View allAll Photos Tagged decency
As always when I get a new camera or lens, the cats become test subjects. Skinny did not care about the new camera and did not even have the decency to look at it!
What an amazing place this is. It used to be a thermal bath house. It was built in the 19th century and what beautifully decorated. It will soon be converted into a posh hotel.
When we entered early morning we were the first explorers setting up our gear. Within an hour the place was crowded with explorers from all over Europe and it was hard to take a decent picture.
Apparently it is hard for other people to wait until others who were there earlier are done. I gave them a hard time by just standing in 'their' way while taking a shot. Have some decency people and be patient!
Please visit www.preciousdecay.com for more pictures and follow me on Facebook on www.facebook.com/Preciousdecay.urbex
[EXPLORE FRONT PAGE: 10-28-2009]
Okay...let me honestly admit that this was a rather gloomy decision on my part to go to a Sonu Niigaam concert instead of the one of Artcell. And I had to, partly because my parents wanted and partly cause I didn't want to waste the Premium ticket after being successfully unable to sell them! So I went. And HE came onto the stage: and thereby the story started for me!
You all know him better than me, I guess! Memorize all his songs by heart, read all his interviews and know all about his personal life...if I ain't wrong! But I started from the very scratch! Then I saw him standing there on the stage, moving the crowd by his eternal music, electrifying them by his decency, modesty and kindness when he accepted every request from the audience, talking with them, clapping for them and bowing for them. And I thought how can someone so big, can be so sober standing up there, ruling the crowd??? The answer was, he himself: Sonu Niigaam!
Okay, there were some technical (!) limitations of shooting in this particular concert!
1. None had any DSLR in the front seats except for 2 from the organizers side. They weren't allowing anyone to shoot even with mobile (though ppl did, yeah!). So I had to take all the shots sitting in my seat in the second row, which is the reason behind the same frames in each photo!
2. My only gear was 400D with the 18-55mm had to bear all my torture throughout!!
So here it goes.....
One of the most popular pictures in my photostream, by far, is a mosaic that I created from 'S-Shields' from my collection of Superman action figures.
The picture has garnered lots of comments and faves (especially from the Middle East where the shield appears to be a powerful fashion icon) and I was very taken with the kind words people left form me.
But it always bugged me that a couple of the images were repeated. So I decided to recreate the pic and add in a few more toys that have joined the collection since.
I've tried to add as many different versions of the shield as possible, to represent not only the different versions of the character throughout the years and continuities but also high-light some folk who wore it who were not Superman himself.
I'd like to think that these aren't too obscure to the well-versed super-fan, but a few casual observers might be intrigued to ask more, please go ahead, I'll try to fill you in on the background of a particular 'S'.
Why Superman, you might ask?
As I said before, he may not be the coolest, but he was the first and I always loved what his character has stood for; decency, honour, honesty and kindness.
We could all do with sharing a bit more of that around...
Created with fd's Flickr Toys.
Today I thought it was time to again don the white Spandex Jumpsuit and frolic on the front lawn with the first bug I could find. After all, it’s only the first Saturday in Spring once a year. I just hope this was a girl bug and not a boy bug or the neighbours might start talking……
He may not be pretty, but portly balding chaps in Spandex can't be too picky!
Frolic performed to the refrains of the famous JPY Classic, (that’s John Paul Young to the ignorant), Love is in the Air. I thought it was apt.
“Love is in the air
Everywhere I look around
Love is in the air
Every sight and every sound
And I don't know if I'm being foolish
Don't know if I'm being wise
But it's something that I must believe in
And it's there when I look in your eyes…”
----JPY
Thanks to the local Constabulary for being so understanding and letting me off with a stern lecture about public decency…..
And yeah, I know the nail needs a clean!
The final photograph I took during my recent trip. We arrived at Logan Airport just as the sun was setting. Had a little time to spare so I took a shot or two looking across in the direction of Boston. The tripod was packed so this was hand held.
This might well be the last time I take a photograph in the USA. We do unfortunately need to reduce the amount we spend on travel and three-week road trips are pretty expensive. I have enjoyed immensely the opportunity to tour parts of the USA over the past twenty years and driving over 30,000 miles in your incredibly beautiful country. The vast majority of the Americans I have met during these visits were so very warm and welcoming.
Thanks for following the route of my recent holiday. Obviously I have many other photographs to post from this last trip well over well over a hundred. They will appear randomly over the coming months or years, I still have shots in the archives from our trips to the US in 2014 and 2016 so lots more American images to come.
Sadly must end on a negative note. It’s almost beyond belief when a leader of another democratic country endorses the views of a criminal and extreme right wing group in my country. I do not use the word criminal hyperbolically; some of its members are in jail for racialist attacks. The deputy leader of this group “Britain First” Jayda Fransen is currently on bail charged with inciting racial hatred and other public order offences. She will appear at Belfast Magistrates' Court on Thursday 14 December. Imagine how furious Americans would feel if a British politician showed their support for the Ku Klux Klan
In case you feel I am being extreme in my reaction let me quote the British prime Minister Teresa May not someone on the whole I tend to agree with on any issue .10 Downing Street said and I quote
"British people overwhelmingly reject the prejudiced rhetoric of the far right which is the antithesis of the values that this country represents - decency, tolerance and respect. It is wrong for the president to have done this."
THANKS FOR YOUR VISIT AND FOR TAKING THE TIME TO WRITE A COMMENT IT’S MUCH APPRECIATED AND SO MUCH MORE INTRESTING THAN JUST GIVING A FAVE
(Tyrannus tyrannus) Jackson Woods, Anahuac, Tx.
"Really! You have no decency, sir! I'm right in the midst of ablutions!"
Below I found at
www.brainyquote.com/quotes/authors/w/william_faulkner.html
William Faulkner, American Novelist Quotes
Birth Day: Sept. 25, 1897; Death Day: July 6, 1962
A gentleman can live through anything.
A man's moral conscience is the curse he had to accept from the gods in order to gain from them the right to dream.
A mule will labor ten years willingly and patiently for you, for the privilege of kicking you once.
A writer must teach himself that the basest of all things is to be afraid.
William Faulkner
All of us failed to match our dreams of perfection. So I rate us on the basis of our splendid failure to do the impossible.
Always dream and shoot higher than you know you can do. Don't bother just to be better than your contemporaries or predecessors. Try to be better than yourself.
An artist is a creature driven by demons. He doesn't know why they choose him and he's usually too busy to wonder why.
Clocks slay time... time is dead as long as it is being clicked off by little wheels; only when the clock stops does time come to life.
Don't bother just to be better than your contemporaries or predecessors. Try to be better than yourself.
Everything goes by the board: honor, pride, decency to get the book written.
__________________________
Friday, August 15, 2008
The Solemnity of the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary, Jesus' Mother
Today is a Holyday of Obligation
For more information, please click here
A reflection on today's Sacred Scripture:
Revelation 11:19a; 12:1-6a, 10ab
Psalm 45:10, 11, 12, 16
1 Corinthians 15:20-27
Luke 1:39-56
A priest friend of mine, now deceased, once remarked in a homily for this solemn feast that "The dogma of the Assumption was defined in 1950 at the beginning of a decade that saw the intensifying of the Cold War and the spread of nuclear threat, a time when many questioned how much of a future our world had." Thinking back to that period, there was a new prosperity emerging in America, yet military involvement continued in Europe and there was the Korean War. During that time and now, the dogma of "Mary's Assumption has a message of serenity in facing the future." *
A follower of Christ will learn from the fulfillment of Mary's faith through the Assumption, that the words of scripture spoken by Elizabeth are true: "Blessed is she who trusted that the Lord's words to her would be fulfilled." A follower of Christ will learn to receive God's Word, its message, the Spirit's gifts, and in the fashion given to the baptized, the Body of Christ.
On earth, Mary manifested trust. It was irrepressible. The Magnificat sings of God's mercy, blessing and justice. Her patient endurance through the passion and death of Jesus gives witness to a love that would not fail.
And God did not fail her. The first act of new creation has begun for the woman who was the instrument of the Word of Life coming to dwell among us.
Do you find any evidence of wistful thinking on the part of Mary? I do not. Keep Mary in mind as you experience anxiety about the future. As much as we would like to control the future we cannot. We can, nevertheless, adopt the spirit of the chosen one and have confidence and joy based on the promises of faith and the evidence of God with us.
- Rev. Stephen H. Gratto | email: smartins@frontiernet.net
*(with thoughts from the late Rev. Edward J. Wright)
______________
EXPLORE 2008 # 179, # 225 on 08-16; # 439 on 08-15; # 245 on 08-18; # 258 on 08-19; # 335 on 08-21; # 427 on 08-28; # 446 on 08-31; # 498 on 09-15
Italian postcard by Bromostampa, Milano, no. 380.
Voluptuous American actress Mamie Van Doren (1931) was a sex symbol of the 1950s and 1960s. Van Doren starred in several exploitation films such as Untamed Youth (1957), loaded with rock 'n' roll and juvenile delinquency. Her onscreen wardrobe usually consisted of tight sweaters, low-cut blouses, form-fitting dresses, and daring swimsuits. Mamie and her colleague blonde bombshells Marilyn Monroe and Jayne Mansfield were known as 'The Three M's.'
Mamie Van Doren was born Joan Lucille Olander in Rowena, South Dakota, in 1931. She was the daughter of Warner Carl Olander and Lucille Harriet Bennett. In 1942 the family moved to Los Angeles. In early 1946, Van Doren began working as an usher at the Pantages Theatre in Hollywood. The following year, she had a bit part on an early television show. She also sang with Ted Fio Rito's band and entered several beauty contests. She was married for a brief time at seventeen when Van Doren and her first husband, Jack Newman, eloped to Santa Barbara. The marriage was dissolved quickly, upon her discovery of his abusive nature. In the summer of 1949, at age 18, she won the titles Miss Eight Ball and Miss Palm Springs. Van Doren was discovered by producer Howard Hughes the night she was crowned Miss Palm Springs. The pair dated for five years. Hughes provided her with a bit role in Jet Pilot at RKO Radio Pictures. Her line of dialogue inconsisted of one word, "Look!". The following year, 1951, she posed for famous pin-up girl artist Alberto Vargas, the painter of the glamorous Vargas Girls. His painting of Van Doren was on the July 1951 cover of Esquire magazine. Van Doren did a few more bit parts in RKO films, including His Kind of Woman (John Farrow, 1951) starring Robert Mitchum and Jane Russell. Van Doren then began working on the stage. She was a showgirl in New York in Monte Proser's nightclub version of Billion Dollar Baby. Songwriter Jimmy McHugh discovered her for his musicals, then decided she was too good for the chorus line and should have dramatic training. She studied with Ben Bard and Bliss-Hayden. While appearing in the role of Marie in a showcase production of Come Back, Little Sheba, Van Doren was seen by Phil Benjamin, a casting director at Universal International. In 1953, Van Doren signed a contract with Universal Studios. They had big plans for her, hoping she would bring the same kind of success that 20th Century Fox had with Marilyn Monroe. Van Doren, whose signing day coincided with the inauguration of President Eisenhower, was given the first name Mamie for Ike's wife, Mamie Eisenhower. Universal first cast Van Doren in a minor role as a singer in Forbidden (Rudolph Maté, 1953), starring Tony Curtis. Interested in Van Doren's allure, Universal then cast her again opposite Curtis in The All American (Jesse Hibbs, 1953), playing her first major role as Susie Ward, a wayward girl who is the man-trap at a campus beer joint. In Yankee Pasha (Joseph Pevney, 1954), starring Jeff Chandler and Rhonda Fleming, she played a slave girl, Lilith. In 1955, she had a supporting role in the musical Ain't Misbehavin' (Edward Buzzell, 1955) and starred in the crime-drama Running Wild (Abner Biberman, 1955). Soon thereafter, Van Doren turned down a Broadway role in the play Will Success Spoil Rock Hunter?, and was replaced by newcomer Jayne Mansfield. In 1956, Van Doren appeared in the Western Star in the Dust (Charles F. Haas, 1956). Though Van Doren garnered prominent billing alongside John Agar and Richard Boone, she appears rather briefly, as the daughter of a ranch owner. By this time, Van Doren had grown tired of Universal, which was only casting her in non-breakthrough roles. Therefore, Van Doren began accepting bigger roles in better movies from other studios, such as Teacher's Pet (George Seaton, 1958) with Doris Day and Clark Gable. She appeared in some of the first films to feature rock 'n' roll music, such as Untamed Youth (Howard W. Koch, 1957). The film was originally condemned by the Catholic Legion of Decency, but that only served to enhance the curiosity factor, resulting in it being a big moneymaker for the studio. Van Doren became identified with this rebellious style, and made some rock records. She went to star in several bad girl movies that later became cult films. These include Born Reckless (Howard W. Koch, 1958), High School Confidential (Jack Arnold, 1958), and The Beat Generation (Charles F. Haas, 1959). After Universal Studios chose not to renew her contract in 1959, Van Doren was now a free agent and had to struggle to find work.
Mamie Van Doren became known for her provocative roles. She was in prison for Girls Town (Charles F. Haas, 1959), which provoked censors with a shower scene where audiences could see Van Doren's naked back. As Eve in The Private Lives of Adam and Eve (Mickey Rooney, Albert Zugsmith, 1960) she wore only fig leaves, and in other films, like Vice Raid (Edward L. Cahn, 1960) audiences were clued in as to the nature of the films from the titles. Many of these productions were low-budget B-movies which sometimes gained a cult following for their high camp value. An example is Sex Kittens Go to College (Albert Zugsmith, 1960), which co-starred Tuesday Weld and Mijanou Bardot - Brigitte's sister. Mamie also appeared in foreign productions, such as the Italian crime comedy Le bellissime gambe di Sabrina/The Beautiful Legs of Sabrina (Camillo Mastrocinque, 1959) with Antonio Cifariello, and the Argentine film Una americana en Buenos Aires/The Blonde from Buenos Aires (George Cahan, 1961) with Jean-Pierre Aumont. Van Doren took some time off from her career and came back to the screen in 1964. That year she played in the German Western musical Freddy und das Lied der Prärie/In the Wild West (Sobey Martin, 1964), starring Freddy Quinn and Rik Battaglia. Tommy Noonan convinced Van Doren to appear in 3 Nuts in Search of a Bolt (Tommy Noonan, 1964). Van Doren had turned down Noonan's previous offer to star in Promises! Promises!, in which she would have to do nude scenes. She was replaced by Jayne Mansfield. In 3 Nuts in Search of a Bolt, Mamie did a beer-bath scene, but is not seen nude. She posed for Playboy to promote the film. Van Doren next appeared in The Las Vegas Hillbillys (Arthur C. Pierce, 1966) which co-starred Jayne Mansfield. It was the only time two of 'The Three M's' appeared together in a film. A sequel was titled Hillbillys in a Haunted House, but Van Doren turned this role down, and was replaced by Joi Lansing. She appeared in You've Got to Be Smart (Ellis Kadison, 1967), and the Sci-Fi film, Voyage to the Planet of Prehistoric Women (1968), directed by the young Peter Bogdanovich (as Derek Thomas). In this film astronauts land on Venus and encounter dangerous creatures and meet sexy Venusian women who like to sun-bathe in hip-hugging skin-tight pants and seashell brassieres. In 1968, she was offered the role of a murder victim in the independent horror film The Ice House as a replacement for Mansfield, who died the previous year. She turned the offer down, however, and was replaced by Sabrina. During the Vietnam War, she did tours for U.S. troops in Vietnam for three months in 1968, and again in 1970. Van Doren also developed a nightclub act and did live theatre. She performed in stage productions of Gentlemen Prefer Blondes and Dames at Sea at the Drury Lane Theater, Chicago, and appeared in Will Success Spoil Rock Hunter? and The Tender Trap at the Arlington Park Theater. In the 1970s, Van Doren performed a nightclub act in Las Vegas as well. Van Doren had a supporting role in the Western The Arizona Kid (Luciano B. Carlos, 1970). Since then, Van Doren has appeared only in cameo appearances in low-budgeted films. To this date Van Doren's last film appearance was a cameo role in the comedy Slackers (Dewey Nicks, 2002). Van Doren's guest appearances on television include Jukebox Jury, What's My Line, The Bob Cummings Show, The Jack Benny Show, Fantasy Island, Burke's Law, Vega$, and L.A. Law. She released her autobiography, Playing the Field, in 1987 which brought much new attention and proved to be her biggest media splash in over 25 years. Since the book's publication she has often been interviewed and profiled and has occasionally returned to acting. Van Doren has been married five times. Her first marriage was to sportswear manufacturer Jack Newman whom she married and divorced in 1950. Her second marriage was to bandleader, composer and actor Ray Anthony whom she married in 1955. They had one son, Perry Ray Anthony (1956). The couple later divorced in 1961. When Van Doren's early 1960s, highly publicized, on-again off-again engagement to baseball player Bo Belinsky ended in 1964, she married baseball player Lee Meyers in 1966. They were divorced in 1967. Her fourth marriage was to businessman Ross McClintock in 1972. They met while working on President Nixon's reelection campaign; the marriage was annulled in 1973. Since 1979 she has been married to Thomas Dixon, an actor and dentist.
Sources: Wikipedia and IMDb.
"ANZAC is not merely about loss. It is about courage, and endurance, and duty, and love of country, and mateship, and good humour and the survival of a sense of self worth, and decency in the face of dreadful odds." Sir William Deane, Govenor-General Of Australia, Anzac Day 1999.
This is a photo I did of the Ambulatory inside the Shrine of Remembrance. The Ambulatory, comprised of the side aisles surrounding the four sides of the central Sanctuary, contains the Books of Remembrance, National flags and ensigns.
The Books of Remembrance preserve the names of the 89,000 Victorians who were born or enlisted in Victoria and who served abroad in the First World War, or who died in camp prior to embarkation. There are 42 bronze caskets containing the books, they are listed alphabetically and without rank.
The books were meticulously inscribed and illuminated by a team of nine male and female calligraphers. Centrally located amongst the books is the King's Book - inscribed by His Majesty, King George V. The inscription reads: Let their names be forever held in proud remembrance.
The Shrine of Remembrance was built between July 1928 and November 1934 in remembrance of the 114,000 men and women of Victoria who served and those who died in the Great War of 1914-1918 - 89,100 of them served overseas and 19,000 did not return.
The people of Victoria felt that their debt to these volunteers, who had defended them at such great costs to themselves and their families, should be recognised by a worthy permanent monument of remembrance. Although the country was faced with frightful unemployment and financial difficulty in the late 1920s and the 1930s, so great was the gratitude of the people that the huge amount required to build the Shrine was raised or promised within six months from the opening of the appeal in 1928.
The design for the Shrine of Remembrance was selected by competition among Australian artists and architects. Eighty-three designs were submitted and the winning design was by two Melbourne returned-soldier architects, Philip Hudson and James Wardrop.The inspiration for the external outline came from one of the seven wonders of the ancient world - the mausoleum at Harlicarnassus to Mausolus, King of Caria in South West Asia Minor.
Prince Henry, the Duke of Gloucester and son of King George V, officially opened the Shrine before a crowd of 300,000 people in November 1934.Since then, it has been a growing monument, with other memorials added to the site to mark the service of successive generations, such as the Second World War Forecourt and the Remembrance Garden – Post 1945 Memorial.
LEST WE FORGET
This young man displays his dedication to fashion, risking public humiliation in an effort to wear his pants at the very limit of public decency laws.
Un Sikh Amritdhari (initié dans l’ordre du Khalsa) doit garder sur lui en permanence cinq articles de foi.
1 Kesh: les cheveux et poils non coupés ni taillés (les cheveux sont attachés en chignon et couverts d’un Keski (Turban).
2 Kangha : Le peigne sikh,en bois, gardé en permanence dans les cheveux en tant que symbole de propreté.
3 Kacchera : un short sikh utilisé comme sous-vêtement et habillement minimum. II symbolise la décence et la chasteté.
4 Kara: un bracelet de fer porté au poignet droit (ou gauche pour les gauchers) qui protège le poignet et symbolise la retenue dans les actes.
5 Kirpan: une épée portée en bandoulière dans son fourreau par une bande de tissu (Gatra), souvent de la taille d’un poignard avec une lame de 12 cm minimum.
A Sikh Amritdhari (initiated into the order of Khalsa) must keep him permanently five articles of faith.
1 Kesh: Hair and hair uncut or cut (the hair is tied in a bun and covered with a Keski (Turban).
Kangha 2: The Sikh comb, wooden, kept permanently in the hair as a symbol of cleanliness.
3 Kacchera: Sikh shorts used as underwear and clothing minimum. It symbolizes decency and chastity.
4 Kara: a iron bracelet worn on the right wrist (or left for lefties) that protects the wrist and symbolizes restraint in action.
5 Kirpan: a sword carried slung in its sheath by a band of tissue (Gatra), often the size of a dagger with a blade of 12 cm minimum.
– comedian W.C. Fields
This is a photo of a whiskey shelf, an expensive one, in an executive's office in the South.
Un Sikh Amritdhari (initié dans l’ordre du Khalsa) doit garder sur lui en permanence cinq articles de foi.
1 Kesh: les cheveux et poils non coupés ni taillés (les cheveux sont attachés en chignon et couverts d’un Keski (Turban).
2 Kangha : Le peigne sikh,en bois, gardé en permanence dans les cheveux en tant que symbole de propreté.
3 Kacchera : un short sikh utilisé comme sous-vêtement et habillement minimum. II symbolise la décence et la chasteté.
4 Kara: un bracelet de fer porté au poignet droit (ou gauche pour les gauchers) qui protège le poignet et symbolise la retenue dans les actes.
5 Kirpan: une épée portée en bandoulière dans son fourreau par une bande de tissu (Gatra), souvent de la taille d’un poignard avec une lame de 12 cm minimum.
A Sikh Amritdhari (initiated into the order of Khalsa) must keep him permanently five articles of faith.
1 Kesh: Hair and hair uncut or cut (the hair is tied in a bun and covered with a Keski (Turban).
Kangha 2: The Sikh comb, wooden, kept permanently in the hair as a symbol of cleanliness.
3 Kacchera: Sikh shorts used as underwear and clothing minimum. It symbolizes decency and chastity.
4 Kara: a iron bracelet worn on the right wrist (or left for lefties) that protects the wrist and symbolizes restraint in action.
5 Kirpan: a sword carried slung in its sheath by a band of tissue (Gatra), often the size of a dagger with a blade of 12 cm minimum.
[Fiction] Oh yes, you see, there was a major gust of wind coming up from the fireplace and it was all I could do to hold my dress at a resonable level of decency. Gosh! I hope that never happens again. Don't you?
Highest Explore Position #185 ~ On August 27th 2008.
Beach Huts - Harwich, Essex, England - Monday August 25th 2008.
Click here to see the Larger image
Yup...I have succumbed to the God of Bokeh...so here's another...:O))
A typical English beach scene...tiny houses that people live in when the Sun comes out...lol
Obviously this year, anybody who has one, hasn't been using it much..:O((
HAPPY BOKEH WEDNESDAY EVE...Everybody..:O)))
Brightly coloured beach huts are an essential part of the British coast. They go together with ice creams, sandcastles and the unreliable British weather to form part of our experience of summer by the seaside. Recently the spirit of nostalgia for the British coast has meant that beach huts, in some locations, can sell for more money than houses in other areas and given that you cannot stay overnight in them and many need annual maintenance, this is really saying something!
Beach huts really started to be used in the early years of the twentieth century. Before then, bathing had been a cumbersome and expensive affair. Men and women bathed on separate beaches and changing for a dip in the ocean was performed out of view in a bathing machine, which was towed a safe distance out to sea before the nervous bather took his or her plunge into the often uninvitingly cold sea water. When we finally dispensed with the bathing machine many were left abandoned on the beach.
In the Edwardian era and in the years following the First World War, the sight of people of both sexes in bathing costumes had become acceptable. However, changing in public was frowned upon and could result in a fine, even if decency was preserved under a Macintosh - so called "Macintosh Bathing". Hence councils provided and charged for beach huts to change in. Enterprising people made use of the abandoned bathing machines by removing the wheels and turning them into beach huts. As an alternative to the beach hut, some seaside towns provided tents for hire, along with deck chairs. These were often brightly coloured and decorated with stripes.
Now you can buy your own beach hut or hire one for the day or a week. They make a great base for a family on a beach holiday. Many are equipped with small stoves for boiling kettles, essential for the British afternoon cup of tea.
It is good to be able to introduce an image of pure filth onto this site, as a good old fashioned dirty photo is often appreciated and pushes up the viewing figures!. However, the only knee tremble with this scene is the thought that somebody has got to clean off the dirt at some point. The reality is that after the conclusion of this season's rail head treatment train duties, GBRf Class 66/7 No. 66704 'Colchester Power Signalbox' looks as though it was not the first choice motive power for 6S94 0512 Wembley European Freight Operations Centre - Irvine Caledonian Paper Mill on 13th December 2017; the fact that the train at this point, as it passes Lichfield Trent Valley, is a cool 343 minutes late perhaps indicates a motive power problem at Wembley. At least some kind soul had the decency to clean the area around the number, and the bit which says if belongs to GB Railfreight, although GBRf would perhaps have preferred that bit stayed covered under the multi-layers of filth until a full deep clean is undertaken. Copyright Photograph John Whitehouse - all rights reserved
On the building site opposite us, it has been quite an exciting morning. A huge concrete mixer and pouring device creating the base for the first two houses. It must be quite difficult for the builders as they have no access from the front of the houses, and are having to work down the site, house by house. Now, to top it all, the people who own the lane are putting up a 6 ft fence right in front of where the front doors will be.... oh the joys of living around people who like to bend the rules - both the rules of law and the rules of decency!!
For 365:2019. Day 79
52 in 2019. 48 outfit
====GCPD====
"Jim, we came as soon as we could. What's the situation?"
"We've got a body in the Coventry district- vic's mistress found the body. Detective Driver from Major Crimes figured you might be interested..." Gordon says, handing him a set of photos.
"Judge Aickerman... He was one of the names on Grange's tapes."
"Yeah, that makes the fifth victim so far, all headshots, all-"
"Two shots to the head... Dent? You said there were others?"
"Here. All members of the Court, all names on Grange's list. And that doesn't even go into the mess in Arkham. 40 bodies recovered, all burnt beyond recognition, only thing identifiable-"
"Are the owl masks fused to their faces. Chemical analysis?"
"Make-up seems to match Lynns' portfolio, and the napalm there's a staple of Joey Rigger. And though I can't condone them, I can't blame them either. After Walker-"
Gordon trails off, and takes his cigarette out of his mouth- after Arkham, he'd relapsed, and looks at Batman's partner. Catwoman
"Well, I'm just glad to see you're on speaking terms again."
Bruce looks at him inquisitively
"Give me some credit, I am a detective too, you know."
...
"Don't worry, Jim, I'll find Dent, before they do."
====The Slab====
"Gar put you up to this, didn't he?"
No response... Drury sighed. He couldn't go anywhere these days without someone else tagging along, acting like his self important babysitters. He didn't much like Flannegan, not these days, not since he started to question things, question people. The man was cruel and irritable, and the only things he cared for were his rats, who he insisted be brought along with them on their flight. "Can't trust those Antarctic rats," he'd declared loudly at the airport, waving his government badge at the security guard trying to pry the rodent-filled suitcase away from him. Even now he was dodging questions, cigarette in mouth, his right hand stuffed in his pocket.
Drury had been to a lot of prisons; Blackgate, Arkham, Stryker's, even spent a night in Iron Heights. Slabside was a different breed entirely. Located in the middle of Antarctica, it's home to some of the world's worst criminals. Following the City of Fear incident, many of the Society's most dangerous member's were relocated here. Many still are. Doomsday. Mongul. Amazo. Just one of them free would be catastrophic, all of them, and even the Justice League might not stand a chance.
In one cell, a masked man punches the wall, blood spurting from his knuckles. With each punch his voice grows louder. "Pow. Pow. Pow." Drury takes one look at him, then hurries after Flannegan.
"Do I know you?" a timid voice asks. A frail man sits housed in the adjacent cell, fumbling with a broken clock.
Drury stared. His name is David Clinton. In this reality, he was never trapped in the void, in this reality he never had an epiphany of any kind, or really any original thought. But, in his cell, he knew there was something missing. A purpose. Memories that he shouldn't have flashed in his head regularly.
In one world, Drury knew him as Chronos, a sociopathic monster. But here, Clinton was just another C-Lister locked in a cage.
"Sir, we've got her down here," the guard said.
"Good," Drury muttered. "Good, I'll be there soon," passing by Chronos.
"Tick tock," the other man murmurs. "Tick tock."
Drury sat down in the visitor centre, a small, dark, smelly room. Opposite sat Marion Grange.
"What do you want?"
Grange shifted in her seat. "I heard about your wife, I want you to know that-"
"No. No, what do you want?"
She sighed. "I don't... I don't want to die. I want that on the record. Any record. I don't want to die."
"I travelled halfway across the world-!"
"Then you know I'm serious. They're coming. They're coming, and when they get here, they'll do whatever they can to make it look like an accident, a suicide."
"I don't-"
"They're going to kill me!" Grange yelled suddenly.
Drury shifted his eyes around the room, and in a harsh whisper asked "The Owls?"
Grange nodded.
"I needed you here, because I know you'll believe me. Because you know how- You know how dangerous they are."
"This is the most secure prison on the planet, they aren't getting in here."
"And what if they're already here? What if they've already bribed, extorted and blackmailed their way in?"
Drury paused. "You didn't bring me here to talk. Or to apologise. You wanted me here, so you'd have a human shield to hide behind. Didn't you?" Grange looks down at the desk, ashamed. "I'm sorry."
"I said, didn't you! My wife is dead. My brother was abducted, and one of my best friend's went missing two days ago."
A rat crawls into the room, and is scooped up by Flannegan. He whispers to it, then addresses Drury. "Shut it."
"Oh, he speaks!" Drury snapped at Flannegan.
"Let's talk about your screwed up little world some other time. Rodriguez just sent word. Someone's infiltrated the security systems."
"Who the hell's Rodriguez?!"
"The rat. Do keep up. Up you get, ma'am."
"Not now, Otis..." Drury murmured. "Did your... rat tell you who it is?"
"It's a rat, you idiot. Not the criminal database," he scowled, as he pulled a knife out of his sock and stormed out. "Oh, you again."
====Keystone City====
"Your turn, Rory. You were saying?"
"Right, right. Wit was ah aboot to say? Oh, aye. The auld guard! Scudder, Scudder wis a daft wee bampot who dragged Lisa doon wi' 'im. And dinnae get me started on that Top bastard. What a pretentious auld cunt he wis. Aw brains an no fookin' human decency..."
"-Don't forget about that Chillblaine loser," Mick muttered, as he put his lighter down.
"Och aye, Chillblaine tae. Ach, the poor lassie sure kent how ta choose 'em. As fer Piper-"
Mardon paused. "Piper? He's gay, McCulloch."
"Wit? The wee rat boy? He didnae ever come across as one a' them."
"One of them"? 'Hell does that mean?" Mick started.
"Ach, I dinnae mean nothing by it, Rory, I'm jus' saying. I mean, I cannae believe it. Hartley bloody Rathaway, and wit, Flannegan? They're a bloody couple?"
"When Flannegan feels like it, that is," Mardon added, checking his watch. "Snart was supposed to be here by now."
Rory growled.
"Oh, don't start," Mardon began.
"He comes and goes as he pleases," he snarls.
"Well, he's the big man, ain't he? He's allowed tae do that."
Mick slouches into his seat. "That's all well and good, I just wish we didn't have to work with *him* to do it."
McCulloch groans. "Aye, I hear ya, he makes Dillon sound like Girder."
As if on cue, a signature smug, booming voice calls out to the assembled trio. "Gentlemen, when is a door not a door?"
"Ach, that's fooking ancient that is..."
"When it's ajar..." Mardon sighed.
Riddler smiled, but he was clearly annoyed. "Quite. So tell me, which one of you three dimwitted numbskulls left the door open *this* time? Need I remind you the importance of what we're trying to accomplish here. If Bane were to discover-"
"Bane's all drugs and bravado. I could summon a hurricane in his gut, and suck his flunkies into a tornado."
"Ah, yes, because Kryptonians are well known for being easily sucked into tornados..."
McCulloch leaps out his chair. "Ach, fook this, ya think that because yer in good wit' Luthor yer better than us?"
"Hardly. I think I'm better than you, because I am."
====ACE Chemicals====
"Hello Charles. I apologise for the hostile greeting, but, you weren't coming quietly."
"That ring, those things, how did you-"
"All in good time, I assure you. Are you angry with me, Charles? You've every reason to be. Day betrayed you, Penguin betrayed you, Sionis too. And now, Mr Dent. All that hurt in so short a time... Any other man may have succumbed to violence, but not you. You're afraid. Afraid that if you were to retaliate, the consequences for your friends would be dire. Why those, those are powerful men. And Calendar Man, heh.
But what, what if something wasn't holding you back, what if you didn't have to be afraid? Fear, fear is what tells us no. Fear holds us back. It controls us, manipulates us. Fear is a weapon, harnessed by me, and harnessed by The Batman. It's funny, when I began this newest experiment of mine, Penguin commissioned me to deliver a weapon, a drug that could help his armies conquer fear, and thus, their enemies. The Court of Owls, The Batman, Joker if the need ever arose, without fear, they'd be easy marks, so he said. I hear he's in hiding now.
But, I never let a good toxin go to waste, and now, one year later, I have the answer! I can cure fear! It took various chemicals, some herbs in Blackfire's garden and the blood of a few murdered Talons, but I have my chemicals, and you will be my guinea pig."
"You could've had the pick of the city, why me?"
"Yes. Why you? Not even remotely special. Because, Charles, the fact is, you're a good man. You've got a moral compass, a strong one, you help people at every turn, even those who don't deserve it. You've never killed without remorse, not even that creature, Salinger, was it? I bet you grieved for days... For many men, the easiest path to breaking them, is fear. And it's gotten so... boring. Cliché. This time, I'll break you, and men of your ilk by destroying you, from the inside out." A yellow claw fills a nearby syringe with red liquid and hands it to a grinning Crane. "Shall we begin?"
Do large and joy in tags to right.
Do art to your fotos can be mesmerizing. Here, foto was rotated after Picasa2's graduated tint all over morphed into above from www.flickr.com/photos/10112197@N02/2262682232/
_____________________________
Question: Ever feel that nothing you do will change anything in anyone’s life?
Answers: Quietly to yourself; and then read below miracle story.
What would you do? You make the choice. Don't look for a punch line, there isn't one. Read it anyway. My question is: Would you have made the same choice?
At a fund raising dinner for a school that serves learning-disabled children, the father of one of the students delivered a speech that would never be forgotten by all who attended. After extolling the school and its dedicated staff, he offered a question: "When not interfered with by outside influences, everything nature does is done with perfection. Yet my son, Shay, cannot learn things as other children do. He cannot understand things as other children do. Where is the natural order of things in my son?"
The audience was stilled by the query.
The father continued. "I believe that when a child like Shay, physically and mentally handicapped comes into the world, an opportunity to realize true human nature presents itself, and it comes in the way other people treat that child."
Then he told the following story:
Shay and his father had walked past a park where some boys Shay knew were playing baseball. Shay asked, "Do you think they'll let me play?" Shay's father knew that most of the boys would not want someone like Shay on their team, but the father also understood that if his son were allowed to play, it would give him a much-needed sense of belonging and some confidence to be accepted by others in spite of his handicaps.
Shay's father approached one of the boys on the field and asked (not expecting much) if Shay could play. The boy looked around for guidance and said, " We're losing by six runs and the game is in the eighth inning. I guess he can be on our team and we'll try to put him in to bat in the ninth inning."
Shay struggled over to the team's bench and, with a broad smile, put on a team shirt. His Father watched with a small tear in his eye and warmth in his heart. The boys saw the father's joy at his son being accepted. In the bottom of the eighth inning, Shay's team scored a few runs but was still behind by three. In the top of the ninth inning, Shay put on a glove and played in the right field. Even though no hits came his way, he was obviously ecstatic just to be in the game and on the field, grinning from ear to ear as his father waved to him from the stands. In the bottom of the ninth inning, Shay's team scored again. Now, with two outs and the bases loaded, the potential winning run was on base and Shay was scheduled to be next at bat.
At this juncture, do they let Shay bat and give away their chance to win the game? Surprisingly, Shay was given the bat. Everyone knew that a hit was all but impossible because Shay didn't even know how to hold the bat properly, much less connect with the ball.
However, as Shay stepped up to the plate, the pitcher, recognizing that the other team was putting winning aside for this moment in Shay's life, moved in a few steps to lob the ball in softly so Shay could at least make contact. The first pitch came and Shay swung clumsily and missed. The pitcher again took a few steps forward to toss the ball softly towards Shay. As the pitch came in, Shay swung at the ball and hit a slow ground ball right back to the pitcher.
The game would now be over. The pitcher picked up the soft grounder and could have easily thrown the ball to the first baseman. Shay would have been out and that would have been the end of the game.
Instead, the pitcher threw the ball right over the first baseman's head, out of reach of all team mates. Everyone from the stands and both teams started yelling, "Shay, run to first! Run to first!" Never in his life had Shay ever run that far, but he made it to first base. He scampered down the baseline, wide-eyed and startled.
Everyone yelled, "Run to second, run to second!" Catching his breath, Shay awkwardly ran towards second, gleaming and struggling to make it to the base. By the time Shay rounded towards second base, the right fielder had the ball ... the smallest guy on their team who now had his first chance to be the hero for his team. He could have thrown the ball to the second-baseman for the tag, but he understood the pitcher's intentions so he, too, intentionally threw the ball high and far over the third-baseman's head. Shay ran toward third base deliriously as the runners ahead of him circled the bases toward home.
All were screaming, "Shay, Shay, Shay, all the Way Shay"
Shay reached third base because the opposing shortstop ran to help him by turning him in the direction of third base, and shouted, "Run to third! Shay, run to third!"
As Shay rounded third, the boys from both teams, and the spectators, were on their feet screaming, "Shay, run home! Run home!" Shay ran to home, stepped on the plate, and was cheered as the hero who hit the grand slam and won the game for his team.
"That day", said the father softly with tears now rolling down his face, "the boys from both teams helped bring a piece of true love and humanity into this world".
Shay didn't make it to another summer. He died that winter, having never forgotten being the hero and making his father so happy, and coming home and seeing his Mother tearfully embrace her little hero of the day!
AND NOW A LITTLE FOOTNOTE TO THIS STORY: We all send thousands of jokes through the e-mail without a second thought, but when it comes to sending messages about life choices, people hesitate. The crude, vulgar, and often obscene pass freely through cyberspace, but public discussion about decency is too often suppressed in our schools and workplaces.
If you're thinking about forwarding this message, chances are that you're probably sorting out the people in your address book who aren't the "appropriate" ones to receive this type of message. Well, the person who sent you this believes that we all can make a difference. We all have thousands of opportunities every single day to help realize the "natural order of things." So many seemingly trivial interactions between two people present us with a choice: Do we pass along a little spark of love and humanity or do we pass up those opportunities and leave the world a little bit colder in the process?
A wise man once said every society is judged by how it treats it's least fortunate amongst them.
EXPLORE # 475 on Wednesday, March 12, 2008
A golden end to a grey morning. At the Jerrabomberra Wetlands, ACT. The light was horrible all morning, and just before leaving I went around to the reeds on the west side of the swamp, to find quite a few golden-headed cisticolas flitting around. One had the decency to perch just 10 metres in front of me for a moment.
The film is about a young woman Eva who marries a wealthy but much older man. After abandoning her brief passionless marriage, she returns to the estate of her father, a wealthy horse breeder.
One day, Eva goes horseback riding and has a swim in the nude, leaving her clothes on her horse. The horse wanders off and Eva, still completely nude, chases after it. Adam, a virile young engineer, sees Eva trying to catch the horse. He catches it for her and Eva is so embarrassed that she hides in the bushes when he approaches. Eva is ashamed of her nudity, but then she glares up at him in defiance. He hands Eva her clothes. When she tries to leave, she hurts her ankle. At first, she resists Adam’s efforts to help, then acquiesces.
That night, Eva is restless and cannot stop thinking about Adam. Finally, she goes to his isolated residence, which is located near the field where they met. After some hesitation, they embrace and spend the night together. “Ecstasy” is perhaps the first non-pornographic movie to portray sexual intercourse and female orgasm, although never showing more than the actors’ faces.
The film was controversial in many countries because of Lamarr’s nudity and the orgasm scene. Pope Pius XI denounced it, so none of the Italian distributors bought the rights for distribution. Germany banned it and only released an edited version in 1935. In the United States, the Catholic Legion of Decency condemned it, making it one of the most popular foreign films with Catholic kids. The film never got the Hays Code seal of approval which would allow it a wide American release.
Full movie: www.youtube.com/watch?v=8Gfxcfn1qyw
That ravenous grain of sand. (with turquoise decency strips)
Let's not worry about how tasteless, vulgar and kitsch it might look, not for now anyway.
Well, I reckon more than a few Scots said "Cheers!" and raised a pint of Tennents when the SNP Sweetheart Stout, Nicola Sturgeon, resigned earlier this week. Do you remember her slagging off the dreaded Tories when they refused to call a General election when first Theresa May resigned, then Boris and finally Liz Truss. Then when Alex Salmond resigned (because she/Sturgeon stitched him up in court) , and then she herself resigned...no general election in Scotland. Always a hypocrite. In a recent poll 96% of the Scottish public thought she should go. She failed at pretty well everything. Worse NHS, worse Policing, worse education, worse drug deaths (3 times worse than next worst country), worse life expectancy amidst skullduggery, lies and corruption. She blamed the English parliament and Tories for everything whilst she let everything in Scotland go to ruin. In fact her list of failures was so long that she needed 18 minutes in her resignation speech to mention most of them, whereas Boris, May, Truss only took 5-6 minutes on each of theirs. Now the SNP is looking (trying to fix her replacement) whilst in particular slagging off a publicly favoured candidate Kate Forbes because she stood up for her religious beliefs. Being of the Free Presbyterian Church of Scotland they have strong Christian values which are largely mirrored in all other major religions: Muslim, Judaism, Buddhism, etc. She's a good girl, from my part of the world, from the highlands and islands of Scotland, where kids are still taught respect and decency. But actually, if I could vote and I can't as I'm not an SNP member, I favour Ash Regan/Denham, another principled and decent lady who I hope can steer Scotland in a better direction, away from the hatred, division and failure caused by Sturgeon's grievance politics. Unfortunately the hot favourite to win the race to be First Minister is a proven loser. Humza: and not that Humza, the Strictly Come Dancing winner from Ardnamurchan
Haunted Alley is over and the results of the Harvest Bake Off have finally been revealed, and it's no surprise Stormtrooper Bruce made it into the top three. But he should have known something was up with the prizes when they weren't announced ahead of time.
TK-1110: It's just as we feared. Once again you're wallowing in your misery when you should be celebrating.
STB: Remind me again just exactly what I should be celebrating?
TK-432: Dude, you were robbed. You should've gotten 1st Place not 3rd. But then again, with those prizes what difference does it make?
TK-1110: Guess I'm the only voice of reason here. Yes the prizes suck like a Sith. Breakfast with the P, Lunch with the P, and Dinner with the P. But just be thankful third place was lunch!
TK-432: How is he supposed to be thankful about lunch with the P?
TK-1110: Think about it. He'd have to get up at the crack of dawn for breakfast, and dinner would drag on into the evening. But lunch is in the middle of the day - just a quick bite and it'll be over!
STB: Sure would like some of those Weasley's Puking Pastilles so I could take that orange half before hand.
TK-432: Well, at least they had the decency to return your cake. So, um... If you're done with your pity party think we could have a slice?
STB: Well, aside from a colossal hangover, guess I do feel a little better. Maybe lunch won't be so bad. Glad you guys stopped by. And yes, help yourselves to whatever you want. You'll pardon me if I don't get up just yet.
_____________________________________________
Viewing Large is always fun. Just click on the image.
Friday Night Dancing With The Stars, Divided As People But One With The Universe Under The Eyes Of God - IMRAN™
Think about it. I mean really think about it, gentle reader, and decent human being, wherever in the world you read my words.
Friday night, more like Saturday morning 0230AM, as I step out to be under the open sheltering sky. An 'ordinary night' in 'extraordinary times' silently and darkly covering this part of the world. Yet little points of light loudly tell silent stories of our place in the cosmos.
I do not have the needed equipment nor the time or patience to fully get into astrophotography. But once in a while, I like to click a few random shots of the sky late at night.
Even being in an almost unknown town like Apollo Beach, nearly 30-45 minutes of driving from downtown Tampa, which itself is not the biggest or brightest city, it is easy to see how much man-made light-pollution fills the sky.
It makes it impossible to see the Milky Way, which is actually right in the direction my camera is pointed towards. It is pretty mind-boggling to see that many of these little blobs of light are not even massive stars, they are actual galaxies.
This is a few megabytes file that social media will show you, derived from a 22MB image I saved from a 150MB single photograph. But even at this file size, if you zoom in, you can begin to make out the spiral shapes of some of the spots in the sky.
Then to imagine how insignificant we are in the grand scheme of things, yet how one with God, the Almighty Creator of all that is in the universe, and the multiverses beyond, we are... but only when we are big enough to appreciate and bow our head in gratitude at how tiny we really are even as an entire planet.
May God grant us the wisdom to protect ourselves, our families, our friends, our nations, and our planet, from stupid self-destructive positions, policies, politics, and preying power-players.
It is time to choose. Please choose intelligence and science, decency and humanity, versus the vile forces of bigotry, racism, fundamentalism, hypocrisy, along with rampant ignorance and pure stupidity some are flag-waving hat-wearing professors of.
Choose wisely, as if your, our, our species', and our planet's very existence depend on it. Because it truly does. Say a prayer, and Vote! May we all be able to dance under the stars as a united nation, ummah, country, species, and planet, again, soon. Amen.
© 2020 IMRAN™
#ApolloBeach, #D850, #Earth, #elections, #Florida, #God, #humanity, #IMRAN, #ImranAnwar, #Inspiration, #leadership, #Lifestyle, #longexposure, #MilkyWay, #motivation, #Nature, #nightsky, #Nikon, #politics, #seaside, #Tampa, #TampaBay, #Universe, #USA, #IMHO, #commentary, #opinion, #prose, #literature
Callie is known locally as 'black jesus' - he is kind, a deep thinker, ridiculously easy company.
Six days a week, his long gangly legs and endless ropey arms make their way around the island by bicycle, (often balancing a variety of fruits and coconuts on his handlebars to sell), easily traversing 20km-30km a day.
On this day, he told me that he had recently had a stroke and that he had some paralysis down his right side. The doctor told Callie that it was a good thing that he took one of his epic bicycle rides shortly after the stroke had hit, because doing so had minimised the lasting affect of the heart-event on his limbs.
Before the portraits, I showed Callie the images I had taken of his sister Anna - he got emotional: there she is...there she is'...
Callie, and ordinary men and women like him, make you feel part of something that matters. That a world of decency, respect, hard work, honesty and self-sufficiency, can and does still exist.
Whenever I speak to Callie or see one of his enormous hands lift from a handlebar to waive as I pass him, his give-everything smile beaming, I realise that 'god is one of us' and that our blessings are too many to count.
What an amazing place this is. It used to be a thermal bath house. It was built in the 19th century and what beautifully decorated. It will soon be converted into a posh hotel.
When we entered early morning we were the first explorers setting up our gear. Within an hour the place was crowded with explorers from all over Europe and it was hard to take a decent picture.
Apparently it is hard for other people to wait until others who were there earlier are done. I gave them a hard time by just standing in 'their' way while taking a shot. Have some decency people and be patient!
Please visit www.preciousdecay.com for more pictures and follow me on Facebook on www.facebook.com/Preciousdecay.urbex
I just finished up what's definitely my final creative shoot of 2012 on a balmy -28C, and got one of my favourite fashion/creative images of the year.
It's always a production trying to shoot in these temperature, but it's these temperatures so often in Yellowknife that we wouldn't get any shooting done if we let the cold stop us. But that said, gear doesn't work very good in the extreme cold, and you're basically limited to photographing in 5 minute increments if you have any sense of decency as a photographer (for fear of freezing your model!)
Huge thanks to the team on this one:
Model: Elora Braden
Make-up artist/hair: Natacha Saravanja
Assistant: Susan Rohac
Focal Length 85mm
Shutter Speed 1/160 sec
Aperture f/3.2
ISO/Film 100
Lighting: single Elinchrom 250 Studio head, modified by an Elinchrom Rotalux softbox. Just out of frame to Elora's left.
"Raupe" (Caterpillar) - a historical German carrousel from about 1926. During the ride a green ribbed convertible top pushes over the cars, so that the locked roundabout looks like a caterpillar. The merry-go-round was very popular with teenagers, because of the centrifugal force tightly seated boys and girls could tie in the closed cars "first contacts" of a little more intimate kind. In 1951, according to the decree, the caterpillar deck was alloud to close only a few seconds above the young people, so that custom and decency were preserved.
Scan Kodak Gold Expired 2015 und Minolta XG-11
Walter Dyer - TV Tramps
Midwood Books Y186, 1962
Cover Artist: Robert Maguire
"Lurid secrets of a TV show laid bare."
"On camera they violated the code of decency. Off camera they violated each other."
You will find 190+ of my poems HERE. fno.org/poetry/index.html
No news is good news
The news
Such as it is
Lately
Offends
Alarms
And provokes me
Until I want to look away
Blind myself to the barbaric slayings
The killings
The murders
The hate crimes
The wars
The storms
The wildfires
And the political mayhem
That is the norm of the day
I want to pretend
None of this is real
And substitute my own version of reality
A life without Putin
And the slaughter of innocents
A world without Trump
And his cascade of lies and falsehoods
A time without mass murders
Shooters cutting down families
School children
And concert goers
A peaceful, gentle life
We can only imagine
With kindness, civility and decency
The norm
Not the exception
© Jamie McKenzie, all rights reserved
You will find more of my poems and songs here
and in The Storm in Its Passing and Flights of Fancy.
My songs are at