CHALLENGE WEEK 4

Good afternoon my darling models, it is saturday again so pay attention....

Here's your new challenge.................

Challenge week 4

You're cordially invited to: The Annual Tea Party at Giardini Botanici Hanbury (Villa Hanbury)

Address: Corso Montecarlo 43, Mortola Inferiore (near Ventimiglia)

Dress code: Out of Africa-Animal Prints-Tea wear

===========================

 

Exerpts from Shawnah's Blog

 

"...St. Tropez was a debacle.The Paparazzis were more gnawingly viscious than usual. Im out of my element then that's for sure. After reading the invitation from Wilhelmina, I just knew what to do next... The Botanical Garden of Hanbury was magestic I thought. After glancing the beauty of the limestone's peachy patina of the arches and walls, the subtle seduction of flowers and plants, I sat down with the other models and savor nature with a cup of tea. (Note to Self: drink just a cup, an active bladder and a stunning couture dress just dont really mingle at all)...The party went on, and me, seemingly like a real proper english woman in my outfit- was approached by a fellow model and she stared at me from shoe to my fab fab hat. I thought for a while that she had more than her serving of cucumber sandwhiches and maybe a bottle of Benadryl or catnip with that apathetic look on her face, then she asked... "Aren't you quite overdressed for today's party Shawnah?"... totally clueless, not knowing where that came from I simply answered " Nah nah sweetie (subtle smile)... thats why there's the letter "tea" in "Couture"..."

507001 approached Hoggs Hill Lane foot crossing (south of Formby station), working 2U43 16.12 Southport - Hunts Cross. [Pole, 5/6 sections (~6.8m)]

 

I'd photographed this unit heading north nearly three and a half hours earlier (see here), but its expected return working was cancelled and it was stepped back by two and a half hours - departing from Southport exactly an hour before sunset. But I realised there would not be any problems with shadows here, so thought I'd have a go - and I went home (a few hours later - after some more night photography) happy.

 

Apart from the light grey doors (required by access-for-all rules) and the additional branding on the inner ends of each driving car (to mark their 46 years of service), there are two things that immediately jumped out to me as being incorrect about the branding on this retro livery. First, unless it also contained the BR logo (as in the West Yorkshire "MetroTrain" branding), on blue and grey livery any PTE branding was only carried on the left-hand side of the end vehicles (when facing forwards), and logos were always at the cab end of any worded branding; the BR double arrow was on the other side, on its own. That means the the "Merseyrail" branding (with the 1970s Merseyside PTE logo) nearest the camera should actually be a BR logo. Second, the word "Merseyrail" and the PTE logo should be "middle aligned" with each other (which would match lower case letters aligning top and bottom with the top and bottom of the two horizontal bars of the BR double arrow): here the top of the lettering is aligned with the top of the PTE logo, so slightly too high. But I'm only nit-picking!

 

Visit Brian Carter's Non-Transport Pics to see my photos of landscapes, buildings, bridges, sunsets, rainbows and more.

Write your answer in the comments below this photo

“You take delight not in a city's seven or seventy wonders, but in the answer it gives to a question of yours.” (Italo Calvino, Invisible Cities)

 

New York, Dec/2017

#Answer Yes or No...:)

~Up theo tâm trạng thou

~K thic cmt thì FAV nhá đó kug là cách tl ák :)

~Hết tuần này sẽ up pic mới

~ Tôi đã bắt đâu thay đỗi

~ Khoảng cách xa dần theo thời gian

~ K wt t thì lam s bk t đã change :-<

~ Tôi ước

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@ Mong ước sẽ thành hiện thực. Khoãng cách ta sẽ gần hơn hay la sẽ mãi xa

 

P.s:Cmt cho pic dứi nha tks nhìu dắm :).

Nestled in the Balkans and draped in a fine powder of snow, the sovereign nation of Modora has survived for nearly four hundred years. It survived the great ravages of a Vandal Savage on the warpath, stood strong through innumerable winters, and joined the resistance when it was taken by Nazi forces during World War Two.

 

And although it had seen better days, the small nation still managed to crawl along. It’s inhabitants were content, and its economy stabilizing.

 

It would be astounding however, it Modora survived what happened next.

 

The green light we’ve all come to expect tears through the atmosphere, and dissipates in the cobblestone Modora streets. In its wake stands six figures in outlandish costumes. Their presence causes confused glances from the passerby.

 

Sonar: Ah, what is the expression? Home is the sweetest home?

 

Answer, behind him, still struggles in the grips of the Multiplexes.

 

Answer: Sure, if you’re an invalid.

 

Sonar turns and smiles. He takes a few steps towards Answer.

 

Sonar: Ah, our delightful Mister Answer. Welcome to my home. What do you think?

 

Answer spits: Looks like every other stick-built pile of mud the Europeans are so well known for.

 

Angle-Man: Who’s being racist now, eh?

 

Sonar: Quiet please, Bend.

 

Answer: You may as well just kill me now metalfingers, otherwise I promise to you I’ll be nothing but hell in a handbasket.

 

Sonar laughs: No, no. For now you remain alive. It is not that I need you, it is that you shall serve as the first public execution under my new rule. Mister Black, please release him. He can do no harm here. However, If he tries anything, do tear him limb from limb.

 

At this he ascends, rising up into the air above the ancient, shingled rooves. Below, Angle-Man, Agent Orange, and Multiplex watch him rise. The Answer however, glances briefly at Hypnota, and strokes his chin once. Hypnota strokes her own false beard once in return.

 

Above the rooftops, Sonar takes in the crisp mountain air, extends his arms, smiles, then releases a resounding shriek from the devices in his fingertips. The sound rattles beams, shatters windows, and causes ears to bleed. Somewhere in the distance, an avalanche plummets down a cliffside and crushes an old man’s cabin, sweeping him into sharp rocks.

 

In the throne room of the Modoran palace, a stained glass window, as old as the nation itself, depicting the great hero Sir Sheldrake slaying the great elder dragon shatters into infinitesimal pieces over Lord Fando’s head.

 

Fando brushes the glass from his hair. He knows exactly what this means. He’s been keeping up with American news. He knows exactly who’s here. And he does not want him living. Fando calls for his captain of the guard, and waits a full three minutes for him to clomp into the throne room. Madly, wildly, Fando begins to shout orders at him, until finally, the captain obliges and clomps back out. Steaming, Fando returns to his quarters and readies for battle.

 

On the streets, passerby have begun to flee in panic. Sonar descends again.

 

Sonar: Now, we are here to retake the throne of Modora. The throne that rightfully belongs to me. You will do as I say, and go where I point. Any disobedience, and you will be without head. And Mister Answer, do try and keep alive.

 

Answer grimaces under his mask, but uncharacteristically, says nothing. His silence throws Sonar off for a second, but the sounds of gunfire and the soft pat of bullets embedding themselves in the nearby building brings him back around.

 

Sonar: Please, for the sake of myself and your own health, try not to damage the buildings.

 

At that, Multiplex expands into six more of himself, three of which catch bullets. The Squad behind him bolts in all directions, and before he knows it, he’s diving into an alley. He knew he shouldn’t have tried to swipe those diamonds, he just couldn’t help himself, and now, thanks to Firestorm and his own lack of impulse control, he had an arm with a third degree burn, a bomb in his neck, and he was here in this random micro-town in the middle of nowhere. He hadn’t even checked to see if that permanent brand old hot-head had gave him extended to his dupes, and frankly, he was afraid to find out. Instead, he just sat in the corner, pumping out dupes after dupe as Sonar shouted overhead for more manpower. Danton Black’s life was one long string of regrets, and being here was certainly one of them. He shuddered every time another of him died.

 

Agent Orange’s eyes light up in fire. He watches has the thatch and bamboo huts go up in flame. Screaming children, thick little fists covering their eyes, roll in the steaming mud as women weep and bawl, and men shriek in pain, their limbs burned off by liquid heat. Behind him, the apaches strafe the tree line, causing the palm trees to go up in a molten ball of chemical death. He grins and clicks his flamethrower to life. Casually, he lights a wounded Vietcong on fire, and sighs contentedly as the man shrieks and his skin sizzles. Somewhere, someone is shouting for more water, more whiskey, more water, and another man wants to go surfing. Agent Orange does not miss California, and does not miss his friends. The coast life was never for him. But this stage, this theater of war, was everything he’d ever need.

 

Angle-Man ports forward, glad he at least brought a knife which rapidly finds itself embedded in the blue-uniformed chest of a Modoran solider. He ports just to the left so another is riddled with his own comrades’ bullets. He’s thrilled, honestly. Thrilled that he’s made it this long. That he never lost more than those two fingers. Thrilled that finally, finally his time served on this godforsaken outfit payed off. When Wladon had offered him this deal after that mess with that Witch woman, he was all too eager to accept. He expected it to happen sooner, but he understood why Wladon didn’t want Lawton or Harkness along. The bastards. Bend for one was glad to be rid of them. Two soldiers are sliced in half by his angle, and another gets the bullet treatment himself. It’s an old method, but tried and true. Yes, Bend was thrilled to be rid of Lawton and Harkness. Thrilled to be released from Waller’s iron grasp. Bend was looking forward to ruling this country.

 

The shells and bullets, and the one tank the Modoran Soldiers employed, were not unfamiliar to Hypnota. She was surprised that a nation of this size only had one tank, but she was also thankful. Another shell imploded to the right of her, and snapped her back to that crackling, resounding sound that took her brother. She touched her fingers to her head briefly, and sent a pulsating force through it quickly to move the memories past. She had to stop doing that, she noted, or the damage would be irreparable. Behind her, The Answer was cursing violently and creatively and nursing a bullet wound to the left shoulder. It was not the worst she had seen. As loud as he was, he would be all right. They nodded to each other, then Hypnota darted from her hiding place, blasting psychic waves towards a few nearby soldiers. She grimaced as the soldiers all turned and shot each other in the head. When oh when, she wondered, would all the violence end.

 

Sonar laughs aloud has he bursts the eardrums and shatters the brain matter of all the gunmen around him. He feels a hint of remorse, these were his subjects, his personal guard after all, and it was a shame to spill Modoran blood, but they were traitors, lapdogs of Fando, and thus, they had to be put down. Out of the corner of his eye, he catches Hypnota leap onto the army’s tank, and suggest the soldiers open the hatch, to which they oblige. To his left, Bend and Aparo burn and slash through the guards, and all around him, Multiplex surges through the streets. He breathes in the harsh smoke of battle, then rises towards the remains of a once magnificent stained-glass window. A hail of bullets explodes towards him, but he bats them away with pure sound. Gently, he lands on his tip-toes, then begins to strut forward, and with a horrid set of screeches, explodes the heads of Fando’s guards with pure shockwaves of sound.

 

Fando: не не! Познавам те, семейството ти е мъртво! немилост!

 

Sonar blasts the weapons from his hands, then grabs Fando’s head between his own.

 

Sonar: изглежда, че грешите

 

With one last resounding sound, Fando’s head is crushed by solid sound waves., his final terrified scream drowned out by Sonar’s exhausted apparatuses.

 

Sonar takes a deep, exhausted breath as Fando’s near-headless body crumples to the floor. He is Sonar no longer as he approaches the throne. He is Bito Wladon, ruler of Modora.

 

And now none would stand in the way of his rule.

 

As everyone is entering 2017, the unknown stares back at us, and we wonder what lies over the horizon. I think this picture brings home the reality of the human mindset, in that while we are a little afraid of the unknown, and at the very best, can be uncomfortable or challenged by it, we are also drawn into it! The desire to see what lies ahead, around the bend, or over a hill is what drives us on to conquer our own fears and discomfort. Sometimes, we will wish we hadn't trudged ahead, but other times, we will be glad we did.

 

A friend of mine once said in a poem she wrote that we should seek to be pioneers, not settlers. Keep exploring, keep conquering new challenges and setting those lofty goals!

 

Yesterday, my nephew came over for a while. He told us his plans to go into the National Guard, join a police force eventually, and then get a law degree and be a cop AND a lawyer! At first, I looked at him like he was crazy, and thought to myself, he can't do that! Then I asked him if maybe he didn't think he might be spreading himself too thin with those goals. He shrugged and basically said he could do it. I then thought, what right do I have to convince him otherwise?! At 21, the world is still your oyster, and you have the strength to accomplish great things. I hope he does it!

 

For those of us who haven't the time or energy to take on the entire world anymore, I just want to encourage us all to at least keep chomping on those bits of life that make it glorious! Don't ever give up, and don't ever stop dreaming! There are still a lot of unknowns to conquer, and we will always be entering another forest with something in the distance that lures us to go deeper. It's the best of life that's calling us. We need to answer the unknown when it calls...

==The Hindu Kush Valley==

 

Walking through the desert, a group of heroes look over at a nearby village. Orange flames lick and spit, civilians run for cover. At their leader's insistence, one, a red and yellow android creates a cyclone, extinguishing the blaze. Another, a Magician in a top hat utters the spell "Wolf Retaw," a stream of water bursting from her wand. Their leader, a blond haired, handsome man, looks up at a nearby jet and puts his finger to his ear. "This is Aquaman, we've arrived at the drop sight. Over."

 

Onboard the Javelin, Mr Terrific answers back. "Understood. What do you see?"

 

Aquaman pauses. The recent sandstorm had made it difficult to see much of anything, even with his heightened senses. A few yards away, he notices something. A series of immobile, black figures, pointed ears atop their masks. "Talons... I see... God."

 

They're all dead, impaled on their own swords, unable to move. He looks at his boot, drenched in their bizarre, greyish blood. They're freshly killed.

Suddenly, the nearest Talon reaches out, unable to take the sword out it's chest, instead it begs, silently, in the hopes Arthur might slay it.

"They're still alive..." he gasps.

 

At this, Terrific looks at the scanners, zooming in on the heroes below them. "Aquaman, get out of there."

 

"I don't understand," Arthur replies.

 

"The blood, Arthur, look at the blood!" Holt yells, as the other heroes join him on the bridge. Without uttering a word, the other Leaguers nod at Holt, and exit the Javelin.

 

Aquaman steps back, and looks down at the ground. "What the hell?"

 

Written in the Talon's blood, a single word. "Aquaman."

 

"Tornado, Zatanna, get out of here," he yells, before a plasma ray sends him flying through a building. Walking towards him, in a black and silver suit, his red eyes glowing with energy, is Black Manta, beside him a man in a red and black tuxedo, a camera mounted on his head. "He actually delivered... Start filming."

 

=The League of Assassins Archives. Nanda Parbat=

 

Ra's looked at the case. Inside it, *her* costume- a bright orange and black leotard, wings protruding from it's back, long red boots and gloves, and a black domino mask. He opened the cabinet, and held the blade in his hand. It must've been fifteen years since he last held it in his hand. The day he gave it to her.

 

"Master, you wanted to speak with the informant?" Ubu asks.

 

Ra's stroked the blade. Nostalgia was not something he often let himself feel, but this, this was different. He'd written it off at first, the effects of the new Lazarus strain, but he couldn't ignore it any longer. He turned his head to his servant, blade in hand. "Ah, yes."

 

"Father, is this wise?"

 

"Talia, enough," Ra's says, raising a hand to his daughter. "Ubu, let him in. Leave us," he adds, as Talia heads towards the door.

 

Complying, he opens the door, and lets him in. The man who sold out the Misfits, the man who told the League of their plans, and where to find them. In a hushed, gruff voice, the figure mutters, pointing an annoyed finger at Ra's. "That sword. 'Doesn't belong to you."

 

"No." Ra's smiles, turning to face Doctor Gaige. Gone was the red mask and snappy suit, traded for his old scuba gear. His mask may obscure his face, but there was no mistaking his demeanor. Ra's gestures to his trophy cases, dozens of them, as he continues. "It doesn't. None of them do. This place, this shrine was built three hundred years ago. I oversaw it's construction personally. It honours all my fallen warriors. Sons, daughters. The finest assassins the world has ever known..."

 

Gaige stirs. "Did you murder *them,* too?"

 

Ra's turns his head slightly. "Some, yes. But it will never be said they died without honour.

You must think me a monster. A butcher. It's true, yes, I've buried children before, Doctor Gaige, my own, and, I will continue to do so long after your death. I can *just* handle the effects of the Lazarus Pit centuries on, but the toll it takes on them... It is better, sometimes, to let them die. So, I do what anyone who has lived as long as I should do. Move on."

 

"Yes, well, that's always been my issue," Gaige growls.

 

Ra's nods. "Hmm. Of course. But, thank you, regardless of our histories, I have a tremendous amount of respect for you. Rest assured, Mr Walker and his friends will be dealt with."

 

Gaige walks forwards, a finger pointed at Ra's throat, bitterness in his words. "Please, I've seen how you treat those you respect."

 

"You speak of Miranda?"

 

"I *speak* of my daughter."

 

...

 

Ra's moves Gaige's hand away. "My condolences."

 

Gaige nods, as he pushes towards the shrine. "I just want her body, and her gear. Do whatever the hell you want with them."

 

Again, Ra's nods, but he can't help look at Gaige. He was quieter, and he hadn't even swore. At last, the pirate chuckles to himself.

"Heh. It wouldn't have worked anyway. Walker's plan. They'd be dead before they even made it to you. Funny that," he nods. "But... imagine, say, if they actually got in here," he says, as he pulls out a harpoon, and fires it into Ra's hand.

 

==Ra's Palace. The Courtyard==

 

"You say hell yeah, and I'll kill you myself."

 

Chuck turns to Gar, a sly smile on his face. "Never," he says cheekily.

Lined on the cobblestones, were the Misfits. Gar, Chuck, Rigger, Chancer and Needham. Their hands were tied, and they were forced onto their knees, by the surrounding Ninja. One mans a camera, aiming it at the five of them, while several more draw their swords.

 

"The Master wants Walker to watch," one of them says, dressed in a yellow and brown outfit.

 

The cameraman nods, donning a black and green outfit. Though he doesn't say a word, his message is simple enough to understand. 'Of course, Shrike.'

 

"Cypher-?" Gar calls out suddenly. "You son of a bitch!"

 

"You're making a scene," Needham murmurs.

 

"Oh no, first Gaige now you?! I'm going to roast you alive you fuckin' traitor!" Gar screams, as another two ninja rush to restrain him

 

"Hell yeah!" Chuck adds encouragingly, before muttering a feeble apology. "Sorry."

 

"The Master offered you mercy," Shrike says warningly, as he begins to sharpen his blade. "You should've taken it."

 

"Your master dropped a city on us, personally, I'm not a fan," Chancer mutters to himself.

"Enough. Kill him first," Shrike says, as a ninja pulls Chancer in front of the camera.

 

"Oh, fuck you, buddy, I didn't even fucking swear!" Sharpe screams out, as his neck is placed on a stone slab.

 

"Oh, Jeez," Rigger moans. Needham sighs, and turns his head away. Gar looks on in horror. Chuck whispers a "Hell no," as the ninja raises the blade above his head, and- the sword shatters on Chancer's neck. The ninja steps back in confusion. Chancer grins as confidence surges through him. As he rises to his feet, the cuffs slide off. The first ninja runs at him, but slips and falls on their face. A second trips over the body, their sword flying through the air, hitting a third in the chest. A fourth hurls a throwing star at Sharpe that he ducks under, landing in a fifth's forehead. Cypher looks at the carnage, and runs off, abandoning the camera. When all's done. The Misfits look at Sharpe incredulously.

"Guess who's back in business," he exclaims proudly, before Shrike punches him in the back of the head, as he collapses to the ground

 

Gar looks down disappointedly. "Huh. That was almost impressive," as Shrike pulls Chancer off the ground, and unsheathes his blades.

"Oh, you're dead," he smirks, as suddenly, an orange fireball hits him from behind.

As Volcana lands on the ground, Shrike lunges for her, but he's quickly dispatched with with a blast of yellow flames. Turning to Gar, she smiles uncharacteristically sweetly. "Hi honey!"

 

===The Dungeons===

 

"My god... Norbert. Norbert, I'm sorry. I let you down. I'm always doing that."

Drury looks at his brother, chained up, bloody. No doubt in his months of captivity, Ra's agents had reprogrammed him. Just another failure of his, Drury thought. When would they stop?

As Norbert's chains are undone, Drury closes his eyes. This was it wasn't it? Not on the battlefield, not by Ra's or Bane's hand... Just him, trapped in a dungeon, with the Killer Wasp.

 

"Drury..."

 

Norbert looks down at him, cocks his head to one side, then kneels beside him. Holding his brother's head in his hand, he whispers hoarsely. "Still me."

 

Drury opens his eyes, and stares at him incredulously... those were *his* eyes. Warm, kind, alive.

 

Norbert turns round, and with an energy blast, tears the stone wall apart, offering Drury his hand, they barrel down the hall, taking down every Ninja in their way.

 

"Y-you... You fought it? You fought the brainwashing," Drury asks, struggling to keep up.

 

As they arrive at the laboratory, Norbert stops, and picks up a pair of bloodied pliers. His own.

For the first time since Drury had been reunited with him, he winks. "I made promise, Drury. Never again."

 

"No!" a metallic voice echoed, as Darhk marches towards them from the other side of the room. "You belong to me! You do what I say."

 

Norbert pauses, raises Darhk above his head, and smashes his glass visor. As he struggles to breathe, Norbert rests a hand on his shoulder, helping him lie down. "Never."

 

"Not bad, kid," a voice calls down to them, as Deathstroke turns to his comms. "The shields are down, the codes are yours. It's showtime."

 

=======

 

"This is Javelin-Theta, our systems have been compromised, we're being pulled apart up here!" Ollie yells as he attempts to steer the ship away from the village.

Flying beside them, a purple clad assailant uses his powers to rip the ship apart, and hurl it at another.

"Gotta say, this is so cool!" he yells to himself.

Passing by him, Sinestro barks a word of warning at him. "Nichol, please focus," as he creates a yellow buzzsaw to take on another jet.

 

Deflecting, Polaris laughs heartily. "C'mon, boss, have to admit, this is a lotta fun," he calls out, using his metallurgy to pull a steel clad man out of the jet.

 

"Hey Plug Boi, pick on someone your own size!" Guy Gardner, yells, as he hits Polaris with an oversized mallet, and catches Steel in a catcher's mitt.

 

"That's the wrong one, Guy," Hal calls back, as he creates an emerald net around Evil Star.

 

"Same difference Jordan!"

 

As Nichols rises back into the air, he calls out, confused. "What's a Plug Boy?"

 

Nearby, the Batwing weaves in and out of the airborne superheroes and villains. A strike from Black Adam's lightning immediately overcharges it's systems, spinning it out of control. "Batwing's hit, switching to auxiliary power," Bruce calls out, as he hits a few levers in an attempt to keep himself airborne.

 

"I don't understand, it's like they knew we were coming..." Clark calls, as he swoops in and catches the crew from the downed Javelin.

 

Bruce growls over comms. "Kenyon. Goldface baited us, and we fell for it."

 

"This is Flash," Barry says as he runs through the battlefield, "Bats, something's not right, Bane and half his goons are a no-show. Hell, I think saw Bivalo for crying out loud! Reckon it's some kind of a diversion."

 

"Understood," Batman replies. "Bane's there somewhere, Flash, keep at it. Any Society member we take down is progress, I'll have Cyborg increase the scanners."

 

"I'm all dark here, Bats. Whatever they've got, it's got a hell of a jammer," Cyborg chimes in.

 

====Society Field Headquarters====

 

Bane watches the battle from above. Hundreds of the society's underlings, *his* underlings, battle the Justice League and Ra's ninja. He felt something unfamiliar, something swelling in his chest. Pride. "Thinker, I think it's time we make our introduction. Lower shields," he says turning to the holographic display beside him.

 

The Leagues look at the sky, emerging from the clouds, a massive skull-like spacecraft. Brainiac's.

 

Bane smirks, as he addresses the ground forces. "We recovered this from an ARGUS blacksite from one of his last invasions. Primary shrink ray has been disabled, secondary weapons at maximum capacity. Let's begin."

 

~

 

Across the world, people watch the battle unfold, as heroes and villains alike fall.

In their slabside cells, Harvey Dent and David Clinton watch on enthralled. As Two-Face argues with himself, Chronos raises a finger to the screen. He knew them all, didn't he?

Bound to a wheelchair, Jonathan Crane trundles through the Asylum gardens, "That should have been me," he thinks to himself longing to wield a yellow ring once more.

Julian Day watches in his new hideout, concerned. Wherever the Misfits had gone, they weren't on the front lines.

In his funhouse, the Joker lets out a maniacal laugh. Let them have their fun. They'll see, it's all a joke anyway.

In Italy, Roman Sionis rests his tennis racket on the ground, and reaches for his phone. "Those idiots are really gonna destroy the world aren't they?" he mutters to his assistant.

In his penthouse, Oswald Cobblepot shares a drink with the Great White Shark. Turning to the TV, he can't help smiling knowing those Talons are suffering.

In the Batcave, Alfred Pennyworth watches on the oversized monitor, and sighs as he continues dusting. His attention turns to the Watchtower teleporter, as a high pitched beeping starts to ring out. "What on Earth?" he wonders.

In Lexcorp, already in the midst of his own masterplan, Luthor checks his smartwatch. "So they actually did it, did they? Morons."

On the streets of Central City, money in hand, the Rogues pause in front of a computer shop, all the screens displaying Simm's footage. His phone buzzing, Mirror Master answers it.

"Yo, McCulloch, you seeing this?" the voice on the other end asks.

 

"Aye, kid. I am."

 

"Good," Axel says, as he puts on his domino mask and turns to his sister.

 

On the battlefield, Disaster points at Simms, and pulls the Mighty Bruce to his side. "Hey, Bruce, that guy's got a camera *on his head*"

 

"Major, that's Mr Camera-" Tockman begins.

 

"Why didn't you ever think of that? Certainly beats lugging all this gear around" Disaster continues, ignoring both Bruce and Tockman's protests.

 

"I'm claustrophobic, Major," Bruce mutters.

 

At this, Artie taps Disaster on the shoulder and whispers harshly into his ear.

"Maj, please don't stuff the kid's head inside a camera."

 

Lastly, in Butchinsky's, Len looks at the bar. Empty. With the Society's video on every station, everyone else had already gone to fight. His picked his rag off the table, and smiled. "Fuck it." And walked out the door.

  

via Last.fm ift.tt/1DBgXaJ

Music: Right Click and select "Open link in new tab"

www.youtube.com/watch?v=YhmygUElujk

 

Marc Ribot - "The Big Fool"

 

I can see a wave approaching

And it threatens all I live for

"The ceremony of innocence

Is drowned" in Texas oil

 

But the big fool says keep pushing

And the big fool says keep pushing

The big fool says push on

Two hawks were calling to each other and I was standing practically under the tree where this one was perched.

© Saira Bhatti

 

“You take delight not in a city's seven or seventy wonders, but in the answer it gives to a question of yours” ~Italo Calvino

 

Toledo was conquered by Tariq ibn Ziyad in 711 A.D. and that is when the moorish influence started to take its roots in this town. This is a panoramic view of the entire city from Mirador del Valle. The panorama has been created by stitching 3 separate images. The Tagus Rivers flows on one side which is the longest river in the Iberian Peninsula #Canon #Travel #Toledo #Panorama

www.menachemkrinsky.com

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Same tree. Different day.

Available as an art print and in many formats on my website.

Old sign outside an old clock shop at Old Bergen Museum.

 

The open-air Old Bergen Museum is a reconstructed small town consisting of around 50 wooden houses dating from the 18th, 19th and 20th centuries.

 

Old Bergen is a reminder of what Bergen used to be like. In the 19th century, Bergen was Europe’s largest wooden city, and its steep and densely built-up streets, squares and alleyways gave it a unique character.

 

The open-air museum has 55 wooden houses from the 18th, 19th and 20th centuries, most of which originate from Bergen city centre. A visit to Old Bergen provides some answers as well as a breath of nostalgia.

 

You can read more about the museum here

en.visitbergen.com/things-to-do/old-bergen-museum-bergen-... and here www.bymuseet.no/en/museums/old-bergen-museum/

Answer: Yes, but you will still be just a piece of plastic.

 

Tualatin Fred Meyer, 11:15 PM.

Description: This composite image shows the massive galaxy cluster MACSJ0717.5+3745 (MACSJ0717, for short) where four separate galaxy clusters have been involved in a collision --the first time such a phenomenon has been documented. In this composite image, data from NASA's Chandra X-ray Observatory reveal the cluster's hot gas, while an optical image from the Hubble Space Telescope shows the individual galaxies in the system. The hot gas in this image is color-coded to show temperature, where the coolest gas is reddish purple, the hottest gas is blue, and the temperatures in between are purple.

 

Creator/Photographer: Chandra X-ray Observatory

 

NASA's Chandra X-ray Observatory, which was launched and deployed by Space Shuttle Columbia on July 23, 1999, is the most sophisticated X-ray observatory built to date. The mirrors on Chandra are the largest, most precisely shaped and aligned, and smoothest mirrors ever constructed. Chandra is helping scientists better understand the hot, turbulent regions of space and answer fundamental questions about origin, evolution, and destiny of the Universe. The images Chandra makes are twenty-five times sharper than the best previous X-ray telescope. NASA's Marshall Space Flight Center in Huntsville, Ala., manages the Chandra program for NASA's Science Mission Directorate in Washington. The Smithsonian Astrophysical Observatory controls Chandra science and flight operations from the Chandra X-ray Center in Cambridge, Massachusetts.

 

Medium: Chandra telescope x-ray

 

Date: 2009

 

Persistent URL: chandra.harvard.edu/photo/2009/macs/

 

Repository: Smithsonian Astrophysical Observatory

 

Gift line: X-ray (NASA/CXC/IfA/C. Ma et al.); Optical (NASA/STScI/IfA/C. Ma et al.)

 

Accession number: MACSJ0717

youtu.be/QJd1WMCMPqw

 

A Simple Answer

 

So this is Easter morning!

Waking to a gentle sunrise,

I take a breath and arise.

 

What does this new day mean?

Engaging in a Universal Liturgy,

Deep thoughts begin to gather within.

 

Shall this day banish fear!

Normal distractions pushed aside,

Sacred thoughts I elect to contemplate.

 

In this moment does a liturgy begin?

Hope increases and peace resides,

And I cling to a morning resurrection.

-Robert Cowlishaw

La Jolla, San Diego, California.

 

Ever since I found out about this spot, I've been praying for a beautiful sunset. Today, my prayers have been answered. But I forgot to pray for there to be less photographers who took the prime spots before I arrived ;-( Just kidding. Amazing view for everyone to enjoy!

 

Tech Info:

Nikon D800E, Nikkor AF-S 16-35mm f/4G ED VR, Lee 0.6 GND and "Little Stopper" filters.

Post-processed in Lr 5.7 and Ps CS6.

A random sign seen at the end of the West 4th St station platform on the A, C, E & B, D, F, M lines in downtown Manhattan.

 

At first I wondered why this sign was here. It's obviously not for the passengers. After doing as little research I believe I found the answer.

 

The sign is positioned approximately were a typical train will stop and the motorman's window would be along side the sign.

 

The sign indicates colors for the "home signal" immediately ahead of this sign (perhaps 25 feet). Home signals indicate which way a train will go when passing through a switch. Green-over-Green typically means the train will travel straight through the switch (directly forward), and Green-over-Yellow means the train will "diverge" or take the track to the side (switch). However in this case, this signalling is reversed according to the track maps. Green-over-Green will switch in this case, and Green-over-Yellow will go straight. Some scribbling on the sign indicate where the different lines go for each lineup. The V, K, & H lines are retired and no longer run.

 

For the curious, "WD END" sign indicates "End of Wheel Detector" zone. From what I can find, the wheel detector is a speed sensing device used to control runaway or over speed trains. A train coming into the station too fast would be detected, and a "train stop" would be raised causing the brakes to be activated and forcing the train to a stop.

(Knock! Knock!)

 

”Who’s there?”

 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

 

Walter Newell, an oceanographer and engineer based in New York City. Yeah, New York, the home of every generic and clichéd superhero story. Well guess what? Buckle up as you’re in for the ride of… well… another one of those stories. Walter Newell, like many scientists that have come and pass has begun creating a device that promises to be a “step in the right direction” in his field of science. Have you heard that one before?

 

Thought so.

 

Here’s some generic backstory to get you caught up to speed:

 

All his life, Walter has been fascinated with the ocean. He was intrigued as a young boy by the movies that depicted the creatures that roamed the deep blue abyss. The thing that stood out the most was the fact that there was so much about the ocean that has yet to be discovered. When new findings would emerge he would be jealous of those men and women that were lucky enough to be there. So, he did everything he could to ensure his future as someone that would become famous making new discoveries about the ocean. He read, watched, and studied everything he could about the ocean.

 

With his head full of, figuratively, everything one could know about the ocean he applied to the best school that had the very program he knew would get him a job with a major company. His goal was a company that stood out to him. This company had shown interest in almost anyone that would show up at their doorstep with an idea to give to them. Well that was if you wanted to make an advancement in technology. Walter had poured over this for the years and years he spent in college.

 

Now before we get to that, we’ll need to visit a girl. This girl was anything but ordinary. Her name was Diane. She loved the ocean as much as, if not more than, Walter. The two rivaled each other with every assignment they were given. They always had identical test scores and were co-valedictorians as they graduated. In the following months after they’re graduation, they began to date. This moved quickly as Walter asked Diane if she would like to help him with his project. Without hesitation, she said yes. So, they began working on something that would be sure to set them apart from anyone else trying to get a job at…

 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

 

“Advanced Idea Mechanics?” Diane asked.

 

”Yeah, I’ve heard a lot of great things about them.”

 

“Alright. Let’s do this!”

 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

 

It took them a little over a year to fully develop a reasonable idea. They took their idea to Advanced Idea Mechanics and got enough funding for a prototype. During the building time, Walter proposed to Diane and they were set to marry the next summer. With everything coming up in spades, Walter felt like he was finally making a name for himself. His once rival was now his best friend and fiancé. His passion turned into his job and without his knowing, there was another surprise that Diane was hiding from him until they finished their prototype.

 

A few months after they had begun, Walter and Diane had a finished prototype of their idea. A suit that would allow divers to go even further than a submarine could. This suit, with modifications they had planned if they got funding to make a second version, would be able to aid the diver in swimming faster and breathing fresh air longer. All of this had the organization’s head, Mister Benton, very intrigued. So much so that he granted them a green light on the project. So with the necessary funding, material, and extra hands, the duo began planning the development of the…

 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

 

“’Project Stingray’.”

 

”Why Stingray?”

 

“I’ve always had a love of the creature. They’re very much so like humans. Each has their own personality and their own distinct features. Stingrays are remarkable beings.”

 

”Alright, let’s do this.”

 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

 

The team focused on building one suit to showcase that they could indeed make this thing a reality. While this was going on, Diane let Walter in on a little secret she had kept from him for almost a month. This was the fact that she was pregnant. Walter became overjoyed and ran through the building’s corridors screaming and jumping for joy. He was happier than he had ever been… unfortunately, happier than he would ever be…

 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

 

“The Stingray suit, built to last in the depths of the ocean. The world record for the deepest human dive is just over a thousand feet, and with the aid of this suit you can go double or even triple that. The lightweight material this armor is made of can survive the extreme pressures of the deep blue.” Diane says as she unveils a red and black diving suit. She looks over at her boss and smiled as his mouth was wide open in shock.

 

“That’s impressive. We know that for sure?” Mister Benton replies with slight concern.

 

“Well…” Diane begins to speak but is cut off by Walter.

 

”Well we’ve yet to test it, but there’s a very slim chance that our calculations are off.”

 

“I want it tested before I pitch this to the board.” Mister Benton turns around and walks out of the lab.

 

“Alright, let's do... (cough! Cough!)” Diane walks over to a table while suffering a coughing fit.

 

”Are you okay?” Walter says as he places his hand on his fiancé’s back.

 

“Yeah, it’s just my... (cough!)”

 

”We’ve got to get you home.”

 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

 

”So that’s why I’m doing this.” Walter said to his boss with a muffled sigh.

 

“Doing what?” His boss quickly answered.

 

”Why I’m leaving.” Walter took a deep breath as he held back tears. ”I’m taking an early leave to be with my wife. She’s dying and I need to be with her.”

 

“Y’know you can still work here, right?” Benton says as he stands up from his chair and walks over to the side of the desk Walter sits at.

 

”I know.” Walter looks down at his shoes. ”I just want to be with her right now.”

 

“I understand. Listen, if… when you want to come back, you’ve got your job.” Mister Benton outreaches his hand and smiles as Walter takes his hand and shakes it firmly.

 

”Th-thanks.” Walter says as he gets up from his seat and makes his way to the door. He pauses just before the door and turns around as Mister Benson speaks.

 

“Good-bye, Mister Newell.”

 

”Good-bye.” Walter opens the door and leaves. He begins his drive back to his house to be with his newborn child and his ill wife. Just as everything began to feel right, it all went wrong…

 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

 

”Take his wife. That’ll give him reason enough to continue his work.”

 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

 

(NOTES:)

 

"Who the heck is Stingray?" You may be asking. Well, that's a fair question. I'll tell ya who he is.

 

He's a character that I think doesn't get as much love as he could. Sure he showed up in Deadpool's "heroes for money" run, but I wanted to show him some real good love. Perfect explanation, right? Thought so...

 

I actually planned to introduce him in Deadpool but since I dropped Deadpool I decided I would make him my new role (hopefully).

 

So I hope y'all enjoy this and I hope I get the role. :D

time for some colour again

Photo captured via Minolta MD Zoom Rokkor-X 24-50mm F/4 lens. Stout Memorial Grove. Jedediah Smith Redwoods State Park. Redwood National and State Parks. Coast Range. North Coast. Del Norte County, Northern California. "State of Jefferson." Late July 2017.

 

Exposure Time: 1/30 sec. * ISO Speed: ISO-100 * Aperture: F/8 * Bracketing: None * Color Temperature: 5150 K * Film Plug-In: Kodak Portra 160 NC

Lance Cpl. Jeremy Timms, acting desk sergeant with Security and Emergency Services Battalion, Marine Corps Base Camp Pendleton, responds to callers at the dispatch center on Camp Pendleton, California, April 17. The security services and first responders on Camp Pendleton are conducting daily operations as normal while taking precautions to prevent the spread of COVID-19. Dispatchers follow social distancing guidelines while at their individual workstations and wear face protection when forced to sit close. (U.S. Marine Corps photo by Lance Cpl. Melissa I. Ugalde)

In an instant

She knew

Every answer

To every question

Why was she given

This burden

What was she to tell

The world

What is the point

Of life

If we know

Everything

Luckily

Molly has short term

Memory loss

And so it was

The burden was lifted

Ten minutes later

 

The End....or shall we say

The Beginning, again!

Before it went all high key, it was part of a clothespin/clothespeg spring

Maurizio Cattelan was born in Padua, Italy, in 1960. Since the early 1990s Maurizio Cattelan has been internationally recognized for his humorous and ironic works which provoke and challenge the limits of contemporary value systems. Maurizio Cattelan’s retrospective, Sussurro, will be showcased at the Serralves Villa, a 1930s Art Deco house. The exhibition brings together a selection of works deeply connected to history, reflecting Cattelan's approach to art. In addition to the pieces displayed in the Villa, sculptures by the artist will be installed throughout the Serralves Park. Together, these settings offer a unique contextualization of both Maurizio Cattelan´s work and of Serralves Park and Villa.

  

Most of the works selected for Sussurro demonstrate Maurizio Cattelan’s interest in History: historical changes, historical trauma, and historical icons. The times of transition, these in-betweens, seem to captivate Cattelan. The hanging, elusive moment between childhood and adulthood, between life and death, between historical eras, between laughter and sobs, is the source of his iconography. He turns these moments into icons.

  

Maurizio Cattelan has conceived his work as a series of saynètes populated by a cast of characters ranging from, and raging with, historical figures, self-portraits, friends and acquaintances, a bestiary, children, to familiar objects, locations and images. A détournement… a family of misfits, including direct references to some of his ancestors: Joseph Beuys, Lucio Fontana, Giovanni Anselmo, Piero Manzoni, Mario Merz, Jannis Kounellis, Carlo Collodi, Walt Disney, Günter Grass, Volker Schlöndorff, Stephen King and Stanley Kubrick… and between all the lines, Andy Warhol, for his furtive relationship to public image, his status as an image-maker, his entrepreneurial and publisher scheme, and his obsession with death.

  

The saynètes demonstrate an understanding of space that is quasi-theatrical or cinematographic. Locations, as the Serralves Villa, are key; framing, angles and sightlines are never innocent, nor is Maurizio Cattelan; and the overall context is a defining perception of the work. Scenography and art directing are as important in his work as the historical or cultural references. His conception of space and the way we, as visitors, encounter the works, is fully informed by the legacy of conceptual and minimal art, the phenomenological approach to space and to the awareness of space. The way the objects are strategically positioned, oriented in a room, on a public square, affects and informs our apprehension and reading of the works.

  

Sussurro is to Serralves what Hieronymus Bosch’s Temptations of Saint Anthony is to the Museu Nacional de Arte Antiga in Lisbon. The Tentation de Lisbonne has now its symmetrical with the Tentation de Porto. Bosch’s painting is an exacerbated spectacle of human madness, the vision of a world spinning towards an end with the background of Biblical allegory of good and bad, the psychotic vision of decay where humans and animals dance towards their damnation on a scorched earth. With Bosch, grotesque and humor, mimicry and blasphemy are extracted from the world and expose, iconically, the complicity between humanity and corruption. Images are salvation.

  

Maurizio Cattelan breaks in a culture in which the question of the place, the role, the veracity of images is at the center of an endemic malaise and he provides answers with images that are themselves effractions imbued with a malaise. This malaise might be our laughter.

 

Maurizio Cattelan’s visual aphorisms are exercises in re-routing, hacking a broad database of images deeply embedded in history, culture, belief systems and in our taboos. Sussurro speaks out loudly for those who want, and may not want, to hear.

  

Produced by the Serralves Foundation – Museum of Contemporary Art Porto, the exhibition is curated by Philippe Vergne, the Museum Director and is coordinated by Giovana Gabriel.

garbage-embrace.com/

 

www.facebook.com/pages/Garbage-embrace/224508020989204?re...

 

Press "F" if you like it.

 

© jakeblues111185

 

watch this:

www.youtube.com/user/lifeinaday

Skinny dog at the Western Motorhome Show.

Night comes and goes with little possibility of sleep. As the first rays of morning penetrate their small cell, Larry and Rita finish catching Niles up on everything that’s happened, and how they came to be here. Niles listens with astute interest as Larry finishes the tale, clenching his fists when he gets to Eric’s betrayal. They share the gloom of their cell in silence. Niles looks over to Cliff, staring pensively at the ground. He hasn’t said a word since they got here.

 

Niles: Cliff? You haven’t said anything all night. What’s troubling you?

 

Cliff pulls his gaze from the floor, Brain’s words still echoing through his mind.

 

Cliff: Huh? Yeah, I’m fine.

 

The four of them sit there for an hour or so, attempting despite the humidity of the morning to go to sleep. It doesn’t come. After a while, Rita sits up and finally plucks up the courage to ask the question they’ve all been wanting to ask since they arrived.

 

Rita: Niles… what did you mean before, when you said you had to leave? Where were you going? And no dodging the question this time!

 

Larry and Cliff look at Niles. Niles fidgets uncomfortably against the wall. He takes a moment before answering.

 

Niles: It’s… complicated.

 

They watch him eagerly.

 

Niles: There’s a lot I can’t tell you. Not because I don’t want to, believe me… but because it would be irresponsible of me. However, due to the current circumstances…

 

He looks around the cell.

 

Niles: I may not have much choice. Perhaps I was wrong to think you all unready…

 

He takes a long, drawn out breath. He is about to speak, but before the words can see the light of day a rumbling noise comes from behind the door. All of them look over to it as it is heaved open and Mallah, grin on his leathery face, barges in.

 

Mallah: It’s time.

 

Before anyone can protest, he grabs Niles under the shoulders and hauls him onto his back. Larry jumps up, but halts as Niles raises a hand to him.

 

Niles: Listen to me! Find Senec – tell him Niles Caulder sent you! He’ll know what needs to be done…

 

Mallah slams the door shut behind him, and just like that he’s gone. Larry looks round to the others, and is comforted by the fact they look just as confused as he is.

  

====================

  

Every step Mallah takes causes Niles great discomfort as he bounces around on his back. Mallah adjusts his grip, pulling Niles’ arms over his shoulders. Niles murmurs uncomfortably.

 

Niles: Don’t you get tired of lugging people around all day? It seems that’s all you do.

 

Mallah looks ahead and grunts.

 

Mallah: I enjoy it. Keeps the mind active.

 

Niles: But I remember you, Mallah. You used to be such an excitable little chimp; so full of life. What happened?

 

Mallah: Life grinds you down. I read Sartre and smoke cigarettes now. What more can I say?

 

Niles sighs as Mallah walks into the central room decked out with machinery. Niles isn’t surprised to see Brain, proudly stood to the side of the machine he had called ‘The White Room’. As he is dumped on the ground, he spots a forlorn looking Eric Morden sat on a crate at the edge of the room, looking at his feet. Mallah steps over Niles and joins Brain.

 

Brain: Niles Caulder… after all these years, our debt will be settled.

 

Niles sits up on his arms and groans.

 

Niles: Oh not this nonsense again. If you’re going to kill me bloody well get on with it.

 

Brain scoffs obnoxiously.

 

Brain: And ruin all my fun? Oh no no mon cheri, we do this on my terms I am afraid. Mallah, prepare ‘im.

 

Mallah moves around the other side of the machine and disappears out of view.

 

Brain: Mallah will momentarily administer a small, epidermal injection to your spine. Following this, you will lose all control of your body and will be completely paralysed.

 

Niles: Afraid I’m going to run away, are you?

 

Brain: Silence!

 

Niles smirks.

 

Brain: You will then be placed inside the void of the White Room, where you will be subject to… uhm… torture… of the mind… and soul…

 

Niles frowns and holds up a hand.

 

Niles: A moment, if you would. Are you even remotely certain of what this thing will do?

 

Brain pauses for a second.

 

Brain: The creators of the machine left detailed instructions…

 

Niles: Yes, on how to build the thing. But do you actually know what it will do to me once I’m inside?

 

Brain pauses again.

 

Brain: Well… not exactly, no.

 

Niles sighs.

 

Niles: So you don’t even know if this thing will work?

 

Mallah re-emerges from round the machine, clutching a syringe and a straitjacket.

 

Mallah: Of course it will you ‘airless monkey! I ‘ave worked long and ‘ard to ensure this machine is in perfect working condition! Your death will be as unpleasant as it needs to be!

 

He joins Brain and glares at Niles on the floor.

 

Niles: Your master here didn’t sound so certain.

 

Mallah looks round at Brain.

 

Mallah: Really, my love?

 

Brain: Of course not! I know ‘ow ‘ard you ‘ave worked! It is impossible it will fail!

 

Niles: If you’re so uncertain why don’t you test it out?

 

Brain and Mallah go quiet. Brain considers for a moment and laughs mockingly at Niles.

 

Brain: Very good, Caulder, very good. And who would you ‘ave me test it on, eh? Myself, perhaps? Mallah? Fool me once, shame on you, fool me twice and… you shall not again!

 

Niles chuckles along with them for a moment and turns and points over to the corner of the room.

 

Niles: What about him?

 

Eric, still sat moping on his crate, is startled and looks over at them. Mallah looks at Brain for a second and shrugs. Brain goes quiet, and after a moment whispers under his mechanical breath.

 

Brain: Everything ‘appens for a reason…

 

He snaps back into life.

 

Brain: Fine Caulder. ‘Ave it your way. Mallah, prepare ‘im!

 

Mallah rushes across the room. Before Eric can even register what’s going on, he is pulled to his feet and dragged over to face the White Room. He tries to plead with Brain, but a meek grunting sound is all his mouth can produce. Mallah forces his arms into the straitjacket and secures it tightly around his body. He then seizes Eric by his scalp, pulling him into the air like a wet dishcloth, and jabs the needle into the base of his spine. He squirms, thrashing his legs about wildly, then goes still. A bead of sweat drips down his forehead and into his wet, unblinking eye. He tries to scream, but it makes it as far as his throat and gives up – it’s like his jaw is wired shut. Niles watches with morbid fascination as Mallah holds his rigid body securely against his chest and pulls the door to the White Room open.

 

Niles notices how the machine’s interior seems to go on forever, like a morose optical illusion; a terrible white horizon stretching out into a bleak infinity. Mallah drops Eric down on a single seat in what must be the centre of the machine and closes the door on him. Niles shifts uncomfortably on the ground. Mallah goes to a control panel next to the machine and presses a couple of buttons. A terrible mechanical sound fills the air as the White Room buzzes into life, and Niles is suddenly aware how glad he is to be out here and not inside the machine, now vibrating angrily. Mallah grabs a lever, the lights in the compound flickering madly, and pulls it down.

  

====================

  

Larry paces around the cell anxiously. He watches Cliff as he tries and fails one more time to pry the door off its hinges and fall back against the wall, defeated.

 

Larry: We can’t give up this easily!

 

Rita sits on the ground, replaying Niles’ final words in her head.

 

Rita: What did Niles mean – ‘find Senec?’ What’s Senec?

 

Larry: That’s not gonna matter if we can’t get out of here. Come on big guy, one more try!

 

Cliff holds his hands up.

 

Cliff: It won’t budge man, I’m tellin’ ya. Can’t Casper the unfriendly ghost come out?

 

Larry: He doesn’t exactly take requests, Cliff…

 

Cliff: How convenient…

 

Rita: BOYS!

 

She stands up, arms to her side, and glares at them. Larry is about to reply, before he realises why she’s shut them up. The walls of their cell begin to shake as if hit by a minor earthquake, and the single bulb suspended from the ceiling starts to flicker.

 

Larry: Oh god… Niles…

 

He opens his jacket and puts a hand on his chest. Nothing.

 

Larry: Come on, please…

 

Cliff goes over to him and stares at his chest, like a hapless father watching his wife in labour. He raises his fists encouragingly and bounces up and down on his knees.

 

Cliff: Yeah, c’mon buddy… you can do it! I didn’t mean what I said before!

 

They both stare at Larry’s chest as the tremors intensify. As nothing continues stubbornly to happen, Rita takes a breath and unbeknownst to the boys kneels down.

 

Rita: Here goes nothing…

 

She focuses all her attention on her right hand. She pictures herself as the hulking mass of flesh in her bed, as the puddle on the floor of the cave, as a monster hiding away from the world… and remembers Cliff’s words: ‘I don’t think you’re a monster…’ Her arm melts. She grits her teeth and concentrates all her energy on her now flat right arm, keeping the rest of her body together. Her arm shifts, and she winces as she imagines it twisting along the ground. After a few seconds her arm responds, and it begins to stretch out across the ground of their cell and towards the door like a fleshly, shapeless snake. It reaches the gap underneath the door and pushes through it to the outside. She winces as she focuses her attention on now getting it to move upwards, and sure enough it does. She feels it winding its way up the cool metal door of their cell like a rapid growing vine, stopping as it reaches the bolt on the outside of the door. She shuts her eyes, imagines herself undoing it, and opens her eyes in surprise as she hears the bolt slide out of its lock and the cell door creak open.

 

Larry and Cliff don’t move. Rita falls back against the ground, exhausted, and focuses on reforming her arm.

 

Rita: A woman’s work is never done.

 

Larry and Cliff dart over to her, lifting her up gently.

 

Larry: Rita… wow…

 

Rita: Niles…

 

Cliff pushes the door open fully and makes a break for it, followed closely by Larry and a recovering Rita. The three of them run down the corridor and towards the source of the noise, careful to maintain their balance as the corridor around them shakes violently. They burst into the compound’s central room and freeze when they lay their eyes upon the White Room, shuddering aggressively and smoking. The wires sprouting out from its roof tremble as brilliant white light radiates out from a single window on its door, casting deep shadows around the room. They spot the Brain and Mallah, embracing to the side of it, and a deep dread fills their hearts. They are about to cry out for it to stop, but notice Niles, sprawled across the ground before it and covering his eyes. They rush over to him.

 

Rita: Niles! What’s happening?

 

He holds up a hand.

 

Niles: I think we may be about to find out…

 

They stare at the White Room as its movement reaches an erratic crescendo and ends. They shield their eyes from the dazzling white light that fills the room as the door erupts off its hinges and a silhouetted figure emerges from within.

 

"Why are we having snow in April?"

No, it's not a telephone themed roller coaster, it's Siren's Curse!

 

Cedar Point

This messy little Fabuland vignette includes ‘Taxi Station' 338 and 'Lisa Lamb's House' 654. How many pigs can you find? Answers revealed soon.

 

Copyright © Stewart Lamb Cromar 2022. All rights reserved.

She grew up with answers, provided with good intentions, but which she found faulty as she acquired to ability to contemplate them thoroughly for herself... She she left, determined to find her own path, her own choices, her own answers. What she was told was right, she ended up discarded. She was happy now with what was left. What she found on her own and made her own...

ITM1692074

 

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At a crossroads – Needing to make an important decision

When you are at a crossroads, you are at a point in your life where you need to make a decision. The implication is that the decision you make will have big, life-altering consequences.

Bad apple – Bad person

You can use this idiom to describe someone who is not nice and maybe even criminal.

Barking up the wrong tree – Pursuing the wrong course

When you “bark up the wrong tree” you are pursuing the wrong solution to your problems.

Be closefisted – Stingy

If you are being “closefisted”, you don’t want to spend a lot of money.

Be cold-hearted – Uncaring

If you decide to be “cold-hearted”, you are making a deliberate decision not to care about someone or something.

Be on solid ground – Confident

When you are “on solid ground”, you are confident in your position or feel that you are safe.

Beat around the bush – Avoid saying

When you do this, you are taking a long time to say what you really need to say. You may be doing this because the “truth” is embarrassing or your unsure about how the listener will take it.

Behind you – Supportive

When you are “behind” someone, you are saying that they have your support.

Between a rock and a hard place – Facing difficulties

When you have to choose between two options, neither of which are ideal or “good”.

Blow off steam – Try to relax

When you are stressed or upset about something, sometimes you need to do something to keep you from thinking about it.

Born with a silver spoon in their mouth – Born wealthy

This idiomatic expression is used to describe someone who was born into a wealthy family.

Break the bank – Spend a lot

When you “break the bank”, you spend a lot of money on something. If something will “break the bank”, then it’s expensive.

Bright spark – Smart

A “bright spark” is someone who is smart and valuable to an organization.

Build a case – Argue your point

When you “build a case” for something, you are preparing to argue a point or convince someone that your opinion is the right one.

Build castles in the sky – Daydream

When you fantasize about something you hope to have or achieve.

Burn your bridges – End a relationship

When you “burn your bridges” you end a relationship permanently.

Butter up – Flatter

When you “butter” someone up, you are telling them nice things about themselves.

Bought a lemon – Bad bargain

If something you bought is a “lemon” it is a bad product. In a sense, you wasted your money on it.

Break the ice – Start a conversation

When you start a conversation strangers with the end goal of making new friends.

Calm before the storm – Peaceful

When you use this to describe your state of being or mind, you’re talking about a quiet period before anticipated trouble comes your way.

Chasing rainbows – Pursuing dreams

When you try to follow your dreams. The implication here, however, is that you might be better off forgetting your dreams.

Clear as mud – Hard to understand

When you are confused about something or a situation.

Cool as a cucumber – Calm

This idiomatic expression is meant to describe someone who is calm and relaxed.

Couch potato – Lazy

A couch potato is a lazy person. Specifically, someone who sprawls on their couch watching TV almost all day.

Cross that bridge when we get to it – Think about it later

When you say this, you are telling someone that you will think about something later. The implication is that it’s a problem or a decision that can be put off for now.

Chew it over – Think had about something

This idiom implies that you need to make an important decision and can’t afford to be hasty about it.

Come to light – Be revealed

When something “comes to light” something that was originally concealed from you is revealed.

Cut back on – Reduce

When you use this idiom, you are reducing something.

Cut to the chase – Speak concisely

When you tell someone to “cut to the chase”, you are expressing impatience. This is usually used when someone feels someone else is taking to long to deliver important news.

Crystal clear – Easy to understand

When you say that something is “crystal clear”, you are saying that it is understood.

Dead-end job – No more opportunities

When you are stuck in a “dead-end job”, you are in a career situation where there is no more room for advancement.

Dig deep – Strive

When you “dig deep” you put a lot of effort into a task.

Digging into – Looking closer

When you “dig into” something, you are looking for more information.

Don’t run before you can walk – Don’t assume something is easy

This is a descriptive idiom, it’s meant to make you think about how a baby needs to learn how to walk before they can run. It’s supposed to caution you about assuming you can just do something without learning the basics.

Down to earth – Practical

This describes someone who is known for being sensible and practical.

Eat like a bird – Small appetite

This is used to describe someone who doesn’t eat a lot.

Eat like a horse – Eat a lot

If you eat like a horse, you are eating a lot. You can “eat like a bird” most of the time but “eat like a horse” at a specific time because you are either very hungry or you really like the food.

Eat your words – Admit you were wrong

When you “eat your words” you are admitting that something you said earlier turned out to be wrong.

Every cloud has a silver lining – Things will get better

When you say this, you are telling yourself or someone else that you will get through your troubles.

Face the music – Face the consequences

When you “face the music”, you are owning up to a mistake and trying to make amends.

Find your feet – Adapt

When you are “finding your feet” you are learning how to adapt to a new situation, like a new job.

Follow in their footsteps – Imitate

This idiom is often used between children and their parents, but it can also refer to a mentor or someone you admire. If you “follow in someone’s footsteps”, you do the same thing that they did.

Food for thought – Something to think about

If you are given “food for thought” you have been given something to think about.

A frosty reception – To be unwelcome

If you received a “frosty reception”, you are not welcome.

Fly off the handle – Rages

You can use this idiom to describe someone who is visibly angry over a situation. Often this means that someone is shouting and maybe gesturing violently and even causing damage to property. It also implies that the angry reaction is disproportionate to the situation.

Get on with your life – Continue on after a setback

This is something you can say and should do after going through some problems.

Give them a run for their money – Compete

If you are competing with someone, you are giving them a “run for their money.”

Go Dutch – Split the bill

You can use this idiomatic expression when dining out with friends.

Go with the flow – Relax and get along

When you “go with the flow” you keep calm and just go along with whatever is happening around you.

Got off scot-free – Escaped

When you “get off scot-free”, you managed to escape any consequences for your actions.

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Hard to swallow – Unbelievable

If someone told you something that you just can’t believe, they told you something that is “hard to swallow”.

Have your whole life in front of you – Young

Someone who has their whole life in front of them is young and full of promise.

Hold out an olive branch – Apologize

When you do this, you try to make amends or peace with someone you’ve hurt or angered.

In hot water – In trouble

This idiomatic expression can be used to say that you are in a less than ideal situation.

Inching forward - Making slow progress

When you say this, you’re saying things are proceeding slowly.

Keep on the straight and narrow – Keep out of trouble

When you say this, you are implying that you are going to live in a morally correct way.

Keep your chin up – Stay positive

Even if you’re going through a hard time, you should keep thinking positive.

Kicked the bucket – Died

This is an irreverent phrase to say that someone has died. Be careful how you use it.

Let the cat out of the bag – Spoiled the secret

You “let the cat out of the bag” when you accidentally let someone in on a secret that they weren’t meant to know.

Look up to – Respect

When you “look up to” someone you are acknowledging that you respect them and value their opinion.

Loaded – Rich

When you call someone “loaded” you are saying that they are rich.

Lost at sea – Confused

If a situation is making you feel confused or lost, this is the idiom to use.

Making ends meet – Careful budgeting

If you. don’t have much money, you need to “make ends meet”. This means you carefully budget what you do have to meet your needs.

Make a mountain out of a molehill –Exaggerate

This idiom is used to say that someone is being over-dramatic with their complaints or concerns.

Make waves – Change things

When you “make waves”, you change a situation dramatically. This can also mean that you caused trouble.

Nip in the bud – Stop

When you do this, you take action to keep a situation from getting worse.

No sweat – Easy

When you say “no sweat” you are saying that a task was easy

Not your cup of tea – Not something you like

If you say that something is “not your cup of tea” you are saying it’s not something you particularly like or enjoy.

Once in a blue moon – Rare

This implies something that either won’t happen or rarely happens.

Out in the open – Public knowledge

When something is “out in the open”, it is a matter of public knowledge.

Over the moon – Very happy

You can use this to describe the feeling of getting something you’ve been looking forward to for a long time.

On cloud nine – Very happy

Similar to being over the moon.

Packed like sardines – Crowded

If people are “packed like sardines” in a venue, they are standing very close together in a small space.

Piece of cake –Easy

If you say something is a “piece of cake” you are saying that it is easy.

Pitch in - Contribute

When you “pitch-in”, you work with a group of people to reach a common goal.

Point of view – An opinion

Your “point of view” is what you think about someone or a situation.

Pony up – Pay

If you are paying back a debt, you are “ponying up” the money.

Pour oil on troubled waters – Calm things down

This basically means that you played peacemaker and kept an argument from developing into a physical fight.

Put your head in the sand – Deny something unpleasant

When you have your “head in the sand”, you are deliberately ignoring a bad situation.

Rags to riches – Became rich

Someone who went from “rags to riches” was born poor or underprivileged, but is now in a better social position.

Rain or shine – No matter what

This idiomatic expression is used to express the idea that nothing will stop you.

Reap the rewards – Received the benefits

When you “reap the rewards”, you are getting the benefits of your good work.

Rings a bell – Sounds familiar

When you think that you’ve heard a piece of information before but are not so sure.

Rule of thumb – General practice

A “rule of thumb” is an unwritten rule that is followed by the majority.

Separate the wheat from the chaff – Decide what is valuable

This picturesque idiom refers to how, when you harvest wheat, you need to separate it from the stalks and leaves. So, it means that you pick out or choose what is valuable to keep.

Shell out money – Pay

When you “shell out money”, you pay for an item.

Sitting on the fence – Neutral

When you “sit on the fence” you are avoiding making a decision. Often, this is a decision between two people with different opinions.

Smart cookie – Smart person

You can use this idiom to describe someone intelligent.

Spice things up – Make things interesting

When you “spice things up” you do something to break out of your normal routine.

Spill the beans – Tell

When you do this, you tell someone something they didn’t know. It may or not have been a secret previously.

Sticky fingers – Thief

If you accuse someone of having “sticky fingers” you are basically calling them a thief.

Take a side – Choose who to support

When you “take a side” in an argument, you are agreeing with one of those arguing.

Throw light on – Explain something

When you “throw light on” a situation, you help make sure that it is understood.

To move at a snail’s pace – Move slowly

This is another idiomatic phrase that’s meant to paint a picture. A snail moves slowly, so to move at its pace means things are going slowly.

Tread carefully – Be cautious

This implies that a situation is fraught and it might be easy to offend those involved.

Under the table – Secretive

When you do something “under the table”, you are trying to do something so that only a small amount of people are aware of it. It’s commonly used to describe something that is possibly unscrupulous. For example, bribes are given “under the table”.

Undermine your position – Act unconvincingly

When you behave in a way that makes you and your opinion seem untrustworthy.

Up in the air – Uncertain

When you say something is “up in the air”, you are saying that you are not sure that an event is happening.

Weather the storm – Survive

When you “weather the storm”, you endure a bad situation.

When it rains, it pours – Trouble comes

This refers to the fact that sometimes, many bad things happen to people at one time.

So there you have it, 10 idiomatic expressions and their meanings. These idioms are used by native English language speakers to add some color to their daily speech.

 

Google is an American multinational technology company focusing on search engine technology, online advertising, cloud computing, computer software, quantum computing, e-commerce, artificial intelligence,[9] and consumer electronics. It has been referred to as "the most powerful company in the world"[10] and one of the world's most valuable brands due to its market dominance, data collection, and technological advantages in the area of artificial intelligence.[11][12][13] Its parent company Alphabet is considered one of the Big Five American information technology companies, alongside Amazon, Apple, Meta, and Microsoft.

Google was founded on September 4, 1998, by Larry Page and Sergey Brin while they were PhD students at Stanford University in California. Together they own about 14% of its publicly listed shares and control 56% of the stockholder voting power through super-voting stock. The company went public via an initial public offering (IPO) in 2004. In 2015, Google was reorganized as a wholly owned subsidiary of Alphabet Inc. Google is Alphabet's largest subsidiary and is a holding company for Alphabet's Internet properties and interests. Sundar Pichai was appointed CEO of Google on October 24, 2015, replacing Larry Page, who became the CEO of Alphabet. On December 3, 2019, Pichai also became the CEO of Alphabet.[14]

The company has since rapidly grown to offer a multitude of products and services beyond Google Search, many of which hold dominant market positions. These products address a wide range of use cases, including email (Gmail), navigation (Waze & Maps), cloud computing (Cloud), web browsing (Chrome), video sharing (YouTube), productivity (Workspace), operating systems (Android), cloud storage (Drive), language translation (Translate), photo storage (Photos), video calling (Meet), smart home (Nest), smartphones (Pixel), wearable technology (Pixel Watch & Fitbit), music streaming (YouTube Music), video on demand (YouTube TV), artificial intelligence (Google Assistant), machine learning APIs (TensorFlow), AI chips (TPU), and more. Discontinued Google products include gaming (Stadia), Glass,[citation needed] Google+, Reader, Play Music, Nexus, Hangouts, and Inbox by Gmail.[15][16]

Google's other ventures outside of Internet services and consumer electronics include quantum computing (Sycamore), self-driving cars (Waymo, formerly the Google Self-Driving Car Project), smart cities (Sidewalk Labs), and transformer models (Google Brain).[17]

Google and YouTube are the two most visited websites worldwide followed by Facebook and Twitter. Google is also the largest search engine, mapping and navigation application, email provider, office suite, video sharing platform, photo and cloud storage provider, mobile operating system, web browser, ML framework, and AI virtual assistant provider in the world as measured by market share. On the list of most valuable brands, Google is ranked second by Forbes[18] and fourth by Interbrand.[19] It has received significant criticism involving issues such as privacy concerns, tax avoidance, censorship, search neutrality, antitrust and abuse of its monopoly position.

In March 1999, the company moved its offices to Palo Alto, California,[52] which is home to several prominent Silicon Valley technology start-ups.[53] The next year, Google began selling advertisements associated with search keywords against Page and Brin's initial opposition toward an advertising-funded search engine.[54][22] To maintain an uncluttered page design, advertisements were solely text-based.[55] In June 2000, it was announced that Google would become the default search engine provider for Yahoo!, one of the most popular websites at the time, replacing Inktomi.

 

In 2003, after outgrowing two other locations, the company leased an office complex from Silicon Graphics, at 1600 Amphitheatre Parkway in Mountain View, California.[59] The complex became known as the Googleplex, a play on the word googolplex, the number one followed by a googol zeroes. Three years later, Google bought the property from SGI for $319 million.[60] By that time, the name "Google" had found its way into everyday language, causing the verb "google" to be added to the Merriam-Webster Collegiate Dictionary and the Oxford English Dictionary, denoted as: "to use the Google search engine to obtain information on the Internet".[61][62] The first use of the verb on television appeared in an October 2002 episode of Buffy the Vampire Slayer.[63]

Additionally, in 2001 Google's investors felt the need to have a strong internal management, and they agreed to hire Eric Schmidt as the chairman and CEO of Google.[49] Eric was proposed by John Doerr from Kleiner Perkins. He had been trying to find a CEO that Sergey and Larry would accept for several months, but they rejected several candidates because they wanted to retain control over the company. Michael Moritz from Sequoia Capital at one point even menaced requesting Google to immediately pay back Sequoia's $12.5m investment if they did not fulfill their promise to hire a chief executive office, which had been made verbally during investment negotiations. Eric wasn't initially enthusiastic about joining Google either, as the company's full potential hadn't yet been widely recognized at the time, and as he was occupied with his responsibilities at Novell where he was CEO. As part of him joining, Eric agreed to buy $1 million of Google preferred stocks as a way to show his commitment and to provide funds Google needed.

Google generates most of its revenues from advertising. This includes sales of apps, purchases made in-app, digital content products on Google and YouTube, Android and licensing and service fees, including fees received for Google Cloud offerings. Forty-six percent of this profit was from clicks (cost per clicks), amounting to US$109,652 million in 2017. This includes three principal methods, namely AdMob, AdSense (such as AdSense for Content, AdSense for Search, etc.) and DoubleClick AdExchange.

In addition to its own algorithms for understanding search requests, Google uses technology its acquisition of DoubleClick, to project user interest and target advertising to the search context and the user history.

In 2007, Google launched "AdSense for Mobile", taking advantage of the emerging mobile advertising market.

Google Analytics allows website owners to track where and how people use their website, for example by examining click rates for all the links on a page. Google advertisements can be placed on third-party websites in a two-part program. Google Ads allows advertisers to display their advertisements in the Google content network, through a cost-per-click scheme.[138] The sister service, Google AdSense, allows website owners to display these advertisements on their website and earn money every time ads are clicked.[139] One of the criticisms of this program is the possibility of click fraud, which occurs when a person or automated script clicks on advertisements without being interested in the product, causing the advertiser to pay money to Google unduly. Industry reports in 2006 claimed that approximately 14 to 20 percent of clicks were fraudulent or invalid.[140] Google Search Console (rebranded from Google Webmaster Tools in May 2015) allows webmasters to check the sitemap, crawl rate, and for security issues of their websites, as well as optimize their website's visibility.

Consumer services

Web-based services

Google offers Gmail for email, Google Calendar for time-management and scheduling, Google Maps for mapping, navigation and satellite imagery, Google Drive for cloud storage of files, Google Docs, Sheets and Slides for productivity, Google Photos for photo storage and sharing, Google Keep for note-taking, Google Translate for language translation, YouTube for video viewing and sharing, Google My Business for managing public business information, and Duo for social interaction. In March 2019, Google unveiled a cloud gaming service named Stadia. A job search product has also existed since before 2017, Google for Jobs is an enhanced search feature that aggregates listings from job boards and career sites.

Some Google services are not web-based. Google Earth, launched in 2005, allowed users to see high-definition satellite pictures from all over the world for free through a client software downloaded to their computers.

Software

Google develops the Android mobile operating system, as well as its smartwatch, television, car, and Internet of things-enabled smart devices variations.

It also develops the Google Chrome web browser, and Chrome OS, an operating system based on Chrome.

 

Hardware

 

In January 2010, Google released Nexus One, the first Android phone under its own brand. It spawned a number of phones and tablets under the "Nexus" branding until its eventual discontinuation in 2016, replaced by a new brand called Pixel.

In 2011, the Chromebook was introduced, which runs on Chrome OS.

In July 2013, Google introduced the Chromecast dongle, which allows users to stream content from their smartphones to televisions.

In June 2014, Google announced Google Cardboard, a simple cardboard viewer that lets user place their smartphone in a special front compartment to view virtual reality (VR) media.

Other hardware products include:

•Nest, a series of voice assistant smart speakers that can answer voice queries, play music, find information from apps (calendar, weather etc.), and control third-party smart home appliances (users can tell it to turn on the lights, for example). The Google Nest line includes the original Google Home (later succeeded by the Nest Audio), the Google Home Mini (later succeeded by the Nest Mini, the Google Home Max, the Google Home Hub (later rebranded as the Nest Hub), and the Nest Hub Max.

•Nest Wifi (originally Google Wifi), a connected set of Wi-Fi routers to simplify and extend coverage of home Wi-Fi.

 

Enterprise services

Google Workspace (formerly G Suite until October 2020) is a monthly subscription offering for organizations and businesses to get access to a collection of Google's services, including Gmail, Google Drive and Google Docs, Google Sheets and Google Slides, with additional administrative tools, unique domain names, and 24/7 support.

On September 24, 2012, Google launched Google for Entrepreneurs, a largely not-for-profit business incubator providing startups with co-working spaces known as Campuses, with assistance to startup founders that may include workshops, conferences, and mentorships. Presently, there are seven Campus locations: Berlin, London, Madrid, Seoul, São Paulo, Tel Aviv, and Warsaw.

On March 15, 2016, Google announced the introduction of Google Analytics 360 Suite, "a set of integrated data and marketing analytics products, designed specifically for the needs of enterprise-class marketers" which can be integrated with BigQuery on the Google Cloud Platform. Among other things, the suite is designed to help "enterprise class marketers" "see the complete customer journey", generate "useful insights", and "deliver engaging experiences to the right people". Jack Marshall of The Wall Street Journal wrote that the suite competes with existing marketing cloud offerings by companies including Adobe, Oracle, Salesforce, and IBM.

 

Internet services

In February 2010, Google announced the Google Fiber project, with experimental plans to build an ultra-high-speed broadband network for 50,000 to 500,000 customers in one or more American cities.[178][179] Following Google's corporate restructure to make Alphabet Inc. its parent company, Google Fiber was moved to Alphabet's Access division.[180][181]

In April 2015, Google announced Project Fi, a mobile virtual network operator, that combines Wi-Fi and cellular networks from different telecommunication providers in an effort to enable seamless connectivity and fast Internet signal.

 

Facebook is an online social media and social networking service owned by American company Meta Platforms. Founded in 2004 by Mark Zuckerberg with fellow Harvard College students and roommates Eduardo Saverin, Andrew McCollum, Dustin Moskovitz, and Chris Hughes, its name comes from the face book directories often given to American university students. Membership was initially limited to Harvard students, gradually expanding to other North American universities and, since 2006, anyone over 13 years old. As of July 2022, Facebook claimed 2.93 billion monthly active users,[6] and ranked third worldwide among the most visited websites as of July 2022.[7] It was the most downloaded mobile app of the 2010s.[8]

Facebook can be accessed from devices with Internet connectivity, such as personal computers, tablets and smartphones. After registering, users can create a profile revealing information about themselves. They can post text, photos and multimedia which are shared with any other users who have agreed to be their "friend" or, with different privacy settings, publicly. Users can also communicate directly with each other with Facebook Messenger, join common-interest groups, and receive notifications on the activities of their Facebook friends and the pages they follow.

The subject of numerous controversies, Facebook has often been criticized over issues such as user privacy (as with the Cambridge Analytica data scandal), political manipulation (as with the 2016 U.S. elections) and mass surveillance.[9] Posts originating from the Facebook page of Breitbart News, a media organization previously affiliated with Cambridge Analytica,[10] are currently among the most widely shared political content on Facebook.[11][12][13][14][15] Facebook has also been subject to criticism over psychological effects such as addiction and low self-esteem, and various controversies over content such as fake news, conspiracy theories, copyright infringement, and hate speech.

 

Zuckerberg built a website called "Facemash" in 2003 while attending Harvard University. The site was comparable to Hot or Not and used "photos compiled from the online face books of nine Houses, placing two next to each other at a time and asking users to choose the "hotter" person". Facemash attracted 450 visitors and 22,000 photo-views in its first four hours. The site was sent to several campus group listservs, but was shut down a few days later by Harvard administration. Zuckerberg faced expulsion and was charged with breaching security, violating copyrights and violating individual privacy. Ultimately, the charges were dropped. Zuckerberg expanded on this project that semester by creating a social study tool. He uploaded art images, each accompanied by a comments section, to a website he shared with his classmates.

A "face book" is a student directory featuring photos and personal information. In 2003, Harvard had only a paper version[ along with private online directories. Zuckerberg told The Harvard Crimson, "Everyone's been talking a lot about a universal face book within Harvard. ... I think it's kind of silly that it would take the University a couple of years to get around to it. I can do it better than they can, and I can do it in a week."[29] In January 2004, Zuckerberg coded a new website, known as "TheFacebook", inspired by a Crimson editorial about Facemash, stating, "It is clear that the technology needed to create a centralized Website is readily available ... the benefits are many." Zuckerberg met with Harvard student Eduardo Saverin, and each of them agreed to invest $1,000 ($1,435 in 2021 dollars[30]) in the site.[31] On February 4, 2004, Zuckerberg launched "TheFacebook", originally located at thefacebook.com.

Six days after the site launched, Harvard seniors Cameron Winklevoss, Tyler Winklevoss, and Divya Narendra accused Zuckerberg of intentionally misleading them into believing that he would help them build a social network called HarvardConnection.com. They claimed that he was instead using their ideas to build a competing product. The three complained to the Crimson and the newspaper began an investigation. They later sued Zuckerberg, settling in 2008 for 1.2 million shares (worth $300 million ($354 million in 2021 dollars[30]) at Facebook's IPO).

Membership was initially restricted to students of Harvard College. Within a month, more than half the undergraduates had registered.[36] Dustin Moskovitz, Andrew McCollum, and Chris Hughes joined Zuckerberg to help manage the growth of the website.[37] In March 2004, Facebook expanded to Columbia, Stanford and Yale.[38] It then became available to all Ivy League colleges, Boston University, NYU, MIT, and successively most universities in the United States and Canada.

In mid-2004, Napster co-founder and entrepreneur Sean Parker—an informal advisor to Zuckerberg—became company president.[41] In June 2004, the company moved to Palo Alto, California.[42] It received its first investment later that month from PayPal co-founder Peter Thiel. In 2005, the company dropped "the" from its name after purchasing the domain name Facebook.com for US$200,000 ($277,492 in 2021 dollars). The domain had belonged to AboutFace Corporation.

In May 2005, Accel Partners invested $12.7 million ($17.6 million in 2021 dollars) in Facebook, and Jim Breyer added $1 million ($1.39 million in 2021 dollars) of his own money. A high-school version of the site launched in September 2005. Eligibility expanded to include employees of several companies, including Apple Inc. and Microsoft.

 

Facebook was sued by the Federal Trade Commission as well as a coalition of several states for illegal monopolization and antitrust. The FTC and states sought the courts to force Facebook to sell its subsidiaries WhatsApp and Instagram.[183][184] The suits were dismissed by a federal judge on June 28, 2021, who stated that there was not enough evidence brought in the suit to determine Facebook to be a monopoly at this point, though allowed the FTC to amend its case to include additional evidence. In its amended filings in August 2021, the FTC asserted that Facebook had been a monopoly in the area of personal social networks since 2011, distinguishing Facebook's activities from social media services like TikTok that broadcast content without necessarily l

 

At a crossroads – Needing to make an important decision

When you are at a crossroads, you are at a point in your life where you need to make a decision. The implication is that the decision you make will have big, life-altering consequences.

Bad apple – Bad person

You can use this idiom to describe someone who is not nice and maybe even criminal.

Barking up the wrong tree – Pursuing the wrong course

When you “bark up the wrong tree” you are pursuing the wrong solution to your problems.

Be closefisted – Stingy

If you are being “closefisted”, you don’t want to spend a lot of money.

Be cold-hearted – Uncaring

If you decide to be “cold-hearted”, you are making a deliberate decision not to care about someone or something.

Be on solid ground – Confident

When you are “on solid ground”, you are confident in your position

A "Towel Day" special.

 

Nod to Douglas Adams, first remember listening to H2G2 in the late 70s/early 80's as a weekly radio series on BBC R4

 

Always liked the look of nixie tube displays, much nicer than modern LEDs and LCDs

4/11/18 NYPD gears up to search for the dismembered body parts of 26 year old Brandy Odom whose head & torso were found in Seaview Park on April 9th. Two weeks later the killer is still on the loose.

(IMGP3934)

It was the feeling of cold, metallic chains being placed around his wrists that awoke Tim. Burt Weston stood several feet away while his second in command, Jaret Row, stepped away from Tim’s side slowly. Just then realizing that Tim was awake, after chaining him up, Jaret raised his pistol to the Robin’s head, saying,

  

“Don’t even try it.” More disgruntled than defeated, Tim replied,

  

“Wasn’t planning on it.” He then took in his surroundings, realizing he was no longer at the studio where the set had burned down. Instead, he was chained to an ornately crafted wall, with columns lining the sides. The celebrity in the Flash suit was lying unconscious underneath another camera, and Weston stood above him, adjusting the settings on the device.

  

“You know, Robin, now would be an excellent time to monologue about how I’ve defeated you and what I’ll do next. But, alas, I’m not some blockbuster super criminal. I’ve always wanted to be more of that ‘shadow of yourself’ type of character.” Tim chuckled to himself as Weston finished this.

  

“Seriously Weston, you’re even terrible at that. I’d say you weren’t a villain, but seeing as I’m certain about how this night will play out I unfortunately have to call you the villain.” This statement from Tim caused Weston to hold up the device he had been carrying around in between adjusting the cameras.

  

“This is what’s been doing it. Injecting the devices into those celebrities heads. All I have to do is…” Weston held the barrel to Tim’s head and pretended to pull the trigger, “…boop! The device gets inserted into their brain then we just need to cover it and then it’s showtime.” Expecting fear from the Robin, Weston was surprised as Tim answered,

  

“It’s stuff like that…c’mon man, that’s as cheesy as it gets,” Storming away into the shadows behind Row, Weston heard Tim continue, “Let me guess, you have another celebrity hostage and you’re going to make me make a choice that decides if they live or die.” Sure enough, the Film Freak reemerged from the shadows moments later, his device pointed at the back of a young woman dressed in fine clothing.

  

“This is the climax of our film, Robin, as you remember the typical Hollywood screenplay has-” Weston placed the young woman in front of the camera, with both his device and Row’s gun aimed at her, as he said this. However, once again Tim cut him off,

  

“Please just explain who this is so I can figure out a way to save her.” Weston looked angrily from Tim to Row as he continued through gritted teeth,

  

“Our beautiful, young actress for tonight is Ms. Gisele L. Carlyle, author of the hit nonfiction book Murder for the Weak. In said work, Ms. Carlyle denounces so-called super criminals as weak by being unable to express their emotions in a productive way. As you all know, that is not the case for me: I have several finished films…” The room fell silent, “…Alright they’re on the internet, BUT, I think the perfect ironic conclusion to our film is to have our final celebrity appearance denounce her own work. It’ll say a lot about her character: the arc she’s been through, her hardships, and the man who drove her to be this way,” Weston aimed his device at the woman’s head as she nearly made a break by the door but was stopped by one of Row’s bullets whizzing past her head. Turning his attention to Tim, he asked, “Have you ever seen King Kong? Because beauty’s about to kill the beast, bird boy.” Rolling his eyes, Tim replied,

  

“How about this: I tell you a story instead. It’s about how this situation’s about to go…starting with this-” Tim dug his boots into the set behind him to propel himself into a flip that broke what he had deduced were prop chains. As the fake metal fell to the ground, he landed perfectly in front of both Row and Weston’s line of fire, forcing him to leap into action to evade shots from both weapons.