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A grave marker for James Jerman Palmer; he was killed during the Second Battle of Manassas on 30 August 1862. The Groveton Confederate Cemetery was founded in 1867 in the Manassas National Battlefield north of Manassas, Virginia.
From the park's web page:
The Battle of First Manassas (First Bull Run)
Cheers rang out in the streets of Washington on July 16, 1861 as Gen. Irvin McDowell’s army, 35,000 strong, marched out to begin the long-awaited campaign to capture Richmond and end the war. It was an army of green recruits, few of whom had the faintest idea of the magnitude of the task facing them. But their swaggering gait showed that none doubted the outcome. As excitement spread, many citizens and congressman with wine and picnic baskets followed the army into the field to watch what all expected would be a colorful show.
These troops were 90-day volunteers summoned by President Abraham Lincoln after the startling news of Fort Sumter burst over the nation in April 1861. Called from shops and farms, they had little knowledge of what war would mean. The first day’s march covered only five miles, as many straggled to pick blackberries or fill canteens.
McDowell’s lumbering columns were headed for the vital railroad junction at Manassas. Here the Orange and Alexandria Railroad met the Manassas Gap Railroad, which led west to the Shenandoah Valley. If McDowell could seize this junction, he would stand astride the best overland approach to the Confederate capital.
On July 18 McDowell’s army reached Centreville. Five miles ahead a small meandering stream named Bull Run crossed the route of the Union advance, and there guarding the fords from Union Mills to the Stone Bridge waited 22,000 Southern troops under the command of Gen. Pierre G.T. Beauregard. McDowell first attempted to move toward the Confederate right flank, but his troops were checked at Blackburn’s Ford. He then spent the next two days scouting the Southern left flank. In the meantime, Beauregard asked the Confederate government at Richmond for help. Gen. Joseph E. Johnston, stationed in the Shenandoah Valley with 10,000 Confederate troops, was ordered to support Beauregard if possible. Johnston gave an opposing Union army the slip and, employing the Manassas Gap Railroad, started his brigades toward Manassas Junction. Most of Johnston’s troops arrived at the junction on July 20 and 21, some marching directly into battle.
On the morning of July 21, McDowell sent his attack columns in a long march north towards Sudley Springs Ford. This route took the Federals around the Confederate left. To distract the Southerners, McDowell ordered a diversionary attack where the Warrenton Turnpike crossed Bull Run at the Stone Bridge. At 5:30a.m. the deep-throated roar of a 30-pounder Parrott rifle shattered the morning calm, and signaled the start of the battle.
McDowell’s new plan depended on speed and surprise, both difficult with inexperienced troops. Valuable time was lost as the men stumbled through the darkness along narrow roads. Confederate Col. Nathan Evans, commanding at the Stone Bridge, soon realized that the attack on his front was only a diversion. Leaving a small force to hold the bridge, Evans rushed the remainder of his command to Matthews Hill in time to check McDowell’s lead unit. But Evans’ force was too small to hold back the Federals for long.
Soon brigades under Barnard Bee and Francis Bartow marched to Evans’ assistance. But even with these reinforcements, the thin gray line collapsed and Southerners fled in disorder toward Henry Hill. Attempting to rally his men, Bee used Gen. Thomas J. Jackson’s newly arrived brigade as an anchor. Pointing to Jackson, Bee shouted, “There stands Jackson like a stone wall! Rally behind the Virginians!” Generals Johnston and Beauregard then arrived on Henry Hill, where they assisted in rallying shattered brigades and redeploying fresh units that were marching to the point of danger.
About noon, the Federals stopped their advance to reorganize for a new attack. The lull lasted for about an hour, giving the Confederates enough time to reform their lines. Then the fighting resumed, each side trying to force the other off Henry Hill. The battle continued until just after 4p.m., when fresh Southern units crashed into the Union right flank on Chinn Ridge, causing McDowell’s tired and discouraged soldiers to withdraw.
At first the withdrawal was orderly. Screened by the regulars, the three-month volunteers retired across Bull Run, where they found the road to Washington jammed with the carriages of congressmen and others who had driven out to Centreville to watch the fight. Panic now seized many of the soldiers and the retreat became a rout. The Confederates, though bolstered by the arrival of President Jefferson Davis on the field just as the battle was ending, were too disorganized to follow up on their success. Daybreak on July 22 found the defeated Union army back behind the bristling defenses of Washington.
Battle of Second Manassas (Second Bull Run)
After the Union defeat at Manassas in July 1861, Gen. George B. McClellan took command of the Federal forces in and around Washington and organized them into a formidable fighting machine- the Army of the Potomac. In March 1862, leaving a strong force to cover the capital, McClellan shifted his army by water to Fort Monroe on the tip of the York-James peninsular, only 100 miles southeast of Richmond. Early in April he advanced toward the Confederate capital.
Anticipating such a move, the Southerners abandoned the Manassas area and marched to meet the Federals. By the end of May, McClellan's troops were within sight of Richmond. Here Gen. Joseph E. Johnston's Confederate army assailed the Federals in the bloody but inconclusive Battle of Seven Pines. Johnston was wounded, and President Davis placed Gen. Robert E. Lee in command. Seizing the offensive, Lee sent his force (now called the Army of Northern Virginia) across the Chickahominy River and, in a series of savage battles, pushed McClellan back from the edge of Richmond to a position on the James River.
At the same time, the scattered Federal forces in northern Virginia were organized into the Army of Virginia under the command of Gen. John Pope, who arrived with a reputation freshly won in the war's western theater. Gambling that McClellan would cause no further trouble around Richmond, Lee sent Stonewall Jackson's corps northward to "suppress" Pope. Jackson clashed indecisively with part of Pope's troops at Cedar Mountain on August 9. Meanwhile, learning that the Army of the Potomac was withdrawing by water to join Pope, Lee marched with Gen. James Longstreet's corps to bolster Jackson. On the Rapidan, Pope successfully blocked Lee's attempts to gain the tactical advantage, and then withdrew his men north of the Rappahannock River. Lee knew that if he was to defeat Pope he would have to strike before McClellan's army arrived in northern Virginia. On August 25 Lee boldly started Jackson's corps on a march of over 50 miles, around the Union right flank to strike at Pope's rear.
Two days later, Jackson's veterans seized Pope's supply depot at Manassas Junction. After a day of wild feasting, Jackson burned the Federal supplies and moved to a position in the woods at Groveton near the old Manassas battlefield.
Pope, stung by the attack on his supply base, abandoned the line of the Rappahannock and headed towards Manassas to "bag" Jackson. At the same time, Lee was moving northward with Longstreet's corps to reunite his army. On the afternoon of August 28, to prevent the Federal commander's efforts to concentrate at Centreville and bring Pope to battle, Jackson ordered his troops to attack a Union column as it marched past on the Warrenton Turnpike. This savage fight at Brawner's Farm lasted until dark.
Convinced that Jackson was isolated, Pope ordered his columns to converge on Groveton. He was sure that he could destroy Jackson before Lee and Longstreet could intervene. On the 29th Pope's army found Jackson's men posted along an unfinished railroad grade, north of the turnpike. All afternoon, in a series of uncoordinated attacks, Pope hurled his men against the Confederate position. In several places the northerners momentarily breached Jackson's line, but each time were forced back. During the afternoon, Longstreet's troops arrived on the battlefield and, unknown to Pope, deployed on Jackson's right, overlapping the exposed Union left. Lee urged Longstreet to attack, but "Old Pete" demurred. The time was just not right, he said.
The morning of August 30 passed quietly. Just before noon, erroneously concluding the Confederates were retreating, Pope ordered his army forward in "pursuit". The pursuit, however, was short-lived. Pope found that Lee had gone nowhere. Amazingly, Pope ordered yet another attack against Jackson's line. Fitz-John Porter's corps, along with part of McDowell's, struck Starke's division at the unfinished railroad's "Deep Cut." The southerners held firm, and Porter's column was hurled back in a bloody repulse.
Seeing the Union lines in disarray, Longstreet pushed his massive columns forward and staggered the Union left. Pope's army was faced with annihilation. Only a heroic stand by northern troops, first on Chinn Ridge and then once again on Henry Hill, bought time for Pope's hard-pressed Union forces. Finally, under cover of darkness the defeated Union army withdrew across Bull Run towards the defenses of Washington. Lee's bold and brilliant Second Manassas campaign opened the way for the south's first invasion of the north, and a bid for foreign intervention.
The Sun Inn, Hawkshead, Lake District, Cumbria
Some background information:
The Sun Inn is a traditional Lakeland pub, which was built in the 16th century on the land of a grammar school. Therefore at first the owners had to pay rent to the grammar school governors. Records also show that the landlord in 1720 was a man with the name George Walker. After George Walker left there were many landlords between 1720 and 1826. During this time the grammar school governors became lax and no rent was collected. One enterprising tenant realised, that the back rent would be crippling, so he drew up some bogus deeds and sold The Sun Inn.
In 1826 the church commissioners started to sort out the grammar school accounts, which were in disarray. They approached Mrs Ladyman, the current tenant, for some rent. She brought our her "deeds" from the sale. Eventually the High Courts in London judged in both the grammar school's and Mrs Ladyman’s favour, that Mrs Ladyman had nothing to pay as long as she left immediately.
So Mrs Ladyman left The Sun Inn, which was a profitable business and had prospered over the years. But from the money, she earned at The Sun Inn, she was able to buy a different pub, the Queens Head further along the road.
By the way, isn’t it a strange coincidence that the Sun newspaper, one of the biggest popular newspapers in the UK, has recently rated The Sun Inn as one of the best family pubs in England?
Hawkshead It is one of the prettiest villages in the Lake District, with many buildings dating from the 17th century. It has about 600 inhabitants, a lively community and a high pub to population ratio. The village is situated just north of Esthwaite Water, in a valley to the west of Windermere and east of Coniston Water.
Originally Hawkshead was owned by the monks of Furness Abbey. After the dissolution of the monasteries in 1532 it grew to be an important wool market and was granted its first market charter by King James I in 1608.
During the 18th and 19th centuries, Hawkshead became a village (or town at the time) of important local stature. The famous poet William Wordsworth was educated in its grammar school, whilst the author and illustrator Beatrix Potter lived nearby, marrying William Heelis, a local solicitor in the early 20th century.
Upon the formation of the Lake District National Park in 1951, tourism grew in importance, though traditional farming still goes on. Today much of the land in and around the village is owned by the National Trust.
I discovered this location while driving to the franco-cypriot school in Nicosia, Cyprus. These are governmental buildings next to the police academy. The complex is to be destroyed in the near future. I was interested in catching the effects of time on official government owned buildings.
On Monday April 12 I arrived at the nest around 8:45 AM and watched until 10:15 AM. There had been heavy rain with strong winds overnight. We agreed that the nest had suffered some damage to the right (west) side, with nesting materials sagging and the nest bole appearing to have tilted somewhat towards the left. Jewel was roosting in the usual spot in the tall Australian Pine on the corner of Pines & 208th. She was obviously wet and bedraggled. Feathers were in disarray with barbs detatched. She fluffed and pruned until her plumage was back in shape. The she flew out to pick some fresh leaves from the top of a pine, then returned biefly to deposit them on the nest. Then she flew out to the NW and within 15 minutes returned with a fish. She fed the two eaglets. I only obtained one view clearly showing both eaglets. The were begging just as she arrived with the fish.
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Minolta XK - Rokkor MD 50mm f/1.4 - Ilford HP5 (possibly slightly expired) - processed and scanned by a local camera shop
After years of asking, my dad finally let me have the camera I started with that he loaned me for class in high school years ago -- a Minolta XK. These are from the first roll. A few mistakes, a few camera issues, and a little to get back up to speed with film after years of digital.
I haven't posted lately due to a move, and my office/workstation is still in disarray but haven't stopped shooting and now have over 7,500 digital images to sort through. Since I haven't posted I figured I'd post these straight from the photo lab.
In 1928, John D. Rockefeller envisioned Rockefeller Center as the site of three huge office buildings and an ideally-located opera house. The stock market crash of 1929 forced him to re-evaluate his plans. The opera house backed out of its deal and the whole project was sent into disarray and confusion.
Not to be thwarted, Rockefeller and his lead architect, Raymond Hood, set to work on what was to become the first integrated office complex in the world, combining shops, gardens, restaurants and entertainment.
The first of 14 buildings was completed during the depression era between 1931 and 1940, and provided jobs for over 225,000 people. Thirty Rockefeller Plaza, with its gilded statue of Prometheus at the entrance, was another of the early buildings constructed and is the largest. The famous Radio City Music Hall was added in 1932 and features the famous Rockettes chorus line, a highlight during the Christmas and Easter season. The music hall, which features year-round entertainment from top performers, seats 5,874 people, and is an Art Deco masterpiece.
Another of the magnificent treasures found at Rockefeller Center is the statue of Atlas. Lee Lawrie designed this 4,000 lb (1,800 kg) bronze statue at the entrance to the International Building on Fifth Avenue at West 50th Street. Atlas is just one of twelve Lawrie works that one can view at Rockefeller Center.
Known as much for its outdoor spaces as it is for its indoor areas, Rockefeller Center features an outdoor cafe, the sloping Channel Garden, and a skating rink. Each Christmas season, the world's largest decorated tree sits next to the skating rink. Beneath Rockefeller Center are shops and restaurants. There are upscale shops of all types here, and visitors can purchase anything from Japanese books to Italian leather goods. For special gifts, visit the Metropolitan Museum of Art Store or Agatha, which offers French costume jewelry.
Kermit Hinkle, an old school craftsman, passed away some over a year ago. A widower, he made it to 92. Unfortunately, I didn’t see much of him in his last few years. My connection with him came about because he sharpened saw blades, a service I occasionally needed. He provided it well, doing excellent quality work at an extremely reasonable price.
When I dropped off or picked up a blade or two, it would take a while, because he loved to show off his shop and talk about his latest projects. Likewise, he couldn’t resist talking about his gardening efforts, which resulted in both floral and edible forms of produce.
The auction of his estate was held the other day. Despite it being a hard-edged, cold day, I went to the house. I’d been thinking it would be nice to have a tool or two which Kermit had used and diligently maintained. Or should I say, had lovingly taken care of.
His house was sold quickly, in ten minutes or less. Then it was on to his garage and workshop. In typical auction company modus operandi, the “littles” were grouped into lots for convenience – a few clamps here, an assortment of hand tools there, some garden items in a corner, and so on. It didn’t appear that much if any thought had been given to putting things into batches.
When we – the auction team and a dozen or so older guys – moved on to Kermit’s compact shop building, “it” hit me and I knew I wouldn’t be able to make a bid in pursuit of anything from his collection. The entropy factor had been accelerating over the last several years of Kermit’s life. The shop was packed with way too much stuff and it had degenerated into dusty, grimy disarray. Disarray, of course, is always at its worst when it involves a collection of things crammed into too little space.
So, the auctioneer dealt with the situation in what must have seemed like the only practical, expedient manner. Everything between a vaguely designated Point A and Point B – perhaps one half of a wall, or one corner of the shop, loosely speaking, was offered as “Lot 42” or whatever. He was an efficient auctioneer and didn’t waste any time trying to push bidding beyond its natural bounds or comfort zone. Each lot typically sold within a couple minutes, often for five or ten dollars, occasionally $15 or $20.
It was over in 45 minutes. I stepped out into the cold again, my bidder number still safely in my pocket. Walking to the car, I found myself wondering what Kermit would’ve thought if he’d been there. No ... not really wondering. For him, I’m sure the stuff was priceless.
.
she sits crouched at the bottom of the stair, a girl with her skirt tucked expertly under her knees, a book balanced there with the pages fanned, her arm drifting and suspended, fingers curled towards the palm. her face turned away, surprised by the figure mounted at the top of the stairs on the floor above, a woman wearing a shabby black cocktail dress, her features altered since the last moment.
i made a mistake about the number, the woman says, and then turns.
..
the girl rushes forward and everything begins to shudder, flowers caught in disarray, her hair upset, strands clinging to the long gold chain lopped around her neck. she lifts her hands as if she could stop the door from closing, if she is quick enough, if she is in time. the woman behind her yawns wearily, settled in her coat, ready for the rain to start falling.
…
she stands at the edge of the spotlight, the toe of her pointed boot nudging aside the compass, as if she could convince the encroaching dark to split its tightening fist. do you hear me? she says. from above, she is very small, no more than a girl in a dress that has gotten too long, and the black birds in the tree laugh a little and then return to preening their miserable feathers. the iron fence grows ever tall and cold and the tree’s leafless branches seem merely a chaos of shadow, overthrown and confused, at the bottom of the hill.
i smell salt air, she says. she can’t keep watch from here: the things she needs to see are so far away. she should not have left.
….
the house unfolded at the middle, two wings multiplying: more windows and chimneys than a girl has use for. she is always running around in her best dress, a girl wearing only one shoe, the other held tenderly by a strap. there is a path peppered with fallen leaves and a way towards the house but she turns and continues turning, a circle growing smaller as she spins on her bare foot, a great volume of silk swirling around her shoulders like an astonishing sea creature. don’t go, she says, but it took her too long to recognize the effect of light moving furiously.
…..
the grey flattens all that there is, dulls what might shine. she sits waiting with a box perched on her knees, sitting doing nothing but staring at the crack in the ground that spreads out before her, a crack that splits in two directions, a jagged movement that halts before it gets too far. she could watch the progress of this cavern and wait but she’s done enough watching and waiting. she rises and all kinds of flowers crowd around her and voices in the background come close to remind her to hurry. she tucks the box under her arm and shakes back her hair.
……
the wall in its coarse coat of grey, water stained and salt worn. she goes and dumps herself against an outcrop of brick, tossing the box to the floor, folding one arm over herself and grasping her elbow with her hand. she remembers that something happened to her here. she tells herself a new version of events, that she is glad she’s decided to return, despite the hank of shorn blonde hair hidden in the box. these contents are suddenly precious to her; it is not possible but now it is the truth.
Theme: Random
Today was mixture of happiness and utter frustration.
The happy part is that my new FlashWaves arrived, and did so less than 19 hours after my order was placed online! I really couldn't believe it, in fact, I even rejected the package the first time. It was Saturday morning, 11am when I was awoken by pounding on my door. I stumbled out of bed naked, partially hung over with a swollen right eye and a groggy head. I yelled "Who is it?" numerous times figuring only foreigner friends would pound so obnoxiously.
Eventually, as my eyesight sharpened, I found a towel to wrap around me, opened the door and saw a Korean delivery man unfazed by my obvious state of disarray. He asked me if I was Park Jong Hong to which I replied "No". He turned around and started back down the stairs, meanwhile I turned around, dropped my towel and started back to bed. Seconds later he burst through my door only to find me standing naked and shocked in the hallway. Again, he seemed unfazed by it all.
He passed me his phone and I spoke to the man at the other end who was Park Jong Hong, my co-worker who's name I could process now that my brain had partially booted. Every thing got sorted and now with new toys on my mind, I was no longer sleepy.
But really, who'd have expected a package to arrive so soon and on a Saturday to boot?
More good news: It turns out chanal 2 on my Flashwaves syncs with the default chanal set on my Cactus Triggers! I found this out due to impatience. The FlashWaves transmitter was ordered from a different company and didn't arrive as quickly so I figured I'd give the Cactus a shot and it worked! So now I can actually use up to 4 receivers simultaneously!
The bad news: The metal hot shoes I ordered off of ebay are absolute SHIT! The first one I installed has worked fairly well. I didn't think it was necessary to gripe about the shoddy build quality and hit and miss test button at the time I took this picture. But here are the numerous problems I've discovered on BOTH other units (that's a 2 out of 3 failure rate!)
1. Short circuit
-The short was caused from careless assembly, the centre pin was so far off centre it was touching the metal ring carrying the negative charge. I ended up chopping a portion of the ring away and eliminated the short.
2. Hit and miss test button
The test button felt like it was gonna fall out. It usually had to be wiggled to make the connection and even then only worked 25% of the time.
3. Hit and miss PC-Sync
The PC-Sync cable only worked in certain positions, from about 3 o'clock to 7 o'clock if you imagine where the cable comes out as the hour hand.
4. Defective spring ball on bottom of foot
Finally, the little ball on the foot didn't protrude out far enough to make contact with the hot shoe. When I added some solder to try and extend it must have melted the insulating plastic and caused it to come out a little further.
5. Poorly aligned and un-ergonomic tightener
The rotating disc that tightens and secures the foot to the shoe was at an angle so when tightened only a fraction of the surface was being utilized. Also, the small diameter of the disc makes it very difficult for someone with average sized hands to tighten and un-tighten.
6. Strong foot weak connection point
It's ironic, I replaced the plastic foot with a metal one not because mine had broken but because I'd been lead to believe it's much more robust and the sync way more reliable. Then, the very same evening I installed the foot, my flash rotates from 180 to 90 degrees, (I guess I didn't tighten the elbow) and the foot snaps! The only thing keeping my flash from plummeting to the ground was 3mm of wire. Sure, you'll never break the metal connector but what good is that when it's fastened to the weakest plastic money can buy?
--- Lessons Learned ---
1. Screw the metal flash foot! The stock ones are much more reliable, easier and faster to fasten and stronger in my experience. Instead I'm gonna convert the silly, unreliable sync Vivitar uses to a standard mini-plug kind.
--- Strobist ---
1 Vivitar 285 HV @ 1/1 at about 1 o'clock shooting through an umbrella. Another Vivitar 285 HV @ 1/2 at directly behind subject shooting through a purple gel.
--- Critiques Welcome ---
- www.comatosed.ca -
I discovered this location while driving to the franco-cypriot school in Nicosia, Cyprus. These are governmental buildings next to the police academy. The complex is to be destroyed in the near future. I was interested in catching the effects of time on official government owned buildings.
Scenes from the oldest cemetery in Los Angeles - The Evergreen Cemetery. It's in quite a disarray: the grass is unkempt, there are random dirt patches, and many broken headstones and fractured statues. It's a depressing site but fascinating nonetheless...there are sites dating back to the pioneers of LA and the tycoons as well - names like Lankershim and Van Nuys are highly recognizable by Angelino's! Check it out!
Wow, the U.S. had always been vague about a No First Nuclear Use Policy. Now, it's official, the U.S. could indeed use nuclear weapons against a perceived non-nuclear threat. What has this world come to?
The U.S. foreign policy appears to be in total disarray. The Biden administration has steadfastly refused to negotiate with Russia. That refusal led to Russia invading Ukraine. The U.S. then imposed various sanctions against Russia which resulted in global inflation and food shortages.
Now, the U.S. is trying to egg China to go into war.
After decades of a One China Policy where the U.S. has recognized Taiwan as part of China (the Shanghai Communique where the U.S. also agreed to decrease arms sales to Taiwan), Biden started selling billions of dollars worth of weapons to Taiwan, even said many times that he would send U.S. troops to Taiwan.
Then Secretary of State Antony Blinken declared China would speed up seizure of Taiwan, something even the Taiwan officials disagree.
In a major China policy speech Blinken gave last May, he asserted, “We don’t seek to block China from its role as a major power, nor to stop China…from growing their economy or advancing the interests of its people,” yet the Biden administration declared a total ban on sales of advanced chips and software to China, exactly opposite to what Blinken said. Of course, the U.S. is trying to contain or restrain China's growth and development. Anything said to the contrary is a total lie.
www.msn.com/en-us/news/world/pentagon-s-strategy-won-t-ru...
Pentagon’s Strategy Won’t Rule Out Nuclear Use Against Non-Nuclear Threats
(Bloomberg) -- The Pentagon’s new National Defense Strategy rejected limits on using nuclear weapons long championed by arms control advocates and in the past by President Joe Biden.
Citing burgeoning threats from China and Russia, the Defense Department said in the document released Thursday that “by the 2030s the United States will, for the first time in its history face two major nuclear powers as strategic competitors and potential adversaries.” In response, the US will “maintain a very high bar for nuclear employment” without ruling out using the weapons in retaliation to a non-nuclear strategic threat to the homeland, US forces abroad or allies.
Biden pledged in his 2020 presidential campaign to declare that the US nuclear arsenal should be used only to deter or retaliate against a nuclear attack, a position blessed by progressive Democrats and reviled by defense hawks. The threat environment has changed dramatically since then, and the Pentagon strategy was forged in cooperation with the White House.
The nuclear report that’s part of the broader strategy said the Biden administration reviewed its nuclear policy and concluded that “No First Use” and “Sole Purpose” policies “would result in an unacceptable level of risk in light of the range of non-nuclear capabilities being developed and fielded by competitors that could inflict strategic-level damage” to the US and allies.
Mackenzie Eaglen, a resident fellow at the American Enterprise Institute, said she was “struck by how strong their position is on nuclear modernization and policy, and how much national security continuity there is between administrations of different parties. They’re willing to postpone their visionary policies in light of the harsh reality on nukes from China and Russia.”
President Vladimir Putin and other Russian officials have openly raised the possibility of using nuclear weapons in their invasion of Ukraine. But on Thursday, Putin said Russia only gave “hints” in response to repeated US and European discussion of a possible nuclear conflict. “We don’t need a nuclear strike on Ukraine -- there is no point, either military or political,” Putin told an audience of foreign policy analysts outside Moscow.
In the document, which was framed before the invasion, the Pentagon said Russia continues to “brandish its nuclear weapons in support of its revisionist security policy” while its modern arsenal is expected to grow further.
Meanwhile, China remains the US’s “most consequential strategic competitor for coming decades,” Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin said in a letter presenting the new defense strategy. He cited China’s “increasingly coercive actions to reshape the Indo-Pacific region and the international system to fit its authoritarian preferences,” even as it rapidly modernizes and expands its military.
China wants to have at least 1,000 deliverable nuclear warheads by the end of the decade, the nuclear strategy document said, and could use them for “coercive purposes, including military provocations against US allies and partners in the region.”
Hypersonic Weapons
The nuclear strategy document didn’t spell out what non-nuclear threats could produce a US nuclear response, but current threats include hypersonic weapons possessed by Russia and China for which the US doesn’t yet have a proven defense.
It did spell out, however, in the strongest terms, what would happen to another nuclear power, North Korea, if it launched a nuclear attack on the US, South Korea or Japan. That action “will result in the end of that regime,” it said. US nuclear weapons continue to play a role in deterring North Korean attacks.
The nuclear strategy affirmed modernization programs including the ongoing replacement of the aging US air-sea-land nuclear triad. Among them are the Navy’s Columbia-class nuclear ICBM submarine, the ground-based Minuteman III ICBM replacement, the new air-launched Long-Range Standoff Weapon and F-35 fighter jets for Europe carrying nuclear weapons.
The review confirmed previous reports that the Pentagon will retire the B83-1 gravity bomb and cancel the Sea-Launched Cruise Missile program. But it endorsed a controversial Trump-era naval weapon, the low-yield W76-2 submarine-launched nuclear warhead, which was described as providing “an important means to deter limited nuclear use.”
The broader strategy report also offered gently worded criticism of major US weapons programs, which often run years behind plans and billions of dollars over initial budgets.
“Our current system is too slow and too focused on acquiring systems not designed to address the most critical challenges we now face,” the Pentagon said. It called for more “open systems that can rapidly incorporate cutting-edge technology” while reducing problems of “obsolescence” and high costs.
The Pentagon strategy documents were sent to Congress in classified form in March so they were considered during congressional approval of the fiscal 2023 defense budget.
time.com/6225745/biden-nuclear-defense-strategy-china-rus...
U.S. Unveils Strategy for Nuclear Threats from China and Russia
The Biden Administration unveiled a new defense strategy Thursday that puts the U.S. military on a Cold War-footing with China and Russia, detailing a plan to confront two nuclear peer adversaries for the first time in history with a multi-year build-up of modernized weaponry, enhanced foreign alliances and a top-to bottom overhaul of the American nuclear arsenal.
The strategy laid out by Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin largely breaks from President Joe Biden’s campaign pledge to reduce the role of nuclear weapons in U.S. strategy. There are a few nods in the direction of disarmament, including directives to stop developing a nuclear-armed sea launched cruise missiles, retire the largest gravity bomb, the B83, in the U.S. arsenal, and eliminate large stockpiles of nuclear weapons that have traditionally been kept as a “hedge against an uncertain future.” But there is no drastic change that non-proliferation experts were hoping for.
“It largely continues the nuclear deterrence strategy and posture, including capability added in the Trump Administration. It is unclear how it reduces the role of nuclear weapons as the President directed,” says Leonor Tomero, who served as Biden’s Deputy Assistant Secretary of Defense for nuclear and missile defense before leaving in October 2021. “There is an urgent need to reduce the risk of nuclear war, especially at a time when nuclear tensions are higher than they have been for years.”
The risks of miscalculation and of unintended rapid escalation could lead to nuclear weapons use, Tomero says. “These new threats require clear solutions and practical steps to adapt and strengthen deterrence to reduce these risks,” she says.
www.msn.com/en-us/news/world/china-wants-to-speed-up-its-...
China Wants to ‘Speed Up’ Its Seizure of Taiwan, Blinken Says
(Bloomberg) -- US Secretary of State Antony Blinken accused China of undermining the decades-long status quo that has kept both nations from going to war over Taiwan, saying Beijing was trying to “speed up” its seizure of the island.
“What’s changed is this -- a decision by the government in Beijing that that status quo was no longer acceptable, that they wanted to speed up the process by which they would pursue reunification,” Blinken said Wednesday during an interview at Bloomberg’s offices in Washington.
“They also, I think, made decisions about how they would do that, including exerting more pressure on Taiwan, coercion -- making life difficult in a variety of ways on Taiwan in the hopes that that would speed reunification,” Blinken said.
The latest comments from the top US diplomat rebuking China over Taiwan expand on Blinken’s argument from last week that China may seize Taiwan on a “much faster timeline” than previously thought. Those remarks caused a stir given the close attention paid to comments from senior US officials about the likelihood of a possible Chinese invasion of Taiwan.
Blinken’s latest criticism, part of a broader war of words between Washington and Beijing, also came shortly after China wrapped up its twice-a-decade Communist Party congress, which saw Chinese leader Xi Jinping consolidate his power.
China and Taiwan downplay the likelihood of an invasion anytime soon. On Wednesday, Wellington Koo, secretary-general of Taiwan’s National Security Council, said there were no signs Beijing would start a war in 2023. China’s focus for now was on domestic issues, such as its economic downturn, he said in a TV interview.
In a meeting with reporters in August, China’s ambassador to the US, Qin Gang, said speculation Beijing had moved up a timeline for an attack was “baseless.”
Asked about Xi’s power play in Beijing, Blinken said the US was focusing on how to shape the world order around China by strengthening partnerships with allies rather than trying to influence China’s internal dynamics.
“We’re not going to be doing anything to shape the internal environment -- these are decisions that China will make and that we can’t make,” Blinken said. “But we can shape the external environment in which China is actively making decisions about its policies in the world.”
‘External Environment’
On Taiwan, a Chinese diplomat reiterated Wednesday their desire to eventually “reunify” the mainland with the self-ruled island.
“We’re closer than ever in history -- and we’re more confident and capable than ever -- of realizing national rejuvenation,” Ma Xiaoguang, a spokesman for China’s Taiwan Affairs Office, told a regular news briefing in Beijing. “Similarly, we’re also closer than ever in history -- as well as more confident and capable -- to realizing the complete reunification of the motherland.”
Taiwan remains the key flash point and the most likely source of conflict between the US and China. Tensions over the island spiked dramatically when House Speaker Nancy Pelosi defied Beijing’s warnings and visited the island in August.
The island, which is claimed by China, receives billions of dollars in advanced weapons from the US. President Joe Biden has become more explicit than his predecessors about US plans to come to the island’s defense in case of a Chinese invasion.
“Everyone has a very big interest, I think, in making very clear to all involved, starting with Beijing, that the world does not want to see any kind of crisis regarding Taiwan, any kind of disruption, and the world believes that these differences need to be resolved peacefully,” Blinken said.
More broadly, Blinken said the US and China were now clearly engaged in a global competition to shape international affairs, with Beijing pushing back against the US to champion an “illiberal” world order.
“We don’t look for conflict. We don’t want a Cold War. We’re not trying to contain or restrain China,” Blinken said. “But equally, we’re resolute in standing up for our interests, standing up for our values. And again, when it comes to Taiwan, standing up for the proposition that’s held for decades, that these differences need to be managed and resolved peacefully.”
I discovered this location while driving to the franco-cypriot school in Nicosia, Cyprus. These are governmental buildings next to the police academy. The complex is to be destroyed in the near future. I was interested in catching the effects of time on official government owned buildings.
I discovered this location while driving to the franco-cypriot school in Nicosia, Cyprus. These are governmental buildings next to the police academy. The complex is to be destroyed in the near future. I was interested in catching the effects of time on official government owned buildings.
On July 21, 1861, two armies clashed for the first time on the fields overlooking Bull Run. Heavy fighting swept away any notion of a quick war. In August 1862, Union and Confederate armies converged for a second time on the plains of Manassas. The Confederates won a solid victory bringing them to the height of their power.
First Bull Run (NPS text)
Cheers rang out in the streets of Washington on July 16, 1861 as Gen. Irvin McDowell’s army, 35,000 strong, marched out to begin the long-awaited campaign to capture Richmond and end the war. It was an army of green recruits, few of whom had the faintest idea of the magnitude of the task facing them. But their swaggering gait showed that none doubted the outcome. As excitement spread, many citizens and congressman with wine and picnic baskets followed the army into the field to watch what all expected would be a colorful show.
These troops were 90-day volunteers summoned by President Abraham Lincoln after the startling news of Fort Sumter burst over the nation in April 1861. Called from shops and farms, they had little knowledge of what war would mean. The first day’s march covered only five miles, as many straggled to pick blackberries or fill canteens.
McDowell’s lumbering columns were headed for the vital railroad junction at Manassas. Here the Orange and Alexandria Railroad met the Manassas Gap Railroad, which led west to the Shenandoah Valley. If McDowell could seize this junction, he would stand astride the best overland approach to the Confederate capital.
On July 18 McDowell’s army reached Centreville. Five miles ahead a small meandering stream named Bull Run crossed the route of the Union advance, and there guarding the fords from Union Mills to the Stone Bridge waited 22,000 Southern troops under the command of Gen. Pierre G.T. Beauregard. McDowell first attempted to move toward the Confederate right flank, but his troops were checked at Blackburn’s Ford. He then spent the next two days scouting the Southern left flank. In the meantime, Beauregard asked the Confederate government at Richmond for help. Gen. Joseph E. Johnston, stationed in the Shenandoah Valley with 10,000 Confederate troops, was ordered to support Beauregard if possible. Johnston gave an opposing Union army the slip and, employing the Manassas Gap Railroad, started his brigades toward Manassas Junction. Most of Johnston’s troops arrived at the junction on July 20 and 21, some marching directly into battle.
On the morning of July 21, McDowell sent his attack columns in a long march north towards Sudley Springs Ford. This route took the Federals around the Confederate left. To distract the Southerners, McDowell ordered a diversionary attack where the Warrenton Turnpike crossed Bull Run at the Stone Bridge. At 5:30a.m. the deep-throated roar of a 30-pounder Parrott rifle shattered the morning calm, and signaled the start of the battle.
McDowell’s new plan depended on speed and surprise, both difficult with inexperienced troops. Valuable time was lost as the men stumbled through the darkness along narrow roads. Confederate Col. Nathan Evans, commanding at the Stone Bridge, soon realized that the attack on his front was only a diversion. Leaving a small force to hold the bridge, Evans rushed the remainder of his command to Matthews Hill in time to check McDowell’s lead unit. But Evans’ force was too small to hold back the Federals for long.
Soon brigades under Barnard Bee and Francis Bartow marched to Evans’ assistance. But even with these reinforcements, the thin gray line collapsed and Southerners fled in disorder toward Henry Hill. Attempting to rally his men, Bee used Gen. Thomas J. Jackson’s newly arrived brigade as an anchor. Pointing to Jackson, Bee shouted, “There stands Jackson like a stone wall! Rally behind the Virginians!” Generals Johnston and Beauregard then arrived on Henry Hill, where they assisted in rallying shattered brigades and redeploying fresh units that were marching to the point of danger.
About noon, the Federals stopped their advance to reorganize for a new attack. The lull lasted for about an hour, giving the Confederates enough time to reform their lines. Then the fighting resumed, each side trying to force the other off Henry Hill. The battle continued until just after 4p.m., when fresh Southern units crashed into the Union right flank on Chinn Ridge, causing McDowell’s tired and discouraged soldiers to withdraw.
At first the withdrawal was orderly. Screened by the regulars, the three-month volunteers retired across Bull Run, where they found the road to Washington jammed with the carriages of congressmen and others who had driven out to Centreville to watch the fight. Panic now seized many of the soldiers and the retreat became a rout. The Confederates, though bolstered by the arrival of President Jefferson Davis on the field just as the battle was ending, were too disorganized to follow up on their success. Daybreak on July 22 found the defeated Union army back behind the bristling defenses of Washington.
Second Bull Run (NPS text)
After the Union defeat at Manassas in July 1861, Gen. George B. McClellan took command of the Federal forces in and around Washington and organized them into a formidable fighting machine- the Army of the Potomac. In March 1862, leaving a strong force to cover the capital, McClellan shifted his army by water to Fort Monroe on the tip of the York-James peninsular, only 100 miles southeast of Richmond. Early in April he advanced toward the Confederate capital.
Anticipating such a move, the Southerners abandoned the Manassas area and marched to meet the Federals. By the end of May, McClellan's troops were within sight of Richmond. Here Gen. Joseph E. Johnston's Confederate army assailed the Federals in the bloody but inconclusive Battle of Seven Pines. Johnston was wounded, and President Davis placed Gen. Robert E. Lee in command. Seizing the offensive, Lee sent his force (now called the Army of Northern Virginia) across the Chickahominy River and, in a series of savage battles, pushed McClellan back from the edge of Richmond to a position on the James River.
At the same time, the scattered Federal forces in northern Virginia were organized into the Army of Virginia under the command of Gen. John Pope, who arrived with a reputation freshly won in the war's western theater. Gambling that McClellan would cause no further trouble around Richmond, Lee sent Stonewall Jackson's corps northward to "suppress" Pope. Jackson clashed indecisively with part of Pope's troops at Cedar Mountain on August 9. Meanwhile, learning that the Army of the Potomac was withdrawing by water to join Pope, Lee marched with Gen. James Longstreet's corps to bolster Jackson. On the Rapidan, Pope successfully blocked Lee's attempts to gain the tactical advantage, and then withdrew his men north of the Rappahannock River. Lee knew that if he was to defeat Pope he would have to strike before McClellan's army arrived in northern Virginia. On August 25 Lee boldly started Jackson's corps on a march of over 50 miles, around the Union right flank to strike at Pope's rear.
Two days later, Jackson's veterans seized Pope's supply depot at Manassas Junction. After a day of wild feasting, Jackson burned the Federal supplies and moved to a position in the woods at Groveton near the old Manassas battlefield.
Pope, stung by the attack on his supply base, abandoned the line of the Rappahannock and headed towards Manassas to "bag" Jackson. At the same time, Lee was moving northward with Longstreet's corps to reunite his army. On the afternoon of August 28, to prevent the Federal commander's efforts to concentrate at Centreville and bring Pope to battle, Jackson ordered his troops to attack a Union column as it marched past on the Warrenton Turnpike. This savage fight at Brawner's Farm lasted until dark.
Convinced that Jackson was isolated, Pope ordered his columns to converge on Groveton. He was sure that he could destroy Jackson before Lee and Longstreet could intervene. On the 29th Pope's army found Jackson's men posted along an unfinished railroad grade, north of the turnpike. All afternoon, in a series of uncoordinated attacks, Pope hurled his men against the Confederate position. In several places the northerners momentarily breached Jackson's line, but each time were forced back. During the afternoon, Longstreet's troops arrived on the battlefield and, unknown to Pope, deployed on Jackson's right, overlapping the exposed Union left. Lee urged Longstreet to attack, but "Old Pete" demurred. The time was just not right, he said.
The morning of August 30 passed quietly. Just before noon, erroneously concluding the Confederates were retreating, Pope ordered his army forward in "pursuit". The pursuit, however, was short-lived. Pope found that Lee had gone nowhere. Amazingly, Pope ordered yet another attack against Jackson's line. Fitz-John Porter's corps, along with part of McDowell's, struck Starke's division at the unfinished railroad's "Deep Cut." The southerners held firm, and Porter's column was hurled back in a bloody repulse.
Seeing the Union lines in disarray, Longstreet pushed his massive columns forward and staggered the Union left. Pope's army was faced with annihilation. Only a heroic stand by northern troops, first on Chinn Ridge and then once again on Henry Hill, bought time for Pope's hard-pressed Union forces. Finally, under cover of darkness the defeated Union army withdrew across Bull Run towards the defenses of Washington. Lee's bold and brilliant Second Manassas campaign opened the way for the south's first invasion of the north, and a bid for foreign intervention.
to my disarrayed life.
1. Bag from Thailand.
2. Nikon lens cap.
3. Zipper bag full of change, pressed pennies and a button.
4. Running with Scissors .
5. Refresh mint tea packaging.
6. Old Nike watch, they don't make these anymore which upsets me.
7. Fujifilm Z33 WP camera battery, which I broke.
8. A book of pages, where I try to record my day.
9. The top to Harijuku Lovers Music perfume, which I wear religiously.
10. Lumocolor never-dry-out markers. Too bad my black one dried out.
11. A mitten filled with receipts, gum wrappers and other trashy findings.
12. Sefora gift card with three cents on it.
13. Classic Ticonderoga pencils, a necessity.
14. Extra Spearmint gum, the best gum to ever grace my presence.
15. A medal from diving.
16. A pice of tile I found from a house they tore down in my neighborhood.
17. An assortment of lip products. (Burt's Bees original, Softlips vanilla, Nivea and C.O. Bigelow Frosty.)
18. Box my new watch came in. It has monsters on it...
19. A knot bracelet that was never delivered to the person it was made for.
20. A worn card from Janet Cardiff & George Bures Miller art gallery.
21. Necklace from the Metropolitan Museum of Art.
22. Blackberry cell phone. gotta have the berry.
23. One of those plastic rings from a clothes store hanger.
24. Good 'ol dental floss.
Now, this was taken April 11 and the contents of this bag has changed greatly. Surely there will be more of these pictures throughout the year.
Questions pertaining to the items or even my sanity? Post ahead.
Here you can see the start of a herringbone design, largely inspired by Tweed Run and 1920's men's fashion in general.
Here you can also see the glorious disarray of my work table: carved leather strips that will soon grace a bike trailer, tools, dyes, books stuffed with inspiration images.
Poor chicken she's moulting the spiky spiny hedgehog appearance are her new feathers the fluffy bits are the old feathers being cast aside. Settled up for the night roost but i've got a lens to try so hens it is. She will be fine...later...
My studio has been in disarray for a few months now. I finally had time to redress most of my pullips and rearrange things so I could display the new additions I got over the holidays.
Recorded on a shooting outing with Pam's Pics, mragan and FotoEdge.
Back when Kansas City was a glitzy gangster town with a thriving jazz scene, the Drum Room at the President Hotel was a swanky hang for guys and molls. KC’s dangerous, cool rep and the hotel both fell into disarray over the years, but downtown’s revival has included the restoration of the President to its former beauty, Drum Room included. The rebuilt venue lacks the kitschy appeal of its previous incarnation; the bar with drums for a top was destroyed in a fire years ago. But the retro sign outside the door is back, announcing a new Drum that is sleek, sexy and modern. A line of cushioned seating along one wall attracts well-dressed women who sip colorful martinis and flirt with the high-rolling gentlemen who frequent this hip, pricey joint. Live jazz lives again here, with local legends-in-the-making Megan Birdsall and Everette DeVan appearing regularly on weekends. (quoted from The Pitch).
39Pine is in somewhat disarray as it gets rearranged. :<(
This was initiated after the mountain module became the starting focal point on the table.
The module has 2 mainlines (MLTC Club Standard) and I decided to incorporate these into my home layout.
In the past I had 2x mainlines focused pretty much circling only the city & train yard sections, but definitely wanted now include the mountain.
This meant a reshuffle of all of the baseplates (as the mountain was aligned against the far table edge - whereas previously the city was aligned to the front edge) and in some instances a rebuild of certain infrastructure. It also has meant that I needed to add some additional table bases to allow for the mountain mainlines to swing back around the mountain to join the rest of the layout.
So at the moment definitely a work in progress while this piece of work continues.
I'm also changing all of the track to the MLTC ballasted standard (using not only reddish brown sleepers but also a black version) so that I can use it on club modules as and when required. This will mean that the existing red brick based ballast of my mainlines will eventually disappear. This is a long and somewhat expensive exercise but I think the end result will be well worth it.
You can also see my (work in progress) warehouse & container yard module in the front. At the moment the entire module (i.e. the front row of 48x48 baseplates) doesn't fit on the table. :<( With the rework of the layout the plan is to correct that resulting in an additional working circuit for this module located fully on the table.
Finally we gave up with the scraping. A bit later, we had painted some parts of it in case we were inspected, but had also decided that it was going to be replaced. (So we got to waste money painting a window that was being removed in a few weeks. Our thinking was that it was a sign of good faith towards our insurance overlords that we were indeed in the middle of "dealing with" this window, so don't put it on an inspection report.)
scraping.
house maintenance, living room window, peeling paint.
side yard, Clint and Carolyn's house, Alexandria, Virginia.
May 27, 2011.
... Read my blog at ClintJCL.wordpress.com
... Read Carolyn's blog at CarolynCASL.wordpress.com
BACKSTORY: So our homeowners insurance (Farmers) got dropped due to having peeling paint on our window sills (among other things). Weak. It was a LOT of work AND money for us to repaint all our sills. Wood windows SUCK!! Modern vinyl windows are MAINTANENCE-FREE!! Wood windows... You gotta re-glaze the panes when they fall out, and then the wood itself is always going to slowly rot away. We already had our cats knock a pane out, so we already had glazing compound for pane repairs. This came in handy when we painted our various window sills, as some also needed glazing compound.
So the largest window in our house -- actually 3 windows -- was a major pain, and one of the few single-pane windows in the house. It would leak heat/cold in the summer/winter, and looked really bad compared to the new siding we had installed 6 or so years ago. So we decided to go ahead and replace just this window (actually 3 separate windows). Man was it expensive! $2,350! Thompson Creek had the best pitch and data, whereas Home Depot required $30 up front for an appointment they never showed upfor and a list of 4 phone numbers to escalate (all 4 failed). So we had Thompson Creek do it of course! They did it, said they did it wrong, made us wait a month while making a new window (pro: they are all custom-made just for you; con: they are all custom-made, so a screw-up requires waiting for a new one to be made), then installed the new window, and finally everything was good and we were satisfied.
It was just kind of a pain because it cost so much money and had our living room in disarray for so many months, and the whole insurance basis for the situation was pretty bullshitty in the first place. We're not going to make a property damage claim due to moisture that occurs because our paint was peeling! Ridiculous...
I discovered this location while driving to the franco-cypriot school in Nicosia, Cyprus. These are governmental buildings next to the police academy. The complex is to be destroyed in the near future. I was interested in catching the effects of time on official government owned buildings.
At the end of May 1942, the Free French 1st brigade occupied the southern sector of the British 8th Army's deployment in the heart of Libyan desert, facing German and Italian Axis troops. This was a key point on the extreme left of the position since it could prevent any potential encirclement from the south of Allied forces retreating in disarray from the defeat and the fall of Tobruk that had opened the road to Cairo for the German tanks.
At the end of May 1942, the Free French 1st brigade occupied the southern sector of the British 8th Army's deployment in the heart of Libyan desert, facing German and Italian Axis troops. This was a key point on the extreme left of the position since it could prevent any potential encirclement from the south of Allied forces retreating in disarray from the defeat and the fall of Tobruk that had opened the road to Cairo for the German tanks.
~Credits~
Hair: Doe: Spring Breeze (twotone) - Candy RARE From: Whimsical May 2017
Make-Up: Lovely Disarray - The Kitsune Tribe - Catwa [Unisex] @ The Kawaii Project May 2017
Eyebrows: [CX] Noh + Oiran Eyebrow
Outfit: -00-Houou- from: Kagami - July 2017
Includes:
- -00-Houou-Earrings B:No.8
- -00-Houou-Hair accessories B:No.6
- -00-Houou-Haori B:No.13
- -00-Houou-F-Kimono B:No.18::RARE
Background: -00-Houou-Cage:No.15
Kitsune: CURELESS [+] Yokai Chronicles / Zenko Kitsune Ascending / NOIR
&
CURELESS [+] Yokai Chronicles / Zenko Kitsune Descending / PURE @ The Epiphany - July 2017
In celebration of the first lustrum of the Bridport event, I wanted to do something really, really special for this year's poster. It is dedicated to the people who helped to make the Bridport events special in any way possible. On stage, behind the mixing desk, taking care of the organisation and bookings, bringing an amp for everybody to use, putting fish on the barbie, allowing a bunch of loonies in their homes, gardens and inns, or simply just by visiting.
Beside that, the poster is also dedicated to the members of various fora who haven't been to one of the meets - and may never will - but their contributions to these fora brought so many smiles to so many faces. 74 Of these smiles are gathered on this poster.
Row 1
The good families who helped organising the meet over the years on the left, some of the guest musicians on the right.
Sylvia, Lauren, Phil47uk, John Vasco, Son of Vasco, Anne Vasco, Michael, Dan Wheeler, Chris Lonergan, Mutter Slater
Row 2
Avid Bridport visitors and contributors to various fora on the left, the rest of the guest musicians on the right.
Ted, Sliding Tom, Stowburst, Cookie-boy, Luggsy, LouieTM, Johnbeloe, Tom Compton, Toby Tomanov, Fuzzy
Row 3
Three Bridport visitors with the mates or brother they brought along to get on stage for this edition or a previous one, then three visitors who traveled all the way from a different continent to make it to one of the meets. On the right, the lovely couple that run the inn where the event is held every year.
Flameburst, Tim, Bluenote, Joe, Liam, Gumboot Craig, FrankieOliver, kernelofwisdom, joeobrien, Rachael, Simon.
Row 4
Bridport visitors from various fora on the left, visitors who mostly frequent Drude's forum these days on the left and a few more Drudites who have yet to visit a meet.
Gyro, Happy Grumpz, Rankleson, jimmyq, Paulygates, Drudeboy, Snaredrum, CuthbertG, L60N, Cowpuncher, Stevie777.
Row 5
Some of those for whom this year's meet is their first visit on the left and a couple more members from Drude's forum on the right. Between them, the three loveable old geezers without whom the world of guitar music would have looked quite different.
RedSkwirrell, Woderwick, Cpt Matt Sparrow, Ibis, WholeLottaIzzy, Rizla, Leo Fender, Jim Marshall, Les Paul, Slick, Ratso.
Row 6
On the left, forum members from the United Kingdom and Ireland. On the right, members from the United States of America.
doctorpaul, General Disarray, MenaceMartin, Lurcher, BrianGT, Thermionik, spacebubby, boleskinehouse, alligatorbling, X-RAY, onehippie.
Row 7
Last, but not least, members of various fora from various parts of the world. The Dominion of Canada, the Commonwealth of Australia, Continental Europe and more from the United States of America.
kmk108, Lyrica, colchar, Muck Fe, Shifty, meursault, VIN, MelvinDale, LazyDays, Leumas.
There's a limited number of tags Flickr allows per photograph, so I only tagged those who are tagged in other uploads to my account.
Jesus is Crowned with Thorns.
Who would have ever thought that the power of a single choice could bear over the destiny of the entire world.
God had seen so much potential in the good that man could accomplish that He took a huge risk and empowered humanity with the authority to become the steward of creation.
It is no wonder that through the act of disobedience, Adam sent the cosmos in disarray as everything under his authority, including the earth, got cursed. In Genesis, thorns are symbolic for that curse.
Since then, we've inherited a world where the innocent suffer, the weak are enslaved, and justice is hard to come by.
Beyond that, nature convulses every so often as typhoons, earthquakes, tsunamis and volcano eruptions claim the lives of thousands, reminding us that earth was ours to tend, but we had dropped the ball.
The crown of thorns symbolizes that Jesus has borne the curse of sin for us. Let it also remind us that we have been invited to participate in the ongoing redemption of the world. Our choices continue to shape the destiny of life on planet earth for generations to come.
Act: The barren thorn bush in front of you represent the deterioration brought about by man's continued abdication of his authority to tend the earth.
As you take a green strip of cloth from the bin, let it represent a challenge to yourself to do all you can to take care of God's creation, the environment, and resources around us. Over time, as God honors our choices, we believe that we will be able to leave a better world behind for our children and our children's children.
Now pin your green strip of cloth to the thorn bush.
We would also like to give you an opportunity to sign a petition encouraging the local government to plan trees even as they pursue the development of the city.
We have partnered with Alveo Land who has committed to fund the purchase of seedlings to be planted in various areas in the city of Taguig. Alveo will also be initiating a planting of 300 trees within the areas of their current development.
WARNING THE FOLLOW TAKES PLACE 17 YEARS, BEFORE THE CURRENT EVENTS:
Maverick: *singing* I am the sinnerman! *falsettos* ahhhh-aaahh.
The music stops and Maverick grabs the mic.
Maverick: Alright, everyone I got some news. This is the last show for us. Gravitas will be splitting up, due to artistic differences.
Crowd: *gasps and boos*
Gage: calm down everyone and listen.
Maverick: Thanks for that, Gage.
However, we will perform one final song. We are gonna take a five-minute break and announce the final song.
The curtains close and the mics are cut, for a discussion.
Maverick: Alright, so we need to figure out what song.
Johnny: Banners Of War?
Gage: actually I think we can all agree on that right now...
Maverick: ok it's decided then, make the solo rock.
Gage & Johnny: *nods*
The bands take their places, and the curtains rise up. Maverick looks at the crowd grabbing the mic once more.
Maverick: *grabs mic* So we have decided that the final song will be Banners Of War.
Crowd: *cheers and chants* ENCORE! ENCORE! ENCORE!
Maverick: *looks at the other two, and nods to them* ARE YOU ALL READY?!
Crowd: HELL YEA!
Maverick: *starts playing a very rocking bass riff*
Johnny: *waits for 8 beats before starting off with just the kick pedal*
Gage: *joins in after 4 beats with a badass guitar riff*
Maverick: *steps up to the mic and sings* Maybe it's a brick, that's dragging me down!
Mortars raining now, whether or not they fear it.
I don't want anything to be destroyed and sent into oblivion.
I'm in disarray, so lift up like a banner.
And Step into the ring for a battle you can't win. Swing all you want, it still means nothing.
You should've seen it coming bringing a knife to a gunfight.
And that banner you wave will be wrapped around your grave.
So, light up the banners, and let's go to war. ( *sung by Johnny* GO TO WAR!)
You've gone too far, wondering who'll save you when you're six feet under.
Raise up the banners of war. ( *sung by all three* BANNERS OF WAR!)
Say anything you want, but there's no getting out. (*sung by Gage* no getting out)
If this war doesn't end, then ill take you down with me! (*sung by Gage and Johnny* DOWN WITH ME!)
I don't need time to take this pain from me or change my mind.
You should've seen it coming bringing a knife to a gunfight.
And that banner you wave will be wrapped around your grave.
So, light up the banners, and let's go to war. ( *sung by Johnny* GO TO WAR!)
You've gone too far, wondering who'll save you when you're six feet under.
Raise up the banners of war. ( *sung by all three* BANNERS OF WAR!)
Gage: *steps forwards and starts shredding*
Johnny: *changes the drumbeat to synch with the solo*
Maverick: *changes the riff to match the solo. Goes back towards the mic and sings* So, light up the banners and let's go to war. ( *sung by Johnny* GO TO WAR!)
You've gone too far, wondering who'll save you when you're six feet under.
Raise up the banners of war. ( *sung by all three* BANNERS OF WAR!)
The music stops playing and the crowd cheers. The curtains fall, and the band walks off stage. When they step outside they see a limo parked.
Gravitas Manager: you three get in we got a client for a job.
Gage: But, we broke up the band.
Manager: This isn't about the band. It's about the other job you three do.
Johnny: Ok.
The three of them step into the limo and their manager closes the door as he sits in.
The Org CEO: I need to hire you three to take out my biggest competitor, The Blood-grave Corporation. I'll pay for everything you need for this job and the transport. *takes a puff on a cigar and blows the smoke*
Manager: They will do it.
CEO: money upfront for them, now get out of my limo.
The four of them leave the limo and prepare for the mission.
A LITTLE WHILE LATER IN THE CHOPPER:
Gage: Of course you have to use your gold and red guns.
Maverick: Sorry I didn't spend all my money from the gigs, on cybernetics like you two. They happen to be custom made pistols designed specifically for me.
Gage: WHO THE FUCK CARES! YOU ARE EASILY SPOTTED!
Maverick: ATLEAST IM STEALTHIER THAN YOU!
Johnny: See, this is why we agreed to split the band up.
Maverick & Gage: *in unison* SHUT UP JOHNNY!
Johnny: *sighs*
The chopper arrives on the roof.
Maverick: *notices a rocket launcher* EVERYBODY JUMP!
The three of them jump with the bomb. They make their way to the weakest part of the tower.
Gage: *changes into a suit and tosses the other two their suits* I'm Going to walk out the front as I work here. Get changed you two.
Maverick: I'll find my own way out.
Maverick and Johnny make their way to the roof, killing the private militia. They get to the roof and a big guy in armor knocks Maverick to his ass. the armored guy stomps on Maverick's left arm completely breaking it.
Maverick: *screams out in agony*
The armored guy pulls out a badass revolver, lifting up Maverick to a sitting position. He places the gun near Maverick's left ear and pulls the trigger. The sound of the shot, ruptures Mavericks left eardrum. The bullet kills Johnny. Maverick pulls out the gun from the right holster and shoots the armored guy in between the eyes.
Maverick: *looks over at Johnny's dead body and holsters his right gun* Rest In Peace, old friend. *bends down pick up his left gun and sees a second chopper*
Manager: *dressed in protective clothing* Hurry up Maverick, it's about to go off*
The bomb goes off. Maverick bites down on his gun and woozily runs toward the edge of the building. He Jumps off the edge almost missing the helicopter. The manager grabs him and pulls him aboard the helicopter and closing the door*
Manager: Good thing an Evac was requested. Where are the other two?
Maverick: *woozily and drops the gun from his mouth* Johnny is dead, the other no idea. *passes out*
Two days later, Maverick wakes up and sees a cybernetic arm.
Maverick: WHAT THE FUCK? *stands up quickly*
Doctor: Relax, you now have a cybernetic arm and able to hear better now than ever before. I must tell you that your arm will only work for five to five-and-a-half hours, then you got to charge it. I'll give you the charger that holds up to 100 charges.
Maverick hears the news...
Newscaster: Two days ago, the Blood-grave Corporation tower was destroyed by a bomb.
It was believed to be by the hands of the former guitarist of Gravitas, Gage. He was arrested on the scene with weapons. Guess he had to do something after the band split up.
St John's Gate dates back to Tudor times; it was built in 1504 as the new southern entrance to the Priory of St John in Clerkenwell.
The Order of the Hospital of St John in Jerusalem was originally established to care for and protect pilgrims who had travelled to the Holy Land; by 1099 the Order had established a hospital in Jerusalem, where they cared for the sick and for the pilgrims who needed to recover after their long journeys. In subsequent years the Order moved to Acre, then Rhodes and Malta, in each case establishing hospitals. The Order fell into disarray after 1798 when Napoleon of France invaded Malta, but still has premises in Rome.
The Order had Priories in many countries, and the English Order was established in 1140 on ten acres of land in Clerkenwell. Over the years the Priory became very rich and influential. However it did not survive the Dissolution of the religious houses by Henry VIII, who closed it in 1540 and seized its assets.
The Gate had a number of uses during the following three centuries. Henry VIII used it as a store for hunting equipment (the area at the time was still rural). Elizabeth I used it as the office of the Master of the Revels, an early form of censor. She had many enemies, and all new plays had to be reviewed in case they contained seditious references. In the 1700s the Gate was the headquarters of 'The Gentleman's Magazine'; it also saw use as a coffee shop run by the father of the artist William Hogarth (he spent part of his childhood here). By the 1860s it was in use as a pub the Jerusalem Tavern, but was pretty run-down and dilapidated.
At this time, there was a move to revive the English Order, and its ideals of care for the sick. It was the Industrial Revolution, and accidents were common in the new factories. The St John Ambulance Brigade was formed to teach first aid techniques so that victims could be kept alive until medical help could arrive, and to provide means or transporting victims to hospital. Queen Victoria re-established the order in 1888, and the Order decided to refurbish the Gate for use as its headquarters.
Today, the Gate houses a museum, which traces the history of the Order from the hospital in Jerusalem, through to the work of the St John Ambulance today. The Museum of the Order of St John is open Monday-Saturday, 10am to 5pm, and is free. Guided tours of the Gate take place on Tuesdays, Fridays and Saturdays at 11am and 2pm; these are free but a donation of £5, to fund the Order's work, is suggested. The Priory church, which contains the original 12th Century crypt, can also be visited free of charge.
1. The Horse You Rode In On, 2. I can see my Cubicle From Here!, 3. Stick Fetus, 4. Exhibit in Yellow and Blue, 5. The Man from Florida State, 6. Dr. Girlfriend, 7. Extremely Dangerous, 8. Arches Ad Infinitum,
9. You Don't Know He's Looking at You, 10. A Frayed Knot, 11. Bucket Baby, 12. Buttons of Peril, 13. Soap Bubble, 14. The Danger of Death, 15. Last one in..., 16. Free Advice*,
17. Marbled Tulip, 18. Shocker, 19. The Sun King, 20. Now that's what I call express!, 21. A Branch of Hope, 22. Encapsulating Darkness, 23. Otakon, 24. No Future,
25. Never Trust a One Eyed Monkey, 26. Shower Tester, 27. Crushing Hazard, 28. Virgin at the Top of the Stairs, 29. columbia tree, 30. She's Not What You Think, 31. A Peeling Bokeh, 32. We Have Ways of Making You Talk,
33. And the Whole Thing Ground to a Halt, 34. Good Food Served Here, 35. Kayaks, 36. Someone Once Told Me..., 37. My First Car, 38. Kaboom!, 39. Red Ornate and Shadowy, 40. White Lines,
41. Baltimore by boat., 42. Single Right Shoe Seeking Sole Mate, 43. Tower Envy, 44. It's the Holiday Season, 45. Nearly Blank, 46. I Can't Read, 47. Mahogany, Topless, 48. Tunnel,
49. Some Assembly Required, 50. Blue Blades of Glass, 51. Joce, 52. Crossed Walk, 53. The Orange Accordian Facade, 54. No Pooping, 55. This way be Bears, 56. Bee Clock,
57. Red Brick Disarray, 58. Jodi and Debi, 59. Purple Planks, 60. Firey Fence, 61. Beware the Shrubbery, 62. Graffiti Artist, 63. Window Garden, 64. Peace Flag,
65. Magical Christmas Wisk, 66. I Will Possess Your Heart, 67. 2 Benches, 1 Green, 68. None Through the Blue Window, 69. The Mural Painter, 70. The Brick Curtain, 71. Rusty Hops, 72. I'll Never Be Without Bacon Again
Created with fd's Flickr Toys.
November 21, 2015
Day: Saturday
Time: 06:03
I can't believe we both fell asleep!
I know we're exhausted and stressed, and Ramirez lost a lot of blood, but we both know better! We're damn lucky nothing got through my kitchen barricade, or any other part of the house. I don't know if the locked study doors could have resisted a direct assault. We're just damn lucky, that's all.
The fog is gone, and the ambulance is still there. Honestly, I half-expected it to have vanished with the fog. It's been that kind of a week.
In fact -- maybe it's stranger that the ambulance is still out there.
Whatever. We'll figure it out after we get the hell out of here.
07:48
I have to think -- about a lot of things. Mainly about what happened when we went out to the ambulance.
With Ramirez sitting on a chair in the foyer, prepared to shoot anything that came through the door that we didn't want coming through it, I opened the front door.
That was the first odd thing, that the front door opened. It had mysteriously resisted for so long that its new compliance was equally mysterious. Nothing stirred outside. There wasn't a trace of fog, no sign of the ambulance guys , but the ambulance still stood there.
I helped Ramirez up and we crossed the foyer, the weathered front porch, and slowly descended the creaking steps, Ramirez leaning on me and limping badly, his leg having stiffened up during the night on the floor.
We kept paranoid watch all around us, but nothing moved in the overgrown garden, or between the surrounding trees. We reached the ambulance, and I helped him into the front, driver's seat then stood guard with his gun while he fiddled with the ignition.
Ramirez knows a lot of expletives. He can swear in dead languages , which is damn impressive, but the reason for his swearing didn't amuse me. He told me to look under the hood of the ambulance, that he'd talk me through various things to inspect that could cause the engine to be unresponsive.
I didn't need to be a mechanic to figure out why the engine wouldn't turn over.
Hoses, belts, and wires were torn apart, hanging out in a colorful disarray like machine entrails -- just like the intestines and other internal organs of the partial torso wedged grotesquely into the engine compartment. I knew it was one of the ambulance guys only because of the shredded, gory tatters of the uniform still clinging to the ravaged torso.
Dead bodies don't bother me, not in any condition. I've seen so many by now that I realize they won't harm me, only the living do that. My stomach might turn if they smell bad, but that's a physical reaction, not emotional. Still, this was a lot like having a corpse hurled in my face, so I was startled. I swore and dropped the hood, which alerted Ramirez to something not being exactly as it should be.
I quickly collected myself and went back to him, telling him what I'd found. We debated about whether we should strike out for town, or retreat back inside the house. We decided to take the gurney from the ambulance and Ramirez could ride while I pushed. It would be faster, and save his leg, plus he could be ready to shoot anyone, or anything, that might attack.
The plan was working perfectly until we reached the front gate. The damn thing was locked again and wouldn't budge!
I was able to get a signal on my cell and I called Devon, but right in the middle of my description about what had happened, my battery finally gave up the ghost. Ramirez decided to call the cops with his cell, and he managed to tell them there had been a murder, and the address, before his battery died too.
We decided to wait at the gates for the cops, anticipating a lot of activity in response to news about a murder. An hour passed and there wasn't a sign, or sound, of cops.
We heard singing.
That's right, singing. From the tune and tempo it sounded like a typical Christian hymn -- you know what I mean. It was coming from down the road, faint at first, getting louder as the singers (quite a crowd, from the number of voices), grew closer.
It wasn't right. I knew it in a second, although Ramirez thought I was overreacting. It was too coincidental, and while they happen, I couldn't believe in this much of one; choir instead of cops.
I wheeled Ramirez back to the house, left the gurney at the foot of the steps, and helped him back inside, locking the door and keeping an eye on the driveway through one of the front windows.
Not long after we got inside, a crowd of figure dressed all in black approached the house. They'd obviously just come through the gates that had been locked against us. Their entrance into the estate made it obvious that they were "in" on whatever was happening.
We were ready for them, if they tried to break in, but they simply continued singing, passing the ambulance and taking the path that led around the side of the house, toward the chapel.
Ramirez urged me strongly (he yelled at me), to get the hell out of the house and make a run for the gates; and if the gates were locked again I was to get the hell over the fence and find help, but not in the nearest town since the police there were definitely suspect.
He insisted he'd only slow me down, and he'd never be able to get over the fence, so I had to go alone. We fought about it for a while, until he got it through his thick skull that there was no way in hell I was going to leave him here, alone.
He called me stubborn.
I called him a jerk.
10:15
Devon called on the house phone.
I came right out and accused him of being involved in every-freaking-thing that was going on in the damn house. (I mean, not EVERYthing. Clearly he had nothing to do with what happened in the journals and papers we'd found.)
Devon protested his innocence then got all freaked out about the torso in the ambulance and the fact that the cops never showed up which, he says, they told him, they had. In fact, he said the cops told him they talked to us and we had no idea what Devon's problem was, the house phone was out, that was all.
He sounded so damn sincere that I think -- I think I was wrong about suspecting him. I think the cops in the nearest town ARE part of this freak show, improbably as that sounds.
Devon said he's contacting the state police, alerting them of, not only our plight, but the apparent involvement of the local cops, based on their failure to respond and blatant lies to him.
If you'd heard him -- he sounded SO worried about us that I just can't believe he ever had a hand in any of this at all. Hell, if that's true, and he's totally innocent of all of the awful things I've been thinking about him, I'm going to owe him something expensive, as an apology. Maybe a pair of those Salvatore Ferraro's he's always gushing about.
10:50
The chapel must have amazing acoustics; we can hear them singing in Latin all the way in here. The Latin is probably why it sounds extra depressing and ominous. Ramirez is translating the song.
11:13
Ramirez translated the song. It does NOT sound like these people believe in a kind and gentle deity.
The song is all about wrath, and eye-for-an-eye kind of stuff, not to mention graphic edicts about slaying monsters, heretics, witches and the like, too. I'm just betting that these are the kind of folk who will find a convenient elimination clause for us.
11:57
I hope the state cops didn't get a call out to one of their people, but it they did, I hope a whole squadron responds. After what just happened -- they'll need a squadron -- or maybe one guy with a tank.
This tremendous wash of relief swept over me when the state patrol car rolled up to the house, lights flashing, red and blue playing up and down the walls inside the house.
It parked right behind the ambulance, and two tall men wearing "Smokey Bear" covers, got out on either side. I was delighted by their alert demeanor; holsters unstrapped, hands poised over their weapons, prepared to draw. Devon must have painted a pretty grim picture of our situation. Well, maybe not grim enough, in hindsight.
I helped Ramirez to the door, unlocking and opening it.
It occurred to me that the weird choir wasn't singing anymore even as the door swung open and I prepared to tell the officers we were glad to see them. In the short time it had taken me to help Ramirez to the door, the singers had converged on the officers.
All in black, looking like overcompensating funeral attendees, they stood silently before the officers who now looked less wary and more puzzled by their appearance. One of the troopers looked toward the house, to where I stood, supporting Ramirez, my mouth opening to shout a warning
I have no idea what sort of expression I wore, but I could see the trooper's, and I saw that he knew I was trying to warn him about some incredible danger even before I uttered a sound. I saw his understanding of that -- and also his understanding that it was too late.
The black clad mass swept over the startled troopers even as they drew their weapons -- too late.
I didn't see any weapons in the singers' hands, but gouts of blood, arterial spray, still misted the air as the officers went down under the black tide.
Instinct seized me and I'd taken a step toward the undulating mass, intent on helping the troopers, when Ramirez' arm tightened on me and his voice came out sounding as if he was being strangled, "God, no!" It wasn't just the horror and fear in his voice that stopped me; his horror over what we were witnessing, and his fear for me, if I'd taken another step. It was the way half of the black mass turned toward us, having heard Ramirez' warning to me.
Their pale, distorted faces, blood spilling from snarling mouths, crimson staining hands curled into claws -- that is what stopped me.
"Back. Back inside, slowly," Ramirez whispered to me, drawing me backward. I didn't resist, moving slowly as more and more of the singers turned their attention toward us.
I don't know what instinct told me to accelerate my pace, but I shoved Ramirez back, into the foyer, leaping after him and slamming the door shut in the snarling face of one of the singers who hadn't been with the other, but had been circling around and creeping up on us, from one end of the porch.
I managed to get the door closed and locked just as the first singer slammed into it. Ramirez hurled himself against the door, beside me, as more of the hellish singers thudded heavily against the opposite side, jarring my teeth with the kinetic force.
Ramirez told me that, if they started to break through, I was to run for the basement and escape through the tunnels. I told him to shove his chivalry up his ass. We didn't have to argue the situation any further, though, because the pounding on the door suddenly stopped.
We looked toward the windows on either side, thinking they intended to crash through, but there was no further sound from the porch. I left Ramirez at the door, creeping quietly to the window on the left side, venturing a peek outside.
The porch was empty.
I couldn't see the ground where the troopers were recently dragged down, so I didn't know if their bodies still lay out there, or if they'd been taken away, but their cruiser still sat behind the ambulance, lights flashing, engine idling. I wanted to make a try for the car, but Ramirez refused to let me out the door. He was positive that it was a trap, that the singers were baiting us, hoping we were desperate enough to make a reckless run for the car. I tried to argue with him, that even if it was a trap, I could probably outrun anyone chasing me, but Ramirez wouldn't let me try. We even had a tussle over it.
After I got over being pissed off, I realized that Ramirez couldn't make the run to the car, and I couldn't drive back for him. So, I agreed not to try, but not for the reason Ramirez argued (that it was a trap and I had no chance in hell of making it).
I stayed because there was no way in hell I was leaving him there, alone.
(This story originally appeared on my main page. Archived here. The rest of the original story, with new images, will follow.
Original comments are below.)
Azazel Azalee, delisha A and 34 more people faved this
cold pail (deleted)
9y
Okay....if a walker comes out of those woods, this will totally turn my theory upside down!
Teddi Beres
9y
(giggles) A walker. I can promise you there are no zombies.
belladonna quixote
9y
You're so fluffy, I'm always taken off guard when you get SO creepy! lol
Teddi Beres
9y
belladonna quixote I'm thrilled to terrorize you. (giggles an evil giggle)
Erebus Darkfold
9y
I swear I was not trying to cop a feel. That was just a happy coincidence. *laughs*
Teddi Beres
9y
Erebus Darkfold Eek! Naughty, naughty you! (giggles)
Azazel Azalee, delisha A and 51 more people faved this
cold pail (deleted)
9y
That is just too creepy! I don't like where this is heading....... i can't wait for the next chapter!
Lyrical Appliance (deleted)
9y
Great story!! Cell phone must have been on auto correct! Laughs..........stay safe!!
Teddi Beres
9y
Thank you! (And now that I fixed the typos, it makes more sense. giggles) Scare you later!
Teddi Beres
9y
Lyrical Appliance Cops, not choir! I need...darn it! (giggles) Thank you, we'll keep our heads down!
Marcela Andel
9y
Beautiful dear Teddi <3
Teddi Beres
9y
Marcela Andel That's so sweet of you, thank you! (I'm pretty blah compared to your pics; they're fanTASTIC!) huggles
Azazel Azalee, delisha A and 58 more people faved this
Chatwick Harpax
9y
I like the effects in this pict, chillingly sinister. Bravo ;)
Michael Patnode
9y
I do like this. Very cool. Don't know whos looking in at you.
Teddi Beres
9y
Chatwick Harpax Thank you bunches! (huggles)
Teddi Beres
9y
Michael Patnode Creepy neighbors. (giggles) Thank you lots! (hugs)
cold pail (deleted)
9y
A scene from the movie "The Others" Eeeeekkkk
Marcela Andel
9y
Ohh wow !!! Excellent composition <3
Teddi Beres
9y
Cue the creepy music. (giggles)
Teddi Beres
9y
Marcela Andel Aww, thank you! I wish I could take super cool pics like you, but that's what makes you special. (blows kisses)
Azazel Azalee, delisha A and 61 more people faved this
cold pail (deleted)
9y
Hmm...Devon said he would call the state police....it is past 11 PM and still no police.
Teddi Beres
9y
(giggles) They're using the 24:00 clock. It's 11:13 AM
Thierry Musette
9y
joliment bien pris
Teddi Beres
9y
Thierry Musette Merci beaucoup!
Chatwick Harpax
9y
I readily agree, there's nothing like a bit of old music sung in Latin to deaden a mood . Careful you two this could get nasty
Teddi Beres
9y
Mandy Kharis Thank you bunches!
Teddi Beres
9y
Chatwick Harpax NOW you tell me! (hides behind the couch)
Brysen Miller, Ｐｅｄｒｏ and 82 more people faved this
Emma Deelight
9y
Great shot!
Teddi Beres
9y
Emma Deelight Thank you bunches!
Chatwick Harpax
9y
Wow, exceptionally excellent photo, Teddi, and the story is coming along rather sinisterly I might add.
Congrats on the whole series so far ;)
Teddi Beres
9y
Chatwick Harpax Thank you lotses for the comment and the invitation! I hope to keep you chilled! (hugs)
Pomme Pancake / KUROMORI, Azazel Azalee and 49 more people faved this
Luca Arturoferrarin
9y
Oh wow amazing! Nice work! love it(◡‿◡*)red heart
Teddi Beres
9y
Luca Arturoferrarin I'm so glad you like it! Thank you! (hugs)
Chatwick Harpax
9y
Ouch in the chivalry dept there! It's gonna hurt when he tries to use it again Lol. Very well done, as usual
Teddi Beres
9y
Chatwick Harpax (giggles) I'm sure he'll be able to extract it when he needs it. (Thank you, and thank you for the invitation.)
Hasselblad 500cm 80mmCF, Acros. Hoya 9 stop ND filter.
Angkor Wat, Siem Reap, Cambodia, March 2011.
Disappearing act A.K.A. lets play hide the tourists. So you come to this place to see it for yourself and yet you forget that you must share it the masses. Its estimated that approximately 1000,000 people visit this site every year, which equates to around 2-3000 each day, but thats before you figure in the seasonality of the site. Yes surprisingly enough people dont come here as much when its pouring down (monsoon anyone?) or when it creeps upwards of 40 degrees C by 10am. Yeah so as you can imagine there are a good many people crawling over every nook and cranny on any given day in peak season.
The game for photography is to either incorporate these masses into your photography, go to more remote sites where the crowds are not or simply try and hide them.
The above scene presented itself to me on the end of a long day of touring. After hiking to the top of a near by hill only to find a few hundred people lined up for sunset I decided quickly to move on and went for something classic, the view of Angkor Wat as seen from the bridge/crossing. Lining up the disarrayed blocks seemed to make an interesting composition but I knew that the tourists present would be highly distracting. The solution: use a ND filter to add them to the scene as opposed to distract from it. Here they are seen in my minds eye the way the temple itself might see them, comparable a geological time scale, as wisps of movement and energy buzzing around, never still.
This one really works for me. Hope you like (get) it too!
What happens in the Green Room stays in the Green Room. Behind the scenes the models are kinda in disarray. Only Alex is ashamed.
King Tutankamun's tomb was robbed in antiquity but the robbers were apparently caught in the act. Plundered items were hastily reinterred leaving the chamber in disarray when reopened in 1922 by Howard Carter.
Photographed at the King Tut Museum in the Luxor Hotel, Las Vegas, Nevada
This papercraft is Sprite, from the Hob, which is a suspenseful adventure game set on a stunning and brutal world in disarray, the papercraft is created by Gabe Jackson for Runic Games.
You can download this papercraft template here: Hob - Sprite Free Papercraft Download
www.papercraftsquare.com/hob-sprite-free-papercraft-downl...
1/365 ////
I deleted most of my old photos because I needed a fresh start. My life has been in a state of disarray for too long now, but I'm finally putting it all together again so of course I started my third 365 project (and hopefully I'll actually finish this one)
EDIT: yeah i gave up
Abdur Rahman Khan (Pashto: عبد رحمان خان) (between 1830 and 1844 – October 1, 1901) was Emir of Afghanistan from 1880 to 1901.
He was the third son of Mohammad Afzal Khan, and grandson of Dost Mohammad Khan. Abdur Rahman Khan re-established the writ of the Afghan government after the disarray that followed the second Anglo-Afghan war. He became known as The Iron Amir after defeating a number of rebellions by various tribes who were led by his relatives.
ATHENS: Just four years ago, this ancient capital was remade for the summer Olympics by a new government that surged to power promising reform. Today, Athenians are faced with the worst unrest in decades.
As the capital slowly returned to its workday bustle on Thursday after days of violent protests following the shooting death by the police of a 15-year-old boy, the question on many minds was simply: What happened?
Or perhaps: What didn't happen?
For most Greeks, raised in a culture with a high tolerance for protest and disarray, it appeared that the Olympics were the anomaly, not the violence and government inertia on display here this week.
"The Olympics were a utopia," said Paraskievas Golfis, who was having coffee with his family in an upscale shopping mall that opened two weeks ago in a former Olympics venue here. "Greek reality is what we're living today."
A range of issues - economic stagnation, widespread corruption, a troubled education system, rising poverty, precarious security - were thrust to the fore this week as thousands of Greeks spilled onto the streets to protest against the government.
But were the riots a security situation handled badly or a social uprising waiting to happen?
Many demonstrations turned violent, guided by a relatively small group of self-styled anarchists. Although the government said it would not tolerate violence, it ordered the police not to use force to avoid further bloodshed. In the melee, hundreds of businesses were destroyed around the country, resulting in an estimated $1.3 billion in damage.
That even the peaceful demonstrations became so fierce speaks to the deep well of discontent in Greece today. Conversations with Athenians revealed a widespread feeling that they have been neglected - and this week abandoned - by a government they see as corrupt.
"The government just shows that it's disinterested," said Paraskievas Tilipakis, the manager of a shoe store in the mall. "We've lost our team spirit. That's why we're where we are today."
It wasn't supposed to be this way. In 2004, Prime Minister Kostas Karamanlis and his center-right New Democracy party soared to power promising to push the country into the future after decades of Socialist rule.
It pulled off the Olympics, reduced the national debt and boosted employment, but troubles remained. In 2006, the government revised the country's gross domestic product up 25 percent after taking into account the underground economy.
Since narrowly winning re-election in 2007, Karamanlis's government has been beset by corruption scandals and criticized for its handling of forest fires that burned out of control and killed 80 in the summer of 2007.
If people were angry with the government before the protests this week - and angry at what they see as police brutality in the teenager's death - they are equally angry at the government's response.
"Greeks don't feel safe and secure. They don't trust that the police will protect them," said Flora Vamvokou, 32, who was sitting at a Starbucks in the mall with two colleagues from the housewares store where they work. "The president hasn't even come out to address the Greeks and assure them and try to instill some sense of calm."
Her colleague Nicole Tsoukalis added, "This isn't going to end here." Salaries remain fixed at around 700 a month, she said, and the cost of living is rising. All this adds fuel to the fire. "It's a revolution we're living," she said, "an uprising."
But in the Exarchia neighborhood surrounding the Polytechnic University, an anarchist stronghold, some said the situation was not so much a revolution as a security situation that had spiraled out of control.
After the boy's death on Saturday, the violent protests began.
"The first night there was a reaction met with no response by the government," said Dimitris, a clerk in the Stournari bookstore near the university who declined to give his last name for fear of reprisals. "That gave them further impetus - that's why the riots spread."
On a street of charred shops and burned-out cars, he said that anarchists had spared the shop this time but had routinely given it trouble. Still, he would not consider calling the police.
"If you call the police, they say, 'We won't come to Exarchia,"' Dimitris said.
Hundreds of self-styled anarchists have long occupied the Polytechnic University. But since the 1970s, when the police opened fire on students at the school, the police are banned from college campuses unless asked to do so by administrators. They have so far been reluctant, for fear the anarchists will burn the universities down, said Christos Kittas, the rector of Athens University.
Stathis Kalyvas, a political science professor at Yale University and the director of its Program on Order, Conflict, and Violence, said: "Greek society has changed enormously since the mid-'70s. At the time, it was poor, isolated and politically and socially repressed. It is now a wealthy, liberal European society."
Yet the student uprisings in the 1970s still loom large in the public imagination, and the Greek press continues to foster a climate of hostility toward the police.
While violence may not be welcome, the anarchists meet with some popular support.
"The bottom line, in my opinion, is that their hold on Greece can only be explained by the culture of tolerance toward them," Kalyvas said.
Although there were no large demonstrations on Thursday, small groups of militant youths targeted police stations around Athens.
"Things are a scale or two lower today," Panayotis Stathis, the National Police spokesman, said Thursday. "There is a gradual de-escalation, and that's how things will be going."
Yet students have announced more protests for Friday and Monday.
Asked whether they think the crisis will force change, Athenians inevitably say no.
"This is the reality we like because it doesn't seem like we're not doing anything to change it," said Golfis, at the mall. "This is what we like. This is who we are."
I discovered this location while driving to the franco-cypriot school in Nicosia, Cyprus. These are governmental buildings next to the police academy. The complex is to be destroyed in the near future. I was interested in catching the effects of time on official government owned buildings.
In the far reaches of northern Scotland, within a village where time meanders at its own tranquil pace, a series of images unfolds, painting a tableau of life's relentless march amidst the shadows of climate's dismay and the distant rumbles of war that threaten to engulf Europe. It is a Wednesday evening, draped in the quietude of rainfall, a scene reminiscent of an Edward Hopper collection—imbued with solitude, emptiness, yet a profound continuance.
A Poem:
In this hamlet 'neath Scottish skies so wide,
Where the rains whisper and the winds confide,
Looms the spectre of a world in disarray,
Yet within these bounds, life finds its way.
Upon the cusp of night, shadows merge and dance,
In the pub's warm glow, eyes steal a glance.
The hearth's soft crackle, a comforting song,
In this northern retreat, where hearts belong.
The world outside may churn and roar,
With climates wracked and the drums of war.
Yet here we stand, in this time-suspended place,
Where tomorrow's worries are but a trace.
The local pub, our living room, our sphere,
A sanctuary from doubt, from dread, from fear.
We'll return come dusk, as sure as the tide,
In the rhythm of the ordinary, we take pride.
For what are we, but passengers in time,
Through days mundane, through nights sublime?
The question lingers, in the air, it floats,
Is this all there is? In whispers, it denotes.
Yet, as we stand 'neath the gentle pour,
We find beauty in the repeat, in the encore.
For in these moments, life's essence we distill,
In the quiet of the village, in the peace, so still.
A Haiku:
Rain veils the night's face,
Quiet pub bids farewell—
Life's quiet march on.