Planet: Trask

Location: Deep within the underwater temple

Time: One hour later...

__________________________

 

"...and that was where I saw you," Naaja explained to the two Republic leaders as they all sat on makeshift chairs. "At first, I wasn't entirely sure who you were or why I saw you, but something told me that it wouldn't just reveal these visions to me without reason."

 

"I will admit, I was skeptical at first," the older man said, walking towards the group with multiple small objects in his hands. The group were sitting around a small campfire, sitting upon multiple odd, shaped rocks. Kydan and Calena sat next to each other, facing the opposite side of Naaja. "But over the course of my life, I've learned that it is unwise not to take visions such as those lightly."

 

"And because you followed through with your...vision," Calena spoke as she was given a small, man-made clay cup filled with fresh water by the older gentleman. "It brought us right where we needed to be, correct?"

 

"Well, if you look at it from a certain point of view," Naaja replied thinking about it more, "then yes."

 

Kydan choked a little from his water as he fought back a small chuckle. Coughing and clearing his throat, he looked over to Naaja who looked somewhat confused. "Sorry, it's just...a friend of ours says that a lot. In fact, that would have been his exact words."

 

"Really? Do I know him?"

 

"Not sure...does an Obi-Wan Kenobi ring a bell?"

 

He pondered on the name for a few, his eyes closed as he tried to wrack his brain around. But after a few moments passed, he shook his head. "Can't say that I have. Though, he sounds like a very wise man."

 

"Truthfully, he really is," Calena replied. "Other than Master Yoda, Obi-Wan is one of the wisest Jedi alive. You can learn a lot from him."

 

"Not to interrupt this friendly conversation," the older man interrupted, "but there is still the matter of your friends, those mechanized objects and some bizarre machine with a cape roaming about the temple."

 

"Yeah, you guys never told us why you're here either,' Naaja remembered, he and the older man staring at the other two curiously. 'What exactly brought you here?"

 

Thinking of the right words to say, Kydan put his cup down on the stone ground before speaking up. "Well, for two reasons. One, we received a distress signal coming from this planet. We first thought it was some sort of signal calling for help, but..."

 

"But?"

 

"But that was when we found this temple, then you two," Calena finished, ushering to the two of them.

 

"Well, that's all well and good, but that doesn't explain your intentions," the older teacher said. Not that he didn't believe what they were saying, but he couldn't be too careless either.

 

Kydan looked to Calena, hesitant to make a reply. However, she assured him with a small, encouraging smile, silently telling him to do it. He takes a silent deep breath before speaking. "The second reason we're here is...well, like Naaja, I also had a vision that was quite similar to his."

 

Naaja's eyes widened in disbelief. "Wait, you had a similar vision like mine?!"

 

Kydan nodded his head in reply. "Yes, but unlike yours, my vision showed me other things that I don't fully understand. When I told Calena about it, she told me that the vision I had wasn't an accident. And now...now I'm certain it wasn't."

 

"What do you mean?"

 

"I mean that, with it being that the two of us had similar visions, this definitely wasn't a coincidence. This was the work of the Force."

 

Naaja simply stared at Kydan for a moment before blinking and asking, "the Force? You mean the Han'Shi right?"

 

Now it was Kydan and Calena's turn to do the same. Calena spoke up, "Han'Shi? What's that?"

 

Before Naaja could reply, the older man placed his hand on Naaja's right shoulder, causing some confusion in the young man. "I apologize for the confusion. From where we come from, we call the invisible power the Han'Shi. The Force, which you mentioned, must be the same but with different wording."

 

"Can't say I'm surprised," Kydan replied with a small nod of agreement. "We've had others across the galaxy call the Force in other ways. Though, 'Han'Shi' is definitely a first for me."

 

"I guess there's more to this galaxy than you had let on, master," Naaja said to the older teacher beside him, an amused smirk forming on his lips. His master couldn't help but comply with the same expression as his. "Would be great to see more than just this planet."

 

"What do you mean?" Calena questioned, obviously confused by Naaja's statement. Kydan, too, looked at him with a dumbfounded face.

 

Before Naaja nor the older man could even make a reply, a loud but soft tone of some sort of siren began to go off across the entire temple, causing all of them to jump in surprise. Naaja and his teacher looked at one another briefly before standing and quickly rushing over to their spread about equipment. Both Kydan and Calena were even more confused than ever, deciding to follow behind the other two.

 

"What's going on?! What's up with that loud noise?!" Kydan shouted over the blaring siren, standing beside the two as they started to mess with the machines and computers before them.

 

"It's the intruder detectors! Someone, or something, has trespassed the entrance of the temple!" Naaja replied loudly, trying to shut off the alarm. Finally finding the alarm controls, he hit a couple of buttons as the ear blasting noise ceased making him sigh in relief.

 

"Intruders? It must be Degree and the others!" Calena realized, remembering that they had recently split up to save more time.

 

The older man began scanning through the computer screen in front of him before turning his head to them, however keeping his eyes on the screen. "Your friends wouldn't happen to be a couple dozen of mechanical robots marching in, would they?"

 

"What?!" Kydan replied in shock, as he and the other two looked at the screen the old teacher was looking at. Sure enough, there were dozens of droids marching through the entrance and into the temple. However, leading them in wasn't the Droid General nor a commanding officer, but a black silhouette that none of them could recognize from the camera's viewpoint.

 

"Who is that?" Calena asked out loud.

 

"...I don't know, but I don't like it," Kydan replied in a much more serious tone, his eyes narrowed directly at the strange silhouette. Pondering for a moment longer, he looked to Calena silently communicating with her. Not surprised, she knew exactly what he was thinking as the two began to run towards that area.

 

"Wha-wait a minute!" Naaja shouted at them, slightly surprised that they just started running off. "What's going on? Who is that?!"

 

"Trouble," Kydan simply replied as they stopped for a moment. "Me and Calena will take care of him, you guys stay here and protect this place!" Just like that, they both were on the move once again, leaving Naaja and his teacher alone to process what had happened.

 

Naaja looked to his master with a determined look. "Master, we should go! Who knows what they'll be facing. We need to help them!"

 

"...As much as I hate to admit it, Kydan's right. If any of them get near the Grand Chambers..." The older man sighed, not wanting to think about what could happen if they fail in this battle.

 

"Good point..." Naaja replied, thinking of the same thing too. As much as he didn't want to admit it, they had no idea who or what they were dealing with, let alone unsure if they could succeed. “Hopefully, if they can keep whoever these guys are out, we should be fine.”

 

“My thoughts exactly…huh?” Naaja’s master glanced over to the computer once again, seeing a blinking green light go off constantly. Knowing who it was, he pressed a button to answer. “Go ahead, Zeteira.”

 

”Guys, we’ve got trouble! The other entrance of the temple is being invaded with more of those robotic figures!”

 

“What?!” Naaja replied surprised, quickly looking at another set of cameras where Zeteira was located at. Sure enough, a few dozen more battle droids were on the march, but were being preoccupied by a group of white armored soldiers who were defending the entrance. They must be the soldiers that Kydan and Calena were talking about. “She’s right, the droids are coming this way. But it looks like those soldiers are trying their best to keep them out.”

 

”Soldiers? What are you talking about?” she questioned him.

 

“We’ll explain later,” her master replied. “For now, keep yourself hidden until the fighting dies down. We don’t know what we are up against.”

 

”But if those droids make it past the entrance, then we’ll have just as much a harder time getting them out!”

 

“Let those soldiers handle them. These ones know what they are doing, they can handle it themselves.”

 

”But…” she started to say before going silent for a few moments. That was then she spoke again, but with determination in her voice. ”I'm sorry master, but I’m going to help them!”

 

“Zeteira, no, you can’t just—”

 

”If these soldiers are risking their lives to protect a place unknown to them, then I have no reason to not help! Master, you taught us about helping those in need, and that’s what I’m doing now! I’ll contact you soon after!”

 

“Zeteira, wait!” He spoke loudly through the comm but got no response. He slammed his fist on the computer with a smack, causing some of the computers to shake and static. “Un’reo Zeteira!”

 

Naaja just stood there silently, gazing at the live video before him as he saw countless droids and soldiers alike fall. He knew why his master was so concerned, especially with everything happening all at once. Having their presence now discovered was already dangerous enough, so fighting an unknown enemy and being captured by them was very risky. But he also knew that Zeteira was right; they were taught to help those who were in need. Since these clones were putting their lives on the line for them, not even knowing what it really is, it was enough to want to help them.

 

Thinking to himself a little longer, Naaja's expression quickly returned determined. Somewhere in the back of his mind, something told him this was the way. "Master, you have to go..."

 

"Naaja, we cannot just--"

 

"I know this temple better than any of us, inside and out," he interrupted, his voice full of determination. "Zeteira needs our help, and you're the best one among us to do it."

 

Naaja's older teacher looked at him worriedly, hesitant to consider what his apprentice was saying. He was conflicted between protecting both his students and the temple, but much so was his concern for Zeteira's life. Pondering for a moment, he looked back to Naaja. "Are you sure?"

 

"That's what you trained us for," Naaja slightly joked with a small grin forming on his lips.

 

The older man gave him a small smile before placing his hand on his right shoulder and said to him, "alright then, I trust you. Protect this place with your life."

 

"I will, master."

 

"May the Han'Shi guide your way," he said before he sprinted towards the opposite direction from where Kydan and Calena had sprinted to.

 

As he disappeared through the corridors, Naaja looked around their campsite, trying to devise a plan for himself while cracking his knuckles and neck. "Okay, time to get ready..."

__________________________

 

Location: Main entrance of the temple...

__________________________

 

"Take cover!" The sound of a loud explosion emerged just a few feet from where the clone soldier was just recently standing before being blown away by the blast.

 

Breona rushed towards the man, but only to find him dead with shrapnel punctured through his armor. A few red lasers flew past his head before he raised his head and saw Battle Droids marching towards them by the numbers, each one with their weapons pointed at them. "Fall back to the main gates!" He shouted, whipping his pistols from both sides, taking out a few droids in the process as he rushed back towards his men.

 

Dodging the incoming spray of lasers, Breona and the remainder of his team run back to the broken entrance that still held its old, rusty damaged iron gates, hiding behind them for cover. The moment they got into cover was when they had their chance of firing back at the clanking droids, doing their best to hold them back. However, with only so few men left around them, their odds of surviving were quickly beginning to slim.

 

Breona takes a few more pod shots before ducking behind the gate as a blaster shot past a few centimeters from his helmet. He looks over to the other troops, watching as a couple more fell from the droids as they advanced even closer. He looks over to Burner who was also witnessing the tragedy before them. "Never thought this would be how we go out..."

 

"Could be worse," Burner replied as another shot flew past them. "Always thought we would go out in a blaze of glory anyways!"

 

Breona chuckles dryly, amused that his clone brother can joke at a time like this. "You're not entirely wrong! So... ready to take one last stand?"

 

Burner readies his weapon, looking at his commander with determination underneath his helmet. "For the Republic?"

 

He looks at him for a moment before looking to the others on the opposite side who have all heard their officers speaking through the comms. Each one of them looked ready to fight to the very end, whether they won or not. Understanding that, and with a single nod, Breona moves out of cover with his pistols at hand and shouts one last command. "For the Republ--"

 

Before Breona was able to finish his sentence, a silhouette sped past him with great speed, catching not only him but everyone else off guard. Even the droids looked confused as the stranger rushed towards them.

 

"Uh...do we shoot it?" one of the droids up front asked no one in particular but wasn't able to get an answer before seeing a double golden blade swinging towards it. "Oh come on--AH!"

 

Immediately the battle droid fell without its head as the stranger began swinging their blades at the rest of them, cutting down multiple droids quickly with ease. The droids started to realize that the stranger was indeed their enemy, and thus began to fire. However, the stranger was too quick for them and was dodging their shots without breaking a sweat.

 

Breona and the others looked at the mysterious stranger still stunned and confused. Not entirely sure what was happening, Breona wasn't going to question the outcome. He looks to the rest of his team. "Well, don't just stand there, let's give her a hand! Come on!"

 

Not even going to question it any further, the rest of the men charged out from their hiding spots and into the firefight before them, each of them firing back at the enemy. Before Burner went to join them, he stopped Breona for a moment, still slightly confused. "Hang on, how do you know it's a woman?"

 

"...Tell you later," he hesitantly replied, running out of their spot and into the fight. Burner looked at his brother even more confused, but just shook it off and ran out to join them.

__________________________

 

Location: Within the temple...

__________________________

 

“This way!” Kydan ran, turning to the right of the large, ruined corridor as Calena followed closely behind him. They had been running for a few minutes already, taking multiple stops and turns along the way.

 

“Are you sure you know where we’re going, Kyie?!” Calena asked, confused already while running from one hallway to the next. She could have even sworn they had passed that same carving on the right side of the wall more than two times already. “It feels like we’ve been through here multiple times!”

 

“Honestly, no! All I’m going off from is my feelings! It’s like the Force is guiding my sense of direction!”

 

“Well, it certainly wouldn’t surprise me whatsoever,” she replied turning to the left side, still staying close behind him. “As long as your not getting us lost, I think I’ll be fine!”

 

Kydan turned his head a little, grinning at her response before looking up. That was when he noticed some sort of light luminating at the end of the hall they were running through. “I see light! This must be it!”

 

The two duos picked up the pace as they passed through the entrance, entering a large room. The room they entered was very large, a bit smaller than a regular colosseum. Square in shape, it was at least three stories high, much to their surprise considering they were underwater in an old, ancient temple. Just like the rest of the temple, it was built in stone and brick, many of the areas covered in moss or cracked and chipped over the years.

 

But when they looked towards the center, they saw a figure sitting in meditation. The figure was covered in pure black, besides a couple areas that were colored dark red. He had a long, black cape that dropped down to the ends of his heels while sporting a strange, cybernetic armor chest plate that covered half his upper body and mouth. The left side of his face was plated with a single bright yellow eye socket that shined brightly. But unlike the other acolytes they’d seen, he didn’t have any hair. Plugged into both sides of his upper arms were a multitude of small tubes that ran through his upper arms and shoulders, looking very discomforting. Gripped within his right hand was a very strange, customized lightsaber hilt. At the end of the hilt was some sort of red glass container attached to it.

 

Not even lifting his head, he spoke out loud to the two while they approached him slowly and cautiously. “Kydan Witress and Calena Irune, I wondered when you would show up. Not to say that I wasn’t expecting you.”

 

Kydan raised his hand, gesturing to Calena to halt. “Let me guess, you’re one of Nedoura’s lackeys?”

 

“Such a distasteful word to use,” the acolyte replied, slowly rising to his feet with his one eye still closed. “Unlike Gualo or Quiese, I am Nedoura’s strongest apprentice. I am much stronger than those two put together.”

 

“What is it that you want?”

 

“Simple really,” he pointed past them and towards the door behind them. “I’m here for the temple’s secrets. My lord is eager to learn what this temple holds from within.”

 

“Hate to burst your bubble,” Calena spoke up as she activated her double-bladed blue lightsaber. Kydan followed suit as he ignited his purple lightsaber, taking his position to fight. “But you’re not getting anywhere near there.”

 

The acolyte chuckled darkly, finally opening his eye revealing a color red pupil. “I wasn’t asking, master Jedi. I will take it, one way or another.”

 

He then ignited his red crimson saber, the blade crackling at the start. However, unlike their lightsabers, the blade looked unstable as it vibrated uncontrollable. Whatever he had done to it, it was obviously not a good sign.

 

“My name is Felgrus,” he declared raising his red blade to them. “And today, I will be the one to defeat you once and for all!”

 

With tremendous speed, he was already upon the two of them as they were almost too slow to block his attack. Up close in person, his blade and his figure was a bit larger than they seemed to appear. The duo was having a hard time fighting against Felgrus’ brute strength that he was applying onto them, pushing them back little by little. Wanting to break free from their dead lock, Kydan signaled to Calena with a single nod as they both deactivated their lightsabers which caught Felgrus’ off guard, causing him to fall forward a little bit. They took their chance and the two reactivated their weapons, going for the strike from behind.

 

However, Felgrus was already one step ahead of them. Having anticipated their move, he quickly used the Force to push them, sending them flying away from him and each other. They each landed on the ground with a thud, groaning from the minor pain they received from the crash.

 

“How did he…?” Kydan wondered out loud to no one in particular.

 

“It was as if he—” Calena began to speak out before being interrupted by the acolyte.

 

“How did I know what you would do?” He laughed menacingly. “Thanks to my master, I was able to study each one of you for years, learning every strength and weaknesses you have.”

 

Calena cringed a little bit in response. “Not sure if that’s called creepy, stalking…or all the above.”

 

Kydan didn’t really seem to care as his eyes turned to a crimson red rose color, showing that he was getting serious. “No matter how much time you put into learning about us will help you. Like always, we’ll always come out on top!”

 

Felgrus responded with a twisted grin, much to his enjoyment. “Then come, show me what you have under those sleeves of yours. My experiments will lay waist to both of you…”

__________________________

 

"Why can't we hit this guy?!" One of the remaining battle droids cried out to the other one as they each continued shooting at Naaja, who was easily dodging or deflecting their shots with the Force.

 

"Maybe because we're fighting a Jedi?" The other one replied with some confusion, but also a hint of sarcasm.

 

"He doesn't look like a Jedi to me--AHH!" Before the other droid could finish its sentence as Naaja's golden blade sliced through the metal arm and chest plate. The droid fell backwards to the ground with a loud clang as half its arm was decapitated.

 

"Hey! That was my friend!" The last droid said to him, sounding like it was trying to be mad at the swordsman.

 

Not necessarily caring, Naaja swung around and made a small jump at the last battle droid, leaping into the air with his sword raised. The droid was too slow to put up a counterattack as he swung the blade at it, decapitating both its head and arm, even cutting its waist off. The droid crumbled before him as pieces of both its limbs and smaller objects fell across the stone floor.

 

Naaja sighs in relief as he sheathes his golden blade, looking around him at the lifeless droids that he had just cut down. Almost a dozen of them were wiped out by him using his sword while some of them crumbled by his Force abilities. "Man, these droids didn't even make me sweat. I was hoping for some kind of challenge."

 

"Perhaps I can assist with that," a low cybernetic voice echoed around Naaja, who began to look around him cautiously. Clawed to the rocky ceiling above him, a large metallic cyborg alien dropped to the ground about ten feet away from where he was standing. The general himself, Grievous, rose to his metal claw feet as he stared down at Naaja with his yellow alienated eyes. "Hello there..."

 

"Whoa, ugly!" Naaja jumped as he pulled his blade from its sheath, positioning himself in a battle stance. "Who gave you a makeover?"

 

"Incompetent fool," Grievous growled, his cybernetic arms placed behind his back. "You have no idea who you are dealing with. I am General Grievous, and this temple is now under control of the Separatist Alliance. And you are trespassing, Jedi."

 

"Jedi? Me?" Naaja pointed to himself in confusion, not sure what that was. "Look, I'm not sure who or what a 'Jedi' is, but that isn’t me. But what I am is the protector of this place, and it's you who has trespassed sacred grounds. So, I suggest you leave."

 

"I don't think so, protector," Grievous chuckled sinisterly as he motioned with his robotic hand some kind of signal. From behind, a few Super Battle Droids approached their leader with the addition of a single IG unit, known as a Magnaguard, each one aiming their wrist guns at the young man. As for the IG unit, rather than using a blaster, it whipped out its electro staff with each end lighting up in purple electricity.

 

Naaja slightly gulped, looking just a bit worried as he stared down the droids before him. "Oh boy..."

 

Grievous laughed menacingly as he backed up and gave his droids the orders, "kill him, make sure he suffers..."

 

The droids slowly approached him with their weapons raised and drawn while Naaja stood his ground. Between him and his opponents was a large, circular structure made of stone and weird markings carved into it. He knew the importance of this structure and what it did, so protecting it from these robotic things was his priority before anything else.

 

Raising his own gold, metallic blade, he took his stance and prepared for his attack. Within just a couple seconds, the first shots fired, and the guard made a dash at him, its weapon raised with the intention of striking him. He stood his ground, his eyes closed while listening to his entire surroundings. A few seconds after, he opened his eyes to see that time had almost frozen in place. However, he was using his ability to help make it seem like everything slowed down. Technically, he was just very fast. To use this to his advantage, he made quick work of the droids as his blade slashed at them, cutting them all up into multiple pieces. When he got to the Magnaguard, however, his ability quickly depleted as time went back to normal. Forcing himself to stop, he was able to use his sword to block the droid’s attack as its staff collided into his blade, electricity noise emitting from both ends of it.

 

He then heard the activation of multiple objects from behind the guard, just catching sight of Grievous charging at them with two sabers in each hand, one blue and the other green. Before the guard could proceed with its attack, Naaja used the Force to push the guard backwards and into the cyborg general to hopefully stall him. But it was cut short when he sliced the droid down immediately as he rushed at him, ready to slam his blades into him. Naaja just missed the first strike before he began dodging the multiple swift attacks the general was throwing at him. He was surprised as to how agile and fast the half cyborg and alien was, especially since he didn’t have the Han’Shi.

 

Naaja was backing up step by step before he almost tripped backwards by a rock, just barely able to miss the next attack. Upon seeing this, Grievous took his chance and made a final strike in hopes of ending this foolish mockery of a fight. With little to no options left, he used his sword to try and stop the cyborg’s attack. But when the general sliced right through his sword and only leaving him with nothing but a handle in his hands, he was in utter shock as he saw his blade be destroyed before his eyes. He didn’t even realize it before feeling a sharp pain in his guts, the droid general taking the opportunity to kick the young man with his metal claw leg, sending him flying backwards and right into the stone ground.

 

Groaning in pain, Naaja slowly picked himself up while holding his stomach in pain. Never had he faced an opponent like this before, let alone someone who could easily break, or cut up, another man’s sword with another sword. He then heard the cackling laughter from the cyborg alien, his expression turning to annoyance.

 

“This was almost too easy,” Grievous mocked Naaja, slowly walking up to him with both his lightsabers ignited. “To think, I thought this would be a challenge. Perhaps I was wrong…”

 

Naaja wasn’t sure what to do at that moment. Without his sword, he was completely defenseless, even if he had the Han’Shi on his side. Grievous was a very strong enemy, and from the look of things, he wasn’t tired out at all. It was at that moment in time…he felt truly afraid.

 

But then, that was when he felt something. A strong presence reaching out to him. It wasn’t some person calling him, more like some sort of inanimate object.

 

As if time had suddenly stood still around him yet again, he searched his surroundings for whatever was calling out. The more he searched, the more he became confused. But when he looked at the other random hilts attached to the general’s robotic waist, the stronger he felt it. For reasons he couldn’t fully understand, he could sense it at that one single hilt at the front; the cylinder colored in a dark gray with silver stripes, the top part customized to look like four spikes. Just then, time resumed around him as Grievous was nearly on top of him, his lightsabers at the ready. As soon as he raised his blades and sliced down for the final blow, he was suddenly blocked by a particular orange colored lightsaber. What he saw utterly surprised him; his own lightsabers had somehow collided with one of the fallen Jedi’s blades that he had taken some time ago as a trophy. But rather than be in his possession, it was now in the hands of Naaja, who was equally shocked.

 

“What?! How did you—” Before Grievous could finish his sentence, Naaja used the opportunity to push upwards and giving the general a good Force kick to the chest, sending him back some ways. Regaining his composure, Grievous growled in frustration as he saw the young man wielding his stolen saber. “That lightsaber, it belongs to me!”

 

Naaja looked at the orange glowing blade before him, somehow feeling a strong connection to it. He couldn’t describe it very well, but what he could say at that moment was that it felt right. It was as if that lightsaber truly belonged to him, and it felt great wielding such an elegant weapon. With a smirk now plastered on his face, he took his fighting stance once more, but rather with his original sword, it was now with an orange laser sword.

 

He was now ready to fight the cyborg general. The smirk never left his lips. “Why don’t you come and take it then?”

__________________________

 

At long last, after two years of hard work, IRL situations out of the way, as well as other non-noteworthy things to talk about, the next chapter of our series is here!

 

Not sure if you guys had any idea, but we have been so excited and impatient to give you guys this one! We hope you all enjoyed reading this, including the MOCs we worked so hard on.

 

Hope you all enjoyed, and look forward to sharing the next chapter of the series very soon. Have a fan-building-tastic day/night!

 

- Director KW

The difference between a 'so-so' photo and a 'GREAT' photo is sometimes just down to luck.

 

The '1962 UK Photo of the year' by Jim Meads.

 

The tractor driver heard the bang of the ejection seat and is seen after quickly turning around to look at what was going on…

 

The main picture in this was taken by Jim Meads on Sep. 13, 1962. It was published in newspapers all around the world at the time and, as it was so widely seen, it naturally caught the attention of manufacturer Martin-Baker.

At the time Jim lived next door to de Havilland test pilot Bob Sowray in Hatfield, Hertfordshire, and on this day both of their wives had gone clothes shopping in London. Bob had mentioned that he was due to fly a Lightning that day, and later Jim’s children asked if they could go to watch the flight. Although Jim was a photographer, he wouldn’t usually take his camera on an outing like this. However, on this occasion he decided he would get a picture of his neighbour flying. The camera he took had just two exposures on it.

 

The spectators found a good vantage point close to the threshold of de Havilland’s Hatfield airfield, and waited for the Lightning to return. As XG332 came in on final approach, at around 200ft high its nose pitched up and the pilot ejected. The Lightning had become uncontrollable after an engine fire had weakened a tailplane actuator.

 

Jim took one photo soon after the ejection, and as can be seen caught the pilot inverted with his parachute still unopened and the Lightning plummeting earthwards close to him. The tractor driver heard the bang of the ejection seat and is seen after quickly turning around to look at what was going on, no doubt very relieved he wasn’t working further over in the field. Jim’s one remaining picture recorded the subsequent plume of thick black smoke after the jet had crashed.

 

Fortunately the pilot survived after coming down in a greenhouse full of tomatoes. He suffered multiple breaks of his limbs and cuts from the shower of glass that rained down on him after going through the roof of the greenhouse. However, it hadn’t been Bob Sowray at the controls; he had decided to let fellow test pilot George Aird carry out the flight.

 

XG332 was one of 20 pre-production Lightnings and first flew on May 29, 1959. It was used throughout its flying life by BAC and de Havilland for Firestreak and Red Top trials, and its crash occurred while it was on latter programm

  

3/52

This morning I found myself filled with joy. I considered what a mess I am...how yesterday I felt like a completely different person...how usually this bothers me greatly, but today I just found myself laughing. This mess is my life. And it's an ever evolving process. You can try to tame the bucking bronco or grab a saddle and enjoy the ride. We are all moving upwards, sometimes scarily, away from what no longer serves us. Uncontrollably, whether we like it or not, we will ascend.

Sporting the livery of the New Hashima Police Department, the Kaizen drone is a massable field unit for damage control - when riots are deemed uncontrollable and casualties are unavoidable.

 

I had a blast building this - its my fastest build to date, taking a little under 5 hours (including edits) and also probably the most solid (excluding the arms). Some of Simon's drones provided inspiration for the shaping around the "eye," and the general concept came from Oscar Molin's Syntax drone.

 

Hope you like it!

"I told you not to go out tonight, didn't I ? Every time you go out, this kind of thing happens."

 

('Frank Zito' by RK - made out of a slightly modified and blood painted action figure by ToyBiz / 'Knife' by NECA / 'Scalp' by ToyBiz as well)

 

NOTE: I always hoped that one day there'd be a figure of one of my favourite horror movie characters: Frank Zito, outstandingly performed by the late Joe Spinell. Then again, what toy company wants to get their hands dirty by sculpting this grim, deranged and yet sad and lonely serial killer from 'MANIAC' (1980)? A movie so controversially discussed and reviewed - and often incomprehensibly ignored when it comes to the list of 80s horror movies.

 

So I took this matter into my own hands and tried to recreate the now infamous movie poster. To me it's still one of the best horror movies ever made - with Joe Spinell's great and disturbing performance and some of the best make-up effects at that time by Tom Savini.

Ok...I know I just posted one of these guys...I just could not help myself!

 

I am sure you all will understand the uncontrollable urge I cannot shake?

 

SOOC except slight crop.....

 

Thanks for stopping by and all comment and good wishes are appreciated...oh...faves too. lol

 

fffwwwhhhsssszzZZZZZZzzsssshhhwwwfff

 

Fred: No way!!!

 

Daphne: YAY!!! Amazing!!

 

Superman: (thinking) I can keep these youngsters occupied a bit more while Diana and Bruce convince Hippolyta to watch them. Ah, good, Hippolyta just agreed.* I'm sure they know I'm listening.

 

Shaggy: Like, all that from a Scooby Snack??

 

Scooby Doo: Row ran Ri reat rit??

 

Superman: Anyone know how I did this?

 

Velma: You're moving your hand so fast that you've created tachyon ... bursts?

 

Superman: Very good, Velma! Rather than bursts, though, which would be uncontrollable, a tachyon vortex.

 

Fred: I just know it looks great!!

 

Velma: *gasp* A black hole??

 

Daphne: Black?? Look at all those colors!

 

Superman: Velma's right, I have created a tiny space-time singularity so that the Scooby Snack is dispersed in quantum particles.

 

Fred: That's a lot from a Scooby Snack!

 

Velma: There's enough quantum energy in something as small as a Scooby Snack to level all of Paprihaven, if the governing forces no longer held its subatomic structure together. So... you're actually controlling the release??

 

Superman: Yes. Extremely small portions at a time. That's the quantum energy you see streaming out. I can whip it like a ribbon and it will disperse harmlessly.

 

Shaggy: Like, be careful the next time you eat a Scooby Snack, Scoob!!

 

Scooby Doo: Ruh ROH!!

 

All: HAHAHAHA!!!

_______________________________________

Last issue in 1524, natch!

www.flickr.com/photos/paprihaven/48341295346/

 

Three things drive me so crazy: mountains, sunsets and YOUR eyes..

One thing makes me rebelliously uncontrollable: looking through YOUR eyes on top of the mountain at sunset!

AI Future Worlds Oracle Series - Yellow Blue Goddesses - Zhea - Xanthea Azure by Daniel Arrhakis (2023)

  

Since the time when Artificial Intelligence emerged, fears have grown among humanity about whether it could supplant man himself and radically transform society.

Despite all governmental and planetary regulations, its development became uncontrollable from the moment large multinational companies became omnipotent.

 

One of the series that became the most controversial, Oracle, was developed by one of the most influential and powerful Tycoons and consisted of the integration of hybrid quantum computing systems with the power of artificial intelligence associated with bionic robotic models.

If the use of these technologies in War was already controversial, the Oracle series proved to be even more dangerous, as these supposed Intelligent Artificial Goddesses could predict future events, the possibilities of revolutions or even political transformations within society itself.

 

But if this seemed like it could be an added value, over time it was realized that they ended up dictating their own future events, which led to suspicions that after all, it was the big companies that were directing the future of governments and their own people, as in fact always they had done so.

But worse, the direction seemed to be heading in the direction in which the majority of human society would truly be expendable in the hands of a powerful and untouchable elite.

 

After major protests and regulations worldwide, the Oracle series was discontinued, until it was eventually terminated.

 

Some of those models produced in that era became the object of great demand by museums and private collectors and they are the subject of these series that I present to you now.

 

As for the Oracle series, it continued to be produced in secret by large multinationals and secret government programs, but that's another story...

 

____________________________________________________

  

A new Series "Ai - Future Worlds" created by Daniel Arrhakis with a Futuristic Surrealistic Sci-Fi intriguing mood based in the role of Artificial Intelligence in our future society.

 

Stories imagined by Daniel Arrhakis with images created with the help of Artificial Intelligence and Digital Art techniques.

   

Thessaloniki (Greek: Θεσσαλονίκη, often referred to internationally as Thessalonica or Salonica, is the second-largest city in Greece and the capital of the Greek region of Macedonia, the administrative region of Central Macedonia and the Decentralized Administration of Macedonia and Thrace.[3][4] Its honorific title is Συμπρωτεύουσα (Symprotévousa), literally "co-capital",[5] and stands as a reference to its historical status as the Συμβασιλεύουσα (Symvasilévousa) or "co-reigning" city of the Eastern Roman (Byzantine) Empire, alongside Constantinople.[6]

 

According to the preliminary results of the 2011 census, the municipality of Thessaloniki today has a population of 322,240,[1] while the Thessaloniki Urban Area (the contiguous built up area forming the "City of Thessaloniki") has a population of 790,824.[1] Furthermore, the Thessaloniki Metropolitan Area extends over an area of 1,455.62 km2 (562.02 sq mi) and its population in 2011 reached a total of 1,104,460 inhabitants.[1]

 

Thessaloniki is Greece's second major economic, industrial, commercial and political centre, and a major transportation hub for the rest of southeastern Europe;[7] its commercial port is also of great importance for Greece and the southeastern European hinterland.[7] The city is renowned for its festivals, events and vibrant cultural life in general,[8] and is considered to be Greece's cultural capital.[8] Events such as the Thessaloniki International Trade Fair and the Thessaloniki International Film Festival are held annually, while the city also hosts the largest bi-annual meeting of the Greek diaspora.[9] Thessaloniki is the 2014 European Youth Capital.[10]

 

Founded in 315 BC by Cassander of Macedon, Thessaloniki's history spans some 2,300 years. An important metropolis by the Roman period, Thessaloniki was the second largest and wealthiest city of the Byzantine Empire. Thessaloniki is home to numerous notable Byzantine monuments, including the Paleochristian and Byzantine monuments of Thessaloniki, a UNESCO World Heritage Site, as well as several Roman, Ottoman and Sephardic Jewish structures. The city's main university, Aristotle University, is the largest in Greece and the Balkans.[11]

 

Thessaloniki is a popular tourist destination in Greece. In 2010, Lonely Planet ranked Thessaloniki as the world's fifth-best party city worldwide, comparable to other cities such as Dubai and Montreal.[12] For 2013 National Geographic Magazine included Thessaloniki in its top tourist destinations worldwide,[13] while in 2014 Financial Times FDI magazine (Foreign Direct Investments) declared Thessaloniki as the best mid-sized European city of the future for human capital and lifestyle.

  

Etymology

  

All variations of the city's name derive from the original (and current) appellation in Greek: Θεσσαλονίκη (from Θεσσαλός, Thessalos, and Νίκη, Nike), literally translating to "Thessalian Victory". The name of the city came from the name of a princess, Thessalonike of Macedon, half sister of Alexander the Great, so named because of her birth on the day of the Macedonian victory at the Battle of Crocus Field (353/352 BCE).[16]

 

The alternative name Salonica (or Salonika) derives from the variant form Σαλονίκη (Saloníki) in popular Greek speech, and has given rise to the form of the city's name in several languages. Names in other languages prominent in the city's history include Солѹнь (Solun) in Old Church Slavonic, סלוניקה (Salonika) in Ladino, Selanik (also Selânik) in Turkish (سلانیك in Ottoman Turkish), Solun (also written as Солун) in the local and neighboring South Slavic languages, Салоники (Saloníki) in Russian, and Sãrunã in Aromanian. In local speech, the city's name is typically pronounced with a dark and deep L characteristic of Macedonian Greek accent.[17][18]

 

The name often appears in writing in the abbreviated form Θεσ/νίκη

  

History

  

From antiquity to the Roman Empire

  

The city was founded around 315 BC by the King Cassander of Macedon, on or near the site of the ancient town of Therma and 26 other local villages.[20] He named it after his wife Thessalonike,[21] a half-sister of Alexander the Great and princess of Macedon as daughter of Philip II. Under the kingdom of Macedon the city retained its own autonomy and parliament[22] and evolved to become the most important city in Macedon.[21]

 

After the fall of the kingdom of Macedon in 168 BC, Thessalonica became a free city of the Roman Republic under Mark Antony in 41 BC.[21][23] It grew to be an important trade-hub located on the Via Egnatia,[24] the road connecting Dyrrhachium with Byzantium,[25] which facilitated trade between Thessaloniki and great centers of commerce such as Rome and Byzantium.[26] Thessaloniki also lay at the southern end of the main north-south route through the Balkans along the valleys of the Morava and Axios river valleys, thereby linking the Balkans with the rest of Greece.[27] The city later became the capital of one of the four Roman districts of Macedonia.[24] Later it became the capital of all the Greek provinces of the Roman Empire due to the city's importance in the Balkan peninsula. When the Roman Empire was divided into the tetrarchy, Thessaloniki became the administrative capital of one of the four portions of the Empire under Galerius Maximianus Caesar,[28][29] where Galerius commissioned an imperial palace, a new hippodrome, a triumphal arch and a mausoleum among others.[29][30][31]

 

In 379 when the Roman Prefecture of Illyricum was divided between the East and West Roman Empires, Thessaloniki became the capital of the new Prefecture of Illyricum.[24] In 390 Gothic troops under the Roman Emperor Theodosius I, led a massacre against the inhabitants of Thessalonica, who had risen in revolt against the Germanic soldiers. With the Fall of Rome in 476, Thessaloniki became the second-largest city of the Eastern Roman Empire.[26] Around the time of the Roman Empire Thessaloniki was also an important center for the spread of Christianity; some scholars hold that the First Epistle to the Thessalonians written by Paul the Apostle is the first written book of the New Testament.

  

Byzantine era and Middle Ages

  

From the first years of the Byzantine Empire, Thessaloniki was considered the second city in the Empire after Constantinople,[33][34][35] both in terms of wealth and size.[33] with an population of 150,000 in the mid 1100s.[36] The city held this status until it was transferred to Venice in 1423. In the 14th century the city's population exceeded 100,000 to 150,000,[37][38][39] making it larger than London at the time.[40]

 

During the 6th and 7th centuries the area around Thessaloniki was invaded by Avars and Slavs, who unsuccessfully laid siege to the city several times.[41] Traditional historiography stipulates that many Slavs settled in the hinterland of Thessaloniki,[42] however, this migration was allegedly on a much smaller scale than previously thought.[42][42][43] In the 9th century, the Byzantine Greek missionaries Cyril and Methodius, both natives of the city, created the first literary language of the Slavs, the Glagolic alphabet, most likely based on the Slavic dialect used in the hinterland of their hometown.[44][45][46][47][48]

 

An Arab naval attack in 904 resulted in the sack of the city.[49] The economic expansion of the city continued through the 12th century as the rule of the Komnenoi emperors expanded Byzantine control to the north. Thessaloniki passed out of Byzantine hands in 1204,[50] when Constantinople was captured by the forces of the Fourth Crusade and incorporated the city and its surrounding territories in the Kingdom of Thessalonica[51] — which then became the largest vassal of the Latin Empire. In 1224, the Kingdom of Thessalonica was overrun by the Despotate of Epirus, a remnant of the former Byzantine Empire, under Theodore Komnenos Doukas who crowned himself Emperor,[52] and the city became the Despotat's capital.[52][53] This era of the Despotate of Epirus is also known as the Empire of Thessalonica.[52][54][55] Following his defeat at Klokotnitsa however in 1230,[52][54] the Empire of Thessalonica became a vassal state of the Second Bulgarian Empire until it was recovered again in 1246, this time by the Nicaean Empire.[52] In 1342,[56] the city saw the rise of the Commune of the Zealots, an anti-aristocratic party formed of sailors and the poor,[57] which is nowadays described as social-revolutionary.[56] The city was practically independent of the rest of the Empire,[56][57][58] as it had its own government, a form of republic.[56] The zealot movement was overthrown in 1350 and the city was reunited with the rest of the Empire.[56]

 

In 1423, Despot Andronicus, who was in charge of the city, ceded it to the Republic of Venice with the hope that it could be protected from the Ottomans who were besieging the city (there is no evidence to support the oft-repeated story that he sold the city to them). The Venetians held Thessaloniki until it was captured by the Ottoman Sultan Murad II on 29 March 1430.

  

Ottoman period

  

When Sultan Murad II captured Thessaloniki and sacked it in 1430, contemporary reports estimated that about one-fifth of the city's population was enslaved.[60] Upon the conquest of Thessaloniki, some of its inhabitants escaped,[61] including intellectuals such as Theodorus Gaza "Thessalonicensis" and Andronicus Callistus.[62] However, the change of sovereignty from the Byzantine Empire to the Ottoman one did not affect the city's prestige as a major imperial city and trading hub.[63][64] Thessaloniki and Smyrna, although smaller in size than Constantinople, were the Ottoman Empire's most important trading hubs.[63] Thessaloniki's importance was mostly in the field of shipping,[63] but also in manufacturing,[64] while most of the city's trade was controlled by ethnic Greeks.[63]

 

During the Ottoman period, the city's population of mainly Greek Jews and Ottoman Muslims (including those of Turkish and Albanian, as well as Bulgarian Muslim and Greek Muslim convert origin) grew substantially. By 1478 Selânik (سلانیك), as the city came to be known in Ottoman Turkish, had a population of 4,320 Muslims, 6,094 Greek Orthodox and some Catholics, but no Jews. Soon after the turn of the 15th to 16th century, nearly 20,000 Sephardic Jews had immigrated to Greece from Spain following their expulsion by the 1492 Alhambra Decree.[65] By c. 1500, the numbers had grown to 7,986 Greeks, 8,575 Muslims, and 3,770 Jews. By 1519, Sephardic Jews numbered 15,715, 54% of the city's population. Some historians consider the Ottoman regime's invitation to Jewish settlement was a strategy to prevent the ethnic Greek population (Eastern Orthodox Christians) from dominating the city.[38]

 

Thessaloniki was the capital of the Sanjak of Selanik within the wider Rumeli Eyalet (Balkans)[66] until 1826, and subsequently the capital of Selanik Eyalet (after 1867, the Selanik Vilayet).[67][68] This consisted of the sanjaks of Selanik, Serres and Drama between 1826 and 1912.[69] Thessaloniki was also a Janissary stronghold where novice Janissaries were trained. In June 1826, regular Ottoman soldiers attacked and destroyed the Janissary base in Thessaloniki while also killing over 10,000 Janissaries, an event known as The Auspicious Incident in Ottoman history.[70] From 1870, driven by economic growth, the city's population expanded by 70%, reaching 135,000 in 1917.[71]

 

The last few decades of Ottoman control over the city were an era of revival, particularly in terms of the city's infrastructure. It was at that time that the Ottoman administration of the city acquired an "official" face with the creation of the Command Post[72] while a number of new public buildings were built in the eclectic style in order to project the European face both of Thessaloniki and the Ottoman Empire.[72][73] The city walls were torn down between 1869 and 1889,[74] efforts for a planned expansion of the city are evident as early as 1879,[75] the first tram service started in 1888[76] and the city streets were illuminated with electric lamp posts in 1908.[77] In 1888 Thessaloniki was connected to Central Europe via rail through Belgrade, Monastir in 1893 and Constantinople in 1896.

  

Since the 20th century

  

In the early 20th century, Thessaloniki was in the center of radical activities by various groups; the Bulgarian Internal Macedonian Revolutionary Organization, founded in 1897,[78] and the Greek Macedonian Committee, founded in 1903.[79] In 1903 an anarchist group known as the Boatmen of Thessaloniki planted bombs in several buildings in Thessaloniki, including the Ottoman Bank, with some assistance from the IMRO. The Greek consulate in Ottoman Thessaloniki (now the Museum of the Macedonian Struggle) served as the center of operations for the Greek guerillas. In 1908 the Young Turks movement broke out in the city, sparking the Young Turk Revolution.[80]

The Ottoman Feth-i Bülend being sunk in Thessaloniki in 1912 by a Greek ship during the First Balkan War.

Constantine I of Greece with George I of Greece and the Greek army enter the city.

 

As the First Balkan War broke out, Greece declared war on the Ottoman Empire and expanded its borders. When Eleftherios Venizelos, Prime Minister at the time, was asked if the Greek army should move towards Thessaloniki or Monastir (now Bitola, Republic of Macedonia), Venizelos replied "Salonique à tout prix!" (Thessaloniki, at all costs!).[81] As both Greece and Bulgaria wanted Thessaloniki, the Ottoman garrison of the city entered negotiations with both armies.[82] On 8 November 1912 (26 October Old Style), the feast day of the city's patron saint, Saint Demetrius, the Greek Army accepted the surrender of the Ottoman garrison at Thessaloniki.[83] The Bulgarian army arrived one day after the surrender of the city to Greece and Tahsin Pasha, ruler of the city, told the Bulgarian officials that "I have only one Thessaloniki, which I have surrendered".[82] After the Second Balkan War, Thessaloniki and the rest of the Greek portion of Macedonia were officially annexed to Greece by the Treaty of Bucharest in 1913.[84] On 18 March 1913 George I of Greece was assassinated in the city by Alexandros Schinas.[85]

 

In 1915, during World War I, a large Allied expeditionary force established a base at Thessaloniki for operations against pro-German Bulgaria.[86] This culminated in the establishment of the Macedonian Front, also known as the Salonika Front.[87][88] In 1916, pro-Venizelist Greek army officers and civilians, with the support of the Allies, launched an uprising,[89] creating a pro-Allied[90] temporary government by the name of the "Provisional Government of National Defence"[89][91] that controlled the "New Lands" (lands that were gained by Greece in the Balkan Wars, most of Northern Greece including Greek Macedonia, the North Aegean as well as the island of Crete);[89][91] the official government of the King in Athens, the "State of Athens",[89] controlled "Old Greece"[89][91] which were traditionally monarchist. The State of Thessaloniki was disestablished with the unification of the two opposing Greek governments under Venizelos, following the abdication of King Constantine in 1917.[86][91]

The 1st Battalion of the National Defence army marches on its way to the front.

Aerial picture of the Great Fire of 1917.

 

Most of the old center of the city was destroyed by the Great Thessaloniki Fire of 1917, which started accidentally by an unattended kitchen fire on 18 August 1917.[92] The fire swept through the centre of the city, leaving 72,000 people homeless; according to the Pallis Report, most of them were Jewish (50,000). Many businesses were destroyed, as a result, 70% of the population were unemployed.[92] Also a number of religious structures of the three major faiths were lost. Nearly one-quarter of the total population of approximately 271,157 became homeless.[92] Following the fire the government prohibited quick rebuilding, so it could implement the new redesign of the city according to the European-style urban plan[6] prepared by a group of architects, including the Briton Thomas Mawson, and headed by French architect Ernest Hébrard.[92] Property values fell from 6.5 million Greek drachmas to 750,000.[93]

 

After the defeat of Greece in the Greco-Turkish War and during the break-up of the Ottoman Empire, a population exchange took place between Greece and Turkey.[90] Over 160,000 ethnic Greeks deported from the former Ottoman Empire were resettled in the city,[90] changing its demographics. Additionally many of the city's Muslims were deported to Turkey, ranging at about 20,000 people.[94]

 

During World War II Thessaloniki was heavily bombarded by Fascist Italy (with 232 people dead, 871 wounded and over 800 buildings damaged or destroyed in November 1940 alone),[95] and, the Italians having failed to succeed in their invasion of Greece, it fell to the forces of Nazi Germany on 8 April 1941[96] and remained under German occupation until 30 October 1944 when it was liberated by the Greek People's Liberation Army.[97] The Nazis soon forced the Jewish residents into a ghetto near the railroads and on 15 March 1943 began the deportation process of the city's 56,000 Jews to its concentration camps.[98][99] They deported over 43,000 of the city's Jews in concentration camps,[98] where most were killed in the gas chambers. The Germans also deported 11,000 Jews to forced labor camps, where most perished.[100] Only 1,200 Jews live in the city today.

Part of Eleftherias Square during the Axis occupation.

 

The importance of Thessaloniki to Nazi Germany can be demonstrated by the fact that, initially, Hitler had planned to incorporate it directly in the Third Reich[101] (that is, make it part of Germany) and not have it controlled by a puppet state such as the Hellenic State or an ally of Germany (Thessaloniki had been promised to Yugoslavia as a reward for joining the Axis on 25 March 1941).[102] Having been the first major city in Greece to fall to the occupying forces just two days after the German invasion, it was in Thessaloniki that the first Greek resistance group was formed (under the name «Ελευθερία», Eleftheria, "Freedom")[103] as well as the first anti-Nazi newspaper in an occupied territory anywhere in Europe,[104] also by the name Eleftheria. Thessaloniki was also home to a military camp-converted-concentration camp, known in German as "Konzentrationslager Pavlo Mela" (Pavlos Melas Concentration Camp),[105] where members of the resistance and other non-favourable people towards the German occupation from all over Greece[105] were held either to be killed or sent to concentration camps elsewhere in Europe.[105] In the 1946 monarchy referendum, the majority of the locals voted in favour of a republic, contrary to the rest of Greece.[106]

 

After the war, Thessaloniki was rebuilt with large-scale development of new infrastructure and industry throughout the 1950s, 1960s and 1970s. Many of its architectural treasures still remain, adding value to the city as a tourist destination, while several early Christian and Byzantine monuments of Thessaloniki were added to the UNESCO World Heritage list in 1988.[107] In 1997, Thessaloniki was celebrated as the European Capital of Culture,[108] sponsoring events across the city and the region. Agency established to oversee the cultural activities of that year 1997 was still in existence by 2010.[109] In 2004 the city hosted a number of the football events as part of the 2004 Summer Olympics.[110]

 

Today Thessaloniki has become one of the most important trade and business hubs in Southeastern Europe, with its port, the Port of Thessaloniki being one of the largest in the Aegean and facilitating trade throughout the Balkan hinterland.[7] On 26 October 2012 the city celebrated its centennial since its incorporation into Greece.[111] The city also forms one of the largest student centres in Southeastern Europe, is host to the largest student population in Greece and will be the European Youth Capital in 2014

  

Geography

  

Geology

  

Thessaloniki lies on the northern fringe of the Thermaic Gulf on its eastern coast and is bound by Mount Chortiatis on its southeast. Its proximity to imposing mountain ranges, hills and fault lines, especially towards its southeast have historically made the city prone to geological changes.

 

Since medieval times, Thessaloniki was hit by strong earthquakes, notably in 1759, 1902, 1978 and 1995.[113] On 19–20 June 1978, the city suffered a series of powerful earthquakes, registering 5.5 and 6.5 on the Richter scale.[114][115] The tremors caused considerable damage to a number of buildings and ancient monuments,[114] but the city withstood the catastrophe without any major problems.[115] One apartment building in central Thessaloniki collapsed during the second earthquake, killing many, raising the final death toll to 51.[114][115]

Climate

  

Thessaloniki's climate is directly affected by the sea it is situated on.[116] The city lies in a transitional climatic zone, so its climate displays characteristics of several climates. According to the Köppen climate classification, it is a humid subtropical climate (Cfa) that borders on a semi-arid climate (BSk), with annual average precipitation of 450 millimetres (18 in) due to the Pindus rain shadow drying the westerly winds. However, the city has a summer precipitation between 20 to 30 millimetres (0.79 to 1.18 in), which borders it close to a hot-summer Mediterranean climate (Csa).

 

Winters are relatively dry, with common morning frost. Snowfalls are sporadic, but οccur more or less every winter, but the snow cover does not last for more than a few days. Fog is common, with an average of 193 foggy days in a year.[117] During the coldest winters, temperatures can drop to −10 °C (14 °F).[117] The record minimum temperature in Thessaloniki was −14 °C (7 °F).[118] On average, Thessaloniki experiences frost (sub-zero temperature) 32 days a year.[117] The coldest month of the year in the city is January, with an average 24-hour temperature of 6 °C (43 °F).[119] Wind is also usual in the winter months, with December and January having an average wind speed of 26 km/h (16 mph).[117]

 

Thessaloniki's summers are hot with rather humid nights.[117] Maximum temperatures usually rise above 30 °C (86 °F),[117] but rarely go over 40 °C (104 °F);[117] the average number of days the temperature is above 32 °C (90 °F) is 32.[117] The maximum recorded temperature in the city was 42 °C (108 °F).[117][118] Rain seldom falls in summer, mainly during thunderstorms. In the summer months Thessaloniki also experiences strong heat waves.[120] The hottest month of the year in the city is July, with an average 24-hour temperature of 26 °C (79 °F).[119] The average wind speed for June and July in Thessaloniki is 20 kilometres per hour (12 mph)

  

Government

  

According to the Kallikratis reform, as of 1 January 2011 the Thessaloniki Urban Area (Greek: Πολεοδομικό Συγκρότημα Θεσσαλονίκης) which makes up the "City of Thessaloniki", is made up of six self-governing municipalities (Greek: Δήμοι) and one municipal unit (Greek: Δημοτική ενότητα). The municipalities that are included in the Thessaloniki Urban Area are those of Thessaloniki (the city center and largest in population size), Kalamaria, Neapoli-Sykies, Pavlos Melas, Kordelio-Evosmos, Ampelokipoi-Menemeni, and the municipal unit of Pylaia, part of the municipality of Pylaia-Chortiatis. Prior to the Kallikratis reform, the Thessaloniki Urban Area was made up of twice as many municipalities, considerably smaller in size, which created bureaucratic problems.[123]

  

Thessaloniki Municipality

  

The municipality of Thessaloniki (Greek: Δήμος Θεσαλονίκης) is the second most populous in Greece, after Athens, with a population of 322,240[1] people (in 2011) and an area of 17.832 km2 (7 sq mi). The municipality forms the core of the Thessaloniki Urban Area, with its central district (the city center), referred to as the Kentro, meaning 'center' or 'downtown'.

 

The institution of mayor of Thessaloniki was inaugurated under the Ottoman Empire, in 1912. The first mayor of Thessaloniki was Osman Sait Bey, while the current mayor of the municipality of Thessaloniki is Yiannis Boutaris. In 2011, the municipality of Thessaloniki had a budget of €464.33 million[124] while the budget of 2012 stands at €409.00 million.[125]

 

According to an article in The New York Times, the way in which the present mayor of Thessaloniki is treating the city's debt and oversized administration problems could be used as an example by Greece's central government for a successful strategy in dealing with these problems.[126]

  

Other

  

Thessaloniki is the second largest city in Greece. It is an influential city for the northern parts of the country and is the capital of the region of Central Macedonia and the Thessaloniki regional unit. The Ministry of Macedonia and Thrace is also based in Thessaloniki, being that the city is the de facto capital of the Greek region of Macedonia.

 

It is customary every year for the Prime Minister of Greece to announce his administration's policies on a number of issues, such as the economy, at the opening night of the Thessaloniki International Trade Fair. In 2010, during the first months of the 2010 Greek debt crisis, the entire cabinet of Greece met in Thessaloniki to discuss the country's future.[127]

 

In the Hellenic Parliament, the Thessaloniki urban area constitutes a 16-seat constituency. As of the national elections of 17 June 2012 the largest party in Thessaloniki is New Democracy with 27.8%, followed by the Coalition of the Radical Left (27.0%) and the Panhellenic Socialist Movement (10.2%).[128] The table below summarizes the results of the latest elections.

  

Cityscape

  

Architecture

  

Architecture in Thessaloniki is the direct result of the city's position at the centre of all historical developments in the Balkans. Aside from its commercial importance, Thessaloniki was also for many centuries the military and administrative hub of the region, and beyond this the transportation link between Europe and the Levant (Syria, Lebanon, Jordan, and Israel / Palestine). Merchants, traders and refugees from all over Europe settled in the city. The need for commercial and public buildings in this new era of prosperity led to the construction of large edifices in the city center. During this time, the city saw the building of banks, large hotels, theatres, warehouses, and factories. Architects who designed some of the most notable buildings of the city, in the late 19th and early 20th century, include Vitaliano Poselli, Pietro Arrigoni, Xenophon Paionidis, Eli Modiano, Moshé Jacques, Jean Joseph Pleyber, Frederic Charnot, Ernst Ziller, Roubens Max, Levi Ernst, Angelos Siagas and others, using mainly the styles of Eclecticism and Art Nouveau.

 

The city layout changed after 1870, when the seaside fortifications gave way to extensive piers, and many of the oldest walls of the city were demolished, including those surrounding the White Tower, which today stands as the main landmark of the city. As parts of the early Byzantine walls were demolished, this allowed the city to expand east and west along the coast.[129]

 

The expansion of Eleftherias Square towards the sea completed the new commercial hub of the city and at the time was considered one of the most vibrant squares of the city. As the city grew, workers moved to the western districts, due to their proximity to factories and industrial activities; while the middle and upper classes gradually moved from the city-center to the eastern suburbs, leaving mainly businesses. In 1917, a devastating fire swept through the city and burned uncontrollably for 32 hours.[71] It destroyed the city's historic center and a large part of its architectural heritage, but paved the way for modern development and allowed Thessaloniki the development of a proper European city center, featuring wider diagonal avenues and monumental squares; which the city initially lacked – much of what was considered to be 'essential' in European architecture.

  

City Center

  

After the Great Thessaloniki Fire of 1917, a team of architects and urban planners including Thomas Mawson and Ernest Hebrard, a French architect, chose the Byzantine era as the basis of their (re)building designs for Thessaloniki's city center. The new city plan included axes, diagonal streets and monumental squares, with a street grid that would channel traffic smoothly. The plan of 1917 included provisions for future population expansions and a street and road network that would be, and still is sufficient today.[71] It contained sites for public buildings and provided for the restoration of Byzantine churches and Ottoman mosques.

The Metropolitan Church of Saint Gregory Palamas, designed by Ernst Ziller.

 

Today the city center of Thessaloniki includes the features designed as part of the plan and forms the point in the city where most of the public buildings, historical sites, entertainment venues and stores are located. The center is characterized by its many historical buildings, arcades, laneways and distinct architectural styles such as Art Nouveau and Art Deco, which can be seen on many of its buildings.

 

Also called the historic center, it is divided into several districts, of which include Ladadika (where many entertainment venues and tavernas are located), Kapani (were the city's central city market is located), Diagonios, Navarinou, Rotonta, Agia Sofia and Ippodromio (white tower), which are all located around Thessaloniki's most central point, Aristotelous Square.

 

The west point of the city center is home to Thessaloniki's law courts, its central international railway station and the port, while on its eastern side stands the city's two universities, the Thessaloniki International Exhibition Center, the city's main stadium, its archaeological and Byzantine museums, the new city hall and its central parklands and gardens, namely those of the ΧΑΝΘ/Palios Zoologikos Kipos and Pedio tou Areos. The central road arteries that pass through the city center, designed in the Ernest Hebrard plan, include those of Tsimiski, Egnatia, Nikis, Mitropoleos, Venizelou and St. Demetrius avenues.

  

Ano Poli

  

Ano Poli (also called Old Town and literally the Upper Town) is the heritage listed district north of Thessaloniki's city center that was not engulfed by the great fire of 1917 and was declared a UNESCO World Heritage Site by ministerial actions of Melina Merkouri, during the 1980s. It consists of Thessaloniki's most traditional part of the city, still featuring small stone paved streets, old squares and homes featuring old Greek and Ottoman architecture.

 

Ano Poli also, is the highest point in Thessaloniki and as such, is the location of the city's acropolis, its Byzantine fort, the Heptapyrgion, a large portion of the city's remaining walls, and with many of its additional Ottoman and Byzantine structures still standing. The area provides access to the Seich Sou Forest National Park[131] and features amphitheatric views of the whole city and the Thermaic Gulf. On clear days Mount Olympus, at about 100 km (62 mi) away across the gulf, can also be seen towering the horizon.

  

Southeastern Thessaloniki up until the 1920s was home to the city's most affluent residents and formed the outermost suburbs of the city at the time, with the area close to the Thermaic Gulf coast called Exoches, from the 19th century holiday villas which defined the area. Today southeastern Thessaloniki has in some way become a natural extension of the city center, with the avenues of Megalou Alexandrou, Georgiou Papandreou (Antheon), Vasilissis Olgas Avenue, Delfon, Konstantinou Karamanli (Nea Egnatia) and Papanastasiou passing through it, enclosing an area traditionally called Dépôt (Ντεπώ), from the name of the old tram station, owned by a French company. The area extends to Kalamaria and Pylaia, about 9 km (5.59 mi) from the White Tower in the city centre.

 

Some of the most notable mansions and villas of the old-era of the city remain along Vasilissis Olgas Avenue. Built for the most wealthy residents and designed by well known architects they are used today as museums, art galleries or remain as private properties. Some of them include Villa Bianca, Villa Ahmet Kapanci, Villa Modiano, Villa Mordoch, Villa Mehmet Kapanci, Hatzilazarou Mansion, Chateau Mon Bonheur (often called red tower) and others.

 

Most of southeastern Thessaloniki is characterized by its modern architecture and apartment buildings, home to the middle-class and more than half of the municipality of Thessaloniki population. Today this area of the city is also home to 3 of the city's main football stadiums, the Thessaloniki Concert Hall, the Posidonio aquatic and athletic complex, the Naval Command post of Northern Greece and the old royal palace (called Palataki), located on the most westerly point of Karabournaki cape. The municipality of Kalamaria is also located in southeastern Thessaloniki and has become this part of the city's most sought after areas, with many open spaces and home to high end bars, cafés and entertainment venues, most notably on Plastira street, along the coast

 

Northwestern Thessaloniki had always been associated with industry and the working class because as the city grew during the 1920s, many workers had moved there, due to its proximity near factories and industrial activities. Today many factories and industries have been moved further out west and the area is experiencing rapid growth as does the southeast. Many factories in this area have been converted to cultural centres, while past military grounds that are being surrounded by densely built neighborhoods are awaiting transformation into parklands.

 

Northwest Thessaloniki forms the main entry point into the city of Thessaloniki with the avenues of Monastiriou, Lagkada and 26is Octovriou passing through it, as well as the extension of the A1 motorway, feeding into Thessaloniki's city center. The area is home to the Macedonia InterCity Bus Terminal (KTEL), the Zeitenlik Allied memorial military cemetery and to large entertainment venues of the city, such as Milos, Fix, Vilka (which are housed in converted old factories). Northwestern Thessaloniki is also home to Moni Lazariston, located in Stavroupoli, which today forms one of the most important cultural centers for the city.

 

To read more please click :-

 

en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Thessaloniki

Things were a bit messed up at Aldershot on Sunday. Trains 384, 422, and 385 all worked the yard, nearly at the same time. CN 385 stopped to exchange a dead GECX 7342 for CN 8861, while CN 550 was also having issues with CN 4803, first shutting down and then revving uncontrollably. From left to right, CN 4803 was parked on track 39 for the mechanical department to look at (and shut off), SD70M-2's CN 8861-8835 sit on the other end of track 39 after being set off by 422, CN 550 switches the lower yard with GMTX GP38-2 #2323 and a CN GP38-2W, another GMTX/CN set of power spends the day parked at the east end of the yard (later to be lifted by 434), a dead GECX 7342 sits on track 33 with CN 2250 (planned for the ballast train), and CN 385 heads down to the east end of the yard with CN 5404-GECX 9147 to lift CN 8861.Ten locomotives in all!

Todd Williamson explores ideas of order and tradition to examine the deep uncertainty and uncontrollable political, social, and cultural movements of our time. Both the work and concept generated for this installation were directly influenced by the environment in which it is displayed. Through its long elegant proportions, the church of Santa Maria della Pietà encourages a meditative, sequential process of reflection. Drawing from the site’s richness, the artist has developed a series of works which encourage contemplation, challenge the perceived order of tradition, and ask: Who are our apostles today? Is the influence of today’s perceived ‘influencers’ truly inspirational or dangerously dogmatic?

This print has "Sep 55" stamped on the front, but it was taken during a Colorado camping trip, on the way back from Utah in the summer of 1955. I'm guessing it was about the third week in August.

 

(I have no idea why I have a bandage on my lower face. A cut? I was too young for acne at that point :) )

  

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

 

Some of the photos in this album are “originals” from the year that my family spent in Omaha in 1955-56. But the final 10 color photos were taken nearly 40 years later, as part of some research that I was doing for a novel called Do-Overs, the beginning of which can be found here on my website

 

www.yourdon.com/personal/fiction/doovers/index.html

 

and the relevant chapter (concerning Omaha) can be found here:

 

www.yourdon.com/personal/fiction/doovers/chapters/ch9.html

 

Before I get into the details, let me make a strong request — if you’re looking at these photos, and if you are getting any enjoyment at all of this brief look at some mundane Americana from 60+ years ago: find a similar episode in your own life, and write it down. Gather the pictures, clean them up, and upload them somewhere on the Internet where they can be found. Trust me: there will come a day when the only person on the planet who actually experienced those events is you. Your own memories may be fuzzy and incomplete; but they will be invaluable to your friends and family members, and to many generations of your descendants.

 

So, what do I remember about the year that I spent in Omaha? Not much at the moment, though I’m sure more details will occur to me in the days to come — and I’ll add them to these notes, along with additional photos that I’m tweaking and editing now.

 

For now, here is a random list of things I remember:

 

1. I attended the last couple months of 6th grade, and all of 7th grade, in one school. My parents moved from Omaha to Long Island, NY in the spring of my 7th grade school year; but unlike previous years, they made arrangements for me to stay with a neighbor’s family, so that I could finish the school year before joining them in New York.

 

2. Our dog, Blackie, traveled with us from our previous home in Riverside, and was with us until my parents left Omaha for New York; at that point, they gave him to some other family. For some reason, this had almost no impact on me. It was a case of “out of sight, out of mind” — when Blackie was gone, I spent my final three months in Omaha without ever thinking about him again.

 

3. Most days, I rode my bike to school; but Omaha was the place where one of my sisters first started attending first grade — in the same school where I was attending 6th grade. I remember walking her to school along Bellevue Avenue on the first morning, which seemed to take forever: it was about a mile away.

 

4. As noted in a previous Flickr album about my year in Riverside, I was a year younger than my classmates; but I was tall for my age, and thus looked “normal” at a quick glance. But because I was a year younger, I was incredibly shy and awkward in the presence of girls. Omaha was certainly not “sin city,” but by 6th grade and 7th grade, puberty was beginning to hit, and the girls had grown to the point where they were occasionally interested in boys. The school tried to accommodate this social development by teaching us the square dance (and forbidding the playing of songs by Elvis Presley, whose music was just beginning to be heard on the radio). I was an awful dancer, and even more of a shy misfit than my classmates; I continue to be an awful dancer today.

 

5. My bike ride to school was uneventful most days; but the final part of the ride was a steep downhill stretch on Avery Road, lasting three or four blocks. My friends and I usually raced downhill as fast as we could; but one day, my front bicycle wheel began to wobble on the downhill run, and my bike drifted uncontrollably to the side of the road and then off into a ditch. I got banged up pretty badly.

 

6. But this accident was nothing compared to my worst mishap: a neighborhood friend and I enjoyed playing “cowboys and Indians” in the woods near his home (and his younger brother usually tagged along). I had a bow and a few arrows for our adventure, and we often shot at trees a hundred feet away. Unfortunately, the arrows often disappeared into the underbrush (because we were lousy shots) and were difficult to find. Consequently, one of us came up with the clever idea of standing behind the “target” tree, so that we could see where the randomly-shot arrows landed. Through a series of miscommunications, I poked my head out from behind the tree just as my friend shot one of the arrows … and it skipped off the side of the tree and into my face, impaling itself into my cheek bone about an inch below my eye. An inch higher, and I would not be typing these words … (meanwhile, my friend's younger brother grew up to be an officer in the U.S. Air Force, and he tracked me down on the Internet, decades later).

 

7. In the summer of 1956, my parents decided to spend their summer vacation prospecting for uranium (seriously!) in the remote hills of eastern Utah, where my dad had grown up on the Utah-Colorado border. This entailed a long, long drive from Omaha; and it involved leaving me and my two sisters with my grandparents near Vernal, UT. My grandparents lived in a very small mining village outside of Vernal; and while they had electricity and various other modern conveniences, they also had an outhouse in the back yard. Trips to the “bathroom” in the middle of the night were quite an adventure. On the way back to Omaha at the end of this vacation trip (with no uranium ore having been found), we stopped for a couple of days of camping somewhere in the mountains of Colorado; you’ll see a couple of photos from that camping trip in this album.

 

8. There were no lizards in Omaha, and thus no opportunity for lizard-hunting with my slingshot—which had been a significant hobby in my previous homes in Riverside and Roswell. Indeed, there was almost nothing to shoot at … and I couldn’t find anyone with whom I could play (and hopefully win) marbles, to use as slingshot ammunition. But for reasons I never questioned or investigated (but about which I’m very curious now), there was a small vineyard in the field behind our house, and I was able to climb over the fence and retrieve dozens of small, hard, green grapes. They turned out to be excellent ammunition … but I never did find any lizards.

 

9. A few months before my parents left for New York, I told them about the latest craze sweeping the neighborhood: “English bikes,” with three speeds, thin tires, and hand-brakes. I desperately wanted one, but Dad said it was far too expensive for him to buy as a frivolous gift for me: at the time, English bikes had an outrageous price tag of $25. I was told that I would have to earn the money myself if I wanted one … and the going rate for young, scrawny kids who shoveled sidewalks, pulled weeds from gardens, and did babysitting chores, was 25 cents per hour. That works out to 100 hours of work … but I did it, over the course of the next few months, and when I got to New York, the first thing I did was buy my English bike.

 

10. Toward the end of my 7th-grade school year, everyone in my class was subjected to a vision test: we were lined up in alphabetical order, and one-by-one read off a series of letters that we could barely see on a large placard taped onto the classroom blackboard. Because my surname starts with a “Y,” I was usually near the end of the line … and by the time I got to the front, I had usually memorized the letters (because they never bothered to change them, from one student to the next) without even realizing it consciously. But on this particular occasion in 7th grade, for some reason, they decided to line us up in reverse alphabetical order … and I was the first in line. For the first time in my life, I realized that I could not see anything of the letters, and that I was woefully near-sighted.

 

11. When I got to New York, my parents took me to an optometrist to get my first set of glasses (and, yes, all of the neighborhood kids did begin taunting me immediately: “Four eyes! Four eyes!”) … and I’ve worn glasses ever since. Three years after I arrived in New York, the glasses saved my vision when a home-brewed mix of gunpowder and powdered aluminum blew up in my face in the school chemistry lab (where I had an after-school volunteer job as a “lab assistant”). I suffered 2nd-degree burns on my face from the explosion, but the glasses protected my eyes. That, however, is a different story for a different time.

 

1800-1900

In September 1835, JH Vivian, the local MP, liased with the Institution for the provision of a lifeboat in Mumbles. This lifeboat was controlled and funded by Swansea Harbour Trustees. It was taken over and funded by the Institution in 1863. Lifeboats have always been stationed at Mumbles but the station was known as Swansea until 1904. The branch continued to be called Swansea, Mumbles and Port Eynon until 1910.

 

S. S. SAMTAMPA

In the early days the lifeboat was kept close to the cliffs in Mumbles and was launched and re-housed along a stone slipway, which still exists today.

 

After the First World War, a boathouse with slipway was erected alongside Mumbles pier to make the launching of the lifeboat a more simple process. For 4 years 1814 – 1818 the wooden slipway (which is used today) had no boathouse, merely the lifeboat retained at the top of the slip ready for launch.

 

On 27 January 1883 four of her crew lost their lives when the lifeboat whilst on service got thrown violently against the side of the German barque Admiral Prinz Adalbert. The coxswain Jenkin Jenkins lost two of his sons who were on board that day.

 

It was 1866 before The Mumbles had a permanent lifeboat station although moves to found one began in 1832 when Silvanus Padley, son of the clerk of the Swansea Harbour Trustees, led a rescue of the crew of the Ilfracombe Packet which went aground near the harbour entrance. The trustees decided to obtain plans and costs for a lifeboat which could be used in similar circumstances.

 

It wasn't until 1835 when the MP for Swansea, John H. Vivian, approached the Lifeboat Institution to supply a lifeboat which would be maintained by the Harbour Trust, but placed at The Mumbles. On the 17th of October a 26 foot, six oared lifeboat was ordered from Taylor of Blackwall and would have been delivered soon after its completion in December 1835.

 

The boat was initially kept at The Mumbles but saw no service, then in the summer of 1841 she was repaired and moved to Swansea and then converted to pull 12 oars in 1850. In 1855 she was deemed to be unserviceable "she has never been thought a good boat for which reason the Trustees have refused to spend much money on her". At this time the Trustees ordered a new boat to be built by Forrestt & Co of Limehouse, she carried a crew of thirteen pulling ten oars. This boat made only one known service to the brig Success which had stranded in gales on Neath Bar.

 

Although the lifeboats had made only one rescue, local pilots and others had performed rescues on their own initiative and had been rewarded by the Lifeboat Institution.

 

In March 1863 a group of men formed the Swansea Branch of the R.N.L.I. and the Harbour Trust boat was replaced with and identical pattern which was named Martha and Anne after the daughters of Michael Steel of Oxford who's legacy had paid for her.

 

Because of the lack of service at Swansea where a story in the town was that a large glass case was to be built "to stow away the lifeboat in front of the Town Hall". The editor of the local paper, "The Cambrian" commented that "Not Swansea but The Mumbles should be the lifeboat's station, and not the pilots, but the coastguard or the hardy fishermen of the village should be her crew".

 

In 1866 the Martha & Anne was moved to The Mumbles where she was housed on the shore under the shadow of Mumbles Hill and was launched and re-housed along a stone slipway by means of block and tackle.

 

Noteworthy Dates

1835 Silver medal awarded to William Evans for rescuing two of the three crew from the sloop John which went aground at Neath on 26th October 1835.

 

1838 Silver medal awarded to John Reeve, master of schooner Wave, for rescuing the three crew from the sloop Feronia which was wrecked on the Mixon on 24th July 1838.

 

1839 Silver medals awarded to Captain Thomas Jones, Captain John Howell, Captain Charles Sutton, Captain Joseph Foley, Arthur Rees and Lewis Jenkins for rescuing five men from the brig Thomas Piele which was wrecked near Port Talbot on 20th January 1839.

 

1840 Second service clasp to silver medal awarded to Captain Joseph Foley for rescuing two of the three men from the Mary bound from Cork to Portsmouth, which was wrecked near Port Talbot on 20th January 1840.

 

1874 On 12th August The Board of Trade forwarded binoculars which had been received by them through the Foreign Office from H.M. The Emperor of Germany for presentation to the coxswain of the lifeboat in recognition of the services rendered by the boat when the German ship Triton of Eckernford was wrecked on the Mixon Sands on the 29th August 1987. The German Consul General was also instructed to pay £4 to the crew of the lifeboat.

 

1883 On the 27th of January, when trying to rescue the crew of the German barque "Admiral Prinz Adalbert" from the windward side, the lifeboat was thrown violently against her and swept over successive ridges of rocks by heavy seas. Four of the crew, John and William Jenkins, William Mack and William Rogers lost their lives, and the remainder were seriously injured, Coxswain Jenkin Jenkins lost two out of the four of his sons and his son-in-law (William Mack) who were in the boat and a third son received a broken leg. The Institution granted £800 towards the fund raised for the widows and orphans. The Silver Medal was awarded to the coxswain. The carpenter of the German barque also lost his life.

 

1884 New lifeboat house constructed at a cost of £350.

 

1888 Slipway constructed at a cost of £110.

 

1896 Compensation paid for the damage to oyster beds over which the lifeboat had to be taken for a low water launch on 27th July.

 

1897 Mumbles Railway and Pier Company constructed a mooring slipway free of charge to the Institution.

 

1900 – 2000

 

On 1 February 1903 the lifeboat was capsized on service to SS Christina of Waterford at the entrance to Port Talbot harbour. This capsize resulted in a loss of 6 out 14 of her crew. In 1941, a Bronze Medal was awarded to Coxswain William J Gammon and to Mechanic Robert T Williams for the rescue of 10 crew of the steamer Cornish Rose of Liverpool.

 

1944 saw the presentation of a Gold medal to Coxswain Gammon, Mechanic W G Davies and Bowman Thomas J Ace for the rescue of 42 crew from the Canadian frigate Chebouque.

 

Yet again, tragedy struck the station when on April 23, 1947; the Edward Prince of Wales was capsized and wrecked in heavy seas with total loss of her eight crew. She had gone to help the SS Samtampa with a crew of 39 off Sker Point. The death toll that night was no less than 47. As a mark of respect following the loss during the Samtampa disaster the new lifeboat was named after the Coxswain; the William Gammon serviced the coast until 1974 and was then donated to Swansea Museum.

 

In 1964 a Silver medal was awarded to Coxswain Lionel Derek Scott and the Thanks of the Institution inscribed on Vellum to eight other crew for the rescue of the crew from the Dutch vessel Kilo. 1965 saw the introduction of an inshore, D-class lifeboat at the station. Operational in summer months only with the cost defrayed by the Rotary Club of Swansea. In 1968 coxswain Lionel Derek Scott was awarded Bronze medal with an addition monetary award to him and his crew for the rescue of seven crew from the sand dredger Steepholm which grounded on the Tuskar Rock, Porthcawl.

 

1971 brought about more awards for the station when Helmsman Alan Richards Jones and crewmembers Peter Allan Algie and Anthony David Lewis for the rescue of three men from a cabin cruiser on 3 October 1971.

 

In 1981 the Thanks of the Institution inscribed on Vellum was awarded to coxswain Lionel Derek Scott BEM when he put out his rowing boat to the aid of two men who had capsized in dinghy approximately three-quarters of a mile out to sea in choppy seas and freezing conditions on 22 December.

 

1902 Additional rocket distress signal post erected near the coastguard look-out on Mumbles Head.

 

1903 On the 1st of February the lifeboat, which had put out with the intention of helping the SS Christina of Waterford, which had grounded at Port Talbot on the previous evening, found that her help was not wanted, and made for Port Talbot harbour. The lifeboat capsized off the entrance with the loss of six out of fourteen of her crew. The Institution granted £1,200 towards the fund raised locally for the dependants. One of the rescued, Tom Michael, was a survivor of the 1883 accident. Those lost were Coxswain Thomas Rogers, Second Coxswain Daniel Claypit, D.J.Morgan, George Michael, James Gammon and Robert Smith. The lifeboat was damaged beyond repair.

 

1916 New slipway and approach gangway constructed.

 

1922 Alterations and extension of slipway carried out at a cost of £1,800.

 

1935 Centenary Vellum presented.

 

1941 Bronze Medal awarded to Coxswain William Gammon and to Mechanic Robert T Williams for the rescue of the crew of ten of the steam ship Cornish Rose of Liverpool which was dragging her anchors in Swansea Bay on the 20th January 1941. It was pitch dark, which was exacerbated by mist and rain squalls. A whole south gale was blowing and there was a heavy breaking sea. The vessel was very close to the shore and rolling heavily and the ordinary perils of the sea were greatly increased by the coastal defences consisting of iron rails driven into the foreshore and sticking out of it. It was a bold and skilful rescue.

 

1944 Gold medal awarded to Coxswain William Gammon and a Bronze Medals to Mechanic WG Davies and Bowman Thomas J Ace for the rescue of the crew of 42 of a Canadian frigate Cherboque smothered in heavy seas on Port Talbot bar on the 11th of October 1944. Twelve times in the darkness and in heavy squalls of hail, the coxswain circled round though the surf and brought the lifeboat along side the frigate for her men to jump. The rescued Canadians spoke afterwards of the work of their rescuers as "magnificent" and "almost miraculous". Two of the lifeboat men were over seventy years old while another two were in their sixties, the average age of the crew was 55. The Maud Smith award for the bravest act of life-saving in 1944 was awarded to Coxswain WJ Gammon for his service.

 

1947 On the 23rd of April the Edward Prince of Wales was capsized and wrecked with the loss of her crew of eight after she had gone to the aid of the SS Samtamper with a crew of 39 off Sker Point. The Institution made a grant of £500 to the local fund and pays service scale pensions to the dependants. The death toll that night was 47. The names of those lifeboat men lost were Coxswain William J Gammon, Second Coxswain William Noel, Mechanics William G Davies and E Griffin, WRS Thomas, WL Howell, WR Thomas and R Smith.

 

1948 The Royal Humane Society awarded a Bronze Medal and thanks certificate to Mechanic RJ Gammon for his efforts on the 18th of November when a frogman engaged on renovation work lost his life.

 

1964 Silver Medal awarded to Coxswain Lionel Derek Scott and the Yhanks of the Institution inscribed on Vellum to eight other members of the crew of the lifeboat:- Second Coxswain W Davies, Mechanic J Gammon, Assistant Mechanic W Tucker, Signalman J Bailey, K Kostroman, G Parsons, H Randall and J Witford, for the rescue of the crew of the Dutch motor vessel Kilo from their burning ship in a violent storm on the night of 17th of November 1963.

 

1965 Inshore lifeboat station established in May with a D class lifeboat. Operational summer months only. The cost defrayed by the Rotary Club of Swansea.

 

1968 Bronze Medal to Coxswain Lionel Derek Scott and an additional monetary award to him and each of the lifeboat crew for the rescue of seven crew members of the sand dredger Steepholm which grounded on Tusker Rock in a fresh west-south-westerly wind with a moderate to rough sea. Six of the Steepholm crew were rescued from life-rafts after which the lifeboat returned to the casualty for the master. As he jumped aboard the lifeboat , the vessel was caught by heavy sea and he fell between the Steepholm and the lifeboat. Fortunately the Second Coxswain and another member of the crew were able to grab him before he fell into the water and he was pulled aboard unhurt.

 

1971 Silver Second Service Clasp awarded to Coxswain Lionel Derek Scott BEM, in recognition of his courage when he put out in a small outboard motor dinghy and rescued a man after his canoe capsized in a fresh easterly wind and a very confused sea off Mumbles Head on 12th April 1971.

 

1971 The Thanks of the Institution inscribed on Vellum awarded to helmsman Alan "Tudy" Jones, crew members Peter Algie and Anthony Lewis for the rescue of three men from a cabin cruiser on 3rd October.

 

1972 A framed letter of Appreciation signed by the Chairman of the Institution Commander FRH Swann, was presented to crew member W "Ginger" Clements in recognition of his action when he leapt aboard the yacht Karfinn to secure a tow-line. During the service by the lifeboat on 19th December in an east-south-easterly gale and rough sea with skill and determination managed to prevent the yacht from sheering uncontrollably during the tow back to Swansea.

 

1980 Coxswain Lionel Derek Scott was presented with an engraved statuette of a lifeboatman by Mr. Raymond Baxter, Chairman of the RNLI Public Relations Committee at the International Boat Show, Earls Court, on 9th January, in recognition of his radio and television broadcasts and numerous public talks.

 

1981 The Thanks of the Institution inscribed on Vellum accorded to Coxswain Lionel Derek Scott BEM in recognition of his skill and determination when he put out in his rowing boat, and with great physical effort rescued the crew of two of a dinghy which had capsized approximately tree quarters of a mile off Southend beach in a gentle breeze and a choppy sea with freezing temperature on 22nd December.

 

1982 The Thanks of the Institution inscribed on Vellum accorded to Helmsman Anthony David Lewis in recognition of the calmness and determination he displayed when on the 21st August he swam from the lifeboat to an unoccupied cabin cruiser which was burning fiercely and drifting towards a crowded Mumbles Pier. Having secured a line to the craft he returned to the lifeboat and towed her to deeper water where sank.

 

1985 150th Anniversary Vellum Presented to the Station.1985 saw the new Tyne class lifeboat ‘Ethel Anne Measures’ into service at Mumbles. The Tyne class boat, powered by two Detroit Tank Engines could reach speeds of 18 Knots and revolutionised fast slipway boats.

 

1994 New inshore boathouse constructed on the existing site of the old D class boathouse. As well as housing the inshore lifeboat it includes an inflatable boarding boat, changing/drying room, toilet, crew room, kitchen and office.

 

1994 New D class lifeboat placed on service. A new D-class boathouse was erected in place of the existing house, soon after, new D-class D463 ‘Nellie Grace Hughes’ was placed on service. The old inshore boathouse is still used by Mumbles Rowing Club and Mumbles Pier and can be seen opposite the new Station.

 

2004 New D class lifeboat (IL1), 'Peterborough Beer Festival II' is placed on service.

 

2006 ALB 'Ethel Anne Measures' leaves the station and is replaced by 'Babs and Agnes Robertson'.

 

The Present

The Mumbles Lifeboat Station continues to serve the area with an All Weather Lifeboat (ALB) and an Inshore Lifeboat (ILB).

 

In 2004 Peterborough Beer Festival II was placed on service at the Station. Produced by Avon Inflatables of Llanelli this new generation D-Class Inshore Lifeboat (designated IB1) embraces modern technology and new materials to improve response times as well as crew comfort and safety. (For more information about IB1 click here ). The ILB continues to be the workhorse of the Station and accounts for some two thirds of our calls.

 

Peterborough Beer Festival II was donated to the RNLI by CAMRA (The Campaign for Real Ale) through donations received at the Peterborough Beer Festival. This was CAMRA’s second donation of a Lifeboat to the RNLI; their first, Peterborough Beer Festival 1 is serving the North East of England at Redcar.

 

On Raft race day in July 2006, after 21 years service, our ALB, Ethel Anne Measures left the Station and was replaced by another Tyne Class Lifeboat Babs and Agnes Robertson. Babs and Agnes came to us from Peterhead and will see us through to 2011 when we expect to receive a new Tamar Class ALB – see The Future below.

 

In 2006 and 2007 we were the third busiest Station in Wales. In both years we helped the most number of people for an individual Station in Wales.

 

The Future at Mumbles Station

In 2002 a Coastal Review conducted by senior RNLI officials determined that The Mumbles Lifeboat Station be earmarked for a new Tamar Class Fast Slipway Boat (FSB2). The recommendations of the delegation, which included the building of a new boathouse and slipway, were endorsed by the Trustees of the RNLI.

 

The RNLI are absolutely committed to ensuring the charities money is spent wisely. The specific conditions of the sea bed at Mumbles risked increasing the cost of the project and so delays resulted whilst further studies were commissioned. Armed with new and clarifying information a further Coastal Review was conducted in 2007 and the same conclusions were made. The Trustees of the RNLI have committed funds to build a new slipway and boathouse to receive a Tamar Class Lifeboat in 2011.

 

The Tamar is bigger and faster than the Tyne and includes the computerised Systems and Information Management System (SIMS) that enables crew to control many of the lifeboat's functions remotely from the safety of their seats. Other features include advanced seats that reduce the impact on the crew as the lifeboat crashes through waves, and a powered Y boat stored behind a transom door to allow immediate deployment.

 

Information taken from www.mumbleslifeboat.org.uk/history.html

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-Walk gently over the leaves of life,

Take each step with ease,

Run impatiently, forcefully over the path,

Creating your very own breeze.

-Take the path less traveled,

Or follow the common road,

All signs point to somewhere,

All can handle your load.

-In the end the choice is now,

Not for left or right,

But for something true to you,

That gets you through the night.

-Just don’t break the flowers,

Or swelter in the heat,

There are no excuses,

Only you control your feet.

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

(a bit cliche, i know)

Random Thought! Anyone interested in starting a 52 week project?! lemme know. We need a few more people!

 

Well today of all days was the beginning of my online high school career! It was interesting but very busy. So once I was done I decided that I wanted to take some photos. There is an awesome gutter across the street with some cool things in it. We decided to rake up some leaves and throw em into the gutter and make something fun out of it and this is what we came out with. I don’t really like the way they turned out but I don’t really mind it was just to go explore!!

 

P.S. This is NOT supposed to look "Morbid" .

 

Human need for place to stay in the big city from year after year increases as rate population growth is increasingly uncontrollable, such as in the field of business economics.

All it requires space to contain it, and it is a building.

The high price of land in urban areas, making buildings constructed vertically like apartment, hotel or office building. That's what happened in Surabaya and other big cities in Indonesia.

Support our Lego Ideas project here!

 

“If your Majesty would condescend to state your case,” he remarked, “I should be better able to advise you.” The man sprang from his chair and paced up and down the room in uncontrollable agitation. Then, with a gesture of desperation, he tore the mask from his face and hurled it upon the ground. “You are right,” he cried; “I am the King. Why should I attempt to conceal it?” “Why, indeed?” murmured Holmes. “Your Majesty had not spoken before I was aware that I was addressing Wilhelm Gottsreich Sigismond von Ormstein, Grand Duke of Cassel-Felstein, and hereditary King of Bohemia.”

 

- A Scandal in Bohemia

 

This is a collaboration between saabfan and me

 

© 2015 - saabfan2013 - Gabriele Zannotti

A Curious Vigilance

Part One of Two

 

A Watchman Cometh

  

“If you can’t take the heat, don’t be tickling dragons !”

 

Acte 1

 

Ginny and I had, several weeks ago, received invitations to a fellow student's upscale, formal evening wedding.

 

Since we both love to get dressed up, it was a no-brainer to accept. Even though we really weren’t players in her circle.

 

Probably just wanted the gifts. The git.

 

So I borrowed my twin brothers antique roadster, drove up the road a short way, and picked up Ginny.

 

We both were dressed for the kill.

 

I had on my smart purple silk dress with the long pleated slinky knee-length skirt and spaghetti straps. The dress came with a cuffed long-sleeved, waist-length, black satin jacket with rhinestone buttons.

 

I had put in a diamond pin on one side of the jacket. It was in the shape of a bursting star, giving off a pleasing shimmer.

 

My other jewels consisted of my silver necklace set with hanging diamonds and sapphires, along with the matching semi-long earrings. Also worn was my diamond tennis bracelet, on my left wrist and a wide rhinestone bracelet on my left. Two rings, one set with sapphires, the other with diamonds surrounding a gold rose(my best ring) gracing two fingers on my left hand, completed the look.

 

Ginny?

Well, our Ginny girl was smashing.

 

She had poured her lithe figure into the sleek satin high shoulder sleeve sheath dress she had bought to wear in a play she acted in last spring. It was midnight black with a brite lime green inner lining and tight lime green Lycra pants. The only decoration on the elegant dress was a glittery silver rhinestone Dragon, with green slanted eyes and a red fiery tongue. It was embroidered crawling up one side of the dress, grasping claws reaching around up towards her bosom.

 

“Naughty Dragon.”

 

Ginny had green mascara above her eyes, around which she drew lines of black mascara to give them a slanted look. The whole effect looked a lot like Shirley Jackson did in the Michael Caine movie Gambit. Right up to the solid gold headpiece in Gunny’s reddish hair.

 

Ginny also had in her emerald drop earrings, along with her twin emerald bracelets gracing each bare wrist, and a fancy emerald cocktail ring flashing from a finger on her left hand.

 

But it was her necklace that stole the show.

 

The opulently handsome necklace was the estate auction won, a long pendant that had neatly set her back a month's wages. We both had opened bids on it at the same time, with me immediately backing off so she would win it.

 

It was a very shimmery piece of jewellery, with its long rhinestone encrusted chain hanging past her breasts, ending with a dangling pendant which held a birds egg size synthetic oval-shaped emerald, surrounded by long rhinestone fringes that resembled the silver beard of the dragon on her dress.

 

It was a very striking effect, especially when it stopped swaying and hung straight down, appearing just out of reach from the grasping front rhinestone claw of the gem greedy dragon.

 

^^^^^^^^

 

The church and reception hall was only about a 60-minute drive away.

 

We arrived in the city early and stopped at a pub for a glass of wine, which we drank outside at a garden table.

 

We then left, arriving at the church with plenty of time to walk around and soak in the surroundings.

 

Acte 2

 

The wedding Proper was pretty normal, with the usual pomp, circumstance, and rigid schedule only the upper class seem to achieve with nothing atoll coming close to being original and new.

 

The reception was more of the same. Ginny, per normal, snagged more time on the dance floor than me. Though I was

by no means being ignored. The bar was free, so we made good use of that.

 

By around 7:30 we were a pair of happily well-fed, well-partied, and well-liquored-up young ladies.

 

The reception for the most part was the usual fun and the usual routine flow that goes on at such affairs.

 

There was only one incident of note, well actually I guess, two, that have a bearing on my story.

 

The first was this:

 

A young girl was wearing what must have been a previously worn, hideously yellow, satin bridesmaid gown. She also was wearing a nice set of real diamonds. Ginny was really impressed with the jewelry she was wearing. As the party went, and the more we drank, the more Ginny prattled on over different ways someone could try lifting some of those diamonds from the lady.

 

Sensing there may be trouble soon brewing, I was getting tired of holding Ginny back from her obsession, that I suggested we should be heading out.

 

Then I was asked to dance, and lost track of her. When I found her, she was chatting up the lady in yellow satin and diamonds. The lady was holding up Ginny’s shimmery pendant, and I saw that Ginny had a hand placed lightly on the lady’s wrist, next to her diamond bracelet

 

Telling myself:

“Enough of that missy!”

I went up and pried Ginny away.

 

“Don’t be tickling that Dragon, even if you were thinking of doing it as a prank.”

I scolded.

 

My twin brother is always saying “If you are not prepared to take the heat, don’t tickle a dragon!” In other words, don’t invite trouble if you are not sure you would welcome the outcome.

 

I started telling her we might be heading home.

 

“Stop at our pub(The Poet & Peasant),” I suggested.

 

Ginny said we should do one better…

 

We could stop at the old cemetery where we liked to role-play various games of both pickpockets, and jewel thievery. Sometimes combining the two. There she could nick my jewels to her heart’s content.

 

I admitted that sounded promising.

 

Then came the second incident on the heels of her suggestion.

 

Ginny said pleasantly, if we’re not doing the pub, then we should take something to drink with us. That way we don’t need a pub.

 

Suspiciously, I asked my grinning childhood friend.

“What’s you on about? “

 

“I mean Cade, nick a bottle while I distract the bartender. He’s working over there alone for a few minutes.”

 

I sighed, but it may be fun, so game on….

 

We pulled it off. It was far easier than it should have been.

 

As Ginny flirted with the young man tending the open bar, so I kept moving till his back was to me, and I ended up sitting on the far end.

 

I took a deep breath, scurried around and grabbed a bottle from the supply bin on the floor, and walked straight out the nearest exit.

 

I circled around the building to the lot and found Ginny at the roadster waiting.

 

She had placed her black beaded purse, opened, on the bonnet of the car and was bending over to put lipstick on using the car's outside mirror.

 

“What did you snag luv?”

 

Breathless, I looked at the bottle for the first time. It was a bottle of Penderyn.

 

Slightly disappointed, I would have preferred wine over a single malt. But it would do.

 

Meanwhile, I was standing between Ginny and the roadsters’ bonnet.

 

I handed the bottle to her, and as she looked I reached out behind me and dipping my fingers into her purse pulled out her wallet.

 

Holding it behind, suppressing a desire to laugh, I circled around to the right side and got into the driver's seat.

 

Ginny put her lipstick inside her purse and snapped it close with one hand still holding the bottle. Then picking up the purse and got inside the passenger’s seat.

 

She never noticed her wallet was gone, and by then I had it inside my own purse.

 

Still totally clueless, Ginny asked as we drove away :

 

“Do you think we should include your brother in with us?”

 

I said he was practicing darts with Brian(my boyfriend) and their friend, teammate, and one of our players, Derrick.

 

Ginny giggled, hoisting up the bottle. More for us then.

 

Acte 3

 

We arrived at the cemetery with plenty of light left in the evening. Parking in the main lot, we made our way past the open wrought iron gates.

 

The almost 40 Hectares square-shaped cemetery is no longer in use, its main gates are permanently opened to the public, but besides us, only very few ever visit it. Judging by the dates on the gravestones, the last burial was not too long after the Victorian age officially ended. No way of truly establishing when its first burial was.

 

It lays along a lane called Abbots Chase.

 

Where a highwayman by the name of Craig Abbot used to roam several hundred years ago. It is said he is buried here in this very cemetery. Though most of the old stones are so blackened the names are not legible.

 

My dad is a direct descendant of Craig Abbot, and much to the chagrin of my mum’s Irish catholic family, my twin brother was named after him. Destiny?

 

The other end off Abbots Chase lane, west of the cemetery goes past the large old manor house some 5 kilometers away from the cemetery. The manor is now a private men’s seminary college.

 

^^^^^^^^^^^

 

We hung out at the cemetery and its interior, and surrounding woods, as kids, walking the 2 Kilometers along from the east end of the lane, where the local village was.

 

Both Ginny and I grew up in houses located on the opposite side of the village.

 

We use this private cemetery for our role-playing game adventures. We had the run of the area. Not only because of its solitude, and lack of visitors, but also because there were no roads in it. Only narrow overgrown horse-drawn cart paths. And a few cobblestone footpaths. Both of which are blocked by fallen gravestones.

 

The games have evolved. But they mostly are based on pickpocketing and other forms of thievery. Mainly related to lifting or the nicking of jewels that the one portraying the victim is wearing. We take turns being one or the other.

 

Originally there were just the 3 of us, Ginny, my twin brother, and myself. We would bring various costumes, play jewelry, and other various items. Backpacking them in from our homes.

 

We have since added four more “players” to our group, though only a few times have we all met here in force.

 

There are also times as we grew older that we have stopped to play after being somewhere dressed up. The motivation can be anything from too much to drink, or something that evening triggered the idea.

 

Like tonight, with Ginny taking a fancy to a young lady’s diamonds.

  

Acte 4

 

Ginny and I entered through the main gate and walked the 75 meters up to the marble pagoda sitting on a small hill.

 

In years long past, this pagoda would have served as the last service area for the deceased being buried here.

 

There is a set of steps leading up to the platform which is eye level. On the ground, flanking the steps are a pair of long marble benches. With old wrought iron ones scattered about surrounding the octagonal platform.

 

As per normal, no sign that anyone had been here in a while. Though we did have a bit of a jump when a fox ran out from underneath the pagoda, giving us the evil eye before slipping off into some tall grass.

 

I had brought a blanket which we laid on the stairs. We put down our purses on one of the marble benches.

 

Sitting on the stairs, Ginny opened the bottle and took a small sip. Followed by a bigger one.

 

“Whew, that burns going down.”

She exclaimed passing it to me.

 

It smelled strong.

“Should have brought some water to cut it.”

I said taking a hit, feeling it burn warmly.

 

We each took several more sips before getting down to business.

 

I place a hand on Ginny’s arm, looking her in the eyes.

 

She starts to giggle. As do I, both of us falling into each other’s arms, hugging as our figures are being racked by our uncontrollable laughter.

 

Meanwhile, I was busy. My hand running down her arm, I reached one of her emerald bracelets and nimbly opened the clasp, easily pulling it off and cuffing it in my fist, moving that hand to her backside, using it to hold her quivering figure close.

 

Finally, we broke away, settling down. I slipped her bracelet inside my jacket’s side pocket, as I stroked her sleek backside with my free hand, speaking:

 

“Ok lass, are you ready to lift some diamonds?”

 

Taking a belt from the bottle ( it was not a sip, nor a gulp, somewhere in between)

Ginny nodded her head, earrings sparkling, like the look in her eyes just before she said:

 

“Let’s dance.”

  

Acte 5

 

I went over and pulled the cell from my purse, seeing a text from my brother asking if “Us girls were having fun?”

I sent one back:

“Smashing fun, wish you could be here, now I have to go and see a lady about doing a lift on some jewels she is wearing…”

 

That should make him stop in his tracks and ponder. I would imagine his game now being off all of a sudden.

 

Giggling mischievously, I laid the cell in front of my purse on the marble seat, I selected “And we danced” by the Hooters.

 

Ginny was already on the platform, strutting her stuff. I went to the stairs, grabbed the bottle, took a swig, and ran up to join her.

 

She bumped into me with her hip, then went behind me, her hands running along my figure, then pulling me against her she ran her hands down along the satin sleeve of my jacket. I only felt it because I knew it was coming. After all, as her hand slipped along my wrist, she expertly whisked off my diamond bracelet.

 

I pushed her away using my hinney, then turned and began dancing close to her, wriggling up against and away from her figure. Her eyes had been opened quite wide, from the thrill of the bracelet lift, but she closed them as I rubbed my figure up along hers.

 

I had been eyeing her dazzling dripping jeweled pendant. My arms went up behind her back. Pulling down the clasp I unhooked it and reaching my hands up, pulled it away from her gown’s rhinestone dragon’s clutches

 

I had it pocketed before she reopened her eyes.

 

The music ended, and arm in arm we went back to the stairs, passing the bottle to each other.

 

We were becoming quite happily intoxicated by now, giggling at everything.

  

Acte 6

 

Ginny sets down the bottle, then stares at her bare wrist.

“I don’t suppose this bracelet fell off on its own?”

 

I chuckled, looking at where her necklace should have been dangling, picking up the bottle.

“No, it had a bit of help…Another round?”

 

We both took several swigs before I decided it was time to have a bit more role play.

 

I place a hand on Ginny’s chest...

“Give me a lead luv…”

 

Ginny thinks a minute, long enough for us to take another swig each from the fast becoming half full bottle.

 

Looking me over, she tells me.

“Take a walk..”

I stand (maybe a little wobbly), and manage to do so, taking the path around the pagoda.

 

She comes up behind me, putting her hands over my eyes.

 

“Guess who Abigail?”

 

I answered...

I’m not Abigail?”

 

The voice behind me, as the hands are lifted from my eyes and reach down to my chest..”

 

“I’m so sorry, of course, your not, my bad.”

 

I turn around to face Ginny…

 

Placing a hand on my chest( lifting off my broach from the lapel of the jacket) Ginny says:

 

“I’m so sorry, I can’t believe I made a mistake like that. “

 

I feel her placing the broach in my pocket, as I say:

“That’s ok luv, we all make mistakes.’

 

Quite pleased with herself Ginny went back to the steps.

 

She thought I was following as she talked to me.

 

I did not, rather I hid in the bushes and watched her.

 

Ginny picked up the now 3/4 empty bottle and took a swig, handing it to me…

 

It was then she realized I wasn’t there.

 

“Where are you, you silly ninny?”

She called out, then began to walk back the way she had come.

 

I jump out of the bushes behind her my hand in the satin jacket's pocket( I can feel the cold necklace inside. I point my fingers In the pocket like I am ‘ packing heat

 

Prodding my finger in her back I say

“Stick 'em up, pretty lady!”

 

Ginny giggles,

 

“Speaking of sticks. Is that one or are you just happy to see me?

 

“Funny lady, now turn around. “

 

She did and gave a fake gasp, hand to her mouth, ring sparkly.

 

“There you go, now be a good Lass and hand over those jewels around your wrist. ”

 

She lifted her wrist and undid the bracelet, here thief take this also, and she takes out her gold hairpiece.

“ The thing was starting to pull on my hair and bothering me anyways.”

I stuffed them inside my now weighty jacket pocket

 

“Thanks, lady !”

 

Ginny looked at me, then over my shoulder, her, heavily mascara’d eyes suddenly bugging out…

 

It was then that Ginny, placing a hand to her mouth, really Gasped.

 

To be Continued…

 

A sculpture by the American artist Alice Aycock at Rosendal on Djurgårdenn.

Vaudeville Games

A villainous study in 2 Actes.

Acte 1

 

When I first saw the two of them, I knew that they were up to something no good.

  

It had been a pleasant afternoon spent amusing myself by mixing in during a black-tied occasion haunted by a group of the ultra-rich.

  

The place was an elegantly large, leased Ballroom, where a wedding reception with what seemed like a thousand gaily attired attendees had been in progress most of the afternoon. I had been amazed, dazzled may be a better word, when I had first walked in as the guests had already begun to gather. I had never seen a such a beautifully sparkling display of lovely jewels being worn by the ladies and lassies in attendance to a mere wedding reception before. I thought I was at some sort of convention for a Tiffanies or DeBeers, with models in long flowing gowns of satin, silk, and taffeta, all loaded to the gills with enticing jewels.

  

Later I learned, to my benefit, that a good number of them would be attending a local catholic charities ball held at the Cathedral’s large main hall later that evenin. Which explains the total overkillin with the fancy dress, and baubles.

  

Now, with the females in attendance wearing ample jewels expensive enough that any piece would have been profitable, there would be a temptation even the most unskilled of thieves could not resist. This is precisely one of the reasons why I was there. And I was determined to make the most out of the situation in all ways possible!

  

I soon found meself shadowing an unsuspecting, rather dipsy, female partier, whose steady drinking habit had first piqued my interest. She was wearing too many jewels than was good for her ( in my opinion), totally taking away notice from the rather fetching long taffeta gown she was poshly wearing over her delightfully young figure. I caught up to her just as she was making yet another quick swirling turn , letting her brush up against me. Almost on que ( and with the help of a foot on her dress’s hem) she lost her balance and I held her gloved arm to help steady her up. In the process I snagged one of her vulgarly large diamond bracelets from her satin clad wrist, secreting it to my vest pocket in the commotion.

  

I walked away, realizing yet once again, that the thrill I used to receive when lifting a piece of jewelry from a lady had noticeably been diminishing over the course of the last couple of years. Like any profession that has been worked at for a while, it had almost become too routinely easy anymore; my almost ghostlike hovering over receptions, ballroom dances and the ilk. Admiring the rich gowns and dresses, and savoring their sparkling jewels were becoming almost mundane. Even the snagging of a flashy bauble or two along the way was losing its appeal. Even though it was my primary source for putting the bread on the table , I felt sometimes that I needed a break. Sure, I held a second, loosely related, profession to seem respectable to the outside world, but it did not pay nearly as much. I sighed deeply to myself, wallowing in my rather dubious self-pity as I made my way through the thickly congregated crowd of guests at the reception. I also was finding meself pining for my place of birth, Merry old England( or wales to be specific) and a sweet ginger haired lass who I had once known, and still kept in touch with for the 7 long years since I had left my homeland.

  

With those thoughts whirling about in me head, I made my way to the bar, deciding to now settled back to have a few free drinks and try to enjoy the show. Soon I found myself cheered up, even lazily toying with the idea of making a second score later that evening. And then, well now, given what valuables were being displayed, it was not surprising that soon I spotted a second source of amusement. For it was at that point that I saw the two of them making their way in.

  

There appeared to be only two of them, together; An older woman, grandmotherly in appearance, with long silver hair, and a foxy expression. Along with the “Grandmother” was what appeared to be her 16 year old granddaughter. “Granddaughter” was a slender sprite with a long sheet of freely hanging long silky blonde hair and deep enchantingly blue eyes, and a rather charming smile, with was noticeably pasted upon her impish face as she took it in all the splendor.

  

The grandmother wore a blue silk skirt and white silky top, ¾ sleeved. The granddaughter was wearing a tea length black satin skirt and a gold satin long sleeved blouse with ruffles and frills, which was uncharacteristic when compared to the dresses and long gowns of the other girls around her age in attendance. The “Grandmother” was adorned with silver chains, and earrings. The “Granddaughter” wore ruby earrings and matching necklace, like the kind of imitation jewelry one receives as a promotion when buying overpriced perfume. Both newcomers out of place with some of the fancier costumes and gems on display, worn by the older rich ladies as well as quite a number of their younger female issue’s as well.

  

The granddaughter also wore gold plated rings and bracelets, so pick pocketing was probably not her game; she was probably the “ferret” or the lure. But the grandmother on the other hand, had clean fingers, nimble and long and with nothing around her bare wrists, and decidedly was dressed for quick movements; she was probably the dip, or lift. They also did not appear to be known personally by any of the other guests in attendance, but in a gathering that large, with so many snobs ignoring everything that was going on outside their immediate area, this was not surprising. After all, I was there not really knowing anyone either, except for the ones who had hired me.

  

The pair split off on their own separate courses. The granddaughter soon began mingling with girls in her own age bracket, whom, as was typical of the very rich, were totally unsupervised by any adult. I noticed she was mingling with only those who displayed the most expensive clothing, then zeroing in upon those wearing the largest quantity of expensive jewelry. The Grandmother soon fell into step with a group of older ladies, whose blazing jewels had attracted her notice.

  

The playing field was getting too crowded I thought, and so I made myself content by watching the (pair) work the room. I wasn’t shocked: Hunting grounds this fertile were bound to attract multiple predators. The appetite of my curiosity was wetted and I drifted to a corner table with my refilled drink ( an old fashion) , where I could watch over them without notice.

  

The grandmother was ever watchful, as she chatted up her new, satin gowned, acquaintances, but did not appear to be posed to strike. Her eyes were relentlessly on the move, I figured she was on the look for something special, and was ready to pounce when the situation arose.

  

Meanwhile the granddaughter seemed to have hooked one. A shy fifteen-year-old clad in a eye-catching sky blue long satin sheath gown, with a matching cape that hung from her shoulders to her elbows. The cut of her gown, and her heavy makeup, made the 15 year old look far too much like an adult. Her dangling earrings were at least a full caret, a long thin gold chain dangling from her gowns neckline held diamond studded heart with a sapphire center that swished expensively against her soft gown. A matching ring and bracelet to the pendent rounded out her jewels. But her cape also had a sapphire pin that swayed, shooting out flames of fiery brilliance, whenever the lights caught it.

  

I looked for the grandmother, she was now chatting to a young be speckled twenty something, diamonds glittered from the thin necklace that hung shimmering down the front of her satin turtleneck like blouse, an ideal setup. A long, midnight black, tiered skirt fell flowing to her feet, with a diamond brooch centered on the satin sash that encircled her waist. Rings glittered from the fingers that nervously twirled a locket of long , hanging hair as she talked to the “Grandmother”, who had her hand (seemingly nonchalantly) upon the girl’s silken covered shoulder as she made conversation.

  

I turned my attention back to the “Granddaughter” locating her by the stage, whispering conspiratorially into her newly made friends ear, the girl’s dangling earring shining ever so richly. I watched as the pair left and started to wander towards the dance floor, where they started to watch the dancing couples assembling for the bands next piece. As they stood there the “grandmother” walked up to the pair, and the “granddaughter” introduced her to her new found friend in the shiny blue sheath gown.

  

As they did so, I looked around for the be speckled 20 something the “grandmother” had been chatting up, she couldn’t have gotten far. I soon spotted her on the dance floor, in the arms of a young man in a monkey suite. I quickly noticed that her necklace was noticeably no longer adorning the neckline of her pretty blouse. I had a good idea where it was, but how had it been accomplished, removed from around her neck without notice, ahh, that was the rub. I was sorry I had missed the performance of the disappearing necklace trick!

  

My analysis of the pairs game had been spot on, and it was obvious that they were not armatures by any means. It appeared that the “Grandmother was the expert, The younger looking “Granddaughter “ probably her protégé. I quickly looked back at the small group of three hovering on the edge of the dance floor not wanting to miss a trick.

  

The three were chitchatting on, the “grandmother” admiring the young ladies gown flowing liquidly down over her perky figure. As she then admired blue gowns glimmering necklace, the “granddaughter” had moved and positioned herself behind the unwary young lady. As the necklace was raised I saw her look about and reach up, pulling up and back the chain, efficiently unhooking it. The grandmother held onto the pendant with one hand as she lifted the unsuspecting girls satin gloved hand with her other , all the while chatting her up. Then ever so slowly the “Grandmother” pulled the necklace down freeing it from around the unsuspecting lass’s neck, letting it drop to the carpeted floor at her feet. The “granddaughter” scrunched down behind their cute victim, ( totally unaware that she was being robbed), and reaching around, scarfed the necklace up, stood and moved off. The “grandmother gave the unwilling girl a hug, and when they broke off I noticed the sapphire pin had been lifted, adding unwary insult to undiscovered injury. I saw the girl in the blue sheath look around for her new friend, but the “Granddaughter” had disappeared, moving off to greener pastures.

  

I soon spotted the “granddaughter” as she resurfaced, obviously she was on the move again, which was surprising, I would have not risked any further attempts so soon if I had been in her dainty heels. I watched, trying to spot her next victim. She headed over towards a table that she had passed earlier, on one of the chairs was a mink jacket, and another was a feathery boa that I had seen her admiring, fingering on the then deserted table.

  

But the chair that the mink was hanging from now had an occupant. A girl of about 15, wearing a soft velvet dress with long sleeves, had picked up the boa and was sitting on the chair wearing it. She was happily playing with the long feather boa, not a concern in the world. I looked her over, on one side of her dress was a diamond sunburst pin, and on her chubby fingers, were two diamond rings, small but real, and from her ears dangled a pair of long pear shaped diamonds suspended from diamond solitaries clasped to her earlobes.... I was amazed that she would have been trusted to wear such valuable trinkets, but I was not surprised that she was in all probability about to lose them!

  

The “granddaughter” came upon the girl and asked if she could try on the boa. The unsuspecting girl helped her happily on with it , then the “granddaughter picked up one end, tickling the richly clad lass with the fluffy feathers, then allowed the girl to do the same, eyeing her victims shimmering rings in the process.

  

The grandmother soon approached to join in the fun. She put on the boa next and tickled both girls with its ends, getting them to giggle uncontrollably. The two devious ladies’s routine had been well honed, as their chosen victim became caught up in the middle of the pair’s rapid fire bantering, and teasing. But it was not all play for two of the three! The 15 year olds diamond starburst pin was the first item to disappear! As the giggling girl, her eyes closed, was doubled over trying to catch a breath, the “Grandmother” took rude advantage of the situation by smoothly reaching under and unsnapping the shimmering pin from the bent over girl’s shiny dress as it had fallen loosely away from her chest for a few seconds. Soon the purloined pin was followed by her sparkling rings, slipped off her fingers when it was her turn to have her hands held behind her by the “Grandmother” and be tickled with the boa by the “Granddaughter” during the course of their horsing around. I thought the pair were finished at that point, but no, they were going for the full Tribeca!

  

The “Grandmother” held the young ladies attention by kneeling in front of the 15 year old, and helping her on with the boa, wrapping it around the girls neck. As this was being done, the “granddaughter busied herself with coolly slipping off each of the girls old fashioned dangling clasp earrings ! I watched in wonder as the laughing girls expensive earrings were each effortlessly plucked away. The giggling 15 year old clad in the velvet dress had been stripped (tickled) of all her jewels with surgical precision, as the boa was being wily used to its full feathery advantage, and she had never noticed a thing!

  

The “Grandmother” then stood and moved off to one side, as the girls continued to giggle and play. Unnoticed, she gingerly lifting the mink from the chair behind the now less shimmering 15-year-old, as said child was still being entertained by the “granddaughter”, who I saw had now her hand inside a purse laying on the table behind their cheerful victim. The “grandmother”, carrying the expensive mink over her arm, slipped around and out of sight down the hidden entrance to a side corridor that I knew led down to the building’s work area. The show was probably ending. The pair had acted swiftly, and I knew they would be fished out soon. But I waited; the “granddaughter” was still there, apparently in no hurry to follow the “Grandmother” and disappear down the corridor with her. So there may possibly be another act to their scoundrel like play I surmised, although it was risking it in my professional opinion.

 

End Acte 1

  

Mirit Ben-Nun’s art exists within and beyond reality. She moves away from reality with aggressive and dense colorfulness which reveals an inner testimony of a threatened existence of women. The lines, points and shapes do not reproduce facts but emphasize the special charge of emotional coping.

 

Mirit Ben-Nun shows a rebellious spirit and tries to reach out to things not through wholeness but via searching for their expression and manifestation.

She explores personal identity and through it tries to define a complementary art, thereby illustrating the world and the nature of human culture. She focuses on the expressive dimension because of the exposure afforded by the uncontrollable moment that so much affects life in a rapidly changing global world.

The discourse between the inner world and the emerging reality is hyperactive and generates in Ben - Nun an endless sequence of works.

From the depths of feelings, dreams, anxieties and expressions arise rigid and exciting meanings of existence whose essence expresses restlessness and lack of adaptation.

 

Dora Woda

Design by my brother, my sister and me :D

this is a light panter X"D

I like it but it is very difficult :"(

I'm trying and it my best :(

look very simple but it is very hard :((

hope you like it :P

cm & fav if you like :*

  

I Wanna Go - Britney Spears

Lately I been stuck imagining

What I wonder doing what I really think, time to flow out

Be a little inappropriate cause I know that everybody’s thinking it when the lights out

 

Shame on me

To need release

Un-Uncontro llably

 

[Chorus]

 

I I I wanna go o o, all the way ay ay

Takin out my freak tonight

I I I wanna show ow ow

All the day ay ay

I am running through my mind (Repeat)

 

[Britney Spears - Verse 2]

 

Lately people got me all tied up

There’s a countdown waiting for me to erupt

Time to blow out

I’ve been told who I should do it with

You keep both my hands above the bl-an-ket

  

When the lights out

 

Shame on me

To need release

Un-Uncontro llably

 

[Chorus]

 

I I I wanna go o o, all the way ay ay

Taking out my freak tonight

I I I wanna show ow ow

All the day ay ay

I am running through my mind (Repeat)

 

Shame on me (Shame on me)

To need release (to need release)

Un-Uncontr ollably (uncontrollably)

 

[Chorus]

 

I I I wanna go o o, all the way ay ay

Taking out my freak tonight

I I I wanna show ow ow

All the day ay ay

I am running through my mind (Repeat)

Waiting for Bárðarbunga | En attendant Bárðarbunga

The inspiration for this Wasteland Scavenger came directly from the DC comics universe. The character "Bane", enemy of Batman, to be exact.

 

The tanks on his back are filled with a potent Mutagen that is pumped through hoses throughout his body. This Mutagen has increased the subjects strength, agility, and intelligence. Not to mention made him extremely ugly. The Mutagen also causes uncontrollable rage.

Part of the Tarot Garden by Niki de Saint Phalle, Tuscany, Italy

 

The Tarot Garden (Giardino Dei Tarocchi) is an exploration of the human condition whose medium is mosaic on a monumental scale. These almost impossibly brightly coloured combinations of buildings and sculpture reflect the metaphysical qualities represented by the 22 main tarot cards (the major arcana). They're not concerned with the fortune-telling uses of the cards, rather the elements of life's experience, personality and self-knowledge they refer to. Work on the garden began in 1979 and the main part of the work was carried out in the 1980s; it was officially opened to the public in May 1998. During construction Niki de Saint Phalle lived in the sphinx-like Empress, a mirror-glassed cavern with kitchen, bedroom and bathroom leading off.

 

The tree of life is a universal symbol of life found in Christian, Egyptian, and Chinese cultures. It symbolises the power of life and its origins, the importance of roots and cosmic evolution, and is sometimes associated with guardian characters and animals.Symbolising the centre of the cosmos in the four great religions, the tree plunges its roots into the kingdom of the underworld, ruled by uncontrollable;e forces and spreads its branches towards the bright world iof consciousness. The tree of life is the central part of the garden, the starting point of the path towards the knowledge of Good and Evil.

 

This is a picture from the top of the hill, looking down the road known at the time as "Child's Crossing" where we lived in Omaha. Our house if the visible one on the left.

 

It's now known simply as "Childs Road," and technically it's in the suburb of Bellevue, which is in South Omaha. (I've geotagged this photo, so you can see exactly where it's located.)

 

Note that the road was unpaved at this point; I didn't remember it as such. In one of the later photographs in this album, you'll see that by 1992, the road was paved.

 

The area to the right of our house was simply an open field; I'm sure there's a house there now. At the time, my neighborhood friends and I played baseball in the field ... but the weeds were so high that we often lost our baseball ...

 

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

 

Some of the photos in this album are “originals” from the year that my family spent in Omaha in 1955-56. But the final 10 color photos were taken nearly 40 years later, as part of some research that I was doing for a novel called Do-Overs, the beginning of which can be found here on my website

 

www.yourdon.com/personal/fiction/doovers/index.html

 

and the relevant chapter (concerning Omaha) can be found here:

 

www.yourdon.com/personal/fiction/doovers/chapters/ch9.html

 

Before I get into the details, let me make a strong request — if you’re looking at these photos, and if you are getting any enjoyment at all of this brief look at some mundane Americana from 60+ years ago: find a similar episode in your own life, and write it down. Gather the pictures, clean them up, and upload them somewhere on the Internet where they can be found. Trust me: there will come a day when the only person on the planet who actually experienced those events is you. Your own memories may be fuzzy and incomplete; but they will be invaluable to your friends and family members, and to many generations of your descendants.

 

So, what do I remember about the year that I spent in Omaha? Not much at the moment, though I’m sure more details will occur to me in the days to come — and I’ll add them to these notes, along with additional photos that I’m tweaking and editing now.

 

For now, here is a random list of things I remember:

 

1. I attended the last couple months of 6th grade, and all of 7th grade, in one school. My parents moved from Omaha to Long Island, NY in the spring of my 7th grade school year; but unlike previous years, they made arrangements for me to stay with a neighbor’s family, so that I could finish the school year before joining them in New York.

 

2. Our dog, Blackie, traveled with us from our previous home in Riverside, and was with us until my parents left Omaha for New York; at that point, they gave him to some other family. For some reason, this had almost no impact on me. It was a case of “out of sight, out of mind” — when Blackie was gone, I spent my final three months in Omaha without ever thinking about him again.

 

3. Most days, I rode my bike to school; but Omaha was the place where one of my sisters first started attending first grade — in the same school where I was attending 6th grade. I remember walking her to school along Bellevue Avenue on the first morning, which seemed to take forever: it was about a mile away.

 

4. As noted in a previous Flickr album about my year in Riverside, I was a year younger than my classmates; but I was tall for my age, and thus looked “normal” at a quick glance. But because I was a year younger, I was incredibly shy and awkward in the presence of girls. Omaha was certainly not “sin city,” but by 6th grade and 7th grade, puberty was beginning to hit, and the girls had grown to the point where they were occasionally interested in boys. The school tried to accommodate this social development by teaching us the square dance (and forbidding the playing of songs by Elvis Presley, whose music was just beginning to be heard on the radio). I was an awful dancer, and even more of a shy misfit than my classmates; I continue to be an awful dancer today.

 

5. My bike ride to school was uneventful most days; but the final part of the ride was a steep downhill stretch on Avery Road, lasting three or four blocks. My friends and I usually raced downhill as fast as we could; but one day, my front bicycle wheel began to wobble on the downhill run, and my bike drifted uncontrollably to the side of the road and then off into a ditch. I got banged up pretty badly.

 

6. But this accident was nothing compared to my worst mishap: a neighborhood friend and I enjoyed playing “cowboys and Indians” in the woods near his home (and his younger brother usually tagged along). I had a bow and a few arrows for our adventure, and we often shot at trees a hundred feet away. Unfortunately, the arrows often disappeared into the underbrush (because we were lousy shots) and were difficult to find. Consequently, one of us came up with the clever idea of standing behind the “target” tree, so that we could see where the randomly-shot arrows landed. Through a series of miscommunications, I poked my head out from behind the tree just as my friend shot one of the arrows … and it skipped off the side of the tree and into my face, impaling itself into my cheek bone about an inch below my eye. An inch higher, and I would not be typing these words … (meanwhile, my friend's younger brother grew up to be an officer in the U.S. Air Force, and he tracked me down on the Internet, decades later).

 

7. In the summer of 1956, my parents decided to spend their summer vacation prospecting for uranium (seriously!) in the remote hills of eastern Utah, where my dad had grown up on the Utah-Colorado border. This entailed a long, long drive from Omaha; and it involved leaving me and my two sisters with my grandparents near Vernal, UT. My grandparents lived in a very small mining village outside of Vernal; and while they had electricity and various other modern conveniences, they also had an outhouse in the back yard. Trips to the “bathroom” in the middle of the night were quite an adventure. On the way back to Omaha at the end of this vacation trip (with no uranium ore having been found), we stopped for a couple of days of camping somewhere in the mountains of Colorado; you’ll see a couple of photos from that camping trip in this album.

 

8. There were no lizards in Omaha, and thus no opportunity for lizard-hunting with my slingshot—which had been a significant hobby in my previous homes in Riverside and Roswell. Indeed, there was almost nothing to shoot at … and I couldn’t find anyone with whom I could play (and hopefully win) marbles, to use as slingshot ammunition. But for reasons I never questioned or investigated (but about which I’m very curious now), there was a small vineyard in the field behind our house, and I was able to climb over the fence and retrieve dozens of small, hard, green grapes. They turned out to be excellent ammunition … but I never did find any lizards.

 

9. A few months before my parents left for New York, I told them about the latest craze sweeping the neighborhood: “English bikes,” with three speeds, thin tires, and hand-brakes. I desperately wanted one, but Dad said it was far too expensive for him to buy as a frivolous gift for me: at the time, English bikes had an outrageous price tag of $25. I was told that I would have to earn the money myself if I wanted one … and the going rate for young, scrawny kids who shoveled sidewalks, pulled weeds from gardens, and did babysitting chores, was 25 cents per hour. That works out to 100 hours of work … but I did it, over the course of the next few months, and when I got to New York, the first thing I did was buy my English bike.

 

10. Toward the end of my 7th-grade school year, everyone in my class was subjected to a vision test: we were lined up in alphabetical order, and one-by-one read off a series of letters that we could barely see on a large placard taped onto the classroom blackboard. Because my surname starts with a “Y,” I was usually near the end of the line … and by the time I got to the front, I had usually memorized the letters (because they never bothered to change them, from one student to the next) without even realizing it consciously. But on this particular occasion in 7th grade, for some reason, they decided to line us up in reverse alphabetical order … and I was the first in line. For the first time in my life, I realized that I could not see anything of the letters, and that I was woefully near-sighted. When I got to New York, my parents took me to an optometrist to get my first set of glasses (and, yes, all of the neighborhood kids did begin taunting me immediately: “Four eyes! Four eyes!”) … and I’ve worn glasses ever since.

Three years after I arrived in New York, the glasses saved my vision when a home-brewed mix of gunpowder and powdered aluminum blew up in my face in the school chemistry lab (where I had an after-school volunteer job as a “lab assistant”). I suffered 2nd-degree burns on my face from the explosion, but the glasses protected my eyes. That, however, is a different story for a different time.

Mamiya Press. Mamiya-Sekor 150mm F5.6, Five minutes at F22 on Portra 160. Scanning: Epson V600.

 

Pretty sure this was after the one to the right. The pretty sunset colors vanished, but we had neat clouds.

 

The MP lenses - at least the chrome ones I have - are single-coated, so bright light sources within or just outside the frame are the kiss of death because of uncontrollable lens flare.

 

Absent that, they give a very soft-contrast reading, which gives one a blank slate on which to build a print.

Processed in Lightroom 4 with Whipped Cream Lightroom Preset / King Pack

 

www.oliviabellphotography.com/LR-about…

 

Blog - Facebook Page - Instagram - Getty Images Account

  

.

.

This was taken in the spring of 1956, after my parents had moved back to New York, and left me behind in Omaha to finish the school year. I stayed with a family down the street from us.

 

On the back of this print, I had written (apparently as part of a letter to my parents in New York), "This was taken on Easter morning. I had a haircut the day before, so I really looked different."

 

According to Google, Easter fell on April 1st of 1956.

 

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

 

Some of the photos in this album are “originals” from the year that my family spent in Omaha in 1955-56. But the final 10 color photos were taken nearly 40 years later, as part of some research that I was doing for a novel called Do-Overs, the beginning of which can be found here on my website

 

www.yourdon.com/personal/fiction/doovers/index.html

 

and the relevant chapter (concerning Omaha) can be found here:

 

www.yourdon.com/personal/fiction/doovers/chapters/ch9.html

 

Before I get into the details, let me make a strong request — if you’re looking at these photos, and if you are getting any enjoyment at all of this brief look at some mundane Americana from 60+ years ago: find a similar episode in your own life, and write it down. Gather the pictures, clean them up, and upload them somewhere on the Internet where they can be found. Trust me: there will come a day when the only person on the planet who actually experienced those events is you. Your own memories may be fuzzy and incomplete; but they will be invaluable to your friends and family members, and to many generations of your descendants.

 

So, what do I remember about the year that I spent in Omaha? Not much at the moment, though I’m sure more details will occur to me in the days to come — and I’ll add them to these notes, along with additional photos that I’m tweaking and editing now.

 

For now, here is a random list of things I remember:

 

1. I attended the last couple months of 6th grade, and all of 7th grade, in one school. My parents moved from Omaha to Long Island, NY in the spring of my 7th grade school year; but unlike previous years, they made arrangements for me to stay with a neighbor’s family, so that I could finish the school year before joining them in New York.

 

2. Our dog, Blackie, traveled with us from our previous home in Riverside, and was with us until my parents left Omaha for New York; at that point, they gave him to some other family. For some reason, this had almost no impact on me. It was a case of “out of sight, out of mind” — when Blackie was gone, I spent my final three months in Omaha without ever thinking about him again.

 

3. Most days, I rode my bike to school; but Omaha was the place where one of my sisters first started attending first grade — in the same school where I was attending 6th grade. I remember walking her to school along Bellevue Avenue on the first morning, which seemed to take forever: it was about a mile away.

 

4. As noted in a previous Flickr album about my year in Riverside, I was a year younger than my classmates; but I was tall for my age, and thus looked “normal” at a quick glance. But because I was a year younger, I was incredibly shy and awkward in the presence of girls. Omaha was certainly not “sin city,” but by 6th grade and 7th grade, puberty was beginning to hit, and the girls had grown to the point where they were occasionally interested in boys. The school tried to accommodate this social development by teaching us the square dance (and forbidding the playing of songs by Elvis Presley, whose music was just beginning to be heard on the radio). I was an awful dancer, and even more of a shy misfit than my classmates; I continue to be an awful dancer today.

 

5. My bike ride to school was uneventful most days; but the final part of the ride was a steep downhill stretch on Avery Road, lasting three or four blocks. My friends and I usually raced downhill as fast as we could; but one day, my front bicycle wheel began to wobble on the downhill run, and my bike drifted uncontrollably to the side of the road and then off into a ditch. I got banged up pretty badly.

 

6. But this accident was nothing compared to my worst mishap: a neighborhood friend and I enjoyed playing “cowboys and Indians” in the woods near his home (and his younger brother usually tagged along). I had a bow and a few arrows for our adventure, and we often shot at trees a hundred feet away. Unfortunately, the arrows often disappeared into the underbrush (because we were lousy shots) and were difficult to find. Consequently, one of us came up with the clever idea of standing behind the “target” tree, so that we could see where the randomly-shot arrows landed. Through a series of miscommunications, I poked my head out from behind the tree just as my friend shot one of the arrows … and it skipped off the side of the tree and into my face, impaling itself into my cheek bone about an inch below my eye. An inch higher, and I would not be typing these words … (meanwhile, my friend's younger brother grew up to be an officer in the U.S. Air Force, and he tracked me down on the Internet, decades later).

 

7. In the summer of 1956, my parents decided to spend their summer vacation prospecting for uranium (seriously!) in the remote hills of eastern Utah, where my dad had grown up on the Utah-Colorado border. This entailed a long, long drive from Omaha; and it involved leaving me and my two sisters with my grandparents near Vernal, UT. My grandparents lived in a very small mining village outside of Vernal; and while they had electricity and various other modern conveniences, they also had an outhouse in the back yard. Trips to the “bathroom” in the middle of the night were quite an adventure. On the way back to Omaha at the end of this vacation trip (with no uranium ore having been found), we stopped for a couple of days of camping somewhere in the mountains of Colorado; you’ll see a couple of photos from that camping trip in this album.

 

8. There were no lizards in Omaha, and thus no opportunity for lizard-hunting with my slingshot—which had been a significant hobby in my previous homes in Riverside and Roswell. Indeed, there was almost nothing to shoot at … and I couldn’t find anyone with whom I could play (and hopefully win) marbles, to use as slingshot ammunition. But for reasons I never questioned or investigated (but about which I’m very curious now), there was a small vineyard in the field behind our house, and I was able to climb over the fence and retrieve dozens of small, hard, green grapes. They turned out to be excellent ammunition … but I never did find any lizards.

 

9. A few months before my parents left for New York, I told them about the latest craze sweeping the neighborhood: “English bikes,” with three speeds, thin tires, and hand-brakes. I desperately wanted one, but Dad said it was far too expensive for him to buy as a frivolous gift for me: at the time, English bikes had an outrageous price tag of $25. I was told that I would have to earn the money myself if I wanted one … and the going rate for young, scrawny kids who shoveled sidewalks, pulled weeds from gardens, and did babysitting chores, was 25 cents per hour. That works out to 100 hours of work … but I did it, over the course of the next few months, and when I got to New York, the first thing I did was buy my English bike.

 

10. Toward the end of my 7th-grade school year, everyone in my class was subjected to a vision test: we were lined up in alphabetical order, and one-by-one read off a series of letters that we could barely see on a large placard taped onto the classroom blackboard. Because my surname starts with a “Y,” I was usually near the end of the line … and by the time I got to the front, I had usually memorized the letters (because they never bothered to change them, from one student to the next) without even realizing it consciously. But on this particular occasion in 7th grade, for some reason, they decided to line us up in reverse alphabetical order … and I was the first in line. For the first time in my life, I realized that I could not see anything of the letters, and that I was woefully near-sighted.

 

11. When I got to New York, my parents took me to an optometrist to get my first set of glasses (and, yes, all of the neighborhood kids did begin taunting me immediately: “Four eyes! Four eyes!”) … and I’ve worn glasses ever since.

Three years after I arrived in New York, the glasses saved my vision when a home-brewed mix of gunpowder and powdered aluminum blew up in my face in the school chemistry lab (where I had an after-school volunteer job as a “lab assistant”). I suffered 2nd-degree burns on my face from the explosion, but the glasses protected my eyes. That, however, is a different story for a different time.

FINALLY something new. Just wanted to use some of Grievous' new tan parts, came up with this semi-birdlike thing. Talons at the end of each limb - that's 200% more claw per extremity of the average thing or whatever.

 

I guess the blue arm is either an extension of uncontrollable power emanating from within the creature itself, or a parasitic worm which acts as a limb for its host.

131/365

 

the last photo i will post from Montana. this might look familiar, since it's taken in practically the same spot as (and mere minutes after) this.

 

i generally pride myself for being pretty fearless. i like to think i enjoy taking risks and live for living life to the full. but for some reason (i don't know if it was the several hundred-foot drop in front of me, or the crumbly, slanted rocks i was sitting on), the universe chose this moment to introduce me to acrophobia. i kept running through all the worst possible scenarios in my head--what if i fell and caught onto that bush only to uproot it and drag it off the cliff with me...? my legs were shaking uncontrollably, which didn't really help me feel confident about climbing around.

 

--

facebook page

--

London, UK

 

Someone asked me if the title 'Stranger' really applies to me anymore. Thing is - stranger, to me, is not about the inability to connect; instead it is a somewhat discrete state of my being that I do not fully comprehend, yet get moved by intensely, often uncontrollably. The world is spinning out of familiar territory for the boy who never wanted much. As the land shifts rapidly in the promise of a better tomorrow, he tries to cling on to a few things that he values to be truly his own. No matter how fast the pace of life gets- he still wanders about, gets lost and looks on with a bemused stare. In a little corner of his heart he will always be a bit of a stranger in this strange world.

This series of photographs taken on approach to Melbourne Airport is accompanied by Muzak from the 1970s. Those old enough to remember will recall that airlines used to play "soothing" Muzak to calm nervous travellers when preparing to land.

 

"Rocker Ted Nugent used Muzak as an icon of everything 'uncool' about music. In 1986, he publicly made a $10 million bid to purchase the company with the stated intent of shutting it down. 'Muzak is an evil force in today's society, causing people to lapse into uncontrollable fits of blandness,' Nugent said. 'It's been responsible for ruining some of the best minds of our generation.'"

en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Muzak

 

All photographs here were taken with the Leica D-Lux 7.

February 5, 2011.

 

Hair idea inspired by this.

 

Why is it that, as a culture, we are more comfortable seeing two men holding guns than holding hands? ~Ernest Gaines

 

Transgender symbol; a combination of the male and female sign with a third, combined arm representing transgender people.

Rainbow: different colors symbolize diversity in the gay community

 

I messed it up a little because I didn't realize it would be so complicated!

I am straight, but I believe everybody should have equal rights.

How can you define emotions in categorised genders?

No one gets to control who they fall in love with.

And since it is uncontrollable then no one has the right to determine that what they are doing is wrong.

What you may consider 'unnatural' is your own personal opinion.

And anyway, since when did you decide to be straight?

You didn't. It was just the way it is.

Of course, this is my own opinion as well which I am not going to force upon anyone.

But it doesn't mean that the discrimination should continue.

No one deserves to be discriminated against because of their sexual preferences.

You see people, afraid to come out because of one thing only.

Prejudice against them and a fear of being shunned and rejected by society.

You see people, especially teenagers, committing suicide due to continuous relentless bullying just because of their sexuality.

Don't you find it disappointing that the world you live in even has this kind of ugly treatment?

Why is it so hard to just accept people for who they are?

 

wrhstol.com/2qXH2jz

Hotel Tontine. Greenock Scotland

  

The Tontine Hotel was built around 1805 when Greenock was expanding rapidly to the west of Nelson Street. Since being ‘settled’ around 1680 Greenock had grown rapidly but uncontrollably so the town planners decided that the planning control should be much stricte

 

The town council decided that Greenock should grow to the west but in a planned manner in pleasant ‘tree lined avenues’.The Tontine was one of the buildings in this area (albeit at a later date).

 

Argowan Square had many architectural features typical of the time: buildings which although were originally built as grand houses but later were used for other purposes such as:The Mansion House originally a town house for the Shaw Stewarts – an influential Greenock family. Now a series of offices.

 

The Greenock Club:

Now a private school.

 

Other houses:

Now offices for solicitors.

 

Interestingly the Statistical Account of Greenock published in 1840 did not list the Tontine in a summary of ‘modern buildings requiringto be noted under the head of Civil History’.By comparison it does mention the adjacent Mansion House, the new Town Hall in Cathcart Square, the Jail and the Sheriff court in Nelson Street. Amazingly it did list the Tontine in another list with the qualification ‘it does not appear to be necessary to mention particularly the erection of the Exchange Buildings, and Assembly Rooms; of the Tontine; the News-room in Cathcart Square and other public buildings of minor importance.

 

The ground floor is linked in plain ashlar quadrants to single storey pavilion wings.The upper floors of the main block have architraived windows pedimented over a minimally designed three bay centre with a Greek fret frieze.

 

In 1892 the proprietor of the original Tontine Hotel in Cathcart Street moved to Ardgowan Square maintaining the original name started trading from Robertson House (presumably with Robertson’s permission!). Some years later a glazed square porch was added which concealed the original door piece.

 

Subsequent developments over the years included a large multi storey expansion at the rear but which had minimal effect on the original attractive facade.

ENGLISH:

Here I am on my way to a conservation meeting with my tame wild boar Willy.

God created the world wonderfully, which is why I am committed to ensuring that we humans honor God and protect his creation. Unfortunately, we are in the process of destroying the world. Humanity is using up more and more resources and is throwing the world out of balance. That is why we must reduce our footprint. That can only work if we stop reproducing so uncontrollably. The number of people equals the number of problems.

Representation in scale 1/87 (H0).

 

ESPAÑOL:

Ángela, conservacionista

Aquí estoy de camino a una reunión de conservación con mi jabalí domesticado Willy.

Dios creó el mundo maravillosamente, por eso me comprometo a garantizar que los humanos honremos a Dios y protejamos su creación. Desafortunadamente, estamos en el proceso de destruir el mundo. La humanidad está consumiendo cada vez más recursos y está desequilibrando el mundo. Por eso debemos reducir nuestra huella. Eso sólo puede funcionar si dejamos de reproducirnos de manera tan incontrolable. El número de personas es igual al número de problemas.

Representación a escala 1:87 (H0).

 

DEUTSCH:

Angela, Naturschützerin

Hier bin ich mit meinem zahmen Wildschweineber Willy unterwegs zu einer Naturschutzversammlung.

Gott hat die Welt wunderbar geschaffen, darum setze ich mich dafür ein, dass wir Menschen Gott ehren und seine Schöpfung bewahren. Leider sind wir aber daran die Welt zu zerstören. Die Menschheit verbraucht immer mehr Resourcen und bringt die Welt aus dem Gleichgewicht. Darum müssen wir unseren Fussabdruck verringern. Das kann nur funktionieren, wenn wir uns nicht mehr so unkontrolliert vermehren. Anzahl Mensch ist gleich Anzahl Probleme.

Darstellung im Maßstab 1:87 (H0).

 

OMG I had such a great day this past Wednesday, perhaps one of my best days as a girl! Sorry for the long post and hope you can take the time to read it. I chronicle outings like this so I can remember them and like sharing them with my friends here!

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I was up early and a spur of the moment decision to get dressed up and go out shopping hit me like a freight train (BTW I love when that feeling happens). I knew the stores opened an extra hour earlier at 9AM rather than the usual 10AM so I hurried up and cleaned up, did my makeup, got dresses, and did my nail all in record time! I was planning to get there as soon as it opened because even though I do out shopping dressed a lot I tend to shy away from the really busy shopping times when it is really crowded. I wanted to go to Nordstrom (had a small coupon!) and you can park upstairs in the garage and enter on their second level which is exclusively all women's and girl's departments. So setting this scenario I will tell you that I didn't get back home until 7PM and had a blast of a day unexpectedly! Details are as follows.;

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1st pic- I wanted to wear this new outfit out but know the cute skater skirt is really short and I thought the whole ensemble is kind of over the top girlie girl but figured I was only going to be out for not more than an hour so I wore it. I have had the killer blue 5" heels for a bit longer but had only wore them out to a night spot twice, not for shopping as it makes me pretty tall. (9:05 AM)

 

2nd & 3rd pic- First stop was their new TOPSHOP department which features trendy junior fashions, I think it's only been there about 3 months. I tried on many outfits and dresses and was helped by a lovely young sales girl who is actually an aspiring photography which I found out when I asked her if she would mind taking a few photos of me. We exchanged contact info after asking if she would be interested in doing a photo shoot for me out on location somewhere someday. I didn't get either of these 2 outfits but did buy a cool multi colored mini skirt!! (9:05-10:45 AM)

 

4th pic- The next department was Better Dresses and a sales girl I had met before, Cindy, was working and we said hello and wished happy holidays. Cindy is always dressed to perfection and this day was no exception, so I complimented on her look and told she always looks fantastic which she really appreciated! I tried on this gorgeous long blue dress and the same one in maroon. First I tried the one in maroon in a size 14 and Cindy said it looked a bit big and went to get another size but came back with the blue in a size 12 ( yes, very happy here!!) as their were none in the maroon. As soon as I came out in this dress she was raving about how good I looked in it! Cindy has been working there as long as I have been shopping there and has seen my figure improvements over time and always compliments me on my work in that department! I decided to hold off in getting this even though the sale price was pretty good. I tried on 2 more dresses there and then moved on. (10:45- 11:30 AM)

 

5th pic- This was in the regular dress department which had some really pretty holiday dresses on display. I tried on 2 dresses here including this one pictured, a pewter color cocktail/ party dress with a poufy crinkle skirt. I decided that it looked better on the hanger (but it was another size 12!! Yay!).This dress department was recently renovated and had an outstanding and very feminine dressing room are that you will see in some future postings. (11:30- 11:55AM)

 

6th & 7th pics- I left Nordstrom feeling great and walked back to my car in the delicious crystal clear sunshine with my new skirt in a holiday shopping bag and smiled to everyone I passed getting warm smiles in return! I decided to drive over to the Bloomingdale's entrance and look around. Very expensive in here but I love looking!! As soon as I go in I see another sales girl friend, Marissa, dressed in a black skirt, tights, and boots with a pretty green peplum jacket, a big furry hat and collar wrap! Quite an unusually sight at any time of year here in the tropics!! She saw me and laughed out loud when I said "What on earth are you dressed for?" Another sale associate was with her ready to take pictures of Marissa and they explained their corporate offices were encouraging them to dress up a sales associate in their best winter holiday fashions and send it in for some kind of prizes, so they thought it would be a funny pic from their warm weather sales team! I asked Marissa if I could take a pic of her, which I did, and then got one with us together that I already posted 2 pics ago. She looked amazing! I walked around about half of the sales woman's wear sales floor feeling almost giddy by now and ended up back in Marissa's department ( BCGC ) and tried on a dress and 2 skirts. I didn't get the leather skirt in pic #6 but I did get the skirt in pic #7. It's kind of a hounds tooth print of red and black with 2 large pleats on each side and a black leather accent waistband. I very proud you tell you it was a size 10 as with most of us we go down a size in bottoms from our dress sizes ( thrilled!!)! Best thing is that the skirt I chose was on sale already and the store was giving an extra 15% off so I think I got a good deal at $3o for a pretty skirt especially in Bloomies!! I paid for it and said good bye to Marissa and left Bloomingdales. (12:15- 1 PM)

 

NO PICS - By now I was figuring I have been out so long today that I might as well make it all day thing so I parked by one of the mall entrances and walked one wing of the mall and stopped in the Steve Madden shoe store ( I wish my feet were smaller!). They always have gorgeous shoes. I visited the Marciano dress store and although the 3 sales girls I know from there didn't happen to be working, I talked with one as I was looking at the new dress arrivals. I told her who I knew that worked there and showed her pics of the 3 different Marciano dresses I have gotten already. She was impressed about how good I looked in them! I asked if there was a place I could leave a hello note to the girls I missed and she came back with some paper and pen but also brought a holiday card that was being signed by sales associates and some better customers and asked if I wanted to sign it and they were going to put it on the wall from Christmas to New Years. I thought that was very sweet and signed it "Thanks for all your help and fun shopping - Lisa"! I walked back into the mall and like my last visit, it had gotten pretty crowded but I didn't rush and wasn't aware of any weird looks so I window shopped back towards where I came in. (1:10 - 2:15 PM)

 

8th & 9th pics- After returning from the mall to my car being rather ecstatic over the shopping experiences, I decided to drive over to one of the nicer restaurants adjacent to the mall that also has a excellent bar area. I figured the lunch crowd had dwindled down and I would go in for a cocktail even though it was officially too early for happy hour that starts 4PM!! I went in an there was only 1 other person at the bar just finishing up a solo lunch and perhaps 3 or 4 booths in this area that were occupied by people. A booth near and facing me were 2 attractive women that had finished lunch but were having a drink and laughing and having a good time. I know that they were talking about shopping and makeup and were taking pics of each other and selfies holding something up to their faces that I thought were eye shadow color swatches or something. When they were getting ready to leave one of the women walked over to me and said hello and introduced herself. She said that I shouldn't think they were crazy but they were in Macy's and bought a new mascara and were just laughing over it because of the name of the mascara. I looked at her lashes and asked if she was wearing it and she said yes and they sure did look good. Then as she was giggling uncontrollably she shows me the mascara package and it's name was "Better Than Sex"! I laughed with her and asked her was the name right? She said better than some she has had!!! It was a good laugh and I told her a bit about myself and she did likewise. I was honest with her and whispered that she better be more careful with her leg positioning in a dress under a booth as she was giving me quite an up skirt view! She laughed again and said she doesn't wear dresses too much and is a bit of a jock and agreed she needs to handle wearing a dress a bit better. She called over her tennis partner she was eating with and told her what I said which made the other woman bust out laughing! Obviously they had more than just one drink but told me they do a lunch every year and the one who has lost the most matches together throughout the year has to pay the bill. We chatted for a few moments and I told them I went shopping since the mall opened and needed a rest. They asked where I was and I told them and that I got 2 new awesome skirts and they told me what they bought. We wished each happiness and they went to their merry way! By this time 2 other people sat down at the bar. One woman and then a young business man. I was occasionally chatting with the female bartender that I had met there before and they woman that sat down even though she was a few seats away from me. Then 2 other women came in at sat at the opposite end of the bar and a group of 4 women came in and sat on the other side of me. The young business guy was stealing glances at the woman at the bar I was occasionally chatting with and it didn't go unnoticed by her because she was turning my way and making funny faces showing she was interested or amused by him. After he finished his beer he was either feeling out numbered by women of was just plain stupid and got up and left! I picked up my stuff and moved over to the woman I was talking to and she said yes please sit with me. It's just a girl thing that you feel when the time is right! We chatted and got to know each other. She is married and originally from Colombia but living here now. She wanted to buy me another Cosmopolitan (yum!) and I agreed but said I better order some food as I hadn't had a thing to eat all day. We looked over the menu and decided to split a grilled artichoke appetizer and a kobe beef sliders plate. While waiting I walked over to the 4 women that had come in because one of them had a big black suitcase full of jewelry she makes. I looked at the jewelry and they were very nice. She said that Macy's will be letting her do a 2 day trunk sale in their store after the holidays are over. They do that to highlight local designers and she gets an invite to show her stuff to their corporate buyer. I wished her luck and she gave me her card and said look on her website as to when she will be in Macy's and come visit her there. I went back and munched out with my new friend who was very entertaining and the place was starting to fill up with people pretty good. Megen, the bartender came over and told us we get a free drink because the last one was bought after 4PM during happy hour. We ordered and I told my new friend I had to use the ladies room before I exploded and she said she has to also so off we went. Now this has happened to me a few times before and not surprising because its another of those things women do together. I love it as it is a really feminine feeling being thought of as one of them! Inside she had me cracking up and almost falling over in my cubicle telling me to hurry up!! I told her it takes me a bit longer to get all square but she kept on giving me royal ribbing and teasing and then busted my chops as I took longer than her in the mirror primping! Loved that! We went back to the bar and had our new drinks awaiting us and talked with some other people and before I knew it, it was 6:30PM and we both said it was time to go. One guy who had just come in sitting on other side of her attempted to buy us both new drinks but we declined saying we had been there too long already! I walked out with her and exchanged numbers and hugged and got in our cars. I was on cloud 9 driving home as you can imagine! ( 2:25- 7 PM)

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In summery it was one of the greatest girl days I had ever had just because of the length of it, the unique things that happened, and that it wasn't planed, I just went with the flow! My apprehension in such a flirty outfit paid dividends for me as I did ask some of the girls I knew if it was too short and none them said it was too short and just perfect for me! Marissa even said " I would expect nothing else from Lisa !" and one new sales girl I met in Nordstrom confided to me she thought I was someone famous when she saw me far away across the store and that I had legs that most women would love to have and that I should continued to wear short skirts and show them off!

 

I got home and put my 2 new skirts away, undressed, took my make up off, and took a warm bubble bath reflecting on the fun of the day. Then I slipped on some lovely silky lingerie and sat down to catch up on work emails and things to do that I neglected in lieu of having a fun filled girls day out! Needless to say I slept like a baby that night feeling totally feminine and extremely happy! I wish for fun days for all of you, whatever you like to do!!

  

Powered by a gigantic 28.5 liter 4-cylinder engine, the Fiat S76 was designed for land speed record racing. Deemed "uncontrollable", both examples were thought lost until 2014-2015 when Duncan Pittaway debuted a restored/recreated model at the Goodwood Festival of Speed. Some very exciting videos of this car can be seen on Youtube.

Gunnamatta Beach, Mornington Peninsula VIC. I got some really nice light for a couple of minutes. I was trying to shoot the sunset but gave up due to uncontrollable flare caused by the sun on the filters. I ditched the filters and turned away from the sun.

.

Yes it is true, I have risen from the nearly dead.

Without getting to dramatic the 2nd covid shot

took me down a road I don't wish to follow ;-0-

 

Raging fever, uncontrollable tremors taking

me near delirium and unimageable confusion.

My teeth were chattering so hard I stuffed the

blanket into my mouth to prevent broken teeth.

 

Now I've had worse days but this one has wasted

Christmas eve, Christmas Day and nearly two days

after. During bouts of emotional disruption I started

planning a thank you letter to be sent up to china !

 

Something along these lines ---

 

"May The Blue Bird of Paradise

S#=T all over your fondest wishes !"

 

Well it sounded good when I was

putting it all together in my little

monkey brain, what say you ?

 

Now lets take a look at the positive

side of this mind boggling quandary.

 

In my possession is a brand new covid vaccine passport.

This allows me to enter most anywhere here in Thailand.

 

No# 1 has been taken out to the nuns place.

They have called her everyday with great

concerns for Uncle Jon. Today they have

a bunch of local fruit they are sending

to me for a fast and speedy recovery.

 

Speaking of food ---

 

I know this is happening all around the world

but no# 1 came back from the morning market

with only a tiny bag of vegetables. What in the

past cost 50 or 60 cents [USD} now cost $2.50!

 

Looks like I need to start on a new

"thank you mr blue bird letter"

Who would I send it to ?

 

With all that being said we are still

the same same people looking

after the same same dogs ;-)

 

And ya know what ?

 

Get ready for the ride cuz a New Year

is coming and it's just around the corner.

 

Thank You.

Jon&Crew.

 

Please help with your donations here.

www.gofundme.com/saving-thai-temple-dogs.

  

Please No Awards, Gyrating Graphics,

Invites or Large Group Logos, Thank You.

  

'

 

Dedicated to all victims and survivors of the tragedy, actually happening there.

I had a roll of Retrochrome 320 in the camera to finish while at the at the Hardin County Fair. This was about the last shot I could take with this film and camera combination as the light was leaving fast. Although the shadow was really uncontrollable I still liked the framing black trees and the bit of spark left in the sky. As mentioned it was getting late and this really saturated the color. The slide is slightly underexposed which again saturated the color and also accounts for the increased grain.

 

Film: Retrochrome 320 exposed at 400.

Retrochrome is available only at www.filmphotographyproject.com/store

Processed at www.theDarkroom.com

 

Camera: Olympus XA4 Macro

 

Imagine by: Leslie Lazenby

Kenton Ohio, Hardin County Fair. September 2105

 

retro-vintage-photography.blogspot.com/

 

via

 

Maurice Tillet (1903 – August 4, 1954) was a French professional wrestler known as The French Angel who was a leading box office draw in the early 1940s and was recognized as world heavyweight champion by the American Wrestling Association run by Paul Bowser in Boston.

 

Born in France, he could speak 14 languages and was also a poet and actor. In his twenties, he developed acromegaly, a rare disease that causes bones to grow wildly and uncontrollably. Soon his whole body was disfigured as a result. Seeking a new identity to fit his disfigurement, Tillet moved to the United States where he made a living on his appearance by becoming a professional wrestler, and was dubbed as the "freak ogre of the ring". His villain persona ("the French Angel") was an instant success with the crowds, becoming one of the largest draws in professional wrestling and spawning a series of "Angel" imitators.

 

On August 1, 1944, The French Angel defeated Steve "Crusher" Casey for the Boston-based world championship. He became a recluse, although a few people did manage to befriend Tillet, including the businessman Patrick Kelly, whose home in Braintree, Massachusetts Tillet would often visit.

 

Tillet died in 1954 from heart disease at age 51.

  

Basanta Utsav literally means the 'celebration of spring'. ...

 

Annually celebrated in March, the festival is an occassion to invite the colourful spring season with utmost warmth. What is appreciated is the grace and diginified manner in which Vasant Utsav is celebrated in Bengal as compared to uncontrollable Holi witnessed in most parts of India.

 

The beautiful tradition of celebrating spring festival in Bengal was first started by Nobel Laureate Rabindranath Tagore at Visva-Bharati, Santiniketan.

 

Now we come to the stripes part of this contest! I bought this bodycon dress last summer, while visiting the sales at Debenhams, on Oxford Street. Except that this dress wasn’t on sale – it was a brand new Autumn collection item, at full price... But I just couldn’t help myself, and so I bought the dress immediately - on an uncontrollable impulse! I hope you like it as much as I do!

 

Remember that there are no rules whatever in my contests – express your preferences in any way that you like…!

 

Lots more to come soon, but bye bye for now! Kisses to all my amazing friends!

xxxxxxx

Rebecca

The school that I attended in Omaha, 1955-56.

 

In those days, there were no Toyotas. But I do remember my mother driving me to school in the family Jeep one cold winter's morning, and the downhill stretch of road was so icy that the Jeep spun around in two complete circles before it came to a stop beside the school.

 

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

 

Some of the photos in this album are “originals” from the year that my family spent in Omaha in 1955-56. But the final 10 color photos were taken nearly 40 years later, as part of some research that I was doing for a novel called Do-Overs, the beginning of which can be found here on my website

 

www.yourdon.com/personal/fiction/doovers/index.html

 

and the relevant chapter (concerning Omaha) can be found here:

 

www.yourdon.com/personal/fiction/doovers/chapters/ch9.html

 

Before I get into the details, let me make a strong request — if you’re looking at these photos, and if you are getting any enjoyment at all of this brief look at some mundane Americana from 60+ years ago: find a similar episode in your own life, and write it down. Gather the pictures, clean them up, and upload them somewhere on the Internet where they can be found. Trust me: there will come a day when the only person on the planet who actually experienced those events is you. Your own memories may be fuzzy and incomplete; but they will be invaluable to your friends and family members, and to many generations of your descendants.

 

So, what do I remember about the year that I spent in Omaha? Not much at the moment, though I’m sure more details will occur to me in the days to come — and I’ll add them to these notes, along with additional photos that I’m tweaking and editing now.

 

For now, here is a random list of things I remember:

 

1. I attended the last couple months of 6th grade, and all of 7th grade, in one school. My parents moved from Omaha to Long Island, NY in the spring of my 7th grade school year; but unlike previous years, they made arrangements for me to stay with a neighbor’s family, so that I could finish the school year before joining them in New York.

 

2. Our dog, Blackie, traveled with us from our previous home in Riverside, and was with us until my parents left Omaha for New York; at that point, they gave him to some other family. For some reason, this had almost no impact on me. It was a case of “out of sight, out of mind” — when Blackie was gone, I spent my final three months in Omaha without ever thinking about him again.

 

3. Most days, I rode my bike to school; but Omaha was the place where one of my sisters first started attending first grade — in the same school where I was attending 6th grade. I remember walking her to school along Bellevue Avenue on the first morning, which seemed to take forever: it was about a mile away.

 

4. As noted in a previous Flickr album about my year in Riverside, I was a year younger than my classmates; but I was tall for my age, and thus looked “normal” at a quick glance. But because I was a year younger, I was incredibly shy and awkward in the presence of girls. Omaha was certainly not “sin city,” but by 6th grade and 7th grade, puberty was beginning to hit, and the girls had grown to the point where they were occasionally interested in boys. The school tried to accommodate this social development by teaching us the square dance (and forbidding the playing of songs by Elvis Presley, whose music was just beginning to be heard on the radio). I was an awful dancer, and even more of a shy misfit than my classmates; I continue to be an awful dancer today.

 

5. My bike ride to school was uneventful most days; but the final part of the ride was a steep downhill stretch on Avery Road, lasting three or four blocks. My friends and I usually raced downhill as fast as we could; but one day, my front bicycle wheel began to wobble on the downhill run, and my bike drifted uncontrollably to the side of the road and then off into a ditch. I got banged up pretty badly.

 

6. But this accident was nothing compared to my worst mishap: a neighborhood friend and I enjoyed playing “cowboys and Indians” in the woods near his home (and his younger brother usually tagged along). I had a bow and a few arrows for our adventure, and we often shot at trees a hundred feet away. Unfortunately, the arrows often disappeared into the underbrush (because we were lousy shots) and were difficult to find. Consequently, one of us came up with the clever idea of standing behind the “target” tree, so that we could see where the randomly-shot arrows landed. Through a series of miscommunications, I poked my head out from behind the tree just as my friend shot one of the arrows … and it skipped off the side of the tree and into my face, impaling itself into my cheek bone about an inch below my eye. An inch higher, and I would not be typing these words … (meanwhile, my friend's younger brother grew up to be an officer in the U.S. Air Force, and he tracked me down on the Internet, decades later).

 

7. In the summer of 1956, my parents decided to spend their summer vacation prospecting for uranium (seriously!) in the remote hills of eastern Utah, where my dad had grown up on the Utah-Colorado border. This entailed a long, long drive from Omaha; and it involved leaving me and my two sisters with my grandparents near Vernal, UT. My grandparents lived in a very small mining village outside of Vernal; and while they had electricity and various other modern conveniences, they also had an outhouse in the back yard. Trips to the “bathroom” in the middle of the night were quite an adventure. On the way back to Omaha at the end of this vacation trip (with no uranium ore having been found), we stopped for a couple of days of camping somewhere in the mountains of Colorado; you’ll see a couple of photos from that camping trip in this album.

 

8. There were no lizards in Omaha, and thus no opportunity for lizard-hunting with my slingshot—which had been a significant hobby in my previous homes in Riverside and Roswell. Indeed, there was almost nothing to shoot at … and I couldn’t find anyone with whom I could play (and hopefully win) marbles, to use as slingshot ammunition. But for reasons I never questioned or investigated (but about which I’m very curious now), there was a small vineyard in the field behind our house, and I was able to climb over the fence and retrieve dozens of small, hard, green grapes. They turned out to be excellent ammunition … but I never did find any lizards.

 

9. A few months before my parents left for New York, I told them about the latest craze sweeping the neighborhood: “English bikes,” with three speeds, thin tires, and hand-brakes. I desperately wanted one, but Dad said it was far too expensive for him to buy as a frivolous gift for me: at the time, English bikes had an outrageous price tag of $25. I was told that I would have to earn the money myself if I wanted one … and the going rate for young, scrawny kids who shoveled sidewalks, pulled weeds from gardens, and did babysitting chores, was 25 cents per hour. That works out to 100 hours of work … but I did it, over the course of the next few months, and when I got to New York, the first thing I did was buy my English bike.

 

10. Toward the end of my 7th-grade school year, everyone in my class was subjected to a vision test: we were lined up in alphabetical order, and one-by-one read off a series of letters that we could barely see on a large placard taped onto the classroom blackboard. Because my surname starts with a “Y,” I was usually near the end of the line … and by the time I got to the front, I had usually memorized the letters (because they never bothered to change them, from one student to the next) without even realizing it consciously. But on this particular occasion in 7th grade, for some reason, they decided to line us up in reverse alphabetical order … and I was the first in line. For the first time in my life, I realized that I could not see anything of the letters, and that I was woefully near-sighted. When I got to New York, my parents took me to an optometrist to get my first set of glasses (and, yes, all of the neighborhood kids did begin taunting me immediately: “Four eyes! Four eyes!”) … and I’ve worn glasses ever since.

 

11. Three years after I arrived in New York, the glasses saved my vision when a home-brewed mix of gunpowder and powdered aluminum blew up in my face in the school chemistry lab (where I had an after-school volunteer job as a “lab assistant”). I suffered 2nd-degree burns on my face from the explosion, but the glasses protected my eyes. That, however, is a different story for a different time.