Been slowly picking up lenses for the 645Z, and the 80-160mm arrived today.

“[1664, October] 5.—Wednesday. I went to my Brothers was all night his wife was brought to bed so I was ingaged to go with him to Prescott upon lords day after...”

[From “Diary of Roger Lowe of Ashton-in-Makerfield”, Wigan Archives ref. D/DZ A58]

 

This entry records the birth at Windle of a son to the diarist's brother, William, and his unnamed wife.

 

In an age when between 12 and 13% of babies died before their first birthday it was considered prudent to keep the interval between childbirth and baptism or “christening” to a minimum. The Lowes would doubtless have inclined toward the view expressed by the Puritan writer William Gouge (1578-1653) “that it is not meet for Christians to defer the baptizing of their children beyond eight dayes”-

 

“The most seasonable time I take to be the day whereon Gods people use in the place where the childe is borne, publikely to assemble together to worship God next after the birth of the child, if at least it fall not out within two or three dayes after, which is somewhat with the soonest both for mother and childe.

 

Whether we respect the honour of God (the riches of whose mercy is lively set forth in the sacrament of baptisme) or the good of our childe (which in that sacrament receiveth a pledge and seale of that rich mercy of God) Baptisme is of great consequence: and therefore the first season of performing it to be taken. For parents by their diligence and due speed therein, give evidence both of their zeale to Gods glory, and also of their earnest desire of the childs spirituall good”.*

 

Windle is now within the Church of England parish of St Andrew, part of St Helens Deanery, but in 1664 it was at the north-eastern extremity of what was then the much larger parish of Prescot. Dedicated to St Mary The Virgin, the Grade I-listed parish church at Prescot dates mainly from a re-building in 1610. The vestry adjoining the north-side of the chancel (believed to have been, originally, a chantry chapel) is 14th century whilst the present tower and aisles are, respectively, 18th and 19th century in origin. My photograph shows the church from the south-east on 15 September 2021.

 

*Gouge takes as his starting point the direction as to male circumcision in Leviticus 12:3. From “Of Domesticall Duties” (1622); full text at name.umdl.umich.edu/A68107.0001.001.

Vladimir Semyonovich Vysotsky 1938 – 1980, was a Soviet singer-songwriter, poet, and actor who had an immense and enduring effect on Soviet culture. He became widely known for his unique singing style and for his lyrics, which featured social and political commentary in often humorous street-jargon. He was also a prominent stage- and screen-actor. Though the official Soviet cultural establishment largely ignored his work, he was remarkably popular during his lifetime, and to this day exerts significant influence on many of Russia's musicians and actors.

 

Vysotsky was born in Moscow at the 3rd Meshchanskaya St. (61/2) maternity hospital. His father, Semyon Volfovich (Vladimirovich) (1915–1997), was a colonel in the Soviet army, originally from Kiev. Vladimir's mother, Nina Maksimovna, (née Seryogina, 1912–2003) was Russian, and worked as a German language translator. Vysotsky's family lived in a Moscow communal flat in harsh conditions, and had serious financial difficulties. When Vladimir was 10 months old, Nina had to return to her office in the Transcript bureau of the Soviet Ministry of Geodesy and Cartography (engaged in making German maps available for the Soviet military) so as to help her husband earn their family's living.

 

Vladimir's theatrical inclinations became obvious at an early age, and were supported by his paternal grandmother Dora Bronshteyn, a theater fan. The boy used to recite poems, standing on a chair and "flinging hair backwards, like a real poet," often using in his public speeches expressions he could hardly have heard at home. Once, at the age of two, when he had tired of the family's guests' poetry requests, he, according to his mother, sat himself under the New-year tree with a frustrated air about him and sighed: "You silly tossers! Give a child some respite!" His sense of humor was extraordinary, but often baffling for people around him. A three-year-old could jeer his father in a bathroom with unexpected poetic improvisation ("Now look what's here before us / Our goat's to shave himself!") or appall unwanted guests with some street folk song, promptly steering them away. Vysotsky remembered those first three years of his life in the autobiographical Ballad of Childhood (Баллада о детстве, 1975), one of his best-known songs.

 

As World War II broke out, Semyon Vysotsky, a military reserve officer, joined the Soviet army and went to fight the Nazis. Nina and Vladimir were evacuated to the village of Vorontsovka, in Orenburg Oblast where the boy had to spend six days a week in a kindergarten and his mother worked for twelve hours a day in a chemical factory. In 1943, both returned to their Moscow apartment at 1st Meschanskaya St., 126. In September 1945, Vladimir joined the 1st class of the 273rd Moscow Rostokino region School.

 

In December 1946, Vysotsky's parents divorced. From 1947 to 1949, Vladimir lived with Semyon Vladimirovich (then an army Major) and his Armenian wife, Yevgenya Stepanovna Liholatova, whom the boy called "aunt Zhenya", at a military base in Eberswalde in the Soviet-occupied zone of Germany (later East Germany). "We decided that our son would stay with me. Vladimir came to stay with me in January 1947, and my second wife, Yevgenia, became Vladimir's second mother for many years to come. They had much in common and liked each other, which made me really happy," Semyon Vysotsky later remembered. Here living conditions, compared to those of Nina's communal Moscow flat, were infinitely better; the family occupied the whole floor of a two-storeyed house, and the boy had a room to himself for the first time in his life. In 1949 along with his stepmother Vladimir returned to Moscow. There he joined the 5th class of the Moscow 128th School and settled at Bolshoy Karetny [ru], 15 (where they had to themselves two rooms of a four-roomed flat), with "auntie Zhenya" (who was just 28 at the time), a woman of great kindness and warmth whom he later remembered as his second mother. In 1953 Vysotsky, now much interested in theater and cinema, joined the Drama courses led by Vladimir Bogomolov.[7] "No one in my family has had anything to do with arts, no actors or directors were there among them. But my mother admired theater and from the earliest age... each and every Saturday I've been taken up with her to watch one play or the other. And all of this, it probably stayed with me," he later reminisced. The same year he received his first ever guitar, a birthday present from Nina Maksimovna; a close friend, bard and a future well-known Soviet pop lyricist Igor Kokhanovsky taught him basic chords. In 1955 Vladimir re-settled into his mother's new home at 1st Meshchanskaya, 76. In June of the same year he graduated from school with five A's.

 

In 1955, Vladimir enrolled into the Moscow State University of Civil Engineering, but dropped out after just one semester to pursue an acting career. In June 1956 he joined Boris Vershilov's class at the Moscow Art Theatre Studio-Institute. It was there that he met the 3rd course student Iza Zhukova who four years later became his wife; soon the two lovers settled at the 1st Meschanskaya flat, in a common room, shielded off by a folding screen. It was also in the Studio that Vysotsky met Bulat Okudzhava for the first time, an already popular underground bard. He was even more impressed by his Russian literature teacher Andrey Sinyavsky who along with his wife often invited students to his home to stage improvised disputes and concerts. In 1958 Vysotsky's got his first Moscow Art Theatre role: that of Porfiry Petrovich in Dostoyevsky's Crime and Punishment. In 1959 he was cast in his first cinema role, that of student Petya in Vasily Ordynsky's The Yearlings (Сверстницы). On 20 June 1960, Vysotsky graduated from the MAT theater institute and joined the Moscow Pushkin Drama Theatre (led by Boris Ravenskikh at the time) where he spent (with intervals) almost three troubled years. These were marred by numerous administrative sanctions, due to "lack of discipline" and occasional drunken sprees which were a reaction, mainly, to the lack of serious roles and his inability to realise his artistic potential. A short stint in 1962 at the Moscow Theater of Miniatures (administered at the time by Vladimir Polyakov) ended with him being fired, officially "for a total lack of sense of humour."

 

Vysotsky's second and third films, Dima Gorin's Career and 713 Requests Permission to Land, were interesting only for the fact that in both he had to be beaten up (in the first case by Aleksandr Demyanenko). "That was the way cinema greeted me," he later jokingly remarked. In 1961, Vysotsky wrote his first ever proper song, called "Tattoo" (Татуировка), which started a long and colourful cycle of artfully stylized criminal underworld romantic stories, full of undercurrents and witty social comments. In June 1963, while shooting Penalty Kick (directed by Veniamin Dorman and starring Mikhail Pugovkin), Vysotsky used the Gorky Film Studio to record an hour-long reel-to-reel cassette of his own songs; copies of it quickly spread and the author's name became known in Moscow and elsewhere (although many of these songs were often being referred to as either "traditional" or "anonymous"). Just several months later Riga-based chess grandmaster Mikhail Tal was heard praising the author of "Bolshoy Karetny" (Большой Каретный) and Anna Akhmatova (in a conversation with Joseph Brodsky) was quoting Vysotsky's number "I was the soul of a bad company..." taking it apparently for some brilliant piece of anonymous street folklore. In October 1964 Vysotsky recorded in chronological order 48 of his own songs, his first self-made Complete works of... compilation, which boosted his popularity as a new Moscow folk underground star.

 

In 1964, director Yuri Lyubimov invited Vysotsky to join the newly created Taganka Theatre. "'I've written some songs of my own. Won't you listen?' – he asked. I agreed to listen to just one of them, expecting our meeting to last for no more than five minutes. Instead I ended up listening to him for an entire 1.5 hours," Lyubimov remembered years later of this first audition. On 19 September 1964, Vysotsky debuted in Bertolt Brecht's The Good Person of Szechwan as the Second God (not to count two minor roles). A month later he came on stage as a dragoon captain (Bela's father) in Lermontov's A Hero of Our Time. It was in Taganka that Vysotsky started to sing on stage; the War theme becoming prominent in his musical repertoire. In 1965 Vysotsky appeared in the experimental Poet and Theater (Поэт и Театр, February) show, based on Andrey Voznesensky's work and then Ten Days that Shook the World (after John Reed's book, April) and was commissioned by Lyubimov to write songs exclusively for Taganka's new World War II play. The Fallen and the Living (Павшие и Живые), premiered in October 1965, featured Vysotsky's "Stars" (Звёзды), "The Soldiers of Heeresgruppe Mitte" (Солдаты группы "Центр") and "Penal Battalions" (Штрафные батальоны), the striking examples of a completely new kind of a war song, never heard in his country before. As veteran screenwriter Nikolay Erdman put it (in conversation with Lyubimov), "Professionally, I can well understand how Mayakovsky or Seryozha Yesenin were doing it. How Volodya Vysotsky does it is totally beyond me." With his songs – in effect, miniature theatrical dramatizations (usually with a protagonist and full of dialogues), Vysotsky instantly achieved such level of credibility that real life former prisoners, war veterans, boxers, footballers refused to believe that the author himself had never served his time in prisons and labor camps, or fought in the War, or been a boxing/football professional. After the second of the two concerts at the Leningrad Molecular Physics institute (that was his actual debut as a solo musical performer) Vysotsky left a note for his fans in a journal which ended with words: "Now that you've heard all these songs, please, don't you make a mistake of mixing me with my characters, I am not like them at all. With love, Vysotsky, 20 April 1965, XX c." Excuses of this kind he had to make throughout his performing career. At least one of Vysotsky's song themes – that of alcoholic abuse – was worryingly autobiographical, though. By the time his breakthrough came in 1967, he'd suffered several physical breakdowns and once was sent (by Taganka's boss) to a rehabilitation clinic, a visit he on several occasions repeated since.

 

Brecht's Life of Galileo (premiered on 17 May 1966), transformed by Lyubimov into a powerful allegory of Soviet intelligentsia's set of moral and intellectual dilemmas, brought Vysotsky his first leading theater role (along with some fitness lessons: he had to perform numerous acrobatic tricks on stage). Press reaction was mixed, some reviewers disliked the actor's overt emotionalism, but it was for the first time ever that Vysotsky's name appeared in Soviet papers. Film directors now were treating him with respect. Viktor Turov's war film I Come from the Childhood where Vysotsky got his first ever "serious" (neither comical, nor villainous) role in cinema, featured two of his songs: a spontaneous piece called "When It's Cold" (Холода) and a dark, Unknown soldier theme-inspired classic "Common Graves" (На братских могилах), sung behind the screen by the legendary Mark Bernes.

 

Stanislav Govorukhin and Boris Durov's The Vertical (1967), a mountain climbing drama, starring Vysotsky (as Volodya the radioman), brought him all-round recognition and fame. Four of the numbers used in the film (including "Song of a Friend [fi]" (Песня о друге), released in 1968 by the Soviet recording industry monopolist Melodiya disc to become an unofficial hit) were written literally on the spot, nearby Elbrus, inspired by professional climbers' tales and one curious hotel bar conversation with a German guest who 25 years ago happened to climb these very mountains in a capacity of an Edelweiss division fighter. Another 1967 film, Kira Muratova's Brief Encounters featured Vysotsky as the geologist Maxim (paste-bearded again) with a now trademark off-the-cuff musical piece, a melancholy improvisation called "Things to Do" (Дела). All the while Vysotsky continued working hard at Taganka, with another important role under his belt (that of Mayakovsky or, rather one of the latter character's five different versions) in the experimental piece called Listen! (Послушайте!), and now regularly gave semi-official concerts where audiences greeted him as a cult hero.

 

In the end of 1967 Vysotsky got another pivotal theater role, that of Khlopusha [ru] in Pugachov (a play based on a poem by Sergei Yesenin), often described as one of Taganka's finest. "He put into his performance all the things that he excelled at and, on the other hand, it was Pugachyov that made him discover his own potential," – Soviet critic Natalya Krymova wrote years later. Several weeks after the premiere, infuriated by the actor's increasing unreliability triggered by worsening drinking problems, Lyubimov fired him – only to let him back again several months later (and thus begin the humiliating sacked-then-pardoned routine which continued for years). In June 1968 a Vysotsky-slagging campaign was launched in the Soviet press. First Sovetskaya Rossiya commented on the "epidemic spread of immoral, smutty songs," allegedly promoting "criminal world values, alcoholism, vice and immorality" and condemned their author for "sowing seeds of evil." Then Komsomolskaya Pravda linked Vysotsky with black market dealers selling his tapes somewhere in Siberia. Composer Dmitry Kabalevsky speaking from the Union of Soviet Composers' Committee tribune criticised the Soviet radio for giving an ideologically dubious, "low-life product" like "Song of a Friend" (Песня о друге) an unwarranted airplay. Playwright Alexander Stein who in his Last Parade play used several of Vysotsky's songs, was chastised by a Ministry of Culture official for "providing a tribune for this anti-Soviet scum." The phraseology prompted commentators in the West to make parallels between Vysotsky and Mikhail Zoschenko, another Soviet author who'd been officially labeled "scum" some 20 years ago.

 

Two of Vysotsky's 1968 films, Gennady Poloka's Intervention (premiered in May 1987) where he was cast as Brodsky, a dodgy even if highly artistic character, and Yevgeny Karelov's Two Comrades Were Serving (a gun-toting White Army officer Brusentsov who in the course of the film shoots his friend, his horse, Oleg Yankovsky's good guy character and, finally himself) – were severely censored, first of them shelved for twenty years. At least four of Vysotsky's 1968 songs, "Save Our Souls" (Спасите наши души), "The Wolfhunt" (Охота на волков), "Gypsy Variations" (Моя цыганская) and "The Steam-bath in White" (Банька по-белому), were hailed later as masterpieces. It was at this point that 'proper' love songs started to appear in Vysotsky's repertoire, documenting the beginning of his passionate love affair with French actress Marina Vlady.

 

In 1969 Vysotsky starred in two films: The Master of Taiga where he played a villainous Siberian timber-floating brigadier, and more entertaining Dangerous Tour. The latter was criticized in the Soviet press for taking a farcical approach to the subject of the Bolshevik underground activities but for a wider Soviet audience this was an important opportunity to enjoy the charismatic actor's presence on big screen. In 1970, after visiting the dislodged Soviet leader Nikita Khrushchev at his dacha and having a lengthy conversation with him, Vysotsky embarked on a massive and by Soviet standards dangerously commercial concert tour in Soviet Central Asia and then brought Marina Vlady to director Viktor Turov's place so as to investigate her Belarusian roots. The pair finally wed on 1 December 1970 (causing furore among the Moscow cultural and political elite) and spent a honeymoon in Georgia. This was the highly productive period for Vysotsky, resulting in numerous new songs, including the anthemic "I Hate" (Я не люблю), sentimental "Lyricale" (Лирическая) and dramatic war epics "He Didn't Return from the Battle" (Он не вернулся из боя) and "The Earth Song" (Песня о Земле) among many others.

 

In 1971 a drinking spree-related nervous breakdown brought Vysotsky to the Moscow Kashchenko clinic [ru]. By this time he has been suffering from alcoholism. Many of his songs from this period deal, either directly or metaphorically, with alcoholism and insanity. Partially recovered (due to the encouraging presence of Marina Vladi), Vysotsky embarked on a successful Ukrainian concert tour and wrote a cluster of new songs. On 29 November 1971 Taganka's Hamlet premiered, a groundbreaking Lyubimov's production with Vysotsky in the leading role, that of a lone intellectual rebel, rising to fight the cruel state machine.

 

Also in 1971 Vysotsky was invited to play the lead in The Sannikov Land, the screen adaptation of Vladimir Obruchev's science fiction,[47] which he wrote several songs for, but was suddenly dropped for the reason of his face "being too scandalously recognisable" as a state official put it. One of the songs written for the film, a doom-laden epic allegory "Capricious Horses" (Кони привередливые), became one of the singer's signature tunes. Two of Vysotsky's 1972 film roles were somewhat meditative: an anonymous American journalist in The Fourth One and the "righteous guy" von Koren in The Bad Good Man (based on Anton Chekov's Duel). The latter brought Vysotsky the Best Male Role prize at the V Taormina Film Fest. This philosophical slant rubbed off onto some of his new works of the time: "A Singer at the Microphone" (Певец у микрофона), "The Tightrope Walker" (Канатоходец), two new war songs ("We Spin the Earth", "Black Pea-Coats") and "The Grief" (Беда), a folkish girl's lament, later recorded by Marina Vladi and subsequently covered by several female performers. Popular proved to be his 1972 humorous songs: "Mishka Shifman" (Мишка Шифман), satirizing the leaving-for-Israel routine, "Victim of the Television" which ridiculed the concept of "political consciousness," and "The Honour of the Chess Crown" (Честь шахматной короны) about an ever-fearless "simple Soviet man" challenging the much feared American champion Bobby Fischer to a match.

 

In 1972 he stepped up in Soviet Estonian TV where he presented his songs and gave an interview. The name of the show was "Young Man from Taganka" (Noormees Tagankalt).

 

In April 1973 Vysotsky visited Poland and France. Predictable problems concerning the official permission were sorted after the French Communist Party leader Georges Marchais made a personal phone call to Leonid Brezhnev who, according to Marina Vlady's memoirs, rather sympathized with the stellar couple. Having found on return a potentially dangerous lawsuit brought against him (concerning some unsanctioned concerts in Siberia the year before), Vysotsky wrote a defiant letter to the Minister of Culture Pyotr Demichev. As a result, he was granted the status of a philharmonic artist, 11.5 roubles per concert now guaranteed. Still the 900 rubles fine had to be paid according to the court verdict, which was a substantial sum, considering his monthly salary at the theater was 110 rubles. That year Vysotsky wrote some thirty songs for "Alice in Wonderland," an audioplay where he himself has been given several minor roles. His best known songs of 1973 included "The Others' Track" (Чужая колея), "The Flight Interrupted" (Прерванный полёт) and "The Monument", all pondering on his achievements and legacy.

 

In 1974 Melodiya released the 7" EP, featuring four of Vysotsky's war songs ("He Never Returned From the Battle", "The New Times Song", "Common Graves", and "The Earth Song") which represented a tiny portion of his creative work, owned by millions on tape. In September of that year Vysotsky received his first state award, the Honorary Diploma of the Uzbek SSR following a tour with fellow actors from the Taganka Theatre in Uzbekistan. A year later he was granted the USSR Union of Cinematographers' membership. This meant he was not an "anti-Soviet scum" now, rather an unlikely link between the official Soviet cinema elite and the "progressive-thinking artists of the West." More films followed, among them The Only Road (a Soviet-Yugoslav joint venture, premiered on 10 January 1975 in Belgrade) and a science fiction movie The Flight of Mr. McKinley (1975). Out of nine ballads that he wrote for the latter only two have made it into the soundtrack. This was the height of his popularity, when, as described in Vlady's book about her husband, walking down the street on a summer night, one could hear Vysotsky's recognizable voice coming literally from every open window. Among the songs written at the time, were humorous "The Instruction before the Trip Abroad", lyrical "Of the Dead Pilot" and philosophical "The Strange House". In 1975 Vysotsky made his third trip to France where he rather riskily visited his former tutor (and now a celebrated dissident emigre) Andrey Sinyavsky. Artist Mikhail Shemyakin, his new Paris friend (or a "bottle-sharer", in Vladi's terms), recorded Vysotsky in his home studio. After a brief stay in England Vysotsky crossed the ocean and made his first Mexican concerts in April. Back in Moscow, there were changes at Taganka: Lyubimov went to Milan's La Scala on a contract and Anatoly Efros has been brought in, a director of radically different approach. His project, Chekhov's The Cherry Orchard, caused a sensation. Critics praised Alla Demidova (as Ranevskaya) and Vysotsky (as Lopakhin) powerful interplay, some describing it as one of the most dazzling in the history of the Soviet theater. Lyubimov, who disliked the piece, accused Efros of giving his actors "the stardom malaise." The 1976 Taganka's visit to Bulgaria resulted in Vysotskys's interview there being filmed and 15 songs recorded by Balkanton record label. On return Lyubimov made a move which many thought outrageous: declaring himself "unable to work with this Mr. Vysotsky anymore" he gave the role of Hamlet to Valery Zolotukhin, the latter's best friend. That was the time, reportedly, when stressed out Vysotsky started taking amphetamines.

 

Another Belorussian voyage completed, Marina and Vladimir went for France and from there (without any official permission given, or asked for) flew to the North America. In New York Vysotsky met, among other people, Mikhail Baryshnikov and Joseph Brodsky. In a televised one-hour interview with Dan Rather he stressed he was "not a dissident, just an artist, who's never had any intentions to leave his country where people loved him and his songs." At home this unauthorized venture into the Western world bore no repercussions: by this time Soviet authorities were divided as regards the "Vysotsky controversy" up to the highest level; while Mikhail Suslov detested the bard, Brezhnev loved him to such an extent that once, while in hospital, asked him to perform live in his daughter Galina's home, listening to this concert on the telephone. In 1976 appeared "The Domes", "The Rope" and the "Medieval" cycle, including "The Ballad of Love".

 

In September Vysotsky with Taganka made a trip to Yugoslavia where Hamlet won the annual BITEF festival's first prize, and then to Hungary for a two-week concert tour. Back in Moscow Lyubimov's production of The Master & Margarita featured Vysotsky as Ivan Bezdomny; a modest role, somewhat recompensed by an important Svidrigailov slot in Yury Karyakin's take on Dostoevsky's Crime and Punishment. Vysotsky's new songs of this period include "The History of Illness" cycle concerning his health problems, humorous "Why Did the Savages Eat Captain Cook", the metaphorical "Ballad of the Truth and the Lie", as well as "Two Fates", the chilling story of a self-absorbed alcoholic hunted by two malevolent witches, his two-faced destiny. In 1977 Vysotsky's health deteriorated (heart, kidneys, liver failures, jaw infection and nervous breakdown) to such an extent that in April he found himself in Moscow clinic's reanimation center in the state of physical and mental collapse.

 

In 1977 Vysotsky made an unlikely appearance in New York City on the American television show 60 Minutes, which falsely stated that Vysotsky had spent time in the Soviet prison system, the Gulag. That year saw the release of three Vysotsky's LPs in France (including the one that had been recorded by RCA in Canada the previous year); arranged and accompanied by guitarist Kostya Kazansky, the singer for the first time ever enjoyed the relatively sophisticated musical background. In August he performed in Hollywood before members of New York City film cast and (according to Vladi) was greeted warmly by the likes of Liza Minnelli and Robert De Niro. Some more concerts in Los Angeles were followed by the appearance at the French Communist paper L’Humanité annual event. In December Taganka left for France, its Hamlet (Vysotsky back in the lead) gaining fine reviews.

 

1978 started with the March–April series of concerts in Moscow and Ukraine. In May Vysotsky embarked upon a new major film project: The Meeting Place Cannot Be Changed (Место встречи изменить нельзя) about two detectives fighting crime in late 1940s Russia, directed by Stanislav Govorukhin. The film (premiered on 11 November 1978 on the Soviet Central TV) presented Vysotsky as Zheglov, a ruthless and charismatic cop teaching his milder partner Sharapov (actor Vladimir Konkin) his art of crime-solving. Vysotsky also became engaged in Taganka's Genre-seeking show (performing some of his own songs) and played Aleksander Blok in Anatoly Efros' The Lady Stranger (Незнакомка) radio play (premiered on air on 10 July 1979 and later released as a double LP).

 

In November 1978 Vysotsky took part in the underground censorship-defying literary project Metropolis, inspired and organized by Vasily Aksenov. In January 1979 Vysotsky again visited America with highly successful series of concerts. That was the point (according to biographer Vladimir Novikov) when a glimpse of new, clean life of a respectable international actor and performer all but made Vysotsky seriously reconsider his priorities. What followed though, was a return to the self-destructive theater and concert tours schedule, personal doctor Anatoly Fedotov now not only his companion, but part of Taganka's crew. "Who was this Anatoly? Just a man who in every possible situation would try to provide drugs. And he did provide. In such moments Volodya trusted him totally," Oksana Afanasyeva, Vysotsky's Moscow girlfriend (who was near him for most of the last year of his life and, on occasion, herself served as a drug courier) remembered. In July 1979, after a series of Central Asia concerts, Vysotsky collapsed, experienced clinical death and was resuscitated by Fedotov (who injected caffeine into the heart directly), colleague and close friend Vsevolod Abdulov helping with heart massage. In January 1980 Vysotsky asked Lyubimov for a year's leave. "Up to you, but on condition that Hamlet is yours," was the answer. The songwriting showed signs of slowing down, as Vysotsky began switching from songs to more conventional poetry. Still, of nearly 800 poems by Vysotsky only one has been published in the Soviet Union while he was alive. Not a single performance or interview was broadcast by the Soviet television in his lifetime.

 

In May 1979, being in a practice studio of the MSU Faculty of Journalism, Vysotsky recorded a video letter to American actor and film producer Warren Beatty, looking for both a personal meeting with Beatty and an opportunity to get a role in Reds film, to be produced and directed by the latter. While recording, Vysotsky made a few attempts to speak English, trying to overcome the language barrier. This video letter never reached Beatty. It was broadcast for the first time more than three decades later, on the night of 24 January 2013 (local time) by Rossiya 1 channel, along with records of TV channels of Italy, Mexico, Poland, USA and from private collections, in Vladimir Vysotsky. A letter to Warren Beatty film by Alexander Kovanovsky and Igor Rakhmanov. While recording this video, Vysotsky had a rare opportunity to perform for a camera, being still unable to do it with Soviet television.

 

On 22 January 1980, Vysotsky entered the Moscow Ostankino TV Center to record his one and only studio concert for the Soviet television. What proved to be an exhausting affair (his concentration lacking, he had to plod through several takes for each song) was premiered on the Soviet TV eight years later. The last six months of his life saw Vysotsky appearing on stage sporadically, fueled by heavy dosages of drugs and alcohol. His performances were often erratic. Occasionally Vysotsky paid visits to Sklifosofsky [ru] institute's ER unit, but would not hear of Marina Vlady's suggestions for him to take long-term rehabilitation course in a Western clinic. Yet he kept writing, mostly poetry and even prose, but songs as well. The last song he performed was the agonizing "My Sorrow, My Anguish" and his final poem, written one week prior to his death was "A Letter to Marina": "I'm less than fifty, but the time is short / By you and God protected, life and limb / I have a song or two to sing before the Lord / I have a way to make my peace with him."

 

Although several theories of the ultimate cause of the singer's death persist to this day, given what is now known about cardiovascular disease, it seems likely that by the time of his death Vysotsky had an advanced coronary condition brought about by years of tobacco, alcohol and drug abuse, as well as his grueling work schedule and the stress of the constant harassment by the government. Towards the end, most of Vysotsky's closest friends had become aware of the ominous signs and were convinced that his demise was only a matter of time. Clear evidence of this can be seen in a video ostensibly shot by the Japanese NHK channel only months before Vysotsky's death, where he appears visibly unwell, breathing heavily and slurring his speech. Accounts by Vysotsky's close friends and colleagues concerning his last hours were compiled in the book by V. Perevozchikov.

 

Vysotsky suffered from alcoholism for most of his life. Sometime around 1977, he started using amphetamines and other prescription narcotics in an attempt to counteract the debilitating hangovers and eventually to rid himself of alcohol addiction. While these attempts were partially successful, he ended up trading alcoholism for a severe drug dependency that was fast spiralling out of control. He was reduced to begging some of his close friends in the medical profession for supplies of drugs, often using his acting skills to collapse in a medical office and imitate a seizure or some other condition requiring a painkiller injection. On 25 July 1979 (a year to the day before his death) he suffered a cardiac arrest and was clinically dead for several minutes during a concert tour of Soviet Uzbekistan, after injecting himself with a wrong kind of painkiller he had previously obtained from a dentist's office.

 

Fully aware of the dangers of his condition, Vysotsky made several attempts to cure himself of his addiction. He underwent an experimental (and ultimately discredited) blood purification procedure offered by a leading drug rehabilitation specialist in Moscow. He also went to an isolated retreat in France with his wife Marina in the spring of 1980 as a way of forcefully depriving himself of any access to drugs. After these attempts failed, Vysotsky returned to Moscow to find his life in an increasingly stressful state of disarray. He had been a defendant in two criminal trials, one for a car wreck he had caused some months earlier, and one for an alleged conspiracy to sell unauthorized concert tickets (he eventually received a suspended sentence and a probation in the first case, and the charges in the second were dismissed, although several of his co-defendants were found guilty). He also unsuccessfully fought the film studio authorities for the rights to direct a movie called The Green Phaeton. Relations with his wife Marina were deteriorating, and he was torn between his loyalty to her and his love for his mistress Oksana Afanasyeva. He had also developed severe inflammation in one of his legs, making his concert performances extremely challenging.

 

In a final desperate attempt to overcome his drug addiction, partially prompted by his inability to obtain drugs through his usual channels (the authorities had imposed a strict monitoring of the medical institutions to prevent illicit drug distribution during the 1980 Olympics), he relapsed into alcohol and went on a prolonged drinking binge (apparently consuming copious amounts of champagne due to a prevalent misconception at the time that it was better than vodka at countering the effects of drug withdrawal).

 

On 3 July 1980, Vysotsky gave a performance at a suburban Moscow concert hall. One of the stage managers recalls that he looked visibly unhealthy ("gray-faced", as she puts it) and complained of not feeling too good, while another says she was surprised by his request for champagne before the start of the show, as he had always been known for completely abstaining from drink before his concerts. On 16 July Vysotsky gave his last public concert in Kaliningrad. On 18 July, Vysotsky played Hamlet for the last time at the Taganka Theatre. From around 21 July, several of his close friends were on a round-the-clock watch at his apartment, carefully monitoring his alcohol intake and hoping against all odds that his drug dependency would soon be overcome and they would then be able to bring him back from the brink. The effects of drug withdrawal were clearly getting the better of him, as he got increasingly restless, moaned and screamed in pain, and at times fell into memory lapses, failing to recognize at first some of his visitors, including his son Arkadiy. At one point, Vysotsky's personal physician A. Fedotov (the same doctor who had brought him back from clinical death a year earlier in Uzbekistan) attempted to sedate him, inadvertently causing asphyxiation from which he was barely saved. On 24 July, Vysotsky told his mother that he thought he was going to die that day, and then made similar remarks to a few of the friends present at the apartment, who begged him to stop such talk and keep his spirits up. But soon thereafter, Oksana Afanasyeva saw him clench his chest several times, which led her to suspect that he was genuinely suffering from a cardiovascular condition. She informed Fedotov of this but was told not to worry, as he was going to monitor Vysotsky's condition all night. In the evening, after drinking relatively small amounts of alcohol, the moaning and groaning Vysotsky was sedated by Fedotov, who then sat down on the couch next to him but fell asleep. Fedotov awoke in the early hours of 25 July to an unusual silence and found Vysotsky dead in his bed with his eyes wide open, apparently of a myocardial infarction, as he later certified. This was contradicted by Fedotov's colleagues, Sklifosovsky Emergency Medical Institute physicians L. Sul'povar and S. Scherbakov (who had demanded the actor's immediate hospitalization on 23 July but were allegedly rebuffed by Fedotov), who insisted that Fedotov's incompetent sedation combined with alcohol was what killed Vysotsky. An autopsy was prevented by Vysotsky's parents (who were eager to have their son's drug addiction remain secret), so the true cause of death remains unknown.

 

No official announcement of the actor's death was made, only a brief obituary appeared in the Moscow newspaper Vechernyaya Moskva, and a note informing of Vysotsky's death and cancellation of the Hamlet performance was put out at the entrance to the Taganka Theatre (the story goes that not a single ticket holder took advantage of the refund offer). Despite this, by the end of the day, millions had learned of Vysotsky's death. On 28 July, he lay in state at the Taganka Theatre. After a mourning ceremony involving an unauthorized mass gathering of unprecedented scale, Vysotsky was buried at the Vagankovskoye Cemetery in Moscow. The attendance at the Olympic events dropped noticeably on that day, as scores of spectators left to attend the funeral. Tens of thousands of people lined the streets to catch a glimpse of his coffin.

 

According to author Valery Perevozchikov part of the blame for his death lay with the group of associates who surrounded him in the last years of his life. This inner circle were all people under the influence of his strong character, combined with a material interest in the large sums of money his concerts earned. This list included Valerii Yankelovich, manager of the Taganka Theatre and prime organiser of his non-sanctioned concerts; Anatoly Fedotov, his personal doctor; Vadim Tumanov, gold prospector (and personal friend) from Siberia; Oksana Afanasyeva (later Yarmolnik), his mistress the last three years of his life; Ivan Bortnik, a fellow actor; and Leonid Sul'povar, a department head at the Sklifosovski hospital who was responsible for much of the supply of drugs.

 

Vysotsky's associates had all put in efforts to supply his drug habit, which kept him going in the last years of his life. Under their influence, he was able to continue to perform all over the country, up to a week before his death. Due to illegal (i.e. non-state-sanctioned) sales of tickets and other underground methods, these concerts pulled in sums of money unimaginable in Soviet times, when almost everyone received nearly the same small salary. The payouts and gathering of money were a constant source of danger, and Yankelovich and others were needed to organise them.

 

Some money went to Vysotsky, the rest was distributed amongst this circle. At first this was a reasonable return on their efforts; however, as his addiction progressed and his body developed resistance, the frequency and amount of drugs needed to keep Vysotsky going became unmanageable. This culminated at the time of the Moscow Olympics which coincided with the last days of his life, when supplies of drugs were monitored more strictly than usual, and some of the doctors involved in supplying Vysotsky were already behind bars (normally the doctors had to account for every ampule, thus drugs were transferred to an empty container, while the patients received a substitute or placebo instead). In the last few days Vysotsky became uncontrollable, his shouting could be heard all over the apartment building on Malaya Gruzinskaya St. where he lived amongst VIP's. Several days before his death, in a state of stupor he went on a high speed drive around Moscow in an attempt to obtain drugs and alcohol – when many high-ranking people saw him. This increased the likelihood of him being forcibly admitted to the hospital, and the consequent danger to the circle supplying his habit. As his state of health declined, and it became obvious that he might die, his associates gathered to decide what to do with him. They came up with no firm decision. They did not want him admitted officially, as his drug addiction would become public and they would fall under suspicion, although some of them admitted that any ordinary person in his condition would have been admitted immediately.

 

On Vysotsky's death his associates and relatives put in much effort to prevent a post-mortem being carried out. This despite the fairly unusual circumstances: he died aged 42 under heavy sedation with an improvised cocktail of sedatives and stimulants, including the toxic chloral hydrate, provided by his personal doctor who had been supplying him with narcotics the previous three years. This doctor, being the only one present at his side when death occurred, had a few days earlier been seen to display elementary negligence in treating the sedated Vysotsky. On the night of his death, Arkadii Vysotsky (his son), who tried to visit his father in his apartment, was rudely refused entry by Yankelovich, even though there was a lack of people able to care for him. Subsequently, the Soviet police commenced a manslaughter investigation which was dropped due to the absence of evidence taken at the time of death.

 

Vysotsky's first wife was Iza Zhukova. They met in 1956, being both MAT theater institute students, lived for some time at Vysotsky's mother's flat in Moscow, after her graduation (Iza was 2 years older) spent months in different cities (her – in Kiev, then Rostov) and finally married on 25 April 1960.

 

He met his second wife Lyudmila Abramova in 1961, while shooting the film 713 Requests Permission to Land. They married in 1965 and had two sons, Arkady (born 1962) and Nikita (born 1964).

 

While still married to Lyudmila Abramova, Vysotsky began a romantic relationship with Tatyana Ivanenko, a Taganka actress, then, in 1967 fell in love with Marina Vlady, a French actress of Russian descent, who was working at Mosfilm on a joint Soviet-French production at that time. Marina had been married before and had three children, while Vladimir had two. They were married in 1969. For 10 years the two maintained a long-distance relationship as Marina compromised her career in France to spend more time in Moscow, and Vladimir's friends pulled strings for him to be allowed to travel abroad to stay with his wife. Marina eventually joined the Communist Party of France, which essentially gave her an unlimited-entry visa into the Soviet Union, and provided Vladimir with some immunity against prosecution by the government, which was becoming weary of his covertly anti-Soviet lyrics and his odds-defying popularity with the masses. The problems of his long-distance relationship with Vlady inspired several of Vysotsky's songs.

 

In the autumn of 1981 Vysotsky's first collection of poetry was officially published in the USSR, called The Nerve (Нерв). Its first edition (25,000 copies) was sold out instantly. In 1982 the second one followed (100,000), then the 3rd (1988, 200,000), followed in the 1990s by several more. The material for it was compiled by Robert Rozhdestvensky, an officially laurelled Soviet poet. Also in 1981 Yuri Lyubimov staged at Taganka a new music and poetry production called Vladimir Vysotsky which was promptly banned and officially premiered on 25 January 1989.

 

In 1982 the motion picture The Ballad of the Valiant Knight Ivanhoe was produced in the Soviet Union and in 1983 the movie was released to the public. Four songs by Vysotsky were featured in the film.

 

In 1986 the official Vysotsky poetic heritage committee was formed (with Robert Rozhdestvensky at the helm, theater critic Natalya Krymova being both the instigator and the organizer). Despite some opposition from the conservatives (Yegor Ligachev was the latter's political leader, Stanislav Kunyaev of Nash Sovremennik represented its literary flank) Vysotsky was rewarded posthumously with the USSR State Prize. The official formula – "for creating the character of Zheglov and artistic achievements as a singer-songwriter" was much derided from both the left and the right. In 1988 the Selected Works of... (edited by N. Krymova) compilation was published, preceded by I Will Surely Return... (Я, конечно, вернусь...) book of fellow actors' memoirs and Vysotsky's verses, some published for the first time. In 1990 two volumes of extensive The Works of... were published, financed by the late poet's father Semyon Vysotsky. Even more ambitious publication series, self-proclaimed "the first ever academical edition" (the latter assertion being dismissed by sceptics) compiled and edited by Sergey Zhiltsov, were published in Tula (1994–1998, 5 volumes), Germany (1994, 7 volumes) and Moscow (1997, 4 volumes).

 

In 1989 the official Vysotsky Museum opened in Moscow, with the magazine of its own called Vagant (edited by Sergey Zaitsev) devoted entirely to Vysotsky's legacy. In 1996 it became an independent publication and was closed in 2002.

 

In the years to come, Vysotsky's grave became a site of pilgrimage for several generations of his fans, the youngest of whom were born after his death. His tombstone also became the subject of controversy, as his widow had wished for a simple abstract slab, while his parents insisted on a realistic gilded statue. Although probably too solemn to have inspired Vysotsky himself, the statue is believed by some to be full of metaphors and symbols reminiscent of the singer's life.

 

In 1995 in Moscow the Vysotsky monument was officially opened at Strastnoy Boulevard, by the Petrovsky Gates. Among those present were the bard's parents, two of his sons, first wife Iza, renown poets Yevtushenko and Voznesensky. "Vysotsky had always been telling the truth. Only once he was wrong when he sang in one of his songs: 'They will never erect me a monument in a square like that by Petrovskye Vorota'", Mayor of Moscow Yuri Luzhkov said in his speech.[95] A further monument to Vysotsky was erected in 2014 at Rostov-on-Don.

 

In October 2004, a monument to Vysotsky was erected in the Montenegrin capital of Podgorica, near the Millennium Bridge. His son, Nikita Vysotsky, attended the unveiling. The statue was designed by Russian sculptor Alexander Taratinov, who also designed a monument to Alexander Pushkin in Podgorica. The bronze statue shows Vysotsky standing on a pedestal, with his one hand raised and the other holding a guitar. Next to the figure lies a bronze skull – a reference to Vysotsky's monumental lead performances in Shakespeare's Hamlet. On the pedestal the last lines from a poem of Vysotsky's, dedicated to Montenegro, are carved.

 

The Vysotsky business center & semi-skyscraper was officially opened in Yekaterinburg, in 2011. It is the tallest building in Russia outside of Moscow, has 54 floors, total height: 188.3 m (618 ft). On the third floor of the business center is the Vysotsky Museum. Behind the building is a bronze sculpture of Vladimir Vysotsky and his third wife, a French actress Marina Vlady.

 

In 2011 a controversial movie Vysotsky. Thank You For Being Alive was released, script written by his son, Nikita Vysotsky. The actor Sergey Bezrukov portrayed Vysotsky, using a combination of a mask and CGI effects. The film tells about Vysotsky's illegal underground performances, problems with KGB and drugs, and subsequent clinical death in 1979.

 

Shortly after Vysotsky's death, many Russian bards started writing songs and poems about his life and death. The best known are Yuri Vizbor's "Letter to Vysotsky" (1982) and Bulat Okudzhava's "About Volodya Vysotsky" (1980). In Poland, Jacek Kaczmarski based some of his songs on those of Vysotsky, such as his first song (1977) was based on "The Wolfhunt", and dedicated to his memory the song "Epitafium dla Włodzimierza Wysockiego" ("Epitaph for Vladimir Vysotsky").

 

Every year on Vysotsky's birthday festivals are held throughout Russia and in many communities throughout the world, especially in Europe. Vysotsky's impact in Russia is often compared to that of Wolf Biermann in Germany, Bob Dylan in America, or Georges Brassens and Jacques Brel in France.

 

The asteroid 2374 Vladvysotskij, discovered by Lyudmila Zhuravleva, was named after Vysotsky.

 

During the Annual Q&A Event Direct Line with Vladimir Putin, Alexey Venediktov asked Putin to name a street in Moscow after the singer Vladimir Vysotsky, who, though considered one of the greatest Russian artists, has no street named after him in Moscow almost 30 years after his death. Venediktov stated a Russian law that allowed the President to do so and promote a law suggestion to name a street by decree. Putin answered that he would talk to Mayor of Moscow and would solve this problem. In July 2015 former Upper and Lower Tagansky Dead-ends (Верхний и Нижний Таганские тупики) in Moscow were reorganized into Vladimir Vysotsky Street.

 

The Sata Kieli Cultural Association, [Finland], organizes the annual International Vladimir Vysotsky Festival (Vysotski Fest), where Vysotsky's singers from different countries perform in Helsinki and other Finnish cities. They sing Vysotsky in different languages and in different arrangements.

 

Two brothers and singers from Finland, Mika and Turkka Mali, over the course of their more than 30-year musical career, have translated into Finnish, recorded and on numerous occasions publicly performed songs of Vladimir Vysotsky.

 

Throughout his lengthy musical career, Jaromír Nohavica, a famed Czech singer, translated and performed numerous songs of Vladimir Vysotsky, most notably Песня о друге (Píseň o příteli – Song about a friend).

 

The Museum of Vladimir Vysotsky in Koszalin dedicated to Vladimir Vysotsky was founded by Marlena Zimna (1969–2016) in May 1994, in her apartment, in the city of Koszalin, in Poland. Since then the museum has collected over 19,500 exhibits from different countries and currently holds Vladimir Vysotsky' personal items, autographs, drawings, letters, photographs and a large library containing unique film footage, vinyl records, CDs and DVDs. A special place in the collection holds a Vladimir Vysotsky's guitar, on which he played at a concert in Casablanca in April 1976. Vladimir Vysotsky presented this guitar to Moroccan journalist Hassan El-Sayed together with an autograph (an extract from Vladimir Vysotsky's song "What Happened in Africa"), written in Russian right on the guitar.

 

In January 2023, a monument to the outstanding actor, singer and poet Vladimir Vysotsky was unveiled in Yuzhno-Sakhalinsk, in the square near the Rodina House of Culture. Author Vladimir Chebotarev.

 

After her husband's death, urged by her friend Simone Signoret, Marina Vlady wrote a book called The Aborted Flight about her years together with Vysotsky. The book paid tribute to Vladimir's talent and rich persona, yet was uncompromising in its depiction of his addictions and the problems that they caused in their marriage. Written in French (and published in France in 1987), it was translated into Russian in tandem by Vlady and a professional translator and came out in 1989 in the USSR. Totally credible from the specialists' point of view, the book caused controversy, among other things, by shocking revelations about the difficult father-and-son relationship (or rather, the lack of any), implying that Vysotsky-senior (while his son was alive) was deeply ashamed of him and his songs which he deemed "anti-Soviet" and reported his own son to the KGB. Also in 1989 another important book of memoirs was published in the USSR, providing a bulk of priceless material for the host of future biographers, Alla Demidova's Vladimir Vysotsky, the One I Know and Love. Among other publications of note were Valery Zolotukhin's Vysotsky's Secret (2000), a series of Valery Perevozchikov's books (His Dying Hour, The Unknown Vysotsky and others) containing detailed accounts and interviews dealing with the bard's life's major controversies (the mystery surrounding his death, the truth behind Vysotsky Sr.'s alleged KGB reports, the true nature of Vladimir Vysotsky's relations with his mother Nina's second husband Georgy Bartosh etc.), Iza Zhukova's Short Happiness for a Lifetime and the late bard's sister-in-law Irena Vysotskaya's My Brother Vysotsky. The Beginnings (both 2005).

 

A group of enthusiasts has created a non-profit project – the mobile application "Vysotsky"

 

The multifaceted talent of Vysotsky is often described by the term "bard" (бард) that Vysotsky has never been enthusiastic about. He thought of himself mainly as an actor and poet rather than a singer, and once remarked, "I do not belong to what people call bards or minstrels or whatever." With the advent of portable tape-recorders in the Soviet Union, Vysotsky's music became available to the masses in the form of home-made reel-to-reel audio tape recordings (later on cassette tapes).

 

Vysotsky accompanied himself on a Russian seven-string guitar, with a raspy voice singing ballads of love, peace, war, everyday Soviet life and of the human condition. He was largely perceived as the voice of honesty, at times sarcastically jabbing at the Soviet government, which made him a target for surveillance and threats. In France, he has been compared with Georges Brassens; in Russia, however, he was more frequently compared with Joe Dassin, partly because they were the same age and died in the same year, although their ideologies, biographies, and musical styles are very different. Vysotsky's lyrics and style greatly influenced Jacek Kaczmarski, a Polish songwriter and singer who touched on similar themes.

 

The songs – over 600 of them – were written about almost any imaginable theme. The earliest were blatnaya pesnya ("outlaw songs"). These songs were based either on the life of the common people in Moscow or on life in the crime people, sometimes in Gulag. Vysotsky slowly grew out of this phase and started singing more serious, though often satirical, songs. Many of these songs were about war. These war songs were not written to glorify war, but rather to expose the listener to the emotions of those in extreme, life-threatening situations. Most Soviet veterans would say that Vysotsky's war songs described the truth of war far more accurately than more official "patriotic" songs.

 

Nearly all of Vysotsky's songs are in the first person, although he is almost never the narrator. When singing his criminal songs, he would adopt the accent and intonation of a Moscow thief, and when singing war songs, he would sing from the point of view of a soldier. In many of his philosophical songs, he adopted the role of inanimate objects. This created some confusion about Vysotsky's background, especially during the early years when information could not be passed around very easily. Using his acting talent, the poet played his role so well that until told otherwise, many of his fans believed that he was, indeed, a criminal or war veteran. Vysotsky's father said that "War veterans thought the author of the songs to be one of them, as if he had participated in the war together with them." The same could be said about mountain climbers; on multiple occasions, Vysotsky was sent pictures of mountain climbers' graves with quotes from his lyrics etched on the tombstones.

 

Not being officially recognized as a poet and singer, Vysotsky performed wherever and whenever he could – in the theater (where he worked), at universities, in private apartments, village clubs, and in the open air. It was not unusual for him to give several concerts in one day. He used to sleep little, using the night hours to write. With few exceptions, he wasn't allowed to publish his recordings with "Melodiya", which held a monopoly on the Soviet music industry. His songs were passed on through amateur, fairly low quality recordings on vinyl discs and magnetic tape, resulting in his immense popularity. Cosmonauts even took his music on cassette into orbit.

 

Musically, virtually all of Vysotsky's songs were written in a minor key, and tended to employ from three to seven chords. Vysotsky composed his songs and played them exclusively on the Russian seven string guitar, often tuned a tone or a tone-and-a-half below the traditional Russian "Open G major" tuning. This guitar, with its specific Russian tuning, makes a slight yet notable difference in chord voicings than the standard tuned six string Spanish (classical) guitar, and it became a staple of his sound. Because Vysotsky tuned down a tone and a half, his strings had less tension, which also colored the sound.

 

His earliest songs were usually written in C minor (with the guitar tuned a tone down from DGBDGBD to CFACFAC)

 

Songs written in this key include "Stars" (Zvyozdy), "My friend left for Magadan" (Moy drug uyekhal v Magadan), and most of his "outlaw songs".

 

At around 1970, Vysotsky began writing and playing exclusively in A minor (guitar tuned to CFACFAC), which he continued doing until his death.

 

Vysotsky used his fingers instead of a pick to pluck and strum, as was the tradition with Russian guitar playing. He used a variety of finger picking and strumming techniques. One of his favorite was to play an alternating bass with his thumb as he plucked or strummed with his other fingers.

 

Often, Vysotsky would neglect to check the tuning of his guitar, which is particularly noticeable on earlier recordings. According to some accounts, Vysotsky would get upset when friends would attempt to tune his guitar, leading some to believe that he preferred to play slightly out of tune as a stylistic choice. Much of this is also attributable to the fact that a guitar that is tuned down more than 1 whole step (Vysotsky would sometimes tune as much as 2 and a half steps down) is prone to intonation problems.

 

Vysotsky had a unique singing style. He had an unusual habit of elongating consonants instead of vowels in his songs. So when a syllable is sung for a prolonged period of time, he would elongate the consonant instead of the vowel in that syllable.

HT4753 to Toulouse

The last few days have been a flurry of activity with building on the river and wet lands. But, in between I have gone to a bunch of new places and back to some of my favorite venues.

 

Xavier & I love to salsa. So we did a search and wham, we found >Latin Palace Dance Club. Couples were dancing in dressy attire to wonderful salsa music. Wearing a tuxedo without a shirt and me in a short cocktail dress, it so reminded Xavier & me of Miami clubs.

 

A stopover at Organica to catch the last hour of DJ Qee's set woke us up with a nice psy jolt! So good to hear Qee's dynamic sounds and see old friends.

 

A brand new club called Fear FM sent me a tp. I got to meet owner/builder Cypher Webb. Beautifully built by Cypher, he was also spinning an awesome set of hardstyle and goth rock. I had a blast there. Cypher is also recruiting DJ's so peeps, give him a shout!

 

It was so late on Thursday night (Fri morn?) that I just had to stop off and say hi to DJ Xavi at The Cave. Owner Tasty Hax was there, too. I run into her at every party!

 

Friday afternoon, I got a tp from one of the builders. I ended up at Blackhearts 80's club. I love the funkiness of this club. So simple. It feels like a rock n roll club. Halloween was coming and the Pillsbury Dough Boy showed up! LOL!

 

Late night, and Xavier & I headed for DJ Nebulae's set at Piranha. Xavi loves this club. He set his JMD Effects hud on and we were in psy heaven. We always have fun at Shad's club!

 

In between all the craziness, I hit New Berlin's Electro Smog. Gee... I can't seem to get enough of this place. Zap Hax was hosting and DJ djleftydc Denja was spinning a sweet set of tunes.

 

Another new place I landed upon was Le Ghetto Hype. This is a fun club of alternative and eclectic tunes. Owner DJ Frederick Neberle & partner ARNAUD Mureaux have built a wonderful place to hang.

 

Off to Divaz Lounge! DJ 8wall Wrigglesworth just sent me a tp! OMG, 8wall is spinning at Divaz.

I met 8wall at Dance Island last year and then over at Nutrie. He spins a very chill set of house and minimal tunes.

 

But, the highlight of my night was at Old Factory listening to DJ Jeangilles Anthony. This frenchman is an artist. Beautiful industrial noise layered with a hardstyle beat... then transcending into experimental music... psychedelic experimental noise. LOL! and I fell asleep there... just couldn't leave!

 

Late night on Friday, Xavier and I ended up at DJ Digital Francis' Le Pardis de Digital Nation. It was an after party and Digi was spinning. Xavi & Digi started a "stump me" game. I think Digital was very impressed with Xavier's musical knowledge. They bro-downed the entire night leaving me and DJ Snowkitty dumbfounded... 'cause neither of us knew any of the tunes. LOL! I think Xavier has a new favorite dj now!

5550 S. Greenwood (Smart Museum)

 

smartmuseum.uchicago.edu/exhibitions/gigi-scaria-city-unc...

 

www.fibonaccis.com/index.php/music/fibs/stay_home/

"Tower of Pisa, Mona Lisa Monte Carlo, they take VISA! Sip a rare amontillado…see the Prado Far away . . . Mandalay . . . Old Cathay Coliseum Where a gigolo with a boutonniere Runs a slimy hand through his greasy hair British Museum Where a scholar sits and reads all day Till he’s blown to bits by the IRA Arc de Triomphe Where Parisians sneer while the tourists pay For a chic coiffure and a fake Monet Chorus: Far away . . . Mandalay . . . Old Cathay Whaddya know! Every place that you go has the same human race - oh no! There’s a beggar here, there’s a mugger there calculating what you owe him From the shores of Montezuma to the sands of Nice I’ve heard an ugly rumor: Better pack a piece! Sacred Ganges Where a palsied fakir sits on a mat And they drop like flies and they breed like rats Tokyo Ginza Where the crowd’s so packed when you take a stroll You feel like fish in a sushi roll Wall of China Where China dolls in coats of blue Are deciding how to re-educate you Chorus: Far away . . . Mandalay . . . Old Cathay"

 

Machappuchre at Night from High Camp on the Mardi Himal Trek in Nepal

Jaisalmer Fort is one of the largest fortifications in the world. It is situated in the city of Jaisalmer, in the Indian state of Rajasthan. It is a World Heritage Site. It was built in 1156 AD by the Rajput ruler Rawal Jaisal, from whom it derives its name. (Rawal Jaisal's son was Shalivahan II; Manj and Bhati Rajputs are descended from him.) The fort stands amidst the sandy expanse of the great Thar Desert, on Trikuta Hill, and has been the scene of many battles. Its massive yellow sandstone walls are a tawny lion colour during the day, fading to honey-gold as the sun sets, thereby camouflaging the fort in the yellow desert. For this reason, it is also known as the Sonar Quila or Golden Fort. The fort is located in the very heart of the city, and is one of the most notable monuments in the locality.

 

In 2013, at the 37th session of the World Heritage Committee held in Phnom Penh, Cambodia, Jaisalmer Fort, along with 5 other forts of Rajasthan, was declared a UNESCO World Heritage Site under the group Hill Forts of Rajasthan.

 

HISTORY

The fort was built by Rawal Jaiswal in 1156 CE. Jaisal conspired with the Sultan of Gaur to dispose his nephew Bhojdev from his territory. The other important event of the fort was during 1276 when King Jetsi strengthened the fort against the invading Sultan of Delhi. the 56 bastions were manned by 3,700 soldiers. After eight years of invasion, the Sultan's army destroyed the castle. Bhatis took control of the fort, but had no means to strengthen it. In 1306, Dodoo was elected the Rawal for his bravery for ejecting the Rathors. He subsequently started building the fort. The Rawals could not stand the invasion of Mughal emperor Babur and subsequently seeded to Akbar in 1570 and also got his daughter married to him.

 

During medieval times, the city played a major role in trade with Persia, Arabia, Egypt and Africa. The fort contains 3 layers of walls. The outer or the lower layer is made out of solid stone blocks and it reinforces the loose rubble of Trikuta Hill. The second, or middle, wall snakes around the fort. From the innermost, or third, wall, the Rajput warriors once hurled boiling oil and water as well as massive blocks of rock at their enemies, who would become entrapped between the second and third walls. This defences of the fort include 99 bastions, of which 92 were built between the period of 1633-47.

 

Ala-ud-din Khilji attacked and captured the fort in the 13th century and managed to hold it for 9 years. During the siege of the fort the Rajput women committed Jauhar. The second battle at the fort happened in 1541, when Mughal emperor Humayun attacked the fort city.

 

The fort was under the control of Mughals until 1762 when Maharawal Mulraj took control of the fort. Due to its isolated location, the fort escaped the ravages of the Marathas. The treaty between the East India Company and Mulraj in 12 December 1818 allowed the king to have succession of the fort and provided protection from invasion. After the death of Mulraj in 1820, his grandson Gaj Singh took reigns of the fort.

 

With the advent of British rule, the emergence of maritime trade and the growth of the port of Bombay led to the gradual economic decline of Jaisalmer. After independence and the Partition of India, the ancient trade route was totally closed, thus sealing the fate of the city. Nonetheless, the continued strategic importance of Jaisalmer was demonstrated during the 1965 and 1971 wars between India and Pakistan Although at one point the entire population of Jaisalmer lived within the fort, it today has a resident population of about 4,000 people who are largely from the Brahmin and Daroga communities. They are mostly descendants of the workforce of the Bhati rulers of Jaisalmer which was permitted to reside within the fort's premises. With an increase in population, people gradually relocated to the foot of the Trikuta Hill and the town of Jaisalmer spread out from the fort.

 

ARCHITECTURE

The fort is 460 m long and 230 m wide and is built on a hill that raises above a height of 76 m above the surrounding country side. The basement of the fort has a 4.6 m tall wall forming a double line of defence. The bastions of the fort forms a chain about 9.1 m. The fort has four entrances to the townside, one of which used to be guarded by cannon.

 

- Raj Mahal (Royal palace)

- Laxminath temple

- 4 massive gateways

- Merchant Havelis. These are large houses often built by wealthy merchants in Rajasthani towns and cities in North India, with ornate sandstone carvings. Some havelis are many hundreds of years old. In Jaisalmer there are many elaborate havelis carved from yellow sandstone. Some of these have many floors and countless rooms, with decorated windows, archways, doors and balconies. Some havelis are today museums but most in Jaisalmer are still lived in by the families that built them. Among these is the Vyas haveli which was built in the 15th century, which is still occupied by the descendants of the original builders. Another example is the Shree Nath Palace which was once inhabited by the prime minister of Jaisalmer. Some of the doors and ceilings are notable examples of old carved wood from many hundreds of years ago.

 

The fort has an ingenious drainage system called the ghut nali which allows for the easy drainage of rainwater away from the fort in all four directions of the fort. Over the years, haphazard construction activities and building of new roads has greatly reduced its effectiveness.

 

CULTURE

The fort has numerous eateries, including Italian, French and native cuisines. The famous Indian film director Satyajit Ray wrote the Sonar Kella (The Golden Fortress), a detective novel, based on the fort and he later filmed it here. The film became a classic and a large number of tourists from Bengal and around the world visit the fort annually to experience for themselves the world that Ray portrayed in the movie. Six forts of Rajasthan, namely, Amber Fort, Chittorgarh Fort, Gagron Fort, Jaisalmer Fort, Kumbhalgarh and Ranthambore Fort were included in the UNESCO World Heritage Site list during the 37th meeting of the World Heritage Committee in Phnom Penh during June 2013. They were recognized as a serial cultural property and examples of Rajput military hill architecture.

 

RESTAURATION

The Jaisalmer Fort today faces manifold threats that are a result of the increasing population pressure on it. Water seepage, inadequate civic amenities, derelict houses and seismic activity around the Trikuta Hill are some of the major concerns impacting the Fort. Unlike most other forts, the Jaisalmer Fort has been built over a weak sedimentary rock foothill which makes its foundations especially vulnerable to seepage. Over the years this has led to the collapse of significant portions of the Fort such as the Queen’s Palace or Rani Ka Mahal and parts of the outer boundary wall and the lower pitching walls.

 

The World Monuments Fund included the Fort in its 1996 World Monuments Watch and again in the 1998 and 2000 reports due to the threats posed to it by an increase in its resident population and the increasing numbers of tourists who visit it every year. The Fort is one of Rajasthan's most popular tourist attractions with as many as five to six hundred thousand tourists visiting it annually. As a result, it is abuzz with commercial activities and has seen a phenomenal growth in both human and vehicular traffic.

 

Major restoration work has been undertaken by the World Monuments Fund and UK based charity Jaisalmer in Jeopardy. According to former INTACH chairman S.K. Misra, American Express has provided more than $1 million for the conservation of Jaisalmer Fort. The absence of coordinated action among the various government departments responsible for civic amenities, the local municipality and the Archaeological Survey that is responsible for the upkeep of the fort is a major impediment in its maintenance and restoration.

 

WIKIPEDIA

Heartagram design from the band HIM's CD case. It's believed by some people that Ville Vallo actually designed the heartagram but it was actually designed in ancient greece and stands for wisdom :]

 

You learn somethin new every day right?

Immerse me in Him

like a rose in a jug,

to the eyes

to the forehead,

after a sheaf of fair hair -

let it flow around me

let it run through me

like kissing water

of the Great Ocean.

Let the night die, the morning,

the glow of the moon or sun,

but let it penetrate me

like violin music -

when it reaches my heart

I'll be the sweetest

Him. –

VILLE VALO from HIM

Custom Taeyang by Sheryl Designs

 

MODIFICATIONS:

Remake Lips

Replaced acrylic eyes

©2007-2010 Sheryl Designs Eyemech Modification

 

Real Ville Valo

Hilo en el Foro de Pullips: Pullip. es

Always aggressive, one gull chases of another by the River Wharfe, Wetherby,Yorkshire.

Anyone know how i can get in touch with him?

 

Saint Martin's School

Johannesburg

Kenyay Barbour, 24, was diagnosed with Autism and Pervasive Developmental Disorder at age two. A participant in UCP programs since childhood, Kenyay accepted his dream job “as part of the Hershey Team” when he was hired at Houlihan’s of Hershey in October 2018. Just a few months earlier, following pre-vocational skills training and encouragement by UCP, Kenyay’s mother Dee agreed to give supported employment a try. UCP Employment Specialist and Job Coach Brittany Hill encouraged Kenyay to take the lead on where he wanted to work and what kind of work he wanted to do. Together, they completed application after application. Having been told multiple times that Kenyay would never be “employable,” Dee was skeptical. It was just a matter of weeks before the first call for an interview came from Houlihan’s. And the rest, as they say, is history. Today, Kenyay is thrilled to be among the first 60 out of 145 staff members called back to work following COVID-19 furloughs in spring 2020. Houlihan’s Assistant General Manager Felicia McCorkel said there was excitement about bringing him back. “First and foremost, his positivity and infectious smile. Just seeing him and knowing how much he wants to be here put things in perspective for the rest of us.” Lead Server Assistant Rosalie Mcleggan said Kenyay is like family. “All the other Server Assistants were glad to see him called back to work. But it’s not just the staff. The ‘regulars’ love him too!” UCP Employment Specialist Chris Hartman returned to Houlihan’s with Kenyay, to help him process the changes in operations and protocol demanded in the midst of a pandemic. Now there are temperature checks before clocking in, face coverings, and a number of other additional precautions. But it’s all good. Chris says of Kenyay, “He’s very independent and adjusted easily and quickly to all the changes. I was impressed with how well he reacclimated to the job—and the changes—after being off for four months.” In return, the job has helped Kenyay grow from an unsure high school graduate to a confident, outgoing young man living life without limits.

Day Twenty-Eight of the December Diary 2012 Project This years Theme... ' Favourite Things'... %-)

 

Under Mum's Christmas Tree this year there was a little Present for ME from Ted & Tom...

I was pleasantly surprised and equally curious at to what it might be...

To my delight it was this adorable little Chocolate Lindt Teddy Bear...

AND... He has a REAL HEART... just like Ted & Tom!!! %-)

 

(Dad Made Ted & Tom for Me and Lita and told us they had 'REAL' Hearts!)

 

I would never have the 'Heart' to 'eat' him...

Mum helped them find little Lindt for me...

Wasn't that incredible SWEET and thoughtful of her...

He is DEFINITELY one of my FAVORITE things for Christmas! %-)

On assignment covering the dress rehearsal of the 2017: The Passion Play.

 

"The film opens in Gethsemane at night as Jesus Christ (Caviezel), at the height of his cause, prays while his disciples Peter, James, and John (James's brother) sleep. After he wakes them and tells them to pray, Satan appears in a hooded androgynous, albino form, and tempts him with reasonable doubt, stating - "it is not right for one man to die for their (humanity's) sins." Ignoring it and praying on, Jesus' sweat turns into blood and drips to the ground while a snake emerges from Satan's guise. Jesus hears his disciples call out for him, and he rebukes Satan by stomping on the snake's head, and Satan vanishes.

After receiving a bribe of thirty pieces of silver, Judas, another of Jesus' disciples, approaches with a group of temple guards and betrays Jesus (by confirmation of his identity) with a simple kiss on the cheek. As the armed guards move in to arrest Jesus, Peter draws his dagger and slashes off the ear of Malchus, one of the guards and a servant of the high priest Caiaphas. Jesus, in turn, heals the ear as he reprimands Peter for his actions. As the disciples flee, the guards secure Jesus, and beat him during the journey to the Sanhedrin.

John informs Mary (mother of Jesus) and Mary Magdalene of the arrest, while Peter follows Jesus and his captors at a distance. Caiaphas holds trial over the objection of some of the other priests, who are expelled from the court. When questioned by Caiaphas if he is the Son of God, Jesus replies, "I am." Caiaphas is horrified, tears his robes in outrage, and Jesus is condemned to death for blasphemy. Peter, secretly watching, is confronted by the surrounding mob for being a follower of Jesus, and he angrily denies this three times. But after cursing at the mob during the third denial, a sobbing Peter flees after remembering that Jesus had foretold this coping of a defense. Meanwhile, a guilt-ridden Judas attempts to return the money he was paid to have Jesus freed, but is refused by the priests. Tormented by demons, he flees the city, finds solitude, and hangs himself from a tree with a rope he finds on a dead donkey at dawn.

Caiaphas brings Jesus before Pontius Pilate to be condemned to death, but after questioning Jesus and finding no fault, a sympathetic Pilate instead relays him to the court of Herod Antipas, as Jesus is from Antipas' ruling town of Nazareth, Galilee. After Jesus is again found not guilty and returned, Pilate offers the crowd options for either him to chastise Jesus, or release him. He then attempts to have Jesus freed by the peoples' choice, between Jesus and a violent criminal Barabbas. To his dismay, the crowd demands to have Barabbas freed and Jesus killed. In an attempt to appease the moment, Pilate orders that he simply be punished. Jesus is brutally scourged, abused, and mocked by the Roman guards as "king of the Jews" with a crown of thorns. However, Caiaphas, with the crowds' verbal backing, continues to demand that Jesus be crucified as a heretic and Barabbas released. Admonished, Pilate washes his hands, takes no responsibility of the incident, and reluctantly orders Jesus' crucifixion. During the course of events, Satan watches Jesus' bloody sufferings with great interest. A dismayed Pilate watches the march, while his wife Claudia, who knows of Jesus' status as a holy man, comforts him. As Jesus labors to carry a heavy wooden cross along the Via Dolorosa to Calvary, a woman avoids the escort of soldiers, and wipes Jesus' face with her veil. Jesus is beaten and pressed by the guards until the unwilling Simon of Cyrene is forced into carrying the cross with him. At the end of their travel, with his mother Mary, Mary Magdalene, and others witnessing, Jesus is crucified. The very act seems to affect the weathering condition of the earth itself.

As he hangs from the cross, Jesus prays to God asking forgiveness for the people who did this to him, and redeems a criminal as a saint who is crucified beside him. Succumbing to impending death, Jesus gives up his spirit and dies. A single droplet of rain falls from the sky to the ground, triggering a sudden earthquake which destroys the Holy temple and rips the cloth covering the Holy of Holies in two, to the horror of Caiaphas and the other priests. Satan is shown screaming in agonizing defeat. Jesus' lifeless body is taken down from the cross, and entombed. In the end, the healed body of Jesus rises from the dead, and exits the tomb resurrected."

  

The souq in Homs. I think the man is serving Turkish coffee that none of us dared to ask for a sip

Day one of Adam's orthadontia proper. We have to wind him like a clock every night for 3 weeks. Just like Grandad and his old clock.

I'm sitting here procrastinating my project...

 

SO LET ME FILL YOU IN ON MY WHOLE WEEKEND SINCE OTHER THINGS CAME UP !:D

...wich means i'll be procrastinating more..but this should be a long description (i know you all dig those<3)

 

We'll start with the little fartknocker, sookie.

So i decided to take my camera out and test it, and i was going to brush sookie aswell, but first i had to feed kino (whom i havn't seen in a good minute might i ask.)

so i was all "well sookie don't run awf she don't need a leash a hurrr hurrr!"

 

WRONG!

 

We spooked a bouck, and like five mintes sookie darted off into the woods....and here i go running through those vine things with the torns that love just digging into your flesh.

oh yea fun times (i didn't really mnd the pain or blood) I grabbed her though..and took her home and i could have given her the askbeating of a lifetime. but you don't have to touch her for her to start screaming, so i just yelled at her and put her in the kennel CAUSE I HAS SELF CONTROL!

but yea...that tells the story of sookie -.-

 

Saturday Jamie, and I decided to take a very romantic trip to maymont where we held hands all morning and stared at flowers<3

 

LOL JK.

we went to maymont...but we'll never be a couple.

I've never been to maymont..so we went and stared at the deer (while i rambled on about how much i'd love to kill them) and all the birds and such...and while we're on the birds.

I'll express my love of Manual Focus in 3...2...1....I FREAKING LOVE IT.!

 

okay done with that

till we get to the bald eagle.

I see why he's our nations symbol.

that thing looked at us.

and it simply said "I WILL NOT BE TAKING ANY OF YOUR SH--"

Hero bruh, hero.

I also say a demonic sheep, donkey, horses (in stalls) old carts, a very BEAUTIFUL mansion.

and a very very very conflicted and confused Black bear.

 

I got bored with maymont though and decided to head on over to the zoo.

 

(jamie didn't want to go...that was about to change with my fist of oh yes you are.)

^ not really guys i just told him i'd never let him talk to brandon again.

 

So we went to the zoo...wich isn't really much of a zoo at all...or it's a crappy one.

 

Sure, i got to touch a girraffe...(well yea done that before)

 

...and i got to kiss and elk :3

tehehe ;)

She found me attractive and kept chewing on my clothing.

nahh..she was just hungry and i was her victom for fewd!

so she chewed on my boobie bracelet, and hoodie (bout had the whole string down her throat)

 

then she bumped me with her nose

 

dawhh :3

and jamie actually clicked the camera at the right time.

 

so i made friends with an elk...then i had to leave her V.V

and we saw more Bison, Elk, and deer (white tail, and sitcka)

oh and pronghorn...crappy environment.

 

but the elk!

OH MY GOD THE ELK!

one bull had his horns shaved down, the other still had his....CAN WE SAY TROPHY!?

 

ahhhh yea...good times.

 

oh and that night i went and saw harry potter

 

SCABIOR<3

like my friggen jaw dropped.

i've never seen such a pretty man .

(did i just express my love for a man? :O)

gah i thik i need to go read that part in the book now :)

  

and we're going back in two days (because i can't spell the humpday.)

AHHH IT'S GOING TO BE A BOSS ASS DAY GUYS!

 

now..i must go work on my project and re read the seventh harry potter book...

 

and plan out mine and jamie's movie trip where we shall forever yell SQUEE

and fuss over how hot scabior is :)

 

oh and ofcourse i must make a fuss over hermione.

 

oh oh elk kissing photo.

below :D

   

A great run ot in the first pre-season match for Longridge with many trialists showing their potential. Ten goals including a hat-trick for Paul Turner who is looking like he will have a great season in front of him.

Yesterday, as I was leaving a Church Service, I found one of the Church Elders by the exit, and I told him: "Happy Holidays, it was a great Christmas Chorale"

And he says: "Yes, wonderful Christmas celebration"

Branko: "Where in the Bible does it mention that Jesus was born on Dec. 25th.?"

And he says: "It isn't"

So I told him: "Dou you know who Tammuz is?"

He says: "Who?"

I spell it: "T A M M U Z"

He says, "No"

So I tell him: "You just celebrated his birthday, Tammuz birthday is on the 25th. of Dec. Tammuz is a Babylonian Pagan deity, 10 tribes of Israel were taken into slavery for adoring Tammuz and his mother, the "Queen of Heaven", and then the other 2 tribes, were taken to Babylon for 70 years."

And he looks at me with this "you got me face"

Most, if not all christian churches are following Pagan celebrations, it is the spirit of the antichrist taking over.

Branko

 

_________________________

 

There is not a word in the Scriptures about the precise day of His birth (Jesus)

 

...a festival was celebrated among the heathen, at that precise time of the year, in honour of the birth of the son of the Babylonian queen of heaven; and it may fairly be presumed that, in order to conciliate the heathen, and to swell the number of the nominal adherents of Christianity, the same festival was adopted by the Roman Church, giving it only the name of Christ.

 

That Christmas was originally a Pagan festival, is beyond all doubt.

 

In Egypt, the son of Isis, the Egyptian title for the queen of heaven, was born at this very time

 

"On the 24th of the tenth month," that is December, according to our reckoning, "the Arabians celebrated the BIRTHDAY OF THE LORD--that is the Moon."

 

The candles, in some parts of England, lighted on Christmas-eve, and used so long as the festive season lasts, were equally lighted by the Pagans on the eve of the festival of the Babylonian god, to do honour to him: for it was one of the distinguishing peculiarities of his worship to have lighted wax-candles on his altars. The Christmas tree, now so common among us, was equally common in Pagan Rome and Pagan Egypt. In Egypt that tree was the palm-tree; in Rome it was the fir; the palm-tree denoting the Pagan Messiah, as Baal-Tamar, the fir referring to him as Baal-Berith. The mother of Adonis, the Sun-God and great mediatorial divinity, was mystically said to have been changed into a tree, and when in that state to have brought forth her divine son. If the mother was a tree, the son must have been recognised as the "Man the branch." And this entirely accounts for the putting of the Yule Log into the fire on Christmas-eve, and the appearance of the Christmas-tree the next morning. As Zero-Ashta, "The seed of the woman," which name also signified Ignigena, or "born of the fire," he has to enter the fire on "Mother-night," that he may be born the next day out of it, as the "Branch of God," or the Tree that brings all divine gifts to men. But why, it may be asked, does he enter the fire under the symbol of a Log? To understand this, it must be remembered that the divine child born at the winter solstice was born as a new incarnation of the great god (after that god had been cut in pieces), on purpose to revenge his death upon his murderers. Now the great god, cut off in the midst of his power and glory, was symbolised as a huge tree, stripped of all its branches, and cut down almost to the ground. But the great serpent, the symbol of the life restoring Aesculapius, twists itself around the dead stock, and lo, at its side up sprouts a young tree--a

tree of an entirely different kind, that is destined never to be cut down by hostile power--even the palm- tree, the well-known symbol of victory. The Christmas-tree, as has been stated, was generally at Rome a different tree, even the fir; but the very same idea as was implied in the palm-tree was implied in the Christmas-fir; for that covertly symbolised the new-born God as Baal-berith, * "Lord of the Covenant," and thus shadowed forth the perpetuity and everlasting nature of his power, not that after having fallen before his enemies, he had risen triumphant over them all.

  

Book: The Two Babylons, by Alexander Hyslop

  

© branko

www.a2b1.com

youtube channel: www.youtube.com/a2b1

The Gossips Sandstone Rock Formations Arches National Park Utah Winter Fine Art Landscape Photography Fuji GFX100! Elliot McGucken Master Medium Format Nature Photographer Moab! Fuji GFX 100 &Fujjifilm Fujinon GF 32-64mm Lens American Southwest Desert Art

 

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Lao Tzu--The Tao: Nature does not hurry, yet everything is accomplished.

 

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The universe itself is God and the universal outpouring of its soul. --Chrysippus (Quoted by Cicero in De Natura Deorum)

 

Season of mists and mellow fruitfulness

Close bosom-friend of the maturing sun

Conspiring with him how to load and bless

With fruit the vines that round the thatch-eves run;

To bend with apples the moss'd cottage-trees,

And fill all fruit with ripeness to the core;

To swell the gourd, and plump the hazel shells

With a sweet kernel; to set budding more,

And still more, later flowers for the bees,

Until they think warm days will never cease,

For Summer has o'er-brimm'd their clammy cells. --To Autumn. by John Keats

So, the first week day orchiding.

 

And it was a packed day. The plan was to pick up a fellow orchidist, and we go round to some new sights for him.

 

Jon is the author of a rather good orchid book, and I am rather pleased to call him a friend. Not because of the book, but because he's a top bloke too.

 

We only have one car, so the first issue was to get Jools to work, so after coffee we drive off towards Dover, past the docks then up the A20 and M20 to Folkestone, before turning off to go over the downs into Hythe.

 

I drop Jools off in the centre of town, program Jon's address in Herne Bay, and set off with a pod cast going, up through the Elham Valley to the A2 and then along the A2 and Thanet Way.

 

Jon was waiting, so he loads his camera bag in the back, and we are off on a jolly boy's outing, stopping first at Pegwell Bay.

 

Hidden away on the old hoverport is a small colony of yellow Man Orchid, though this year numbers are well down, and still no sign of any Bee Orchids.

 

We climb the steps beside the Viking ship, then along the long-abandoned roads to the place where the orchids should be. One year there was 180 spikes here, but this year, maybe 30.

 

Jon hadn't seen them before, so even with just the one densely populated yellow spikes, so he gets close ups, and we move on to the reserve next door to check on the Southern Marsh Orchids and maybe a hybrid.

 

After parking at Ebbsfleet (the other one), cross the main road, and through the style.

 

It was early, but still a handful of SMO and a weedy Common Spotted Orchid, and one partially open hybrid of the two.

 

The main task of the day was to visit a secret location where the hybrid of the two Butterfly Orchid species had been recorded.

 

We drove along the coast, and found the wood with no trouble, but there was no one there, and to be honest, we both felt uneasy about trespassing, even in the name of orchids.

 

But by then, something else had come up, and I had to get Jon back to Herne Bay ASAP, so we zoom back along Thanet Way to Herne Bay, drop him off, and for me, I had the afternoon to fill.

 

With orchids.

 

I drove over to Sandwich Bay to look at the emerging Lizards, and also, as a bonus the ultra-rare Bedstraw Broomrape.

 

This does involve walking across two fairways of the golf course, get a wave from the be-Pringled at the tee that it was safe to proceed, then out through the gate onto The Strand.

 

ust a few steps on, I found the first of the Broomrapes, and it was a perfect spike. I get down to snap it from all angles.

 

With no Lizards out, and the Broomrape snapped, I turned back to the car, over the golf course, though no Marsh Harriers seen at the nest near the observatory.

 

What now?

 

Late Spiders.

 

I put on podcast, a pair of sunglasses, engaged all gears and lurched off for Folkestone.

 

It was turning into a wonderful day, lots of sunshine, though the breeze was just too strong for macro work outside.

 

At Folkestone, I park the car and walk up the the site, where there were two spikes open, one near the fence was good to photograph, but with it not yet being two, I could go to Wye down to the colony there.

 

I agreed with myself that this was a good idea, so set off up Stone Street then through Hastingleigh to the down, where I nab the parking spot, climb the fence, and walk up the slope, where I see all cages were already in place, and each one covering a spike, and about six had flowering spikes in them.

 

Near one was a spike without a cage, and its sepals were of the darkest purple, a wonderful spike and one to snap over and over again.

 

I do most of the other spikes too, but having taken another half hour out of the afternoon, I had two hours to kill.

 

So I go to the pub.

 

The New Flying Horse in Wye. I have a pint of organic ale sitting in the beer garden, sitting in the shade of a parasol.

 

I could get used to living like this!

 

After that, I still had an hour to kill, so drove to the Devil's Kneading Trough, parked up and walked down the slope where I found a bench on the edge of a sheer drop.

 

That would do.

 

So, for half an hour of so, I watched the light play on the slopes of the down as the wind blew the clouds across the sky, whilst skylarks sang for the joy of flight high above.

 

That was my day, how was yours?

 

I drive to the factory to collect Jools, then drive home through the usual heavy traffic.

 

Once home we dine on Iberian ham and salad with fresh bread I had picked up.

 

We ate like kings and toasted our good luck and happy lives.

 

Cheers.

 

----------------------------------------------

 

The Man Orchid is one of our rarest orchids and is classified as endangered under Schedule 8 of the Wildlife and Countryside Act. Its presence is now confined to a few protected reserves and sites around England, and the numbers are still in decline. It is particularly vulnerable to agricultural pollution and runoff but scrub encroachment is also a problem. As its name suggests the flowers of Orchis anthropophora resemble a tiny hooded figure making it relatively easy to identify although the drab greenish colour makes it difficult to spot. The flowers are often tinged with dark brownish-red and less often with yellow. It is sometimes confused with the Frog Orchid Dactylorhiza viridis (which is a much smaller plant) and Common Twayblade Neottia ovata (easily distinguished by the two large oval basal leaves). The Man Orchid grows in a number of habitats including sand dunes, roadside verges and downland, but all are chalk-based. Orchis anthropophora flowers from late April to the end of June. The Man Orchid is still widespread in southern and western European countries and does particularly well in the Mediterranean region.

 

www.hardyorchidsociety.org.uk/hos%201012/orchidphotos/orc...

I get the feeling Bowen is going to have to put up with a lot from these girls!

9unkz0r.com hoodie

Special thanks to one dedicated art lover who appreciated my art on a permanent level by getting the back cover design from my book, Leather Wings, tattooed on his calf. Unfortunately I didn't get a chance to meet him at the Fan Expo show but hopefully we'll meet someday so that I can say thank you in person.

Never got his name but I did get the chance for him to play me a song. On a chilly April afternoon while walking with a few friends in downtown Madison, I could heard a guitar being played somewhere near my location. To my surprise it was much closer then expected, I knew I wanted to know more of this mysterious busker; and I asked if I could snap a few pictures. He was singing in addition to strumming his guitar, and he accepted my offer with a simple head nod and continued to play. Once he was done with the song he asked "What would you like to hear?" I had not a song in mind as I was just enjoying the moment, when I told him "I don't know" he was a little more pushy trying to get a song from me. Noticing my shirt, he then decided upon his next tune: "Rocket Man" as I was wearing a shirt that depicted a "man on the moon." It was fitting, and his rendition was spot on and we parted ways with a smile.

 

I was content with the photos I'd take for my (608)strangers project, but a little disheartened with myself that I didn't get more of a story. Sometimes we meet people that impact our lives at the moment and don't realize it til later in life, the man on the pedestal was just that. A no name stranger, but fitting for the 100 strangers project none the less, unless the group mods decide he's not worthy. With that being said, I hope strangers much like the mystery guitar man and many others can find my stories and help me write more about them!

233/100

Remember when we saw Kris Jenner break down to Khloe Kardashian in the upcoming episode of Keeping Up With The Kardashians? Well, now we know how she got to that point.

Momager Kris is so worried about her son Rob Kardashian‘s health that she’ll do anything to help him get back to...

 

news.realitytv4u.com/2015/04/kris-jenner-says-she-worries...

This is Rolf Sander, (he's the guy without the helmet). I met him today at Lyngsta where he lives. Lyngsta is a small village with some eight or nine houses. Rolf turned out to be a nice guy, a collector. Anything that relates to the time when he grew up he will buy. Cars, trucks, you name it. He invited me to have a look around in his tool shop and in his unique house that he has built from scratch, I took a bunch of photos of course. Rolf used to be married and has a few kids (grown up), but today he lives on his own. He is full of ideas, and if possible, would like to set up a 1950s gas station (he already has a couple of pumps), and also build a typical Swedish hot dog kiosk from the same area here in the village. In the summer time he sells wooden water barrels. We took a walk around the houses and met a few of the neighbours. Rolf showed me the oldest house that dates back to 1763 (photos later). Today an Englishman lives there. I talked a little with him and decided to come back later in the year for more photos of that building. One of the neighbours is a Swedish celebrity, Bosse Larsson, I missed him with around one hour, he had just left for a tour around the country, but Rolf showed me around that place as well. He also told me about some of the people that lived in the village many years ago but that's another story.

This picture is #2 in my 100 strangers project. Find out more about the project and see pictures taken by other photographers at the 100 Strangers website or the 100 Strangers flickr group.

The stele of Deines is among the best examples of Late Archaic Greek relief sculpture from the entire Black Sea region. Most probably, it had a separately carved anthemion at the top, as indicated by the preserved holes for dowels. The composition is the "man and dog" motif that is well known from the period. An elderly man stands facing to the right, stepping forward with his left foot. He occupies almost the entire field, partially overlapping the relief frame on both sides. His arms are bent at the elbows, and with his right hand he offers a piece of meat to the dog that stands at his feet. With his left hand he leans on the end of a staff that descends diagonally to the lower right corner of the field. His bearded head bends downward, looking at the dog.

 

The man wears sandals and a himation, which covers his left shoulder, leaving the right one bare. The garment falls in flat diagonal folds across his torso and down his right leg, is pulled tight around the back of his body, and the loose end is wrapped around his left elbow, falling vertically to below the knees. The short-haired dog occupies the lower part of the field and overlaps the man's lower left leg. It is turned to the right, rearing with its front legs stretched upward and its pointed muzzle reaching for the piece of meat. Above the man's head, there is a metrical epitaph:

 

[ἐνθάδʹἈ].ναξάνδρο Δεινῆ[ϛ δ]

οκιμώτοϛ ἀστῶγ

κε[ῖμ]αι ἀμώμητο[ϛ τ]έρμα λα[χ]ὡν

θανἀτο

 

Here I lie blameless, Deines, son of

Anaxander,

The noblest of citizens, allotted the limit

of death.

 

The reverse side bears the traces of another scene, which was carefully chiseled off. Only the outline of a standing male figure to the right, dressed in a himation, can be discerned. One foot steps forward, and both arms are bent at the elbows and held forward, one slightly above the other, probably holding an object.

 

In style, the stele of Deines is lonian of the Late Archaic period. Most scholars consider it an amphiglyph (sculpted on both sides), with one of the figures erased. Another view is that it was reused, with the old relief effaced, suggesting that it may have been created in Apollonia Pontica, possibly by an itinerant sculptor. The scene, as well the garment of the elderly man and his staff, point to the elevated status of Deines, which is also supported by the epitaph, which praises him as "the noblest of citizens." He was probably a member of the oligarchic regime in Apollonia that was later replaced by a democracy, as mentioned by Aristotle. These political developments occurred at some point during the 5th century BCE, probably under Athenian influence, and also affected the funerary sphere. Reliefs disappeared, and much more modest tombstones were typical of Classical Apollonia.

 

500-475 BCE. Found in Apollonia Pontica (Sozopol), Burgas Province, Bulgaria, in 1895 and 1930 (in two pieces).

 

Sofia, National Archaeological Institute with Museum (inv. 727)

 

-- Text by Margarit Damyanov, Associate Professor, Department of Thracian Archaeology, National Archaeological Institute with Museum - Bulgarian Academy of Sciences, Sofia.

 

____

 

Photographed at the Getty Villa Museum, part of the 'Ancient Thrace and the Classical World: Treasures from Bulgaria, Romania, and Greece' exhibition.

I've washed him his hair, but I'm not sure I like it now. Guess, there will be another washing in the near future. :-D

Dynamite Boy Cruz London Calling

He is wearing:

top - My Scene Boy

trousers - Auden

sunglasses - Ken

Sadly after five years Clive The T5 has to go! Our young family has now outgrown him!

53 plate first registered 2004, Euro IV (LEZ compliant) SWB, 103BHP (remapped to 130BHP), 1.9 TDI, 116,000 miles, good runner, no faults at all. Original radio and CD player. It has 11 months MOT.

I've maintained the van well over 5.5 years, lots of receipts to show what we've spent money on. I've always put Shell V-power in to get the best performance. It gives me 42MPG at 60mph on the motorway.

6 seat belts, sleeps five (two adults and three children), pop-top roof, Epi 2 hob cooker and grill, fridge with small freezer section, 240v mains hook up - with 6 sockets. 2 internal lights, speakers in the rear, lots of storage space, bed memory foam and original VW fabric in good condition. With a Rotating table.

All seat, bed and curtain fabric is super clean and has no stains or tears, the fabric unzips from all the matresses/beds for easy washing.

One child sleeps across front seats in a specially made matress, the other two children sleep upstairs, and the two adults sleep in main bed - (205cm X 120cm)

I've slept upstairs - I am 6'2" and 14 stone - so fine for one large adult aswell.

The van interior is a no-nonense utilitarian design to stand up the rigours of small children in muddy clothes climbing and fiddling with everything, it's tough and rugged and stands up to abuse.

This van was professionally converted 5 years ago - to my specification, rock n' roll bed frame hand made by Condover Forge, VanX premium black out curtains all round.

All cabinets are jointed and made from 12mm birch plywood - easy if you ever need to replace anything. Swivel front seat, door tidy and swivel table from Kiravans.

The front double seat folds flat, it can take lengths of timber/piping in up to 3.7M long.

Slide window in rear

My family and I have have been down to the mediterranean for the previous four summers in Clive, we've been to down to The Lakes, Umbria, Lombardy, the Appenines and Tuscany in Italy, all over the Pyrenees on both sides of the border, Dordogne, the French Alps, Massif Central, Languedoc and the mediterranean and Atlantic coasts of France, and the Scottish highlands amd Lake District, and all over Wales. Only had one puncture in 48,000 miles, never let me down even when a thousand miles from home.

Drives and handles really well, no funny noises or rattling, doesn't idle too high or rev too high.

 

WHAT I HAVE FIXED SINCE OWNING HIM IN 5.5 YEARS...

New key (now there are two)

Turbo

NSF diff seal

Rear damper bushes

Fuel filter clamp

Front drop links

Front lower arm bushes

NSF brake pad warning loom

Anti roll bar and bushes

NSF front tie rod

Strut top bearings

Cam position sensor

Coolent Temp. sensor

OSF front suspension arm rubber bush

NSF front suspension arm rubber bush

Intercooler pipe and clips

4 brake pads

2 brake discs

Track rod end

Bulbs

Ball joint

Belts were done at 98,000 miles (need re-doing July 2018)

Rear View mirror

New second hand front seats

Dashboard tray.

New 2nd hand original VW CD player

2 new electric window motors

Nearside front new electric window mech

CV Boot kit

PAS pipe bracket

Rear brake caliper

 

Bad Bits: bodywork isn't in the greatest condition - there's just one tiny bit of rust on the bottom corner of the sliding door, also the bit of plastic is missing from the inside sliding door handle mechanism, but this does not affect the function of the sliding door. There are parking dings on passenger door and rear tailgate.

I saw him about to cross the street on Yonge Street in downtown Toronto and I was immediately drawn to his bright red hat and his friendly face. I stopped him when he reached my side of the street and introduced myself and my project. “Well, I guess so, if you’d like.” Meet Andrew.

 

I told Andrew a bit about the project and quickly took note of a tiled wall nearby which was the side of a grocery store. I thought it would serve as a nice, neutral background on this chilly overcast day. Andrew was a bit nervous regarding posing properly but quickly settled into my request to just relax and look into my lens. I took a few photos to guard against blinks, missed focus, and the various other clumsy mistakes that can befall us in doing this project. As an afterthought I suggested he try a “philosophical pose.” I went back and forth on which I liked better. Smiling was his natural state but I feel the "philosophical" one has a bit more impact so I'm making it my main submission.

 

Andrew told me that he had been asked to pose for a photo once a few years ago in a park in Calgary and he wondered if it was someone doing the 100 Strangers project. Possibly.

 

Andrew is originally from Poland and was trained as a Mechanical Engineer. When he and his wife came to Canada in 1969, he saw the opportunities for electrical engineers so he developed a new specialty for himself: instrumentation. “With the electronic explosion, it was a good field since electronics and automation need instrumentation.” He told me he had a good career which took him all over the world and I was impressed with the list of countries he has been to through his work.

 

Andrew is now 75 and said he and his wife still like to travel a lot and will soon be returning to Poland to visit friends and relatives still living there. When I mentioned my wife and I had recently been on a barge/bicycle trip from Bruges, Belgium to Amsterdam, Netherlands he was very interested and said he would like to do a river trip in Europe. I promised to send him the link to the company we booked with.

 

When I asked Andrew how life was treating him he smiled the smile of a contented man. “Life is treating me very well and I have no complaints.” He loves life in Canada but loves to travel and can do so every year. When I asked if he had a personal philosophy to share or any advice for the project photographers he said “Oh, I don’t know; everyone has to develop the philosophy which best suits them.” He went on to say “As I’ve grown older I’ve become more and more respectful and accepting of the differences between us all. We each should be allowed to just be ourselves.”

 

With that, we exchanged contact information and Andrew joked “My phone is going to ring any second and it will be my wife wondering what’s happened to me.” We laughed and parted ways. Andrew gave me one last reminder to make sure I send him his photos which I have done.

 

Thank you Andrew for sharing a few minutes on this chilly day and for participating in 100 Strangers. You are #678 in Round 7 of my project. Happy travels.

 

Find out more about the project and see pictures taken by the other photographers in our group at the 100 Strangers Flickr Group page.