One of the best things about this weekend’s hilarious comedy sequel HORRIBLE BOSSES 2 is the return of Jennifer Aniston’s sex-obsessed dentist, who steals every foul-mouthed scene she’s in. Her next film however, CAKE, sees her in an altogether different role, albeit very much...

bit.ly/1FoE3P1

I like Canada Geese they're comical...

A comical reply, a fellow had ask me what was so grand about the old Interlocking Tower that watched over Baxter and the junction with the Poorfork. There is just something that leaves me awestruck when I see the 1920's relic. The fact that it survives today is incredible, and every year it continues to be the center piece for more photographs taken by the best of the best. This train had drawn not only my attention, but that of fellow railfans Evan Miller, Zander Estep and Hunter Levi, all of which stand way out of my league. It isn't always about the train, but those who you journey with to shoot it.

Dressed up snowmen at the Central Experimental Farm in Ottawa, Ontario, Canada.

These wonderful and comical snowmen are along Winding Lane. Goes to show that our Canadian agricultural scientists do indeed have a great sense of humor!

The original had comically large wheels and a disproportionate wheel base. I shortened the wheel base by three studs and the overall length by two and a bit, reworked the front end, tweaked the color scheme, made it a 7-wide and lost all the playabiity of the original.

Young and old alike will be fascinated by the incredible LEGO models throughout the park. From comical camels to fearsome fire-breathing dragons, world landmarks to musical pirates, it's amazing what can be built with LEGO bricks - nearly 55 million of them!

LEGO Star Wars Miniland Experience - Take a trip to a galaxy far, far away at the UK’s only indoor LEGO® Star Wars™ Miniland Experience at the LEGOLAND® Windsor Resort. Enjoy seven of the most famous scenes from the six live-action Star Wars movies, as well as a scene from the animated series Star Wars: The Clone Wars™ all made out of 1.5 million LEGO® bricks built in 1:20 scale. Follow the chronological path through the Star Wars timeline and retrace the major events of the beloved Saga featuring 2,000 LEGO® models, authentic sounds and lighting effects in the ultimate LEGO® Star Wars experience. Open March 2012.

Staying in a fully LEGO themed hotel is a truly unforgettable experience you really can't get anywhere else...open your curtains and you're right in the heart of LEGOLAND!

Whether you stay and explore the park or stay on a room only basis, the Resort Hotel promises to be a short break paradise for any LEGO fan!

Be prepared to laugh as excitedly as your children when you enter one of the new LEGOLAND Windsor Resort Hotel’s themed rooms.

Young and old alike will be fascinated by the incredible LEGO models throughout the park. From comical camels to fearsome fire-breathing dragons, world landmarks to musical pirates, it's amazing what can be built with LEGO bricks - nearly 55 million of them!

LEGO Star Wars Miniland Experience - Take a trip to a galaxy far, far away at the UK’s only indoor LEGO® Star Wars™ Miniland Experience at the LEGOLAND® Windsor Resort. Enjoy seven of the most famous scenes from the six live-action Star Wars movies, as well as a scene from the animated series Star Wars: The Clone Wars™ all made out of 1.5 million LEGO® bricks built in 1:20 scale. Follow the chronological path through the Star Wars timeline and retrace the major events of the beloved Saga featuring 2,000 LEGO® models, authentic sounds and lighting effects in the ultimate LEGO® Star Wars experience. Open March 2012.

Staying in a fully LEGO themed hotel is a truly unforgettable experience you really can't get anywhere else...open your curtains and you're right in the heart of LEGOLAND!

Whether you stay and explore the park or stay on a room only basis, the Resort Hotel promises to be a short break paradise for any LEGO fan!

Be prepared to laugh as excitedly as your children when you enter one of the new LEGOLAND Windsor Resort Hotel’s themed rooms.

A sign on the ceiling of a shop in Glastonbury warning those entering that a zombie lies in wait within. Whoever looks at the sign further away may feel less worried!

This is probably some sort of advertisement photograph promoting a hosiery store or department within a store. I find the interaction between the saleswoman and the gentleman to be a little comical. Found in Ohio.

A young wanderer, named Sapna, arrives in Goa to become a dancer and soon sets her way making and breaking to become the Star of the City. Read the story at comicales.com.

Italian postcard by Magazine Film - corriere dei cinematografici, Napoli/Roma. Photo: Roseo & Co, Naples / Caesar Film.

Camillo De Riso (1854-1924) was an Italian actor and director of the Italian stage and screen, most famous for his comic acting and directing at the companies Ambrosio, Gloria, and Caesar.

Camillo De Riso was born in Naples on 20 November 1854, as the son of Alfonso De Riso, a stage actor who was most popular in the 19th century. Camillo started in the theatre company of his father in the early years of the 20th century, after which he created his own company together with Giuseppe Sichel and Giuseppe Brignone.In 1912 he was hired by Ambrosio Film in Turin, where he formed a successful trio with Gigetta Morano and Eleuterio Rodolfi, contributing with his rotund face, small size and generous look of bourgeois bonhomme. Examples are Un successo diplomatico and L’oca alla Colbert, both 1913 and both directed by Rodolfi. The films of the trio were often based on Italian and French fin de siecle pochades and grew in length over the years. In late 1913 De Riso started at the Gloria company. Here he created the gay epicure and shameless libertine character of ‘Camillo’, and directed himself in this series of comical shorts between 1913 and 1914. He also performed in feature films, a.o. as the theatre impresario Schaudard in Lyda Borelli’s debut film Ma l’amor mio non muore (Love Everlasting, Mario Caserini 1913), and as the unfortunate Giuliano Barbet in Florette e Patapon (Caserini 1913), an adaptation of the famous pochade by Hennequin and Véber. While De Riso also acted in epics and thrillers such as Caserini’s films Nerone e Agrippina and Il treno degli spettri (both 1913), he more and more specialized as the comedian, either in the lead in comedies or as the sidekick in dramas. At Gloria he was also a director, starting with the comedies Somnambulismo (1913) and Romanticismo (1913), and stayed there until 1915. In 1914 De Riso shortly worked for the small Rome based company Latium Film, where he a.o. directed and acted in an adaptation of Zola’s Nana (1914).

From 1915 on Camillo De Riso’s career took a new turn, when he started working at the Roman Caesar Film company. Here he not only continued his Camillo comedies, well into the early 1920s. He also acted in a long series of films with diva Francesca Bertini. At Caesar, Bertini then had quite a fixed cast around her including De Riso, Gustavo Serena, Olga and Carlo Benetti, Alfredo De Antoni, and Giuseppe De Liguoro. The men of this group often also functioned as directors as well, including De Riso. Titles include: La signora delle camelie (Gustavo Serena, 1915), La perla del cinema (Giuseppe De Liguoro, 1916), My little baby (De Liguoro, 1916), Odette (De Liguoro, 1916), Andreina (Serena, 1917), the series of I sette peccati capitali (The Seven Moral Sins, 1918-1919, several directors) – of which De Riso directed himself the episode La gola (1918) – Mariute (Edoardo Bencivenga, 1918), and Spiritismo (De Riso, 1919). De Riso also directed other popular actresses of the late 1910s such as Leda Gys (La principessa, 1917, which he also scripted), Tilde Kassay (Niniche, 1918; I nostri buoni villici, 1918; La figlia unica, 1919; Una donna funesta/Nanà, 1919), and Elena Lunda (Una donna, una mummia, un diplomatico, 1920), but in the early 1920s De Riso mostly directed his own Camillo comical shorts, and he even did a parody of Shakespeare’s Otello in 1920 (which the press didn’t like). Memorable parts De Riso played in A San Francisco (Serena, 1915), Don Giovanni (Bencivenga, 1916), the Sardou adaptation Ferréol (Bencivenga, 1916), and lastly, in Occupati d’Amelia (Telemaco Ruggeri, 1923), the adaptation of a famous Feydeau boulevard comedy, and starring Pina Menichelli and Marcel Levesque. De Riso contributed to over a 100 films, mostly comedies, and directed some 65 films, until his premature death in Rome on 2 April 1924.

Sources: Italian Wikipedia, Encyclopedia of Early Cinema, IMDB.

OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERA

Street Gang - "Street Gang is the compelling, comical, and inspiring story of a media masterpiece and pop-culture landmark. Television reporter and columnist Michael Davis-with the complete participation of Joan Ganz Cooney, one of the show's founders-unveils the idealistic personalities, decades of social and cultural change, stories of compassion and personal sacrifice, and miraculous efforts of writers, producers, directors, and puppeteers that together transformed an empty soundstage into the most recognizable block of real estate in television history." -- from www.barnesandnoble.com

Despite feeling like I needed a scorecard sometimes to keep track of the names of all the performers/producers/investors behind the show, I really enjoyed this book. I never before realized all the thought, planning and research that went into creating Sesame Street.

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

Fever Dream - "...in their 10th thriller featuring brilliant and eccentric FBI agent Aloysius

Pendergast...For 12 years, Pendergast has believed that the death of his wife, Helen, in the jaws of a ferocious red-maned lion in Zambia was just a tragedy, but his chance examination of the gun she carried on the fateful day reveals that someone loaded it with blanks. Pendergast drags his longtime NYPD ally, Lt. Vincent D'Agosta, into a leave of absence that includes travel to Africa as well as the American South. The motive for Helen's murder appears to be linked to her fascination with John James Audubon and her quest for a mysterious lost Audubon painting." -- from www.amazon.com

Another great book from Preston & Child...this time with a lovely little cliffhanger leaving me waiting impatiently for spring 2011 when the next Pendergast novel comes out :)

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

Red Pyramid - "Since their mother's death, Carter and Sadie have become near strangers. While Sadie has lived with her grandparents in London, her brother has traveled the world with their father, the brilliant Egyptologist, Dr. Julius Kane. One night, Dr. Kane brings the siblings together for a "research experiment" at the British Museum, where he hopes to set things right for his family. Instead, he unleashes the Egyptian god Set, who banishes him to oblivion and forces the children to flee for their lives. Soon, Sadie and Carter discover that the gods of Egypt are waking, and the worst of them —Set— has his sights on the Kanes. To stop him, the siblings embark on a dangerous journey across the globe - a quest that brings them ever closer to the truth about their family and their links to a secret order that has existed since the time of the

pharaohs." -- from www.barnesandnoble.com

This book was very similar to the "Percy Jackson" series in many ways but different enough that I enjoyed it without feeling like I was reading the same thing over again...definitely recommend it, especially if you liked "Harry Potter", "Charlie Bone", "Percy Jackson", etc.

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

Nine Parts of Desire - "...is the story of Brooks' intrepid journey toward an understanding of the women behind the veils, and of the often contradictory political, religious, and cultural forces that shape their lives." -- from www.barnesandnoble.com

This was an amazing book and I'm so glad I grabbed it off the library shelf. I think this was the most in depth look I've had into the world of Muslim women and it truly opened my eyes to some of the joys and horrors of modern life as an Islamic female.

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

Mornings in Jenin - "Forcibly removed from the ancient village of Ein Hod by the newly formed state of Israel in 1948, the Abulhejas are moved into the Jenin refugee camp. There, exiled from his beloved olive groves, the family patriarch languishes of a broken heart, his eldest son fathers a family and falls victim to an Israeli bullet, and his grandchildren struggle against tragedy toward freedom, peace, and home. This is the Palestinian story, told as never before, through four generations of a single family." -- from www.barnesandnoble.com

This was a very good book and I liked it very much. It was a very moving book and, even

though I've read other stories about the tragedies of war, this story hit me very hard. It may be the first book I've read and liked that I wasn't all that keen about reading again.

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

Poet Prince - "...researcher Maureen Paschal, who's been feverishly investigating the

Confraternity of Saint Mary Magdalen, uncovers juicy information about the gospel known as the Libro Rosso and the Order of the Holy Sepulcher. She heads for Florence, where her preternaturally ancient mentor, Destino, reveals the arcane past of Lorenzo de' Medici, the great Poet Prince and father of the Renaissance. Apparently, Lorenzo secretly married Lucrezia Donati, the Colombina or little dove featured in a number of Botticelli paintings. Maureen must also confront problems with her soul mate, Scottish oil mogul Bérenger Sinclair, after a glamorous ex claims he's fathered her son." -- from www.amazon.com

I've just started this book but I what I've read so far, I've liked. I really hope she's managed to keep things fresh in this third book of the series and that the plot won't get stale and tired when she's run out of religious contraversies to write about.

Street Gang: The Complete History of Sesame -- Started: May 6, 2010 Finished: May 9, 2010

Fever Dream -- Started: May 13, 2010 Finished: May 14, 2010

The Red Pyramid -- Started: May 14, 2010 Finished: May 17, 2010

Nine Parts of Desire: The Hidden World of Islamic Women -- Started: May 26, 2010 Finished: May 27, 2010

Mornings in Jenin -- Started: May 27, 2010 Finished: May 28, 2010

The Poet Prince -- Started: May 28, 2010 Finished: May 30, 2010

25 Book Challenge 2010 Books #35, #36, #37, #38, #39 & #40

Near comical mismatch in proportion of the man to horse. My wife and Lando both quickly identified the horse head as the source of the issue.

Me reading issue 1 of the new Hello Kitty comic book

German postcard by Rotophot in the Film Sterne series, no. 505/2. Photo: Oliver-Film. Paul Heidemann in Die Liebesfalle (N.N., 1917).

Paul Heidemann (1884-1968) was a German stage and screen actor, film director and film producer. He was famous for his comical parts.

David Oliver (1880-1947), died November 11, 1947 in London) was an Austrian-born film producer of German silent films.

David Oliver was born David Olivenbaum, on February 6, 1880, in Unizh, Western Galicia (then Austria-Hungary, now Ukraine). He was of Jewish faith. To avoid the pogroms that flared up again and again in his homeland, he turned west and opened a cinema in Bremen in 1905, after he had recognized the business opportunities that this new form of entertainment offered him. Successful as a film salesman, he then built large cinema palaces in Hanover, Dresden, Halle and above all in Leipzig. Ten years later he owned his own film company. When the First World War broke out in 1914, his company, the Berlin Oliver-Film GmbH, controlled around 25 percent of the German film market. Oliver also headed the Nordische Films Co., so he was head of the German distribution organization of Nordisk Film, which had been operating in Copenhagen since 1906, and for which top people such as Urban Gad, Valdemar Psilander and Asta Nielsen worked or had worked.

The Berlin Oliver-Film GmbH produced feature films and documentaries. One of the stars was the Berlin actress Dorrit Weixler, with whom several films were made from 1915 onward, often comedies with her first name in the title. Another prominent star of Oliver-Film was Hilde Wörner, while less frequent were the comedians Paul Heidemann (known as Paulchen and Teddy), Erika Glässner, Herbert Paulmuller, Melitta Petri and Leo Peukert. Oliver also produced some detective films with Max Landa, such as Der Mann ohne Kopf and Der Hund mit dem Monokel, both from 1916. The documentaries of Oliver-Film included images of nature and landscapes from the near as well as the more distant surroundings, city portraits as well as general or popular educational character and war reports. In the Spring of 1915, Oliver acquired Paul Davidson's entire chain of Union theaters. Together with Emil Georg von Stauß and Alexander Grau, he was one of the founding fathers of UFA in November 1917, after Nordisk had teamed up with other German film companies and the Supreme Army Command under General Erich Ludendorff had given their blessing.

In the 1920s, Oliver shifted the focus of his ventures from film production to the rental and theater business. In Berlin-Charlottenburg he had Hans Poelzig build the Capitol Theater with over 1,300 seats. It opened on December 20, 1925 with the film The Thief of Baghdad. In 1929 Oliver was involved in the construction of what was then the largest movie theater in Europe with 2,667 seats, the magnificent UFA-Palast in Hamburg. On April 1, 1933, UFA dismissed all employees of Jewish descent, including Oliver. On March 21, 1934, somebody threw a hand grenade to a taxi in which Oliver was sitting. Oliver remained unharmed but decided to emigrate to Spain. There he was able to found his own company again, the Iberica Films, and produce some films with it. But had to flee again after the outbreak of the Civil War in 1936 and the rise of fascism in Spain too, so this time he moved to England. In London he helped Alexander Korda, who was himself an emigrant, to set up Denham Studios, which were the most modern studio facilities in the United Kingdom at the time. Until his death in November 1947 he was head of Denham Studios Laboratories there. David Oliver died on 11. November 1947 in London-Pancras - he was 67 years old.

His grandson Mark Oliver, born 1966, is an actor and film producer in Canada. In 2013 he shot the documentary UFA MAN… The Story of Movie Pioneer David Oliver for HBO about the life and work of his grandfather.

Source: German Wikipedia, IMDB, www.vancouversun.com/entertainment/movie-guide/german+fil...

A young wanderer, named Sapna, arrives in Goa to become a dancer and soon sets her way making and breaking to become the Star of the City. Read the story at comicales.com.

willowzee.com/2012/11/23/im-a-dork/

artist: sludgepony - jack london square, oakland, california

Dressed up snowmen at the Central Experimental Farm in Ottawa, Ontario, Canada.

These wonderful and comical snowmen are along Winding Lane. Goes to show that our Canadian agricultural scientists do indeed have a great sense of humor!

Etta and Kahn

French postcard. 1910s. Cliché Bert, No. 1.

Charles Prince (1872-1933), aka just ‘Prince’ ,was a French film actor, director and writer. He was famous for his countless comical shorts with his alter ego Rigadin.

Charles Ernest René Petitdemange - better known as Charles Prince - was born at Maisons-Laffitte (Yvelines) on 27 April 1872 – though some mention his birthplace as Petitdemange, near Paris. Prince’s father was a manufacturer of artificial silk and had planned for his son to study commerce and assist him. Prince chose otherwise. He had his theatrical debut in 1896 at the Theatre de l’Odéon in the play La Bodinière, using a first pseudonym: Seigneur. Around the turn-of-the-century Charles took the stage name of Prince and became a popular boulevard theatre star, cherished for his comic performances at the Theatre des Variétés, as in Ma Tante de Honfleur. After a decade Pathé Frères managed to hire him in 1908 to act in their films. Right from the beginning almost of his films were directed by Georges Monca, mostly for the Pathé subsidiary SCAGL (Société Cinématographique des Auteurs et Gens de Lettres). Already in 1909 Prince acted in almost 20 shorts such as a few with Mistinguett (e.g. Fleur de pavé, Michel Carré/ Albert Capellani 1909). This number greatly increased in the subsequent year 1910, when Prince introduced his character of Rigadin: ¾ of his film performances that year – over 30 films - were as Rigadin. Monca also directed all of the Rigadin shorts. While in 1911 Prince played in some 23 Rigadin comedies, 1912 was a top year with some 45 Rigadin shorts. In 1913 some Prince did some 30 Rigadin shorts and in 1914 22 ones despite the outbreak of the First World War and the temporary collapse of the French film industry then. In the early 1910s Prince/Rigadin was extremely popular throughout the world, rivalling with – the now better known - Max Linder. What both actors helped, was that they worked for Pathé, the first multinational in film history, which had a clockwork production output, massive distribution and promotion around the globe, and even its own global network of cinemas. In Germany Rigadin was known as Moritz, in Britain and the US as Whiffles, in Italy as Tartufini, in Spain as Salustiano, and in Russia as Prenz. Prince/Rigadin had a remarkable face with a curling lip showing his teeth and an upturned nose, which he even mocked himself in Le Nez de Rigadin (1911).

As Rigadin, Prince often played the bourgeois who gets in trouble with authorities or with love interests, because of his timidity and clumsiness. Just like Prince’s previous stage performances, the Rigadin comedies thus mocked pre-war bourgeois drama and their main topic of amour, even if Prince himself occasionally acted in these bourgeois dramas as well. In contrast to the previous anarchic comedy at Pathé and other companies, Rigadin was inspired by vaudeville and light stage comedy, and so Prince’s character stuck to ‘white collar’ respectability and convention, while being pestered by mother-in-laws or his own mistresses. In Rigadin n’aime pas le vendredi 13 (1911) for instance, Rigadin has a dinner with his fiancée and her parents, but it is Friday the 13th and Rigadin is so superstitious that everything goes wrong. In La Garçonnière de Rigadin (1912) Rigadin lends his bachelor flat to his future father-in-law, not knowing ‘papa’ is going to use it for his secret rendez-vous. In contrast to Linder, Prince also made Rigadin do countless transformations in all kinds of professions, from domestic, cook, chestnut seller, poet, singer and explorer to the president of the French Republic and Napoleon. In Rigadin peintre cubiste (1912) Prince mocked avant-garde art by having Rigadin and his model wear angular clothes. In Rigadin aux Balkans (1912) Prince played a war cameraman who fakes scenes for the camera in France. During the First World War the number of Rigadin comedies went down from some 20 films in 1915, to 16 in 1916, 13 in 1917, and 11 in 1918. Still, all in all Prince must have acted in some 200 shorts as of 1908, mostly Rigadin comedies. Prince also experimented with the exchange between stage and screen. In the war revue show Nouvelle Revue, shown at the Paris Theatre Antoine in 1915, a notary Rigadin from the countryside is appalled about a film poster suggesting he has an affair with a girl and visits a Parisian cinema. There he speaks to the Rigadin on the screen, until the other turns around and starts to speak with him. When the notary tries to pursue him, he is suddenly within the film…

In all of these years, the number of films in which Prince wasn’t Rigadin was really small. As of 1913, Prince acted in long(er) features as well, mostly dramas. In 1913 he thus acted opposite Léon Bernard and Suzanne Demay in the SCAGL production Les Surprises du divorce, directed by Monca. Then followed Le Bon juge, Le Coup de fouet, Ferdinand le noceur, Le Fils à papa and Monsieur le directeur, all co-directed in 1913 by Monca and Prince himself. Subsequent long films co-directed by Prince were in 1914 Les Trente millions de Gladiator, Bébé, La Famille Boléro, La Femme à papa (all co-directed by Prince) and Les Fiançés héroïques (Monca 1914), in 1915 L’Auréole de la gloire and La Main dans le sac (both by Monca), in 1916 La Mariée récalcitrante (Monca, Prince). In 1919-1921 Prince played in a few feature-lenghth comedies, again all directed by Monca, such as Les Femmes collantes (1919-1920) and Madame et son filleul (1919). One last time he played in a Rigadin short, probably mocking his own dissatisfaction or that of the spectators, as the title was Prince embêté par Rigadin (1920). By the early 1920s, though, not only the popularity of Rigadin but also that of Prince had faded, and for years Prince didn’t act in film anymore. After one last silent film in 1928 (Embrassez-moi by Robert Péguy and Max de Rieux), he did have an active career in early French sound cinema between 1930 and 1933, but now in supporting roles, as in Maurice Tourneur’s Partir (1931) and Pierre Colombier’s Sa Meilleure cliente (1932), starring Elvire Popesco and René Lefèvre. Prince died at Saint-Maur-des-Fossés (Val-de-Marne) on 17 July 1933. Unfortunately his tomb was destroyed.

In 1900 Prince was married to vaudeville and film actress Miss (Aimée) Campton (1882-1930), whose original name was Emily Strahan Cager. They had one daughter Renée (1901-1993). In 1914 Prince married his second wife Gabrielle (1883-1974). Campton was the cousin of Paul Derval, director of the Folies-Bergères. Prince's great-grandson is French film director Cris Ubermann.

Sources: IMDB, French and English Wikipedia, Bibliothèque du Film, Richard Abel, The Ciné Goes to Town, The Bioscope (thebioscope.net/2007/09/07/slapstick-european-style-part-1/), Eva Krivanec (in the volume Theatre und Medien/Theatre and the Media), Adrien Vernardin (Le Musée du Music-Hall), various obituaries in newspapers.

Is this appropriate? Nuff said.

Young and old alike will be fascinated by the incredible LEGO models throughout the park. From comical camels to fearsome fire-breathing dragons, world landmarks to musical pirates, it's amazing what can be built with LEGO bricks - nearly 55 million of them!

LEGO Star Wars Miniland Experience - Take a trip to a galaxy far, far away at the UK’s only indoor LEGO® Star Wars™ Miniland Experience at the LEGOLAND® Windsor Resort. Enjoy seven of the most famous scenes from the six live-action Star Wars movies, as well as a scene from the animated series Star Wars: The Clone Wars™ all made out of 1.5 million LEGO® bricks built in 1:20 scale. Follow the chronological path through the Star Wars timeline and retrace the major events of the beloved Saga featuring 2,000 LEGO® models, authentic sounds and lighting effects in the ultimate LEGO® Star Wars experience. Open March 2012.

Staying in a fully LEGO themed hotel is a truly unforgettable experience you really can't get anywhere else...open your curtains and you're right in the heart of LEGOLAND!

Whether you stay and explore the park or stay on a room only basis, the Resort Hotel promises to be a short break paradise for any LEGO fan!

Be prepared to laugh as excitedly as your children when you enter one of the new LEGOLAND Windsor Resort Hotel’s themed rooms.

A surreal, comical artwork of a lobster reclining on a plush pink seashell chair at the bottom of the ocean. The lobster lounges casually like a human, holding a frothy pint of beer in one claw. In the background, a sleek submarine cruises by, launching a torpedo that humorously fizzes like carbonation as if aimed at the drink. The underwater setting glows with soft, filtered light, adding depth and atmosphere to the whimsical scene. A playful mix of fantasy, satire, and photorealistic detail, 8K cinematic style.

We ran across a fairly large colony of Nazca (Masked) boobies on Genovesa Island in the Galapagos Archipelago. The juveniles, about as large as their adult parents, are pretty comical looking, don't you think?

No known copyright restrictions. Please credit UBC Library as the image source. For more information, see digitalcollections.library.ubc.ca/cdm/about.

Creator: Unknown

Date Created: 1923

Source: Original Format: University of British Columbia. Library. Rare Books and Special Collections. Arkley Croquet Collection.

Permanent URL: digitalcollections.library.ubc.ca/cdm/ref/collection/arkl...

Leica DG Nocticron 1:1.2/42.5 ASPH.

At Japanese National Museum of History.

personal collection, NFS not for trade! one of my fave black kitties :D

Young and old alike will be fascinated by the incredible LEGO models throughout the park. From comical camels to fearsome fire-breathing dragons, world landmarks to musical pirates, it's amazing what can be built with LEGO bricks - nearly 55 million of them!

LEGO Star Wars Miniland Experience - Take a trip to a galaxy far, far away at the UK’s only indoor LEGO® Star Wars™ Miniland Experience at the LEGOLAND® Windsor Resort. Enjoy seven of the most famous scenes from the six live-action Star Wars movies, as well as a scene from the animated series Star Wars: The Clone Wars™ all made out of 1.5 million LEGO® bricks built in 1:20 scale. Follow the chronological path through the Star Wars timeline and retrace the major events of the beloved Saga featuring 2,000 LEGO® models, authentic sounds and lighting effects in the ultimate LEGO® Star Wars experience. Open March 2012.

Staying in a fully LEGO themed hotel is a truly unforgettable experience you really can't get anywhere else...open your curtains and you're right in the heart of LEGOLAND!

Whether you stay and explore the park or stay on a room only basis, the Resort Hotel promises to be a short break paradise for any LEGO fan!

Be prepared to laugh as excitedly as your children when you enter one of the new LEGOLAND Windsor Resort Hotel’s themed rooms.

+++ DISCLAIMER +++

Nothing you see here is real, even though the conversion or the presented background story might be based historical facts. BEWARE!

Some background:

The Supermarine 370 “Stalwart” was a British twin-engined long-range maritime patrol flying boat. Originally designed for the Royal Air Force Coastal Command as an anti-submarine aircraft for long range operations over the Atlantic the type saw, with the change of threats and global priorities from 1944 on, only limited production and use in the Pacific theathre of operations in late WWII.

In this role the Stalwart GR.Is were operated primarily by RAF 205 from Ceylon and 357 Squadron from Madras, but after the hostilities ended the flying boats were quickly phased out: the Orion engine and its complicated turbine mechanism proved to be unreliable and hard to service, and the tropical climate of the operation zone did not make things better - even though the Stalwart was easy to fly and a stable platform for various tasks. Nevertheless, all aircraft were scrapped, and the idea of a commercial version was also quickly let down due to the technical advances of land-based aircraft.

General characteristics

Crew: 9—11 (2 pilots, radio operator, radar operator, navigator, engineer, bomb-aimer, 3-5 gunners)

Length: 24,62 m (80 ft 8 in)

Wingspan: 33 m (110 ft)

Height: 7.64 m (25 ft 1 in)

Wing area: 120 m² (1.292 ft²)

Empty weight: 18.827 kg (41.506 lb)

Loaded weight: 23.456 kg (51.711 lb)

Landing weight: 20.928 kg (46.138 lb))

Max. take-off weight: 29.000 kg (64.000 lb)

Powerplant:

2× Bristol Orion PRT II compund radial piston engines with 3.000 hp (2.158 kW) each

Performance:

Maximum speed: 414 km/h (218 kn, 257 mph) at 1.800 m (5.900 ft)

Cruise speed: 280 km/h (173 mph) at 2.000 m (6.600 ft)

Landing speed: 147 km/h (105 kn, 91 mph)

Range: 5.000 km (2.700 kn, 3.100 mi)

Service ceiling: 6.100 m (20.013 ft)

Armament:

10x 0.5 (12.7 mm) Browning machine guns in nose, dorsal, side and rear turrets

2x 0.78 (20 mm) fixed Hispano cannons, firing forward

2× 1.000 kg (2.205 lb) torpedoes plus 4.410 lbs (2.000 kg) of bombs or depth charges, or 10 mines, under the wings

The kit and its assembly

A large flying boat, especially a conversion of the vintage Beriev Be-6 VEB Plasticart kit from the Col War era, had been on my project/idea list for very long. But the sheer size of the aircraft/kit had been holding me back: building sucha thing is one thing, but where to leave it once it's finished?

Anyway, what eventually evolved as Supermarine Stalwart (a tribute to the British aircraft manufacturer who's Spitfire is the most iconic product, but they produced and proposed several flying boats, too) originally was intended as a Be-6 outfitted with turrets from a Vickers Wellington and in 1943/44 Coastal Command colors.

But once I started I thought that the Be-6 would look more modern, so that a late WWII aircraft was more plausible, with heavier guns of American origin. This story also opened the opportunity for SEAC markings and colors (see below).

So, the Wellington idea was dropped, and instead I went for the "big solution": I integrated almost anything a Consolidated PB4Y Privateer (Matchbox kit) had to offer, and added a cockpit plus s scratched beaching gear.

The basic airframe of the VEB kit was retained. OOB, the cockpit is simply... empty. The parts box revealed an old Airfic B-17 cockpit, which could easily be implanted. New seats were added, as well as pilot figures (a total crew of seven polulates cockpit and weapon stations), and bulkheads were added. To my surprise the cockpit glazing is very clear, so that something of the interios can actually be seen.

Behind the cockpit a navigator/observer's bubble (from a Matchbox Beaufighter) was added, plus a floor and more bulkheads inside - an interior would not be recognizable, but leaving the fuselage empty could be seen.

The weapons stations took major body work. The dorsal stand was the easiest, since a round OOB opening was just widened enough to accept a Privateer's Martin turret. For the tail station, the OOB gun station was simply cut off and the Privateer's turret added - the tail had to be widened a bit with putty.

The side stations at first caused major headaches. In the Privateer kit they are integral parts of large fuselage panels, which ceratinly would not fit into the Be-6's lines. So I cut the teardrop fairings out, opened the flanks just far enough and glued the side stations onto the flanks. Some gaps were there, but hiding them with putty was, in the end, easier than expected. Even the gunners could be taken over from the PB4Y.

The nose station was tricky, because I could not simply slice the Be-6 nose off and replace it with the ball turret - the ship hull had to be kept intact, while the turret was to blend neatly with the rest of the fuselage. Width was not a problem, but the height (the Matchbox turret is oversized, anyway) was critical. I eventually assembled the turret and merged it in a trial-and error fashion. Again, putty work was needed to blend the shapes - but the whole thing turned out so well and plausible that there was space left for a bomb aimer/observer station under the turret foundation.

The most critical conversion were new engines. The OOB radials of the Be-6 are... simple. And totally useless, if you want to buidl a real Be-6. Being only a two engine aircraft I first tried to integrate a pair of Centaurus engines, which would have been appropriate for the kit's time frame and also sufficient in regard of power. But these turned out to be MUCH too small in diameter. It would have taken completely new fairings, and even then the result ahd looked rather comical.

I was lucky to have some resin engines for a Constellation airliner at hand. These were still a bit too small, but overall more massive - and together with the five-bladed props a balanced solution.

Still, lots of body work had to be done around the engine fairings, and I am pleased that the results look almost natural.

Another neat resin addition are ASR.III radomes from Pavla which ended up under the outer wings, just outside of the floats (OOB). Other minor additions are a new rudder, the cannon fairings at the nose flanks and underwing hardpoints for torpedos and mines.

In order to populate them I scratched four Mk. 24 acoustic mines - nicknamed "FIDOs" and effectively late WWII predecessors of acoustic torpedos. They were created from NATO 1.000lb bombs, with scratched fins and screws, plus shackles made from thin wire. Not 100% correct, but as ordnance they are more than enough.

Last addition is the scratched beaching gear. It has no real world paradigm, but I took a look ate the devices usedto beach Short Sunderlands or the real Be-6. The main struts are frame parts from a missile dolly (for a Soviet X-20 cruise missile) plus leftover tank wheels, while the tail cart was mostly constructed from styrene strips, and it carries wheels from a Bf 109E.

Painting

One impulse for SEAC markings came from a respective Short Sunderland I came across during research, and the fact that the Revell (ex Matchbox) Wellington I originally had in store as donation kit featured SEAC markings in perfect size, too.

Anyway, I wanted to create a late WWII look, and also avoid white undersides. As a result I came up with a rather classic livery, but uncommon to naval aircraft: upper sides in RAF Dark Green and Ocean Green, combined with black undersides and a high waterline. Experimental, but it suits the Stalwart/Be-6 well and was much easier to apply than dreaded white...

Painting was done with brushes; the upper side was painted with enamels (Dark Green from Modelmaster, plus Humbrol 106) while the lower side received special treatment. Instead of painting the belly black and add flaked paint with brush effects I created this effect just the way as in real life: first, a primer coat with acrylic Aluminum was applied. On top of that came a coat of Humbrol 113, simulating primer and anti-corrosion sealant. Next came acrylic flat black. When this final coat had dried I wet-sanded the planing surfaces, letting the red and metal paint shine through. Did not work 100%, but still the result looks conclusive. Later, some flaw were hidden under dry-brushed Humbrol 173 (Brown Bess), which was slso used, mixed with black, for panel shading, creating the impression that the red sealant was showing through, but much less than on the worn undersides.

The beaching gear was painted dull yellow, and the only color highlights on the aircraft are the blue spinners which are to match the single tactical code's color and the SEAC roundels. I wanted a murky look, and I think that was achieved.

All interior surfaces were painted with FS34096, a darker shade than RAF Interior Green, but still with a gray-ish touch.

After some additional dry-painting with grey tones, a black ink wash and soot stains around the exhausts the kit was sealed under a coat of matt acrlyic varnish.

A literally huge project (the thing was ~23" wings span, almost half a meter!), and taking pics was almost more demanding than building the Stalwart. But I think the result looks cool - reminds a lot of the Martin Mariner, but almost any semblance of the Be-6 is IMHO gone!

Young and old alike will be fascinated by the incredible LEGO models throughout the park. From comical camels to fearsome fire-breathing dragons, world landmarks to musical pirates, it's amazing what can be built with LEGO bricks - nearly 55 million of them!

LEGO Star Wars Miniland Experience - Take a trip to a galaxy far, far away at the UK’s only indoor LEGO® Star Wars™ Miniland Experience at the LEGOLAND® Windsor Resort. Enjoy seven of the most famous scenes from the six live-action Star Wars movies, as well as a scene from the animated series Star Wars: The Clone Wars™ all made out of 1.5 million LEGO® bricks built in 1:20 scale. Follow the chronological path through the Star Wars timeline and retrace the major events of the beloved Saga featuring 2,000 LEGO® models, authentic sounds and lighting effects in the ultimate LEGO® Star Wars experience. Open March 2012.

Staying in a fully LEGO themed hotel is a truly unforgettable experience you really can't get anywhere else...open your curtains and you're right in the heart of LEGOLAND!

Whether you stay and explore the park or stay on a room only basis, the Resort Hotel promises to be a short break paradise for any LEGO fan!

Be prepared to laugh as excitedly as your children when you enter one of the new LEGOLAND Windsor Resort Hotel’s themed rooms.

Behold, all the mobile devices I've ever owned, from the ever so comical pink 3310 to the brick monster like e61i. Digging them all out sure did bring back some memroeis. None of them were broken or stolen, I do take care of my stuff :)

It was around the 3310 and 3100 phase where I paid very little attention to phones, I simply bought what was required and used it merely for texting and phoning folks. There were phones with cameras and mp3 players but back then I had a digital compact and an iriver so I really didn't need one that was below that quality. The pink phone was a right joke back in my days and 6th form, back then was the time I thought it was cool to go for the most rediculous thing that noone would get and claim your coolness there (not sure how that panned out tbh). The next phone (3100) was a quick choice since it was the cheapest one that had a colour screen (colour screens were cool back then) and yeah, I loved the design and the tackyness of it all. You could throw it a few times and not worry much about it breaking, the keys were rubbery and the case glew in the dark. Got to love gimmick values

Around the time I started my placement year I began demanding more, mainly because I felt like I'm doing quite a lot of things outdoors which would be utilised better if I was say, online or something. This was where the n70 popped out and I bought it second hand. I abused all the features including tethering which was pretty neat back in those days. My crazy 7 hour journeys to and from Leeds on the megabus was thus solved with constant interweb surfing and whatnot.

It was only when I started my proper job did I demand for something that not only allows me to kill time when I'm out, but find things to productively do. I purchased an e61i which sported a nice lovely QWERTY keyboard since I reckon num pads were no longer cool. I didn't look back, really enjoyed typing on the keyboard and work has thus increased even when I'm out and about.

The spot on the right is obviously my next one, and since it was only announced yesterday, no prizes for what I'll be getting for my next phone. Yup, after 7 years of Nokia loyalty I'm finally jumping the boat with an iPhone. Nothing sorted just yet mind, but the idea is that I'd buy the latest iPhone 3GS when it comes out on the 19th. I haven't signed up on a waiting list or anything yet so I'm slightly skeptical on whether I'll get one in the first place. The old phone worked really well but now I would like to make use of all those iPhone comaptible web apps that go well with what I do, stuff like flickr/gmail/muse board are all so much better in iPhone format. God bless Safari, not only that the Maps feature and other apps you can get just adds the cherry on top.

So yeah, that's a brief history of my phones I've ever owned.

But yeah, enough of me, share me your mobile phone stories :D

Young and old alike will be fascinated by the incredible LEGO models throughout the park. From comical camels to fearsome fire-breathing dragons, world landmarks to musical pirates, it's amazing what can be built with LEGO bricks - nearly 55 million of them!

LEGO Star Wars Miniland Experience - Take a trip to a galaxy far, far away at the UK’s only indoor LEGO® Star Wars™ Miniland Experience at the LEGOLAND® Windsor Resort. Enjoy seven of the most famous scenes from the six live-action Star Wars movies, as well as a scene from the animated series Star Wars: The Clone Wars™ all made out of 1.5 million LEGO® bricks built in 1:20 scale. Follow the chronological path through the Star Wars timeline and retrace the major events of the beloved Saga featuring 2,000 LEGO® models, authentic sounds and lighting effects in the ultimate LEGO® Star Wars experience. Open March 2012.

Staying in a fully LEGO themed hotel is a truly unforgettable experience you really can't get anywhere else...open your curtains and you're right in the heart of LEGOLAND!

Whether you stay and explore the park or stay on a room only basis, the Resort Hotel promises to be a short break paradise for any LEGO fan!

Be prepared to laugh as excitedly as your children when you enter one of the new LEGOLAND Windsor Resort Hotel’s themed rooms.

Young and old alike will be fascinated by the incredible LEGO models throughout the park. From comical camels to fearsome fire-breathing dragons, world landmarks to musical pirates, it's amazing what can be built with LEGO bricks - nearly 55 million of them!

LEGO Star Wars Miniland Experience - Take a trip to a galaxy far, far away at the UK’s only indoor LEGO® Star Wars™ Miniland Experience at the LEGOLAND® Windsor Resort. Enjoy seven of the most famous scenes from the six live-action Star Wars movies, as well as a scene from the animated series Star Wars: The Clone Wars™ all made out of 1.5 million LEGO® bricks built in 1:20 scale. Follow the chronological path through the Star Wars timeline and retrace the major events of the beloved Saga featuring 2,000 LEGO® models, authentic sounds and lighting effects in the ultimate LEGO® Star Wars experience. Open March 2012.

Staying in a fully LEGO themed hotel is a truly unforgettable experience you really can't get anywhere else...open your curtains and you're right in the heart of LEGOLAND!

Whether you stay and explore the park or stay on a room only basis, the Resort Hotel promises to be a short break paradise for any LEGO fan!

Be prepared to laugh as excitedly as your children when you enter one of the new LEGOLAND Windsor Resort Hotel’s themed rooms.

All of the upstairs windows got shrunken or removed by ridiculous brick infills. And the first floor got a '60s-'70s-style brick arrangement with phony shutters.

I like it because it is funny-looking. Personally I never felt like I needed for it to keep on looking the same way it did when it was new.

Do you think we should try to make off with that Lexus RX?

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

In downtown Wellsburg, West Virginia, on July 8th, 2020, the T.H. Marks Building (built 1901) at the northeast corner of Main Street and 8th Street, in the Wellsburg Historic District (82004312 on the National Register of Historic Places).

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

Getty Thesaurus of Geographic Names terms:

• Brooke (county) (1002205)

• Wellsburg (2120402)

Art & Architecture Thesaurus terms:

• architectural canopies (300375688)

• brick (clay material) (300010463)

• brick red (color) (300311462)

• building stone (300011700)

• commercial buildings (300005147)

• façades (300002526)

• historic buildings (300008063)

• historic districts (300000737)

• lampposts (300101536)

• remodeling (300135427)

• semicircular arches (300001062)

• shingle (300014898)

• three-story (300163795)

• utility poles (300006446)

• windows (300002944)

Wikidata items:

• 8 July 2020 (Q57396808)

• 1900s in architecture (Q16482507)

• 1901 in architecture (Q2744628)

• crossover SUV (Q875600)

• July 8 (Q2692)

• July 2020 (Q55281154)

• Lexus RX (Q660273)

• National Register of Historic Places (Q3719)

• Northern Panhandle (Q1750731)

• Pittsburgh-New Castle-Weirton, PA-OH-WV Combined Statistical Area (Q55641455)

• streetcorner (Q17106091)

• streetlight (Q503958)

• Treaty of Fort Stanwix (Q246501)

• Weirton–Steubenville metropolitan area (Q7980367)

• Wellsburg Historic District (Q7981742)

Transportation Research Thesaurus terms:

• On street parking (Brddn)

Library of Congress Subject Headings:

• Commercial buildings—West Virginia (sh89004848)

• Historic districts—West Virginia (sh93001401)

1992 was very much a continuation of the trends of 1991. More older Joes got new figures, even ones from as late as 1988, like Shockwave. There were other nice new versions of Gung Ho, Wild Bill, Roadblock, Cutter (pictured here, albeit on a Funskool card with comically bad artwork and an unusual specialty as an "anti-tank cannon expert"!) and Mutt. The Duke form this year is okay and has a bit of a "Desert Storm" feel to him which makes sense considering the year, an even more blatantly Desert Storm-ish version would come out the next year. The Eco Warriors line added two new versions of veteran Joes, Barbecue (you could actually see his face this time! I find myself actually liking this version of Barbecue a bit) and yet another Deep Six, who would not be so bad except for some unforgivably bad bright green and magenta highlights. He came with a dolphin, which isn't quite as goofy as it sounds (the US Navy sometimes uses trained dolphins in their operations) which had a super rare "killer whale" variant. This was the last year we would see any Joes or Cobras come with any animal buddies in the vintage line. There was also a new version of Spirit, which was ok except for his neon green shirt. Wetsuit (pictured here) also got the neon treatment, but the black and yellow contrast actually sort of works on him. This version is neat because he can actually remove his (sadly unrealistic looking) diving helmet, something no previous version could do, so we can actually see his face and his VERY 90's mullet! Ace also got an update, the 90's Ace was actually more realistic than the 80's version, which looked more like an astronaut than an airman.

Returning old Joes definitely outnumbered the newbies this year. New characters of note was another fantastic Oktober Guardsman, Big Bear (pictured here) and in another rare comic book tie-in, a character that was supposed to be the son of the Joe teams original XO, General Flagg (which is also a great figure I wish I had). Most of the new characters were limited to the new special teams for this year, the Ninja Force (led by a nice, put poorly articulated new version of Storm Shadow) and the D.E.F. (Drug Elimination Force).

The Ninja Force figures were an attempt by Hasbro to cash in on the perceived "ninja craze". I say perceived because I don't think there really was much of one. Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles were dominating the toy aisles at this point, and they were ninjas, but I don't think this was the main thing that made them popular and Hasbro failed to understand that. Ninja Force was an attempt to steal some of that TMNT magic. Maybe it did sort of work, as the Ninja Force stuck around longer than any other special teams, for 3 years right up until the end of the vintage line. Thye even sort of took over the comic book for awhile which was called "GI Joe featuring Snake Eyes and the Ninja Force" for awhile. Ninja Force characters are usually not too popular with us collectors as many of them feature unusually bright colors (like this T'bang figure that is pictured here and was given to me - I've actually had TWO of them given to me, he is that unpopular!) for ninjas, and "action features" that limit their articulation and make them difficult to pose. Despite this, there are actually a handful of Ninja Force figures that aren't too bad, like the aforementioned Storm Shadow. Nunchuck is a pretty cool Ninja Force figure and a character that was revived in the early 2000's as a passable stand in for the deceased Quick Kick.

The D.E.F. is another controversial sub team that clumsily attempted to bring real world issues to the fantasy world of GI Joe. at the time, I was not disturbed by this. I was a bit of a "straight edge" punk at this point in my life, so I was definitely anti drugs. I knew that US special forces sometimes intervened in the "War on Drugs" by aiding South American governments, so the D.E.F. didn't seem too far fetched to me. However as an adult, I can appreciate what a useless waste of money and resources the whole "War on Drugs" is in ways I could not as a teenager. There is no denying that most of the D.E.F. figures are pretty cool though, I am especially fond of their leader, a new character named Bullet-Proof, which is a nice, solid military looking figure which I plan to add to my collection soon.The '92 version was even free of neon, as were all the '92 D.E.F. figures, even the bad guys.

All in all, I think '92 was a pretty good year, at least on the Joe side. There were still a lot of good figures and nice versions of old characters, even Ninja Force was sort of subdued compared to how crazy it would become in the next few years.

ragdoll cat leaping through the air really high.

Young and old alike will be fascinated by the incredible LEGO models throughout the park. From comical camels to fearsome fire-breathing dragons, world landmarks to musical pirates, it's amazing what can be built with LEGO bricks - nearly 55 million of them!

LEGO Star Wars Miniland Experience - Take a trip to a galaxy far, far away at the UK’s only indoor LEGO® Star Wars™ Miniland Experience at the LEGOLAND® Windsor Resort. Enjoy seven of the most famous scenes from the six live-action Star Wars movies, as well as a scene from the animated series Star Wars: The Clone Wars™ all made out of 1.5 million LEGO® bricks built in 1:20 scale. Follow the chronological path through the Star Wars timeline and retrace the major events of the beloved Saga featuring 2,000 LEGO® models, authentic sounds and lighting effects in the ultimate LEGO® Star Wars experience. Open March 2012.

Staying in a fully LEGO themed hotel is a truly unforgettable experience you really can't get anywhere else...open your curtains and you're right in the heart of LEGOLAND!

Whether you stay and explore the park or stay on a room only basis, the Resort Hotel promises to be a short break paradise for any LEGO fan!

Be prepared to laugh as excitedly as your children when you enter one of the new LEGOLAND Windsor Resort Hotel’s themed rooms.

Nothing on reverse except the photographer's details: Fr. Breidenbach, München.

A diminutive Bavarian infantryman (Landwehr?) looks almost comical in his over sized transitional tunic and corduroy trousers. Let's hope he had time to call into a tailor before he departed for the front.

He is armed with a Gew 98 rifle fitted with an all-steel ersatz bayonet.

Alb. II

German postcard by Verlag Hermann Leiser, Berlin-Wilm., no. 5233. Photo: R. Dührkoop.

Paul Heidemann (1884-1968) was a German stage and screen actor, and also a film director and producer. In the silent period, he was famous for his comical parts.

Paul Heidemann was born in Cologne, Germany, on 26 October 1884. After an initial career in the tobacco branch, he took acting lessons at the Meiningen-based court actor Leopold Teller. In 1906 he debuted in Hanau as Prince Karl-Heinz in the operetta Alt-Heidelberg. In 1909 he joined the Theatre of Breslau, where he sang in Bruno Granichstaedten’s operetta Bub oder Mädel. Here Heidemann created his reputation as a talented comedian. On the recommendation of composer Jean Gilbert, he moved to Berlin in 1911, where he debuted in Gilbert’s play Die keusche Susanne. Franz Porten discovered Heidemann for the cinema, where in 1912 he played his first lead in Das Brandmal ihrer Vergangenheit, followed by films such as Ihr Unteroffizier (1914), Ein nettes Pflänzchen (1916) und Der Diplomatensäugling (1919). From 1913 to 1915 he played the character Teddy in countless comical shorts, such as Teddy ist herzkrank (1914), Teddys Geburtstagsgeschenk (1915) and Teddy züchtet Notkartoffeln (1915); sometimes he directed these as well. Between 1919 and 1923 Heidemann had his own production company, Paul Heidemann-Film GmbH in Berlin, where he played the lead in films initially mostly directed by Erich Schönefelder and later on rather by Georg Schubert and Heidemann himself. A late example is Eine kleine Freundin braucht ein jeder Mann (Heidemann 1927), starring Heidemann but also Julius Falkenstein, Hans Albers, Siegfried Arno and Charlotte Ander.

In the 1920s Heidemann became an important supporting actor and sometimes leading actor in all kinds of films, in particular comedies, such as Die Bergkatze (Ernst Lubitsch 1921) with Pola Negri, So sind die Männer (Georg Jacoby 1922) with Harry Liedtke, Der Sprung ins Leben (Johannes Guter 1923) with Xenia Desni, Das süsse Mädel (Manfred Noa 1926) with Mary Nolan and Mary Parker, Die Dritte Eskadron (Carl Wilhelm 1926) with Claire Rommer, Flucht aus der Hölle (Georg Asagaroff 1928) with Heidemann, Jean Murat and Agnes Esterhazy, and Flucht vor der Liebe (Hans Behrendt 1928) with Jenny Jugo and Enrico Benfer. Simultaneously Heidemann acted on the Berlin stages, mainly in operettas. When in the early 1930s military comedies were popular, Heidemann acted in various military farces such as Wenn die Soldaten... (Luise & Jakob Fleck 1931) with Otto Walburg, Schön ist die Manöverzeit (Erich Schönfelder 1931) with Ida Wüst, Die Mutter der Kompanie (Franz Seitz senior 1931), Drei von der Kavallerie (Carl Boese 1932) with Paul Hörbiger and Fritz Kampers, and Liebe in Uniform (Georg Jacoby 1932). Heidemann also acted in many successful films of the 1930s, often as the sidekick of the favourite actor Hans Albers. Among the most well-known productions are Die grosse Sehnsucht (Stefan Szekelty 1930) with Camilla Horn and Theodor Loos, Ihre Hoheit befielt (Hanns Schwarz 1930-1931), Der tolle Bomberg (Georg Asagaroff 1932) with Heidemann in the lead, Ganovenehre (Richard Oswald 1932) with Fritz Kampers, Paprika (Carl Boese 1932) with Franziska Gaal, Narren im Schnee (Hans Deppe 1938) with Anny Ondra, and Schneider Wibbel (Viktor de Kowa 1939) with Erich Ponto.

During the Second World War, Heidemann worked again as a film director and staged some film comedies, such as Mein Mann darf es nicht wissen (1940) with Mady Rahl, Krach im Vorderhaus (1941) again with Rahl, Weisse Wäsche (1942) with Harald Paulsen, and Floh im Ohr (1943), even if the films were not huge hits. In the 1950s he acted both in BDR and DDR films, playing Presskopp in the old Berlin farce Ein Polterabend (Curt Bois 1955) and the mayor in Bärenburger Schnurre (Ralf Kirsten 1957). He also acted then in films like Torreani (Gustav Fröhlich 1951), Der keusche Josef (Carl Boese 1953), Rittmeister Wronski (Ulrich Erfurth 1954), Der Mustergatte (Erik Ode 1956) and Jede Nacht in einem anderen Bett (Paul Verhoeven 1956-1957). Paul Heidemann died in Berlin on 20 June 1968.

Sources: German Wikipedia, IMDB, www.filmportal.de, www.defa-sternstunden.de, www.cyranos.ch/smheid-d.htm.

A young wanderer, named Sapna, arrives in Goa to become a dancer and soon sets her way making and breaking to become the Star of the City. Read the story at comicales.com.

Young and old alike will be fascinated by the incredible LEGO models throughout the park. From comical camels to fearsome fire-breathing dragons, world landmarks to musical pirates, it's amazing what can be built with LEGO bricks - nearly 55 million of them!

LEGO Star Wars Miniland Experience - Take a trip to a galaxy far, far away at the UK’s only indoor LEGO® Star Wars™ Miniland Experience at the LEGOLAND® Windsor Resort. Enjoy seven of the most famous scenes from the six live-action Star Wars movies, as well as a scene from the animated series Star Wars: The Clone Wars™ all made out of 1.5 million LEGO® bricks built in 1:20 scale. Follow the chronological path through the Star Wars timeline and retrace the major events of the beloved Saga featuring 2,000 LEGO® models, authentic sounds and lighting effects in the ultimate LEGO® Star Wars experience. Open March 2012.

Staying in a fully LEGO themed hotel is a truly unforgettable experience you really can't get anywhere else...open your curtains and you're right in the heart of LEGOLAND!

Whether you stay and explore the park or stay on a room only basis, the Resort Hotel promises to be a short break paradise for any LEGO fan!

Be prepared to laugh as excitedly as your children when you enter one of the new LEGOLAND Windsor Resort Hotel’s themed rooms.

Young and old alike will be fascinated by the incredible LEGO models throughout the park. From comical camels to fearsome fire-breathing dragons, world landmarks to musical pirates, it's amazing what can be built with LEGO bricks - nearly 55 million of them!

LEGO Star Wars Miniland Experience - Take a trip to a galaxy far, far away at the UK’s only indoor LEGO® Star Wars™ Miniland Experience at the LEGOLAND® Windsor Resort. Enjoy seven of the most famous scenes from the six live-action Star Wars movies, as well as a scene from the animated series Star Wars: The Clone Wars™ all made out of 1.5 million LEGO® bricks built in 1:20 scale. Follow the chronological path through the Star Wars timeline and retrace the major events of the beloved Saga featuring 2,000 LEGO® models, authentic sounds and lighting effects in the ultimate LEGO® Star Wars experience. Open March 2012.

Staying in a fully LEGO themed hotel is a truly unforgettable experience you really can't get anywhere else...open your curtains and you're right in the heart of LEGOLAND!

Whether you stay and explore the park or stay on a room only basis, the Resort Hotel promises to be a short break paradise for any LEGO fan!

Be prepared to laugh as excitedly as your children when you enter one of the new LEGOLAND Windsor Resort Hotel’s themed rooms.

Young and old alike will be fascinated by the incredible LEGO models throughout the park. From comical camels to fearsome fire-breathing dragons, world landmarks to musical pirates, it's amazing what can be built with LEGO bricks - nearly 55 million of them!

LEGO Star Wars Miniland Experience - Take a trip to a galaxy far, far away at the UK’s only indoor LEGO® Star Wars™ Miniland Experience at the LEGOLAND® Windsor Resort. Enjoy seven of the most famous scenes from the six live-action Star Wars movies, as well as a scene from the animated series Star Wars: The Clone Wars™ all made out of 1.5 million LEGO® bricks built in 1:20 scale. Follow the chronological path through the Star Wars timeline and retrace the major events of the beloved Saga featuring 2,000 LEGO® models, authentic sounds and lighting effects in the ultimate LEGO® Star Wars experience. Open March 2012.

Staying in a fully LEGO themed hotel is a truly unforgettable experience you really can't get anywhere else...open your curtains and you're right in the heart of LEGOLAND!

Whether you stay and explore the park or stay on a room only basis, the Resort Hotel promises to be a short break paradise for any LEGO fan!

Be prepared to laugh as excitedly as your children when you enter one of the new LEGOLAND Windsor Resort Hotel’s themed rooms.

Vintage Spanish minicard. Polidor (Pasquali & Cie).

Ferdinand Guillaume (1887- 1977) was an Italian comical actor, famous in the 1910s as Tontolini and Polidor.

Ferdinand(o) Guillaume, the son of a well-bred European circus family once fled from France during the Revolution, was enrolled by the Cines company in 1910 together with his brother Natale and their wives. Guillaume was launched as the character Tontolini, in 1912 also known in Britain and the US as Jenkins. Guillaume provided Cines and Italy an international reputation in the field of comical films. His circus background was a clear consistency in his films. Actress Lea Giunchi was married to Natale (Natalino) Guillaume and often played as 'Lea' in the Tontolini comedies, before becoming the regular film partner of Kri-Kri (Raymond Frau), who more or less substituted Guillaume when the latter moved over to Pasquali.

After some 100 shorts as Tontolini, and after the success of his first feature-length film, Pinocchio (Giulio Antamoro, 1911), Ferdinand Guillaume went over to the Pasquali company. Here he created the character of Polidor (named after a horse in his previous circus shows), continuing his double profession of leading actor and director, being often the scriptwriter of his films too. Shooting some 100 films, up to four films a month, in the years 1912-1914, the Polidor films were distributed all over Europe and the US. Guillaume's output shrunk considerately from the outbreak of the First World War, although he still had a large output in 1916-1917. Guillaume managed to pursue a constant career in cinema until 1920, when his brother died in a plane crash during the shooting of a film. Guillaume had occasional come-backs in sound cinema, as in Fellini’s films Le notti di Cabiria (1957) and La dolce vita (1960), and in Pasolini's Accatone (1961). His last film part was that of an old actor in Fellini's Toby Dammitt (1968).

Sources: Italian Wikipedia, IMDB, Ivo Blom in Encyclopedia of Early Cinema (Routledge).