Reviews by JD Piche, RCRs Producer and Pop Culture expert, follow him on Twitter at @misadventurer

 

In the era of Too Much TV, Hollywood's Biggest Night has shifted from The Academy Awards to The Emmy Awards. With over 1500 television shows submitting themselves for awards recognition, the Emmys spread over 3 days to accommodate the multitude of awards, the week between the Creative Arts and Primetime Emmys is one of the most celebratory in Hollywood, with primping and pampering and gifting suites! This was also a big season for gifting for a few reasons, Celebrity Connected, the reigning Best Gifting Suite not participating left the title up for grabs, and Red Carpet Report's first time back to the Old top suite, GBK Productions in years, but have they lost their luster? With a Strong showing from Secret Room Events and Debbie Durkin's Eco Luxe garden party there's some competition for who had the Best Gifting Suite of the TV Awards Season.

 

Starting with GBK Productions, previously a two day affair, GBK would operate the Friday and Saturday before a major Awards show, down to just Friday now. The email stating press was to park offsite, versus their standard of comping valet, as well as the same email directing attendees to the wrong room at the iconic Beverly Wilshire Hotel. Two Strikes off the bat, with 25 Vendors spread into two rooms on the Mezzanine level with WEN Haircare as the title sponsor and the largest booth, in the center back of the main room, GBK attendees were welcomed by a DJ, and front loading the big ticket vendors like Biotoc Skincare from Korea, Paccioni watches and a week at FitFarm (Only for Nominees). Austere wood frame Sunglasses and Bowties. Several Skincare and Make Up lines as well, drink ware from Simple Modern, premixed cocktails from Vitani, Candles designed to help pets with anxiety from Athenaroma, a new kind of resistance workout from Booty Sprout, placed next to a bamboo toilet paper vendor, Khi. One of the friendliest booths was Just Food For Dogs, human grade dog food, was one of the only LA Local booths. To utilize the gift from FitFam, GBK attendees would need to travel an hour outside Nashville, take a trip to Turks and Ciacos for the Sailrock vacation, Orange County for the menswear vendor or a trip to San Jose to make use of the $250 store credit from Harborside Dispensary. There wasn't much, from GBK's 25 Vendors someone could actually use. Lots of Niche vendors. We left pretty empty handed, and disheartened at how far GBK, once the gold standard of Gifting Suites has fallen so far.

 

Debbie Durkin's Eco Lux Lounge, at the Garden lawn at the Beverly Hilton felt like stepping into Midsommar with white frocked, flower children with floral laurels in their hair guiding guests around, the restrained 10 vendors. The only suite with a lunch buffet and seating, Debbie's working with tastemaker, Shae Savin added some InstaGlam to the lounge, with a set of feather and flower wings for guests to snap a soulful pic with, while enjoying the September sun. With JillJoanne.com's bags, learning Meal Prep with Flawless Cuisine from Chef Lauren Lawless, some cold therapy from Upgrade Labs, The Elephant Cooperation's #TrunksUp campaign, The Spa Dr, Etana Beauty (who also had a table at GBK), CBD Drink Mixers from Everyday Natural Products, supplements from SoCal Hemp Company, bamboo bedding from Ettitude, and unfortunately due to a shipping mishap, Hope CBD's products weren't delivered until midway through the festivities, but well worth investigating if you're exploring CBD. They're an independent grower, Veteran and Family owned. Hope-CBD.com

Here are links to the products listed above

ettitude.com

etanabeauty.com

thespadr.com

upgradelabs.com

Hope-CBD.com

flawlesscuisine.com

enpstore.com

socalhempco.com

www.elephantcooperation.com

 

That leaves us with The Secret Room, curated by Amy Boatwright, at the InterContinental Hotel in Century City. With 15+ Vendors featuring Neva Nude body art, one of a kind pieces from Desert Daisy Jewelry, Inika Organic Makeup, luxurious lace from Dentelle de Calais-Caudry, and The Original fashion compression sleeves from Sleevey Wonders. Ooh La Lemon handed out dog collars with matching leashes and bowties in very cute themed boxes with a sample of Gangsta Dog gourmet dog biscuits (my puppies couldn't get enough of them). Secret Room also teamed with NoKillLA's Best Friends shelter, and ChildLife Liquid Vitamins and 1More headphones. The HIGH-light of the suite was From The Earth Dispensary setting up a counter sampling and explaining products from Kushy Punch (edibles), Papa and Barkley (topicals) & Kurvana (smokable) as recreational cannabis has become less stigmatized, they were the belle of the ball, and helped crown Secret Room, the Best Gift Suite this Emmys Season.

 

Check out these amazing products from the Secret Room event below

NKLA.org

RafiaJewelry.com

DesertDaisyJewelry.com

FTEusa.com

InikaOrganic.com

oohlalemonstore.com

PrimoWater.com

SleeveyWonders.com

childlifenutrition.com

usa.1more.com

www.dentelledecalaiscaudry.fr/en/

At Liverpool's Gay Pride event 2016

We're back at the Monaco Ballroom on Friday December 12th for the final show of 2008!! Make sure you make it to see how the year's feuds end at this season ending super show - GPW: "Christmas Crunch"

 

We promise we wont crunch your credit.... we'll only crunch your Christmas!!

 

GPW Heavyweight Title Match

Bubblegum © vs. Dirk Feelgood

 

Just a few months ago you'd be forgiven for taking a double take at this match. The friendship between the two former friends totally imploded with the desire to become Heavyweight champion. Refusing to accept the demise of his friendship with Dirk Feelgood, Bubblegum spent months in turmoil not wanting to retaliate to the cutting comments and brutal attacks levelled his way by former friend and champion Feelgood. As time went by however, Bubblegum eventually unloaded on Feelgood but this will be the first time the two have ever come face to face in a one on one match. And to make things just a little more interesting... it's for the GPW Heavyweight Title. Can the fairytale championship reign continue for Bubblegum, or can Dirk shatter his dreams and become the first ever 2 time Heavyweight Champ?

 

Tag Team Special, Skeletor vs. Stella

Lethal Dose vs. Voodoo & "Sober" Mike Holmes

 

Alan Alan Alan Tasker's henchmen, Lethal Dose march into battle against former stable member Mike Holmes and the man they hold responsible for Holmes' new found sobriety - Voodoo. Cyanide and Toxic hope to tempt Holmes back over to the stable that two months ago he turned his back on. They want to snap him out of the spell they accuse Voodoo of putting him under. However, Holmes seems very happy with his new outlook on life and he and Voodoo look to send Lethal Dose packing in this tag team special. Lethal Dose have warned they will not be coming to the ring alone though, with them along with their attorney and law - Alan Alan Alan Tasker will be a 12 pack of Stella. Hoping the case of beer will prove to be a bigger demon to Holmes than the tag team itself. To fend off the 12 pack, Holmes and Voodoo will have Vooodoo's trusty skull, Skeletor in their corner. An unpredictable tag team match. Can MIke Holmes stay sober? Will Voodoo's spells work? Or will Lethal Dose deliver a beating big enough to break Voodoo's spell?

 

GPW British Title Match

Jak Dominotrescu vs. "Super" Sam Bailey

 

After pinning the British Champion last month in a tag team match, WKD's "Super" Sam Bailey has earned himself a title shot at GPW: "Christmas Crunch". Bailey, already a former tag team champion looks to add to his growing reputation by capturing his first ever singles gold in GPW. While reigning champion, Romanian Jak Domitrescu along with his cohorts - The Eastern Bloc look to make life as difficult as possible for the energetic live wire. Domitrescu has held onto the title since April this year with help from his fellow countrymen, but are his days numbered as champ? He surely wont be alone in this title outing and will have the Eastern Bloc close by, but can "Super" Sam Bailey overcome the odds to win his first singles gold in GPW?

 

And, the main event for the evening is...

 

GPW Tag Team Title 2/3 Falls Match

MIl-Anfield Connection © vs. Young Offenders

 

The heat just got turned up in this feud. The re-united Young Offenders have the most established tag team in GPW - The Mil-Anfield Connection firmly in their sights and not to mention the tag team trophy. These two teams met in September this year where there was no clear winner decided after the match ended in a draw. There will be NO excuses this time to not find a winner. This, for the first time in our history will be a 2/3 Falls Match for the tag team titles. A winner HAS to be decided, but who will it be? A truley epic encounter is in our midst as Jiggy Walker & "The Model" Danny Hope try to cling onto the championship that has defined them as a team and "Dangerous" Damon Leigh & Joey Hayes, The Young Offenders chase the title that one of the most popular tag teams in Europe have never held. Can the re-united friends overcome the well established unit that is The Mil-Anfield Connection? Or can the well oiled duo of the Mil-Anfield do what they've been doing all year and win again?

 

GPW British Title No.1 Contenders Match

Harry Doogle vs. Juice vs. Dylan Roberts vs. Chris Echo

 

After an eye catchingly good year from rookie Dylan Roberts, he has been included in this battle to earn a shot at the British Title. With a burning desire to win and the fans firmly behind him, Roberts could well mark his arrival onto the main roster by becoming the No.1 Contender and going for gold here. However, his opponents wont give him an easy ride. In a wonderful CC-08 tournament, no one impressed more than WKD's Chris Echo. Echo reached the CC-08 finals with two broken wrists and proved he is ready to take a step up. His previous attempts for British gold have been thwarted by the foreign legion numbers of the Eastern Bloc, is he ready to prove again that he is worthy of being No.1 Contender and finally lift the British title? Juice, the current CC8 champion has been as impressive as ever in singles competition this year, but can he compete in this match with 3 others all vying to be No.1 Contender? Also replacing Jervis Cottonbelly due to injury is Harry Doogle as a last minute entry could one half of the next gen score the upset win? , but with so many possible outcomes who will leave with the plaudits and go on to challenge for the British Title next year?

 

Lumberjack Match

Si Valour vs. Heresy

 

A violent and personal feud that has lasted all year long finally comes to a head in what promises to be a violent Lumberjack Match. Ever since brutalising Valour and cutting off all his hair, Heresy has, in some form or other dodged the challenge of Valour. Heresy claimed not to have lost his bottle or be running scared of the 2007 Break Out Star, yet during their Bull Rope clash at GPW: "V" where the two were tied to one another, Heresy still managed to find a way of escaping and creating distance between him and Valour. This time, in a special Lumberjack Match, no matter where either man go - there will be no escape. All lumberjacks will be at the ready to ensure neither man can escape the others clutches and a clear winner, one way or the other will HAVE to be decided. There will be nowhere to run to and nowhere to hide, no matter where they look. Heresy has been one step ahead of Valour all year, is this where he runs out of excuses, or can the master manipulator manipulate another win?

  

Cabot, Arkansas

Cabot Martial Arts and Karate

  

Karate for Kids Testimonial and Review

 

When my eight-year-old son first asked me if I would let him take Karate for Kids, I was a little worried. Karate seems so dangerous and I was concerned that my boy would end up injured. After talking with my husband, we agreed to give the program a chance and now we are so glad that we did.

 

First of all, I would like to state that Master Babin is wonderful with the children. While I was apprehensive that the Karate class would be all about fighting, I was relieved to learn that the focus was more on self-defense and moral values. Now my son is healthier than ever, doing an activity that he truly loves.

 

I would encourage every parent out there looking for a fun exercise-based activity for his or her child to participate in their Karate for Kids program a chance. My son is constantly talking about what he learned in his past karate lessons and practicing his blocks and punches in the living room. He is even playing his video games less.

 

After my initial reservations, I now cannot imagine my son participating in any other karate program. Consider this my highest recommendation.

David S

 

Reviews on Karate for Kids

 

When my son started karate instruction with Karate for Kids, he was timid, had few friends and had trouble paying attention in school. I didn't agree with the doctor who tried to tell me he had Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder and that I should put him on medication to control it. To me, my son just needed some loving guidance, not to be medicated.

 

That is when I asked my good friend about her children's experiences with the local martial arts Instructor. Like my son, her children did not have a father figure in their lives and suffered greatly as the result. When they were approaching their teenage years, she decided to enroll them in karate at Karate For Kids Within a matter of weeks, I saw her pre-teen son and daughter become more confident, focused and goal-oriented and knew I wanted the same for my child.

 

After his very first lesson, my son, then aged nine, was already a changed child. He overflowed with enthusiasm as he explained how the karate for kids program pushed him to reach goals, but was "really nice" about it. To this mom, that means that my son finally got the caring, personal instruction that he deserves.

Thank you for such a fantastic Karate For Kids Program

Samantha W

  

Testimonial and Review on Martial Arts For Men

 

I am a forty-eight year old man and, until about four months ago, I had really let myself go. Between work-related stress and the other pressures of my day-to-day existence, I made little time for exercise and gave almost no thought to a healthy diet. In short, I was a mess.

 

One day, a colleague at my office took me aside and recommended that I sign up for the martial arts program offered locally. He had recently signed up for a class and loved it. After some convincing, I agreed to accompany him to his next class.

 

Fast-forward to today and I now love my martial arts training. Martial Arts for men workouts feels less like training and more like fun. I have been losing weight and now have a new energy when facing the daily grind. I have gone from one class a week to two, and am thinking of adding a third.

 

If you are looking for a fun way to get in shape, I would advise you to come on down our Martial Arts for Men Academy. You will not regret it.

Getting younger…

Lisa F

  

Testimonial and Review on Martial Arts For Women

 

I never would have thought that taking up martial arts, would change me so much as a person and in so many ways. I still use every occasion to thank my friends, for recommending me the Martial Art courses for women taught by a martial arts school that teaches quality skill sets for women

 

I used to be a very shy person, and had become quite fearful after having my purse stolen one evening. Now, that is no longer the case. Since participating in the martial arts courses, I have felt more empowered than ever. I enjoyed the friendly and encouraging atmosphere right from the start, and did not feel ashamed of my initial clumsiness.

 

Now, I can actually impress my friends with some of the moves I learned. Also, I am fully aware that martial arts represent a life style just as much as anything else. My Instructor simply amazed all of us throughout the entire program, with his dedication and willingness to teach us. In fact, we could hardly wait for the next session.

 

I truly recommend anyone to make the same change I made in my life. Looking back, I really cannot see my weekly schedule without my martial arts training sessions.

C McCrae

 

Martial Arts For Women in Cabot, Arkansas

 

Taking a martial arts class was not something I had given much consideration prior to turning 30. Wanting to preserve my strength and flexibility for years to come finally enticed me to take the plunge. The immediate results were stunning and I found myself feeling more energetic and confident in just a few sessions.

 

Not only are his martial arts skills top-notch, but I find his enthusiasm and enjoyment of the sport to be infectious. Considering that this entire venture was foreign to me, I felt right at home during my very first class. In addition to training in martial arts my instructor has a great deal of patience and warmth, the other karate students in the session were just as receptive to me. They really know how to make new members feel welcome.

 

Learning the forms and methods involved in martial arts is a great experience, but what makes these classes truly exceptional is that we learn how to incorporate the philosophy and principals behind this art form into our everyday lives. I look forward to my sessions with my instructor, and find his classes to be a great way to invest in myself, while having some fun at the same time. It is more than just kicking and punching it’s a well rounded martial arts program.

With Great Thanks,

Jackie W

 

He needs his bred 4s gone!!

Fishing date on the Big Wood River, ID.

Remembering Michael

 

“Every time I come here, I feel him,” says Terry McCollum, who coached Michael for three years before the 12-year-old was murdered in 1984 by a paroled sex offender.

 

“For the longest time, I couldn’t come here,” continued McCollum, 61, who quit coaching after losing Michael. “It was too painful. When Michael was murdered, it was like someone cut something out of me. Nothing was quite as safe or harmless as it once was. Nothing could be the same anymore.”

 

When McCollum reads the headlines, he sees the faces of other children who, like Michael, were murdered by child predators. The murders of two children by recently paroled sex offenders in 1984 changed Tucson forever. There were rallies and protests. Laws were made tougher. The words “stranger danger” were a part of everyone’s vocabulary.

 

The first came on May 6, when Michael Perry and a buddy were exploring downtown Tucson during a break from a national chess tournament that drew about 500 youngsters.

While strolling through downtown that Sunday, Michael and his friend crossed paths with William Castañeda, a paroled sex offender. Castañeda, a 43-year-old father of six, sexually assaulted the boys at a garage. He drove them to the desert near the Tortolita Mountains, northwest of Tucson. Leaving the other boy in his truck, Castañeda tied Michael to a tree and stabbed him to death.

 

The other child miraculously escaped, running through the desert with Michael’s screams in his head. Castañeda was convicted and sentenced to death. Before the sentence could be carried out, he died in prison in 1988 from liver failure.

 

“People before thought, ‘I read about that sort of thing in the paper, but it doesn’t happen here,’ ” recalled Peter Ronstadt, who retired as Tucson’s police chief in 1992. “This made people realize it could happen here.” But Ronstadt believes increased awareness that resulted from the murders protected children. “Who knows how many other children were saved,” he said.

 

Michael Elias stands on the third-base line at Michael Perry Park, watching ballplayers catch pop flies. It’s the same field he and Michael played on two decades ago. Now the 33-year-old UPS driver often spends evenings at the East Golf Links-Pantano roads park, playing ball with sons Jordan, 9, and Gabriel, 5, or coaching a team.

 

“Quite often, I find myself telling the story about Michael,” Elias said. “Lots of people here don’t remember. I find myself explaining it to people so they remember Michael.”

 

Elias said Michael loved playing Little League. “It’s the best time of your life.” On a recent day at the park, Elias recognized his and Michael’s childhood coach, McCollum and the two embraced next to a plaque commemorating Michael.

 

The families of Michael Perry and his friend have long since left Tucson. “Our memories of Tucson are not very happy and we try not to think about it,” said the mother of the boy who survived. “My son has really suffered enough.”

 

For Michael’s parents, who left Tucson in 1987 and divorced in 1999, the anger and fear the murder brought to the community stung terribly.

 

“I was very angry that people had to find a scapegoat,” said Dan Perry, 54, an engineer who remarried and lives in Escondido, Calif. “It caused a lot of stranger danger. It was, “Let’s make every child afraid to talk to a stranger, not ‘Let’s make them safer.’ ”

 

Michael’s mother, Dora, agreed. “Everyone lives in fear, and that doesn’t keep us safer.”

 

Dan and Dora have buried two sons. Four years before Michael’s murder, 4-year-old Kevin died from viral encephalitis in Florida. One month before his slaying, Michael told his parents he wanted to be buried next to his little brother. And so it is.

 

Another sibling, Dawn, now 24, was not yet born when Kevin died and was 3 when Michael was slain. “She’s had to live with this her whole life,” their mother said.

 

Michael was a sensitive, artistic child, his parents said. “The way he played the piano made it beautiful,” Dora said. “When Michael played, you could feel it.”

 

They remembered Michael had a hard time fitting in when he was younger, but was blossoming.

 

“That was one of the hardest things about his death,” his father said. “We were really beginning to see his future and it was great.”

 

Dan said he never could be angry with his son’s killer after evidence showed Castañeda’s father had molested him. “It would have felt good to hate Castañeda, but I couldn’t,” Dan said. “He became what he was not on his own. He was almost as much a victim as Michael in some ways.”

 

Michael would have shied away from having a park named after him, his parents said. But whenever Dora and her daughter visit Tucson, they stop by and watch the children playing on Michael’s field.

 

“Maybe he can look down and see the kids playing at the park,” she said. “That’s good.”

 

tucsoncitizen.com/morgue2/2005/07/22/115844-remembering-m...

All Saints, Bakewell, Derbyshire.

Memorial window (detail) to Robert William Mills Nesfield, 1905.

By Charles Eamer Kempe (1837-1907).

 

Charles Eamer Kempe was a painter of walls, ceilings and woodwork of churches in the 1860s. The style then in vogue reflected a resurgence of interest to high church practices. Kempe's training served him well, and he started his own stained glass company, CE Kempe and Co in London, in 1868. He was not a trained artist, but was nevertheless artistic, and able to suggest ideas which could be developed by his artists and cartoonists. He insisted that only the firm's name should take the credit for the standard of work produced, and that individual members of the studio remain anonymous.

 

Kempe perfected the use of silver stain on clear glass, which leaves a yellow tint, which could be delicate or deep depending on the amount of stain. His greatest stylistic influence was the stained glass of Northern Germany and Flanders from the 16th Century. He took many trips to Europe, often taking the Kempe Company artists with him. The insignia of Kempe, from about 1895 until his death in 1907 was a wheatsheaf, from his family's coat of arms. After his death, the firm was run by four of his directors, including his cousin, Walter Tower. The insignia then changed to a wheatsheaf with a black tower.

 

Attending the funeral of London Town crier Peter Moore - God bless him!

 

Noisy tribute for Peter Moore, London's town crierLucy Bannerman A tricorne, plumed with white ostrich feathers, and a brass bell were placed upon his coffin.

 

Then, proudly making more noise than the average mourner, a dozen men and women rang out their last respects for Peter Moore, the London town crier who has fallen silent after 30 years of service.

 

“Bells up,” boomed the man in gold-buckled shoes, as the coffin was carried by. “Goodbye Peter and God save the Queen.”

 

Hundreds of friends, family and colleagues gathered at St George’s Cathedral in Southwark, Central London, today to celebrate the man who has been making toasts and amusing tourists in the capital since 1979.

 

Mr Moore died in his sleep, aged 70, at his home in Wandsworth, South London, last month.

 

At the requiem, held this afternoon, fellow town criers from Banbury, Brighton, Colchester and Kidderminster joined colleagues from across the country to pay tribute to the man with the formidable voice.

 

They were accompanied by local mayors in full insignia, freemasons, men in red fur-trim and members of the Guild of Pearly Kings and Queens from across the capital.

 

One man was consipicuous by his absence, however.

 

“I thought Boris might have come,” muttered one crier, clearly disappointed that the Mayor of London was otherwise engaged.

 

Town criers have been proclaiming news around London’s marketplaces since the 13th century.

 

Mr Moore was brought up by Barnardo’s in Walsall, in the West Midlands, but “ran away to seek his fortune in London”, according to friends.

 

He became an actor and played Mr Sowerberry, the undertaker, in the original stage production of Oliver! in 1960, before accepting a role as a town crier for an event.

 

“It was almost his vocation,” said Canon James Cronin, the cathedral dean, during the Catholic service.

 

“He loved London, he loved England and its institutions. And he did love a gullible American.”

 

Mr Moore’s theatrical performances were heard regularly around Trafalgar Square, the Tower of London and Parliament Square. With the motto, "Have bell, will travel" he had appeared in every New Year’s Day parade since the event began in 1987, and was due to receive a lifetime achievement award at the latest parade. However, he died just days before the ceremony.

 

Tony Uppleton, a town crier from Essex, who boasts the twin titles of Lord of the Manor, Great Baddow and Town Crier of the Year 2001, remembered Mr Moore as a close friend and mentor.

 

“Peter helped me when I started out, giving me tips on how to project the voice and shout from the stomach.

 

“He also told me to get my white tights from the ballet shop, my bell from Bow’s in Whitechapel. But he did get annoyed when I got white ostrich feathers for my hat, just like him. Made me change the colours,” said Mr Uppleton, pointing to the feathers, which were respectfully changed to red and blue. “I had to go Union Jack,” he added.

 

“Peter was a wonderful crier,” recalled Alan Myatt, town crier for Market Stables, in Camden, as he prepared to ring out the funeral procession. Mr Myatt should know – he once recorded a cry of 112 decibels.

 

“London was lucky to have him,” said Barrie Anderson, mayor of Lewisham, dressed in his red mayoral insignia for the service.

 

“He seemed to know exactly how to make an occasion. He never ignored protocol and yet he could put everyone at their ease, and that is not an easy thing to do.”

 

Mr Moore suffered a heart attack in the summer but carried on promoting London up until his death.

 

Doreen Golding, a pearly queen from the Old Kent Road, said: “Peter had the presence and the personality. It will be a hard act to follow.”

 

In a statement paying tribute to Mr Moore, Boris Johnson said: “Peter Moore was a highly spirited, charismatic individual who dedicated his life to the historical art of town crying.

 

“He participated in thousands of high-profile events across the city and I am one of the many Londoners who will hold fond memories of his famous, unique cries. “

 

A spokeswoman for Mr Johnson said: "The Mayor was deeply saddened to hear about Mr Moore's death but unfortunately due to diary commitments he was unable to attend the funeral."

 

www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/uk/article6992866.ece?toke...

 

To my Dear China Plates (mates)

 

I had my coronation as the Pearly King of Peckham in 1958 down the Old Kent Road, after being a Pearly Prince from the age of seven.

 

In February 2008 will be my 50th Golden Anniversary as the Pearly King of Peckham.

 

During that time I have brought into the Pearly Kings and Queens World by introducing Ron Keeble the Pearly King of Shepherd's Bush and his trouble and strife (wife) Dot his Pearly Queen and in turn his two sons Steven and Wayne, and Daughter Nicola.

 

I know that I had made the right choice because they were a caring family who thought of others with the many charities needing support and of course not forgetting the good old cockney spirit to stand up and fight for those charities in great need.

 

That was in 1976 and since then has proved that my choice was that of the right one.

 

I take my hat off to them and another couple dear Eddie and Flo Cheer the Pearly king and Queen of Fulham who also held them qualities whom I introduced in 1976.

 

Then there is Ricky Conway a great Pearly who I already knew as a Pearly but found him and his family a title Pearly King and Queen of Deptford along with his Princesses all with the above qualities, who brought alive with his musical input.

 

Between all the above Pearlies mentioned they have raised thousands and thousands of pounds for many charities.

 

They have brought brightness into many dull lives which now brings me to my old china plate Sir Norman Wisdom who is so genuine whom I admire, who never forgot his roots even after a tough childhood that he survived.

 

Sir Norman Wisdom who is well known for bringing laughter happiness and smiles too many of faces, that is why I made him into the Honourable Pearly King of comedy, which again in turn has done so much for others.

 

Then finally we have Lord Jeffery Archer who I made into an Honourable Pearly King of charity who outstrips us all for his endless work raising bees and honey (money) for charity that amounts into millions and also a man who thinks of others.

 

He has most certainly helped me to be more determined to bring my dream of a Cockney Museum alive.

 

I am proud to put their names on my website www.pearlykingofpeckham.com.

 

Unfortunately, the great pearlys of by-gone days have left us.

 

The ones that have done so much for charity also that have given hope and happiness to many, long may they not be forgotten.

 

www.pearlykingofpeckham.co.uk/

U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) Secretary Sonny Perdue at Prides Corner Nursery, August 31, 2017, in Lebanon, CT. Owner Mark Sellew leads him on a tour before a luncheon and Farm Bill Listening Session, with approximately 40 farmers and producers. The Farm Bill conversation is moderated by Connecticut Farm Bureau Executive Director Henry Talmage. Supporting the conversation are Senator Richard Blumenthal, and Senator Chris Murphy.

Prides Corner Nursery has approximately 500 acres here and 75 acres in other parts of the region. There are 55 miles of greenhouses, and on some of the green houses are photovoltaic “solar” cell panels that generate 30% of their electrical needs. Secretary Perdue was able to see the first layer of plastic sheeting be rolled out and lay on and around the sides of the rows of plants to protect the plants from the coming winter temperatures. Outer row of plants are moved aside and will be repositioned on the edge of the plastic sheeting. As temperatures drop lower a second layer will be extended over the hoops. High tunnel "hoop houses" are used to extend the growing season. The business is 36 years old and the second generation of the Sellew family is entering the business of providing more than 3,000 varieties of ornamental plants (trees, shrubs, herbs, roses) to approximately 2,000 active customers, in14 states. Their customer base is independent local garden centers, landscapers, landscape stores. USDA Photo by Lance Cheung.

Lilian // zaoll luv mod

New York City \ West Bay Bridge, Summer Present

 

When the man with the mirrored aviator sunglasses emerged from the depths of Pennsylvania Station on the Seventh Avenue side he did not look around him; nor did he walk immediately to the curb, as did most of his fellow passengers, to wave a raised hand to hail a cruising taxi.

 

Instead, he waited dutifully for the light to change and, when it did, went quickly across the avenue, ignoring the light rain. By the way he walked and, perhaps because of the rather long black duffel bag slung obliquely across his muscular shoulder, one might have thought he was a professional dancer; he moved as effortlessly and as gracefully as the wind.

 

He wore a short-sleeved navy silk shirt and cotton slacks of the same deep blue, charcoal-grey suede shoes with -almost no heel and soles as dun as paper. His face was rather wide; deep lines were scored downwards from each side of his mouth as if he had never learned how to smile. His black hair was cut short and bristly.

 

On the east side of Seventh Avenue he went by the crowded facade of the Statler Hilton Hotel, crossed Thirty-second Street and, passing up the green and white awning of the Chinatown Express, ducked into the McDonald's next door.

 

Inside, he went swiftly through the garish yellow and orange interior to a line of telephone booths along one wall. At the side of the extreme left-hand booth was a row of telephone, directories encased in steel bindings to discourage theft and vandalism. They hung down in a stand waist-high like quiescent bats in a cave.

 

The man in the sunglasses pushed up the Yellow Pages book. Its cover was torn and defaced and the bottom edges of a large hunk of the centre pages were mutilated as if someone had attempted to eat them. He leafed through the book until he came to the section he wanted. He ran one forefinger down the page. Near the bottom, it stopped and the man nodded to himself. He already knew the address but, out of long habit, liked to double-check his information.

 

Once more outside, he recrossed the avenue, walking west at a brisk pace along the width of the Madison Square Garden complex, and caught an uptown bus on Eighth Avenue. It was crowded. He stood in the hot and airless interior. The bus smelled of stale sweat and mildew.

 

At the Seventy-fourth Street stop he swung off and walked up one block. There he turned off Central Park West and headed west towards the Hudson River. The rain had ceased for the moment but the sky remained clpse and dark, as if hung over from a long night of revelry. The air was completely calm. The city steamed.

 

He found the address approximately midway between Columbus Avenue and Broadway on the north side of the street. His nostrils flared for an instant as he mounted the steps of the brownstone. He opened the glass and wood outer doors and stepped into the tiny vestibule. Before him was a modern steel and wire glass door securely locked. There was a buzzer on the wall of the vestibule which he pushed firmly. Just above it was a discreet brass plate on which was etched TOHOKU NO DOJO and, above that, a small oval speaker grille.

 

'Yes?' came a tinny voice from the grille.

 

The man with the sunglasses leaned slightly to the side. 'I wish an appointment,' he said.

 

He waited, one hand already on the knob of the inner door.

 

'Please come up. Second floor. Around to the left as far as you can go.'

 

The door buzzed and he pushed it open.

 

He could smell the tang of sweat, tinged with the piquant spices of exertion and fear. For the first time since setting foot in the city, he felt at home. Contemptuously, he tossed this feeling aside. He went swiftly and silently up the carpeted stairs.

 

Terry Tanaka was on the phone to Vincent when Eileen came up to him. Seeing the look in her eyes, he asked Vincent to hold the line and, putting his palm over the phone, said, 'What is it, Ei?'

 

There's a man here who wishes to practise today.'

 

'So? We can handle it. Sign him up.'

 

'I think you had better take care of this one yourself,' she said.

 

'Why? What's the matter?'

 

'Well, for one thing, he's asking to see you. And for another, I've seen the way he walks. He's no student.'

 

Terry smiled. 'You see how our fame has spread? That piece in New Yorker was great.' But when she did not respond, he said, 'That's not all, is it?'

 

She shook her head. 'The guy gives me the creeps. His eyes...' She shrugged. "I don't know. But I wish you'd handle it.'

 

excerpt from the novel "The Ninja" written by Eric Van Lustbader

by jakeberrybarbers #brighton

Radha Krishna (IAST rādhā-kṛṣṇa, Sanskrit राधा कृष्ण) are collectively known within Hinduism as the combination of both the feminine as well as the masculine aspects of God. Krishna is often referred as svayam bhagavan in Gaudiya Vaishnavism theology and Radha is Krishna's supreme beloved. With Krishna, Radha is acknowledged as the Supreme Goddess, for it is said that she controls Krishna with Her love. It is believed that Krishna enchants the world, but Radha "enchants even Him. Therefore She is the supreme goddess of all. Radha Krishna".

 

While there are much earlier references to the worship of this form of God, it is since Jayadeva Goswami wrote a famous poem Gita Govinda in the twelfth century of the Common Era, that the topic of the spiritual love affair between the divine Krishna and his devotee Radha, became a theme celebrated throughout India. It is believed that Krishna has left the circle of the rasa dance to search for Radha. The Chaitanya school believes that the name and identity of Radha are both revealed and concealed in the verse describing this incident in Bhagavata Purana. It is also believed that Radha is not just one cowherd maiden, but is the origin of all the gopis, or divine personalities that participate in the rasa dance.

 

NAME

RadhaKrishna cannot be broken into two – Krishna (Devanagari:कृष्ण), the eighth incarnation (Avatar) of Vishnu., and his shakti Radha (Devanagari: राधा)such was the love of Radha towards Krishna that they became one. Krishna in Vrindavana is sometimes depicted with Radha standing on his left, on whose bosom sits Lakshmi.

 

SHAKTI AND SHAKTIMAN

The common derivation of shakti and shaktiman, i.e. Female and male principle in a god implies that shakti and shaktiman are the same. Each and every god has its partner, 'betterhalf' or Shakti and without this Shakti, is sometimes viewed being without essential power. It is a not uncommon feature of Hinduism when worship of a pair rather than one personality constitutes worship of God, such is worship of Radha Krishna. Traditions worshiping Krishna, as svayam bhagavan, who is male, include reference and veneration to his Radha, who is worshiped as supreme. It's an accepted view that union of Radha and Krishna may indicate the union of Shakti with the Shaktiman, and this view exists well outside of orthodox Vaishnavism or Krishnaism. The Radha Krishna Ashta Shakthi Mandir at the Parashakthi Temple in Pontiac, Michigan, USA depicts this principle with Shri Radha Rani symbolizing Ashta (Eight) Shakthis of Shaktiman Lord Shri Krishna.

 

PHILOSOPHY

From the Vaishnava point of view the divine feminine energy (shakti) implies a divine source of energy, God or shaktiman. "Sita relates to Rama; Lakshmi belongs to Narayana; Radha has Her Krishna." As Krishna is believed to be the source of all manifestations of God, "Shri Radha, His consort, is the original source of all shaktis" or feminine manifestation of divine energy.

 

A number of interpretations according to traditions possess a common root of personalism in the understanding of worship. Specifically Caitanyaite Gaudiya Vaishnava doctrine and mission is fiercely "personalistic," proclaiming the supremacy of Krishna, the identification of Caitanya as Radha-Krishna, the reality and eternality of individual selves, and a method for approaching the absolute reality and the Deity as a person first and foremost.

 

Jiva Goswami in his Priti Sandarbha states that each of the Gopis exhibits a different level of intensity of passion, among which Radha's is the greatest.

 

In his famous dialogs Ramananda Raya describes Radha to Caitanya and quotes, among other texts, a verse from Chaitanya Charitamrta 2.8.100, before he goes on to describe her role in the pastimes of Vrindavana.

 

The central pivot point of the theology is related to the word rasa. The theological use of the word can be found very early, about two thousand years before the Nimbarka or Caitanya school, in a phrase that the tradition frequently quotes: "Truly, the Lord is rasa" (raso vai sah) of Brahma sutras. This statement expresses the view that God is the one who enjoys the ultimate rasa or spiritual rapture, emotions.

 

TRADITIONS

Radha Krishna are worshiped in the following traditions of Hinduism:

 

BISNUPRIYA MANIPURI VAISHNAVAS

King Gareeb Nivaz ruled from 1709 to 1748 and was initiated into Vaishnavism of the Chaitanya tradition, which worships Krishna as the supreme deity, Svayam bhagavan. He practiced this religion for nearly twenty years. Preachers and pilgrims used to arrive in large numbers and cultural contact with Assam was maintained.

 

The Manipuri Vaishnavas do not worship Krishna alone, but Radha-Krishna. With the spread of Vaishnavism the worship of Krishna and Radha became the dominant form in the Manipur region. Every village there has a Thakur-ghat and a temple. Rasa and other dances are a feature of the regional folk and religious tradition and often, for example, a female dancer will portray both Krishna and his consort, Radha, in the same piece.

 

BHAGAVATA

In Vedic and Puranic literature, Radhas and other forms of the root >rAdh have meaning of ‘perfection’, ‘success’ and even ‘wealth’. Lord of Success, Indra was referred to as Radhaspati. In references to Mahavishnu as the Lord of Fortune and freely used by Jayadeva as Jaya Jayadeva Hare – the victorious Hari, and ‘Radhaspati’ all found in many places. The word Radha occurs in the Atharva Veda, Taittiriya BrAhmana and Taittiriya Samhita.

 

Charlotte Vaudeville, in the article Evolution of Love Symbolism in Bhagavatism draws some parallel to Nappinnai, appearing in Godha’s magnum opus Thiruppavai and in Nammalwar’s references to Nappinnani, the daughter-in-law of Nandagopa. Nappinnai is believed to be the source of Radha’s conception in Prakrit and Sanskrit literature although their characteristic relations with Krishna are different. In the ritual dance called Kuravai, Krishna dances with his wife Nappinnai.

 

"It is a complex relationship, for the devotee is the ‘same as and yet different from’ the Lord, and so even in the joy of union there is the pain of separation. Indeed, the highest form of devotion, according to Yamunacarya, comes not in union but after the union, in the ‘fear of new separation’."

 

Yasastilaka Champukavya (AD 959) all make references to Radha and Krishna well before Jayadeva's period. There are elaborate references to Radha in Brahma vaivarta and Padma Puranas.

 

GAUDIYA VAISHNAVA

Gaudiya Vaishnava, as the name suggests, usually refers to the region of Bengal. Early Bengali literature gives a vivid description of the depiction and evolution of understanding of Radha and Krishna. It is believed, however, that the source of Jayadeva Goswamis heroine in his poem Gita Govinda remains a puzzle of the Sanskrit Literature. At the same time there are well documented references to works earlier than Gita Govinda, which some count to be more than twenty. The figure of Radha is one of the most elusive in the literature of Sanskrit; she is described only in a few selected passages of Prakrit or Sanskrit poetry, a few inscriptions and a few works on grammar, poetry and drama. Jayadeva has referred to them and created an exquisite lyrical poem of passionate devotion in the twelfth century, and from this poetic beginning a huge movement specific to Bengal began.

 

Baru Chandidas is a poet notable for being a prominent Early Middle Bengal historical figure; the date of his poem Srikrsnakirtana is still under question however the text remains one of the most important evidences of early portrayal of the popular story of "Lord Krishna's love for the cowherd girl Radha" in Bengali literature and religion. The 412 songs of Srikrsnakirtana are divided into thirteen sections that represent the core of the Radha-Krishna legendary cycle, with many variants providing excellent comparative material. The manuscript clearly suggests that the songs were meant to be song, and implies particular ragas for the recitation. There is considerable debate as to the authenticity of the text that has significant religious meaning. In this Bengali tradition of Caitanya Vaishnavism metaphysical status and Radha-worship is considered to be established by Krsnadasa in his Chaitanya Charitamrta where he represents the doctrine that prevailed among the Vrindavan Caitanyaites following Caitanya's demise in 1533. It is believed that Krishna, desiring to experience fully what it is like to love Krishna as Radha does, has appeared as Caitanya Mahaprabhu. And what Radha (appearing as Caitanya) does in her longing for Krishna is to chant his names. One of the self manifested Deities established by Gopala Bhatta Goswami is called Radha Ramana, it is not surprising that Radha Ramana is seen as not only Krishna but also as Radha-Krishna. And worship in his temple, located in the centre of Vrindavana is a perpetual daily affair, involving several prescribed events throughout the day, with the goal of being theoretical and remote, but with aspiration of the possibility to attend and associate directly with Radha and Krishna.

 

NIMBARKA SAMPRADAYA

The Nimbarka sampradaya worship of the youthful Krishna, alone or with his consort Radha, is one of the earliest dating at least to the 12th century, just as Rudra Sampradaya does. According to Nimbarka, Radha was the eternal consort of Vishnu-Krishna and there is also a suggestion, though not a clear statement, that she became the wife of her beloved Krishna. It should be noted that Nimbarka rescues Radha from the presumed immoral implication of much of the literature, and gives to her a dignity unattained elsewhere.

 

The Nimbarka Sampradaya founded by Nimbarka is one of the four bona fide Vaishnava traditions. Lack of evidence due to the destruction of Mathura and Vrindavan in the 13th Century and 14th Century has meant that the true dates and origins of this tradition are shrouded in mystery and await investigation.

 

Nimbarka, who is widely held by scholars such as Satyanand Joseph, Prof. Rasik Bihari Joshi, Prof. M. M. Aggrawal etc., to be at least of the same time or before the appearance of Shankaracharya, was the first acharya to worship Radha along with Krishna in Sakhi Bhava Upasana method of worship. In his Vedanta Kamadhenu Dashashloki, it is clearly stated that:-

 

ange tu vaame vrishabhaanujaam mudaa viraajamaanaam anuruupasaubhagaam. sakhiisahasraih parisevitaam sadaa smarema deviim sakalestakaamadaam. verse 6. The left portion of the body of the Supreme Lord is Shrimati Radha, seated blissfully, as beautiful as the Lord Himself; who is served by thousands of gopis: we meditate on the Supreme Goddess, the fulfiller of all desires.

 

This theme was taken up by Jayadeva Goswami and other poets of the time who saw the inherent beauty and bliss which constitute this philosophy.

 

In this sampradaya, the significance of Radha is not less than the significance of Sri Krsna. Both are conjointly the object to be worshiped in this school of Nimbarka, who is also one of the first commentators on Brahma Sutras under the name Vedanta-Parijata-Saurabha. The later acharyas of the Nimbarka Sampradaya in the 13th and 14th centuries in Vrindavana composed much literature on the Divine Couple. Swami Sri Sribhatta, the elder god-brother of Jayadeva composed the Yugala Shataka for the Dhrupada style of musical presentation like Jayadeva, however unlike Jayadeva who composed his work in Sanskrit, Swami Shribhatta's compositions are in Vraja Bhasha, a Hindi vernacular which was understood by all inhabitants of Vraja. Indeed the rest of the acharyas of this tradition wrote in Vraja Bhasha and due to the lack of prevalence of this language in modern times, very little research has been done, even though these Acharyas predate the Six Goswamis of Vrindavan by centuries.

 

In any case, the sole object of worship in the Nimbarka Sampradaya is the unified Divine Couple of Shri Radha Krishna. According to the 15th century Mahavani written by Jagadguru Swami Sri Harivyasa Devacharya

 

radhaamkrsnasvaroopaam vai, krishnam raadhaasvarupinam; kalaatmaanam nikunjastham gururoopam sadaa bhaje I ceaselessly praise Radha who is none other than Krishna, and Sri Krishna who is none other than Radha, whose unity is represented by the Kaamabeeja and who are forever resident in Nikunja Goloka Vrndavana.

 

The contribution from the Nimbarka Sampradaya to the philosophy of Radha Krishna is undeniable, as the philosophy and theology originate in it.

 

SWAMINARAYAN SAMPRADAY

Radha-Krishna Dev has a special place in the Swaminarayan Sampraday as Swaminarayan himself referred to Radha Krishna in the Shikshapatri he wrote. Further, he himself ordered the construction of temples in which Radha Krishna have been installed as deities. Swaminarayan "explained that Krishna appears in many forms. When he is together with Radha, he is regarded as supreme lord under the name of Radha-Krishna; with Rukmini he is known as Lakshmi-Narayana." The first temple constructed in the sect, built in Ahmedabad in AD 1822, houses the images of Nara Narayana, forms of Arjuna and Krishna, in the central shrine. The shrine on the left of the hall has murtis of Radha Krishna. According to the philosophy of the tradition there were many female companions of Krishna, gopis, but out of all of them Radha was considered to be the perfect devotee. Those who wish to come close to Krishna must cultivate the devotional qualities of Radha. According to theory the sect has set aside Goloka as the supreme heaven or abode (in fact, in some of their temples, such as the Mumbai Temple, the murtis installed are those of Shri Gaulokvihari and Radhikaji), because there Krishna is supposed to be enjoying himself with his Gopis, who according to the Swaminarayana sampradaya the milkmaids with whom Krishna danced; his relations with them symbolize the relation of God with the devotee in reciprocation.

 

VALLABHA SAMPRADAYA

Vallabhacharya, founder of Pustimarga even before Chaitanya, worshipped Radha, where according to some sects, the devotees identify mainly with the female companion (sakhis) of Radha who are privileged to arrange intimate pastimes for RadhaKrishna.

 

One of the prominent poets of this tradition, which also called Radhavallabhi, named Dhruvadasa was notable for being principally concerned with the private relationships of Radha and Krishna. In his poetry Caurasi Pad and in the commentaries of his followers, the concentration is in meditation on the unique benefits of constant reflection on the eternal lila.

 

Radhavallabhis share with their Vaishnava co-religionists a great regard for Bhagavata Purana, but some of the pastimes that are outside the scope of relationships with Radha and gopis do not feature in the concept of this school. Emphasis is placed on the sweetness of the relationship, or rasa.

 

OUTSIDE HINDUISM

In opinion of some Hindu scholars as well as scholars of Hinduism, a golden age existed when Muslims and Hindus created a common culture mainly because some Muslim rulers patronized Sanskrit and translations from Sanskrit into Persian, while there were poets with Muslim names who wrote about Krishna and Radha.

 

TEMPLES

IN INDIA

Temples of Sri Sri Radha Krisna are prevalent throughout India and the world though Braja Mandala including Vrindavan and Mathura are considered to be the centers of Radha-Krishna worship. The most important temples of Vrindavana are

 

Madan-mohan, Govinddev, Radha-Raman, Radha-Gokulananda, Radha-Damodar, Banki-behari, Jugal Kishor, Radha-Gopinath, Radha Shyamasundar, Radha-vallabha and Iskcon temple.

 

SHREE RADHAVALLABH TEMPLE VRINDAVAN

Shri Radhavallabh Temple is among the 7 most famous temples of Thakur of Vrindavan including Sri Radhavallabh ji, Shri Bankey Bihari Ji, Shri Govind Dev ji, Shri Madan Mohan Ji, Shri Gopinath Ji, Shri Radha Raman Ji and Shri Radha Damodar Ji.

 

SHREE RADHA RAS BIHARI ASHTA SAKHI MANDIR

Outside India There are number of traditions that spread the worship of Radha-Krishna in many countries, be it associated with migration or preaching activities of sadhus. One such prominent adept, Prabhupada opened a number of centers himself wherein he could train mleccha-turned-brahmin students to worship Radha-Krishna murtis and become "devoted to the service of Godhead".

 

IN POPULAR SONGS AND PRAYERS

The Shri Radhika Krishnastaka (also called the Radhashtak) is a hymn. It is said that the reciter can get to Krishna via Radha by chanting it.

 

WIKIPEDIA

Elvis Aaron Presley[a] (January 8, 1935 – August 16, 1977), often referred to mononymously as Elvis, was an American singer and actor. Dubbed the "King of Rock and Roll", he is regarded as one of the most significant cultural figures of the 20th century. His energized interpretations of songs and sexually provocative performance style, combined with a singularly potent mix of influences across color lines during a transformative era in race relations, led him to both great success and initial controversy.

 

Presley was born in Tupelo, Mississippi, and relocated to Memphis, Tennessee, with his family when he was 13 years old. His music career began there in 1954, recording at Sun Records with producer Sam Phillips, who wanted to bring the sound of African-American music to a wider audience. Presley, on rhythm acoustic guitar, and accompanied by lead guitarist Scotty Moore and bassist Bill Black, was a pioneer of rockabilly, an uptempo, backbeat-driven fusion of country music and rhythm and blues. In 1955, drummer D. J. Fontana joined to complete the lineup of Presley's classic quartet and RCA Victor acquired his contract in a deal arranged by Colonel Tom Parker, who would manage him for more than two decades. Presley's first RCA Victor single, "Heartbreak Hotel", was released in January 1956 and became a number-one hit in the United States. Within a year, RCA would sell ten million Presley singles. With a series of successful network television appearances and chart-topping records, Presley became the leading figure of the newly popular sound of rock and roll; though his performative style and promotion of the then-marginalized sound of African Americans[6] led to him being widely considered a threat to the moral well-being of the White American youth.

 

In November 1956, Presley made his film debut in Love Me Tender. Drafted into military service in 1958, Presley relaunched his recording career two years later with some of his most commercially successful work. He held few concerts, however, and guided by Parker, proceeded to devote much of the 1960s to making Hollywood films and soundtrack albums, most of them critically derided. Some of his most famous films included Jailhouse Rock (1957), Blue Hawaii (1961), and Viva Las Vegas (1964). In 1968, following a seven-year break from live performances, he returned to the stage in the acclaimed television comeback special Elvis, which led to an extended Las Vegas concert residency and a string of highly profitable tours. In 1973, Presley gave the first concert by a solo artist to be broadcast around the world, Aloha from Hawaii. Years of prescription drug abuse and unhealthy eating habits severely compromised his health, and he died suddenly in 1977 at his Graceland estate at the age of 42.

 

Having sold over 400 million records worldwide, Presley is recognized as the best-selling solo music artist of all time by Guinness World Records. He was commercially successful in many genres, including pop, country, rhythm & blues, adult contemporary, and gospel. Presley won three Grammy Awards, received the Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award at age 36, and has been inducted into multiple music halls of fame. He holds several records, including the most RIAA-certified gold and platinum albums, the most albums charted on the Billboard 200, the most number-one albums by a solo artist on the UK Albums Chart, and the most number-one singles by any act on the UK Singles Chart. In 2018, Presley was posthumously awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom.

 

Elvis Aaron Presley was born on January 8, 1935, in Tupelo, Mississippi, to Vernon Elvis (April 10, 1916 – June 26, 1979) and Gladys Love (née Smith; April 25, 1912 – August 14, 1958) Presley in a two-room shotgun house that his father built for the occasion. Elvis's identical twin brother, Jesse Garon Presley, was delivered 35 minutes before him, stillborn. Presley became close to both parents and formed an especially close bond with his mother. The family attended an Assembly of God church, where he found his initial musical inspiration.

  

A photo of Elvis's parents at the Historic Blue Moon Museum in Verona, Mississippi

Presley's father Vernon was of German, Scottish and English origins. He was a descendant of the Harrison family of Virginia through his ancestor Tunis Hood. Presley's mother Gladys was Scots-Irish with some French Norman ancestry. His mother and the rest of the family believed that her great-great-grandmother, Morning Dove White, was Cherokee. This belief was restated by Elvis's granddaughter Riley Keough in 2017. Elaine Dundy, in her biography, supports the belief.

 

Vernon moved from one odd job to the next, showing little ambition. The family often relied on help from neighbors and government food assistance. In 1938, they lost their home after Vernon was found guilty of altering a check written by his landowner and sometime-employer. He was jailed for eight months, while Gladys and Elvis moved in with relatives.

 

In September 1941, Presley entered first grade at East Tupelo Consolidated, where his teachers regarded him as "average". He was encouraged to enter a singing contest after impressing his schoolteacher with a rendition of Red Foley's country song "Old Shep" during morning prayers. The contest, held at the Mississippi–Alabama Fair and Dairy Show on October 3, 1945, was his first public performance. The ten-year-old Presley stood on a chair to reach the microphone and sang "Old Shep". He recalled placing fifth. A few months later, Presley received his first guitar for his birthday; he had hoped for something else—by different accounts, either a bicycle or a rifle. Over the following year, he received basic guitar lessons from two of his uncles and the new pastor at the family's church. Presley recalled, "I took the guitar, and I watched people, and I learned to play a little bit. But I would never sing in public. I was very shy about it."

 

In September 1946, Presley entered a new school, Milam, for sixth grade; he was regarded as a loner. The following year, he began bringing his guitar to school on a daily basis. He played and sang during lunchtime and was often teased as a "trashy" kid who played hillbilly music. By then, the family was living in a largely black neighborhood. Presley was a devotee of Mississippi Slim's show on the Tupelo radio station WELO. He was described as "crazy about music" by Slim's younger brother, who was one of Presley's classmates and often took him into the station. Slim supplemented Presley's guitar instruction by demonstrating chord techniques. When his protégé was 12 years old, Slim scheduled him for two on-air performances. Presley was overcome by stage fright the first time, but succeeded in performing the following week.

 

In November 1948, the family moved to Memphis, Tennessee. After residing for nearly a year in rooming houses, they were granted a two-bedroom apartment in the public housing complex known as the Lauderdale Courts. Enrolled at L. C. Humes High School, Presley received only a C in music in eighth grade. When his music teacher told him that he had no aptitude for singing, he brought in his guitar the next day and sang a recent hit, "Keep Them Cold Icy Fingers Off Me", to prove otherwise. A classmate later recalled that the teacher "agreed that Elvis was right when he said that she didn't appreciate his kind of singing". He was usually too shy to perform openly and was occasionally bullied by classmates who viewed him as a "mama's boy".

 

In 1950, he began practicing guitar regularly under the tutelage of Lee Denson, a neighbor two and a half years his senior. They and three other boys—including two future rockabilly pioneers, brothers Dorsey and Johnny Burnette—formed a loose musical collective that played frequently around the Courts. That September, he began working as an usher at Loew's State Theater. Other jobs followed at Precision Tool, Loew's again, and MARL Metal Products. Presley also helped Jewish neighbors, the Fruchters, by being their shabbos goy.

 

During his junior year, Presley began to stand out more among his classmates, largely because of his appearance: he grew his sideburns and styled his hair with rose oil and Vaseline. In his free time, he would head down to Beale Street, the heart of Memphis's thriving blues scene, and gaze longingly at the wild, flashy clothes in the windows of Lansky Brothers. By his senior year, he was wearing those clothes. Overcoming his reticence about performing outside the Lauderdale Courts, he competed in Humes' Annual "Minstrel" show in April 1953. Singing and playing guitar, he opened with "Till I Waltz Again with You", a recent hit for Teresa Brewer. Presley recalled that the performance did much for his reputation: "I wasn't popular in school ... I failed music—only thing I ever failed. And then they entered me in this talent show ... when I came onstage I heard people kind of rumbling and whispering and so forth, 'cause nobody knew I even sang. It was amazing how popular I became in school after that."

 

Presley, who received no formal music training and could not read music, studied and played by ear. He also frequented record stores that provided jukeboxes and listening booths to customers. He knew all of Hank Snow's songs, and he loved records by other country singers such as Roy Acuff, Ernest Tubb, Ted Daffan, Jimmie Rodgers, Jimmie Davis, and Bob Wills. The Southern gospel singer Jake Hess, one of his favorite performers, was a significant influence on his ballad-singing style. He was a regular audience member at the monthly All-Night Singings downtown, where many of the white gospel groups that performed reflected the influence of African-American spiritual music. He adored the music of black gospel singer Sister Rosetta Tharpe.

 

Like some of his peers, he may have attended blues venues—of necessity, in the segregated South—only on nights designated for exclusively white audiences. He certainly listened to the regional radio stations, such as WDIA-AM, that played "race records": spirituals, blues, and the modern, backbeat-heavy sound of rhythm and blues. Many of his future recordings were inspired by local African-American musicians such as Arthur Crudup and Rufus Thomas. B.B. King recalled that he had known Presley before he was popular when they both used to frequent Beale Street. By the time he graduated from high school in June 1953, Presley had already singled out music as his future.

 

Graceland is a mansion on a 13.8-acre (5.6-hectare) estate in Memphis, Tennessee, United States, which was once owned by the rock and roll singer Elvis Presley. His daughter, Lisa Marie Presley, inherited Graceland after his death in 1977. Following Lisa Marie Presley's death in 2023, the mansion is to be inherited by her daughters. In addition to being the final resting place of Elvis Presley himself, the property contains the graves of his parents, paternal grandmother and grandson, and contains a memorial to Presley's stillborn twin brother. In addition, Lisa Marie Presley will be buried there.

 

Graceland is located at 3764 Elvis Presley Boulevard in the Whitehaven neighborhood, about nine miles (14 kilometers) south of central Memphis and fewer than four miles (6.4 km) north of the Mississippi border.[5] It was opened to the public as a house museum on June 7, 1982. The site was listed in the National Register of Historic Places on November 7, 1991, becoming the first site recognized for significance related to rock music. Graceland was declared a National Historic Landmark on March 27, 2006, also a first for such a site. Graceland attracts more than 650,000 visitors annually.

 

Graceland Farms was originally owned by Stephen C. Toof, founder of S.C. Toof & Co., the oldest commercial printing firm in Memphis. He worked previously as the pressroom foreman of the Memphis newspaper, the Memphis Daily Appeal. The "grounds" (before the mansion was built in 1939) were named after Toof's daughter, Grace. She inherited the farm/property from her father in 1894. After her death, the property was passed to her niece Ruth Moore, a Memphis socialite. Together with her husband, Thomas Moore, Ruth Moore commissioned construction of a 10,266-square-foot (953.7 m2) Colonial Revival style mansion in 1939. The house was designed by architects Furbringer and Ehrman.

 

After Elvis Presley began his musical career, he purchased a $40,000 home for himself and his family at 1034 Audubon Drive in Memphis. As his success and fame grew, especially after his appearances on television, the number of fans who would congregate outside the house multiplied. Presley's neighbors, although happy to have a celebrity living nearby, soon concluded that the constant gathering of fans and journalists was a nuisance.

 

In early 1957, Presley gave his parents, Vernon and Gladys Presley, a budget of $100,000 and asked them to find a "farmhouse"-like property to purchase, with buffer space around it. At the time, Graceland was located in southern Shelby County, several miles south of Memphis' main urban area. In later years, Memphis would expand with residential developments, resulting in Graceland being surrounded by other properties. Presley purchased Graceland on March 19, 1957, for the amount of $102,500.

 

Later that year, Presley invited Richard Williams and singer Buzz Cason to the house. Cason said: "We proceeded to clown around on the front porch, striking our best rock 'n' roll poses and snapping pictures with the little camera. We peeked in the not-yet-curtained windows and got a kick out of the pastel colored walls in the front rooms with shades of bright reds and purples that Elvis most certainly had picked out." Presley was fond of claiming that the US government had mooted a visit to Graceland by Nikita Khrushchev of the Soviet Union, "to see how in America a fellow can start out with nothing and, you know, make good."

 

After Gladys died in 1958 aged 46, Presley's father Vernon remarried to Dee Stanley in 1960, and the couple lived at Graceland for a time. There was some discord between Presley and his stepmother Dee at Graceland, however. Elaine Dundy, who wrote about Presley and his mother, said that

 

"Vernon had settled down with Dee where Gladys had once reigned, while Dee herself – when Elvis was away – had taken over the role of mistress of Graceland so thoroughly as to rearrange the furniture and replace the very curtains that Gladys had approved of." This was too much for the singer, who still loved his late mother deeply. One afternoon, "a van arrived ... and all Dee's household's goods, clothes, 'improvements,' and her own menagerie of pets, were loaded on ... while Vernon, Dee and her three children went by car to a nearby house on Hermitage until they finally settled into a house on Dolan Drive which ran alongside Elvis' estate."

 

According to Mark Crispin Miller, Graceland became for Presley "the home of the organization that was himself, was tended by a large vague clan of Presleys and deputy Presleys, each squandering the vast gratuities which Elvis used to keep his whole world smiling." The author adds that Presley's father Vernon "had a swimming pool in his bedroom", that there "was a jukebox next to the swimming pool, containing Elvis' favorite records", and that the singer himself "would spend hours in his bedroom, watching his property on a closed-circuit television." According to the singer's cousin, Billy Smith, Presley spent the night at Graceland with Smith and his wife Jo many times: "we were all three there talking for hours about everything in the world! Sometimes he would have a bad dream and come looking for me to talk to, and he would actually fall asleep in our bed with us."

 

Priscilla Beaulieu lived at Graceland for five years before she and Presley wed in Las Vegas, Nevada, on May 1, 1967. Their daughter Lisa Marie Presley was born on February 1, 1968, and spent the first years of her life on the estate. After her parents divorced in 1972, her mother moved with the girl to California. Every year around Christmas, Lisa Marie Presley and all her family would go to Graceland to celebrate Christmas together. Lisa Marie often returned to Graceland for visits.

 

When Elvis would tour, staying in hotels, "the rooms would be remodeled in advance of his arrival, so as to make the same configurations of space as he had at home – the Graceland mansion. His furniture would arrive, and he could unwind after his performances in surroundings which were completely familiar and comforting." 'The Jungle Room' was described as being "an example of particularly lurid kitsch."[

 

On August 16, 1977, Presley died aged 42 at Graceland. The official cause of death was cardiac arrhythmia, although later toxicology reports strongly suggested that polypharmacy was the primary cause of death; "fourteen drugs were found in Elvis' system, with several drugs such as codeine in significant quantities. Presley lay in repose in a 900-pound (410 kg), copper-lined coffin just inside the foyer; more than 3,500 of his mourning fans passed by to pay their respects. A private funeral with 200 mourners was held on August 18, 1977, in the house, with the casket placed in front of the stained glass doorway of the music room. Graceland continued to be occupied by members of the family until the death of Presley's aunt Delta in 1993, who had moved in at Elvis's invitation after her husband's death. Elvis's daughter, Lisa Marie Presley, inherited the estate in 1993 when she turned 25.

 

Presley's tombstone, along with those of his parents Gladys and Vernon Presley, and his grandmother Minnie Mae Presley, are installed in the Meditation Garden next to the mansion. They can be visited during the mansion tours or for free before the mansion tours begin. A memorial gravestone for Presley's stillborn twin brother, Jesse Garon, is also at the site.

 

In 2019, the owners of Graceland threatened to leave Memphis unless the city provided tax incentives. The Memphis City Council subsequently voted on a deal to help fund a $100 million expansion of Graceland.

 

Constructed at the top of a hill and surrounded by rolling pastures and a grove of oak trees, Graceland is designed by the Memphis architectural firm, Furbringer and Erhmanis. It's a two-story, five-bay residence in the Colonial Revival style, with a side-facing gabled roof covered in asphalt shingles, a central two-story projecting pedimented portico, and two one-story wings on the north and south sides. Attached to the wing is an additional one-story stuccoed wing, which was originally a garage that houses up to four cars. The mansion has two chimneys; one on the north side's exterior wall, the second rising through the south side's roof ridge. The central block's front and side facades are veneered with tan Tishomingo limestone from Mississippi and its rear wall is stuccoed, as are the one-story wings. The front facade fenestration on the first floor includes 9x9 double-hung windows set in arched openings with wooden panels above, and 6x6 double-hung windows on the second floor.

 

Flanked by two marble lions, four stone steps ascend from the driveway to the two-story central projecting pedimented portico. The pediment has dentils and a small, leaded oval window in the center while the portico contains four Corinthian columns with capitals modeled after architect James Stuart's conjectural porticos for the "Tower of the Winds" in Athens, Greece. The portico's cornered columns are matched by pilasters on the front facade. The doorway has a broken arched pediment, full entablature, and engaged columns while its transom and sidelights contain elaborate and colorful stained glass. And above the main entrance is another rectangular window, completed with a shallow iron balcony.

 

Graceland is 17,552 square feet (1,630.6 m2) and has a total of 23 rooms, including eight bedrooms and bathrooms. To the right of the Entrance Hall, through an elliptical-arched opening with classical details, is the Living Room. The Living Room contains a 15-foot-long (4.6 m) white couch against the wall overlooking the front yard. To the left are two white sofas, a china cabinet and a fireplace with a mirrored wall. The painting that hangs in the room was Elvis' last Christmas present from his father, Vernon, and also displayed are photographs of Elvis' parents Vernon and Gladys, Elvis and Lisa Marie. Behind an adjoined doorway is the Music Room, framed by vivid large peacocks set in stained glass and contains a black baby grand piano and a 1950s style TV. And the third adjacent room is a bedroom that was occupied by Elvis' parents. The walls, carpet, dresser, and queen size bed are bright white with the bed draped in a velvet-looking dark purple bedspread along with an en-suite full bathroom done in pink.

 

To the left of the Entrance Hall, mirroring the Living Room, is the Dining Room, headlined by a massive crystal chandelier. It features six plush chairs in golden metal frames set around a marble table, all of which are placed on black marble flooring in the center with carpet around the perimeter. Connected to the Dining Room is the Kitchen, which was used by Elvis' aunt Delta until her death in 1993 before it was opened to the public two years later.

 

The original one-story wing on the north end of the residence includes a mechanical room, bedroom, and bath. In the mid-1960s, Presley enlarged the house to create a den known as the Jungle Room which features an indoor waterfall of cut field stone on the north wall. The room also contains items both related to and imported from the state of Hawaii because, after starring in the tropical film "Blue Hawaii" (1961), the musician wanted to bring some memorabilia from The Aloha State to his mansion, which gives visitors the same feeling. In 1976, the Jungle Room was converted into a recording studio, where he recorded the bulk of his final two albums, From Elvis Presley Boulevard, Memphis, Tennessee (1976) and Moody Blue (1977); these were his final known recordings in a studio setting.[27] During the mid-1960s expansion of the house, Presley constructed a large wing on the south side of the main house that was a sidewalk, between the music room in the original one-story wing and the swimming pool area, that connected to the house by a small enclosed gallery. The new wing initially housed a slot car track and to store his many items of appreciation, but was later remodeled to what is now known as the Trophy Building, which now features an exhibit about the Presley family, and includes Priscilla's wedding dress, Elvis' wedding tuxedo, Lisa Marie's toy chest and baby clothes and more.

 

The Entrance Hall contains a white staircase leading to the house's second floor with a wall of mirrors. However, the second floor is not open to visitors, out of respect for the Presley family, and partially to avoid any improper focus on the bathroom which was the site of his death. Still, it features Elvis' bedroom at the southwest corner that connects to his dressing room and bathroom in the northwest. His daughter Lisa Marie's bedroom is in the northeast corner, and in the southeast is a bedroom that served as a private personal office for the musician. The floor has been untouched since the day Elvis died and is rarely seen by non-family members.

 

Downstairs in the basement is the TV room, where Elvis often watched three television sets at once, and was within close reach of a wet bar. The three TV sets are built into the room's south wall and there's a stereo, and cabinets for Elvis' record collection. And painted on the west wall is The King's 1970s logo of a lightning bolt and cloud with the initials TCB, both of which represent 'taking care of business in a flash'. And the last room in the mansion opposite of the TV room is the billiard room; an avid billiards player, Elvis bought the pool table in 1960 and had the walls and ceiling covered with 350–400 yards of pleated cotton fabric after the two basement rooms were remodeled in 1974. The pool balls are arranged just the way they were in the musician's final days along with a strict warning sign to visitors that says "Please Do Not Touch! Thank You!" in capital letters. And in one corner of the pool table, there's a rip in the green felt, which was caused by one of Elvis' friends in a failed attempt of a trick shot.

 

Critics such as Albert Goldman write: "Though it cost a lot of money to fill up Graceland with the things that appealed to Elvis Presley, nothing in the house is worth a dime." In chapter 1 of his book, Elvis (1981), the author describes Graceland as looking like a brothel: "it appears to have been lifted from some turn-of-the-century bordello down in the French Quarter of New Orleans. Lulu White or the Countess Willie Piazza might have contrived this plushy parlor for the entertainment of Gyp the Blood. The room is a gaudy mélange of red velour and gilded tassels, Louis XV furniture and porcelain bric-a-brac..." And he dismisses the interior as "bizarre," "garish" and "phony," adding that "King Elvis's obsession with royal red reaches an intensity that makes you gag."

 

In similar terms, Greil Marcus writes that people who visited the inside of Graceland—"people who to a real degree shared Elvis Presley’s class background, and whose lives were formed by his music—have returned with one word to describe what they saw: ‘Tacky.’ Tacky, garish, tasteless—words others translated as white trash."

 

According to Karal Ann Marling, Graceland is "a Technicolor illusion. The façade is Gone With the Wind all the way. The den in the back is Mogambo with a hint of Blue Hawaii. Living in Graceland was like living on a Hollywood backlot, where patches of tropical scenery alternated with the blackened ruins of antebellum Atlanta. It was like living in a Memphis movie theater... Diehard fans are sometimes disappointed by the formal rooms along the highway side of Graceland. They’re beautiful, in a chilly blue-and-white way, but remote and overarranged." The Jungle Room's "overt bad taste" lets nonbelievers "recoil in horror and imagine themselves a notch or two higher than Elvis on the class scale."

 

After purchasing the property Presley spent in excess of $500,000 carrying out extensive modifications to suit his needs including a pink Alabama fieldstone wall surrounding the grounds that has several years' worth of graffiti (signatures and messages) from visitors, who simply refer to it as "the wall". Designed and built by Abe Sauer is the wrought-iron front gate shaped like a book of sheet music, along with green colored musical notes and two mirrored silhouettes of Elvis playing his guitar. Sauer also installed a kidney shaped swimming pool and a racquetball court, which is reminiscent of an old country club, furnished in dark leather and a functional bar. There is a sunken sitting area with the ever-present stereo system found throughout Graceland, as well as the dark brown upright piano upon which Elvis played for what were to be his last songs, Willie Nelson's "Blue Eyes Crying in the Rain" and "Unchained Melody".

 

However, reports conflict about which one was the last song. The sitting area has a floor-to-ceiling shatterproof window designed to watch the many racquetball games that took place there when Elvis was alive. In the early hours of the morning on which Elvis died, he played a game of racquetball with his girlfriend Ginger Alden, his first cousin Billy Smith and Billy's wife Jo before ending the game with the song on the piano before walking into the main house to wash his hair and go to bed. Today the two story court has been restored to the way it was when Elvis used the building.

 

Elsewhere on the estate is a small white building that served as an office for Vernon, along with an old smokehouse that housed a shooting range and a fully functional stable of horses.

 

One of Presley's better known modifications was the addition of the Meditation Garden, designed and built by architect Bernard Grenadier. It was used by the musician to reflect on any problems or situations that arose during his life. It is also where his entire family is buried: himself (1935–1977), his parents Gladys (1912–1958) and Vernon (1916–1979), and grandmother Minnie Mae Hood (1890–1980) while a small stone memorializes his twin brother Jesse Garon, who died at birth thirty minutes before Elvis was born on January 8, 1935. In late 2020, Lisa Marie's son Benjamin Keough was laid to rest on the opposite end of the Meditation Garden after his death from suicide in July of that year. Lisa Marie Presley died from sudden cardiac arrest in January 2023 and is buried next to her son.

 

After Elvis Presley's death in 1977, Vernon Presley served as executor of his estate. Upon his death in 1979, he chose Priscilla to serve as the estate executor for Elvis's only child, Lisa Marie, who was only 11. Graceland itself cost $500,000 a year in upkeep, and expenses had dwindled Elvis's and Priscilla's daughter Lisa Marie's inheritance to only $1 million. Taxes were due on the property; those and other expenses due came to over $500,000. Faced with having to sell Graceland, Priscilla examined other famous houses/museums, and hired a CEO, Jack Soden, to turn Graceland into a moneymaker. Graceland was opened to the public on June 7, 1982. Priscilla's gamble paid off; after only a month of opening Graceland's doors the estate made back all the money it had invested. Priscilla Presley became the chairwoman and president of Elvis Presley Enterprises, or EPE, stating at that time she would do so until Lisa Marie reached 21 years of age. The enterprise's fortunes soared and eventually the trust grew to be worth over $100 million.

 

An annual procession through the estate and past Elvis's grave is held on the anniversary of his death. Known as Elvis Week, it includes a full schedule of speakers and events, including the only Elvis Mass at St. Paul's Church, the highlight for many Elvis fans of all faiths. The 20th Anniversary in 1997 had several hundred media groups from around the world that were present resulting in the event gaining its greatest media publicity.

 

One of the largest gatherings assembled on the 25th anniversary in 2002 with one estimate of 40,000 people in attendance, despite the heavy rain. On the 38th anniversary of Elvis's death, an estimated 30,000 people attended the Candlelight Vigil during the night of August 15–16, 2015. On the 40th anniversary of Elvis's death, on August 15–16, 2017, at least 50,000 fans were expected to attend the Candlelight Vigil. No official figure seems to have been released, maybe because, for the first time, attendees had to pay at least the lowest tour fare, $28.75, to cover the extra security costs due to a larger than usual crowd.

 

For many of the hundreds of thousands of people who visit Graceland each year, the visit takes on a quasi-religious perspective. They may plan for years to journey to the home of the 'King' of rock and roll. On site, headphones narrate the salient events of Elvis's life and introduce the relics that adorn the rooms and corridors. The rhetorical mode is hagiographic, celebrating the life of an extraordinary man, emphasizing his generosity, his kindness and good fellowship, how he was at once a poor boy who made good, an extraordinary musical talent, a sinner and substance abuser, and a religious man devoted to the Gospel and its music. At the meditation garden, containing Elvis's grave, some visitors pray, kneel, or quietly sing one of Elvis's favorite hymns. The brick wall that encloses the mansion's grounds is covered with graffiti that express an admiration for Presley as well as petitions for help and thanks for favors granted.

 

The Graceland grounds include a new exhibit complex, Elvis Presley's Memphis, which includes a new car museum, Presley Motors, which houses Elvis's Pink Cadillac. The complex features new exhibits and museums, as well as a studio for Sirius Satellite Radio's all-Elvis Presley channel. The service's subscribers all over North America can hear Presley's music from Graceland around the clock. Not far away on display are his two aircraft including Lisa Marie (a Convair 880 jetliner) and Hound Dog II (a Lockheed JetStar business jet). The jets are owned by Graceland and are on permanent static display.

 

In early August 2005, Lisa Marie Presley sold 85% of the business side of her father's estate. She kept the Graceland property itself, as well as the bulk of the possessions found therein, and she turned over the management of Graceland to CKX, Inc., an entertainment company (on whose board of directors Priscilla Presley sat) that also owns 19 Entertainment, creator of the American Idol TV show.

 

Graceland Holdings LLC, led by managing partner Joel Weinshanker, is the majority owner of EPE. Lisa Marie Presley's estate retains a 15% ownership in the company.

 

In August 2018, Gladys Presley's headstone, which contained the Jewish star of David on one side and a cross on the other and was designed by Elvis himself, which become publicly displayed when it placed in Graceland's Mediation Garden after being stored for many years in the Graceland Archive.

 

Lisa Marie Presley's estate, which is being held in trust for her daughters Riley Keough and Harper and Finley Lockwood, retain 100% sole personal ownership of Graceland Mansion itself and its over 13-acre original grounds as well as Elvis Presley's personal effects – including costumes, wardrobe, awards, furniture, cars, etc. Prior to her death in 2023, Lisa Marie Presley had made the mansion property and her father's personal effects permanently available for tours of Graceland and for use in all of EPE's operations.

 

According to Elvis Presley's Enterprises, staff at Graceland informally kept a list of celebrities who had visited in the first years following Elvis's death. This practice was not formalized for a decade. Muhammad Ali was an early celebrity visitor in 1978, as was singer Paul Simon. He toured Graceland in the early 80s and afterward wrote a song of the same name; it was the title track of his Grammy-winning album Graceland.

 

During the Joshua Tree Tour in 1987, U2 toured Graceland. The footage was filmed for the film Rattle & Hum. During the visit, drummer, Larry Mullen Jr., sat on Elvis Presley's motorcycle -- against the rules for Graceland visitors.

 

On June 30, 2006, then US President George W. Bush hosted Japanese Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi for a tour of the mansion. It was one of the few private residences on United States soil to have been the site of an official joint-visit by a sitting US president and a serving head of a foreign government. On August 6, 2010, Prince Albert II, Head of State of the Principality of Monaco, and his fiancée (now Princess of Monaco) Charlene Wittstock, toured Graceland while vacationing in the US. On May 26, 2013, Paul McCartney of The Beatles visited Graceland. Prince William and Prince Harry, while in Memphis for a friend's wedding, visited Graceland on May 2, 2014.

 

The home has also been visited by former US President Jimmy Carter; the late Duchess of Devonshire, the sitting ambassadors of India, France, China, Korea and Israel to the United States; as well as several US governors, members of the US Congress, and at least two Nobel Prize winners, namely singer-songwriter Bob Dylan, a Literature Prize laureate, and the former President of Costa Rica, Oscar Arias, a Peace Prize honoree, who visited it on October 10, 2001.

 

In May 2016, Graceland welcomed a newlywed couple as its 20 millionth visitor.

 

In June 2022, actors Austin Butler and Tom Hanks visited the mansion and were interviewed virtually by the Good Morning America news program from the Jungle Room to talk about their biographical film Elvis.

 

In popular culture

Paul Simon named an album Graceland, as well as its title track. The song won the Grammy Award for Record of the Year in 1987.

The song "Walking in Memphis" by Marc Cohn mentions Graceland; in the second verse, he refers to the mansion and the Jungle Room. This song was later covered by Cher and Lonestar, among others.

The film 3000 Miles to Graceland is about a group of criminals who plan to rob a casino during an international Elvis week, disguised as Elvis impersonators. No scenes take place at or near the estate.

The film Finding Graceland stars Harvey Keitel with Johnathon Schaech. Keitel is an impersonator who claims to be the real Elvis after Schaech picks him up as a hitch-hiker.

In the rock music "mockumentary" This Is Spinal Tap, band members gather around Presley's grave at Graceland and attempt to sing a verse of "Heartbreak Hotel".

Pop punk group Groovie Ghoulies have a song called "Graceland" on their 1997 album Re-Animation Festival.

In the movie Zombieland: Double Tap, the protagonists venture to Graceland in hopes of shelter during a zombie apocalypse, but are distressed to find it in a ruined state.

During the credits of Lilo & Stitch, there's a photograph of Lilo, Nani, David and Stitch visiting the front gates of Graceland. Almost 20 years later, the original painting of that shot was put on display as part of the traveling Walt Disney Archives exhibition at Graceland.

In the season three episode of American Dad “The Vacation Goo”, Steve Smith asks Stan Smith if they can go to Graceland for their next vacation and Stan says “Steve, if you want to pay your respects to a fat man who died on the toilet, we can visit your Aunt Mary’s grave.”

Phoebe Bridgers has a song "Graceland Too" on her second studio album Punisher.

In the third episode of National Treasure: Edge of History, "Graceland Gambit," the main protagonist, Jess (portrayed by Lisette Olivera) is on a treasure hunt that leads her and her friends to Graceland.

Florence + The Machine reference Graceland and Elvis in their song "Morning Elvis" on their 2022 album Dance Fever.

A Tory wearing a monocle, spats, and a top hat with \Tariff Reform\" written on it.

 

Ninja Warrior Remo has also been tagged, so I have some info on our handsome boy below!!!! Happy Birthday sweet boy you have added so much love and joy to our home and I thank you!!!

 

1.) We adopted Remo from pet protectors and we had to guess on his age!!! he was picked up on the side of a highway as a young kitten!!! He ran to us in the basement of the foster home and started rubbing all over us!! WE all instantly fell in love!!!

 

2.) He eats , breaths,loves and lives for my sweet daughter Meghan!!! They bonded ten years ago and are now joined at the hip!!! He sleeps with Meghan every night and follows her around the yard like a dog would!!! He even watches Meg get on the bus every morning and he knows when the bus arrives each afternoon !!! When she gets off he runs to greet her and then rubs all over her backpack, it is so heartwarming to watch each day!!!

 

3.) Remo is not afraid of anything, fire works, loud lawn mowers!! He has even chased strange dogs off our property!!! He even keeps Lexi at bay and she does not like cats~~ but she stays away from Remo!! He is a true warrior!!!

 

4.) He loves to be outside, a bored indoor cat usually is a stressed cat and he is far from bored!!! He loves to run in the snow, sleet, rain and sun!!! He is very street smart and woods savy, he knows how to stay away from danger and is always on alert!!!

 

5.) He is a very clean cat, and prefers to use the great outdoors for his litter box!!! No scooping up after Remo, he is so easy to care for and very neat!!!!!

 

6.) He never makes a sound, no loud crying unless Pete bites his back, he will whine !!! He is very kind to everyone, he never bites or scratches any humans!! He rubs on strangers that we welcome into our home~!!!!

 

7.) He loves to purr, he purrs when he is sleeping, when he is eating, when he is running all day long!!! He purrs the most when he sees Meghan!!!

 

8.) He is not a picky eater, and he will eat any dry, wet, canned food that you feed him!! He loves to sit next to Meg and he waits for her to give him some cheese off her sandwich!!!

 

9.)Remo still gets frisky !! Pete & Remo will run around the house like two horses!!! He is the boss and he lets Pete know that by pinning him down!!!

 

10.) Remo loves to sleep in our canoe that is tipped and covered in our back yard!!! If we cannot find him we look there and he jumps out and starts purring!!! He is the best cat that I have ever owned!!! He knows when the garage door opens that someone is coming home and he waits on the sidewalk!!! he never gets locked in the garage he knows to run in or out when he hears the door moving!!!

Hong Kong students are fighting for democracy.

 

Monday 29th of September 2014.

Copyright 2005 Ron Diorio

 

Photography Now 2005

Center for Photography at Woodstock

May 7 - June 19

 

Gave him my cold so he’s off ill today

Posted by rekha_is_batman on 2012-01-16 13:19:06

Tagged: , portrait , portraiture , self , 365 , days , rekha , garton , eyes , blue , colourful , tattoo , tattooed tattoos , heart , love , bed , couple , matt , male , guy , female , wo...

 

sportsheadsunblocked.com/2016/08/10/16365/

I passed him walking while hitchhiking. See his strange cap and coat, his stick with a wheel on the end for a toy, and his black eye. He didn't move or say anything when I said hello or tried to get a reaction and stood completely still just like this while I walked toward him a bit, took out my camera and took this photo. And he looked so sad. I think he'd been abused. I wish I'd looked for a neighbour to at least ask about him and his black eye.

 

- From Putna monastery (which I toured after taking this, later that same day and the next morning), I hitched or walked up to the 2E and then SE @ 40 km.s to the city of Suceava (Soo-cha-va). I don't recall but according to the map I passed through the town of Rădăuți whose "Princely Church [in Bogdana Monastery there] is the [2nd] oldest standing religious bldg. in Moldavia (@ 1360) and which contains the graves of Bogdan I [founder and 1st Voivode of Moldavia], his son Lațcu, Roman I [and all of Bogdan's successors, Voivodes/Princes of Moldavia,] to Alexandru cel Bun [the Good]. The graves were attended to, and marked properly by Ștefan cel Mare." (Wikipedia) What a miss, and I passed through. (Get a good guidebook!) www.youtube.com/watch?v=SeHM-SoNql8

- The first stud farm for the famous Huțul or Hutsul horse (which likely descends from the Dacian draft horse) was established at Rădăuți in 1856.

 

- Suceava (Soo-cha-va) had a population of @ 100,000 in 2000. Almost 3 x the size of Sighet, it was the largest city that I would tour in Romania until Sibiu in Transylvania, and the 4th largest in my 30 days in the country. "/B/ 1388 and 1564, it was the capital of the Principality of Moldavia, and the residence of the Moldavian princes." (In 1564, the seat moved to Iași.) From 1775 until after WWII it was within the Habsburg's 'Kingdom of Galicia and Lodomeria', then the Austian empire, and then the Austrian portion of the Austro-Hungarian empire, and then the newly enlarged Kingdom of Romania. It grew ten-fold during the Communist urbanization years until 1989.

 

- One prime attraction in Suceava which I toured well is a ruined medieval fortress or citadel (late 14th cent, fortified in the 15th with a concentric fortress surrounding the original, all surrounded in turn by a huge moat or ditch), the Cetatea de Scaun a Sucevei www.youtube.com/watch?v=jEAF9grNPjs , which served as the princely residence from 1388 to 1565, and which, under the leadership of Ștefan cel Mare, famously and successfully withstood and repelled a siege by the Turks led by none other than 'Mehmet the Conquerer' in the summer of 1476, 23 yr.s AFTER he had conquered and captured Constantinople on May 29, 1453. Constantinople fell to Mehmet but Suceava didn't.

- The fortress was then refortified and withstood 2 further sieges in 1485 and 1497. It was taken by Suleiman I ('the Magnificent') with an Ottoman force of 200,000 in 1538, which then pillaged Suceava and plundered the region. (It's said that boyars disaffected with Petru Rareș assisted Suleiman and "handed him" the fortress.) It was taken again in 1563 following a 3 month siege by hetman Ștefan Tomșa, and by Wallachian prince Mihai Viteazu w/o a fight in 1600, and again a few mos. later by a mixed army of Cossacks and Poles who then invested Ieremia Movilă as ruler of Moldavia. It was the scene of "many devastating battles" in the 2nd 1/2 of the 17th cent., incl. a siege and a battle in 1653, and a 6-month-long battle /b/ "a Polish garrison installed by Ștefan Petriceicu, and Turkish forces". The latter won. And in 1684, a huge earthquake left the structure in ruins." roamingromania.com/fortress-of-suceava/#:~:text=Fortress%.... Very much DNA has been spilled there.

- There was a museum in the dungeon in 2000 which I don't recall but I think I toured, and a chapel built by Ștefan cel Mare which had been restored in the 60s.

 

- Ștefan is the most celebrated figure in Romanian history. Nothing succeeds like success, nor like winning 34 out of 36 battles, defeating 'Mehmet the Conqueror', building many of the country's most celebrated monasteries and churches, and defending a Christian Europe from the infidel Turks, earning rare praise from R.C. pope Sixtus IV (rare for any non-Catholic) as 'the Athlete of Christ'. www.youtube.com/watch?v=-5gS7KW5kHA He was also the first cousin and sometime (but inconsistent) ally of Vlad III Dracula, 'Vlad the Impaler', Voivode of Wallachia. Vlad was released from captivity in Hungary at Ștefan's request in 1475, and Ștefan helped Vlad take the throne of Wallachia in 1476.

- theibtaurisblog.com/2013/08/27/draculas-perfect-cousin/

 

- I spent some time one day at the Mănăstirea Sfântul Ioan cel Nou ('of St. John the New') (1514-22). "Construction was begun by voivode Bogdan III the One-Eyed, following the destruction of the Mirăuți Church (the former metropolitan cathedral of Moldavia) in 1513, and was completed by his son, Ștefăniță. The monastery church served as metropolitan cathedral of Moldavia until 1677. ... It has some exterior frescoes, but which are barely discernible. The monastery is dedicated to 'St. John the New of Suceava', a local monk who preached during Turkish occupation and was martyred in Cetatea Albă, present-day Bilhorod-Dnistrovskyi in Ukraine. Alexander I of Moldavia brought his relics to Suceava, to this church, in 1402. The complex includes a bell tower (1589) built during the reign of Peter the Lame, and a chapel founded in the 1620s." (wikipedia) This church is one of the 8 Moldavian monasteries designated together as Unesco world heritage.

- I toured the church and the complex well enough, but my most memorable experience in Suceava was some time I spent people-watching at this monastery. I stood and watched as supplicants standing in a queue met individually with a local bearded monk (or priest?). The monk and the attendee would kneel together, the monk would spread a cloth or veil over both their heads, they'd remain kneeling together veiled in that position for several minutes, and would then stand up, that supplicant would leave and the monk would then meet the next in line, kneel with him or her, and repeat. Now this monk was an extraordinarily handsome young man. He seemed to know it, as he should. One of the attendees was a beautiful, shapely but svelte young woman, well-coiffed (in 1940s style), impressively dressed and done up for church in her best knee-length skirt, gloves, stilettos (!), and with bright red lipstick. When it came to her turn, she and the monk both kneeled and remained together under the veil for @ 10 min.s or so, and when they stood up, she was in tears, thanking him, and he nodded and smiled. If she didn't have a crush on him, I couldn't be blamed for thinking she did. I'm advised that this ritual, with the veil and the kneeling, is the Romanian Orthodox confessional, and so she was dressed to the nines just to attend to meet with and to confess to him.

 

- Suceava has at least 4 museums: history, village, ethnographic, and natural history. I don't recall it but I know I toured the history museum as I took a photo of a group of wax figures standing in royal robes in a 'throne hall', incl. Ștefan cel Mare, his queen Maria Voichița, and Prince Bogdan-the-One-Eyed, all with their heads tilted slightly back so that they look up and away in noble fashion, and the men with hippy-length hair. This scene is of "an allotment of land for peasants, reconstituted on the basis of medieval documents and frescoes." (Wikipedia) I don't recall if I toured the Biserica Sfântul Gheorghe, aka the Mirăuți church (1390, rebuilt in the 17th cent.), "the Metropolitan cathedral where early Moldavian princes were crowned, incl. Ștefan cel Mare."

 

- From Suceava, I hitched the 12-15 km.s to the Dragomirna monastery (a convent) and back. "Massively walled like a fortress, the Dragomirna monastery was founded in 1602, and is dramatically proportioned at 42 m.s high but only 9.6 m.s wide, with cable moulding @ the exterior." It's so tall, narrow and unusual that I don't think I've seen another building like it. easterneuropeeastereggs.wordpress.com/dragomirna/ At the time it reminded me of a battleship, although it might remind one of the Flatiron bldg. in NYC or the Gooderham bldg. on Front st. in Toronto.

- "The octagonal tower, set on 2 star-shaped pedestals, is carved with meanders and rosettes. Inside it has an unusual star-shaped vault and a very ornate, baroque iconostasis. ... The solid walls and towers of the complex were added in 1627 owing to the threat of foreign invasions. These were so frequent that wooden village churches were sometimes mounted on wheels so that they could be towed to safety. [!]" (RG)

- "During the Habsburg and later the Communist purges of the Orthodox church, Dragomirna remained inhabited. The dying wish of Bishop Crimca was that a day should not pass without prayers being said in his monastery. Thus 7 elderly nuns defied Communist orders and remained at the monastery throughout the 1960s and 70s. Today more than 60 nuns call Dragomirna their home."

 

- Leaving Suceava, I hitched SW on the 17 to the 2E and then north to Cacica (Ca-chee-ka). I'd heard or read about the salt mine there, a subterranean work of art in salt, and seeing as I hadn't managed to cross into Poland from Bardejov 2 mos. earlier and so missed the world-famous Wieliczka salt mine, I went out of my way to visit Cacica's contribution. There was a photogenic communist-era complex of bldg.s there above-ground, but I don't recommend Cacica. What little art there was in the mine was unappealing and seemed cheesy, although it does have a couple of plain chapels and a 'ball-room'. I might appreciate it better today, but w/o any expectations. I don't think I've toured a salt mine before or since (although the world's largest is in Goderich, ON - !, a 'Sifto salt' mine), and according to the captions in the video in the next link, the rooms in the mine were important to the life of the local mining community in the 19th cent. www.youtube.com/watch?v=UqmTa4c4X2A The mine was established by Austrian authorities in 1798 who brought in Poles from Galicia to work it. These Poles "named the village after wild ducks found nesting in nearby swamps." (RG) (Today @ 20% of the town's population is Polish.)

 

- I'd considered hitching a little further north to Arbore, to tour yet another painted monastery, but I headed south instead down the 2E and 15C to Targu Neamț, south of southern Bukovina, and a 10-15 km. jog west to the 15th cent. Mânăstirea Neamț (Nee-amts), which was recommended.

- One miss in Targu Neamț was a well-preserved fortress from the days of Ștefan cel Mare, more intact than the one in Suceava.

- If I'd continued 50 clicks, another hour, down the twisty 15C to Piatra Neamț I could've toured the Ba’al Shem Tov synagogue, one of a very finite number of wooden synagogues which still stand in Eastern Europe today where there had been hundreds. This 'jewel-box of Judaism' dates in part from 1766, and could be the oldest standing wooden synagogue anywhere. (At least it's older than any that remain standing per this incomplete list on Wikipedia, which omits it. en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_wooden_synagogues?msclkid=0... ) So that was a miss. www.washingtonpost.com/archive/local/2000/02/26/jewel-box...

 

- Neamț (Nee-amts) is the oldest and largest of Moldavia's monasteries, housing 70 monks and dozens of seminarians. "Originally a 12th cent. hermitage, it became a monastery under Petru I Musat (1376-92) and was rebuilt and fortified by Alexandru cel Bun (1400-32). The [sturdy, central] 'new church' was built by Ștefan cel Mare in 1497, following the Moldavian victory in battle over King John I Albert of Poland, and became a prototype for Moldavian churches throughout the next century [although it has no exterior frescoes, apart from a series of saints in small niches]. www.youtube.com/watch?v=BXHoeAypzWw www.youtube.com/watch?v=2D8Xl9lXuro Neamț resembles a fortress, with high stone walls and one remaining corner tower. On the wall of the bell-tower, a painted 'Eye of the Saviour' sternly regards the monks’ cells." (RG) That eye was the most memorable feature of the monastery for me for some reason. www.capper-online.de/Travel/Romania/assets/images/19_Neam... I'll scan a photo.

- This was the most spacious and the busiest of the monasteries I toured in Romania. It was wet when I was there and I toured it in the rain. I was the guest that evening of a monk in his room or 'cell' in which I slept on a pull-out bed. He was a smart, well-informed man and we spoke @ international politics at some length. More wonderful hospitality.

- The monastery has a rich history (which I'll write more about in this space sometime, it was a centre for transcription and for printing) and a suitably rich museum which I toured but don't recall. There's a large Agheazmatar bldg. (1836-47) on the grounds for 'the blessing of the water' which is a library today (with over 18,000 volumes, many of them unique), and which is mostly dome, somewhat resembling a huge, chocolate covered marshmallow cookie. en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Neam%C8%9B_Monastery#/media/File:Ma...

- One miss was an ancient ossuary under the monastery (which might not've been open to the public in 2000), the largest monastic ossuary in Romania with 530 interments, and with ancient writing painted on the domes of the skulls of interred monks indicating their names, significant dates, etc. www.youtube.com/watch?v=K3bp1W25XqE

- There was more exceptional hospitality the next day, for as I was heading down the road just beyond the monastery en route, a group enjoying a feast on picnic tables (for some occasion) called me over, asked where I'm from, and invited me to join them, and tuck in. :)

 

- From the Neamț monastery, I hitched SW on the 15B, and up the 17B and E58 to the 1200 m. Tihuța pass (Ti-hootsa) where I said goodbye to Moldavia and hello to Transylvania at the site of the cheese-fest which is the Hotel Castle Dracula (1983), located at that pass. The Tihuța pass is the Bârgau (Boar-go) or 'Bârgaului' pass of Bram Stoker's novel Dracula, where Jonathan Harker embarked in Count Dracula's carriage to be taken to his castle on a bloodcurdling journey into the Bârgau valley. (I read the novel when I was home sick one week from school in grade 5, and I've just reread parts of chap. 1 now for the first time since.) It's an inspired choice as a setting for the castle, as "the surrounding mountains harbour more bears than any other part of Europe, as well as boars and WOLVES [emphasis added]." (RG) www.youtube.com/watch?v=oPHTi7Ja44Y (Murnau, 1922)

- www.youtube.com/watch?v=fU3t_9TdbE8 (Coppola)

- www.youtube.com/watch?v=iZwL_PXdEy0 (Herzog with Kinski, 1979)

- I entered the said hotel to have a look and to ask about the place, and don't recall what I was told, but the fun-loving concierge asked cryptically if I suffered from any form of heart disease ("Nope. ... ?"), and then suggested I follow his colleague downstairs into the basement. I was taken down a flight of steps /b/ walls painted to look like they were built with large, old, brown blocks of cut stone or field-stone, to a small, dark room in which all the walls were painted with murals of scenes in which Dracula, dressed like a cross /b/ Bela Lugosi and John Travolta from Saturday Night Fever, and Elvira-type female vampires run @ the countryside under a full moon with all their cleavage and their fangy mouths open. There was a coffin to one side in the room, and its lid flew open to reveal a snarling, hostile character in a cape and a rubber mask of a bald, white, fanged Nosferatu. Later I was told by hotel staff that they would put on this little show quite often for tourists and patrons until several years earlier when an American died of a heart attack after the coffin jump-scare.

  

- The author of this article refers to claims that Ceaușescu had banned the name 'Dracula', and states that the novel wasn't published in Romanian until 1990. !! www.historytoday.com/grand-tour/hotel-castel-dracula

 

- Rereading chap. 1 of 'Dracula', I've found some entertaining and surprising moments and elements in the setting of the Bârgaului valley that I'd forgotten and which have been ignored in all the many films. (The fun, interesting portion of the novel is the 1st 3rd, set in this valley and in the castle in the valley; the rest, most of which is set in England, is dull by comparison.) The old landlady at the hotel in Bistritz (Bistrița), where Jonathan Harker spends his last night before heading out for the valley and the castle, implores him not to go, warning him that it is May 4, "the eve of St. George's Day. ... [T]onight, when the clock strikes midnight, all the evil things of the world will have full sway. Do you know where you are going and where you are going to?" All the movie scripts get it wrong when Harker arrives at the pass and the carriage driver won't dare stay and scoots off after leaving him there. In the novel, the driver arrives after dark but early and just before Dracula's calèche appears, and says “There is no carriage here. The Herr is not expected after all. He will now come on to Bukovina, and return to-morrow or the next day; better the next day,” seeking to persuade Harker to continue on to Bukovina, but just then "the horses began to neigh and snort and plunge wildly" and "amongst a chorus of screams [!] from the peasants [fellow passengers] and a universal crossing of themselves" Dracula's calèche with 4 "splendid, coal-black" horses arrives. The driver of the calèche, whose gleaming eyes "seemed red in the lamplight", but whose face cannot be seen in the dark beneath the brim of his hat (and who could have been the Count), says “You are early to-night, my friend.” The carriage driver responds in a stammer “The English Herr was in a hurry,” to which the calèche-driver replies: “That is why, I suppose, you wished him to go on to Bukovina. You cannot deceive me, my friend; I know too much, and my horses are swift.”

- Once Harker boards the calèche which sweeps "into the darkness of the pass", things get interesting.: "The carriage went at a hard pace straight along, then we made a complete turn and went along another straight road. It seemed to me that we were simply going over and over the same ground again; and so I took note of some salient point, and found that this was so. ... By-and-by, as I was curious to know how time was passing, I struck a match, and by its flame looked at my watch; it was within a few minutes of midnight. ... Then a dog began to howl somewhere in a farmhouse far down the road - a long, agonized wailing, as if from fear. The sound was taken up by another dog, and then another and another, till, borne on the wind which now sighed softly through the Pass, a wild howling began, which seemed to come from all over the country, as far as the imagination could grasp it through the gloom of the night. At the first howl the horses began to strain and rear, but the driver spoke to them soothingly, and they quieted down, but shivered and sweated as though after a runaway from sudden fright. Then, far off in the distance, from the mountains on each side of us began a louder and a sharper howling - that of wolves - ... the horses ... reared again and plunged madly, so that the driver had to use all his great strength to keep them from bolting. In a few minutes, however, ... the horses so far became quiet that the driver was able to descend and to stand before them. He petted and soothed them, and whispered something in their ears, as I have heard of horse-tamers doing, and with extraordinary effect, for under his caresses they became quite manageable again, though they still trembled. The driver again took his seat, and shaking his reins, started off at a great pace. This time, after going to the far side of the Pass, he suddenly turned down a narrow roadway which ran sharply to the right. [It's fair to assume that he made that turn shortly after midnight.]

- "Soon we were hemmed in with trees, which in places arched right over the roadway till we passed as through a tunnel; and again great frowning rocks guarded us boldly on either side. Though we were in shelter, we could hear the rising wind, for it moaned and whistled through the rocks, and the branches of the trees crashed together as we swept along. It grew colder and colder still, and fine, powdery snow began to fall, so that soon we and all around us were covered with a white blanket. The keen wind still carried the howling of the dogs, though this grew fainter as we went on our way. The baying of the wolves sounded nearer and nearer, as though they were closing round on us from every side. ... The driver, however, was not in the least disturbed; he kept turning his head to left and right, but I could not see anything through the darkness. Suddenly, away on our left, I saw a faint flickering blue flame. The driver saw it at the same moment; he at once checked the horses, and, jumping to the ground, disappeared into the darkness. I did not know what to do, the less as the howling of the wolves grew closer; but while I wondered the driver suddenly appeared again, and without a word took his seat, and we resumed our journey. I think I must have fallen asleep and kept dreaming of the incident, for it seemed to be repeated endlessly ... Once the flame appeared so near the road, that even in the darkness around us I could watch the driver’s motions. He went rapidly to where the blue flame arose - it must have been very faint, for it did not seem to illumine the place around it at all - and gathering a few stones, formed them into some device. Once there appeared a strange optical effect: when he stood between me and the flame he did not obstruct it, for I could see its ghostly flicker all the same. ... Then for a time there were no blue flames, and we sped onwards through the gloom, with the howling of the wolves around us, as though they were following in a moving circle.

- "At last there came a time when the driver went further afield than he had yet gone, and during his absence, the horses began to tremble worse than ever and to snort and scream with fright. I could not see any cause for it, for the howling of the wolves had ceased altogether; but just then the moon, sailing through the black clouds, appeared behind the jagged crest of a beetling, pine-clad rock, and by its light I saw around us a ring of wolves, with white teeth and lolling red tongues, with long, sinewy limbs and shaggy hair. They were a hundred times more terrible in the grim silence which held them than even when they howled. ... All at once the wolves began to howl as though the moonlight had had some peculiar effect on them. The horses jumped about and reared, and looked helplessly round with eyes that rolled in a way painful to see; but the living ring of terror encompassed them on every side; and they had perforce to remain within it. I called to the coachman to come, for it seemed that our only chance was to try to break out through the ring and to aid his approach. ... How he came there, I know not, but I heard his voice raised in a tone of imperious command, and looking towards the sound, saw him stand in the roadway. As he swept his long arms, as though brushing aside some impalpable obstacle, the wolves fell back and back further still. Just then a heavy cloud passed across the face of the moon, so that we were again in darkness. When I could see again the driver was climbing into the calèche, and the wolves had disappeared. ... The time seemed interminable as we swept on our way, now in almost complete darkness, for the rolling clouds obscured the moon. We kept on ascending, with occasional periods of quick descent, but in the main always ascending. Suddenly, I became conscious of the fact that the driver was in the act of pulling up the horses in the courtyard of a vast ruined castle, from whose tall black windows came no ray of light, and whose broken battlements showed a jagged line against the moonlit sky."

Chapter 1 ends there. See? The Bârgau valley's quite a place in the wee hours after midnight on May 5.

 

- In Chapter 2, in the course of a discussion Harker asks Dracula as to the blue flames that he'd seen the night before. "I asked him ... why the coachman went to the places where he had seen the blue flames. He then explained that it was commonly believed that on a certain night of the year - last night, in fact, when all evil spirits are supposed to have unchecked sway - a blue flame is seen over any place where treasure has been concealed. “That treasure has been hidden,” he went on, “in the region through which you came last night, there can be but little doubt; for it was the ground fought over for centuries by the Wallachian, the Saxon, and the Turk [!]. Why, there is hardly a foot of soil in all this region that has not been enriched by the blood of men, patriots or invaders. In old days there were stirring times, when the Austrian and the Hungarian came up in hordes, and the patriots went out to meet them - men and women, the aged and the children too - and waited their coming on the rocks above the passes, that they might sweep destruction on them with their artificial avalanches. [Note that according to Dracula, the Hungarians were not the 'patriots'. Is he referring here to Wallachians {Romanians} or Szekelers or both?] When the invader was triumphant he found but little, for whatever there was had been sheltered in the friendly soil.”

“But how,” said I, “can it have remained so long undiscovered, when there is a sure index to it if men will but take the trouble to look?” The Count smiled, and as his lips ran back over his gums, the long, sharp, canine teeth showed out strangely; he answered: - “Because your peasant is at heart a coward and a fool! Those flames only appear on one night; and on that night no man of this land will, if he can help it, stir without his doors. And, dear sir, even if he did he would not know what to do. Why, even the peasant that you tell me of who marked the place of the flame would not know where to look in daylight even for his own work. Even you would not, I dare be sworn, be able to find these places again?”

“There you are right,” I said. “I know no more than the dead where even to look for them.” Then we drifted into other matters. ... "

Stoker's other-worldly Bârgau valley is a mystical Oak Island. As to the legend or tradition that on St. George's eve "all evil spirits are supposed to have unchecked sway," it seems that Dracula arranged for Harker to arrive and attend at his castle on that particular night, and that the local 'peasants' knew that he'd done so, and it seems that his calèche had been driving back and forth or up and down until just after midnight when it could then (and only then?) turn "sharply to the right" down "a narrow roadway ... hemmed in with trees ... arch[ing] right over the roadway" as if it was "a tunnel" with "great frowning rocks guard[ing] boldly on either side" beneath "branches of trees crashing together" in the "moaning, rising wind." Now I wish I'd reread Dracula before that trip, or at least the first few chapters. I would've liked to have asked the locals about St. George's day and the treasures under the blue flames. And to think I was in Romania ON St. George's eve and St. George's day .

 

- It's known that Stoker had read 'Transylvanian superstitions', a remarkable and entertaining article written by Emily Gerard which includes the following: "Perhaps the most important day in the year is St. George’s, the 23rd of April (which corresponds to our 5th of May [?]), the eve of which is still frequently kept by occult meetings taking place at night in lonely caverns or within ruined walls, and where all the ceremonies usual to the celebration of a witches’ Sabbath are put into practice. The feast itself is the great day to beware of witches, to counteract whose influence square-cut blocks of green turf are placed in front of each door and window. This is supposed effectually to bar their entrance to the house or stables, but for still greater safety it is usual here for the peasants to keep watch all night by the sleeping cattle. This same night is the best for finding treasures, and many people spend it in wandering about the hills trying to probe the earth for the gold it contains. Vain and futile as such researches usually are, yet they have in this country a somewhat greater semblance of reason than in most other parts, for perhaps nowhere else have so many successive nations been forced to secrete their riches in flying from an enemy ... Not a year passes without bringing to light some earthen jar containing old Dacian coins, or golden ornaments of Roman origin, and all such discoveries serve to feed and keep up the national superstition.

- "In the night of St. George’s Day (so say the legends) all these treasures begin to burn, or, to speak in mystic language, to ‘bloom’ in the bosom of the earth, and the light they give forth, described as a bluish flame resembling the colour of lighted spirits of wine, serves to guide favoured mortals to their place of concealment. The conditions to the successful raising of such a treasure are manifold, and difficult of accomplishment. In the first place, it is by no means easy for a common mortal who has not been born on a Sunday nor at midday when the bells are ringing, to hit upon a treasure at all. If he does, however, catch sight of such a flame, he must quickly stick a knife through the swaddling rags of his right foot, and then throw the knife in the direction of the flame he has seen. If two people are together during this discovery they must not on any account break silence till the treasure is removed, neither is it allowed to fill up the hole from which anything has been taken, for that would induce a speedy death. The lights seen before midnight on St. George’s Day, denote treasures kept by benevolent spirits, while those which appear at a later hour are unquestionably of a pernicious nature." www.gutenberg.org/files/52165/52165-h/52165-h.htm

 

- I've read more than once that Stoker didn't know much about Vlad III Dracula, that he had initially planned to set his novel in an uncanny Styria (in Austria), as Le Fanu had done with 'Carmilla', as the interest in Eastern European vampires in the west had begun with reports from Serbia (newly incorporated into the Austrian empire following the ouster of the Ottomans) in the 18th cent., investigated and debunked by Austrian authorities. In Chap. 18, Van Helsing says this of the Count.: “He must, indeed, have been that Voivode Dracula who won his name against the Turk, over the great river on the very frontier of Turkey-land”. But in a discussion with Harker, the Count reveals that he was a Szekeler (ethnically Hungarian or Magyar), very much unlike the Wallachian Voivode, and gives the following, impassioned, (very) lengthy speech.: “We Szekelys have a right to be proud, for in our veins flows the blood of many brave races who fought as the lion fights, for lordship. Here, in the whirlpool of European races, the Ugric tribe bore down from Iceland [Northern Russia or Siberia?] the fighting spirit which Thor and Wodin gave them [?], which their Berserkers [Vikings] displayed to such fell intent on the seaboards of Europe, ay, and of Asia and Africa too [? Ugric tribes weren't Viking/Norse, but often suffered and were slaughtered in that "display of fighting spirit"], till the peoples thought that the werewolves themselves had come. Here, too, when they came, they found the Huns [the Skelelers claim descent from Attila], whose warlike fury had swept the earth like a living flame, till the dying peoples held that in their veins ran the blood of those old witches, who, expelled from Scythia had mated with the devils in the desert. Fools, fools! What devil or what witch was ever so great as Attila, whose blood is in these veins? ... Is it a wonder that we were a conquering race, that we were proud, that when the Magyar, the Lombard, the Avar, the Bulgar, or the Turk poured his thousands on our frontiers, we drove them back? Is it strange that when Arpad and his legions swept through the Hungarian fatherland he found us here when he reached the frontier, that the Honfoglalas was completed there? And when the Hungarian flood swept eastward, the Szekelys were claimed as kindred by the victorious Magyars [the best current evidence is that the Szekelys WERE Magyars], and to us for centuries was trusted the guarding of the frontier of Turkeyland. Aye, and more than that, endless duty of the frontier guard, for as the Turks say, "water sleeps, and the enemy is sleepless." Who more gladly than we throughout the Four Nations received the 'bloody sword', or at its warlike call flocked quicker to the standard of the King? When was redeemed that great shame of my nation, the shame of Cassova, when the flags of the Wallach and the Magyar went down beneath the Crescent? Who was it but one of my own race who as Voivode crossed the Danube and beat the Turk on his own ground? [Vlad III Dracula. He seems to be discussing himself in the 3rd person.] This was a Dracula indeed! [See?] Woe was it that his own unworthy brother ['Radu the Handsome'], when he had fallen, sold his people to the Turk and brought the shame of slavery on them! Was it not this Dracula, indeed, who inspired that other of his race who in a later age again and again brought his forces over the great river into Turkeyland, who, when he was beaten back, came again, and again, though he had to come alone from the bloody field where his troops were being slaughtered, since he knew that he alone could ultimately triumph! They said that he thought only of himself. Bah! What good are peasants without a leader? Where ends the war without a brain and heart to conduct it? Again, when, after the battle of Mohacs [the 2nd battle of Mohacs, Aug. 12, 1687, a victory for the Habsburgs and a defeat for the Ottomans under Mehmed IV], we threw off the Hungarian yoke, we of the Dracula blood were amongst their leaders, for our spirit would not brook that we were not free. Ah, young sir, the Szekelys, and the Dracula as their heart's blood, their brains, and their swords, can boast a record that mushroom growths like the Hapsburgs and the Romanoffs can never reach. The warlike days are over. Blood is too precious a thing in these days of dishonourable peace, and the glories of the great races are as a tale that is told."”

 

- If Stoker had seen any reproductions of images of Vlad III in any of the books he'd been reading at the British museum, that might account for the Count's "aquiline" face "with [its] high bridge of the thin nose"; "bushy", curly hair; long, heavy moustache (while otherwise he's clean-shaven); "fixed and rather cruel-looking mouth"; and firm though thin cheeks. Access to a description of Vlad provided by a 15th-cent. papal legate as having "a cold and terrible appearance, a strong aquiline nose, swollen nostrils" and "bushy black eyebrows", might account for the Count's flaring nostrils and "massive" eyebrows. All quite un-Lugosi-esque. (Acclaimed Dracula expert Elizabeth Miller [a Torontonian] claims that the differences /b/ the appearance of Vlad III Dracula in any of "the portraits" and Stoker's description of the count "are overwhelming." ? I don't know what she's on about.)

 

- That night I was the guest of a family just a short walk down from the pass and the hotel. (See the next photo of the girl in bed.)

Our OLD pet puggle loves the granddaughter and she follows him around too, petting him every chance she gets!

This votive figure is dressed in the Greek style, wearing a finely pleated linen chiton and wool himation (cloak). It is said to be from the temple at Golgoi.

 

Photographed at the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York City, New York.

Marty: "Let's land on him, we'll cripple his car."

Doc: "Marty, he's in a '46 Ford. We're in a DeLorean. He'd rip through us like we were tin foil."

— As the DeLorean hovers over the Ford

The Ford Super De Luxe was a model of vehicle manufactured by Ford during the 1940s. Biff Tannen owned a 1946 version in 1955 which was a convertible, painted black with a red interior, and had the nickname "Shiela". Its license plate number was 6H 96472.

 

Biff was the only person who knew the trick to starting the ignition, as he told Terry: "You just gotta have the right touch. Nobody can start this car but me." Biff still remembered the technique in his old age — much to the amazement of his younger self, who demanded to know how this "old codger with a cane" knew how to do this.

 

History

 

After being provoked by Marty McFly in Lou's Cafe on November 8, 1955, Biff and his gang chased him in the Ford around Courthouse Square before slamming into a manure truck. By November 12, Biff had the car repaired. In order to repair the damage to his car, Biff was pressured by Terry to pay $300 for the job, but refused payment. As he argued with Terry, both Marty and Biff's older self jumped into the Ford, with Marty hiding in the back seat. Old Biff drove the Ford back to his house and parked it in his garage before displaying the Grays Sports Almanac.

 

Later that night, Marty snuck away in the back seat again as Biff drove to the Enchantment Under the Sea dance at Hill Valley High School. Biff parked the vehicle outside the door of the gymnasium and returned to it after discovering that Marty had been after the almanac. Biff drove the Ford towards River Road Tunnel on the way home before Marty swooped in using the hoverboard. Biff and Marty fought over the almanac outside and in the tunnel, with Biff sideswiping the wall of the tunnel with the right side of the Ford. When Biff reached the end of the tunnel, he turned completely around and faced Marty who was still halfway inside. Biff charged the car towards Marty in the hopes of running him over, but failed when Marty grabbed a string of pennants attached to the DeLorean time machine. As Biff watched the DeLorean hover away, he crashed the Ford into a manure truck again, filling his car with manure.

 

It is unclear what became of the Ford after 1955, but it reappeared newly restored in 1985A where it was on display at the entrance to the Biff Tannen Museum, alongside a waxwork figure of Biff.

 

[Text from bactothefuture.wikia.com]

 

backtothefuture.wikia.com/wiki/Ford_Super_De_Luxe_Convert...

 

This Lego miniland scale 1946 Ford Super Deluxe Convertible (Back to the Future I & II) has been created for Flickr LUGNuts' 96th Build Challenge - The 8th Birthday, titled - 'Happy Crazy Eight Birthday, LUGNuts' - where all previous build challenges are available to build to. This model is built to the LUGNuts 6th build challenge, - &quotYour Claim to Fame" - a challenge encouraging the builder to create an iconic model with some level of popular culture reference (to ensure lots of interweb exposure) - in this case, this model is created and loaded to the interweb in the lead up to October 21st 2015 - the day that Marty and Doc Brown arrive in 2015 from their original timeline in 1985.

Lex as Sebastian... love him!! :)

I need to reduce my contacts/workload. Can I ask my contacts who look but do not comment, to simply delete me as a contact? I won't be offended as I will never make Photographer of the Year lol. That makes it easier for me as I am reducing my contacts and groups - keeping the daisies but cutting back on the deadwood.

Hims: 21 86 211 4 384

Hims: 21 86 211 4 014

 

Odense, 1994-07-21

 

Slide: D02550

Steelwing: You! This is your fault!

 

Soundwave grabs Steelwing and quickly flips him into the air and transforms. As the Decepticon's body rapidly shifts and folds, Steelwing lands atop Soundwave's vehicular form. The communicator wastes no time and drives off in retreat.

 

Steelwing: Where are you taking me? Those are missiles! Missiles headed towards my home! My money bin! My workshop! My life!

 

Soundwave sees the drones alter course toward him but the missiles soon find their mark. Steelwing's workshop burst into flame!

 

Steelwing: No!

 

Soundwave leaves no time for Steelwing to mourn as he motors away from the flaming wreckage and tries to outrun the jets. The drones open fire with a burst of lasers from their nose-guns, peppering the landscape around the speedy Decepticon. Soundwave drives in a zig-zag pattern in an effort to avoid the blasts erupting all around him. The horror of the moment forced Steelwing from despair and focuses him on survival. He points to the west.

 

Steelwing: Over there! There'll be cover over that way!

 

Soundwave alters course as the jets fast approach. The Decepticon accelerates towards a maze of silos, pulling free of the random explosions erupting around his original trajectory. The drones shift their course as well but their speed is too great and they overshoot the Decepticon ground vehicle, giving Soundwave a few precious moments to duck between the silos. He is now only visible if the planes were directly above him, now hidden between the tall containers. Soundwave slowed down to explore the immediate area.

 

Soundwave: How did you know of this place?

 

Steelwing looked upwards, fully alert to incoming danger. He answered Soundwave but dared not take his optics off the sky.

 

Steelwing: I come here all the time. It's where I steal my energon from.

 

Soundwave froze with dread.

 

Soundwave: These are energon silos?

 

Steelwing: Well yes, they are... oh...

 

Steelwing lost his voice as he came to the same obvious mental conclusion that had immediately occurred to Soundwave. Soundwave instantly accelerated, just in time for the drones soar directly above him. The drones looped around and began tailing the Decepticon.

 

Soundwave: Which way is out?

 

Steelwing: You weren't supposed to run, you were supposed to hide!

 

Soundwave: Which way is out?!?

 

Steelwing: That way! That way!

 

Las Vegas, Nevada

Las Vegas Martial Arts and Karate

  

Karate for Kids Testimonial and Review

 

When my eight-year-old son first asked me if I would let him take Karate for Kids, I was a little worried. Karate seems so dangerous and I was concerned that my boy would end up injured. After talking with my husband, we agreed to give the program a chance and now we are so glad that we did.

 

First of all, I would like to state that Master Babin is wonderful with the children. While I was apprehensive that the Karate class would be all about fighting, I was relieved to learn that the focus was more on self-defense and moral values. Now my son is healthier than ever, doing an activity that he truly loves.

 

I would encourage every parent out there looking for a fun exercise-based activity for his or her child to participate in their Karate for Kids program a chance. My son is constantly talking about what he learned in his past karate lessons and practicing his blocks and punches in the living room. He is even playing his video games less.

 

After my initial reservations, I now cannot imagine my son participating in any other karate program. Consider this my highest recommendation.

David S

 

Reviews on Karate for Kids

 

When my son started karate instruction with Karate for Kids, he was timid, had few friends and had trouble paying attention in school. I didn't agree with the doctor who tried to tell me he had Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder and that I should put him on medication to control it. To me, my son just needed some loving guidance, not to be medicated.

 

That is when I asked my good friend about her children's experiences with the local martial arts Instructor. Like my son, her children did not have a father figure in their lives and suffered greatly as the result. When they were approaching their teenage years, she decided to enroll them in karate at Karate For Kids Within a matter of weeks, I saw her pre-teen son and daughter become more confident, focused and goal-oriented and knew I wanted the same for my child.

 

After his very first lesson, my son, then aged nine, was already a changed child. He overflowed with enthusiasm as he explained how the karate for kids program pushed him to reach goals, but was "really nice" about it. To this mom, that means that my son finally got the caring, personal instruction that he deserves.

Thank you for such a fantastic Karate For Kids Program

Samantha W

  

Testimonial and Review on Martial Arts For Men

 

I am a forty-eight year old man and, until about four months ago, I had really let myself go. Between work-related stress and the other pressures of my day-to-day existence, I made little time for exercise and gave almost no thought to a healthy diet. In short, I was a mess.

 

One day, a colleague at my office took me aside and recommended that I sign up for the martial arts program offered locally. He had recently signed up for a class and loved it. After some convincing, I agreed to accompany him to his next class.

 

Fast-forward to today and I now love my martial arts training. Martial Arts for men workouts feels less like training and more like fun. I have been losing weight and now have a new energy when facing the daily grind. I have gone from one class a week to two, and am thinking of adding a third.

 

If you are looking for a fun way to get in shape, I would advise you to come on down our Martial Arts for Men Academy. You will not regret it.

Getting younger…

Lisa F

  

Testimonial and Review on Martial Arts For Women

 

I never would have thought that taking up martial arts, would change me so much as a person and in so many ways. I still use every occasion to thank my friends, for recommending me the Martial Art courses for women taught by a martial arts school that teaches quality skill sets for women

 

I used to be a very shy person, and had become quite fearful after having my purse stolen one evening. Now, that is no longer the case. Since participating in the martial arts courses, I have felt more empowered than ever. I enjoyed the friendly and encouraging atmosphere right from the start, and did not feel ashamed of my initial clumsiness.

 

Now, I can actually impress my friends with some of the moves I learned. Also, I am fully aware that martial arts represent a life style just as much as anything else. My Instructor simply amazed all of us throughout the entire program, with his dedication and willingness to teach us. In fact, we could hardly wait for the next session.

 

I truly recommend anyone to make the same change I made in my life. Looking back, I really cannot see my weekly schedule without my martial arts training sessions.

C McCrae

 

Martial Arts For Women in Las Vegas, Nevada

 

Taking a martial arts class was not something I had given much consideration prior to turning 30. Wanting to preserve my strength and flexibility for years to come finally enticed me to take the plunge. The immediate results were stunning and I found myself feeling more energetic and confident in just a few sessions.

 

Not only are his martial arts skills top-notch, but I find his enthusiasm and enjoyment of the sport to be infectious. Considering that this entire venture was foreign to me, I felt right at home during my very first class. In addition to training in martial arts my instructor has a great deal of patience and warmth, the other karate students in the session were just as receptive to me. They really know how to make new members feel welcome.

 

Learning the forms and methods involved in martial arts is a great experience, but what makes these classes truly exceptional is that we learn how to incorporate the philosophy and principals behind this art form into our everyday lives. I look forward to my sessions with my instructor, and find his classes to be a great way to invest in myself, while having some fun at the same time. It is more than just kicking and punching it’s a well rounded martial arts program.

With Great Thanks,

Jackie W

 

here is the deepest secret nobody knows

(here is the root of the root and the bud of the bud

and the sky of the sky of a tree called life; which grows

higher than the soul can hope or mind can hide)

and this is the wonder that's keeping the stars apart

i carry your heart (i carry it in my heart).

Homer and the works attributed to him, poems the Iliad and the Odyssey

     

The Odyssey By Homer Written 800 B.C.E and hero Odysseus who travelled far and wide imaged heroic age about evocation of a real droppingly beautiful rendering of Homer's Odyssey,an inconvenient truth,ongoing multi-year global,expedition studying independent participating stand at the head of the literature don't forget that The Odyssey was translation materials about homeric poems and ancient myths,is a cataloging on the socials networkings sites for booklovers features and reviews include a modern exterior profile.

      

Book 1 Apparition of Athena to Telemakhos

   

Book 2 Telemakhos and the assembled Ithakans, attention to eagles iurnal birds of prey

  

Book 3 Telemakhos learns from the wisdom of Nestor

  

Book 4 Proteus's ability to change shapes

  

Book 5 Odysseus trapped in Kalypso, the sea nymph who detained Odysseus for seven years

  

Book 6 Odysseus's choice of behavior, Phaeacian princess who met the shipwrecked Odysseus

   

Book 7 The transfiguration of Athena goddess of wisdom and useful arts and prudent warfare; guardian of Athens

    

Book 8 Odyssey by Homer, Demodocus, Odysseus upon hearing the songs of Ares and Aphrodite

    

Book 9 Peaceful people island of the Lotos Eaters Odysseus gives the Kyklops

Polyphemos devoured many of Odysseus' men

   

Book 10 Aeolians founded several cities around 1100 BC Laestrygones gigantic cannibals encountered by Odysseus in the Odyssey is laistrygones like the cyclops? even more cruel than the Cyclops.

    

Book 11 the Odyssey (XI. 84-224) the mother of Odysseus Antikleia died while Odysseus was fighting at the siege of the city of Troy Teiresias was a blind prophet of Thebes Agamemnon and Akhilleus in the Underworld.

    

Book 12 Kirke thought Seirenes sing Scylla a sea nymph transformed Kharybdis into a sea monster whose gigantic whirlpool.

     

Book 13 Poseidon the god of the sea and earthquakes petrifaction of the Phaeacian ship at Odyssey.

     

Book 14 Ithaca Odysseus was its king Odysseus go first to the forest

   

Book 15 proximity of Odysseus and Telemakhos's return home was a prophet from Argos,

    

Book 16 reveals his identity to his son to push ahead with something that proper in a divinity

Athena, the goddess of wisdom to apply knowledge or experience or understanding or common sense and insight.

     

Book 17 important for to show patience and self-restraint master once more after twenty years,death of Argos, old dog,

         

Book 18 Despite Odysseus's warning, he was compelled by Athena to stay, about the danger of his return

   

Book 19 Penelope wife of Odysseus Eurykleia, Odysseus' nurse,

learns to appreciate the ideal Grecian woman Autolycus the grandfather of Odysseus.

     

Book 20 attention to the visions and prophecies of Theoklymenos,conversation with Athena

    

Book 21 contest bow harp or lyre extreme attention

   

Book 22 killing of the suitors prophet Leodes, who fails to string the bow.

    

Book 23 Penelope finally recognize Odysseus rooted olive tree symbolize that this is his house like that its really.

  

Book 24 Odysseus's father, recognize Odysseus. Homer meant his readers to realize poet who is believed to have written the Iliad and the Odyssey (circa 850 BC).

 

I seek refuge in Allah from Satan, the outcast.

In the name of Allah, the Beneficent, the Merciful.

Allah’s peace be upon Prophet Muhammad (S.A.W), the glorious Prophet of Islam, and on his Companions and his followers.

  

TASAWWUF

"There is no doubt that Tasawwuf is an important branch of Islam. The word itself may have been derived form the Arabic word "Soof" (Wool) or from "Safa" (cleanliness), but its foundation lies in one’s personal sincerity in seeking Allah’s nearness and trying to live a life pleasing to Him. Study of the Quran, the Hadith, and the practical life of the holy Prophet Muhammad (S.A.W) and his faithful Companions provide unmistakable support to this reality." (Hazrat Moulana Allah Yar Khan (R.A)

 

SUFISM, AN ESSENTIAL PART OF ISLAM

Doubts exist not only in the minds of the Muslim faithful but also among the Ulema, notably the exoteric about Tasawwuf and its votaries. Often they lead to misunderstanding, as if Shariah and Tariqah were two separate entries, or that Tasawwuf was some obscure discipline foreign to Islam, or that it was altogether above the established laws and injunctions of our Religion. To help remove these misgivings and to reassure seekers, as well as scholars, our Sheikh Hazrat Moulana Allah Yar Khan (R.A), Sheikh Silsila Naqshbandia Awaisia, wrote Al-Jamal Wal Kamal, Aqaid-O-Kamalaat Ulmai-e-Deoband, Binat-e-Rasool (S.A.W), Daamad-e-Ali (R.A), Dalael-us-Salook, Ejaad-e-Mazhab Shia, Hayat-un-Nabi (S.A.W), Hayat Barzakhia, Ilm-o-Irfan, Niffaz-e-Shariat Aur Fiqah-e-Jaferia, Saif-e-Owaisi, Shikast-e-Ahdai Hussain and Tahkeek Halal Haram books.

 

BIOGRAPHY

Sheikh Allah Yar Khan was born in Chakrala, a remote village of Mianwali District of Pakistan, in 1904. He completed his religious education in 1934. The very year, he met Shaykh Abdul Rahim, who took him to the shrine of Shaykh Allah Deen Madni. By Divine Will his spiritual connection was right away established with the saint of the 10th century Hijra (sixteenth century) and he started receiving spiritual beneficence. His sublime education in Sufism, signifying progressive spiritual growth and advancement, continued for about twenty-five years. In 1962 he was directed to carry out the propagation of Prophetic blessings - a noble mission that he accomplished with singular enthusiasm and devotion for a period spanning half a century. Anybody who visited him was duly rewarded with a share of spiritual bliss as per his/her sincerity and capacity. Shaykh Allah Yar Khan's mission produced men and women of deep spiritual vision and distinction.

 

Although Hazrat Moulana Allah Yar Khan (R.A) have lived a major portion of his life as a scholar, with the avowed mission of illuminating the truth of Islam and the negation of fallacious sects, and this would appear quite removed from Tasawwuf, yet the only practical difference between the two, namely the use of the former as a media to expound the truth, and the latter to imbue people with positive faith. Nevertheless, people are amazed that a man, who until the other day, was known as a dialectician and a preacher of Islam, is not only talking of Mystic Path, but is also claiming spiritual bonds with the veteran Sufi Masters of the Past. This amazement is obviously out of place in the view of Quranic injunction: This is the bounty of Allah which He gives to whom He wills. (62:4)

 

THE PURIFICATION OF THE SOUL

The purification of the soul always formed part of the main mission of the Prophets; that is, the dissemination and propagation of the Devine Message. This responsibility later fell directly on the shoulders of the true Ulema in the Ummah of the last Prophet Muhammad (S.A.W), who, as his genuine successors, have continued to shed brave light in every Dark Age of materialism and sacrilege. In the present age of ruinous confusion, the importance of this responsibility has increased manifold; of the utter neglect of Islam by Muslims has not only driven them to misery, but also grievously weakened their bonds of faith in Allah and His Prophet Muhammad (S.A.W). The decay in their belief and consequent perversion in their conduct has reached a stage that any attempt to pull them out of the depth of ignominy and the heedless chaos of faithlessness, attracts grave uncertainties and apprehensions rather than a encouraging will to follow the Shariah, to purify the soul and to reform within. The Quranic Verse: Layers upon layers of darkness… (24:40) provides the nearest expression of their present state.

 

SHARIAH & SUFISM

Any action against the Sunnah (Prophet’s way of life) cannot be called Sufism. Singing and dancing, and the prostration on tombs are not part of Sufism. Nor is predicting the future and predicting the outcome of cases in the courts of law, a part of Sufism. Sufis are not required to abandon their worldly possessions or live in the wilderness far from the practical world. In fact these absurdities are just its opposites. It is an established fact that Tazkiyah (soul purification) stands for that inner purity which inspires a person’s spirit to obey the holy Prophet Muhammad (S.A.W). If a false claimant of Sufism teaches tricks and jugglery, ignoring religious obligations, he is an impostor. A true Sheikh will lead a believer to the august spiritual audience of the holy Prophet Muhammad (S.A.W). If you are fortunate enough to be blessed with the company of an accomplished spiritual guide and Sheikh of Sufism, and if you follow his instructions, you will observe a positive change in yourself, transferring you from vice to virtue.

 

ISLAM, AS A COMPLETE CODE OF LIFE

Islam, as a complete code of life or Deen, was perfected during the life of the Holy Prophet Muhammad (S.A.W). He was the sole teacher and his mosque was the core institution for the community. Although Islam in its entirety was practiced during that blessed era, the classification and compilation of its knowledge into distinct branches like ‘Tafsir’ (interpretation of the Quran), Hadith (traditions or sayings of the holy Prophet- SAWS), Fiqh (Islamic law), and Sufism (the soul purification) were undertaken subsequently. This Deen of Allah passed from the holy Prophet Muhammad (S.A.W) to his illustrious Companions in two ways: the outward and the inward. The former comprised the knowledge defined by speech and conduct, i.e., the Quran and Sunnah. The latter comprised the invisible blessings or the Prophetic lights transmitted by his blessed self. These blessings purified the hearts and instilled in them a passionate desire to follow Islam with utmost love, honesty and loyalty.

 

WHAT’S SUFISM

Sufism is the attempt to attain these Barakah (Blessings). The Companions handed down Prophet Muhammad (S.A.W) teachings as well as blessings to the Taba’een. Their strong hearts were capable of infusing these blessings into the hearts of their followers. Both aspects of Islam were similarly passed on by the Taba’een to the Taba Taba’een. The compilation of knowledge and its interpretation led to the establishment of many schools of religious thought; famous four being the Hanafi, the Hanbali, the Maliki, and the Shafa'i, all named after their founders. Similarly, in order to acquire, safeguard and distribute his blessings, an organized effort was initiated by four schools of Sufism: The Naqshbandia, the Qadria, the Chishtia, and the Suharwardia. These schools were also named after their organizers and came to be known as Sufi Orders. All these Orders intend to purify the hearts of sincere Muslims with Prophetic lights. These Sufi Orders also grew into many branches with the passage of time and are known by other names as well. The holy Quran has linked success in this life and the Hereafter with Tazkiyah (soul purification). He, who purified, is successful. (87: 14) Sufi Orders of Islam are the institutions where the basics of Tazkiyah (soul purification) and its practical application are taught. They have graded programs in which every new seeker is instructed in Zikr-e Lisani (oral Zikr) and is finally taught the Zikr-e Qalbi (Remembrance in heart).

 

ZIKR-E QALBI

However, in the Naqshbandia Order, Zikr-e Qalbi is practiced from the very beginning. Adherence to the Sunnah (Prophet’s way of life) is greatly emphasized in this Order, because the seeker achieves greater and quicker progress through its blessings. The essence of Zikr is that the Qalb should sincerely accept Islamic beliefs and gain the strength to follow the Sunnah with even greater devotion. ‘If the heart is acquainted with Allah and is engaged in His Zikr; then it is filled with Barakaat-e Nabuwwat (Prophetic blessings) which infuse their purity in the mind and body. This not only helps in controlling sensual drives but also removes traces of abhorrence, voracity, envy and insecurity from human soul. The person therefore becomes an embodiment of love, both for the Divine and the corporeal. This is the meaning of a Hadith, “There is a lump of flesh in the human body; if it goes astray the entire body is misguided, and if it is reformed the entire body is reformed. Know that this lump is the Qalb”.’

 

PAS ANFAS

Recent History Khawajah Naqshband (d. 1389 CE) organized the Naqshbandia Order at Bukhara (Central Asia). This Order has two main branches – the Mujaddidia and the Owaisiah. The former is identified with Sheikh Ahmed Sirhindi, known as Mujaddid Alif Sani (literally: reviver of the second Muslim millennium), a successor to Khawajah Baqi Billah, who introduced the Order to the Indo- Pakistan sub-continent. The Owaisiah Order employs a similar method of Zikr but acquires the Prophetic blessings in the manner of Khawajah Owais Qarni, who received this beneficence from the Holy Prophet Muhammad (S.A.W) without a formal physical meeting. The Zikr employed by the Naqshbandia is ‘Zikr-e Khafi Qalbi’ (remembrance of Allah’s Name within the heart) and the method is termed ‘Pas Anfas’, which (in Persian) means guarding every breath. The Chain of Transmission of these Barakah, of course, emanates from the holy Prophet- SAWS.

 

SPIRITUAL BAI’AT (OATH OF ALLEGIANCE

It is necessary in all Sufi Orders that the Sheikh and the seekers must be contemporaries and must physically meet each other for the transfer of these blessings. However, the Naqshbandia Owaisiah Order goes beyond this requirement and Sufis of this Order receive these Barakah regardless of physical meeting with their Sheikh or even when the Sheikh is not their contemporary. Yet, it must be underscored that physical meeting with the Sheikh of this Order still holds great importance in dissemination of these Barakah. Sheikh Sirhindi writes about the Owaisiah Order in his book ‘Tazkirah’: ‘It is the most sublime, the most exalted, and the most effective…and the highest station of all others is only its stepping stone.’ By far the greatest singular distinction of the Naqshbandia Owaisiah Order is the honor of Spiritual Bai’at (Oath of Allegiance) directly at the blessed hands of the holy Prophet Muhammad (S.A.W).

 

SHEIKH HAZRAT MOULANA ALLAH YAR KHAN (R.A)

The Reviver Sheikh Allah Yar Khan was born in Chikrala, a remote village of Mianwali District of Pakistan, in 1904. He completed his religious education in 1934. The same year, he met Sheikh ‘Abdul Rahim, who took him to the shrine of Sheikh Allah Deen Madni. By Divine Will his spiritual connection was immediately established with the saint of the 10th century Hijra (sixteenth century CE) and he started receiving spiritual beneficence. His sublime education in Sufism, signifying progressive spiritual growth and advancement, continued for about twenty-five years, after which he was directed to undertake the propagation of Prophetic blessings - a noble mission that he accomplished with singular zeal and dedication for a period spanning half a century. Anybody who visited him was duly rewarded with a share of spiritual bliss commensurate with his/her sincerity and capacity. Sheikh Allah Yar Khan’s mission produced men and women of deep spiritual vision and eminence. He authored eighteen books, the most distinguished being Dalael us-Sulook (Sufism - An Objective Appraisal), Hayat-e Barzakhiah (Life Beyond Life) and Israr ul- Haramain (Secrets of the two holy Mosques). He was undoubtedly one of the most distinguished Sufi saints of the Muslim Ummah and a reviver of the Naqshbandia Owaisiah Order. He passed away on 18 February 1984 in Islamabad at the age of eighty.

 

THE CHAIN OF TRANSMISSION OF NAQSHBANDIA OWAISIAH

1. Hazrat Muhammad ur-Rasool Allah (Sall Allah-o Alaihi wa Sallam), 2. Hazrat Abu Bakr Siddiq (Radhi Allah-o Unho), 3. Hazrat Imam Hassan Basri (Rahmat Ullah Alaihi), 4. Hazrat Daud Tai (Rahmat Ullah Alaihi), 5. Hazrat Junaid Baghdadi (Rahmat Ullah Alaihi), 6. Hazrat Ubaid Ullah Ahrar (Rahmat Ullah Alaihi), 7. Hazrat Abdur Rahman Jami (Rahmat Ullah Alaihi), 8. Hazrat Abu Ayub Muhammad Salih (Rahmat Ullah Alaihi), 9. Hazrat Allah Deen Madni (Rahmat Ullah Alaihi), 10. Hazrat Moulana Allah Yar Khan (Rahmat Ullah Alaihi).

 

THE SPIRIT OR RUH

The spirit or Ruh of every person is a created reflection of the Divine Attributes and it originates in Alam-e Amar (Realm of Command). Its food is the Light of Allah or the Divine Refulgence, which it acquires from the Realm of Command through the holy Prophet Muhammad (may Allah’s choicest favors and peace be upon him), whose status in the spiritual world is like that of the sun in the solar system. The Quran refers to him as the ‘bright lamp’. Indeed, he is the divinely selected channel of all Barakah. All Exalted Messengers themselves receive these Barakah from him.

 

LATAIF

The human Ruh also possesses vital organs like the physical body; through which it acquires its knowledge, food and energy. These are called Lataif (singular Latifah: subtlety). Scholars of various Sufi Orders have associated them with specific areas of the human body. The Naqshbandia Owaisiah Order identifies these Lataif as follows. First - Qalb: This spiritual faculty is located within the physical heart. Its function is Zikr. Its strength increases one’s capacity for Allah’s Zikr. Second – Ruh: The site of this Latifah, which is a distinct faculty of the human Ruh, is on the right side of the chest at the level of Qalb. Its primary function is concentration towards Allah. Third – Sirri: This is located above the Qalb and functions to make possible Kashf. Forth – Khaffi: This is located above the Ruh and functions to perceive the omnipresence of Allah. Fifth – Akhfa: This is located in the middle of chest, at the centre of the first four Lataif and makes it possible for the Ruh to perceive the closeness of Allah, Who is closer to us than our own selves. Sixth – Nafs: This Latifah is located at the forehead and functions to purify the human soul. Seventh – Sultan al-Azkar: This Latifah is located at the top centre of the head and serves to absorb the Barakah of Allah into the entire body, so that every cell resonates with Zikr.

 

FIVE EXALTED MESSENGERS OF GOD

There are Five Exalted Messengers among the many known and unknown Messengers of Allah. They are Hazrat Muhammad, Hazrat Nuh (Noah), Hazrat Ibrahim (Abraham), Hazrat Musa (Moses), and Hazrat Esa (Jesus), peace be upon them all. Hazrat Adam is the first Prophet of Allah and the father of mankind. Each Latifah is associated with a particular Prophet. The Barakah and lights from Hazrat Adam (peace be upon him), descend on the first Latifah Qalb; its lights are reflected from the first heaven and are yellowish. The second Latifah is associated with Hazrat Nuh and Hazrat Ibrahim (peace be upon them). Its lights descend from the second heaven and appear as golden red. The lights descending upon the third Latifah are from Hazrat Musa (peace be upon him) and are white. One the fourth Latifah, the lights of Hazrat Esa (peace be upon him) descend from the fourth heaven and are deep blue. The fifth Latifah receives its Barakah directly from the holy Prophet Muhammad (may Allah’s choicest favors and peace be upon him). The lights associated with this Latifah are green, descend from the fifth heaven, and overwhelm all the first four Lataif. The Lights descending upon the sixth and seventh Lataif are the Divine Lights, whose color and condition cannot be determined. These are like flashes of lightening that defy comprehension. If Allah blesses a seeker with Kashf, he can observe all of this. The vision is slightly diffused in the beginning, but gradually the clarity improves.

 

SULOOK

Stages of the Path After all seven Lataif of a seeker have been illuminated with Divine Lights through Tawajjuh of the Sheikh and his Ruh has acquired the ability to fly, the Sheikh initiates its journey on the sublime Path of Divine nearness. The Path is known as Sulook, and its stages are not hypothetical imaginations but real and actually existing stations on the spiritual Path. These are also referred to as Meditations, because a seeker mentally meditates about a station while his/her Ruh actually ascends towards it. The first three stations that form the base of whole Sulook are described as; Ahadiyyat, a station of Absolute Unity of Divinity. It is above and beyond the seven heavens. It is so vast a station that the seven heavens and all that they encompass are lost within Ahadiyyat as a ring is lost in a vast desert. Its lights are white in color. Maiyyat station denotes Divine Company, ‘He is with you, wherever you might be.’ This station is so vast that Ahadiyyat along with the seven heavens beneath are lost within it as a ring is lost in a desert. Its lights are green in color. Aqrabiyyat station denotes Divine Nearness, ‘He is nearer to you than your life- vein.’ Again, Aqrabiyyat is vast as compared to Maiyyat in the same proportion. Its lights are golden red and are reflected from the Divine Throne. It is indeed the greatest favor of Almighty Allah that He blesses a seeker with an accomplished Sheikh, who takes him to these sublime stations. The final station that a seeker attains to during his/her lifetime becomes his/her Iliyyeen (blessed abode) in Barzakh and his/her Ruh stays at this station after death.

  

ZIKR

Why is Zikr Necessary for Everyone? Allah ordains every soul in the Quran to Perform Zikr. This not only means reciting the Quran and Tasbeeh but also Zikr-e Qalb. It is only through Zikr-e Qalbi that Prophetic Lights reach the depths of human soul and purify it from all vice and evil. Zikr infuses a realization of constant Divine Presence and a seeker feels great improvement in the level of sincerity and love towards Allah and the holy Prophet- SAWS. Such levels of sincerity, love and feelings of Divine Presence can never be obtained without Zikr. It would be a mistake to believe that Zikr may be a requirement only for the very pious and virtuous people. Zikr provides the Prophetic blessings which are in effect the life line of every human soul. It transforms even the most corrupted humans into virtuous souls by bringing out the best in them. The fact is that Zikr is the only way to achieve true contentment and satisfaction in life. The holy Quran has pointed to this eternal fact that it is only through Zikr Allah that hearts can find satisfaction. Such satisfaction and peace are the ultimate requirements of every person, regardless of religion, race and ethnicity. Practicing Zikr regularly removes all traces of anxiety and restlessness, and guides the human soul to eternal bliss and peace.

 

KHALIFA MAJAZEEN

Hazrat Moulana Allah Yar Khan (R.A), during his life time in 1974, presented a nomination list to Prophet Muhammad (S.A.W), during Maraqba, of expected Khalifa Majazeen for Silsila Naqshbandia Awaisia. Prophet Muhammad (S.A.W) approved some names, deleted some of the names, and added down the name of Major Ghulam Muhammad as also Khalifa Majaaz of Silsila Naqshbandia Awaisia (which was not previously included in the list)

 

The approved names at that time included:

1. Mr. Muhammad Akram Awan Sahib,

2. Mr. Sayed Bunyad Hussain Shah Sahib,

3. Mr. Major Ahsan Baig Sahib,

4. Mr. Col. Matloob Hussain Sahib,

5. Mr. Major Ghulam Muhammad Sahib of Wan Bhachran Mianwali,

6. Mr. Molvi Abdul Haq Sahib,

7. Mr. Hafiz Abdul Razzaq Sahib,

8. Mr. Hafiz Ghulam Qadri Sahib,

9. Mr. Khan Muhammad Irani Sahib,

10. Mr. Maolana Abdul Ghafoor Sahib,

11. Mr. Syed Muhammad Hassan Sahib of Zohb.

 

These Majazeen were authorized to; held Majalis of Zikar (Pas Anfas) in their respective areas, arrange Majalis of Zikar in neighboring areas, train them on the way of Sulook, prepare them for Spiritual Bai’at (Oath of Allegiance), and present them to Sheikh Hazrat Moulana Allah Yar Khan for Spiritual Bai’at at the Hand of Prophet Muhammad (S.A.W), in the life of Hazrat Moulana Allah Yar Khan (R.A), and were all equal in status as Khalifa Majaaz of Hazrat Moulana Allah Yar Khan (R.A).

 

Presently we are following Hazrat Major ® Ghulam Muhammad Sahib, Khalifa Majaaz of Hazrat Moulana Allah Yar Khan (R.A).

Liian paksu perhoseksi (2015). Kuva: Ari Heinonen

Chain smoking friends are interesting subjects :)

 

Apparently Wills Navy Cut is almost always the preferred crutches of depression for them.

 

View On Black

 

Didn't want equal light distribution so used long exposure and cellphone light reflected off a dull white paper.

www.rcrnewsmedia.com

 

Recap by RCR’s Producer and resident comic nerd, JD Piche, follow him on IG @Misadventur3r

 

As the world begins to open back up and in person events pick up, Albuquerque Comic-Con was held this weekend.

 

Normally a January show, it was held at the ABQ Convention Center. This was our first year attending, and when comparing it to a WonderCon or Star Wars Celebration, the only difference beyond location is scale. You’ve got your vendor booths, the celebrity signing area, comic vendors, cosplayers, and lines to get in, park and whathaveyou. It doesn’t matter where people are, as long as they have a love for Genre content, regional Comic Conventions bring people together.

 

Walking into the Albuquerque Convention Center’s main hall, Twin Suns Comics have the catbird seat. Comics, the first thing you see walking in. With one of the best selections of classic books at this year’s Con, Twin Suns had a great booth stacked high with Thanos and Captain America Standees on top of merchandise display, that could be seen from almost any point in the hall. Exploring the Con floor has become like visiting your local Etsy artisans, with groups like Krazy Krafters Abq, The Geeky Octopus, Ghost In The Machine Tech Repair, as well as artists for hire, like Jonathan Hallett from StitchToons, Hailey Patrick’s Digillama Art, KayyArkham a tattoo and logo designer, to Valerie DeCoy’s JellyCows Illustrations, whose booth was a personal favorite for Booth Design, her first year doing a table at a Convention, Valerie told me she had burnt out working retail and her art brought her joy and this was her first time renting a table for a Con and had spent the past week fine-tuning her booth, which she transformed into a wonderful little stall with some potted plants to give ambiance, and brings the artwork up close for attendees to see clearly presented, rather than strewn across the black tablecloth. The fairy lights in the garland around the top of her booth really worked for me, she was also in costume as Bulma from Dragon Ball, the stall design also shielded Valerie’s young baby from the Darth Vaders roaming the aisles.

 

One of the other vendors I wanted to spotlight was Comic Afterlife (IG @Comic.Afterlife) he creates decoupage 8.5×11 splash pages out of, older / less valued books. I had walked by not realizing what great work was actually done, thinking it was just someone selling returned comics. When books don’t sell, rather than returning the whole book stores will just return the cover and toss the book itself, but Comic Afterlife specializes in the kind of poses and dialog from your favorite characters, and he checks before cutting, that none of the books he sacrifices for his art are rare or ultra-valuable. Kind of ‘Best Of’ works, done with scissors and glue, just waiting to be framed.

 

With media guests, the likes of Mark-Paul Gosselaar, Michael Biehn, Jason O’Mara, & Kane Hodder next to Dot Marie Jones from Glee and Ming Chen from Comic Book Men, as well as the star of Disney’s Descendents, the Twilight Saga, and Warpath from X-Men Days of Future Past, BooBoo Stewart had fans lined up for meet and greets, autographs and photo opportunities. The Breaking Bad RV Tour was there with their Crystal Ship, next to a US Army Helicopter training simulator, Xfinity also had a booth for attendees to take a photo with several Mortal Kombat cosplayers, as well as a lovingly recreated A-Team Van, and Herbie the Lovebug.

Albuquerque Comic Con had a tent set up for Warrior Robotics, as the Convention is a supporter of the Socorro Consolidated School’s team in the FIRST Tech Challenge, where 7-12 grade students work on teams for creating mechanical solutions for a given task, a Science and Engineering focused after school league. For reference see the George Lopez movie “Spare Parts.”

 

While this marks 2 years without the juggernaut of San Diego Comic-Con, check out your regional Cons, they’re much more manageable.

 

Albuquerque Comic Con was limited to 7,500 attendees over this three-day run, and you could see every booth twice walking the floor for an hour, it’s nice to see people passionate about their crafts and costumes. The Cosplayers and other fans are reason enough to return for multiple days. Whether it’s The 501st / Mandolorian Mercs / Rebel Legion costume club showing off their movie-accurate Stromtrooper fare, wanting to haggle on a sword, or commission an anime-styled portrait of your pet, the people are the reason to return to the con for another day.

 

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