "Barrytown") were re-recorded for Steely Dan albums, most were never officially released.
Becker and Fagen joined the touring band of Jay and the Americans for about a year and a half.[14] They were at first paid $100 per show, but partway through their tenure the band's tour manager cut their salaries in half.[14] The group's lead singer, Jay Black, dubbed Becker and Fagen "the Manson and Starkweather of rock 'n' roll", referring to cult leader Charles Manson and spree killer Charles Starkweather.[14]
They had little success after moving to Brooklyn, although Barbra Streisand recorded their song "I Mean To Shine" on her 1971 Barbra Joan Streisand album. Their fortunes changed when one of Vance's associates, Gary Katz, moved to Los Angeles to become a staff producer for ABC Records. He hired Becker and Fagen as staff songwriters; they flew to California. Katz would produce all their 1970s albums in collaboration with engineer Roger Nichols. Nichols would win six Grammy Awards for his work with the band from the 1970s to 2001.[15]
After realizing that their songs were too complex for other ABC artists, at Katz's suggestion Becker and Fagen formed their own band with guitarists Denny Dias and Jeff "Skunk" Baxter, drummer Jim Hodder and singer David Palmer, and Katz signed them to ABC as recording artists. Fans of Beat Generation literature, Fagen and Becker named the band after a "revolutionary" steam-powered dildo mentioned in the William S. Burroughs novel Naked Lunch.[16][17][18] Palmer joined as a second lead vocalist because of Fagen's occasional stage fright, his reluctance to sing in front of an audience, and because the label believed that his voice was not "commercial" enough.
In 1972, ABC issued Steely Dan's first single, "Dallas", backed with "Sail the Waterway". Distribution of "stock" copies available to the general public was apparently extremely limited;[19] the single sold so poorly that promotional copies are much more readily available than stock copies in today's collectors market. As of 2015, "Dallas" and "Sail the Waterway" are the only officially released Steely Dan tracks that have not been reissued on cassette or compact disc. In an interview (1995), Becker and Fagen called the songs "stinko."[20] "Dallas" was later covered by Poco on their Head Over Heels album.
Can't Buy a Thrill and Countdown to Ecstasy (1972–1973)
Can't Buy a Thrill, Steely Dan's debut album, was released in 1972. Its hit singles "Do It Again" and "Reelin' In the Years" reached No. 6 and No. 11 respectively on the Billboard singles chart. Along with "Dirty Work" (sung by David Palmer), the songs became staples on classic rock radio.
Because of Fagen's reluctance to sing live, Palmer handled most of the vocal duties on stage. During the first tour, however, Katz and Becker decided that they preferred Fagen's interpretations of the band's songs, persuading him to take over. Palmer quietly left the group while it recorded its second album. He wrote the No. 2 hit "Jazzman" (1974) with Carole King.
Released in 1973, Countdown to Ecstasy was not as commercially successful as Steely Dan's first album. Becker and Fagen were unhappy with some of the performances on the record and believed that it sold poorly because it had been recorded hastily on tour. The album's singles were "Show Biz Kids" and "My Old School", both of which stayed in the lower half of the Billboard charts (though "My Old School" and—to a lesser extent—"Bodhisattva" became minor FM Rock staples in time).
Pretzel Logic and Katy Lied (1974–1976)
Guitarist Jeff "Skunk" Baxter left Steely Dan in 1974 when they ceased performing live and began working in the studio exclusively.
Pretzel Logic was released in early 1974. A diverse set, it includes the group's most successful single, "Rikki Don't Lose That Number" (No. 4 on the Billboard Hot 100), and a note-for-note rendition of Duke Ellington and James "Bubber" Miley's "East St. Louis Toodle-Oo".
During the previous album's tour, the band had added vocalist-percussionist Royce Jones, vocalist-keyboardist Michael McDonald, and session drummer Jeff Porcaro.[21] Porcaro played the sole drum track on one song, "Night By Night" on Pretzel Logic (Jim Gordon played drums on all the remaining tracks, and he and Porcaro both played on "Parker's Band"), reflecting Steely Dan's increasing reliance on session musicians (including Dean Parks and Rick Derringer). Jeff Porcaro and Katy Lied pianist David Paich would go on to form Toto. Striving for perfection, Becker and Fagen sometimes asked musicians to record as many as forty takes of each track.[22]
Pretzel Logic was the first Steely Dan album to feature Walter Becker on guitar. "Once I met [session musician] Chuck Rainey", he explained, "I felt there really was no need for me to be bringing my bass guitar to the studio anymore".[22]
A rift began growing between Becker-Fagen and Steely Dan's other members (particularly Baxter and Hodder), who wanted to tour. Becker and Fagen disliked constant touring and wanted to concentrate solely on writing and recording. The other members gradually left the band, discouraged by this and by their diminishing roles in the studio. However, Dias remained with the group until 1980's Gaucho and Michael McDonald contributed vocals until the group's twenty-year hiatus after Gaucho. Baxter and McDonald went on to join The Doobie Brothers. Steely Dan's last tour performance was on July 5, 1974, a concert at the Santa Monica Civic Auditorium in California.[23]
Becker and Fagen recruited a diverse group of session players for Katy Lied (1975), including Porcaro, Paich, and McDonald, as well as guitarist Elliott Randall, jazz saxophonist Phil Woods, saxophonist/bass-guitarist Wilton Felder, percussionist/vibraphonist/keyboardist Victor Feldman, keyboardist (and later producer) Michael Omartian, and guitarist Larry Carlton—Dias, Becker, and Fagen being Steely Dan's only original members. The album went gold on the strength of "Black Friday" and "Bad Sneakers", but Becker and Fagen were so dissatisfied with the album's sound (compromised by a faulty DBX noise reduction system) that they publicly apologized for it (on the album's back cover) and for years refused to listen to it in its final form.[24] Katy Lied also included "Doctor Wu" and "Chain Lightning".
The Royal Scam and Aja (1976–1978)
The Royal Scam was released in May 1976. Partly because of Carlton's prominent contributions, it is the band's most guitar-oriented album. It also features performances by session drummer Bernard Purdie. The album sold well in the United States, though without the strength of a hit single. "Haitian Divorce" (Top 20) drove sales in the UK, becoming Steely Dan's first major hit in that country.[25] Steely Dan's sixth album, the jazz-influenced Aja, was released in September 1977. Aja reached the Top Five in the U.S. charts within three weeks, winning the Grammy award for "Engineer – Best Engineered Recording – Non-Classical." It was also one of the first American LPs to be certified 'platinum' for sales of over 1 million albums.[26][27]
Roger [Nichols] made those records sound like they did. He was extraordinary in his willingness and desire to make records sound better.[28] The records we did could not have been done without Roger. He was just maniacal about making the sound of the records be what we liked... He always thought there was a better way to do it, and he would find a way to do what we needed to in ways that other people hadn't done yet.[29]
~ Steely Dan producer Gary Katz regarding Roger Nichols' role in the band's recording legacy.
Featuring Michael McDonald's backing vocals, "Peg" (No. 11) was the album's first single, followed by "Josie" (No. 26) and "Deacon Blues" (No. 19). Aja solidified Becker's and Fagen's reputations as songwriters and studio perfectionists. It features such jazz and fusion luminaries as guitarists Larry Carlton and Lee Ritenour; bassist Chuck Rainey; saxophonists Wayne Shorter, Pete Christlieb, and Tom Scott; drummers Steve Gadd, Rick Marotta and Bernard Purdie; pianist Joe Sample and ex-Miles Davis pianist/vibraphonist Victor Feldman and Grammy award-winning producer/arranger Michael Omartian (piano).
Planning to tour in support of Aja, Steely Dan assembled a live band. Rehearsal ended and the tour was canceled when backing musicians began comparing pay.[30] The album's history was documented in an episode of the TV and DVD series Classic Albums.
After Aja's success, Becker and Fagen were asked to write the title track for the movie FM. The movie was a box-office disaster, but the song was a hit, earning Steely Dan another engineering Grammy award. It was a minor hit in the UK and barely missed the Top 20 in the U.S.A.[25]
Gaucho and breakup (1978–1981)
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Becker and Fagen took a break from songwriting for most of 1978 before starting work on Gaucho. The project would not go smoothly: technical, legal, and personal setbacks delayed the album's release and subsequently led Becker and Fagen to suspend their partnership for over a decade.
Misfortune struck early when an assistant engineer accidentally erased most of "The Second Arrangement", a favorite track of Katz and Nichols,[31] which was never recovered. More trouble — this time legal — followed. In March 1979, MCA Records bought ABC, and for much of the next two years Steely Dan could not release an album. Becker and Fagen had planned on leaving ABC for Warner Bros. Records, but MCA claimed ownership of their music, preventing them from changing labels.
Turmoil in Becker's personal life also interfered. His girlfriend died of a drug overdose in their Upper West Side apartment, and he was sued for $17 million. Becker settled out of court, but he was shocked by the accusations and by the tabloid press coverage that followed. Soon after, Becker was struck by a taxi while crossing a Manhattan street, shattering his right leg in several places and forcing him to use crutches.
Still more legal trouble was to come. Jazz composer Keith Jarrett sued Steely Dan for copyright infringement, claiming that they had based Gaucho's title track on one of his compositions, "Long As You Know You're Living Yours" (Fagen later admitted that he'd loved the song and that it had been a strong influence).[32]
Gaucho was finally released in November 1980. Despite its tortured history, it was another major success. The album's first single, "Hey Nineteen", reached No. 10 on the pop chart in early 1981, and "Time Out of Mind" (featuring guitarist Mark Knopfler of Dire Straits) was a moderate hit in the spring. "My Rival" was featured in John Huston's 1980 film Phobia. Roger Nichols won a third engineering Grammy award for his work on the album.
Time off (1981–1993)
Steely Dan disbanded in June 1981.[33] Becker and his family moved to Maui, where he became an "avocado rancher and self-styled critic of the contemporary scene."[34] He stopped using drugs, which he had used for most of his career.[35][36][37] Meanwhile, Fagen released a solo album, The Nightfly (1982), which went platinum in both the U.S. and the U.K. and yielded the Top Twenty hit "I.G.Y. (What a Beautiful World)." In 1988 Fagen wrote the score of Bright Lights, Big City and a song for its soundtrack, but otherwise recorded little. He occasionally did production work for other artists, as did Becker. The most prominent of these were two albums Becker produced for the British sophisti-pop group China Crisis, who were strongly influenced by Steely Dan.[38] Becker is listed as an official member of China Crisis on the first of these albums, 1985's Flaunt the Imperfection, and played keyboards on the band's Top 20 UK hit "Black Man Ray". For the second of the two albums, 1989's Diary of a Hollow Horse, Becker is only listed as a producer and not as a band member.
In 1986 Becker and Fagen performed on Zazu, an album by former model Rosie Vela produced by Gary Katz.[39] The two rekindled their friendship and held songwriting sessions between 1986 and 1987, leaving the results unfinished.[40] On October 23, 1991, Becker attended a concert by New York Rock and Soul Revue, co-founded by Fagen and producer/singer Libby Titus (who was for many years the partner of Levon Helm of The Band and would later become Fagen's wife), and spontaneously performed with the group.
Becker produced Fagen's second solo album, Kamakiriad, in 1993. Fagen conceived the album as a sequel to The Nightfly.[citation needed]
Reunion, Alive in America (1993–2000)
Steely Dan, shown here in 2007, toured frequently after reforming in 1993.
Becker and Fagen reunited for an American tour to support Kamakiriad, which sold poorly despite a Grammy nomination for Album of the Year. With Becker playing lead and rhythm guitar, the pair assembled a band that included a second keyboard player, second lead guitarist, bassist, drummer, vibraphonist, three female backing singers, and four-piece saxophone section. Among the musicians from the live band, several would continue to work with Steely Dan over the next decade, including bassist Tom Barney and saxophone players Cornelius Bumpus and Chris Potter. During this tour, Fagen introduced himself as "Rick Strauss" and Becker as "Frank Poulenc".
The next year, MCA released Citizen Steely Dan, a boxed set featuring their entire catalog (except their debut single "Dallas"/"Sail The Waterway") on four CDs, plus four extra tracks: "Here at the Western World" (originally released on 1978's "Greatest Hits"), "FM" (1978 single), a 1971 demo of "Everyone's Gone to the Movies" and "Bodhisattva (live)", the latter recorded on a cassette in 1974 and released as a B-side in 1980. That year Becker released his debut solo album, 11 Tracks of Whack, which Fagen co-produced.
Steely Dan toured again in support of the boxed set and Tracks. In 1995 they released a live CD, Alive in America, compiled from recordings of several 1993 and 1994 concerts. The Art Crimes Tour followed, including dates in the United States, Japan, and their first European shows in 22 years. After this activity, Becker and Fagen returned to the studio to begin work on a new album.
Two Against Nature and Everything Must Go (2000–2003)
In 2000 Steely Dan released their first studio album in 20 years: Two Against Nature. It won four Grammy Awards: Best Engineered Album – Non-Classical, Best Pop Vocal Album, Best Pop Performance by Duo or Group with Vocal ("Cousin Dupree"), and Album of the Year (despite competition in this category from Eminem's The Marshall Mathers LP and Radiohead's Kid A). In the summer of 2000, they began another American tour, followed by an international tour later that year. The tour featured guitarist Jon Herington, who would go on to play with the band over the next two decades. The group released the Plush TV Jazz-Rock Party DVD, documenting a live-in-the-studio concert performance of popular songs from throughout Steely Dan's career. In March 2001, Steely Dan was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame.[5][6]
In 2003 Steely Dan released Everything Must Go. In contrast to their earlier work, they had tried to write music that captured a live feel. Becker sang lead vocals on a Steely Dan studio album for the first time ("Slang of Ages" — he had sung lead on his own "Book of Liars" on Alive in America). Fewer session musicians played on Everything Must Go than had become typical of Steely Dan albums: Becker played bass on every track and lead guitar on five tracks; Fagen added piano, electric piano, organ, synthesizers, and percussion on top of his vocals; touring drummer Keith Carlock played on every track.
Firing of Roger Nichols
In 2002 during the recording of Everything Must Go, Becker and Fagen fired their engineer Roger Nichols, who had worked with them for 30 years, without explanation or notification, according to band biographer Brian Sweet's 2018 revision of his book Reelin' in the Years.[41]
Touring, solo activity (2003–2017)
To complete his Nightfly trilogy, Fagen issued Morph the Cat in 2006. Steely Dan returned to annual touring that year with the Steelyard "Sugartooth" McDan and The Fab-Originees.com Tour.[42] Despite much fluctuation in membership, the live band featured mainstays Herrington, Carlock, bassist Freddie Washington, the horn section of Michael Leonhart, Jim Pugh, Roger Rosenberg, and Walt Weiskopf, and backing vocalists Carolyn Leonhart and Cindy Mizelle. The 2007 Heavy Rollers Tour included dates in North America, Europe, Japan, Australia, and New Zealand, making it their most expansive tour.[43]
The smaller Think Fast Tour followed in 2008, with keyboardist Jim Beard joining the live band. That year Becker released a second album, Circus Money, produced by Larry Klein and inspired by Jamaican music. In 2009 Steely Dan toured Europe and America extensively in their Left Bank Holiday and Rent Party Tour, alternating between standard one-date concerts at large venues and multi-night theater shows that featured performances of The Royal Scam, Aja, or Gaucho in their entirety on certain nights. The following year, Fagen formed the touring supergroup Dukes of September Rhythm Revue with McDonald, Boz Scaggs, and members of Steely Dan's live band, whose repertoire included songs by all three songwriters. Longtime studio engineer Roger Nichols died of pancreatic cancer on April 10, 2011.[44] Steely Dan's Shuffle Diplomacy Tour that year included an expanded set list and dates in Australia and New Zealand. Fagen released his fourth album, Sunken Condos, in 2012. It was his first solo release unrelated to the Nightfly trilogy.
The Mood Swings: 8 Miles to Pancake Day Tour began in July 2013 and featured an eight-night run at the Beacon Theatre in New York City.[45] Jamalot Ever After, their 2014 United States tour, ran from July 2 in Portland, Oregon to September 20 in Port Chester, New York.[46] 2015's Rockabye Gollie Angel Tour included opening act Elvis Costello and the Imposters and dates at the Coachella Valley Music and Arts Festival. The Dan Who Knew Too Much tour followed in 2016, with Steve Winwood opening. Steely Dan also performed at The Hollywood Bowl in Los Angeles with an accompanying orchestra.
The band played its final shows with Becker in 2017. In April, they played the 12-date Reelin' In the Chips residency in Las Vegas and Southern California.[47] Becker's final performance came on May 27 at the Greenwich Town Party in Greenwich, Connecticut.[48] Due to illness, Becker did not play Steely Dan's two Classics East and West concerts at Dodger Stadium and Citi Field in July.[49] Fagen embarked on a tour that summer with a new backing band, The Nightflyers.
After Becker's death (2017–present)
Becker died from complications of esophageal cancer on September 3, 2017.[50] In a note released to the media, Fagen remembered his longtime friend and bandmate, and promised to "keep the music we created together alive as long as I can with the Steely Dan band."[51] After Becker's death, Steely Dan honored commitments to perform a short North American tour in October 2017 and three concert dates in the United Kingdom and Ireland for Bluesfest on a double bill with the Doobie Brothers.[52] The band played its first concert following Becker's death in Thackerville, Oklahoma, on October 13.[52] In tribute to Becker, they performed his solo song "Book of Liars", with Fagen singing the lead vocals, at several concerts on the tour.[53]
Becker's widow and estate sued Fagen later that year, arguing that the estate should control 50% of the band's shares.[54] Fagen filed a counter suit, arguing that the band had drawn up plans in 1972 stating that band members leaving the band or dying relinquish shares of the band's output to the surviving members. In December, Fagen said that he would rather have retired the Steely Dan name after Becker's death, and would instead have toured with the current iteration of the group under another name, but was persuaded not to by promoters for commercial reasons.[55]
In 2018, Steely Dan performed on a summer tour of the United States with The Doobie Brothers as co-headliners.[56] The band also played a nine-show residency at the Beacon Theatre in New York City that October.[57] In February 2019, the band embarked on a tour of Great Britain with Steve Winwood.[58] Guitarist Connor Kennedy of The Nightflyers joined the live band, beginning with a nine-night residency at The Venetian Resort in Las Vegas in April 2019.[59]
On June 25, 2019, The New York Times Magazine listed Steely Dan among hundreds of artists whose material was reportedly destroyed in the 2008 Universal fire.[60]
Musical and lyrical style
Music
Overall sound
Special attention is given to the individual sound of each instrument. Recording is done with the utmost fidelity and attention to sonic detail, and mixed so that all the instruments are heard and none are given undue priority. Their albums are also notable for the characteristically 'warm' and 'dry' production sound, and the sparing use of echo and reverberation.
Backing vocals
Becker and Fagen favored a distinctly soul-influenced style of backing vocals, which after the first few albums were almost always performed by a female chorus (although Michael McDonald features prominently on several tracks, including the 1975 song "Black Friday" and the 1977 song "Peg"). Venetta Fields, Sherlie Matthews and Clydie King were the preferred trio for backing vocals on the group's late 1970s albums.[61] Other backing vocalists include Timothy B. Schmit, Tawatha Agee, Brenda White-King, Carolyn Leonhart, Janice Pendarvis, Catherine Russell, Cynthia Calhoun, Victoria Cave, Cindy Mizelle, and Jeff Young. The band also featured singers like Patti Austin and Valerie Simpson on later projects such as Gaucho.
Horns
Horn arrangements have been used on songs from all Steely Dan albums. They typically feature instruments such as trumpets, trombones and saxophones, although they have also used other instruments such as flutes and clarinets. The horn parts occasionally integrate simple synth lines to alter the tone quality of individual horn lines; for example in "Deacon Blues" this was done to "thicken" one of the saxophone lines. On their earlier albums Steely Dan featured guest arrangers and on their later albums the arrangement work is credited to Fagen.
Composition and chord use
Steely Dan is famous for their use of chord sequences and harmonies that explore the area of musical tension between traditional pop sounds and jazz. In particular, they are known for their use of the add 2 chord, a type of added tone chord, which they nicknamed the mu major.[62][63][64] Other common chords used by Steely Dan include slash chords for example Bb/C or E7/A. This notation shows a chord (shown to the left of the slash) with a note other than the tonic (shown to the right of the slash) as the lowest pitched note.[65]
Lyrics
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Steely Dan's lyrical subjects are diverse, but in their basic approach they often create fictional personae that participate in a narrative or situation. The duo have said that in retrospect, most of their albums have a "feel" of either Los Angeles or New York City, the two main cities where Becker and Fagen lived and worked. Characters appear in their songs that evoke these cities. Steely Dan's lyrics are often puzzling to the listener,[66] with the true meaning of the song "uncoded" through repeated listening, and a richer understanding of the references within the lyrics. For example, in the song "Everyone's Gone to the Movies," the line "I know you're used to 16 or more, sorry we only have eight" refers not to the count of some article, but to eight-millimeter film, which was lower quality than 16 mm or larger formats, underscoring the illicitness of Mr. Lapage's movie parties.
Thematically, Steely Dan creates a universe peopled by losers, creeps and failed dreamers, often victims of their own obsessions and delusions. These motifs are introduced in the Dan's first hit song, "Do It Again," which contains a description of a murderous cowboy who beats the gallows, a man taken advantage of by a cheating girlfriend, and an obsessive gambler, all of whom are unable to command their own destinies; similar themes of being trapped in a death spiral of one's own making appear throughout their catalog. Other themes that they explore include prejudice, aging, poverty, and middle-class ennui.
Many would argue that Steely Dan never wrote a genuine love song, instead dealing with personal passion in the guise of a destructive obsession.[67] Many of their songs concern love, but typical of Steely Dan songs is an ironic or disturbing twist in the lyrics that reveals a darker reality. For example, expressed "love" is actually about prostitution ("Pearl of the Quarter"), incest ("Cousin Dupree"), pornography ("Everyone's Gone to the Movies"), or some other socially unacceptable subject.[68] However, some of their demo-era recordings show Fagen and Becker expressing romance, including "This Seat's Been Taken", "Oh, Wow, It's You" and "Come Back Baby".
Steely Dan's lyrics contain subtle and encoded references, unusual (and sometimes original) slang expressions, a wide variety of "word games." The obscure and sometimes teasing lyrics have given rise to considerable efforts by fans to explain the "inner meaning" of certain songs.[69][70] Jazz is a recurring theme, and there are numerous other film, television and literary references and allusions, such as "Home at Last" (from Aja), which was inspired by Homer's Odyssey.
Some of their lyrics are notable for their unusual meter patterns; a prime example of this is their 1972 hit "Reelin' In the Years", which crams an unusually large number of words into each line, giving it a highly syncopated quality.
"Name dropping" is another Steely Dan lyrical device; references to real places and people abound in their songs. The song "My Old School" is an example, referring to Annandale (Annandale-on-Hudson, New York, is home to Bard College, which both attended and where they met), and the Two Against Nature album (2000) contains numerous references to the duo's original region, the New York metro area, including the district of Gramercy Park, the Strand Bookstore, and the upscale food store Dean & DeLuca. In the song "Glamour Profession" the conclusion of a drug deal is celebrated with dumplings at Mr. Chow, a Chinese restaurant in Beverly Hills. The band even employed self-reference; in the song "Show Biz Kids," the titular subjects are sardonically portrayed as owning "the Steely Dan T-shirt."
The band also often name-checks drinks, typically alcoholic, in their songs: rum and cokes ("Daddy Don't Live in That New York City No More"), piña coladas ("Bad Sneakers"), zombies ("Haitian Divorce"), black cows ("Black Cow"), Scotch whisky ("Deacon Blues"), retsina ("Home at Last"), grapefruit wine ("FM"), cherry wine ("Time Out of Mind"), Cuervo Gold ("Hey Nineteen"), kirschwasser ("Babylon Sisters"), Tanqueray ("Lunch with Gina"), Cuban breeze (Fagen's solo track "The Goodbye Look"), and margaritas ("Everything Must Go") are all mentioned in Steely Dan lyrics.[71]
Members
Current members
Donald Fagen – lead vocals, keyboards (1972–1981, 1993–present)
Former members
Walter Becker – guitar, bass, backing and lead vocals (1972–1981, 1993–2017; his death)
Jeff "Skunk" Baxter – guitar, backing vocals (1972–1974)
Denny Dias – guitar (1972–1974, studio contributions until 1977)
Jim Hodder – drums, backing and lead vocals (1972–1974; died 1990)
David Palmer – backing and lead vocals (1972–1973)
Royce Jones – backing and lead vocals, percussion (1973–1974)
Michael McDonald – keyboards, backing vocals (1974, studio contributions until 1980)
Jeff Porcaro – drums (1974, studio contributions until 1980; died 1992)
Photos and text by Randall Cook, he and Mac Miller ran the car. "We ran the Boyle Valve car at Lawrenceburg last night in conjunction with both USAC sprint cars and a full modified program. We were pitted in a pretty hot spot as well with the sprinters being started just behind us and then returning from their runs in front of our spot in the pits. You really had to keep your head on a swivel.
It was a night show and my camera had problems with both low light and lots of dust floating through the air. And I had trouble getting any really good on track shots since the infield was kept clear of people and the entire track was surrounded by a pretty fine mesh catch fence. Some of them came out halfway decent.
Lawrenceburg has been extensively modified over the last few years to where it is now a very fast 3/8 high banked dirt track. And since VARC actually races in their heats and features the Boyle car mostly ran at its own pace down low and out of the way of the leaders who would flash by at speeds easily over 100 MPH. But Tom still looked solid in both of his runs.
Dr. Dicks must have hit a big hole at some point during the first heat since he managed to break off the right side headers off of his engine. Several cars then proceeded to run over the broken header so Tom will have to make an entirely new one this winter. At least this happened at the end of the season and not the beginning.
Weather permitting the BVS car will be at the Jungle Park Reunion next Saturday.
Note: For identification purposes please note that there are several photos of both Tom and Dr. Dicks with former modified and sometime IMCA sprint car driver Steve Perkins. Steve is now very involved in vintage racing and has become a friend to us all over the last few years.
RJC"
Photos and text by Randall Cook, he and Mac Miller ran the car. "We ran the Boyle Valve car at Lawrenceburg last night in conjunction with both USAC sprint cars and a full modified program. We were pitted in a pretty hot spot as well with the sprinters being started just behind us and then returning from their runs in front of our spot in the pits. You really had to keep your head on a swivel.
It was a night show and my camera had problems with both low light and lots of dust floating through the air. And I had trouble getting any really good on track shots since the infield was kept clear of people and the entire track was surrounded by a pretty fine mesh catch fence. Some of them came out halfway decent.
Lawrenceburg has been extensively modified over the last few years to where it is now a very fast 3/8 high banked dirt track. And since VARC actually races in their heats and features the Boyle car mostly ran at its own pace down low and out of the way of the leaders who would flash by at speeds easily over 100 MPH. But Tom still looked solid in both of his runs.
Dr. Dicks must have hit a big hole at some point during the first heat since he managed to break off the right side headers off of his engine. Several cars then proceeded to run over the broken header so Tom will have to make an entirely new one this winter. At least this happened at the end of the season and not the beginning.
Weather permitting the BVS car will be at the Jungle Park Reunion next Saturday.
Note: For identification purposes please note that there are several photos of both Tom and Dr. Dicks with former modified and sometime IMCA sprint car driver Steve Perkins. Steve is now very involved in vintage racing and has become a friend to us all over the last few years.
RJC"
Invitation to join our new group “Star Trek Forever” No Limits on uploads!
www.flickr.com/groups/2601080@N25/
Star Trek: Asterisk "Star Trek IV: The Voyage Home"
Written by Steve Beaudry
Release Date: November 26, 1986
Written by: Steve Meerson & Peter Krikes and Harve Bennett & Nicholas Meyer
Directed by: Leonard Nimoy
Review
Deep in the outer reaches of space, a monstrous space probe passes by the USS Saratoga and knocks its power out on the way to Earth. Meanwhile, on Earth, a Klingon ambassador accuses Kirk of murdering a ship full of Klingons in his quest to exterminate the Klingon race with the Genesis probe (that thing will just not go away). The Federation president says that Kirk will face nine violations of Starfleet regulations, the crew of the Enterprise has been stuck on Vulcan for three months, and on top of all that, a computer is trying to find out how Spock feels. There's nowhere to go from here but up.
Well, in The Search for Spock, Kirk and the crew of the Enterprise stole a starship, blew it up, visited a forbidden planet, and apparently six other naughty things, so now they're getting ready to go back to Earth on their stolen Klingon Bird-of-Prey and face the music. There's just one hitch in this plan: the probe. It has now reached earth, shut down main power to... everything... and caused a huge weather phenomenon that blocked out the sun. So, basically, humanity has however long it'll take for Earth to freeze from lack of sunlight to tell this thing to move out of the way.
"When this is over, I'm quitting Starfleet and starting a gumbo restaurant."
In their Klingon ship, Kirk and the crew approach Earth and pick up a distress call from the president with the manly gray beard saying that Earth is under attack, so they pick up the probe's transmissions and analyze it. Since the transmission appears to be directed at the oceans, Kirk has Uhura compensate for the density of the water. When the audio effects are all in, the probe's transmission ends up sounding a lot like whale song; specifically, the extinct humpback whale. There's only one way they can get a humpback whale to answer the probe: The Guardian of Forev-... er... wait, no, the highly dangerous and tricky slingshot time warp maneuver. So there are two ways. We'll go with the dangerous one for now.
When they arrive in 1986, they confirm the date by testing the pollution in the air. Then they go into cloak and land in the middle of a park in San Francisco. After scaring off a couple of trash guys, the crew sets out to downtown. Their mission: 1) find humpback whales 2) get them on board the Klingon ship 3) fix the ship's dilithium crystals so they can go home. They split up to achieve their separate goals. Spock and Kirk go for the whales, Bones and Scotty go to build a proper tank, Uhura and Chekov find some nuclear power to fix the crystals.
Spock would like to take this opportunity to learn karate.
Spock and Kirk easily find some whales after they see an advertisement for the local whale institute where they meet George, Gracie and Dr. Gillian Taylor. George and Gracie are the whales and Gillian is the nice lady who knows everything about them. So Spock and Kirk get to know about the whales in their own unique way: Spock mind melds with Gracie and Kirk seduces Gillian. Meanwhile, Bones and Scotty are having a time of their own getting some plexiglass to make a whale tank. Luckily, they have an ace up their sleeves. They meet with a guy who deals in plexiglass and trade the secret formula for transparent aluminum in exchange for their required plexiglass. Also, Sulu learns how to drive a helicopter so they can lift all that plexiglass to the ship.
Things are just about set to go; Kirk is ready to pick up the whales, the plexiglass is ready to be delivered, everything is running smoothly until Chekov screws things up. He finds the USS Enterprise, the aircraft carrier, and, with Uhura's help, steals some of its nuclear power. Well, the officers on board sense the power drain and go looking for him. He hands the power device over to Uhura who beams up to the Klingon ship. But there's not enough transporter power to get Chekov, too, and he's captured. After escaping by attempting and failing to stun his captors, he runs and jumps off a high platform and hospitalizes himself.
It's possible they just got too high.
Chekov arrives at Mercy Hospital, so now they have to go save him before taking off. But to make matters worse, Gillian decided she wants to help, so she wandered off into the park and ran into the cloaked ship. So they beam her aboard, explain a few things, and then run off to save Chekov. With Gillian's help, they sneak into the hospital and pretend to be doctors. Chekov, a suspected Russian spy, is being kept under guard, but Bones easily tricks them into believing they have an emergency. He has a bit of a fight with the attending surgeon and then Kirk locks the surgeon and his team in a small room. Bones heals Chekov, and they leave. The guards give chase once they see that Chekov is being kidnapped, but they beam up in the elevator and make a clean getaway.
Ok, so, Chekov is safe, the tank is built, the dilithium crystals are fixed, all they need now are the whales. Kirk gets their tracking frequency from Gillian and says his goodbyes. She can't, after all, go to the future with them. Right? Weellll... as soon as he starts transporting aboard the ship, Gillian hops on him and comes with. She's staying whether Kirk likes it or not. With Gillian aboard, they set out to find George and Gracie. They find them right in front of a whaling ship. Still cloaked, they head right over to them and just hover for a bit while the whaling ship takes aim. And then... the decloakening.
Klingons on the port bow, captain!
Successfully having scared off the whalers, Scotty beams up George and Gracie and they make their way to the future. In a great evolution of Spock's revived character, he makes his "best guess" with the calculations for time warp, and they head out. Back in the future, they crash into San Francisco Bay. While the rest of the crew abandons ship, Kirk releases the whales out of the cargo bay and into the ocean. Once they're out, Kirk joins his crew as the whales start talking to the probe. After a delightful reunion and conversation with its good buddies, George and Gracie, the Probe turns around, says "thank you!" and leaves the Sol system in peace. The day is saved! So, now it's time for Kirk to stand trial.
Oh, right, yeah, this was the whole reason they were coming back to Earth, wasn't it? The crew of the Enterprise all stand in front of the president to be judged. Because for some reason the president is the judge in the future. Ready to be taken out of Starfleet forever, they all, including Spock who "stands with his shipmates", they all hear the charges brought to them. And then the president says he's getting rid of all of them in light of them saving the entire Earth, and all. The only charge that sticks, disobeying a superior officer, is directed solely at Kirk and because of it, he is reduced in rank to Captain. Which is basically like grounding a nerd to his room with the Internet still on. And not only that, it wouldn't be Star Trek and Kirk wouldn't be Captain without the proper ship. They head out to the shipyard and find the brand spankin' new USS Enterprise NCC-1701-A. The only proper ship for them to go and "see what's out there."
Overall Thoughts
This had been my absolute favorite Star Trek movie for the longest time until my tastes matured and I learned to like The Wrath of Kahn just slightly better. I love a good comedy sci-fi, especially when that comedy sci-fi involves time travel! Every good Star Trek series needs a comedy relief. "The Trouble with Tribbles" was that for The Original Series and this movie is that for the movie series. And, in fact, this movie was so monstrously successful, that it was almost entirely responsible for green-lighting The Next Generation. Picard would take command almost a year after this movie was released and Trek would never be the same.
Studley Royal Park including the ruins of Fountains Abbey is a designated World Heritage Site in North Yorkshire, England. The site, which has an area of 800 acres (323 ha), features an 18th-century landscaped garden, some of the largest Cistercian abbey ruins in Europe, ruins of a Jacobean mansion and a Victorian church designed by William Burges.
Originally separate estates, after the Dissolution of the Monasteries, the Fountains estate was owned by the Gresham, Proctor, and Messenger families. At the same time, the Studley estate was separately held by the Mallorie (or Mallory) and then Aislabie families, after the marriage of Mary Mallory and George Aislabie. The estates were combined on 22 December 1767, when William Aislabie purchased the Fountains estate from John Messenger. In 1966, the property came into public ownership after its purchase by West Riding County Council. In 1983, it was acquired by the National Trust.
The gardens and park reflect every stage in the evolution of English garden fashion, from the late 17th century to the 1780s and beyond. Most unusually, both John and William embraced new garden fashions by extending their designed landscape rather than replacing and remaking outmoded parts. As a result, the cumulative whole is a catalogue of significant landscaping styles.
Background
Studley Royal Park is an estate in North Yorkshire, England. The land broadly slopes and east-facing views are a feature of its landscape. The River Skell runs through the site, cutting through layers of Upper Carboniferous sandstone and Permian Magnesian limestone. The park was formed through the aggregation of the former land-holdings of Fountains Abbey, which were purchased by the Gresham family after the Dissolution, and the estate of Studley Royal.
Whilst the prehistoric origins of the land upon which Studley Royal Park now stands are under-researched, there is evidence for settlement in the area. An excavated flint assemblage from the park demonstrates the presence of people working flint on the site. There is evidence of farming activity dated to 4,500 years ago.
Material from the Iron Age is also associated with the site, including a lost gold torc. Iron Age enclosures at Mackershaw date from the sixth to fifth centuries BC. In the later phases of that enclosure, Romano-British material, including an Egyptian glass bangle, has also been discovered. The presence of Romano-British communities is also attested by the excavation of four skeletons by the vicar of Wath in 1881.
Documentary sources and place-name evidence, rather than archaeological excavation, provide insight into the early medieval period in the area. The Venerable Bede recorded that king Alhfrith of Deira granted land for a monastery near Ripon to Eata.
History
Fountains Abbey was founded in 1132 by Benedictine monks who left St Mary's Abbey, York to follow the Cistercian order. During the medieval period, monastic landholding steadily increased. For example, in the 1220s, Cassandra de Aleman donated land at Swanley to become part of the monastic grange.
After the dissolution of the monasteries in 1539 by Henry VIII, the Abbey buildings and over 40% of the former monastic estate was sold by the Crown to Sir Richard Gresham, a merchant. The Greshams, as new owners of a formerly monastic site had a responsibility to render it incapable of future religious use. This was done through a programme of demolition and sale of goods, which included the stripping of lead from the buildings, the removal of glass and Nidderdale 'marble' from the church.
The property was passed down through several generations of Sir Richard's family, then sold to Stephen Proctor in 1596. This included the precinct, Fountains Park and Swanley Grange. It was Proctor who built Fountains Hall probably between 1598 and 1604. The hall is a Jacobean mansion, built partly with stone from the Abbey ruins. Proctor was subsequently imprisoned and sold Fountains Park to pay his legal fees. In April 1622 the Fountains estate was re-combined by Timothy Whittingham, who re-mortgaged it the same year to Humphrey Wharton. Over the subsequent two years, parts of the estate were ceded to several creditors, but ultimately Wharton regained control. The 1627 estate sale includes details for a lead casting workshop in the Warming House; the estate was bought by Richard Ewens and his son-in-law John Messenger. During the English Civil War Messenger reputedly fought at the Battles of Marston Moor and at Naseby. In 1655 Ewens' grandson, William Messenger, inherited the estate.
The Messengers were never wealthy, and in 1676 William Messenger had to arrange mortgages on the estate in order to pay for his daughters marriages. Other financial troubles led William to leave his family, and he died in Paris in 1680, leaving his three-year-old son, John Messenger, to inherit. He married Margaret Scrope in 1698, a year after he came of age, and around this time he began re-building works on Fountain Hall. He rented out areas of the former abbey, including the mill; however these leases excluded mineral extraction, which were kept by Messenger. The family were also keenly interested in the ruins of the abbey itself, and allowed people to visit from as early as 1655.
In 1736, William's son Michael James married Elizabeth Sayer and took responsibility for the estate. He commissioned the first measured survey of the abbey in 1758. The family's financial position was declining and by 1765 Michael was selling oaks from the estate. Michael James died in 1766 and his son John Michael inherited. On 22 December 1767, John Michael sold the Fountains estate to William Aislabie for £18,000.
Studley estate development
From 1452 onwards, Studley Royal was inhabited by the Mallory family, most notably by MPs John Mallory and William Mallory. A depiction of the enclosed park first appeared on Christopher Saxton's 1577 map of Yorkshire. In 1607 John Mallory commissioned the first surviving survey of the estate. This listed land-holdings and it demonstrated that the estate formerly extended beyond the park. During the English Civil War, William Mallory and his son John, were loyal to the Crown; John commanded a force that defended Skipton Castle. They only surrendered in December 1645. William died in 1646 and John was fined by Parliament for half the value of the estate. Paying off the fine was attempted by selling off his wife's family estate, as well as other property, including a mill at Galphay and a farm at Nunwick. However, despite this, when John died in January 1656, and his son William inherited, aged only eight years old, debts had mounted up to £10,000. During this time it was John's widow, Mary, who managed the estate and managed to bring it within its means once more. However, in 1667, William died aged nineteen and the estate passed to his sisters: the eldest Mary, who was married to George Aislabie, as well as Jane and Elizabeth.
Aislabie was the son of a farmer from Osgodby in North Yorkshire. He worked as a clerk for William Turbutt in the church courts at York. As part of Turbutt's household, Aislabie inherited £200 at his death in November 1648. After Turbutt's death Aislabie remained as part of the household, working for the widowed Elizabeth Turbutt. There is a suggestion made by John Richard Walbran that the pair may have had a romantic attachment, but this is unproven. Nevertheless he was the primary beneficiary of Turbutt's will when she died in 1662 – a result of which he purchased Treasurer's House in York. It was around this time that he married Mary Mallorie. George was killed in a duel in 1676. It was George who began plans for the re-establishment of an enlarged park with Studley Royal in its centre. Studley Great Gate, now more commonly known as East Gate, the largest probable remnant of his plans.
George Aislabie's wife, Mary, preserved the estate, but by the time of her death in 1683 was in debt. Trustees to the estate were appointed until the heir, Mallorie Aislabie, came of age: William Robinson, husband of the eldest daughter Mary and Arthur Ingram. Mallorie died in 1685 and was succeeded as heir by his brother George, who inherited but then died in 1693. The third brother, John Aislabie inherited the Studley estate. A survey in 1694 describes both an 'old park' and a 'new park' which invites consideration of expansion under his father.
By 1695 John Aislabie was the Tory Member of Parliament for Ripon, and in 1718 became Chancellor of the Exchequer. This enabled some of the family's perhaps long held plans, to landscape the park, to begin. This included the construction of a tower on How Hill, and the canal and cascade that became the foundation of the Water Garden. Aislabie was a principal sponsor of the South Sea Company scheme, the bill for which was promoted by him personally. In 1720 this vast financial operation collapsed, and in 1721 he was expelled from Parliament and disqualified for life from public office. Stocks from the South Sea Company were grafted to the East India Company, of which his brother William was a director.
Development of the gardens
Aislabie returned to Yorkshire and from 1723 devoted himself to the landscaping of the estate. This included the construction of a boundary wall along the western side of the valley between the Fountains Abbey and Studley Royal estates. This wall had at least one viewing platform and connected to the path known as High Walk. Boundaries including ha-has were also constructed at this time. It is possible the design was influenced by his kinsman William Benson's knowledge of neo-Palladian design. Other early features included The Upper Canal and Drum Falls. Flooding subsequently damaged these early developments, and by 1726 approximately 100 men were working to create water features, which included canals and ponds. The design of the cascade and the fishing lodges is attributed to Roger Morris, who worked with Colen Campbell. The cascade and the canal was described in 1729 by Stephen Switzer in his volume of engineering, Hydrostatics. Aislabie and Morris's works did not just extend to the water gardens, but also to other areas of the estate. By 1728 work was also underway on the High Stables, which can still be seen in the deer park.
During the 1730s and 1740s, there were a number of head gardeners employed by Aislabie. William Fisher worked on the estate from at least 1717 to 1732, when he was paid off. He was followed by John Hossack (left 1738), Mathias Mitchell (dismissed 1742) and then James Lockey (died 1744). Another significant employee was Robert Doe, who was a builder, mason and later head gardener too. Doe later worked on building projects for Castle Howard and for Swinton Castle. This was also a period of expansion, during which Aislabie changed the lease on Mackershaw – making it permanent, rather than leased for agriculture. During this phase, the Grotto was constructed and changes were made to footpaths around its location; the Temple of Piety was also built.
In 1738 the first known plan of the gardens was made by Sir John Clerk of Penicuik, who was visiting them as part of a northern tour. At the same time the Octagon Tower was also constructed and it was glazed and decorated during 1735; subsequently stuccowork was added by Francesco Vassalli. Other buildings constructed at this time include the Bathing House and the Boathouse. The planting at this time was perhaps sparser than that of the estate in the early twenty-first century: eighteenth-century visitors reported seeing bare rock between the trees. The late 1730s also saw a revision of the statuary scheme in the gardens, which included the introduction of a statue of Neptune, centrally located in the Moon Pond.
After Aislabie's death on 18 June 1742, his son William inherited, and whilst little is known about William's life, it is known that he set out on a Grand Tour in 1720, which was thwarted by political turmoil in France. In 1724 he married Lady Elizabeth Cecil, with whom he had six children: two sons and four daughters. Elizabeth and two of their daughters died in a smallpox outbreak in 1733. William's first scheme for the gardens was the construction of a funerary pyramid, modelled on the one at Stowe Gardens. He also extended the designed landscape further down the Skell Valley and introduced in 1745 a 'Chinese house', inspired by fashion at the time.
In 1745 William re-married, to Elizabeth Vernon, who was the niece of his step-mother. Perhaps, as a result, Studley Hall was renovated, which included the decoration of two rooms in a chinoiserie style. In the 1750s a gardeners house was built near the Kitchen Garden and two ice houses were constructed. A private garden with aviary was also created next to Studley Hall during this period. William also added new architectural features to the park: an obelisk at the western end of the main avenue and the Belvedere, which was a Gothic garden room. In addition to new buildings, existing ones had a change of character: for example the Temple of Venus had family portraits installed in it and its name changes to that of 'Banqueting House'. In the 1750s the network of footpaths around the gardens were also much greater than the modern-day lay-out. Overall, William extended the landscaped area in the picturesque romantic style, contrasting with the formality of his father's work. Between them, the two created what is arguably England's most important 18th-century landscape gardens.
Combined estates
On 22 December 1767, William Aislabie purchased the Fountains estate from John Messenger, combining the Studley and Fountains estates.
In February 1768, the gardens were flooded, which resulted in repairs and renovations. Subsequently the reservoir was expanded from a two acre, to a three and a half acre capacity. This period also included the insertion of new garden buildings, such as the Green Arch and the White Seat. In addition, new water features were added to the south-east of the gardens. 1768 also saw Robert Doe, on the instruction of Aislabie, begin to clear and stabilise the abbey ruins; work which continued until at least 1773. Part of this scheme of work included the demolition of the Lay Brothers' Cloister. It also included construction: the Gazebo was built under the east Window, which provided visitors with an elevated view of the nave.
Anne Boleyn's Hill is first named as part of the gardens in 1771, where an antiquarian headless statue looked out on the valley. The statue moved and was restored to its location in 2004. The last mention of the Rotondo and the Coffin Lawn date to 1775, and it is likely the former was used to infill the latter. The canalisation of the Skell near the Abbey was undertaken in 1773, which used the river as a framing device for the view of the abbey from Anne Boleyn's Seat (constructed c.1789–91).
William also added ornamentation to parts of the ruins, adding detailing, but most significantly recreating the location of the high alter through the repositioning of medieval tiles found throughout the site. He also added planting to the cloister, in the form of shrubs and flowers. Greater security was also introduced to the abbey, with lockable doors and gates. However there was contemporary criticism of these changes, in particular from William Gilpin, who visited Studley on a tour of the north of England.
William died on 17 May 1781 in London. The estate passed to his elder daughter, Elizabeth Allanson, after his two sons predeceased him. Whilst she spent the majority of her time as owner at her home in Twickenham, Elizabeth did continue her family's civic work in Ripon – donating to the poor, funding streetlighting and building Ripon Town Hall. However, although she appointed Christopher Hall as agent, during her ownership, and her lack of presence at the estate, many areas of the designed landscape became neglected.
Elizabeth died on 8 March 1808 and was succeeded by her niece, Elizabeth Sophia Lawrence, who lived at Studley from 1808 until her death in 1845. An influential woman in the area, she used her position to influence (and punish) voters.[10] Under her ownership, she made further additions to the grounds, which included the stone Obelisk, as well as Robin Hood's Well, which enclosed a small spring. She also made repairs to the abbey, including to Huby's Tower. It was under her ownership that John Richard Walbran first undertook excavations in 1840. In her will she left bequests totalling £237,000, including £1000 to fund a dispensary in Ripon.
The estate then devolved to Thomas Philip, 2nd Earl de Grey, a distant relative. Under de Grey, Walbran undertook further excavation. These excavations in the 1850s also piqued public interest further in the site. This was furthered by the opening of curative springs nearby in Harrogate bringing a large tourism audience with it. Management of the huge increases in the numbers of tourists entailed the creation of new routes, including the De Grey Walk and the Well Walk. In 1847 a new one shilling entrance fee was introduced. The first record of a school trip to the site was from St Peter's School, Dallowgill, in September 1851. In 1858 the first museum for the site was opened in the Muniments Room, above the Warming House. The 1850s also saw major events held at the estate for the first time. These raised funds for a variety of causes, such as the Ripon Mechanics Institute, to celebrate peace in Crimea, and a 'Great Musical Celebration' in 1868. In 1869 the third-earliest bicycle race to be held in England ran through the estate.
On de Grey's death in 1859, the estate passed to his nephew, George Frederick Samuel Robinson, the Marquess of Ripon, and later the Viceroy of India. He redeveloped areas of Studley Hall, as well as renovating the gardens near the house. He also constructed the Pheasantry at the edge of the estate, as well as building a golf course, whose first professional was Harry Vardon. He also built St Mary's church in the park. During his ownership of the estate, three structures were added: Studley tea room, an oval island in the lake, and the High Seat in the west of the gardens. During this period, more exotic trees were introduced as part of the planting scheme – for example a Wellingtonia gigantea was planted by the Prince of Wales in 1863. In 1886 a pageant was held on the estate, celebrating Ripon's millennium; a similar event was repeated in 1896 for the Diamond Jubilee of Queen Victoria.
George Frederick Samuel Robinson, the Marquess of Ripon died in 1909 and his son Frederick Oliver inherited the estate. On the death of Frederick Robinson, 2nd Marquess of Ripon in 1923, the estate was acquired by his cousin Clare George Vyner. Visitor income became more significant for the Vyner family, than it had been for the Robinsons, yet the family had a strong sense of social responsibility and in the 1930s established the Fountains Abbey Settlers Society, which provided work and skills to unemployed families. This also included a work scheme that dredged the river. In addition to the scheme on the estate, Vyner also funded the construction of a model village in Swarland, Northumberland. The Settlers Society ended at the outbreak of the Second World War, but its accommodation was repurposed to house German and Polish refugees. During the war much of the estate's land was cultivated for the first time in 600 years, as part of the 'Dig For Victory' campaign. Studley Hall after doing war service as the home of Queen Ethelburga's School, was destroyed by fire in April 1946. After the war, the upkeep of the estate became too expensive for the Vyner family, who sold it to Broadlands Properties for £1,250,000. They subsequently also sold Fountains Hall to West Riding County Council in 1969.
Public ownership
In 1966 much of the estate was purchased by West Riding County Council from Broadlands Properties, and the property was reopened to the public in 1967. However resource pressures meant that the local authority was keen to find another owner for the estate. There had been previous appeals to the National Trust to undertake running the site, including in 1923. In 1983 the property was acquired by the National Trust.
English Heritage is responsible for conservation of the abbey under a guardianship agreement, but managed on a day to day basis by the National Trust. St Mary’s Church is owned by the State and managed by the National Trust under a local management agreement. In 1986 the entire estate was designated a World Heritage Site by UNESCO. It gained recognition as it fulfils the criteria of “being a masterpiece of human creative genius, and an outstanding example of a type of building or architectural or technological ensemble or landscape which illustrates significant stages in human history”. The initial proposal for World Heritage Status only extended to Fountains Abbey and St Mary's Church; it was on the recommendation of the International Council on Monuments and Sites (ICOMOS) that the listing extended to include Studley Royal. In 1992, a new visitor centre and car parks were designed by Ted Cullinan to accommodate growing visitor numbers. Lying north-west of the Abbey above the valley floor, the new visitor centre incorporated a shop, large restaurant, lecture theatre and exhibition space (currently office space) arranged around an open courtyard.
In 2015 stage designer Gary McCann was commissioned to produce work in response to the buildings on the property; the resulting exhibition, entitled Folly!, installed works in spaces such as the Banqueting House. In 2016, Mat Collishaw created Seria Ludo and The Pineal Eye in the Temple of Piety. In 2018, Charles Holland, Lucy Orta and Flea Folly Architects created artworks to reimagine lost follies in the landscape. In 2021, Steve Messam created three artworks in an exhibition entitled These Passing Things and in 2022 Joe Cornish created a photographic exhibition Still Time to Wonder in various buildings on the property.
Significance
Studley Royal, under National Trust ownership, is the preserved core of a once much more substantial Aislabie project, which incorporated the surrounding agrarian landscape that they owned, long distance views to Ripon and beyond, and rides extending to other designed landscapes including Laver Banks and Hackfall (seven miles from Studley), 177–184 The gardens and park reflect every stage in the evolution of English garden fashion, from the late seventeenth-century to the 1780s and beyond. Most unusually both John and William embraced new garden fashions by extending their designed landscape rather than replacing and remaking outmoded parts. As a result, the cumulative whole is a catalogue of significant landscaping styles. This includes John Aislabie's ground-breaking appreciation of natural topographical landforms, for him it was not necessary to level ground and create a garden, the garden could be made to accommodate and display the underlying landscape.
Major features
The park incorporates Fountains Abbey, Fountains Hall, and a number of other notable historic features.
Studley Royal Water Garden
The water garden at Studley Royal created by John Aislabie in 1718 is one of the best surviving examples of a Georgian water garden in England. It was expanded by his son, William who purchased the adjacent Fountains Estate. The garden's elegant ornamental lakes, canals, temples and cascades provide a succession of dramatic eye-catching vistas. It is also studded with a number of follies including a neo-Gothic tower and a palladian-style banqueting house.
St Mary's Church
St Mary's Church was built by the architect William Burges and commissioned by the family of the First Marquess of Ripon. It has been suggested that the construction of this place of worship was prompted by the death of Frederick Grantham Vyner, who was kidnapped and killed in Greece in 1870.
Burges' appointment as architect was most likely due to the connection between his greatest patron, John Crichton-Stuart, 3rd Marquess of Bute and Vyner, who had been friends at Oxford. St Mary's, on Lady Ripon's estate at Studley Royal, was commissioned in 1870 and work began in 1871. The church was consecrated in 1878. As at Skelton, Burges' design demonstrates a move from his favoured Early-French, to an English style. Pevsner writes of "a Victorian shrine, a dream of Early English glory." The interior is spectacular, exceeding Skelton in richness and majesty. The stained glass is of particularly high quality. St Mary's is Burges' "ecclesiastical masterpiece."
Both marquesses and their wives are buried there.
How Hill Tower
Prior to 1346, a chapel dedicated to St Michael the Archangel was built on How Hill. This became a minor medieval pilgrimage site. Visitors to the site could see both York Minster and Ripon Cathedral from its summit. The flooring was made of mosaic tiles, similar to those attributed to a painted pavement dating to between 1236 and 1247. The chapel was repaired by Marmaduke Huby between 1494 and 1526. Post-reformation the chapel continued to be used between 1551–54 for the churching of women, until falling into ruin.
A tower was constructed next to the ruins, and re-using some of their masonry by, John Aislabie. Likely designed by Sir John Vanburgh, the view from the tower extended across the Studley estates, and York could even be seen twenty-six miles away.
In 1810 an estate survey recorded a farmhouse on the site, but by 1822 the description had changed to 'How Hill House & Tower'. Presumably the site had lost its significance as a garden building in a designed landscape and was commissioned to a more functional use. Whilst its role as a home stopped in the 1930s, there was another use-change: during the Second World War the Home Guard used it as an observation post.
Deer park
The deer park, where the church stands, is home to deer, and a wealth of other flora and fauna. At Studley there are three types of deer: Red Deer, Fallow Deer and Sika Deer. John Clerk, visiting in 1738, described how the buck deer moved in a group, so that they "resemble a moving forrest [sic]".
Buildings and structures
Studley Royal House (or Hall) stood in the north-west corner of the park. Originally a medieval manor house, there is a record from the 1220s of an extensive garden created by Cassandra de Aleman. It consisted of a main block with forward projecting wings, it burned down in 1716 and was rebuilt by John Aislabie. He filled in the centre, to which his son William added a portico in 1762 to complete its Palladian appearance.
It was altered and developed by the First Marquess of Ripon, who created a new entrance hall, a royal suite, and the reorganisation of the domestic service areas. He also added a Catholic chapel at the western side of the house in 1878.
The house burnt down in 1946, and its remains were demolished by the Vyner family, who could not afford repairs to it. Instead the splendid Georgian stable block, built for John Aislabie’s racehorses between 1728 and 1732, was converted into an elegant Palladian country house set in 2½ acres of private formal gardens on high ground overlooking the deer park towards Ripon Cathedral in the distance.
Built of stone under a slate roof with distinctive pavilion towers in each of the four corners, the pristine, 11,708sq ft house surrounds a central square courtyard overlooked by all the main rooms and dominated by the working clock tower.
Studley Magna
The deserted medieval village of Studley Magna mainly lies within the boundaries of the park. Excavation demonstrated that the village was aligned with the important road to Aldfield. The earliest ceramics from the site date to c.1180–1220, whilst the latest finds date from c.1300. The site included a large two-storey miller's house with a stone fireplace that was rare for the period. The house was sold in 1362 by Widow Horner to Richard Tempest.
The Banqueting House
Documentary evidence suggests that the Banqueting House was being completed in 1731, and is described in the estate accounts as 'the new building'. The structure had several phases of alteration after construction, and other documents refer to it as 'the Greenhouse'. In front of the façade a deep coffin-shaped lawn was introduced, who sightlines connected the building and the Rotondo. Above the Banqueting House, amongst the trees, is an oval platform, which is likely to be the Dial Lawn, which is described in accounts in 1730s.
The Temple of Piety
The building was constructed based on a sketch by Palladio owned by Lord Burlington, and was initially known as the Temple of Hercules. Documentary evidence shows that it was constructed and named by April 1736.
Mackershaw Lodges
These buildings were constructed after 1731, with the change in terms of the loan (to acquisition) of the Mackershaw area. They compromise two small lodges with classical pediments either side of a central arch, constructed from rough, undressed stone, with Venetian windows.
Lost buildings
Wattle Hall
One of the buildings most frequently attested in the early eighteenth-century is the Wattle Hall. Surviving records suggest that it was made of bent branches rather than brick or stone, and it was repaired in 1732.
Rotondo
Close to Kendall's Walk and in the north-east corner of Coffin Lawn, evidence for the Rotondo first appears in a painting dating to 1734–41. It was demolished in the 1770s. A close comparison to this would have been the Temple of Venus in Stowe Gardens.
Pyramid
William's first building work for the gardens was ordering the construction of a funerary pyramid, modelled on the one at Stowe Gardens. Whilst designs for this building exist, its location is unknown. It is possible that the stone was cut, but it was never constructed.
Chinese house
The Chinese house was constructed in 1745 and a 1751 visitor described it as having blue columns, gilded decoration, a white ceiling, a variety of Chinese ornaments and stuccowork by Giuseppe Cortese. It also had a balustrade seat running inside the columns. There is a surviving sketch of the building, but only the plinth for its survives. It was located beyond the southern limit of National Trust estate. The area around the house was known as the Chinese Wood, to which two chinoiserie-style bridges provided access.
The National Trust (Welsh: Ymddiriedolaeth Genedlaethol; Irish: Iontaobhas Náisiúnta) is a charity and membership organisation for heritage conservation in England, Wales and Northern Ireland. In Scotland, there is the separate and independent National Trust for Scotland.
The Trust was founded in 1895 by Octavia Hill, Sir Robert Hunter and Hardwicke Rawnsley to "promote the permanent preservation for the benefit of the Nation of lands and tenements (including buildings) of beauty or historic interest". It was given statutory powers, starting with the National Trust Act 1907. Historically, the Trust acquired land by gift and sometimes by public subscription and appeal, but after World War II the loss of country houses resulted in many such properties being acquired either by gift from the former owners or through the National Land Fund. Country houses and estates still make up a significant part of its holdings, but it is also known for its protection of wild landscapes such as in the Lake District and Peak District.
In addition to the great estates of titled families, it has acquired smaller houses, including some whose significance is not architectural but through their association with famous people, for example, the childhood homes of singer/composers John Lennon and Paul McCartney of The Beatles.
One of the largest landowners in the United Kingdom, the Trust owns almost 250,000 hectares (620,000 acres; 2,500 km2; 970 sq mi) of land and 780 miles (1,260 km) of coast. Its properties include more than 500 historic houses, castles, archaeological and industrial monuments, gardens, parks, and nature reserves. Most properties are open to the public for a charge (members have free entry), while open spaces are free to all. The Trust has an annual income of over £680 million, largely from membership subscriptions, donations and legacies, direct property income, profits from its shops and restaurants, and investments. It also receives grants from a variety of organisations including other charities, government departments, local authorities, and the National Lottery Heritage Fund.
The Trust was incorporated on 12 January 1895 as the "National Trust for Places of Historic Interest or Natural Beauty", which is still the organisation's legal name. The founders were social reformer Octavia Hill, solicitor Sir Robert Hunter and clergyman Hardwicke Rawnsley.
In 1876, Hill, together with her sister Miranda Hill, had set up a society to "diffuse a love of beautiful things among our poor brethren". Named after John Kyrle, the Kyrle Society campaigned for open spaces for the recreational use of urban dwellers, as well as having decorative, musical, and literary branches. Hunter had been solicitor to the Commons Preservation Society, while Rawnsley had campaigned for the protection of the Lake District. The idea of a company with the power to acquire and hold buildings and land had been mooted by Hunter in 1894.
In July 1894 a provisional council, headed by Hill, Hunter, Rawnsley and the Duke of Westminster met at Grosvenor House and decided that the company should be named the National Trust for Places of Historic Interest or Natural Beauty. Articles of association were submitted to the Board of Trade and on 12 January 1895, the Trust was registered under the Companies Act. Its purpose was to "promote the permanent preservation for the benefit of the Nation of lands and tenements (including buildings) of beauty or historic interest"
Carolyn thought it was nice how one of Steve's grandkids talked to Grandma (their great-grandma). Turns out, it was Isabella who also befriended Carolyn. At one point, Uncle Steve said Isabella was going to get him into trouble because "she'd talk to anybody."
BACKSTORY: Carolyn & Clint stayed an extra day just for the family dinner at Magnolia's on Thursday night. When we got to the place, someone said to spread out the families. One suggestion was to draw seat numbers from a hat to mix up the families, but that didn't happen. So, as it turned out, there was a lot of mixing up going on. We didn't have the banquet room this year, but Carolyn thinks that the rest of the upstairs was more conducive to mingling. It was easier to walk around the tables. However, there was also a lot of chaos with the ordering and serving of food. Mark said "They came over with a bottle of wine and asked if it was mine because they forgot which table ordered it. I said it was mine." People were already eating salad before others even got to order. So that part was confusing. I really feel for the waiters since not only did they have a large family to take care of, we were confusing them by walking around and not paying much attention.
Isabella, Margaretha.
sitting, talking.
Magnolia's, restaurant, Bethany Beach, Delaware.
August 7, 2008.
... Read my blog at ClintJCL.wordpress.com
...View video of everyone eating at: www.youtube.com/watch?v=eq0vHqXB4ZA
The Bremont Horsemen performing in three P-51 Mustangs (Steve Hinton (lead) in "Fragile but Agile", Ed Shipley (left wing) in "Double Trouble two" and Dan Friedkin (right wing) in "February") during the 2014 San Francisco Fleet Week Air Show.
Steve, the bassist? We went to HIGH SCHOOL together!? Crazy! He's a KILLER musician, always was. Bought his first trumpet when he was 10 with money he made in the STOCK MARKET from the $100 his dad gave him. We were in a little jazz combo called "Little Sunflower" (after the Freddie Hubbard chart) or maybe it was "The Upper Manhattan Medical Group"..memory is slipping..and we would play these adult cocktail parties. I was, like..a sophmore and Steve and the rest of the fellas were all fancy Juniors and Seniors and I was completely in awe of them cause they were hardcore jazzers. Steve used to count off charts by just counting upbeats instead of the usual downbeats and he was, all, like..if you can't feel the upbeat, you ain't never going to feel the MUSIC, man..we wore white bucks and I got in trouble once for showing up to a gig 10 minutes late. (I think George, the piano player, heard that, like..Miles or whoever his hero was once kicked a member of his band out for showing up drunk and late and George got a little too serious about the cocktail party gig we were playing — which wasn't exactly like a late-night gig at The Vanguard in 1957. I like to imagine I just shrugged, took a long drag off a smashed up cigarette and glared a boozy, steely-eyeballed glare at him. Except I was probably 15 and probably intimidated.)
A very nice and friendly Asian couple with their dog, enjoying the beautiful day.. I couldn't help but think about how bad their dog wanted to get after one of the ducks swimming near by. He managed to behave very well and stay out of trouble...
Photos and text by Randall Cook, he and Mac Miller ran the car. "We ran the Boyle Valve car at Lawrenceburg last night in conjunction with both USAC sprint cars and a full modified program. We were pitted in a pretty hot spot as well with the sprinters being started just behind us and then returning from their runs in front of our spot in the pits. You really had to keep your head on a swivel.
It was a night show and my camera had problems with both low light and lots of dust floating through the air. And I had trouble getting any really good on track shots since the infield was kept clear of people and the entire track was surrounded by a pretty fine mesh catch fence. Some of them came out halfway decent.
Lawrenceburg has been extensively modified over the last few years to where it is now a very fast 3/8 high banked dirt track. And since VARC actually races in their heats and features the Boyle car mostly ran at its own pace down low and out of the way of the leaders who would flash by at speeds easily over 100 MPH. But Tom still looked solid in both of his runs.
Dr. Dicks must have hit a big hole at some point during the first heat since he managed to break off the right side headers off of his engine. Several cars then proceeded to run over the broken header so Tom will have to make an entirely new one this winter. At least this happened at the end of the season and not the beginning.
Weather permitting the BVS car will be at the Jungle Park Reunion next Saturday.
Note: For identification purposes please note that there are several photos of both Tom and Dr. Dicks with former modified and sometime IMCA sprint car driver Steve Perkins. Steve is now very involved in vintage racing and has become a friend to us all over the last few years.
RJC"
Steve Guyton was always sneaking around trying to shoot pics of me sleeping at work. He wasn't trying to get me in trouble, he just thought it was funny, which I guess it was, especially when the flash scared the heck out of me.
Some conductors (well, Durwood Carter and Rick Warner) arriving for duty would sneak up and bang their radio down the ticket counter, to see if they could make me fall out of my chair. Ah, those were good times.
One night, everything was running late, 88, 53 and 52 were all expected well after midnight. Around 11 p.m., all tickets for 88 had been sold, everything was quiet, and I just couldn't stay awake. The baggageman said if I wanted to go back to our employee lounge and take a nap, he'd watch out for me.
I was back there with the lights out, sawing logs, when the trainmaster dropped by. He knew I was back there, but he didn't come in there, he woke me up asking where I was in a loud voice. I heard the BM tell him I had gone to the restroom. After I heard him leave, I figured I'd better get up. I kinda staggered into the ticket office and the BM said the TM had been looking for me. I said yeah, I heard. I called the DS down in JAX to get a fresh lineup on the trains. I had just finished with him when the private phone rang.
It was the TM calling from his office. He had me on the speaker phone, and all three outbound crews were in his office. He thought he was going to catch me asleep with all them listening. He says, "Michael, I want to know when all these trains are going to be here." (He didn't know I had just hung up with the dispatcher.)
I immediately rattled off all my notes about what trains were where, including freight trains in the area, who was going to be held where for who, and when they should be stopping at FLO.
After I finished, the TM says sarcasticly, "Well, I want you to know I know you've been asleep over there." I heard all the crews get real quiet, they wanted to hear what I was going to say.
I said, yes, Tom, I have been asleep, I do not deny it. And that only proves one thing, doesn't it? He says, "Yeah, what's that?" I said, "That I know more about how this railroad's running in my sleep than you do wide awake." All of a sudden all the crewmen erupted in guffaws. Then I heard a loud bang when the TM slammed the phone down. He never said any more to me about it. He wasn't a bad guy, he was just picking, he never hassled us about anything. But it was fun getting him on that one that night.
In 1990, the doctors finally figured out I have narcolepsy. The company finally asked me to retire on disability in 1996.
Vintage postcard.
Yesterday, 18 June 2024, glamorous French film actressAnouk Aimée (1932) passed away at her home in Paris . She appeared in 70 films since 1947 and worked with many talented directors. She had major international successes in the 1960s with Lola (1961) and Un homme et une femme/A Man and a Woman (1966) in which she defined a new kind of modern heroine. Anouk Aimée was 92.
Anouk Aimée was born Françoise Nicole Sorya Dreyfus in Paris, France, in 1932. She was the daughter of actors Geneviève Sorya (née Durand) and Henri Murray (born Dreyfus). She was trained in acting and dancing at the Bauer-Therond school. Aimée began her film career in 1946 at the age of 14. Reportedly she was walking down the rue Colisée in the eighth arrondissement in Paris with her mother when director Henri Calef stopped her and asked if she would like to be in a film. Her film debut was La maison sous la mer/The House by the Sea (Henri Calef, 1947) starring Viviane Romance. At first, she was simply billed as Anouk, taken from the character she played in Marcel Carné’s unfinished film La Fleur de l’âge/The Flower of the Age (1947). She played Juliette opposite Serge Reggiani as Romeo in Les amants de Vérone/Lovers of Verona (Andre Cayatte, 1949), an updated adaptation of William Shakespeare's Romeo and Juliet, specifically written for her by the poet Jacques Prevert. Prévert playfully added the symbolic last name, Aimée (Beloved), that would forever associate her with the affective power of her screen roles. Les amants de Vérone was a worldwide success. She then worked three times with director Alexandre Astruc, at Le Rideau Cramoisi/The Crimson Curtain (1951), Deux Crimes d'Amour/Two Love Crimes (1953) and Les Mauvaises Rencontres/The Bad Liaisons (1955). She appeared in the British espionage drama Contraband Spain (Lawrence Huntington, 1955) opposite Richard Greene, and starred in the ‘perfect crime’ melodrama Tous Peuvent Me Tuer/Everybody Wants To Kill Me (Henri Decoin, 1956). In 1958 she portrayed the artist Jeanne Hébuterne in Les Amants de Montparnasse/Montparnasse 19 (1958) about the tragic, troubled life of Italian abstract painter Amedeo Modigliani (Gérard Philipe). She made her Hollywood debut as a French Resistance fighter in The Journey (Anatole Litvak, 1959).
Possessed of an aloof, haunting beauty, Anouk Aimée has given her best performances under the direction of such master directors as Federico Fellini and Jacques Demy. She appeared in two major films by Fellini, as a bored socialite in La dolce vita/The Sweet Life (Federico Fellini, 1960) and as Marcello Mastroianni’s long-suffering wife in 8 ½ (1963). Aimée had a huge success with Jacques Demy's debut film Lola (1961), a musical ‘without music’ set in the port city of Nantes. Aimée stars as the title character, a cabaret singer awaiting the return of her long-absent lover and the father of her child, who went to America seven years ago and promised to return when he became rich. Another milestone was her work as the sexually ambivalent queen in the bible epic Sodom and Gomorrah (Robert Aldrich, 1962). Aimee reunited with Jacques Demy for The Model Shop (1969), in which Lola is an older French model living in Los Angeles who poses for photographs to pay the bills. In between these two films, she played Anne Gauthier in the wildly romantic drama Un homme et une femme/A Man and a Woman (Claude Lelouch, 1966), a widow who falls in love with widower Jean-Louis Trintignant. This role brought her more international fame and awards. She won the 1967 Golden Globe Award for Best Actress - Motion Picture Drama and was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Actress. She had the chance to establish herself in Hollywood but she refused many roles, including that of Vicki Anderson, the insurance investigator eventually played by Faye Dunaway opposite Steve McQueen in the first The Thomas Crown Affair (Norman Jewison, 1968). She did play the title role in Justine (George Cukor, 1969) with Michael York and in The Appointment (Sidney Lumet, 1969) with Omar Sharif, but her American film career went nowhere.
After a break of seven years, Anouk Aimée returned to the cinema in Si c'était à refaire/If It Could Be Done Over Again (Claude Lelouch, 1976) with Catherine Deneuve as two former prison buddies who get on with the business of living. She was awarded the Award for Best Actress at the 1980 Cannes Film Festival for her performance in Marco Bellocchio's Salto nel vuoto/Leap Into The Void (1979), with her co-star Michel Piccoli winning the Best Actor Prize. It was followed by roles in La Tragedia di un Uomo Ridicolo/The Tragedy of a Ridiculous Man (Bernardo Bertolucci, 1980) opposite Ugo Tognazzi, and Success is the Best Revenge (Jerzy Skolimowsky, 1984) starring Michael York. Looking every bit as alluring as she had in 1966, Aimee reprised her most famous role as Anne Gauthier in Un Homme et une Femme: Vingt Ans Déjà/A Man and a Woman: Twenty Years Later (Claude Lelouch, 1986), again opposite Jean-Louis Trintignant. She also portrayed the worldly-wise designer Simone Lowenthal in Prêt-à-Porter/Ready to Wear (1994), Robert Altman's comedy about the Parisian fashion scene. Aimée was known as a champion of human rights. In 2002 she supported Lionel Jospin's presidential campaign. That year she was awarded a César d'honneur (an honorary César Award), and the following year she received an honorary Golden Bear at the Berlin Film Festival. As Sandy Flitterman-Lewis writes in the Jewish Women Encyclopedia, Anouk Aimée was “known for her remarkable presence as an icon of cool, sophisticated beauty in more than seventy films across seven decades. (...) Words like ‘regal,’ ‘intelligent’ and ‘enigmatic’ are frequently associated with her, giving Aimée an aura of disturbing and mysterious beauty that has earned her the status of one of the hundred sexiest stars in film history (in the 1995 poll conducted by Empire Magazine)”. Anouk Aimee remained active. Later films in which she appeared, include the comedy Ils se marièrent et eurent beaucoup d'enfants/Happily Ever After (Yvan Attal, 2004) with Charlotte Gainsbourg, the political thriller De Particulier à Particulier/Hotel Harabati (Brice Chauvin, 2006), Celle que j'aime/The One I Love (Elie Chouraqui, 2009), the romance Ces amours-là/These Courtship (Claude Lelouch, 2010) and Paris Connections (Harley Cokeliss, 2010), a glittering adaptation of a Jackie Collins novel produced by American supermarket giant Tesco. Anouk Aimée died in Paris in 2024, at the age of 92. Aimée was married four times. From 1949 to 1950 she was married to Edouard Zimmermann. Her second husband (1951–1954) was the film director Nikos Papatakis, with whom she has a daughter Manuela (1951). Her third marriage was to composer Pierre Barouh (1966-1969). From 1970 to 1978, she was married to the British actor Albert Finney.
Sources: Hal Erickson (AllMovie), Volker Boehm (IMDb), Sandy Flitterman-Lewis (Jewish Women Encyclopedia), AlloCiné (French), Wikipedia, and IMDb.
And, please check out our blog European Film Star Postcards.
Steve, the bassist? We went to HIGH SCHOOL together!? Crazy! He's a KILLER musician, always was. Bought his first trumpet when he was 10 with money he made in the STOCK MARKET from the $100 his dad gave him. We were in a little jazz combo called "Little Sunflower" (after the Freddie Hubbard chart) or maybe it was "The Upper Manhattan Medical Group"..memory is slipping..and we would play these adult cocktail parties. I was, like..a sophmore and Steve and the rest of the fellas were all fancy Juniors and Seniors and I was completely in awe of them cause they were hardcore jazzers. Steve used to count off charts by just counting upbeats instead of the usual downbeats and he was, all, like..if you can't feel the upbeat, you ain't never going to feel the MUSIC, man..we wore white bucks and I got in trouble once for showing up to a gig 10 minutes late. (I think George, the piano player, heard that, like..Miles or whoever his hero was once kicked a member of his band out for showing up drunk and late and George got a little too serious about the cocktail party gig we were playing — which wasn't exactly like a late-night gig at The Vanguard in 1957. I like to imagine I just shrugged, took a long drag off a smashed up cigarette and glared a boozy, steely-eyeballed glare at him. Except I was probably 15 and probably intimidated.)
Aboard " Sea Change" In Oahu Hawaii, on a 97 foot sail boat , this is a sophisticated therapeutic program for young boys 13 to 18. 28 days+ where the young people get a jump start therapeutically to resolve their problems or become more prepared and diagnosed to move on to a longer term school setting to meet their academy and behavioral needs.
Maximum of 20 boys, full time licensed therapists, two captains. These kids learn how to navigate and sail through life’s issues while visiting many islands in Hawaii. Good food and great intervention for the troubled teen.
Steve Bozak’s visit
www,school-placement.com
Iain Sinclair
Hand drawn map
A map of eight great churches@ the lines of influence, the invisible rods of force active in this city.
Map by Iain Sinclair, executed by Brian Catling.
Sinclair believes there are occult forces at work here and that they can be mapped by considering the alignments of Nicholas Hawksmoor's post-Great Fire churches.
[Somerset House]
Taken in the exhibition
Ghost
The show’s second act, Ghost, marks the collapse of hyperinflated 80s culture into an uncanny temperature change that presided over the 90s and early 00s. It traces an unsettling path through to the global financial crisis of 2008, a turning point in time between a century of old and new, at the dawn of a digital age of faceless audiences and invisible cyber wars.
Derek Jarman’s last feature and magnum opus, Blue (1993), offers a profound evocation of the artist’s final days, marrying comforting connection with disconnection from the world, warmth with coldness, as Jarman poetically narrates his approach towards death. Newly commissioned, immersive sound installations from Laura Grace Ford and Nick Ryan highlight the strange frequencies of an age that saw the emergence of trance music and readily accessible sampling machines. Ford’s installation explores the sonic textures of the city to uncover those hiding in the black spots that neoliberalism has failed to assimilate, while Ryan’s voices form a call-and-response, as visitors become spectator, spectacle and a ghost in the machine. Works from Jeremy Millar and Gavin Turk unsettle with a paradoxical clash of ghostly presence and absence, familiarity and otherness. Cornelia Parker’s map, scorched with a heated meteorite fragment, tells a tale of apocalypse for the end of the millennium and the fear of the unknown.
Contributing artists include A Guy Called Gerald, Barry Adamson, Hamad Butt, Adam Chodzko, Kevin Cummins, Graham Dolphin, Tim Etchells, Angus Fairhurst, Paul Finnegan, Laura Grace Ford, Ghostwatch, Lucy Gunning, Paul Heartfield, Susan Hiller, Matthew Holness & Richard Ayoade, Stewart Home, Derek Jarman, Michael Landy, Richard Littler (Scarfolk), Jeremy Millar, Haroon Mirza, Drew Mulholland, Pat Naldi & Wendy Kirkup, Cornelia Parker, Steve Pemberton, Nic Roeg, Nick Ryan, Scanner (Robin Rimbaud), Adam Scovell, Sensory Leakage, Reece Shearsmith, David Shrigley, Iain Sinclair, Kerry Stewart, Tricky, Gavin Turk, Richard Wells, Rachel Whiteread and Words & Pictures.
[Somerset House]
The Horror Show! A Twisted Tale of Modern Britain
(October 2022 - February 2023)
Somerset House presents The Horror Show!: A Twisted Tale of Modern Britain, a major exhibition exploring how ideas rooted in horror have informed the last 50 years of creative rebellion. The show looks beyond horror as a genre, instead taking it as a reaction and provocation to our most troubling times. The last five decades of modern British history are recast as a story of cultural shapeshifting told through some of our country’s most provocative artists. The Horror Show! offers a heady ride through the disruption of 1970s punk to the revolutionary potential of modern witchcraft, showing how the anarchic alchemy of horror – its subversion, transgression and the supernatural – can make sense of the world around us. Horror not only allows us to voice our fears; it gives us the tools to stare them down and imagine a radically different future.
Featuring over 200 artworks and culturally significant objects, this landmark show tells a story of the turbulence, unease and creative revolution at the heart of the British cultural psyche in three acts – Monster, Ghost and Witch. Each act interprets a specific era through the lens of a classic horror archetype, in a series of thematically linked contemporaneous and new works:
Each of the exhibition’s acts opens with ‘constellations’ of talismanic objects. These cabinets of curiosities speak to significant cultural shifts and anxieties in each era, while invoking a haunting from the counter-cultural voices in recent British history. Alongside these introductory artworks and ephemera is an atmospheric soundtrack, conjuring the spirit of the time with music from Bauhaus, Barry Adamson and Mica Levi.
Monster, Ghost and Witch culminate in immersive installations, combining newly commissioned work, large-scale sculpture, fashion and sound installation, with each chapter signed off with a neon text-work by Tim Etchells. The Horror Show! offers an intoxicating deep-dive into the counter-cultural, mystic and uncanny, with the signature design of the three acts courtesy of architects Sam Jacob Studio and Grammy-winning creative studio Barnbrook.
[Somerset House]
in Birmingham City Centre on 26 October 2007, they coloured the water in the fountain pink. Trouble is it looked a bit like red and therefore blood, which I don't think was the effect they were hoping for! Would have been more effective if the sun had shone. I only had my camera phone with me, so sorry the quality's not up to standards.
Sharbat Gula, Afghan Girl, at Nasir Bagh refugee camp near Peshawar, Pakistan, 1984.
National Geographic.
"The green-eyed Afghan girl became a symbol in the late twentieth century of strength in the face of hardship. Her tattered robe and dirt-smudged face have summoned compassion from around the world; and her beauty has been unforgettable. The clear, strong green of her eyes encouraged a bridge between her world and the West. And likely more than any other image, hers has served as an international emblem for the difficult era and a troubled nation." - Phaidon 55
The iconic image does not stand outside of time. Rather, it connects with the moment in a deeply profound way. Such as images are imbued with meaning, a significance that resonates deeply with a wide and diverse audience. McCurry's photograph of the Afghan girl is one such image. For many, this beautiful girl dressed in a ragged robe became a worldwide symbol for a nation in a state of collapse.
Bannon, Anthony. (2005). Steve McCurry. New York: Phaidon Press Inc., 12.
NYC5958, MCS1985002 K035
Afghan Girl: Found
National Geographic, April 2002
Iconic Photographs
National Geographic Magazine, Along Afghanistan's War-torn Frontier, June 1985, Vol. 167, No. 6
Steve, the bassist? We went to HIGH SCHOOL together!? Crazy! He's a KILLER musician, always was. Bought his first trumpet when he was 10 with money he made in the STOCK MARKET from the $100 his dad gave him. We were in a little jazz combo called "Little Sunflower" (after the Freddie Hubbard chart) or maybe it was "The Upper Manhattan Medical Group"..memory is slipping..and we would play these adult cocktail parties. I was, like..a sophmore and Steve and the rest of the fellas were all fancy Juniors and Seniors and I was completely in awe of them cause they were hardcore jazzers. Steve used to count off charts by just counting upbeats instead of the usual downbeats and he was, all, like..if you can't feel the upbeat, you ain't never going to feel the MUSIC, man..we wore white bucks and I got in trouble once for showing up to a gig 10 minutes late. (I think George, the piano player, heard that, like..Miles or whoever his hero was once kicked a member of his band out for showing up drunk and late and George got a little too serious about the cocktail party gig we were playing — which wasn't exactly like a late-night gig at The Vanguard in 1957. I like to imagine I just shrugged, took a long drag off a smashed up cigarette and glared a boozy, steely-eyeballed glare at him. Except I was probably 15 and probably intimidated.)
WALLY WOOD
Wally Wood (American, 1927-1981): is widely regarded as one of the greatest comic book artists in the war, crime, science fiction, superhero, and humor genres. A child prodigy, Wood blended the disparate cartooning influences of Hal Foster, Alex Raymond, Milton Caniff, and Will Eisner into a detail-laden style uniquely his own. After briefly working as an assistant to Will Eisner and George Wunder, and producing some early romance comic stories for Fox, Wood came into his own at EC and Avon, working on science fiction stories. Equally impressive was his uproarious work for Harvey Kurtzman’s EC humor title, Mad. During the Silver Age Wood re-designed Daredevil for Marvel, and was heavily involved in producing the super-hero /spy line-up, the T.H.U.N.D.E.R. Agents for Tower. Wood also launched the important independent magazine, witzend. Other important projects in his canon include his fantasy stories for Warren Publishing, his sexy syndicated strips for the military, Sally Forth and Cannon, and his graphic novel trilogy based on his childhood creation, the Wizard King. Perhaps his most hilariously infamous satire was his XXX-rated parody poster, the Disneyland Memorial Orgy. Wood collaborated with many talented assistants over his career including Harry Harrison, Joe Orlando, Dan Adkins, Ralph Reese, Wayne Howard, Larry Hama, Paul Kirchner, Mike Zeck, and many others.
Wallace Allan Wood (June 17, 1927, Menahga, Minnesota – November 2, 1981, Los Angeles, California) was an American comic book writer, artist and independent publisher, best known for his work in EC Comics and Mad. Although much of his early professional artwork is signed Wallace Wood, he became known as Wally Wood, a name he claimed to dislike.[1] Within the comics community, he was also known as Woody, a name he sometimes used as a signature.
He was the first inductee into the comic book industry's Jack Kirby Hall of Fame, in 1989, and was inducted into the subsequent Will Eisner Award Hall of Fame three years later.
In addition to Wood's hundreds of comic book pages, he illustrated for books and magazines while also working in a variety of other areas — advertising; packaging and product illustrations; gag cartoons; record album covers; posters; syndicated comic strips; and trading cards, including work on Topps' landmark Mars Attacks set.
EC publisher William Gaines once stated, "Wally may have been our most troubled artist... I'm not suggesting any connection, but he may have been our most brilliant".[2]
Biography
Early life and career
Wally Wood was born on June 17, 1927, and began reading and drawing comics at an early age. He was strongly influenced by the art styles of Alex Raymond's Flash Gordon, Milton Caniff's Terry and the Pirates, Hal Foster's Prince Valiant, Will Eisner's The Spirit and especially Roy Crane's Wash Tubbs. Recalling his childhood, Wood said that his dream at age six, about finding a magic pencil that could draw anything, foretold his future as an artist.[1]
Wood's mother was his first publisher, in a sense, collecting his early drawings and binding them on her sewing machine into books. These early and mostly undated works still exist today because of her actions and offer a glimpse into his progression as a young artist.
Wood graduated from high school in 1944, signed on with the United States Merchant Marine near the end of World War II and enlisted in the U.S. Army's 11th Airborne Paratroopers in 1946. He went from training at Fort Benning, Georgia, to occupied Japan, where he was assigned to the island of Hokkaidō. Arriving in New York City with his brother Glenn and mother, after his discharge in July 1948, Wood found employment at Bickford's as a busboy. During his time off he carried his thick portfolio of drawings all over midtown Manhattan, visiting every publisher he could find. He briefly attended the Hogarth School of Art (later changed to the Cartoonists and Illustrators School) but dropped out after one semester.
By October, after being rejected by every company he visited, Wood met fellow artist John Severin in the waiting room of a small publisher. After the two shared their experiences attempting to find work, Severin invited Wood to visit his studio, the Charles William Harvey Studio, where Wood met Charlie Stern, Harvey Kurtzman (who was working for Timely/Marvel) and Will Elder. At this studio Wood learned that Will Eisner was looking for a Spirit background artist. He immediately visited Eisner and was hired on the spot.
Over the next year, Wood also became an assistant to George Wunder, who had taken over the Milton Caniff strip Terry and the Pirates. Wood cited his "first job on my own" as Chief Ob-stacle, a continuing series of strips for a 1949 political newsletter. He entered the comic book field by lettering, as he recalled in 1981: "The first professional job was lettering for Fox romance comics in 1948. This lasted about a year. I also started doing backgrounds, then inking. Most of it was the romance stuff. For complete pages, it was $5 a page... Twice a week, I would ink ten pages in one day".[3]
Artists' representative Renaldo Epworth helped Wood land his early comic-book assignments, making it unclear if that connection led to Wood's lettering or to his comics-art debut, the ten-page story "The Tip Off Woman" [sic] in the Fox Comics Western Women Outlaws #4 (cover-dated January 1949, on sale late 1948). Wood's next known comic-book art did not appear until Fox's My Confession #7 (August 1949), at which time he began working almost continuously on the company's similar My Experience, My Secret Life, My Love Story and My True Love: Thrilling Confession Stories. His first signed work is believed to be in My Confession #8 (October 1949), with the name "Woody" half-hidden on a theater marquee. He penciled and inked two stories in that issue: "I Was Unwanted" (nine pages) and "My Tarnished Reputation" (ten pages).
Wood began at EC co-penciling and co-inking with Harry Harrison the story "Too Busy For Love" (Modern Love #5), and fully penciling the lead story, "I Was Just a Playtime Cowgirl", in Saddle Romances #11 (April 1950), inked by Harrison.
1950s
Working from a Manhattan studio at West 64th Street and Columbus Avenue, Wood began to attract attention in 1950 with his highly detailed and imaginative science-fiction artwork for EC and Avon Comics, some in collaboration with Joe Orlando. During this period, he drew in a wide variety of subjects and genres, including adventure, romance (which he really didn't care for) war and horror; message stories (for EC's Shock SuspenStories); and eventually satirical humor for writer/editor Harvey Kurtzman in Mad including a satire of the lawsuit Superman's publisher DC filed against Captain Marvel's publisher Fawcett called "Superduperman!" battling Captain Marbles.
Wood was instrumental in convincing EC publisher William Gaines to start a line of science fiction comics, Weird Science and Weird Fantasy (later combined under the single title Weird Science Fantasy). Wood penciled and inked several dozen EC science fiction stories, many considered classics. Wood also had frequent entries in Two-Fisted Tales and Tales from the Crypt, as well as the later EC titles Valor, Piracy and Aces High.
Working over scripts and pencil breakdowns by Jules Feiffer, the 25-year-old Wood drew two months of Will Eisner's classic, Sunday-supplement newspaper comic book The Spirit, on the 1952 story arc "The Spirit in Outer Space". Eisner, Wood recalled, paid him "about $30 a week for lettering and backgrounds on The Spirit. Sometimes he paid $40 when I did the drawings, too".[4]
Between 1957 and 1967, he produced both covers and interiors for more than 60 issues of the science-fiction digest Galaxy Science Fiction, illustrating such authors as Isaac Asimov, Philip K. Dick, Jack Finney, C.M. Kornbluth, Frederik Pohl, Robert Silverberg, Robert Sheckley, Clifford D. Simak and Jack Vance. He painted six covers for Galaxy Science Fiction Novels between 1952 and 1958. His gag cartoons appeared in the men's magazines Dude, Gent and Nugget. He inked the first eight months of the 1958-1961 syndicated comic strip Sky Masters of the Space Force, penciled by Jack Kirby. Wood expanded into book illustrations, including for the picture-cover editions (though not the dust-jacket editions) of titles in the 1959 Aladdin Books reissues of Bobbs Merrill's 1947 "Childhood of Famous Americans" series.[5]
The Silver Age/Bronze Age
Wood additionally did art and stories for comic-book companies large and small — from Marvel (and its 1950s iteration Atlas Comics), DC (including House of Mystery and Kirby's Challengers of the Unknown), and Warren (Creepy and Eerie), to such smaller firms as Avon (Strange Worlds), Charlton (War and Attack, Jungle Jim), Fox (Martin Kane, Private Eye), Gold Key (M.A.R.S. Patrol Total War, Fantastic Voyage), Harvey (Unearthly Spectaculars), King Comics (Jungle Jim), Atlas/Seaboard (The Destructor), Youthful Comics (Capt. Science) and the toy company Wham-O (Wham-O Giant Comics). In 1965, Wood, Len Brown, and possibly Larry Ivie[6] created T.H.U.N.D.E.R. Agents for Tower Comics. He wrote and drew the 1967 syndicated Christmas comic strip, Bucky's Christmas Caper.[7]
Daredevil #7 (April 1964): Wood's best-known work for Marvel, debuting Daredevil's modern red costume
For Marvel during the Silver Age of comic books, Wood's work as penciler-inker of Daredevil #5-8 and inker (over Bob Powell) of issues #9-11 established the title character's distinctive red costume (in issue #7; see cover at left). When Daredevil guest-starred in Fantastic Four #39-40, Wood inked that character, over Jack Kirby pencils, on the covers and throughout the interior.[8] Wood also penciled and inked the first four 10-page installments of the company's "Dr. Doom" feature in Astonishing Tales #1-4 (August 1970 - February 1971), and both wrote and drew anthological horror/suspense tales in Tower of Shadows #5-8 (May-November 1970), as well as sporadic other work.[9]
In one of his final assignments, Wood returned to a character he helped define, inking Frank Miller's cover of Daredevil #164 (May 1980).
In circles concerned with copyright and intellectual property issues, Wood is known as the artist of the unsigned satirical Disneyland Memorial Orgy poster, which first appeared in Paul Krassner's magazine The Realist.[10] The poster depicts a number of copyrighted Disney characters in various unsavory activities (including sex acts and drug use), with huge dollar signs radiating from Cinderella's Castle. Wood himself, as late as 1981, when asked who did that drawing, said only,"I'd rather not say anything about that! It was the most pirated drawing in history! Everyone was printing copies of that. I understand some people got busted for selling it. I always thought Disney stuff was pretty sexy... Snow White, etc."[11] Disney took no legal action against either Krassner or The Realist but did sue a publisher of a "blacklight" version of the poster, who used the image without Krassner's permission. The case was settled out of court.
During the 1960s, Wood did many trading cards and humor products for Topps Chewing Gum, including concept roughs for Topps' famed 1962 Mars Attacks cards prior to the final art by Bob Powell and Norman Saunders. Discovering (from Roy Thomas) that Jack Kirby had returned to DC in 1970, Wood called editor Joe Orlando in an attempt to get the assignment to ink Kirby's new work, but that role was already filled by Vince Colletta.[12] Wood continued to produce periodic work for Marvel during the early 1970s, primarily as inker, and then worked on a handful of comics for DC between 1975 and 1977, producing in particular several covers for Plop!, pencils and inks for issues of All Star Comics in which Wood contributed to the creation of Power Girl by giving her huge breasts and an opening of her costume in the chest which exposes the majority of her breasts, just covering her nipples. Also Wood inked (over Steve Ditko) on Paul Levitz' four-issue miniseries Stalker. Active with the 1970s Academy of Comic Book Arts, Wood also contributed to several editions of the annual ACBA Sketchbook. His last known mainstream credit was inking Wonder Woman #269, cover-dated July, 1980.[13]
Over several decades, numerous artists worked at the Wood Studio. Associates and assistants included Dan Adkins, Richard Bassford, Tony Coleman, Nick Cuti, Leo and Diane Dillon, Larry Hama, Russ Jones, Wayne Howard, Paul Kirchner, Joe Orlando, Bill Pearson, Al Sirois, Ralph Reese, Bhob Stewart, Tatjana Wood and Mike Zeck.
Wood as publisher
In 1966, Wood launched the independent magazine witzend, one of the first alternative comics, a decade before Mike Friedrich's Star Reach or Flo Steinberg's Big Apple Comix (for which Wood drew the cover and contributed a story). Wood offered his fellow professionals the opportunity to contribute illustrations and graphic stories that detoured from the usual conventions of the comics industry. After the fourth issue, Wood turned witzend over to Bill Pearson, who continued as editor and publisher through the 1970s and into the 1980s.
The Marvel Comics Art of Wally Wood (1982) collects his 1970s Dr. Doom and fantasy stories.
Wood additionally collected his feature Sally Forth, published in the U.S. servicemen's periodicals Military News and Overseas Weekly from 1968-1974, in a series of four oversize (10"x12") magazines. Pearson, from 1993-95, reformatted the strips into a series of comics published by Eros Comix, an imprint of Fantagraphics Books, which in 1998 collected the entire run into a single 160-page volume.
In 1969, Wood created another seminal independent comic, Heroes, Inc. Presents Cannon, intended for his "Sally Forth" military readership. Artists Steve Ditko and Ralph Reese and writer Ron Whyte are credited with primary writer-artist Wood on three features: "Cannon", "The Misfits" and "Dragonella". A second magazine-format issue was published in 1976 by Wood and CPL Gang Publications. Larry Hama, one of Wood's assistants, said, "I did script about three Sally Forth stories and a few of the Cannon's. I wrote the main Sally Forth story in the first reprint book, which is actually dedicated to me, mostly because I lent Woody the money to publish it".[14]
In 1980 and 1981, Wood published two completely pornographic comic books titled Gang Bang issues #1 and #2 featuring two sexually explicit Sally Forth stories, and sexually explicit versions of Disney's Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs titled So White and the Six Dorks, Terry and The Pirates titled Perry and the Privates, Prince Valiant titled Prince Violate, Superman and Wonder Woman titled Stuporman Meets Blunder Woman, Flash Gordon titled Flasher Gordon and Tarzan titled Starzan. A third issue of Gang Bang was published after Wood's death featuring all reprints of Wood's Malice in Wonderland previously published in National Screw magazine from 1976-1977 and other Wood material from Wally Wood's Weird Sex-Fantasy (1977). [15]
Final years
For much of his adult life, Wood suffered from chronic, unexplainable headaches. In the 1970s, following bouts with alcoholism, Wood suffered from kidney failure. A stroke in 1978 caused a loss of vision in one eye. Faced with declining health and career prospects, he committed suicide by gunshot three years later.
Wood was married three times. His first marriage was to artist Tatjana Wood, who later did extensive work as a comic-book colorist.
EC editor Harvey Kurtzman, who had worked closely with Wood during the 1950s, once commented, "Wally had a tension in him, an intensity that he locked away in an internal steam boiler. I think it ate away his insides, and the work really used him up. I think he delivered some of the finest work that was ever drawn, and I think it's to his credit that he put so much intensity into his work at great sacrifice to himself".[16]
Awards
•National Cartoonists Society Comic Book Division awards, 1957, 1959, and 1965.
•Alley Award, Best Pencil Artist,1965
•Alley Award, Best Inking Work, 1966
•Best Foreign Cartoonist Award, Angoulême International Comics Festival, 1978
•The Jack Kirby Hall of Fame, 1989
•The Will Eisner Award Hall of Fame, 1992
Quotes
Writer/artist/editor (and former Wood assistant) Larry Hama:
“The comics world lost one of its greatest innovators last month with the untimely passing of Wally Wood. His work was hilarious and terrifying; action-packed but solidly planted; amazingly childlike while maturely crafted. He brought us joy and wonder in four colors for a dime and the world will never see the likes of him again. . . . Hopefully,
there is a sylvan glade somewhere, where sleek, silver spaceships glide silently overhead, tentacled aliens lurk behind boulders muttering "spa-fon" and a cute little pipsqueak frolics with the nicest zaftig elvish ladies for an endless afternoon.[17]
”
“Never draw what you can copy; never copy what you can trace; never trace what you can photostat and paste down".
"An editor is someone dedicated to destroying the work of a creator." WALLY WOOD
Wood, Wally: Wally Wood (American, 1927-1981): is widely regarded as one of the greatest comic book artists in the war, crime, science fiction, superhero, and humor genres. A child prodigy, Wood blended the disparate cartooning influences of Hal Foster, Alex Raymond, Milton Caniff, and Will Eisner into a detail-laden style uniquely his own. After briefly working as an assistant to Will Eisner and George Wunder, and producing some early romance comic stories for Fox, Wood came into his own at EC and Avon, working on science fiction stories. Equally impressive was his uproarious work for Harvey Kurtzman’s EC humor title, Mad. During the Silver Age Wood re-designed Daredevil for Marvel, and was heavily involved in producing the super-hero /spy line-up, the T.H.U.N.D.E.R. Agents for Tower. Wood also launched the important independent magazine, witzend. Other important projects in his canon include his fantasy stories for Warren Publishing, his sexy syndicated strips for the military, Sally Forth and Cannon, and his graphic novel trilogy based on his childhood creation, the Wizard King. Perhaps his most hilariously infamous satire was his XXX-rated parody poster, the Disneyland Memorial Orgy. Wood collaborated with many talented assistants over his career including Harry Harrison, Joe Orlando, Dan Adkins, Ralph Reese, Wayne Howard, Larry Hama, Paul Kirchner, Mike Zeck, and many others.
Photos and text by Randall Cook, he and Mac Miller ran the car. "We ran the Boyle Valve car at Lawrenceburg last night in conjunction with both USAC sprint cars and a full modified program. We were pitted in a pretty hot spot as well with the sprinters being started just behind us and then returning from their runs in front of our spot in the pits. You really had to keep your head on a swivel.
It was a night show and my camera had problems with both low light and lots of dust floating through the air. And I had trouble getting any really good on track shots since the infield was kept clear of people and the entire track was surrounded by a pretty fine mesh catch fence. Some of them came out halfway decent.
Lawrenceburg has been extensively modified over the last few years to where it is now a very fast 3/8 high banked dirt track. And since VARC actually races in their heats and features the Boyle car mostly ran at its own pace down low and out of the way of the leaders who would flash by at speeds easily over 100 MPH. But Tom still looked solid in both of his runs.
Dr. Dicks must have hit a big hole at some point during the first heat since he managed to break off the right side headers off of his engine. Several cars then proceeded to run over the broken header so Tom will have to make an entirely new one this winter. At least this happened at the end of the season and not the beginning.
Weather permitting the BVS car will be at the Jungle Park Reunion next Saturday.
Note: For identification purposes please note that there are several photos of both Tom and Dr. Dicks with former modified and sometime IMCA sprint car driver Steve Perkins. Steve is now very involved in vintage racing and has become a friend to us all over the last few years.
RJC"
Photos and text by Randall Cook, he and Mac Miller ran the car. "We ran the Boyle Valve car at Lawrenceburg last night in conjunction with both USAC sprint cars and a full modified program. We were pitted in a pretty hot spot as well with the sprinters being started just behind us and then returning from their runs in front of our spot in the pits. You really had to keep your head on a swivel.
It was a night show and my camera had problems with both low light and lots of dust floating through the air. And I had trouble getting any really good on track shots since the infield was kept clear of people and the entire track was surrounded by a pretty fine mesh catch fence. Some of them came out halfway decent.
Lawrenceburg has been extensively modified over the last few years to where it is now a very fast 3/8 high banked dirt track. And since VARC actually races in their heats and features the Boyle car mostly ran at its own pace down low and out of the way of the leaders who would flash by at speeds easily over 100 MPH. But Tom still looked solid in both of his runs.
Dr. Dicks must have hit a big hole at some point during the first heat since he managed to break off the right side headers off of his engine. Several cars then proceeded to run over the broken header so Tom will have to make an entirely new one this winter. At least this happened at the end of the season and not the beginning.
Weather permitting the BVS car will be at the Jungle Park Reunion next Saturday.
Note: For identification purposes please note that there are several photos of both Tom and Dr. Dicks with former modified and sometime IMCA sprint car driver Steve Perkins. Steve is now very involved in vintage racing and has become a friend to us all over the last few years.
RJC"
I've been tagged by dear Lisa so here I go:
Six names you go by:
1.Cathy
2.Mom
3.Grandma
4.Catherine
5.Mary Catherine
6.Professor
(also sometimes Rabbit (by David))
Three things you are wearing right now:
1. It is not a great time to answer this, as I had a bad night and am having trouble getting started today, so a favorite flannel nightgown.
2. Warm fleece robe with stars and moons, referred to as "the wizard".
3. LL Bean slippers
Four things you want very badly at this moment
1. to be back with our wonderful twins
2. definitely to feel better (battling GERD plus cold/allergies)
3. a new kitchen
4. as Lisa indicated, balance is forever sought
Three people who will (no pressure, really) answer this:
1. Steve
2.Nyasha
My only flickr contacts not already tagged. How do I tag them?
Two things you did last night:
1. graded papers
2. watched Colbert Report and NCAA basketball (seeing Georgtown upset)
Last two people you talked to on the phone:
1. customer rep at Honda dealer for an appointment
2. person looking for clothing donations for Haiti
Two things you are going to do tomorrow:
1. Clean up the yard after the winter storms
2. Annual St. Patricks Day/Ides of March party across the street
Three favourite (wonder where this started with that spelling ;) drinks:
GERD puts a real damper on this (darn!) - no alcohol, caffeine, citrus. That leaves
1. caffeine free diet coke
2. milk
3. water
The random fact ingredient:
Hmm. I was born and raised in RI. My paternal grandparents were both incredible professional artists born and trained in England. I wish I had some fraction of their talent!
Week 44 out of 52 Weeks for Dogs for my Colby
I wanted to introduce our new 11 month old German Shorthaired Pointer, Piper. We have had her for a month now and she is wonderful!
We had been searching for a young, rescue pointer. Believe it or not, we had difficulty finding one. I sent applications out to a few GSP rescues. Other state rescues told me to apply to the Southeast GSP Rescue. I did that and never heard back from them. I also applied to a Lab rescue that had a GSP for adoption. I heard from them initially to tell me that someone was coming to look at the dog. I asked them to please call me if the woman did not follow through on the adoption. I never heard back. I even called and left a message. The dog remained on their website for two more weeks. I never imagined it would be this hard to adopt a dog. After all, aren't there thousands of dogs out there waiting for a forever home? I have amazing references and can offer the average dog a wonderful life. It was crazy.
Anyway, I was checking Petfinder almost every day for new GSP postings and I saw two young GSP's available for adoption in Colombia, SC at a new shelter called Pawmetto Lifeline. I filled out an application and received a call the very next day. They approved my application and said I could come to see the dogs. Steve and I made the 1 1/2 hour drive that Saturday and met two adorable, solid liver, 10 month old, GSP pups. They had been saved from a local high kill shelter who had received them as strays. They were both thin but otherwise looked healthy. They appeared to be littermates, male and female, and looked very much alike. Both pups were sweet, friendly and very high-energy (as any good GSP should be).
We had a hard time deciding which pup to adopt. We must have talked it over for 45 minutes. In the end, we chose the female because of Clay. We felt that another male could possibly intensify Clay's dominence. The male seemed a bit more dominant than his sister but really, we couldn't be sure we were making the right choice.
After being spayed and finishing treatment for kennel cough, we drove back to SC and picked up our new girl.
I can't say enough good things about Piper. She is so sweet and really wants to please. She loves Clay and Colby and would love Bubba too if he didn't always snap at her when she was playing with one of the other dogs. Poor insecure Bubba. We haven't found a way to change that behavior. Piper and Clay play all the time. They run and run outside and then come inside and play some more. Piper has more endurance than my "old man" Clay, who is now somewhere between 5 and 7. She is very affectionate with each of us and does not seem to have a favorite person in the house. She loves everyone and will make sure she is touching someone when she lays down to rest. She is already snuggling with Steve on his lap most evenings. She has learned SIT, DOWN, WAIT(for coming through doors and waiting to eat), and OFF. She is working on PAW and COME. It appears that GIVE IT and LEAVE IT are going to take a lot of work. She chews on everything. When she has a forbidden item in her mouth she thinks it's a big game to play keep away and will run away. We have had to resort to offering her a treat for the item in order to get her to drop it. She can also be relentless when playing with Clay. We sometimes have to separate the two to give Clay a break. As a 45 pound puppy, she needs constant supervision to keep her out of trouble, but that's life with a puppy, isn't it?
Piper loves Colby and wants to play with him but she is a little too rough. Colby has begun to trust her and will go over to her and fall on his back like he used to do with Benni. Unfortunately, the two can't play together yet. Maybe someday.
My heart still aches for Benni but I have to say that having Piper has eased the pain. We got another GSP because we loved so many things about Benni. I never could have imagined how similar two dogs could be but Piper does so many Benni things. I guess that's what they mean when they say something is true to the breed. Piper has brought the goofy, lovable spirit back to our house. She has also turned life around for Clay too. we couldn't have asked for more.
Blue-gray Gnatcatcher babies in a nest. As is normal, their nest is composed of spider webs and bits of lichen and built where there is a branch right above the nest - possibly to protect from predators. These are one of the smallest birds in North America (except for Hummingbirds) and seem to have endless energy. At least when they are in the nest, they sort of hold still for a bit. They are often described as looking like tiny Mockingbirds.
There are four babies in the nest and the parents seem very good about making sure that all get fed. Interesting to watch. Unlike some birds, the parents bring only one bit of food at a time, therefore feeding only one baby. Unfortunately, this nest is about 40 feet up in a tree, so the angle and light was really tough and I had to blow this up a bit.
Hopefully, they will fledge soon as they are having trouble fitting into the nest any more.
Taken in New Jersey, USA
© Steve Byland 2008 all rights reserved
Unauthorized use or reproduction for any reason is prohibited
Steve Bozak on Sea ChangeIn Oahu Hawaii, on a 97 foot sail boat , this is a sophisticated therapeutic program for young boys 13 to 18. 28 days+ where the young people get a jump start therapeutically to resolve their problems or become more prepared and diagnosed to move on to a longer term school setting to meet their academy and behavioral needs.
Maximum of 20 boys, full time licensed therapists, two captains. These kids learn how to navigate and sail through life’s issues while visiting many islands in Hawaii. Good food and great intervention for the troubled teen.
Steve Bozak’s visit
www,school-placement.com
Photos and text by Randall Cook, he and Mac Miller ran the car. "We ran the Boyle Valve car at Lawrenceburg last night in conjunction with both USAC sprint cars and a full modified program. We were pitted in a pretty hot spot as well with the sprinters being started just behind us and then returning from their runs in front of our spot in the pits. You really had to keep your head on a swivel.
It was a night show and my camera had problems with both low light and lots of dust floating through the air. And I had trouble getting any really good on track shots since the infield was kept clear of people and the entire track was surrounded by a pretty fine mesh catch fence. Some of them came out halfway decent.
Lawrenceburg has been extensively modified over the last few years to where it is now a very fast 3/8 high banked dirt track. And since VARC actually races in their heats and features the Boyle car mostly ran at its own pace down low and out of the way of the leaders who would flash by at speeds easily over 100 MPH. But Tom still looked solid in both of his runs.
Dr. Dicks must have hit a big hole at some point during the first heat since he managed to break off the right side headers off of his engine. Several cars then proceeded to run over the broken header so Tom will have to make an entirely new one this winter. At least this happened at the end of the season and not the beginning.
Weather permitting the BVS car will be at the Jungle Park Reunion next Saturday.
Note: For identification purposes please note that there are several photos of both Tom and Dr. Dicks with former modified and sometime IMCA sprint car driver Steve Perkins. Steve is now very involved in vintage racing and has become a friend to us all over the last few years.
RJC"
Photos and text by Randall Cook, he and Mac Miller ran the car. "We ran the Boyle Valve car at Lawrenceburg last night in conjunction with both USAC sprint cars and a full modified program. We were pitted in a pretty hot spot as well with the sprinters being started just behind us and then returning from their runs in front of our spot in the pits. You really had to keep your head on a swivel.
It was a night show and my camera had problems with both low light and lots of dust floating through the air. And I had trouble getting any really good on track shots since the infield was kept clear of people and the entire track was surrounded by a pretty fine mesh catch fence. Some of them came out halfway decent.
Lawrenceburg has been extensively modified over the last few years to where it is now a very fast 3/8 high banked dirt track. And since VARC actually races in their heats and features the Boyle car mostly ran at its own pace down low and out of the way of the leaders who would flash by at speeds easily over 100 MPH. But Tom still looked solid in both of his runs.
Dr. Dicks must have hit a big hole at some point during the first heat since he managed to break off the right side headers off of his engine. Several cars then proceeded to run over the broken header so Tom will have to make an entirely new one this winter. At least this happened at the end of the season and not the beginning.
Weather permitting the BVS car will be at the Jungle Park Reunion next Saturday.
Note: For identification purposes please note that there are several photos of both Tom and Dr. Dicks with former modified and sometime IMCA sprint car driver Steve Perkins. Steve is now very involved in vintage racing and has become a friend to us all over the last few years.
RJC"
Billy Walsh -- Brock "The Cock" Hammer. 27, A tough as nails male stripper with a god given Psyche. He's the guy every man wants to be, and the guy every woman wants to be with. He doesn't have a feminine bone in his body. However, when his dance routine is over, and he speaks to the crowd during his confessional monologue we discover that he is actually a flaming homosexual with a lisp and very feminine manor-isms. Rinaldo is deeply troubled because he is living a lie.
Woodbank cut on the leg side at The Kenyons during a 121-run home defeat by Roe Green in the ECB Premier Division of the Greater Manchester Cricket League. Fourth beat second with some comfort. A hilltop wind farm, one of many in this part of eastern Lancashire, dominates the skyline.
Dan Jones (85 off 108 balls, including three consecutive sixes) got Roe Green out of trouble after a triple strike from left-arm spinner Nick Kennedy had reduced them to 43-3. Jones added 80 for the fourth wicket with Luke Williams (46) and 61 for the fifth with glovesman Joe Gatenby-Brown (44). Replying, Woodbank slumped to 36-6 as opening bowlers Gary Williams and Guy Emmett plundered seven wickets between them. Lewis McIntosh, who contributed a patient 45 and was one of only two Woodbank batters to reach double figures, spared the hosts from total humiliation.
Match statistics:
Admission: free. Programme: none: Attendance: 150. Woodbank won the toss and elected to field. Roe Green 223-7 off 50 overs (Dan Jones 85, Luke Williams 46, Joe Gatenby-Brown 44, Nick Kennedy 3-57, Chris Read 2-77) 6pts beat by 121 runs Woodbank 102 off 36.2 overs (Lewis McIntosh 45, Steve Dearden 13, Gary Williams 5-30, Guy Emmett 2-23, Luke Williams 2-26) 0pts. Umpires: Paul Derbyshire and Ian Herbert.
1. mirror finish, 2. Big Brother is watching, 3. twice the fun,twice the trouble!!!!!!!, 4. in need of a bit of therapy???, 5. stand and deliver, 6. symbolic, 7. what light through yonder window.........., 8. Wild and woolly--well wouldn't you be?,
9. Fading light, 10. changing daylight, 11. flickr.com/photos/7329324@N04/3013630170/, 12. Dappled shadows, 13. rich autumn fruits, 14. lots to see...;-), 15. self deprication!!!LOL, 16. Mad Max!!!,
17. Inclement weather coming in, 18. red?, 19. 1 man and his 3 dogs, 20. Harvesting at Sunrise, 21. infinity, 22. very special place for us today, 23. what light through yonder window............................., 24. Peepers,
25. ..........................s.t.i.l.l.n.e.s.s......................, 26. Boy,i am so lucky to live where i live....;-)), 27. Playing peep-eye(?) or a Nosey Cow!.....;-), 28. Dead centre of town!!, 29. Rescue me, 30. not sure why i like this---i just do, 31. on the edge of infinity, 32. who said unicorns don't exist??,
33. Big ZZZZZ's and little zzzzz's., 34. Over to the Langdales from Tarn Hows, 35. Mother Nature is Wonderful, 36. ripples, 37. Time Flies, 38. Duddon, 39. ''Hiya Steve.............'', 40. Duddon Valley,
41. ''High on a hill lived a lonely sheep-herd!!!.....**ok (groan)** '', 42. Winter sunshine through the reeds near Milnthorpe, 43. And God Created Frogs, 44. whats he looking at??, 45. Boathouse at Devoke water, 46. where does it go to?, 47. what would Christmas be without these??, 48. deer stalking,
49. beautiful place whatever the weather, 50. pretty funghi, 51. stop wasting your life.... because life is too short., 52. Duddon Valley, 53. Came across this out of the blue!, 54. LOOK OUT!!!!!!!, 55. lovely afternoon out, 56. Perranporth high street,
57. fancy a pint??, 58. Walking into the light, 59. did anyone else see this tonight?, 60. Beautiful tree????:-((, 61. Love this for no other reason than it just is here, 62. love these montbretia, 63. Captain Pugwash has got a tractor now!!!, 64. Just guess what he's tugging???,
65. always the right time to take me mum some flowers, 66. Hardknott Pass, 67. sunshine through the gloom, 68. St Agnes beach,Cornwall, 69. mysterious yet magical place, 70. Deep sea divers in Wastwater, 71. Groynes pointing across Morecambe Bay---, 72. er hem!!many of these over Corney Fell
Created with fd's Flickr Toys.
Photos and text by Randall Cook, he and Mac Miller ran the car. "We ran the Boyle Valve car at Lawrenceburg last night in conjunction with both USAC sprint cars and a full modified program. We were pitted in a pretty hot spot as well with the sprinters being started just behind us and then returning from their runs in front of our spot in the pits. You really had to keep your head on a swivel.
It was a night show and my camera had problems with both low light and lots of dust floating through the air. And I had trouble getting any really good on track shots since the infield was kept clear of people and the entire track was surrounded by a pretty fine mesh catch fence. Some of them came out halfway decent.
Lawrenceburg has been extensively modified over the last few years to where it is now a very fast 3/8 high banked dirt track. And since VARC actually races in their heats and features the Boyle car mostly ran at its own pace down low and out of the way of the leaders who would flash by at speeds easily over 100 MPH. But Tom still looked solid in both of his runs.
Dr. Dicks must have hit a big hole at some point during the first heat since he managed to break off the right side headers off of his engine. Several cars then proceeded to run over the broken header so Tom will have to make an entirely new one this winter. At least this happened at the end of the season and not the beginning.
Weather permitting the BVS car will be at the Jungle Park Reunion next Saturday.
Note: For identification purposes please note that there are several photos of both Tom and Dr. Dicks with former modified and sometime IMCA sprint car driver Steve Perkins. Steve is now very involved in vintage racing and has become a friend to us all over the last few years.
RJC"
Driving down 54th Street toward Grand Avenue. The east side of the almost square-shaped track would have run along 54th Street where this long building is now located.
-----------------
Maspeth, operated by the Newtown Jockey Club, was an "outlaw" track that opened in Queens, NY in late 1894. George Engeman, president of the Brighton Beach Jockey Club, was believed to be the backer. Major Wheeler (presiding judge at Brighton) and Steve Stillwell (clerk of scales at Brighton) served the same roles at Maspeth. J. B. Collins and B. F. Langcake, racehorse owners, and a few other men were also believed to play a key role in managing the outlaw track.
A steamboat delivered people to the banks of the smelly and polluted Newtown Creek, with the track itself a short walk up Grand Avenue. Races were held at night under electric lights. The track itself was only a half mile long, carved out of a square plot of land. A very entertaining description of racing at Maspeth, as well as the steamboat that doubled as a gambling operation while taking people to and from the track, can be found in a Sept 17, 1894 New York Times article (bit.ly/HrYD4Z).
While old articles mentioned that the track was located along Grand Avenue, I had trouble narrowing down the exact location. Surprisingly, it was websites about old baseball fields that led me to the location just west of 54th Street and south of Grand Avenue (see www.junipercivic.com/historyArticle.asp?nid=43, www.covehurst.net/ddyte/brooklyn/research_notes.html, and www.covehurst.net/ddyte/brooklyn/maspeth.html). I have to assume for now that the "Feldman's Park / Queens County Grounds" built in 1884 is at the same location as the race track operating as Maspeth in 1894. But I could be wrong. Nevertheless, a Queens map from 1903 indicates that a squarish-shaped race track was on that site.
There is, however, evidence of another horse track conducting night racing in Maspeth around the turn of the century. I haven't been able to determine whether this track ran thoroughbreds or trotters, though. It is located at the site of Juniper Valley Park, which I have not yet visited (see www.junipercivic.com/historyArticle.asp?nid=36).
Woodbank in defensive mode at The Kenyons during a 121-run home defeat by Roe Green in the ECB Premier Division of the Greater Manchester Cricket League. Fourth beat second with some comfort. A hilltop wind farm, one of many in this part of eastern Lancashire, dominates the skyline.
Dan Jones (85 off 108 balls, including three consecutive sixes) got Roe Green out of trouble after a triple strike from left-arm spinner Nick Kennedy had reduced them to 43-3. Jones added 80 for the fourth wicket with Luke Williams (46) and 61 for the fifth with glovesman Joe Gatenby-Brown (44). Replying, Woodbank slumped to 36-6 as opening bowlers Gary Williams and Guy Emmett plundered seven wickets between them. Lewis McIntosh, who contributed a patient 45 and was one of only two Woodbank batters to reach double figures, spared the hosts from total humiliation.
Match statistics:
Admission: free. Programme: none: Attendance: 150. Woodbank won the toss and elected to field. Roe Green 223-7 off 50 overs (Dan Jones 85, Luke Williams 46, Joe Gatenby-Brown 44, Nick Kennedy 3-57, Chris Read 2-77) 6pts beat by 121 runs Woodbank 102 off 36.2 overs (Lewis McIntosh 45, Steve Dearden 13, Gary Williams 5-30, Guy Emmett 2-23, Luke Williams 2-26) 0pts. Umpires: Paul Derbyshire and Ian Herbert.