View allAll Photos Tagged decency
20220614 HELSINKI. KULOSAAREN KASINO. NAFM2022. PHOTO: ATTE KAJOVA
Ministry for Foreign Affairs produces photo material for media representatives. Please feel free to use the photos for journalistic purposes, considering the following restrictions: One-time picture publishing right, no archiving or reselling. Editorial use only. When publishing the pictures, the name of the photographer and organisation shall be mentioned as a source. No picture manipulation is permitted. The holder of the picture rights and/or the organisation shall at all times retain the copyright to the picture. The publisher is not entitled to transfer rights to a third party. When publishing the pictures, the publisher shall ensure the legality of the context where the pictures are used, obtain the permissions and consents required for their publication, and observe the generally established practices and decency. The publisher shall also obtain the permissions needed for any names, persons, works of art, trademarks, and proprietary rights shown in the pictures. The publisher shall ensure that publication of the pictures does not insult anyone’s privacy or dignity.
Queens Of The Stone Age @ Wamu Theater, Madison Square Garden, New York
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.
I put my shoe down for 5 minutes, and Ruby has it away. At least she had the decency to pose for a photo I suppose.
Minister for Foreign Affairs of Finland Timo Soini and Secretary General Thorbjørn Jagland welcoming the guests for the Session of the Committee of Ministers.
The Session of the Committee of Ministers, to be held at Finlandia Hall on 17 May 2019, will mark the end of Finland’s Presidency of the Committee of Ministers of the Council of Europe. At the meeting, Finland will hand over the Presidency to France. More than 30 ministers from the member States of the Council of Europe will attend the meeting. The meeting will be chaired by Foreign Minister Timo Soini.
Ministry for Foreign Affairs provides photo material for media representatives, participants and organisers of the meeting. Please feel free to use the photos, considering the following restrictions: Not for commercial purposes nor reselling. When publishing the pictures, the name of the photographer and organization shall be mentioned as the source. No picture manipulation is permitted. The holder of the picture rights and/or the organisation shall at all times retain the copyright to the picture. When publishing the pictures, the publisher shall ensure the legality of the context where the pictures are used, obtain the permissions and consents required for their publication, and observe the generally established practices and decency. The publisher shall ensure that publication of the pictures does not insult anyone’s privacy or dignity.
Photo: Kimmo Räisänen / Ministry for Foreign Affairs of Finland
10/06/2015, Las Palmas de Gran Canaria, Canary Islands, Spain.
Keel laid on 26/11/2002, launched on 21/02/2003, & completed on 31/03/2003, by Hyundai, Ulsan, South Korea (1450)
41,078 g.t., 48,923 dwt., & 3,607 teu,
launched as:
'Northern Decency', completed as:
'Potomac Bridge', to 2006,
'MSC Vienna' to 2016, &
'Northern Decency' since.
Minister for Foreign Affairs of Finland Timo Soini, Prime Minister of Finland Juha Sipilä and Secretary General Thorbjørn Jagland.
The Session of the Committee of Ministers, to be held at Finlandia Hall on 17 May 2019, will mark the end of Finland’s Presidency of the Committee of Ministers of the Council of Europe. At the meeting, Finland will hand over the Presidency to France. More than 30 ministers from the member States of the Council of Europe will attend the meeting. The meeting will be chaired by Foreign Minister Timo Soini.
Ministry for Foreign Affairs provides photo material for media representatives, participants and organisers of the meeting. Please feel free to use the photos, considering the following restrictions: Not for commercial purposes nor reselling. When publishing the pictures, the name of the photographer and organization shall be mentioned as the source. No picture manipulation is permitted. The holder of the picture rights and/or the organisation shall at all times retain the copyright to the picture. When publishing the pictures, the publisher shall ensure the legality of the context where the pictures are used, obtain the permissions and consents required for their publication, and observe the generally established practices and decency. The publisher shall ensure that publication of the pictures does not insult anyone’s privacy or dignity.
Photo: Kimmo Räisänen / Ministry for Foreign Affairs of Finland
3850 stands at Toddington on the GWSR, waiting to depart to Cheltenham. I thought that this was a good solid shot of this old warhorse enjoying its retirement in the sun, after years of slugging in and out of the Welsh coalfields. The ‘wartime black’ paintwork shines in the sunlight, which I’m sure it never did very often when the loco was in service. But the sheer longevity in service of this class was incredible, lasting from 1903. At least Collett had the decency to give them a side window cab in 1934, along with external steam pipes, but apart from that, no real changes. A further 83 were still produced at Swindon under Collett from 1934, and they subsequently formed the basis of the design of Staniers ubiquitous 2-8-0’s on the LMS. Credit to GJC.!!
"The image of a Syrian child's lifeless body washed up on the shores of a Turkish beach this week brought the world to its knees. His name was Aylan Kurdi, and he was just three years old.
The sad reality is that Aylan was one among millions of desperate people forced to flee from war and persecution. The world is facing a global refugee crisis on a scale we've not seen since WWII, but Australia - our lucky country of a fair go for all - is not doing enough. We can do better to help these people.
We need to do better."
light the dark, adelaide, south australia
#lightthedark
11th Arctic Council Ministerial Meeting in Rovaniemi. Minister of Foreign Affairs of Canada Chrystia Freeland.
Finland hosts the 11th Arctic Council Ministerial Meeting on 7 May in Rovaniemi. Minister-level representatives from the eight Arctic States will convene to review and approve work completed under the two-year Finnish Chairmanship to improve sustainable development and environmental protection in the Arctic.
Ministry for Foreign Affairs provides photo material for media representatives, participants and organisers of the meeting. Please feel free to use the photos, considering the following restrictions: Not for commercial purposes nor reselling. When publishing the pictures, the name of the photographer and organization shall be mentioned as the source. No picture manipulation is permitted. The holder of the picture rights and/or the organisation shall at all times retain the copyright to the picture. When publishing the pictures, the publisher shall ensure the legality of the context where the pictures are used, obtain the permissions and consents required for their publication, and observe the generally established practices and decency. The publisher shall ensure that publication of the pictures does not insult anyone’s privacy or dignity.
Photo: Jouni Porsanger / Ministry for Foreign Affairs of Finland
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.
Minister for Foreign Affairs of Finland Timo Soini and Secretary General Thorbjørn Jagland welcoming the guests for the Session of the Committee of Ministers.
The Session of the Committee of Ministers, to be held at Finlandia Hall on 17 May 2019, will mark the end of Finland’s Presidency of the Committee of Ministers of the Council of Europe. At the meeting, Finland will hand over the Presidency to France. More than 30 ministers from the member States of the Council of Europe will attend the meeting. The meeting will be chaired by Foreign Minister Timo Soini.
Ministry for Foreign Affairs provides photo material for media representatives, participants and organisers of the meeting. Please feel free to use the photos, considering the following restrictions: Not for commercial purposes nor reselling. When publishing the pictures, the name of the photographer and organization shall be mentioned as the source. No picture manipulation is permitted. The holder of the picture rights and/or the organisation shall at all times retain the copyright to the picture. When publishing the pictures, the publisher shall ensure the legality of the context where the pictures are used, obtain the permissions and consents required for their publication, and observe the generally established practices and decency. The publisher shall ensure that publication of the pictures does not insult anyone’s privacy or dignity.
Photo: Kimmo Räisänen / Ministry for Foreign Affairs of Finland
ok, now maybe this is my relatively pointless architecture blog, #5?
oh, to clarify: i’m not saying the architecture is relatively pointless, i’m merely suggesting that my blog is relatively pointless. the architecture is anything but pointless, it’s great, even when it’s banal and mundane. it’s my blogging that is relatively pointless. or so i believe. i guess i should work on my syntax.
today i’ve decided to go for something a bit more (read: very) obvious. the esteemed and storied (in both senses of the word) castillo del lago.
or, as it’s still referred to, even though she moved out a while ago,: ‘madonna’s house’.
or, by the old timers: ‘bugsy siegel’s house’.
i have no idea who lives there now, but they did have the decency to paint over madonna’s pink stripes and return the structures to what they were like in the early 20th century (or so i’m assuming).
so, here are some pictures i took yesterday afternoon of castillo del lago, which is arguably one of the coolest and grandest houses in l.a. i’m sure it’s modeled after some remarkable european castle, but in my ignorance i have no idea which one. it’s very big and beautiful and it will probably be called ‘madonna’s house’ for the next 50 years or so.
-moby
Catching up on some back shots from the beginning of the year
On a walk around the Addington Cemetery with a wonderful Flickr friend. February 13, 2016 Christchurch New Zealand.
There is so much damaged in the cemetery because of the earthquake we have had. It is such a pity as I don' think it will ever be fully repaired.
The Addington Cemetery was established in 1858 when the Scottish Presbyterians of St Andrew’s Church purchased land for a cemetery in Selwyn Street. Although not the first cemetery in Christchurch, Addington was in fact the first “public” cemetery, “being open to all persons of any religious community” and allowing the performance of any religious service “not contrary to public decency”.
The first burial took place on the 10th of November 1858. The cemetery has several persons of note buried within its grounds including activist Kate Sheppard, Christchurch Mayor Tommy Taylor and members of the pioneer family, the Deans.
For More Info:http://my.christchurchcitylibraries.com/addington-cemetery/
VISIT TO NOKIA AND SITRA. PHOTO: ATTE KAJOVA
Ministry for Foreign Affairs produces photo material for media representatives. Please feel free to use the photos for journalistic purposes, considering the following restrictions: One-time picture publishing right, no archiving or reselling. Editorial use only. When publishing the pictures, the name of the photographer and organisation shall be mentioned as a source. No picture manipulation is permitted. The holder of the picture rights and/or the organisation shall at all times retain the copyright to the picture. The publisher is not entitled to transfer rights to a third party. When publishing the pictures, the publisher shall ensure the legality of the context where the pictures are used, obtain the permissions and consents required for their publication, and observe the generally established practices and decency. The publisher shall also obtain the permissions needed for any names, persons, works of art, trademarks, and proprietary rights shown in the pictures. The publisher shall ensure that publication of the pictures does not insult anyone’s privacy or dignity.
Today's news of another religious psychopath using a shrine where people pay their respects, like the South Carolina bombing of a church. My heart really does reach out to the people of Bangkok where I had the privilege of teaching English for 7 months which gave me a chance to understand the decency and good manners of the Thai People.
People say that this generation has completely lost all sense of respect or decency but this 10 year old girl would prove otherwise, as she took the time to read the inscriptions, cards and other tokens left at the local Cenotaph in Manchester, England.
Prints are available of all my work which appears on Flickr or any other of my sites (with the exception of exclusively licensed works) so please, feel free to enquire via Message etc... for pricing and availably.
For more info of my work and services, please check out my profile for details.
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William Mason died November 24th 1708 aged 78 years
his second wife, Jane.
His son was the poet
"MASON, WILLIAM (1724–1797), poet, born 12 Feb. 1724, was son of William Mason by his first wife, Sarah. The father was appointed vicar of Holy Trinity, Kingston-upon-Hull, in 1722, and held that benefice until his death on 26 Aug. 1753 (Tickell, Hist. of Kingston-upon-Hull, p. 804; cf. Foster, Yorkshire Pedigrees; Correspondence with Walpole, ii. 411). Mason's grandfather, Hugh Mason, was appointed collector of customs at Hull in 1696. His great-grand-father, Robert (1633-1719), son of Valentine Mason (1583-1639), successively vicar of Driffield and Elloughton, Yorkshire, was sheriff of Hull in 1675 and mayor in 1681 and 1696 respectively; one of his daughters, the poet's grandaunt, married an Erasmus Darwin, the great-uncle of the physician and poet (see Diary of Abraham de la Pryme, Surtees Soc., p. 219).
William entered St. John's College, Cambridge, 30 June 1743, was elected scholar in the following October, graduated B.A. 1745, and M.A. 1749. He had shown some literary and artistic tastes, which were encouraged by his father. In 1744 he wrote a 'monody' upon Pope's death in imitation of 'Lycidas.' It was not published till 1747. He had become known to Gray, then resident at Pembroke Hall, and by Gray's influence was elected fellow of Pembroke. He had entered St. John's with a view to a Platt fellowship, but the Pembroke fellowships were then `reckoned the best in the university.' The fellows voted for Mason in 1747, but the master disputed their right to choose a member of another college, and his final election did not take place till 1749 (Mason's letter of 13 Nov. 1747 in Nichols, Lit. Anecd. ii. 710-11, and Gray to Wharton, 9 March 1748-9). He became intimate with Gray, who was a good deal amused with the simplicity, openness, and harmless vanity of his young admirer. Gray says that Mason `reads little or nothing, writes abundance, and that with a design to make a fortune by it' (Gray to Wharton, 8 Aug. 1749). In 1748 Mason published a poem called `Isis,' denouncing the Jacobitism of Oxford. Thomas Warton replied by `The Triumph of Isis,' which is thought by those who have read both to be the better of the two. Mason never republished this poem till he collected the volume which appeared posthumously. According to Mant (Life of Warton), he expressed pleasure some years later when he was entering Oxford that as it was after dark he was not likely to attract the notice of the victims of his satire. In 1749 he was employed to write an ode upon the Duke of Newcastle's installation as chancellor, which Gray (ib.) thought `uncommonly well on such an occasion.' Mason was also known by 1750 to Hurd, then resident at Cambridge. Cambridge was then divided between the `polite scholars' and the `philologists,' and the philologists thought that the 'polite scholars, including Gray, Hurd, and Mason, were a set of arrogant coxcombs' (Nichols, Lit. Anecd. v. 613). Hurd introduced his young friend to Warburton, who had been pleased by the monody on Pope, and who condescended to approve Mason's `Elfrida,' a dramatic poem on the classical model, which appeared in the beginning of 1752. Warburton writes to Hurd (9 May 1752) of some offer made to Mason by Lord Rockingham.
In 1754 Mason was presented by Robert D'Arcy, fourth earl of Holderness [q. v.], to the rectory of Aston, near Rotherham, Yorkshire. He became chaplain to Holderness and resigned his fellowship at Pembroke. Warburton told him that if he took orders he should `totally abandon his poetry,' and Mason, says, agreed that decency and religion demanded the sacrifice. If so, Mason soon changed his mind. He visited Germany in 1755, and had hopes of appointments from various great men (correspondence with Gray). He was appointed one of the king's chaplains in ordinary, through the interest of the Duke of Devonshire, on 2 July 1757, and the appointment was renewed under George III on 19 Sept. 1761. On 6 Dec. 1756 he was appointed to the prebend of Holme in York Cathedral, was made canon residentiary on 7 Jan. 1762, and on 22 Feb. 1763 became precentor and prebendary of Driffield (resigning Holme) (Le Neve, Fasti, and Correspondence with Walpole, ii. 411). He held his living and his precentorship till his death. He built a parsonage at Aston, thereby, as he told Walpole (21 June 1777), making a `pretty adequate' return for the patronage of Lord Holderness, whose family retained the advowson. He resided three months in the year at York, and had, as chaplain, to make an annual visit to London. He resigned his chaplaincy in 1773 (to Walpole, 17 May 1772, and 7 May 1773; Correspondence with Walpole (Mitford), ii. 212), finding, as he said, that the journey to London was troublesome, and being resolved to abandon any thoughts of preferment. Holderness behaved so `shabbily' to him (to Walpole, 3 Feb. 1774), that he declined coming to Strawberry Hill at the risk of encountering his patron. Mason came into an estate in the East Riding upon the death of John Hutton of Marsh, near Richmond, Yorkshire, on 12 June 1768. His income (Nichols, Lit. Anecd. ii. 241) is said to have been 1 ,500l. a year.
Though performing his ecclesiastical duties regularly, Mason never gave up his literary pursuits. In 1756 he published four odes. In 1757 some apology was made for not offering him the laureateship, vacant by the death of Gibber, which was declined by Gray and given to W. Whitehead. In 1759 he published his `Caractacus,' a rather better performance in the `Elfrida' style, which Gray had carefully criticised in manuscript and read `not with pleasure only but with emotion' (to Mason, 28 Sept. 1757). Mason's odes and the choruses in his dramas show a desire to imitate Gray, and the two were parodied by George Colman the elder [q. v.] and Robert Lloyd [q. v.] in their `Odes to Obscurity and Oblivion' (published in Lloyd's 'Poems'). Gray declined (to Mason, 20 Aug. 1760) to `combustle' about it, and Mason was equally wise. Mason published some `elegies' in 1762, and in 1764 a collection of his poems, omitting `Isis' and the `Installation Ode,' with a prefatory sonnet to Lord Holderness.
On 25 Sept. he married, at St. Mary's, Lowgate, Mary, daughter of William Sherman of Kingston-upon-Hull (register entry given in Notes and Queries, 6th ser. iv. 347). She soon fell into a consumption and died at Bristol, where she had gone to drink the Clifton waters, on 27 March 1767. She was buried in the north aisle of Bristol Cathedral, where there is a touching inscription by her husband (Nichols, Lit. Anecd. ii. 240), the last three lines of which were written by Gray. (The epitaph now in the cathedral is given in Mason, Works; Nichols, Lit. Anecd. ii. 240, gives an entirely different epitaph, and wrongly dated 24 March; information from Mr. William George of Bristol.) Mason appears to have done little for some time; Gray visited him for the last time in the summer of 1770, and on his death (30 July 1771) left the care of his papers to his friend. Mason had been to the last an affectionate disciple of Gray, who called him `Scroddles,' and condescended to a minute revision of all his poems before publication. Mason published Gray's `Life and Letters' in 1774. His plan of printing the letters as part of the life, said to have been suggested by Middleton's `Cicero,' was followed by later writers, including Boswell. Johnson himself had thought meanly of the 'Life,' describing it as `fit for the second table,' but he was doubtless not uninfluenced by Mason's whiggism in politics. Mason took great liberties with the letters, considering them less as biographical documents than as literary material to be edited and combined (see, e.g., his letter to Walpole of 28 June 1773, where he proposes to alter Gray's French and `run two letters into one'). The book, however, is in other respects well done. It brought him into a long correspondence with Horace Walpole, who supplied him with materials, and whom he consulted throughout. The correspondence continued after the publication of the life, and was published by Mitford in 1851. Walpole supplied the country parson with the freshest town gossip and `criticised' the works submitted to him, if criticism be a name applicable to unmixed flattery. They corresponded in particular about Mason's `Heroic Epistle,' a sharp satire, in the style of Pope, upon `Sir William Chambers' [q. v.], whose `Dissertation upon Oriental Gardening' appeared in 1772. This and some succeeding satires under the pseudonym of `Malcolm Macgregor' are very smartly written. Mason took great pains to conceal the authorship, and even his correspondence with Walpole is so expressed that the secret should not be revealed if the letters were opened at the post-office. The friendship, like most of Walpole's, led to a breach. Both correspondents were whigs, and even played at republicanism. When, however, Mason took a prominent part in the agitation which began with the Yorkshire petition for retrenchment and reform in the beginning of 1780 (he was a leading member of the county association for some years), Walpole thought that his friend was going into extremes. He remonstrated in several letters, and the friendship apparently cooled. Mason afterwards became an admirer of Pitt, to whom he addressed an ode, and he took the side of the court in the struggle over Fox's India Bill. Walpole thought that Mason had persuaded their common friend, Lord Harcourt, to oppose Fox's measure and become reconciled to the crown. In a couple of letters (one probably not sent) he showed that he could be as caustic on occasion as he had been effusive. In the suppressed letter he says that Mason had `floundered into a thousand absurdities' through a blind ambition of winning popularity. The letter actually sent was not milder in substance, and the friendship expired. In 1796 Mason again wrote to Walpole, however, and one or two civil letters passed between them. The French revolution had frightened both of them out of any sympathy for radical reforms.
Mason continued his literary labours after the ' Life of Gray.' His `Elfrida' was brought out at Covent Garden on 21 Nov. 1772 by Colman without his consent, and again, with alterations by himself, at the same theatre on 22 Feb. 1779. The `Caractacus,' also corrected by himself, was performed at Covent Garden on 1 Dec. 1776, and was again produced on 22 Oct. 1778. The success of both plays was very moderate. In 1778 he wrote an opera called `Sappho,' to be set to music by Giardini. Some other theatrical writings remained in manuscript. In 1777 he had a lawsuit with John Murray, the first publisher of the name, who had infringed his copyright by publishing extracts from Gray. Mason obtained an injunction, but Murray attacked him effectively in a pamphlet 'Concerning Mr. Mason's Edition of Mr. Gray's Poems, and the Practices of Booksellers,' 1777. Mason's other works are given below.
In 1797 Mason hurt his shin on a Friday in stepping out of his carriage. He was able to officiate in his church at Aston on the Sunday, but died from the injury on the following Wednesday, 7 April. A monument was erected to him in Westminster Abbey, close to Gray's, and the Countess Harcourt placed a cenotaph in the gardens at Nuneham. There is also a monument in Aston Church.
Mason was a man of considerable abilities and cultivated taste, who naturally mistook himself for a poet. He accepted the critical canons of his day, taking Gray and Hurd for his authorities, and his' serious attempts at poetry are rather vapid performances, to which his attempt to assimilate Gray's style gives an air of affectation. The `Heroic Epistle' gives him a place among the other followers of Pope's school in satire.
He was a good specimen of the more cultivated clergy of his day. He improved his church and built a village school (Mason and Walpole Corresp., i. xxiii). He had some antiquarian taste, like his friends Gray and Walpole. It was by his and Gray's criticisms that Walpole's eyes were opened to Chatterton's forgery. Mason was an accomplished musician. He composed some church music and published an essay upon the subject. He is said by a doubtful authority (Encycl. Brit. 1810) to have invented an improvement of the pianoforte brought out by Zumpe. Mrs. Delany says that he also invented a modification called the `Celestina,' upon which he performed with much expression; this is the instrument mentioned in the `Mason and Walpole Correspondence' as the celestinette (Encycl. Brit. 9th ed. `Pianoforte;' Grove, Dictionary of Music, `Mason' and 'Pianoforte;' Mrs. Delany, Autobiography, &c., 2nd ser. ii. 90). He was also something of an artist, and a portrait which he painted of the poet Whitehead was in 1853 bequeathed by the Rev. William Alderson, together with the poet's favourite chair, to the Rev. John Mitford, the editor of the `Gray and Mason Correspondence' (Gent. Mag. 1853, i. 338).
Mason's works are: 1. ' Musæus, a Monody to the Memory of Mr. Pope, in Imitation of Milton's "Lycidas,"' 1747. 2. 'Isis, a Monologue,' 1749. 3. `Ode on the Installation of the Duke of Newcastle as Chancellor of the University of Cambridge on 1 July 1749,' 1749. 4. 'Elfrida: written on the model of the antient Greek Tragedy,' 1752. 5. `Odes,' 1756. 6. 'Caractacus: written on the model of the antient Greek Tragedy,' 1759; a Greek translation was published in 1781 by George Henry Glasse [q.v.] 7. 'Elegies,' 1763. 8. `Animadversions on the Present Government of the York Lunatic Asylum,' &c., 1772. 9. `The English Garden,' bk. i. 1772; bk. ii. 1777; bk. iii. 1779; bk. iv. 1782. 10. 'An Heroic Epistle to Sir William Chambers,' 1773. 11. 'An Heroic Postscript,' 1774. 12. 'Life of Gray,' 1774. 18. `Ode to Mr. Pinchbeck, upon his newly invented Candle-snuffers, by Malcolm Macgregor, Author of the "Heroic Epistle,"' 1776. 14. `An Epistle to Dr. Shebbeare; to which is added an Ode to Sir Fletcher Norton, by Malcolm Macgregor,' &c., 1777. 15. `Ode to the Naval Officers of Great Britain,' 1779. 16. `Ode to William Pitt,' 1782. 17. `The Dean and the Squire, a Political Eclogue by the Author of the "Heroic Epistle," ' 1782. 18. 'The Art of Painting' (translated from Du Fresnoy, 'De Arte Graphica'), 1782. 19. `Collection of the Psalms of David' (used as anthems in York Cathedral), published `under the direction of W. Mason, by whom is prefixed a Critical and Historical Essay on Cathedral Music,' 1782 (the essay also published separately). 20. `Secular Ode,' 1788. 21. 'Life of W. Whitehead' (prefixed to Whitehead's `Poems'), 1788. 22. `Sappho, a Lyrical Drama in three Acts,' by Mason, with an Italian translation by Mathias, was published at Naples in 1809, first printed in the 1797 volume (below).
Besides the above, `Mirth, a Poem in Answer to Warton's "Pleasures of Melancholy," by a Gentleman of Cambridge' (1774), with dedication by `W. M.,' has been attributed to Mason, but can hardly be his. The `Archaeological Epistle' to Dean Miller, also attributed to him, was written by John Baynes (Nichols, Lit. Anecd. viii. 113).
Mason's poems were collected in one volume in 1764, and in two volumes in 1774. A third volume, prepared by himself, was added in 1797. His `Works' were collected in four volumes in 1811.
[Chalmers' English Poets, xviii. 307-17, contains the first published life; lives prefixed to an edition of the English Garden in 1814 and, by S. W. Singer, to Mason's poems in vols. lxxvii. and lxxviii. of British Poets (Chiswick) in 1822 add little. J. Mitford edited Mason's correspondence with Walpole in 1851, and his correspondence with Gray in 1853. The letters to Walpole are reprinted, with one or two additions, in the notes to Cunningham's edition of Walpole's Correspondence. See also Letters of an Eminent Prelate (Warburton), 1809, pp. 71, 83, 87, 93, 100, 106, 171, 293, 300, 305, 341, 396, 418, 469, 475, 478; Biog. Dramatica; Genest's History of the Stage, v. 360-3, 563, vi. 87, 95, 271, 340, vii. 99; Mant's Life of Thomas Warton prefixed to Warton's Poetical Works, 1802, i. pp.xv-xxii; various lives of Gray; Nichols's Lit. Anecd.; Hartley Coleridge's Worthies of Yorkshire, for a life and a long criticism of the poems, and Southey's Doctor, chaps. lxvii. and cxxvi., and Commonplace Book, 4th ser. pp. 294-6.]" Leslie Stephens in Dictionary of National Biography 1885 -1900
His father Valentine Mason was Vicar of Elloughton from 24th August 1623 until 19th November 1639.
St. Mary's Church, Elloughton, East Yorkshire - Charity: - William Mason's charity, by will, dated 11 th April 1705. A house, stable, coach-house, yard, and garden, containing in the whole about 2a. and an allotment of 2a. 3r. of land, all copyhold. The property was bought with a legacy of £120 for the purchase of a house for the constant residence of the Vicar; and if he refuse to reside, then the rent to be distributed among the poor."
"The Revd William Mason, by his will, dated 11th April 1705 and proved in 1709, left £120 to purchase a house for the use of the Vicar of the parish of Elloughton and of his “successor for ever,” and £20 to fit offices there (if need be), and he directed that if the incumbent did not reside in the parish, the property was to be let and the rent distributed yearly among the poor. An old property was subsequently acquired in Town Street, later renamed Dale Road, which consisted of a house, coach-house, hayloft, orchard and gardens. It is believed the dwelling was built somewhere between 1550 and 1600 and represents one of the oldest properties in Elloughton. It appears the house was not used from 1808 while non-resident Vicars (Nicholas Bourne, John Overton and Thomas Williams) held the living and it was said, in 1835, to be unfit. The Vicar occupied rooms in it in the 1840’s, but, in 1851, he lodged elsewhere in the village. It was sold, in 1936, for £460 and the proceeds handed to the Ecclesiastical Commissioners on behalf of the benefice." Elloughton and Brough P. C. C.
Queens Of The Stone Age, Schlossberg, Graz, Austria
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.
Catching up on some back shots from the beginning of the year
On a walk around the Addington Cemetery with a wonderful Flickr friend. February 13, 2016 Christchurch New Zealand.
There is so much damaged in the cemetery because of the earthquake we have had. It is such a pity as I don' think it will ever be fully repaired.
The Addington Cemetery was established in 1858 when the Scottish Presbyterians of St Andrew’s Church purchased land for a cemetery in Selwyn Street. Although not the first cemetery in Christchurch, Addington was in fact the first “public” cemetery, “being open to all persons of any religious community” and allowing the performance of any religious service “not contrary to public decency”.
The first burial took place on the 10th of November 1858. The cemetery has several persons of note buried within its grounds including activist Kate Sheppard, Christchurch Mayor Tommy Taylor and members of the pioneer family, the Deans.
For More Info:http://my.christchurchcitylibraries.com/addington-cemetery/
Minister for Foreign Affairs of Finland Timo Soini and Secretary General Thorbjørn Jagland welcoming the guests for the Session of the Committee of Ministers.
The Session of the Committee of Ministers, to be held at Finlandia Hall on 17 May 2019, will mark the end of Finland’s Presidency of the Committee of Ministers of the Council of Europe. At the meeting, Finland will hand over the Presidency to France. More than 30 ministers from the member States of the Council of Europe will attend the meeting. The meeting will be chaired by Foreign Minister Timo Soini.
Ministry for Foreign Affairs provides photo material for media representatives, participants and organisers of the meeting. Please feel free to use the photos, considering the following restrictions: Not for commercial purposes nor reselling. When publishing the pictures, the name of the photographer and organization shall be mentioned as the source. No picture manipulation is permitted. The holder of the picture rights and/or the organisation shall at all times retain the copyright to the picture. When publishing the pictures, the publisher shall ensure the legality of the context where the pictures are used, obtain the permissions and consents required for their publication, and observe the generally established practices and decency. The publisher shall ensure that publication of the pictures does not insult anyone’s privacy or dignity.
Photo: Kimmo Räisänen / Ministry for Foreign Affairs of Finland
I was offered some last min tickets to see this "debate" (thank you again Pat, we both really enjoyed them.) What I didn't realize was that we were going to be seated in the 3rd row, center about 20 feet away from the three of them.
The show (and thats what it was, entertainment, not a debate) was highly interesting. I believe Karl Rove is a despicable human being, but he is a master at what he does, and Carville was just no match for him, at least not in this type of forum.
It was sickly fascinating to watch him work up close. I mean, to hear the man who brought the art of the smear campaign to an inhuman level never before even dreamed of talk about disgraceful democratic political hit jobs without the entire audience bursting into laughter (as I did) at the utter gall he had by going there, now that is remarkable. Imagine Madoff lecturing an audience on the ethics of third party financial management with no one batting an eye at the hypocrisy. I know hypocrisy is the foundation political careers are built on, but for fucks sake "have you no decency?"
Walking in my shoes - depeche mode
I would tell you about the things
They put me through
The pain I've been subjected to
But the Lord himself would blush
The countless feasts laid at my feet
Forbidden fruits for me to eat
But I think your pulse would start to rush
Now I'm not looking for absolution
Forgiveness for the things I do
But before you come to any conclusions
Try walking in my shoes
Try walking in my shoes You'll stumble in my footsteps
Keep the same appointments I kept
If you try walking in my shoes
If you try walking in my shoes
Morality would frown upon
Decency look down upon
The scapegoat fate's made of me
But I promise you, my judge and jurors
My intentions couldn't have been purer
My case is easy to see
I'm not looking for a clearer conscience
Peace of mind after what I've been through
And before we talk of repentance
Try walking in my shoes
Try walking in my shoes
You'll stumble in my footsteps
Keep the same appointments I kept
If you try walking in my shoes
If you try walking in my shoes
Try walking in my shoes
Now I'm not looking for absolution
Forgiveness for the things I do
But before you come to any conclusions
Try walking in my shoes
Try walking in my shoes
You'll stumble in my footsteps
Keep the same appointments I kept
If you try walking in my shoes
Minister for Foreign Affairs of Finland Timo Soini and Secretary General Thorbjørn Jagland welcoming the guests for the Session of the Committee of Ministers.
The Session of the Committee of Ministers, to be held at Finlandia Hall on 17 May 2019, will mark the end of Finland’s Presidency of the Committee of Ministers of the Council of Europe. At the meeting, Finland will hand over the Presidency to France. More than 30 ministers from the member States of the Council of Europe will attend the meeting. The meeting will be chaired by Foreign Minister Timo Soini.
Ministry for Foreign Affairs provides photo material for media representatives, participants and organisers of the meeting. Please feel free to use the photos, considering the following restrictions: Not for commercial purposes nor reselling. When publishing the pictures, the name of the photographer and organization shall be mentioned as the source. No picture manipulation is permitted. The holder of the picture rights and/or the organisation shall at all times retain the copyright to the picture. When publishing the pictures, the publisher shall ensure the legality of the context where the pictures are used, obtain the permissions and consents required for their publication, and observe the generally established practices and decency. The publisher shall ensure that publication of the pictures does not insult anyone’s privacy or dignity.
Photo: Kimmo Räisänen / Ministry for Foreign Affairs of Finland
School of Champions is a missionary program to educate children from families whom live and work at the garbage dumps in Puerto Vallarta, Mexico, sorting recyclables. The children start working at the dumps at a very young age in order to help support the family and often grow up without an education. School of Champions have put progams in place to help these kids get educated and realize their potential.
A couple more shots from last week's visit to Leicester Cathedral as they prepare for the Queen's visit, in a few days time. This shot of the ceiling of the Nave was taken with my Samsung Galaxy S7 phone cam but it didn't turn out too well so this final image has been beaten up, twisted around and generally battered far beyond the boundaries of decency!
Minister for Foreign Affairs of Finland Timo Soini and Secretary General Thorbjørn Jagland welcoming the guests for the Session of the Committee of Ministers.
The Session of the Committee of Ministers, to be held at Finlandia Hall on 17 May 2019, will mark the end of Finland’s Presidency of the Committee of Ministers of the Council of Europe. At the meeting, Finland will hand over the Presidency to France. More than 30 ministers from the member States of the Council of Europe will attend the meeting. The meeting will be chaired by Foreign Minister Timo Soini.
Ministry for Foreign Affairs provides photo material for media representatives, participants and organisers of the meeting. Please feel free to use the photos, considering the following restrictions: Not for commercial purposes nor reselling. When publishing the pictures, the name of the photographer and organization shall be mentioned as the source. No picture manipulation is permitted. The holder of the picture rights and/or the organisation shall at all times retain the copyright to the picture. When publishing the pictures, the publisher shall ensure the legality of the context where the pictures are used, obtain the permissions and consents required for their publication, and observe the generally established practices and decency. The publisher shall ensure that publication of the pictures does not insult anyone’s privacy or dignity.
Photo: Kimmo Räisänen / Ministry for Foreign Affairs of Finland
Minister for Foreign Affairs of Finland Timo Soini and Secretary General Thorbjørn Jagland welcoming the guests for the Session of the Committee of Ministers.
The Session of the Committee of Ministers, to be held at Finlandia Hall on 17 May 2019, will mark the end of Finland’s Presidency of the Committee of Ministers of the Council of Europe. At the meeting, Finland will hand over the Presidency to France. More than 30 ministers from the member States of the Council of Europe will attend the meeting. The meeting will be chaired by Foreign Minister Timo Soini.
Ministry for Foreign Affairs provides photo material for media representatives, participants and organisers of the meeting. Please feel free to use the photos, considering the following restrictions: Not for commercial purposes nor reselling. When publishing the pictures, the name of the photographer and organization shall be mentioned as the source. No picture manipulation is permitted. The holder of the picture rights and/or the organisation shall at all times retain the copyright to the picture. When publishing the pictures, the publisher shall ensure the legality of the context where the pictures are used, obtain the permissions and consents required for their publication, and observe the generally established practices and decency. The publisher shall ensure that publication of the pictures does not insult anyone’s privacy or dignity.
Photo: Kimmo Räisänen / Ministry for Foreign Affairs of Finland
Hi Guys please share comment and let me know what you think. These 3 images are 1 My original copyrighted image. The second is a NEXT T Shirt. And the last is my image layered over the T shirt with a 50% opacity so you can see the shirt through my image. Next have NOT even had the decency to ask to use the shot or offered anything for the shot they have just taken the image from online and used it. The shirt is so popular if you look on the website it has already sold out in many sizes
J. Scott Lutheran, MFA-2'11
Project Name: The Museum of Compassion
Project Type: Museum
Client: Seeds of Compassion
Location: Grand Central Market – Grand Central Terminal, New York, NY
We theorize that the development of a museum, working to remind visitors they are only one part of a greater society, is an intriguing method that may instill societal shifts over time. With smart devices causing us to become introverted, and with the acceptance of popular “Reality TV” broadcasts depicting people treating others with disrespect, our society has begun to forget the traditional “human” value of decency. Our hope is to re-instill behaviors that are honest, caring, and understanding. How can any society thrive and introduce new ideas for a better world if members aren’t willing to care for one another and work together as a whole?
20220614 HELSINKI. KULOSAAREN KASINO. NAFM2022. PHOTO: ATTE KAJOVA
Ministry for Foreign Affairs produces photo material for media representatives. Please feel free to use the photos for journalistic purposes, considering the following restrictions: One-time picture publishing right, no archiving or reselling. Editorial use only. When publishing the pictures, the name of the photographer and organisation shall be mentioned as a source. No picture manipulation is permitted. The holder of the picture rights and/or the organisation shall at all times retain the copyright to the picture. The publisher is not entitled to transfer rights to a third party. When publishing the pictures, the publisher shall ensure the legality of the context where the pictures are used, obtain the permissions and consents required for their publication, and observe the generally established practices and decency. The publisher shall also obtain the permissions needed for any names, persons, works of art, trademarks, and proprietary rights shown in the pictures. The publisher shall ensure that publication of the pictures does not insult anyone’s privacy or dignity.
Minister for Foreign Affairs of Finland Timo Soini and Secretary General Thorbjørn Jagland welcoming the guests for the Session of the Committee of Ministers.
The Session of the Committee of Ministers, to be held at Finlandia Hall on 17 May 2019, will mark the end of Finland’s Presidency of the Committee of Ministers of the Council of Europe. At the meeting, Finland will hand over the Presidency to France. More than 30 ministers from the member States of the Council of Europe will attend the meeting. The meeting will be chaired by Foreign Minister Timo Soini.
Ministry for Foreign Affairs provides photo material for media representatives, participants and organisers of the meeting. Please feel free to use the photos, considering the following restrictions: Not for commercial purposes nor reselling. When publishing the pictures, the name of the photographer and organization shall be mentioned as the source. No picture manipulation is permitted. The holder of the picture rights and/or the organisation shall at all times retain the copyright to the picture. When publishing the pictures, the publisher shall ensure the legality of the context where the pictures are used, obtain the permissions and consents required for their publication, and observe the generally established practices and decency. The publisher shall ensure that publication of the pictures does not insult anyone’s privacy or dignity.
Photo: Kimmo Räisänen / Ministry for Foreign Affairs of Finland
The Postcard
This image is from a postcard produced by the Rotograph Company of New York City in 1907. They state on the reverse of the card that it is a real photograph on bromide paper.
There's no sign of an actual baby in the photograph; it's quite likely that they decided that it was quicker and easier (and cheaper!) to use a doll at the photoshoot.
The reverse shows that the postcard was processed by the U.S. Mail in Hoboken N.J. at 8.30 pm on Thursday the 22nd. September 1910.
It was sent to an address in Park Avenue Hoboken, and the recipient there was informed that Joe and Emma had had a baby girl who had arrived at 9 am. He was also told that Emma and the baby were doing fine.
Frank Sinatra
So what else happened on the 22nd. September 1910?
Well, nothing much of note in the United States - Hoboken would have to wait a further 5 years and 3 months for Mr. Francis Albert to enter the world, and 87 years and 8 months for him to leave it.
The First-Ever Flight in England
Elsewhere on that day it was the first time that an aircraft flew in England.
A Garment Workers' Strike
Also on that day, Hannah Shapiro, an 18-year-old seamstress at the Hart Schaffner & Marx factory in Chicago, led a walkout after the company announced a cut in the piecework rate.
At first, only 16 women went on strike, but by October, 40,000 garment workers joined in a work stoppage that would last for five months.
The Duke of York's Picturehouse
Also on the 22nd. September 1910, the Duke of York's Picturehouse opened in Brighton UK. It was one of the first purpose-built cinemas in the world.
It is still operating today, making it the oldest continually operating cinema in Great Britain.
It was built on the site of the Amber Ale Brewery, the walls of which still form the rear of the auditorium.
Thoughts From Frank Sinatra
“Alcohol may be man's worst enemy,
but the Bible says love your enemy.”
“The best revenge is massive success.”
“The big lesson in life, baby, is never
be scared of anyone or anything.”
“You may be a puzzle, but I like the
way the parts fit.”
"Basically, I'm for anything that gets
you through the night - be it prayer,
tranquilizers or a bottle of Jack Daniels.”
“A simple 'I love you' means more
than money.”
“The cigarettes you light one after
another won’t help you forget her.”
“For nobody else, gave me thrill -
with all your faults, I love you still.
It had to be you, wonderful you,
it had to be you.”
“I feel sorry for people that don't drink,
because when they wake up in the
morning, that is the best they are going
to feel all day.”
“The best is yet to come, and won't
that be fine.”
“Don’t hide your scars. They make
you who you are.”
“You only go around once, but if you
play your cards right, once is enough.”
(While accepting the Jean Hersholt
Humanitarian Award): "I've been thinking
about why you have to get famous to get
an award for helping other people.
If your name is John Doe, and you work
night and day doing things for your helpless
neighbors, what you get for your effort is
tired.
So, Mr. and Mrs. Doe, and all of you who
give of yourselves, to those who carry too
big a burden to make it on their own, I want
you to reach out and take your share of this.
Because if I have earned it, so too have you.”
“You only live once, and the way I live,
once is enough.”
"There are things about organized religion which
I resent. Christ is revered as the Prince of Peace,
but more blood has been shed in his name than
any other figure in history.
You show me one step forward in the name of
religion, and I'll show you a hundred retrogressions.
I'm for decency - period. I'm for anything and
everything that bodes love and consideration for
my fellow man.
But when lip service to some mysterious deity
permits bestiality on Wednesday and absolution
on Sunday - count me out.”
“That's life, and I can't deny it. Many times I
thought of cuttin' out, but my heart won't buy it.”
“I believe in you and me. I'm like Albert Schweitzer
and Bertrand Russell and Albert Einstein in that I
have a respect for life - in any form.
I believe in nature, in the birds, the sea, the sky,
in everything I can see or that there is real evidence
for.
If these things are what you mean by God, then I
believe in God. But I don't believe in a personal
God to whom I look for comfort or for a natural on
the next roll of the dice.”
“For what is a man, what has he got. If not himself,
then he has naught.”
“Ya gotta love livin', pally, cuz dyin's
a pain in the ass!”
“Fairy tales can come true,
It can happen to you
If you're young at heart.”
“If you possess something but you can't
give it away, then you don't possess it -
it possesses you.”
“I'm gonna live till I die.”
“I would like to be remembered as a
man who had a wonderful time living
life, a man who had good friends, fine
family - and I don't think I could ask for
anything more than that, actually.”
Minister for Foreign Affairs of Finland Timo Soini and Secretary General Thorbjørn Jagland welcoming the guests for the Session of the Committee of Ministers.
The Session of the Committee of Ministers, to be held at Finlandia Hall on 17 May 2019, will mark the end of Finland’s Presidency of the Committee of Ministers of the Council of Europe. At the meeting, Finland will hand over the Presidency to France. More than 30 ministers from the member States of the Council of Europe will attend the meeting. The meeting will be chaired by Foreign Minister Timo Soini.
Ministry for Foreign Affairs provides photo material for media representatives, participants and organisers of the meeting. Please feel free to use the photos, considering the following restrictions: Not for commercial purposes nor reselling. When publishing the pictures, the name of the photographer and organization shall be mentioned as the source. No picture manipulation is permitted. The holder of the picture rights and/or the organisation shall at all times retain the copyright to the picture. When publishing the pictures, the publisher shall ensure the legality of the context where the pictures are used, obtain the permissions and consents required for their publication, and observe the generally established practices and decency. The publisher shall ensure that publication of the pictures does not insult anyone’s privacy or dignity.
Photo: Kimmo Räisänen / Ministry for Foreign Affairs of Finland
Yes we are live. The only transsexual dating site with at most decency. Check it now Myladyboydate.com
he freaks my crap out a little bit. old circus wagon at the state fair of texas. back when clowns skirted decency.
20220614 HELSINKI. KULOSAAREN KASINO. NAFM2022. PHOTO: ATTE KAJOVA
Ministry for Foreign Affairs produces photo material for media representatives. Please feel free to use the photos for journalistic purposes, considering the following restrictions: One-time picture publishing right, no archiving or reselling. Editorial use only. When publishing the pictures, the name of the photographer and organisation shall be mentioned as a source. No picture manipulation is permitted. The holder of the picture rights and/or the organisation shall at all times retain the copyright to the picture. The publisher is not entitled to transfer rights to a third party. When publishing the pictures, the publisher shall ensure the legality of the context where the pictures are used, obtain the permissions and consents required for their publication, and observe the generally established practices and decency. The publisher shall also obtain the permissions needed for any names, persons, works of art, trademarks, and proprietary rights shown in the pictures. The publisher shall ensure that publication of the pictures does not insult anyone’s privacy or dignity.
'Decency in speech and conduct is the key to being a successful spiritual candidate.' - His Holiness Younus AlGohar
#bestoftheday #colorful #style #picoftheday #photooftheday #nature #beautiful #skylovers #mextures #sky #clouds #cloudporn #skyporn #reflection #amazing #beauty #horizon #morning #instasky #epicsky #crazyclouds #masterpiece #creative #quoteoftheday #graphicdesign #typography #graphic #vibrant #multicolor
Rewind to a miserable summer’s day in San Fransisco, 1985.
The bright blue sky is nowhere to be seen, overtook by a ruthless fog and deafening downpour, sporadically punctuated by the even louder sound of thunder.
On an upper floor of a cheap apartment complex, a six-year-old boy hides beneath a coffee table. He closes his eyes and plugs his ears, but just faintly, he hears the sound of his mother’s feet creaking the floorboards. They reach the table, toes pointed towards him, each wrapped in yellow knit yarn.
“Oh, Mal,” she sighs, a loving warmth in her cadence. She bends her knees, meets him eye-to-eye. “The weather’s got you worked up?”
He nods.
“Come ‘ere.” She reaches out to him, with both her arms. “Lemme show you something.”
“No,” he hastily replies. “I’m not going out there. It’s dangerous.”
“I promise it’s not.”
He crosses his arms, but soon after, she extends a pinkie finger - this is enough to persuade the boy. They lock pinkies, forming a swear of unbreakability. He crawls out, and she picks him up, despite a lasting look of weariness in his eyes. She walks over to the tallest window in the apartment, with a clear view of the city below.
“When I was a little girl,” she recounts, “the thunder scared me, too. I would hope, and hope, and hope for the sun to come back. But one day, I learned a new way of thinking.”
“What?”
“To love what we cannot change.”
“But what’s there to love? It’s all grey, boring, sad, loud…”
“Everything has something to love about it. The rain, it goes to the grass, and with the help of a chemical reaction from the lightning, the land is fertilized. That means the veggies can grow, and the flowers can bloom. It’s a beautiful thing, the world giving us a hand. Helping us out. And even the way it looks and sounds, I’ve learned to love those things, too. The rain is like a soothing drumbeat, the thunder and lightning are like exciting fireworks… It’s all so wonderful. If I could only teach you one thing, Malcolm, it would be this: there is always an upside, no matter the situation.”
These words touch Malcolm’s heart. All fear begins drifting from his eyes, now enlightened by a sense of wonder.
They smile to each other. She runs her fingers through his hair for a while, and he tells her, “I think I get it now.”
Time passes. Malcolm finds himself lying beneath the window, his stomach on the floorboards and his head rested on both his palms. His eyes don’t deviate from the window. With every moment, he finds a new thing to appreciate; like the traffic, jammed in the streets. ‘It’s not so bad’, he thinks to himself. From his perspective, it’s all these colourful cars in a slow parade. To some drivers, it’s not so bad, either; a family has a chat as they listen to the rain tapping on their car; a man sits alone, relaxed after a long day of work, listening to the radio and patiently waiting for the cars ahead to begin moving again, so he can complete his venture home; one young driver uses the slow of time as an excuse to confess her love to the woman in her passenger seat. These stories are real, but Malcolm makes up similar ones. After a while, he grabs his sketchbook from the shelf, and draws what he thinks the people in those stories might look like.
Behind Malcolm, his mother is laying out paperwork on the coffee table - bills, taxes, fines, so on. She rubs each of her temples, wishing hard that she could afford a bottle of ibuprofen.
But he pays no mind to her.
More time passes. Malcolm sees his favourite restaurant, through all the fog - The Quiet Ambassador. He draws the building, in as much detail as he can; the lower of brick, the upper of ridged wood, the doorway of glass, a window in the shape of a sunflower, a sign with a smiling egg yolk, and a graffiti portrait on the side wall; depicting a brave sailor, standing prideful on his bow with a rapier held tight in his fist, defending his frightened daughter from a gargantuan beast of tentacles that attempts to yank the man’s barque below the tide. That scene is something Malcolm appreciates every time he sees it, and he always finds something new to appreciate about it - like he’s doing now, on a broader scale. But with this newfound outlook, he questions now, in that bout of kraken versus seaman, who’s really the antagonist?
Behind Malcolm, there’s a knock at the door. The mother stands, walks, unlatches, opens, only to see the face of Malcolm’s father. Not a second goes by, before he begins sweating profusely, tripping on his own words, trying so hard to plead a case. Plead his innocence. Plead a right to be welcomed back into their family. Alas, he’s told again to stop following the mother and child. And the door is slammed in his face.
She’s right to set boundaries, despite his sorrows - nothing has ever seemed to work between the two. Yet part of her, always part of her, fails to let go of the fun they once had together.
All it takes for a headache to start are two thoughts contradicting one another;
I hate him, but I love him;
The mother already had a headache.
But now, she has two.
She falls to the floor, her head between her knees as she attempts to roll a blunt with a hand that shakes, uncontrollably.
Before her, Malcolm appears - he’s learned from the stories of other, and now reunites with the story of his own. He tilts his head.
He pays mind to her.
Maybe he doesn’t have her experience. Maybe he doesn’t have my vocabulary.
But he does have faith. Faith in that, he knows the right thing to do.
“Look on the upside,” he tells her. “There’s a storm going on. And storms are beautiful.”
Swing the clock hands forward - to a moment before we left off.
Malcolm and Cindy walk down a busy street, that’s getting busier by the minute; businessmen stumbling to work, older folks in pyjamas walking their dogs, graffiti artists trying to blend into the crowd as they make their way to the alleys, and many more. Some enter Dunkin’ Doughnuts, and all the various shops about, but only the most plain, unremarkable of the crowd enter the tall, grey, cylindrical skyscraper labeled Delevigne.
The Otherkind couple’s not dressed in their usual, no-frills street attire; Malcolm’s opted for a stylish black top, marmalade dress pants and a golden neck chain, while Cindy, her hair untied and unbraided, is clad in a floral dress with a violet cardigan overtop.
“…So even after you started a gang war-“
“Accidentally,” adds Malcolm.
“Sure,” Cindy giggles, “even after you accidentally started a gang war… Rip was fine with us going on a date?”
“He’s frazzled; I’m sure he would’ve said yes to anything.”
“Wow - The Rip, frazzled? Everything’s upside-down and backwards, that optimism of yours is more powerful than I thought!”
“It’s not my fault.”
“You’ve made it very clear you feel that way! I could start calling you Mr. Accidentally.”
“Upside’s fine,” Malcolm laughs, looking into her eyes but still walking toward their destination. “But for real, I think the Amy Winehouse guy was gonna start shit no matter what either of us said or did. Just the vibe he gives off; a shit-starter.”
“Oh, right, what did he look like?”
“Who?”
“The Amy Winehouse guy!”
“Oh, freaky. Real freaky, Boogieman kinda guy; eyes like The Emperor, pale blue skin, greasiest hair I’ve ever seen…”
“Judgemental much?”
“I’m not being judgmental, I’m just being accurately descriptive! Seriously, wait till you see the guy. Oh, wait, actually…” Malcolm ceases his saunter, to dig for an item from his pocket; a sort of pyramidal shape, with a thin box on both the top and the bottom, all made from a carved cyan gemstone. He presses it against his forehead, chants a brief spell. From it, with a flash of light, shoots a thin photograph. Cindy grabs it before it hits the ground, and looks at it.
This, is a memory photo - particularly, a clear image of Eldon Peck.
“Yeesh,” Cindy reacts, “you were not kidding.”
“Mhm,” Malcolm replies, beginning to walk again. Cindy follows.
“God, I hate that I can tell what he smells like; cacophony of blood, vomit, cigarettes…”
“Mhm.”
She analyzes the image for another moment or two. “…Hey, Malcolm?”
“Yeah?”
“When we go up against this guy, I think I wanna come with- and I don’t just mean sit in an alley.”
“Oh, yeah? You sure?”
“Yeah, like, I appreciate you looking out for me, but I wanna help where I can, y’know? And this guy, I’d particularly like to put a bullet in this guy’s head.”
When others on the sidewalk begin raising eyebrows and dropping jaws at that statement, Malcolm uses another pocket tool to erase it from their memories. “I was hoping we could handle this situation non-violently.”
“You told me Rip called him a ‘soul-trafficker’; I think anyone who’s an anything-trafficker should be shot - and, you know Rip doesn’t just throw around terms like that, so I feel pretty damn certain it’s accurate. Plus, you said Rip and this guy have history, yeah? Negative history?”
“‘The Otherkind’s arch-nemesis’, he called him.”
“I think we’re gonna have to kill this guy, Malcolm.”
“Damn,” Malcolm says under his breath, clicking the magic mind-wiper again. “But if you think it’s the right move, I’ll live with it.”
“Doesn’t matter what I think, either way; you know Rip.”
“Do I, though? Rip surprised me on that roof, I was able to persuade him-”
“-into a gang war. Maybe best we let the magic pedophile die, Mal, avoid the monkey’s paw shenanigans - I hardly see a downside to that.”
“…I see your point.”
The two reach their destination - The Quiet Ambassador - only for a young woman with black hair just leaving the establishment to brashly bump into Malcolm’s shoulder. He looks down at his hand, nearly stumbles, feeling as if he’s dropped the magic mind-wiper, but… He hasn’t. “That’s… Weird.”
“Oi, watch where you’re going!” Cindy shouts at the woman, before turning back to Malcolm. “That was that girl,” she whispers. “The magician girl you fought last year, remember? One Richie Rich got us to go after?”
“Right,” says Malcolm, watching as she continues to storm off. “Weird coincidence. But… I’m getting this weird sense of deja vu. Or, actually, opposite of deja vu? Not sure what you’d call it.”
“What do you mean? Cause of the girl?”
“No, not cause of the girl - cause of this,” he holds up the magic mind-wiper - fully intact. “I saw it break. I can see it so clear in my mind, it shattered on the sidewalk. But it… It didn’t.”
“Huh. Bit odd.”
“Yeah… Well. No point stressing about it,” Malcolm shrugs. “Least it didn’t break.”
The two walk through the doorway. To their right, they see a man with spiky blonde hair, scavenging through his wallet. To their left, they see a man wearing an olive baseball cap, holding an oblong duffel bag of some kind, tightly - what could be in there?
Before the duo, walks a hostess. “Hello there! Table for two, I presume?”
“Yep, I called about a reservation.”
“Ah, yes; Malcolm, was it?”
“Yep!”
“Alrighty, sit wherever you’d like.”
They do as invited, and choose a table near the back of the establishment, with a decent bay view out the window. Distantly, Malcolm sees a sort of factory building, with three smoke towers.
“This is my first time here,” says Cindy, looking over her menu.
“Oh, really? The Ambassador was my favourite growing up.”
Cindy looks up to a wood-carven sculpture in the upper-right corner of the room - in the shape of the sun, with a smiling face painted on. “That makes sense,” she snickers.
“I know off the top of my head what’s best on the menu, so if you need any help, just ask.”
“Oh, really? Did you already know what you were getting before we walked in?”
“Waffles, alamode - with cherries - and a glass of orange juice.”
Cindy laughs heartily. “Orange juice?”
“What?”
“Mimosas are on the menu!”
“So?”
“’So’? You’re 27 years old!”
“I don’t want champagne this early in the morning - I just want that sweet, sweet taste of orange juice. Good source of vitamin A, to boot.”
“Alright, alright, you do you, I’m just getting a coffee.” She looks at the menu again. “And some beans on toast, I think.”
“Beans on toast?”
“What? Nostalgia, Malcolm, childhood nostalgia!”
“Bread, beans, soup, that canned stuff is all we get most days at work! Why not treat yourself to something different? How often do we get this opportunity?”
Cindy rests her head on a limp fist, her index finger nudging her lower lip as she looks thoughtfully into Malcolm’s umber eyes. “You know what? Fuck it,” she announces at a polite volume, picking the menu back up again. “Think I’ll just have what you’re having- but, I’ll swap that OJ for a mimosa, since I, for one, could definitely use some champagne.”
A server appears at the table, visibly stressed by something that occurred at another, but she’s trying - emphasis on trying - to hide it. She pulls out her notepad. “Drinks to start?”
“Actually,” Malcolm begins, “I think we’ve figured out everything we’ll be ordering, if you don’t mind.”
“Oh, go right ahead!”
Malcolm nods toward Cindy.
“I’ll have waffles alamode- with… Cherries?” She tilts her head at Malcolm, and is met with a thumbs-up. “And a mimosa to drink,” she concludes, looking back up to the server.
“And I,” Malcolm begins, “will get a black coffee, and some beans on toast. Thank you so much.”
“Alrighty, I’ll be right back,” the server assures.
Cindy bats her eyes at Malcolm. “Huh?”
“You made a switcheroo, why can’t I? I’m done being the predictable one.”
Cindy’s brows lower. “Oh my god, I haven’t been overstepping with the Upside thing, have I? I didn’t mean to make you feel like you were a cardboard cutout.”
“It’s not cause of anything you make me feel - you make me feel wonderful - I’m just, worried that maybe I am a cardboard cutout. And the last quality you’d want when going into a…” He looks behind himself, over his shoulders.“‘GW’, is predictability.”
“Uh-huh… You remember the magic mind-wiper didn’t break, right?” Cindy asks, acknowledging his hesitance to use the phrase ‘gang war’.
“Oh. Right. God, what’s going on with my head today?”
Cindy makes eye contact with the man in the olive cap, but immediately upon doing so he begins reading a newspaper - an act that’s blatant, to Cindy, as being in reaction. ‘Something’s up with that guy,’ she thinks to herself, but it doesn’t come up at the table.
“Uh… So,” says Malcolm, trying to change the subject, “you said beans on toast is nostalgic for you?”
“Think that was a given; British an’ all.”
“Sure, but it peaked my interest; you know practically all there is to know about my childhood, yet I rarely, if ever, hear about yours.”
“There’s not a lot to talk about.”
“Not true.”
“Why’s it not true?”
“You might not want to talk about it- and I won’t force you to, by the way,” he puts two palms up when he interjects himself, in a passive yet defensive gesture. “But there’s always something to talk about, when it comes to childhood. Especially if it’s one that lead to an adulthood like ours; bad lives make good stories.”
“Well.” She looks up at the ceiling, trying to decide what parts to keep in and out of the story. “I was adopted, by two chavs in Birmingham. Not quite sure what mind-fuckery took place in order for my bio mum to hand me over to them, of all people. Honestly, not sure why the two even wanted me in the first place, seeing as they were couch surfing drug dealers; one would think the stress of looking after a child would be the last thing they’d want to tack onto their already miserable lives.”
“Aren’t you being a little harsh?”
“Accurately descriptive,” she corrects, with a brief, and teetering on artificial, smirk. She lets out a sigh. “Fran and Shane, they were called - the adopters. They would squabble every day, but it wasn’t often to do with me. Rarely did they pay attention to me at all, actually. But I made friends; there was Baby, Linus, Zach, Walter… Gang of delinquents, we were. Vandals, at first. When we were old enough, we followed in Fran and Shane’s footsteps, one could say. Sold product. One day, Walter said we should use the money to go to California. Said it’s beautiful there. That we’d be better off.”
“It is beautiful here.”
“It was. Once.” She trips on a breath, but the server and hostess return before any tears start forming.
“Here you go! One mimosa, one black coffee, waffles alamode with cherries, and beans on toast - enjoy!”
“Thank you so much,” says Malcolm.
“I’m sorry,” Cindy tells Malcolm, a moment after the server and hostess walk away.
“Don’t be.” He puts out a hand, over the table. He may be muscular, but that hand, it’s that of a gentle giant; so harmless, so comforting. Cindy takes it. “I hope one day you’ll see the world as I do. Despite everything that’s bleak, despite all that we’ve gone through and will go through, there’s something so beautiful about the world we live in, and everything in it… Even beans on toast,” he laughs, moving his eyes to his plate.
She smiles earnestly, as her eyes trail from his plate to hers. She picks up her fork, uses it to rake a small portion of the vanilla ice cream onto the edge of the crispy, golden waffle. She jabs the fork deeper, separating piece from whole. She dips it into the viscous cherry grouping, crafting the perfect bite, and washing it down with the first sip of mimosa. “Holy…”
“Good, right?”
“The best. Thank you for taking me here.” As she swerves her fork back downward, a thought strikes her eyes up to meet his. “You wanna switch, though, yeah?”
“Nah, I’m good,” he assures, cutting a small square of toast topped with beans with his knife and fork, and slipping it between his teeth. He takes a gulp of coffee, but jolts it away, squinting his eyes. “I’ve aught to get used to that, though, damn... Bitter. You take it just like this?”
“Mhm. But, there is cream and sugar on the table, you know.”
“No, thanks; I wanna put myself in your shoes. See the world how you see it.”
“Thought you wanted me to see the world how you see it.”
“But I don’t wanna just, eradicate your perspective. I wanna meld, y’know? I like you a lot, Cin, I’m always eager to learn more about you.” He takes another sip from the coffee, already beginning to get a little more comfortable with the taste. “So, Fran and Shane.”
“What about ‘em?”
He shrugs. “Where’d they end up? Oh, they’re still… With us, right?”
She sighs again. “No idea, to be honest. Can’t say we really stayed in touch. If they didn’t both overdose, then they’re probably living more of the same.”
“But imagine, even for a second, that they aren’t. Imagine they, I dunno, won the lottery - or, like, moved somewhere new - turned a new leaf, beat their addictions, got stable jobs…”
“I sincerely doubt it.”
“Sure, but there’s no way of knowing. Unless you ever happen to run into them again, there’s nothing stopping us from believing any stories we wanna believe. It’s like Schrödinger’s box, yeah? Just, less animal murder.”
She holds back soft laughter, as she drinks more of her mimosa. “Happy until proven unhappy.”
“Yeah! Exactly.”
“I like that. That’s very sweet.” She taps on her cheek with two fingers sunnily, as her eyes wander across the floor. “Oh, Nikki,” she sighs with a passion, her eyes meeting her boyfriend’s yet again.
“What about my mom?” His brows go nervous, but his smile persists.
“We wouldn’t be here without her, now would we?”
“You say that like we’re brother and sister.”
“Pffft.”
“I get what you mean,” he chuckles. “I’m just being facetious.”
“Brilliant woman,” she goes on, “or, so I’m told. I hope I can meet her one day.”
“I hope so, too.”
“How is she, by the way?”
“It’s.” This might be the first time he’s frowned all day, and Cindy notices that. “Complicated.”
“Uh oh.”
“She’s okay. Don’t worry about her. Just… Can we change the subject?”
“Oh, for sure…” She nods, reaching the end of her meal. She’s never seen him that tense before. ‘Come to think of it, he’s never really mentioned where Nikki ended up. All this talk of childhood, but what ever happened between him and his mum when he grew up?’ “Oh,” she says, after a while of eating and thinking, “I stumbled on something a tad odd, on the laptop* the other day.”
*The Rip purchased a laptop for Cindy a few months ago, in order for her to check various online black markets for re-sellable magic goods. He told her that she was the only one of the three to be trusted with such a responsibility - ironically, she gets distracted on that computer rather often.
“Oh, yeah?” Malcolm asks.
“Some true crime podcast did an episode on us.”
He tilts his head.
“Don’t worry, don’t worry, it’s only got like, 30 followers, tops. All the comments are calling bullshit, too.”
“Did you listen to it? How much did they get right?”
“About 50/50. They know we’re called Otherkind, they know our boss is a walking portal, they know a bit about our operation - but they made up a bunch of other shit, like, that we’re all vampires, and that Rip’s a forest demon who lures people with drawings he puts on the trees-”
“I thought you said 50/50 - beneath all the fan-fiction, they’ve got, like, 75%!”
“Math isn’t my strong suit,” she admits, flatly.
“Just, don’t tell Rip any of this - I worry he’d look for a snitch to blame, and then…” He raises an index finger, interrupting himself. “But, hey, thirty people - not a lot, but there’s bound to be at least one criminal in there, yeah?”
“Dunno about ‘bound’, but, it’s not impossible.”
“You just said math wasn’t your strong suit, what are you doing criticizing my statistic predictions?”
“Consistency isn’t my strong suit; I’m not put together like you are, I don’t have that core philosophy you do.”
“Sure you do, you just haven’t put a label on it,” he explains, taking the last bite of his beans on toast. “I had no idea I was Upside till I met you. Backtrack, all’s I was gonna say was, maybe a pod listener’ll become a new buyer - and more money, means more money to spare, means more dates.”
“Aww.”
“By the way… Why’s it called true crime?”
“What do you mean? Seems like a perfectly fitting title to me; it’s true, and it’s crime!”
“But like, nothing else has that naming convention; ‘reality TV’ isn’t called ‘true TV’. You’d think if there’s a ‘true crime’, there would also be a ‘true sci-fi’, ‘true fantasy’-“
“What the hell would ‘true fantasy’ even be, though? I mean, it’s not like there’s real wizards, or warlocks, or-”
A smile from Malcolm brings Cindy to a pause.
“…Touché,” she says.
The server returns, takes the dishes. The food is paid for at the front counter. The couple leaves the establishment.
As Malcolm and Cindy make their way back down the street, and he rests his arm around her shoulders, she places the amble at a halt with the question:
“Can I show you something I’ve been working on?”
“Absolutely.”
They make a turn for the alleyway, eyes now on a graffito;
a picture that covers the whole wall, intricate yet crude, Baquiatesque.
It depicts screaming parents, drawn with rash, angry lines;
Scared children, running to what looks like drugs, alcohol, other dangerous habits;
Hearts of love, between figures drawn in black and white; those with beaming optimism contrasted with those that have broken spirits, in a sort of yin yang;
Magic wands, wicked witches, goblins and ghouls -
all of this, every single piece, fits together like a jigsaw - in order to create one and only word:
‘Offspring’.
“What do you think?” asks Cindy. “It’s something I’ve been working on, every chance I get. Real passion project, expression of all that I’ve been feeling lately in one piece of art, y’know? I’m real happy with it.”
“I… Wow. Just. Wow. I’m at a loss for words, Cindy.”
“You like it, huh?”
“Like it? I love it.” He notices something, something that catches him off guard a little: this was painted over the kraken mural from his youth. That might have upset the Malcolm of old, and the Malcolm of now of course still adored that mural, yet, it’s not at all hard for him to find the upside here - it’s staring him in the face. “I’m big into abstract expressionism, this might be one of my new favourite works. But hang on, ‘Offspring’ - is that a tag?”
“Something like that.”
“What’s it mean?”
“Well, it’s sort of a, what came first, chicken or the egg, thing - the answer I’d give, is neither; we’re all offsprings. As far back as you go, in all of history, there’s never one thing that came from nothing. No matter how hard you fight for identity, we’re all shackled to legacy, and lineage...”
“Hm,” he nods. “Poignant - and I thought you said you had no core philosophy.”
“Oh,” she says, surprised. “I hadn’t really thought about it in the context of, me.”
“What do you mean? You said this depicts what’s been on your mind, and I absolutely see you in this. I think we’ve found who you are, Cin; I’m Upside, and you’re Offspring.”
“Hm,” she tilts her head, viewing her own work from a new perspective. “I like that.”
“I’ve got a question, though - about the piece.”
“Yeah?”
He points to what makes up the ‘O’ in ‘Offspring’. “You said Fran and Shane’s ‘squabbling’ - love that word, by the way - never had anything to do with you, and yet, that looks like parents yelling at a kid. What’s that image mean to you? And the kid, she’s running toward… That might be a cigarette, but it might be a magic wand-”
“Malcolm, there’s something I need to tell you.”
“Oh?”
“When I told you about my childhood, I… Well, okay, most of it was true. But there was some stuff that…”
“You lied to me?”
“…”
“It’s okay if you did, I’m… I’m sure you had your reasons.”
“I was… Scared.”
“Not of me, right?”
“No, no, of course not- but there’s just this… Thing, about me, that I’ve never told anyone about in a long time. I tend to keep it a secret, but I like you a lot, Mal, so I think you deserve to know.”
“Alright. What is it?”
She pauses another long while, her eyes facing down at the pavement, her mouth sealed and stretched. “Fran and- Mum and Dad , they did their best. They really did; they gave me food, shelter, love, attention, all that, despite what they didn’t have. They resented their own parents, and it was a lifelong dream of theirs to be better than them. They absolutely achieved their goal, but I… Admittedly, I took them for granted.” She’s starting to tear up a little. “And I could’ve grown from that. It all could’ve been fine. They never blamed me for that, anyway; kids, they’re supposed to be rebellious, they understood that. But they… There’s something else, that came up. Something about me, that even they couldn’t support. When they found out about it, it was only then I’d heard them scream for the first time - and to this day, I’ve never heard anyone else scream quite like they did that night. They told me to get out. They told me they never, ever wanted to see me again. They told me I should burn.”
“Jesus, Cindy, that’s horrible! No one should ever, ever talk to a kid like that, especially not their own kid…” Sweat drips down his brow - lots of it. “…But, what was it, that made them say those things? Did you kill someone..?”
“God no!” She punches him in the chest - not exactly lightly , but light enough that he takes it without flinching. She looks up at him. “How could you ask that?”
His eyes don’t waver from hers. His visage starts perplexed, but reshapes into a grin. “You said you wanted to kill the Amy Winehouse guy, like, less than an hour ago.”
She looks back down, unable to contain her laughter, yet concealing it - mildly - via pressing her face into his chest. “Touché,” she says, for the second time this morning, more sigh-like than the last time.
“But for real,” asks Malcolm, “what was it?”
“I… Okay,” she lets out a quick exhale, and backs away from him slightly, shaking her arms about and stretching her calves. “I think it’s best I show you. Get ready, I assure you, this is… Weird. Just, take my hand.”
He takes her hand.
She says something under her breath, does some sort of hand motion.
In a poof of violet smoke, the couple finds themselves in
“A playground?” asks Malcolm. “How did you-… Where are we?”
“London! Little playground in London. I remember Mum and Dad taking me here when I was little - first park I ever went to, actually! They had to save up for a bus, but they said it was worth it, and that the parks in Birmingham were too drab for ‘a little princess’-“
“But, how did you do that - teleport, I mean. Like, did Rip give you a throw-pearl, or something?”
“I’m... Well, I’m not exactly human- or, well, I’m not a ‘homo sapien’. I’m more like Rip, you see-”
“Do the tentacle thing.”
“What?”
“Sorry, sorry,” he puts a hand to his forehead, “I’m just, a little confused, is all.”
“Well, lemme explain: biologists and historians tend to look at human evolution as a straight line, yeah?”
“Fish; fish with legs; and then at one point they realize they look a lot like fellows and blokes and such.”
“Yes, that - what not a lot of people mention, though, is that evolution began forking off in the later stages; homo sapiens make up most of the population today, but there’s a plethora of other forms our species took - like my form; I’m what’s called a ‘homo magi’; like a homo sapien, but with, y’know, magic powers.”
“And are those, like, limitless?”
“Kinda,” says Cindy, as they both start walking toward the empty structures in the playground. She steps onto the small metal carousel, kicks the ground a time or two in order for it to spin at a medium pace. “I had to learn the spells I know - it’s like, learning your first spell is learning how to walk, and then all the ones after are other, more complicated skills - like dance, or playing an instrument… Learning every spell ever is like, learning how to do every single thing the ‘normal’ body can do; learn how to do every job, skill, so on, but on an even larger scale… I think Rip might know all of them, though. Somehow.”
“Does he know you’re a homo magi?”
“No, and I’m not sure he would’ve hired me if he did; he might see another magic-user as more of a threat, compared to a ‘normal human’. I kinda think that’s why he surrounds himself with ‘normal humans’; less intimating. Deep down, I think he has a lot of fear and anxiety. I dunno. It’s just a theory I have.”
“Huh,” says Malcolm. “I never really thought about that. By the way, do we know for sure that he’s a homo magi? I mean, he doesn’t look especially human.”
“I’m… Not sure, actually. I was kinda just assuming, I’m not sure what else he could be.”
“What, are homo magis the only kinda people that can do magic?”
“For the most part; there’s some exceptions; I’ve read cases involving rituals with demon blood, which can grant powers. And, of course, there’s stuff like the tools we use, but I never took Rip to be a parlour trickster. If he’s not homo magi, then he’s, like, an entity, of some kind…” She stops spinning. “I’m sure the big question you’re wondering is, ‘why didn’t I use my powers to save Walter’.”
“That didn’t cross my mind. Even if it did, I wouldn’t have gone there.”
“Well, it’d be a fair question,” she tells him, getting up from the carousel and walking toward the swing-set - they sit beside one another. “And the answer’s,” she continues, looking forward, “I didn’t have enough experience. I didn’t know what spell could’ve saved him, and either way, I couldn’t think straight - my coordination was way off, I couldn’t get any magic words to come out… But, I’m not letting that happen again - I’m going to make sure of that.”
“I mean, that sounds good, but, just, don’t beat yourself up over what happened. Even if you were the most skilled, powerful wi-… zard there ever was, what happened wouldn’t have been your fault.”
She tilts back to him. “You’re very good with words.”
“Thank you.”
Her lip shakes. “Does it seriously not bother you?”
“What?”
“That I’m a… ‘Wizard’.”
“Cin, how could that possibly bother me?” He holds her hand. “You are the greatest person I’ve ever met, and it’d take something inconceivable for a single hole to be poked in the love I have for you. As far as I’m concerned, magic powers are just another upside; my girlfriend’s a wizard, how cool is that?”
She can’t begin to contain her tears, and yet, she smiles - wide. Widest she’s smiled in a long time. She nudges her swing toward his, and wraps her arms around him. “Thank you,” she tells him.
But.
Through her eyes in her head that lay atop his shoulder, she notices something behind the two of them - a man, on a bench.
Reading a newspaper.
She recognizes the colour of his trousers, the cap that pokes from behind the article…
It’s him .
And, he says something - one word.
And, despite how quiet he says it. Despite how distant the bench is. Despite the paper covering his mouth. The word is more than audible to Cindy’s ears. To her, it echoes.
“Witch.”
It’s enough for her to stumble out of her swing, and into the mass of pebbles that act as the floor to the playground.
“Are you okay?” Asks Malcolm, standing up from his swing.
“No.”
“Bleeding? Do you need ice?”
“No, that’s not what I…” She points toward the man on the bench. “Him,” she whispers. “He’s been following us, I’m sure of it.”
“Oh,” says Malcolm, turning his head. “We haven’t been here long, what do you mean he’s-“
“He was at the restaurant, Malcolm. He was in San Fransisco.”
“Oh.”
“What do we do?”
“Can’t you get us back to HQ?”
“What if us teleporting’s how he followed us - like, what if he’s got one of those tailer-hooks that Rip’s been warning us about?”
“Oh, shit… Uh.”
“How’s about we run in different directions, as fast as we can? Surely he can’t chase us both.”
“Alright, sounds like a plan.”
They do as agreed, but not for long; in a flash of green light, both of them return to the Otherkind headquarters.
“No!” Cindy exclaims. “No, no, no-“
“I sincerely apologize, Cindy,” says The Rip, standing before them, “but it was vital for me to put an end to your outing ahead of schedule; time is of the essence, due to the.” He looks to Malcolm. “Circumstances.”
“No, you don’t understand,” Cindy explains. “Somebody was following us! We think they had a tailer-hook!”
“…What did they look like?”
Cindy looks to Malcolm, her hand out toward him - he hands her the memory camera. She uses it on herself, and hands Rip the photo.
“…Kelly,” he growls, releasing his tendrils, and pivoting to look in all directions.
Alec reveals himself from the shadows, too - a vengeful anger in his eyes unlike any Malcolm and Cindy had ever seen in him. He uses one hand to take a pistol from his holster, and uses the other hand to open a locket that’s draped over his chest. He looks upon the picture in that locket, for quite some time. “He’s got a lot of nerve, if he’s gonna show himself here - after what he did.”
Malcolm and Cindy both wonder who’s face is in that locket, and what it was that Kelly ‘did’, but neither feel it’s the time to ask either of those questions.
“DON’T KILL ME!” a voice cries out. Out stumbles Kelly, into the middle of the room - his tailer-hook in one hand, his sword in the other, and a now-empty duffle bag dangling by its strap over his forearm. Tears are avalanching down his face.
“Is that a fairy?” Cindy whispers to Malcolm, gesturing toward Hannah - who, is tugging away desperately from Kelly’s blade, but to no success at escaping her restraints. Malcolm nods.
“Even if you managed to come up with one million reasons why I shouldn’t kill you,” The Rip tells Kelly, “it wouldn’t even be a fraction of enough to stop me.”
“I don’t need a million,” says Kelly, “I’ve got just the roight one to sway ya’! I’ve been ‘ere for bloody days, alroight?! Redone this entrance more toimes than I can count; spun ma’ sword so many toimes, I think I’ve got cahpal tunnel - and that’s just the tip of the iceberg! I’ve ‘ad my ahms and legs tahn off, ma’ stahmach burnt to bits! I been shot, stabbed, every single thing that even the sickest of sickos could possibly imagine! I may be back in one piece, but I am in AGONY - the feeling doesn’t go away, y’know! It’s loike, phanum pain, or some shite - I hate it, I hate it!!!”
“Don’t you dare pretend you’re the victim here,” says Hannah.
“Aren’t I? You just sat - flew - there, and watched!”
“You didn’t have to do any of it, though,” says Alec. “Everything you do, you choose to do it - that makes you far from a victim, dare I say the opposite of one.”
“But, I do have do it - for Mista’ Night! I’d do anything for ‘im! He’s the man who broke me outta prison, I ought to return the fava’! I’ll be ‘ere longer, if he wants me to be! Weeks? Months? Fockin’ years? I’d do it in a hahtbeat!”
One of The Rip’s tentacles shoots forth, faster than Kelly can even begin to turn his aching wrist - it wraps around his whole arm, making every inch of it immovable.
“Good luck,” says The Rip, “turning back time, now. If I’m being honest, thinking of the consequences of your theoretical infinite time loop was already giving me two or more headaches; what would happen, to the rest of the world, in that scenario? Would we all keep going back to that moment in time? Would all of this planet’s progress come to a halt, and forever be stuck in that moment? Would you be turning every single person alive right now into an immortal? I don’t think I’ve ever come to such a wall, such a lack of understanding, in all my years of being alive - what I do know, though, is that I’m not at all interested in that future, and I’d end a man’s life if it’s what I had to do to avoid it. Seems you’ve merely given me more reason to kill you, Asher Kelly - how funny is that?”
More of The Rip’s tentacles go flying at Kelly, Alec fires his gun several times.
And yet…
All the attacks are blocked off - by what seems to be an invisible force field.
“What?” asks Kelly, Hannah, Alec, Malcolm and The Rip, all in unison.
They look to Cindy - the only one who didn’t ask.
“I’m not sure,” she tells them, forcedly.
The Rip notices a few grains of white powder on the ground. “A salt circle,” he presumes, looking back up to Cindy.
‘Thank god’, she thinks to herself, silently. ‘He hasn’t caught on.’
“Cindy… Why?”
“I…” She looks to Malcolm, remembers what he told her about his encounter with Peck. “…What is it, that separates our gang from theirs? What quality?”
No one answers.
“…Decency. We don’t just, kill willy nilly - that’s what they do! They exploit, they expend, they traffic, they kill, but we, we’re better than that - we’re not ferocious predators, we’re, like, a business,” she looks to The Rip, “a family, even - I guess - anyway, we have morals, logic, decency- ”
“Are you suggesting we don’t kill him?” The Rip asks.
“Cindy, you have no idea what this man did,” says Alec.
“I didn’t say that,” Cindy tells The Rip, “all I’m saying is, if we’re to sentence him to the death penalty, the least we could do is…” She looks to Kelly. “Ask him what he wants for his last meal.”
VISIT TO NOKIA AND SITRA. PHOTO: ATTE KAJOVA
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20220614 HELSINKI. KULOSAAREN KASINO. NAFM2022. PHOTO: ATTE KAJOVA
Ministry for Foreign Affairs produces photo material for media representatives. Please feel free to use the photos for journalistic purposes, considering the following restrictions: One-time picture publishing right, no archiving or reselling. Editorial use only. When publishing the pictures, the name of the photographer and organisation shall be mentioned as a source. No picture manipulation is permitted. The holder of the picture rights and/or the organisation shall at all times retain the copyright to the picture. The publisher is not entitled to transfer rights to a third party. When publishing the pictures, the publisher shall ensure the legality of the context where the pictures are used, obtain the permissions and consents required for their publication, and observe the generally established practices and decency. The publisher shall also obtain the permissions needed for any names, persons, works of art, trademarks, and proprietary rights shown in the pictures. The publisher shall ensure that publication of the pictures does not insult anyone’s privacy or dignity.
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Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transvestite, Freedom, Self Expression, All, Inclusive, Parade, Charlotte, Downtown, Girl, Beautiful, Listening, Pigtails, Young, Different, Rainbow, Colors, Shorts, Phone, Connected, Walk, Legs, Cover, Decency, Legal, Normal, Diversity
Queens Of The Stone Age, Innsbruck, Austria
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.
20220614 HELSINKI. KULOSAAREN KASINO. NAFM2022. PHOTO: ATTE KAJOVA
Ministry for Foreign Affairs produces photo material for media representatives. Please feel free to use the photos for journalistic purposes, considering the following restrictions: One-time picture publishing right, no archiving or reselling. Editorial use only. When publishing the pictures, the name of the photographer and organisation shall be mentioned as a source. No picture manipulation is permitted. The holder of the picture rights and/or the organisation shall at all times retain the copyright to the picture. The publisher is not entitled to transfer rights to a third party. When publishing the pictures, the publisher shall ensure the legality of the context where the pictures are used, obtain the permissions and consents required for their publication, and observe the generally established practices and decency. The publisher shall also obtain the permissions needed for any names, persons, works of art, trademarks, and proprietary rights shown in the pictures. The publisher shall ensure that publication of the pictures does not insult anyone’s privacy or dignity.