The Postcard

 

A Valentine's Series postcard with photography by Lafayette of Dublin. The date of posting is not legible, but it was posted prior to the 3rd. June 1918, because the card only bears a half-penny stamp, and on the 3rd. June 1918, the UK inland postal rate for postcards was raised to one penny in order to help pay for the Great War.

 

The card was posted to:

 

Mr. E. King,

83, Winchelsea Road,

Tottenham,

London N.W.

 

The pencilled message on the divided back of the card was as follows:

 

"Dear Dad,

I hope you got back

alright on Sunday night.

I have been to school

today.

Aunt Mabel has not

been up today.

I went on the pond this

afternoon.

I wish you were with me.

Love from Violet & Mum.

xx"

 

Madame Sarah Bernhardt

 

Sarah Bernhardt was born Henriette-Rosine Bernard on the 22nd. or 23rd. October 1844. The exact date is not known.

 

Sarah was a French stage actress who starred in some of the most popular French plays of the late 19th. and early 20th. centuries, including 'La Dame Aux Camelias' by Alexandre Dumas, 'Ruy Blas' by Victor Hugo; 'Fédora' and 'La Tosca' by Victorien Sardou; and 'L'Aiglon' by Edmond Rostand.

 

Sarah also played male roles, including Shakespeare's 'Hamlet'.

 

Rostand called her "The Queen of the Pose and the Princess of the Gesture", while Hugo praised her "Golden Voice".

 

Sarah made several theatrical tours around the world, and was one of the first prominent actresses to make sound recordings and to act in motion pictures.

 

Sarah Bernhardt - The Early Years

 

Henriette-Rosine Bernard was born at 5 Rue de L'École-de-Médecine in the Latin Quarter of Paris. She was the illegitimate daughter of Judith Bernard, a Dutch-Jewish courtesan with a wealthy clientele.

 

The name of Sarah's father is not recorded. Bernhardt later wrote that her father's family paid for her education, insisted she be baptised as a Catholic, and left a large sum to be paid when she came of age. Her mother travelled frequently, and saw little of her daughter. She placed Sarah with a nurse in Brittany, then in a cottage in the Paris suburb of Neuilly-sur-Seine.

 

When Sarah was seven, her mother sent her to a boarding school for young ladies in the Paris suburb of Auteuil, paid with funds from her father's family. There, she acted in her first theatrical performance in the play 'Clothilde', where she held the role of the Queen of the Fairies, and performed the first of many dramatic death scenes.

 

While she was at the boarding school, Sarah's mother rose to the top ranks of Parisian courtesans, consorting with politicians, bankers, generals, and writers. Her patrons and friends included Charles, Duke of Morny, the half-brother of Emperor Napoleon III and President of the French legislature.

 

At the age of 10, with the sponsorship of Morny, Bernhardt was admitted to Grandchamp, an exclusive Augustine convent school near Versailles. At the convent, she performed the part of the Archangel Raphael in 'Tobias and the Angel'.

 

Sarah declared her intention to become a nun, but did not always follow convent rules; she was accused of sacrilege when she arranged a Christian burial, with a procession and ceremony, for her pet lizard.

 

She received her first communion as a Roman Catholic in 1856, and thereafter she was fervently religious. However, she never forgot her Jewish heritage. When asked years later by a reporter if she were a Christian, she replied:

 

"No, I'm a Roman Catholic, and a

member of the great Jewish race.

I'm waiting until Christians become

better."

 

Sarah accepted the last rites shortly before her death.

 

In 1859, Bernhardt learned that her father had died overseas. Her mother summoned a family council, including Morny, to decide what to do with her. Morny proposed that Bernhardt should become an actress, an idea that horrified Sarah, as she had never been inside a theatre.

 

Morny arranged for her to attend her first theatre performance at the Comédie Française in a party which included her mother, Morny, and his friend Alexandre Dumas Père. The play they attended was 'Brittanicus', by Jean Racine, followed by the classical comedy 'Amphitryon' by Plautus.

 

Bernhardt was so moved by the emotion of the play, she began to sob loudly, disturbing the rest of the audience. Morny and others in their party were angry with her and left, but Dumas comforted her, and later told Morny that he believed that she was destined for the stage. After the performance, Dumas called her "My little star".

 

Sarah Bernhardt and the Paris Conservatory

 

Morny used his influence with the composer Daniel Auber, the head of the Paris Conservatory, to arrange for Bernhardt to audition. She began preparing, as she described it in her memoirs:

 

"With that vivid exaggeration with

which I embrace any new enterprise."

 

Dumas coached her. The jury comprised Auber and five leading actors and actresses from the Comédie Française. Sarah was supposed to recite verses from Racine, but no one had told her that she needed someone to give her cues as she recited.

 

Sarah told the jury she would instead recite the fable of the Two Pigeons by La Fontaine. The jurors were sceptical, but the fervour and pathos of her recitation won them over, and she was invited to become a student.

 

Bernhardt studied acting at the Conservatory from January 1860 until 1862 under two prominent actors of the Comédie Française, Joseph-Isidore Samson and Jean-Baptiste Provost. She wrote in her memoirs that Provost taught her diction and grand gestures, while Samson taught her the power of simplicity.

 

For the stage, Sarah changed her name from 'Bernard' to 'Bernhardt'. While studying, she also received her first marriage proposal, from a wealthy businessman who offered her 500 thousand francs. He wept when she refused. Bernhardt later wrote:

 

"I was confused, sorry, and delighted -

because he loved me the way people

love in plays at the theatre".

 

Before the first examination for her tragedy class, she tried to straighten her abundance of frizzy hair, which made it even more uncontrollable, and came down with a bad cold, which made her voice so nasal that she hardly recognized it.

 

Furthermore, the parts assigned for her performance were classical and required carefully stylized emotions, while she preferred romanticism and fully and naturally expressing her emotions. The teachers ranked her 14th. in tragedy, and 2nd. in comedy.

 

Sarah Bernhardt and The Théâtre Français

 

Once again, Morny came to her rescue. He put in a good word for her with the National Minister of the Arts, Camille Doucet. Doucet recommended her to Edouard Thierry, the chief administrator of the Théâtre Français, who offered Bernhardt a place as a pensionnaire at the theatre, at a minimum salary.

 

Bernhardt made her debut with the company on the 31st. August 1862 in the title role of Racine's 'Iphigénie'. Her premiere was not a success. She experienced stage fright and rushed her lines. Furthermore some audience members made fun of her thin figure.

 

When the performance ended, Provost was waiting in the wings, and she asked his forgiveness. He told her:

 

"I can forgive you, and you'll

eventually forgive yourself,

but Racine in his grave never

will."

 

Francisque Sarcey, the influential theatre critic of 'L'Opinion Nationale' and 'Le Temps', wrote:

 

'She carries herself well and pronounces

with perfect precision. That is all that can

be said about her at the moment.'

 

Bernhardt did not remain long with the Comédie-Française. She played Henrietta in Molière's 'Les Femmes Savantes' and Hippolyte in 'L'Étourdi', and the title role in Scribe's 'Valérie', but did not impress the critics, or the other members of the company, who had resented her rapid rise.

 

The weeks passed, but she was given no further roles. Her hot temper also got her into trouble; when a theatre doorkeeper addressed her as "Little Bernhardt", she broke her umbrella over his head. She apologised profusely, and when the doorkeeper retired 20 years later, she bought him a cottage in Normandy.

 

At a ceremony honouring the birthday of Molière on the 15th. January 1863, Bernhardt invited her younger sister, Regina, to accompany her. Regina accidentally stood on the train of the gown of a leading actress of the company, Zaire-Nathalie Martel (1816–1885). Madame Nathalie pushed Regina off the gown, causing her to strike a stone column and gash her forehead.

 

Regina and Madame Nathalie began shouting at one another, and Bernhardt stepped forward and slapped Madame Nathalie on the cheek. The older actress fell onto another actor. Thierry asked that Bernhardt apologise to Madame Nathalie. Bernhardt refused to do so until Madame Nathalie apologised to Regina.

 

Bernhardt had already been scheduled for a new role with the theatre, and had begun rehearsals. Madame Nathalie demanded that Bernhardt be dropped from the role unless she apologised. Since neither would yield, and Madame Nathalie was the more senior member of the company, Thierry was forced to ask Bernhardt to leave.

 

The Gymnase and Brussels (1864–1866)

 

Sarah's family could not understand her departure from the theatre; it was inconceivable to them that anyone would walk away from the most prestigious theatre in Paris at the age of 18.

 

Instead, Sarah went to a popular theatre, the Gymnase, where she became an understudy to two of the leading actresses. She almost immediately caused another offstage scandal, when she was invited to recite poetry at a reception at the Tuileries Palace hosted by Napoleon III and the Empress Eugenie, along with other actors from the Gymnase.

 

Sarah chose to recite two romantic poems by Victor Hugo, unaware that Hugo was a bitter critic of the Emperor. Following the first poem, the Emperor and Empress rose and walked out, followed by the court and all the other guests.

 

Her next role at the Gymnase, as a foolish Russian princess, was entirely unsuited for her; her mother told her that her performance was "ridiculous". She decided abruptly to quit the theatre to travel, and like her mother, to take on lovers. She went briefly to Spain, then, at the suggestion of Alexandre Dumas, to Belgium.

 

Sarah carried to Brussels letters of introduction from Dumas, and was admitted to the highest levels of society. She attended a masked ball in Brussels where she met the Belgian aristocrat Henri, Prince de Ligne, and had an affair with him. However the affair was cut short when she learned that her mother had suffered a heart attack. She returned to Paris, where she found that her mother was better, but that she herself was pregnant from her affair with the Prince.

 

She did not notify the Prince. Her mother did not want the fatherless child born under her roof, so Sarah moved to a small apartment on Rue Duphot, and on the 22nd. December 1864, the 20-year-old actress gave birth to her only child, Maurice Bernhardt.

 

Sarah never discussed Maurice's parentage with anyone. When asked who his father was, she sometimes answered:

 

"I could never make up my mind

whether his father was Gambetta,

Victor Hugo, or General Boulanger."

 

Many years later, in January 1885, when Bernhardt was famous, the Prince came to Paris and offered to formally recognise Maurice as his son, but Maurice politely declined, explaining he was entirely satisfied to be the son of Sarah Bernhardt.

 

Sarah Bernhardt and the Théâtre de l'Odéon (1866–1872)

 

To support herself after the birth of Maurice, Bernhardt played minor roles and understudies at the Porte-Saint-Martin, a popular melodrama theatre.

 

In early 1866, she obtained a reading with Felix Duquesnel, director of the Théâtre de L’Odéon on the Left Bank. Duquesnel described the reading years later, saying:

 

"I had before me a creature who

was marvellously gifted, intelligent

to the point of genius, with enormous

energy under an appearance frail and

delicate, and a savage will."

 

The co-director of the theatre, Charles de Chilly, wanted to reject Sarah as unreliable and too thin, but Duquesnel was enchanted; he hired her for the theatre at a modest salary of 150 francs a month, which he paid out of his own pocket.

 

The Odéon was second in prestige only to the Comédie Française, and unlike that very traditional theatre, specialised in more modern productions. The Odéon was popular with the students of the Left Bank.

 

Sarah's first performances at the Odéon were not successful. She was cast in highly stylised and frivolous 18th.-century comedies, whereas her strong point on stage was her complete sincerity.

 

Sarah's thin figure also made her look ridiculous in the ornate costumes. Dumas, her strongest supporter, commented after one performance:

 

"She has the head of a virgin

and the body of a broomstick."

 

Soon, however, with different plays and more experience, her performances improved; Sarah was praised for her performance of Cordelia in 'King Lear'. In June 1867, she played two roles in 'Athalie' by Jean Racine: the part of a young woman and a young boy, Zacharie, the first of many male parts she played in her career. The influential critic Sarcey wrote

 

'She charmed her audience

like a little Orpheus.'

 

Sarah's breakthrough performance was in the 1868 revival of 'Kean' by Alexandre Dumas, in which she played the female lead part of Anna Danby. The play was interrupted in the beginning by disturbances in the audience by young spectators who called out:

 

"Down with Dumas!

Give us Hugo!"

 

Bernhardt addressed the audience directly:

 

"Friends, you wish to defend the

cause of justice. Are you doing it

by making Monsieur Dumas

responsible for the banishment of

Monsieur Hugo?"

 

With this, the audience laughed and applauded, and then fell silent. At the final curtain, she received an enormous ovation, and Dumas hurried backstage to congratulate her. When she exited the theatre, a crowd had gathered at the stage door and tossed flowers at her. Her salary was immediately raised to 250 francs a month.

 

Sarah's next success was her performance in François Coppée's 'Le Passant', which premiered at the Odéon on the 14th. January 1868, playing the part of the boy troubadour, Zanetto, in a romantic renaissance tale. Critic Theophile Gautier described the 'delicate and tender charm' of her performance.

 

'Le Passant' played for 150 performances, plus a command performance at the Tuileries Palace for Napoleon III and his court. Afterwards, the Emperor sent her a brooch with his initials written in diamonds.

 

In her memoirs, Sarah wrote of her time at the Odéon:

 

"It was the theatre that I loved the most,

and that I only left with regret. We all

loved each other. Everyone was gay.

The theatre was a like a continuation of

school. All the young came there...

I remember my few months at the

Comédie Française. That little world was

stiff, gossipy, jealous.

I remember my few months at the Gymnase.

There they talked only about dresses and

hats, and chattered about a hundred things

that had nothing to do with art.

At the Odéon, I was happy. We thought only

of putting on plays. We rehearsed mornings,

afternoons, all the time. I adored that."

 

Bernhardt lived with her longtime friend and assistant Madame Guerard and her son in a small cottage in the suburb of Auteuil, and drove herself to the theatre in a small carriage. She developed a close friendship with the writer George Sand, and performed in two plays that she had written.

 

Sarah received celebrities in her dressing room, including Gustave Flaubert and Leon Gambetta. In 1869, as she became more prosperous, she moved to a larger seven-room apartment at 16 Rue Auber in the centre of Paris. Her mother began to visit her for the first time in years, and her Orthodox Jewish grandmother moved into the apartment to take care of Maurice.

 

Bernhardt added a maid and a cook to her household, as well as the beginning of a collection of animals; she had one or two dogs with her at all times, and two turtles moved freely around the apartment.

 

In 1868, a fire completely destroyed Sarah's apartment, along with all of her belongings. She had neglected to purchase insurance. The brooch presented to her by the Emperor and her pearls melted, as did the tiara presented by one of her lovers, Khalid Bey. She found the diamonds in the ashes.

 

The managers of the Odéon organized a benefit performance for Sarah. The most famous soprano of the time, Adelina Patti, performed for free. In addition, the grandmother of her father donated 120,000 francs. Bernhardt was able to buy an even larger residence, with two salons and a large dining room, at 4 Rue de Rome.

 

Sarah Bernhardt's Wartime service at the Odéon (1870–1871)

 

The outbreak of the Franco-Prussian War abruptly interrupted Sarah's theatrical career. The news of the defeat of the French Army, the surrender of Napoleon III at Sedan, and the proclamation of the Third French Republic on the 4th. September 1870 was followed by a siege of the city of Paris by the Prussian Army.

 

Paris was cut off from news and from its food supply, and the theatres were closed. Bernhardt took charge of converting the Odéon into a hospital for soldiers wounded in the battles outside the city. She organized the placement of 32 beds in the lobby and in the foyers, brought in her personal chef to prepare soup for the patients, and persuaded her wealthy friends and admirers to donate supplies to the hospital.

 

Besides organising the hospital, Sarah worked as a nurse, assisting the chief surgeon with amputations and operations. When the coal supply of the city ran out, Bernhardt used old scenery, benches, and stage props for fuel to heat the theatre. In early January 1871, after 16 weeks of siege, the Germans began to bombard the city with long-range artillery. The patients had to be moved to the cellar, and before long, the hospital was forced to close.

 

Bernhardt arranged for serious cases to be transferred to another military hospital, and she rented an apartment on Rue de Provence to house the remaining 20 patients. By the end of the siege, Bernhardt's hospital had cared for more than 150 wounded soldiers, including a young undergraduate from the École Polytechnique, Ferdinand Foch, who later commanded the Allied armies in the First World War.

 

The French government signed an armistice on the 19th. January 1871, and Bernhardt learned that her son and family had been moved to Hamburg. She went to the new chief executive of the French Republic, Adolphe Thiers, and obtained a pass to go to Germany to bring them back.

 

When she returned to Paris several weeks later, the city was under the rule of the Paris Commune. She moved again, taking her family to Saint-Germain-en-Laye. She later returned to her apartment on the Rue de Rome in May, after the Commune was defeated by the French Army.

 

The Tuileries Palace, the City Hall of Paris, and many other public buildings had been burned by the Commune or damaged in the fighting, but the Odéon was still intact.

 

Charles-Marie Chilly, the co-director of the Odéon, came to her apartment, where Bernhardt received him reclining on a sofa. He announced that the theatre would re-open in October 1871, and he asked her to play the lead in a new play, 'Jean-Marie' by André Theuriet. Bernhardt replied that she was finished with the theatre, and was going to move to Brittany in order to start a farm.

 

Chilly, who knew Bernhardt's moods well, told her that he understood and accepted her decision, and would give the role to Jane Essler, a rival actress. According to Chilly, Bernhardt immediately jumped up from the sofa and asked:

 

"When are the rehearsals beginning?"

 

'Jean-Marie', featuring a young Breton woman forced by her father to marry an old man she did not love, was another critical and popular success for Bernhardt. The critic Sarcey wrote:

 

'She has the sovereign grace, the

penetrating charm, the I don't

know what. She is a natural artist,

an incomparable artist.'

 

The directors of the Odéon next decided to stage 'Ruy Blas', a play written by Victor Hugo in 1838, with Bernhardt playing the role of the Queen of Spain. Hugo himself attended all the rehearsals. At first, Bernhardt pretended to be indifferent to him, but he gradually won her over, and she became a fervent admirer.

 

The play premiered on the 16th. January 1872. The opening night was attended by the Prince of Wales and by Hugo himself; after the performance, Hugo approached Bernhardt, dropped to one knee, and kissed her hand. After the 100th. performance of 'Ruy Blas', Hugo gave a dinner for Bernhardt and her friends, toasting:

 

"My adorable Queen

and her Golden Voice."

 

'Ruy Blas' played to packed houses. A few months after it opened, Bernhardt received an invitation from Emile Perrin, Director of the Comédie Française, asking if she would return, and offering her 12,000 francs a year, compared with less than 10,000 at the Odéon. Bernhardt asked Chilly if he would match the offer, but he refused.

 

Always pressed by her growing expenses and growing household to earn more money, she announced her departure from the Odéon when she finished the run of 'Ruy Blas'. Chilly responded with a lawsuit, and she was forced to pay 6,000 francs in damages.

 

Sarah Bernhardt and the Comédie Française

 

Sarah returned to the Comédie Française on the 1st. October 1872, and quickly took on some of the most famous and demanding roles in French theatre. She played Junie in 'Britannicus' by Jean Racine, the male role of Cherubin in 'The Marriage of Figaro' by Pierre Beaumarchais, and the lead in Voltaire's five-act tragedy 'Zaïre'.

 

In 1873, with just 74 hours to learn the lines and practise the part, Sarah played the lead in Racine's 'Phédre', playing opposite the celebrated tragedian, Jean Mounet-Sully, who soon became her lover. The leading French critic Sarcey wrote:

 

'This is nature itself served by marvellous

intelligence, by a soul of fire, by the most

melodious voice that ever enchanted

human ears. This woman plays with her

heart, with her entrails.'

 

Phédre became her most famous classical role, performed over the years around the world, often for audiences who knew little or no French; she made them understand by her voice and gestures.

 

In 1877, Sarah had another success as Dona Sol in 'Hernani', a tragedy written 47 years earlier by Victor Hugo. Her lover in the play was her lover off-stage, as well, Mounet-Sully. Hugo himself was in the audience. The next day, he sent her a note:

 

"Madame, you were great and charming;

you moved me, me the old warrior, and,

at a certain moment when the public,

touched and enchanted by you, applauded,

I wept. The tear which you caused me to

shed is yours. I place it at your feet."

 

The note was accompanied by a tear-shaped pearl on a gold bracelet.

 

Sarah maintained a highly theatrical lifestyle in her house on the Rue de Rome. She kept a satin-lined coffin in her bedroom, and occasionally slept in it, or lay in it to study her roles, though, contrary to popular belief, she never took it with her on her travels.

 

Sarah cared for her younger sister who was ill with tuberculosis, and allowed her to sleep in her own bed, while she slept in the coffin. She posed in it for photographs, adding to the legends she created about herself.

 

Bernhardt repaired her old relationships with the other members of the Comédie Française; she participated in a benefit for Madame Nathalie, the actress she had once slapped. However, she was frequently in conflict with Perrin, the director of the theater.

 

In 1878, during the Paris Universal Exposition, she took a flight over Paris with balloonist Pierre Giffard, in a balloon decorated with the name of her current character, Dona Sol. However, an unexpected storm carried the balloon far outside of Paris to a small town.

 

When she returned by train to the city, Perrin was furious; he fined Bernhardt a thousand francs, citing a theatre rule which required actors to request permission before they left Paris. Bernhardt refused to pay, and threatened to resign from the Comédie. Perrin recognised that he could not afford to let her go. Perrin and the Minister of Fine Arts arranged a compromise; she withdrew her resignation, and in return was raised to a Societaire, the highest rank of the theatre.

 

Triumph in London and Departure from the Comédie Française (1879–1880)

 

Bernhardt was earning a substantial amount at the theatre, but her expenses were even greater. By this time she had eight servants, and she built her first house, an imposing mansion on rue Fortuny, not far from the Parc Monceau. She looked for additional ways to earn money.

 

In June 1879, while the theatre of the Comédie Française in Paris was being remodelled, Perrin took the company on tour to London. Shortly before the tour began, a British theatre impresario named Edward Jarrett travelled to Paris and proposed that she give private performances in the homes of wealthy Londoners; the fee she would receive for each performance was greater than her monthly salary with the Comédie.

 

When Perrin read in the press about the private performances, he was furious. Furthermore, the Gaiety Theatre in London demanded that Bernhardt star in the opening performance, contrary to the traditions of Comédie Française, where roles were assigned by seniority, and the idea of stardom was scorned.

 

When Perrin protested, saying that Bernhardt was only 10th. or 11th. in seniority, the Gaiety manager threatened to cancel the performance; Perrin had to give in. He scheduled Bernhardt to perform one act of 'Phèdre' on the opening night, between two traditional French comedies, 'Le Misanthrope' and 'Les Précieuses'.

 

On the 4th. June 1879, just before the opening curtain of her premiere in 'Phèdre', she suffered an attack of stage fright. She wrote later that she also pitched her voice too high, and was unable to lower it. Nonetheless, the performance was a triumph. Though most of the audience could not understand Racine's classical French, she captivated them with her voice and gestures; one member of the audience, Sir George Arthur, wrote that:

 

"She set every nerve and fibre in

their bodies throbbing, and held

them spellbound."

 

In addition to her performances of 'Zaire', 'Phèdre', 'Hernani', and other plays with her troupe, she gave the private recitals in the homes of British aristocrats arranged by Jarrett, who also arranged an exhibition of her sculptures and paintings in Piccadilly. This was attended by both the Prince of Wales and Prime Minister Gladstone.

 

While in London, Sarah added to her personal menagerie of animals by buying three dogs, a parrot, and a monkey. She also made a side trip to Liverpool, where she purchased a cheetah, a parrot, and a wolfhound, as well as receiving a gift of six chameleons, which she kept in her rented house on Chester Square, before taking them all back to Paris.

 

Having returned to Paris, Sarah was increasingly discontented with Perrin and the management of the Comédie Française. He insisted that she perform the lead in a new play, 'L'Aventurière' by Emile Augier, a play which she thought was mediocre. When she rehearsed the play without enthusiasm, and frequently forgot her lines, she was criticised by the playwright.

 

She responded:

 

"I know I'm bad, but not

as bad as your lines."

 

The play went ahead, but was a failure. She wrote immediately to Perrin:

 

"You forced me to play when I

was not ready... what I foresaw

came to pass... this is my first

failure at the Comédie and my

last."

 

Sarah sent a resignation letter to Perrin, made copies, and sent them to all the major newspapers. Perrin sued her for breach of contract; the court ordered her to pay 100,000 francs, plus interest, and she lost her accrued pension of 43,000 francs. She did not settle the debt until 1900.

 

Later, however, when the Comédie Française theatre was nearly destroyed by fire, she allowed her old troupe to use her own theatre.

 

'La Dame aux Camélias' and the first American tour (1880–1881)

 

In April 1880, as soon as he learned Bernhardt had resigned from the Comédie Française, the impresario Edward Jarrett hurried to Paris and proposed that she make a theatrical tour of England and then the United States. She could select her repertoire and the cast. She would receive 5,000 francs per performance, plus 15% of any earnings over 150,000 francs, plus all of her expenses, plus an account in her name for 100,000 francs, the amount she owed to the Comédie Française. Sarah accepted immediately.

 

Now on her own, Bernhardt first assembled and tried out her new troupe at the Théâtre de la Gaîté-Lyrique in Paris. She performed for the first time 'La Dame aux Camélias', by Alexandre Dumas. She did not create the role; the play had first been performed by Eugénie Dochein in 1852, but it quickly became Sarah's most performed and most famous role. She eventually played the role more than a thousand times, and acted regularly and successfully in it until the end of her life. Audiences were often in tears during her famous death scene at the end.

 

Sarah could not perform 'La Dame aux Camélias' on a London stage because of British censorship laws; instead, she put on four of her proven successes, including 'Hernani' and 'Phèdre', plus four new roles, including 'Adrienne Lecouvreur' by Eugène Scribe and the drawing-room comedy 'Frou-Frou' by Meilhac-Halévy, both of which were highly successful in London.

 

In six of the eight plays in her repertoire, Sarah died dramatically in the final act. When she returned to Paris from London, the Comédie Française asked her to come back, but she refused their offer, explaining that she was making far more money on her own. Instead, she took her new company and new plays on tour to Brussels and Copenhagen, and then on a tour of French provincial cities.

 

Sarah and her troupe departed from Le Havre for America on the 15th. October 1880, arriving in New York on the 27th. October. On the 8th. November, she performed Scribe's 'Adrienne Lecouvreur' at Booth's Theatre before an audience which had paid a top price of $40 for a ticket, an enormous sum at the time.

 

Few in the audience understood French, but it was not necessary; her gestures and voice captivated the audience, and she received a thunderous ovation. She thanked the audience with her distinctive curtain call; she did not bow, but stood perfectly still, with her hands clasped under her chin, or with her palms on her cheeks, and then suddenly stretched them out to the audience.

 

After her first performance in New York, she made 27 curtain calls. However, although she was welcomed by theatre-goers, she was entirely ignored by New York high society, who considered her personal life scandalous.

 

Bernhardt's first American tour carried her to 157 performances in 51 cities. She travelled on a special train with her own luxurious palace car, which carried her two maids, two cooks, a waiter, her maitre d'hôtel, and her personal assistant, Madame Guérard. It also carried an actor named Édouard Angelo whom she had selected to serve as her leading man, and, according to most accounts, her lover during the tour.

 

From New York, Sarah made a side trip to Menlo Park, where she met Thomas Edison, who made a brief recording of her reciting a verse from Phèdre, which has not survived. She crisscrossed the United States and Canada from Montreal and Toronto to Saint Louis and New Orleans, usually performing each evening, and departing immediately after the performance.

 

Sarah gave countless press interviews, and in Boston posed for photos on the back of a dead whale. She was condemned as immoral by the Bishop of Montreal and by the Methodist press, which only increased ticket sales.

 

Sarah performed 'Phèdre' six times and 'La Dame aux Camélias' 65 times (which Jarrett had renamed 'Camille' to make it easier for Americans to pronounce, despite the fact that no character in the play has that name).

 

On the 3rd. May 1881, Sarah gave her final performance of 'La Dame aux Camélias' in New York. Throughout her life, she always insisted on being paid in cash. When Bernhardt returned to France, she brought with her a chest filled with $194,000 in gold coins. She described the result of her trip to her friends:

 

"I crossed the oceans, carrying my

dream of art in myself, and the genius

of my nation triumphed.

I planted the French verb in the heart

of a foreign literature, and it is that of

which I am most proud."

 

Return to Paris, European tour, Fédora to Theodora (1881–1886)

 

No crowd greeted Bernhardt when she returned to Paris on the 5th. May 1881, and theatre managers offered no new roles; the Paris press ignored her tour, and much of the Paris theatre world resented her leaving the most prestigious national theatre to earn a fortune abroad.

 

When no new plays or offers appeared, she went to London for a successful three-week run at the Gaiety Theatre. This London tour included the first British performance of 'La Dame aux Camelias' at the Shaftesbury Theatre; her friend, the Prince of Wales, had persuaded Queen Victoria to authorise the performance. Many years later, Sarah gave a private performance of the play for the Queen while she was on holiday in Nice.

 

When she returned to Paris, Bernhardt contrived to make a surprise performance at the annual 14th. July patriotic spectacle at the Paris Opera, which was attended by the President of France, and a houseful of dignitaries and celebrities.

 

Sarah recited the Marseillaise, dressed in a white robe with a tricolor banner, and at the end dramatically waved the French flag. The audience gave her a standing ovation, showered her with flowers, and demanded that she recite the song two more times.

 

With her place in the French theatre world restored, Bernhardt negotiated a contract to perform at the Vaudeville Theatre in Paris for 1,500 francs per performance, as well as 25 percent of the net profit. She also announced that she would not be available to begin until 1882.

 

She departed on a tour of theatres in the French provinces, and then on to Italy, Greece, Hungary, Switzerland, Belgium, Holland, Spain, Austria, and Russia. In Kiev and Odessa, she encountered anti-Semitic crowds who threw stones at her; pogroms were being conducted, forcing the Jewish population to leave.

 

However, in Moscow and St. Petersburg, she performed before Czar Alexander III, who broke court protocol and bowed to her. During her tour, she also gave performances for King Alfonso XII of Spain, and the Emperor Franz Joseph I of Austria.

 

The only European country where she refused to play was Germany, due to the German annexation of French territory after the 1870–71 Franco-Prussian War.

 

When she returned to Paris, she was offered a new role in 'Fédora', a melodrama written for her by Victorien Sardou. It opened on the 12th. December 1882, with her husband Damala as the male lead. The play received good reviews. Critic Maurice Baring wrote:

 

'A secret atmosphere emanated from her,

an aroma, an attraction, which was at once

exotic and cerebral. She literally hypnotised

her audience.'

 

Another journalist wrote,

 

'She is incomparable ... The extreme love,

the extreme agony, the extreme suffering.'

 

However, the abrupt end of her marriage shortly after the premiere put her back into financial distress. She had leased and refurbished a theatre, the 'Ambigu', specifically to give her husband Damala leading roles, and made her 18-year-old son Maurice, who had no business experience, the manager.

 

'Fédora' ran for just 50 performances and lost 400,000 francs. She was forced to give up the Ambigu, and then, in February 1883, to sell her jewellery, her carriages, and her horses at an auction.

 

When Damala left, she took on a new leading man and lover, the poet and playwright Jean Richepin, who accompanied her on a quick tour of European cities to help pay off her debts. She renewed her relationship with the Prince of Wales, the future King Edward VII.

 

When they returned to Paris, Bernhardt leased the theatre of Porte-Saint-Martin and starred in a new play by Richepin, 'Nana-Sahib', a costume drama about love in British India in 1857. The play and Richepin's acting were poor, and it quickly closed. Richepin then wrote an adaptation of 'Macbeth' in French, with Bernhardt as Lady Macbeth, but it was also a failure.

 

The only person who praised the play was Oscar Wilde, who was then living in Paris. He began writing a play, 'Salomé', in French, especially for Bernhardt, though it was quickly banned by British censors, and Sarah never performed it.

 

Bernhardt then performed a new play by Sardou, 'Theodora' (1884), a melodrama set in sixth-century Byzantium. Sardou wrote a non-historic but dramatic new death scene for Bernhardt; in his version, the empress was publicly strangled, whereas the historical empress died of cancer.

 

Bernhardt travelled to Ravenna, Italy, to study and sketch the costumes seen in Byzantine mosaic murals, and had them reproduced for her own costumes. The play opened on the 26th. December 1884 and ran for 300 performances in Paris, and 100 in London, and was a financial success.

 

Sarah was able to pay off most of her debts, and bought a lion cub, which she named Justinian, for her home menagerie. She also renewed her love affair with her former lead actor, Philippe Garnier.

 

World tours (1886–1892)

 

Theodora was followed by two failures. In 1885, in homage to Victor Hugo, who had died a few months earlier, she staged one of his older plays, 'Marion Delorme', written in 1831, but the play was outdated, and her role did not give her a chance to show her talents. She next put on 'Hamlet', with Philippe Garnier in the leading role and Bernhardt in the relatively minor role of Ophelia. The critics and audiences were not impressed, and the play was unsuccessful.

 

Bernhardt had built up large expenses, which included a 10,000 francs a month allowance paid to her son Maurice, a passionate gambler. Bernhardt was forced to sell her chalet in Sainte-Addresse and her mansion on Rue Fortuny, and part of her collection of animals.

 

Her impresario, Edouard Jarrett, immediately proposed she make another world tour, this time to Brazil, Argentina, Uruguay, Chile, Peru, Panama, Cuba, and Mexico, then on to Texas, New York, England, Ireland, and Scotland.

 

Sarah was on tour for 15 months, from early 1886 until late 1887. On the eve of departure, she told a French reporter:

 

"I passionately love this life of adventures.

I detest knowing in advance what they are

going to serve at my dinner, and I detest a

hundred thousand times more knowing

what will happen to me, for better or worse.

I adore the unexpected."

 

In every city she visited, she was feted and cheered by audiences. Emperor Pedro II of Brazil attended all of her performances in Rio de Janeiro, and presented her with a gold bracelet with diamonds, which was almost immediately stolen from her hotel.

 

The two leading actors both fell ill with yellow fever, and her long-time manager, Edward Jarrett, died of a heart attack. Bernhardt was undaunted, however, and went crocodile hunting at Guayaquil, and also bought more animals for her menagerie.

 

Her performances in every city were sold out, and by the end of the tour, she had earned more than a million francs. The tour allowed her to purchase her final home, which she filled with her paintings, plants, souvenirs, and animals.

 

From then on, whenever she ran short of money (which generally happened every three or four years), she went on tour, performing both her classics and new plays. In 1888, she toured Italy, Egypt, Turkey, Sweden, Norway, and Russia. She returned to Paris in early 1889 with an enormous owl given to her by the Grand Duke Alexis Alexandrovich, the brother of the Czar.

 

Sarah's 1891–92 tour was her most extensive, including much of Europe, Russia, North and South America, Australia, New Zealand, Hawaii, and Samoa. Her personal luggage consisted of 45 costume crates for her 15 different productions, and 75 crates for her off-stage clothing, including her 250 pairs of shoes. She carried a trunk for her perfumes, cosmetics and makeup, and another for her sheets and tablecloths and her five pillows.

 

After the tour, she brought back a trunk filled with 3,500,000 francs, but she had also suffered a painful injury to her knee when she leaped off the parapet of the Castello Sant' Angelo in 'La Tosca'. The mattress on which she was supposed to land was misplaced, and she landed on the boards.

 

La Tosca to Cleopatra (1887–1893)

 

When Bernhardt returned from her 1886–87 tour, she received a new invitation to return to the Comédie Française. The theatre management was willing to forget the conflict of her two previous periods there, and offered a payment of 150,000 francs a year.

 

The money appealed to her, and she began negotiations. However, the senior members of the company protested the high salary offered, and conservative defenders of the more traditional theatre also complained; one anti-Bernhardt critic, Albert Delpit of 'Le Gaulois', wrote:

 

'Madame Sarah Bernhardt is forty-three;

she can no longer be useful to the Comédie.

Moreover, what roles could she have?

I can only imagine that she could play mothers'.

 

Bernhardt was deeply offended, and immediately broke off negotiations. She turned once again to Sardou, who had written a new play for her, 'La Tosca', which featured a prolonged and extremely dramatic death scene at the end.

 

The play was staged at the Porte-Saint-Martin Theatre, opening on the 24th. November 1887. It was extremely popular, and critically acclaimed. Bernhardt played the role for 29 consecutive sold-out performances.

 

The success of 'La Tosca' allowed Bernhardt to buy a new pet lion for her household menagerie. She named him Scarpia, after the villain of 'La Tosca'. The play inspired Giacomo Puccini to write one of his most famous operas, 'Tosca' (1900).

 

Following this success, Sarah acted in several revivals and classics, and many French writers offered her new plays. In 1887, she acted in a stage version of the controversial drama 'Thérèse Raquin' by Emile Zola. Zola had previously been attacked due to the book's confronting content. Asked why she chose this play, she declared to reporters:

 

"My true country is the free air,

and my vocation is art without

constraints."

 

The play was unsuccessful; it ran for just 38 performances. She then performed another traditional melodrama, 'Francillon' by Alexandre Dumas in 1888. A short drama Sarah wrote herself, 'l'Aveu', disappointed both critics and the audience, and lasted only 12 performances.

 

Sarah had considerably more success with 'Jeanne d'Arc' by the poet Jules Barbier, in which the 45-year-old actress played Joan of Arc, a 19-year-old martyr.

 

Sarah's next success was another melodrama by Sardou and Moreau, 'Cleopatra', which allowed her to wear elaborate costumes and finished with a memorable death scene. For this scene, she kept two live garter snakes, which played the role of the poisonous asp which bites Cleopatra. For realism, she painted the palms of her hands red, though they could hardly be seen from the audience. Sarah explained:

 

"I shall see them. If I catch sight

of my hand, it will be the hand

of Cleopatra."

 

Bernhardt's violent portrayal of Cleopatra led to the theatrical story of a matron in the audience exclaiming to her companion:

 

"How unlike, how very unlike, the

home life of our own dear Queen!"

 

Théâtre de la Renaissance (1893–1899)

 

Bernhardt made a two-year world tour (1891–1893) to replenish her finances. Upon returning to Paris, she paid 700,000 francs for the Théâtre de la Renaissance, and from 1893 until 1899, was its artistic director and lead actress.

 

She managed every aspect of the theatre, from the finances to the lighting, sets, and costumes, as well as appearing in eight performances a week.

 

Sarah imposed a rule that women in the audience, no matter how wealthy or famous, had to take off their hats during performances, so the rest of the audience could see, and eliminated the prompter's box from the stage, declaring that actors should know their lines.

 

She abolished in her theatre the common practice of hiring claqueurs in the audience to applaud stars. She used the new technology of lithography to produce vivid colour posters, and in 1894, she hired Czech artist Alphonse Mucha to design the first of a series of posters for her play 'Gismonda'. He continued to make posters for her for six years.

 

In five years, Bernhardt produced nine plays, three of which were financially successful. The first was a revival of her performance as 'Phédre', which she took on tour around the world. In 1898, she had another success, in the play 'Lorenzaccio', playing the male lead role in a Renaissance revenge drama written in 1834 by Alfred de Musset, but never before actually staged.

 

As her biographer Cornelia Otis Skinner wrote, she did not try to be overly masculine when she performed male roles:

 

'Her male impersonations had the

sexless grace of the voices of

choirboys, or the not quite real

pathos of Pierrot.'

 

Anatole France wrote of her performance in 'Lorenzaccio':

 

'She formed out of her own self

a young man melancholic, full of

poetry and of truth.'

 

This was followed by another successful melodrama by Sardou, 'Gismonda', one of Bernhardt's few plays not finishing with a dramatic death scene. Her co-star was Lucien Guitry, who also acted as her leading man until the end of her career. Besides Guitry, she shared the stage with Edouard de Max, her leading man in 20 productions, and Constant Coquelin, who frequently toured with her.

 

In April 1895, she played the lead role in a romantic and poetic fantasy, 'Princess Lointaine', by the little-known 27-year-old poet Edmond Rostand. It was not a monetary success and lost 200,000 francs, but it began a long theatrical relationship between Bernhardt and Rostand. Rostand went on to write 'Cyrano de Bergerac' and became one of the most popular French playwrights of the period.

 

In 1898, she performed the female lead in the controversial play 'La Ville Morte' by the Italian poet and playwright Gabriele D'Annunzio; the play was fiercely attacked by critics because of its theme of incest between brother and sister.

 

Along with Emile Zola and Victorien Sardou, Bernhardt also became an outspoken defender of Alfred Dreyfus, a Jewish army officer falsely accused of betraying France. The issue divided Parisian society; a conservative newspaper ran the headline:

 

'Sarah Bernhardt has joined

the Jews against the Army'.

 

Even Bernhardt's own son Maurice condemned Dreyfus; he refused to speak to her for a year.

 

At the Théâtre de la Renaissance, Bernhardt staged and performed in several modern plays, but she was not a follower of the more natural school of acting that was coming into fashion at the end of the 19th. century, preferring a more dramatic expression of emotions. She declared:

 

"In the theatre the natural is good,

but the sublime is even better."

 

Théâtre Sarah Bernhardt (1899–1900)

 

Despite her successes, Sarah's debts continued to mount, reaching two million gold francs by the end of 1898. Bernhardt was forced to give up the Renaissance, and was preparing to go on another world tour when she learned that a much larger Paris theatre, the Théâtre des Nations on the Place du Châtelet, was for lease. The theatre had 1,700 seats, twice the size of the Renaissance, enabling her to pay off the cost of performances more quickly; it had an enormous stage and backstage, allowing her to present several different plays a week; and since it was originally designed as a concert hall, it had excellent acoustics. On the 1st. January 1899, she signed a 25-year lease with the City of Paris, though she was already 55 years old.

 

She renamed it the Théâtre Sarah Bernhardt, and began to renovate it to suit her needs. The façade was lit by 5,700 electric bulbs, 17 arc lights, and 11 projectors. She completely redecorated the interior, replacing the red plush and gilt with yellow velvet, brocade, and white woodwork. The lobby was decorated with life-sized portraits of her in her most famous roles.

 

Her dressing room was a five-room suite, which, after the success of her Napoleonic play 'l'Aiglon', was decorated in Empire Style, featuring a marble fireplace with a fire Bernhardt kept burning all year round, a huge bathtub that was filled with the flowers she received after each performance, and a dining room seating 12 people, where she entertained guests after the final curtain.

 

Bernhardt opened the theatre on the 21st. January 1899 with a revival of Sardou's 'La Tosca', which she had first performed in 1887. This was followed by revivals of her other major successes, including 'Phédre', 'Theodora', 'Gismonda', and 'La Dame aux Camélias', plus Octave Feuillet's 'Dalila', Gaston de Wailly's 'Patron Bénic', and Rostand's 'La Samaritaine'.

 

On the 20th. May, Sarah premiered one of her most famous roles, playing the titular character of Hamlet in a prose adaptation. She played Hamlet in a manner which was direct, natural, and very feminine. Her performance received largely positive reviews in Paris, but mixed reviews in London. The British critic Max Beerbohm wrote:

 

'The only compliment one can

conscientiously pay her is that

her Hamlet was, from first to last,

a truly grand dame.'

 

In 1900, Bernhardt presented 'l'Aiglon', a new play by Rostand. She played the Duc de Reichstadt, the son of Napoleon Bonaparte, imprisoned by his unloving mother and family until his melancholy death in the Schönbrunn Palace in Vienna. 'l'Aiglon' was a verse drama, six acts long.

 

The 56-year-old actress studied the walk and posture of young cavalry officers, and had her hair cut short to impersonate the young Duke. The Duke's stage mother, Marie-Louise of Austria, was played by Maria Legault, an actress 14 years younger than Bernhardt. The play ended with a memorable death scene; according to one critic:

 

'She died as dying angels would

die if they were allowed to."

 

The play was extremely successful; it was especially popular with visitors to the 1900 Paris International Exposition, and ran for nearly a year, with standing-room places selling for as much as 600 gold francs.

 

The play inspired the creation of Bernhardt souvenirs, including statuettes, medallions, fans, perfumes, postcards of her in the role, uniforms and cardboard swords for children, and pastries and cakes; the famed chef Escoffier added Peach Aiglon with Chantilly Cream to his repertoire of desserts.

 

Bernhardt continued to employ Mucha to design her posters, and expanded his work to include theatrical sets, programs, costumes, and jewellery props. His posters became icons of the Art Nouveau style. To earn more money, Bernhardt set aside a certain number of printed posters of each play to sell to collectors.

 

Farewell tours (1901–1913)

 

After her season in Paris, Bernhardt performed 'l'Aiglon' in London, and then made her sixth tour of the United States. On this tour, she travelled with Constant Coquelin, then the most popular leading man in France.

 

Bernhardt played the secondary role of Roxanne to his Cyrano de Bergerac, a role which he had premiered, and he co-starred with her as Flambeau in 'l'Aiglon' and as the first grave-digger in 'Hamlet'.

 

Sarah also changed, for the first time, her resolution not to perform in Germany or the "occupied territories" of Alsace and Lorraine. In 1902, at the invitation of the French Ministry of Culture, she took part in the first cultural exchange between Germany and France since the 1870 war. She performed 'l'Aiglon' 14 times in Germany; Kaiser William II of Germany attended two performances and hosted a dinner in her honour in Potsdam.

 

During her German tour, she began to suffer agonising pain in her right knee, probably connected with the fall she had suffered on stage during her tour in South America. She was forced to reduce her movements in l'Aiglon.

 

A German doctor recommended that she halt the tour immediately and have surgery, followed by six months of complete immobilisation of her leg. Bernhardt promised to see a doctor when she returned to Paris, but continued the tour.

 

In 1903, she had another unsuccessful role playing another masculine character in the opera 'Werther', a gloomy adaptation of the story by German writer Johann Wolfgang von Goethe.

 

However, Sarah quickly came back with another hit, 'La Sorcière' by Sardou. She played a Moorish sorceress in love with a Christian Spaniard, leading to her persecution by the church. This story of tolerance, coming soon after the Dreyfus affair, was financially successful, with Bernhardt often giving both a matinee and evening performance.

 

Between 1904 and 1906, Sarah appeared in a wide range of parts, including in 'Francesca di Rimini' by Francis Marion Crawford, the role of Fanny in 'Sappho' by Alphonse Daudet, the magician Circe in a play by Charles Richet, and the part of Marie Antoinette in the historical drama 'Varennes' by Lavedan and Lenôtre.

 

Sarah also played the part of the prince-poet Landry in a version of 'Sleeping Beauty' by Richepin and Henri Cain, and a new version of the play 'Pelléas and Mélissande' by Maurice Maeterlinck, in which she played the male role of Pelléas with the British actress Mrs Patrick Campbell as Mélissande.

 

Sarah also starred in a new version of 'Adrienne Lecouvreur', which she wrote herself, departing from the earlier version which had been written for her by Scribe.

 

During this time, she wrote a drama, 'Un Coeur d'Homme', in which she had no part, which was performed at the Théâtre des Arts, but lasted only three performances. She also taught acting briefly at the Conservatory, but found the system there too rigid and traditional. Instead, she took aspiring actresses and actors into her company, trained them, and used them as unpaid extras and bit players.

 

Bernhardt made her first American Farewell Tour in 1905–1906, the first of four farewell tours she made to the US, Canada, and Latin America, with her new managers, the Shubert brothers.

 

Sarah attracted controversy and press attention when, during her 1905 visit to Montreal, the Roman Catholic bishop encouraged his followers to throw eggs at Bernhardt, because she portrayed prostitutes as sympathetic characters.

 

The US portion of the tour was complicated due to the Shuberts' competition with the powerful syndicate of theatre owners who controlled nearly all the major theatres and opera houses in the United States. The syndicate did not allow outside producers to use their stages.

 

As a result, in Texas and Kansas City, Bernhardt and her company performed under an enormous circus tent, seating 4,500 spectators, and in skating rinks in Atlanta, Savannah, Tampa, and other cities.

 

Her private train took her to Knoxville, Dallas, Denver, Tampa, Chattanooga, and Salt Lake City, then on to the West Coast. She could not play in San Francisco because of the recent 1906 earthquake, but she performed across the bay in the Hearst Greek Theatre at the University of California at Berkeley.

 

Sarah also gave a recital, entitled 'A Christmas Night during the Terror', for inmates at San Quentin penitentiary. (Johnny Cash - Sarah did it first!)

 

In April 1906 Bernhardt toured the ruins of San Francisco after the earthquake and fire, escorted by the critic Ashton Stevens.

 

Sarah's tour continued into South America, where it was marred by a more serious event: at the conclusion of 'La Tosca' in Rio de Janeiro, she leaped, as always, from the wall of the fortress to plunge to her death in the Tiber. This time, however, the mattress on which she was supposed to land had been positioned incorrectly.

 

She landed on her right knee, which had already been damaged in earlier tours. She fainted, and was taken from the theatre on a stretcher, but refused to be treated in a local hospital. She later sailed by ship from Rio to New York. When she arrived, her leg had swollen, and she was immobilised in her hotel for 15 days before returning to France.

 

In 1906–1907, the French government finally awarded Bernhardt the Legion of Honour, but only in her role as a theatre director, not as an actress. The award at that time required a review of the recipient's moral standards, and Bernhardt's behaviour was still considered scandalous.

 

Bernhardt ignored the snub, and continued to play both inoffensive and controversial characters. In November 1906, she starred in 'La Vierge d'Avila, ou La Courtisan de Dieu', by Catulle Mendes, playing Saint Theresa, followed on the 27th. January 1907 by 'Les Bouffons', by Miguel Zamocois, in which she played a young and amorous medieval lord.

 

In 1909, she again played the 19-year-old Joan of Arc in 'Le Procès de Jeanne d'Arc' by Émile Moreau. French newspapers encouraged schoolchildren to view her personification of French patriotism.

 

Despite the injury to her leg, Sarah continued to go on tour every summer, when her own theatre in Paris was closed. In June 1908, she made a 20-day tour of Great Britain and Ireland, performing in 16 different cities.

 

In 1908–1909, she toured Russia and Poland. Her second American farewell tour (her eighth tour in America) began in late 1910. She took along a new leading man, the Dutch-born Lou Tellegen, a very handsome actor who had served as a model for the sculpture 'Eternal Springtime' by Auguste Rodin, and who became her co-star for the next two years, as well as her escort to all events, functions, and parties.

 

Lou was not a particularly good actor, and had a strong Dutch accent, but he was successful in roles such as Hippolyte in 'Phédre', where he could take off his shirt and show off his physique.

 

In New York, Sarah created yet another scandal when she appeared in the role of Judas Iscariot in 'Judas' by the American playwright John Wesley De Kay. It was performed in New York's Globe Theatre for only one night in December 1910 before it was banned by local authorities. It was also banned in Boston and Philadelphia.

 

In April 1912, Bernhardt presented a new production in her theatre, 'Les Amours de la Reine Élisabeth', a romantic costume drama by Émile Moreau about Queen Elizabeth's romances with Robert Dudley and Robert Devereux.

 

It was lavish and expensive, but was a financial failure, lasting only 12 performances. Fortunately for Bernhardt, she was able to pay off her debt with the money she received from the American producer Adolph Zukor for a film version of the play.

 

Sarah departed on her third farewell tour of the United States in 1913–1914, when she was 69. Her leg had not yet fully healed, and she was unable to perform an entire play, only selected acts. She also separated from her co-star and lover of the time, Lou Tellegen. When the tour ended, he remained in the United States, where he briefly became a silent movie star, while she returned to France in May 1913.

 

Amputation of Sarah's Leg and Wartime Performances (1914–1918)

 

In December 1913, Bernhardt achieved another success with the drama 'Jeanne Doré'. On the 16th. March, she was made a Chevalier of the Legion d'Honneur. Despite her successes, she was still short of money. She had made her son Maurice the director of her new theatre, and permitted him to use the receipts of the theatre to pay his gambling debts, eventually forcing her to pawn some of her jewels to pay her bills.

 

In 1914, she went as usual to her holiday home on Belle-Île with her family and close friends. There, she received the news of the assassination of the Archduke Franz Ferdinand, and the beginning of the Great War.

 

Sarah hurried back to Paris, which was threatened by an approaching German army. In September, Bernhardt was asked by the Minister of War to move to a safer place. She departed for a villa on the Bay of Arcachon, where her physician discovered that gangrene had developed on her injured leg.

 

She was transported to Bordeaux, where on the 22nd. February 1915, a surgeon amputated her leg almost to the hip. She refused the idea of an artificial leg, crutches, or a wheelchair, and instead was usually carried in a palanquin she had designed, supported by two long shafts and carried by two men. She had the chair decorated in the Louis XV style, with white sides and gilded trim.

 

She returned to Paris on the 15th. October, and, despite the loss of her leg, continued to go on stage at her theatre; scenes were arranged so she could be seated, or supported by a prop with her leg hidden. She took part in a patriotic 'scenic poem' by Eugène Morand, 'Les Cathédrales', playing the part of Strasbourg Cathedral; first, while seated, she recited a poem; then she hoisted herself up on her one leg, leaned against the arm of the chair, and declared:

 

"Weep, weep, Germany! The German

eagle has fallen into the Rhine!"

 

Bernhardt joined a troupe of famous French actors and travelled to the Battle of Verdun and the Battle of the Argonne, where she performed for soldiers who had just returned or were about to go into battle.

 

Propped on pillows in an armchair, she recited her patriotic speech at Strasbourg Cathedral. Another actress present at the event, Beatrix Dussanne, described her performance:

 

"The miracle again took place; Sarah,

old, mutilated, once more illuminated

a crowd by the rays of her genius.

This fragile creature, ill, wounded and

immobile, could still, through the magic

of the spoken word, re-instil heroism in

those soldiers weary from battle."

 

Sarah returned to Paris in 1916 and made two short films on patriotic themes, one based on the story of Joan of Arc, the other called 'Mothers of France'.

 

Sarah then embarked on her final American farewell tour. Despite the threat of German submarines, she crossed the Atlantic and toured the United States, performing in major cities including New York and San Francisco.

 

Bernhardt was diagnosed with uremia, and had to have an emergency kidney operation. She recuperated in Long Beach, California, for several months, writing short stories and novellas for publication in French magazines. In 1918, she returned to New York and boarded a ship to France, landing in Bordeaux on the 11th. November 1918, the day that the Armistice was signed ending the First World War.

 

Sarah Bernhardt - The Final years (1919–1923)

 

In 1920, Sarah resumed acting in her theatre, usually performing single acts of classics such as Racine's 'Athelée', which did not require much movement. For her curtain calls, she stood, balancing on one leg and gesturing with one arm.

 

She also starred in a new play, 'Daniel', written by her grandson-in-law, playwright Louis Verneuil. She played the male lead role, but appeared in just two acts. She took the play and other famous scenes from her repertory on a European tour and then for her last tour of England, where she gave a special performance for Queen Mary.

 

In 1921, Bernhardt made her last tour of the French provinces, lecturing about the theatre and reciting the poetry of Rostand. Later that year, she produced a new play by Rostand, 'La Gloire', and another play by Verneuil, 'Régine Arnaud' in 1922. She continued to entertain guests at her home. One such guest, French author Colette, described being served coffee by Bernhardt:

 

"The delicate and withered hand offering

the brimming cup, the flowery azure of the

eyes, so young still in their network of fine

lines, the questioning and mocking coquetry

of the tilted head, and that indescribable

desire to charm, to charm still, to charm

right up to the gates of death itself."

 

In 1922, Sarah began rehearsing a new play by Sacha Guitry, called 'Un Sujet de Roman'. On the night of the dress rehearsal she collapsed into a coma for an hour, then awakened with the words, "When do I go on?"

 

She recuperated for several months, before preparing for a new role as Cleopatra in 'Rodogune' by Corneille, and agreed to make a new film called 'La Voyante', for a payment of 10,000 francs a day.

 

The Death of Sarah Bernhardt

 

Sarah was too weak to travel, so a room in her house on Boulevard Pereire was set up as a film studio, with scenery, lights, and cameras. However, on the 21st. March 1923, Sarah collapsed again, and never recovered. She died at the age of 78 from uremia on the 26th. March 1923.

 

Sarah died peacefully in the arms of her son. At her request, her Funeral Mass was celebrated at the church of Saint-François-de-Sales, which she attended when she was in Paris.

 

The following day, 30,000 people attended her funeral to pay their respects, and an enormous crowd followed her casket from the church to Père Lachaise Cemetery.

Well, that was a shorter than expected break. Couldn't wait to get back into it, so I've started a few months early. I'm not a big fan of this panel style, just because of the gaps. Mights adopt it for future issues though, I'll see what you lot think. So, enough description, let's get to it. As always, lemme know what you think :D

 

Above the clouds

 

The hum of the batwings engines are unheard by her passengers. A former concoction of Wayne techs R&D department, she's cutting edge. But that doesn't matter. For all her firepower and speed, she could do nothing to stop what happened on the beach. Her passengers are quiet, still. They fear for their teammates safety, down there, facing off against a God. They pray that the mission went well, but know in their hearts that there is every chance their comrades failed. They could have been captured, or worse. A flash of light illuminates the cabin, and the team is reunited. But not entirely.

 

The clanging of the trident falling to the floor is the first indicator that something is wrong. Mera drops the trident, and falls to her knees, weeping uncontrollably. Martian Manhunter kneels beside her, his hand oh her shoulder. He is visibly shaken, something not often seen in him. "Shit!" Zataro screams, slamming his fist against the metal wall, the clang emanating through the cabin. The team is split in two: those who stayed, and those who faced Superman. No one speaks.

 

After a few seconds, Green Arrow breaks the silence. "How...how bad was it?" He asks, worry in his voice. General Zod steps forward. "There were...factors we never saw coming. We never saw them coming. Saw *her* coming"

 

"Wonder woman?" Artemis asks.

"Yes. Did you know?"

"What?"

Zod asks again, this time louder. "Did you know she had a demon inside her?"

 

"What...what are you saying Zod? I don't understand you"

 

Zataro turns. "Wonder woman was possessed by an ancient entity. She turned and...murdered Arthur. I've never seen magic on that scale. So much power...There was nothing we could-"

 

"Where's Bruce?" Elizabeth turns in her chair, looking into the small crowd, scanning their faces, unable to find him. The group goes silent. Huntress guesses. "He's dead...isn't he"

 

The silence is tangible. Again, Zod speaks. "I'm sorry. There was nothing any of us could do. It all happened so-"

 

Huntress punches the wall, so hard her glove splits, her knuckles making contact with the metal and leaving a bloody smear on the panel. She falls to the ground, weeping. Elizabeth goes to comfort her. They have both suffered a huge loss, one that can never be fixed. Zod walks over, placing his hand her shoulder. "I'm so sorry Elizabeth. He was a good man".

 

The team stand in silence, no one saying a word. What can they say? Then, out of the silence, Lucius Fox addresses the cabin "I don't wish to alarm anyone, but we've got several bogey's on our tail". He uses the rear camera to zoom in. "Oh god!" He exclaims, terror in his voice. He was expecting missiles, or other aircraft but... "It's them it's the Furies"

so many japanese parents take their children to fuji rock.

they're really cute but uncontrollable!!!

the best thing is japanese children seem enjoy the music and always can follow the tempo. that's why japanese music industry is such successful than some.

 

we're still in tokyo, sure we took many many photos but I don't have a scanner by now. so please wait moments. ;)

these days we met some friendly flickr friends in japan. they're really really niiiiiiice!!!!! ♥ ♥ ♥

After parting ways with the Greenes, and leaving the mercenaries for them to incarcerate, Jason and the Outlaws found themselves sitting in one of Jay Greenes’ convoy trucks heading straight for Gotham. The first leg of their drive was in silence. Not the uncomfortable kind, but the happy and anxious kind. Roy sat in the back of the vehicle, tinkering with Jason’s remaining taser gun, while Jason drove and Scarlet rested on his shoulder in the passenger seat. She had not taken her eyes off of the ring Jason had proposed to her with since he had, and Jason focused on driving while Roy focused on his work. Jason was clad in one of Jay Greene’s militia’s jackets, of which Scarlet quietly rested her head on. It took a loud, uncontrollable cough from Jason to stir the group into conversing once more.

  

“Are you ok?” Scarlet asked as she finally sat up straight and stretched out. Clearing his throat several times, Jason answered in a somewhat raspy voice,

  

“Yeah…sorry. Don’t know what that was. Sorry for the interruption Mrs. Todd.” Scarlet beamed with happiness as Roy placed the finished taser gun on the divider between the driver and passenger seats, saying,

  

“Boom. I finished. Batman cranked the dial on those things pretty low so I just turned it all the way back up. Now it’ll only take one shot from this to completely incapacitate someone. On top of being able to load any type of bullet into it.”

  

“How about water bullet?” Jason asked sarcastically.

  

“Pfft…I don’t see why not.” Roy answered, unsure.

  

“Ok…ok…hear me out here…” Scarlet said, talking with exaggerated hand motions, “Ice cream bullet.”

  

“No way.” Jason said as Roy answered,

  

“I mean…I guess if it didn’t melt…Has Freeze ever done something like that? I know he’s got the ice but…”

  

“I don’t think so. Could’ve with Dick or Tim but that’s beyond me. All I know is that’s the way I want to go.” The Outlaws laughed, followed by a moment of silence which was interrupted by Scarlet,

  

“What do you expect in Gotham?” Sighing, Jason shrugged,

  

“No idea, really. I’d heard rumors, you know, this and that. The mayor did this, some guy in a red ninja costume did that. Usual Gotham headlines.”

  

“Do you think Ra’s is really the guy behind all this?” Roy asked, examining the anti-Lazarus formula he had in his pocket.

  

“I really hope not,” Jason said, turning to Scarlet and Roy quickly in between looking at the road as he continued, “What scares me is that Batman needs us. Batman. Of all people. This guy has contingencies for his contingencies. He’s got a Robin lined up five minutes after the current one drops dead. But he needs our help to fight whatever’s coming. That can only mean one thing: Endgame.”

  

“Endgame?” Roy asked.

  

“Endgame. Knightfall. Whatever you want to call it. It’s basically the self-destruct button on Batman’s holdings in Gotham, to make sure no one can get to them. But it also works as a distress call, to any and all who are strong and willing to fight a common enemy. An ultimate enemy. Endgame’s an end of days precautionary scenario. It’s…it’s the last contingency. The one last ace up Batman’s sleeve in the face of total annihilation.”

  

“So we were the first wave of this Endgame? Because we were summoned first?” Scarlet asked. Grimacing, Jason replied,

  

“There’s only one way to tell.”

  

————————————————————————————————

  

A short while later, just as the sun began to set over the Gotham harbor, Jason and the Outlaws arrived on the outskirts of the great city.

  

“Wait…does anyone else smell smoke?” Scarlet asked. This prompted Jason to pull over next to the bridge leading into Gotham just as he noticed something: the traffic leaving Gotham was extensive. By the looks of it, there seemed to be a full-scale evacuation. Grabbing his upgraded taser gun and mask, Jason stepped out of the car and looked across the waterway into Gotham. His mouth dropped slightly out of disbelief as Roy and Scarlet joined him outside.

  

“What is-wait…is that what I think it is?” Roy asked as he noticed what Jason was staring at: Wayne Manor, engulfed in flames and crumbling apart. While he could not see if the Batcave was decimated beneath the wreckage, this was enough to confirm Jason’s suspicions,

  

“It’s…Endgame.”

  

————————————————————————————————

  

End of Volume 10

   

The smell of used gunpowder was high. Probably enough to fuel explosives which could flow the rivers across the English Channel, let alone overpowering everything else in this place. I haven’t seen a battle like this in years, from my early days to fighting this evil warlord again. The last time I remembered—-was my team losing. They nearly lost their lives and gave it to a cause they were willing to pay for. Avalon, united like the island. North was right about the Arthurian mythology, it wasn't hard to unsee comparisons. I remember two centuries ago there was a media franchise, entitled Kingsmen that my grandparents told me in my childhood. Perhaps that’s where the inspirations went down the line, of me being so fascinated by these fantasy tales and myths. The flavours of youth.

 

But it's history now. Right now living in this moment to fight again may have been a pleasure. I should be feeling more guilty somehow because I’ve walked into this path alongside the people I know. I shouldn't' be concerned if the Paladin board busts me somehow....what if the madam herself was watching? Risky moves indeed...

 

Raze: “Remus, come in. What is going on.”

Edens: “Not now Raze. I can’t.”

Raze: “This is a direct order. You wouldn’t expect me to read your mind, would you? Respond. Now.”

Edens: “If you did, see it for yourself. I am the living proof. We are fighting North, right here in Cyprus.”

Raze: “North?! What is he doing here? How did you find him?”

Edens: “Long story. Like I said, I can’t explain now. For once, you listen to my orders....”

Raze: “No, you will not disobey—-“

Edens: “Just send reinforcements, goddamnit. Cyprus. Right now. Get the remnants of the faction in Europe to come before my link dies out.”

 

That’s why I always despised board meetings. Or calls like that. Raze was poisonous on her grasp to get the work done, and that is why we never saw eye to eye. It wouldn't disturb me to say it, but it’s true. But things don’t get better when my protégées and Team Gamma are fighting against the enemy hard...and one of them, is against the strongest. Tough as nails.

 

Gardner: “My shields. You cannot penetrate them.”

North: “But your sister? You will lose her if you keep using your net force like that? Mason, you know better than your own health.”

Gardner: “No, don’t do this. Do not use my sister as an act of willingness for me to give up”

North: “That is foolishness. It is your weak spot, no? You will be on your knees begging for mercy soon. I will feed on your negative energy if you’re draining so much by every second."

Gardner: “Then don't tell me how to run things. I will use this fight to prolong my friends however I can."

North: “See, simple as it is. You die, and I will keep inciting fear and distrust in them. She is your downfall as well, after all. I strike into the hearts of Paladin when they lose a major financial backing---”

Gardner: “That doesn’t have anything to do with the innocent lives. I will lose mines soon, but not before you will join me in imminent death."

North: “Don’t be so foolish....of course it does. You are a businessman! Not a hero! Death? Merely a scratch on my shoulder. I embrace it factually!" When one of yours stepped up, he would be too tempted not to resist my offers....one too easy to break. Sadly, he would have been a great addition for my army. These dead agents of yours, and mines...”

Edens: “Dear god no.....you tried to raise a dead army?”

North: “Why yes, again! Remus, you know me so well! Unlike your protege....the foundation of a massive army re-emerging. Cryogenics and technology. Like how I twisted the ES. Under my wrath”

Edens: “And some of them here....are the brainwashed ones...you are most definitely insane.”

North: "Craziness is in everyone. Madness belongs in the method, my friends. That is what power means to me."

 

***

I telepathically send a link to the team surrounding me. They seem to take the conversation account....unsurprisingly. Disappointment, anger. Emotions clouding judgements.

 

Kurt: “Well sh*t! That’s like impossible. Raising the dead is a step beyond in human evolution. Alchemy, dark magic...he is truly gone crazy. A war like that...”

Harry: “What's the meaning of this? The fact we’re actually fighting our own kind now? F**k.”

Kieran: “It doesn’t matter! We have at least try freeing them first--Well, I guess maybe killing is a way to end some misery here.”

 

Kieran runs, blasting his way through. He seems to have mastered the the light, blinding 20 ES agents trying to block his way. He quickly aims at the cuffs Riley and Sam have on, as he caresses her face. Jesse takes a dive roll and helps his Sam up as he tries to look for their weapons. In the ensuing chaos, Dusksmoke throws his staff like a boomerang, taking down those who try to approach him.

 

Kieran: “You good darling? I’m sorry I wasn’t there....”

Riley: “I know babe. I've been through worse....but I did put up a good fight didn’t I?”

Kieran: "Yes, but we need to reduce the amount of damage we cause to our enemies.

Jesse: “Sam! I hope you and her are fine now. You still got strength to fight?”

Sam: “Yes....I got like, a 140 heartbeats that I can count in this area. Now we know the strategy, get me my sword. There is a rematch with that son of a b*tch over there on the west side. Vibroclash, lets do this!”

 

In the midst of the White Ninja’s personal battle with Ty and Erin, it seems Raze has got my call. Not negotiable, just the emergency call. Dozens of black clad Paladin agents arrive, they get in from various sides from north to south. I’d likely assume they managed to penetrate the mountaintop before getting into from the other tunnels. Sam and Riley go headfirst, swords clashing. It’s an all out war as our faction shoot without remorse as the ES take surprise hits. I do a headcount as 60 of them are taken down under gunfire. The White Ninja, despite being heavily occupied, cuts down 10 Paladin agents. Damn. He is pretty fast I admit. Dusksmoke manages to land his feet quick enough to anticipate his attacks, taking hit after hit with the staff.

 

Sam: “This ends today.”

White Ninja: “Sorry....yet not sorry.”

Riley: “You’ll pay for this one!”

White Ninja: “And so you think all can take on me? Very unwise of you.....” (he unleashes his spiked, mechanic arms from his back, also revealing his sharp blades)

Jesse: “Sh*t! This guy ain't f*cking around. He seriously has swords like a d*mn chopper! Take cover!”

Riley: “Not If I do my thing again. Doc, on your six!”

Sam: “Fine. Here goes nothing”

 

Riley charges up her dual katanas with vibration, but the Ninja’s arms are too much for her as they knock her off the ground as she couldn't hold off the blades. She is thrown back even further, as the ninja's draw close to her face. Jesse aims his hands at the ninja’s back, firing pulses of electric shocks. The ninja then shook uncontrollably, attempting to regain its form still. Then Sam throws his own sword right into his heart as it is still fried.

 

Sam: “Here’s what you get.”

 

And he falls down, the sword piercing through the armour. Grey liquid flows below the ground, followed by a mix of cybernetics frying up, a menacing laugh could be heard underneath the hooded cyborg. The 3 then take off in assisting the others.

 

Meanwhile, Ty focuses his efforts on battling North’s niece and Knifenight, rallying a call that summons his allies.

 

Ty: “Her lava powers are out of control! My energy beams won’t hold much longer....”

Lyra: “Neither will my second layers, they’re gonna penetrate through. My shield will only last for 10 more minutes, barely enough with that talking weirdo....”

Harry: “Let me try phasing through her. I wish someone had ice or water powers....but we ain't got one right now.”

Kurt: “I have a knacker for it....say, I could try redirect the lava back at her, even if she’s invulnerable. Worth a shot. I still have some freeze bombs that can slow her down."

Harry: “Good idea.”

 

Harry dives headfirst, engaging in CQC with Knifenight, stepping on stop of his head and stomping him on floor. Fireflare keeps unleashing the lava around the 20 agents, immediately burning them. He phases through her body, only for his arm to reappear, disabling Rackham’s left arm. I can see the veins tear through, as she screams with blood popping everywhere. Her axe falls down to the ground. However she isn’t completely defenceless, because her powers aren’t cooling down. She's more enraged now. Lyra then steps up, absorbing the ground. Like a shield ready to defend us. Harry's struggling, covered in blood and trying to prevent Sabine's right arm from firing more lava.

 

Lyra: “Hurry!”

Kurt: “Come on....you got this old uncle. Come on!”

Harry: “Do it! Now!”

Kurt: “Here we go. Here it is!”

(Lyra’s armour starts wearing off as Kurt throws the ice bomb. Inevitably, the molten is reduced when it gets redirected. Sabine’s legs start to turn grey up until the waist. She tries to break free and keep firing, but Ty knocks her out with a super strong punch.)

 

Ty: “I’ve always wanted her to taste these fists.”

Kurt: “So, two down, assuming we've taken care of---"

Ty: “Yup. Erin, look out!”

 

North, impatient with the fighting, blasts a wave of dark energy towards Erin, who is fighting with her axes, but Ty rushes in and catches the shot in time. He falls to the ground hard, landing across the east corner. Erin quickly runs to her side as the team almost loses focus for a moment in the heat of the battle. Mason is visibly shook from the power struggle. I would not believe that his veins have grown even more green, like a living radar. He activates his net shields, walking closer to the stairs that North is standing on. In this instant, it hits me, knowing my protege won’t last very long. At least Exosage was there. I couldn't imagine if she wasn't by Nightedge's side...

 

Erin: “Ty!”

Ty: “Ughh...”

Erin: “No Ty....don’t lose me on this one...please....please be ok.”

Ty: “I’m sorry Erin....”

Erin: “No....”

Ty: "It's ok...I can get up, I can fight..."

Erin: "No! You can't! Just shut up! You're hurt!"

Ty: “I’m sorry for what I did....I’ve worried too much about you. I know my attitude’s changed because of the way things were, ever since we split. I’m too focused, I know. I saved you because I knew I had to.” (coughs some blood)

Erin: “You never called me back! I’m always worried about you all the time—hold on, why am I saying this. Oh my god.” (mumbles fast)

Ty: “Because you actually care for me. A lot. I know, I probably had my excuses. We were avoiding each other in private. I’m sorry I let you down every time even if I didn’t want to. Out of my friends here, I’ve always wanted to protect you, Erin Adrenna Holt. You matter so much to me. After what we’ve been through, I’m not gonna lie, I still have feelings for you.”

Erin: “I understand now....I’ve missed you so much too. I just didn’t wanna open up because dad was too strict about things and....I’m focused on work too. Too awkward in team settings. I shouldn’t have ditched you like that.” (mumbles even faster)

Ty: “You're my perfect partner, once again. No matter what the reasons are, I love you, Erin. Please go out with me. Again.”

Erin: “I....I love you too Ty. How about we call this our make up date?”

Ty: “Heck...yeah.”

 

And they kissed each other quickly, before Erin manages to get Ty out of the way to safety.

 

***

 

Edens: “No this isn’t right son.”

Gardner: “I gotta end this Remus. Please. I'm losing control by the minute. He's right. He was right about this! I'm not trying to give in but this is our chance.”

Edens: “Fine. It's suicidal but I'm charging my brain capacity to max. We will do this together.”

Dusksmoke: “Three is company. I’ve dealt with most of his soldiers....most of them are down already. I have backup shurikens that might be able to hold him off.”

North: "Roundtable knights....you will only waste more idiocracy on tiring efforts trying to stop me. It won’t work. My plan will enact further no matter how much it takes. And you, Mason Gardner, will die further by this instance.”

Edens: “We'll sure as hell try. But never forget, these knights have faith in one another."

 

I muster up using my mental powers, seemingly giving North nosebleeds. He cries, suffering from the mental pain I'm giving him. I am one of the opponents he secretly fears, but even though holding myself against his own would be a daunting task now given my age rather than when I was younger. Gardner, standing next to me, edges closer to the stairs, expands the net shields and generates offensive weapons. While North still cries in Dusksmoke disables him with his shurikens, encasing him with electricity and his armour to start falling off.

 

Trying to reclaim his own senses, North pushes us off with a massive shockwave, killing 5 agents who didn’t land too well on the left. Gardner, is the first to get back on his feet quickly, his eyes now green, but looking really pale under his sweat—- begins creating a shield half the size of the base, sending the warlord towards the reactor. His own weapon. God, what is he doing...

 

North: “What are you doing?”

Gardner: “Overloading you with negative power. You’ve always wanted more. Take it up and suck it in like a man. Now go to hell.”

North: “No!!!!!!”

Gardner: “Let’s finish this one. This is the part where you apologise to my sister, you f**ker.

Edens: "Everyone, get out now!"

 

The base explodes in every way possible. Agents start to evacuate everyone out. The ES agents scramble, taking Sabine Rackham and Knifenight in the opposite direction. It seems as if our transporters have taken the hit. More energy surges from the reactor. I try to telekinetically remove Mason from the reactor just as it was going to explode. Kurt, Dusksmoke, Jesse and Lyra all form a line, throwing gadgets which built up a giant energy shield. Knowing it won't keep the explosions at bay, I try to block them with my mental powers, preventing the aftershock, but is it too much to contain before I throw a few charges of energy shields. We stay for a couple minutes as I keep using my mind to push the teams away...

 

***

 

As we leave slowly, the base finally erodes, with island nearby sinks slowly from the explosions, as I can witness it aboard the ship, mid air. I’m tattered and dirty, I know, and it was a good fight. I’m tired as well, looking at my damaged crew Mason is unconscious. Paladin agents have captured the remaining ES agents, which should be a good number of 30 left. Jets arrive to pick us up and some medics come to aid the wounded, with Sam and Lyra helping out.

 

Edens: “We did it everyone. I can’t believe it....we actually made it to the base in the span of a night”

Jesse: “Please don’t be disappointed....please don’t be disappointed.”

Edens: “No, I’m just too proud of you guys today. How would I be disappointed? We’ve actually accomplished so much, coming far that we took down our biggest adversary for now. We avenged the fallen for what he’s done....in turn, I finally understand that we truly are a team to be working together. You’ve all shown your duties and what it means to be an agent, having courage and fearlessness. And for once, thank you everyone. The spirit of Paladin will never die. We are knights today and tomorrow. But I'm a bit tired to make a speech further. Anyways.....let’s head home.”

 

What a day to be alive. I should be able to sleep well for a while before having to deal with paperwork later.

Marilyn & Me

 

This is me with my Mom (Marilyn) when I was about 4 years old. Odds are strong this photograph was made by my mother's sister, Marcia (Aunt Marcia).

 

Today would be my Mom's 89th birthday if she were still here with us, but her days on this earth ended when she was a mere 31 years old, and I was only 9 years old.

 

I remember the day this photograph was made. A lot of photographs were made that day, including some of me with my Uncle Poky (Aunt Marcia's husband). I remember my Mom's dress, my shoes, and my stuffed dog.

 

When October 29th rolls around each year, I can't help but remember my Mom. I lost her so long ago, and at such a young age, and I have missed her so much over the years. But now I realize with each passing year that I'm getting closer and closer to being reunited with her again. I'm thinking we'll have a lot to talk about on that day.

 

One of the moments in my Mom's life that I remember with great clarity is the day I came down the stairwell from my upstairs bedroom to find her sitting at our large round oak dining room table with an open Bible in front of her, with her head bowed, as she wept uncontrollably. It was the first time I remembered seeing her crying like that, and it frightened me and confused me. I went over to her and hugged her and asked her what was wrong. With her eyes filled with tears and her cheeks glistening wet, she assured me she was okay. But the truth is, she wasn't okay, and in fact she was conflicted in ways that no human ever wants to face.

 

It was only as I was older and wiser that I was able to understand that parents, no matter how much they love their children, are still subject to making mistakes, sometimes tragic mistakes, that have consequences that can last forever. But I also understood that despite those mistakes, her love for me was never diminished.

 

When we meet again, the first words I plan to share with her are these: "I love you, I'm sorry for what you endured, and I understand that mistakes can be tragic. But most of all, I forgive you."

 

And then we'll get on with life -- life without end, without pain, without sadness, without tears.

   

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Maybe a tad politically incorrect???

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

In order to make room for the Roadliner, ex PMT Stonier's liveried Leyland Lynx H860 GRE had to come out. The bus has been domiciled here for many months but started instantly. Just afterwards, following gratefully received tea and scones (me not the Lynx) it drove back as if it had been switched off the day before ... it goes like a rocket, is as 'uncontrollable' as it ever was, has surprisingly few rattles, though the drone from the hub reduction rear axle messes with your head at about 50mph.

A new MoT is possibly on the cards as a potential new life beckons, but we'll see how that develops.

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

For those of you who really dig the simple ones...

  

"Y is for ... yearning."

and that concludes my alphabet stuff, even if it was all jumbled up.

 

I decided to depict a feeling today,rather

then a physical object. Most of the time i am fine with where

i am, who i am , and what i have lived thru.

 

But occassionally i cant help but long for youth.

the freedom i remember from so long ago.

sometimes its so blurry i dont remember what it felt like.

the responsibilities of being a grown up

and acting like an adult ,are a royal pain.

 

in the last 4 years i feel like i have aged for 10 of them.

thankfully i dont think im ever going to fully grow up,as my inner

child is literally uncontrollable.

 

im not that big of a guy physically, but i have mountains of ideas,creativity

and drive inside me. Now if i could just find the time, and possibly

the extra limbs to do all the things i want to....

 

If you want to laugh uncontrollably you need the crazy combination that my friend Jeff made...Peachtree and spiced rum!

My feeling is unexplainable right know

I have no clue what’s going on with my brain

My mind is becoming blurry

Someone came and contaminated my thoughts

I can’t focus

My heart bits are uncontrollable

The veins looked strong and the stare felt sharp

Suddenly makes me breathless

Constantly, I’m lost.

 

Thanks God I have flickr ! I can't tell anybody about this. But I feel I need to share D:

 

I'm catching up to my contacts' amazing photostream !

 

The highs and lows of being a transgendered woman are so extreme. These photos are from a period when my Gender Dysphoria was at its most intense and out of control. I would literally do anything when like this to be me 24/7. I’m so incredibly happy and feel so incredibly feminine and feel robbed of all those years when I’ve had to live how society dictates. My dressing as Susan is out of control and I dress at every available opportunity for as long as possible……… but I know that the self loathing, questioning and repulsion will return. It’s all part of an uncontrollable, unpredictable and unfathomable cycle.

When I taught middle school the class I hated teaching most was “Mustache Ed.” Required by the state so there was no getting around it. I knew I had two full days of boys and girls giggling uncontrollably and both sexes blushing so violently that the temperature of the room increased by three degrees (Fahrenheit).

 

This picture is a still from the mustache ed movie “The Nose Caterpillar” and shows an attempt of two consenting adults to “transfer the mustache from the man to the woman.” You can’t imagine the number of parents who objected to the scene. Less so because of the mustache, but more so because of the brim of the cowboy hat which prevented the transfer as shown. “Protection” is a touchy subject even among adults.

 

After the end of the two day presentation one young girl shyly came up to me and whispered, “Is this why cowboys wear hats?” To which I replied, “Virginia, you'll have to ask your parents about that.”

 

Image inspired by Madoka Kawabota's image below. Prompt: an 1890 dance hall girl kisses a handsome cowboy in front of a saloon in the style of a film clip from a 1967 western comedy television show saturated color

Barry's feet ran against the road, each step melting the ice frozen over.

 

Barry, I found Trickster. Text Joe this address, tell him to bring as many men as he can.

 

August had done it. Barry didn't know how he did, or why the man messaged him over Joe, but it didn't matter. Jay's words to him echoed through his mind with each step taken.

 

"You haven't failed him yet."

 

Bivolo's followed.

 

"Don't ever stop… being a hero."

 

Wally would be saved, Barry would make sure of it.

 

His body came to a halt as he arrived at the address he was texted, a mom and pop shop he'd frequented before. The outside walls were made of brick, with no windows on the second floor. Barry's head turned to his right as bright headlights came into view. As the lights shut off, Barry saw August in the driver's seat.

 

"Detective Heart," Barry said, greeting the man as he stepped out of his car. "Where's Detective West?"

 

It was only as he got close that Barry noticed the bloodstains on August's jacket. "I told a friend to inform the CCPD," he said, eyeing the building. "Let's go."

 

Barry placed a hand in front of August, stopping him in place. "Detective… are you alright?" he asked, eyeing the dried red patterns. "Why are you here alone…"

 

"Listen, Flash, we don't have time to dance around," August said, throwing Barry's arm off of him. "Wally needs us."

 

"Alright, yeah," Barry said, turning towards the building. "One moment."

 

In an instant, Barry dashed into the building, zipping around the ground floor. The dining room was completely void of color, plain tables and chairs being the only thing to fill the room. Stepping into the kitchen, Barry's blood ran cold as he spotted a crimson trail along the tile floor. Following the dried blood, Barry cracked open the freezer, gritting his teeth at the sight. "Dammit," Barry sighed, staring at the restaurant owners laying dead in the freezer.

 

"He's a psychopath," August said, peering over Barry's shoulder.

 

"Detective, I said wait outside!" Barry said, startled. "This place could be booby trapped, it's one of Trickster's mo's."

 

"We don't have time to worry about that and you know it," August said, dismissing Barry and walking through the kitchen. "It's best we leave their bodies there until this thing is over and done with…"

 

Barry grimaced at the thought, but gently closed the freezer door, the man was right about that much. 'August… what happened?' he thought, nearly asking the man in front of him. He couldn't though, his identity needed to stay a secret.

 

The two made their way through the kitchen, eventually finding the staircase tucked away in the corner of the room. "I'm gonna check for tripwires," Barry said, stepping in front of August. "It'll only be a second.

 

"Sure."

 

With a quick dash, Barry sped up the stairs, dismantling three separate wires laying along the steps. Once done, he stood at the top of the staircase, tossing the wires to ground. After nodding to August, Barry turned, opening the door to the second floor.

 

The room was large, filled with oversized toys and trinkets alike. August's footsteps could be heard behind him, but the louder sound was a metal crank from inside the room. Taking a step forward, Barry spotted Jesse, sitting in a bean bag with a weapon in his hand. Wally was strapped to the machine from the video, though it now seemed to glow.

 

'What kind of madman…'

 

"Jesse!"

 

Barry's thought was interrupted by August, who stormed into the room.

 

"August?" Wally asked, looking up at the duo. "Flash! I knew it!"

 

The sound of shifting metal was caught by Barry's ears, his eyes locking onto a moving metal plate below August's feet.

 

"August lookout!"

 

"Detective!" Barry shouted, dashing to August and pushing him from harm's way. Not a moment after a saw blade launched from the floor gap, embedding itself in the ceiling. "Are you okay?" Barry asked, earning a nod in response.

 

"I was really hoping that'd get one of you…" Trickster pouted, hopping up from the beanbag. "You've got good eyes, kid. Too bad they'll be attached to a corpse soon!"

 

"Not on my watch," Barry mumbled, dashing towards Jesse. A speed punch sent the older man backwards, dropping the large weapon he was holding. Jesse smirked, tapping the buckle of his belt. A second later, the dropped weapon exploded, adhesive like goo splattering around the room.

 

Barry attempted to dodge, but the spread of the explosion was too wide, pinning him to the wall. "Dammit!" he shouted, trying to pull himself free. His gaze caught Wally's, his heart dropping at the fear in the boy's eyes.

 

The sound of thunder from outside echoed loudly, causing Jesse to exhibit a wicked smile. "Well, since you're trapped… villainous monologue time!" he shouted with glee. "You're probably wondering, 'What? The detective is still here, he's fumbling.' Well if that's what you're thinking, you're wrong, here's why…"

 

With a press of a button, the ceiling began to open, revealing the night sky above them. Barry's eyes flickered from the forming clouds back down to Jesse. "Let him go, Jesse," he ordered.

 

"Let me finish my monologue!" Jesse replied, clearing his throat. "As you can see here, the West boy is strapped to a brilliant device built by… some guy, I don't remember his name. Anywho, the design is a special one, with blueprints made from your pal Weather Wizard."

 

"Mardon?" Barry asked, eyes widening as he realized the device's true purpose. "Jesse…"

 

"Bingo!" Jesse said, smiling wide. "His brother came to me after the breakout saying how they owe me a favor… something about those mafia folk, always with the favors... I went ahead and cashed it in early."

 

"Why…" Barry asked, trying to pull himself free.

 

"It's meant to be ironic, y'know?" Jesse explained, drawing squiggles on his chest with a finger. "The whole lightning bolt thing is your motif after all, I thought it was self explanatory."

 

"Not the device, why Wally!?" Barry shouted, pulling on the adhesive to no avail. "He did nothing to you! He's not a part of this!"

 

"Not a part of this, hm?" Jesse asked, bringing his hand to his chin. "If I remember correctly, an Iris West interrupted our little squabble, no? She wasn't a part of this either."

 

"It's not the same and you know it!"

 

Suddenly, August charged Jesse, striking him with a rising elbow. Following up the attack with a left hook, August sent the villain to the ground, now bleeding from the mouth. "Stop trying to reason with him!" August shouted towards Barry. Jesse looked up at August with a smile, earning a kick to the head.

 

Jesse rolled to the side, avoiding a second kick. Grabbing onto August's foot, he tripped the detective, pulling him to the ground. Pressing a button on his belt, his hand inflated, now mimicking a boxing glove. Slamming his hand down, he landed a brutal strike in August, tearing the man's lip open. A second strike caused a mixture of spit and blood to fly, painting the floor.

 

August blocked the third strike, using the momentum to flip Jesse over his head. Pulling himself to a stand, August kicked Jesse in the ribs, twice, before grabbing him by the collar. Dragging the man to a stand, August pinned Jesse against the wall, punching him in the face once more.

 

"How do we turn it off!?" August shouted as more thunder rolled in.

 

"Oh honey…" Jesse said, giggling, "you can't turn it off. That's the trick!"

 

August's eyes widened, his head swivelling to look at Wally. The boy was shaking in the chair, tears running down his face and mouth parted. "August?" he mumbled, staring into his eyes.

 

"Let him go… now!"

 

Barry watched as August interrogated Jesse, his eyes shifting to Wally every so often. He was stuck. His arms were bound and he couldn't phase his body out of the adhesive. He was stuck watching Wally die. Stuck watching August suffer.

 

He was stuck as another person died before his eyes.

 

A sound akin to a hummingbird began to resonate throughout the room.

 

He was stuck, unable to save even one person.

 

Wind began to pick up, swirling around Barry.

 

He was stuck while his brother fell into the same madness he was.

 

His body began to vibrate uncontrollably.

 

"Not… again!" Barry shouted, both Wally and August's heads shifting to him. "I won't sit by and watch him die!"

 

The wind in the room became stronger as various toys and trinkets were pulled into its funnel. The goo stuck to Barry was pushed off him, his body beginning to rotate at insane speeds. Barry was spinning his entire body like a hurricane, like The Top. Stopping in place, the wind dispersed, the goo splattering along the floor and walls, toys scattering around the room.

 

Another crackle of thunder sounded off, causing Barry's eyes to sparkle with golden light.

 

Barry felt time around him freeze. The blue of the lightning lit up the room as it traveled downward, directly towards Wally. It was moving fast, too fast. He still couldn't phase another person, it was too risky. The restraints were welded shut, so he wouldn't be able to pry Wally out of the chair.

 

He couldn't just stand and watch Wally die.

 

So he ran.

 

His body crashed through the brick of the building's wall, falling from the second story to the street below. His left arm was now shattered from the impact, hanging limply at his side, but it didn't matter. None of that mattered.

 

The moment his feet hit the ground, sounds of thunder resonated throughout the night. He was off. Each step he took cracked the pavement beneath him. Each movement caused every overworked muscle in his body to burn. Each second he took was another chance Wally could die.

 

'Faster,' he thought, lightning sparking off his body like a firework as he sped up even further. 'Faster, Barry! C'mon!'

 

The sonic boom that followed obliterated windows from the buildings he passed, filling the road and sidewalks with broken glass. Street signs were bent and trees fell over, as if Barry's speed was an aura, ravaging the world around him. He needed to make it, CCPD was a block away. He had to make it.

 

Prepping his right arm, Barry burst into the CCPD, blowing the doors off the building. People in the lobby were sent careening back, but all Barry could do was hope they'd be unharmed. The shard of glass now lodged in Barry's bicep went almost unnoticed as the man ran up the stairs, stumbling into his lab.

 

The rack of chemicals practically glowed in the night, each different colored vial and beaker shining brightly. Raising his stabbed arm, he began grabbing the vials, mixing them together to create one single concoction.

 

'Need to be faster than the reaction,' he thought, dipping his finger into the mixture to stir, ignoring the burn. 'Faster than lightning… Faster than-'

 

Barry capped the mixture, gripping it tightly as he launched himself out through the Lab's window, riddling his body with glass. The landing was ungraceful, Barry's knees buckling from the pressure, causing him to stumble. His hand held a firm grip on the chemicals, lightning flashing across his eyes.

 

He could see the lightning strike from blocks away, he wasn't going to make it. With a guttural scream, Barry launched forward, tearing his boots to shreds. The glass lodged in his body cracked and crumbled from the sheer speed he was going, leaving the bloody shards all along the street.

 

"Move!" he cried out as he approached the building.

 

Like a catapult, Barry launched himself through the hole he'd made with a single leap. As he reentered the building, the lightning strike was centimeters away from Wally. His body was careening through the air and he had no time to stop himself. If he crashed, it would be too late.

 

He had no options left, so he launched the chemicals forward, the vial spiraling through the air like a football. His body came crashing down onto the floor, his already shattered arm taking even more damage. As he rolled along the ground, his eyes caught Wally's own.

 

Then thunder struck as the lightning bolt connected with the vial.

 

The room exploded with light, the force sending Barry's broken body flying into the wall. August and Jesse were both knocked down, the latter's head slamming against the brick wall in the process.

 

As the light faded, Barry opened his eyes, looking for any signs of life from Wally. Tears began to fall as his gaze locked onto the ginger boy, standing unharmed from the lightning. Barry took note of the ice blue electricity that sparked off his body, giving him an ethereal glow. The corners of Barry's mouth curved slightly, a small giggle slipping from his lips.

 

He saved him.

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

NEXT TIME: Homebound, a New Door Opens!

~Basil

 

I’ve been tagged by Tricia. This is how it goes. List 10 things that your friends may or may not know about you, but that are true. Tag ten people and be sure to let them know they’ve been tagged (a quick message will do). Don’t forget to link back to the person who tagged you. Post a picture in your stream with the 10 facts and list your tagged people. I tag anyone who wants to play.

 

This is a picture of me (right) and some little girl (left). I’m about 3 years old and helping her buckle her shoe.

 

1. I’m a sucker for kindness. I can’t help crying when I watch shows where people help others or give to charities. Home Makeover, Idol Gives Back or Oprah, just anything with nice people and I turn into a boob.

 

2. I’m addicted to books and magazines…things just aren’t right if there are not a few stacks of them somewhere in my home. This has carried over to my children. I never thought I would have to tell one of my kids to stop reading…my daughter devours books.

 

3. I’m not creative. I have to see something done and then I can try it and add a little of me to it. That’s why flickr is so great for me…inspiration everywhere!

 

4. I’m shy. I have a serious social phobia and will not speak in front of large crowds or play charades. I would rather die.

 

5. I love animals, so much that I’m a vegetarian. I’m the lady who will stop if an animal has been hit. I’d also be the one who sobs uncontrollably for hours for the sweet life lost.

 

6. My life has been blessed by adoption. I was able to get pregnant with my first but, after that…nothing…heartbreaking. We have two children that we have adopted and what a joy they are. I do believe that sometimes the greatest disappointments in life turn out to be the greatest blessings.

 

7. I love to scare people. Hide under beds, behind doors, grab feet in the dark, sneak up behind you and roar. It’s all in good fun.

 

8. I was born and raised in the same town that I live in today.

 

9. I’m the youngest of 8 children. Yup, I’m the baby and no I’m not spoiled.

 

10. This goes with the shyness…I have a hard time commenting on other’s photos or descriptions for my photos. Words don’t really come out the way I want them to and I often have feelings so deep that my words don’t adequately describe.

 

DISCLAIMER: THIS ISSUE CONTAINS GRAPHICALLY DEPICTED VIOLENCE. PROCEED WITH CAUTION

 

The year was 2006. Jason Blood sat in his Gotham City apartment during a stormy night, looking out a window at the harsh rain and bright flashes of lightning. His fingers rubbed across his smooth and hairless chin before, abruptly, a voice was heard in the back of his head. A familiar voice, that of his inner demon.

 

“Why are you just sitting in here? You should be out there, filling enemy’s hearts with fear!”

 

“Etrigan” Jason gasped, him and his chair falling backward into a nearby bookshelf. “I… I thought this nightmare was over” Jason quivered, standing back up with one hand clutching his bruised occiput.

 

“Ha! There’s no way you believe that lie. Etrigan is eternal, until you die!”

 

“You can quit it with the rhyming” growled Jason, his eyebrows furling.

 

“…Fine.”

 

“But… How are you back? Why is this happening, I don’t understand, I-…”

 

“This curse isn’t temporary, Blood.”

 

“I thought I at least bested you mentally… I was even in control of your body when battling Klarion last year, and again with Eldon Peck just a few months ago”

 

“I was still there, albeit silent and used. I could still see through clouded eyes… You know, back before Merlin bonded your soul with my own, I was a person. Demon, yes, but I thought, I spoke, I lived. You can’t expect me to obey your manipulation forever..!”

 

Jason was silent.

 

“…And they call ME a monster!” continued Etrigan.

 

“I’m sorry” said Jason

 

“…’Sorry’? ‘SORRY’?! THAT’S ALL YOU HAVE TO SAY!?” Etrigan roared.

 

Jason’s hand involuntarily clenched into a fist before hurling upward, landing a punch on his jaw. He fell backward, the top of his head colliding with the glass window as he grunted in discomfort.

 

“Wait… What did you say about Merlin?” Jason asked, slowly sitting back up.

 

“Huh?”

 

“Just a moment ago, you said something about Merlin bonding our souls together… Do you remember our past? Have you been keeping that from me?!”

 

“Do not antagonize me over this.”

 

“How could I not? Whenever you were in control, all you did was slaughter the innocent. If not for me striving so hard to take over permanently, all of Gotham and San Fransisco would be extinct. Not to mention you hiding away knowledge you apparently had about my history, something I have every right to know. There’s a reason the public eye sees you as a monster.”

 

“Shut up. Shut up! Shut up!!! SHUT UP!!!” Etrigan demanded.

 

Jason’s hand grew larger and yellowed, his fingernails growing into claws before uncontrollably and aggressively scratching over his own eye as he shrieked in agony. He bashed his head against the window behind him in attempts to free himself from Etrigan’s assault, causing the glass to crack slightly behind his head. His hand shifted back to its previous human state before he used it to clutch the now-blind eye, sobbing from the other optic.

 

“The public’s eye may see me as a monster, but now yours can’t” Etrgian insensitively joked.

 

“H-… how could you…” Jason whimpered.

 

“Oh please, spare me from your whining. You’re lucky all I gave you was a scratch.”

 

Jason stood up and turned himself back to the window, one hand still on his eye, the other pressed against the partially cracked glass. He looked at his feet as a bloodied tear drop fell from between the gaps in his fingers and noticeably splatted on a floorboard. He looked back up and out the window, both hands dropping to his sides. He stood in an almost defeated stance with dangling arms and limp shoulders, whilst in the glass he saw a false reflection that appeared as Etrigan staring back at him.

 

“You’re weak, Blood” said the reflection.

 

Jason’s hands clenched into fists and his shoulders tightened and his face scrunched up threateningly.

 

“GET OUT OF MY HEAD!!!” he cried, hurling his fists repeatedly at the glass until his knuckles bled and the window was completely shattered, shards crashing below like hail from the sky. He looked down at it. Due to all the blood loss, he felt lightheaded. Unbalanced. The empty window-frame stretched from floor to ceiling, so with little effort, he could easily fall. Which he did. But not in the direction he expected. He fell backward, merely onto the floorboards, completely avoiding a fatal drop. Though it was still enough to knock him unconscious.

 

He lied there for roughly 15 minutes, a small cup’s worth of blood leaking from his mouth before his eyes abruptly shot open.

 

“Change, change, o’ form of man. Release the might from fleshy mire. Boil the blood in the heart of fire. Gone, gone, o’ form of man. Release the demon… Etrigan” Etrigan chanted from Jason’s lips, causing him to change form. Now fully formed and standing, Etrigan said “Thank you, Blood, for tiring yourself out for me. Now I am in control, and I can finally be free..!” before animalistically charging forward and lunging through the window…

 

~Madam Web

I've seen A Place to Bury Strangers quite a few times but always in the dark. Even when I saw them at Coachella playing oppostie Sir Paul McCartney (Paul was still playing after their set. The man just couldn't stop singing I swear to God), I shot APTBS in 6400iso which is kind of a downer for someone who flew in from Chicago to California.

 

Anyhow, I thought I might be so raptured during this set despite being so unaccepted a few weeks ago when I wasn't taken to the invisible choir. It was really really amazing to see them play with 800iso light (mainly to boost up my shutter speed. If they were a slower moving band it could have easily been 400iso).

 

I have shots of the guitar in air and instrument dueling but I have to be honest to say I love the imminence of it as we can all imagine the guitar being absolutely destroyed beyond belief against the hard contours of the stage. I was thinking of the guitar as an uncontrollable beast, perhaps the only dragon of its time and man's realization that what was held in his hands could be broken but it would break him as well...the only one of it's kind. Just imagine. And every guitar is different and each one with its own memories of all the times it was loved and held.

 

Portrait of Oliver Ackermann:

 

www.flickr.com/photos/kirstiecat/5803152056/in/photostream

 

Myspace: www.myspace.com/aplacetoburystrangers

 

**All photos are copyrighted. Please don't use without permission**

There are two characters in Marvel Comics named Blackout. The second and more known character is a vampire villain from Ghost Rider.

 

This Blackout is the first, barely known, villain from Nova.

 

Though never really featured or expanded as a character there’s good story material. Blackout can create and control solid darkness, and has psychological issues, and a connection with the Darkforce.

 

Background

 

Real Name: Marcus Daniels.

 

Former aliases: Bob Hoffstetter.

 

Known Relatives: None.

 

Group Affiliation: Masters of Evil, Army of Evil.

 

Base Of Operations: New York.

 

Height: 5’10” (1.78m).

 

Weight: 180 lbs. (82 Kg.).

 

Eyes: Grey. Hair: Brown.

 

Powers and Abilities

Blackout can open portals into the DarkforceJet-black, solid energy from another universe. Dimension. And he can control the Darkforce matter which comes out of it, for such effects as forming it into solid objects. 

 

These are frictionless, electrically conductive, self-sealing, can float in the air and have a molasses-like inner consistency.

 

Blackout can project solid darkness as blasts of energy.

 

He can create black disks underfoot, which let him walk through the air.

 

He can use it as a cloud of darkness. Oddly, he’s also able to create breathable air within if necessary.

 

He can use the coldness of it to create ice around targets. During his original appearance, there was an emphasis on how cold his dark energy was.

 

He can lace it into clouds, allowing him to control the weather.

 

The portals also allow him access to the Darkforce Dimension. This allows him to travel vast distances (such as from the Earth to the Moon), or to banish his enemies there.

 

Strays

 

When he first appeared, he believed his powers to be some form of light control. Thus, when he banished people to the Darkforce Dimension he believed he was turning them into black light, their atoms merging with the colour spectrum.

 

At this point his energy blasts could be made invisible. Though the colouring of the panel is confusing – it may just be that the blasts were shot within a darkness cloud.

 

In 2014, Blackout seemed to absorb within his body Electro (Maxwell Dillon)’s charge. This left Dillon depowered for a time.

 

There have been two differing accounts of the events that gave Daniels his powers. Both were related by Daniels.

 

Given his deteriorating mental state the truth could be one of these, parts of each, or neither.

 

What is known for certain is that Marcus Daniels was a laboratory assistant to physicist Dr. Abner Croit.

 

First account

 

Croit was working on a device to harness the power of a black star. When the honest Daniels discovered Croit was defrauding his government backers, he went straight to the police.

 

Unfortunately Croit framed Daniels. Daniels later claimed that Croit had bribed the DA and the judge, but this was during his paranoid period, so this was unsubstantiated.

 

The assistant was threatened with prison if he didn’t act as a guinea pig for Croit’s experiments. Daniels reluctantly agreed.

 

Exposure to energies from the black star changed Daniels. For three days he had to remain isolated, the energies proving dangerous to anyone around him. Unwilling to let Croit control his power, Daniels fled the laboratory.

 

Second account

 

Croit was a kindly man who took pity on the unfortunate Daniels. He offered him a job as an assistant, and always helped him out of troubles with the law.

 

In this origin Croit was building an experimental device to try using another dimensionOther realms of existence that are not our universe. as a power source. The dimension in question was the Darkforce Dimension. However, a lab accident empowered Daniels as a conduit to this realm.

 

Croit worried about the damage this could do to Daniels, and tried to cure him. But Daniels decided he liked his newfound power. Fed up with what he saw as Croit’s condescension, he fled.

 

Whatever the truth, Daniels eventually realized his powers were becoming uncontrollable.

 

Adopting the Blackout identity, he returned to confront Croit. His goal was to take the stabilizer which would allow him to control the energies.

 

On his way to Croit’s laboratory he spotted Nova (Richard Rider) flying over Manhattan. In his growing paranoia, Daniels believed the hero was searching for him.

 

He attacked Nova. After realising his error, he left the young hero in a block of sticky Darkforce, continuing on to Croit’s laboratory.

 

Breaking into the lab, he retrieved the stabilizer and confronted Croit and his new assistant. He “merged their atoms with the colour spectrum” (actually banishing them to the Darkforce Dimension).

 

He then used his now-controlled powers to create unnaturally harsh weather over New York.

 

Blackout was discovered by Nova, and the two fought again. When the stabilizer was destroyed in the battle, Blackout again lost control of his powers. He found himself following Croit.

 

Project: PEGASUS

 

The stabilizer ended up at Project: PEGASUS. Vibrations from an earthquake reactivated the stabilizer. Then the proximity of Captain Marvel (Monica Rambeau)’s energy form passing nearby triggered it, allowing Blackout to return.

 

Fellow prisoner, Moonstone (Karla Sofen), convinced him to free her, plus other villains imprisoned there, Electro (Maxwell Dillon) and Rhino (Aleksei Sytsevich).

 

They were soon confronted by the Avengers and Spider-Man (Peter Parker). After causing damage to the Project’s nuclear reactor, Blackout and Moonstone escaped while the Avengers were busy averting a meltdown.

 

Moonstone took advantage of their freedom to work her way into Daniels’ confidence. She offered him therapy to overcome his problems, but actually manipulated him to become reliant on her.

 

However, they were soon found by the Avengers. When Moonstone ordered Blackout to trap the Avengers within the Darkforce Dimension, he instead trapped himself and Moonstone.

 

The pair next appeared on the Moon. Moonstone was hoping to find another of the stones which empowered her. They hadn’t expected to find it inhabited, so were surprised to find the Inhumans’ city.

 

The Inhumans were equally surprised when a cloud of darkness (which provided the pair with oxygen, as well as concealing them) appeared near their home.

 

Unable to penetrate the cloud, the Inhumans sought aid from Dazzler. Working with Black Bolt, Dazzler managed to pierce Blackout’s darkness. Blackout and Moonstone fought back but were defeated, and returned to the custody of Project: PEGASUS.

 

Masters of Evil

 

When Moonstone was recruited into Baron Helmut Zemo’s Masters of Evil, she asked for Blackout to also be released. She claimed that he could be instrumental in countering Captain Marvel (Monica Rambeau), the most powerful of the current line-up of Avengers.

 

Zemo agreed, freeing Blackout. However, he was justifiably concerned about Moonstone being a threat to his leadership. Thus, he had the Fixer (Norbert Ebersol) invent a device that made Blackout believe everything Zemo told him.

 

The Masters invaded and took control of Avengers Mansion. Blackout engulfed it in a block of solid darkforce.

 

When the Avengers eventually retook it, Zemo ordered Blackout to send the entire mansion into the Darkforce Dimension. But Doctor Druid used his psychic abilities to help Blackout fend off Zemo’s control.

 

However the strain was too much. Blackout suffered a massive brain hemorrhage.

 

Twice displaced

 

A version of Blackout was once time-displaced by Zarrko the Tomorrow Man. He and many others were deployed to delay the Fantastic Four. It likely was a version of Marcus Daniels from the early 1980s.

 

A version of Baron Helmut Zemo’s Masters of Evil was once set on a quest to locate Cosmic Cube fragments. Zemo, with Arnim Zola as his scientific advisor, had a complex plan to ally with Crescendo and conquer two versions of Earth – a Marvel Comics and a Valiant Comics one.

 

However, these likely weren’t the Daniels, Zemo, Zola, etc. of Earth-616The main Marvel Comics version of Earth. .

 

History (part 2)

 

Blackout’s body was kept alive by the authorities.

 

Years later, when Zemo worked with the Commission on Superhuman Activities, he was given Blackout. The goal was to recover Atlas’ younger brother, the Smuggler, who was stranded in the Darkforce Dimension.

 

Zemo used the artificially animated Blackout when his group confronted the Thunderbolts over the life of their member, Photon.

 

His disposition following this, and whether he is actually dead, in uncertain, but he probably returned to CSA custody.

 

Mobs

 

In 2009-2010, a man wearing a Blackout costume was repeatedly spotted among Hood (Parker Robbins)’s mobsters. He never said anything, used any power or did anything notable. So it may or may not have been Marcus Daniels.

 

In 2014, Blackout was part of a Masters of Evil roster assembled by Lightmaster (Edward Lansky). This team fought the Superior Spider-Man (Dr. Otto Octavius) and his Superior Six.

 

During the fray, Blackout shut off Electro (Max Dillon)’s powers by absorbing his charge. But he was then stunned by a light blast from Sun Girl (Selah Burke).

 

Marcus Daniels was then implanted with another personality and memories, as “Bob Hoffstetter”.

 

Mr. Hoffstetter was an insurance claims adjuster, living in a comfortable New Jersey suburb. He had a wife and two daughters (Chelsea and Hannah), and seemed to have a mundane but generally happy life.

 

A likely sequence of events is:

 

This false personality and biography likely were created in S.H.I.E.L.D.’s Pleasant Hill super-prison. Which likely means that Blackout was arrested some time after the clash with the Superior Six.

 

When the Pleasant Hill prison came apart, “Bob Hoffstetter” apparently clung to his fake past and persona. Whereas most inmates were furious to realise that their lives had been simulations, making them forget about their real selves.

 

By 2017, “Bob” was in New Jersey. He was living in a house that wasn’t his – what happened to the real owners is unclear. He maintained the fiction that the house was his, that he still was Bob Hoffstetter, and that his imaginary family was in Wisconsin to visit his mother-in-law.

 

Baron Helmut Zemo eventually found him, then undid the “Bob Hoffstetter” conditioning. This restored the Blackout memories and personality.

 

Blackout was a key member of Zemo’s Army of Evil – a greatly expanded version of the Masters of Evil. These were an important part of the 2017 conquest of the United States by Hydra, led by a Captain America impersonator.

 

The Army rampaged in Manhattan, to have as many super-heroes respond as they could. They then teleported out. Zemo used a copy of the Darkhold evil mystical tome to bolster Blackout’s power, allowing him to manifest a gigantic and indestructible Darkforce dome.

 

This dome extended from the Southern tip of Manhattan and all the way to Central Park. It trapped millions, including dozens of super-heroes, for weeks. This removed a large number of Hydra foes from the board before Fascist!Rogers made his move.

 

The heroes within the Manhattan dome narrowly managed to survive. And Zemo didn’t quite break the Hoffstetter conditioning. It is possible that Marcus Daniels preferred being Bob Hoffstetter.

 

S.H.I.E.L.D. director Maria Hill eventually located and murdered Blackout. As he was being Bob, he was confused and didn’t resist. His death dispersed the Darkforce dome, precipitating Hydra’s fall.

 

A way back from the dark

In the wake of the Hydra war and occupation, Dr. Strange cast an enormous spell to restore the razed city of Las Vegas. This resurrected hundreds of thousands, but also opened a breach that the Mephisto immediately exploited.

 

Blackout was among those who seized this conduit back from the underworld, and won a gambling game to be resurrected.

 

A man in a Blackout costume soon appeared as part of a large mob of Hood made men. Though there again let’s stay a bit wary about whether this person, who said nothing and did nothing, actually was Marcus Daniels.

 

Personality

 

Originally – either an honest, law-abiding citizen, or a bitter, resentful thug.

 

But in either case, the energies that gave him his powers also affected his mind. He became increasingly paranoid.

 

After Moonstone worked to make him more reliant on her, he eventually became practically catatonic. He would react only to her commands, or to Zemo’s, once he gained control of Blackout.

 

That lasted until his mind was freed from their control by Doctor Druid. At this point he reverted to his highly paranoid mindset, even rejecting Druid’s suggestions.

 

Zemo later worked so Daniels would trust him. This was mostly done when he had his mild-mannered, not-paranoid Hoffstetter personality.

 

Daniels’ conflicting accounts of his origin sequence, and embrace of the Hoffstetter persona, form a pattern of wanting to reinvent his life to fit whatever narrative makes him more comfortable.

 

⚡ Happy 🎯 Heroclix 💫 Friday! 👽

_____________________________

 

A year of the shows and performers of the Bijou Planks Theater.

 

Secret Identity: Marcus Daniels

 

Publisher: Marvel

 

First Appearance: Nova #19 (May 1978)

 

Created by: Marv Wolfman (writer)

Carmine Infantino (artist)

  

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 adaptation difficulties and restlessness.

   

Dora Woda

CONTENT WARNING: This issue contains mentions of sexual activity, quasi religious practices, and in some cases, extreme violence/torture. If any of that discomforts you, you don't have to read this issue.

  

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My father, was a lot of things. On the outside, he was a rather kind and gentle man. He'd go out of his way to help his neighbours, no matter how little he had. He'd go to church every Sunday, like a 'good person'. Their words, not mine. He was living a normal, suburban life. But like everyone else, my father had darkness inside him. Soon enough, he'd be known as one thing alone. A killer. At his core, he was a twisted, depraved serial killer.. This especially showed after the Hendersons moved next door, in the early 70s.

 

My parents would welcome the new neighbours with open arms. As the two couples got to know each other, the Hendersons introduced my parents to Satanism. The promise of eternal life was a captivating concept for my father. Not in some sort of afterlife, but right here and now. It was so interesting to my father, that he dedicated most of his time studying everything he could about his newfound faith. My mother on the other hand, was into the all-night orgies that this newfound lifestyle provided. It was all so exciting to her, in more ways than one. However, my father didn't particularly care for the sex rituals, often passing on such events in favor of his research. His anger towards the Hendersons and his girlfriend grew overtime, as they continued these 'unnecessary distractions'. Father saw them as idiots without faith. Which often led to arguments. Somehow my father managed to show restraint during these arguments, making sure not to harm them physically. After all, he still had a facade to keep up.

 

Through his studies, my father would learn of a book that supposedly held the secrets of eternal life. Traveling to England, he'd find the book in the town of Wych Cross. After obtaining the book, he came back home to Star City. He was determined, to find a worthy sacrifice for The Great Beast.

 

Soon after arriving home, he'd learn of my mother's pregnancy. She decided to leave the Church altogether. It was time for her to grow up, and be responsible for a change. The sexually promiscuous phase of her life was now over. She wanted commitment from my father. He agreed, only because he saw an opportunity. That unborn me, could be a great enough sacrifice, to please The Great Beast to give him eternal life. He knew if he said his true intentions then, she'd leave. He didn't want to take that risk, so he waited for me to be born.

 

The book he obtained in England, provided my parents with enough wealth to live comfortably. Dad grew impatient, waiting for me to be born. Desperate to summon the Beast, he looked elsewhere for sacrifices. Targeting virgin teenage girls, as they are the next best thing in sacrificial rituals. He'd waste no time in kidnapping one after another, hoping that their blood would be enough to appease the Great Beast. He'd hide his victims in the basement, and somehow no one knew what was going on behind closed doors. Not even my mother. Unfortunately for my dad, it wasn't enough.

 

In 1978, I was born. They were both excited, for different reasons. Nothing would stop my father now. As soon as mom fell asleep, he'd take me to the basement. He'd start the ritual, speaking various words in Latin, hoping he'd get his wish. Once again, the ritual failed. It was at this point mother would open the basement door, and find my father, knife in hand and me placed on that stone table crying.

 

"You shouldn't be here. If only you stayed sleeping... Look what you've made me do" He'd warn, before running over to my mother. She tried running away, but tripped going back up the stairs. She didn't stand a chance, as he stabbed her repeatedly. Just like that, my mother was dead. Killing her didn't phase him. He only saw her as an obstacle that now needed to be removed. After getting rid of the evidence, my father got to work once again.

 

He's stuck with me, whether he liked it or not. He decided to make the best of it. My father now had company for his summoning sessions. Somehow, the chanting was enough to lull baby me to sleep.

 

As I grew older, my father taught me everything he knew. Since I was only a kid then, a lot of the details went in one ear, and out the other. That didn't stop my father from trying. He wasn't getting any younger, and knew he needed someone to carry on his mission. Sure enough, when I was five, I would become his accomplice. It's a day I'll never forget.

 

Father called me down into the basement. I'd make my way down the stone stairway, wiping my eyes, since it was still early in the morning, not that I really knew the difference at that point. Once I reached the bottom of the stairs, I'd see my dad, dressed in robes, hood covering his face. Strapped against the table, was a girl. Blonde hair, blue eyes, and clearly terrified. I was morbidly used to this routine. But today was slightly different.

 

"Come over here, son." Father would say, in a rather calm tone.

 

"Please, just let me go!" She'd beg, crying uncontrollably as she struggled within the restraints.

 

Unfortunately for her, I am my father's son. I walk over to the stone table, while father places a stepping stool against the table.

 

"It's time. You know what to do." Father says before handing me the knife.

 

Responding with a nod, I step up the stepping stool until I reach the top. Holding onto the knife with both hands, I plunged it into the girl's right hand with all my strength.

 

She couldn't help but scream at the sudden influx of pain. Not that it mattered to me, as I felt no remorse for what I was doing. For the first time in my life, I was truly happy. As such, I had no intention of stopping there. I continued making smaller cuts along her arms and legs, making sure not to hit any major artery. I let the blood run down the table, towards the sigil drawn on the floor. She continued to scream, almost gasping for air at times. My father chanted in the usual Latin phrases, as the blood hit the sigil. Eventually, after several hours, she'd bleed out and die. Unfortunately, once again, the ritual hadn't worked.

 

It wasn't all for nothing however, as that was the day the Throwing Star Killer was born.

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

Halloween Night, 2002

 

"C'mon Jannae, where are you?" I say with a sigh, as I pace around Villa Park in my Red Riding Hood costume. It's been twenty minutes already, and she still hasn't shown. What could be taking her so long? We were gonna meet up here, as it's pretty quiet on Halloween, before heading to my boyfriend Mitch's Halloween party.

 

"Okay, this isn't funny Jannae. If this is an attempt to scare me, it's working. Congrats, you did it! Now can we go?" Of course, nobody responds.

 

Great, just great Sheila. Say that any louder and people might think you're crazy.

 

Sitting down on the park bench, I nervously tap my fingers against the side of the bench.

 

A few minutes pass by before there's a noticeable crunching sound, coming from behind me. Looking over my shoulder, there's a figure standing in the open field, stepping on fallen twigs and branches as it approaches.

 

"Jannae is that you?" I call out, but the figure doesn't respond. The figure continues walking towards me, unphased.

 

"Please tell me that's you! Jannae?" It's then that I get an eery feeling in my stomach. Like something's not right here. Jannae would've responded by now, right?

 

The voice in my head is telling me to run. It's only when the figure starts to pick up the pace, that I listen to that voice. Standing up, I start running at a reasonable pace. With the figure being between me and the potential help on the streets, my only option is the forest in front of me.

 

My heartbeat starts to rise, as I enter the forest.

 

This can't be happening! Why is this creep after me? I haven't even told Mitch I'm in love with him, and now I may never get the chance to.

 

I occasionally look over my shoulder as I run through the forest, making sure he hasn't caught up. The branches scrape against my arm as I pass through the underbrush, one even cutting my shoulder.

 

It isn't long before my red cloak gets caught on a tree branch, and I have to cut my losses with it. And of course it did!! Really should have done this sooner.. With my hands shaking, it takes me a couple of seconds longer than necessary to untie the bow, leaving the hood and cloak behind. He's getting closer, as I hear his footsteps crunch and snap behind me.

 

As I look behind me, he's almost caught up. I see him reach for something, only to throw it at me seconds later. By some miracle, it misses, embedding into one of the trees I pass by.

 

As I come up and over the hill, there's a fork in the dirt pathway. Left, or right. I don't have time to weigh my options, so I hurry down the left pathway.

 

The terrain is rougher here, with lots of bumps, rocks, logs, and branches in the way.

 

A loud crunching noise fills my ears as I run. At one point, I almost miss a step, and trip because of it. Somehow, I'm able to save myself before falling flat on my face.

 

I don't even have the chance to catch my breath. As much as I want to stop, I can't. Like, it's at the point where it feels like I'm swallowing blood, which is so gross. Also, trying to run in these shoes? No thank you! I went for something cuter, something Mitch would've appreciated, but clearly, that was the wrong call. To be fair though I also wasn't expecting to be chased in the woods by some psycho today either.

 

Continuing to run down this path downhill, I look over my shoulder once again. He's not there. Looks like I'm putting some distance between us.

 

My heart continues to beat at what feels like super speed, as sweat drips down my forehead.

 

To my right is a tree, shaped in a way where there could be some sort of alcove on the other side. Could be a nice hiding spot maybe? Lucky for me, the other side of that tree does have a small alcove for me to hide in. I just need to rest for a minute, and then I can keep going.

 

So I did exactly that. I waited, curled up in that small, cramped alcove, hoping that I wouldn't be found by that psycho. I don't wanna die. I just wanna live. There's still so much I haven't done.

 

After several minutes go by, I peek my head out, making sure no one's there. Not seeing anyone, I exit, and I'm about to go back on the pathway, when something stabs into my back. I turn around, and see the psycho hunting me down. His red eyes piercing into my soul. In his hands, is the thing I think ninja's use. Throwing star or something like that? Either way, I feel myself getting lightheaded, and in this moment I knew I was out of time. I'm going to die.

 

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

Halloween Night, 2007

It's Halloween night once again, which means the Throwing Star Killer's going to strike again. My father, and the rest of SCPD have had no luck in tracking this monster down and taking him in. Ollie's busy right now, so that leaves me on my own for this one. That's okay though, this monster needs all the handicaps they can get.

 

Four previous victims, all found the same way. Young, teenage girls strung up, with multiple entry wounds from throwing stars, drained of their blood and the same symbol drawn below them. The locations seemed random at first, but with each victim, it became clearer. Connecting them all on a map, it almost creates a pentagram. The location that completes said pentagram is Star City Cemetery. How cliche, I know.

 

It doesn't take me long to find them in the cemetery, given the elaborate set up just screams ritualistic serial killer. Wearing a skull mask, the bastard's chanting what I assume is Latin gibberish, since it's almost always Latin with this sort of thing. The girl is bleeding, strung up on a cross behind him. Ollie would have a field day with this guy.

 

He doesn't notice me coming, which gives me an easy opener with my Canary Cry, which sends him flying through the air, crashing into a headstone. It also snaps the bottom of the cross the girl is strung up on, leading to the cross falling backwards, and crashing seconds later.

 

Damnit! Please be okay. I don't have much time to focus on the girl, as that probably won't be enough to stop the killer.

 

"Took you long enough. I was wondering if you'd ever figure it out. No Emerald Archer today? Hmm, that's a tad disappointing." He says with a groan, as he gets up.

 

"You should be grateful he isn't. Doesn't matter though, as you'll get your ass kicked either way. Don't worry, I promise I'll make this quick."

 

"I wouldn't be so sure about that, little bird." He says with a laugh, as he starts throwing his signature throwing stars at me. I'm able to roll out-of-the-way just in time, leading the throwing stars hitting the back of the headstone.

 

"You missed." I taunt, as I try to close the gap between us, running towards him. He tries to keep his distance, throwing projectiles towards me. One of them manages to hit my shoulder. However, I don't let that stop me as I pull it out with a grunt, running towards him. Forming an x with my arms over my face, only to break it seconds later to Canary Cry once again. He barely manages to dive behind a tree in time to avoid it.

 

I just hope the girl's okay. I alerted the authorities before I got here, so hopefully just a few more minutes.

 

Using my Canary Cry, I propel myself up into the air, gliding for a few seconds, before releasing it right when I'm directly above him. He throws many more throwing stars at me, as I fall towards him. But, in a matter of seconds, I crash into him, feet first, kicking him square in the mask. Sure enough, there's a loud crack, the mask almost breaking upon impact. He crashes backwards onto the ground, with me now standing over him

 

"Shit!!! " He curses, in between groans, gasping for air as he coughs up blood. He tries to get up, but is met with a punch to the face.

 

"Try that again, I dare you." I say, just waiting for an excuse to punch this murderer. He grabs a throwing star from his satchel, and tries to stab me with it, but with a palm strike, I'm able to quickly disarm him. One more punch to the face, and he's out like a light. He isn't much of a fighter, which means this fight was over the second it began.

  

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

Thankfully, the ambulance made it in time, and girl managed to make a full recovery. As it turns out, the Throwing Star Killer is none other than Stanley Dover II. The son of the Star City Slayer, Stanley Dover I. The first Stanley Dover was a serial killer back in the 80s. That is, until the original Black Canary, my mom, took him down. He'd later be killed in prison, from another inmate, months after being locked up. It seems only fitting that I was the one to take down his son, making Star City a somewhat safer place to live. At least, until the next scumbag decides to rear their ugly head. But until then, I'll appreciate knowing that son of a bitch won't be able to harm any other girls. Happy Halloween to me.

} Relative to my other stories, this segment takes place earlier in the careers of Clayface and other featured characters. {

 

Hey, my name’s Wally West. I’m one of the, what, nine or so people that’ve been dubbed “The Fastest Man Alive”? … I’d say I’m at least the second fastest, especially when you factor in that some of those guys can only reach top speed on straightaways, I happen to know two of them are doppelgängers, and really, I’d call Savitar more of a sprinter… I, uh, don’t like to get hung up on technicalities.

 

I’m an invaluable member of the Justice League, and not just for my powers. I’ve got a winning personality that neither hardened space-cops nor immortal warriors can resist. Even Batman likes me. Or, “trusts me”… Trusts me enough to protect his city, and that’s saying a lot, for him. He contacted me this morning, explaining that he has business on the other side of the world, something about his ex and a pool turning people into zombies… I don’t think I would’ve gotten the gist of it, even if he’d expounded. He says he’ll make it back by tonight, and if it were anyone else but him (or me, I guess), I wouldn’t have believed them.

 

Being Batman for a few hours doesn’t sound so bad, but the thing is, I’ve got a decent system with the Rogues back in Keystone. They’re good at avoiding collateral damage, usually even-tempered about the “getting arrested” part… Even got Tarpit to take it to an abandoned lot the other week. I’ve heard Gotham has less cordial villains. And more of them. And more than a few citizens that have had their share of false vigilantes running around. Nothing a dashing guy like me can’t work around!

 

0.082 seconds after I stepped boot inside city limits (I was taking it slow until I saw some action), I was in the GCPD precinct to let the commissioner know about the changing of the guard, maybe catch a whiff of a case that could use solving. Turns out you don’t need the Speed Force to find a crime scene in Gotham. The nice officer at the front desk informed me that a break-in had occurred INSIDE the station at dawn.

 

*flash*

 

} GCPD EVIDENCE STORAGE {

 

I probably should’ve thought about how people from around here aren’t used to a red and yellow lightning bolt zipping through buildings. I might not have made the lasting impression of causing the portly detective before me to hurl his styrofoam coffee cup into the air. I caught it too late to save his shirt.

 

Detective: What IS this?!

 

Me (handing the cup back): This is yours. (pointing at his stains) THIS is my dry-cleaning bill, sorry pal. (jerking both thumbs at my chest) And THIS is Gotham’s substitute hero for the day, made with 100% less angst.

 

Detective (glowing crimson): I’m gonna wring the Bat-freak’s neck! What’s he do, take sick days now??

 

Another detective walks in around a shelf. Her uniform is tidy, her hair even more so.

 

Detective #2: Don’t tell me you MISS the Bat now, Bullock.

 

Bullock: If he’s gonna be a nuisance, I’d prefer he be a predictable one. Now he’s phoning up other leotards to come stick their noses in my cases!

 

Me: “Leotards”. I get it.

 

Detective #2 (offering a handshake): Detective Montoya. Batman already got in touch with the commissioner, told us you’d be here before we knew it.

 

Me: That’s my thing. So… don’t take this the wrong way, but how…

 

Montoya: … did we let someone sneak into our evidence room and get away? We’re in the middle of breaking up a gang dispute at the docks AND a massive manhunt for a birthday-obsessed serial killer. The station has been practically vacant, and no one’s had time to fully assess our latest acquisitions.

 

I look over the unsorted items that have halved the room’s capacity, all strewn across tables.

 

Bullock: Hands off. I don’t care if you ARE wearing’ gloves!

 

Me: You don’t have to tell me that… although I could touch everything in here, and if you blinked, you would never know.

 

Bullock’s mouth opens wide enough to ensnare passing birds, but Montoya interjects.

 

Montoya: Cameras were wiped. I know it looks like a mess, but we’ve had a dozen other of our people take inventory, and nothing’s been nicked. Someone came and went without lifting a single thing…

 

Me: … Had the sense to take out the cameras…

 

Bullock (unwrapping a toothpick): … But was sloppy enough to set off the alarm. It’s gotta be some goon screwin’ around with no real plan in mind.

 

Montoya: On top of all that, if they touched anything in here, we’ll never find it against a hundred other fingerprints.

 

Amidst the chaos, a computer monitor and what appears to be a heavily modified hard drive catch my eye.

 

Me: Mhm… What’s the story with this?

 

Bullock (hurriedly): Some guy we nabbed last week; Etienne Guiborg, “The Dealer”. Thinks he’s a real mastermind, but we dismantled his illegal auctioning ring without any fight at all.

 

Montoya: He has his OWN inventory on that computer; thousands of heisted weapons, artifacts, and their locations. Once our schedule lightens up, we’re hunting down every last one. Actually…

 

Me: You need a speed-reader. On it.

 

Bullock: Wait a minute, I’ve seen you in the papers before. Can’t you do that, whatsit called, time-hole thing? Go back a few hours and catch the perp in the act!

 

Me: Do you want to run the risk of my actions causing a ripple in reality that changes this timeline to one where everyone is biologically half-chicken, all on the account of stopping an opportunistic thief?

 

Bullock: …

 

Me: Time travel’s nuts, man.

 

*flash*

 

Me: Hey, anyone else notice this down here?

 

The detectives lean under the desk to where I went to plug in the machine.

 

Me: This outlet has dust all over it, but the lower socket, it’s clean. And what do you know… The Dealer’s extension cord has dust between the tines.

 

Bullock: Sunuva… they DID swipe something!

 

I think it over for 0.053 seconds (I’m sluggish on weekends), then a light bulb switches on.

 

Bullock: Well, are you gonna plug it in? They may have wiped the memory!

 

Me: Don’t touch anything.

 

Bullock: You can’t tell ME not-

 

*flash*

 

*Scotch tape obtained from main office*

 

*flash*

 

I begin tearing tape and sticking every inch of the keyboard’s surface.

 

Montoya: What is he-

 

*flash*

 

Me (thrusting fistfuls of tape towards them): LOOK!

 

Bullock: … Congratulations genius, you managed to get NO fingerprints on even one of ‘em.

 

Montoya: Wait… no fingerprints? But it hasn’t been dusted, not since we busted The Dealer.

 

Me: YEAH!

 

Bullock: Would you care to let us in on whatever harebrained theory you just concocted?

 

Me: No time, but I’ll have your guy in a jiffy.

 

Bullock: “NO TIME”, he says!

 

Me: Uhh, I’m going to need…

 

*flash*

 

Me: (arms loaded with twenty-odd tape dispensers): … all of these. I’ll restock, promise.

 

*flash*

 

Montoya: Under that mask, I’d put money on him being CSI.

 

Bullock: I’d put money on him being a fruitcake.

 

***

 

Thirty intersections later, and I find myself at what I’m hoping is the bad guy’s lair. A middle school, deserted for the summer. Everything’s fitting together.

 

*flash*

 

My entrance, like last time, startles the classroom’s occupant. This time, they drop a neatly-organized box of Crayola. This time, I don’t bother to recover it. Villains don’t deserve neatly-organized boxes of Crayola. I rush forward and slug the surprised criminal in his cylindrical mask. He careens over the desks, and catch him by the collar on the opposite side of the room, before he has an unfriendly run-in with the floor.

 

Me: Alright, pencil-neck, talk to me.

 

Eraser: Hands off the suit! Do you know how much money you have to sink into a cyber-yellow pinstripe suit? Did you even know CYBER-YELLOW was a color?!

 

Me (lowering him): Okay, noted, the suit’s expensive.

 

Eraser: How did you FIND me??

 

Me: Familiarity with GCPD’s layout and security, leaving no evidence behind but still tripping an alarm to show off… Fits your m.o. like a glove. I do my supervillain homework before I go barging into other cities. You couldn’t resist wiping off the keyboard, so I had a hunch you also compulsively cleaned other public property before use… like crosswalk buttons. After some trial and error, and no small amount of tape, I tracked y-

 

Eraser (scoffing): Aaand Batman would have me snitching by now. You’re not so fast.

 

Me: Trust me, you don’t want me to get too Batman on you, or…

 

Eraser (dramatically): You wouldn’t be able to come back from the darkness?

 

Me: I was going to say it might make me physically ill. Speedsters eat way more than the average person every day, and if I vomit, it’ll be one heckuva mess to clean up. One that you probably won’t be able to ignore.

 

Eraser: … That's the flimsiest, most contrived threat; you can’t actually get physically ill from tha-

 

Me (crossing arms): I’ll self-induce it.

 

Eraser: You wouldn’t…

 

Me: Tell me what you saw on Dealer’s database.

 

Eraser: Okay look, some guy I’ve never seen before hired me. Says he knew about Dealer’s confiscated computer, and wanted me to get him inside just for five minutes to look around. It’s not like I cared what he was doing, so I have no idea what he got out of it. But I know what I got out of it: Stencils. The good stuff.

 

Me (gritting teeth): I’m a millisecond away from collecting all the gum under the desks in this place and putting them inside your mask.

 

Eraser: EDWARD BURKE! I heard him whispering “Edward Burke” over and over! I’ve got nothing else!

 

Me: That’s oddly useful. Okay, I’m arresting you now.

 

*flash*

 

} GCPD HOLDING CELLS {

 

Me: I’d appreciate it if you confessed to your crimes, whenever they happen to notice you in here. I’m sort of up against the clock.

 

Eraser: Nothin’. doin’.

 

Me (locking Eraser in): By the way, you made me waste a bunch of these guys’ tape just to find you. Why can’t you Gotham rogues all hang out at a bar, like they do in Keystone?

 

*flash*

 

Eraser: … A supervillain bar… huh.

 

} BURKE INSTITUTE OF ASTRONOMY (formerly Norbet Institute of Astronomy) {

 

I pause for a entire 1.4 seconds to confirm the sign outside, before crashing through the main entrance and finding my way to the development facility. Machinery is scattered across the tiles, beakers bubble uncontrollably… and a man that looks like an astronaut suffering from insomnia is slouched on the floor, rewiring the circuitry running through his suit’s chest-plate.

 

Me: Dr. Edward Burke?

 

Burke: Oh, have you been here long? I’m very sorry, I’ve been preoccupied with my work for…

 

He glances at a wrinkled calendar, halfway lodged in a drawer near his head.

 

Burke: … a solid two weeks now, I suppose. Time management was never my strongest quality.

 

Me: Don’t get me started. Look, I know all about Etienne Guiborg using your laboratory to store his wares, and I think we can resolve this without any violence…

 

Burke (perking up): That name! I heard about him in the newspaper not long ago. Oh, no sir, I’m not involved with any smuggling, I must affirm! No, no more business with supervillains. My old boss Irving Norbet, he was a very bad fellow! Tried to use our technology to rob banks!

 

Me: You’re wearing the suit right now.

 

Burke (toying with small components and dials on the suit): AM I?!? … Ah, so I am. Well, it really has quite fascinating functions; I’m only looking to improve the design, not use it for anything nefarious, absolutely not! Dr. Norbet only did what he did after overexposure to a strange meteor we were analyzing… messed with his head. This was all confirmed by the police!

 

I take a quick survey of the room while he’s rambling, spotting a grey mass perched on a workbench, shrouded in a sort of haze, like it’s giving off energy.

 

Me (scowling): Does this meteor look anything like that one sitting over there, NOT in its container and likely effecting you?

 

Burke: Dear… dear me. Well, this all must look highly suspicious! If you didn’t believe I was innocent, as I’m sure anyone as keen as you would, you might be very confused by the circumstances.

 

Me: Actually I’m… still comprehending the idea that two people in this timeline wanted to use the name “Planet Master”.

 

Then the most embarrassing thing that can happen to a speedster happened; I got ambushed. Enough volts to jumpstart Gotham City shoot through my body, launching me straight through the reinforced wall of Burke’s Institute and into the evening air, leaving me a smoking red heap on freshly-cut grass.

 

… I’d like to take an intermission from my story to clarify that accelerated perception is a superpower that has to be turned on. OKAY? It takes a lot of adrenaline and carbs to activate. I can’t just see EVERYthing in slow-motion. … Moving on.

 

I crane my head and spit out a mouthful of sod, while my eyes adjust to see my attacker stepping through the Flash-shaped hole in the building. He’s dressed in black armor, orbs of electricity wavering in his fists, and grinning like a wild dog. Lester Buchinsky.

 

Electrocutioner: Heh. Friend of mine tipped me off that some hero might come poking around here tonight. Not the one I was hoping for, but murderers can’t be choosers.

 

Me (feeling Speed Force welling up inside me again): Just keep talking there, friend-o, I’ll be with you in a sec.

 

Electrocutioner (unfazed): Overheard you talking to that idiot Burke. You really think our kind would trust our gear with him? Be caught DEAD working with him?

 

Me: Yeah, well, the bar’s set pretty low, Taserface.

 

Electrocutioner: That’s it.

 

Before he can lift his arm to incinerate me, I dart at his midsection, only to once again rebound and land in the planters HARD.

 

Electrocutioner: Like the force-field? I’ve been upgrading. Get this…

 

I roll out of the way of a bolt lobbed from his fist, leaving it to carve a charred path across the lawn.

 

Electrocutioner (admiring the gloves): They’re projectile now.

 

Me: Mama Buchinsky must be proud.

 

I begin running circles around him, as Electrocutioner jerks around to try and draw a bead on me. The faster I punch him, the more the force-field will resist. If I try running at him at a normal pace, his gauntlets will meet their mark before I can land a blow. So… I guess I’ll have to try letting him hit me again.

 

I take a detour to the parking lot, rip the tires and hoods off of two vans, and race back to Electrocutioner before he knows I’m gone. I come to a halt and plant the hoods on either side of me, with the tires wrapped around my torso. Now for the only part of this plan that I know will 100% work…

 

Me: Yo, Shocker!

 

Electrocutioner lets loose a solid flow of electricity from his hand to me, and I brace myself as it races directly at my chest. My suit is a conductive elastomer: Good for streamlining my own charge, but the Speed Force doesn’t play nicely with outside currents. That’s why this guy is even a slight threat to me. Car tires, on the other hand, are great insulators. Or so I’ve heard. I’m really hoping that’s true.

 

Electrocutioner’s assault strikes the tires. I still feel it. A lot. But I force myself to stay put. As I hoped, Electrocutioner only pours on more power when he sees I’m still standing. I have no idea how much juice he has left in those gloves, or if I can outlast them. Just as everything starts turning grey and I feel my knees giving out, the pain stops, and he’s standing with outstretched arms and sputtering gloves, and I’M standing with two car hoods locked in potential difference.

 

Electrocutioner: Wha-?

 

Me: Capacitor. Seriously, you should know what that is.

 

*flash*

 

Electrocutioner collapses with a black eye. I shake out my knuckles and check on Burke, who’s still tinkering away carelessly. Maybe whoever hired Eraser thought to make up Edward Burke a ruse, just to sic Electrocutioner on anyone potentially tracking him. In which case, I was looking at a dead end, unless Electrocutioner wasn’t as dumb as he looked. As I go to interrogate my third supervillain today, I notice something on Electrocutioner’s fingertips and boot soles.

 

Salt. I hadn’t drained his power supply with my capacitor at all; salt was its own dielectric, and enough had accumulated on his weapon to short-circuit the system when Electrocutioner overdid it. The question of why it would be anywhere near his equipment came to me just as quickly as the answer. Salt. The Dealer’s storage space. I knew where I had to look next.

 

*flash*

 

} WAMPUM UNDERGROUND, PENNSYLVANIA (a lively 300+ mile jog from Gotham) {

 

I zip into the mineshaft-turned-warehouse, slowing once I pass into the restricted sections, and all ambient light winks out. I try to muffle the slap of my boots on the expansive floor, but the echo is unstoppable. Rubbing my palms together at just the right speed, I generate a steady flow of Speed Force sparks, enough to brighten a few feet around me. I’m in the right place; old movie props, autographed portraits, film reels stacked to the ceiling…

 

A mannequin with a camera for the head…

 

*flash*

 

Only this time it wasn’t me. Blinding white like I’ve never seen washes over my field of vision, and I stagger backwards, trying to shake it off.

 

Voice #1: Feeling a little EXPOSED?

 

Something damp and heavy envelops why chest and neck, lifting me off the floor. My head is still spinning, and before I think to phase through the restraint, I’m slammed back down. The back of my skull hits a metal shelf, and at once my strength gives out. I lay there stunned, barely picking up on another voice past the ringing in my ears. A choked, slithery sort of voice.

 

Voice #2 (sighing): “The Flash”, is it? No need to fret, in that event; your concussion will clear right up in a few hours, no doubt. You ARE one of those heroes that can heal. Makes for such dull, tensionless action sequences.

 

Me: What… are you looking… for, in here… Clayface?

 

Clayface: Ah, I needn’t introduce myself, how convenient. I see The Batman DOES brief his minions before sending them to their doom.

 

Me (ignoring him): Let me guess… a potter’s wheel? Been… wanting to lose some weight and… make a nice vase at the same time?

 

Voice #1: A regular Bob Hope, this guy.

 

Clayface (ignoring me in turn): You still managed to locate us.

 

Me: What, after you sent me on a goose-chase after Planet Master? Your hired meathead still had some salt on him from when he was, I guess, helping you break into this place? I already knew you were looking for something The Dealer had hidden away… Salt, secret stash…

 

I hear Clayface walking closer.

 

Me: … Salt mines. The moisture is great for preserving all kinds of stuff. I went to the one out in Hutchinson, Kansas for a field trip.

 

His pace stops inches from my face.

 

Clayface: I RIGHTFULLY assumed Eraser would betray me. I had not known he overheard my mention of Edward Burke until he queried me later on, and so I concocted a lie for him to pass on to YOU.

 

Me (the pain in my temple worsening): If you weren’t… looking for Edward Burke after all, then what… did Eraser hear?

 

Clayface: He heard correctly. I am looking for an Edward Burke… Edward C. Burke…

 

There’s a sound of metal clunking into metal; Clayface’s accomplice rummaging through the film reels. One last crash, and a whoop of excitement reverberates through the cavern.

 

Voice #1: Right where the computer said it was, Karlo!

 

Clayface (clasping his grimy palms): Splendid, Mr. Camera! You see, FLASH… Edward C. Burke is portrayed by the great Lon Chaney, in the lost film “London After Midnight”. That is to say, formerly-lost. The Dealer did indeed possess many antiquities.

 

Me: You… tampered with evidence in police custody, hired an… assassin, and broke into this place for a MOVIE?

 

Clayface: I cannot always gratify the wild imaginations of you vigilantes, assuming we supervillains are continuously out for blood, dreaming up blueprints for world domination. A film like this deserves to be in the care of someone who can appreciate it, not lock it away.

 

Me: And “Mr. Camera”; you suckered a C-Lister into… helping you with this insane hobby?

 

Mr. Camera: He’s in it to build a legacy. Me, I’m making a scrapbook.

 

Clayface (amused): You are so deluded, speedster, you think anyone branded a criminal has no allegiances to their own, never without an ulterior motive. Eraser, Electrocutioner, they knew precisely what they were in for. Now look at yourself, bludgeoned like a dumb animal, conveniently in a deep hole to have dirt poured over you… Did The Batman offer you some compensation for this humiliation? Why would he appreciate your reckless heroics when he would gladly sacrifice himself in the same manner, in the “righteous pursuit of evil”, and think nothing of it? … I could smother you right now, but I choose to leave you alive…

 

His footsteps leave in the direction of the mine’s entrance.

 

Clayface: … I do not wish to instigate bad relations with the Rogues. Unlike you noble heroes, I value partnerships. I would not dream of robbing them of their favorite quarry. Let us withdraw, Mr. Camera.

 

Mr. Camera follows him. I feel something light and stiff bounce off my arm. A Polaroid photo.

 

Mr. Camera (sneering): Here. I think I got your good side.

 

I muster the energy for one more sentence.

 

Me: Heroes don’t… need a pat on the back to feel… good about the work they do. You’re right, we hardly ever know what we’re… getting into… aside from our eventual deaths. That’s okay, because… we’re not living for ourselves…

 

The waves of nausea take their toll, and I pass out. Whether or not Clayface was still near enough to hear me, I can’t shake the feeling my words have fallen on deaf ears.

If you are interested in my works, they are available on Getty Images.

 

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I think all art is about control - the encounter between control and the uncontrollable.

- Richard Avedon

Life is short, Break the rules, Forgive quickly, Kiss slowly, Love truly, Laugh uncontrollably, and never regret anything that made you smile........

... Break the rules, Forgive quickly, Love truly, Laugh uncontrollably, And never regret anything that made you smile

A beautiful heartshaped rock found by my young cousin on the beach, during my beach trip you can see that my skin got burned by the sun, but it was worth it ^_*

Seashell

Explored

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

 

When I attended school here, the kids seemed much bigger -- and the school building was enormous.

 

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

 

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.

My new novel:

B♭ (B-flat)

There’s still more to come. 😃

(This is not the final draft.)

 

++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

 

Scene: Garden 3‑4

 

Jack slumped deeply in the commander’s chair, his gaze sweeping across the pale glow of the monitor wall.

Camera feeds A17, A18, A19—all fixed on the arena’s center. Yet the security guard on the west side of the stands wasn’t watching there. His eyes were glued to the emergency exit at Section 212. Its sensor blinked once—a flash of red warning across the screen.

“A suspicious movement… the door sensor just lit up,” Jack's low voice vibrated through Ben’s earpiece.

Ben glanced upward at the monitors and whispered,

“Shall I go?”

“No,” Jack replied, his voice dropping. “Don’t leave your post. I’ll handle it.”

He paused, stern. “It’s probably nothing. But—stay alert. Keep your eyes peeled.”

Silence fell over each earpiece, the tension thickening. On the monitor, the door remained motionless—neither opening nor closing—frozen in stillness.

Jack burst from the briefing room, sprinted up from underground into the arena, his view sweeping the western stand. He looked up at the broad, flat ceiling of Madison Square Garden, sensed it swelling with the heat of the crowd. Cheers greeting the presidential candidate blended with jeers—clearly, anti‑Republicans had infiltrated.

Jack narrowed his gaze on the west stand, then lowered his eyes to his iPhone. Multiple social feeds scrolled with frenetic energy, and one post caught his attention: a murder threat, flashing in angry red text.

He dashed down the crowded corridor and reached the west stand, addressing a nearby guard:

“Evening. Everything clear on your end?”

The guard, clad in plain black suit with no tie—just a discreet earpiece—nodded, calm. He lifted his jacket slightly, revealing the outline of a Glock 19 at his waist. No hostility—just a tacit acknowledgment. Jack responded with a silent nod, their training speaking volumes.

“Door sensor tripped once. I’ll check visually.” Jack seized the cold metal handle and cast a glance down the corridor beyond. Darkness swallowed the path; silence reigned.

He spoke into his earpiece:

“All clear in the west stands. Security is solid.”

He patted the guard’s shoulder. “Stay alert.” The man returned a brief smile—and then lights died across the arena.

In the dark, red lasers lanced from ceiling to floor as a menacing bass drum rolled in from below. A crisp hi‑hat scythed in sixteenth‑notes; a heavy kick drum struck four‑on‑the‑floor. A low, rumbling bass synth layered in—and the very air of the arena began to pulse.

The crowd's heartbeat synchronized with the beat. Swirling smoke and laser cuts, the floor trembling. From deep within the sound, a processed male voice intoned again and again:

“Strength. Order. America.”

As smoke thickened the light, colossal center-hung screens flickered to life:

J U S T I N  B R A D F O R D

One spotlight pierced the gloom—red, then blue, finally white—tracing the American tricolor. Within its glow appeared a man: Justin. Clad in a dark‑navy tailored suit, a bold crimson tie signifying the Republican Party, a single white rose pinned to his lapel.

Moments later, another spotlight revealed Eleanor Blake, dressed in an elegant black gown, standing behind him. Hand in hand, they strode center stage, each step purposeful. The audience looked on, awestruck, shouting cheers:

—“Take back America!”—

Red, blue, and white lights danced across their feet. Eleanor paused; Justin stepped forward to the microphone as the music faded and lights dimmed again. Silence engulfed the arena.

He made no sound—only a slight, assured smile. That smile was a declaration of war. Saying everything without uttering a word. That posture—that was the bearing of a man who would become the most powerful leader in the world: President of the United States.

Justin scanned the crowd for a moment, then spoke in calm tones. His golden hair, blue eyes—mirroring Eleanor’s—lent gravity to his words:

“Good evening, New York. How’s your night going so far?”

He smiled at a woman in the front row. Following his father’s advice, he spoke as if addressing just one person, not an entire audience—

—“When I arrived in the parking lot tonight, I felt weighed down by the humidity. Eleanor whispered to me: ‘We chose the best course to protect you. Our team would risk their lives for you.’”

His voice rang clear. Thunderous applause erupted from tens of thousands. A wave of anticipation rolled toward the stage. The spotlight seemed to center itself in his eyes—and likewise in Eleanor’s.

“Tonight, we gather to put our will once again at the heart of this nation. To reclaim the ‘light’ America is forgetting. Over the past four years, our party restored the economy, brought back security, rebuilt national order. Now, it’s time to shine that light brighter—not as mere hope, but as our responsibility. If America shines again, the world will follow. We must seize that stronger, purer light. It will illuminate the world.”

Justin’s voice reverberated through the arena—until… a dry gunshot cracked the air from center stage.

Jack dove instinctively. His eyes darted upward to the giant screens: time froze. He saw Justin’s body convulse backwards, his jacket tail flipping off his left shoulder. The first bullet struck his left arm, the second to his left abdomen. Justin crumpled slowly, falling face‑first.

“Justin!” Eleanor’s scream cut across the stage. Her wide eyes fixed on him, trembling. A haze of tears blurred her vision. Secret Service agents shielded her, pulling her back.

“Hit the deck!” Guards and crowd shouted in chorus. Pandemonium erupted. Women's screams overlapped. The reverberation of gunfire lingered ominously in the cavernous space.

Unbeknownst to most, Jack’s ears had discerned two shots. He closed his eyes and re‑ran the sound—each fired from above—each from perilously close.

“Ben—where are you?” Jack pushed through collapsing spectators, heading to the stage.

“By Justin’s side. Missed his heart—just grazed left arm and abdomen. Not arterial, but bleeding heavily.”

“Medical team’s on the motorcade. Justin has Bombay blood—two bags ready on the ambulance. Start transfusion.”

“If that’s not enough, what about Elijah?”

“Either way, he’s en route. Bellevue Hospital stores Bombay bags—confirmed three days ago.”

Bombay blood: a rare type first found in Bombay (now Mumbai) in 1952—not A, B, or O—afflicting about 1 in 10,000 in India, 1 in 2.5 million worldwide. It can only be transfused to someone of the same type.

Ben replied calmly.

They rushed Justin to Bellevue Hospital—the closest to the Garden. Jack called Elijah. Before the first ring ended, Elijah answered, breathless:

“Jack... this is bad. We’ve no blood—no Bombay stock.”

Jack couldn’t believe it.

“I saw the bags in person three days ago!”

Silence, then Elijah replied:

“The blood keeper was killed in a car crash yesterday.”

As Jack absorbed the news, his voice boomed over the arena’s PA, shaking the trembling building. The crowd froze and then shattered. Thousands surged toward exits—only to find them locked.

“There’s explosives in this building. Please, stay calm and head for the exits. I repeat—I am….”

Panic rippled. Eight exits in total—most had been sealed for VIP and motorcade security. The crowd funnelled into the remaining three.

Low moans grew to shrieks. People trampled the fallen. A little girl's white blouse had turned grey, her teddy flattened. During flight, no one looked back. At one exit, dozens collapsed, graves to the trampling. The weight buckled railings, jammed the door.

“Doors won’t open!” “There’s children—!” Screams scattered. Security couldn’t reach the scene. Orders were drowned in noise. Control evaporated.

“The crowd is uncontrollable, Jack,” came Zakaria’s voice through the PA, along with a simultaneous link to staff smartphones.

“You got my email? Open the link. No virus, I promise.”

Hurriedly, Jack checked his phone. The site loaded:

“Good evening, New York—and Los Angeles. My name is Zakaria Haddad. My real name. Five years ago, I lived in Gaza. Now I sit in a room many of you recognize.”

On the screen, a brown-skinned man with a trimmed beard—Zakaria—seated in a chair eerily like the Oval Office. Three green-curtained windows behind him—the color favored by Prophet Muhammad. A portrait of Ibn Sina hung on the wall, his gaze deep, delicate—reaching from time’s past to the present.

Zakaria glanced at his watch, then back at camera—an unreadable dark joy flickering in his eyes.

“Breaking news—watch your phone alerts.” Instantly:

Former Democratic President Owen Reed shot at Los Angeles Convention Center

Zakaria hid a wry smile.

“A sad update, America. But don’t mourn. In Gaza, we suffered 55,000 times this. We lost over 55,000 dear souls—and we wept.”

He averted his gaze, clasped both hands, slammed his fist onto the desk. The air thickened. Yet in his eyes brimmed silent tears—quiet sorrow.

“We do not seek money or glory in death. We seek tears equal to the 55,000. Only tears can heal us.”

He rested his elbows, folded his hands, chin supported. A long pause. His eyes twitched with small sorrowful motions.

Zakaria rotated a framed photo toward the camera.

“My family. More precious than my life. Gone in an instant.”

There was no hatred in his voice—only respect and gentle grief. He began again.

“I was one among those 55,000. Even if I perish, their wills persist. I stand here to voice our will.”

He quietly reached into his right drawer, withdrew a Glock 17, chambered a round, and placed the barrel against his temple. His eyes were merciful—gentle, embracing his lost family.

As a Sunni, he stared straight at the camera:

“God bless America.”

Backlit by three blazing windows, he closed his eyes and pulled the trigger. The dry crack snapped through the room. The camera jerked—then the screen went black.

  

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Previous notes

 

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www.flickr.com/photos/stealaway/54639396885/in/dateposted...

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www.flickr.com/photos/stealaway/54628511025/in/dateposted...

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www.flickr.com/photos/stealaway/54599616429/in/dateposted...

 

Note: I gave a brief explanation of this novel in the following video:

youtu.be/3w65lqUF-YI?si=yG7qy6TPeCL9xRJV

  

iTunes Playlist Link::

music.apple.com/jp/playlist/b/pl.u-47DJGhopxMD

 

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Notes

1. "Bombay Blood Type (hh type)"

•Characteristics: A rare blood type that lacks the usual ABO antigens — cannot be classified as A, B, or O.

•Discovery: First identified in 1952 in Mumbai, India (formerly Bombay).

•Prevalence: Roughly 1 in 10,000 people in India; globally, about 1 in 2.5 million.

•Transfusion Compatibility: Only compatible with blood from other Bombay type donors.

2. 2024 Harvard University Valedictorian Speech – The Power of Not Knowing

youtu.be/SOUH8iVqSOI?si=Ju-Y728irtcWR71K

3. Shots Fired at Trump Rally

youtu.be/1ejfAkzjEhk?si=ASqJwEmkY-2rW_hT

 

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Saipan. USA. 2016. LUMIX G3 shot … 11 / 12

 

サイパン。アメリカ。２０１６。LUMIX G3 shot … 11 / 12

  

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僕の新しい小説。

　B♭　（ビーフラット）

 

まだまだ投下します。😃

(最終稿ではありません。)

  

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場面　ガーデン３−４

 

　指揮官席に深く腰を落としていたジャックは、青白いモニター群をくまなく睨んでいた。

　カメラ番号A17、A18、A19──いずれもアリーナ中央を捉えている。だが、スタンド席西側の警備員の視線が集中していたのは、そこではなかった。彼が見つめていたのはセクション212の非常扉だった。その扉のセンサーが、わずか一度だけ、反応を示し、ディスプレイに赤い警告が走った。

「不審な動きだな。ドアのセンサーが一瞬、点いた」

　ジャックの低い声が、ベンのイヤピースを震わせた。

　ベンは即座に 頭上のモニターを見上げ、囁くように言った。

「行くか？」

「…いや。持ち場は離れるな。俺が行く」

　ジャックの声がわずかに低くなった。

「たぶん、気のせいだ。ただし──全員、警戒は解くな。そのまま、周囲に意識を集中しておけ」

　それぞれのイヤピースに静寂が落ち、張り詰めた空気で満ちた。

　モニターに今映っている扉は、開くことも、閉じることもなく、ただ沈黙している。

　ジャックはブリーフィングルームを飛び出し、スタンド席、西側が見渡せるアリーナまで、地下から駆け上がった。

　マジソンスクエアガーデンの平坦な天井は、吐き出された人の熱気でいつもより膨らんでいるように、ジャックには見えた。大統領候補を歓迎する声とそれを罵倒する叫び声が錯綜し、鼓膜の奥を揺らした。どうやら反共和党も紛れ込んでいるようだ。

　ジャックは、スタンド席西側へしばらく目を凝らしてから、手元のアイフォンに目を落とした。画面には、いくつかのSNSが同時に広がっており、それぞれが激しい書き込みによって文字が流れてゆく。右下の、メタの書き込みに、ジャックは目を留めた。殺害予告のメッセージが走り、赤く灯っている。ジャックは喧騒に満ちた通路を駆け抜け、スタンド席西側へ着くと、警備員へ声を掛けた。

「おつかれ。異常はないか？」

　ジャックはさりげなく背筋を伸ばした。ジャケットの背中越しに、腰の中央──背骨の下に沿ってぴたりと固定されたグロック19の存在を確かめた。

「どうも。こちらは異常ありませんよ。何かありましたか？」

　黒のスーツで、胸元にネクタイはない、プレーン・クロースの私設セキュリティだ。視線は沈着で、イヤピースから伸びるコードが耳の下に覗いている。男は一瞬、ジャックを睨むように見たが、ジャケットの裾を軽く持ち上げ、ホルスターの形をわずかに見せた。男に敵意はなかった。それが合図だった。ジャックも同じように、背筋を伸ばしながら無言で頷いた。この沈黙こそが、互いの訓練と経験を示していた。

「ドアのセンサーが一度反応した。目視で確認する」

　ジャックは、冷たい金属の取っ手を掴み、扉の奥を一瞥した。辺りは暗闇に沈み、静まり返っていた。

　ジャックはその場からすぐにイヤピースで伝えた。

「スタンド席西側に異常はなかった。セキュリティーにも問題はない」

　ジャックは、男の肩を軽く叩いて、いった。

「引き続き、頼む」

　男が笑顔でジャックに挨拶すると、アリーナの照明が一気に落ちた。

　闇の中、赤いレーザーがガーデンの天井から床まで、縦横に切り裂き、重く低く唸るような打ち込みの硬質なバスドラがアリーナの底から噴き上がった。ハイハットが16分音符で刻まれ、深く沈むキックドラムが四拍を正確に打つ。そこに、低くうねるベース・シンセが重なり、会場全体の空気そのものが脈打つように震え始めた。

　観客の鼓動が、低く分厚い音にシンクロし始めた。スモークが舞い、赤いレーザーが切り裂く中、床の震えが増していった。低いベース音に重なった奥から、加工された男性の声が繰り返し聞こえてくる。

 

“Strength.（強さ） Order.（秩序） America.”

 

　場内のスモークが、光を濁らせるようにさらに舞うと、巨大なセンター・ハング・スクリーンに文字が浮かび上がった。

 

J U S T I N・B R A D F O R D

 

　その瞬間、中央のスポットライトが、ひとつだけ点いた。赤から青へ──そして白へと、アメリカの三色をなぞるように変化する演出だ。

　その光の中、男が姿を現した。

ジャスティンだ。ダークネイビーのテーラードスーツに、共和党を示す真紅のネクタイを巻いている。胸元には一輪の白いバラのピンバッジが添えられていた。

　数秒遅れて、彼の背後にもうひとつ光が射した。漆黒のドレスを纏ったエリノア・ブレイクがスポットライトを浴びている。

　ふたりは笑顔で手を取り合うと、ゆっくりステージ中央へ歩み始めた。彼らの歩みに迷いはなかった。強さと秩序の意志を現した姿に、観客の誰もがその姿を見上げ、歓声を上げている。

ー　アメリカを取り戻せ！　ー

　マイクスタンドへ近づくにつれ、アリーナの熱はさらに帯び、波のようにうねった。

　赤、青、白の光がジャスティンらの足元を錯綜した。

　エリノアを残し、ジャスティンは、一歩前に出て、マイクの前に立った。

　音楽が静かにフェードアウトし、照明が再び落ちていく。

──　その瞬間、全アリーナが沈黙に包まれた。

　彼は、何も言わず、ただ口元に微笑みを浮かべた。その微笑みが、宣戦布告に等しかった。

　語らずに、何かを語っている。

　それが、世界でもっとも権力を持つ、アメリカ大統領の姿勢なのだ。

　ジャスティンは、しばらく観衆を見渡してから、穏やかな口調でいった。エリノアと同じ金色に煌めく髪とブルーの瞳が、彼の言葉をさらに支えるようだ。

「こんばんは。ニューヨーク。今日は、いいことがあったかい？」

　ジャスティンは、微笑みながら、最前列の女性に問いかけた。彼は、父のルールを守っていた。多くの聴衆に語るのではなく、たったひとりの身近な人へ言葉を伝えるのだ　ーー

「僕は今日、駐車場に着いた時、気が滅入ったよ。ひどい湿気に陰鬱になった。でも、ここにいるエリノアが僕に言ったんだ。あなたを守るために、スタッフは最善の手段を選んだ、とね。そして、スタッフはみな、僕のために命を賭けてくれると」

　歯切れよく言い切ったジャスティンの言葉に、再び観衆は沸いた。数万人の熱波がステージへ押し寄せた。

　ジャスティンの目には、ステージにあった光を収束させたような輝きがあった。もちろん、エリノアの青い瞳にもだ。

「今夜、僕らがここに集まったのは、それぞれの意志を、再びこの国の中心に叩き込むためだ。アメリカが忘れかけている“光”を、もう一度我々の手に取り戻すためだ。この4年間、我が党は経済を立て直し、治安を取り戻し、国家の秩序を再構築した。今、私たちはその“光”をもっと強く照らす時に来ている。それは、ただの希望ではない。責任だ。アメリカが再び輝けば、世界はそれに倣う。そして、もっと強い、鮮明な光を私たちは手にしなければならない。アメリカが強い光を取り戻すことで、世界をくまなく照らすことができるのだ。私たちには、もっとそれができるはずだ」

　ジャスティンの声が、再び会場を震わせた瞬間、乾いた銃声が響いた。ステージ中央あたりからだ。ジャックは音と同時に身を屈め、アリーナの頭上に展開した巨大なセンター・ハング・スクリーンに目をやった。ジャックには映る全ての時間が止まっていた。ジャスティンの身体が弾けたように背後へ揺れた。ジャケットの裾がゆっくり翻り、左肩から崩れてゆく。たぶん、最初の弾は左肩に着弾した。その後、再びジャスティンは前屈みになった。二発目は左腹部だ。ジャスティンの身体は、床へスローモーションのように崩れ落ち、うつぶした。

　「ジャスティン！」

　エリノアの矯正がステージに響いた。大きく見開いた瞳が、一点を見つめまま、細かく揺れている。一瞬にして透明な薄い膜が幾重にも重なって滲み、零れた。

　ジャスティンへ近づこうとするエリノアの体を前面から覆うようにしてSPが抑え込み、引き離している。

「伏せろ！」というSPと観客からの声が同時に周囲を支配した途端、観客席は混乱に包まれた。

　女性らの悲鳴が錯綜し、誰か、とやはり別の女性の声がかぶさった。すでに消えている銃声の余韻が、巨大な会場に重く残って覆っている。

　ステージにいた者以外は、一聴しただけでは気づかなかったがジャックの耳は聴き分けていた。弾は間違いなく２発だった。騒然とした場内をよそに、ジャックは静かに目を閉じた。発射音から着弾までを想像した。一発目の弾は、ジャスティンのほぼ頭上からだった。そして、もう一発もだ。発射音から着弾までの様子からしておそらくかなりの近距離だ。

「ベン、どこだ」

　ジャックは、出口へ卒倒してゆく観客らを抗うようにしてステージへ近づいていく。ベンの冷静な声がすぐに聞こえてきた。

「ジャスティンのそばだ。心臓ははずれているが、左肩と左腹部をかすめているようだ。動脈には達していないが出血がひどい」

「車列にあった救護班がすぐにいく。ジャスティンはボンベイブラッドだ。救急車にブラッドバッグが二つ備えてある。とりあえず輸血するはずだ」

「足らなかった場合は、イライジャのところか？」

「いずれにしても搬入だ。ベルビュー病院にブラッドバッグが保管されている。予備の輸血だ。三日前に確認した」

　ボンベイブラッドとは、１９５２年にインドのムンバイ、旧ボンベイで初めて確認された、通常のA、B、Oには分類されない特殊な血液型だ。インドでは１万人にひとり程度だが、世界的には２５０万人に１人ともいわれているもので、同じボンベイ型からボンベイ型への輸血しかできない。

　ベンは、冷静にわかったといった。

　マジソンスクエアガーデンに最も近いベルビュー病院にジャスティンを運び込む。ジャックは、病院で控えているイライジャに直接電話した。ワンコールが切れる前にすぐイライジャは反応した。

「ジャック、大変だ。血液がない。ボンベイブラッドがないんだ」

　ジャックは、耳を疑った。

「三日前に、俺は直接担当の、名前は忘れたな。とにかく目の前でブラッドバッグを確認したぞ」

　イライジャは、数秒の沈黙の後、応えた。

「その血液の管理者は、きのう、交通事故で亡くなったんだ」

　ジャックがその言葉に沈黙していると、場内にジャックの声でアナウンスが流れた。すでに震えているガーデンをさらにその声が震わせた。ジャックは、再びスクリーンに目をやったが、音声だけがジャックの声だった。

「みなさん、落ち着いてください。私はシークレットサービスのジャック・バンスです。この建物には爆薬が仕掛けられていますが、みなさん、落ち着いて、出口へ向かってください。繰り返します。私は….」

　場内の空気が一瞬にして、硬直した。同時に、崩壊した。パニックはすぐに伝染した。数千の観客は、波紋のように大きく揺れ、一斉に出口へ傾れ込んだ。しかし、ジャスティンへの発砲と同時に出口は封鎖されていた。

　メインアリーナの出入口は合計8つ――だがその多くは、来賓警備や車列誘導のためにすでに封鎖されていた。群衆の大半が、残された3つの出入口に集中した。

　低い声から高い叫び声。倒れた人間を踏みつける足。転倒した白いブラウスの少女はすでに黒ずんでいる。小さな熊のぬいぐるみの顔が真っ平らになっている。

　人は、逃げるときに後ろを見ない。出入口の一つでは、すでに数人が折り重なるように倒れ、その上をさらに何十人もの足が越えていった。荷重により手すりが歪み、出口の一部が完全に塞がれる。

　「ドアが開かない！」

　「子どもが――！」

　叫び声が乱れ飛び、場内警備は現場への到達すら困難な状態だった。あらゆる指示が雑音にかき消され、もはや群衆は誰の言葉も聞いていなかった。

　制御不能の肉の波――それが、人間の集団というものだった。

「この程度の混乱ではなかったぞ、ジャック」

　ザカリアの声が切ったはずのPAから場内へ響いた。同時に、ジャックら警備スタッフへのスマートフォンへリンク先の案内がいっせいに届いた。

「メールが届いただろう？　リンク先を開け。安心しろ、ウィルスは除去済みだ」

　ザカリアが笑いを抑え、皮肉混じりにいった。

　ジャックは後ろポケットから慌てて、アイフォンを開いた。１件のメール着信を開くと、サイトが現れた。

「こんばんは、ニューヨーク。そしてロサンゼルス。私の名前はザカリア・ハッダード。本名だ。５年前、ガザに住んでいた。今は、みなさんがよく目にする部屋を真似た部屋に私はいる」

　褐色の、顎髭をたくわえたザカリアは、アメリカ大統領執務室とほとんど同じ部屋の椅子に座っていた。背後に見える三つの大きな窓には、グリーンのカーテンが掛けられている。預言者ムハンマドが好んだ色だ。

　壁面には、剣ではなく詩と理性で世界を導こうとした男、イブン・シーナーの肖像画が掛けられていた。その眼差しは、ワシントンよりも深く、リンカーンよりも繊細なもので、遥か遠く、消え去った時間の底からこちらを見据えているようだった。

　ザカリアは腕時計に目を落としてから、再び、カメラに視線を向けた。目には言葉にできない喜びのような暗い影が落ちている。

「そろそろブレイキングニュースだ。スマートフォンの速報に注目して欲しい」

　ザカリアがそういった途端、速報が流れた。

【民主党前大統領のオーウェン・リードがロサンゼルス・コンベンション・センターで銃撃された模様です】

　ザカリアは、一瞬俯いて笑いを堪えながらいった。

「悲しい速報じゃないか。アメリカのみなさん。でもどうか悲しまないで欲しい。私が経験したガザではこの55,000倍だ。55,000人以上の大切な人を失い、そして、涙を流した」

　ザカリアはカメラから目を逸らし、俯いた。そして両手を固く握りしめ、力強く机を叩きつけた。部屋の空気が硬直した。重く固まった空気が画像からも伝わってくる。しかし、顔を上げたザカリアの目にはうっすらと涙が溢れていた。静かな涙だった。

「私たちは、お金を求めない。また、死による名誉も求めない。私たちが欲しいのは、55,000人が流した涙と同じだけの涙だ。流された涙と同じだけの涙だけが、私たちを癒す」

　両肘を机につき、両手を組むと、ザカリアは静かに顎を乗せた。目を閉じて、しばらく沈黙が続いた。目尻が細かく震えているようだった。

　ザカリアはデスクにあったフォトフレームをカメラへ向け、反転させた。

「私の家族だ。私の命よりも大切な家族だ。すべて一瞬で奪われたよ」

　彼の言葉に憎しみはなかった。語尾には、亡くなったものへの敬意とたくさんの優しさを詰め込んだ静けさが含まれている。続けて、ザカリアはゆっくり口を開いた。

「55,000人のうちの私はひとりに過ぎない。私が消えても55,000人もの意思は決して消えず、引き継がれる。私は、私たちの意思をここに表明するためにいる」

　ザカリアは、向かって右手の机の引き出しにそっと手を伸ばした。引き出しから、グロック１７を取り出すと、スライドしてチャンバーに弾を流した。そして、銃口を自分のこめかみに当てた。ザカリアの目からは憎悪は消えていた。穏やかで、亡くなった家族を包み込むようなやさしい眼差しだった。

　スンニ派である彼は、まっすぐにカメラを見つめ、いった。

「神のご加護を。アメリカ」

　執務室の三つの窓から差し込んだ眩い逆光の中、ザカリアは、静かに目を閉じると、トリガーを真っ直ぐに引いた。乾いた銃声が部屋に響いた。一瞬、カメラが横へぶれたが、映像は瞬時に黒へ切り替わった。

  

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これまでのメモ

 

3

www.flickr.com/photos/stealaway/54639396885/in/dateposted...

2

www.flickr.com/photos/stealaway/54628511025/in/dateposted...

1

www.flickr.com/photos/stealaway/54599616429/in/dateposted...

 

追記　この小説を多少説明しました。

youtu.be/3w65lqUF-YI?si=yG7qy6TPeCL9xRJV

 

iTunes Playlist Link::

music.apple.com/jp/playlist/b/pl.u-47DJGhopxMD

  

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メモ

 

1

「Bombay型（ボンベイ型、hh型）」

•特徴：通常のABO血液型を持たない（A、B、Oに分類されない）特殊な型。

•発見地：1952年、インド・ムンバイ（旧ボンベイ）で初めて確認。

•発生頻度：インドでは1万人に1人程度だが、世界的には約250万人に1人とも。

•輸血制限：同じBombay型しか輸血できない。

 

2

2024年ハーバード大学首席の卒業式スピーチ『知らないことの力』

youtu.be/SOUH8iVqSOI?si=Ju-Y728irtcWR71K

 

3

Shots fired at Trump rally

youtu.be/1ejfAkzjEhk?si=ASqJwEmkY-2rW_hT

  

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Fill the car with helium and off you go. Not sure where though because every time you try to tell the Cab Driver where you want to go, you open your mouth and a high squeaky voice comes out which makes you giggle. Then the Cab Driver starts giggling in a high squeaky voice and the next thing you know, you're Cab Driver is giggling so hard, he's driving down the sidewalk with the windows rolled down to let some of the helium out and a bunch of pedestrians are yelling at you ... in high squeaky voices ... which makes you giggle even more.

 

PS.

If you are over 50 years old, please remember, uncontrollable giggling can lead to an accidental audible fart.

 

View inhaling helium from a balloon

 

for

Sliders Sunday HSS

Best viewed in large size.

 

Often thought of as weeds because of the tendency of some species to spread uncontrollably with long, messy foliage, the spiderwort family (Commelinaceae) contains a number of very attractive plants. Spiderworts (Tradescantia sp.) and dayflowers (Commelina sp.) are closely related but the latter tends to have fewer blossoms at a time and longer stems. Their flowers also look like little faces and only two petals are prominent. In contrast, the spiderworts sometimes have large clusters of flowers, which are more symmetrically shaped with three equal petals. The colors of the blossoms range from very light blue to pink to purple or deep blue as above.

 

Spiderworts can be compared to daylilies where as each blossom lasts only one day. The common name refers to the many glistening hairs on the sepals and the buds as they resemble a spider's nest of webs, especially when covered with dew. "Wort" is an old English word for plant.

 

ISO200, aperture f/5.8, exposure .006 seconds (1/180) focal length 300mm

 

Yay I'm 20 today! No longer a teen. I've always wanted to do a self portrait but I'm so shy bout my uglyness :) I even bought contact lens and all for this shot but not much can be done.

 

01. My paternal granny is of Sikh heritage while my grandpa hails from Bombay. My maternal grandma has Javanese blood while my granddad descended from Ceylon (Old Sri Lanka)Hence, technically I am ¾ Indian.

 

02. I have partial colour deficiency

 

03. I am delusional, thinking I have a gifted natural, raw singing voice but in reality, it’s a bizarre, cringe worthy, unusually high pitch sound. But I still hold my lifelong wish to touch lives with my music- someday. =D I’m not giving up.

 

04.I am an uncontrollably shy and passive lone ranger, almost antisocial. This links well to my low self-esteem. It’s so ironic though I was a hyper attention-whore during my preteens. I guess changes do happen.

 

05. I have a crush on Alyssa Milano, Lacey Schwimmer and Chelsie Hightower <3

 

Textures courtesy of Skeletalmess

 

Explored | May 27, 2009 #421

 

© Copyright Iskandar 2009| All rights reserved.

Do not use, copy or edit any of my materials without my written permission.

Would appreciate not having large/animated multi invite codes

German postcard by Schwules Museum, Berlin, for the exhibition Fabrik der Gefühle. Hommage an Rainer Werner Fassbinder, 2002. Photo: Maximilian Johannsmann / Rainer Werner Fassbinder Foundation.

 

Rainer Werner Fassbinder (1945-1982) was a German film director, screenwriter, film producer and actor. Fassbinder was part of the New German Cinema movement. Starting at age 21, Fassbinder made over forty films and TV dramas in fifteen years, along with directing numerous plays for the theatre. He also acted in nineteen of his own films as well as for other directors. Fassbinder died in 1982 at the age of 37 from a lethal cocktail of cocaine and barbiturates.

 

Rainer Werner Fassbinder was born in Bavaria in the small town of Bad Wörishofen in 1945. The aftermath of World War II deeply marked his childhood and the lives of his bourgeois family. He was the only child of Liselotte Pempeit, a translator and Helmut Fassbinder, a doctor who worked out of the couple's apartment in Sendlinger Strasse, near Munich's red light district. In 1951, his parents divorced. Helmut moved to Cologne while Liselotte raised her son as a single parent in Munich. In order to support herself and her child, Pempeit took in boarders and found employment as a German to English translator. When she was working, she often sent her son to the cinema in order to concentrate. Later in life, Fassbinder claimed that he saw a film nearly every day and sometimes as many as three or four. As he was often left alone, he became independent and uncontrollable. He clashed with his mother's younger lover Siggi, who lived with them when Fassbinder was around eight or nine years old. He had a similar difficult relationship with the much older journalist Wolff Eder, who became his stepfather in 1959. Early in his adolescence, Fassbinder identified as homosexual. As a teen, Fassbinder was sent to boarding school. His time there was marred by his repeated escape attempts and he eventually left school before any final examinations. At the age of 15, he moved to Cologne and stayed with his father for a couple of years while attending night school. To earn money, he worked small jobs and helped his father who rented shabby apartments to immigrant workers. Around this time, Fassbinder began writing short plays and stories and poems. In 1963, aged eighteen, Fassbinder returned to Munich with plans to attend night school with the idea to eventually study theatrical science. Following his mother's advice, he took acting lessons and from 1964 to 1966 attended the Fridl-Leonhard Studio for actors in Munich. There, he met Hanna Schygulla, who would become one of his most important actors. During this time, he made his first 8mm films and took on small acting roles, assistant director, and sound man. During this period, he also wrote the tragic-comic play: Drops on Hot Stones. To gain entry to the Berlin Film School, Fassbinder submitted a film version of his play Parallels. He also entered several 8 mm films including This Night (now considered lost) but he was turned down for admission, as were the later film directors Werner Schroeter and Rosa von Praunheim. He returned to Munich where he continued with his writing. He also made two short films, Der Stadtstreicher,/The City Tramp (1965) and Das Kleine Chaos/The Little Chaos (1966). Shot in black and white, they were financed by Fassbinder's lover, Christoph Roser, an aspiring actor, in exchange for leading roles. Fassbinder acted in both of these films which also featured Irm Hermann. In the latter, his mother – under the name of Lilo Pempeit – played the first of many parts in her son's films.

 

In 1967 Rainer Werner Fassbinder joined the Munich Action-Theater, where he was active as an actor, director and script writer. After two months he became the company's leader. In April 1968 Fassbinder directed the premiere production of his play Katzelmacher, the story of a foreign worker from Greece who becomes the object of intense racial, sexual, and political hatred among a group of Bavarian slackers. A few weeks later, in May 1968, the Action-Theater was disbanded after its theatre was wrecked by one of its founders, jealous of Fassbinder's growing power within the group. It promptly reformed as the Anti-Theater under Fassbinder's direction. The troupe lived and performed together. This close-knit group of young actors included among them Fassbinder, Peer Raben, Harry Baer and Kurt Raab, who along with Hanna Schygulla and Irm Hermann became the most important members of his cinematic stock company. Working with the Anti-Theater, Fassbinder continued writing, directing and acting. In the space of eighteen months he directed twelve plays. Of these twelve plays, four were written by Fassbinder; he rewrote five others. The style of his stage directing closely resembled that of his early films, a mixture of choreographed movement and static poses, taking its cues not from the traditions of stage theatre, but from musicals, cabaret, films and the student protest movement. Fassbinder used his theatrical work as a springboard for making films. Shot in black and white with a shoestring budget in April 1969, Fassbinder's first feature-length film, Liebe ist kälter als der Tod/Love is Colder than Death (1969), was a deconstruction of the American gangster films of the 1930s, 1940s and 1950s. Fassbinder plays the lead role of Franz, a small-time pimp who is torn between his mistress Joanna, a prostitute (Hanna Schygulla), and his friend Bruno, a gangster sent after Franz by the syndicate that he has refused to join. His second film, Katzelmacher (1969), was received more positively, garnering five prizes after its debut at Mannheim. From then on, Fassbinder centered his efforts in his career as film director, but he maintained an intermittent foothold in the theatre until his death. Fassbinder’s first ten films (1969–1971) were an extension of his work in the theatre, shot usually with a static camera and with deliberately unnaturalistic dialogue. Wikipedia: “He was strongly influenced by Brecht's Verfremdungseffekt (alienation effect) and the French New Wave cinema, particularly the works of Jean-Luc Godard.” Fassbinder developed his rapid working methods early. Because he knew his actors and technicians so well, Fassbinder was able to complete as many as four or five films per year on extremely low budgets. This allowed him to compete successfully for the government grants needed to continue making films. Unlike the other major auteurs of the New German Cinema, Volker Schlöndorff, Werner Herzog and Wim Wenders, who started out making films, Fassbinder's stage background was evident throughout his work.

 

In 1971, Rainer Werner Fassbinder took an eight-month break from filmmaking. During this time, Fassbinder turned for a model to Hollywood melodrama, particularly the films German émigré Douglas Sirk made in Hollywood for Universal-International in the 1950s: All That Heaven Allows, Magnificent Obsession and Imitation of Life. Fassbinder was attracted to these films not only because of their entertainment value, but also for their depiction of various kinds of repression and exploitation. Fassbinder scored his first domestic commercial success with Händler der vier Jahreszeiten/The Merchant of Four Seasons (1971). Loneliness is a common theme in Fassbinder's work, together with the idea that power becomes a determining factor in all human relationships. His characters yearn for love, but seem condemned to exert an often violent control over those around them. A good example is Die bitteren Tränen der Petra von Kant/The Bitter Tears of Petra von Kant (1972) which was adapted by Fassbinder from his plays. Wildwechsel/Jailbait (1973 is a bleak story of teenage angst, set in industrial northern Germany during the 1950s. Like in many other of his films, Fassbinder analyses lower middle class life with characters who, unable to articulate their feelings, bury them in inane phrases and violent acts. Fassbinder first gained international success with Angst essen Seele auf/Fear Eats the Soul (1974). which won the International Critics Prize at Cannes and was acclaimed by critics everywhere as one of 1974's best films. Fear Eats the Soul was loosely inspired by Sirk's All That Heaven Allows (1955). It details the vicious response of family and community to a lonely aging white cleaning lady (Brigitte Mira) who marries a muscular, much younger black Moroccan immigrant worker. In these films, Fassbinder explored how deep-rooted prejudices about race, sex, sexual orientation, politics and class are inherent in society, while also tackling his trademark subject of the everyday fascism of family life and friendship. He learned how to handle all phases of production, from writing and acting to direction and theatre management. This versatility surfaced in his films where he served as composer, production designer, cinematographer, producer and editor.

 

Rainer Werner Fassbinder’s final films, from around 1977 until his death, were more varied, with international actors sometimes used and the stock company disbanded, although the casts of some films were still filled with Fassbinder regulars. Despair (1978) is based upon the 1936 novel of the same name by Vladimir Nabokov, adapted by Tom Stoppard and featuring Dirk Bogarde. It was made on a budget of 6,000,000 DEM, exceeding the total cost of Fassbinder's first fifteen films. In einem Jahr mit 13 Monden/In a Year of Thirteen Moons (1978) is Fassbinder most personal and bleakest work. The film follows the tragic life of Elvira, a transsexual formerly known as Erwin. In the last few days before her suicide, she decides to visit some of the important people and places in her life. Fassbinder became increasingly more idiosyncratic in terms of plot, form and subject matter in films like his greatest success Die Ehe der Maria Braun/The Marriage of Maria Braun (1979), Die Dritte Generation/The Third Generation (1979) and Querelle (1982). Returning to his explorations of German history, Fassbinder finally realized his dream of adapting Alfred Döblin's 1929 novel Berlin Alexanderplatz (1980). A television series running more than 13 hours, it was the culmination of the director's inter-related themes of love, life, and power. Fassbinder took on the Nazi period with Lili Marleen (1981), an international co production, shot in English and with a large budget. The script was vaguely based on the autobiography of World War II singer Lale Andersen, The Sky Has Many Colors. He articulated his themes in the bourgeois milieu with his trilogy about women in post-fascist Germany: Die Ehe der Maria Braun/The Marriage of Maria Braun (1979), Lola (1981) and Die Sehnsucht der Veronika Voss/Veronika Voss (1982), for which he won the Golden Bear at the 32nd Berlin International Film Festival. Fassbinder did not live to see the premiere of his last film, Querelle (1982), based on Jean Genet's novel Querelle de Brest. The plot follows the title character, a handsome sailor (Brad Davis) who is a thief and hustler. Frustrated in a homoerotic relationship with his own brother, Querelle betrays those who love him and pays them even with murder.

 

Rainer Werner Fassbinder had sexual relationships with both men and women. He rarely kept his professional and personal life separate and was known to cast family, friends and lovers in his films. Early in his career, he had a lasting, but fractured relationship with Irm Hermann, a former secretary whom he forced to become an actress. Fassbinder usually cast her in unglamorous roles, most notably as the unfaithful wife in The Merchant of Four Seasons and the silent abused assistant in The Bitter Tears of Petra von Kant. In 1969, while portraying the lead role in the T.V film Baal under the direction of Volker Schlöndorff, Fassbinder met Günther Kaufmann, a black Bavarian actor who had a minor role in the film. Despite the fact that Kaufmann was married and had two children, Fassbinder fell madly in love with him. The two began a turbulent affair which ultimately affected the production of Baal. Fassbinder tried to buy Kaufmann's love by casting him in major roles in his films and buying him expensive gifts. The relationship came to an end when Kaufmann became romantically involved with composer Peer Raben. After the end of their relationship, Fassbinder continued to cast Kaufmann in his films, albeit in minor roles. Kaufmann appeared in fourteen of Fassbinder's films, with the lead role in Whity (1971). Although he claimed to be opposed to matrimony as an institution, in 1970 Fassbinder married Ingrid Caven, an actress who regularly appeared in his films. Their wedding reception was recycled in the film he was making at that time, The American Soldier. Their relationship of mutual admiration survived the complete failure of their two-year marriage. In 1971, Fassbinder began a relationship with El Hedi ben Salem, a Moroccan Berber who had left his wife and five children the previous year, after meeting him at a gay bathhouse in Paris. Over the next three years, Salem appeared in several Fassbinder productions. His best known role was Ali in Ali: Fear Eats the Soul (1974). Their three-year relationship was punctuated with jealousy, violence and heavy drug and alcohol use. Fassbinder finally ended the relationship in 1974 due to Salem's chronic alcoholism and tendency to become violent when he drank. Shortly after the breakup, Salem went to France where he was arrested and imprisoned. He hanged himself while in custody in 1977. News of Salem's suicide was kept from Fassbinder for years. He eventually found out about his former lover's death shortly before his own death in 1982 and dedicated his last film, Querelle, to Salem. Fassbinder's next lover was Armin Meier. Meier was a near illiterate former butcher who had spent his early years in an orphanage. He also appeared in several Fassbinder films in this period. After Fassbinder ended the relationship in 1978, Meier deliberately consumed four bottles of sleeping pills and alcohol in the kitchen of the apartment he and Fassbinder had previously shared. His body was found a week later. In the last four years of his life, his companion was Juliane Lorenz), the editor of his films during the last years of his life. On the night of 10 June 1982, Fassbinder took an overdose of cocaine and sleeping pills. When he was found, an unfinished script for a film on Rosa Luxemburg was lying next to him. His death marked the end of New German Cinema.

 

Steve Cohn at IMDb: “Above all, Rainer Werner Fassbinder was a rebel whose life and art was marked by gross contradiction. Known for his trademark leather jacket and grungy appearance, Fassbinder cruised the bar scene by night, looking for sex and drugs, yet he maintained a flawless work ethic by day. Actors and actresses recount disturbing stories of his brutality toward them, yet his pictures demonstrate his deep sensitivity to social misfits and his hatred of institutionalized violence.”

 

Sources: Steve Cohn (IMDb), Wikipedia, and IMDb.

To my - untutored - eyes, this looks like some sort of Messerschmitt in a desert colour scheme, but it isn't. It isn't even German.

 

According to the National Air & Space Museum's notes on the aircraft, it is virtually unknown outside its home country of Italy. The C.202 Folgore was apparently the best fighter aeroplane fielded in significant numbers by the Regia Aeronautica (Italian Royal Air Force or RA) during World War II. It demonstrated that Italy could design and build fighter aircraft to world-class standards.

 

Aeronautica Macchi SpA designed and built the Folgore (Lightning), which was based on an earlier Macchi design powered by a radial engine, the C.200 Saeta (Thunderbolt). To create it, Macchi's chief of design, Mario Castoldi, adapted the Saeta airframe to the German Daimler-Benz DB 601 liquid-cooled engine.

 

Italy's once-leading aviation industry was beginning to lag by the end of the 1930s, particularly in engine development. No indigenous, in-line powerplant of sufficient power was available when the war started so early in 1940 Macchi had to import the German engine as a private venture. The results were impressive. Flat out, the Folgore was almost 60 mph faster than the Saeta's speed of 312 mph.

 

The first C.202 flew in August 1940 and the RA initially deployed the aircraft during the summer of 1941 to the 1° Stormo C.T. for conversion training. By November, this unit had transferred to Libya and engaged British forces shortly before the British blockaded Tobruk. Although it was available too late to affect the outcome in North Africa, it proved clearly superior to both the Curtiss P-40 and the Hawker Hurricane. Pilots flying the Italian fighter outperformed all opponents except Supermarine Spitfires and North American P-51 Mustangs. Folgore pilots lauded the fighter's finger-light handling and superb agility.

 

When supplies of DB 601 engines ran out, Alfa Romeo began building a copy, under license, called the RA 1000 RC41 Monsonie (Monsoon) but initial production was slow. The need for airplanes was urgent so for a time, Macchi built the outdated C.200 alongside the C.202 but by late 1942, Folgores outnumbered all other fighter airplanes in the Regia Aeronautica. Folgore production totalled about 1,500, built from 1941 to 1943. Macchi built fewer than 400 but the Breda and SAI Ambrosini firms manufactured the balance.

 

Chief designer Castoldi employed a unique method of counteracting the torque and P-factor (propeller factor) generated by the engine. These aerodynamic phenomena often cause airplanes to swing on take-off, sometimes uncontrollably. Castoldi made the left wing 21cm longer than the right wing. The larger wing created more lift which tended to roll the fighter right, opposing and thereby counteracting the torque and P-factor.

 

The Germans operated the C.202 in limited numbers and after 1943 it appeared in the small Allied Co-Belligerent Air Force that operated continuously against the Axis from the Italian Armistice to VE Day. Post-war Folgores, modified to accept the more powerful DB 605 engine and redesignated C.205 Veltros, last served in the Egyptian Air Force in 1949.

 

The example seen above is one of only two remaining in the world. The early history of this one is obscure, but it was among many Axis aircraft taken to the US for evaluation at the US Army's Air Technical Service Command at Wright Field, OH., and Freeman Field, IN. After evaluation, it remained in storage for years.

 

In 1975 National Air and Space Museum technicians completely restored the fighter to exhibit condition. Positive identification of the C.202 model series is still unknown, but it rests somewhere between the late production block Series VI and IX. For marking purposes, curators selected the arbitrary serial number MM 9476 from Series IX. No record is known of the original markings but curators chose to copy aircraft 90-4 of the 4º Stormo (Wing), 10º Gruppo (Squadron), and 90º Squadriglia (Flight) that operated in Libya during the summer of 1942. The 4º Stormo is a famous Italian fighter wing that fought during the Axis advance in North Africa and claimed 500 victories from 1940 to the end of the war.

   

“When you explore your fears then you set yourself free.”

― Stephen Richards, Releasing You from Fear

 

Agoraphobia (from Greek αγορά, "gathering place"; and φόβος/φοβία, -phobia) is an anxiety disorder characterized by anxiety in situations where the sufferer perceives certain environments as dangerous or uncomfortable, often due to the environment's vast openness or crowdedness. These situations include, but are not limited to, wide-open spaces, as well as uncontrollable social situations such as the possibility of being met in shopping malls, airports, and on bridges. Agoraphobia is defined within the DSM-IV TR as a subset of panic disorder, involving the fear of incurring a panic attack in those environments.[1] In the DSM-5, however, Agoraphobia is classified as being separate to panic disorder.[2] The sufferer may go to great lengths to avoid those situations, in severe cases becoming unable to leave their home or safe haven.

  

The Watchman

 

Description: These birds do not showcase sexual dimorphism. Some individuals of Vanellus chilensis display leucism, a recessive gene that confers the bird's plumage a white coloring. They feed on small aquatic invertebrates, small fishes, terrestrial arthropods and mollusks. They lay up to 4 eggs on the soil per brooding which normally occurs during Spring. Males are extremely aggressive and protective of their nest; in uncontrollable situations, they might fake a wound to ward off predators. The offspring blend very well with the scenery, being ground-colored, a camouflage defensive mechanism. They are extremely territorial and will alert the others of intruders with a loud scream. They are predated by Geranoaetus albicaudatus, Heterospizias meridionalis, Milvago chimango, Caracara plancus and Circus buffoni; I'm unaware if there are others. The offspring are born already knowing how to hunt, they are not beak-fed by the adults. Both the male and female incubate the eggs.

 

Four subspecies of Vanellus chilensis are described:

 

Vanellus chilensis cayennensis (Gmelin, 1789): Inhabits the North of Brazil, the Guianas, Venezuela, Colombia, Northwest Ecuador and Panama (observed in Costa Rica and Nicaragua);

 

Vanellus chilensis lampronotus (Wagler, 1827): Inhabits cuenca del Plata, in Argentina, Uruguay, Paraguay, Southeast Bolivia and Central and Southern Brazil;

 

Vanellus chilensis chilensis (Molina, 1782): Inhabits Chile and the West and South of Argentina;

 

Vanellus chilensis fretensis (Brodkorb, 1934): Inhabits the South of Argentina and Chile.

 

Feeding type: Predator of small fishes, aquatic invertebrates, terrestrial arthropods and mollusks.

 

PROJECT NOAH (Português): www.projectnoah.org/spottings/456095873

The ODUS-4 has missile launchers in the bulky armor bits of its shoulder. The pilot although known to be reckless and somewhat uncontrollable in his fighting style will often deploy missiles before he comes in closer to his enemy to strike.

 

Side notes: I like the little splash of pink with the orange and white. and I often like the grey bits being joints and other misc. things besides armor. Also completely purist build as are all my builds, to me it is just funner that way.

Field Marshal Bernard Law Montgomery ( BLM ) (17 November 1887 – 24 March 1976) suffered from "an overbearing conceit and an uncontrollable urge for self-promotion." General Hastings Ismay, who was at the time Winston Churchill's chief staff officer and trusted military adviser, once stated of Montgomery: "I have come to the conclusion that his love of publicity is a disease, like alcoholism or taking drugs, and that it sends him equally mad”

There was always a photographer in the background, he was always willing to participate in any publicity opportunity, whether in Ireland in 1921, where he was brigade major in the 17th Infantry Brigade stationed in County Cork, Ireland, carrying out counter-insurgency operations during the final stages of the Irish War of Independence, or on taking command of the Eighth Army in Africa on 13 August 1942, he was always willing to pose for the camera.

( thanks to Jeff Wharton for photo of re enactor Monty, nationlinfantrymuseum.org and National Library of Ireland for background photos )

.

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

This isn't one of my Mom's best photographs, with the focus a bit off, but as they say, "sharpness is bourgeois concept". Today would be my maternal grandmother's 114th birthday. She is on the right side of this photograph, looking at me. With her are two of her daughters, my aunties, Leora (holding me) and Marcia in the back (with such a beautiful pose). Her third daughter, my Mom (Marilyn) was taking the photograph.

 

I had my special names for all of these ladies who would influence my life. My grandmother was "Mamaw Hanners"; my Aunt Leora was "Aunt Orie"; and my Aunt Marcia was "Aunt Tata". After the untimely death of my Mom when I was only 9 years old, these three all played a huge part in my life. Only my Aunt Tata and me are left on this earth now.

 

Mamaw Hanners was unique to say the least. She never learned to drive a car. She didn't care much about socializing with others. She didn't laugh a lot, but when she did get tickled, usually watching Red Skelton or Jackie Gleason, her cackle was contagious and uncontrollable. The morning my Mom was shot to death, my Papaw Hanners picked me up from elementary school and took me to their home. When I walked in the door, Mamaw Hanners was sitting in a chair next to the door, with my small sister and brother on her lap. All three of them were wailing loudly, the unmistakable cry of deep mourning and shock, the kind that only comes from something like a shooting death out of the blue. I just stood and looked at them. Ever the fixer of things, even at age 9, I said "it will be okay Mamaw". She looked at me and blurted out "how am I going to take care of you three kids"? That hit me like a ton of bricks. I walked into the living room and stared blankly out of the window into the cold, November morning. My Dad was in an ambulance being rushed north to Indianapolis, after having been shot as well, and I was told bluntly he probably was not going to make it. I walked up to my Papaw Hanners and asked "am I going to be an orphan"?

 

Looking back, I think that moment changed my Mamaw Hanners life forever. In a flash her daughter was shot to death and three young grandkids were dumped in her lap. In the following years she spent a lot of time sitting quietly on her porch swing just rocking. She didn't have a lot to say.

 

But one thing that did elicit words was politics. She was a staunch Democrat, and every time Richard Nixon or Richard Lugar would appear on the TV screen, she would start swearing like a sailor. It happened so predictably that whenever Nixon or Lugar would appear on TV I'd get ready for the swearing. I can't help but smile thinking about it now. In later years, I became good friends with Senator Lugar and told him about my Mamaw Hanners. The story tickled him, and he laughed, which says a lot about the great man that Richard Lugar was. (Sorry Mamaw).

 

I can only imagine my Mamaw Hanners being alive in the Trump Era. Perhaps hell hath no fury that would surpass that of my Mamaw seeing Donald J. Trump on TV.

 

So, happy 114th birthday, Mamaw. And remember, in less than a month, a Democrat will be President again.

  

the gentle breeze brushed her face,

as the dance began this day.

 

she smiled and spun freely

with uncontrollable excitement

for this leaf was created for dancing

 

as the melody played louder,

the breeze twirled her 'round and 'round,

the leaf danced like she had never danced before.

 

spinning, floating. flying.

 

until she landed

quietly, without a sound,

on the cold concrete below.

 

october had arrived

life is short, break the rules, forgive quickly,

kiss slowly, love truly, laugh uncontrollably,

and never regret anything that made you smile. ~ anonymous

 

HWEVS !!

Having maneuvered his way around several more mercenaries, Jason found himself at the top of a flight of stairs. Still reeling from the disturbing scene in the bedroom labeled ‘3’, he managed to press on while maintaining his composure. Atop the stairs, he retraced his steps through the hallway above the one he had come from to find approximately where the bedrooms had been below. Finding this location, marked by large wooden doors on the second level, meant he had found Greene’s trophy room. Jason slowly pushed the doors open, making sure that no mercenaries were around, before slipping inside and closing them behind him. Once inside, he marveled at the immediate sights in front of him: Egyptian statues, urns, medieval weapons, and dozens of wooden crates housing even more artifacts. Nodding, Jason said to himself,

  

“Ok…Now where would…?” But before he could retrieve the picture of the artifact he was searching for, a large sword was slashed at him by nearby. Jason barely dodged the attack, the weapon hit one of his taser guns instead of his arm, and in retaliation he raised his unscratched taser gun to the attacker. The face of the attacker was very familiar, as Jason had seen him many times over the last month in various interviews and candid photographs, prompting him to say, “…Greene.” Jay Greene, aged as he was, seemed to retain a decent amount of his youthful strength. There was a scowl upon his face as he whispered in what was nearly a hiss,

  

“You DARE wear something that looks like HIM? I wanted to talk to you Todd…I wanted to learn about you…you’re obviously a very interesting specimen…” As Greene said this, he aimed one of his antique swords at Jason’s throat, with the latter holding his taser guns at the former, “We’re similar after all…”

  

“The only similarity was our vocation,” Jason answered, “But you’re a shell of the man we used to be,” Jay looked puzzled at this as Jason continued, “There are better ways to go about this. Nobody has to die today. All I need is…” He raised the photo of the item he needed as Greene replied,

  

“You certainly can’t have that…if they found out I had it I’d be dead within the hour…in fact you can’t have anything. This is all my property, and I’ll choose to do whatever I want with my property. For example, you can’t have any of this.” Jason pressed a button on his wrist nonchalantly as he said,

  

“I need it. If Gotham is to survive…”

  

“Who cares about Gotham?” Greene asked, laughing slightly louder than his voice and causing Jason to panic about the surrounding mercenaries hearing it, “The Bat’s there. He took what I loved from me so if he loves that city so much…” Greene was turning red as he went, and seemed to stumble on his words for a moment with his anger, “…screw him. Screw him and his stupid city.” Jason thought for a moment before realizing what he had seen downstairs, and as he did he said,

  

“That’s your son…”

  

“What?” Greene asked, even more furious than before,

  

“Downstairs…the man in front of the TV…did Batman do that…?” Jason watched as Greene’s nostrils seemed to flair before he yelled out in anger and swung his sword into the former’s neck. The kevlar barely caught the sword, causing a bruise on Jason’s neck and a momentary loss of air as he stumbled backwards.

  

“WHAT DID YOU DO TO HIM?” Greene yelled as he swung the sword again, prompting Jason to fire off several rounds of his taser guns. The electric bursts collided with Greene and caused him to shake uncontrollably for a moment before he continued, “YOU…YOU MOTHER-” Jason managed to get several more shots off, but none of them seemed to keep Greene down for long, “WHAT DID YOU DO TO HIM IN THERE? YOU WENT IN THERE! WHAT DID YOU DO!?!” Finally backed into a corner, Jason tripped, dropping one of his taser guns. He raised the other but Greene quickly sliced through it in one move before revealing a smaller weapon in his other hand. The weapon looked similar to a syringe and when he jammed it into Jason’s arm it cause the latter to cry out in pain. Greene stepped back for a moment, collecting himself as he explained, “I picked that little concoction up from some Professor named Milo. It’s going to induce heavy hallucinations so…have fun,” Jason began convulsing on the ground before jumping to his feet, pulling the syringe from his arm and swaying in place. He removed his cowl and threw it across the room at Greene, who stepped into the shadows, saying, “I’ll wait, don’t worry. You won’t be harmed until the effects wear off. I’d like to know more about you before I add your corpse to this collection.” Sweating now, Jason looked all around as the room seemed to shift around him as if it were breathing. In a panicked rush he turned and kicked open the doors to escape only to have a blinding light pour in, seemingly dragging him into the hallway.

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Please ^^^

 

I never used to cry, I absolutely hated it. I hated feeling weak, I hated feeling vulnerable and I hated letting my guard down. I hated showing that I was sensitive, that things upset me. I hated crying about myself really. A book, a movie, anything that wasn’t me, I could cry you oceans with all of the emotions and feelings that they would stir up in the pit of my stomach, but when it came to me, I was a rock. Bottling it up and hiding it on a back shelf was a skill that I had painfully mastered. I hated that I always felt stupid for letting something bother me, that I should be stronger than that. Lately though, I’ve come to accept crying as a part of my life, as depressing as that sounds. I finally just stopped caring, and let that wall down and completely broke down and cried and cried until there was nothing left. I poured my heart out to her and she held me and didn’t say a thing, because she knew she didn’t need to. That night was one of the first nights I had ever really sobbed uncontrollably in front of someone, and it felt so liberating. I’ve embraced the fact that we need to cry. It’s therapeutic, and it helps us move on, and put a sort of closure on parts of our lives sometimes. I still struggle with it everyday, and sometimes I hold so much in and I can feel it in my throat and I know if I don’t let it all go, then I’m just going to explode. And that’s when I remember that it’s okay. It’s all okay

 

~EXPLORED #333 FEBRUARY 9, 2010 <3

I know it's not even that high of a number, but its 333 so I am happy.

/ocd

A rebooted version of flic.kr/p/HgGW1B

——————————————————

Arthur Newton was a prodigy in the field of alchemy, coming from a long line of alchemists spanning back far into the Middle Ages. In his youth, he was reckless, touting himself as a powerful wielder of the power of alchemy. This recklessness and abandon for authority ended with him joining a group of renegade alchemists known as the Order of the Key, a group hellbent on using alchemy to destroy all magic.

 

At first, Arthur was fully on-board with the mission of the group, but then he had a daughter. Hannah was a bundle of joy, and Arthur realized that his life with the Order would be a terrible influence on his daughter. He defected from the Order, moving as far away from their workings as humanly possible, and settling down in the suburbs with his wife and daughter, ready to be a family man.

 

When Hannah turned 13, she began to show evidence of having magical abilities, which Arthur was quick to attempt to hide away, knowing that the Order was still out there and still kept tabs on him. This urging for Hannah to hide it away caused her to become afraid of her powers, and had the added consequence of letting her magic become unstable and uncontrollable.

 

When Hannah turned 18, the Order finally tracked down the Newtons, ready to tie up loose ends and prepared to kill Hannah and Arthur as an example to what happens to those who deny their righteous mission.

 

Arthur’s wife was killed by the Order, something Hannah witnessed. This caused her to unleash a wave of deadly magical energies, destroying the assassins sent for her and her father, as well as the house around them.

 

Since then, Arthur and Hannah have been on the run from the Order, with Arthur struggling to teach Hannah how to use her magical abilities as well as alchemy despite her apprehensions, leaning more toward using traditional weaponry and allowing her magic to fester and grow more and more unstable.

 

The both of them have become somewhat of a vigilante duo, stopping crimes and Order-sponsored plans during their sporadic life on the run.

Jason crashed into the wall on the opposite side of the hallway but found that it looked strikingly different than when he had last seen it. Instead of the inside of Jay Greene’s lavish mansion, it was a steel-enforced wall adorned with dents and other marks. The effects of the drug Greene had given him were making it increasingly difficult to stand, so Jason placed his hand on the wall and used it to guide himself to the end of the hall. Once there, he heard a scream from the other end of the hallway. It was a female scream.

  

“Scarlet…?” Jason called back drowsily as he turned to face the other way. In reply, Scarlet’s familiar voice cried out,

  

“Somebody save me please!!” Clenching his free fist, Jason began stumbling back down the hallway, all the while yelling back,

  

“I’m coming Scarlet…it’s going to be ok…hold on…!!” The temperature of the room began to drop dramatically as he reached the origin of the cries for help, evident by Jason being able to see his own breath. Shivering for a moment, Jason looked down. Upon looking back up, the hallway had changed. He now stood in a very familiar room, one with ice caking the walls along with various bloodstains. Looking around, he yelled out, “Scarlet! Scarlet where are you! I’m here to save you…I promise I will-” Jason’s speech was cut off by a sudden loud human produced ‘oink’ followed by sickening laughter. He raised his taser gun and began firing off several shots but to his surprise the gun had turned into his old pistol. The bullets collided with the walls and although they were made of steel they all began to bleed where shot. Looking down at his gun, Jason then realized he was no longer in his faux-Batman suit but instead in another familiar suit: his first Red Hood suit, the one he had created from Ra’s al Ghul’s leftover robes and armor. Feeling his face, he even found his old domino mask. After a moment of this, Jason closed his eyes, saying, “It’s just a hallucination…this isn’t real…this isn’t real…”

  

“I’m afraid we’re very real kiddo.” The sound of this voice particularly made Jason freeze in his place. He slowly opened his eyes to see that several new figures now stood around him. The Flamingo held someone in Jason’s current Red Hood suit down as Black Mask beat them with a pair of iron knuckles. But the source of the phrase just uttered stood several feet in front of Jason: the Joker. The former shook his head, saying,

  

“No…you’re in my head…this is just because of that stuff Greene hit me with…”

  

“Of course you know that,” Joker said, playing with the knife in his hand, “But we’re all very real. That’s no joke I’m afraid, birdboy,” The Joker began to walk around Jason, who seemed to be unable to move, as he continued, “Let’s face it Mr. ‘Artist-Formerly-Known-As-A-Killer’, you’re a dropout of the Batman school of flying lunatics! You don’t belong on his crusade, you already know what happens to everyone who follows him firsthand. Remember? Or will I have to reintroduce you to Mrs. Crowbar?” As Joker passed, Jason watched as the beating of the man in his current Red Hood uniform intensified. His mask was beginning to break, to which Black Mask laughed,

  

“We should’ve done this years ago Flamingo, this whole team-up.” Flamingo replied,

  

“As long as we can have equal distribution of his limbs later you can call me up any time Sionis.” Shooting Flamingo a strange look, Black Mask said,

  

“‘the hell’s wrong with you?” Joker grabbed Jason’s face and forced him to look at where the former had been standing at this point, causing the latter to gasp. Scarlet was stuck on the same operating table he had met her on years earlier, but with no Pyg around he began to understand why he was there.

  

“Ah…there it is. You’re getting the bigger picture now,” Joker laughed as he tapped Jason lightly on the cheek and walked to Scarlet’s side, “Here’s the deal: either you kill her or I do. Afraid there’s no way out of this one even if it is all in your head!” The Joker was laughing uncontrollably now as Jason unconsciously felt the arm that held his gun rise to Scarlet’s head. She deliberately fought against her restraints as Jason said,

  

“No…I won’t do it…Never…” Joker shook his head,

  

“Oh no no no no no no no, my dear boy, don’t you see? You’ve already made the choice. You won’t be able to blame us at all! This is glorious! It’s the nature of you people to kill the ones you love and you don’t even realize you’re doing it!” Relaxing for a moment while Jason grit his teeth in an attempt to take control of his arm, Joker sighed and said, “It’s one killer joke, right?” From behind Jason the sound of a blade piercing skin suddenly caught his attention. Turning, he watched Flamingo fall to the ground while Ra’s al Ghul stood behind him, cleaning his blade while nodding to Jason. In the momentary confusion, Joker asked,

  

“Now how the hell are you here? You’re the one person we definitely didn’t invite to this rendez-vous!” Feeling control in his arm returning as he watched Ra’s stab Black Mask through the throat, Jason managed to turn his gun to the Joker while saying,

  

“Joker!” The clown turned to him as Jason fired off several shots into the former’s body, “I never found you funny.” With the hallucinations of Joker, Black Mask, and Flamingo dead, Jason found himself alone with Ra’s, the man dressed in the newest Red Hood suit, and Scarlet. After a moment, Scarlet disappeared, leaving Jason to ask,

  

“What now?” Ra’s pointed to the door he had entered, saying,

  

“I’ll keep you safe for now, but only until the effects of Greene’s drug wear off.” Now the man in the Red Hood suit disappeared as Jason continued,

  

“Before we go…what are you? What is all this? What did it mean?” Ra’s turned to Jason in the doorway to reply,

  

“Jason. I’m a part of your mind. I know you know the answer.”

 

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ISSUE 100! I never thought I'd reach 100 with any of the stories I wrote but here we are and I'm very proud of my Red Hood run. On that note, I will be continuing Robin shortly (I tried to get out up to Red Hood #100 before I left for college), and on the note of college I leave Tuesday and already have plans that I will discuss in a picture Monday or Tuesday morning. I hope you enjoyed and, as always, thanks for reading!

“As she neared her new plot of land, she passed a grimy and weathered old man on the road. He was audibly mumbling and talking to himself, hands gesturing every couple of seconds. Upon seeing her, he barked loudly about a cursed farmstead, insisting she turn around. Independent and strong her entire life, she brushed off his ramblings and traveled the final mile to her new home.

  

She worked hard with her son, sowing seeds and tending to the livestock. When the time came to harvest, nearly half the crops were ruined with plague. Beneath the rotting fruits and vegetables were pitch black feathers, hundreds of them in all, littering the fields and fluttering with the wind. In the barn, several pigs were also dead, their bodies surrounded by the same jet black feathers. Concerned but not broken, they used what they could and tried to persevere.

  

Weeks later while cooking breakfast, she heard her son begin to cough uncontrollably. She rushed to his bedroom to find his mouth and throat full of feathers wet from his saliva and bile. She frantically tried to pull them out but there was no end, as if in his stomach was an entire crow. He fell to the ground after a final jerk, lifeless and still. She wailed with misery and exasperation, collapsing onto him and clutching him tightly. She may have stayed there for hours had she not smelled something burning in the kitchen. It did not smell like food, however; the smell was much more like burning hair. She stumbled to the oven and opened it in horror, finding not ham but only the same black feathers, charred and smoking in front of her.” -M.D.Walter

 

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Even heroes will get mad sometimes...

 

This is Laxus' alternate form when he gets serious in battle. He discards his lightning powers for plasma and becomes an even greater force to be reckon with! However, his uncontrollable temper during this form may lead regretful decisions and unthinkable consequences later on when he reverts back to normal.

 

I've found myself some free time and decided to moc a bit. I have this idea of an alt form for Laxus for quite some time and wanted to try it out. Turns out, it's pretty good. I'm grateful that I bought breakout Nex now :P

 

As always, thanks for stopping by and C&C is always appreciated! :D

Poor Miku. Floating in a vacuum – the crushing, frozen wasteland of space.

A solar-powered android, Miku contemplates the vastness of her inevitable future; an infinity of drifting endlessly and uncontrollably through gas clouds and nothingness... and, more importantly, over a million miles from the nearest leek.

 

After many delays, I finally got my Nendoroid Hachune Miku from GSC! She's so much more fun than I 'd expected! I'm so pleased to have her!

I made the background with a bit of black and white patterned paper and added the colours of the nebula with Photoshop.

 

N.B. After several weeks of drifting, Miku was picked up by a KFC meat delivery ship and returned to Earth.