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Last Ride: A lone surfer takes a final look toward the ocean, Tijuana Sloughs, Imperial Beach, CA (IBCA).
The Principle is CENSORSHIP - it's not about Germany and the other nations - it's about power and "filtering for My Morals over Yours" - And this is about much more than just what pictures and images we see - This is about the new power of communications in our entire global community - The Internet Is the New Power Base for Communication and Information - Make No Mistake About this.
Freedom of Speech and Freedom to Communicate Freedom to Think and See what you want -- IS NOT ABOUT CONVENIENCE, not now; not ever.
This Flickr Thing is a symptom of the real fear and danger that many of the citizens in the USA ,and all over the world, feel is doing such harm to all of us - censorship is never a good thing - That is not to say that we cannot try to protect minors against sexual explotation BUT, Flickr Members should have the Freedom of Choice - That same Freedom is what allows People of Faith to live within their religious ideas - that Freedom, to see and live within a different World View should be honored and granted to people who have different ideals of morality -
This is what The Flickr Protest is about - frankly, as I am sure many others have stated "if this were not so important an issue it would be hilarious."
Originally posted 17 hours ago. ( permalink | edit | delete )
NMCIL ortiz domney edited this topic 17 hours ago.
The steppe grey shrike (Lanius excubitor pallidirostris) is a subspecies of songbird in the shrike family (Laniidae) native to Central Asia and parts of northern China, Iran, Afghanistan and Pakistan. Formerly considered either a species in its own right or a subspecies of the southern grey shrike (Lanius meridionalis) complex, it is now classified as a subspecies of the great grey shrike.
The steppe grey shrike was described by the American ornithologist John Cassin in 1851 under the binomial name Lanius pallidirostris. The generic Lanius is Latin for a "butcher" and the specific pallidirostris combines the Latin pallidus for "pale" and -rostris for "billed".
It differs from the nominate subspecies of great grey shrike in being slightly longer-winged and shorter-tailed, and with more extensive white on the primaries. The pale bill from which it was described, only applies to juvenile and first-winter birds; adults have a black bill and lores similar to nominate L. e. excubitor.
Popped by Christmas Wonderland twice this year. This is the only shot that I'm satisfied with so far.
....all answers lie inside
In a morning that emotions are rich towards both directions, I can only make a relative collage to communicate my thoughts.
I chose Ciel's to be the first picture here for two reasons:
~> firstly cause I want to let you know that she has been working on a blog post which will be hosted on Domestic Stories And I'm incredibly honoured and happy that she has shown lots of care and interest in doing this, as I admire her not only for her wonderul photography and her own beauty but also her approach to life.
~> Secondly her picture displays exactly what I wish to share today:
that sometines we have to:
close our eyes to see the light
And accept all the feelings that are inside....and as we are only imperfect humans all of us, lots of wrong and unwanted stuff will be met.
We cannot avoid it and it's the only way to actually allow feelings of pure happiness reaching our lives as well.
It's the duality of life.....
right and wrong
good and bad
black and white
light and darkness
inside and out
all part of this life....and no matter how most of us naturally wish to avoid being encountered with the dark sides of life, we have to....only to make us stronger, wiser and purer.
It's so easy to talk about love with words.....so much more complicated though requiring to support it with our actions.
The collage displays work of some simply stunningly talented, creative people, who seem to be in touch with their feelings, reality and the essence of life.
You work is a gift and I'm tankful to have met you all.
1. All Changes Have Their Melancholy; For What We Leave Behind Us Is A Part Of Ourselves, 2. byebye summer fence., 3. before the storm~, 4. Another Monochrome Monday III | EXPLORED (thanks!), 5. Pflaumen, 6. ...
New/additional pictures from an old model.
With retro-camouflaged Valkyries popping up in official sourcebooks (like Su-27, U.S. Navy or Royal Navy derivates) and some national identity in mind, I wondered what a German Valkyrie would look like? Well, this here is the (quite flashy) result! The idea came when I recently got hands on the brand new WAVE Ma.K. 'Snake-Eye' kit - the box art shows the fighting suit with very special decorative markings: "tulip" wedges.
For those interested, here's an excursion about the story behind it:
The 'black tulip' markings have a real historic heritage from WWII. They had been the personal markings of German pilot ace Erich Hartmann on his Messerschmidt Bf-109 fighter machines. The characterstic markings were painted on the motor cowl, just behind the propeller spinner, which used to be black, too.
After the war (and 352 air combat victories!), when Germany began re-building its defensive forces under the pressure of the Cold War, Erich Hartmann returned from Russian imprisonment, joined German Luftwaffe's forces again and received in 1960 command over Germany's first jet fighter squadron, the JG 71 "Richthofen", which was initially equiped with CL-13 Mk. 6, Canadian-built F-86F-40 'Sabres'.
Consequently, besides the glamorous "Richthofen" name of the squadron, JG71's F-86 would sport the 'black tulip' trademark of their commander around their air intakes and on the fins, paired with bright red or yellow contrast fields. The tulips would, with the advent of the F-104G 'Starfighter' in the mid 60ies, disappear again, though.
But back to the little Valkyrie: The kit is actually a bastard. I did not have a single seater left in stock, so I bashed a VF-1D two-seater with the cockpit and wings of a single-seater Gerwalk kit. This caused little problem, since these kits have almost 100% matching 'interfaces'. The Gerwalk cockpit just differs slightly in proportions and lacks a landing gear compartment. The wings have no punches/adapters for weapons underneath, and the holes for the wings' sweeping mechanism are a bit larger than on the Fighter kits.
Beyond that, the Valkyrie was - as usual - built almost right out of the box, with typical minor details added to the exterior like some antennae, plus some interior things like a pilot figure and a HUD.
In oder to set this Valkyrie a bit apart from the anime versions, I gave it an "L" designation (for "Luftwaffe", the only plausible suffix I could find which was not occupied yet...). A scratch-built laser spot tracker (similar to the Pave Penny system) was mounted under the Valkyrie's front as part of a domestic KWS package ("Kampfwertsteigerung", a German term and abbreviation for military vehicle upgrades). This package also includes subtle details like passive radar sensors (fins, front, legs) and flare dispensers (legs), Small things, but they add some grit and differentiate it from standard anime models. The wings were left empty, in order not to compromise the wonderful lines and keep the kit's focus on its unique livery.
The basic paint scheme is typical for German jets like the F-4F, F-104G or Alpha Jet in the 1960-80 era. AFAIK, it was officially called "Norm '72", but it had the inofficial nickname of "Zitronenfalter" ("Brimstone Butterfly"). It already looks retro due to the angular design, but proves highly effective at medium heights over typical German countryside or over coast line areas. Today it would be sold as "fractal", but the design's origins reach back into the pre-WWII time.
The authentic colors of the Norm '72 scheme are RAL 6014 ("Gelboliv", a dark, brownish olive drab tone; Humbrol's 108 or Revell's 46 come close), RAL 7012 ("Basaltgrau", similar to the Bristish Dark Sea Grey or FS36118) for above and RAL 7001 for the undersides ("Silbergrau", a unique light grey with a metallic hue).
For the small Valkyrie kit , though, I settled for different, lighter shades, because the original tones are pretty murky and they'd rather conceal the wicked camouflage pattern. The Gelboliv became the much lighter 1711 from Testors (simple Olive drab, FS34087), and for the dark Basaltgrau, Humbrol's 27 (Matt Sea Grey) was used. The obscure undersides' RAL 7001 was simulated with a 1:1 mix of Humbrol's 11 and 34 (Silver and Flat White).
While the choice of tones was basically O.K., the olive drab turned out to be way too light after application. The contrast with Humbrol's 27 was weak, so Humbrol 108 would be recommended for a more authentic look, even though weathering would bleach the real colors. But, heck, we are doing anime here! Therefore, I left it as it was.
When the basic camouflage was done, though, I found that something was missing to round up the Valkyrie's look, due to the low contrast of the Zitronenfalter scheme's colors from above. As a visual trick, I simply added leading edges on the wings and fins in Humbrol 94 (Matt Brown Yellow) - this plausible detail clears up the machine's outlines but does not compromise the overall visual style.
The red squadron markings were painted with Humbrol 174 (Signal Red), a bright and yellowish red tone which came out almost orange in the proximity to the murky camouflage. The black tulip wedges were partly taken from a HobbyBoss Sabre's JG71 decal sheet in 1:72 and partly hand-painted in black, with white decal trims. I was surprised how these small details changed the total look of the machine!
A light wash with black ink in order to point out the surface engravings and a final coat of matt varnish (except for the nose, which is intentionally finished in high gloss like German F-4F Phantom's with the Norm '72 outfit) finished the job.
The typical German bort numbers in black with white outlines came from a spare decal set. The Valkyrie's shown registration 27+85 corresponds to German Luftwaffe's nomenklatura since 1968 (the Hartmann tulips are older, though), but is fictional. By current standards, numbers from 20+01 to 49+99 are reserved for front line fighters, with serials corresponding to types in service (and not to sqaudrons). 27+85 would have been a TF-104G Starfighter trainer at its time, but phased-out numbers have been knwon to be used again, so the bort number is plausible ;)
Overall I find this Valkyrie interpretation better than expected. At first I was afraid that the Zitronenfalter scheme would make it look boring. It IS retro, O.K., but the flashy, historic JG71 trims add that special touch and comic-likeness that make it IMO look plausible even for the Macross universe? It is amazing what you can make from these simple kits, and once more respect and awe for Kawamori Shoji's timeless design. So inspiring! ^^
Children looking down through the see-through floor of
The Hive - Kew Gardens - a 17m high multi-sensory installation commissioned by the UK Government and created by artist Wolfgang Buttress, Simmonds Studio and BDP. It formed the centerpiece of the UK Pavillion at the 2015 Milan Expo.
The structure highlights the importance of pollinators to our future food security.
Taken handheld with Canon fd 300mm f2.8, Canon fd 2x-a teleconverter and Fotodiox Pro macro adapter.
Looking west along the beautiful little valley south of King George V.
Taken on a trip to Mount Regan, Castlecrag Mountain, Mount Frink, Mount George V, Peak 1920, and Peak 1909.
When I look over my shoulder,
What do you think I see ?
Some other cat looking over
His shoulder at me
And he's strange, sure he's strange.
You've got to pick up every stitch,
You've got to pick up every stitch
ISO 200 - 17mm - f/6.3 - 1/60 - Canon T1i - Tamron 17-50mm
It is so amazing walking through all of the sky scraper lined streets. I love these tall buildings. Amazing feats of human ingenuity. I can't believe that are minds are designed in a way where we can make something that is so much greater than our own selves. We as fragile little humans can erect massive structures of steal and glass and plastic. It is amazing.
Looking very smart after a recent visit to Crewe Works is Class 40 40186 running through Preston station with a oil train. 31/08/1977. 40044 40051 40067 40094 40096 40121 40129 40155 were also photographed that day. 08:10 Birmingham : Preston 87101 Preston Birmingham 87021.
image Kevin Connolly - All rights reserved so please do no use this without my explicit permission
Fitted on Numina Body, Fits similar sized dolls like Inamorata and Deva
Includes Gown, Headpiece and Straight Jacket
Sale is for the doll fashion ONLY.
For ordering Information go to this Link: cholodollcouturephilippines.blogspot.com/2014/07/sheer-ma...
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copied, transmitted or manipulated without my written explicit permission.
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