View allAll Photos Tagged decency
elena Harris www.flickr.com/photos/flower_chick/
As you can see there is yet another PHOTO THIEF @ work!
How sad, do people really not know what COPYRIGHT means, in SIMPLE words... IF IT IS NOT YOUR IMAGE, THEN, YOU HAVE NO RIGHT TO IT!!!
It is an INFRINGEMENT of the LAW!
If you love an image SOOOOO MUCH that you'd like to 'use' it, you have the duty and obligation to ask the creative brain behind the image AND HAVE THE COURTESY and DECENCY then to credit the artist, like you would with a painting or sculpture!
From now on I am going to publicly NAME AND SHAME THEM.
THIS TIME NONE OF MY IMAGES WERE INVOLVED, however that doesn't matter, I WANT IT TO STOP, if you see a thief breaking into your neighbours you are not going to stand by and do nothing, are you?
Prevent it from happening to YOU!
TO THE ADMINS: PLEASE, no faves on this image, just send it out to as many groups as possible, I will not give the requiered AWARDS/COMMENTS, if you don't mind, it is for JUSTICE!
I THINK IF WE MAKE A BIG FUSS ABOUT IT EACH TIME, IT MIGHT EVENTUALLY Get THROUGH TO SOME... When this is resolved, just delete this image. ,
.
THANX, M, (*_*)
Please do not use this image on websites, blogs or any other media without my explicit permission. © All rights reserved
Dutch postcard by Foto Archief Film en Toneel, no. 3454. Photo: M.G.M. Van Heflin, Gene Kelly, Gig Young, and Robert Coote in The Three Musketeers (George Sidney, 1948), based on the novel by Alexandre Dumas.
The Three Musketeers (George Sidney, 1948) is a classic Swashbuckler, starring Gene Kelly as D’Artagnan and Lana Turner as Milady De Winter. Other stars in the cast include Van Heflin, June Allyson, Gig Young, Angela Lansbury, and Vincent Price. It is one of the many, adaptations of the famous French book ‘Les trois mousquetaires’ by Alexandre Dumas père, and possibly the liveliest one, full of acrobatics, galloping horses, flapping cloaks, and sword fights with almost operatic intensity. Dumas’s story is followed quite faithfully, but the creative fantasy is in the theatrical way of depicting it.
As in the book: the story of The Three Musketeers (George Sidney, 1948) is set in 1625 in France. The young and inexperienced D'Artagnan (Gene Kelly) leaves his home village in Gascony to become a musketeer in Paris in the service of His Majesty King Louis XIII (Frank Morgan). In his pocket, he has the letter of recommendation from his father (silent film star Robert Warwick), a former musketeer and friend of the current captain of the musketeers, Treville (Reginald Owen). His father has taught him the art of fencing masterfully and gives him the good advice never to let himself be compromised with impunity. He is only too happy to follow this advice. Very soon, before he has even reached Paris, D'Artagnan gets into a confrontation with Rochefort (Ian Keith), Cardinal Richelieu's (Vincent Price) confidant, and his companion, the mysterious Lady de Winter (Lana Turner). At this first opportunity to preserve his honour in battle, he is unceremoniously struck down and robbed by Rochefort's henchmen, and his credentials are also taken from him. Once in Paris, he not only meets his new friends and comrades-in-arms Athos (Van Heflin), Porthos (Gig Young), and Aramis (Robert Coote), but also his landlord's niece, Constance Bonacieux (June Allyson), and falls in love. Many adventures and entanglements lie ahead and in the path of the brave hero D'Artagnan. Driven by his desire to become the king's musketeer and to prove himself in battle, he falls into the clutches of both the queen (Angela and the cardinal, experiences numerous dangerous situations and sometimes needs his new friends to get away at all. Nevertheless, he sets out to travel to England for the Queen's honour, to retrieve a jewellery box given away by the Queen's secret lover, Lord Buckingham (John Sutton), and to prevent Richelieu from plotting. To assist him, he is accompanied by Athos, Porthos, and Aramis, as well as his dull but loyal servant Planchet (Keenan Wynn). Shortly after D'Artagnan's return from England, Constance is kidnapped at the behest of Cardinal Richelieu. D'Artagnan makes a pass at Milady de Winter, discovers a delicate secret, and only just manages to save himself. Constance is freed and taken to safety in England, shortly after which war breaks out, and our four friends are drawn into it. They overhear a conspiratorial meeting between the Cardinal and Lady de Winter in an inn. The latter is to travel to England and kill Buckingham. Planchet also travels to England at D'Artagnan's behest to warn Buckingham. Lady de Winter is convicted and is to be executed. Constance is appointed her guardian. Milady de Winter, after a lengthy psychological duel, manages to take out Constance as well as a guard and Buckingham and then escapes. Athos and D'Artagnan, who wanted to help Constance, arrive too late; after Constance dies in D'Artagnan's arms, they themselves also have only escaped. Back in Paris, the four friends track down Lady de Winter, pronounce the death sentence on her, and have the prisoner executed. During their subsequent escape towards Spain, they are overpowered and arrested. Their fate seems to be sealed, but young D'Artagnan still has one trump card: the Countess's passport, personally sealed and signed by Cardinal Richelieu, with the note that everything the bearer of this letter undertakes will serve the good of the state. The king is not allowed to know the background of this letter - so Richelieu has to give in. Aramis receives permission to take up a clerical office. Porthos is allowed to marry richly, Athos gets his property back and D'Artagnan is to negotiate a peace offer with the enemy England on behalf of France.
Among the many American film versions of Alexandre Dumas' The Three Musketeers are the 1914 Film Attractions Co. production, directed by Charles V. Henkel, the 1921 Douglas Fairbanks production, directed by Fred Niblo, the 1935 RKO Radio Pictures, Inc. production, directed by Rowland V. Lee and starring Walter Abel, Paul Lucas and Margot Grahame, Richard Lester's 1974 Twentieth Century-Fox production starring Michael York, Oliver Reed, Richard Chamberlain, and Raquel Welch; and the 1993 Buena Vista release, directed by Stephen Herek and starring Charlie Sheen, Kiefer Sutherland, Chris O'Donnell, and Rebecca de Mornay. This splashy 1948 MGM adaptation of The Three Musketeers was the third sound version and was also the first version in Technicolor. In 1947, a representative of the National Catholic Legion of Decency, an organisation that monitored the interests of the Church in motion pictures, objected to the characterisation of Cardinal Richelieu in the planned MGM adaptation of Dumas' story. In a letter to MGM producer Pandro S. Berman, the organisation stated its objection to the cardinal being portrayed as a "worldly and unscrupulous man" and urged the studio to remove the character from the film. Berman refused to remove the character from the film but promised he would use great caution in all sensitive matters pertaining to the story and in the film, Richelieu is never referred to as Cardinal Richelieu. Berman also indicated that Constance, the married mistress of D'Artagnan in the novel, would be unmarried in the film version. While early sound versions of Three Musketeers eliminated the deaths of Constance and Milady, this adaptation telescopes the novel's events to allow for these tragedies. According to AFI, screenwriter Robert Ardry was displeased with Sidney's irreverent approach to the Dumas story and objected to the spoof elements that were added to the film. A biography of Kelly noted that Belgian fencing champion Jean Heremans, who appears in the film as the cardinal's guard, taught Kelly how to fence. Kelly's biography also noted that during the filming of a bedroom scene, Kelly flung Turner onto a bed with such force that she fell to the ground and suffered a broken elbow. Hal Erickson at AllMovie: “True to form, MGM saw to it that Lana Turner, as Milady, was dressed to the nines and heavily bejeweled for her beheading sequence. Portions of the 1948 Three Musketeers, in black and white, showed up in the silent film-within-a-film in 1952's Singin' in the Rain, which of course also starred Gene Kelly.” The Three Musketeers opened to mostly favourable reviews, with several reviewers commenting on the film's unusual tongue-in-cheek approach. New York Times reviewer Bosley Crowther noted that "more glittering swordplay, more dazzling costumes, more colors or more of Miss Turner's chest have never been seen in a picture than are shown in this one." And added: “Completely fantastic, however, is Miss Turner as the villainess, the ambitious Lady de Winter who does the boudoir business for the boss. Loaded with blond hair and jewels, with twelve-gallon hats and ostrich plumes, and poured into her satin dresses with a good bit of Turner to spare, she walks through the palaces and salons with the air of a company-mannered Mae West.” In 1948, there was an Oscar nomination for Robert Planck in the category Best Cinematography/Colour. Hans J. Wollstein at AllMovie: “The Three Musketeers remains an outrageously entertaining yarn, the Southern California locales perfectly standing in for 17th Century France and England.” And finally, Yvette Banek at her blog In so many words: “Lana Turner is really quite superb in her evilness. So evil that she is even photographed without make-up. Well, as 'without make-up' as MGM got, at any rate. Even then, she is exquisitely beautiful - especially when praying.”
Sources: Bosley Crowther (New York Times), Hal Erickson (AllMovie), Yvette Banek (In so many words), AFI, Wikipedia (Dutch, German), and IMDb.
And, please check out our blog European Film Star Postcards.
Belgian postcard by Victoria Biscuits Chocolats, no. 3. Photo: M.G.M. Van Heflin, Robert Coote, Gig Young, and Gene Kelly in The Three Musketeers (George Sidney, 1948), based on the novel by Alexandre Dumas.
The Three Musketeers (George Sidney, 1948) is a classic Swashbuckler, starring Gene Kelly as D’Artagnan and Lana Turner as Milady De Winter. Other stars in the cast include Van Heflin, June Allyson, Gig Young, Angela Lansbury, and Vincent Price. It is one of the many, adaptations of the famous French book ‘Les trois mousquetaires’ by Alexandre Dumas père, and possibly the liveliest one, full of acrobatics, galloping horses, flapping cloaks, and sword fights with almost operatic intensity. Dumas’s story is followed quite faithfully, but the creative fantasy is in the theatrical way of depicting it.
As in the book: the story of The Three Musketeers (George Sidney, 1948) is set in 1625 in France. The young and inexperienced D'Artagnan (Gene Kelly) leaves his home village in Gascony to become a musketeer in Paris in the service of His Majesty King Louis XIII (Frank Morgan). In his pocket, he has the letter of recommendation from his father (silent film star Robert Warwick), a former musketeer and friend of the current captain of the musketeers, Treville (Reginald Owen). His father has taught him the art of fencing masterfully and gives him the good advice never to let himself be compromised with impunity. He is only too happy to follow this advice. Very soon, before he has even reached Paris, D'Artagnan gets into a confrontation with Rochefort (Ian Keith), Cardinal Richelieu's (Vincent Price) confidant, and his companion, the mysterious Lady de Winter (Lana Turner). At this first opportunity to preserve his honour in battle, he is unceremoniously struck down and robbed by Rochefort's henchmen, and his credentials are also taken from him. Once in Paris, he not only meets his new friends and comrades-in-arms Athos (Van Heflin), Porthos (Gig Young), and Aramis (Robert Coote), but also his landlord's niece, Constance Bonacieux (June Allyson), and falls in love. Many adventures and entanglements lie ahead and in the path of the brave hero D'Artagnan. Driven by his desire to become the king's musketeer and to prove himself in battle, he falls into the clutches of both the queen (Angela and the cardinal, experiences numerous dangerous situations and sometimes needs his new friends to get away at all. Nevertheless, he sets out to travel to England for the Queen's honour, to retrieve a jewellery box given away by the Queen's secret lover, Lord Buckingham (John Sutton), and to prevent Richelieu from plotting. To assist him, he is accompanied by Athos, Porthos, and Aramis, as well as his dull but loyal servant Planchet (Keenan Wynn). Shortly after D'Artagnan's return from England, Constance is kidnapped at the behest of Cardinal Richelieu. D'Artagnan makes a pass at Milady de Winter, discovers a delicate secret, and only just manages to save himself. Constance is freed and taken to safety in England, shortly after which war breaks out, and our four friends are drawn into it. They overhear a conspiratorial meeting between the Cardinal and Lady de Winter in an inn. The latter is to travel to England and kill Buckingham. Planchet also travels to England at D'Artagnan's behest to warn Buckingham. Lady de Winter is convicted and is to be executed. Constance is appointed her guardian. Milady de Winter, after a lengthy psychological duel, manages to take out Constance as well as a guard and Buckingham and then escapes. Athos and D'Artagnan, who wanted to help Constance, arrive too late; after Constance dies in D'Artagnan's arms, they themselves also have only escaped. Back in Paris, the four friends track down Lady de Winter, pronounce the death sentence on her, and have the prisoner executed. During their subsequent escape towards Spain, they are overpowered and arrested. Their fate seems to be sealed, but young D'Artagnan still has one trump card: the Countess's passport, personally sealed and signed by Cardinal Richelieu, with the note that everything the bearer of this letter undertakes will serve the good of the state. The king is not allowed to know the background of this letter - so Richelieu has to give in. Aramis receives permission to take up a clerical office. Porthos is allowed to marry richly, Athos gets his property back and D'Artagnan is to negotiate a peace offer with the enemy England on behalf of France.
Among the many American film versions of Alexandre Dumas' The Three Musketeers are the 1914 Film Attractions Co. production, directed by Charles V. Henkel, the 1921 Douglas Fairbanks production, directed by Fred Niblo, the 1935 RKO Radio Pictures, Inc. production, directed by Rowland V. Lee and starring Walter Abel, Paul Lucas and Margot Grahame, Richard Lester's 1974 Twentieth Century-Fox production starring Michael York, Oliver Reed, Richard Chamberlain, and Raquel Welch; and the 1993 Buena Vista release, directed by Stephen Herek and starring Charlie Sheen, Kiefer Sutherland, Chris O'Donnell, and Rebecca de Mornay. This splashy 1948 MGM adaptation of The Three Musketeers was the third sound version and was also the first version in Technicolor. In 1947, a representative of the National Catholic Legion of Decency, an organisation that monitored the interests of the Church in motion pictures, objected to the characterisation of Cardinal Richelieu in the planned MGM adaptation of Dumas' story. In a letter to MGM producer Pandro S. Berman, the organisation stated its objection to the cardinal being portrayed as a "worldly and unscrupulous man" and urged the studio to remove the character from the film. Berman refused to remove the character from the film but promised he would use great caution in all sensitive matters pertaining to the story and in the film, Richelieu is never referred to as Cardinal Richelieu. Berman also indicated that Constance, the married mistress of D'Artagnan in the novel, would be unmarried in the film version. While early sound versions of Three Musketeers eliminated the deaths of Constance and Milady, this adaptation telescopes the novel's events to allow for these tragedies. According to AFI, screenwriter Robert Ardry was displeased with Sidney's irreverent approach to the Dumas story and objected to the spoof elements that were added to the film. A biography of Kelly noted that Belgian fencing champion Jean Heremans, who appears in the film as the cardinal's guard, taught Kelly how to fence. Kelly's biography also noted that during the filming of a bedroom scene, Kelly flung Turner onto a bed with such force that she fell to the ground and suffered a broken elbow. Hal Erickson at AllMovie: “True to form, MGM saw to it that Lana Turner, as Milady, was dressed to the nines and heavily bejeweled for her beheading sequence. Portions of the 1948 Three Musketeers, in black and white, showed up in the silent film-within-a-film in 1952's Singin' in the Rain, which of course also starred Gene Kelly.” The Three Musketeers opened to mostly favourable reviews, with several reviewers commenting on the film's unusual tongue-in-cheek approach. New York Times reviewer Bosley Crowther noted that "more glittering swordplay, more dazzling costumes, more colors or more of Miss Turner's chest have never been seen in a picture than are shown in this one." And added: “Completely fantastic, however, is Miss Turner as the villainess, the ambitious Lady de Winter who does the boudoir business for the boss. Loaded with blond hair and jewels, with twelve-gallon hats and ostrich plumes, and poured into her satin dresses with a good bit of Turner to spare, she walks through the palaces and salons with the air of a company-mannered Mae West.” In 1948, there was an Oscar nomination for Robert Planck in the category Best Cinematography/Colour. Hans J. Wollstein at AllMovie: “The Three Musketeers remains an outrageously entertaining yarn, the Southern California locales perfectly standing in for 17th Century France and England.” And finally, Yvette Banek at her blog In so many words: “Lana Turner is really quite superb in her evilness. So evil that she is even photographed without make-up. Well, as 'without make-up' as MGM got, at any rate. Even then, she is exquisitely beautiful - especially when praying.”
Sources: Bosley Crowther (New York Times), Hal Erickson (AllMovie), Yvette Banek (In so many words), AFI, Wikipedia (Dutch, German), and IMDb.
And, please check out our blog European Film Star Postcards.
Belgian postcard by Victoria Biscuits Chocolats, no. 5. Photo: M.G.M. June Allyson and Gene Kelly in The Three Musketeers (George Sidney, 1948), based on the novel by Alexandre Dumas.
The Three Musketeers (George Sidney, 1948) is a classic Swashbuckler, starring Gene Kelly as D’Artagnan and Lana Turner as Milady De Winter. Other stars in the cast include Van Heflin, June Allyson, Gig Young, Angela Lansbury, and Vincent Price. It is one of the many, adaptations of the famous French book ‘Les trois mousquetaires’ by Alexandre Dumas père, and possibly the liveliest one, full of acrobatics, galloping horses, flapping cloaks, and sword fights with almost operatic intensity. Dumas’s story is followed quite faithfully, but the creative fantasy is in the theatrical way of depicting it.
As in the book: the story of The Three Musketeers (George Sidney, 1948) is set in 1625 in France. The young and inexperienced D'Artagnan (Gene Kelly) leaves his home village in Gascony to become a musketeer in Paris in the service of His Majesty King Louis XIII (Frank Morgan). In his pocket, he has the letter of recommendation from his father (silent film star Robert Warwick), a former musketeer and friend of the current captain of the musketeers, Treville (Reginald Owen). His father has taught him the art of fencing masterfully and gives him the good advice never to let himself be compromised with impunity. He is only too happy to follow this advice. Very soon, before he has even reached Paris, D'Artagnan gets into a confrontation with Rochefort (Ian Keith), Cardinal Richelieu's (Vincent Price) confidant, and his companion, the mysterious Lady de Winter (Lana Turner). At this first opportunity to preserve his honour in battle, he is unceremoniously struck down and robbed by Rochefort's henchmen, and his credentials are also taken from him. Once in Paris, he not only meets his new friends and comrades-in-arms Athos (Van Heflin), Porthos (Gig Young), and Aramis (Robert Coote), but also his landlord's niece, Constance Bonacieux (June Allyson), and falls in love. Many adventures and entanglements lie ahead and in the path of the brave hero D'Artagnan. Driven by his desire to become the king's musketeer and to prove himself in battle, he falls into the clutches of both the queen (Angela and the cardinal, experiences numerous dangerous situations and sometimes needs his new friends to get away at all. Nevertheless, he sets out to travel to England for the Queen's honour, to retrieve a jewellery box given away by the Queen's secret lover, Lord Buckingham (John Sutton), and to prevent Richelieu from plotting. To assist him, he is accompanied by Athos, Porthos, and Aramis, as well as his dull but loyal servant Planchet (Keenan Wynn). Shortly after D'Artagnan's return from England, Constance is kidnapped at the behest of Cardinal Richelieu. D'Artagnan makes a pass at Milady de Winter, discovers a delicate secret, and only just manages to save himself. Constance is freed and taken to safety in England, shortly after which war breaks out, and our four friends are drawn into it. They overhear a conspiratorial meeting between the Cardinal and Lady de Winter in an inn. The latter is to travel to England and kill Buckingham. Planchet also travels to England at D'Artagnan's behest to warn Buckingham. Lady de Winter is convicted and is to be executed. Constance is appointed her guardian. Milady de Winter, after a lengthy psychological duel, manages to take out Constance as well as a guard and Buckingham and then escapes. Athos and D'Artagnan, who wanted to help Constance, arrive too late; after Constance dies in D'Artagnan's arms, they themselves also have only escaped. Back in Paris, the four friends track down Lady de Winter, pronounce the death sentence on her, and have the prisoner executed. During their subsequent escape towards Spain, they are overpowered and arrested. Their fate seems to be sealed, but young D'Artagnan still has one trump card: the Countess's passport, personally sealed and signed by Cardinal Richelieu, with the note that everything the bearer of this letter undertakes will serve the good of the state. The king is not allowed to know the background of this letter - so Richelieu has to give in. Aramis receives permission to take up a clerical office. Porthos is allowed to marry richly, Athos gets his property back and D'Artagnan is to negotiate a peace offer with the enemy England on behalf of France.
Among the many American film versions of Alexandre Dumas' The Three Musketeers are the 1914 Film Attractions Co. production, directed by Charles V. Henkel, the 1921 Douglas Fairbanks production, directed by Fred Niblo, the 1935 RKO Radio Pictures, Inc. production, directed by Rowland V. Lee and starring Walter Abel, Paul Lucas and Margot Grahame, Richard Lester's 1974 Twentieth Century-Fox production starring Michael York, Oliver Reed, Richard Chamberlain, and Raquel Welch; and the 1993 Buena Vista release, directed by Stephen Herek and starring Charlie Sheen, Kiefer Sutherland, Chris O'Donnell, and Rebecca de Mornay. This splashy 1948 MGM adaptation of The Three Musketeers was the third sound version and was also the first version in Technicolor. In 1947, a representative of the National Catholic Legion of Decency, an organisation that monitored the interests of the Church in motion pictures, objected to the characterisation of Cardinal Richelieu in the planned MGM adaptation of Dumas' story. In a letter to MGM producer Pandro S. Berman, the organisation stated its objection to the cardinal being portrayed as a "worldly and unscrupulous man" and urged the studio to remove the character from the film. Berman refused to remove the character from the film but promised he would use great caution in all sensitive matters pertaining to the story and in the film, Richelieu is never referred to as Cardinal Richelieu. Berman also indicated that Constance, the married mistress of D'Artagnan in the novel, would be unmarried in the film version. While early sound versions of Three Musketeers eliminated the deaths of Constance and Milady, this adaptation telescopes the novel's events to allow for these tragedies. According to AFI, screenwriter Robert Ardry was displeased with Sidney's irreverent approach to the Dumas story and objected to the spoof elements that were added to the film. A biography of Kelly noted that Belgian fencing champion Jean Heremans, who appears in the film as the cardinal's guard, taught Kelly how to fence. Kelly's biography also noted that during the filming of a bedroom scene, Kelly flung Turner onto a bed with such force that she fell to the ground and suffered a broken elbow. Hal Erickson at AllMovie: “True to form, MGM saw to it that Lana Turner, as Milady, was dressed to the nines and heavily bejeweled for her beheading sequence. Portions of the 1948 Three Musketeers, in black and white, showed up in the silent film-within-a-film in 1952's Singin' in the Rain, which of course also starred Gene Kelly.” The Three Musketeers opened to mostly favourable reviews, with several reviewers commenting on the film's unusual tongue-in-cheek approach. New York Times reviewer Bosley Crowther noted that "more glittering swordplay, more dazzling costumes, more colors or more of Miss Turner's chest have never been seen in a picture than are shown in this one." And added: “Completely fantastic, however, is Miss Turner as the villainess, the ambitious Lady de Winter who does the boudoir business for the boss. Loaded with blond hair and jewels, with twelve-gallon hats and ostrich plumes, and poured into her satin dresses with a good bit of Turner to spare, she walks through the palaces and salons with the air of a company-mannered Mae West.” In 1948, there was an Oscar nomination for Robert Planck in the category Best Cinematography/Colour. Hans J. Wollstein at AllMovie: “The Three Musketeers remains an outrageously entertaining yarn, the Southern California locales perfectly standing in for 17th Century France and England.” And finally, Yvette Banek at her blog In so many words: “Lana Turner is really quite superb in her evilness. So evil that she is even photographed without make-up. Well, as 'without make-up' as MGM got, at any rate. Even then, she is exquisitely beautiful - especially when praying.”
Sources: Bosley Crowther (New York Times), Hal Erickson (AllMovie), Yvette Banek (In so many words), AFI, Wikipedia (Dutch, German), and IMDb.
And, please check out our blog European Film Star Postcards.
Belgian postcard by Victoria Biscuits Chocolats, no. 8. Photo: M.G.M. June Allyson and Gene Kelly in The Three Musketeers (George Sidney, 1948), based on the novel by Alexandre Dumas.
The Three Musketeers (George Sidney, 1948) is a classic Swashbuckler, starring Gene Kelly as D’Artagnan and Lana Turner as Milady De Winter. Other stars in the cast include Van Heflin, June Allyson, Gig Young, Angela Lansbury, and Vincent Price. It is one of the many, adaptations of the famous French book ‘Les trois mousquetaires’ by Alexandre Dumas père, and possibly the liveliest one, full of acrobatics, galloping horses, flapping cloaks, and sword fights with almost operatic intensity. Dumas’s story is followed quite faithfully, but the creative fantasy is in the theatrical way of depicting it.
As in the book: the story of The Three Musketeers (George Sidney, 1948) is set in 1625 in France. The young and inexperienced D'Artagnan (Gene Kelly) leaves his home village in Gascony to become a musketeer in Paris in the service of His Majesty King Louis XIII (Frank Morgan). In his pocket, he has the letter of recommendation from his father (silent film star Robert Warwick), a former musketeer and friend of the current captain of the musketeers, Treville (Reginald Owen). His father has taught him the art of fencing masterfully and gives him the good advice never to let himself be compromised with impunity. He is only too happy to follow this advice. Very soon, before he has even reached Paris, D'Artagnan gets into a confrontation with Rochefort (Ian Keith), Cardinal Richelieu's (Vincent Price) confidant, and his companion, the mysterious Lady de Winter (Lana Turner). At this first opportunity to preserve his honour in battle, he is unceremoniously struck down and robbed by Rochefort's henchmen, and his credentials are also taken from him. Once in Paris, he not only meets his new friends and comrades-in-arms Athos (Van Heflin), Porthos (Gig Young), and Aramis (Robert Coote), but also his landlord's niece, Constance Bonacieux (June Allyson), and falls in love. Many adventures and entanglements lie ahead and in the path of the brave hero D'Artagnan. Driven by his desire to become the king's musketeer and to prove himself in battle, he falls into the clutches of both the queen (Angela and the cardinal, experiences numerous dangerous situations and sometimes needs his new friends to get away at all. Nevertheless, he sets out to travel to England for the Queen's honour, to retrieve a jewellery box given away by the Queen's secret lover, Lord Buckingham (John Sutton), and to prevent Richelieu from plotting. To assist him, he is accompanied by Athos, Porthos, and Aramis, as well as his dull but loyal servant Planchet (Keenan Wynn). Shortly after D'Artagnan's return from England, Constance is kidnapped at the behest of Cardinal Richelieu. D'Artagnan makes a pass at Milady de Winter, discovers a delicate secret, and only just manages to save himself. Constance is freed and taken to safety in England, shortly after which war breaks out, and our four friends are drawn into it. They overhear a conspiratorial meeting between the Cardinal and Lady de Winter in an inn. The latter is to travel to England and kill Buckingham. Planchet also travels to England at D'Artagnan's behest to warn Buckingham. Lady de Winter is convicted and is to be executed. Constance is appointed her guardian. Milady de Winter, after a lengthy psychological duel, manages to take out Constance as well as a guard and Buckingham and then escapes. Athos and D'Artagnan, who wanted to help Constance, arrive too late; after Constance dies in D'Artagnan's arms, they themselves also have only escaped. Back in Paris, the four friends track down Lady de Winter, pronounce the death sentence on her, and have the prisoner executed. During their subsequent escape towards Spain, they are overpowered and arrested. Their fate seems to be sealed, but young D'Artagnan still has one trump card: the Countess's passport, personally sealed and signed by Cardinal Richelieu, with the note that everything the bearer of this letter undertakes will serve the good of the state. The king is not allowed to know the background of this letter - so Richelieu has to give in. Aramis receives permission to take up a clerical office. Porthos is allowed to marry richly, Athos gets his property back and D'Artagnan is to negotiate a peace offer with the enemy England on behalf of France.
Among the many American film versions of Alexandre Dumas' The Three Musketeers are the 1914 Film Attractions Co. production, directed by Charles V. Henkel, the 1921 Douglas Fairbanks production, directed by Fred Niblo, the 1935 RKO Radio Pictures, Inc. production, directed by Rowland V. Lee and starring Walter Abel, Paul Lucas and Margot Grahame, Richard Lester's 1974 Twentieth Century-Fox production starring Michael York, Oliver Reed, Richard Chamberlain, and Raquel Welch; and the 1993 Buena Vista release, directed by Stephen Herek and starring Charlie Sheen, Kiefer Sutherland, Chris O'Donnell, and Rebecca de Mornay. This splashy 1948 MGM adaptation of The Three Musketeers was the third sound version and was also the first version in Technicolor. In 1947, a representative of the National Catholic Legion of Decency, an organisation that monitored the interests of the Church in motion pictures, objected to the characterisation of Cardinal Richelieu in the planned MGM adaptation of Dumas' story. In a letter to MGM producer Pandro S. Berman, the organisation stated its objection to the cardinal being portrayed as a "worldly and unscrupulous man" and urged the studio to remove the character from the film. Berman refused to remove the character from the film but promised he would use great caution in all sensitive matters pertaining to the story and in the film, Richelieu is never referred to as Cardinal Richelieu. Berman also indicated that Constance, the married mistress of D'Artagnan in the novel, would be unmarried in the film version. While early sound versions of Three Musketeers eliminated the deaths of Constance and Milady, this adaptation telescopes the novel's events to allow for these tragedies. According to AFI, screenwriter Robert Ardry was displeased with Sidney's irreverent approach to the Dumas story and objected to the spoof elements that were added to the film. A biography of Kelly noted that Belgian fencing champion Jean Heremans, who appears in the film as the cardinal's guard, taught Kelly how to fence. Kelly's biography also noted that during the filming of a bedroom scene, Kelly flung Turner onto a bed with such force that she fell to the ground and suffered a broken elbow. Hal Erickson at AllMovie: “True to form, MGM saw to it that Lana Turner, as Milady, was dressed to the nines and heavily bejeweled for her beheading sequence. Portions of the 1948 Three Musketeers, in black and white, showed up in the silent film-within-a-film in 1952's Singin' in the Rain, which of course also starred Gene Kelly.” The Three Musketeers opened to mostly favourable reviews, with several reviewers commenting on the film's unusual tongue-in-cheek approach. New York Times reviewer Bosley Crowther noted that "more glittering swordplay, more dazzling costumes, more colors or more of Miss Turner's chest have never been seen in a picture than are shown in this one." And added: “Completely fantastic, however, is Miss Turner as the villainess, the ambitious Lady de Winter who does the boudoir business for the boss. Loaded with blond hair and jewels, with twelve-gallon hats and ostrich plumes, and poured into her satin dresses with a good bit of Turner to spare, she walks through the palaces and salons with the air of a company-mannered Mae West.” In 1948, there was an Oscar nomination for Robert Planck in the category Best Cinematography/Colour. Hans J. Wollstein at AllMovie: “The Three Musketeers remains an outrageously entertaining yarn, the Southern California locales perfectly standing in for 17th Century France and England.” And finally, Yvette Banek at her blog In so many words: “Lana Turner is really quite superb in her evilness. So evil that she is even photographed without make-up. Well, as 'without make-up' as MGM got, at any rate. Even then, she is exquisitely beautiful - especially when praying.”
Sources: Bosley Crowther (New York Times), Hal Erickson (AllMovie), Yvette Banek (In so many words), AFI, Wikipedia (Dutch, German), and IMDb.
And, please check out our blog European Film Star Postcards.
PrisonPlanet: RT OliMauritania: #HillarysAltRightSpeech I hope Hillary has the decency to give a shout out to Milo, PrisonPlanet and Cerno… (via Twitter twitter.com/Luandrew169/status/768124304764637184)
12c - 14c Church of St Giles, Hockerton Nottinghamshire www.flickr.com/gp/52219527@N00/3t8bu3 - a church is mentioned here in the 1086 Domeday survey.
12c survivors are the chancel arch and north doorway flic.kr/p/RmMTUR
In 1291 the patronage was in the hands of John le Botelier,
In 1300 Ralph de Hertford was made vicar, he was still here in 1330 when chaplain Henry Asselyn of Halam came to help, Ralph being by then "old, totally blind and physically incapable"
In the reign of catholic Queen Mary Tudor , rector John Addams was deprived of his position which went to a catholic priest Thomas Huddleston, Addams being reinstated in 1559 after the accession of protestant Queen Elizabeth.
Being near the Royalist stronghold of Newark, the building was damaged during the mid 17c Civil War. In 1680 Charles ll was petitioned and a grant of 50 oaks from Sherwood forest was used to repair the "much decayed and rotten" roof.
Rector James Gibson in 1734 was paid £16 per annum to look after Kirklington and Hockerton and begged the archbishop on his visit that this was "an income which I hope your grace will not think overmuch for a clergyman, even in celibacy, to live with a little decency and some sort of independency"
By 1852 the walls, roofs, floors and windows were ‘extremely dilapidated.’
The last major restoration was by architect James Fowler in 1876, the chancel was re-roofed and the east gable rebuilt, also the nave roof was restored, gallery removed and new pews installed.
In need of care and attention flic.kr/p/QY6LJ9 flic.kr/p/QY6LK1 - At the time of my visit in April 2016 plans were underway to close the church and combine the parish with Kirklington. The church was to be "appropriated to use as an art studio for educational purposes and for community and cultural purposes ancillary thereto"
365:2019 Day 110
We are so very lucky to live here! A beautiful Cotswold market town, about 200 yards from the Square where everything happens, but protected from the noise by the thick stone alls of the ancient buildings. The land opposite our house has been derelict for some years, but was never a problem as we live at the back of the house overlooking our lovely garden. There is one window back there that overlooks us, but the people who live there are very discrete. This development has been fought against by everyone, and planning was turned down by the district planners - but, bring in an expensive barrister who has no understanding of the town or the situation, and lo and behold, we have a development. They have no vehicular access to the houses, and the brewery who own the lane, and have not given access, have seen fit to erect this fence. It is a godsend to us, but will they ever be able to sell houses this close to the fence? The front doors look as though they are about 3 feet from the fence - how on earth will they get furniture into them? The flip side of this is that there are some flats behind, to the north, with a shared garden that will now never see sunshine. With the rush to build so many homes, I think common sense and decency have been banished in the pursuit of money...
Talk about a crazy day. When I decided to document the rally on this day I had no clue what anyone was in for. As it became clear that it was no longer a place I wanted to be, I started to make my exit. This was my last photo. No matter what you may think about the situation or the people there that day, I can assure you 95% of the people outside the capitol were just as confused as the rest of the world. The expressions on the faces of the onlookers, and the general confusion in the air told me everything I needed to know; namely that there are people that believe in law & order, and people that do not. Just as the protestors this Summer should not be lumped in with the marauders that looted & burned cities across the country, so these protestors looking on at the madness on the 6th should not be lumped in with those that took matters into their own hands at the detriment of freedom & decency.
The soap in question is a honeycomb, vanilla and beer soap made by Guelph's own Wellington Brewery. It was bought for me by my daughter a couple of years ago, more as a gag gift rather than a practicality. Wellington Brewery is so named because we are in Wellington County, one of the largest counties in southern Ontario.
We're Here looks at Soap today (as well as Star Wars stuff) and I at least had the decency of serving my Wellington soap in a Wellington glass. Some things are inviolable.
Um texto, em português, do site da Wikipédia, a Enciclopédia livre:
Michelangelo ("Miguel Ângelo") di Ludovico Buonarroti Simoni (Caprese, 6 de Março de 1475 — Roma, 18 de Fevereiro de 1564) foi um pintor, escultor, poeta e arquiteto renascentista italiano.
Apesar de ter feito poucas atividades além das artes, sua versatilidade em vários campos fez com que rivalizasse com Leonardo da Vinci no título de ícone da Renascença. Michelangelo foi genial em vários campos e, além disso, também recebeu tarefas diplomáticas. Duas biografias foram escritas sobre ele ainda em vida (uma de Giorgio Vasari).
Duas de suas mais famosas obras (a Pietà e o David) foram realizadas antes de seus trinta anos. Apesar de sua pouca afeição à pintura, criou duas obras históricas: as cenas do Gênesis, no teto da Capela Sistina, e o O Juízo Final, também no mesmo local. Projetou também a cúpula da Basílica de São Pedro, em Roma. Entre suas outras esculturas, contam-se a também a Virgem, o Baco, o Moisés, a Raquel, a Léa e membros da família Médici.
Michelangelo nasceu em Caprese, perto de Arezzo, na Toscana, o segundo de cinco filhos. Seu pai, Ludovico, quando residente em Caprese, era um magistrado. Michelangelo cresceu em Florença e mais tarde viveu com um escultor e sua esposa na localidade florentina de Settignano, onde seu pai tinha uma mina de mármore e uma pequena fazenda.
Contra a vontade de seu pai, o canhoto Michelangelo escolheu ser aprendiz de Domenico Ghirlandaio por três anos começando em 1488. Também foi aprendiz, na escultura, de Bertoldo di Giovanni. Impressionado com a técnica de Michelangelo, Ghirlandaio recomendou-o para Florença para estudar com Lourenço de Médici. De 1490 a 1492, Michelangelo freqüentou a escola de Lourenço e durante sua estada, seria influenciado por muitas pessoas proeminentes, e pela filosofia platônica da época, que modificariam e expandiriam suas idéias na arte e ainda seus sentimentos sobre sexualidade.
Foi durante este período que Michelangelo criou dois relevos: a Batalha de Centauros e a Madonna da Escada. A primeira obra foi baseada em um tema sugerido por Poliziano e encomendada por Lourenço de Médici. Após sua morte, Michelangelo deixou a corte dos Medici. Nos meses seguintes, produziu um crucifixo de madeira para o pároco da Igreja de Santa Maria del Santo Spirito, que tinha o deixado estudar anatomia a partir de alguns cadáveres do hospital da Igreja.
Pedro de Médici, filho mais velho de Lourenço de Médici, recusou-se a financiar o trabalho artístico de Michelangelo. Também nessa época, as idéias de Savonarola tornaram-se populares em Florença. Sob tais pressões, Michelangelo decide sair definitivamente de Florença e vai para Bolonha por três anos. Logo depois, o Cardeal San Giorgio compra a obra de Michelangelo em mármore Cupido e decide chamá-lo a Roma em 1496. Influenciado pela antiguidade de Roma, ele produz Baco e a Pietà. A Pietà foi uma encomenda do embaixador francês na Santa Sé. Apesar de praticamente se dedicar à escultura, Michelangelo nunca deixou de desenhar, ele desenhava por prazer de desenhar.
Quatro anos mais tarde, Michelangelo retornou a Florença, onde produziu seu mais famoso trabalho: David.
A cidade, na época, estava mudando, após a queda de Savonarola e a ascensão de Pier Soderini. O David foi uma encomenda da Guilda de Lã da cidade. Era, originalmente, um trabalho incompleto, iniciado quarenta anos antes por Agostino di Duccio. O David deveria ser o símbolo da liberdade de Florença e seria colocado na Piazza della Signoria, na frente do Palazzo Vecchio. A obra foi concluída em 1504. Essa obra-prima, feita em mármore de Carrara, colocou-o definitivamente como um escultor de extraordinária técnica e habilidade. Na época, também pintou a Sagrada Família da Tribuna, agora na Galeria Uffizi. Michelangelo era considerado um artista renascentista porque em todas suas obras, ele representava somente figuras do homem.
Michelangelo foi convocado novamente a Roma em 1503 pelo recém-designado Papa Júlio II e foi comissionado para construir a tumba papal. Entretanto, durante a patronagem de Júlio II, Michelangelo tinha constantemente que interromper seu trabalho para fazer outras numerosas tarefas. Por essa e outras interrupções, Michelangelo trabalharia na tumba por quarenta anos sem nunca a terminar.
A mais famosa das tarefas foi a pintura monumental do teto da Capela Sistina no Vaticano, que levou quatro anos para ser feita (1508 – 1512). Michelangelo originalmente deveria pintar os 12 Apóstolos, mas protestou e pediu uma tarefa mais audaciosa: um esquema que representasse a Criação, a Queda do Homem e a Promessa da Salvação. O trabalho faz parte de uma decoração muito mais complexa que, em conjunto, representa toda a doutrina da Igreja Católica.
A composição contém 300 figuras e se centra nos episódios do livro do Genesis, divididos em três grupos: a Criação da Terra por Deus, a Criação da Humanidade e sua queda e, por fim, a Humanidade representada por Noé. Entre os afrescos mais famosos estão: A Criação de Adão e Adão e Eva no Paraíso.
Em 1513, o Papa Júlio II morreu, e seu sucessor, o Papa Leão X, um Médici, pediu que Michelangelo reconstruísse o interior da Igreja de São Lourenço, em Florença, e a adornasse com esculturas. Michelangelo relutantemente aceitou, mas foi incapaz de terminar a tarefa (o exterior da igreja ainda não está adornado até hoje).
Em 1526, os cidadãos de Florença, encorajados pelo saque de Roma, expulsaram os Médici e restauraram a república. Michelangelo voltou para sua amada Florença para ajudar a construir as fortificações da cidade de 1528 a 1529. A cidade caiu em 1530 e os Médici voltaram ao poder.
A pintura de O Juízo Final, na janela do Altar da capela Sistina foi comissionada pelo Papa Paulo III, e Michelangelo trabalhou nela de 1534 a 1541. O trabalho é grandioso e toma uma parede inteira atrás do altar da Capela Sistina. O Juízo Final é uma representação da segunda vinda de Cristo e do apocalipse, quando as almas da humanidade seriam levadas a seu destino final e julgadas por Cristo, rodeado de santos.
Uma vez concluída, as representações de nudez na própria Capela foram consideradas obscenas e um sacrilégio. Após a morte de Michelangelo, decidiu-se obscurecer os órgãos, o que foi feito por um aprendiz de Michelangelo, Daniele da Volterra. Quando o trabalho foi restaurado em 1993, decidiu-se deixar algumas das figuras ainda cobertas, como documentos históricos. A censura sempre perseguiu Michelangelo, que às vezes era chamado de "inventor delle porcherie" ("inventor das obscenidades").
Em 1547, Michelangelo foi apontado como arquiteto da Basílica de São Pedro no Vaticano. Anos mais tarde, em 18 de Fevereiro de 1564, Michelangelo morre, em casa, em Roma aos 88 anos de idade, solicitando em testamento que seu corpo fosse enterrado em Florença.
Michelangelo, muitas vezes arrogante com os outros e constantemente insatisfeito com ele mesmo, via a arte como originada da inspiração interna e da cultura. Via a natureza como uma inimiga que tinha de ser superada. Suas figuras são dinâmicas. Para ele, a missão do escultor era libertar as formas que estavam dentro da pedra. Conta-se que após Michelangelo ter executado sua estátua Moisés, bateu violentamente com o martelo no joelho da obra e gritou: Porque não falas? (Perché non parli).
Na vida pessoal, Michelangelo era abstêmio. Era indiferente à bebida e à comida. Era uma pessoa solitária e melancólica.
Para além da pintura e da escultura, Michelangelo deixou também cerca de trezentos poemas em italiano vernáculo, que escreveu entre 1501 e 1560. Os seus poemas são marcados por uma forte carga homoerótica. Porém, esta foi alterada na primeira edição da sua poesia, em 1623, publicada pelo seu sobrinho Michelangelo, o Jovem. Em 1893, John Addington Symonds traduziu os poemas originais para inglês.
Fundamental para a arte de Michelangelo era sua paixão pela beleza masculina, que o atraía de modo emocional e estético. Era, em parte, uma expressão da idealização renascentista do corpo humano. Mas, para Michelangelo, há uma resposta única a essa estética. Tais sentimentos o faziam sentir uma profunda angústia, uma contradição entre a filosofia platônica e o sentimento carnal.
This sculpture was fotographed at the street in front of the Ufizzi Museum in florence, Italy.
A text, in english, from Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia:
Michelangelo di Lodovico Buonarroti Simoni
Birth name Michelangelo di Lodovico Buonarroti Simoni
Born March 6, 1475(1475-03-06)
near Arezzo, in Caprese, Tuscany
Died February 18, 1564 (aged 88)
Rome
Nationality Italian
Field sculpture, painting, architecture and poetry
Training Apprentice to Domenico Ghirlandaio[1]
Movement High Renaissance
Michelangelo di Lodovico Buonarroti Simoni[1] (March 6, 1475 – February 18, 1564), commonly known as Michelangelo, was an Italian Renaissance painter, sculptor, architect, poet and engineer. Despite making few forays beyond the arts, his versatility in the disciplines he took up was of such a high order that he is often considered a contender for the title of the archetypal Renaissance man, along with his rival and fellow Italian Leonardo da Vinci.
Michelangelo's output in every field during his long life was prodigious; when the sheer volume of correspondence, sketches and reminiscences that survive is also taken into account, he is the best-documented artist of the 16th century. Two of his best-known works, the Pietà and the David, were sculpted before he turned thirty. Despite his low opinion of painting, Michelangelo also created two of the most influential works in fresco in the history of Western art: the scenes from Genesis on the ceiling and The Last Judgment on the altar wall of the Sistine Chapel in Rome. Later in life he designed the dome of St. Peter's Basilica in the same city and revolutionised classical architecture with his use of the giant order of pilasters.
In a demonstration of Michelangelo's unique standing, he was the first Western artist whose biography was published while he was alive.[2] Two biographies were published of him during his lifetime; One of them, by Giorgio Vasari, proposed that he was the pinnacle of all artistic achievement since the beginning of the Renaissance, a viewpoint that continued to have currency in art history for centuries. In his lifetime he was also often called Il Divino ("the divine one").[3] One of the qualities most admired by his contemporaries was his terribilità, a sense of awe-inspiring grandeur, and it was the attempts of subsequent artists to imitate Michelangelo's impassioned and highly personal style that resulted in the next major movement in Western art after the High Renaissance, Mannerism.
Michelangelo was born on March 6, 1475[a] in Caprese near Arezzo, Tuscany.[4] His family had for several generations been small-scale bankers in Florence but his father, Lodovico di Leonardo di Buonarroti di Simoni, failed to maintain the bank's financial status, and held occasional government positions.[2] At the time of Michelangelo's birth, his father was the Judicial administrator of the small town of Caprese and local administrator of Chiusi. Michelangelo's mother was Francesca di Neri del Miniato di Siena.[5] The Buonarrotis claimed to descend from the Countess Mathilde of Canossa; this claim remains unproven, but Michelangelo himself believed it.[6] Several months after Michelangelo's birth the family returned to Florence where Michelangelo was raised. At later times, during the prolonged illness and after the death of his mother when he was seven years old, Michelangelo lived with a stonecutter and his wife and family in the town of Settignano where his father owned a marble quarry and a small farm.[5] Giorgio Vasari quotes Michelangelo as saying, "If there is some good in me, it is because I was born in the subtle atmosphere of your country of Arezzo. Along with the milk of my nurse I received the knack of handling chisel and hammer, with which I make my figures."[4]
Michelangelo's father sent him to study grammar with the Humanist Francesco da Urbino in Florence as a young boy.[7][4][b] The young artist, however, showed no interest in his schooling, preferring to copy paintings from churches and seek the company of painters.[7] At thirteen, Michelangelo was apprenticed to the painter Domenico Ghirlandaio.[1][8] When Michelangelo was only fourteen, his father persuaded Ghirlandaio to pay his apprentice as an artist, which was highly unusual at the time.[9] When in 1489 Lorenzo de' Medici, de facto ruler of Florence, asked Ghirlandaio for his two best pupils, Ghirlandaio sent Michelangelo and Francesco Granacci.[10] From 1490 to 1492, Michelangelo attended the Humanist academy which the Medici had founded along Neo Platonic lines. Michelangelo studied sculpture under Bertoldo di Giovanni. At the academy, both Michelangelo's outlook and his art were subject to the influence of many of the most prominent philosophers and writers of the day including Marsilio Ficino, Pico della Mirandola and Angelo Poliziano.[11] At this time Michelangelo sculpted the reliefs Madonna of the Steps (1490–1492) and Battle of the Centaurs (1491–1492). The latter was based on a theme suggested by Poliziano and was commissioned by Lorenzo de Medici.[12]
Lorenzo de' Medici's death on April 8, 1492, brought a reversal of Michelangelo's circumstances.[13] Michelangelo left the security of the Medici court and returned to his father's house. In the following months he carved a wooden crucifix (1493), as a gift to the prior of the Florentine church of Santo Spirito, who had permitted him some studies of anatomy on the corpses of the church's hospital.[14] Between 1493 and 1494 he bought a block of marble for a larger than life statue of Hercules, which was sent to France and subsequently disappeared sometime circa 1700s.[12][c] On January 20, 1494, after heavy snowfalls, Lorenzo's heir, Piero de Medici commissioned a snow statue, and Michelangelo again entered the court of the Medici.
In the same year, the Medici were expelled from Florence as the result of the rise of Savonarola. Michelangelo left the city before the end of the political upheaval, moving to Venice and then to Bologna.[13] In Bologna he was commissioned to finish the carving of the last small figures of the Shrine of St. Dominic, in the church dedicated to that saint. Towards the end 1494, the political situation in Florence was calmer. The city, previously under threat from the French, was no longer in danger as Charles VIII had suffered defeats. Michelangelo returned to Florence but received no commissions from the new city government under Savonarola. He returned to the employment of the Medici.[15] During the half year he spent in Florence he worked on two small statues, a child St. John the Baptist and a sleeping Cupid. According to Condivi, Lorenzo di Pierfrancesco de' Medici, for whom Michelangelo had sculpted St. John the Baptist, asked that Michelangelo "fix it so that it looked as if it had been buried" so he could "send it to Rome…pass [it off as] an ancient work and…sell it much better." Both Lorenzo and Michelangelo were unwittingly cheated out of the real value of the piece by a middleman. Cardinal Raffaele Riario, to whom Lorenzo had sold it, discovered that it was a fraud, but was so impressed by the quality of the sculpture that he invited the artist to Rome. [16][d] This apparent success in selling his sculpture abroad as well as the conservative Florentine situation may have encouraged Michelangelo to accept the prelate's invitation.[15]
Michelangelo arrived in Rome June 25, 1496[17] at the age of 21. On July 4 of the same year, he began work on a commission for Cardinal Raffaele Riario, an over-life-size statue of the Roman wine god, Bacchus. However, upon completion, the work was rejected by the cardinal, and subsequently entered the collection of the banker Jacopo Galli, for his garden.
In November of 1497, the French ambassador in the Holy See commissioned one of his most famous works, the Pietà and the contract was agreed upon in August of the following year. The contemporary opinion about this work — "a revelation of all the potentialities and force of the art of sculpture" — was summarized by Vasari: "It is certainly a miracle that a formless block of stone could ever have been reduced to a perfection that nature is scarcely able to create in the flesh."
In Rome, Michelangelo lived near the church of Santa Maria di Loreto. Here, according to the legend, he fell in love with Vittoria Colonna, marquise of Pescara and a poet.[citation needed] His house was demolished in 1874, and the remaining architectural elements saved by the new proprietors were destroyed in 1930. Today a modern reconstruction of Michelangelo's house can be seen on the Gianicolo hill.
Michelangelo returned to Florence in 1499–1501. Things were changing in the republic after the fall of anti-Renaissance Priest and leader of Florence, Girolamo Savonarola (executed in 1498) and the rise of the gonfaloniere Pier Soderini. He was asked by the consuls of the Guild of Wool to complete an unfinished project begun 40 years earlier by Agostino di Duccio: a colossal statue portraying David as a symbol of Florentine freedom, to be placed in the Piazza della Signoria, in front of the Palazzo Vecchio. Michelangelo responded by completing his most famous work, the Statue of David in 1504. This masterwork, created out of a marble block from the quarries at Carrara that had already been worked on by an earlier hand, definitively established his prominence as a sculptor of extraordinary technical skill and strength of symbolic imagination.
Also during this period, Michelangelo painted the Holy Family and St John, also known as the Doni Tondo or the Holy Family of the Tribune: it was commissioned for the marriage of Angelo Doni and Maddalena Strozzi and in the 17th century hung in the room known as the Tribune in the Uffizi. He also may have painted the Madonna and Child with John the Baptist, known as the Manchester Madonna and now in the National Gallery, London.
In 1505 Michelangelo was invited back to Rome by the newly elected Pope Julius II. He was commissioned to build the Pope's tomb. Under the patronage of the Pope, Michelangelo had to constantly stop work on the tomb in order to accomplish numerous other tasks. Because of these interruptions, Michelangelo worked on the tomb for 40 years. The tomb, of which the central feature is Michelangelo's statue of Moses, was never finished to Michelangelo's satisfaction. It is located in the Church of S. Pietro in Vincoli in Rome.
During the same period, Michelangelo took the commission to paint the ceiling of the Sistine Chapel, which took approximately four years to complete (1508–1512). According to Michelangelo's account, Bramante and Raphael convinced the Pope to commission Michelangelo in a medium not familiar to the artist. This was done in order that he, Michelangelo, would suffer unfavorable comparisons with his rival Raphael, who at the time was at the peak of his own artistry as the primo fresco painter. However, this story is discounted by modern historians on the grounds of contemporary evidence, and may merely have been a reflection of the artist's own perspective.
Michelangelo was originally commissioned to paint the 12 Apostles against a starry sky, but lobbied for a different and more complex scheme, representing creation, the Downfall of Man and the Promise of Salvation through the prophets and Genealogy of Christ. The work is part of a larger scheme of decoration within the chapel which represents much of the doctrine of the Catholic Church
The composition eventually contained over 300 figures and had at its center nine episodes from the Book of Genesis, divided into three groups: God's Creation of the Earth; God's Creation of Humankind and their fall from God's grace; and lastly, the state of Humanity as represented by Noah and his family. On the pendentives supporting the ceiling are painted twelve men and women who prophesied the coming of the Jesus. They are seven prophets of Israel and five Sibyls, prophetic women of the Classical world.
Among the most famous paintings on the ceiling are the Creation of Adam, Adam and Eve in the Garden of Eden, the Great Flood, the Prophet Isaiah and the Cumaean Sibyl. Around the windows are painted the ancestors of Christ.
In 1513 Pope Julius II died and his successor Pope Leo X, a Medici, commissioned Michelangelo to reconstruct the façade of the basilica of San Lorenzo in Florence and to adorn it with sculptures. Michelangelo agreed reluctantly. The three years he spent in creating drawings and models for the facade, as well as attempting to open a new marble quarry at Pietrasanta specifically for the project, were among the most frustrating in his career, as work was abruptly cancelled by his financially-strapped patrons before any real progress had been made. The basilica lacks a facade to this day.
Apparently not the least embarrassed by this turnabout, the Medici later came back to Michelangelo with another grand proposal, this time for a family funerary chapel in the basilica of San Lorenzo. Fortunately for posterity, this project, occupying the artist for much of the 1520s and 1530s, was more fully realized. Though still incomplete, it is the best example we have of the integration of the artist's sculptural and architectural vision, since Michelangelo created both the major sculptures as well as the interior plan. Ironically the most prominent tombs are those of two rather obscure Medici who died young, a son and grandson of Lorenzo. Il Magnifico himself is buried in an unfinished and comparatively unimpressive tomb on one of the side walls of the chapel, not given a free-standing monument, as originally intended.
Michelangelo's The Last Judgment. Saint Bartholomew is shown holding the knife of his martyrdom and his flayed skin. The face of the skin is recognizable as Michelangelo.
In 1527, the Florentine citizens, encouraged by the sack of Rome, threw out the Medici and restored the republic. A siege of the city ensued, and Michelangelo went to the aid of his beloved Florence by working on the city's fortifications from 1528 to 1529. The city fell in 1530 and the Medici were restored to power. Completely out of sympathy with the repressive reign of the ducal Medici, Michelangelo left Florence for good in the mid-1530s, leaving assistants to complete the Medici chapel. Years later his body was brought back from Rome for interment at the Basilica di Santa Croce, fulfilling the maestro's last request to be buried in his beloved Tuscany.
The fresco of The Last Judgment on the altar wall of the Sistine Chapel was commissioned by Pope Clement VII, who died shortly after assigning the commission. Paul III was instrumental in seeing that Michelangelo began and completed the project. Michelangelo labored on the project from 1534 to October 1541. The work is massive and spans the entire wall behind the altar of the Sistine Chapel. The Last Judgment is a depiction of the second coming of Christ and the apocalypse; where the souls of humanity rise and are assigned to their various fates, as judged by Christ, surrounded by the Saints.
Once completed, the depictions of nakedness in the papal chapel was considered obscene and sacrilegious, and Cardinal Carafa and Monsignor Sernini (Mantua's ambassador) campaigned to have the fresco removed or censored, but the Pope resisted. After Michelangelo's death, it was decided to obscure the genitals ("Pictura in Cappella Ap.ca coopriantur"). So Daniele da Volterra, an apprentice of Michelangelo, was commissioned to cover with perizomas (briefs) the genitals, leaving unaltered the complex of bodies. When the work was restored in 1993, the conservators chose not to remove all the perizomas of Daniele, leaving some of them as a historical document, and because some of Michelangelo’s work was previously scraped away by the touch-up artist's application of “decency” to the masterpiece. A faithful uncensored copy of the original, by Marcello Venusti, can be seen at the Capodimonte Museum of Naples.
Censorship always followed Michelangelo, once described as "inventor delle porcherie" ("inventor of obscenities", in the original Italian language referring to "pork things"). The infamous "fig-leaf campaign" of the Counter-Reformation, aiming to cover all representations of human genitals in paintings and sculptures, started with Michelangelo's works. To give two examples, the marble statue of Cristo della Minerva (church of Santa Maria sopra Minerva, Rome) was covered by added drapery, as it remains today, and the statue of the naked child Jesus in Madonna of Bruges (The Church of Our Lady in Bruges, Belgium) remained covered for several decades. Also, the plaster copy of the David in the Cast Courts (Victoria and Albert Museum) in London, has a fig leaf in a box at the back of the statue. It was there to be placed over the statue's genitals so that they would not upset visiting female royalty.
In 1546, Michelangelo was appointed architect of St. Peter's Basilica in the Vatican, and designed its dome. As St. Peter's was progressing there was concern that Michelangelo would pass away before the dome was finished. However, once building commenced on the lower part of the dome, the supporting ring, the completion of the design was inevitable.
On December 7, 2007, Michelangelo's red chalk sketch for the dome of St Peter's Basilica, his last before his 1564 death, was discovered in the Vatican archives. It is extremely rare, since he destroyed his designs later in life. The sketch is a partial plan for one of the radial columns of the cupola drum of Saint Peter's.
Michelangelo worked on many projects that had been started by other men, most notably in his work at St Peter's Basilica, Rome. The Campidoglio, designed by Michelangelo during the same period, rationalized the structures and spaces of Rome's Capitoline Hill. Its shape, more a rhomboid than a square, was intended to counteract the effects of perspective. The major Florentine architectural projects by Michelangelo are the unexecuted façade for the Basilica of San Lorenzo, Florence and the Medici Chapel (Capella Medicea) and Laurentian Library there, and the fortifications of Florence. The major Roman projects are St. Peter's, Palazzo Farnese, San Giovanni de' Fiorentini and the Sforza Chapel (Capella Sforzesca), Porta Pia and Santa Maria degli Angeli.
Michelangelo, who was often arrogant with others and constantly dissatisfied with himself, saw art as originating from inner inspiration and from culture. In contradiction to the ideas of his rival, Leonardo da Vinci, Michelangelo saw nature as an enemy that had to be overcome. The figures that he created are forceful and dynamic, each in its own space apart from the outside world. For Michelangelo, the job of the sculptor was to free the forms that were already inside the stone. He believed that every stone had a sculpture within it, and that the work of sculpting was simply a matter of chipping away all that was not a part of the statue.
Several anecdotes reveal that Michelangelo's skill, especially in sculpture, was greatly admired in his own time. Another Lorenzo de Medici wanted to use Michelangelo to make some money. He had Michelangelo sculpt a cupid that looked worn and old. Lorenzo paid Michelangelo 30 ducats, but sold the cupid for 200 ducats. Cardinal Raffaele Riario became suspicious and sent someone to investigate. The man had Michelangelo do a sketch for him of a cupid, and then told Michelangelo that while he received 30 ducats for his cupid, Lorenzo had passed the cupid off for an antique and sold it for 200 ducats. Michelangelo then confessed that he had done the cupid, but had no idea that he had been cheated. After the truth was revealed, the Cardinal later took this as proof of his skill and commissioned his Bacchus. Another better-known anecdote claims that when finishing the Moses (San Pietro in Vincoli, Rome), Michelangelo violently hit the knee of the statue with a hammer, shouting, "Why don't you speak to me?"
In his personal life, Michelangelo was abstemious. He told his apprentice, Ascanio Condivi: "However rich I may have been, I have always lived like a poor man." [19] Condivi said he was indifferent to food and drink, eating "more out of necessity than of pleasure"[19] and that he "often slept in his clothes and ... boots."[19] These habits may have made him unpopular; his biographer Paolo Giovio says "His nature was so rough and uncouth that his domestic habits were incredibly squalid, and deprived posterity of any pupils who might have followed him."[20] He may not have minded, since he was by nature a solitary and melancholy person; he had a reputation for being bizzarro e fantastico because he "withdrew himself from the company of men."
Fundamental to Michelangelo's art is his love of male beauty, which attracted him both aesthetically and emotionally. In part, this was an expression of the Renaissance idealization of masculinity. But in Michelangelo's art there is clearly a sensual response to this aesthetic.[22]
The sculptor's expressions of love have been characterized as both Neoplatonic and openly homoerotic; recent scholarship seeks an interpretation which respects both readings, yet is wary of drawing absolute conclusions. One example of the conundrum is Cecchino dei Bracci, whose death, only a year after their meeting in 1543, inspired the writing of forty eight funeral epigrams, which by some accounts allude to a relationship that was not only romantic but physical as well:
La carne terra, e qui l'ossa mia, prive
de' lor begli occhi, e del leggiadro aspetto
fan fede a quel ch'i' fu grazia nel letto,
che abbracciava, e' n che l'anima vive.[23]
or
The flesh now earth, and here my bones,
Bereft of handsome eyes, and jaunty air,
Still loyal are to him I joyed in bed,
Whom I embraced, in whom my soul now lives.
According to others, they represent an emotionless and elegant re-imagining of Platonic dialogue, whereby erotic poetry was seen as an expression of refined sensibilities (Indeed, it must be remembered that professions of love in 16th century Italy were given a far wider application than now).[24] Some young men were street wise and took advantage of the sculptor. Febbo di Poggio, in 1532, peddled his charms—in answer to Michelangelo's love poem he asks for money. Earlier, Gherardo Perini, in 1522, had stolen from him shamelessly. Michelangelo defended his privacy above all. When an employee of his friend Niccolò Quaratesi offered his son as apprentice suggesting that he would be good even in bed, Michelangelo refused indignantly, suggesting Quaratesi fire the man.
The greatest written expression of his love was given to Tommaso dei Cavalieri (c. 1509–1587), who was 23 years old when Michelangelo met him in 1532, at the age of 57. Cavalieri was open to the older man's affection: I swear to return your love. Never have I loved a man more than I love you, never have I wished for a friendship more than I wish for yours. Cavalieri remained devoted to Michelangelo till his death.
Michelangelo dedicated to him over three hundred sonnets and madrigals, constituting the largest sequence of poems composed by him. Some modern commentators assert that the relationship was merely a Platonic affection, even suggesting that Michelangelo was seeking a surrogate son.[25] However, their homoerotic nature was recognized in his own time, so that a decorous veil was drawn across them by his grand nephew, Michelangelo the Younger, who published an edition of the poetry in 1623 with the gender of pronouns changed. John Addington Symonds, the early British homosexual activist, undid this change by translating the original sonnets into English and writing a two-volume biography, published in 1893.
Ignudo, Sistine Chapel.
The sonnets are the first large sequence of poems in any modern tongue addressed by one man to another, predating Shakespeare's sonnets to his young friend by a good fifty years.
I feel as lit by fire a cold countenance
That burns me from afar and keeps itself ice-chill;
A strength I feel two shapely arms to fill
Which without motion moves every balance.
— (Michael Sullivan, translation)
Late in life he nurtured a great love for the poet and noble widow Vittoria Colonna, whom he met in Rome in 1536 or 1538 and who was in her late forties at the time. They wrote sonnets for each other and were in regular contact until she died, though many scholars note the intellectualized or spiritual quality of this passion.
It is impossible to know for certain whether Michelangelo had physical relationships (Condivi ascribed to him a "monk-like chastity"),[26] but through his poetry and visual art we may at least glimpse the arc of his imagination.
www.youtube.com/watch?v=wGmfUBH1sXQ&feature=share&...
This Little Child
Scott Wesley Brown
He's there, we'll go see him
Who would have thought that long ago
So very far away
A little child would be born
And in a manger laid
And who would have thought this little child
Was born the King of Kings
The Son of just a carpenter
But for whom the angels sing
And who would have thought that as He grew
And with other children played
This child with whom they laughed and sang
Would die for them some day
And who would have thought this little child
Could make a blind man see
Feed the hungry, make rich the poor
And set the prisoner free
Oh who would have thought this little child
Was who the prophets said
Would take away the sins of man
And rise up from the dead
And I believe and I will always sing
This little child is the King
And I believe and I will always sing
This little child
He is the King of Kings
Many years have come and gone
Yet this world remains the same
Empires have been built and fallen
Only time has made a change
Nation against nation
Brother against brother
Men so filled with hatred
Still killing one another
And over half the world is starving
While our banner of decency is torn
Debating over disarmament
While killing children before they're born
And fools who march to win the right
To justify their sin
Oh every nation that has fallen
Has fallen from within
Yet in the midst of this darkness
There is a hope, a light that burns
This little child the King of Kings
Some day will return
And I believe and I will always sing
This little child is the King
And I believe and I will always sing
This little child
He is the King of Kings
Who would have thought this little child
Is who the prophets said
Will return to judge this world
The living and the dead
Oh can't you see, that long ago
So very far away
That Jesus Christ, our only hope
Was born the King that day
At a catshow in Seattle with the Qua on saturday.....an image that could clearly not be posted on Fotolog with its policy of "no nudity" which apparently offends 'heif's" sense of decency...he has cousins or something that are easily aroused.....
Queens Of The Stone Age 700m deep in Sondershausen Salt Mine, Germany
p.s. if you are gonna post my copyrighted images elsewhere on the internet at least have the decency to credit me with them or link them back to here, or i'll probably stop posting them or at least start putting big watermarks on them.
Sorry to all that I have been so un-enthused by both flickr and my photography this past month or two. I am just back from an awesome trip to a small island called Tobishima off the west coast of Japan. Good fun!
Basically, during migration time all sorts of rare birds just drop onto the island and, because it is so small, it is relatively easy to find rare birds when they come (well, sometimes). So, I was there from the 9th to the 14th and saw a total of 71 species, of which about 20 percent were new birds! A Common Redpoll on the last day brought my total of species in Japan this year to 250, not a bad achievement for 10 months of part-time birding, I thought.
I have included a complete list of the birds on the island for those who are interested. The birds probably mean very little to most of you, but some people will understand it :) The names in brackets are the Japanese names.
TOBISHIMA ISLAND LIST
Streaked Shearwater (O-mizunagidori)
Japanese Cormorant (Umi-u)
Grey Heron (Ao-sagi)
Great Egret (Dai-sagi)
Mandarin Duck (Oshidori) I was a bit surprised when we saw a pair flying in past the headland we were watching from.
Mallard (Ma-gamo)
Common Teal (Ko-gamo)
Osprey (Misago) Occasionally seen around the coasts.
Black Kite (Tobi)
Japanese Sparrowhawk (Tsumi) About 8 birds in total, presumably migrating. One group of birders said they saw Eurasian Sparrowhawk, but possibly this species (?)
NORTHERN HOBBY (Chigo-hayabusa) One seen flying low over the ocean close not far out from Sakata on the ferry to Tobishima on the 9th.
Peregrine Falcon (Hayabusa) At least 4 birds present on the island, two adults and two immatures, possibly more. It was great fun watching the antics of the Peregrines, particularly where it concerned the young birds. At least one of the young Peregrines was regularly seen mock dive-bombing the surrounding crows, but I think this was mostly play-acting or practising. On the last day, I observed one of the adults repeatedly dive-bombing one of the youngsters, maybe telling it to move on out of their territory!
Black-tailed Gull (Umi-neko)
Slaty-backed Gull (O-seguro-kamome)
Vega Gull (Seguro-kamome)
Japanese Wood Pigeon (Karasu-bato) Occasionally seen flying at canopy height.
Rufous Turtle-Dove (Kiji-bato)
Pacific Swift (Ama-tsubame)
Eurasian Wryneck (Arisui) One bird present on the 10th.
Eurasian Skylark (Hibari)
White Wagtail (Haku-sekirei)
Grey Wagtail (Ki-sekirei)
Olive-backed Pipit (Binzui) One on the 9th and 3 on the 14th.
RED-THROATED PIPT (Muneaka-tahibari) 2 on the 11th and 1 on the 12th.
Buff-bellied Pipit (Ta-hibari)
Brown-eared Bulbul (Hiyodori)
Goldcrest (Kiku-itadaki) Present in small numbers.
Blue Rock Thrush (Iso-hiyodori)
Japanese Thrush (Kuro-tsugumi) Present around the persimmon trees in small numbers during the second half of the stay.
Eyebrowed Thrush (Mamichajinai) As Peter said, present (probably in fairly decent numbers) but very rarely with any decency.
Pale Thrush (Shirohara)
Dusky Thrush (Tsugumi)
Japanese Bush Warbler (Uguisu) Present in huge numbers! Never easy to see well though.
PALLAS'S GRASSHOPPER WARBLER (Shiberia-sennyu) One bird seen very briefly on the 14th. I had about a 1 second view of the upperparts of the bird as it banked away into the scrub and although I waited for it, it did not come out again. Despite the short views, I am confident of ID: very definitely a grasshopper warbler species based on the size and jizz of the bird with shortish blunt wings and long broad fanned tail. The bird was overall a rusty kind of colour (keeping in mind that I could only see the upperparts) with a rusty-chestnut back and rump/tail. There was prominent streaking on the back extending onto the rump with a diffuse black sub-terminal on the tail and whitish tips to some of the tail feathers.
Black-browed Reed Warbler (Ko-yoshikiri) One seen on the 13th.
Arctic Warbler (Meboso-mushikui) Present in large numbers!
YELLOW-BROWED WARBLER (Kimayu-mushikui) One bird seen on the 10th whilst waiting for the Chestnut-flanked White-eye.
Sakhalin Leaf Warbler (Ezo-mushikui) One bird amongst the many Arctic Warblers that seemed fairly different, a rather contrasting greyish head and green back.
Asian Brown Flycatcher (Ko-samebitaki)
DARK-SIDED FLYCATCHER (Same-bitaki) Two birds present at different places on the 10th and one on the 12th.
Narcissus Flycatcher (Ki-bitaki)
MUGIMAKI FLYCATCHER (Mugimaki) One female seen on the 12th. One of the birders on the island said she saw a male-female pair on the same day.
Blue-and-White Flycatcher (O-ruri)
Japanese Robin (Komadori) One female seen in dense forest on the 14th.
Siberian Rubythroat (Nogoma) One female came close to inspect me whilst I was waiting for White-eye photos on the 12th.
Daurian Redstart (Jo-bitaki) Plentiful from the 12th.
Siberian Stonechat (No-bitaki) Plentiful before the 12th. It was interesting to see how the different migrants came in and went, with Stonechats being by far more common than Redstarts in the first half whilst the opposite was true for the second half of the trip.
Coal Tit (Hi-gara)
Great Tit (Shiju-kara)
Japanese White-eye (Mejiro) Plentiful, probably thousands of birds on the island.
CHESTNUT-FLANKED WHITE-EYE (Chousen-mejiro) As Peter said, one or two regularly came in to feed in one particular persimmon tree on the 9th, 10th and 11th. It was not seen at that place after the 11th, but apparently some other birds were seen at another place on the 13th. At least 3 different birds were present, quite possibly more. One of the star attractions of the week.
Bull-headed Shrike (Mozu) I saw Bull-headed Shrike only once, but one shrike species on the last day was quite possibly different, maybe a Brown Shrike or something (apparently a Brown Shrike in a different plumage was seen that day).
Carrion Crow (Hashiboso-garasu)
Large-billed Crow (Hashibuto-garasu)
ROOK (Miyama-garasu) Well over 1000 birds in one single flock on the 13th was an amazing spectacle! About 1/4 of the sky was completely black with these birds. Interestingly enough, they were being harassed by a Peregrine that really did look serious on taking one of them for dinner. They were common on the 14th but were not seen prior to the 13th.
DAURIAN JACKDAW (Kokumaru-garasu) 1 on the 14th. I was very pleased when I spotted this bird amongst a flock of Rooks. As one of the Japanese birders I was with at the time said, a very kawaii bird!!!
Eurasian Tree Sparrow (Suzume)
Brambling (Atori) Very common on the island, probably second only to Siskin.
Eurasian Siskin (Ma-hiwa) Abundant. They were everywhere on the island, and often very tame. I would say definitely in the 1000s and probably way more.
COMMON ROSEFINCH (Aka-mashiko) 1 on the 10th. As it turned out, probably one of the rarest birds I saw. I was birding with a Japanese birding friend when this female Rosefinch flushed up out of a bush and perched on a nice clear branch (albeit a bit backlit) for about 5 seconds before flying away. Obviously a Rosefinch given overall patterning and jizz. The beak appeared quite large for a bird that size! Pity it wasn't a male :)
COMMON REDPOLL (Beni-hiwa) One female/1st winter present on the 14th.
Oriental Greenfinch (Kawara-hiwa)
PINE BUNTING (Shiraga-hojiro) 1 non-breeding male seen on the 13th and 3 flying birds on the 14th. A very attractive bunting.
Meadow Bunting (Hojiro)
LITTLE BUNTING (Ko-houaka) Never commong, but seemingly always present in 1s or 2s in all good bunting places.
Rustic Bunting (Kashiradaka) Very common.
YELLOW-THROATED BUNTING (Miyama-hojiro) Not present before the 12th, but seen regularly after that. An extremely pretty bird, one of the most beautiful buntings in my opinion.
CHESTNUT BUNTING (Shima-nojiko) A male moulting already in or moulting into non-breeding plumage was seen on the evening of the 13th. Apparently seen the following morning as well.
Black-faced Bunting (Aoji) Numbers seemingly increased as the week went by.
Grey Bunting (Kuroji)
Common Reed Bunting (O-jurin) Small numbers. One bird that Kaz, Peter and I observed we concluded was probably a female/immature Reed Bunting. I again saw a bunting sp. on the last day that defied ID. To me the bird I saw on the last day appeared to be similar if not the same as the bird that we saw earlier on, and it was definitely not a Reed Bunting. It appeared to me to be closer in appearance to the juvenile Rustic Buntings, but it was subtly different. No photos. I guess it will just have to go down as an un-IDed bird.
Bless him, he's had a bad year, what with his leg going all duff on him and now turning into a visual monstrosity like this.
He's on Great-Grandmother Manley's lap here (I was pushing her chair) and they have precisely the same condition.
Great-Grandmother has the decency to close her eye or wear a patch though. Really Rubens, you have no dignity, do you?
Fifty years ago today – it really doesn’t seem possible – the speed ace Donald Campbell lost his life on Coniston Water in England’s Lake District while attempting to break his own World Water Speed Record. He was travelling at more than 300mph (483 kph) when his turbo jet-powered Bluebird K7 boat catapulted 50ft (15m) into the air after its nose lifted inexplicably. Aged 45, he was killed instantly as Bluebird hit the water and disintegrated on that fateful day in 1967. His remains, and the wreckage of Bluebird, weren’t recovered until 34 years later, in 2001.
As a boy, I idolised Donald Campbell, who was the personification of derring-do, decency, sportsmanship and fair play, and who believed passionately in contributing to the ‘greatness’ of Great Britain. He was a patriot through and through, and over the years he set eight world speed records, seven of them on land. No wonder he was my hero.
In the midst of all this breathless activity, I wrote to him asking for his autograph (I was perhaps 12 years old) and this hand-signed postcard is what he sent me in return. ‘To Peter’… I was thrilled beyond measure, and all these decades later this wonderful postcard from this great man is still among my most treasured possessions.
In July 2017, I visited Donald Campbell's grave in Coniston cemetery, to pay my long overdue respects.
The town of Erice is perched on top of Monte San Guliano. It is in the fog clouds day and night - very unusual: beautiful and mysterious.Ovid Heroides 15.57-58
"I am Yours, Venus Ericina, who also celebrates the Sicilian mountains, O Goddess, look after your prophetic poet, you who has the name of Love."
There are two castles that remain in the city: Pepoli Castle, which dates from Saracen times, and the Venus Castle, dating from the Norman period, built on top of the ancient Temple of Venus, where Venus Ericina was worshipped. According to legend, the temple was founded by Aeneas. It was well-known throughout the Mediterranean area in the ancient age, and an important cult was celebrated in it.
Inn ancient times Erice was center of a famous cult devoted to the goddess of the fertility: Venus Ericina, Astartis for the Phoenician, Aphrodite for the Greeks.
Venus Ericina (Venus of mount Erice) has an ear of wheat as her symbol and she’s represented with a dog and other animals by her side (she’s a "potnia theron", a "Mistress of animals"); her rites were celebrated outside, so that the dew could wash the stains due to sacrifices. Her cult was admitted in Rome, but with some restrictions on it because Roman magistrates thought it contravened Romans’ sense of decency; Venus Ericina’s day was on the 23rd of April, that was also the day of Vinalia, but the cult of the goddess was reserved to seventeen cities of Sicily, probably Elimi’s cities, which had the honour of presenting a wreath to her, and to prostitutes (because of this, some scholars believed that sacred prostitution was practised around the original temple in Sicily), while it was forbidden to other women to take part to it. Main Elimi’s city was Segesta: a Roman agricultural deity has the same name and her symbol was an ear of wheat like Venus Ericina’s, but the relation between the two is not clear.
``I gave her the power to carry sail.''
William J. Roue, designer of the Bluenose
The Bluenose was built near where I was born and I was raised on stories of her greatness. "They don't just put any old boat on the Canadian dime."
And they weren't just stories about how great she was, but what she symbolized - about us as a nation of people. There was a story my grandfather liked to tell about her that still gives me a lump in my throat.
She was a fishing boat. She fished the Grand Banks. And when she was done fishing, she went racing. The rules of these international races were that the boat had to be a working fishing boat. The Bluenose, in fact, achieved "high liner of the fleet" status several times in her fishing career and was known as the fleet workhorse. And though boats were built (in America and Britian) and fished in once and then sent to race her, the Bluenose always won, her belly still smelling of cod and sweat and the hard work of men who didn't always come home when they went out. And when she won her races, she went back to the Grand Banks and ... well, "brought 'em home to Lizer" as the song goes, until the next race.
So Cap'n Angus Walters is in the big race for the championship and the American boat lost her top jib and the race seemed destined to be won by Bluenose by "default". But Walters, at full speed and sail, sent a man up the 125 foot mast to take down their own jib and went on to win the race - saying something to the effect that the Bluenose didn't need an advantage, her heart was big enough to beat any odds.
And we believed him. And we believed something about ourselves when we heard that story. And I remember my grandfather saying to me, "That's what it means to be a Bluenoser." Some piece of that story settled in my soul as the ideal of decency: To work hard and play fair.
That was Bluenose I - whose fame increased when she became a rum boat during prohibition and the Halifax paper would have stories of her daily - breaking through the lines of the American Coast Guard who shot thousands of holes into her sides. Apparently she'd pull full sail and just run them down and they never once caught her although, if the stories be true, a few went home with bits of blue paint stuck to their sides.
I don't remember how old I was, but I remember watching this boat, the Bluenose II (I was very young, she was built in 1963, I was born in 1962) sail out from Halifax when she was only a few years old and my grandfather and I stood watching her from the docks with thousands of other cheering Nova Scotians. She is "some sight" as we say back home, under full sail, cutting through the water like it was air. When I looked up he had a tear in his eye and he was holding my hand tight and he said, "There's a big piece of us in that boat, girl."
And so there is.
*Bluenose is a term that the Americans gave us Nova Scotians back in those days - apparently the Nova Scotian fishermen wore mittens made from homespun wool dyed a deep blue. Anyone who has been on a boat at sea knows how their noses got blue :)
To read more: Bluenose I
From this site:
"Even if competitors of her sort could be found, Bluenose II would not be allowed to race. It was decided at the outset that she would never jeopardize the reputation of the original Bluenose. However, ships will occasionally test her speed by assuming the same course when she is seen passing; like her namesake, she moves like the wind."
Anne became Queen of England, Scotland and Ireland on 8 March 1702. On 1 May 1707, under the Acts of Union, two of her realms, the kingdoms of England and Scotland, united as a single sovereign state known as Great Britain.
Born: 6 February 1665, St James's Palace, St James's
Died: 1 August 1714, Kensington Palace, London
Coronation: 23 April 1702
Spouse: Prince George of Denmark (m. 1683–1708)
House: House of Stuart
Children: Prince William, Duke of Gloucester, Anne Sophia, Mary, George
Around 1671, Anne first made the acquaintance of Sarah Jennings, who later became her close friend and one of her most influential advisers. Jennings married John Churchill (the future Duke of Marlborough) in about 1678. His sister, Arabella Churchill, was the Duke of York's mistress, and he was to be Anne's most important general.
Anne and George of Denmark were married on 28 July 1683 in the Chapel Royal and Sarah Churchill was appointed one of Anne's ladies of the bedchamber.
In what became known as the "Glorious Revolution", William of Orange invaded England on 5 November 1688 in an action that ultimately deposed King James. Forbidden by James to pay Mary a projected visit in the spring of 1687, Anne corresponded with her and was aware of the plans to invade. On the advice of the Churchills, she refused to side with James after William landed and instead wrote to William on 18 November declaring her approval of his action. Churchill abandoned the unpopular king on the 24th. Prince George followed suit that night, and in the evening of the following day James issued orders to place Sarah Churchill under house arrest at St James's Palace. Anne and Sarah fled from Whitehall by a back staircase, putting themselves under the care of Bishop Compton. They spent one night in his house, and subsequently arrived at Nottingham on 1 December. Two weeks later and escorted by a large company, Anne arrived at Oxford, where she met Prince George in triumph.
In January 1689, a Convention Parliament assembled in England and declared that James had effectively abdicated when he fled, and that the thrones of England and Ireland were therefore vacant. The Parliament or Estates of Scotland took similar action, and William and Mary were declared monarchs of all three realms. The Bill of Rights 1689 and Claim of Right Act 1689 settled the succession. Anne and her descendants were to be in the line of succession after William and Mary, and they were to be followed by any descendants of William by a future marriage. On 24 July 1689, Anne gave birth to a son, Prince William, Duke of Gloucester, who, though ill, survived infancy. As King William and Queen Mary had no children, it looked as though Anne's son would eventually inherit the Crown.
Soon after their accession, William and Mary rewarded John Churchill by granting him the Earldom of Marlborough. Resentment soon grew between the sisters, Mary and Anne, over Anne's wish to become financially independent. From around this time, at Anne's request she and Sarah Churchill, Lady Marlborough, began to call each other the pet names Mrs. Morley and Mrs. Freeman respectively, to facilitate a relationship of greater equality between the two when they were alone. In January 1692, suspecting that Marlborough was secretly conspiring with James's followers, the Jacobites, William and Mary dismissed him from all his offices. In a public show of support for the Marlboroughs, Anne took Sarah to a social event at the palace, and refused her sister's request to dismiss Sarah from her household. Lady Marlborough was subsequently removed from the royal household by the Lord Chamberlain, and Anne angrily left her royal lodgings and took up residence at Syon House, the home of the Duke of Somerset.[69] Anne was stripped of her guard of honour; courtiers were forbidden to visit her, and civic authorities were instructed to ignore her. In April, Anne gave birth to a son who died within minutes. Mary visited her, but instead of offering comfort took the opportunity to berate Anne once again for her friendship with Sarah. The sisters never saw each other again.
When Mary died of smallpox in 1694, William continued to reign alone. Anne became his heir apparent and the two reconciled publicly. He restored her previous honours, allowed her to reside in St James's Palace, and gave her Mary's jewels but excluded her from government and refrained from appointing her regent during his absences abroad. Three months later, William restored Marlborough to his offices.
Soon after her accession, Anne appointed her husband Lord High Admiral, giving him nominal control of the Royal Navy. Anne gave control of the army to Lord Marlborough, whom she appointed Captain-General. Marlborough also received numerous honours from the Queen; he was created a Knight of the Garter and was elevated to the rank of duke. The Duchess of Marlborough was appointed Groom of the Stole, Mistress of the Robes, and Keeper of the Privy Purse.
The Whigs vigorously supported the War of the Spanish Succession and became even more influential after the Duke of Marlborough won a great victory at the Battle of Blenheim in 1704. Many of the High Tories, who opposed British involvement in the land war against France, were removed from office. Godolphin, Marlborough, and Harley, who had replaced Nottingham as Secretary of State for the Northern Department, formed a ruling "triumvirate". They were forced to rely more and more on support from the Whigs, and particularly from the Whig Junto—Lords Somers, Halifax, Orford, Wharton and Sunderland—whom Anne disliked. Sarah, the Duchess of Marlborough, incessantly badgered the Queen to appoint more Whigs and reduce the power of the Tories, whom she considered little better than Jacobites, and the Queen became increasingly discontented with her. In 1706, Godolphin and the Marlboroughs forced Anne to accept Lord Sunderland, a Junto Whig and the Marlboroughs' son-in-law, as Harley's colleague as Secretary of State for the Southern Department. Although this strengthened the ministry's position in Parliament, it weakened the ministry's position with the Queen, as Anne became increasingly irritated with Godolphin and with her former favourite, the Duchess of Marlborough, for supporting Sunderland and other Whig candidates for vacant government and church positions. The Queen turned for private advice to Harley, who was uncomfortable with Marlborough and Godolphin's turn towards the Whigs. She also turned to Abigail Hill, a woman of the bedchamber whose influence grew as Anne's relationship with Sarah deteriorated. Abigail was related to both Harley and the Duchess, but was politically closer to Harley, and acted as an intermediary between him and the Queen.
The division within the ministry came to a head on 8 February 1708, when Godolphin and the Marlboroughs insisted that the Queen had to either dismiss Harley or do without their services. When the Queen seemed to hesitate, Marlborough and Godolphin refused to attend a cabinet meeting. Harley attempted to lead business without his former colleagues, and several of those present including the Duke of Somerset refused to participate until they returned. Her hand forced, the Queen dismissed Harley.
The following month, Anne's Catholic half-brother, James Francis Edward Stuart, attempted to land in Scotland with French assistance in an attempt to establish himself as king. Anne withheld royal assent from the Scottish Militia Bill 1708 in case the militia raised in Scotland was disloyal and sided with the Jacobites. She was the last British sovereign to veto a parliamentary bill, although her action was barely commented upon at the time. The invasion fleet never landed and was chased away by British ships.
The Duchess of Marlborough was angered when Abigail moved into rooms at Kensington Palace that Sarah considered her own, though she rarely if ever used them. In July 1708, she came to court with a bawdy poem written by a Whig propagandist. that implied a lesbian relationship between Anne and Abigail. The Duchess wrote to Anne telling her she had damaged her reputation by taking up such a friend. Whilst some modern commentators have concluded Anne was a lesbian, most have rejected this analysis. In the opinion of Anne's biographers, she considered Abigail nothing more than a trusted servant, and was a woman of strong traditional beliefs, who was devoted to her husband.
At a thanksgiving service for a victory at the Battle of Oudenarde, Anne did not wear the jewels that Sarah had selected for her. At the door of St Paul's Cathedral, they had an argument that culminated in Sarah offending the Queen by telling her to be quiet. Anne was dismayed. When Sarah forwarded an unrelated letter from her husband to Anne, with a covering note continuing the argument, Anne wrote back pointedly, "After the commands you gave me on the thanksgiving day of not answering you, I should not have troubled you with these lines, but to return the Duke of Marlborough's letter safe into your hands, and for the same reason do not say anything to that, nor to yours which enclosed it."
Anne was devastated by her husband's death in October 1708 and the event proved a turning point in her relationship with the Duchess of Marlborough. The Duchess arrived at Kensington Palace shortly before George died, and after his death insisted that Anne leave Kensington for St James's Palace against her wishes. Anne resented the Duchess's intrusive actions, which included removing a portrait of George from the Queen's bedchamber and then refusing to return it. With Whigs now dominant in Parliament, and Anne distraught at the loss of her husband, they forced her to accept the Junto leaders Lords Somers and Wharton into the cabinet. Sarah continued to berate Anne for her friendship with Abigail, and in October 1709, Anne wrote to the Duke of Marlborough asking that his wife "leave off teasing & tormenting me & behave herself with the decency she ought both to her friend and Queen".[162] On Maundy Thursday 6 April 1710, Anne and Sarah saw each other for the last time. According to Sarah, the Queen was taciturn and formal, repeating the same phrases—"Whatever you have to say you may put in writing" and "You said you desired no answer, and I shall give you none"—over and over.
As the expensive War of the Spanish Succession grew unpopular, so did the Whig administration. The Duke of Marlborough was for the time being allowed to remain in charge of the army but in January 1711, Anne forced Sarah to resign her court offices, and Abigail took over as Keeper of the Privy Purse. Having lost her most trusted advisers, Anne created 12 new peers, Abigail's husband included and dismissed the Marlboroughs on the same day. The peace treaty was ratified and Britain's military involvement in the War of the Spanish Succession ended.
Anne was buried beside her husband and children in the Henry VII chapel on the South Aisle of Westminster Abbey on 24 August. Author David Green noted, "Hers was not, as used to be supposed, petticoat government. She had considerable power; yet time and time again she had to capitulate." Professor Edward Gregg concluded that Anne was often able to impose her will, even though, as a woman in an age of male dominance and preoccupied by her health, her reign was marked by an increase in the influence of ministers and a decrease in the influence of the Crown.[203] She attended more cabinet meetings than any of her predecessors or successors,[204] and presided over an age of artistic, literary, economic and political advancement that was made possible by the stability and prosperity of her reign.
Abridged (believe it or not) from en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Anne,_Queen_of_Great_Britain
It's so easy to forget that there's a world out there. Out there, children are dying of starvation. Women are being raped, mutilated, forced in to sex slavery. Innocent children, women, the elderly are tortured, abused, murdered, every day. It's so easy to be distracted. The scent of a woman distracts. A crab toast distracts. The more expensive chardonnay distracts. The numbing repetitions of CNN, of FoxNews, of MSNBC, today's crisis du jour, distract. A thousand imprecations from a thousand different sources distract us daily from the things that really matter. The quiet time we might spend with our sons and daughters, our husbands, our wives, our parents, our loved ones, our friends. The coffee at the coffee shop. The too-rich pastry shared with a girlfriend (girls, you know who you are.)
Why is it that people like me, like mrwaterslide, feel the tug of decency at this time of year? Maybe 2011 will be the year when mrwaterslide finds his inner Good Boy, his Good Wickedness, on a daily basis. Think about those less fortunate, mrwaterslide urges you. Think about our poor warming world. Do what you can to help save what we can. Turn the thermostat down. Drive less. Buy what you need and make some small sacrifices so those who need more can have a little bit more.
Here is my favorite worthy cause, in case anyone was wondering: www.orlt.org/.
this year has been such a wonderful year. i love you all. mrwaterslide
... and still she is a SLUT, a CUNT, and a WHORE. I'm sure we could come up with additional titles for her and nasty ways to describe her image, but I will keep this short.
ALL comments welcome, .. but please show at least a small amount of decency in the words you use to humiliate Kata. Overly descriptive terms may earn you a rebuke from me which can lead to banishment.
Anne became Queen of England, Scotland and Ireland on 8 March 1702. On 1 May 1707, under the Acts of Union, two of her realms, the kingdoms of England and Scotland, united as a single sovereign state known as Great Britain.
Born: 6 February 1665, St James's Palace, St James's
Died: 1 August 1714, Kensington Palace, London
Coronation: 23 April 1702
Spouse: Prince George of Denmark (m. 1683–1708)
House: House of Stuart
Children: Prince William, Duke of Gloucester, Anne Sophia, Mary, George
Around 1671, Anne first made the acquaintance of Sarah Jennings, who later became her close friend and one of her most influential advisers. Jennings married John Churchill (the future Duke of Marlborough) in about 1678. His sister, Arabella Churchill, was the Duke of York's mistress, and he was to be Anne's most important general.
Anne and George of Denmark were married on 28 July 1683 in the Chapel Royal and Sarah Churchill was appointed one of Anne's ladies of the bedchamber.
In what became known as the "Glorious Revolution", William of Orange invaded England on 5 November 1688 in an action that ultimately deposed King James. Forbidden by James to pay Mary a projected visit in the spring of 1687, Anne corresponded with her and was aware of the plans to invade. On the advice of the Churchills, she refused to side with James after William landed and instead wrote to William on 18 November declaring her approval of his action. Churchill abandoned the unpopular king on the 24th. Prince George followed suit that night, and in the evening of the following day James issued orders to place Sarah Churchill under house arrest at St James's Palace. Anne and Sarah fled from Whitehall by a back staircase, putting themselves under the care of Bishop Compton. They spent one night in his house, and subsequently arrived at Nottingham on 1 December. Two weeks later and escorted by a large company, Anne arrived at Oxford, where she met Prince George in triumph.
In January 1689, a Convention Parliament assembled in England and declared that James had effectively abdicated when he fled, and that the thrones of England and Ireland were therefore vacant. The Parliament or Estates of Scotland took similar action, and William and Mary were declared monarchs of all three realms. The Bill of Rights 1689 and Claim of Right Act 1689 settled the succession. Anne and her descendants were to be in the line of succession after William and Mary, and they were to be followed by any descendants of William by a future marriage. On 24 July 1689, Anne gave birth to a son, Prince William, Duke of Gloucester, who, though ill, survived infancy. As King William and Queen Mary had no children, it looked as though Anne's son would eventually inherit the Crown.
Soon after their accession, William and Mary rewarded John Churchill by granting him the Earldom of Marlborough. Resentment soon grew between the sisters, Mary and Anne, over Anne's wish to become financially independent. From around this time, at Anne's request she and Sarah Churchill, Lady Marlborough, began to call each other the pet names Mrs. Morley and Mrs. Freeman respectively, to facilitate a relationship of greater equality between the two when they were alone. In January 1692, suspecting that Marlborough was secretly conspiring with James's followers, the Jacobites, William and Mary dismissed him from all his offices. In a public show of support for the Marlboroughs, Anne took Sarah to a social event at the palace, and refused her sister's request to dismiss Sarah from her household. Lady Marlborough was subsequently removed from the royal household by the Lord Chamberlain, and Anne angrily left her royal lodgings and took up residence at Syon House, the home of the Duke of Somerset.[69] Anne was stripped of her guard of honour; courtiers were forbidden to visit her, and civic authorities were instructed to ignore her. In April, Anne gave birth to a son who died within minutes. Mary visited her, but instead of offering comfort took the opportunity to berate Anne once again for her friendship with Sarah. The sisters never saw each other again.
When Mary died of smallpox in 1694, William continued to reign alone. Anne became his heir apparent and the two reconciled publicly. He restored her previous honours, allowed her to reside in St James's Palace, and gave her Mary's jewels but excluded her from government and refrained from appointing her regent during his absences abroad. Three months later, William restored Marlborough to his offices.
Soon after her accession, Anne appointed her husband Lord High Admiral, giving him nominal control of the Royal Navy. Anne gave control of the army to Lord Marlborough, whom she appointed Captain-General. Marlborough also received numerous honours from the Queen; he was created a Knight of the Garter and was elevated to the rank of duke. The Duchess of Marlborough was appointed Groom of the Stole, Mistress of the Robes, and Keeper of the Privy Purse.
The Whigs vigorously supported the War of the Spanish Succession and became even more influential after the Duke of Marlborough won a great victory at the Battle of Blenheim in 1704. Many of the High Tories, who opposed British involvement in the land war against France, were removed from office. Godolphin, Marlborough, and Harley, who had replaced Nottingham as Secretary of State for the Northern Department, formed a ruling "triumvirate". They were forced to rely more and more on support from the Whigs, and particularly from the Whig Junto—Lords Somers, Halifax, Orford, Wharton and Sunderland—whom Anne disliked. Sarah, the Duchess of Marlborough, incessantly badgered the Queen to appoint more Whigs and reduce the power of the Tories, whom she considered little better than Jacobites, and the Queen became increasingly discontented with her. In 1706, Godolphin and the Marlboroughs forced Anne to accept Lord Sunderland, a Junto Whig and the Marlboroughs' son-in-law, as Harley's colleague as Secretary of State for the Southern Department. Although this strengthened the ministry's position in Parliament, it weakened the ministry's position with the Queen, as Anne became increasingly irritated with Godolphin and with her former favourite, the Duchess of Marlborough, for supporting Sunderland and other Whig candidates for vacant government and church positions. The Queen turned for private advice to Harley, who was uncomfortable with Marlborough and Godolphin's turn towards the Whigs. She also turned to Abigail Hill, a woman of the bedchamber whose influence grew as Anne's relationship with Sarah deteriorated. Abigail was related to both Harley and the Duchess, but was politically closer to Harley, and acted as an intermediary between him and the Queen.
The division within the ministry came to a head on 8 February 1708, when Godolphin and the Marlboroughs insisted that the Queen had to either dismiss Harley or do without their services. When the Queen seemed to hesitate, Marlborough and Godolphin refused to attend a cabinet meeting. Harley attempted to lead business without his former colleagues, and several of those present including the Duke of Somerset refused to participate until they returned. Her hand forced, the Queen dismissed Harley.
The following month, Anne's Catholic half-brother, James Francis Edward Stuart, attempted to land in Scotland with French assistance in an attempt to establish himself as king. Anne withheld royal assent from the Scottish Militia Bill 1708 in case the militia raised in Scotland was disloyal and sided with the Jacobites. She was the last British sovereign to veto a parliamentary bill, although her action was barely commented upon at the time. The invasion fleet never landed and was chased away by British ships.
The Duchess of Marlborough was angered when Abigail moved into rooms at Kensington Palace that Sarah considered her own, though she rarely if ever used them. In July 1708, she came to court with a bawdy poem written by a Whig propagandist. that implied a lesbian relationship between Anne and Abigail. The Duchess wrote to Anne telling her she had damaged her reputation by taking up such a friend. Whilst some modern commentators have concluded Anne was a lesbian, most have rejected this analysis. In the opinion of Anne's biographers, she considered Abigail nothing more than a trusted servant, and was a woman of strong traditional beliefs, who was devoted to her husband.
At a thanksgiving service for a victory at the Battle of Oudenarde, Anne did not wear the jewels that Sarah had selected for her. At the door of St Paul's Cathedral, they had an argument that culminated in Sarah offending the Queen by telling her to be quiet. Anne was dismayed. When Sarah forwarded an unrelated letter from her husband to Anne, with a covering note continuing the argument, Anne wrote back pointedly, "After the commands you gave me on the thanksgiving day of not answering you, I should not have troubled you with these lines, but to return the Duke of Marlborough's letter safe into your hands, and for the same reason do not say anything to that, nor to yours which enclosed it."
Anne was devastated by her husband's death in October 1708 and the event proved a turning point in her relationship with the Duchess of Marlborough. The Duchess arrived at Kensington Palace shortly before George died, and after his death insisted that Anne leave Kensington for St James's Palace against her wishes. Anne resented the Duchess's intrusive actions, which included removing a portrait of George from the Queen's bedchamber and then refusing to return it. With Whigs now dominant in Parliament, and Anne distraught at the loss of her husband, they forced her to accept the Junto leaders Lords Somers and Wharton into the cabinet. Sarah continued to berate Anne for her friendship with Abigail, and in October 1709, Anne wrote to the Duke of Marlborough asking that his wife "leave off teasing & tormenting me & behave herself with the decency she ought both to her friend and Queen".[162] On Maundy Thursday 6 April 1710, Anne and Sarah saw each other for the last time. According to Sarah, the Queen was taciturn and formal, repeating the same phrases—"Whatever you have to say you may put in writing" and "You said you desired no answer, and I shall give you none"—over and over.
As the expensive War of the Spanish Succession grew unpopular, so did the Whig administration. The Duke of Marlborough was for the time being allowed to remain in charge of the army but in January 1711, Anne forced Sarah to resign her court offices, and Abigail took over as Keeper of the Privy Purse. Having lost her most trusted advisers, Anne created 12 new peers, Abigail's husband included and dismissed the Marlboroughs on the same day. The peace treaty was ratified and Britain's military involvement in the War of the Spanish Succession ended.
Anne was buried beside her husband and children in the Henry VII chapel on the South Aisle of Westminster Abbey on 24 August. Author David Green noted, "Hers was not, as used to be supposed, petticoat government. She had considerable power; yet time and time again she had to capitulate." Professor Edward Gregg concluded that Anne was often able to impose her will, even though, as a woman in an age of male dominance and preoccupied by her health, her reign was marked by an increase in the influence of ministers and a decrease in the influence of the Crown.[203] She attended more cabinet meetings than any of her predecessors or successors,[204] and presided over an age of artistic, literary, economic and political advancement that was made possible by the stability and prosperity of her reign.
Abridged (believe it or not) from en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Anne,_Queen_of_Great_Britain
No mutton, just seal. Good numbers to be found at Mutton Cove, Godrevy. Thankfully they're fairly out of reach of the selfie gang who think nothing of pushing the boundaries of decency.
"Nope, I can't quite get it up that far either ... I just don't know how he does it."
Perhaps they are Duck Executives ? Or Top Management Ducks? Or Government Ducks?
Oh I'm just so sorry, my new medication isn't doing much to help my body but it's sure messed with my sense of decency. Usually, I wouldn't care what I wrote ;-0
Oh well, if you can't have fun once in a while ......... c'mon now, it's life, enjoy it while you can because no one gets out alive.
King Arthur: “Be that as it may, we’re here to meet him. And I was wondering if you’ve seen him.”
Sir Gordon: “I’ve no idea.”
Sir Lancelot: “Look here, what do you mean you have no idea!”
Sir Gordon: “I don’t know who he is so I may have seen him or may not have. I’d not know either way. A more pertinent question is why you are looking for a bloke calling himself ‘The French Taunter’.”
King Arthur: “That’s no concern of yours whatsoever. You can simply answer my questions forthright. I am King Arthur.”
Sir Gordon: “A king! We’ve got a lass sitting in a castle over by Lake Judy calling herself a Queen and now you amble in to the Boar and Bunny, ascending to the throne right in the middle of our conversation. I think I shall afford myself some nobility as well then. Though I’ll have some decency and start off as a baron.”
King Arthur: “Of all the rude…”
Sir Galahad: “I really like the look ‘o my shield up ‘ere on the shelf.”
Sir Bedevere: “Mm, tis a good shelf for good shields. Sir Robin, get yours up here then.”
Brave Sir Robin: “This tavern looks like a bed of louts and ruffians! I’d like to keep my shield with me!”
short-edition.com/fr/classique/marquis-de-sade/il-y-a-pla...
A very pretty bourgeoisie of the rue Saint-Honoré, about twenty-two years old, fat, chubby, the freshest and most appetizing flesh, all the moulded forms, albeit a little filled, and which joined to so many appas of the presence of spirit, of the vivacity, and the most lively taste for all the pleasures that forbade him the rigorous laws of the There was nothing better arranged than the appointments that were indicated to these two lovers: Des-Roues, a young soldier, had four to five o' clock in the evening, and from five and a half to seven arrived Dolbreuse, young merchant of the prettiest figure that it was possible to see. It was impossible to fix other moments, they were the only ones where Mrs. Dolmène was quiet: in the morning it was necessary to be at the shop, in the evening sometimes it was necessary to look the same, or else the husband came back, and it was necessary to talk about his business. Moreover, Mrs. Dolmène had confided to one of her friends whom she loved enough that the moments of pleasure followed one another very closely: the fires of imagination were not extinguished, she claimed, in this way, nothing so sweet as to pass from one pleasure to another, you didn't have the trouble to get back on the train; because Mrs. Dolmène was a charming creature who calculated at best all the sensations of love, very few women analyzed them like her and it was because of her talents that she had recognized that, in all reflection, two lovers were much better than one; with respect to reputation it became almost equal, one covered the other, one could be mistaken, it could always be the same one who went and came back several times in the day, and relative to the pleasure what a difference! Mrs. Dolmen, who had a particular fear of pregnancy, of course her husband would never do the crazy thing with her to spoil her waist, had also calculated that with two lovers, there was much less risk for what she feared than with one, because, she said in fairly good anatomy, the two fruits were destroying each other.
One day, the order established in the appointments came to be disturbed, and our two lovers who had never seen each other, did as we will see it rather pleasantly. Des-Roues was the first one but it had come too late, and as if the devil had got involved, Dolbreuse who was the second one, arrived a little earlier.
The reader full of intelligence immediately sees that the combination of these two little wrongs must unfortunately have given rise to an infallible encounter: so it took place. But let's say how it happened and if we can, let's examine it with all the decency and restraint that such a matter, already very licentious by itself, requires.
By a rather bizarre caprice effect - but we see so much of it in men - our young soldier, tired of the role of lover, wanted to play for a moment that of mistress; instead of being lovingly contained in the arms of his divinity, he wanted to contain it in his turn: in a word what is underneath, he put it on it, and by this reversal of part, leaning against the altar where the sacrifice usually offered itself, it was Mrs. Dolmen who naked like the Venus callipyge, lying on her lover, presented in front of the door of the room where the mysteries were celebrated, what the Greeks worshipped devoutly in the statue from which we have just come. Such was the attitude, when Dolbreuse accustomed to penetrate without resistance, arrives humming, and sees for perspective what a truly honest woman should never, it is said, show.
What would have pleased a lot of people, made Dolbreuse move backwards.
What do I see,"he shouted... traitoress... is that what you have in store for me?
Mrs. Dolmène, who at that time was in one of those crises where a woman acts infinitely better than she thinks, resolving to pay for brazen cheek:
What the hell do you have,"she said to the second Adonis without ceasing to surrender to the other," I see nothing there that is too painful for you; do not disturb us, my friend, and lodge yourself in what is left of you; you see it well, there is room for two.
Dolbreuse could not help laughing at his mistress's cold-blooded laughter, and believed that the simplest thing was to follow his advice, he was not prayed, and it is claimed that all three won.
Translated with www.DeepL.com/Translator
Victoria and Albert Museum, Kensington
"Moral Decency" - Laurence Olivier directed Leigh as Blanche in the London production of Tennessee Williams' A Streetcar Named Desire. In this telegram to Olivier the playwright calls Leigh "the Blanche I had always dreamed of."
Film director Elia Kazan wrote to Leigh with this news about the film's development phase. "So far everything is fine".
Im used to seeing sea gypsies asking for coins to a lot of people visiting the Paseo del Mar.
They will swim and dive for your thrown pennies, but it is already prohibited these days. These
couple catched my attention, they were peddling fresh fruits and souvenirs using their little vinta.
This picture depicts how creative and resourceful a Filipino is. We do not allow negativities run through
our veins and eat us. We look for ways to put food in the table for our family with decency and big smile.
These are sad times for the United States as the new administration is dismantling much of what makes the nation decent. They've even outlawed the use of the term "social justice." And they have proclaimed programs arguing for Diversity, Equity and Inclusion (DEI) to be somehow evil.
While it is difficult to see a path back towards decency, the words of Martin Luther King — “The Arc of the Moral Universe is Long, But it Bends Toward Justice.” — can give us some hope and the song, "We shall overcome!" will serve us well.
Joan Baez with lyrics for singalong . . .
youtu.be/p4qp8TjHG88?si=GpeM_MagFgxUUzDO
We shall overcome,
We shall overcome,
We shall overcome, some day.
Oh, deep in my heart,
I do believe
We shall overcome, some day.
We'll walk hand in hand,
We'll walk hand in hand,
We'll walk hand in hand, some day.
Oh, deep in my heart,
We shall live in peace,
We shall live in peace,
We shall live in peace, some day.
Oh, deep in my heart,
We shall all be free,
We shall all be free,
We shall all be free, some day.
Oh, deep in my heart,
We are not afraid,
We are not afraid,
We are not afraid,
TODAY
Oh, deep in my heart,
We shall overcome,
We shall overcome,
We shall overcome, some day.
Oh, deep in my heart,
I do believe
We shall overcome, some day.
West-German postcard by ISV, no. B 13. Photo: Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer (MGM). Publicity still for Designing Woman (Vincente Minnelli, 1957).
American actor Gregory Peck (1916-2003) was one of the most popular film stars from the 1940s to the 1960s. Peck received five nominations for Academy Award for Best Actor and won once – for his performance as Atticus Finch in To Kill a Mockingbird (1962). He almost always played courageous, nobly heroic good guys who saw injustice and fought it. Among his best known films are Spellbound (1945), The Yearling (1946), Gentleman's Agreement (1947), Roman Holiday (1953), The Guns of Navarone (1961), and Cape Fear (1962).
Eldred Gregory Peck was born in 1916 in La Jolla, California (now in San Diego). His parents were Bernice Mary (Ayres) and Gregory Pearl Peck, a chemist, and druggist in San Diego. His parents divorced when he was five years old. An only child, he was sent to live with his grandmother. He never felt he had a stable childhood. His fondest memories are of his grandmother taking him to the cinema every week and of his dog, which followed him everywhere. Peck's father encouraged him to take up medicine. He studied pre-med at UC-Berkeley and, while there, got bitten by the acting bug and decided to change the focus of his studies. He enrolled in the Neighborhood Playhouse in New York and debuted on Broadway after graduation. His debut was in Emlyn Williams' play 'The Morning Star' (1942). By 1943, he was in Hollywood, where he debuted in the RKO film Days of Glory (Jacques Tourneur, 1944). Stardom came with his next film, The Keys of the Kingdom (John M. Stahl, 1944), for which he was nominated for an Oscar. Tony Fontana at IMDb: "Peck's screen presence displayed the qualities for which he became well known. He was tall, rugged, and heroic, with a basic decency that transcended his roles." He appeared opposite Ingrid Bergman in Alfred Hitchcock's Spellbound (1945) as an amnesia victim accused of murder. In The Yearling (Clarence Brown, 1946), he was again nominated for an Oscar and won the Golden Globe. He was especially effective in Westerns and appeared in such varied fare as David O. Selznick's critically blasted Duel in the Sun (King Vidor, 1946), the somewhat better received Yellow Sky (William A. Wellman, 1948), and the acclaimed The Gunfighter (Henry King, 1950). He was nominated again for the Academy Award for his roles in Gentleman's Agreement (Elia Kazan, 1947), which dealt with anti-Semitism, and Twelve O'Clock High (Henry King, 1949), a story of high-level stress in an Air Force bomber unit in World War II. In 1947, Peck, along with Dorothy McGuire, David O'Selznick, and Mel Ferrer, founded the La Jolla Playhouse, located in his hometown, and produced many of the classics there. Due to film commitments, he could not return to Broadway but whet his appetite for live theatre on occasion at the Playhouse, keeping it firmly established with a strong, reputable name over the years.
With a string of hits to his credit, Gregory Peck made the decision to only work in films that interested him. He continued to appear as the heroic, larger-than-life figures in such films as Captain Horatio Hornblower (Raoul Walsh, 1951) with Virginia Mayo, and Moby Dick (John Huston, 1956) with Richard Basehart. He worked with Audrey Hepburn in her debut film, Roman Holiday (William Wyler, 1953). While filming The Bravados (Henry King, 1958), he decided to become a cowboy in real life, so he purchased a vast working ranch near Santa Barbara, California - already stocked with 600 head of prize cattle. In the early 1960s, he gave a powerful performance as Captain Keith Mallory in The Guns of Navarone (J. Lee Thompson, 1961) opposite David Niven and Anthony Quinn. The film was one of the biggest box-office hits of that year. Peck finally won the Oscar, after four nominations, for his performance as lawyer Atticus Finch in To Kill a Mockingbird (Robert Mulligan, 1962). He also appeared in two darker films than he usually made, Cape Fear (J. Lee Thompson, 1962) opposite Robert Mitchum, and Captain Newman, M.D. (David Miller, 1963) with Tony Curtis, which dealt with the way people live. The financial failure of Cape Fear (1962) ended his company, Melville Productions. After making Arabesque (Stanley Donen, 1966) with Sophia Loren, Peck withdrew from acting for three years in order to concentrate on various humanitarian causes, including the American Cancer Society. In the early 1970s, he produced two films, The Trial of the Catonsville Nine (Gordon Davidson, 1972) and The Dove (Charles Jarrott, 1974), when his film career stalled. He made a comeback playing, somewhat woodenly, Ambassador Robert Thorn in the horror film The Omen (Richard Donner, 1976) with Lee Remick. After that, he returned to the bigger-than-life roles he was best known for, such as MacArthur (Joseph Sargent, 1977) and the infamous Nazi war criminal Dr. Josef Mengele in the huge hit The Boys from Brazil (Franklin J. Schaffner, 1978) with Laurence Olivier and James Mason. In the 1980s, he moved into television with the miniseries The Blue and the Gray (Andrew V. McLaglen, 1982) in which he played Abraham Lincoln, and The Scarlet and the Black (Jerry London, 1983) with Christopher Plummer and John Gielgud. In 1991, he appeared in the remake of his 1962 film, playing a different role, in Martin Scorsese's Cape Fear (1991). He was also cast as the progressive-thinking owner of a wire and cable business in Other People's Money (Norman Jewison, 1991), starring Danny DeVito. In 1967, Peck received the Academy's Jean Hersholt Humanitarian Award. He was also been awarded the US Presidential Medal of Freedom. Always politically progressive, he was active in such causes as anti-war protests, workers' rights, and civil rights. In 2003, Peck's portrayal of Atticus Finch was named the greatest film hero of the past 100 years by the American Film Institute, only two weeks before his death. Atticus beat out Indiana Jones, who was placed second, and James Bond who came third. Gregory Peck died in 2003 in Los Angeles, California. He was 87. Peck was married twice. From 1942 till 1955, he was married to Greta Kukkonen. They had three children: Jonathan Peck (1944-1975), Stephen Peck (1946), and Carey Paul Peck (1949). His second wife was Veronique Passani, whom he met at the set of Roman Holliday. They married in 1955 and had two children: Tony Peck (1956) and Cecilia Peck (1958). The couple remained together till his death.
Sources: Tony Fontana (IMDb), and IMDb.
And, please check out our blog European Film Star Postcards.
Vintage card. Photo: Monogram. Peggy Ann Garner and Johnny Sheffield in Bomba: The Jungle Boy (Ford Beebe, 1949).
Johnny Sheffield (1931-2010) was one of Hollywood's most famous child stars. He was unforgettable as Tarzan's adopted son Boy in eight Tarzan films starring Johnny Weissmuller. Between 1949 and 1955, he starred in twelve Bomba films for Monogram Pictures.
Johnny Sheffield was born John Matthew Sheffield Cassan in 1931 in Pasadena, California, USA. His father was the actor Reginald Sheffield who began as a child star and later turned to character acting. In 1938, Sheffield became a child star after he was cast in the juvenile lead of a West Coast production of the highly successful Broadway play 'On Borrowed Time', which starred Dudley Digges and featured Victor Moore as Gramps. The seven-year-old Sheffield played the role of Pud, a long role for a child. He later went to New York as a replacement and performed the role on Broadway. That year he also played Napoleon's son in the short MGM film The Man on the Rock (Edward L. Cahn, 1938). When Maureen O'Sullivan wanted out of her Jane role in the Johnny Weissmuller Tarzan series, it was decided that she and Tarzan would adopt a son (they had to adopt, according to the Legion of Decency, because they weren't married) before she died. Weissmuller personally selected Sheffield from 300 boys for the part of Boy. The role was inspired by Bobby Nelson's portrayal in Tarzan the Mighty (Jack Nelson, Ray Taylor, 1928). Athletic by nature, little Johnny was taught to swim by swimming Olympian Weissmuller. Johnny Sheffield's feature debut in Tarzan Finds a Son! (Richard Thorpe, 1939) was such a success that MGM signed him to six more films as Tarzan's Boy. Sheffield played Boy in three Tarzan films at MGM, and in another five after Johnny Weissmuller, and production of the film series moved to RKO. Brenda Joyce played Jane in the last three Tarzan films in which Sheffield appeared.
In between the Tarzan films, Johnny Sheffield played supporting parts in other films. Sheffield appeared in the musical Babes in Arms (Busby Berkeley, 1939) with Mickey Rooney and Judy Garland, classmates of his at the studio school. Johnny and his brother Billy Sheffield were both in Knute Rockne All American (Lloyd Bacon, 1940), playing football player and coach Knute Rockne at different ages. By the time of Tarzan and the Mermaids (Robert Florey, 1948), Johnny Sheffield was too big for the part of Boy. The film merely said he was away at school. When Monogram Studios learned Sheffield had been dropped, they picked him up for s series of B-films based on Roy Rockwood's adventure novel 'Bomba'. The first was Bomba: The Jungle Boy (Ford Beebe, 1949). Between 1949 and 1955, Sheffield made twelve Bomba films for "Poverty Row" studio Monogram Pictures. Sheffield retired from films at age 24 after starring in his twelfth Bomba film Lord of the Jungle (Ford Beebe, 1955). He then made a pilot for a television series, Bantu the Zebra Boy, which was created, produced, and directed by his father, Reginald Sheffield. Although the production values were high compared to other TV jungle shows of the day, a sponsor was not found and the show was not taken up as a weekly series. In his later years, Sheffield sold bootlegged copies of the pilot to collectors on videotape. After leaving show business, Sheffield completed a business degree at UCLA. Turning his attention to other fields, he involved himself variously in farming, real estate and construction. For a time, he was a representative for the Santa Monica Seafood Company importing lobsters from Baja California in Mexico. In 1959 he married his wife Patricia and they would have three children, Stewart, Regina and Patrick Sheffield. In 2010, Johnny suffered a fatal heart attack at his home in Chula Vista, California, four hours after he fell off a ladder while pruning a palm tree. Sheffield was 79. His brother Billy Sheffield died two months later.
Sources: Ed Stephan (IMDb), Find A Grave, Wikipedia and IMDb.
And, please check out our blog European Film Star Postcards.
West-German postcard by Netter's Starverlag, Bad Münder / Bakede. Photo: 20th Century Fox.
American actor Gregory Peck (1916-2003) was one of the most popular film stars from the 1940s to the 1960s. Peck received five nominations for Academy Award for Best Actor and won once – for his performance as Atticus Finch in To Kill a Mockingbird (1962). He almost always played courageous, nobly heroic good guys who saw injustice and fought it. Among his best known films are Spellbound (1945), The Yearling (1946), Gentleman's Agreement (1947), Roman Holiday (1953), The Guns of Navarone (1961), and Cape Fear (1962).
Eldred Gregory Peck was born in 1916 in La Jolla, California (now in San Diego). His parents were Bernice Mary (Ayres) and Gregory Pearl Peck, a chemist, and druggist in San Diego. His parents divorced when he was five years old. An only child, he was sent to live with his grandmother. He never felt he had a stable childhood. His fondest memories are of his grandmother taking him to the cinema every week and of his dog, which followed him everywhere. Peck's father encouraged him to take up medicine. He studied pre-med at UC-Berkeley and, while there, got bitten by the acting bug and decided to change the focus of his studies. He enrolled in the Neighborhood Playhouse in New York and debuted on Broadway after graduation. His debut was in Emlyn Williams' play 'The Morning Star' (1942). By 1943, he was in Hollywood, where he debuted in the RKO film Days of Glory (Jacques Tourneur, 1944). Stardom came with his next film, The Keys of the Kingdom (John M. Stahl, 1944), for which he was nominated for an Oscar. Tony Fontana at IMDb: "Peck's screen presence displayed the qualities for which he became well known. He was tall, rugged and heroic, with a basic decency that transcended his roles." He appeared opposite Ingrid Bergman in Alfred Hitchcock's Spellbound (1945) as an amnesia victim accused of murder. In The Yearling (Clarence Brown, 1946), he was again nominated for an Oscar and won the Golden Globe. He was especially effective in Westerns and appeared in such varied fare as David O. Selznick's critically blasted Duel in the Sun (King Vidor, 1946), the somewhat better received Yellow Sky (William A. Wellman, 1948), and the acclaimed The Gunfighter (Henry King, 1950). He was nominated again for the Academy Award for his roles in Gentleman's Agreement (Elia Kazan, 1947), which dealt with anti-Semitism, and Twelve O'Clock High (Henry King, 1949), a story of high-level stress in an Air Force bomber unit in World War II. In 1947, Peck, along with Dorothy McGuire, David O'Selznick, and Mel Ferrer, founded the La Jolla Playhouse, located in his hometown, and produced many of the classics there. Due to film commitments, he could not return to Broadway but whet his appetite for live theatre on occasion at the Playhouse, keeping it firmly established with a strong, reputable name over the years.
With a string of hits to his credit, Gregory Peck made the decision to only work in films that interested him. He continued to appear as the heroic, larger-than-life figures in such films as Captain Horatio Hornblower (Raoul Walsh, 1951) with Virginia Mayo, and Moby Dick (John Huston, 1956) with Richard Basehart. He worked with Audrey Hepburn in her debut film, Roman Holiday (William Wyler, 1953). While filming The Bravados (Henry King, 1958), he decided to become a cowboy in real life, so he purchased a vast working ranch near Santa Barbara, California - already stocked with 600 head of prize cattle. In the early 1960s, he gave a powerful performance as Captain Keith Mallory in The Guns of Navarone (J. Lee Thompson, 1961) opposite David Niven and Anthony Quinn. The film was one of the biggest box-office hits of that year. Peck finally won the Oscar, after four nominations, for his performance as lawyer Atticus Finch in To Kill a Mockingbird (Robert Mulligan, 1962). He also appeared in two darker films than he usually made, Cape Fear (J. Lee Thompson, 1962) opposite Robert Mitchum, and Captain Newman, M.D. (David Miller, 1963) with Tony Curtis, which dealt with the way people live. The financial failure of Cape Fear (1962) ended his company, Melville Productions. After making Arabesque (Stanley Donen, 1966) with Sophia Loren, Peck withdrew from acting for three years in order to concentrate on various humanitarian causes, including the American Cancer Society. In the early 1970s, he produced two films, The Trial of the Catonsville Nine (Gordon Davidson, 1972) and The Dove (Charles Jarrott, 1974), when his film career stalled. He made a comeback playing, somewhat woodenly, Ambassador Robert Thorn in the horror film The Omen (Richard Donner, 1976) with Lee Remick. After that, he returned to the bigger-than-life roles he was best known for, such as MacArthur (Joseph Sargent, 1977) and the infamous Nazi war criminal Dr. Josef Mengele in the huge hit The Boys from Brazil (Franklin J. Schaffner, 1978) with Laurence Olivier and James Mason. In the 1980s, he moved into television with the miniseries The Blue and the Gray (Andrew V. McLaglen, 1982) in which he played Abraham Lincoln, and The Scarlet and the Black (Jerry London, 1983) with Christopher Plummer and John Gielgud. In 1991, he appeared in the remake of his 1962 film, playing a different role, in Martin Scorsese's Cape Fear (1991). He was also cast as the progressive-thinking owner of a wire and cable business in Other People's Money (Norman Jewison, 1991), starring Danny DeVito. In 1967, Peck received the Academy's Jean Hersholt Humanitarian Award. He was also been awarded the US Presidential Medal of Freedom. Always politically progressive, he was active in such causes as anti-war protests, workers' rights, and civil rights. In 2003, Peck's portrayal of Atticus Finch was named the greatest film hero of the past 100 years by the American Film Institute, only two weeks before his death. Atticus beat out Indiana Jones, who was placed second, and James Bond who came third. Gregory Peck died in 2003 in Los Angeles, California. He was 87. Peck was married twice. From 1942 till 1955, he was married to Greta Kukkonen. They had three children: Jonathan Peck (1944-1975), Stephen Peck (1946), and Carey Paul Peck (1949). His second wife was Veronique Passani, whom he met at the set of Roman Holliday. They married in 1955 and had two children: Tony Peck (1956) and Cecilia Peck (1958). The couple remained together till his death.
Sources: Tony Fontana (IMDb), and IMDb.
And, please check out our blog European Film Star Postcards.
Keizersgracht 09/05/2020 18h21
The phenomenon "plaskrul" ("pee curl") is something we can still experience and photograph. All 39 existing urinals will disappear over the years.
This double one is located on the Keizersgracht on the corner of the Spiegelstraat and is quite unique.
Plaskrul
The pee curl disappears: "Too bad, it belongs in the street scene"
The green curl of water, once a symbol of civilization, disappears from the streets. The municipality has an extinction policy. Not everyone agrees. "It is a familiar and quite graceful appearance."
If you want to urinate old Amsterdam again, you shouldn't wait too long. As rancid as it may be, the Amsterdam curl is an attraction: standing puddles - unfortunately only for men - while looking out at the canal and passers-by, through a cast iron grid.
There are gems in between. The one on the Plantage Kerklaan gives a view of Artis, the one on the Herenmarkt overlooks the postcards-Amsterdam of the Brouwersgracht.
At The Grand, on Oudezijds Voorburgwal, there is a curl built of natural stone, a red brick mesh with a statue on the roof, designed in the style of the Amsterdam School at the beginning of the last century. This urinal will survive the major cleaning; it was designated a national monument in 2001.
The other curls, still 39, will disappear one by one and will be replaced by modern MVG toilet units: more hygienic and suitable for men, women and disabled people.
The first curls were placed around 1870. De Baar: “From a hygienic point of view. Men used to do it directly in the canal. But the standards of decency changed. A civilized gentleman also found a bit of seclusion pleasant. ”
The design of the curl had to provide transparency. That was, according to the city archive of 1880, "for the police, to check that no indecent acts were taking place." Especially from the twenties of the last century, the curls became popular as a meeting place for men.
In recent years, many curls of urine have disappeared due to redesign of the public space or after complaints from local residents about odor nuisance. The municipality has an extinction policy. Also because the curls fall under sanitary sexism.
[ Het Parool, 30/01/2020 ]
If Trump supporters could be influenced by truth, logic, or decency, they wouldn’t be Trump supporters. A large turnout for the election is the only hope of getting rid of this worst of all "presidents."
Profoto A1X with Soft Bounce. Photo by Leona Illig.
La pintura corporal o body painting es una pintura artística aplicada a la piel y se considera una de las primeras formas de expresión plástica utilizadas por nuestros antepasados. La pintura corporal reapareció en Occidente a finales del siglo XX. Se trata de un arte transitorio, en el que el pintor crea un dibujo sobre su modelo, y al que se dedican varios festivales
La pintura corporal se practica en la actualidad en las sociedades occidentales con una finalidad lúdica y decorativa. Parte de su éxito está en que permite una exposición del cuerpo desnudo que no atenta contra el sentido del pudor que prevalece en dichas sociedades (INTERNET)
Body painting and body painting is an artistic painting applied to the skin and is considered one of the earliest forms of artistic expression used by our ancestors. Body painting reappeared in the West in the late twentieth century. This is a transitory art, in which the painter creates a picture of your model, and several festivals devoted
Body painting is currently practiced in Western societies with a playful and decorative purpose. Part of its success is that it allows exposure of the naked body that does not undermine the sense of decency prevailing in these societies (INTERNET)
Belgian postcard by Victoria Biscuits Chocolats, no. 12. Photo: M.G.M. Angela Lansbury, June Allyson and Gene Kelly in The Three Musketeers (George Sidney, 1948), based on the novel by Alexandre Dumas.
The Three Musketeers (George Sidney, 1948) is a classic Swashbuckler, starring Gene Kelly as D’Artagnan and Lana Turner as Milady De Winter. Other stars in the cast include Van Heflin, June Allyson, Gig Young, Angela Lansbury, and Vincent Price. It is one of the many, adaptations of the famous French book ‘Les trois mousquetaires’ by Alexandre Dumas père, and possibly the liveliest one, full of acrobatics, galloping horses, flapping cloaks, and sword fights with almost operatic intensity. Dumas’s story is followed quite faithfully, but the creative fantasy is in the theatrical way of depicting it.
As in the book: the story of The Three Musketeers (George Sidney, 1948) is set in 1625 in France. The young and inexperienced D'Artagnan (Gene Kelly) leaves his home village in Gascony to become a musketeer in Paris in the service of His Majesty King Louis XIII (Frank Morgan). In his pocket, he has the letter of recommendation from his father (silent film star Robert Warwick), a former musketeer and friend of the current captain of the musketeers, Treville (Reginald Owen). His father has taught him the art of fencing masterfully and gives him the good advice never to let himself be compromised with impunity. He is only too happy to follow this advice. Very soon, before he has even reached Paris, D'Artagnan gets into a confrontation with Rochefort (Ian Keith), Cardinal Richelieu's (Vincent Price) confidant, and his companion, the mysterious Lady de Winter (Lana Turner). At this first opportunity to preserve his honour in battle, he is unceremoniously struck down and robbed by Rochefort's henchmen, and his credentials are also taken from him. Once in Paris, he not only meets his new friends and comrades-in-arms Athos (Van Heflin), Porthos (Gig Young), and Aramis (Robert Coote), but also his landlord's niece, Constance Bonacieux (June Allyson), and falls in love. Many adventures and entanglements lie ahead and in the path of the brave hero D'Artagnan. Driven by his desire to become the king's musketeer and to prove himself in battle, he falls into the clutches of both the queen (Angela Lansbury) and the cardinal, experiences numerous dangerous situations and sometimes needs his new friends to get away at all. Nevertheless, he sets out to travel to England for the Queen's honour, to retrieve a jewellery box given away by the Queen's secret lover, Lord Buckingham (John Sutton), and to prevent Richelieu from plotting. To assist him, he is accompanied by Athos, Porthos, and Aramis, as well as his dull but loyal servant Planchet (Keenan Wynn). Shortly after D'Artagnan's return from England, Constance is kidnapped at the behest of Cardinal Richelieu. D'Artagnan makes a pass at Milady de Winter, discovers a delicate secret, and only just manages to save himself. Constance is freed and taken to safety in England, shortly after which war breaks out, and our four friends are drawn into it. They overhear a conspiratorial meeting between the Cardinal and Lady de Winter in an inn. The latter is to travel to England and kill Buckingham. Planchet also travels to England at D'Artagnan's behest to warn Buckingham. Lady de Winter is convicted and is to be executed. Constance is appointed her guardian. Milady de Winter, after a lengthy psychological duel, manages to take out Constance as well as a guard and Buckingham and then escapes. Athos and D'Artagnan, who wanted to help Constance, arrive too late; after Constance dies in D'Artagnan's arms, they themselves also have only escaped. Back in Paris, the four friends track down Lady de Winter, pronounce the death sentence on her, and have the prisoner executed. During their subsequent escape towards Spain, they are overpowered and arrested. Their fate seems to be sealed, but young D'Artagnan still has one trump card: the Countess's passport, personally sealed and signed by Cardinal Richelieu, with the note that everything the bearer of this letter undertakes will serve the good of the state. The king is not allowed to know the background of this letter - so Richelieu has to give in. Aramis receives permission to take up a clerical office. Porthos is allowed to marry richly, Athos gets his property back and D'Artagnan is to negotiate a peace offer with the enemy England on behalf of France.
Among the many American film versions of Alexandre Dumas' The Three Musketeers are the 1914 Film Attractions Co. production, directed by Charles V. Henkel, the 1921 Douglas Fairbanks production, directed by Fred Niblo, the 1935 RKO Radio Pictures, Inc. production, directed by Rowland V. Lee and starring Walter Abel, Paul Lucas and Margot Grahame, Richard Lester's 1974 Twentieth Century-Fox production starring Michael York, Oliver Reed, Richard Chamberlain, and Raquel Welch; and the 1993 Buena Vista release, directed by Stephen Herek and starring Charlie Sheen, Kiefer Sutherland, Chris O'Donnell, and Rebecca de Mornay. This splashy 1948 MGM adaptation of The Three Musketeers was the third sound version and was also the first version in Technicolor. In 1947, a representative of the National Catholic Legion of Decency, an organisation that monitored the interests of the Church in motion pictures, objected to the characterisation of Cardinal Richelieu in the planned MGM adaptation of Dumas' story. In a letter to MGM producer Pandro S. Berman, the organisation stated its objection to the cardinal being portrayed as a "worldly and unscrupulous man" and urged the studio to remove the character from the film. Berman refused to remove the character from the film but promised he would use great caution in all sensitive matters pertaining to the story and in the film, Richelieu is never referred to as Cardinal Richelieu. Berman also indicated that Constance, the married mistress of D'Artagnan in the novel, would be unmarried in the film version. While early sound versions of Three Musketeers eliminated the deaths of Constance and Milady, this adaptation telescopes the novel's events to allow for these tragedies. According to AFI, screenwriter Robert Ardry was displeased with Sidney's irreverent approach to the Dumas story and objected to the spoof elements that were added to the film. A biography of Kelly noted that Belgian fencing champion Jean Heremans, who appears in the film as the cardinal's guard, taught Kelly how to fence. Kelly's biography also noted that during the filming of a bedroom scene, Kelly flung Turner onto a bed with such force that she fell to the ground and suffered a broken elbow. Hal Erickson at AllMovie: “True to form, MGM saw to it that Lana Turner, as Milady, was dressed to the nines and heavily bejeweled for her beheading sequence. Portions of the 1948 Three Musketeers, in black and white, showed up in the silent film-within-a-film in 1952's Singin' in the Rain, which of course also starred Gene Kelly.” The Three Musketeers opened to mostly favourable reviews, with several reviewers commenting on the film's unusual tongue-in-cheek approach. New York Times reviewer Bosley Crowther noted that "more glittering swordplay, more dazzling costumes, more colors or more of Miss Turner's chest have never been seen in a picture than are shown in this one." And added: “Completely fantastic, however, is Miss Turner as the villainess, the ambitious Lady de Winter who does the boudoir business for the boss. Loaded with blond hair and jewels, with twelve-gallon hats and ostrich plumes, and poured into her satin dresses with a good bit of Turner to spare, she walks through the palaces and salons with the air of a company-mannered Mae West.” In 1948, there was an Oscar nomination for Robert Planck in the category Best Cinematography/Colour. Hans J. Wollstein at AllMovie: “The Three Musketeers remains an outrageously entertaining yarn, the Southern California locales perfectly standing in for 17th Century France and England.” And finally, Yvette Banek at her blog In so many words: “Lana Turner is really quite superb in her evilness. So evil that she is even photographed without make-up. Well, as 'without make-up' as MGM got, at any rate. Even then, she is exquisitely beautiful - especially when praying.”
Sources: Bosley Crowther (New York Times), Hal Erickson (AllMovie), Yvette Banek (In so many words), AFI, Wikipedia (Dutch, German), and IMDb.
And, please check out our blog European Film Star Postcards.
"For a real bargain, while you're making a living, you should make also a life." —Aaron Bronson
In 1920, in small-town America, the ubiquitous dry goods store—suits and coats, shoes and hats, work clothes and school clothes, yard goods and notions—was usually owned by Jews and often referred to as "the Jew store." That's how Stella Suberman's father's store, Bronson's Low-Priced Store, in Concordia, Tennessee, was known locally. The Bronsons were the first Jews to ever live in that tiny town (1920 population: 5,318) of one main street, one bank, one drugstore, one picture show, one feed and seed, one hardware, one barber shop, one beauty parlor, one blacksmith, and many Christian churches. Aaron Bronson moved his family all the way from New York City to that remote corner of northwest Tennessee to prove himself a born salesman—and much more. Told by Aaron's youngest child, The Jew Store is that rare thing—an intimate family story that sheds new light on a piece of American history. Here is One Man's Family with a twist—a Jew, born into poverty in prerevolutionary Russia and orphaned from birth, finds his way to America, finds a trade, finds a wife, and sets out to find his fortune in a place where Jews are unwelcome. With a novelist's sense of scene, suspense, and above all, characterization, Stella Suberman turns the clock back to a time when rural America was more peaceful but no less prejudiced, when educated liberals were suspect, and when the Klan was threatening to outsiders. In that setting, she brings her remarkable father to life, a man whose own brand of success proves that intelligence, empathy, liberality, and decency can build a home anywhere. The Jew Store is a heartwarming—even inspiring—story.
P.S. When I started middle school in 1995, I was one of the few students from the former Soviet Union in the 90s who spoke Russian. Saying my school was unwelcome is an understatement. To American students, I (and a few other students) were “The Russians"... They never got in trouble for that and bullying was completely ignored! I always thought that after being “A Jew” in Ukraine, I would be more accepted here. I was wrong. Maybe that’s what led to my dislike of the American public school system. And to be clear my dislike of the system is not a dislike of the teachers. I've had some amazing teachers who believed in me and inspired me greatly—inspired me in a way no teacher in Ukraine did (I came from a stringent school system). To say I love them and they made my teenager years much brighter is not to say anything! It’s always a choice what kind of person you choose to be!
Dutch postcard by van Leer's Fotodrukindustrie N.V., Amsterdam, no. 351, no. 6. Photo: Metro Goldwyn Mayer (M.G.M.) June Allyson and Gene Kelly in The Three Musketeers (George Sidney, 1948), based on the novel by Alexandre Dumas.
The Three Musketeers (George Sidney, 1948) is a classic Swashbuckler, starring Gene Kelly as D’Artagnan and Lana Turner as Milady De Winter. Other stars in the cast include Van Heflin, June Allyson, Gig Young, Angela Lansbury, and Vincent Price. It is one of the many, adaptations of the famous French book ‘Les trois mousquetaires’ by Alexandre Dumas père, and possibly the liveliest one, full of acrobatics, galloping horses, flapping cloaks, and sword fights with almost operatic intensity. Dumas’s story is followed quite faithfully, but the creative fantasy is in the theatrical way of depicting it.
As in the book: the story of The Three Musketeers (George Sidney, 1948) is set in 1625 in France. The young and inexperienced D'Artagnan (Gene Kelly) leaves his home village in Gascony to become a musketeer in Paris in the service of His Majesty King Louis XIII (Frank Morgan). In his pocket, he has the letter of recommendation from his father (silent film star Robert Warwick), a former musketeer and friend of the current captain of the musketeers, Treville (Reginald Owen). His father has taught him the art of fencing masterfully and gives him the good advice never to let himself be compromised with impunity. He is only too happy to follow this advice. Very soon, before he has even reached Paris, D'Artagnan gets into a confrontation with Rochefort (Ian Keith), Cardinal Richelieu's (Vincent Price) confidant, and his companion, the mysterious Lady de Winter (Lana Turner). At this first opportunity to preserve his honour in battle, he is unceremoniously struck down and robbed by Rochefort's henchmen, and his credentials are also taken from him. Once in Paris, he not only meets his new friends and comrades-in-arms Athos (Van Heflin), Porthos (Gig Young), and Aramis (Robert Coote), but also his landlord's niece, Constance Bonacieux (June Allyson), and falls in love. Many adventures and entanglements lie ahead and in the path of the brave hero D'Artagnan. Driven by his desire to become the king's musketeer and to prove himself in battle, he falls into the clutches of both the queen (Angela and the cardinal, experiences numerous dangerous situations and sometimes needs his new friends to get away at all. Nevertheless, he sets out to travel to England for the Queen's honour, to retrieve a jewellery box given away by the Queen's secret lover, Lord Buckingham (John Sutton), and to prevent Richelieu from plotting. To assist him, he is accompanied by Athos, Porthos, and Aramis, as well as his dull but loyal servant Planchet (Keenan Wynn). Shortly after D'Artagnan's return from England, Constance is kidnapped at the behest of Cardinal Richelieu. D'Artagnan makes a pass at Milady de Winter, discovers a delicate secret, and only just manages to save himself. Constance is freed and taken to safety in England, shortly after which war breaks out, and our four friends are drawn into it. They overhear a conspiratorial meeting between the Cardinal and Lady de Winter in an inn. The latter is to travel to England and kill Buckingham. Planchet also travels to England at D'Artagnan's behest to warn Buckingham. Lady de Winter is convicted and is to be executed. Constance is appointed her guardian. Milady de Winter, after a lengthy psychological duel, manages to take out Constance as well as a guard and Buckingham and then escapes. Athos and D'Artagnan, who wanted to help Constance, arrive too late; after Constance dies in D'Artagnan's arms, they themselves also have only escaped. Back in Paris, the four friends track down Lady de Winter, pronounce the death sentence on her, and have the prisoner executed. During their subsequent escape towards Spain, they are overpowered and arrested. Their fate seems to be sealed, but young D'Artagnan still has one trump card: the Countess's passport, personally sealed and signed by Cardinal Richelieu, with the note that everything the bearer of this letter undertakes will serve the good of the state. The king is not allowed to know the background of this letter - so Richelieu has to give in. Aramis receives permission to take up a clerical office. Porthos is allowed to marry richly, Athos gets his property back and D'Artagnan is to negotiate a peace offer with the enemy England on behalf of France.
Among the many American film versions of Alexandre Dumas' The Three Musketeers are the 1914 Film Attractions Co. production, directed by Charles V. Henkel, the 1921 Douglas Fairbanks production, directed by Fred Niblo, the 1935 RKO Radio Pictures, Inc. production, directed by Rowland V. Lee and starring Walter Abel, Paul Lucas and Margot Grahame, Richard Lester's 1974 Twentieth Century-Fox production starring Michael York, Oliver Reed, Richard Chamberlain, and Raquel Welch; and the 1993 Buena Vista release, directed by Stephen Herek and starring Charlie Sheen, Kiefer Sutherland, Chris O'Donnell, and Rebecca de Mornay. This splashy 1948 MGM adaptation of The Three Musketeers was the third sound version and was also the first version in Technicolor. In 1947, a representative of the National Catholic Legion of Decency, an organisation that monitored the interests of the Church in motion pictures, objected to the characterisation of Cardinal Richelieu in the planned MGM adaptation of Dumas' story. In a letter to MGM producer Pandro S. Berman, the organisation stated its objection to the cardinal being portrayed as a "worldly and unscrupulous man" and urged the studio to remove the character from the film. Berman refused to remove the character from the film but promised he would use great caution in all sensitive matters pertaining to the story and in the film, Richelieu is never referred to as Cardinal Richelieu. Berman also indicated that Constance, the married mistress of D'Artagnan in the novel, would be unmarried in the film version. While early sound versions of Three Musketeers eliminated the deaths of Constance and Milady, this adaptation telescopes the novel's events to allow for these tragedies. According to AFI, screenwriter Robert Ardry was displeased with Sidney's irreverent approach to the Dumas story and objected to the spoof elements that were added to the film. A biography of Kelly noted that Belgian fencing champion Jean Heremans, who appears in the film as the cardinal's guard, taught Kelly how to fence. Kelly's biography also noted that during the filming of a bedroom scene, Kelly flung Turner onto a bed with such force that she fell to the ground and suffered a broken elbow. Hal Erickson at AllMovie: “True to form, MGM saw to it that Lana Turner, as Milady, was dressed to the nines and heavily bejeweled for her beheading sequence. Portions of the 1948 Three Musketeers, in black and white, showed up in the silent film-within-a-film in 1952's Singin' in the Rain, which of course also starred Gene Kelly.” The Three Musketeers opened to mostly favourable reviews, with several reviewers commenting on the film's unusual tongue-in-cheek approach. New York Times reviewer Bosley Crowther noted that "more glittering swordplay, more dazzling costumes, more colors or more of Miss Turner's chest have never been seen in a picture than are shown in this one." And added: “Completely fantastic, however, is Miss Turner as the villainess, the ambitious Lady de Winter who does the boudoir business for the boss. Loaded with blond hair and jewels, with twelve-gallon hats and ostrich plumes, and poured into her satin dresses with a good bit of Turner to spare, she walks through the palaces and salons with the air of a company-mannered Mae West.” In 1948, there was an Oscar nomination for Robert Planck in the category Best Cinematography/Colour. Hans J. Wollstein at AllMovie: “The Three Musketeers remains an outrageously entertaining yarn, the Southern California locales perfectly standing in for 17th Century France and England.” And finally, Yvette Banek at her blog In so many words: “Lana Turner is really quite superb in her evilness. So evil that she is even photographed without make-up. Well, as 'without make-up' as MGM got, at any rate. Even then, she is exquisitely beautiful - especially when praying.”
Sources: Bosley Crowther (New York Times), Hal Erickson (AllMovie), Yvette Banek (In so many words), AFI, Wikipedia (Dutch, German), and IMDb.
And, please check out our blog European Film Star Postcards.
A bit unladylike but this female Black-necked Stilt doing what comes naturally but has the decency to do it at the sewage treatment site ;0)
Photography and ‘simple things closer’ are my refuge and sanity from where I live and the people in my apartment building.
Sadly most of those people living here are cops – cops too blind to figure out they are being manipulated by a cute, bouncy, immature, spoiled woman illegally in the building. She has a long history of using people, especially men.
Before the cops moved in she had me fooled. I was cleaning mold in her apartment, cleaning sand and mold out of window tracks, baking banana bread, helping her with nursing homework assignments, even interceded in her behalf when she hit a neighbor's car with her car.
I protected her against the building owners since I didn't have the complete story of her being here. But when I stopped baking, stopped bringing up her boxes - and DARED to suggest she come by and check for her boxes once in a while, she came up with a list of things I supposedly said about cops and fed it to them. (She is the same person who lied to Medicaid for years to get free medical care though there is PLENTY of money in her family.) Her parents pay her rent, and her Father paid her nursing school costs.
She has become friends with all the cops living here because she is banking on them protecting her should the building owner attempt to evict her. They party, celebrate, do things together, etc. Little do they know her true personality. And none of them have the maturity or wisdom to question her motivations, or why she would say or do the things she's done.
Giving those cops my unlisted phone number, and likely my e-mail, along with a long list of things I'd supposedly said about cops was the final straw for me. (I'm not friends with any of the cops, so why why she would share my phone number any of them makes no sense.) The people she gave it to are live a foot away from me. My wall is their wall. Of course, she almost certainly gave it to others. Then again, whatever one knows, they all know.
She'd contacted me about a missing box - I haven't had anything to do with her for well over a year - had told her twice before not to speak to me after she continually broke promises and despite being a nurse wouldn't help me around 9:30 one night when my leg was spurting blood. She told me to call Kaiser - impossible to look up, find, and dial the number on a landline with that amount of blood and while trying to stop the blood flow!
There was only one reason to do what she did. Total lack of conscience, ethics, empathy, any human emotions. And the fact that she gets rid of anyone who no longer is useful to her or won't feed her ego. The fact they all fell for her games and manipulating astonishes me. But she is gifted at how she plays people. Only two of us know her and what and how she is. Then again, neither of us are cops. And we are older and wiser than most of the relative newcomer cops. .
I used to think much higher of cops until so many moved into the building, particularly as there are cops in my family. But they are in other parts of the country and they have different standards and goals, and a conscience and ethics and common sense.
You'd think being cops they’d have the professionalism and common sense to vet information. They don’t. Whatever the illegal tenant feeds them they consume - hook, line, and sinker. Besides, they are linked at the hip by the blue line, cell phones, and texting - and all of them have the the same kind of backgrounds, personalities, ego, and the sole goal of more and more money.
They do not follow building rules or common decency. Asked not to slam doors they go out of their way to slam the entry gate and their apartment doors as hard as they can. One in particular, from a family of cops for several generations, goes out of her way to slam her apartment door and make nasty comments every time she passes by when other cops aren't here. She and male friends even messed with my windows.
She took out a mail water pipe with her car, drove away without saying a word so the rest of us were without water. Another female cop backed into a fence in the garage, causing it to sway several feet. Again, not a word to anyone.
One of them leaves all the garage lights on at least one a week - if I don't notice and shut them off they stay on 24/7 endlessly. And none of them will recycle food. The raccoons are constantly scattering it around, and through they are the reason, not one of them will grab a broom and clean the bones and breads and torn bags up. (Though they all are aware of the ill health of the landlady and her husband, who are in their mid-eighties and early nineties, respectively, and who live elsewhere.)
The petulant cop who verbally attacked me and angrily advised I had no friends here and would die alone, etc. has given out keys to people who don't live here (a huge security risk), and refuses to provide the name of long-time male 'room-mates' to the building owner who needs that information because we live in an active earthquake zone. Moreover the landlady, who bent over backward for that tenant, even giving her her brother's parking space, has to pay additional monthly water charges because of the extra water usage.
The irony is that the building rules of quietly shutting doors and keeping voices inside, and TV's and music at a lower level were put in place for the cops because of their unusual work schedules and related daytime sleeping schedules!
A different female cop, when witnessing damage done to my plants and planters, advised I should get psychological help because the ongoing damage was upsetting me. But physical damage and destruction aren't the same thing as words. Words are easily ignored, one just considers the source. And words are simply a case of ‘sticks and stones.’ Most people realize there is a huge difference between deliberate destructive actions and words.
No wonder people are afraid to call the police anymore! They prove more and more that cops in general can’t be believed or trusted. Too many have digressed from being overly-violent and trigger-happy to shooting handicapped people and people inside their own apartments and homes!
I know I’ll never look at cops the same way again. Not true for other first responders, like firefighters, who don’t hide behind excuses like they were ‘afraid for their lives.’ Instead they and other first responders save lives and try to help people, both on and off the job. Many are heroes.
But there is a world of difference between rescuing and saving people, and deliberately taunting, attacking, and trying to destroy others. Unfortunately the underhandedness, sabotage, and character assignation demonstrated here is how too many cops are these days. Pure evil in some cases. No empathy, no sympathy, no respect for elders or veterans, or older, handicapped veterans. And no ability to let go of things and move on.
This image is copyright, all rights reserved, and not part of the public domain. Any use, linking to, or posting of this image is prohibited without my consent. If you want to use this image in any fashion, please have the common courtesy and decency to ask.
Coquille River Valley, Myrtle Point, Oregon
I just got back from a 10 day vacation in Bandon, Oregon. My brother took me out on three of those nights to photograph the Milky Way. We even saw a pair of UFO’s flying way overhead on the first night, but that’s another story. We were at our cousin, Keith’s field in Myrtle Point on two of those nights. Here my brother is messing around in the van with the internal light on. I ran to this spot while he was looking for something in the van and captured this. I guess you could say since he didn’t move much during the exposure, it could represent a close encounter of the 3rd kind.
Canon 6D, Rokinon 14mm lens, f/2.8, iso 6400. Processed in Lightroom 6.