Explored May 2, 2017 #172

When we moved to our present house, there were a couple of these bushes in the garden, old and very large. They are not on our 'favourites list', and were removed. This bush is one that must have self seeded and managed to escape removal and is now in one of the borders. It produces a nice show of spring flowers and after flowering, it is pruned to keep it to a more manageable size of about 4 feet high.

The genus Ribes includes the edible currants (blackcurrant, redcurrant, white currant), the gooseberry, and several hybrid varieties. It should not be confused with the dried currant used in cakes and puddings, which is a small-fruited cultivar of grape (Zante currant). Ribes gives its name to the popular blackcurrant cordial Ribena.

The genus also includes the group of ornamental plants collectively known as the flowering currants, for instance R. sanguineum.

There are restrictions on growing some Ribes species in some U.S. states, as they are the main alternate host for White Pine Blister Rust.

Overlooking Garie Beach.

I did this (guided) walk with Sydney Coast Walk, a local tour operator.

www.sydneycoastwalks.com.au/ (Two-day Wattamolla hiking tour)

www.sydneycoastwalks.com.au/blog/

Track descriptions:

www.wildwalks.com/bushwalking-and-hiking-in-nsw/royal-nat...

short-walks.com.au/new-south-wales/sydney/bundeena-to-otf...

It is a great walk for locals as well as tourists visiting Sydney who wish to go off the beaten tourist track. The two-day walk is easy-medium (a number of ascents and descents) and there is plenty of time to enjoy the scenery and take photos of the beautiful coast line.

Some people do this walk in one day, and the one-day walk is rated as 'hard', mainly due to its length. (Depending on the detours you take, or who you ask; 26km to 31km. The 'official' length as per National Parks information is 26km).

This is the bit I wrote for tripadvisor:

I recently did the Wattamolla Hiking Tour (known as, and referred to, as Coast Track) with ‘Sydney Coast Walk’ and it was my third walk with this tour operator. I was so impressed that I booked my fourth walk, a day-hike, a few days later.

The coast track runs just about the whole length of the Royal National Park and is overlooking spectacular coastal scenery. Depending on whom you ask and small detours made, the track is between 26km and 31km long.

I decided to have the overnight luggage transported to the camp site and I was glad I did. For me, a lighter day-pack allowed an easier hike to enjoy the beautiful coastal scenery without being burdened by stuff I only needed for the night. I found the first day quite easy and the walking pace just right. Carol was a wonderful guide with plenty of stories to tell and great local knowledge. It was obvious that she too enjoyed the walk and this enthusiasm spread throughout the group, adding to a great shared experience.

Arriving at the Wattamolla campsite brought an immediate smile to my face; a marquis with a table and white table cloth awaited us and we enjoyed a pre-dinner glass of wine and nibblies. While the walkers were chatting Carol prepared a delicious dinner, including a lovely dessert! The tents were set up and, like in a good hotel; our over-night bag was neatly placed inside the tent. I am sure I fell asleep smiling! Once the park gates are locked and all day-visitors gone, Wattamolla becomes an exclusive camp site for this group only. What more could you want?

I found the second day also pretty easy; some sections of the track are on elevated steel grates. There are ascents and descents which some people may find a bit hard on knees and muscles, but the walking pace is such that they are manageable for reasonably fit people. The walk up to Otford is all uphill but, again, if you take it easy it is manageable. For footwear I usually wear what the guides wear, hiking boots. The track is uneven and can be wet in some places. However, as mentioned on the website, trainers or joggers with a good sole are fine too. The Bundeena to Otford track is not a city stroll and if you have hiking boots I would suggest to wear them. Don’t be discouraged or disappointed if rain is forecast. As on my first hike with Sydney Coast Walks, it rained on the first day. Bring a rain jacket and enjoy the difference. Listening to and watching huge waves thunder onto the beaches is an experience not to be missed and often only happens on or after rainy days. www.flickr.com/photos/30079014@N03/sets/72157629062807957/

The food, from breakfast to dinner, was excellent and I found the description on Sydney Coast Walk’s website informative and accurate.

I am looking forward to the next hike and will do this hike again one day.

Westward view across Alvord Desert and Barren Valley toward Steens Mountain, June 8, 2017, by Greg Shine, BLM.

The Bureau of Land Management manages 517 wilderness study areas containing about 12.6 million acres located in the Western States and Alaska. The Federal Land Policy and Management Act of 1976 directed the Bureau to inventory and study its roadless areas for wilderness characteristics. To be designated as a Wilderness Study Area, an area had to have the following characteristics:

Size - roadless areas of at least 5,000 acres of public lands or of a manageable size;

Naturalness - generally appears to have been affected primarily by the forces of nature;

Opportunities - provides outstanding opportunities for solitude or primitive and unconfined types of recreation.

In addition, Wilderness Study Areas often have special qualities such as ecological, geological, educational, historical, scientific and scenic values.

The congressionally directed inventory and study of BLM's roadless areas received extensive public input and participation. By November 1980, the BLM had completed field inventories and designated about 25 million acres of wilderness study areas. Since 1980, Congress has reviewed some of these areas and has designated some as wilderness and released others for non-wilderness uses. Until Congress makes a final determination on a wilderness study area, the BLM manages these areas to preserve their suitability for designation as wilderness.

In Oregon/Washington there are 83 wilderness study areas comprising 2,642,289 acres. These 83 wilderness study areas are primarily located in southeast Oregon in the Prineville, Lakeview, Burns and Vale Districts.

To learn more about wilderness study areas head on over to: www.blm.gov/programs/national-conservation-lands/oregon-w...

Leh, the capital city of Ladakh is a historical transit point for caravans of the bygone Silk Route, and still looks and feels like a trading post of the ancient past. It is an imminently accessibleand fascinating locale, featuring notable monasteries, a palace,a mosque, and countless narrow, crooked alleyways beckoning the curious visitor.

To stroll through Leh, taking in it’s sights, sounds, and a pleasantly‐manageable population of just 10,000, is to experience what writer Andrew Harvey called “the peaceful life.”The town is still dominated by the now ruined Leh Palace, former home of Ladakh’s royal family. It also plays host to a cultural dance show every evening.

My 2013 Classic Ariel Doll has been completely deboxed. She is standing, supported by a Kaiser doll stand (not included with the doll), and is photographed from various angles.

The 2013 Classic Ariel mermaid doll has many differences from the 2012 model, and is a greatly improved doll. She is both more attractive and more movie accurate. The major changes are to her head and face, her hair, her tail and her legs. There is a minor change to her shell bra. The only features that haven't changed are her torso and arms. I think that overall, she is the best doll in the new class of Classic Princess dolls from the Disney Store. That is fitting, as this is the year of the Diamond Edition release of her movie, The Little Mermaid.

Her head has been redesigned to be rounder than the previous models, thus more accurate by the shape alone. Her forehead is lower, her cheeks are fuller and her cheekbones are more prominent. Her cute button nose, open mouth smile and small angular chin seem to be same as the previous model. So her head is not as long, and her face is not as flat.

Her face is similar to last years, but with many small changes. Her eye molds appears to be the same shape, but the corners of her eyes are more rounded, so overall the eyes are slightly smaller but rounder. Her big round blue green eyes are wide open, and glancing to her right. They are darker, the pupils are significantly larger, and the glance is more severe than the 2012 doll. It makes for a more lively and adorable expression. She has four short thick curving black lashes over each eye, in the same pattern as last year, and black eyeliner under them that is thicker and darker than before. She has silver eyeshadow as before, but the thick eyeliner partially obscures the eyeshadow. Her rust colored eyebrows a little thicker and darker than last year, and are closer to her eyes. The rouge on her cheeks are much darker than last year, when it was barely visible, if it was there at all. Her mouth is the same, but her lips are a dark pink (as opposed to last year's pastel pink), and her upper lip is painted thinner, and her lower lip is painted fuller. Her face is very beautiful, youthful, lively and much more movie accurate than before.

Her waist length red hair is mostly straight and soft, but it ends in large stiff curls. The area around her face is also stiffened with gel to keep it off her face, which works very well to make her face much more open than the 2012 doll. Her volume of hair is much less than before. Her hair is much more manageable, neater, and movie accurate than before. But her part is still on the wrong side of her head, and the large curving front bangs of the movie character are still missing from this doll.

Her tail is a dark blue green color, with green glitter forming a scale pattern that is fetching. However her upper and lower fins are made of light blue green tulle that looks much less realistic and movie accurate than the 2012 model. Her purple shell bra is a little darker and a little more accurate than before. It also seems to fit better.

Her body is fully articulated in the arms, but now has the rubber legs of 2011 and earlier dolls, which has internal knee joints and fixed angled feet. Her hip joints allow her to sit down with her legs together and her back straight up, unlike the 2012 doll with the fully articulated but defective legs. Her angled rubber feet also make her about 1/4 inch shorter than the 2012 doll. I'd say that the rubber legs are definitely a big improvement for Ariel over the fully articulated hard plastic legs of 2012.

The packaging for the dolls is much improved. The box art has been completely redesigned, with beautiful decorations unique to each Princess (actually for each movie), and a cameo of the animated movie character. The boxes are the same height and width, but are 1/2'' flatter, making them smaller and lighter.

The 2013 Disney Princess Classic Doll Collection, released on June 10, 2013. They consist of 11-12'' articulated dolls of the 11 official Disney Princesses, from Snow White to Merida, as well as Princes, Villains and Sidekicks. I now have all 11 Princesses, Queen Elinor, Charlotte and Gaston. I will photograph them boxed, during deboxing and fully deboxed. I will also post reviews and comparative photos.

Classic Disney Princess Ariel Doll - 12''

US Disney Store

Released online June 10, 2013.

Purchased online June 13, 2013.

Received June 24, 2013.

$14.95 (was on sale for $10 at time of purchase).

The v1 Samyang 14mm/2.8 is finicky as hell on a full frame, but on a crop sensor is much more manageable.

This was a painful task for me...it was only manageable because I was on a "no-kids-no-hubby-only ladies" weekend trip to San Francisco . :)

mypresscoverage.com,

myfreedomofthepress.com

www.facebook.com/pages/Press-Coverage-Photography/2230286...

went for an early run trying to beat what dark sky described as “light rain”. about 2 miles out it turned to heavy rain which is manageable but as i started to get nervous as the thunder started to get more rumbly and i noted i was one of the taller objects around while running along a road with soy fields on both sides.

i turned around to head home and soon after a police cruise passed me and went around a bend and about 20 seconds later a lighting bolt hit in a nearby stand of trees and was so loud and so startling that i almost tripped in the street and let out an involuntary stream of expletives.

i thought about asking a homeowner if i could hang out on their porch for a bit while the storm passed and while i was mulling it over, the cruiser rolls up and the officer rolls down his window and says, “hey, you want a ride home? it’s getting ugly out here."

“you bet!"

thanks viroqua pd! i never did catch the officer’s name but i sure appreciated the ride.

French postcard by Viny, no. 92. Photo: Milo Films. Collection: Didier Hanson.

Was Austrian-born Erich von Stroheim (1885 – 1957) a Hollywood movie star or a European film star? (Who cares!) As the sadistic, monocled Prussian officer in both American and French films, he became ‘The Man You Love to Hate’. But maybe he is best known as one of the greatest and influential directors of the silent era, known for his extravaganza and the uncompromising accuracy of detail in his monumental films.

Erich von Stroheim's most recent biographers, such as Richard Koszarski, say that he was born in Austria-Hungary (now Austria) in 1885 as Erich Oswald Stroheim. He was the son of Benno Stroheim, a middle-class hat-maker, and Johanna Bondy, both of whom were practicing Jews. Stroheim emigrated to America at the end of 1909. On arrival at Ellis Island, he claimed to be Count Erich Oswald Hans Carl Maria von Stroheim und Nordenwall, the son of Austrian nobility like the characters he later played in his films. However, both Billy Wilder and Stroheim's agent Paul Kohner claimed that he spoke with a decidedly lower-class Austrian accent. In 1912 while working at a tavern he met his first wife, Margaret Knox, and moved in with her. Knox acted as a sort of mentor to von Stroheim, teaching him language and literature and encouraging him to write. Under Knox's tutelage, he wrote a novella entitled In the Morning, with themes that anticipated his films: corrupt aristocracy and innocence debased. The couple married in 1913, but money woes drove von Stroheim to deep depressions and terrible temper tantrums, and in 1914 Knox filed for divorce. By then he was working in Hollywood. He began his cinema career in bit-parts and as a consultant on German culture and fashion. His first film was The Country Boy (1915, Frederick A. Thomson) in which he was an uncredited diner in a restaurant. His first credited role came in Old Heidelberg (1915, John Emerson) starring Wallace Reed and Dorothy Gish. He began working with D. W. Griffith, taking uncredited roles in Intolerance (1916). Additionally, Von Stroheim acted as one of the many assistant directors on Intolerance, a film remembered in part for its huge cast of extras. Later, he played the sneering German with the short Prussian military hairstyle in such films as Sylvia of the Secret Service (1917, George Fitzmaurice) and The Hun Within (1918, Chester Whitey) with Dorothy Gish. In the war drama The Heart of Humanity (1918, Allen Holubar), he tore the buttons from a nurse's uniform with his teeth, and when disturbed by a crying baby, threw it out of a window. Following the end of World War I, Von Stroheim turned to writing.

In 1919, Erich von Stroheim directed his own script for Blind Husbands (1919), and also starred in the film. As a director, Stroheim was known to be dictatorial and demanding, often antagonizing his actors. He is considered one of the greatest directors of the silent era, with both cynical and romantic views of human nature. His next directorial efforts were the lost film The Devil's Pass Key (1919) and Foolish Wives (1922), in which he also starred. Studio publicity for Foolish Wives claimed that it was the first film to cost one million dollars. ‘Von’ translated sexual subjects in a witty and ostentatious manner, and his first films for Universal are among the most acclaimed sophisticated films of the silent era. In 1923, Stroheim began work on Merry-Go-Round. He cast the American actor Norman Kerry in a part written for himself 'Count Franz Maximilian Von Hohenegg' and newcomer Mary Philbin in the lead actress role. However, studio executive Irving Thalberg fired Von Stroheim during filming and replaced him with director Rupert Julian. He left Universal for Goldwyn Films to make Greed (1924). This monumental film is now one of Stroheim's best-remembered works as a director. It is a detailed film of Frank Norris’ novel McTeague, about the power of money to corrupt. The original print ran for an astonishing 10 hours. Knowing this version was far too long, Stroheim cut out almost half the footage, reducing it to a six-hour version to be shown over two nights. It was still deemed too long, so Stroheim and director Rex Ingram edited it into a four-hour version that could be shown in two parts. However, in the midst of filming, Goldwyn was bought by Marcus Loew and merged into Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer. After rejecting Stroheim's attempts to cut it to less than three hours, MGM removed Greed from his control and gave it to head scriptwriter June Mathis, with orders to cut it down to a manageable length. Mathis gave the print to a routine cutter, who reduced it to 2.5 hours. In what is considered one of the greatest losses in cinema history, a janitor destroyed the cut footage. The shortened release version was a box-office failure and was angrily disowned by Von Stroheim. He followed with his most commercially successful film The Merry Widow (1925), the more personal The Wedding March (1928) and the now-lost The Honeymoon. Stroheim's unwillingness or inability to modify his artistic principles for the commercial cinema, his extreme attention to detail, his insistence on near-total artistic freedom, and the resulting costs of his films led to fights with the studios. As time went on he received fewer directing opportunities. In 1929, Stroheim was dismissed as the director of the film Queen Kelly after disagreements with star Gloria Swanson and producer and financier Joseph P. Kennedy over the mounting costs of the film and Stroheim's introduction of indecent subject matter into the film's scenario. It was followed by Walking Down Broadway, another project from which Stroheim was dismissed.

After the introduction of sound film, Erich von Stroheim returned to working principally as an actor, in both American and French films. One of his most famous roles is the prison-camp commandant Von Rauffenstein in Jean Renoir's La Grande Illusion/Grand Illusion (1937) with Jean Gabin. It is a classic anti-war film about friendship, comradeship, and human relations. Working in France on the eve of World War II, Stroheim was prepared to direct the film La dame blanche from his own story and screenplay. Jean Renoir wrote the dialogue, Jacques Becker was to be assistant director, and Stroheim himself, Louis Jouvet, and Jean-Louis Barrault were to be the featured actors. The production was prevented by the outbreak of the war on 1 September 1939, and Stroheim returned to the United States. There he appeared in Five Graves to Cairo (1943, Billy Wilder). He is perhaps best known as an actor for his role as Max von Mayerling in Wilder's Sunset Boulevard (1950, Billy Wilder), co-starring Gloria Swanson. For this role, Von Stroheim was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor. His character states in the film that he used to be one of the three great directors of the silent era, along with D.W. Griffith and Cecil B. DeMille, and he and Swanson watch excerpts from Queen Kelly in the film. Their characters in Sunset Boulevard thus had an autobiographical basis and reflected the humiliations Von Stroheim suffered through his career. Erich von Stroheim was married three times. His second wife was Mae Jones. Their son Erich Jr. became an assistant director. With his third wife, actress Valerie Germonprez, he had another son, Joseph Erich von Stroheim, who eventually became a sound editor. From 1939 until his death, he lived with actress Denise Vernac. She had worked for him as his secretary since 1938 and starred with him in several films. Von Stroheim spent the last part of his life in France where his silent film work was much admired by artists in the French film industry. In France, he acted in films, wrote several novels that were published in French, and worked on various unrealized film projects. Erich von Stroheim was awarded the French Légion d'honneur shortly before his death in 1957 in Maurepas, France at the age of 71.

Sources: Encyclopaedia Britannica, AllMovie, Wikipedia, and IMDb.

A photo found in the family archive.

The Marton Scout Band lead horse drawn floats sometime in the 1930s. My father is at the front of the band with a bass tuba, and from what he has said would have been playing the march "Slaidburn" as it is one of the most manageable

The location is Newhouse Road in Marton, Blackpool. The houses and shops are still there but the works for H. V. Burlingham, coach builders have been replaced by flats(?)

Built at Standard Motors. as TE910 and delivered to the RAF at No.27 MU on 19 November 1945. Ferried from the UK and accepted by the RNZAF on 28 April 1947. Ferried to Woodbourne for storage and later placed with No.75 Squadron coded YC-B. Stored again at Woodbourne on 22 April 1952. and declared surplus on 30 June 1955. Total airframe hours just 80:35. NZ2336, from the last batch of Mosquitoes sold in 1956 to John Smith of Mapua, Nelson. Although he was forced to cut the aircraft into manageable sections at Woodbourne to facilitate transport to Gardener's Valley, Mapua, he spliced the aircraft together again, where it remains intact and complete in remarkable condition. Now preserved in a private barn. Amazing find!

Rolls Royce Twenty (1922-29) Engine 3127cc S6

Coachwork Arthur Mulliner of Northampton

Engine Number F4V

Chassis Number GUJ36

Registration Number MP 704 (Middlesex)

ROLLS ROYCE SET

www.flickr.com/photos/45676495@N05/sets/72157623690651737...

Introduced in 1922 as a companion to the hugely successful 40/50hp ‘Silver Ghost’, the 20hp Rolls-Royce led the company away from its one model policy, offering a more convenient car for town use and a more manageable car for her ladyship to drive.

This car was ordered in July 1927 and delivered on 26th September that year to Park, Ward & Co. Ltd. of Willesden “to be used for Demonstration purposes”, the chassis being prepared to carry interior drive saloon coachwork and factory files record that the chassis would “receive special attention” in view of its demonstrator role. In September 1928 the car passed to George P Nash of Hanover Court, London, later to W.E. Sear of Clapham Common, eventually passing to a lady in Kent who retained the car until 1959, when it passed to Wilkinsons of Derby, noted restorers.

Sometime during the 1930's it was upgraded to Limousine status The six-light limousine coachwork, carries Mulliner plates and is furnished with sliding division, occasional seats to the rear and an opening roof ventilator.

Offered at the Bonhams sale of 23rd November 2004 at Harrogate, Great Yorkshire Showground it sold for £ 18,400 inc premiums

Many thanks for a fantabulous

44,334,019 views (adjusted and readjusted during FLICKR re-engineering, reduced by around 650,000)

Shot 23.08.2015 at Lupin Farm, Classic Vehicle Gathering, Orgreave, Alrewas, Staffordshire - Ref 109-991

so, i've been being very careful with money lately, trying to clear up debts and not make impulse buys -- but when i did my taxes & discovered I'd be getting a larger-than-expected refund (not including the alleged economic stimulus package checks we'll be getting), i broke down and bought a manual Hasselblad

I'd actually fallen hopelessly in love with Nick's 203fe, but really couldn't afford one -- but the 500c/m was manageable, & I even could get an extra lens! and they all arrived today: camera body, film back, 80mm and 120mm "makro" lens. I'm SO excited (although of course my light meter is at home!)

We didn't really wear ideal hiking clothes that day, but compared to Gros Morne (which we had hiked 6 days earlier), we probably figured any other hike would pale in comparison in terms of exertion. This staircase was a lot, but manageable.

_________

IMG_2159

Broncolor Strobe with Softbox at lowest setting possible. Was still a tad over but manageable in raw.

while shopping at the local supermarket in ellsworth, maine, i felt compelled to take this -- the place was packed, humming like bees in a hive, and it reminded me of the first time my hubby florian visited the states, back in '91. he's from munich, you see, where supermarkets are small and manageable. on the way back from the airport we stopped at the local A&P, and he was utterly overwhelmed by the endless islands and aisles, the cereal aisle in particular.

"why do you need all these different kinds?" he wondered, slackjawed and stunned.

i didn't have an answer.

but i did buy some froot loops. who am i kidding? i DO heart america, very, very much.

(p.s. after florian read this posting he said, "you missed the part where i started yelling and shouting that i had to get the fuck out of there!" heh heh.)

Brandon Clifford (Matter Design Studio) was this year's LeFevre fellow, and the first since Nick Gelpi to organize his project as a large-scale fabrication or physical proof-of-concept. This vault, construcked of vouissoir-like milled-plywood modules, is the latest in a longer series of MDS projects interested in reviving the concept of stereotomy in a digital age. Rather than lean on the habit of using digital fabrication technology to make screens out of planar material, the partnership has been trying to develop a 21st-century method for carving away at volumetric material that can work in compression.

It's a really interesting project generally, and as a step along the way I think this is a very successful work. The idea is that, in a kind of Grasshopper version of Gaudi (or really, Maillart), material is eliminated where it's not needed to bear loads. So the members of the "honeycomb" get hollowed out, following the supervised dictations of scripting software. The potential architecturalization (not necessarily the goal here) seems pretty rich: one could build an all-compressive vault, out of manageable units, that still admits light. Cool! Obviously there would be some issues of detailing and weatherproofing and so on, but the concept is there. The installation as built has some minor compromises, presumably to comply with the safety requirements of a public university; this doesn't seem like a flaw, though, because it is a proof-of-concept, with limited budget and materials. So of course it's partially attached to the gallery's lighting tracks - it would have to be a lot bigger to use the walls for lateral bracing.

It's a compelling thing visually, and an interesting line of material research conceptually. Maybe my favorite thing is the surface texture; since the milling is done with the side of the router bit (a process apparently known as swarfing), the result doesn't have to go through a laborious process of sanding to get a continuous curve, so long as the design is conceived from the start as a set of ruled surfaces (another constraint on the parametric system!). Anyway, it's consequently much more touchable than most "plywood + CNC" projects tend to be. Good stuff.

BOX DATE: 1999

MANUFACTURER: Mattel

DOLLS IN LINE: Marisa; Liana; Belinda; Tamika; Lorena, Desiree

BODY TYPE: 1994

HEAD MOLD: 1994 "Open mouth"

PERSONAL FUN FACT: I think the most striking feature about these three Marisa dolls has to be their very short hair. Personally, I've always loved dolls with bob haircuts, because they were a rarity when I was younger. I recall trying to give many of my dolls this do when I was a kid, and it always ended up disastrously (poor Tilly and Jill!). The best part about Marisa, is that all three of my gals have saran hair, which makes their short haircut that much more manageable. So where did these three cuties originate from? Well, the doll on the far left was my sister's growing up. Mom and Dad surprised Colleen with three Kelly dolls one Christmas--Little Swimmer Marisa, Lemonade Stand Maria, and Cowgirl Deidre. Colleen was never too keen on Marisa since she looked too "old" and "mature" compared to the Lil' Friends dolls she preferred. I was immensely jealous of Marisa, but not quite as badly as I was about Maria. I'd say of our three Marisa dolls, this one has the least hair. It works out well though, because her short hair sits very close to her head and stays rather manageable. Even though Colleen was pretty young when she got our first Little Swimmer Marisa, her short saran hair kept nicely, and somehow she didn't manage to loose any of her original things.

The doll on the right joined the family when we were adults. I got little Marisa in the "70s Barbie bin" of 2012. It was New Year's Day--Dad took Colleen and me out to an indoor flea market. It was there that we found an old vintage Barbie case stuffed to the gills with raggedy dolls from the 1970s. There were a handful of random modern Barbies also included, such as Picture Pockets Barbie, Marisa, and Fun Treats Kelly. She was one of the first duplicated Kelly dolls that I got as an adult. Even though I didn't "need" the second Marisa doll, I was more than happy to welcome her into the family. I was equally as excited a few years later, when I mated her with her original swimsuit...yes I bought a separately sold swimsuit for 25 cents, just for Marisa!

BOX DATE: 2015

MANUFACTURER: M.G.A.

DOLLS IN PACK: Snow White, Ariel, Cinderella or Pocahontas, Sleeping Beauty, Jasmine

BODY TYPE: 2014; molded diamond panties; straight, non-bending legs; flat feet

HEAD MOLD: 2014

PERSONAL FUN FACT: Of all the dolls from the Storytime Princess Collection, Snow White and Jasmine are definitely my favorites. I guess that makes sense because in terms of Disney dolls, Snow White and Jasmine dolls are always my favorites too! I really love Snow White's dress--it's a very unique take, unlike my Snow White Merin doll, whose outfit looks like a modified Disney Snow White dress (although I'm crazy about Merin too). I had so much fun designing a hair piece and a necklace for Snow White. I knew before she had even arrived at my house, that I most definitely wanted to make her an apple charm necklace from polymer clay! She also had really nice hair when I first deboxed the dolls. I did give her a boil wash, like I always do, but for younger children, this doll's hair was perfectly playable with straight out of the package. I really love how striking this doll looks in her yellow and red dress because her dark black hair makes her beautiful blue eyes pop! I had her for about five years before I got my doll on the right side of this photo. When I initially saw this Storytime Princess pack at Toys 'R' Us in 2015, I was obsessed. It was kind of pricey at $40, which is why I held off on purchasing it until it went on sale sometime later. I also don't think I realized that these dolls had real feet right away. With Moxie Girlz, you expect the snap on shoes....attached feet are unheard of! Despite all the years that have passed, this gal is still my favorite from my first set.

Did I need the second Snow White? Absolutely not. But would I kick her out? Absolutely not. In fact, when I purchased this second pack in 2021, I looked forward to the prospect of redesigning accessories to go with the dolls. Even though this set is adorable, I admit its quality is so so. The nylon hair in general is manageable for children. The outfits are detailed, but made from flimsy materials. The dolls themselves are constructed from hollow plastic, so they don't sit well. I ended up with a second set because of Pocahontas. I was perusing eBay one morning while Colleen was eating breakfast. That's when I spotted a "Buy It Now" option for a brand new set with Poca!!! I had considered purchasing a separate Pocahontas in years past, but it was never financially sensible. She always cost as much as the entire pack by herself. This Snow White was not as lucky in the hair department. She had a section of it that had gotten wadded and frizzy in the packaging. Although I was careful while opening her up, removing her from the box made matters worse. I did have to flat iron just this isolated section. The rest of her mane was very silky and soft after a boil wash!

Isn't she cute? Her name is "Lady" and the Mr. and I met her and her humans at the Pet food store buying BennyBear his provisions. Weight control food and holistic wheat free peanut butter cookies. (I am sure they are canceling each other out. ;D)

Maybe if I had sent a link to this shot, I would have gotten in to the "52 weeks for Dogs" group, which has rejected me and the BennyBear for 2 years in a row.

Think I jest?

"Hi rosy outlook,

Your request to join 52 Weeks for Dogs has been declined.

The group administrator gave the following reason:

Thank you for your interest in our 52 Weeks project for dogs.

As you have probably seen on the group's front page, unfortunately we have had to make the extremely difficult decision to cap admission on the group. I would love nothing more than to keep the doors open, however, the beauty of this group has always been its intimacy and tight-knit community. In order to maintain that intimacy, we need to keep our numbers manageable so that members are still able to get to know one another and aren't overwhelmed at keeping up with all of the posted photos.

Although admittance of new members has opened up again for the 2011 52 Weeks project, our waiting list is very long -- having been started in Jan 2010 -- and we haven't been able to admit everyone on the list. Also, as per the group’s front page: “admittance is now based on a number of factors, including but not limited to: prior participation in the group, age of the applicant’s dog (because some dogs don’t have as many years left), the reasons and goals given by the applicant for joining, the applicant’s dedication to their dog and dog wellness and awareness, dedication to and active participation on flickr, quality and creativity of photos, the potential contribution to the group and an obvious desire to share, and/or recommendation of other members of this group.” I hope you can understand.

My most sincerest of apologies, and we wish you all the best with your dog and your photographic endeavors.

admin for 52 Weeks for Dogs "

After a great breakfast at a small cafe we took the Scenic Drive into Capitol Reef National Park. It's mostly a paved road until the very end but still manageable. We spent a few hours exploring the area. When we left Capitol Reef we decided to look for something new. I read about the Notom Road, east of the park, so we decided to check it out. Good decision. We went in about 12 miles before the road got rougher. Great scenery - it is the back side of the Waterpocket Fold - another area we need to check out. We then drove through some really desolate landscape before coming to the Hite Overlook. Great view of the Colorado River in the Glen Canyon Recreation Area. After this we were going to visit some Indian ruins but took a wrong turn somewhere so we just headed to Cortez, CO for the evening. Good day.

I took these photos in April 2018 in south eastern Utah.

© All rights reserved - Use without permission is illegal.

The sarissa (or sarisa, Greek "Σάρισσα") was a 4 to 7 meter (13-21 feet) long pike used in the ancient Greek and Hellenistic warfare. It was introduced by Philip II of Macedon and was used in the traditional Greek phalanx formation. The phalanxes of Philip II of Macedon were known as Macedonian phalanxes. Sarissa was very heavy for a spear, weighing over 5 kg (12 pounds). It had a short iron head shaped like a leaf and a bronze shoe (also known as a butt-spike) that would allow it to be anchored to the ground to stop charges by enemy soldiers. The bronze shoe also served to balance out the spear, making it easier for soldiers to wield. Its great length was an asset against hoplites and other soldiers bearing shorter weapons, because they had to get past the sarissa to engage the phalangites. However, outside the tight formation of the Phalanx the Sarissa would have been almost useless as weapon and a hindrance on the march. As the Sarissa was constructed of two halves and joined by the means of a metal collar, it has been suggested that this allowed the Sarissa to be broken down into two more manageable sections for convenience of transport or on the march.

The tight formation of the phalanx created a "wall of pikes", and the pike was sufficiently long that there were fully five rows of pikes in front of the front rank of men—even if an enemy got past the first row, there were still four more to stop him. The back rows bore their pikes angled upwards in readiness, which served the additional purpose to deflect incoming arrows. The Macedonian phalanx was considered all but invulnerable from the front, except against another such phalanx; the only way it was ever generally defeated was by breaking its formation or outflanking it.

The invention of the sarissa is credited to Philip II, father of Alexander the Great. Philip drilled his hitherto demoralized men to use these formidable pikes with two hands. The new tactic was unstoppable, and by the end of Philip's reign the previously fragile kingdom of Macedon controlled the whole of Greece, and Thrace.

His son Alexander used the new tactic across Asia, conquering Egypt, Persia and the Pauravas (northwest India), victorious all the way. The sarissa-wielding phalanxes were vital in every early battle, including the pivotal battle of Gaugamela where the Persian king's scythe chariots were utterly destroyed by the phalanx, supported by the combined use of companion cavalry and peltasts (javelineers). Alexander gradually reduced the importance of the Phalanx, and the sarissa, as he modified his combined use of arms, and incorporated 'Asian' weapons and troops.

The sarissa however, remained the backbone for every subsequent Hellenistic, and especially Diadochi army. The Battle of Raphia between the Seleucids and Ptolemy IV may represent the pinnacle of sarissa tactics, when only an elephant charge seemed able to disrupt the opposing phalanx. The Successor Kingdoms of Macedon's empire tried expanding upon Alexander's design, creating pikes as long as 22 feet, but all of these ideas were eventually abandoned in favor of the battle-tried Alexandrian sarissa. Battles often ended up stalemated in what Oliver Cromwell later described as "the terrible business of push of pike".

Subsequently a lack of training and too great a reliance on the Phalanx instead of the combined use of arms (Alexander's and Philip's great contributions) led to the final defeat of Macedon by the Romans at the Battle of Pydna. Part of the reason for the rapid deterioration of the sarissa's ability was that, after Alexander, generals ceased to protect phalanxes with cavalry and light-armed troops, and phalanxes were destroyed too easily by flank attacks owing to the sarissa's tactical unwieldliness. The sarissa was gradually replaced by variations of the gladius as the weapon of choice.

Even on ... Those Days.

There will inevitably be one of, well..,

Those.Days.

[CAUSE AND EFFECT:]

Those days when you wonder if this is what those T.V. psychiatrists always seem to refer to as "disassociation,' or perhaps even more accurately, an "acute psychotic breakdown."

Those days that we never expect, yet, incredibly, (unfortunately), virtually all human beings will have one or more of Those days.

Those days when you walk into your office expecting that double chocolate birthday cake.

Yet, much to your utter shock and jaw-dropping, heart-stopping horror, you're met with dumbfounded stares - blankly and unblinking just like that cute little blond co-worker staring past you (or perhaps, through you?) . . .

She almost appears to be making sounds with her mouth, her big blue eyes appearing to have been holding back oceans now breaking free, although she doesn't seem to care- or notice - as her corneas are now drowning in a sea of water that might very well be the infinite source of saline - she's saying something… something… - lay-offs, FBI Interviews, lie detector tests, bankruptcy, and such. You slowly do an uneven 360 degree rotation, feeling the cold clammy pre-vomit symptoms quickly knotting your gut and working diligently and quite efficiently upward toward the diaphragm, and you swallow as hard as you can in hopes of choking back any projectiles - which would sadly consist of this morning's Sara Lee Fat Free muffin and that and rather healthy dose of quaker's oatmeal. The accountant comes running toward you as you instinctively take a step backwards, she stops short, wailing something about the end, "This is THE END!!" After her choking sobs were more manageable you were able to make out a little bit...

Something about the CFO embezzling all of the company assets, the investors, the pensions, the retirement, even the petty cash and the quarters unfortunate enough to be left unsupervised in the vending machine, "EVERYTHING!" Her shrieks trail off into whimpers for a moment, but like a tide gathering strength, the choking, hyperventilating, nose running unceremoniously down her pudgy red face, gathers strength once again...

After 15 minutes of careful lipreading, hugging, and firm shoulder shaking, you learn of His last possible sighting: Somewhere near Krakow, Poland; playing Texas Hold Em' with a group of 8 foot embittered pro-Stalin, ex-soviet military men waiting with baited breath for anyone to provide them the opportunity to work out their personal anger issues with their current political views as well as their new tenured posts guarding the perimeter encompassing a well-known and lovely region most commonly called Chernobyl.

Those Days.

Still in shock staring blankly at the empty road ahead, you receive a phone call. Your son didn't know that that giant chocolate bunny was bad for the kitty.

Your kitty.

"Mommy? How long do I have to leave this icky red stuff in my hair to make it look like yours? It's starting to burn...!"

You were just about to ask your little loved one to repeat that last part, when you notice a disturbingly familiar and distinctive sound couple by bright lights that are flashing red and blue.

"What seems to be the problem Officer?"

"80 miles per hour?" "Really?" "In a 40?" (Gasp!) "A School Zone!"

"I'm sorry? What..? Phone?"

"Oh! [insert sheepish giggle] you mean this cell phone?"

"Inspection?" "That's impossible! It couldn't have been over a year-" stop. Damn stickers!

"They used to be transparent!"

45 minutes later, clutching 5 crispy new citations so tightly, you notice with no satisfaction that your bitten-to-the-nub nails have been digging some impressive holes through that wretched, foul-smelling carbon paper. The fifth ticket was for insubordination after you tell Officer Pursey what else seems to be a bit puckered as well. Despite his interjections, you were able to also remind him of what a sad excuse for a job he must have, picking on hard-working middle class citizens while there are grown men and women selling crack to kids on the street corners and how could he live with himself???

As you can see, one can never predict one of those days . . .

One must act quickly and decisively and take drastic measures in order to have the slightest chance of maintaining even the most precarious, desperate grip on that sad, thin, weathered thread of sanity remarkably similar to that which you are clawing and grasping for - any shred of mental cohesion to cling to.

[THE RULES:]

First of all, when in a rural environment such as this one, you must scream as loud as you can and bang on your steering wheel until your palms are throbbing. Sometimes it is even necessary to allow the head to slowly find its way onto the steering wheel, resulting in a shrieking noise that may cause the local canines to react in a rather agitated manner, but that's fine. Just let the horn go, the noise will eventually drown itself out. Next, the helpless exhaustion should naturally give way to a dawning sense of indignation. This will happen rather quickly so prepare yourself to brush away any tears, mascara trails, and beware of any unintended shards of plastics or glass that may have been damaged during the end-of-the-world tantrum.

Thankfully, this horrific despair and painful psychic asphyxiation will rapidly give way to your new friend:

Fury. Rage.

A Seething cauldron of fuck-this-fuck-you-fuck-it-all-don't-even-think-of-cutting-me-off-because-i-will-bludgeon-you-with-these-q-tips kind of all-consuming anger that flows hot and fast through your entire body. That 230 pound trucker that had intended on cutting you off takes one look into that cold empty stare and instinctively knows that this is one of those times when concessions are in order.

And Here, ladies and gentlemen, a photo is born. Who knew what that Toyota 4-cylinder hybrid sedan was really capable of until now? Although you may still be mostly(?) lucid, you've lost just enough of that annoying trait commonly referred to by the layperson as, "good judgement."

Before you know it, those Angus Cows are merely blurs in your peripheral, adrenaline-filled darting glances, you note an odd sensation that is reminiscent to barreling down those hilltops on your mother's best cookie sheet after the first snow as a child. Ah, yes, that is the hydroplaning. No matter, friction is overrated.

What better way to salvage what's left of this wretched, god-forsaken, nail-in-the-head, day than this?

You should have thought of this before!

What the hell, may as well take a picture. It could turn out kinda cool.

Supplemental:

*No cows, children, CFO's, accountants, vending machines, felines, Toyotas, or law enforcement officials were actually harmed in the making of this photo. This sad day and its unfortunate series of events are entirely fictional, although there can be no guarantees as to the psychological wellness of the prefrontal cortex responsible for the creation of said events.*

BOX DATE: 1992

MANUFACTURER: Mattel

DOLLS IN LINE: Todd; Stacie

VARIATIONS: Blonde; African American

BODY TYPE: No date; bend & snap legs

HEAD MOLD: 1991 "Stacie"; pierced ears

PERSONAL FUN FACT written by my sister: I still remember like it was yesterday buying my first Party 'n Play Stacie (doll second from the left). Unlike the Bowling Party, Happy Meal, Polly Pocket, and Flashlight Fun dolls, this is not a Stacie that I knew existed prior to owning her or found iconic. Instead, this doll, my beloved Ginny, is what makes Party 'n Play Stacie iconic to me. I found her from sellers that Shelly and I called "The Case People" that we frequently bought dolls in cases from during summer 2003. She was wearing both her outfits layered over each other (just like she is in the photo) and with a pair of pink flower flats. The shoes sold her to me--because of Polly Pocket Stacie, I have a huge weakness for flats. I have quite a few Stacie flats now--but Ginny still is a huge novelty item to me just as she was when I first discovered her. I remember liking her so much that she took Kid Kore Katie's place in our doll family quite often. She and Katie always traded off and played as each other's friends. For me, this was unusual. Typically, if I didn't choose to play with my regular favorite as the main character, she didn't have a place because my "main character" often always had the same personality/interests even when I used a different doll. However, Katie and Ginny had such distinctive personalities that I could keep them both in the story. Another scenario this worked with was with Robin and Daphne (Pet Pals Skipper and Teen Time Courtney). However, that was different because...well, when I got Robin, Daffy got shafted as a minor character and her previous persona made her easy to make into a "frenemy" for the lovely Robin. Katie and Ginny actually traded off multiple times in the same summer--and every time we played with dolls since that summer--both staying in the story.

I remember making Ginny into dressing up and into reading. When it came to sports, she was a wimp--just like me. I still remember setting up her "bedroom" the first time I played with her. I threw as many Stacie outfit fragments I could pull together quickly onto her "bed" (a vinyl case I got some toy Dalmations in) to make it look like she was playing dress up. For some reason, this has always been one of my clearest memories of Ginny. She did, however, go skateboarding and participate in skate competitions like my other Stacie and Katie dolls. It was a cross between bowling teams and rival skating gangs--they competed in a group like they would in a bowling league, but they had at least one "enemy" group they fiercely competed with. Ginny was a bit of a liability in the skating group.

I got the doll on the far right when I was a teenager too. I call her Janine now. I think I bought her separately because the temptation to buy her was irresistible. Unlike my other three Party 'n Play dolls, she has saran hair, which I find really interesting--it's also much more manageable than the hair on my other girls. It also is a slightly darker blonde. Blonde kanekelon often looks white or gray; blonde saran is usually more yellow looking, which you can see on Janine. I admit that I took Janine for granted as a kid and didn't do much with her. I just called her, "The doll like Ginny."

The doll third from the left is also my third doll. I took a liking to her right away and decided to call her Janie. I got Janie in 2011 at an indoor/outdoor flea market from the lady we bought Shelly's Hollywood Hair Teresa from. While I had Janine for years (and she has the coolest hair), I always felt more for Janie--probably because she was just so ragged when I took her home. She's definitely not as nice as Ginny. Her hair is thinner.

The doll on the left is my newest. I got her off eBay in the lot where I got my second Party 'n Play Todd. Having a Ginny-look-alike that is just like new appealed to me greatly even though Ginny was so complete that I didn't really need her. She was a cool bonus item in a lot I mainly bought because my first Party 'n Play Todd needed the new one's spare outfit (and because the highly complete Happy Meal Whitney was so much nicer than my own). I named her Janelle. While Ginny was already quite complete, I did get some great new items with Janelle--the soccer ball, hat, and sneakers. I'm very lucky to have her.

I thought I had a photo of this already posted, but I guess not. This is Round Valley Draw, an interesting slot canyon south of Kodachrome Basin. In 1990, friends and I did a loop trip down into the rapidly-descending canyon, through the narrows, up a side canyon near Hackberry Canyon, then back along the rim.

The hike proceeds down a sandy streambed, then very quickly drops into the sandstone, creating tight spaces at the lip. Within a few yards, it's a dozen feet deep, then several dozen. Getting down to the bottom required a series of precarious jumps, but then going was fairly easy except for one boulder to duck under. The ascent back out was steep but manageable. Fortunately, no injuries.

313206 crosses Stoor user-worked crossing between Southease and Newhaven Town, working 2C54 18.41 Brighton - Seaford. [Pole, 4/6 sections (~5.4m)]

It was a lovely evening, so I wanted to make the best use of the light before setting off for home. The sun was now getting too frontal between Seaford and Newhaven, and the best stretch of line looked to be between Newhaven and Southerham Jn. (east of Lewes) where it runs north-south along the floodplain of the River Ouse, although with the sun on the north end of the train. I'd made a note of possible shots from beside this crossing for the middle of the afternoon (for trains heading south) and wondered if there was a shot looking the other way - but spotting the footpath from the main road wasn't easy and I ended up driving past a few times! There is, however, a convenient spot to pull over.

I would have liked to have stood further back, so that trains coming towards me were clear of the posts at the crossing, but that didn't look possible as a result of very high reeds and a stream which I would have needed to cross. Extending the pole further was not an option, as there was a steady wind with occasional stronger gusts (holding it still at this height was a little challenging, but manageable). I stood closer to the line to photograph a train coming towards me, but the trains cross very near here and when I moved further out for the train going the other way, didn't get the pole raised quickly enough and started shooting a second or so too late. But, with a train each way every half an hour, I didn't have long to wait for a second attempt - although for a moment I thought I was going to lose the sun (I didn't).

Now that I know how to get here, I hope to try this location again, but looking the other way from beside the crossing, and with the pole higher (wind permitting).

To see my non-transport pictures, visit www.flickr.com/photos/137275498@N03/.

Refugees from Kobanê.

The refugee flow to the wealthy continent of Europe is just the tip of the iceberg. It's a minor crisis compared to the real refugee crisis hitting Iraq and Iraqi Kurdistan, where resources are not so plenty as in Europe. Belgium is not overwhelmed by a flood of refugees like Kurdistan. Many internal Iraqi refugees from areas which have been taken by IS flee to the Kurdish region in northern Iraq. Most refugees remain in the region, and within the sphere of influence of the conflicts of yesterday, today and tomorrow. Browse through these photos by photographer Baram Maaruf and you might get a better understanding of the scope of the "crisis" in Europe: limited and perfectly manageable. It's a not a "refugee crisis", but a crisis of "political will".

ARBAT IDP CAMP

Arbat Internally Displaced Persons (IDP) Camp is located outside the city of Sulaymaniyah in Iraq's Kurdistan Region. It is one of the most overcrowded refugee camps in Iraq. The camp was supposed to house 800 displaced Iraqi families, but now there are more than 2000 families (23.000 people). In each tent there are several families. It was established for Syrian refugees as a transit camp, but it turned into a camp for internally displaced Iraqi refugees. As the crisis in Iraq enters its second year with no political or military solution in sight, the government and aid groups are being forced to seek longer-term humanitarian solutions for the more than three million displaced by violence across the country.

ASHTI CAMP

It’s a short drive to a new camp location just five km away: Ashti Camp. UNHCR and its partners began to move residents to better-equipped facilities in June 2015. Ashti camp, was recently completed and will eventually accommodate some 1000 families who will be moved from Arbat Internally Displaced Persons (IDP) camp. They are displaced Iraqis sheltering in Iraq's Kurdistan Region. It looks like the foundation of a new village. Instead of pitched upon packed earth, tents here rest on poured concrete foundations. Plumbing is underground and electric wiring runs along poles that neatly follow the camp's grid layout.

ARBAT PERMANENT CAMP

The third refugee camp is a permanent camp for 6000 Syrian refugees, mainly Kurds from Kobani and Qamishlo. It looks like a village with paved roads, electricity wires, shops, little brick houses. Even though the whole “village” looks miserable, it is much “better” compared to Arbat Internally Displaced Persons (IDP) camp.

I'm depressed. Not clinically or anything, don't spent my days staring out the window or not wanting to get out of bed. It's not a physical problem, but a persistent mental perspective. I just always get focused on curious downsides, obsessive over wanting more than my mood provides me. I'm depressed, but I never saw it as something to get sad about. I'd describe it more like blunted emotion, experience not quite living up to expectation. I've seen incredible views and thought: "Eh, it's all right." I've watched beautiful sunsets and said: "I've seen better." There are days when I sense a sort of sociopath in me, when nothing holds meaning, and no joy or tragedy inspires much reaction. People I care about tell me important events in their lives, and I wonder why it doesn't move me much.

There are effusive experiences in my life, absolutely – moments that show up like sudden impacts in my heart. But until I started my daily journal, those times would be absent for weeks on end. I was always looking for a way to fight back, to grab me by the shoulders and shake. The best method turned out to be a consistent project, one that never let my heart off the hook for long. The first year of words and pictures was sporadically compelling, sometimes full of joy, sometimes just a drag I drug me through. But it slowly encapsulated that low tide state of mind, made it shorter and more manageable, able to appreciate a briefer beauty in some way. That's why I'm always adventuring, looking for things to spark the brighter feeling buried. I'm as much in search of sensation as any physical place to find.

It's hard not to overvalue intensity when you tend toward disconnection. Constantly returning to reliable stimulation is tough to shake, though I've tried my best to shy short of addictions. I could say a lot about men who use sex as a replacement for emotion, or any other adrenaline rush on offer – but that wouldn't be far from myself. Youth can spark the drive to outrun a hollow heart, lasting just long enough for age to bring you down. I'd rather start learning a mellow happiness now, a dim and beautiful place that feels like depression, but content. I could count on one hand when I've been low and happy. One that comes to mind was with my wife in Greece, on the island of Mykonos. I spent an entire afternoon at the beach with Susy, doing nearly nothing. Lying in the sun, watching it track slowly into evening. I wasn't feeling much, but what I felt was right.

August 22, 2022

Bear River, Nova Scotia

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We started with the cheese puffs, and it was like biting into little puffs of air. It was so light that spearing it with a fork was too hard, and we had to resort to fingers. We suspect that it is a basic souffle mix dollopped into hot oil and fried to a light and airy puff. Amazing.

Once I saw that the cheese puffs were a manageable size, I immediately added the duck neck sausage to our order. Not long after, 4 small discs of minced pork appeared. I love a good sausage and this didn't disappoint. It was served with segments of orange that provided a nice foil. There were also a few boiled baby beets hidden under the leaves and it seemed a bit too tender compared to the nice big flavoursome beets we were used to.

Julia was very impressed with the duck fillets, and she remarked several times how tasty the flesh was. I prefered the smoky grilled quail, but it was true, the quail meat was tender and juicy like the duck, but didn't have the richness of flavour of the duck. The pommes anna under the quail went amazingly well with the madeira sauce. The crispy bits of potato on the edges were also very good. The French beans were tender and so full of Spring sweetness.

We ended our meal with a good coffee and tea, and the profiteroles to share. We both loved the chocolate sauce, but we prefer the choux pastry at Laurent Pattiserie.

Annie Smither's Bistrot & Produce

03.5422.2039

72 Piper St

Kyneton VIC 3444

www.anniesmithers.com.au/

Reviews:

- Annie Smithers Bistrot, By Necia Wilden, The Age Epicure, September 27, 2005 Score: 15.5/20

- Annie Smithers Bistrot The Age Good Food Guide 2009 - 1 Chefs Hat

- Annie Smithers Bistrot, Kyneton - The Breakfast Blog, Saturday, May 13, 2006 chicken livers, bacon and spinach on toast. One of several tempting dishes on offer at Annie Smithers Bistrot. I love the smell of offal in the morning. 16/20 "mmm... liver"

- Annie Smithers Bistrot - Mietta's good gutsy French based dishes

- Annie Smithers’ Bistrot - Gourmet Traveller Annie Smithers, another Stephanie Alexander alum, is consolidating her empire, a shop and bistro showcasing Central Victorian produce. Assured cooking means primary flavours shine: succulent, flaky trout almondine tastes river-fresh; sweet scallops cooked just-so are plated with discs of smoky chorizo; sweet-salty tomato Tatin is the pick of the entrées. There’s usually offal on offer, perhaps creamy brains wrapped in prosciutto, and veal schnitzel, topped with a fried egg and anchovies, is pub-simple (and sized) but restaurant-finessed. Strawberry vacherin elevates berries and cream to a fitting conclusion to the meal: simple, comforting, classy.

Food Photos:

- Cheese Puffs with tomato and chilli dipping sauce AUD7.50 - insides

- Duck Neck Sausage stuffed with pork mince and pistachios with babybeets, green leaves and orange AUD18.50

- Quails petit-duc - par boned and grilled, served on pommes anna, with grilled mushrooms and madeira sauce AUD30

- Duck fillet with orange marmalade glaze, pan-fried potatoes AUD22.50

- Profiteroles filled with vanilla ice cream and drizzled with warm dark chocolate sauce AUD14.50

- Long Black AUD3

- Mariage Freres Tea AUD4.50

Decor Photos:

- Specials Board

- Long Dining Table

- Object d'Art

- Business Card

- back

- Produce Store

- A message from Stephanie

- Gumboots - Stephanie Alexander Kitchen Garden Foundation fundraiser AUD40

+++ DISCLAIMER +++

Nothing you see here is real, even though the conversion or the presented background story might be based historical facts. BEWARE!

Some background:

Towards the end of WWII, large, piston-engined flying boats had been used exctensively in th bepatrol and bomber role, but with the advent of the new jet engine technology, engineers in several countries started to explore the new propulsion type's potential in different areas - including seaborne usage.

Towards the end of WWII and the far-stretched conflict theatre in the Pacific, the flying boat as well as float planes still had a large appeal due to their independence from airfields. This offered a lot of tactical flexibility. On the other side, the jet engine promised (much) higher speeds, but with the relative higher weight of early jet-driven aircraft (more fuel was needed, and more engines, as thrust was relatively low) a seaborne type would also avoid the need for a prepared and long airstrip to operate.

After serving in these second line roles, both aircraft were finally scrapped in 1965 and replaced by land-based types.

General characteristics

Crew: 1

Length: 14.11 m (46 ft 6 1/3 in)

Wingspan: 12.46 m (40 ft 9 1/2 in)

Height: 4.10 m (13 ft 5 1/4 in)

Empty weight: 9.265 kg (20.408 lb)

Loaded weight: 16.080 kg (35.418 lb)

Powerplant:

2× J47-GE-23 engines, rated at 2.631 kN/5.800 lbf each

Performance

Maximum speed: 932km/h (577mph/503nm) at sea level

Range: 2.092 km (1296 ml)

Service ceiling: 13.450 m (44.040 ft)

Armament

4× 20 mm (0.79 in) M3 autocannons with 200 RPG.

Eight underwing hardpoints for a total external ordnance of up to 4.000 lb (1.816 kg), including bombs of up to 1.000 lb calibre, eight HVAR missiles, drop tanks or two torpedos.

The kit and its assembly:

This model is a complete fantasy aircraft, inspired by a TV documentation about sea plane projects in the USA and USSR after WWII. Among others, the Martin P6M SeaMaster and the Saro SR.1/A made an appearance, and I wondered how an escort fighter for the P6M would have looked like in USN service? Well, let's build one...

Making a flying boat is pretty tricky, and the whole thing was built from scratch and with lots of putty.

Basically, the following went into it, all 1:72 unless stated otherwise:

● Fuselage and cockpit from a Hobby Boss F-86E

● Floating bottom is the lower half of a Matchbox Heinkel He 115 swimmer

● Wings come from another Hobby Boss F-86E, but this time a Batch 30 aircraft with extended wing tips

● Vertical stabilizer comes from an Academy MiG-21F

● Horizontal stabilizers come from a 1:100 Tamiya Il-28 bomber

● Stabilzer swimmers come from a vintage box scale Revell Convair Tradewind kit

● Engine intakes and exhausts are resin parts from Pavla, replacements for a Hasegawa B-47 kit

● A massive beaching trolley, which actually belongs to the A-Model Kh-20M missile kit

Assembly went from fuselage over the wing roots, the improvised engine nacelles, outer wings and stabilizer swimmers, step by step. I had a vague idea of what the aircraft should look like, but the design more or less evolved, depending from what I had at hand.

For instance, the Il-28 stabilizers were late additions, as the original F-86 parts turned out to be much too small for the massive aircraft.

The cockpit was taken OOB, just a pilot figure was added and the canopy cut into two pieces, so that it could be displayed in an open position.

Around the hull, small mooring hooks made from wire were added, gun nozzles made from hollow needles, as well as some antennae, since the whole kit was rather bleak and simple.

The trolley was puzzled together from the parts supllied with A-Model's Kh-20M (AS-3 'Kangaroo') kit, but was modified (e. g. with different wheels) and adapted to the flying boat's hull. It fits perfectly in shape and design, though!

Painting and markings:

Nothing fancy, as a jet-powered flying boat fighter is unique enough. Design benchmark was again the P6M, and AFAIK these aircraft were painted in just two tones: FS16081, a very dark grey, with white undersides and a wavy waterline. They were definitively not blue of any sort, as one might think in the first place.

I started with the lower side - white is always difficult to apply, and in order to avoid any trouble I used stpray paint from a rattle can and used a very light grey instead of pure white. The latter has two benefits: it covers the surface much better than white, and the contrast is not so harsh - the grey still leaves 'room' for some dry-brushing with white.

Next step was the dark grey - I used Humbrol's 32, which is FS36081 and looks very good. Dry-brushing with Humbrol 79 (Dark Blue Grey) was used for some counter-shading, and after a black ink wash I also painted some panel lines with a mix of black and matt varnish onto the hull. That turned out to be a little much, but finally, when the decals were applied (wild mix from various aftermarket sheets and the scrap box), the overall impression became much better.

The trolley was simply painted in yellow and makes a nice contrast to the dark aircraft on top of it.

Both aircraft and trolley were additionally weathered with some dry-brushed rust and grinded graphite, and finally received a coat of matt varnish.

This would be a typical loadout I would take to shoot where I don't have to travel too far by foot. It's heavy but, manageable.

What's in the bag:

1- Nikon D2X w/ 80-200mm F2.8 AF-S

1- Nikon D2H w/ 17-35mm F2.8 AF-S

1- Nikon 28-80mm F2.8 AF-S

1- Nikon SU-800 command unit

1- Nikon SB-800 strobe

2- Nikon SB-600 strobes

2- Pocket Wizard transceivers

1- DIY Black straw grid

1- Canon G10 P&S

1- Nikon lens brush

You can view my blog at:

johnencinas.wordpress.com

Among the most visually impactful projects that a city/regional planner gets to take part in is a facade rehabilitation program. This is a 9-image composite [that took way too long to Photoshop together] of the north side of the 300-block of East Main Street in downtown Ottumwa.

Approximately $1 million of private and public funds went into transforming an entire city block from a blighted, unsafe eyesore into a place where people will actually want to be. The visual results are immediate and the economic results undoubtedly will follow.

The full album of before & after pictures is available on my "other" Flickr account:

www.flickr.com/photos/the_urbanvironmentalist/sets/721576...

*This is a much compressed image so that it is manageable for viewing on the web. The full-size composite file pushes 57MB and is 29,831 pixels wide by 3,367; which at 72 DPI equates to approximately 414.3" x 46.8".

For many reasons, I think fall is the best time of the year for running. The scenery is nice, the heat is manageable and it's generally not too cold.

This young lady competed in a county championship XC race through the early Michigan fall.

Remarkably pristine, for carvings created in the 10th Century in a country like Cambodia often in a state of upheaval. Banteay Srei is a small temple complex a short distance removed from the major attraction of Angkor Wat. Considered a jewel for its manageable size and beautiful stone-work, the principle building material was red sandstone; a medium that lends itself to fine detail, as can be seen here. Built as a temple dedicated to the Hindu god Sriva, it would have ultimately become a Buddhist site.

Mitt Romney & Paul Ryan, both deceivers & brazen liars, are zealous crusaders for the advancement of meanness, pain & death which Obama, too, in a merely slightly less virulent way, has consistently supported in practice (but not, of course, in his devious speeches). But I don't want to talk about the Republican candidates here, nor in any concentrated way, Obama.

We Americans now live in a society that economically, politically & religiously cherishes psychopathic values. Poor, powerless, rich & powerful people who were similarly bent have always been among us, clamoring for more soldiers, more dreadful weapons, more police, more saber rattling, more wars, harsher laws, more prisons, fewer rights - or no rights - for those who disagree with or are unlike them. But today such people tyrannically rule in almost all political offices, court chambers & boardrooms. They rule the 'economic team' of rich, vicious cutthroats that Obama hand selected to save the big banks, not the nation or its people. They rule in many other places, too - on television news networks, in editorial quarters at many newspapers, in the economics departments of universities that are usually said to be the nation's best, & in the general staff at the Pentagon. They own the private corporation that creates & controls the presidential 'debates.' They increasingly own both lower school public & higher education. And insofar as they own our health care, own the medicines we are allowed to get at great personal expense, & have commodified every disease so that they might benefit from our illnesses, they own both the present & ultimate fate of our bodies. And insofar as they control the means of the distribution of information, including the manufacture & distribution of propaganda, they own our minds ... or, if one believes we have souls, they own those, too.

One need only note, for instance, that in the first two 'debates' the urgently pressing, most momentous threat all living things have ever faced, global anthropogenic climate change, has not been mentioned once. No one thinks it will be mentioned in the third & final 'debate' - that is, charade - either. Upon reflection, one may rationally conclude that nothing that really matters to the welfare & future of America has been or will be mentioned.

Harper's Magazine, in which the article cited below appears, is, since 1850, America's oldest continuously published monthly. It's very serious & also immensely funny, brilliantly illustrated, literate & readable, & at its low cost (presently $16.97 for 12 issues) it should be in most homes. Its fact checking is U.S. journalism's gold standard.

The Elephant/Donkey political duopoly that now rules this empire was shaped by the multibillionaire propagandists in the TV & print nooze biz, & by their superrich cohorts who since Ronald Reagan became president have steadily spent whatever it took to own not only almost every politician in the nation, but almost all institutions that once were public. The public is bamboozled, kept ignorant, overworked, underpaid, purposefully uninformed, forced to be anxiety ridden, & robbed at every turn. - In short, what has happened & is surely going to get worse is not the public's fault. We are not to blame. They are.

And why do They lie & cheat? Because the manure They heap upon us that They claim explains the causes of our trouble & the solutions for them is so bereft of validity & virtue that only incessant lying & cheating & endlessly shitting up the same crap could get anybody to believe there is nothing else. Men like Rupert Murdoch & the Koch brothers are maggots occupying, eating & growing in our minds.

Romney & Obama are the two sides of the turd that is the Elephant/Donkey duopoly. Together they are the two-faced Janus mask that is the present countenance of America, impenetrably duplicitous & meaningless, but plainly brutal & cruel because, no matter what either says that one might think makes the one or the other likable, they are agreed in their actions that everything must be taken from us & be given to the rich, who already took almost all that we once had - our homes, schools, courts of law, retirement funds, good jobs, decent pay, financial assets, composure, sense of self-worth, civil rights, education, air, water, Earth's very health, & any feeling that the future might be better, & finally our faith that voting can ever be an expression of our own preferences & interests.

So what is it that Obama never speaks of, nor shall Romney? Why, the real way to our salvation, of course. Mentioning it is taboo, because the rich wouldn't give these narcissistic candidates nor any other kind of candidate a dime for it, despite the fact - repeat, fact - that what you're about to read would make large private financial fortunes more secure & durable. Why? Because when capitalism goes into catastrophic runaway, as was its condition before the crash of 2008 & already is again, it collapses & leaves behind a Demand Crisis, in which great numbers of people lose their savings & property, lose their jobs & income, & so become unable to buy the goods & services that only by being purchased enable capitalists to acquire & increase wealth, & keep their wealth from disappearing as much of it did in 2008, or did in the Great Depression (which I experienced directly), & did following other booms that led implacably to busts & Demand Crisis depressions.

OK - federal stimulus delivered into the pockets of workers who will spend it, followed by increased taxation, is what you're going to read about below. Before you blanch, read on, & either keep in mind what governments exist for, & what at their best they do for commerce & the welfare & peace of citizens, or - if you cannot put your fear that this must be wrong in check - indulge me & the author of this thesis, & let's then talk about it. Remember, if you are blanching, a vast array of institutions owned or supported by the superrich have for a long while controlled the information your opinions are based upon, & you've no reason whatsoever to trust that those people & their institutions ever had your interests in mind or, much less, at heart.

Thanks for reading along,

Robin

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NOTE: I added all bracketed comments & highlights.

The Entitlement Crisis That Isn't

By Jeff Madrick

Published in Harper's Magazine

November 2012

EXCERPTS: But as Bruce Bartlett, a high-level advisor to Ronald Reagan & George H.W. Bush –– & no fuzzy-headed liberal –– put it .... "Almost every country in Europe has a tax/GDP ratio high enough to cover all of the projected increase in spending in the United States through higher revenues alone" ... Roughly speaking, the average nation among the thirty-four members of the Organization for Economic Cooperation & Development (OECD) collected some 38 percent of its citizens income in taxes. U.S. citizens are taxed –– including all federal, state & local income taxes, sales taxes, & payroll taxes (the taxes that are taken out of every employee's paycheck for Social Security & Medicare) –– at only about 26 percent of their income. Yet the high-tax economies grow about as fast as ours does, sometimes faster. Prosperous Denmark, Norway, & Sweden have tax rates well above 40 percent.

To be clear, no one should raise taxes now, because the economy is still too weak [that is, the demand crisis that began in the crash of 2008 continues]. On the contrary, we need bigger deficits for a while [in accord with the empirically tested principles laid down by the late economist John Maynard Keynes]. But when the economy is righted, we will have our chance. Imagine if the the United States raised taxes by 10 percent. If this seems far-fetched, that is for purely political, not economic reasons: such an increase would put our taxes on par with the OECD average, still well below the levels of nations like Norway. This hike would bring in about $1.5 trillion in one year alone &, by my estimate, $17 or $18 trillion over ten years. To put this in perspective, the bipartisan agreement in 2011 to cut the future deficit under the Budget Control Act demanded a total deficit reduction of only about $1.5 trillion. That additional $16 0r $17 trillion would cover all imaginable increases in entitlement programs, even over a span of sixty years or more –– & it would also wipe out the deficit.

Let's keep in mind that Medicare is expected to rise by only 2 percent of GDP –– to just under 6 percent –– by 2035, even if the health-care system is not made significantly more efficient. Social Security benefits are forecast to increase from 5 percent of GDP today to, at worst, somewhat more than 6 percent, then level off in the mid-2030s. These increases are readily manageable.

.... [In conclusion] There is no debate of good conscience in America about how to pay for the nation's most profound needs. if there were, raising taxes would be a major part of it. Instead, the lower & middle classes will bear the brunt of deficit reduction.

Politicians & ideologues are playing a cruel game by keeping serious tax increases off the table, but it is especially hypocritical to do so in the name of fiscal responsibility. America's budget problem is a revenue problem, not a spending problem. The current national conversation about tax hikes is a fine example of political deference to the rich & powerful. It is not good economics.

A long planned visit to Leeds to record the church.

Leeds is just off the M20, and nearby to Leeds Castle, which means the roads are often busy. St Nicholas is on the main road leading up the down, but before the road gets narrow as it winds between the timber framed houses. Thankfully there is good parking next door, so we were able to get off the main road and out of the traffic, as unbeknown to us, there was a classical music show on that night, and most of Kent were going and in the process of arriving.

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One of the largest twelfth-century towers in Kent. The arch between tower and nave is of three very plain orders with no hint of the usual zigzag moulding of the period, and is so large that a meeting room has recently been built into it. The nave has three bay aisles and short chapels to north and south of the chancel. The outstanding rood screen was partially reconstructed in 1892, and runs the full width of nave and aisles - with the staircase doorways in the south aisle. That the chancel was rebuilt in the sixteenth century may be seen by the plain sedilia through which is cut one of two hagioscopes from chapels to chancel. The north chapel contains some good seventeenth- and eighteenth-century tablets and monuments. The stained glass shows some excellent examples of the work of Heaton, Butler and Bayne (south aisle) whilst there is an uncharacteristically poor example of the work of C.E. Kempe & Co. Ltd. in the north aisle. The church has recently been reordered to provide a spacious, light and manageable interior with excellent lighting and a welcoming atmosphere without damaging the character of the building.

www.kentchurches.info/church.asp?p=Leeds

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LEEDS

IS the next parish southward from Hollingborne. Kilburne says, that one Ledian, a chief counsellor to king Ethelbert II. who began his reign in 978, raised a fortress here, which was called in Latin, from him, Ledani Castrum, and in process of time in English, LEEDS. This castle was afterwards demolished by the Danes, and continued in that situation till the time of the Norman conquest.

THE PRESENT CASTLE is situated at the southeast boundary of this parish, adjoining to Bromfield, which includes a part of the castle itself. It is situated in the midst of the park, an ample description of it the reader will find hereafter. The Lenham rivulet takes its course through the park, and having supplied the moat, in which the castle stands, and the several waters in the grounds there, and having received into it the several small streamlets from Hollingborne, and one from the opposite side, which comes from Leeds abbey, it flows on, and at a small distance from Caring street, in this parish, adjoining to Bersted, the principal estate of which name there belongs to the Drapers company, it turns a mill, and then goes on to Maidstone, where it joins the river Medway. The high road from Ashford and Lenham runs close by the outside of the pales of Leeds park, at the northern boundary of the parish next to Hollingborne, and thence goes on towards Bersted and Maidstone, from which the park is distant a little more than five miles; here the soil is a deep sand, but near the river it changes to a black moorish earth. Southward from the castle the ground rises, at about three quarters of a mile south-west from it is Leeds abbey, the front of which is a handsome well-looking building, of the time of queen Elizabeth. It is not unpleasantly situated on a gentle eminence, and is well watered by a small stream which rises just above it, and here turns a mill. It is well cloathed with wood at the back part of it, to which the ground still keeps rising; adjoining to the abbey grounds westward is Leeds-street, a long straggling row of houses, near a mile in length, having the church at the south end of it; here the soil becomes a red unfertile earth much mixed with slints, which continues till it joins to Langley and Otham.

LEEDS was part of those possessions given by William the Conqueror to his half-brother Odo, bishop of Baieux; accordingly it is thus entered, under the general title of that prelate's lands, in the survey of Domesday, taken in the year 1080.

Adelold holds of the bishop (of Baieux) Esiedes. It was taxed at three sulings. The arable land is twelve carucates. In demesne there are two carucates, and twenty-eight villeins, with eight borderers, having seven carucates. There is a church, and eighteen servants. There are two arpends of vineyard, and eight acres of meadow. Wood for the pannage of twenty bogs, and five mills of the villeins. In the time of king Edward the Confessor, it was worth sixteen pounds, the like when be received it, now twenty pounds, and yet it pays twentyfive pounds. Earl Leuuin held it.

Of this manor the abbot of St. Augustine has half a suling, which is worth ten shillings, in exchange of the park of the bishop of Baieux. The earl of Ewe has four denns of this manor, which are worth twenty shillings.

The mention of the two arpends of vineyard in the above survey, is another instance of there having been such in this county in early times, some further observations of which the reader will find in the description of the parish of Chart Sutton, not far distant, and he will likewise observe, that at the above time the bishop of Baieux had a park here, which he acquired by exchange with the abbot of St. Augustine, who must therefore have had possessions here before that time.

On the bishop of Baieux's disgrace, about four years after the taking of the above-mentioned survey, this estate, among the rest of his possessions, became consiscated to the crown.

After which it was granted by king William to the eminent family of Crevequer, called in antient charters Creveceur, and in Latin, De Crepito Corde, who at first made Chatham in this county their seat, or caput baroniæ, i. e. the principal manor of their barony, for some time, until they removed hither, being before frequently written Domini de Cetham.

Robert, son of Hamon de Crevequer, who had probably a grant of Leeds from the Conqueror, appears to have held it of the king, as of his castle of Dover, in capite by barony, their barony, which consisted of five knight's sees, being stiled Baronia de Crevequer . (fn. 1) He erected the castle here, to which he asterwards removed the capital seat of his barony. This castle being environed with water, was frequently mentioned in antient writings by the name of Le Mote. In the north-west part of it he built a chapel, in which he placed three canons, which on his foundation of the priory of Leeds, in the 19th year of king Henry I. he removed thither.

His descendant, Hamon de Crevequer, lived in the reign of king Henry III. in the 19th year of which, he was joined with Walterand Teutonicus, or Teys, in the wardenship of the five ports, and the next year had possession granted to him of the lands of William de Albrincis or Averenches, whose daughter and heir Maud he had married. He died in the 47th year of king Henry III. possessed of the manor of Ledes, held of the king in capite, as belonging to his barony of Chatham; upon which Robert, his grandson, viz. son of Hamon his son, who died in his life-time, succeeded him as his heir, and in the 52d year of that reign, exchanged the manor of Ledes, with its appurtenances, together with a moiety of all his fees, with Roger de Leyburne, for the manors of Trottesclyve and Flete. He lest William de Leyburne, his son and heir, who in the 2d year of king Edward I. had possession granted to him of the manor of Ledes, as well as of the rest of his inheritance, of which Eleanor, countess of Winchester, his father's widow, was not endowed. (fn. 2)

His son, William de Leyborne, observing that the king looked on the strength of this fortress with a jealous eye, in the beginning of king Edward Ist.'s reign reinstated the crown in the possession of both the manor and castle; and the king having, in his 27th year married Margaret, sister of Philip, king of France, he settled them, being then of the clear yearly value of 21l. 6s. 8d. among other premises, as part of her dower. She survived the king her husband, who died in 1307, and in the 5th year of the next reign of king Edward II. by the king's recommendation, appointed Bartholomew de Badlesmere, a nobleman of great power and eminence, and much in that prince's favor, governor of this castle. (fn. 3) She died possessed of them in the 10th year of that reign; on which they came once more into the hands of the crown, and in the beginning of the next year the king appointed Bartholomew de Badlesmere, above-mentioned, governor of this castle, as well as of that of Bristol. In the 11th year of that reign, the king granted to him in see, this manor and castle, and the advowson of the priory of Ledes, in exchange for the manor of Addresley, in Shropshire. Being possessed of great possessions, especially in this county, he was usually stiled, the rich lord Badlesmere of Ledes. Being pussed up through ambition and his great wealth, he forgot his allegiance, and associated himself with the earl of Lancaster, and the discontented barons; which the king being well informed of, resolved, if possible, to gain possession of this strong fortress of Ledes: to effect which, under pretence of the queen's going on a pilgrimage to Canterbury, she set forward for that city with a large train of attendants, and, with a secret intention of surprising this castle, sent her marshal with others of her servants, to prepare lodging for her and her suit in it. The lord Badlesmere's family, that is, his wife, son, and four daughters, were at that time in it, together with all his treasure, deposited there for safety, under the care of Thomas Colepeper, the castellan, who refused the queen's servants admittance, and on her coming up, peremptorily persisted in denying her or any one entrance, without letters from his lord. The queen, upon this, made some attempt to gain admittance by force, and a skirmish ensued, in which one or more of her attendants were slain, but being repulsed, she was obliged to relinquish her design, and to retire for a lodging elsewhere.

The king, chagrined at the failure of his scheme, and highly resenting the indignity offered to the queen, sent a force under the earls of Pembroke and Richmond, to besiege the castle; (fn. 4) and those within it finding no hopes of relief, for though the lord Badlesmere had induced the barons to endeavours to raise the siege, yet they never advanced nearer than Kingston, yielded it up. Upon which, the lady Badlesmere and her children were sent prisoners to the tower of London, Thomas Colepeper, the castellan, was hung up, and the king took possession of the castle, as well as of all the lord Badlesmere's goods and treasures in it. But by others, Thomas de Aldone is said to have been castellan at this time, and that the castle being taken, he, with the lord Badlesmere's wife, his only son Giles, his daughters, Sir Bartholomew de Burgershe, and his wife, were sent to the tower of London by the king's order; and that afterwards, he caused Walter Colepeper, bailiff of the Seven Hundreds, to be drawn in a pitiable manner at the tails of horses, and to be hung just by this castle; on which Thomas Colepeper, and others, who were with him in Tunbridge castle, hearing of the king's approach, sled to the barons.

After which the lord Badlesmere, being taken prisoner in Yorkshire, was sent to Canterbury, and there drawn and hanged at the gallows of Blean, and his head being cut off, was set on a pole on Burgate, in that city. Upon which the manor and castle of Leeds, became part of the royal revenue and the castle remained in a most ruinous condition till the year 1359, anno 34 Edward III. in which year that munisicent prelate, William of Wickham, was constituted by the king, chief warden and surveyor of his castle of Ledes, among others, (fn. 5) having power to appoint all workmen, to provide materials, and to order every thing with regard to building and repairs; and in those manors to hold leets and other courts of trespass and misdemeanors, and to enquire of the king's liberties and rights; and from his attention to the re-edisying and rebuilding the rest of them, there is little doubt but he restored this of Leeds to a very superior state to whatever it had been before, insomuch, that it induced king Richard to visit it several times, particularly in his 19th year, in which several of his instruments were dated at his castle of Ledes; and it appears to have been at that time accounted a fortress of some strength, for in the beginning of the next reign, that unfortunate prince was, by order of king Henry IV. sent prisoner to this castle; and that king himself resided here part of the month of April in his 2d year.

After which, archbishop Arundel, whose mind was by no means inferior to his high birth, procured a grant of this castle, where he frequently resided and kept his court, whilst the process against the lord Cobham was carrying forward, and some of his instruments were dated from his castle of Ledes in the year 1413, being the year in which he died. On his death it reverted again to the crown, and became accounted as one of the king's houses, many of the principal gentry of the county being instrusted with the custody of it:

In the 7th year of king Henry V. Joane of Navarre, the second queen of the late king Henry IV. being accused of conspiring against the life of the king, her son-in-law, was committed to Leeds-castle, there to remain during the king's pleasure; and being afterwards ordered into Sir John Pelham's custody, he removed her to the castle of Pevensey, in Sussex.

In the 18th year of king Henry VI. archbishop Chichele sat at the king's castle of Leeds, in the process against Eleanor, duchess of Gloucester, for forcery and witchcrast.

King Edward IV. in his 11th year, made Ralph St. Leger, esq. of Ulcomb, who had served the office of sheriff of this county three years before, constable of this castle for life, and annexed one of the parks as a farther emolument to that office. He died that year, and was buried with his ancestors at Ulcomb.

Sir Thomas Bourchier resided at Leeds castle in the 1st year of king Richard III. in which year he had commission, among others of the principal gentry of this county, to receive the oaths of allegiance to king Richard, of the inhabitants of the several parts of Kent therein mentioned; in which year, the king confirmed the liberties of Leeds priory, in recompence of twentyfour acres of land in Bromfield, granted for the enlargement of his park of Ledes.

In the 4th year of king Henry VIII. Henry Guildford, esq. had a grant of the office of constable of Leeds castle, and of the parkership of it; and in the 12th year of that reign, he had a grant of the custody of the manor of Leeds, with sundry perquisities, for forty years. He died in the 23d year of that reign, having re-edisied great part of the castle, at the king's no small charge.

But the fee simple of the manor and castle of Leeds remained in the hands of the crown, till Edward VI. in his 6th year, granted them, with their appurtenances in the parishes of Leeds, Langley, and Sutton, to Sir Anthony St. Leger, lord deputy of Ireland, to hold in capite by knight's service.

His son, Sir Warham St. Leger, succeeded him in this manor and castle, and was afterwards chief governor of Munster, in Ireland, in which province he was unfortunately slain in 1599, (fn. 6) but before his death he alienated this manor and castle to Sir Richard Smyth, fourth son of Thomas Smyth, esq. of Westenhanger, commonly called Customer Smyth.

Sir Richard Smyth resided at Leeds castle, of which he died possessed in 1628, and was buried in Ashford church, where there is a costly monument erected to his memory.

Sir John Smith, his only son, succeeded his father, and resided at Leeds castle, and dying s. p. in 1632, was buried in this church; upon which his two sisters, Alice, wife of Sir Timothy Thornhill, and Mary, of Maurice Barrow, esq. became his coheirs, and entitled their respective husbands to the property of this manor and castle, which they afterwards joined in the sale of to Sir T. Culpeper, of Hollingborne, who settled this estate, after his purchase of it, on his eldest son Cheney Culpeper, remainder to his two other sons, Francis and Thomas. Cheney Culpeper, esq. resided at Leedscastle for some time, till at length persuading his brother Sir Thomas Culpeper, of Hollingborne, (then his only surviving brother, Francis being dead. s. p.) to cut off the entail of this estate, he alienated it to his cousin Sir John Colepeper, lord Colepeper, only son of Sir John Culpeper, of Wigsell, in Sussex, whose younger brother Francis was of Greenway-court, in Hollingborne, and was father of Sir Thomas Culpeper, the purchaser of this estate as before-mentioned.

Sir John Colepeper represented this county in parliament in the 16th year of king Charles I. and being a person, who by his abilities had raised himself much in the king's favor, was made of his privy council, and chancellor of the exchequer, afterwards master of the rolls, and governor of the Isle of Wight. During the troubles of that monarch, he continued stedfast to the royal cause, and as a reward for his services, was in 1644 created lord Colepeper, baron of Thoresway, in Lincolnshire.

After the king's death he continued abroad with king Charles II. in his exile. During his absence, Leeds-castle seems to have been in the possession of the usurping powers, and to have been made use of by them, for the assembling of their committee men and sequestrators, and for a receptacle to imprison the ejected ministers, for in 1652, all his estates had been declared by parliament forfeited, for treason against the state. He died in 1660, a few weeks only after the restoration, and was buried at Hollingborne. He bore for his arms, Argent, a bend ingrailed gules, the antient bearing of this family; he left by his second wife Judith, daughter of Sir Thomas Culpeper, of Hollingborne, several children, of whom Thomas was his successor in title and estates, and died without male issue as will be mentioned hereafter, John succeeded his brother in the title, and died in 1719 s. p. and Cheney succeeded his brother in the title, and died at his residence of Hoston St. John, in 1725, s. p. likewise, by which the title became extinct; they all, with the rest of the branch of the family, lie buried at Hollingborne. Thomas, lord Colepeper, the eldest son, succeeded his father in title, and in this manor and castle, where he resided, and having married Margaret, daughter of Signior Jean de Hesse, of a noble family in Germany, he left by her a sole daughter and heir Catherine, who intitled her husband Thomas, lord Fairfax, of Cameron, in Scotland, to this manor and castle, with his other estates in this neighbourhood.

The family of Fairfax appear by old evidences in the hands of the family to have been in possession of lands in Yorkshire near six hundred years ago. Richard Fairfax was possessed of lands in that county in the reign of king John, whose grandson William Fairfax in the time of king Henry III. purchased the manor of Walton, in the West Riding, where he and his successors resided for many generations afterwards, and from whom descended the Fairfax's, of Walton and Gilling, in Yorkshire; of whom, Sir Thomas Fairfax, of Gilling, was created viscount Fairfax, of the kingdom of Ireland, which title became extinct in 1772; and from a younger branch of them descended Sir Thomas Fairfax, of Denton, who lived in queen Elizabeth's reign, and changed the original field of his coat armour from argent to or, bearing for his arms, Or, 3 bars gemelles, gules, surmounted of a lion rampant, sable, crown'd, of the first, and was father of Sir. T. Fairfax, who was, for his services to James and Charles I. created in 1627 lord Fairfax, baron of Cameron, in Scotland. He died in 1640, having had ten sons and two daughters; of whom, Ferdinando was his successor; Henry was rector of Bolton Percy, and had two sons, Henry, who became lord Fairfax, and Bryan, who was ancestor of Bryan Fairfax, late commissioner of the customs; and colonel Charles Fairfax, of Menston, was the noted antiquary, whose issue settled there.

Ferdinando, the second lord Fairfax, in the civil wars of king Charles I. was made general of the parliamentary forces, and died at York in 1646. His son, Sir Thomas Fairfax, succeeded him as lord Fairfax, and in all his posts under the parliament, and was that famous general so noted in English history during the civil wars, being made commander in chief of all the parliamentary forces; but at last he grew so weary of the distress and confusion which his former actions had brought upon his unhappy country, that he heartily concurred in the restoration of king Charles II. After which he retired to his seat at Bilborough, in Yorkshire, where he died in 1671, and was buried there, leaving by Anne, daughter and coheir of Horatio, lord Vere of Tilbury, a truly loyal and virtuous lady, an only daughter; upon which the title devolved to Henry Fairfax, esq. of Oglesthorpe, in Yorkshire, his first cousin, eldest son of Henry, rector of Bolton Percy, the second son of Thomas, the first lord Fairfax. Henry, lord Fairfax, died in 1680, and was succeeded by his eldest son Thomas, fifth lord Fairfax, who was bred to a military life, and rose to the rank of a brigadier-general. He represented Yorkshire in several parliaments and marrying Catherine, daughter and heir of Thomas, lord Colepeper, possessed, in her right this manor and castle, and other large possessions, as before-mentioned. (fn. 7)

He died possessed of them in 1710, leaving three sons and four daughters, Thomas, who succeeded him as lord Fairfax; Henry Culpeper, who died unmarried, in 1734; and Robert, of whom hereafter. Of the daughters, Margaret married David Wilkins, D. D. and prebendary of Canterbury, and Francis married Denny Martin, esq. Thomas, lord Fairfax, the son, resided at Leeds-castle till his quitting England, to reside on his great possessions in Virginia, where he continued to the time of his death. On his departure from England, he gave up the possession of this manor and castle, with his other estates in this neighbourhood, to his only surviving brother, the hon. Robert Fairfax, who afterwards resided at Leeds-castle, and on his brother's death unmarried, in 1782, succeeded to the title of lord Fairfax. He was at first bred to a military life, but becoming possessed of Leeds castle, he retired there, and afterwards twice served in parliament for the town of Maidstoue, as he did afterwards in two successive parliaments for this county. He was twice married; first to Marsha, daughter and coheir of Anthony Collins, esq. of Baddow, in Essex, by whom he had one son, who died an instant; and, secondly, to one of the daughters of Thomas Best, esq. of Chatham, who died s. p. in 1750. Lord Fairfax dying s. p. in 1793, this castle and manor, with the rest of his estates in this county, came to his nephew the Rev. Denny Martin, the eldest son of his sister Frances, by Denny Martin, esq. of Loose, who had before his uncle's death been created D. D. and had, with the royal licence, assumed the name and arms of Fairfax. Dr. Fairfax is the present possessor of this manor and castle, and resides here, being at present unmarried.

A court leet and court baron is held for the manor of Leeds, at which three borsholders are appointed. It is divided into six divisions, or yokes as they are called, viz. Church-yoke, Ferinland-yoke, Mill-yoke, Russerken-yoke, Stockwell-yoke, and Lees-yoke.

I recently brought a Soligor 105/2.8 that had a severely fogged rear group. Initial attempts at cleaning this have improved it considerably but it's still bad, so I decided to try the lens with out the group.

With the group removed the lens is roughly a 200mm/4, which needs added extension to focus. ~30mm manageable via the helicoid I was using was just enough for infinity.

In high contrast situations Chromatic Aberration does show but otherwise it's pretty good!

Mama Mei breaks up the boo into more manageable pieces

This is the next installment to my Bratz collection series. This video features all of my Dana dolls! While I don't have tons of Dana dolls comparatively, for the sake of keeping my "Miscellaneous Bratz" videos at a more manageable size, I opted to film a separate video for Dana. She was one of the characters I grew up with back in the early 2000s--over the years, I've made so many memories with my Dana dolls. I hope you enjoy this video--I had a blast filming it!

Video:

www.youtube.com/watch?v=qlymefKWrpg

Dolls in photo, from left to right:

-2002 Stylin' Salon 'N' Spa Dana

-2003 Formal Funk Dana

-2003 Funk 'N' Glow Dana

-2004 Funk Out! Dana

-2004 Sun-Kissed Summer Dana

Bottom row:

-2004 Sweet Heart Dana

-2005 Ooh la la Paris Dana

-2006 Ice Champions Dana

-2008 Play Sportz Racecar Driving Dana

-2011 Style it! Dana

I made good progress this week. The number of pieces is getting manageable, and there are only two panels that I haven't started.

A long planned visit to Leeds to record the church.

Leeds is just off the M20, and nearby to Leeds Castle, which means the roads are often busy. St Nicholas is on the main road leading up the down, but before the road gets narrow as it winds between the timber framed houses. Thankfully there is good parking next door, so we were able to get off the main road and out of the traffic, as unbeknown to us, there was a classical music show on that night, and most of Kent were going and in the process of arriving.

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One of the largest twelfth-century towers in Kent. The arch between tower and nave is of three very plain orders with no hint of the usual zigzag moulding of the period, and is so large that a meeting room has recently been built into it. The nave has three bay aisles and short chapels to north and south of the chancel. The outstanding rood screen was partially reconstructed in 1892, and runs the full width of nave and aisles - with the staircase doorways in the south aisle. That the chancel was rebuilt in the sixteenth century may be seen by the plain sedilia through which is cut one of two hagioscopes from chapels to chancel. The north chapel contains some good seventeenth- and eighteenth-century tablets and monuments. The stained glass shows some excellent examples of the work of Heaton, Butler and Bayne (south aisle) whilst there is an uncharacteristically poor example of the work of C.E. Kempe & Co. Ltd. in the north aisle. The church has recently been reordered to provide a spacious, light and manageable interior with excellent lighting and a welcoming atmosphere without damaging the character of the building.

www.kentchurches.info/church.asp?p=Leeds

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LEEDS

IS the next parish southward from Hollingborne. Kilburne says, that one Ledian, a chief counsellor to king Ethelbert II. who began his reign in 978, raised a fortress here, which was called in Latin, from him, Ledani Castrum, and in process of time in English, LEEDS. This castle was afterwards demolished by the Danes, and continued in that situation till the time of the Norman conquest.

THE PRESENT CASTLE is situated at the southeast boundary of this parish, adjoining to Bromfield, which includes a part of the castle itself. It is situated in the midst of the park, an ample description of it the reader will find hereafter. The Lenham rivulet takes its course through the park, and having supplied the moat, in which the castle stands, and the several waters in the grounds there, and having received into it the several small streamlets from Hollingborne, and one from the opposite side, which comes from Leeds abbey, it flows on, and at a small distance from Caring street, in this parish, adjoining to Bersted, the principal estate of which name there belongs to the Drapers company, it turns a mill, and then goes on to Maidstone, where it joins the river Medway. The high road from Ashford and Lenham runs close by the outside of the pales of Leeds park, at the northern boundary of the parish next to Hollingborne, and thence goes on towards Bersted and Maidstone, from which the park is distant a little more than five miles; here the soil is a deep sand, but near the river it changes to a black moorish earth. Southward from the castle the ground rises, at about three quarters of a mile south-west from it is Leeds abbey, the front of which is a handsome well-looking building, of the time of queen Elizabeth. It is not unpleasantly situated on a gentle eminence, and is well watered by a small stream which rises just above it, and here turns a mill. It is well cloathed with wood at the back part of it, to which the ground still keeps rising; adjoining to the abbey grounds westward is Leeds-street, a long straggling row of houses, near a mile in length, having the church at the south end of it; here the soil becomes a red unfertile earth much mixed with slints, which continues till it joins to Langley and Otham.

LEEDS was part of those possessions given by William the Conqueror to his half-brother Odo, bishop of Baieux; accordingly it is thus entered, under the general title of that prelate's lands, in the survey of Domesday, taken in the year 1080.

Adelold holds of the bishop (of Baieux) Esiedes. It was taxed at three sulings. The arable land is twelve carucates. In demesne there are two carucates, and twenty-eight villeins, with eight borderers, having seven carucates. There is a church, and eighteen servants. There are two arpends of vineyard, and eight acres of meadow. Wood for the pannage of twenty bogs, and five mills of the villeins. In the time of king Edward the Confessor, it was worth sixteen pounds, the like when be received it, now twenty pounds, and yet it pays twentyfive pounds. Earl Leuuin held it.

Of this manor the abbot of St. Augustine has half a suling, which is worth ten shillings, in exchange of the park of the bishop of Baieux. The earl of Ewe has four denns of this manor, which are worth twenty shillings.

The mention of the two arpends of vineyard in the above survey, is another instance of there having been such in this county in early times, some further observations of which the reader will find in the description of the parish of Chart Sutton, not far distant, and he will likewise observe, that at the above time the bishop of Baieux had a park here, which he acquired by exchange with the abbot of St. Augustine, who must therefore have had possessions here before that time.

On the bishop of Baieux's disgrace, about four years after the taking of the above-mentioned survey, this estate, among the rest of his possessions, became consiscated to the crown.

After which it was granted by king William to the eminent family of Crevequer, called in antient charters Creveceur, and in Latin, De Crepito Corde, who at first made Chatham in this county their seat, or caput baroniæ, i. e. the principal manor of their barony, for some time, until they removed hither, being before frequently written Domini de Cetham.

Robert, son of Hamon de Crevequer, who had probably a grant of Leeds from the Conqueror, appears to have held it of the king, as of his castle of Dover, in capite by barony, their barony, which consisted of five knight's sees, being stiled Baronia de Crevequer . (fn. 1) He erected the castle here, to which he asterwards removed the capital seat of his barony. This castle being environed with water, was frequently mentioned in antient writings by the name of Le Mote. In the north-west part of it he built a chapel, in which he placed three canons, which on his foundation of the priory of Leeds, in the 19th year of king Henry I. he removed thither.

His descendant, Hamon de Crevequer, lived in the reign of king Henry III. in the 19th year of which, he was joined with Walterand Teutonicus, or Teys, in the wardenship of the five ports, and the next year had possession granted to him of the lands of William de Albrincis or Averenches, whose daughter and heir Maud he had married. He died in the 47th year of king Henry III. possessed of the manor of Ledes, held of the king in capite, as belonging to his barony of Chatham; upon which Robert, his grandson, viz. son of Hamon his son, who died in his life-time, succeeded him as his heir, and in the 52d year of that reign, exchanged the manor of Ledes, with its appurtenances, together with a moiety of all his fees, with Roger de Leyburne, for the manors of Trottesclyve and Flete. He lest William de Leyburne, his son and heir, who in the 2d year of king Edward I. had possession granted to him of the manor of Ledes, as well as of the rest of his inheritance, of which Eleanor, countess of Winchester, his father's widow, was not endowed. (fn. 2)

His son, William de Leyborne, observing that the king looked on the strength of this fortress with a jealous eye, in the beginning of king Edward Ist.'s reign reinstated the crown in the possession of both the manor and castle; and the king having, in his 27th year married Margaret, sister of Philip, king of France, he settled them, being then of the clear yearly value of 21l. 6s. 8d. among other premises, as part of her dower. She survived the king her husband, who died in 1307, and in the 5th year of the next reign of king Edward II. by the king's recommendation, appointed Bartholomew de Badlesmere, a nobleman of great power and eminence, and much in that prince's favor, governor of this castle. (fn. 3) She died possessed of them in the 10th year of that reign; on which they came once more into the hands of the crown, and in the beginning of the next year the king appointed Bartholomew de Badlesmere, above-mentioned, governor of this castle, as well as of that of Bristol. In the 11th year of that reign, the king granted to him in see, this manor and castle, and the advowson of the priory of Ledes, in exchange for the manor of Addresley, in Shropshire. Being possessed of great possessions, especially in this county, he was usually stiled, the rich lord Badlesmere of Ledes. Being pussed up through ambition and his great wealth, he forgot his allegiance, and associated himself with the earl of Lancaster, and the discontented barons; which the king being well informed of, resolved, if possible, to gain possession of this strong fortress of Ledes: to effect which, under pretence of the queen's going on a pilgrimage to Canterbury, she set forward for that city with a large train of attendants, and, with a secret intention of surprising this castle, sent her marshal with others of her servants, to prepare lodging for her and her suit in it. The lord Badlesmere's family, that is, his wife, son, and four daughters, were at that time in it, together with all his treasure, deposited there for safety, under the care of Thomas Colepeper, the castellan, who refused the queen's servants admittance, and on her coming up, peremptorily persisted in denying her or any one entrance, without letters from his lord. The queen, upon this, made some attempt to gain admittance by force, and a skirmish ensued, in which one or more of her attendants were slain, but being repulsed, she was obliged to relinquish her design, and to retire for a lodging elsewhere.

The king, chagrined at the failure of his scheme, and highly resenting the indignity offered to the queen, sent a force under the earls of Pembroke and Richmond, to besiege the castle; (fn. 4) and those within it finding no hopes of relief, for though the lord Badlesmere had induced the barons to endeavours to raise the siege, yet they never advanced nearer than Kingston, yielded it up. Upon which, the lady Badlesmere and her children were sent prisoners to the tower of London, Thomas Colepeper, the castellan, was hung up, and the king took possession of the castle, as well as of all the lord Badlesmere's goods and treasures in it. But by others, Thomas de Aldone is said to have been castellan at this time, and that the castle being taken, he, with the lord Badlesmere's wife, his only son Giles, his daughters, Sir Bartholomew de Burgershe, and his wife, were sent to the tower of London by the king's order; and that afterwards, he caused Walter Colepeper, bailiff of the Seven Hundreds, to be drawn in a pitiable manner at the tails of horses, and to be hung just by this castle; on which Thomas Colepeper, and others, who were with him in Tunbridge castle, hearing of the king's approach, sled to the barons.

After which the lord Badlesmere, being taken prisoner in Yorkshire, was sent to Canterbury, and there drawn and hanged at the gallows of Blean, and his head being cut off, was set on a pole on Burgate, in that city. Upon which the manor and castle of Leeds, became part of the royal revenue and the castle remained in a most ruinous condition till the year 1359, anno 34 Edward III. in which year that munisicent prelate, William of Wickham, was constituted by the king, chief warden and surveyor of his castle of Ledes, among others, (fn. 5) having power to appoint all workmen, to provide materials, and to order every thing with regard to building and repairs; and in those manors to hold leets and other courts of trespass and misdemeanors, and to enquire of the king's liberties and rights; and from his attention to the re-edisying and rebuilding the rest of them, there is little doubt but he restored this of Leeds to a very superior state to whatever it had been before, insomuch, that it induced king Richard to visit it several times, particularly in his 19th year, in which several of his instruments were dated at his castle of Ledes; and it appears to have been at that time accounted a fortress of some strength, for in the beginning of the next reign, that unfortunate prince was, by order of king Henry IV. sent prisoner to this castle; and that king himself resided here part of the month of April in his 2d year.

After which, archbishop Arundel, whose mind was by no means inferior to his high birth, procured a grant of this castle, where he frequently resided and kept his court, whilst the process against the lord Cobham was carrying forward, and some of his instruments were dated from his castle of Ledes in the year 1413, being the year in which he died. On his death it reverted again to the crown, and became accounted as one of the king's houses, many of the principal gentry of the county being instrusted with the custody of it:

In the 7th year of king Henry V. Joane of Navarre, the second queen of the late king Henry IV. being accused of conspiring against the life of the king, her son-in-law, was committed to Leeds-castle, there to remain during the king's pleasure; and being afterwards ordered into Sir John Pelham's custody, he removed her to the castle of Pevensey, in Sussex.

In the 18th year of king Henry VI. archbishop Chichele sat at the king's castle of Leeds, in the process against Eleanor, duchess of Gloucester, for forcery and witchcrast.

King Edward IV. in his 11th year, made Ralph St. Leger, esq. of Ulcomb, who had served the office of sheriff of this county three years before, constable of this castle for life, and annexed one of the parks as a farther emolument to that office. He died that year, and was buried with his ancestors at Ulcomb.

Sir Thomas Bourchier resided at Leeds castle in the 1st year of king Richard III. in which year he had commission, among others of the principal gentry of this county, to receive the oaths of allegiance to king Richard, of the inhabitants of the several parts of Kent therein mentioned; in which year, the king confirmed the liberties of Leeds priory, in recompence of twentyfour acres of land in Bromfield, granted for the enlargement of his park of Ledes.

In the 4th year of king Henry VIII. Henry Guildford, esq. had a grant of the office of constable of Leeds castle, and of the parkership of it; and in the 12th year of that reign, he had a grant of the custody of the manor of Leeds, with sundry perquisities, for forty years. He died in the 23d year of that reign, having re-edisied great part of the castle, at the king's no small charge.

But the fee simple of the manor and castle of Leeds remained in the hands of the crown, till Edward VI. in his 6th year, granted them, with their appurtenances in the parishes of Leeds, Langley, and Sutton, to Sir Anthony St. Leger, lord deputy of Ireland, to hold in capite by knight's service.

His son, Sir Warham St. Leger, succeeded him in this manor and castle, and was afterwards chief governor of Munster, in Ireland, in which province he was unfortunately slain in 1599, (fn. 6) but before his death he alienated this manor and castle to Sir Richard Smyth, fourth son of Thomas Smyth, esq. of Westenhanger, commonly called Customer Smyth.

Sir Richard Smyth resided at Leeds castle, of which he died possessed in 1628, and was buried in Ashford church, where there is a costly monument erected to his memory.

Sir John Smith, his only son, succeeded his father, and resided at Leeds castle, and dying s. p. in 1632, was buried in this church; upon which his two sisters, Alice, wife of Sir Timothy Thornhill, and Mary, of Maurice Barrow, esq. became his coheirs, and entitled their respective husbands to the property of this manor and castle, which they afterwards joined in the sale of to Sir T. Culpeper, of Hollingborne, who settled this estate, after his purchase of it, on his eldest son Cheney Culpeper, remainder to his two other sons, Francis and Thomas. Cheney Culpeper, esq. resided at Leedscastle for some time, till at length persuading his brother Sir Thomas Culpeper, of Hollingborne, (then his only surviving brother, Francis being dead. s. p.) to cut off the entail of this estate, he alienated it to his cousin Sir John Colepeper, lord Colepeper, only son of Sir John Culpeper, of Wigsell, in Sussex, whose younger brother Francis was of Greenway-court, in Hollingborne, and was father of Sir Thomas Culpeper, the purchaser of this estate as before-mentioned.

Sir John Colepeper represented this county in parliament in the 16th year of king Charles I. and being a person, who by his abilities had raised himself much in the king's favor, was made of his privy council, and chancellor of the exchequer, afterwards master of the rolls, and governor of the Isle of Wight. During the troubles of that monarch, he continued stedfast to the royal cause, and as a reward for his services, was in 1644 created lord Colepeper, baron of Thoresway, in Lincolnshire.

After the king's death he continued abroad with king Charles II. in his exile. During his absence, Leeds-castle seems to have been in the possession of the usurping powers, and to have been made use of by them, for the assembling of their committee men and sequestrators, and for a receptacle to imprison the ejected ministers, for in 1652, all his estates had been declared by parliament forfeited, for treason against the state. He died in 1660, a few weeks only after the restoration, and was buried at Hollingborne. He bore for his arms, Argent, a bend ingrailed gules, the antient bearing of this family; he left by his second wife Judith, daughter of Sir Thomas Culpeper, of Hollingborne, several children, of whom Thomas was his successor in title and estates, and died without male issue as will be mentioned hereafter, John succeeded his brother in the title, and died in 1719 s. p. and Cheney succeeded his brother in the title, and died at his residence of Hoston St. John, in 1725, s. p. likewise, by which the title became extinct; they all, with the rest of the branch of the family, lie buried at Hollingborne. Thomas, lord Colepeper, the eldest son, succeeded his father in title, and in this manor and castle, where he resided, and having married Margaret, daughter of Signior Jean de Hesse, of a noble family in Germany, he left by her a sole daughter and heir Catherine, who intitled her husband Thomas, lord Fairfax, of Cameron, in Scotland, to this manor and castle, with his other estates in this neighbourhood.

The family of Fairfax appear by old evidences in the hands of the family to have been in possession of lands in Yorkshire near six hundred years ago. Richard Fairfax was possessed of lands in that county in the reign of king John, whose grandson William Fairfax in the time of king Henry III. purchased the manor of Walton, in the West Riding, where he and his successors resided for many generations afterwards, and from whom descended the Fairfax's, of Walton and Gilling, in Yorkshire; of whom, Sir Thomas Fairfax, of Gilling, was created viscount Fairfax, of the kingdom of Ireland, which title became extinct in 1772; and from a younger branch of them descended Sir Thomas Fairfax, of Denton, who lived in queen Elizabeth's reign, and changed the original field of his coat armour from argent to or, bearing for his arms, Or, 3 bars gemelles, gules, surmounted of a lion rampant, sable, crown'd, of the first, and was father of Sir. T. Fairfax, who was, for his services to James and Charles I. created in 1627 lord Fairfax, baron of Cameron, in Scotland. He died in 1640, having had ten sons and two daughters; of whom, Ferdinando was his successor; Henry was rector of Bolton Percy, and had two sons, Henry, who became lord Fairfax, and Bryan, who was ancestor of Bryan Fairfax, late commissioner of the customs; and colonel Charles Fairfax, of Menston, was the noted antiquary, whose issue settled there.

Ferdinando, the second lord Fairfax, in the civil wars of king Charles I. was made general of the parliamentary forces, and died at York in 1646. His son, Sir Thomas Fairfax, succeeded him as lord Fairfax, and in all his posts under the parliament, and was that famous general so noted in English history during the civil wars, being made commander in chief of all the parliamentary forces; but at last he grew so weary of the distress and confusion which his former actions had brought upon his unhappy country, that he heartily concurred in the restoration of king Charles II. After which he retired to his seat at Bilborough, in Yorkshire, where he died in 1671, and was buried there, leaving by Anne, daughter and coheir of Horatio, lord Vere of Tilbury, a truly loyal and virtuous lady, an only daughter; upon which the title devolved to Henry Fairfax, esq. of Oglesthorpe, in Yorkshire, his first cousin, eldest son of Henry, rector of Bolton Percy, the second son of Thomas, the first lord Fairfax. Henry, lord Fairfax, died in 1680, and was succeeded by his eldest son Thomas, fifth lord Fairfax, who was bred to a military life, and rose to the rank of a brigadier-general. He represented Yorkshire in several parliaments and marrying Catherine, daughter and heir of Thomas, lord Colepeper, possessed, in her right this manor and castle, and other large possessions, as before-mentioned. (fn. 7)

He died possessed of them in 1710, leaving three sons and four daughters, Thomas, who succeeded him as lord Fairfax; Henry Culpeper, who died unmarried, in 1734; and Robert, of whom hereafter. Of the daughters, Margaret married David Wilkins, D. D. and prebendary of Canterbury, and Francis married Denny Martin, esq. Thomas, lord Fairfax, the son, resided at Leeds-castle till his quitting England, to reside on his great possessions in Virginia, where he continued to the time of his death. On his departure from England, he gave up the possession of this manor and castle, with his other estates in this neighbourhood, to his only surviving brother, the hon. Robert Fairfax, who afterwards resided at Leeds-castle, and on his brother's death unmarried, in 1782, succeeded to the title of lord Fairfax. He was at first bred to a military life, but becoming possessed of Leeds castle, he retired there, and afterwards twice served in parliament for the town of Maidstoue, as he did afterwards in two successive parliaments for this county. He was twice married; first to Marsha, daughter and coheir of Anthony Collins, esq. of Baddow, in Essex, by whom he had one son, who died an instant; and, secondly, to one of the daughters of Thomas Best, esq. of Chatham, who died s. p. in 1750. Lord Fairfax dying s. p. in 1793, this castle and manor, with the rest of his estates in this county, came to his nephew the Rev. Denny Martin, the eldest son of his sister Frances, by Denny Martin, esq. of Loose, who had before his uncle's death been created D. D. and had, with the royal licence, assumed the name and arms of Fairfax. Dr. Fairfax is the present possessor of this manor and castle, and resides here, being at present unmarried.

A court leet and court baron is held for the manor of Leeds, at which three borsholders are appointed. It is divided into six divisions, or yokes as they are called, viz. Church-yoke, Ferinland-yoke, Mill-yoke, Russerken-yoke, Stockwell-yoke, and Lees-yoke.

It's wierd for sure. Located at the exhaust end of the engine test cell, this strange looking device would have cooled water pumped through it, which would spray out of the the nozzles around the edges of the rings, cooling the exhaust fumes down to a more manageable level.

Returned to the Badlands after spending a week here 3 months ago to catch end of summer changes…

Grasses are dying and turning glorious fall colors, and sunrise and sunset are both an hour later/earlier than before (making for a shorter more manageable shoot schedule).

Only shot 4 sessions this time…

C Level refers to the last of three levels which had been mined for coal on the east slope of Cascade Mountain before this area belonged to the park. It is rightly one of Banff's premier hikes, as it has views, flowers, animals, and a trail that is manageable for most.

This week's theme is Who are you?

Well one thing I know I am, is a slacker who hasn't kept up my posting to the 2012 52 week group. I think my work life is now back to manageable, so I will play catchup with my 3 missing images if the mods will allow it... I have been a bad flickr contact and will catchup soon.

First off, I need to acknowledge that this image has been done A LOT, as a tip of the hat to the strobist creator, David Hobby, and now it is my turn.

Part of the challenge was to post 5 fun facts, so mine are.

1. All my immediate family's names end in AN (wasn't planned honest)

2. I was late to photography, but have been consumed by it

3. I have always loved writing and being involved in software, first program written was 34 years ago

4. I am known to hang out making stuff in the kitchen, but I am not a neat cook

5. My wife and kids are loads of fun and keep me sane!

Strobist:

Elinchrom RX 600 grid 5 o'clock 1/32 power at macbook

580 EXII 1/32 35mm with blue gel towards screen into white A4 paper

triggered by PW's TT1, TT5 & ST4's

Jade's ringlets, which were once matted and dreaded in place, completely softened after a boil wash. Jade had a particularly hot, long soak in the boil wash water. I knew that her stubborn, coarse saran hair would need extra heat in order to become manageable. Since I had to flat iron my new Disney Store Mulan doll that same day, I opted to let Jade soak in the boil wash bowl the entire time I worked on Mulan. While it didn't take me too long to do Mulan's hair, I would say that Jade did get a decently long soak. I also made sure to wash her hair twice, condition it, and then to wash it once more, followed by one last condition. Being that Miss Jade's hair was so matted and tangled, I knew that my regular cycle of shampooing would not clean her hair thoroughly enough...who knows what kinds of gross germs and debris were floating around in her hair before?! I'm so very pleased with Jade's new do! She is just as gorgeous and breathtaking as I knew that she had the potential to be. I also really love working with saran hair, since it usually maintains some of its original curls, even after a super hot, lengthy boil wash.

Tutorial: How I Clean Dolly Bodies & Faces

www.flickr.com/photos/athousandsplendiddolls/17144774969/...

Tutorial: How I Boil Wash Doll Hair

www.flickr.com/photos/athousandsplendiddolls/17310388751/...

THE VERSATILITY OF THIS ESCAPE ARTIST, MAGICIAN, ILLUSIONIST, FORMER U.S.M.C. DRILL INSTRUCTOR 2X, RECRUITER FOR U.S.M.C., UNICYCLIST, JUGGLER, GYMNAST, MARATHON RUNNER, COMBAT INSTRUCTOR FOR NAVY SEALS, MARTIAL ARTS EXPERT IN A NUMBER OF ARTS, SURFER, DAREDEVIL, HANDGLIDER, FATHER OF FIVE CHILDREN, 6X WORLD RECORD HOLDER IN ESCAPOLOGY AND 46 MPH HANDSTAND ON SKATEBOARD TIED TO A MOTORCYCLE, TEACHER IN GYMNASTICS, MARTIAL ARTS, CIRCUS PERFORMER HIGH WIRE, PARACHUTIST, SPECIAL FORCES IN MARINES, FASTEST JAIL BREAK IN 22 SECONDS, FASTEST STRAITJACKET ESCAPE LESS THAN 7 SECONDS...IS UNMEASURABLE TO ANY OTHER ESCAPE ARTIST IN THE WORLD AND PERHAPS IN HISTORY. I HAVE SUPPLIED BUT A FEW PHOTOS THAT ARE LEFT FROM HOUDENNY'S EX-WIFE TAKING THEM AND PREVIOUS REPORTERS MISPLACING THEM DURING INTERVIEWS, WHICH IS A SHAME HAVING SO MANY YEARS LOST OF THIS MAN' TALENT.

IMPORTANT TO NOTE: HOUDENNY IS THE ONLY ONE IN THE WORLD THAT ACTUALLY GETS INTO THE HIGHEST SECURITY POSEY STRAITJACKET THE HARDEST WAY MANAGEABLE WITH BOTH ARMS FASTENED IN THE MOST SECURE WAY AS OPPOSED TO ANY OF THE BELT STRAPS OUTSIDE OF HIS ARMS, WHEREAS, THEY ARE THROUGH THE FRONT AND ALSO ON EASH SIDE OF HIS BODY. HOUDENNY ALSO ADDED A HIGHER NECK THAT GOES UP TO HIS CHIN WITH AN EXTRA BUCKLE IN BACK AND ALSO AN ADDITIONAL FOUR MORE BUCKLES TO ATTACH TO HIS CANVAS TROUSERS. TWO IN THE FRONT AND TWO IN THE BACK AS YOU CAN SEE IN THIS PHOTO SUPPLIED.

www.ibmring362.org/WEAR2007.html

www.motiono.com/HOUDENNY/albums/177/

www.motiono.com/HOUDENNY/albums/

www.flickr.com/photos/12421016@N03/?saved=1

URL: myspace.com/houdenny

www.youtube.com/results?search_query=houdenny

I ain't happy, I'm feeling glad

I got sunshine, in a bag

I'm useless,but not for long

The future is coming on

I ain't happy, I'm feeling glad

I got sunshine, in a bag

I'm useless, but not for long

The future is coming on

It's coming on

It's coming on

It's coming on

Yeah... Ha Ha!

Finally someone let me out of my cage

Now, time for me is nothing cos I'm counting no age

Now I couldn't be there

Now you shouldn't be scared

I'm good at repairs

And I'm under each snare

Intangible

Bet you didn't think so I command you to

Panoramic view

Look I'll make it all manageable

Pick and choose

Sit and lose

All you different crews

Chicks and dudes

Who you think is really kickin' tunes?

Picture you gettin' down in a picture tube

Like you lit the fuse

You think it's fictional

Mystical? Maybe

Spiritual

Hearable

What appears in you is a clearer view cos you're too crazy

Lifeless

To know the definition for what life is

Priceless

For you because I put you on the hype shit

You like it?

Gunsmokin' righteous with one token

Psychic among those

Possess you with one go

I ain't happy, I'm feeling glad

I got sunshine, in a bag

I'm useless,but not for long

The future is coming on

I ain't happy, I'm feeling glad

I got sunshine, in a bag

I'm useless, but not for long

The future is coming on

It's coming on

It's coming on

It's coming on

The essence the basics

Without it you make it

Allow me to make this

Child, like in nature

Rhythm

You have it or you don't that's a fallacy

I'm in them

Every sprouting tree

Every child apiece

Every cloud you see

You see with your eyes

I see destruction and demise

Corruption in disguise

From this fuckin' enterprise

Now I'm sucking to your lies

Through Russ, though not his muscles but the percussion he provides

with me as a guide

But y'all can see me now cos you don't see with your eye

You perceive with your mind

That's the inner

So I'm gonna stick around with Russ and be a mentor

With a few rhymes so mother fuckers

Remember where the thought is

I brought all this

So you can survive when law is lawless

Feelings, sensations that you thought were dead

No squealing, remember

(that it's all in your head)

I ain't happy, I'm feeling glad

I got sunshine, in a bag

I'm useless, but not for long

The future is coming on

I ain't happy, I'm feeling glad

I got sunshine, in a bag

I'm useless, but not for long

My future is coming on

It's coming on

It's coming on

It's coming on

It's coming on

My future is coming on

It's coming on

It's coming on

It's coming on

It's coming on

My future is coming on

It's coming on

It's coming on

It's coming on

It's coming on

My future is coming on

It's coming on

It's coming on

My future is coming on

It's coming on

It's coming on

My future is coming on

It's coming on

It's coming on

My future