From the Sith Knights datapad :

'The beast I sensed didn't give us much time before it lunged out of the jungle and immediately scooped up the Jedi fighter's nose. It held it aloft a long while , and during that time the troopers and the quadruped droid fired upon it until it got angry enough to hurl it to the last snowtrooper. This left it exposed with no weapons , and I darted in and drove my blade into its midsection. This made it fall backwards , and it rolled over to let the wound be cooled and to allow it's back armor to protect it. I took my chance to finish it by plunging the red saber deep into the beast's back , and it roared and rose upwards before rapidly descending back down , and exhaled it's last breath. I can tell these two were once rancor young , mutated by someone. Perhaps even my Sith Masters , which means this is more tests. Sensing no more beasts , I decided to continue on to the direction the rest of the Jedi wreckage was in. Strange , the Dark Side energy still remained...'

 

I was gonna use the effect of 'plunged lightsaber' I used on the next shot , but I decided to go for a short Stab instead to make it look like it could feasibly not be dead. Once again the droid IS POSED but this looked better than the shot with the droid in it cause the nose was in it , to show that he threw it on the trooper that was there. Luckily basically a walking gun platform I didn't put all that much effort into it's posing. In the background you can see the B4's remains and a few other things. Next to last shot tonight. Tomorrow I'll post six to finish off this arc. Don't worry , the characters will be returning but not after a good few pictures of what dxun is like without Sith Lords messing with things.

"Animals were harmed in the making of this image"

 

Some years, when the weather gets cold mice get into our house. Then the trapping and search for mouseholes begins.

 

On Christmas Eve, I walked into my laundry room and saw something move and heard a thunk. I looked into the laundry sink and saw a mouse. I shouted for my husband to come and kill it. He did so with a meat tenderizer. Later that evening, after the children had gone to bed one ran across the floor in front of the fireplace in the family room. So we set traps in the laundry room, family room and kitchen before we went to bed.

 

In the morning there was one in the trap in the kitchen. I didn't think to photograph it at the time.

 

On Christmas Day afternoon, again in the laundry room one ran across the floor in front of me. This time I grabbed the meat tenderizer and bludgeoned it to death.

 

Yesterday I discovered where they were coming from. On a shelf in the garage I found a big bag of grass seed torn open and full of mouse poop. My father-in-law and I cleaned up the garage and set traps.

 

Yesterday afternoon I told my FIL that I would photograph it, posing as "The Farmer's Wife" if I caught one. He then said the rhyme. I then told him I hoped to catch three.

 

Last night before bed I checked the traps and sure enough there were mice in three of them. I bagged them up for my photography session today and reset the traps. I didn't catch any more.

 

I am posting a series of six images.

 

• Mimepange: The largest creature native to Wegneheck, though being one of the smallest of all creatures to be known as the biggest on their respective planets within the Prime Galaxy due to there being no truly "giant" Wegneheckish beings, and one of said planet's few native animals to not in any way be widely capitalized upon by the crafty Joiemgaws. The Mimepange is a stout arthropod with some gelatinous parts averaging around three meters in height and identifiable in terms of its central body by its very wide cranium (which is particularly unusual given the animal's limited intelligence) and jagged shell/exoskeleton. Having inflexible, simple pointed structures for "legs" with which they are able only to slowly hobble around, Mimepanges instead rely primarily on their most notable feature of all, their arms, to carry themselves from place to place in addition to performing all the manual tasks normally assigned to arms. Strictly speaking, the Mimepange has only two technical arm structures originating directly from its trunk, but each of these large knobs quickly branches out into three long, flailing appendages with three adhesive fingers apiece, effectively giving the creature a total of six arms and eighteen fingers. Alternatively, it could be seen as having two arms with three massive hands/fingers that each further branch out with three sub-digits.

 

By virtue of their effective extra limbs, Mimepanges possess an outstanding degree of ability, for such otherwise rigid-bodied beings, to climb up trees and other tall vertical structures, as well as fall-control, being able to drop down from large heights relatively unharmed, which is also helped by the extreme firmness and stability of their otherwise nigh-useless legs. The Mimepange is strictly carnivorous and has a voracious "maximum" appetite that includes a taste for more "useful" animals such as Ectpysors, but can also survive going hungry for longer periods than most, which limits its aggression and tenacity in seeking out prey and hence its potential as a threat to livestock. The Joiemgaws have, again, found no major use for either living Mimepanges or any parts/products thereof, and see the beasts as irrelevant, tending to ignore them. For a time, their population was on the decline due to aggressive Joiemgaw expansion across into previously nature-dominated areas across Wegneheck, but the turning of the merchant race's attentions towards interplanetary affairs and enterprising has since stopped this from becoming a major issue, and the Mimepange is currently considered non-threatened.

 

These creatures are effectively genderless, and reproduce asexually by passively leaving behind spores at random points, each of these having a roughly 5-10% chance of growing into a new Mimepange that, once it has established a biomass, continues growing to full size at a rapid pace. They have rather short lifespans, with the longest-lived one ever kept in captivity (also one of the largest specimens) dying at thirty-five years of age. The durability value measurements of various Mimepanges range between 1,000 and 1,300.

  

• Hurpstune: Small yet very sturdy-for-their-size animals found across most regions of Logdlind, Hurpstunes are herbivorous creatures that serve as potential food sources for many of their world's meat-eaters and as sources of multiple material resources as well as meat for Boxyobobs but which are more capable of defending themselves from such predators than the average prey animal. The Hurpstune is a plentiful beast indeed within the Logdlind ecosystem, easily boasting a higher population than any other species on the planet and quite possibly even outnumbering the Boxyobobs, being found in large groups amid all of its regions and environment types but inclined to living in even more concentrated numbers near bodies of water, due to its particular need for large and frequent drinks of the life-sustaining liquid. Despite this, it has no gills and is not, as commonly assumed, amphibious.

 

Hurpstunes stand with their nearly-rectangular bodies aligned horizontally upon six primary legs originating from the sides of their midsections' underbellies. Near the backs of the creatures protrude two additional, beefier and clawed limbs which are usually considered arms as they are not used in walking and usually dangle just above the ground. The Hurpstune lacks a head distinct from its torso, as its three-eyed face is displayed almost flatly upon its front, and its brains are rooted near the center of its body, tightly packed in with several non-neural organs found far away from the brain in just about all other animals.

 

From the Hurpstune's upper-sides near the body's front extend two tendrils of moderate length ending in venomous spikes which, after poisoning a victim, cause great and long-lasting burning pain and severe, equally lingering swelling. A single such sting is generally not life-threatening to any creature significantly larger than a Hurpstune, though with most of the creature's natural enemies it is usually incapacitating enough to allow it to escape on its fast-scurrying legs, and multiple stings, which can easily be sustained given its tendency to live in packs, can prove considerably more lethal, four usually being enough to kill a Boxyobob. Secondary defensive mechanisms of Hurpstunes include their back-arms, which can reach directly backwards, and three stingers on their large buttocks, which bear a slightly stronger venom than their tendrils but are of very limited use due to their position.

 

In addition to straightforwardly eating their meat, Boxyobobs have come to utilize parts of Hurpstunes' bones and shelled external portions for constructing lightweight tools, while their fat, inedible on its own and present in copious amounts within the buttocks, is commonly used as an accessory ingredient in the cooking of more elaborate foods.

 

Hurpstune specimens' durability values are never below 500 and never above 700.

  

• Snescrouf: A large mammalian beast-hominid found on Zornemim, particularly in and around the closest regions to "forests" on the tainted and desolate planet, that is known for its repugnant and seemingly ferocious, even by Zornemian standards, appearance that stands in contrast to a surprisingly relatively peaceful nature. Standing between six and eight feet in its slightly slouched posture, the Snescrouf's more immediately noticeable features include a huge, vertically-gaping mouth that is never fully closed and a very long, semi-segmented articulate neck originates deep within the inside of the creature's torso and extends upward and into exterior visibility through a large hole in its shell-like outermost layer of flesh. A closer look will bring to attention the Snescrouf's set of eyes, of which there are four pupils between two deeply receding, blackened sockets. Each of these individual orbs is very weak, the animal's overall eyesight being sub-par even with its "extra" pupils, without which its ability to see would be downright inadequate for survival.

 

Snescroufs are omnivorous beings whose dietary patterns tend to lean towards consuming plants and passive insects rather than significant, sentient life-forms, though this may vary between individuals, and a few specimens can be quite vicious. Generally however, they are not a hazard to humanoids, with neither Demioid nor Trylepibe being part of their natural diet at all. If and when provoked, however, they are quite capable of defending themselves, mainly with their clawed hands which include one particularly large and sharp spike of bone in place of a middle finger, attacking with ferocity worthy of their appearance as well as surprisingly quick reflexes. Despite this, Snescroufs usually lose in one-on-one battles with the more innately aggressive Sisealiuns.

 

Individuals live by themselves, and often make crude homes within caves, upon small mesas and in the rare tree-surrounded spots on Zornemim. The exception occurs when they mate, whereupon a male and female travel together for a time, seemingly in order to test each other's viability as specimens worthy of reproduction, before consummating and then separating. After a gestation period of three-to-four cycles, the female Snescrouf gives birth and then immediately leaves her child to fend for itself, but usually selects a secure location in which to do this, so that the offspring may safely get its bearings before setting off into the wild at its own reasonable pace.

 

The average durability value for an adult Snescrouf falls into the 800-1,000 range.

  

• Falkateddey: One of the most prominent indigenous beings of the Uve Mard homeworld Qollag, the Falkateddey is a four-legged, six armed mammal measuring between five and six feet tall while standing in its upright, default position. A peaceful herbivore by nature, it is known as a very smart and clever animal, for which the intellectual Uve Mards have taken a liking to it since further back than even they can remember (which says a lot bearing in mind that the Uve Mards were the first race in the Prime Galaxy to begin keeping track of history). Excellent climbers, Falkateddi can, much like the Minstonters of Jamblibam, commonly be found dwelling in Qollag's tangled treetops and other elevated natural structures, from which their falling is so rare that it is basically a non-issue. With this in mind, Uve Mard architects have, back since the mid-Second Century Relative, designed gymnasium-like structures within the upper reaches of their domed capital buildings, sometimes even directly connecting them with the treetops of nearby forests, for the Falkateddi, thus inviting the creatures to live and play among them. Despite and excluding this, it is not common practice for Uve Mards to keep Falkateddi as immediate pets, due to the animals' size as well as the kind humanoids' respect for leaving nature's beings in their undisturbed states (the kettle-like Hilkidilks, which the Uve Mards and most others believe were designed to be taken advantage of by them, are a major exception).

 

Shifting the focus back to the attributes of the Falkateddey itself, the creature is mostly covered in fuzz, with greens, blues and purples comprising its form's primary colors. The body below the head consists of three clearly defined, circular sections that are held in place by naturally-present and nigh-unbreakable "rings" without which the beast's shape and stature could not sustain itself. Of particular note as a peculiarity is the seemingly vestigial yellow "sheet" of fatty flesh appended to the length of every Falkateddey's back, which despite its ease of being torn with manual force will never tear with the contortions as the animal moves and leaps about.

 

Regarding the Falkateddey's many limbs, each pair is distinct. The topmost arms bear two outer fingers and two special fingers that each extend into two flexible talons, very useful for grabbing ledges and the like. The middle pair of arms are the longest limbs present on the beast and could be considered the "main" ones, possessing small, standardly four-fingered hands. The lower arms are the shortest and end in unwieldy, uneven claws clearly designed for harming enemies, though in practice these are seldom used as Falkateddi spend most of their time high above where any of their few natural enemies can reach. The upper, primary legs are the creature's most muscular limbs and sturdy instruments of standard walking, while the lower, secondary legs are basically tiny versions thereof, serving mainly to provide additional balance in support of their stronger counterparts and being far too weak to support the bodies above them on their own.

 

Most Falkateddi possess durability values falling between 600 and 800.

  

• The mutant Wrenchaiian Mulshian and Eggmen Super Team member named Turvalom and better known as Plant-Egg is, in retrospect, frequently listed as history's most important member of his species, being ranked above his teammates despite his late entry in the context of the Eggmen's historical saga by virtue of his inventive genius. In terms of "powers", his mind which produced numerous mechanical designs that have since been adapted for mass-production and conducted research that continues to aid in new technological developments to this day easily overshadows his mutant chlorokinesis. One of the more lucratively popular concepts of machinery brought into prominence thanks to Turvalom is that of the large single-pilot combat vehicle fashioned as a facsimile of a known living creature (or more rarely and impressively, a "made up" form) and possessing manually-controlled body movements emulating a mechanical warrior. Case in point - Plant-Egg's original working version of this concept and our primary subject for this encyclopedic update, the MechanEgg Mark 1: Yocc-Gai Incarnate.

 

Yocc-Gai is a Mulshian figure legendarily known as the founder of the Belliwonk tribe which Turvalom was born into, having several spectacular feats of strength attributed to him, and most likely never having actually existed as a historical person, a position also shared by the mutant genius. Despite this, Plant-Egg retained much respect for Yocc-Gai as far as "fictional" characters go, and thus based this fourteen-foot-tall Mulshian-shaped mechanical suit upon his interpretation of the hero's traditional description. Completed in Age 758 and originally simply called "Yocc-Gai Incarnate", this machine would later be recognized as the prototype for multiple subsequent piloted "MechanEgg" models built by Turvalom, with its designation being retroactively changed in accordance. The Mark 1 is the only one of the six original models used by the Eggmen to remain intact to date, currently being on display at the Mulshian Memorial Museum of Artifactory, an institution of Ergnoplian history-preservation whose establishment Plant-Egg himself was one of the major funders of.

 

Its concept being nigh-unprecedented in the realm of humanoid-made vehicles, the Yocc-Gai Incarnate was designed with viable and stable movement as the sole primary function in mind, and thus lacks any fancy built-in weaponry unlike its later, more advanced brethren. That said, this machine stands as a rousing success in terms of what Plant-Egg set out to accomplish with it, exhibiting fluent, highly articulate movements governed by a set of internal controls where the pilot must make similar corresponding movements, creating a feeling of synergy between the motions of the machine and its controller. In fact, it is actually more flexible, if ever-so-slightly so, than any of its subsequent counterparts thanks to this attribute being its only main design focus and its non-encumbrance by additional weapons and gadgets, and more agile as well due to its smaller size and relatively light weight. The MechanEgg Mark 1 is just as strong and sturdy as it looks, being highly practical as an instrument of heavy lifting and, though not specifically designed for combat, fairly viable in terms of punching, etc. as well.

All of the following creatures are mortal, corporeal native inhabitants of the peaceful and, indeed, blessed, vast, forest/rainforest/jungle/ generally lush planet of Terramos in the Alpha Octant. Terramos is considered to be one of, if not the, most beautiful and goodly planet(s) in terms of both its environment and its inhabitants, all of the humanoids among which are devout followers of God and the other benevolent forces under Him. Note that the two most intelligent humanoid races of Terramos, the Gworjini and Yedmanjaths, are not included in this particular entry, due to its intention to focus on more naturalistic creatures, but can be found elsewhere in the Custodian's archives.

 

LEFT TO RIGHT, TOP TO BOTTOM:

 

• Dirivure (Burrowing Thrall): One of the most dangerous creatures on Terramos if and when angered, the Dirivure is a ground–dwelling plated insectoid spanning up to three meters in length and boasting an extremely deadly natural weapon that is completely unique to it. To feed upon prey, this beast bursts from the ground near a colony insects and launches several tiny but absolutely lethal acute heat lasers from its maw, which instantly explode small targets into bits of blood upon impact. The Dirivure is capable of easily wiping out groups of one hundred insects or more in one fell swoop, and even against larger creatures each of its lasers can destroy four cubic centimeters of any living tissue, making a full volley fatal to almost anyone. Thankfully, the creature is passive to most other organisms and will only attack if provoked. The Dirivure's durability value is around 700.

 

• Foozean (Shrubbery): An animate variety of vegetation that, while spending most of its life planted like a regular plant, is capable of temporarily uprooting itself and crawling slowly across the ground. The Foozean feeds through sunlight and soil nutrients and undergoes oxygen–producing photosynthesis. Its claw–like appendages can be used for defense against very small animals and insects, and it has few natural enemies that are too powerful for it to defend itself from, allowing the Foozean to proliferate asexually throughout all the planet’s lush environments. All specimens are genetically identical and physically similar, and the durability value for all Foorzeans is 300 (give or take).

 

• Chighoth (Pinkie–Barbarian): Dull, tribal, predatory humanoids that are considered a tertiary race of Terramos. Chighoths are taller and heavier than most humanoids, often standing two whole meters or more, and they are noted for their almost entirely pinkish–purple skin as well as their multicolored and numerous toes. They bear significant resemblances to, and have thus been confused or mistakenly associated with, both Merthaldu and Mulshians. Most Chighoths do not speak English, but they have their own, simpler spoken language, known as Chighian. They are on par with several particularly smart non–sapients in intelligence, and are able to communicate among one another in their own primitive language. Culturally, they are hunter–gatherers who live in huts with leaf roofs, live in packs of around twelve, and pay their due respects to God in the simple ways they are able to. Chighoths are found mostly throughout the drier regions of Terramos, and have typical durability values of roughly 500–800.

 

• Hokarth (Feral Treeman): Perhaps the most enigmatic and unpredictable organism on Terramos, the Hokarth is a large (2.5 meters) beast–hominid physiologically resembling a plant (but not enough for it to actually be classified as a part–plant creature like the Foozean) and lurking alone in the various caves and crevices of the jungle, emerging only to hunt its prey. Little is known about the purpose of Hokarths, but they are extremely rare, with there being estimated to be less than 1,000 of them in existence. All specimens encountered thus far have varied considerably in features and behavior, the most notable consistent feature being a "beard" of tentacle–like appendages that seems to constitute the beast's mouth. The Hokarth's durability value is confirmed to be more than 1,200, and none has ever been captured alive, either by immoral hunters seeking the rare creatures as trophies or by other parties wishing to examine them for the sake of knowledge.

 

• Lorlule (Barnacle Flayer): Lorlules are some of the most bizarre native creatures of Terramos, resembling the gelatinous, amphibious creatures of water–based planets such as Hulptos more than the ones they live among. They have slug–like bodies that can stick to most surfaces on the planet at any gravitational direction, and rubbery, equally sticky tentacles which can extend great distances to snatch up prey. This species possesses a very high level of variance, particularly in the size of individuals, which range from barely larger than generic insects to several feet in length. Their soft bodies provide little protection from trauma, and durability value of this creature rarely exceeds 500. Although they are not actively harmful, Lorlules are seen as undesirable pests by many, mostly Yedmanjaths, and due to resulting measures taken against them by some overzealous parties their population is currently declining, though they are unlikely to ever become extinct due to said population's overall large scale.

 

• Panirach (Fastidious Flyer): A free–flying, herbivorous avian native to a particular dense networking of treetops high above a certain portion of Terramos' surface, which are designated as the "Guardian’s Canopies" due to the region's close geographical proximity to the location of the Guardian of Terramos. The Panirach has the unique ability of being able to carry carries its young and unborn eggs in a nest held in place with relative security on its flat, crown–like top as it cruises smoothly through the skies and treetops, doing so with great natural balance. Once the young ones are born, the mother establishes a permanent nest in a secure, high–up location where they are raised for about two years until they learn to fly properly. Panirachs are a rare case of a species whose females are considered distinctly superior to males; males abandon the females they mate with as soon as signs of pregnancy are visible, consequently do not play a role in the raising of offspring, and thus lack both the unique headpieces of the females and their balancing abilities. Besides this distinction between genders, genetic variation among Panirachs is very limited, and the average durability value of a healthy adult specimen is 550.

 

• Ninishi (Chestnut Tribal): Considered a secondary humanoid race of their planet, the Ninishi are much more intelligent, peaceful and socially advanced compared to the Chighoths. They have established villages and travel routes throughout the central regions of Terramos, and have adapted and evolved considerably over time, which is what sets them apart from the purely primitive Chighoths. Most notably, Ninishi were originally primarily carnivorous, but later came to develop a distaste for having to kill animals for food, deciding that decreasing their doing so would be a noble thing to do and subsequently doing just that; most Ninishi today, while not complete vegetarians, eat far more vegetations and grains than meat. They possess their own distinct, basic spoken language, Ninnish, and have a limited ability to learn other languages (again, more–so than Chighoths). Ninishi rarely reach more than one meter in height, and possess a surprisingly high durability value of 800 thanks to their hard protective bodies, which are similar to the exteriors of many nuts and are the reason for the creatures' parenthesized nickname.

 

• Brahzen (Geo–Behemoth): Standing a staggering eight meters with its neck fully upright, the Brahzen is roughly "tied" with the Sujat for the distinction of being the largest creature on Terramos besides the Guardian. The Brahzen is a mostly yellow–colored behemoth that, as alluded to in the previous sentence, has a long, strong and flexible (in some cases downright stretchy) neck which it used to reach various food sources. It is, despite its peaceful default disposition and deceivingly fat and lazy–looking appearance, very combatively skilled if and when provoked, attacking with its large and heavy claws which include saw–like (but by no means flimsy) central digits. The Brahzen also possesses infrared, heat–sensing vision, though this ability, shared with a few other creatures throughout the Prime Galaxy, seems to serve little practical purpose in the particular case of this animal and the environment in which it dwells. The average durability value of these creatures is 2,500.

 

• Krinchu (Dreadclaw): The Krinchu, whose nickname of "Dreadclaw" is particularly popular, is a carnivorous beast that naturally desires to eat and will attack most other forms of animate life in the Terramian biosphere with an abnormally large appetite for flesh. It is, by far, the most hostile creature to naturally dwell on Terramos, and indeed, it seems quite out of place on a blessed planet that has been expressly stated by divine sources to be meant as a utopia. Krinchu most closely resemble the Trettnacs of the distant but similar planet known as Jamblibam, though they are even more aggressive and bestial, having particularly rough and "edgy" bodies. Their long, powerful limbs can carry their hulking bodies great distances in large bounds, and their sets of double–claws can split a small boulder in two. All Krinchu peculiarly have a consistent durability value of exactly 1,050, though their physical forms, at least in terms of appearance, are somewhat more variable. Many measures have been taken by the greater Terramian populations to keep these beasts under control, culminating in the Grand Purge of Age 631 in which most were successfully driven back into the dry desert regions on the fringes of the planet, where the vast majority of the Krinchu population remains to this day and continues to be monitored, from overlooking mountains and the like, by Yedmanjath warriors.

 

• Sujat (Girth Lizard): A huge, dumb animal that spends most of its time sitting on the ground and consuming various plants, bacteria, insects and rodents. It is a fairly rare creature that prefers to situate itself in high and secluded areas, and this choosing of obscure shelter is its main "defense" from the many creatures that would kill it for the immense amount of edible meat it yields. Chighoths in particular are avid hunters of Sujats, a single one of which can feed a group of them for days. This beast benefits greatly from light absorption and gives out large amounts of carbon dioxide through its bodily pores. The Sujat can move, albeit at a very slow pace, using the spherical foot–like structures that line its underbelly, and is also identifiable for the hoop–like bands encircling its midsection, which, while a notable and unusual feature, do not seem to serve any discernible function and are thus considered vestigial. A Sujat typically weighs at least two tons, and they have a durability value of at least 3,000.

 

On the left, The Times Square Tower (7 Times Square), by David David Childs of Skidmore, Owings & Merrill, was the last of the four 42nd Street redevelopment towers to be completed in June 2004. At 47-stories (221.5m) it also ended up being the tallest. Arthur Andersen was originally supposed to be the anchor tenant, but backed out after the Enron Scandal.

 

Like the neighboring 5 Times Square, the all-plot building was a tight fit, surrounded on three sides by subway lines, inlcuding station platofmrs and an entrance for the system's busiest station further complicating excavation and construction. As a concession, the foundations were made with minicaissons into the bedroom, and larger ones underneath the corners. Century-old foundation footings underneath the subway station were incorporated where possible.

 

The Tower benefits from special zoning, resulting in uniform floor sizes and panoramic views from every floor. The diagonally braced perimeter frame supports lateral loads and allows wider spacing on the facade columns. Solid bands in the facade contain thin diagonal lines, and a series of slightly accentuated "zig zgs" from the base of the tower to its roof enhance the building's verticality. A four-story advertising sign is attached to its midsection.

   

On the right, this 38-story office tower, at 5 Times Square, combines office space for Ernst and Young National Headquarters with a retail base that engages the pedestrian traffic of the Times Square theatre district.

 

Designed by the highly acclaimed architect Bill Pedersen of Kohn Pedersen Fox with a dynamic asymmetrical form addressing the zoning demands of the 42nd Street Redevelopment Authority. Angular planes that compose the primary form of building correspond to the break in New Yorks street gird caused by the intersection of Broadway. This irregularity allows for an innovative design that responds directly to pedestrian traffic patterns and maximizes light and floor plates. A tinted reflective glass maintains uniformity on window and spandrel surfaces. Exterior signage at retail level maintain a dialogue with the graphic language that is characteristic of the Times Square District.

The Chrysler 300 "letter series" are high-performance personal luxury cars that were built by Chrysler in the U.S. from 1955 to 1965. After the initial year, which was named 300-C, the 1956 cars were designated 300B. Successive model years given the next letter of the alphabet as a suffix (skipping "i"), reaching the 300L by 1965, after which the model was dropped.

 

The 300 "letter series" cars were among the vehicles that focused on performance built by domestic U.S. manufacturers after World War II, and thus can be considered one of the muscle car's ancestors, though full-sized and more expensive.

 

The automaker began using the 300 designations again for performance-luxury sedans, using the 300M nameplate from 1999 to 2004, and expanding the 300 series with a new V8-powered 300C, the top model of a relaunched Chrysler 300 line, a new rear-wheel drive car launched in 2004 for the 2005 model year. Unlike the first "letter series" series, the successive variants do not feature standard engines producing at least 300 hp (220 kW), except for Chrysler's current top-line 300C models.

 

1955 C-300

 

This first of the letter series cars did not bear a letter, but can retroactively be considered the '300A'. The 'C-' designation was applied to all Chrysler models; however for marketing purposes the numerical series skipped more than 225 numbers forward in sequence in order to further reinforce the 300's bhp rating. The 300 originally stood for the 300 hp (220 kW) engine. The C-300 was really a racecar aimed at the NASCAR circuits that was sold for the road for homologation purposes, with Chrysler's most powerful engine, the 331 cu in (5.4 L) FirePower "Hemi" V8, due to the hemisperic shape of the combustion chambers, fitted with twin 4-barrel carburetors, a race-profiled camshaft setup, solid valve lifters, stiffer suspension, and a performance exhaust system. By 1956 this would be the first American production car to top 355 hp (265 kW), and the letter series was for many years the most powerful car produced in the United States.

 

The car's "Forward Look" styling can be attributed as much to the Chrysler parts bin as designer Virgil Exner. The front clip, including the grille, was taken from the Imperial of the same year, but the rest of the car did not look like an Imperial. The midsection was from a New Yorker hardtop, with a Windsor rear quarter. Exner also included base-model Chrysler bumpers and removed many exterior elements such as back-up lights, hood ornament, side trim, and exterior mirrors. An electric clock and two-speed windshield wipers were standard. There were few options available including selection of three exterior colors (red, white and black) and only one color of tan leather interior. Power windows and power seat were available but air conditioning was not available in 1955.

 

Measured at 127.58 mph (205.32 km/h) in the Flying Mile, and doing well in NASCAR, the C-300 aroused interest that was not reflected in its modest sales figure of 1,725.

 

When the C300 competed in NASCAR, it was painted to advertise that it was the "world's fastest stock car".

 

[Text from Wikipedia]

 

en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chrysler_300_letter_series

HMS Cavalier is a retired C-class destroyer of the Royal Navy. She was laid down by J. Samuel White and Company at East Cowes on 28 March 1943, launched on 7 April 1944, and commissioned on 22 November 1944. She served in World War II and in various commissions in the Far East until she was decommissioned in 1972. After decommissioning she was preserved as a museum ship and currently resides at Chatham Historic Dockyard.

 

Construction

Cavalier was one of 96 War Emergency Programme destroyers ordered between 1940 and 1942. She was one of the first ships to be built with the forward and aft portions of her hull welded, with the midsection riveted to ensure strength. The new process gave the ship additional speed. In 1970 a 64-mile race was arranged between Cavalier and the frigate Rapid, which had the same hull form and machinery. Cavalier beat Rapid by 30 yards (27 m) after Rapid lifted a safety valve, reaching an average speed of 31.8 knots (58.9 km/h).

 

Service history

 

Cavalier returning to Portsmouth in 1946

After commissioning she joined the 6th Destroyer Flotilla, part of the Home Fleet, and took part in a number of operations off Norway. Most notably in February 1945 she was despatched with the destroyers Myngs and Scorpion[5] to reinforce a convoy from the Kola Inlet in Russia, which had suffered attacks from enemy aircraft and U-boats, and had subsequently been scattered by a violent storm. She and the other escorts reformed the convoy, and returned to Britain with the loss of only three of the thirty-four ships. This action earned Cavalier a battle honour.

 

Later in 1945 Cavalier was despatched to the Far East, where she provided naval gunfire support during the Battle of Surabaya. In February 1946 she went to Bombay to help quell the Royal Indian Navy Mutiny. After some time in the British Pacific Fleet she was paid off in May 1946 and was placed in reserve at Portsmouth.

 

Cavalier returned to service in 1957 after a modernisation, which included removing some of her torpedo tubes in favour of Squid anti-submarine mortars. She was again sent to the Far East, and joined the 8th Destroyer Squadron in Singapore. In December 1962 she transported 180 troops from Singapore to Brunei to help suppress a rebellion that became part of the Indonesia-Malaysia Confrontation. After disembarking the troops she remained in Brunei as a communications centre for several days until other Royal Navy ships arrived to relieve her.

 

Cavalier was decommissioned in 1972 along with HMS Wellington (moored in London), and is the last surviving British destroyer of World War 2 still in the UK.

 

After decommissioning[edit]

After decommissioning at Chatham Dockyard, she was laid up in Portsmouth. As a unique survivor, after a five-year campaign led by Lord Louis Mountbatten, the ship was purchased by the Cavalier Trust for £65,000 and handed over on Trafalgar Day 1977 in Portsmouth. By selling the ship to the Trust, the UK Government and the Royal Navy severed all formal connection and responsibility for the ship. A special warrant was issued that allows her to retain the prefix "HMS" (Her Majesty's Ship) and fly the White Ensign, a privilege normally only enjoyed by commissioned ships of the Royal Navy. A similar privilege is enjoyed by another museum ship, the cruiser Belfast.

 

Moved to Southampton, Cavalier opened as a museum and memorial ship in August 1982. This was not commercially successful, and in October 1983 the ship was moved to Brighton, where she formed the centrepiece of a newly built yacht marina.

 

In 1987, the ship was brought to the River Tyne to form the centrepiece of a national shipbuilding exhibition centre planned by South Tyneside Metropolitan Borough Council in the former shipyard of Hawthorn Leslie and Company, builders of many similar destroyers. The plans for the museum came to nothing, and the borough council, faced with annual maintenance costs of £30,000 and a hardening of public opinion against unnecessary expenditure, resolved to sell the ship and wind up the venture in 1996. The ship sat in a dry dock (owing to a previous list) in a rusting condition, awaiting a buyer or scrapping in situ.

 

After the reforming of the Cavalier Trust, and a debate in Parliament, in 1998 Cavalier was bought by Chatham Historic Dockyard for display as a museum ship. Arriving on 23 May 1998, Cavalier now resides in No. 2 dry-dock.

 

On 14 November 2007, Cavalier was officially designated as a war memorial to the 142 Royal Navy destroyers sunk during World War II and the 11,000 men killed on those ships. The unveiling of a bronze monument created by the artist Kenneth Potts was conducted by Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh. The monument is adjacent to the ship at the Historic Dockyard in Chatham, Kent.

 

In the summer of 2009 the Chatham Historic Dockyard Trust made available accommodation on board the ship for youth groups who wish to stay on board and experience life on board a Royal Naval Destroyer.

 

In September 2010, Cavalier fired the first full broadside from a ship flying the White Ensign since a firing by the destroyer London in December 1981. This was due to the work of the heritage naval gun crew who restored all three 4.5-in guns back to working condition in conjunction with the Chatham Historic Dockyard Trust.

 

In April 2014 Cavalier was added to Google Maps Business View (formerly Google Business Photos) by CInsideMedia Ltd, in celebration of the 70th anniversary of her launch. The tour, which includes Cavalier's engine and gear room, was enhanced with interactive audio hotspots to enable visitors with accessibility issues to explore the ship.

wikipedia

Da Wikipédia, em português:

Louva-a-deus

O louva-a-deus ou cavalinho-de-deus é um insecto, da ordem Mantodea. Há cerca de 2400 espécies de louva-a-deus, a maioria das quais em ambiente tropical e subtropical. Seu nome popular decorre do fato de que, quando está pousado, o inseto lembra uma pessoa orando. Os louva-a-deus são insetos relativamente grandes, de cabeça triangular, tórax estreito com pronoto e abdómen bem desenvolvido. São predadores agressivos que caçam principalmente moscas e afídios. A caça é feita em geral de emboscada, facilitada pelas capacidades de camuflagem do louva-a-deus. Como não possuem veneno, os louva-a-deus contam com as suas pernas anteriores que são raptatórias, ou seja, modificadas como garras, para segurar a presa enquanto é consumida. A sua voracidade leva a que sejam considerados muito bem vindos pelos amantes da jardinagem e agricultura biológica, uma vez que, na ausência de pesticidas, são um fator importante no controlo de pragas de jardim. Na América do Norte ocorrem apenas três espécies de louva-a-deus, duas das quais introduzidas no início do século XX para este mesmo efeito.

 

O voo do louva-a-deus é algo impressionante. Remete ao voo de um caça de combate. Ele também tem a capacidade de desviar de ataques de morcegos em pleno voo executando mergulhos.

 

O louva-a-deus é um animal muito venerado na China, tendo inclusive estilos de Kung Fu baseados em seus movimentos.

Acasalamento:

O ritual de acasalamento dos louva-a-deus, que decorre por volta do Outono, é uma época de perigo para os machos da espécie, uma vez que a fêmea muitas vezes acaba por os matar e comer durante/depois do ato. Depois do fato consumado, a fêmea põe entre 10 a 400 ovos numa cápsula endurecida que deposita no chão, superfície plana ou enrolada numa folha. Em algumas espécies, a fêmea permanece perto da cápsula e a protege contra os predadores, em particular algumas espécies de vespa. Após a eclosão, o louva-a-deus nasce como ninfa, que é em tudo igual ao adulto excepto no tamanho menor e na ausência de asas e de órgãos reprodutores maduros.

 

From Wikipedia, in english:

 

Mantis

For other uses, see Praying mantis (disambiguation) and Mantis (disambiguation).

Mantodea

Temporal range: 145–0Ma

PreЄ

Є

O

S

D

C

P

T

J

K

Pg

N

Cretaceous–Recent

Mantis-greece-alonisos-0a.jpg

Adult female Sphodromantis viridis

Scientific classification

Kingdom: Animalia

Phylum: Arthropoda

Class: Insecta

Subclass: Pterygota

Infraclass: Neoptera

Superorder: Dictyoptera

Order: Mantodea

Burmeister, 1838

Families

 

Acanthopidae

Amorphoscelididae

Chaeteessidae

Empusidae

Eremiaphilidae

Hymenopodidae

Iridopterygidae

Liturgusidae

Mantidae

Mantoididae

Metallyticidae

Sibyllidae

Tarachodidae

Thespidae

Toxoderidae

Synonyms

 

Manteodea Burmeister, 1829

Mantearia

Mantoptera

 

Mantodea (or mantises, mantes) is an order of insects that contains over 2,400 species and about 430 genera[1] in 15 families worldwide in temperate and tropical habitats. Most of the species are in the family Mantidae.

 

The English common name for the order is the mantises, or rarely (using a Latinized plural of Greek mantis), the mantes. The name mantid refers only to members of the family Mantidae, which was, historically, the only family in the Order, but with 14 additional families recognized in recent decades, this term can be confusing. The other common name, often applied to any species in the order, is "praying mantis",[2] because of the typical "prayer-like" posture with folded fore-limbs, although the eggcorn "preying mantis" is sometimes used in reference to their predatory habits.[3][4] In Europe and other regions, however, the name "praying mantis" refers to only a single species, Mantis religiosa. The closest relatives of mantises are the termites and cockroaches (order Blattodea). They are sometimes confused with phasmids (stick/leaf insects) and other elongated insects such as grasshoppers and crickets, or other insects with raptorial forelegs such as mantisflies.

Etymology:

The name mantodea is formed from the Ancient Greek words μάντις (mantis) meaning "prophet", and εἶδος (eidos) meaning "form" or "type". It was coined in 1838 by the German entomologist Hermann Burmeister.

Systematics:

The systematics of mantises have long been disputed. Mantises, along with walking sticks, were once placed in the order Orthoptera with the cockroaches (now Blattodea) and rock crawlers (now Grylloblattodea). Kristensen (1991) combined Mantodea with the cockroaches and termites into the order Dictyoptera.

Anatomy and morphology:

Mantises have two grasping, spiked forelegs ("raptorial legs") in which prey items are caught and held securely. In most insect legs, including the posterior four legs of a mantis, the coxa and trochanter combine as an inconspicuous base of the leg; in the raptorial legs however, the coxa and trochanter combine to form a segment about as long as the femur, which is a spiky part of the grasping apparatus (see illustration). Located at the base of the femur are a set of discoidal spines, usually four in number, but ranging from zero to as many as five depending on the species. These spines are preceded by a number of tooth-like tubercles, which, along with a similar series of tubercles along the tibia and the apical claw near its tip, give the foreleg of the mantis its grasp on its prey. The foreleg ends in a delicate tarsus made of between four and five segments and ending in a two-toed claw with no arolium and used as a walking appendage.[8]

 

The mantis thorax consists of a prothorax, a mesothorax, and a metathorax. In all species apart from the genus Mantoida, the prothorax, which bears the head and forelegs, is much longer than the other two thoracic segments. The prothorax is also flexibly articulated, allowing for a wide range of movement of the head and forelimbs while the remainder of the body remains more or less immobile. The articulation of the neck is also remarkably flexible; some species of mantis can rotate the head nearly 180 degrees.

 

Mantises may have a visual range of up to 20 metres. Their compound eyes may comprise up to 10,000 ommatidia. The eyes are widely spaced and laterally situated, affording a wide binocular field of vision and, at close range, precise stereoscopic vision. The dark spot on each eye is a pseudopupil. As their hunting relies heavily on vision, mantises are primarily diurnal. Many species, however, fly at night, and then may be attracted to artificial lights. Nocturnal flight is especially important to males in search of less-mobile females that they locate by detecting their pheromones. Flying at night exposes mantises to fewer bird predators than diurnal flight would. Many mantises also have an auditory thoracic organ that helps them to avoid bats by detecting their echolocation and responding evasively.[8]

 

Mantises can be loosely categorized as being macropterous (long-winged), brachypterous (short-winged), micropterous (vestigial-winged), or apterous (wingless). If not wingless, a mantis has two sets of wings: the outer wings, or tegmina, are usually narrow, opaque, and leathery. They function as camouflage and as a shield for the hind wings. The hind wings are much broader, more delicate, and transparent. They are the main organs of flight, if any. Brachypterous species are at most minimally capable of flight, other species not at all. The wings are mostly erected in these mantises for alarming enemies and attracting females. Even in many macropterous species the female is much heavier than the male, has much shorter wings, and rarely takes flight if she is capable of it at all.

 

The abdomen of all mantises consist of ten tergites with a corresponding set of nine sternites visible in males and seven visible in females. The slim abdomen of most males allows them to take flight more easily while the thicker abdomen of the females houses the reproductive machinery for generating the ootheca. The abdomen of both sexes ends in a pair of cerci.

Evolution:

One theory for the evolution of the group is that mantises evolved from proto-cockroaches, diverging from their common ancestors by the Cretaceous period, possibly from species like Raphidiomimula burmitica, a predatory cockroach with mantis-like forelegs. Possibly the earliest known modern mantis is Regiata scutra, although more common (and confirmed) is Santanmantis, a stilt-legged genus, also from the Cretaceous. Like their close termite cousins, though, mantises did not become common and diverse until the early Tertiary period.

Behavior:

Diet and predatory behavior:

Most mantises are exclusively predatory while exceptions are predominantly so. Insects form their primary prey, but the diet of a mantis changes as it grows larger. In its first instar a mantis eats small insects such as tiny flies or its own siblings. In later instars it does not or cannot profitably pursue such small prey. In the final instar as a rule the diet still includes more insects than anything else, but large species have been known to prey on small scorpions, lizards, frogs, birds, snakes, fish, and even rodents; they feed on any species small enough for them to capture, but large enough to engage their attention. For example, a large mantis feeding on a bee or bug might be pestered with impunity by jackal flies and biting midges that it would readily have eaten in its first instar. Large prey tends to increase in value with the cube of its size: a blowfly four times as long as a jackal fly represents a meal about 64 times as massive. However, the chewing action can be always triggered by picking the mantis up to deny it traction and stimulating its mandibles with food. When a female mantis is into her final growth spurt and is accumulating nutrients to make eggs, the largest available prey that she can manage is the most effective for her to concentrate on.[citation needed]

 

The majority of mantises are ambush predators, but some ground and bark species actively pursue their prey. For example, members of a few genera such as the ground mantids, Entella, Ligaria and Ligariella, run over dry ground seeking prey much as tiger beetles do. Species that are predominantly ambush predators camouflage themselves and spend long periods standing perfectly still. They largely wait for their prey to stray within reach, but most mantises chase tempting prey if it strays closely enough. In pure ambush mode a mantis lashes out at remarkable speed when a target does get within reach, details of the speed and mode attack varying with the species. A mantis catches prey items and grips them with grasping, spiked forelegs. The mantis usually holds its prey with one arm between the head and thorax, and the other on the abdomen. Then, if the prey does not resist, the mantis eats it alive. However, if the prey does resist, the mantis often eats it head first, some species of mantises being more prone to the behaviour than others. Unlike sucking predatory arthropods, a mantis does not liquefy prey tissues or drain its prey's body fluids, but simply slices and chews it with its mandibles as convenient, often from one end. If it should happen to have begun feeding on the midsection of the prey, it typically ends up eating first one remnant end from one foreclaw, then the rest from the other, leaving nothing but accidentally severed fragments such as limbs.[citation needed]

 

Chinese Mantids have been found to gain benefits in survivorship, growth, and fecundity by supplementing their diet with pollen. In replicated laboratory tests the first instar actively fed on pollen just after hatching, thereby avoiding starvation in the absence of prey. The adults fed on pollen-laden insects, attaining fecundity as high as those fed on larger numbers of insects alone.

Defense and camouflage:

Generally, mantises protect themselves by camouflage and concealment. When directly threatened, many mantis species stand tall and spread their forelegs, with their wings fanning out wide. The fanning of the wings makes the mantis seem larger and more threatening, with some species having bright colors and patterns on their hind wings and inner surfaces of their front legs for this purpose. If harassment persists, a mantis may strike with its forelegs and attempt to pinch or bite. As part of the threat display, some species also may produce a hissing sound by expelling air from the abdominal spiracles. When flying at night, at least some mantises are able to detect the echolocation sounds produced by bats, and when the frequency begins to increase rapidly, indicating an approaching bat, they stop flying horizontally and begin a descending spiral toward the safety of the ground, often preceded by an aerial loop or spin.[10][11]

 

Mantises, like stick insects, show rocking behaviour in which the insect makes rhythmic, repetitive side-to-side movements. Functions proposed for this behaviour include the enhancement of crypsis by means of the resemblance to vegetation moving in the wind. However, the repetitive swaying movements may be most important in allowing the insects to discriminate objects from the background by their relative movement, a visual mechanism typical of animals with simpler sight systems. Rocking movements by these generally sedentary insects may replace flying or running as a source of relative motion of objects in the visual field.[12]

 

Mantises are camouflaged, and most species make use of protective coloration to blend in with the foliage or substrate, both to avoid predators, and to better snare their prey. Various species have evolved to not only blend with the foliage, but to mimic it, appearing as either living or withered leaves, sticks, tree bark, blades of grass, flowers, or even stones. Some species in Africa and Australia are able to turn black after a molt following a fire in the region to blend in with the fire ravaged landscape (a type of adaptive melanism referred to as fire melanism). While mantises can bite, they have no venom. They can also slash captors with their raptorial legs (which is often preceded by a threat display wherein the mantis rears back and spreads its front legs and wings (if present), often revealing vivid colors and/or eyespots to startle a predator). Mantises are without chemical protection; many large insectivores eat mantises, including Scops owls, shrikes, bullfrogs, chameleons, and Milk Snakes.

Reproduction and life history:

Sexual cannibalism is common among most predatory species of mantises in captivity, and under some circumstances may also be observed in the field. 90% of the predatory species of mantis participate in sexual cannibalism.[13] The female may begin feeding by biting off the male’s head (as they do with regular prey), and if mating has begun, the male’s movements may become even more vigorous in its delivery of sperm. Early researchers thought that because copulatory movement is controlled by a ganglion in the abdomen, not the head, removal of the male’s head was a reproductive strategy by females to enhance fertilisation while obtaining sustenance. Later, this behavior appeared to be an artifact of intrusive laboratory observation. Whether the behavior in the field is natural, or also the result of distractions caused by the human observer, remains controversial. Mantises are highly visual organisms, and notice any disturbance occurring in the laboratory or field such as bright lights or moving scientists. Research by Liske and Davis (1984)[14] and others found (e.g. using video recorders in vacant rooms) that Chinese mantises that had been fed ad libitum (so that they were not hungry) actually displayed elaborate courtship behavior when left undisturbed. The male engages the female in courtship dance, to change her interest from feeding to mating. Courtship display has also been observed in other species, but it does not hold for all mantises.

 

The reason for sexual cannibalism has been debated, with some considering submissive males to be achieving a selective advantage in their ability to produce offspring. This theory is supported by a quantifiable increase in the duration of copulation among males who are cannibalized, in some cases doubling both the duration and the chance of fertilization. This is contrasted by a study where males were seen to approach hungry females with more caution, and were shown to remain mounted on hungry females for a longer time, indicating that males actively avoiding cannibalism may mate with multiple females. The same study also found that hungry females generally attracted fewer males than those who were well fed.[15] The act of dismounting is one of the most dangerous times for males during copulation, for it is at this time that females most frequently cannibalize their mates. This increase in mounting duration was thought to indicate that males are more prone to wait for an opportune time to dismount from a hungry female rather than from a satiated female that would be less likely to cannibalize her mate. Some consider this to be an indication that male submissiveness does not inherently increase male reproductive success, rather that more fit males are likely to approach a female with caution and escape.[16]

 

The mating season in temperate climates typically begins in autumn. To mate following courtship, the male usually leaps onto the female’s back, and clasps her thorax and wing bases with his forelegs. He then arches his abdomen to deposit and store sperm in a special chamber near the tip of the female’s abdomen. The female then lays between 10 and 400 eggs, depending on the species. Eggs are typically deposited in a frothy mass that is produced by glands in the abdomen. This froth then hardens, creating a protective capsule. The protective capsule and the egg mass is called an ootheca. Depending on the species, the ootheca can be attached to a flat surface, wrapped around a plant or even deposited in the ground. Despite the versatility and durability of the eggs, they are often preyed on, especially by several species of parasitic wasps. In a few species, the mother guards the eggs.[citation needed]

 

As in related insect groups, mantises go through three stages of metamorphosis: egg, nymph, and adult (mantises are among the hemimetabolic insects). The nymph and adult insect are structurally quite similar, except that the nymph is smaller and has no wings or functional genitalia. The nymphs are also sometimes colored differently from the adult, and the early stages are often mimics of ants. A mantis nymph increases in size (often changing its diet as it does so) by replacing its outer body covering with a sturdy, flexible exoskeleton and molting when needed. Molting can happen from five to ten times, depending on the species. After the final molt most species have wings, though some species are wingless or brachypterous ("short-winged"), particularly in the female sex.[citation needed]

 

In tropical species, the natural lifespan of a mantis in the wild is about 10–12 months, but some species kept in captivity have been sustained for 14 months. In colder areas, females die during the winter (as well as any surviving males)

Pest control uses:

Organic gardeners who avoid pesticides may encourage mantises as a form of biological pest control. During fall in temperate regions, mantis females typically deposit an ootheca on the underside of a leaf or on a twig, and in some species these are harvested commercially. If the egg case survives winter, the offspring, called nymphs, emerge in late spring or early summer. The nymphs have voracious appetites and typically cannibalize each other if they cannot find an adequate supply of aphids and other small insects. Tens of thousands of mantis egg cases are sold each year in some garden stores for this purpose. However, mantises prey on neutral and beneficial insects as well, basically eating anything they can successfully capture and devour.

Conservation status:

With one exception (the ground mantis Litaneutria minor in Canada, where it is rare — though it is common in the United States), North American mantises are not included among threatened or endangered species, though species in other parts of the world are under threat from habitat destruction. The European mantis (Mantis religiosa) is the state insect of Connecticut, but the General Statutes of Connecticut do not list any special protected status, as it is a non-native species from Europe and Africa. It became the state insect in October 1977 following a school project between Center Road School in Vernon, CT and then State Representative Chester W. Morgan of Vernon's 56th State Assembly District.

Introduced species:

Over 20 species are native to the United States, including the common Carolina Mantis, with only one native to Canada. Two species (the Chinese Mantis and the European Mantis) were deliberately introduced to serve as pest control for agriculture, and have spread widely in both countries. Additionally, there is a strong market in the exotic pet trade for mantis species from Asia, Africa and South America, and many species are bred in captivity for this purpose.

Cultural references:

One of the earliest mantis references is in the ancient Chinese dictionary Erya, which gives its attributes in poetry (representing courage and fearlessness), as well as a brief description. A later text, the Jingshi Zhenglei Daguan Bencao 經史證類大觀本草 ( Epic 史, history 證, collection 類, kinds 大觀, overall impression 本, basic 草, agriculture Annotated and Arranged by Types, Based upon the Classics and Historical Works") from 1108, is impressively correct on the construction of the egg packages, the development cycle, the anatomy and even the function of the antennae.

 

Western descriptions of the biology and morphology of the mantises had become relatively accurate by the 18th century. Roesel von Rosenhof accurately illustrated and described them in the Insekten-Belustigungen (Insect Entertainments). Aldous Huxley made philosophical observations about the nature of death while two mantises mated in the sight of two characters in the novel Island (the species was Gongylus gongylodes). The naturalist Gerald Durrell's autobiography My Family and Other Animals includes an account of a very evenly matched battle between a mantis and a gecko.

 

M. C. Escher's woodcut Dream depicts a human-sized mantis standing on a sleeping bishop.[18]

 

Two martial arts that had been separately developed in China have movements and fighting strategies based on those of the Mantis. As one of these arts was developed in northern China, and the other in southern parts of the country, the arts are nowadays referred to (both in English and Chinese) as 'Northern Praying Mantis' and 'Southern Praying Mantis'. Both arts are very popular in China, and have also been imported to the West in recent decades.

Mythology:

Southern African indigenous mythology refers to the mantis as a god in Khoi and San traditional myths and practices, and the word for the mantis in Afrikaans is hottentotsgot (literally, a god of the Khoi).[19][20] The word "Mantis" is also the Greek word for "prophet or seer".

Maize (/meɪz/ MAYZ; Zea mays subsp. mays, from Spanish: maíz after Taino: mahiz), also known as corn (North American and Australian English), is a cereal grain first domesticated by indigenous peoples in southern Mexico about 10,000 years ago. The leafy stalk of the plant produces pollen inflorescences and separate ovuliferous inflorescences called ears that yield kernels or seeds, which are fruits.

 

Maize has become a staple food in many parts of the world, with the total production of maize surpassing that of wheat or rice. In addition to being consumed directly by humans (often in the form of masa), maize is also used for corn ethanol, animal feed and other maize products, such as corn starch and corn syrup. The six major types of maize are dent corn, flint corn, pod corn, popcorn, flour corn, and sweet corn.[5] Sugar-rich varieties called sweet corn are usually grown for human consumption as kernels, while field corn varieties are used for animal feed, various corn-based human food uses (including grinding into cornmeal or masa, pressing into corn oil, and fermentation and distillation into alcoholic beverages like bourbon whiskey), and as chemical feedstocks. Maize is also used in making ethanol and other biofuels.

 

Maize is widely cultivated throughout the world, and a greater weight of maize is produced each year than any other grain. In 2014, total world production was 1.04 billion tonnes. Maize is the most widely grown grain crop throughout the Americas, with 361 million metric tons grown in the United States alone in 2014. Genetically modified maize made up 85% of the maize planted in the United States in 2009. Subsidies in the United States help to account for its high level of cultivation of maize and its position as the largest producer in the world.

 

HISTORY

PRE-COLUMBIAN DEVELOPMENT

Maize is a cultigen; human intervention is required for it to propagate. Whether or not the kernels fall off the cob on their own is a key piece of evidence used in archaeology to distinguish domesticated maize from its naturally-propagating teosinte ancestor. Genetic evidence can also be used to determine when various lineages split.

 

Most historians believe maize was domesticated in the Tehuacán Valley of Mexico. Recent research in the early 21st century has modified this view somewhat; scholars now indicate the adjacent Balsas River Valley of south-central Mexico as the center of domestication.

 

An influential 2002 study by Matsuoka et al. has demonstrated that, rather than the multiple independent domestications model, all maize arose from a single domestication in southern Mexico about 9,000 years ago. The study also demonstrated that the oldest surviving maize types are those of the Mexican highlands. Later, maize spread from this region over the Americas along two major paths. This is consistent with a model based on the archaeological record suggesting that maize diversified in the highlands of Mexico before spreading to the lowlands.

 

Archaeologist Dolores Piperno has said:

 

A large corpus of data indicates that [maize] was dispersed into lower Central America by 7600 BP [5600 BC] and had moved into the inter-Andean valleys of Colombia between 7000 and 6000 BP [5000–4000 BC].

— Dolores Piperno, The Origins of Plant Cultivation and Domestication in the New World Tropics: Patterns, Process, and New Developments

 

Since then, even earlier dates have been published.

 

According to a genetic study by Embrapa, corn cultivation was introduced in South America from Mexico, in two great waves: the first, more than 6000 years ago, spread through the Andes. Evidence of cultivation in Peru has been found dating to about 6700 years ago. The second wave, about 2000 years ago, through the lowlands of South America.

 

The earliest maize plants grew only small, 25-millimetre-long (1 in) corn cobs, and only one per plant. In Jackson Spielvogel's view, many centuries of artificial selection (rather than the current view that maize was exploited by interplanting with teosinte) by the indigenous people of the Americas resulted in the development of maize plants capable of growing several cobs per plant, which were usually several centimetres/inches long each. The Olmec and Maya cultivated maize in numerous varieties throughout Mesoamerica; they cooked, ground and processed it through nixtamalization. It was believed that beginning about 2500 BC, the crop spread through much of the Americas. Research of the 21st century has established even earlier dates. The region developed a trade network based on surplus and varieties of maize crops.

 

Mapuches of south-central Chile cultivated maize along with quinoa and potatoes in pre-Hispanic times; however, potato was the staple food of most Mapuches, "specially in the southern and coastal [Mapuche] territories where maize did not reach maturity". Before the expansion of the Inca Empire maize was traded and transported as far south as 40°19' S in Melinquina, Lácar Department. In that location maize remains were found inside pottery dated to 730 ± 80 BP and 920 ± 60 BP. Probably this maize was brought across the Andes from Chile. The presence of maize in Guaitecas Archipelago (43°55' S), the southernmost outpost of pre-Hispanic agriculture, is reported by early Spanish explorers. However the Spanish may have misidentified the plant.

 

COLUMBIAN EXCHANGE

After the arrival of Europeans in 1492, Spanish settlers consumed maize, and explorers and traders carried it back to Europe and introduced it to other countries. Spanish settlers far preferred wheat bread to maize, cassava, or potatoes. Maize flour could not be substituted for wheat for communion bread, since in Christian belief only wheat could undergo transubstantiation and be transformed into the body of Christ. Some Spaniards worried that by eating indigenous foods, which they did not consider nutritious, they would weaken and risk turning into Indians. "In the view of Europeans, it was the food they ate, even more than the environment in which they lived, that gave Amerindians and Spaniards both their distinctive physical characteristics and their characteristic personalities." Despite these worries, Spaniards did consume maize. Archeological evidence from Florida sites indicate they cultivated it as well.

 

Maize spread to the rest of the world because of its ability to grow in diverse climates. It was cultivated in Spain just a few decades after Columbus's voyages and then spread to Italy, West Africa and elsewhere. Widespread cultivation most likely began in southern Spain in 1525, after which it quickly spread to the rest of the Spanish Empire including its territories in Italy (and, from there, to other Italian states). Maize had many advantages over wheat and barley; it yielded two and a half times the food energy per unit cultivated area, could be harvested in successive years from the same plot of land, and grew in wildly varying altitudes and climates, from relatively dry regions with only 250 mm (10 in) of annual rainfall to damp regions with over 5,000 mm (200 in). By the 17th century it was a common peasant food in Southwestern Europe, including Portugal, Spain, southern France, and Italy. By the 18th century, it was the chief food of the southern French and Italian peasantry, especially in the form of polenta in Italy.

Names

 

The word maize derives from the Spanish form of the indigenous Taíno word for the plant, mahiz. It is known by other names around the world.

 

The word "corn" outside the US, Canada, Australia, and New Zealand refers to any cereal crop, its meaning understood to vary geographically to refer to the local staple. In the United States,[30] Canada, Australia, and New Zealand, corn primarily means maize; this usage started as a shortening of "Indian corn". "Indian corn" primarily means maize (the staple grain of indigenous Americans), but can refer more specifically to multicolored "flint corn" used for decoration.

 

In places outside the US, Canada, Australia, and New Zealand, corn often refers to maize in culinary contexts. The narrower meaning is usually indicated by some additional word, as in sweet corn, sweetcorn, corn on the cob, baby corn, the puffed confection known as popcorn and the breakfast cereal known as corn flakes.

 

In Southern Africa, maize is commonly called mielie (Afrikaans) or mealie (English), words derived from the Portuguese word for maize, milho.

 

Maize is preferred in formal, scientific, and international usage because it refers specifically to this one grain, unlike corn, which has a complex variety of meanings that vary by context and geographic region. Maize is used by agricultural bodies and research institutes such as the FAO and CSIRO. National agricultural and industry associations often include the word maize in their name even in English-speaking countries where the local, informal word is something other than maize; for example, the Maize Association of Australia, the Indian Maize Development Association, the Kenya Maize Consortium and Maize Breeders Network, the National Maize Association of Nigeria, the Zimbabwe Seed Maize Association.

 

STRUCTURE AND PHYSIOLOGY

The maize plant is often 3 m (10 ft) in height, though some natural strains can grow 13 m (43 ft). The stem is commonly composed of 20 internodes of 18 cm (7 in) length. The leaves arise from the nodes, alternately on opposite sides on the stalk. A leaf, which grows from each node, is generally 9 cm (3+1⁄2 in) in width and 120 cm (3 ft 11 in) in length.

 

Ears develop above a few of the leaves in the midsection of the plant, between the stem and leaf sheath, elongating by around 3 mm (1⁄8 in) per day, to a length of 18 cm (7 in) with 60 cm (24 in) being the maximum alleged in the subspecies. They are female inflorescences, tightly enveloped by several layers of ear leaves commonly called husks. Certain varieties of maize have been bred to produce many additional developed ears. These are the source of the "baby corn" used as a vegetable in Asian cuisine.

 

The apex of the stem ends in the tassel, an inflorescence of male flowers. When the tassel is mature and conditions are suitably warm and dry, anthers on the tassel dehisce and release pollen. Maize pollen is anemophilous (dispersed by wind), and because of its large settling velocity, most pollen falls within a few meters of the tassel.

 

Elongated stigmas, called silks, emerge from the whorl of husk leaves at the end of the ear. They are often pale yellow and 18 cm (7 in) in length, like tufts of hair in appearance. At the end of each is a carpel, which may develop into a "kernel" if fertilized by a pollen grain. The pericarp of the fruit is fused with the seed coat referred to as "caryopsis", typical of the grasses, and the entire kernel is often referred to as the "seed". The cob is close to a multiple fruit in structure, except that the individual fruits (the kernels) never fuse into a single mass. The grains are about the size of peas, and adhere in regular rows around a white, pithy substance, which forms the ear. The maximum size of kernels is reputedly 2.5 cm (1 in). An ear commonly holds 600 kernels. They are of various colors: blackish, bluish-gray, purple, green, red, white and yellow. When ground into flour, maize yields more flour with much less bran than wheat does. It lacks the protein gluten of wheat and, therefore, makes baked goods with poor rising capability. A genetic variant that accumulates more sugar and less starch in the ear is consumed as a vegetable and is called sweet corn. Young ears can be consumed raw, with the cob and silk, but as the plant matures (usually during the summer months), the cob becomes tougher and the silk dries to inedibility. By the end of the growing season, the kernels dry out and become difficult to chew without cooking them tender first in boiling water.

 

Planting density affects multiple aspects of maize. Modern farming techniques in developed countries usually rely on dense planting, which produces one ear per stalk. Stands of silage maize are yet denser,[citation needed] and achieve a lower percentage of ears and more plant matter.

 

Maize is a facultative short-day plant and flowers in a certain number of growing degree days > 10 °C (50 °F) in the environment to which it is adapted. The magnitude of the influence that long nights have on the number of days that must pass before maize flowers is genetically prescribed and regulated by the phytochrome system.

Photoperiodicity can be eccentric in tropical cultivars such that the long days characteristic of higher latitudes allow the plants to grow so tall that they do not have enough time to produce seed before being killed by frost. These attributes, however, may prove useful in using tropical maize for biofuels.

 

Immature maize shoots accumulate a powerful antibiotic substance, 2,4-dihydroxy-7-methoxy-1,4-benzoxazin-3-one (DIMBOA). DIMBOA is a member of a group of hydroxamic acids (also known as benzoxazinoids) that serve as a natural defense against a wide range of pests, including insects, pathogenic fungi and bacteria. DIMBOA is also found in related grasses, particularly wheat. A maize mutant (bx) lacking DIMBOA is highly susceptible to attack by aphids and fungi. DIMBOA is also responsible for the relative resistance of immature maize to the European corn borer (family Crambidae). As maize matures, DIMBOA levels and resistance to the corn borer decline.

 

Because of its shallow roots, maize is susceptible to droughts, intolerant of nutrient-deficient soils, and prone to be uprooted by severe winds.

 

While yellow maizes derive their color from lutein and zeaxanthin, in red-colored maizes, the kernel coloration is due to anthocyanins and phlobaphenes. These latter substances are synthesized in the flavonoids synthetic pathway from polymerization of flavan-4-ols by the expression of maize pericarp color1 (p1) gene which encodes an R2R3 myb-like transcriptional activator of the A1 gene encoding for the dihydroflavonol 4-reductase (reducing dihydroflavonols into flavan-4-ols) while another gene (Suppressor of Pericarp Pigmentation 1 or SPP1) acts as a suppressor. The p1 gene encodes an Myb-homologous transcriptional activator of genes required for biosynthesis of red phlobaphene pigments, while the P1-wr allele specifies colorless kernel pericarp and red cobs, and unstable factor for orange1 (Ufo1) modifies P1-wr expression to confer pigmentation in kernel pericarp, as well as vegetative tissues, which normally do not accumulate significant amounts of phlobaphene pigments. The maize P gene encodes a Myb homolog that recognizes the sequence CCT/AACC, in sharp contrast with the C/TAACGG bound by vertebrate Myb proteins.

 

The ear leaf is the leaf most closely associated with a particular developing ear. This leaf and above contribute 70%[57] to 75% to 90% of grain fill. Therefore fungicide application is most important in that region in most disease environments.

 

ABNORMAL FLOWERS

Maize flowers may sometimes exhibit mutations that lead to the formation of female flowers in the tassel. These mutations, ts4 and Ts6, prohibit the development of the stamen while simultaneously promoting pistil development. This may cause inflorescences containing both male and female flowers, or hermaphrodite flowers.

 

GENETICS

Maize is an annual grass in the family Gramineae, which includes such plants as wheat, rye, barley, rice, sorghum, and sugarcane. There are two major species of the genus Zea (out of six total): Zea mays (maize) and Zea diploperennis, which is a perennial type of teosinte. The annual teosinte variety called Zea mays mexicana is the closest botanical relative to maize. It still grows in the wild as an annual in Mexico and Guatemala.

 

Many forms of maize are used for food, sometimes classified as various subspecies related to the amount of starch each has:

 

Flour corn: Zea mays var. amylacea

Popcorn: Zea mays var. everta

Dent corn : Zea mays var. indentata

Flint corn: Zea mays var. indurata

Sweet corn: Zea mays var. saccharata and Zea mays var. rugosa

Waxy corn: Zea mays var. ceratina

Amylomaize: Zea mays

Pod corn: Zea mays var. tunicata Larrañaga ex A. St. Hil.

Striped maize: Zea mays var. japonica

 

This system has been replaced (though not entirely displaced) over the last 60 years by multivariable classifications based on ever more data. Agronomic data were supplemented by botanical traits for a robust initial classification, then genetic, cytological, protein and DNA evidence was added. Now, the categories are forms (little used), races, racial complexes, and recently branches.

 

Maize is a diploid with 20 chromosomes (n=10). The combined length of the chromosomes is 1500 cM. Some of the maize chromosomes have what are known as "chromosomal knobs": highly repetitive heterochromatic domains that stain darkly. Individual knobs are polymorphic among strains of both maize and teosinte.

 

Barbara McClintock used these knob markers to validate her transposon theory of "jumping genes", for which she won the 1983 Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine. Maize is still an important model organism for genetics and developmental biology today.

 

The centromeres have two types of structural components, both of which are found only in the centromeres: Large arrays of CentC, a short satellite DNA; and a few of a family of retrotransposons. The B chromosome, unlike the others, contains an additional repeat which extends into neighboring areas of the chromosome. Centromeres can accidentally shrink during division and still function, although it is thought this will fail if it shrinks below a few hundred kilobase. Kinetochores contain RNA originating from centromeres. Centromere regions can become inactive, and can continue in that state if the chromosome still has another active one.

 

The Maize Genetics Cooperation Stock Center, funded by the USDA Agricultural Research Service and located in the Department of Crop Sciences at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, is a stock center of maize mutants. The total collection has nearly 80,000 samples. The bulk of the collection consists of several hundred named genes, plus additional gene combinations and other heritable variants. There are about 1000 chromosomal aberrations (e.g., translocations and inversions) and stocks with abnormal chromosome numbers (e.g., tetraploids). Genetic data describing the maize mutant stocks as well as myriad other data about maize genetics can be accessed at MaizeGDB, the Maize Genetics and Genomics Database.

 

In 2005, the US National Science Foundation (NSF), Department of Agriculture (USDA) and the Department of Energy (DOE) formed a consortium to sequence the B73 maize genome. The resulting DNA sequence data was deposited immediately into GenBank, a public repository for genome-sequence data. Sequences and genome annotations have also been made available throughout the project's lifetime at the project's official site.

 

Primary sequencing of the maize genome was completed in 2008. On November 20, 2009, the consortium published results of its sequencing effort in Science. The genome, 85% of which is composed of transposons, was found to contain 32,540 genes (By comparison, the human genome contains about 2.9 billion bases and 26,000 genes). Much of the maize genome has been duplicated and reshuffled by helitrons—group of rolling circle transposons.

 

In Z. mays and various other angiosperms the MADS-box motif is involved in floral development. Early study in several angiosperm models including Z. mays was the beginning of research into the molecular evolution of floral structure in general, as well as their role in nonflowering plants.

 

EVOLUTION

As with many plants and animals, Z. mays has a positive correlation between effective population size and the magnitude of selection pressure. Z. m. having an EPS of ~650,000, it clusters with others of about the same EPS, and has 79% of its amino acid sites under selection.

 

Recombination is a significant source of diversity in Z. mays. (Note that this finding supersedes previous studies which showed no such correlation.)

 

This recombination/diversity effect is seen throughout plants but is also found to not occur – or not as strongly – in regions of high gene density. This is likely the reason that domesticated Z. mays has not seen as much of an increase in diversity within areas of higher density as in regions of lower density, although there is more evidence in other plants.

 

Some lines of maize have undergone ancient polyploidy events, starting 11m years ago. Over that time ~72% of polyploid duplicated genes have been retained, which is higher than other plants with older polyploidy events. Thus maize may be due to lose more duplicate genes as time goes along, similar to the course followed by the genomes of other plants. If so - if gene loss has merely not occurred yet - that could explain the lack of observed positive selection and lower negative selection which are observed in otherwise similar plants, i.e. also naturally outcrossing and with similar effective population sizes.

 

Ploidy does not appear to influence EPS or magnitude of selection effect in maize.

 

BREEDING

Maize reproduces sexually each year. This randomly selects half the genes from a given plant to propagate to the next generation, meaning that desirable traits found in the crop (like high yield or good nutrition) can be lost in subsequent generations unless certain techniques are used.

 

Maize breeding in prehistory resulted in large plants producing large ears. Modern breeding began with individuals who selected highly productive varieties in their fields and then sold seed to other farmers. James L. Reid was one of the earliest and most successful developing Reid's Yellow Dent in the 1860s. These early efforts were based on mass selection. Later breeding efforts included ear to row selection (C. G. Hopkins c. 1896), hybrids made from selected inbred lines (G. H. Shull, 1909), and the highly successful double cross hybrids using four inbred lines (D. F. Jones c. 1918, 1922). University supported breeding programs were especially important in developing and introducing modern hybrids. By the 1930s, companies such as Pioneer devoted to production of hybrid maize had begun to influence long-term development. Internationally important seed banks such as the International Maize and Wheat Improvement Center (CIMMYT) and the US bank at the Maize Genetics Cooperation Stock Center University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign maintain germplasm important for future crop development.

 

Since the 1940s the best strains of maize have been first-generation hybrids made from inbred strains that have been optimized for specific traits, such as yield, nutrition, drought, pest and disease tolerance. Both conventional cross-breeding and genetic modification have succeeded in increasing output and reducing the need for cropland, pesticides, water and fertilizer. There is conflicting evidence to support the hypothesis that maize yield potential has increased over the past few decades. This suggests that changes in yield potential are associated with leaf angle, lodging resistance, tolerance of high plant density, disease/pest tolerance, and other agronomic traits rather than increase of yield potential per individual plant.

 

Tropical landraces remain an important and underutilized source of resistance alleles for for disease and for herbivores. Notable discoveries of rare alleles for this purpose were made by Dao et al 2014 and Sood et al 2014.

 

GLOBAL PROGRAM

CIMMYT operates a conventional breeding program to provide optimized strains. The program began in the 1980s. Hybrid seeds are distributed in Africa by the Drought Tolerant Maize for Africa project.

 

GENETIC MODIFICATION

Genetically modified (GM) maize was one of the 26 GM crops grown commercially in 2016. The vast majority of this is Bt maize. Grown since 1997 in the United States and Canada, 92% of the US maize crop was genetically modified in 2016 and 33% of the worldwide maize crop was GM in 2016. As of 2011, Herbicide-tolerant maize varieties were grown in Argentina, Australia, Brazil, Canada, China, Colombia, El Salvador, the European Union, Honduras, Japan, Korea, Malaysia, Mexico, New Zealand, Philippines, the Russian Federation, Singapore, South Africa, Taiwan, Thailand, and the United States. Insect-resistant maize was grown in Argentina, Australia, Brazil, Canada, Chile, China, Colombia, Egypt, the European Union, Honduras, Japan, Korea, Malaysia, Mexico, New Zealand, Philippines, South Africa, Switzerland, Taiwan, the United States, and Uruguay.

 

In September 2000, up to $50 million worth of food products were recalled due to the presence of Starlink genetically modified corn, which had been approved only for animal consumption and had not been approved for human consumption, and was subsequently withdrawn from the market.

 

ORIGIN

Maize is the domesticated variant of teosinte. The two plants have dissimilar appearance, maize having a single tall stalk with multiple leaves and teosinte being a short, bushy plant. The difference between the two is largely controlled by differences in just two genes, called grassy tillers-1 (gt1, A0A317YEZ1) and teosinte branched-1 (tb1, Q93WI2).

 

Several theories had been proposed about the specific origin of maize in Mesoamerica:

 

It is a direct domestication of a Mexican annual teosinte, Zea mays ssp. parviglumis, native to the Balsas River valley in south-eastern Mexico, with up to 12% of its genetic material obtained from Zea mays ssp. mexicana through introgression.

It has been derived from hybridization between a small domesticated maize (a slightly changed form of a wild maize) and a teosinte of section Luxuriantes, either Z. luxurians or Z. diploperennis.

It has undergone two or more domestications either of a wild maize or of a teosinte. (The term "teosinte" describes all species and subspecies in the genus Zea, excluding Zea mays ssp. mays.)

It has evolved from a hybridization of Z. diploperennis by Tripsacum dactyloides.

 

In the late 1930s, Paul Mangelsdorf suggested that domesticated maize was the result of a hybridization event between an unknown wild maize and a species of Tripsacum, a related genus. This theory about the origin of maize has been refuted by modern genetic testing, which refutes Mangelsdorf's model and the fourth listed above. 

 

The teosinte origin theory was proposed by the Russian botanist Nikolai Ivanovich Vavilov in 1931 and the later American Nobel Prize-winner George Beadle in 1932.: 10  It is supported experimentally and by recent studies of the plants' genomes. Teosinte and maize can cross-breed and produce fertile offspring. A number of questions remain concerning the species, among them:

 

how the immense diversity of the species of sect. Zea originated,

how the tiny archaeological specimens of 3500–2700 BC could have been selected from a teosinte, and

how domestication could have proceeded without leaving remains of teosinte or maize with teosintoid traits earlier than the earliest known until recently, dating from ca. 1100 BC.

 

The domestication of maize is of particular interest to researchers—archaeologists, geneticists, ethnobotanists, geographers, etc. The process is thought by some to have started 7,500 to 12,000 years ago. Research from the 1950s to 1970s originally focused on the hypothesis that maize domestication occurred in the highlands between the states of Oaxaca and Jalisco, because the oldest archaeological remains of maize known at the time were found there.

Connection with 'parviglumis' subspecies

Genetic studies, published in 2004 by John Doebley, identified Zea mays ssp. parviglumis, native to the Balsas River valley in Mexico's southwestern highlands, and also known as Balsas teosinte, as being the crop wild relative that is genetically most similar to modern maize. This was confirmed by further studies, which refined this hypothesis somewhat. Archaeobotanical studies, published in 2009, point to the middle part of the Balsas River valley as the likely location of early domestication; this river is not very long, so these locations are not very distant. Stone milling tools with maize residue have been found in an 8,700 year old layer of deposits in a cave not far from Iguala, Guerrero.

 

Doebley was part of the team that first published, in 2002, that maize had been domesticated only once, about 9,000 years ago, and then spread throughout the Americas.

 

A primitive corn was being grown in southern Mexico, Central America, and northern South America 7,000 years ago. Archaeological remains of early maize ears, found at Guila Naquitz Cave in the Oaxaca Valley, date back roughly 6,250 years; the oldest ears from caves near Tehuacan, Puebla, 5,450 B.P.

 

Maize pollen dated to 7,300 B.P. from San Andres, Tabasco, on the Caribbean coast has also been recovered.

 

As maize was introduced to new cultures, new uses were developed and new varieties selected to better serve in those preparations. Maize was the staple food, or a major staple – along with squash, Andean region potato, quinoa, beans, and amaranth – of most pre-Columbian North American, Mesoamerican, South American, and Caribbean cultures. The Mesoamerican civilization, in particular, was deeply interrelated with maize. Its traditions and rituals involved all aspects of maize cultivation – from the planting to the food preparation. Maize formed the Mesoamerican people's identity.

 

It is unknown what precipitated its domestication, because the edible portion of the wild variety is too small, and hard to obtain, to be eaten directly, as each kernel is enclosed in a very hard bivalve shell.

 

In 1939, George Beadle demonstrated that the kernels of teosinte are readily "popped" for human consumption, like modern popcorn.[91] Some have argued it would have taken too many generations of selective breeding to produce large, compressed ears for efficient cultivation. However, studies of the hybrids readily made by intercrossing teosinte and modern maize suggest this objection is not well founded.

 

SPREADING TO THE NORTH

Around 4,500 ago, maize began to spread to the north; it was first cultivated in what is now the United States at several sites in New Mexico and Arizona, about 4,100 ago.

 

During the first millennium AD, maize cultivation spread more widely in the areas north. In particular, the large-scale adoption of maize agriculture and consumption in eastern North America took place about A.D. 900. Native Americans cleared large forest and grassland areas for the new crop.

 

In 2005, research by the USDA Forest Service suggested that the rise in maize cultivation 500 to 1,000 years ago in what is now the southeastern United States corresponded with a decline of freshwater mussels, which are very sensitive to environmental changes.

 

CULTIVATION

PLANTING

Because it is cold-intolerant, in the temperate zones maize must be planted in the spring. Its root system is generally shallow, so the plant is dependent on soil moisture. As a plant that uses C4 carbon fixation, maize is a considerably more water-efficient crop than plants that use C3 carbon fixation such as alfalfa and soybeans. Maize is most sensitive to drought at the time of silk emergence, when the flowers are ready for pollination. In the United States, a good harvest was traditionally predicted if the maize was "knee-high by the Fourth of July", although modern hybrids generally exceed this growth rate. Maize used for silage is harvested while the plant is green and the fruit immature. Sweet corn is harvested in the "milk stage", after pollination but before starch has formed, between late summer and early to mid-autumn. Field maize is left in the field until very late in the autumn to thoroughly dry the grain, and may, in fact, sometimes not be harvested until winter or even early spring. The importance of sufficient soil moisture is shown in many parts of Africa, where periodic drought regularly causes maize crop failure and consequent famine. Although it is grown mainly in wet, hot climates, it has been said to thrive in cold, hot, dry or wet conditions, meaning that it is an extremely versatile crop.

 

Maize was planted by the Native Americans in hills, in a complex system known to some as the Three Sisters. Maize provided support for beans, and the beans provided nitrogen derived from nitrogen-fixing rhizobia bacteria which live on the roots of beans and other legumes; and squashes provided ground cover to stop weeds and inhibit evaporation by providing shade over the soil. This method was replaced by single species hill planting where each hill 60–120 cm (2 ft 0 in–3 ft 11 in) apart was planted with three or four seeds, a method still used by home gardeners. A later technique was "checked maize", where hills were placed

 

1 m (40 in) apart in each direction, allowing cultivators to run through the field in two directions. In more arid lands, this was altered and seeds were planted in the bottom of 10–12 cm (4–4+1⁄2 in) deep furrows to collect water. Modern technique plants maize in rows which allows for cultivation while the plant is young, although the hill technique is still used in the maize fields of some Native American reservations. When maize is planted in rows, it also allows for planting of other crops between these rows to make more efficient use of land space.

 

In most regions today, maize grown in residential gardens is still often planted manually with a hoe, whereas maize grown commercially is no longer planted manually but rather is planted with a planter. In North America, fields are often planted in a two-crop rotation with a nitrogen-fixing crop, often alfalfa in cooler climates and soybeans in regions with longer summers. Sometimes a third crop, winter wheat, is added to the rotation.

 

Many of the maize varieties grown in the United States and Canada are hybrids. Often the varieties have been genetically modified to tolerate glyphosate or to provide protection against natural pests. Glyphosate is an herbicide which kills all plants except those with genetic tolerance. This genetic tolerance is very rarely found in nature.

 

In the midwestern United States, low-till or no-till farming techniques are usually used. In low-till, fields are covered once, maybe twice, with a tillage implement either ahead of crop planting or after the previous harvest. The fields are planted and fertilized. Weeds are controlled through the use of herbicides, and no cultivation tillage is done during the growing season. This technique reduces moisture evaporation from the soil, and thus provides more moisture for the crop. The technologies mentioned in the previous paragraph enable low-till and no-till farming. Weeds compete with the crop for moisture and nutrients, making them undesirable.

 

HARVESTING

Before the 20th century, all maize harvesting was by manual labour, by grazing, or by some combination of those. Whether the ears were hand-picked and the stover was grazed, or the whole plant was cut, gathered, and shocked, people and livestock did all the work. Between the 1890s and the 1970s, the technology of maize harvesting expanded greatly. Today, all such technologies, from entirely manual harvesting to entirely mechanized, are still in use to some degree, as appropriate to each farm's needs, although the thoroughly mechanized versions predominate, as they offer the lowest unit costs when scaled to large farm operations. For small farms, their unit cost can be too high, as their higher fixed cost cannot be amortized over as many units.[citation needed]

 

Before World War II, most maize in North America was harvested by hand. This involved a large number of workers and associated social events (husking or shucking bees). From the 1890s onward, some machinery became available to partially mechanize the processes, such as one- and two-row mechanical pickers (picking the ear, leaving the stover) and corn binders, which are reaper-binders designed specifically for maize (for example, Video on YouTube). The latter produce sheaves that can be shocked. By hand or mechanical picker, the entire ear is harvested, which then requires a separate operation of a maize sheller to remove the kernels from the ear. Whole ears of maize were often stored in corn cribs, and these whole ears are a sufficient form for some livestock feeding use. Today corn cribs with whole ears, and corn binders, are less common because most modern farms harvest the grain from the field with a combine and store it in bins. The combine with a corn head (with points and snap rolls instead of a reel) does not cut the stalk; it simply pulls the stalk down. The stalk continues downward and is crumpled into a mangled pile on the ground, where it usually is left to become organic matter for the soil. The ear of maize is too large to pass between slots in a plate as the snap rolls pull the stalk away, leaving only the ear and husk to enter the machinery. The combine separates the husk and the cob, keeping only the kernels.

When maize is a silage crop, the entire plant is usually chopped at once with a forage harvester (chopper) and ensiled in silos or polymer wrappers. Ensiling of sheaves cut by a corn binder was formerly common in some regions but has become uncommon. For storing grain in bins, the moisture of the grain must be sufficiently low to avoid spoiling. If the moisture content of the harvested grain is too high, grain dryers are used to reduce the moisture content by blowing heated air through the grain. This can require large amounts of energy in the form of combustible gases (propane or natural gas) and electricity to power the blowers.

 

PRODUCTION

Maize is widely cultivated throughout the world, and a greater weight of maize is produced each year than any other grain. In 2018, total world production was 1.15 billion tonnes, led by the United States with 34.2% of the total (table). China produced 22.4% of the global total.

 

UNITED STATES

In 2016, maize production was forecast to be over 380 million metric tons (15 billion bushels), an increase of 11% over 2014 American production. Based on conditions as of August 2016, the expected yield would be the highest ever for the United States. The area of harvested maize was forecast to be 35 million hectares (87 million acres), an increase of 7% over 2015. Maize is especially popular in Midwestern states such as Indiana, Iowa, and Illinois; in the latter, it was named the state's official grain in 2017.

 

STORAGE

Drying is vital to prevent or at least reduce mycotoxin contamination. Aspergillus and Fusarium spp. are the most common mycotoxin sources, but there are others. Altogether maize contaminants are so common, and this crop is so economically important, that maize mycotoxins are among the most important in agriculture in general.

 

USES

HUMAN FOOD

Maize and cornmeal (ground dried maize) constitute a staple food in many regions of the world. Maize is used to produce cornstarch, a common ingredient in home cooking and many industrialized food products. Maize starch can be hydrolyzed and enzymatically treated to produce syrups, particularly high fructose corn syrup, a sweetener; and also fermented and distilled to produce grain alcohol. Grain alcohol from maize is traditionally the source of Bourbon whiskey. Corn flour is used to make cornbread and other baked products.

 

In prehistoric times Mesoamerican women used a metate to process maize into ground cornmeal, allowing the preparation of foods that were more calorie dense than popcorn. After ceramic vessels were invented the Olmec people began to cook maize together with beans, improving the nutritional value of the staple meal. Although maize naturally contains niacin, an important nutrient, it was not bioavailable without the process of nixtamalization. The Maya used nixtamal meal to make varieties of porridges and tamales. The process was later used in the cuisine of the American South to prepare corn for grits and hominy.

 

Maize is a staple of Mexican cuisine. Masa (cornmeal treated with limewater) is the main ingredient for tortillas, atole and many other dishes of Central American food. It is the main ingredient of corn tortilla, tamales, pozole, atole and all the dishes based on them, like tacos, quesadillas, chilaquiles, enchiladas, tostadas and many more. In Mexico the fungus of maize, known as huitlacoche, is considered a delicacy.

 

Coarse maize meal is made into a thick porridge in many cultures: from the polenta of Italy, the angu of Brazil, the mămăligă of Romania, to cornmeal mush in the US (or hominy grits in the South) or the food called mieliepap in South Africa and sadza, nshima, ugali and other names in other parts of Africa. Introduced into Africa by the Portuguese in the 16th century, maize has become Africa's most important staple food crop. These are commonly eaten in the Southeastern United States, foods handed down from Native Americans, who called the dish sagamite.

 

Maize can also be harvested and consumed in the unripe state, when the kernels are fully grown but still soft. Unripe maize must usually be cooked to become palatable; this may be done by simply boiling or roasting the whole ears and eating the kernels right off the cob. Sweet corn, a genetic variety that is high in sugars and low in starch, is usually consumed in the unripe state. Such corn on the cob is a common dish in the United States, Canada, United Kingdom, Cyprus, some parts of South America, and the Balkans, but virtually unheard of in some European countries. Corn on the cob was hawked on the streets of early 19th-century New York City by poor, barefoot "Hot Corn Girls", who were thus the precursors of hot dog carts, churro wagons, and fruit stands seen on the streets of big cities today.

 

Within the United States, the usage of maize for human consumption constitutes only around 1/40th of the amount grown in the country. In the United States and Canada, maize is mostly grown to feed livestock, as forage, silage (made by fermentation of chopped green cornstalks), or grain. Maize meal is also a significant ingredient of some commercial animal food products.

 

NUTRITIONAL VALUE

Raw, yellow, sweet maize kernels are composed of 76% water, 19% carbohydrates, 3% protein, and 1% fat (table). In a 100-gram serving, maize kernels provide 86 calories and are a good source (10–19% of the Daily Value) of the B vitamins, thiamin, niacin (but see Pellagra warning below), pantothenic acid (B5) and folate (right table for raw, uncooked kernels, USDA Nutrient Database). In moderate amounts, they also supply dietary fiber and the essential minerals, magnesium and phosphorus whereas other nutrients are in low amounts (table).

 

Maize has suboptimal amounts of the essential amino acids tryptophan and lysine, which accounts for its lower status as a protein source. However, the proteins of beans and legumes complement those of maize.

 

FEED AND FODDER FOR LIVESTOCK

Maize is a major source of both grain feed and fodder for livestock. It is fed to the livestock in various ways. When it is used as a grain crop, the dried kernels are used as feed. They are often kept on the cob for storage in a corn crib, or they may be shelled off for storage in a grain bin. The farm that consumes the feed may produce it, purchase it on the market, or some of both. When the grain is used for feed, the rest of the plant (the corn stover) can be used later as fodder, bedding (litter), or soil amendment. When the whole maize plant (grain plus stalks and leaves) is used for fodder, it is usually chopped all at once and ensilaged, as digestibility and palatability are higher in the ensilaged form than in the dried form. Maize silage is one of the most valuable forages for ruminants. Before the advent of widespread ensilaging, it was traditional to gather the corn into shocks after harvesting, where it dried further. With or without a subsequent move to the cover of a barn, it was then stored for weeks to several months until fed to the livestock. Today ensilaging can occur not only in siloes but also in silage wrappers. However, in the tropics, maize can be harvested year-round and fed as green forage to the animals.

 

CHEMICALS

Starch from maize can also be made into plastics, fabrics, adhesives, and many other chemical products.

 

The corn steep liquor, a plentiful watery byproduct of maize wet milling process, is widely used in the biochemical industry and research as a culture medium to grow many kinds of microorganisms.

 

Chrysanthemin is found in purple corn and is used as a food coloring.

 

BIO-FUEL

"Feed maize" is being used increasingly for heating; specialized corn stoves (similar to wood stoves) are available and use either feed maize or wood pellets to generate heat. Maize cobs are also used as a biomass fuel source. Maize is relatively cheap and home-heating furnaces have been developed which use maize kernels as a fuel. They feature a large hopper that feeds the uniformly sized maize kernels (or wood pellets or cherry pits) into the fire.[citation needed]

 

Maize is increasingly used as a feedstock for the production of ethanol fuel.[120] When considering where to construct an ethanol plant, one of the site selection criteria is to ensure there is locally available feedstock. Ethanol is mixed with gasoline to decrease the amount of pollutants emitted when used to fuel motor vehicles. High fuel prices in mid-2007 led to higher demand for ethanol, which in turn led to higher prices paid to farmers for maize. This led to the 2007 harvest being one of the most profitable maize crops in modern history for farmers. Because of the relationship between fuel and maize, prices paid for the crop now tend to track the price of oil.

 

The price of food is affected to a certain degree by the use of maize for biofuel production. The cost of transportation, production, and marketing are a large portion (80%) of the price of food in the United States. Higher energy costs affect these costs, especially transportation. The increase in food prices the consumer has been seeing is mainly due to the higher energy cost. The effect of biofuel production on other food crop prices is indirect. Use of maize for biofuel production increases the demand, and therefore price of maize. This, in turn, results in farm acreage being diverted from other food crops to maize production. This reduces the supply of the other food crops and increases their prices.

 

Maize is widely used in Germany as a feedstock for biogas plants. Here the maize is harvested, shredded then placed in silage clamps from which it is fed into the biogas plants. This process makes use of the whole plant rather than simply using the kernels as in the production of fuel ethanol.

 

A biomass gasification power plant in Strem near Güssing, Burgenland, Austria, began in 2005. Research is being done to make diesel out of the biogas by the Fischer Tropsch method.

 

Increasingly, ethanol is being used at low concentrations (10% or less) as an additive in gasoline (gasohol) for motor fuels to increase the octane rating, lower pollutants, and reduce petroleum use (what is nowadays also known as "biofuels" and has been generating an intense debate regarding the human beings' necessity of new sources of energy, on the one hand, and the need to maintain, in regions such as Latin America, the food habits and culture which has been the essence of civilizations such as the one originated in Mesoamerica; the entry, January 2008, of maize among the commercial agreements of NAFTA has increased this debate, considering the bad labor conditions of workers in the fields, and mainly the fact that NAFTA "opened the doors to the import of maize from the United States, where the farmers who grow it receive multimillion-dollar subsidies and other government supports. ... According to OXFAM UK, after NAFTA went into effect, the price of maize in Mexico fell 70% between 1994 and 2001. The number of farm jobs dropped as well: from 8.1 million in 1993 to 6.8 million in 2002. Many of those who found themselves without work were small-scale maize growers."). However, introduction in the northern latitudes of the US of tropical maize for biofuels, and not for human or animal consumption, may potentially alleviate this.

 

COMMODITY

Maize is bought and sold by investors and price speculators as a tradable commodity using corn futures contracts. These "futures" are traded on the Chicago Board of Trade (CBOT) under ticker symbol C. They are delivered every year in March, May, July, September, and December.

Ornamental and other uses

 

Some forms of the plant are occasionally grown for ornamental use in the garden. For this purpose, variegated and colored leaf forms as well as those with colorful ears are used.

 

Corncobs can be hollowed out and treated to make inexpensive smoking pipes, first manufactured in the United States in 1869.

 

An unusual use for maize is to create a "corn maze" (or "maize maze") as a tourist attraction. The idea of a maize maze was introduced by the American Maze Company who created a maze in Pennsylvania in 1993. Traditional mazes are most commonly grown using yew hedges, but these take several years to mature. The rapid growth of a field of maize allows a maze to be laid out using GPS at the start of a growing season and for the maize to grow tall enough to obstruct a visitor's line of sight by the start of the summer. In Canada and the US, these are popular in many farming communities.

 

Maize kernels can be used in place of sand in a sandboxlike enclosure for children's play.

 

Stigmas from female maize flowers, popularly called corn silk, are sold as herbal supplements.

 

Maize is used as a fish bait, called "dough balls". It is particularly popular in Europe for coarse fishing.

 

Additionally, feed corn is sometimes used by hunters to bait animals such as deer or wild hogs.

 

UNITED STATES USAGE BREAKDOWN

The breakdown of usage of the 12.1-billion-bushel (307-million-tonne) 2008 US maize crop was as follows, according to the World Agricultural Supply and Demand Estimates Report by the USDA.In the US since 2009/2010, maize feedstock use for ethanol production has somewhat exceeded direct use for livestock feed; maize use for fuel ethanol was 5,130 million bushels (130 million tonnes) in the 2013/2014 marketing year.A fraction of the maize feedstock dry matter used for ethanol production is usefully recovered as DDGS (dried distillers grains with solubles). In the 2010/2011 marketing year, about 29.1 million tonnes of DDGS were fed to US livestock and poultry. Because starch utilization in fermentation for ethanol production leaves other grain constituents more concentrated in the residue, the feed value per kg of DDGS, with regard to ruminant-metabolizable energy and protein, exceeds that of the grain. Feed value for monogastric animals, such as swine and poultry, is somewhat lower than for ruminants.

 

HAZARDS

PELLAGRA

When maize was first introduced into farming systems other than those used by traditional native-American peoples, it was generally welcomed with enthusiasm for its productivity. However, a widespread problem of malnutrition soon arose wherever maize was introduced as a staple food. This was a mystery, since these types of malnutrition were not normally seen among the indigenous Americans, for whom maize was the principal staple food.

 

It was eventually discovered that the indigenous Americans had learned to soak maize in alkali — water (the process now known as nixtamalization) — made with ashes and lime (calcium oxide) since at least 1200–1500 BC by Mesoamericans. They did this to liberate the corn hulls, but (unbeknownst to natives or colonists) it coincidentally liberates the B-vitamin niacin, the lack of which was the underlying cause of the condition known as pellagra.

 

Maize was introduced into the diet of non-indigenous Americans without the necessary cultural knowledge acquired over thousands of years in the Americas. In the late 19th century, pellagra reached epidemic proportions in parts of the southern US, as medical researchers debated two theories for its origin: the deficiency theory (which was eventually shown to be true) said that pellagra was due to a deficiency of some nutrient, and the germ theory said that pellagra was caused by a germ transmitted by stable flies. A third theory, promoted by the eugenicist Charles Davenport, held that people only contracted pellagra if they were susceptible to it due to certain "constitutional, inheritable" traits of the affected individual.

 

Once alkali processing and dietary variety were understood and applied, pellagra disappeared in the developed world. The development of high lysine maize and the promotion of a more balanced diet have also contributed to its demise. Pellagra still exists today in food-poor areas and refugee camps where people survive on donated maize.

 

ALLERGY

Maize contains lipid transfer protein, an indigestible protein that survives cooking. This protein has been linked to a rare and understudied allergy to maize in humans. The allergic reaction can cause skin rash, swelling or itching of mucous membranes, diarrhea, vomiting, asthma and, in severe cases, anaphylaxis. It is unclear how common this allergy is in the general population.

 

MYCOTOXINS

Fungicide application does not reduce fungal growth or mycotoxin dramatically, although it can be a part of a successful reduction strategy. Among the most common toxins are those produced by Aspergillus and Fusarium spp. The most common toxins are aflatoxins, fumonisins, zearalenone, and ochratoxin A. Bt maize discourages insect vectors and by so doing it dramatically reduces concentrations of fumonisins, significantly reduces aflatoxins, but only mildly reduces others.

 

ART

Maize has been an essential crop in the Andes since the pre-Columbian era. The Moche culture from Northern Peru made ceramics from earth, water, and fire. This pottery was a sacred substance, formed in significant shapes and used to represent important themes. Maize was represented anthropomorphically as well as naturally.

 

In the United States, maize ears along with tobacco leaves are carved into the capitals of columns in the United States Capitol building. Maize itself is sometimes used for temporary architectural detailing when the intent is to celebrate the fall season, local agricultural productivity and culture. Bundles of dried maize stalks are often displayed along with pumpkins, gourds and straw in autumnal displays outside homes and businesses. A well-known example of architectural use is the Corn Palace in Mitchell, South Dakota, which uses cobs and ears of colored maize to implement a mural design that is recycled annually. Another well-known example is the Field of Corn sculpture in Dublin, Ohio, where hundreds of concrete ears of corn stand in a grassy field.

 

A maize stalk with two ripe ears is depicted on the reverse of the Croatian 1 lipa coin, minted since 1993.

 

WIKIPEDIA

Instagram @fullfatm2

 

Front 19x9 et30

Rear 19x10 et40

 

stock tire sizes

245/35R19 and 265/35R19

 

Mods include:

• Titanium stud conversion kit

• Suvneer GTS hood

• JB4 tune

• Active Autowerkes Equal Length midsection

• KW HAS kit.

As some of you may know, The midsection of the US has been hit by a pretty bad tornado. Living in Missouri, I'm feeling the brunt of this. My house is gone, and I'm uploading this from a hotel.

LEFT:

  

The following five creatures are all natives of the world known as Gupbinide, the closest planet to the Beta Octant's sun of Lihttous.

  

• Ugluncar: The indigenous humanoid race of Gupbinide. Having maintained a stable, comfortable dominance over most of the planet's resources since approximately the middle of the Second Century Relative and onward, Ugluncars are of medium height and have leathery red skin as well as prong-ended tails and three horns atop their heads. A rather savage people by nature, they are notable for being the only humanoids in the Prime Galaxy to be strictly and exclusively carnivorous, with their racial diet consisting entirely of animal meat and them having no need nor desire to consume vegetable matter; this quirk is shared by multiple other Gupbinide creatures, hence the world's reputation as the Prime Galaxy's "meatiest" planet. In addition to every single type of Gupbinide animal being on their "menu", Ugluncars have demonstrated the ability to consume numerous varieties of creatures native to other planets, some of which are not even edible to the humanoids on their own respective worlds. In fact, the range of entities that Ugluncars are able and willing to eat, consisting, again, of meats alone, is larger than that of almost any other humanoid race, all of whose diets include vegetation. Even cannibalism, though still far from being considered "normal", is more common among their kind than most. Their very fast metabolisms actually requiring that they eat more constantly than others, overeating and obesity are non-issues for them, and predictably per the principle of "you are what you eat", they tend to be very strong and muscular. The Ugluncars' inclination toward lifelong healthiness comes, though, at a price of longevity for them, as due in no small part to their aforementioned speedy metabolisms, their bodily systems are prone to long-term burnout, and they seldom live past sixty years of age.

 

Ugluncars actively pride themselves on their voraciousness, and base much of their culture around eating. They tend to get creative with preparing and arranging their meals, and those who live away from their species' homeworld often pursue culinarily-related professions within galactic society.

 

All adult Ugluncars possess durability values greater than 700 and less than 1,000.

  

• Benmendaur: Gupbinide's largest native creature, this beast is believed by the Ugluncar people to have been created and introduced to the planet's environment well after its and their own coming into being as an answer to their ancestors' prayers for more and better meat, and to be specifically designed as a living "goldmine" of edible flesh whose bountiful bodily spoils were offset as a blessing by the challenge that lie in killing the creature and obtaining its tender tissue. There has been no word from divine sources confirming or denying this theory, though considering the edibility - and deliciousness - of nearly every fiber of the Benmendaur's body, it does seem to make a fair bit of sense.

 

Also colloquially known as the "Meat Behemoth", the Benmendaur stands between fifteen and twenty feet in height and is very broadly, widely built, being capable of weighing up to several tons. It is a rather dumb animal, its flat top and lack of a discernible cranium being a good indicator of how much space is allotted to its brains. Being, again, pretty much made out of edible meat, it has next to zero body fat and is extremely physically strong with its immense concentrations of beefy muscle tissue. Its "face" being completely featureless save for two bright-yellow, empty eyeballs, the Benmendaur has three mouths: two inside the palms of either of its three-clawed hands and a third mounted upon its midsection; all three are massive, gaping maws capable of swallowing many humanoids, including Ugluncars, whole. The stomping of the beast's three massive legs presents another potential threat while hunting it, a very dangerous activity that usually takes several individuals to bring down a single Benmendaur. When one is successfully slain, however, those responsible and their communities are well-rewarded for the feat, for just one of these creatures can feed up to a dozen Ugluncars for just as many days, and its meat is, furthermore, particularly tasty and nutritious.

 

The average durability value range for a Benmendaur comes out to around 2,000-2,500.

  

• Swabmide: One of the few omnivores on a planet with no true herbivores, Swabmides are semi-segmented, upright-standing animals commonly kept in controlled environments as livestock by/for Ugluncars; at present, there are roughly equal numbers of the creatures living in their natural state and held in captivity. They comprise the most common and readily-accessible source of red meat for the humanoids. Though officially, and correctly, given its fuzzy textures and warm blood, classified as a mammal, the Swabmide is noted for possessing some crustacean-esque features, most notably a number of generally jagged shell-like outer growths which must be removed through a rather tedious process before the creature's meat can be properly harvested. These parts notwithstanding, its primary flesh is pink-colored - usually brightly-so - and, as mentioned above, covered in a fine, likewise-colored fuzz. Swabmides have large, bushy eyebrows as well as rounded snouts which contribute to the distinctive "honking" noises they frequently make, and boast prominent hands with only three basic fingers which grasp, or attempt to grasp, objects in a pincer-like fashion, again resembling a crustacean's claws. Though possessing a traditionally-placed mouth upon its face, said organ, being an inefficient channel for ingestion due to its small size awkward positioning on the creature's non-protuberant semi-head, is in fact only the Swabmide's secondary avenue for said process, the primary, larger and more complex mouth being located upon the beast's lower torso. The secondary/"normal" mouth is, however, solely responsible between the two for producing vocal sounds.

 

The Swabmide is a naturally peaceful creature that can do very little in the way of inflicting harm to anything larger than a small rodent, and even when wild ones are hunted by Ugluncars, they do not truly defend themselves, per se, so much as they just annoyingly honk in protest. Most Swabmides, their species having a rather shallow overall gene pool, are of similar size, coloration, shape and durability value, the average for the latter rounding down to 500.

  

• Proessnez: A pale, impish, slightly emaciated beast of moderate size found mainly around Gupbinide's drier, more desert-like regions. Proessnezzes live and travel in small groups and are known as the most innately aggressive-towards-humanoids animals on Gupbinide, generally attacking first when hunted in the wild though not being so hostile as to threaten established settlements… without provocation. Over-hunting and other acts of needless cruelty have been known to cause them to coordinate attacks on the homes of those responsible, the creatures possessing sophisticated natural means of communicating with each other across significant distances despite not otherwise known for being particularly intelligent.

 

The Proessnez is a lean, nimble figure, its claws being its main method of defense and offense and compensating for its poor eyesight with the powerful hearing provided by its huge ears. Though classified as a beast-hominid based on its overall body shape alone, it tends to be more comfortable moving on all fours, at least while in a hurry, compared to standing upright. It is slightly naturally-"armored" with external shards of a dark-colored bone-like substance, distinct from the organism's actual skeleton, which provide light protection upon key body areas, most significantly in the form of a prominent "collar" near the neck. Just like with the Swabmide's shell-like growths, removing these parts is probably the most difficult part of preparing a Proessnez carcass for consumption.

 

Facially, the Proessnez has a rather ghastly appearance, with its eyes recessed deep into their very prominently exposed sockets, an unwieldy triple-nostrilled nose, and perhaps most notably, its mouth stuck ajar in a permanent, vaguely frightened-looking frown. Despite its slim frame, the Proessnez is a very viable source of what is considered white meat for Ugluncars by virtue of the tightly-packed concentrations of muscle within its upper torso, and furthermore, its bones are full of rich marrow which is highly nutritious when sucked out.

 

Durability value measurements for Proessnezzes usually fall between 500 and 700.

  

• Vignonami: A strange little creature that does not easily fall under any of the traditional families of animal classification and which dominates the lowest tier of life on Gupbinide, preventing generic insects and the like from thriving while still being relatively at the mercy of most of the planet's other significant life forms. Small but rather variable in size, various specimens standing between one foot and one meter, the Vignonami possesses three pupils within a single eyeball and only a single pair of proper limbs which essentially function as both its arms and its primary legs, though it also has a fairly sturdy tail to help support itself. The creature's most striking feature, though, is another variation of what a reader may notice at this point is a recurring characteristic among Gupbinide fauna, that being an unusually-placed mouth organ. Protruding from the lower-front of the Vignonami's body is a muscular appendage ending in a large, toothy maw with a long, forked tongue which, after ingesting matter, moves it at an upwards angle back through its length and into the creature's main stomach. Somewhat predictably considering its general position on the body, this same appendage also contains, upon its exterior, the animal's reproductive organs.

 

Though their actions are based purely in survival instinct rather than true free-thinking intelligence, Vignonami are more resourceful beasts than some may give them credit for, being particularly keen with knowing when it is better to run away and hide than to stand ground and fight, as well as much better in general at the former tactic than the latter. However, they can potentially form a significant threat at least to a lone hunter when several are present at once, something they are also aware of. Being the most numerous animals on Gupbinide, Vignonami are the chief staple source of what is considered equivalent to fish meat within the Ugluncar diet. As with size, durability value can vary considerably between individual Vignonami, the total range being about 300-600.

  

RIGHT:

  

• Representing the apex of Turvalom's legendary mechanical engineering skills, the MechanEgg Mark 6: ArmageddEgg was specifically designed to be the final and best model in the MechanEgg line, with zero stops being pulled in its construction. Completed in Age 766 during the midst of the Eggmen Super Team's war against the Dynamo Legion, it was first deployed in multiple minor skirmishes that served as its testing ground and later proved instrumental during the raid on the Legion's headquarters on Zornemim which resulted in the decimation of the evil army's main body. It was eventually destroyed, along with all the other remaining original MechanEgg models except for the Mark 1, during the Eggmen's final battle against Beallsavoss in Age 773, while Plant-Egg was personally piloting it no less, though he survived. As is also the case with the other MechanEggs, the Mark 6's precise schematics are now lost to history, with Turvalom only ever making the general technology and methods used to build the machines public and taking the exact designs of his originals to the grave.

 

The "ArmageddEgg" was the largest of the MechanEgg models, standing nearly fifty feet tall, as well as the most heavily-armed-and-armored, while having the drawback of being the second-least mobile of the six. Aesthetically, it was consciously designed to look as intimidating as possible, having the most lumbering stature and arguably the fiercest "face" among its brethren as well as well as the darkest coloration scheme. The Mark 6 was equipped with numerous guns and cannons but had few obvious, vulnerable protrusions, most of the weapon systems instead being built in to its existing body surfaces and even its fingers and feet. Of particular note was its programmed ability to forcefully apply its hand upon a target in a manner reminiscent of pressure point-exploiting martial arts techniques while firing off the aforementioned mortars within its fingers, a maneuver that broke down several walls of the Dynamo Legion's fortress, formed the killing blow against the Demioid brute Boargrack and even managed to stagger Beallsavoss at one point.

A Helsinki MLNRV-type tram (Nr II tram with an added low-floor midsection). The Nr II trams were built between 1984 and 1987 by Valmet in Finland. The later added low floor sections (built by VIS in Germany) have been installed from 2006 onwards.

The barrely foredeck will have a removable midsection. September 28, 2016

HMS Cavalier is a retired C-class destroyer of the Royal Navy. She was laid down by J. Samuel White and Company at East Cowes on 28 March 1943, launched on 7 April 1944, and commissioned on 22 November 1944. She served in World War II and in various commissions in the Far East until she was decommissioned in 1972. After decommissioning she was preserved as a museum ship and currently resides at Chatham Historic Dockyard.

 

Construction

Cavalier was one of 96 War Emergency Programme destroyers ordered between 1940 and 1942. She was one of the first ships to be built with the forward and aft portions of her hull welded, with the midsection riveted to ensure strength. The new process gave the ship additional speed. In 1970 a 64-mile race was arranged between Cavalier and the frigate Rapid, which had the same hull form and machinery. Cavalier beat Rapid by 30 yards (27 m) after Rapid lifted a safety valve, reaching an average speed of 31.8 knots (58.9 km/h).

 

Service history

 

Cavalier returning to Portsmouth in 1946

After commissioning she joined the 6th Destroyer Flotilla, part of the Home Fleet, and took part in a number of operations off Norway. Most notably in February 1945 she was despatched with the destroyers Myngs and Scorpion[5] to reinforce a convoy from the Kola Inlet in Russia, which had suffered attacks from enemy aircraft and U-boats, and had subsequently been scattered by a violent storm. She and the other escorts reformed the convoy, and returned to Britain with the loss of only three of the thirty-four ships. This action earned Cavalier a battle honour.

 

Later in 1945 Cavalier was despatched to the Far East, where she provided naval gunfire support during the Battle of Surabaya. In February 1946 she went to Bombay to help quell the Royal Indian Navy Mutiny. After some time in the British Pacific Fleet she was paid off in May 1946 and was placed in reserve at Portsmouth.

 

Cavalier returned to service in 1957 after a modernisation, which included removing some of her torpedo tubes in favour of Squid anti-submarine mortars. She was again sent to the Far East, and joined the 8th Destroyer Squadron in Singapore. In December 1962 she transported 180 troops from Singapore to Brunei to help suppress a rebellion that became part of the Indonesia-Malaysia Confrontation. After disembarking the troops she remained in Brunei as a communications centre for several days until other Royal Navy ships arrived to relieve her.

 

Cavalier was decommissioned in 1972 along with HMS Wellington (moored in London), and is the last surviving British destroyer of World War 2 still in the UK.

 

After decommissioning[edit]

After decommissioning at Chatham Dockyard, she was laid up in Portsmouth. As a unique survivor, after a five-year campaign led by Lord Louis Mountbatten, the ship was purchased by the Cavalier Trust for £65,000 and handed over on Trafalgar Day 1977 in Portsmouth. By selling the ship to the Trust, the UK Government and the Royal Navy severed all formal connection and responsibility for the ship. A special warrant was issued that allows her to retain the prefix "HMS" (Her Majesty's Ship) and fly the White Ensign, a privilege normally only enjoyed by commissioned ships of the Royal Navy. A similar privilege is enjoyed by another museum ship, the cruiser Belfast.

 

Moved to Southampton, Cavalier opened as a museum and memorial ship in August 1982. This was not commercially successful, and in October 1983 the ship was moved to Brighton, where she formed the centrepiece of a newly built yacht marina.

 

In 1987, the ship was brought to the River Tyne to form the centrepiece of a national shipbuilding exhibition centre planned by South Tyneside Metropolitan Borough Council in the former shipyard of Hawthorn Leslie and Company, builders of many similar destroyers. The plans for the museum came to nothing, and the borough council, faced with annual maintenance costs of £30,000 and a hardening of public opinion against unnecessary expenditure, resolved to sell the ship and wind up the venture in 1996. The ship sat in a dry dock (owing to a previous list) in a rusting condition, awaiting a buyer or scrapping in situ.

 

After the reforming of the Cavalier Trust, and a debate in Parliament, in 1998 Cavalier was bought by Chatham Historic Dockyard for display as a museum ship. Arriving on 23 May 1998, Cavalier now resides in No. 2 dry-dock.

 

On 14 November 2007, Cavalier was officially designated as a war memorial to the 142 Royal Navy destroyers sunk during World War II and the 11,000 men killed on those ships. The unveiling of a bronze monument created by the artist Kenneth Potts was conducted by Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh. The monument is adjacent to the ship at the Historic Dockyard in Chatham, Kent.

 

In the summer of 2009 the Chatham Historic Dockyard Trust made available accommodation on board the ship for youth groups who wish to stay on board and experience life on board a Royal Naval Destroyer.

 

In September 2010, Cavalier fired the first full broadside from a ship flying the White Ensign since a firing by the destroyer London in December 1981. This was due to the work of the heritage naval gun crew who restored all three 4.5-in guns back to working condition in conjunction with the Chatham Historic Dockyard Trust.

 

In April 2014 Cavalier was added to Google Maps Business View (formerly Google Business Photos) by CInsideMedia Ltd, in celebration of the 70th anniversary of her launch. The tour, which includes Cavalier's engine and gear room, was enhanced with interactive audio hotspots to enable visitors with accessibility issues to explore the ship.

wikipedia

hand picking blueberries from tree

On the left, The Times Square Tower (7 Times Square), by David David Childs of Skidmore, Owings & Merrill, was the last of the four 42nd Street redevelopment towers to be completed in June 2004. At 47-stories (221.5m) it also ended up being the tallest. Arthur Andersen was originally supposed to be the anchor tenant, but backed out after the Enron Scandal.

 

Like the neighboring 5 Times Square, the all-plot building was a tight fit, surrounded on three sides by subway lines, inlcuding station platofmrs and an entrance for the system's busiest station further complicating excavation and construction. As a concession, the foundations were made with minicaissons into the bedroom, and larger ones underneath the corners. Century-old foundation footings underneath the subway station were incorporated where possible.

 

The Tower benefits from special zoning, resulting in uniform floor sizes and panoramic views from every floor. The diagonally braced perimeter frame supports lateral loads and allows wider spacing on the facade columns. Solid bands in the facade contain thin diagonal lines, and a series of slightly accentuated "zig zgs" from the base of the tower to its roof enhance the building's verticality. A four-story advertising sign is attached to its midsection.

   

On the right, this 38-story office tower, at 5 Times Square, combines office space for Ernst and Young National Headquarters with a retail base that engages the pedestrian traffic of the Times Square theatre district.

 

Designed by the highly acclaimed architect Bill Pedersen of Kohn Pedersen Fox with a dynamic asymmetrical form addressing the zoning demands of the 42nd Street Redevelopment Authority. Angular planes that compose the primary form of building correspond to the break in New Yorks street gird caused by the intersection of Broadway. This irregularity allows for an innovative design that responds directly to pedestrian traffic patterns and maximizes light and floor plates. A tinted reflective glass maintains uniformity on window and spandrel surfaces. Exterior signage at retail level maintain a dialogue with the graphic language that is characteristic of the Times Square District.

Fidalgo Bay. General Construction Company's 700 ton capacity crane barge D.B. General. Here to lift the 90ft Northern Marine Yacht Bäden out of the water after it capsized during its launch on sunday night.

 

NTSB Final Accident Report:

 

"The newly built yacht Baaden was being launched stern first down the Fidalgo Marina boat ramp in Anacortes, Washington, with eight shipyard personnel on board when it capsized

after entering the water at 2050 on Sunday, May 18, 2014. The yacht was salvaged but was declared a total constructive loss, estimated at $10 million. Three shipyard personnel who were

trapped below decks for up to half an hour were treated for minor cuts and injuries at local hospitals. No pollution was reported.

 

New World Yacht Builders began construction of the Baaden in December 2011, working from an existing 80-foot-hull mold built in 2002 by Northern Marine. Like other large Northern

Marine yachts, the vessel was custom designed. The 80-foot mold was lengthened in the midsection and stem, the bow was given more flare, and a swim platform was added. The

resulting 85-foot vessel was designated Northern Marine model 8501 and was the first of its kind. New World described the Baaden as having commercial fishing vessel roots in an 85-foot

European-style, luxury, long-range, oceangoing expedition yacht. The builder, the buyer’s representative, and an interior design firm collaborated on the vessel design and styling. Several sister vessels built to the 80-foot-hull design were completed and are in operation.

 

Due to water damage to interior woodwork, machinery, and electrical systems and expenses associated with repairing the vessel, at the time of this report the Baaden was considered a total constructive loss with an estimated value of $10 million.

Launch team members inspected the launch cradles, dollies, and equipment after the incident and noted that one of the tires on the forward dolly was flat, and witnesses said they saw

bubbles coming from the forward dolly at the time of the launch. The tire likely was damaged during the initial port roll at 2037.

 

Probable Cause:

The National Transportation Safety Board determines that the probable cause of the capsizing of the yacht Baaden during its initial launch was the vessel’s low margin of stability due to the combined effects of a recording error during the final vessel weigh, which resulted in an incorrect assessment of the vessel’s center of gravity, and an overestimation of the weight of installed ballast."

 

www.ntsb.gov/investigations/accidentreports/pages/MAB1514...

Beast thinks of all that's happened when she was molested by that Legion soldier...

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

[22:19] Markus Madzuko glances idly at his surroundings, keeping a watchful eye for snipers after Parnell nearly caught a round in the ass the other day. The marine comes to a halt as the figure standing near the waterfront catches in his periphery, tail swinging to and fro with an apparent pensive stare toward the ocean. He'd seen that armor before, and the long black hair flowing overtop of it, a low, mirthless chuckle released as he reaches for his sidearm and pulls it free as quiet, calculating steps are taken closer, eventually leveling the sights for the back of her head as he'd move down a few meters from her. Markus would feel a bit of deja vu as he watches her a moment, their roles seemingly reversed from the last time they'd met in almost this same location. "Don't move 'ah fuckin' muscle," he barks, jerking back on the slide to chamber a round. "Hands behind your head and keep your fingers locked. Nice 'n slow."

[22:23] Beast Slade chuckles, "And all this time I was wondering if it'd be new meat to chew on. You know, my enemy, there was this girl that pissed me off so I chewed and clawed on her arm. Ever hear about that?" She grinned again, slowly turned, obviously unarmed as she said, "Interesting how we've ended up, huh?" She was calm for the most part, already knowing this would catch up with her one day.

[22:31] Markus Madzuko takes a few sauntering strides closer, holding his pistol sideways in a ghetto ass, thug lyfe fashion as his other hand reaches around on his belt for a set of handcuffs. "interestin' if I'd shot ya in the back of the head 'n let yer fall into the ocean clean up the evidence fer me. Think I'd rather keep ya alive, tho. Apparently a couple nights in the holdin' cells just wasn't enough for ya. How would ya like to start servin' drinks at the Hellfire?" he asks with a bemused smirk. "Now, turn yer ass around and do what I told ya before I make sure we got one less kitten ta deal with."

[22:35] Beast Slade growls a little, "I think you should stat shooting before I go back to Levi, motherfucker." Her eyes flared red now, yet not surrounded with that darkness that breathed feral. Her hands remained at her sides as she grinned wildly, "I knew you had feelings for me, ou perverted jackass, I just never knew how strongly you felt, though I won't kss you if you don't buy me a drink first." She was now just being a smartass as her temper flared.

[22:44] Markus Madzuko was bluffing, of course. And Beast being Beast, she'd called it. Markus' lazy ass wasn't about to arrest her, lead her -all- the way back to the subway, then back to base, then process, and all of the other...extremely boring shit that comes with taking in and registering a prisoner. His eyes widen a little at her remark, cocking one eyebrow toward her. The marine says nothin to that, arm outstretched to where the muzzle of the USP would be hovering about an inch infront of her chest, finger poised on the trigger. He'd go to move the cold, steel muzzle down the swell of her breasts, tracing the cat's cleavage before stopping it at her gut. She was quick, and could of course try to disarm him, but likely not before he'd likely get at least one round in the hybrid's midsection. "Not gonna ask ya again," he grunts, jutting his chin up. "Turn. Around."

[22:49] Beast Slade grins nodding, "I'll play nice, for about thirty secods. If you deon't get lost I'll gut you, motherfucker." She knew the gun at her stomach was no bluff, but her nipples became erect as the muzzle passed over her chest, though the armor probably didn't show it well.

[22:59] Markus Madzuko grins at her obedience, the muzzle of his USP raising to hover at the back of her head once she'd turned to face the ocean, the sound of the waves beating the concrete rise and the cliff below playing an almost relaxing note as he'd move to secure the cuffs around each slender wrist. Despite the smog and constant, spotty overcast the dim moonlight shone fully on their sides as he'd step close to push himself into her, the rifle over his chest would smush against her back as his other 'gun' would rest up against the her soft backside, using a hand to reach up and try to pull her hair off to the side, his hungry mouth drawing to the side of her neck as her skin, pearlescent in the moonlight, would be displayed for him. The hot avidness of his breath, the greedy suckle of his lips, and rasp of his tongue would find the line of her throat, biting, nibbling and licking as his other hand reaches around, gloved digits skimming the waistband of her pants.

[23:06] Beast Slade growled out loudly, now thrashing wildly, eyes growing darker as she send her elbows back at his face, her leg coming up trying to smash his 'gun' into oblivion. Her snarls now in the air as her belt was fiddled with, seeking to be loosened; now she was biting and clawing at whatever she could the handcuffs groaning this resistance as she tried to rip them in two, her strong muscles tense with motivation. Now her claws came forward, and the handcuffs threatened to break as her wrists also got larger, her skin became furr as Markus molested her neck and body altogether

[23:18] Markus Madzuko wouldn't utter a word. He wouldn't chuckle, nor roar out, even as he's caught in the cheek by a wild elbow. As Beast tries to throw a leg back towards his junk it'd only graze the iniside of his thigh hard as he was pushed up against her, all of this roughhousin' excitement from Beast's struggle causing little Markus to be already standing at attention, nestled directly underneath the soft curves of her ass. He knew she was going feral when the soft, hairless skin on her neck that he was assaulting soon produced fur, her body enlarging and writhing against him. With a grunt he'd lower his arm to try and wrap tightly around her waist, wanting to hold her in place as his sidearm is quickl holstered. The other hand, fumbling with her belt to loosen it had since unfastened it, allowing the marine to shove his hand down the front of her pants entirely. His prodding, exploring fingers would travel downward to the neko's velvety folds. Once, or if he reaches her sweet spot, assuming she hadn't broken free of the cuffs by that point, he'd rest the side of his middle and index finger on either side of her clit and start to rub. The hardened planes of the marine's face were without expression as he'd use the hybrid for what the felt was the only thing they were good for.

[23:29] Beast Slade's hands came together and ripped part violently as the cuffs literally shattered violently from her wrists as she looked back and snarled darkly, fangs now malevolently posed to kill. She couldn't deny the feelings in her cunt that tingled through her, but the feeling to kill overcame that; her hands now claws flew back and tried to find Markus's wrists and literally rip them away from her body violenly as she growled, leg wrapping behind Markus and her brutal anger driving her to push him back hoping to trip him on to the ground so she could tear him apart further.

[23:35] Markus Madzuko 's wirsts are dug into, growling out as his arm falls free and his hand removed from her pants as forcibly as it'd entered. As her leg moves behind him he gets caught in it easily as he was already trying to move back, tripping him up before he'd fall flat on his back. The marine's boots scuff the concrete as he'd try and get purchase on the ground, awkwardly scooting back like an upsidedown turtle as he'd quickly reach for his sidearm, moving to pull it free; she'd likely be on top of him with full force before he could take any decent aim.

[23:38] Beast Slade snarls at her attacker as the roles quickly changed, she turned and dived at him, ignoring the fact he had weapons as her sharp and deadly claws came down, she swung at his face and shoulder coming down quickly with a vengeance that Markus probably had never seen. If she landed on him she'd also try to bite into his flesh, tearing out a nice piece of meat from his neck, or at last that's what she was aiming to do.

[23:48] Markus Madzuko could do nothing than let her get in real nice and close. He'd bring an arm up to try and shield his face as that flurry of clawswipes comes at him with a vengeance. It mattered little to Markus, though, as he still had Beast's pootang juices on his fingers, and that shit was more rare than Asian man on black woman porn. Her claws would scrape down the length of his arm, deep gashes like crevasses opening up with blood spraying out. His shoulder is hit next, the sharpened points digging in like a knife through warm butter. Markus would see her open mouth coming down for his neck, razorsharp teeth displayed. If she managed to get a bite, that'd be the end for him. He'd curl his fingers down over his palm and try to land a wild, hard palmstrike for her nose as her head lowers, all the while nestling the sidearm held in his right hand against the side of her vest. He'd depress the trigger, one round exploding with a loud -crack-.

[23:56] Beast Slade's claws ripped and teared as her head is knocked not her nose, and lands somewhere near his shoulder as well. She looked at Markus as the bullet hit , being that the gun was right against her it offered little momentum as it hit her armor, the round piercing her fleh as she snarled out, making herself upright and trying to knock that gun away as she hacked at it, snarling at Markus again, her other set of claws digging in his soulder.

[0:03] Markus Madzuko 's fingers loosen as they're sliced into, his USP skidding away from him. He finally roars out as she keeps working on that shoulder, each claw twisting into the taut muscles and shredding them as he struggles against her. She was too close to him for his rifle to be brought to bear, and so he'd do what any marine would do in his position: just start swinging like a fucking maniac. With his USP out of reach he'd ball that hand into a fist and start sending wild punches for anything he could hit on her, all the while trying to grab the wrist of the clawed hand that was digging into his shoulder. If he managed to get purchase he'd try to shove back and get the claws out, at least.

[0:08] Beast Slade snarls loudly and dives in again, shoving his hand down as her teeth went for his shoulder, tryin to rip and tear it off the joint roughly, still raking down his arm, she grunted here and there if he got a lucky shot off at her side or shoulder, not being deturred in the least by his resistance.

[0:19] Markus Madzuko roars out like a wounded lion as Beast's teeth clamp down on his already mangled shoulder, thrashing against her and punching wildly before she'd start to tear at it, and it pops out of joint within seconds. After sending a punch of her side his arm falls flat against her, head falling back against the concrete as he goes limp. Out cold.

[0:23] Beast Slade throws her head back, sensing that Markus could no longer fight and withdrew her claws from his body, roaring in victory as she came down with two large fists and slammed them into his chest as if to show dominance while he lay there, she lickd her blood-stained lips, ferociously snarling at him, face to face...

After Beast left in a feral storm, heading for the Den, knowing she'd be safe there.

SS Dragonstar construction day 4.

 

Started work on midsection.

I couldn't decide which one I liked better.

This oil lamp has an ingenious design that made it easy to use and smoke-free. The two semicircular panels of its midsection can be slid around to control the amount of illumination, while the tray can be turned with the projecting handle to change the direction of light. The lid of the lamp has two curved tubes connecting back to its body, designed so that smoke is collected and absorbed by water in the reservoir at the bottom of the lamp. These tubes also function to distribute heat and warm the hands and air, a design that works well for interior use during long winter nights, when doors and windows are tightly closed.

 

Photographed at the "Tomb Treasures" exhibit at the Asian Art Museum in San Francisco, California.

From the Sith Knights datapad :

'The beast I sensed didn't give us much time before it lunged out of the jungle and immediately scooped up the Jedi fighter's nose. It held it aloft a long while , and during that time the troopers and the quadruped droid fired upon it until it got angry enough to hurl it to the last snowtrooper. This left it exposed with no weapons , and I darted in and drove my blade into its midsection. This made it fall backwards , and it rolled over to let the would be cooled and to allow it's back armor to protect it. I took my chance to finish it by plunging the red saber deep into the beast's back , and it roared and rose upwards before rapidly descending back down , and exhaled it's last breath. I can tell these two were once rancor young , mutated by someone. Perhaps even my Sith Masters , which means this is more tests. Sensing no more beasts , I decided to continue on to the direction the rest of the Jedi wreckage was in. Strange , the Dark Side energy still remained...'

 

I accidentally clicked report abuse halfway through and deleted my desc I had been typing , which was different than this one. Maybe this one was better , but it's damn annoying losing 10 minutes of typing because I accidentally clicked something. Anyway , the droid is in this shot , just off to the side behind the sith. I decided on this picture to post cause the beast was most in focus. There's still 3 more photos after this set of three , but I'll post those tomorrow cause it's getting a little late for thinking up descriptions. Those three will be the last fight photos before we get to the end of the Sith Knights actual trials , and then the 3 after that will be the end of his story before I find somewhere that looks like Korriban (or I decide that he stays on dxun).

Designer Jasmine has been fully deboxed, and is posed standing, supported by the custom doll stand. Her overskirt, freed from the factory restraints, is now wider than the doll stand, and is allowed to drape over the edges of the base. The sunlight was fading as I was taking these photos, so some of the closeups used flash.

 

First look at the Disney Princess Designer Collection Jasmine Doll. She was released in October 2011, and I got her from eBay shortly afterwards, so It's been more than a year and a half since I got this doll. But I have not yet deboxed her, and this the first time I am doing a full photoshoot of her. I will photograph her boxed, during her deboxing, and fully deboxed.

 

My Designer Jasmine doll is a limited edition doll that was produced and sold exclusively by the Disney Store, and is numbered 5645 of 6000. She is based on the heroine from the Disney animated feature Aladdin (1992). She comes in an acrylic case with a built-in doll stand, with a base that has a golden filigree design, and a golden metallic nameplate. There is also a cardboard cover for the case that I have not photographed here.

 

She is 11 1/2'' tall, and has the same body as the other Designer Princess dolls, with jointed neck, shoulders, elbows, wrists, waist, hips and knees (internal). She has rubber legs and fixed ankles, with feet angled for high heels.

 

She has jet black, 12'' long hair tied into a floor length pony tail. There are two golden elastic hairties in the upper and middle part of the ponytail, and the lower portion of her hair has loose curls. It is very soft and shiny. There were a few stray hairs, but I left them alone and did not comb it, as I thought her hair was neat enough as it was out of the box. She has light brown skin, and a unique face sculpt that is very pretty and movie accurate. She has large dark brown almond shaped eyes that are glancing towards her right. She has light blue-green eye shadow, and thick black eyebrows. She has rooted eyelashes, that are tapered in length from short to long, then at the ends there are very long curved antenna like lashes. She has a small straight nose, full dark purple lips in with a closed mouth smile. She has very pale red rouge on her cheeks.

 

Her three piece gown is made of bright blue-green satin and light blue organza. Her bodice is cropped short to reveal her midsection (including her belly button), and consists of light blue organza embedded with golden gems, draped over her upper arms, and gemmed blue-green satin lower and back sections. Her blue-green satin skirt is floor length and is figure hugging, flairing out at the bottom. It is hemmed and there is a light blue polyester lining. There is a very wide overskirt of the double layered light blue satin. I is open in front, but can be wrapped around to completely cover her inner skirt, or can be folded to reveal her inner skirt.

 

She is wearing light blue-green high heeled shoes, which match the color of her skirt.

 

Her accessories include earrings, a chain belt with pendant and Aladdin's lamp. The earrings are large golden triangles with gold colored gems. Her belt is made of fine gold chain, with a large round jeweled pendant just below her waist that gathers the strands of the chain together, the remainder of which fall almost to the floor. In her right hand is a golden lamp that is bejeweled with yellow gems. The top of the lamp is removable (it is held in place with rubber bands, which I left in place).

 

There were no real surprises revealed by deboxing her, although it was nice to see the full extent of her overskirt. I was also glad to take her out of her awkward head pose, which was a common problem among the Designer Princesses. One thing I didn't like was that her top was a little too short, and revealed her waist joint (that enables her to spin her upper body around 360 degrees). Tugging on her top didn't move it enough to hide the joint in the front. As a consequence, her waist joint moved very freely, and her upper body tended to turn whenever she was handled, aided by her long hair. Also her long luxurious hair is very heavy, so tends to pull her backwards slightly when she is posed on the display stand. Designer Rapunzel has a similar problem. Her very wide floor length overskirt and floor length hair make it difficult to rebox her neatly, which is a common problem with the Designer dolls with very wide floor length skirts.

Deboxing Designer Jasmine. The clear acrylic cover of the case has been removed, so she is now in the open. She is still attached to the cardboard backing and plastic spacer by wires, rubber bands and plastic tacks. She is also supported by the built-in doll stand.

 

First look at the Disney Princess Designer Collection Jasmine Doll. She was released in October 2011, and I got her from eBay shortly afterwards, so It's been more than a year and a half since I got this doll. But I have not yet deboxed her, and this the first time I am doing a full photoshoot of her. I will photograph her boxed, during her deboxing, and fully deboxed.

 

My Designer Jasmine doll is a limited edition doll that was produced and sold exclusively by the Disney Store, and is numbered 5645 of 6000. She is based on the heroine from the Disney animated feature Aladdin (1992). She comes in an acrylic case with a built-in doll stand, with a base that has a golden filigree design, and a golden metallic nameplate. There is also a cardboard cover for the case that I have not photographed here.

 

She is 11 1/2'' tall, and has the same body as the other Designer Princess dolls, with jointed neck, shoulders, elbows, wrists, waist, hips and knees (internal). She has rubber legs and fixed ankles, with feet angled for high heels.

 

She has jet black, 12'' long hair tied into a floor length pony tail. There are two golden elastic hairties in the upper and middle part of the ponytail, and the lower portion of her hair has loose curls. It is very soft and shiny. There were a few stray hairs, but I left them alone and did not comb it, as I thought her hair was neat enough as it was out of the box. She has light brown skin, and a unique face sculpt that is very pretty and movie accurate. She has large dark brown almond shaped eyes that are glancing towards her right. She has light blue-green eye shadow, and thick black eyebrows. She has rooted eyelashes, that are tapered in length from short to long, then at the ends there are very long curved antenna like lashes. She has a small straight nose, full dark purple lips in with a closed mouth smile. She has very pale red rouge on her cheeks.

 

Her three piece gown is made of bright blue-green satin and light blue organza. Her bodice is cropped short to reveal her midsection (including her belly button), and consists of light blue organza embedded with golden gems, draped over her upper arms, and gemmed blue-green satin lower and back sections. Her blue-green satin skirt is floor length and is figure hugging, flairing out at the bottom. It is hemmed and there is a light blue polyester lining. There is a very wide overskirt of the double layered light blue satin. I is open in front, but can be wrapped around to completely cover her inner skirt, or can be folded to reveal her inner skirt.

 

She is wearing light blue-green high heeled shoes, which match the color of her skirt.

 

Her accessories include earrings, a chain belt with pendant and Aladdin's lamp. The earrings are large golden triangles with gold colored gems. Her belt is made of fine gold chain, with a large round jeweled pendant just below her waist that gathers the strands of the chain together, the remainder of which fall almost to the floor. In her right hand is a golden lamp that is bejeweled with yellow gems. The top of the lamp is removable (it is held in place with rubber bands, which I left in place).

 

There were no real surprises revealed by deboxing her, although it was nice to see the full extent of her overskirt. I was also glad to take her out of her awkward head pose, which was a common problem among the Designer Princesses. One thing I didn't like was that her top was a little too short, and revealed her waist joint (that enables her to spin her upper body around 360 degrees). Tugging on her top didn't move it enough to hide the joint in the front. As a consequence, her waist joint moved very freely, and her upper body tended to turn whenever she was handled, aided by her long hair. Also her long luxurious hair is very heavy, so tends to pull her backwards slightly when she is posed on the display stand. Designer Rapunzel has a similar problem. Her very wide floor length overskirt and floor length hair make it difficult to rebox her neatly, which is a common problem with the Designer dolls with very wide floor length skirts.

GUNDAM BZ DEFENDER

This is my fourth Gundam MOC, however this one is not from any Gundam continuity this is a custom Gundam based on my new double jointed mech frame design. If you made it to Brickfete you saw this before my internet audience did! Thanks to all the other mech builders for their suggestions and criticisms which resulted in a more poseable Lego Mobile suit frame for this MOC. This Gundam MOC stands tall at 15 inches – 3 inches taller than my usual mech / leader class transformer size and is equipped with a midsection cockpit for its pilot. He is very poseable! Enjoy rate and comment!

Pls also check out my YouTube video for more details on this MOC:

 

www.youtube.com/watch?v=gIlYfjRMjUk

I purposely overexposed this photo. After doing that, I used photoshop to remove a portion of the overexposed area so that I could bring the sky and the ocean closer.

 

White Point. San Pedro, CA.

 

Click View On Black to view a larger version of this photo.

 

- Shot with Nikon D90 + Nikon 18-105mm f/3.5-5.6 AF-S DX VR ED.

 

- Adobe Photoshop used for slight color edits and removal of the midsection of the photo.

The Peugeot 304 is a small family car which was produced by the French manufacturer Peugeot from 1969 to 1980.

 

The 304 was introduced to the public at the Paris Motor Show in September 1969. Production of the saloon/sedan on the Sochaux assembly lines was discontinued during the summer of 1979, while the "Break" (estate) was produced until the spring of 1980.

 

Peugeot, which had always been a financially prudent company, saw a gap in the midsize car market in France, Italy and the rest of Western Europe. By using the smaller 204's midsection, development costs were minimized resulting in a higher profit margin because of the higher pricing structure in the larger, better equipped market. The 304's main competitors on its home market came from Renault and Simca, with Citroen noticeably absent from this sector at the launch.

 

The car was moderately advanced for its time, having fully independent suspension, and a four-speed gearbox located directly below the engine, sharing the same oil as the engine.

 

The 304 was designed to slot between the popular 204 and the recently introduced Peugeot 504. Since the 204 had an exceptionally spacious passenger cabin for its class, the 304 body used the central portion of the 204: engine and running gear components were mostly interchangeable between the two cars. However, the 304 had a restyled front grill and headlights, designed consciously to emulate the 504.

via ĐZTin ift.tt/2hYIn4q Tư Vấn Thẩm Mỹ ift.tt/2hYxFuN ==>> bac si tham my

INSTRUCTIONS AVAILABLE FOR VARIETY OF BODYSTYLES OF THIS MODEL

 

The Peugeot 304 is a small family car which was produced by the French manufacturer Peugeot from 1969 to 1980.

 

The 304 was introduced to the public at the Paris Motor Show in September 1969. Production of the saloon/sedan on the Sochaux assembly lines was discontinued during the summer of 1979, while the "Break" (estate) was produced until the spring of 1980. Coupé and cabriolet versions replaced their 204 forerunners in March 1970.

 

Peugeot, which had always been a financially prudent company, saw a gap in the midsize car market in France, Italy and the rest of Western Europe. By using the smaller 204's midsection, development costs were minimized resulting in a higher profit margin because of the higher pricing structure in the larger, better equipped market. The 304's main competitors on its home market came from Renault and Simca, with Citroen noticeably absent from this sector at the launch.

 

The car was moderately advanced for its time, having fully independent suspension, and a four-speed gearbox located directly below the engine, sharing the same oil as the engine.

 

The 304 was designed to slot between the popular 204 and the recently introduced Peugeot 504. Since the 204 had an exceptionally spacious passenger cabin for its class, the 304 body used the central portion of the 204: engine and running gear components were mostly interchangeable between the two cars. However, the 304 had a restyled front grill and headlights, designed consciously to emulate the 504.

Still nauseous and still needing naps and an early bedtime daily, but not nearly as badly as a few weeks ago. Boobies are a lot less painful, which is a relief. I'm in the in-between place where most of my pre-pregnancy clothes don't fit (or I can get into them but I look ridiculous) but maternity clothes are still too big. It's okay though, this kid is going to double in size over the next month and those maternity clothes will definitely come in handy. Supposedly I'll start to feel this little one's acrobatics in the next couple of weeks too - seriously excited about that.

 

The Itching began this past week. Dear Lord, THE ITCHING. My whole midsection (front, back, and sides) feels like --- I can't even describe it. Horrible, awful, constant ITCHING. I'll have Mike scratch me all over and the beautiful, exquisite relief makes me cry tears of happiness. Slathering myself in coconut oil multiple times a day. Skin feels tight, DRY, and ITCHY. SO SO ITCHY.

 

One more thing of important note: This morning was the first time I looked in the mirror and thought I looked beautiful instead of just fat. LOVED that feeling. (What girl doesn't?)

 

This week Niblet is about the size of an avocado (or a small gerbil). Kid is pumping about 25 quarts of blood (!!!) through its tiny body every day and I'm carrying around at least a cup of amniotic fluid. Mmmmm. Read more: www.fitpregnancy.com/16-weeks-pregnant

  

I hope this doesn't just come off as an easy ploy or laziness. Sometimes I feel like skin turns into that. Really, one of the best things about 2009 was that it was the year I finally accepted myself. Felt truly comfortable for the first time since I was a tiny child.

 

Today I can finally go back to the gym after being sick for about a week... thank god.

 

Anyway, I feel ecstatic. There is nothing better than feeling at home in your own skin. I love the parts where bones show and the parts where they don't. I'm not looking for flaws anymore and I've run out of needless shame.

Deboxing Designer Jasmine. The doll has been removed from the case, and the spacer removed from her back. She is now fully deboxed and lying down on a counter.

 

First look at the Disney Princess Designer Collection Jasmine Doll. She was released in October 2011, and I got her from eBay shortly afterwards, so It's been more than a year and a half since I got this doll. But I have not yet deboxed her, and this the first time I am doing a full photoshoot of her. I will photograph her boxed, during her deboxing, and fully deboxed.

 

My Designer Jasmine doll is a limited edition doll that was produced and sold exclusively by the Disney Store, and is numbered 5645 of 6000. She is based on the heroine from the Disney animated feature Aladdin (1992). She comes in an acrylic case with a built-in doll stand, with a base that has a golden filigree design, and a golden metallic nameplate. There is also a cardboard cover for the case that I have not photographed here.

 

She is 11 1/2'' tall, and has the same body as the other Designer Princess dolls, with jointed neck, shoulders, elbows, wrists, waist, hips and knees (internal). She has rubber legs and fixed ankles, with feet angled for high heels.

 

She has jet black, 12'' long hair tied into a floor length pony tail. There are two golden elastic hairties in the upper and middle part of the ponytail, and the lower portion of her hair has loose curls. It is very soft and shiny. There were a few stray hairs, but I left them alone and did not comb it, as I thought her hair was neat enough as it was out of the box. She has light brown skin, and a unique face sculpt that is very pretty and movie accurate. She has large dark brown almond shaped eyes that are glancing towards her right. She has light blue-green eye shadow, and thick black eyebrows. She has rooted eyelashes, that are tapered in length from short to long, then at the ends there are very long curved antenna like lashes. She has a small straight nose, full dark purple lips in with a closed mouth smile. She has very pale red rouge on her cheeks.

 

Her three piece gown is made of bright blue-green satin and light blue organza. Her bodice is cropped short to reveal her midsection (including her belly button), and consists of light blue organza embedded with golden gems, draped over her upper arms, and gemmed blue-green satin lower and back sections. Her blue-green satin skirt is floor length and is figure hugging, flairing out at the bottom. It is hemmed and there is a light blue polyester lining. There is a very wide overskirt of the double layered light blue satin. I is open in front, but can be wrapped around to completely cover her inner skirt, or can be folded to reveal her inner skirt.

 

She is wearing light blue-green high heeled shoes, which match the color of her skirt.

 

Her accessories include earrings, a chain belt with pendant and Aladdin's lamp. The earrings are large golden triangles with gold colored gems. Her belt is made of fine gold chain, with a large round jeweled pendant just below her waist that gathers the strands of the chain together, the remainder of which fall almost to the floor. In her right hand is a golden lamp that is bejeweled with yellow gems. The top of the lamp is removable (it is held in place with rubber bands, which I left in place).

 

There were no real surprises revealed by deboxing her, although it was nice to see the full extent of her overskirt. I was also glad to take her out of her awkward head pose, which was a common problem among the Designer Princesses. One thing I didn't like was that her top was a little too short, and revealed her waist joint (that enables her to spin her upper body around 360 degrees). Tugging on her top didn't move it enough to hide the joint in the front. As a consequence, her waist joint moved very freely, and her upper body tended to turn whenever she was handled, aided by her long hair. Also her long luxurious hair is very heavy, so tends to pull her backwards slightly when she is posed on the display stand. Designer Rapunzel has a similar problem. Her very wide floor length overskirt and floor length hair make it difficult to rebox her neatly, which is a common problem with the Designer dolls with very wide floor length skirts.

Found this interesting boxing poster on the internet

featuring Bob ( Bobcat) Montgomery and Wesley Mouzan II

from a match October 26, 1946 in Philadelphia.So

what does this have to do with Tammi Terrell one might

ask.Tammi's uncle was Bob Montgomery her father's brother.

Her dad Thomas was involved in the sport and assisted

with training.It appears from this article he in

Wesley Mouzan's corner rather then his brothers.

Tammi's uncle Bob Montgomery was well respected

and I believe later in life elected into the International

Boxing Hall of Fame in 1995.He sadly passed away in

1998. Tammi's sister Ludie Montgomery had spoke about

her uncle Bob so I thought I would add this interesting

article on the Montgomery family as it pertains to

Tammi Terrell's family.

  

Bob Montgomery (boxer)

 

Statistics

  

Real name

Bob Montgomery

 

Nickname(s)

Bobcat

 

Weight(s)

Lightweight

 

Height

5 ft 7.5 in (1.71 m)

 

Reach

70 in (178 cm)

 

Nationality

American

 

Born

February 10, 1919

Sumter, SC

 

Died

August 25, 1998 (aged 79)

Philadelphia, PA

 

Stance

Orthodox

 

Boxing record

  

Total fights

97

 

Wins

75

 

Wins by KO

37

 

Losses

19

 

Draws

3

 

No contests

0

 

Bob Montgomery (February 10, 1919 – August 25, 1998) was an American lightweight boxer who

 

took the New York State Athletic Commission (NYSAC) World Lightweight Championship in May

 

1943, and again in March 1944.[1] His managers included Frankie Thomas, and Joe Gramby.[2]

  

1 Early life and career

2 Boxing career 2.1 Taking the NYSAC World Lightweight Title from Beau Jack, May 1943 2.1.1

 

Losing the NYSAC World Lightweight Title to Beau Jack, November 1943

 

2.2 Re-taking the NYSAC World Lightweight Title from Beau Jack, November 1944

2.3 Defending the NYSAC World Lightweight Title against Allie Stoltz, and Wesley Mouzon,

 

1946 2.3.1 Losing second World Lightweight Title, August 1947

  

3 Life after boxing

4 See also

5 References

6 External links

 

Early life and career[edit]

 

Montgomery was born on February 10, 1919 in Sumter, South Carolina. He came to Philadelphia

 

in 1934 during the depression and found a job as a "puller" in a laundry where he pulled

 

clothes out of large industrial laundering machines. He began amateur boxing and training at

 

the "Slaughterhouse", a gym on Philadelphia's Eighth Street and Girard Avenue.[3]

 

He went undefeated in his first 23 fights, with a record of 22-0-1 and won the Pennsylvania

 

State Lightweight Title in a bout against Mike Evens on October 24, 1939 in Philadelphia.[1]

 

On September 16, 1940, Montgomery lost to Lew Jenkins in a ten-round unanimous decision

 

before a crowd of 12,900 at Shibe Park in Philadelphia. Jenkins was down in the third round

 

for a count of nine. The United Press gave Jenkins five rounds to four for Montgomery,

 

though ring officials gave Jenkins a somewhat wider margin.[1][4]

 

Boxing career

 

Montgomery beat Julie Kogon three times. Their first fight was at the Broadway Arena in

 

Brooklyn on January 28, 1941, and Montgomery won by decision. They fought again on October

 

24 that year, at the Chicago Coliseum, with Montgomery again winning by decision. The two

 

squared off for the last time on June 2, 1947 in Kogon's hometown at the New Haven Arena,

 

and Montgomery had another decision win.[5]

 

Montgomery lost to former lightweight champ Sammy Angott by split decision at Shibe Park on

 

July 7, 1942.

 

In 1942 Montgomery had two battles with Maxie Shapiro. In the first fight Montgomery lost by

 

decision in Philadelphia, but he won the rematch two months later by unanimous decision in

 

the same arena.

 

Taking the NYSAC World Lightweight Title from Beau Jack, May 1943

 

Montgomery won recognition by New York state as Lightweight Champion of the World after

 

beating Beau Jack by a fifteen-round unanimous decision on May 21, 1943. Jack won the first

 

round by a wide margin with a flurry of uppercuts and his signature free-wheeling, constant

 

punching from many angles. But Montgomery quickly settled down and scored frequently with a

 

strong straight right that at times had Jack close to a knockout and against which he could

 

find no adequate defense. Jack's eyes were virtually closed during much of the bout, but

 

Montgomery's injuries were restricted to a cut above one eye. A right to the chin briefly

 

knocked Jack to his knees in the eleventh round and he struggled in the remaining rounds.

 

One ringside reporter gave Montgomery eleven rounds to only four for Jack.

 

Montgomery beat Petey Scalzo in a sixth-round TKO in Philadelphia on October 25, 1943 in

 

Convention Hall in Philadelphia. Montgomery knocked down Scalzo three times during the bout.

 

Losing the NYSAC World Lightweight Title to Beau Jack, November 1943

 

Montgomery lost the NYSAC World Lightweight Title to Jack in a fifteen-round title match by

 

decision before 17,466 fans on November 19, 1943 at the Garden.[7] The bout was close and in

 

the fourteenth, Montgomery may have had Jack close to a knockout. The United Press scored

 

eight for Jack, five for Montgomery, with two even, though a few of the judges gave as many

 

as six rounds to Montgomery. Jack excelled in both in-fighting and at long range boxing

 

where Montgomery, with a slight advantage in height, would normally have the advantage.

 

Jack's straight rights had Montgomery shaky in the third and fifth rounds.

 

On January 25, 1944, Montgomery impressively knocked out powerful Black lightweight Ike

 

Williams in the twelfth round at Convention Hall in Philadelphia. Montgomery hammered

 

Williams repeatedly in the first eleven rounds. As Williams walked out of his corner for the

 

twelfth round, Mongtomery tagged him with a series of straight rights that twice floored him

 

for eight counts. Upon rising, Montgomery floored Williams for the final count with a right

 

to the jaw, and he went down by the ropes.[9] Williams would take the World Lightweight

 

Championship in April 1945, holding it for several years.

 

Montgomery lost to Al "Bummy" Davis at Madison Square Garden in a non-title bout before

 

17,654 fans in a first-round KO on February 18, 1944. Montgomery went down once, before

 

rising and being knocked to the mat by a left hook for a full count 1:03 into the first

 

round.

 

Re-taking the NYSAC World Lightweight Title from Beau Jack, November 1944

 

He retook the title from Beau Jack on March 3, 1944 at Madison Square Garden in a fifteen-

 

round split decision before 19,066 fans.[1] Jack had led in the early betting. The fighting

 

was fierce and close throughout and Montgomery was given no more than a two-round advantage

 

by the judges or referee, though the Associated Press scored the bout 8 for Montgomery, 4

 

for Jack, and three even.[10] After the bout, Montgomery was drafted into the US Army.[3] He

 

continued to box while serving in the Army and was released by June 1946, when he defeated

 

Allie Stoltz.

 

On February 13, 1945, Montgomery had a fierce bout with Cecil Hudson at the Olympic

 

Auditorium in Los Angeles, California, winning in a ten-round decision. Montgomery received

 

a furlough from active Army duty at Luke Field Arizona, and had not appeared in a

 

competitive match for four months.[1] Through the first six rounds, Montgomery was perplexed

 

by Hudson's dodges and weaves, and unable to land many solid blows. Hudson was knocked to

 

the canvas after the bell in the fourth, and was down very briefly in the eighth and ninth

 

rounds, once Montgomery found his range. Until the two knockdowns, Hudson was leading

 

slightly in points, according to the United Press scoring. In the fury of fighting, one

 

source noted that Montgomery was penalized in a few rounds for hitting after the bell.

 

Defending the NYSAC World Lightweight Title against Allie Stoltz, and Wesley Mouzon, 1946

 

He successfully defended his second NYSAC World Lightweight Title against Allie Stoltz

 

before 10,872 fans at Madison Square Garden in a thirteenth-round knockout on June 28, 1946.

 

The telling blow was a right to Stolz, 2:54 into the thirteenth, but in a decisive win,

 

Montgomery put Stoltz on the canvas as many as five times prior to the final knockout.

 

Stoltz was down in second, sixth, and eleventh rounds. He may have lacked conditioning from

 

his four and a half month layoff from the ring. He fought gamely and continued to take

 

punishment, even landing a solid right to the chin of Montgomery in the sixth round.[14]

 

[15][16]

 

On November 26, 1946, Montgomery defended his NYSAC World Lightweight Title against Wesley

 

Mouzon in an eighth-round knockout at Convention Hall in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania before a

 

substantial crowd, of 12,416. Surprisingly, he had just lost to Mouzon by knockout in a

 

non-title bout only three months previously on August 19, 1946 at Shibe Park in

 

Philadelphia. In their fiercely fought November title match, Mouzon took the first three

 

rounds with speed and jabs, but Montgomery countered with body blows and rights, before

 

ending the bout 2:18 into the eighth with a long left hook.[17] Mouzon took a serious lacing

 

throughout all but the first round, and had a serious injury to his right eye.[18]

 

On February 7, 1947, Montgomery had a difficult loss to Tony Pellone before a crowd of

 

11,365 at Olympia Stadium in Detroit in a ten-round unanimous decision. The Associated Press

 

wrote that the crowd was satisfied with the decision for Pellone even though he was the

 

underdog in the bout. Pellone took the aggressive with hard punches to the face and head of

 

his opponent. Montgomery slipped to the canvas in the second for a count of two.[1][19]

 

Losing second World Lightweight Title, August 1947[edit]

 

He lost the World Lightweight Title for the last time against Ike Williams in a six-round

 

TKO on August 4, 1947 at Municipal Stadium in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. Montgomery was

 

first knocked for a nine count in the sixth, and eventually the referee stopped the bout

 

after Montgomery seemed helpless against the attacks of Williams. The blow that sent

 

Montgomery to the mat for a count of nine in the sixth was a right to the chin by the hard

 

punching Williams.[20] Williams was four years younger, which may have played a role in the

 

advantage he had against the ring weary Montgomery.

 

Life after boxing[edit]

 

Montgomery became a promoter at the end of his career. He was inducted into the

 

International Boxing Hall of Fame in 1995.

 

He died of complications from a stroke at Veterans Affairs Medical Center in Coatsville,

 

outside Philadelphia on August 25, 1998. He was survived by his son Robert Jr., and five

 

sisters.[3] He is buried at Indiantown Gap National Cemetery in Annville, Pennsylvania.[3]

 

[21]

 

See also

International Boxing Hall of Fame

 

References

 

1.^ Jump up to: a b c d e f g h i j "Bob Montgomery Boxing Record". BoxRec. Retrieved 8

 

December 2016.

2.^ "Bob Montgomery Cyber Boxing Zone". Cyber Boxing Zone. Retrieved 8 December 2016.

3.^ Jump up to: a b c d Sama, Dominic, "Bob Montgomery, 79, World Champion Boxer", The

 

Philadelphia Inquirer Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, pg. 83, 27 August 1998

4.^ Cuddy, Jack, "Lew Jenkins Shows Heart in Rough Bout", The Pittsburgh Press, Pittsburgh,

 

Pennsylvania, pg. 22, 17 September 1940

5.^ Bob "Bobcat" Montgomery, Boxer from "Carolina's Boxing Hall of Fame". Retrieved November

 

29, 2014.

6.^ Carver, Lawton, "Jack Drubbed As Philly Negro Pulls Big Upset", The News Journal,

 

Wilmington, Delaware, pg. 15, 22 May 1943

7.^ "Bobcat" Bob Montgomery from "The Cyber Boxing Zone Encyclopedia". Retrieved November

 

29, 2014.

8.^ Cuddy, Jack, "Bob Montgomery Suffers Setback in Defense of Title", The Ogden Standard-

 

Examiner, Ogden, Utah, pg. 3, 20 November 1943

9.^ "Montgomery K.O.s Williams, Seeks Jack Bout", The Post-Register, Idaho Falls, Idaho, pg.

 

10, 26 January 1944

10.^ "19,066 Fans See Bob Montgomery Defeat Beau Jack", The Bend Bulletin, Bend, Oregon, pg.

 

2, 4 March 1944

11.^ "Bob Montgomery Ends Ring Career", The Pittsburgh Press, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, pg.

 

6, 27 December 1947

12.^ "Monty Defeats Hudson on Coast", Mount Carmel Item, Mount Carmel, Pennsylvania, pg. 7,

 

14 February 1945

13.^ Penalized for hitting after the bell in "Montgomery Wins Over Cecil Hudson", Longview

 

News Journal, Longview, Texas, pg. 2, 15 February 1945

14.^ Solid right in sixth in Cuddy, Jack, "Weak Montgomery Holds Title With K.O. in Thirteen

 

Rounds", Dunkirk Evening Observer, Dunkirk, New York, pg. 10, 29 June 1946

15.^ Feder, Sid, Bob Montgomery Kayoes Allie Stoltz in the Thirteenth, The Petaluma Argus

 

Courier, Petaluma, California, pg. 2, 29 June 1946

16.^ Cuddy, Jack, "Williams to Clear Muddle", Mt. Carmel Item, Mt. Carmel, Pennsylvania, pg.

 

8. 29 June 1946

17.^ Final blow was a left hook in "Bobcat Bob Comes Back", Lansing State Journal, Lansing,

 

Michigan, pg. 11, 27 November 1946

18.^ Cuddy, Jack, "Mouzon's Unsuccessful Bid for Montgomery's Title May Result in Loss of

 

One Eye", Dunkirk Evening Observer, Dunkirk, New York, pg. 10, 27 November 1946

19.^ Montgomery was briefly down in "Tony Pellone Upsets Montgomery", The Ottawa Journal,

 

Ottawa, Ontario, Canada, pg. 24, 8 February 1947

20.^ Cuddy, Jack, "Ike Williams Stops Bob Montgomery to Win Lightweight Mit Title", The

 

Ogden Standard-Examiner", Ogden, Utah, pg. 10, 5 August 1947

21.^ Robert N. "Bobcat" Montgomery, Sr at Find a Grave. Retrieved November 29, 2014.

 

External links[edit]

Professional boxing record for Bob Montgomery from BoxRec

"Bobcat" Bob Montgomery at the Cyber Boxing Zone Encyclopedia

  

THE REMATCH:

 

Bob Montgomery vs. Wesley Mouzon II

   

It was an all-Philadelphia grudge match, pitting the ferocity of a fading star against the

 

natural talents of a teenage phenom. On November 26, 1946, a crowd of 12,416 filled

 

Convention Hall to witness what many believed would be the passing of the torch from the

 

fists of venerable champion, Bob Montgomery, to the sensational young Wesley Mouzon.

 

The “Bobcat” was only 27 years old, though with his grinding, in-the-trenches style, the

 

wear and tear of almost ninety professional contests was starting to show. Only three months

 

earlier, in a non-title affair, Montgomery had been separated from his senses in less than

 

two rounds of action against Mouzon. A perfect right hand had started the trouble, and a

 

follow-up hail of leather sent the titleholder crumpling to the canvas for the full count.

 

That surprising first clash, contested at a rainy Shibe Park, had set the tone for a

 

contentious atmosphere heading into the rematch. Montgomery, a notorious slow starter, felt

 

that he’d been rushed into the ring, with the commission wanting to make sure the crowd of

 

15,000 saw a show before the rains became too heavy. He discounted the challenger’s win,

 

prompting Mouzon to suggest that Montgomery was a “crybaby.”

 

The word incensed Montgomery and he revealed a growing hatred for the 19-year-old challenger

 

to the press. Described as a “modern day Battling Nelson” by the Philadelphia Inquirer’s

 

John Webster, Montgomery was a mean, unforgiving fighter between the ropes. Said to be in a

 

foul mood throughout his camp, he had been trained to a razor’s edge by Dick Kain, and now

 

with a little extra incentive, the champion promised to deliver havoc. Rather than try and

 

bob and weave from a distance and look to pick his spots, he would attack violently. “I

 

won’t be waiting for him, I’m going to plough right in,” Montgomery promised.

 

Nothing had ever been easy for Montgomery. One of nine children, he had come north from

 

South Carolina during the Depression, finding his way into a local Philly gym known as the

 

Slaughterhouse. He paid his dues, earning $25 for his professional debut in 1938. The title

 

that he’d won, lost, and regained in three grueling contests with Beau Jack was not about to

 

slip easily from his grasp. “I have never wanted anything better in all my life than to win

 

this fight,” he said about the return clash against Mouzon.

 

Montgomery was concerned over having to cool down while the pre-fight announcements were

 

made, and the commission appeased him by ruling that the fighters would remain in their

 

dressing rooms until the bout was ready to start. There would be no more than a two-minute

 

delay from the time both men were in the ring until the opening bell for the scheduled

 

fifteen-rounder. Mouzon felt the request was a out of line but agreed, saying, “It makes no

 

difference to me either way.”

 

At the physical, Mouzon tried to talk to Montgomery, but the champion refused to acknowledge

 

his foe. The angry title-holder further declared that as far as he was concerned, “anything

 

and everything will go” in the fight. “This is for the title,” he said, “and he can fight as

 

dirty as he wants; if he wants, because I’m going to give him the works.”

 

Mouzon, also born in South Carolina, came north with his family to Philadelphia when he was

 

just a child. Having turned pro a couple years earlier, his rise up the ranks–to the number

 

2 spot among lightweight contenders–had been rapid. A year earlier, he’d scored a draw

 

against Ike Williams in a fight many spectators felt he’d won. The only blemish since then

 

had been a ten-round loss to rugged welterweight Danny Kapilow. There was no shame in losing

 

to a fighter like the New Yorker, though Mouzon had appeared lackluster in the bout, and the

 

way Kapilow had successfully forced the issue had some believing that Montgomery, if he

 

could survive early, would be able to do the same.

 

Long, lean, and quick as a whip, Mouzon preferred to battle from range, earning the nickname

 

“The Chocolate Blur” for his lightning-quick hands. In addition to a long jab and fast feet,

 

he used a dangerous right to dissuade the incoming, and though not known as a heavy puncher,

 

the knockout of Montgomery–along with news that he’d just busted up a light-heavyweight in

 

sparring– appeared to indicate the teenager was growing as a puncher.

  

Despite a height advantage of several inches, he hinted at a desire to battle at close

 

quarters, and predicted he’d wear Montgomery down for a mid-round stoppage. On the surface,

 

it seemed like more talk than anything, as Mouzon was far more of an artist than a brawler.

 

Yet, during the workout sessions leading up to the fight, trainer Gene Buffalo had the rangy

 

speedster standing his ground and freely engaging with his sparring partners. “He’s doing it

 

under orders…. it’s good for Wesley to get the feel of leather against his face.” Buffalo

 

added that his fighter wouldn’t run from Montgomery; Mouzon would use footwork to step

 

around the champion’s bulldog style.

 

Adding another layer of intrigue, Mouzon was co-managed by Montgomery’s brother Tom, and it

 

was the commission’s ruling that the champion’s sibling would not be allowed to work the

 

challenger’s corner.

 

The fight was a barnburner from the opening bell, with Mouzon (132 3/4) setting the tempo

 

early, marking up the champion’s face with a rapid-fire left jab while mixing in an

 

assortment of uppercuts and bolo punches. It looked, as with the first fight, that the young

 

star was too quick and too sharp from a distance for Montgomery (135) to bull his way

 

inside.

 

But the champion pressed harder in the second session, and caught Mouzon with a short right

 

hand that sent the youngster careening into the ropes. Despite the fact that Mouzon got

 

rocked, the round, in the eyes of some, still belonged to the challenger, as did the third.

 

Mouzon was peppering home jabs, whistling right hands, and anything else he could to keep

 

the hard-charging champion off, though Montgomery’s forward march was unyielding. So hard

 

did Montgomery press that he fell flat on his face at one point, after missing with a big

 

hook.

 

Little by little, Montgomery broke through. He strafed his lanky foe’s midsection with a

 

vigorous body assault, and as the fourth round progressed, it was apparent that the tide was

 

turning, though Mouzon still managed to shake Montgomery in the session with a bolo punch.

 

After the bout, the champion dismissed Mouzon’s power, though he admitted to being a little

 

dazed from the blow.

 

The fifth saw Mouzon struggling from a big right hand to the stomach. It took the sting from

 

his punches and the bounce from his legs, but more importantly, after the round he was heard

 

telling his corner that he couldn’t see out of his right eye. How the injury happened was

 

unclear. Mouzon claimed after the bout that he’d been thumbed, though it was revealed later

 

that his retina had been partially detached before he’d even stepped in the ring. According

 

to the commission doctors, a punch, not even directly on the optic, could have exacerbated

 

the damage.

 

Montgomery poured it on, hooking to the body and head, and the sixth and seventh rounds saw

 

Mouzon slowly wilt under the hammering. As Lanse McCurley of the Daily News put it,

 

“Mouzon’s arms began to drop, his guard to fall, his body to bend, his legs to slow.”

 

By the eighth, the challenger was on shaky ground. He attempted one last stand, opening up

 

on Montgomery with a valiant rally, though after soaking it up, the champion blasted Mouzon

 

into the ropes and pounded him across the ring.

 

Finally, a left hook smashed against Mouzon’s jaw, and he fell backward into the ropes,

 

before sliding down and landing face first over the lower strand, almost half out of the

 

ring. He desperately tried to rise, and at eight it looked like he might pull himself up,

 

though he sagged back down for the count. The time was 2:18 when Referee Charlie Daggert

 

reached ten.

 

“Who’s a crybaby now? That boy had no right to talk that way,” Montgomery said after it was

 

all over.

 

In the dressing room, a downcast Mouzon held an ice pack over his eye. He said he wanted a

 

rematch, though it would be less than a half hour before he’d learn that his career was

 

likely over. Two physicians were called in to see the teenager, and it was suggested that he

 

rest for a couple of weeks, in hopes that the blood might drain from the eye and the

 

condition heal itself. The months that followed would be difficult. After two surgeries to

 

partially restore his vision, it was confirmed in January that his career was finished.

  

Years later, Mouzon would reveal that he knew going into the bout that his career was likely

 

over. “I had no vision in the right eye going into the fight.” He had suffered the retina

 

injury in training during a sparring session, after an opponent’s gloves had not been wiped

 

off after a knockdown. Trainer Gene Buffalo wanted to call off the fight, but Mouzon was

 

adamant about taking on Montgomery. “You know how young fighters are – any youngster, for

 

that matter. I wanted to fight.”

 

When asked by the Associated Press how he’d managed to pass the physical, Mouzon said it was

 

easy. “You just had to read an eye chart, and I had memorized it. All fighters memorized the

 

chart in those days.”

 

Mouzon moved to New York a few years later, and gained an associate degree from Taylor

 

Business Institute. Eventually he would return to Philadelphia and to boxing, training

 

fighters, including Dwight Muhammad Qawi. Mouzon took great pride when his pupil won the

 

light-heavyweight crown, stating that, “It was like my own dream coming true.”

 

For Montgomery, the win over Mouzon would prove to be his last successful title defense. The

 

following August he took on Ike Williams. It was another rematch. In 1944 Montgomery had

 

given Williams a savage pasting on the way to a 12th-round knockout. In the years since,

 

Williams had brooded over the result, waiting for his chance at revenge. It would come in

 

the sixth round, when Montgomery, who was starting to rally after his typical slow start,

 

walked into a straight right hand. The punch sent him backwards, spinning over the second

 

rope, before he slid down to the canvas. Never one to go down easy, Montgomery was up at

 

nine, but was beaten into helplessness by his bitter foe. His time as a champion was over,

 

as was his career. He would fight six more times after losing to Williams, without gaining a

 

victory.

 

In retirement, Montgomery lived for a time off his ring earnings before working as a

 

salesman for a beer company and as a city gang-control worker.

 

Montgomery and Mouzon stayed in touch, and still saw each other on occasion as old men. When

 

Montgomery was inducted into the International Boxing Hall of Fame in 1995, Mouzon was happy

 

to hear that his old foe was now recognized as one of the greats.

 

“Bob deserves the honor,” Mouzon said. “He should have made it a long time ago.”

        

Was looking through my picture collection and stumbled over these. Some of these may be restarted...

 

This one was a mid-size Galleon (I think ~4.5 midsections); didn't like it enough to finish it.

The Chrysler 300 'letter series' were high-performance personal luxury cars built by Chrysler from 1955-65, a sub-model of the Chrysler New Yorker. After the initial year, which was named C-300 for its standard 300 hp 331 cu in FirePower V8, the 1956 cars were designated 300B. Successive model years were given the next letter of the alphabet, reaching the 300L by 1965.

The Chrysler C-300 2 door Hardtop was developed to homologate a Chrysler for the NASCAR circuits. The front clip, including the grille, was taken from the Imperial of the same year, the midsection was from a New Yorker hardtop, with a Windsor rear quarter. Only 1725 were produced.

Engine; 300hp 331 cu in V8, standard dual four barrel carburetors

Cussler Museum, Colorado

The 2013 and 2014 Classic Ariel dolls are posed standing side by side, so they can be compared.

 

The 2014 doll and her outfit are very similar to the 2013 model, but with some significant changes. The biggest change is in her tail, with is now a greener color, and made from a knit cloth that has imbedded tinsel instead of glued on glitter. Now you can hold her by her tail without glitter shedding all over your hands, which is a big improvement. The tail is a litter shorter, so shows a bit more of her midsection. Her tail fins, made of light blue tulle, are unchanged except now they are without glitter. Her waist fins are much smaller, and are pointing up and sewn to the inside of her tail, instead of the outside. They look much more movie accurate now. Her purple glittery bra is now made of two pieces, with the outer layer crimped to resemble two sea shells. The glitter is well glued to the bra, and doesn't much, if at all.

 

The new doll has the same head and body as the 2013 doll. She has fully articulated arms and rubbery legs with internal knee joints and fixed angled feet. They both stand 11 1/2 inches tall to the tops of their heads.

 

Their faces are very similar, but have several subtle differences. The 2014 doll has larger and darker blue-green eyes, and her pink eyeshadow is a little darker. Her brows and eyelashes are the same. She had pale pink rouge that is the same as before, but now her lips are a brighter pink color. I'm not sure which face I like better. I think they are both beautiful and accurate renditions of the movie character.

 

Her bright red hair is now a little longer and fuller, and has looser curls. Her distinctive curved bang is higher, showing more of her forehead. Her hair is still parted on the wrong side of her head. Last year's hairdo was neater, but I like the new doll's more open face.

 

The box is a big improvement over last years, solely because of the large photo of the doll in the back of the box. Even a deboxer like me would want to keep the cardboard backing with big beautiful image of Ariel in the back, even if the front plastic part of the box is thrown away.

 

The overall winner in this comparison is the 2014 doll, because of her glitter free tail and the box art.

 

2013 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).

 

2014 Ariel Classic Doll - 12''

US Disney Store

Released Online 2014-06-09

Purchased online 2014-06-09

Received 2014-06-17

$14.95

Item No. 6070040901025P

Close-up Of Pregnant Woman Applying Moisturizer On Her Belly

Bellydance is the name commonly used in Western countries to apply to traditional Middle Eastern dance, specifically Egyptian ghawazi dance in the 19th century, and raqs sharqi in the 20th century. The term is sometimes extended to include all traditional Middle Eastern dances. The term is somewhat misleading, as belly movements are only a small part of the dance. The most featured part of the body is usually the hips.

 

Belly dance takes different forms in different regions, both in costume and dance style, and new styles have evolved in the West as its popularity has spread globally.

 

The ghawazee of were travelling female dancers of Dom (Gypsy) ethnicity in Egypt during the 18th to 19th centuries. They were banished from Cairo to Upper Egypt by Muhammad Ali in the 1830s. The dance style of the ghawazee was popularized in Europe under the term "belly-dance" in 19th-century

 

Most of the movements in belly dancing involve isolating different parts of the body (hips, shoulders, chest, stomach etc.), similar to the isolations used in jazz ballet. In much of bellydance there is a focus upon the core muscles of the body producing the movement rather than the external muscles of the body. Egyptian and Lebanese bellydance in particular emphasise the need for movemements to originate in the muscles of the back.

 

The costume most associated with belly dance is the bedlah (Arabic for "suit").

 

The bedlah style includes a fitted top (usually with a fringe of beads or coins), a fitted hip belt (again with a fringe of beads or coins), and a skirt or harem pants. The top and belt may be richly decorated with beads, sequins, braid and embroidery. The belt may be a separate piece, or sewn into a skirt.

 

The hip belt is a broad piece of fabric worn low on the hips. It may have straight edge, or may be curved or angled. The top usually matches the belt. The classic harem pants are full and gathered at the ankle, but there are many variations. Sometimes pants and a sheer skirt are worn together. Skirts may be flowing creations made of multiple layers of one color sheer fabric chiffon.

 

Since the 1950s, it has been illegal in Egypt for raqs sharqi dancers to perform publicly with their midriff uncovered or to display excessive skin. It is therefore becoming more common to wear a long, figure-hugging lycra one-piece gown with strategically placed cut-outs filled in with sheer, flesh-coloured fabric. If a separate top and skirt are worn, a belt is rarely used and any embellishment is embroidered directly on the tight, sleek lycra skirt. A sheer body stocking must be worn to cover the midsection. Egyptian dancers traditionally dance in bare feet, but these days often wear shoes and even high heels.

 

Khan al Khalili, the major traditional souk (open market) in Cairo, is the world's most popular spot for bellydance wear / Raqswear and continues to attract millions of visitors every year.

 

As there is no prohibition on showing the stomach in Lebanon, the bedleh style is more common. The skirts tend to be sheer, although many Lebanese belly dancers opt for the shirwal pants with a top. The veil is more widely used and the veil matches the outfit. High heels are a trademark of Lebanese belly dancers.

 

Turkish dancers also wear bedleh style costumes. In the 80s and 90s a 'stripperesque' costume style developed, with skirts designed to display both legs up to the hip, and plunging tops. Such styles still exist in some venues but there are also many Turkish belly dancers who wear more moderate costumes. Even so, Turkish belly dance costumes reflect the playful, flirty style of Turkish belly dance.

 

In Egypt, three main forms of the traditional dance are associated with belly dance, called Baladi, Sharqi and Sha'abi.

 

Baladi is a folk style of dance from the Arab tribes who settled in Upper Egypt. The term has come to refer to the folk dance still performed by the working classes of urbanised Egypt. Dance which more rigorously tries to uphold folk traditions from the countryside or from specific tribes will often be referred to as Ghawahzee. The Ghawahzee dancers have also been known to be at the heart of the conflict in Egypt over the propriety of publicly performed dance. The well-reputed Mazin sisters are widely held to be the last authentic performers of Ghawahzee dance. Khayreyya Mazin is currently the last of these dancers still teaching and performing as of 2009.

 

Sharqi is based on the baladi style but was further developed by Samia Gamal, Tahiya Karioka, Naima Akef, and other dancers who rose to fame during the golden years of the Egyptian film industry. This has come to be considered the classical style of dance in Egypt. These dancers were famous not only for their role in Egyptian films, but also for their performances at the "Opera Casino" opened in 1925 by Badia Masabni. This venue was a popular place for influential musicians and choreographers from both the US and Europe. Later dancers who were influenced by these artists are Sohair Zaki, Fifi Abdou, and Nagwa Fouad. All rose to fame between 1960 and 1980, and are still popular today. Some of these later dancers were the first to choreograph and perform dances using a full 'orchestra' and stage set-up, which had a huge influence upon what is considered the 'classical' style.

 

Sha'abi refers to the poorer, commoner sections of Cairo. The name came to characterize the style of music enjoyed in such neighborhoods. The style is somewhat rougher and more playful than the rest of Egyptian pop music. Sha'abi dance is Egyptian belly dance performed to such music, typically performed more assertively sexual than is classical raqs sharqi.

 

Instagram @fullfatm2

 

Front 19x9 et30

Rear 19x10 et40

 

stock tire sizes

245/35R19 and 265/35R19

 

Mods include:

• Titanium stud conversion kit

• Suvneer GTS hood

• JB4 tune

• Active Autowerkes Equal Length midsection

• KW HAS kit.

Oh, no! It looks like Demo-Man took that blow to the head intentionally, letting Vikor set himself up for a vicious cut to his midsection!

Fidalgo Bay.

NTSB Final Accident Report:

 

"The newly built yacht Baaden was being launched stern first down the Fidalgo Marina boat ramp in Anacortes, Washington, with eight shipyard personnel on board when it capsized

after entering the water at 2050 on Sunday, May 18, 2014. The yacht was salvaged but was declared a total constructive loss, estimated at $10 million. Three shipyard personnel who were

trapped below decks for up to half an hour were treated for minor cuts and injuries at local hospitals. No pollution was reported.

 

New World Yacht Builders began construction of the Baaden in December 2011, working from an existing 80-foot-hull mold built in 2002 by Northern Marine. Like other large Northern

Marine yachts, the vessel was custom designed. The 80-foot mold was lengthened in the midsection and stem, the bow was given more flare, and a swim platform was added. The

resulting 85-foot vessel was designated Northern Marine model 8501 and was the first of its kind. New World described the Baaden as having commercial fishing vessel roots in an 85-foot

European-style, luxury, long-range, oceangoing expedition yacht. The builder, the buyer’s representative, and an interior design firm collaborated on the vessel design and styling. Several sister vessels built to the 80-foot-hull design were completed and are in operation.

 

Due to water damage to interior woodwork, machinery, and electrical systems and expenses associated with repairing the vessel, at the time of this report the Baaden was considered a total constructive loss with an estimated value of $10 million.

Launch team members inspected the launch cradles, dollies, and equipment after the incident and noted that one of the tires on the forward dolly was flat, and witnesses said they saw

bubbles coming from the forward dolly at the time of the launch. The tire likely was damaged during the initial port roll at 2037.

 

Probable Cause:

The National Transportation Safety Board determines that the probable cause of the capsizing of the yacht Baaden during its initial launch was the vessel’s low margin of stability due to the combined effects of a recording error during the final vessel weigh, which resulted in an incorrect assessment of the vessel’s center of gravity, and an overestimation of the weight of installed ballast."

 

www.ntsb.gov/investigations/accidentreports/pages/MAB1514...

Nikon D3200 - 50mm f/1.8 - 4+ Kenko Supplementary lens

Instagram @fullfatm2

 

Front 19x9 et30

Rear 19x10 et40

 

stock tire sizes

245/35R19 and 265/35R19

 

Mods include:

• Titanium stud conversion kit

• Suvneer GTS hood

• JB4 tune

• Active Autowerkes Equal Length midsection

• KW HAS kit.