Giff captured this male Whitetail so I could get a close look. This was the day that Damian, Giff and I ventured to the wetlands hoping for river cruisers - and saw good numbers of river cruisers, emeralds and a russet-tipped clubtail.

 

btw our skies cleared here yesterday so my husband and I headed to the wetlands - had some nice butterflies but were surprised not to see any Monarchs. Odes were almost nonexistent - not even a whitetail flying. No sign of the 12-spotted's nor the old Great blue skimmers. Will post butterflies tomorrow.

 

Happy Dragonfly Thursday!

2 students from MIT - amazing work!

 

space.1337arts.com and please read below

 

The $150 Near-Space Camera.

 

Bespoke is old hat. Off-the-shelf is in. Even Google runs the world’s biggest and scariest server farms on computers home-made from commodity parts. DIY is cheaper and often better, as Justin Lee and Oliver Yeh found out when they decided to send a camera into space.

 

The two students (from MIT, of course) put together a low-budget rig to fly a camera high enough to photograph the curvature of the Earth. Instead of rockets, boosters and expensive control systems, they filled a weather balloon with helium and hung a styrofoam beer cooler underneath to carry a cheap Canon A470 compact camera. Instant hand warmers kept things from freezing up and made sure the batteries stayed warm enough to work.

 

Of course, all this would be pointless if the guys couldn’t find the rig when it landed, so they dropped a prepaid GPS-equipped cellphone inside the box for tracking. Total cost, including duct tape? $148.

 

Launch

 

Two weeks ago, on Sept. 2, at the leisurely post-breakfast hour of 11:45 a.m., the balloon was launched from Sturbridge, Massachusetts. Lee and Yeh took a road trip in order to stop prevailing winds from taking the balloon out onto the Atlantic, and checked in on the University of Wisconsin’s balloon trajectory website to estimate the landing site.

 

Because of spotty cellphone coverage in central Massachusetts, it was important to keep the rig in the center of the state so it could be found upon landing. Light winds meant the guys got lucky and, although the cellphone’s external antenna was buried upon landing, the fix they got as the balloon was coming down was close enough.

 

The Photographs

 

The balloon and camera made it up high enough to see the black sky curling around our blue planet. The Canon was hacked with the CHDK (Canon Hacker’s Development Kit) open-source firmware, which adds many features to Canon’s cameras. The intervalometer (interval timer) was set to shoot a picture every five seconds, and the 8-GB memory card was enough to hold pictures for the five-hour duration of the flight.

 

The picture you see above was shot from around 93,000 feet, just shy of 18 miles high. To give you an idea of how high that is, when the balloon burst, the beer-cooler took 40 minutes to come back to Earth.

 

What is most astonishing about this launch, named Project Icarus, is that anyone could do it. The budget is so small as to be almost nonexistent (the guys slept in their car the night before the launch to save money), so that even if everything went wrong, a second, third or fourth attempt would be easy. All it took was a grand idea and an afternoon poking around the hardware store.

 

The project website has few details on how the balloon was put together — but the students say they will be posting the step-by-step instructions soon. UPDATE: The instructions will be available for free, not $150, as earlier reported.

 

Project Icarus page [1337 Arts]

 

Photo credit: 1337 Arts/Justin Lee and Oliver Yeh

 

Looking northeastward from the western bank of Antietam Creek. On September 17, 1862 this would have been a vantagepoint for some of the Confederate troops assigned to prevent a much stronger Union force from crossing this graceful, three-arch bridge.

 

See if you can spot the two "historic interpreters," one in a bonnet and one in a stovepipe hat, strolling across. I'm sure they didn't mean to, but here they provide scale.

 

Note that this side is composed of a relatively high bluff in direct contact with the stream channel. On the far side, however, Federal troops had to race across the open, flat ground of the creek's floodplain just to reach the bridge.

  

When I was much younger, this span and what happened on and near it during the Battle of Antietam was emblematic of a military commander wasting his soldiers' lives due to his own blinkered thinking and lack of resourcefulness.

 

The commander in question was Major General Ambrose Burnside. His chief sin was, the story went, that instead of letting his men avoid the killing zone of the bridge's narrow confines by having them use shallow fords in the stream nearby, he single-mindedly ordered them all to rush over the stone structure's 12-ft-wide roadway. The result: about 500 Federal troops were killed during repeated failures to make it across.

 

It's a compelling image of human bullheadedness and linear thinking, and it reminds me of one of the greatest scenes not only in Mel Brooks's Blazing Saddles, but in all of American cinema. A gang of desperadoes, led by the immortal Slim Pickens, is hell-bent on shooting up the town of Rock Ridge. But it's crucially delayed by a single-lane, exact-change-only toll gate built in the middle of a Mojave-desert basin by the wily Rock Ridge sheriff. Slim and his gang feel compelled to wait until someone goes back and gets a bag of dimes.

 

However, the field of history exists primarily to breed revisionists. While I do not pretend to be a historian myself, my recent excursions into various modern sources suggest that the current prevailing explanation is much more charitable to Burnside.

 

After all, the famously bewhiskered general did send out a flanking force early on to wade across the creek farther south, but it encountered problems that seriously delayed its progress. Further, the section of the stream closer to the bridge apparently wasn't fordable in a way that would have allowed the Yankee infantrymen to keep their gunpowder dry.

 

And so Burnside, urged by his superiors to take the far bank without further delay, was trapped in a tragic situation. He had to send wave after wave of hapless soldiers across the lethally exposed floodplain and into the withering fire of the Georgia troops on the other side. Eventually, Burnside's flankers did arrive and the bridge was crossed. At that point the Southerners were indeed forced to retreat after a well-executed delaying action that had serious ramifications for the rest of the Battle of Antietam.

 

- - - - - -

 

Describing the architectural history of this span is much more pleasurable than recounting the carnage of that battle—the single bloodiest day in American history (And that's saying something).

 

Built a quarter of a century before the Civil War began, the structure was originally known as the Lower Bridge, or Rohrbach's Bridge. I have come across quite a few sources that confirm that it was made out of autochthonous (locally produced) limestone. But of course none of them cite a specific quarry or town of origin.

 

As it turns out, there are two limestone-containing formations nearby. One, the Cambrian Elbrook Limestone, is closest to the bridge and the battlefield. It's described as being light blue. But just a little farther to the west, and underlying most of the town of Sharpsburg, is the Conococheague Limestone, also Cambrian in age. Supposedly it's dark blue instead.

 

I had hoped that Edward B. Mathews' 1898 survey of Maryland's building stones would clear up the matter for me. But it didn't. His section on limestones is downright skimpy, and on top of that, formation names seem to have changed since his day. To be fair, though, reference is made to a dark-blue carbonate of the now-nonexistent Shenandoah Formation being used for some local buildings. I'm guessing that's the Conococheague.

 

Mathews did also note that this rock uniformly weathers to a paler, whitish tone. And that description fits most of the ashlar on the Burnside Bridge—as the next photos in this series will show more convincingly. So for the moment I'm guessing that this beautiful, tragically historic bridge is made of the Conococheague rather than the Elbrook.

 

If you are a NPS ranger, historian, or Antietam-centered Civil War buff who can confirm or deny this, by all means do so. I'd like to hear from you. But please do not try to entangle me in a long discussion about Burnside's merits or military tactics. I'm just a poor geologist (and an ex-Navy type, to boot) who'd make an unworthy debating partner. Thanks.

 

The other photos and descriptions of this series can be found in my Love of Bridges album.

 

I am alive!

 

This is the MOC I took down to the Christchurch Brick Show in July. Yeah, July. The internet side of my lego life has been virtually (haha, pun not intended :P) nonexistent for ages now.

 

Some of you might remember the Lego graphic novel I was writing and video blogging about earlier this year, until about April. It and I disappeared from the face of the internet without notice. Sorry about that. My beautiful 1-year-old niece passed away very suddenly at the beginning of May, and the project was not a priority.

 

Anyhow, hopefully I'll get back to it at some point. It would be really good to actually get something out of it, because it did have a plot and concepts that I really liked. Right now I'm working on my exhibit for the Auckland Brick Show 2014, a part of a pirate/castleish collaboration. It should be pretty cool :)

 

Thanks for checking this out! :D

This is a failed (but very interesting) stitched panorama of one of the Ladybower Plugholes (or bellmouth spillways for you civic engineers). I had taken several overlapping shots of this plughole with the intent of stitching them into a panoramic view. However, it started raining as I was shooting the multiple images needed for the stitch. To capture this scene, I ended up using five overlapping shots, each in a landscape orientation. However, when using a wide-angle lens you're supposed to tile the photos in portrait orientation to minimize spherical distortion in the final stitched image. I would have needed 8-10 photos to do that but my camera and I were getting wet, so I cut some corners. This is the result.

 

I'm actually not displeased with this. It's quite fun – if nonexistent.

All the incredible colors that can be seen in Yellowstone's terraces and hot springs are caused by thermophiles. Thermophiles are microorganisms that live in extremely high temperatures, and have been vital to the history of earth. Without thermophiles, our atmosphere would be virtually nonexistent. As you breathe, be appreciative of these little microorganisms that turned earth from a large, hot, wasteland into the thriving, biodiverse planet we see today.

in the nonexistent November light

One bridge; three Prontos.

 

For some reason whenever I see Lincoln's the Pronto liveried MMCs it always tends to be when they're heading north over Pelham Bridge, which is a bit unfortunate as the background is pretty nonexistent here. On this particular afternoon, I saw all three at this typical location!

 

Also out of service was 11274, which does at least come with something of a background. The 69 plate Prontos have plain sides where on the 18 plates it says Pay With Contactless, but the rest of the usual Pronto branding is still there, despite it having been nowhere near the Pronto in about a year and a half. The 'every 10 mins' isn't even valid anymore as they reduced the frequency to every 15, and then never bothered to update any of the graphics.

 

28.4.23

The nonexistent triangle

Capitol Reef National Park is an American national park in south-central Utah. The park is approximately 60 miles (97 km) long on its north–south axis and just 6 miles (9.7 km) wide on average. The park was established in 1971 to preserve 241,904 acres (377.98 sq mi; 97,895.08 ha; 978.95 km2) of desert landscape and is open all year, with May through September being the highest visitation months.

 

Partially in Wayne County, Utah, the area was originally named "Wayne Wonderland" in the 1920s by local boosters Ephraim P. Pectol and Joseph S. Hickman. Capitol Reef National Park was designated a national monument on August 2, 1937, by President Franklin D. Roosevelt to protect the area's colorful canyons, ridges, buttes, and monoliths; however, it was not until 1950 that the area officially opened to the public. Road access was improved in 1962 with the construction of State Route 24 through the Fremont River Canyon.

 

The majority of the nearly 100 mi (160 km) long up-thrust formation called the Waterpocket Fold—a rocky spine extending from Thousand Lake Mountain to Lake Powell—is preserved within the park. Capitol Reef is an especially rugged and spectacular segment of the Waterpocket Fold by the Fremont River. The park was named for its whitish Navajo Sandstone cliffs with dome formations—similar to the white domes often placed on capitol buildings—that run from the Fremont River to Pleasant Creek on the Waterpocket Fold. Locally, reef refers to any rocky barrier to land travel, just as ocean reefs are barriers to sea travel.

 

Capitol Reef encompasses the Waterpocket Fold, a warp in the earth's crust that is 65 million years old. It is the largest exposed monocline in North America. In this fold, newer and older layers of earth folded over each other in an S-shape. This warp, probably caused by the same colliding continental plates that created the Rocky Mountains, has weathered and eroded over millennia to expose layers of rock and fossils. The park is filled with brilliantly colored sandstone cliffs, gleaming white domes, and contrasting layers of stone and earth.

 

The area was named for a line of white domes and cliffs of Navajo Sandstone, each of which looks somewhat like the United States Capitol building, that run from the Fremont River to Pleasant Creek on the Waterpocket Fold.

 

The fold forms a north-to-south barrier that has barely been breached by roads. Early settlers referred to parallel impassable ridges as "reefs", from which the park gets the second half of its name. The first paved road was constructed through the area in 1962. State Route 24 cuts through the park traveling east and west between Canyonlands National Park and Bryce Canyon National Park, but few other paved roads invade the rugged landscape.

 

The park is filled with canyons, cliffs, towers, domes, and arches. The Fremont River has cut canyons through parts of the Waterpocket Fold, but most of the park is arid desert. A scenic drive shows park visitors some highlights, but it runs only a few miles from the main highway. Hundreds of miles of trails and unpaved roads lead into the equally scenic backcountry.

 

Fremont-culture Native Americans lived near the perennial Fremont River in the northern part of the Capitol Reef Waterpocket Fold around the year 1000. They irrigated crops of maize and squash and stored their grain in stone granaries (in part made from the numerous black basalt boulders that litter the area). In the 13th century, all of the Native American cultures in this area underwent sudden change, likely due to a long drought. The Fremont settlements and fields were abandoned.

 

Many years after the Fremont left, Paiutes moved into the area. These Numic-speaking people named the Fremont granaries moki huts and thought they were the homes of a race of tiny people or moki.

 

In 1872 Almon H. Thompson, a geographer attached to United States Army Major John Wesley Powell's expedition, crossed the Waterpocket Fold while exploring the area. Geologist Clarence Dutton later spent several summers studying the area's geology. None of these expeditions explored the Waterpocket Fold to any great extent.

 

Following the American Civil War, officials of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints in Salt Lake City sought to establish missions in the remotest niches of the Intermountain West. In 1866, a quasi-military expedition of Mormons in pursuit of natives penetrated the high valleys to the west. In the 1870s, settlers moved into these valleys, eventually establishing Loa, Fremont, Lyman, Bicknell, and Torrey.

 

Mormons settled the Fremont River valley in the 1880s and established Junction (later renamed Fruita), Caineville, and Aldridge. Fruita prospered, Caineville barely survived, and Aldridge died. In addition to farming, lime was extracted from local limestone, and uranium was extracted early in the 20th century. In 1904 the first claim to a uranium mine in the area was staked. The resulting Oyler Mine in Grand Wash produced uranium ore.

 

By 1920 no more than ten families at one time were sustained by the fertile flood plain of the Fremont River and the land changed ownership over the years. The area remained isolated. The community was later abandoned and later still some buildings were restored by the National Park Service. Kilns once used to produce lime are still in Sulphur Creek and near the campgrounds on Scenic Drive.

 

Local Ephraim Portman Pectol organized a "booster club" in Torrey in 1921. Pectol pressed a promotional campaign, furnishing stories to be sent to periodicals and newspapers. In his efforts, he was increasingly aided by his brother-in-law, Joseph S. Hickman, who was the Wayne County High School principal. In 1924, Hickman extended community involvement in the promotional effort by organizing a Wayne County-wide Wayne Wonderland Club. That same year, Hickman was elected to the Utah State Legislature.

 

In 1933, Pectol was elected to the presidency of the Associated Civics Club of Southern Utah, successor to the Wayne Wonderland Club. The club raised U.S. $150 (equivalent to $3,391 in 2022) to interest a Salt Lake City photographer in taking a series of promotional photographs. For several years, the photographer, J. E. Broaddus, traveled and lectured on "Wayne Wonderland".

 

In 1933, Pectol was elected to the legislature and almost immediately contacted President Franklin D. Roosevelt and asked for the creation of "Wayne Wonderland National Monument" out of the federal lands comprising the bulk of the Capitol Reef area. Federal agencies began a feasibility study and boundary assessment. Meanwhile, Pectol guided the government investigators on numerous trips and escorted an increasing number of visitors. The lectures of Broaddus were having an effect.

 

Roosevelt signed a proclamation creating Capitol Reef National Monument on August 2, 1937. In Proclamation 2246, President Roosevelt set aside 37,711 acres (15,261 ha) of the Capitol Reef area. This comprised an area extending about two miles (3 km) north of present State Route 24 and about 10 mi (16 km) south, just past Capitol Gorge. The Great Depression years were lean ones for the National Park Service (NPS), the new administering agency. Funds for the administration of Capitol Reef were nonexistent; it would be a long time before the first rangers would arrive.

 

Administration of the new monument was placed under the control of Zion National Park. A stone ranger cabin and the Sulphur Creek bridge were built and some road work was performed by the Civilian Conservation Corps and the Works Progress Administration. Historian and printer Charles Kelly came to know NPS officials at Zion well and volunteered to watchdog the park for the NPS. Kelly was officially appointed custodian-without-pay in 1943. He worked as a volunteer until 1950, when the NPS offered him a civil-service appointment as the first superintendent.

 

During the 1950s Kelly was deeply troubled by NPS management acceding to demands of the U.S. Atomic Energy Commission that Capitol Reef National Monument be opened to uranium prospecting. He felt that the decision had been a mistake and destructive of the long-term national interest. It turned out that there was not enough ore in the monument to be worth mining.

 

In 1958 Kelly got additional permanent help in protecting the monument and enforcing regulations; Park Ranger Grant Clark transferred from Zion. The year Clark arrived, fifty-six thousand visitors came to the park, and Charlie Kelly retired for the last time.

 

During the 1960s (under the program name Mission 66), NPS areas nationwide received new facilities to meet the demand of mushrooming park visitation. At Capitol Reef, a 53-site campground at Fruita, staff rental housing, and a new visitor center were built, the latter opening in 1966.

 

Visitation climbed dramatically after the paved, all-weather State Route 24 was built in 1962 through the Fremont River canyon near Fruita. State Route 24 replaced the narrow Capitol Gorge wagon road about 10 mi (16 km) to the south that frequently washed out. The old road has since been open only to foot traffic. In 1967, 146,598 persons visited the park. The staff was also growing.

 

During the 1960s, the NPS purchased private land parcels at Fruita and Pleasant Creek. Almost all private property passed into public ownership on a "willing buyer-willing seller" basis.

 

Preservationists convinced President Lyndon B. Johnson to set aside an enormous area of public lands in 1968, just before he left office. In Presidential Proclamation 3888 an additional 215,056 acres (87,030 ha) were placed under NPS control. By 1970, Capitol Reef National Monument comprised 254,251 acres (102,892 ha) and sprawled southeast from Thousand Lake Mountain almost to the Colorado River. The action was controversial locally, and NPS staffing at the monument was inadequate to properly manage the additional land.

 

The vast enlargement of the monument and diversification of the scenic resources soon raised another issue: whether Capitol Reef should be a national park, rather than a monument. Two bills were introduced into the United States Congress.

 

A House bill (H.R. 17152) introduced by Utah Congressman Laurence J. Burton called for a 180,000-acre (72,800 ha) national park and an adjunct 48,000-acre (19,400 ha) national recreation area where multiple use (including grazing) could continue indefinitely. In the United States Senate, meanwhile, Senate bill S. 531 had already passed on July 1, 1970, and provided for a 230,000-acre (93,100 ha) national park alone. The bill called for a 25-year phase-out of grazing.

 

In September 1970, United States Department of Interior officials told a house subcommittee session that they preferred about 254,000 acres (103,000 ha) be set aside as a national park. They also recommended that the grazing phase-out period be 10 years, rather than 25. They did not favor the adjunct recreation area.

 

It was not until late 1971 that Congressional action was completed. By then, the 92nd United States Congress was in session and S. 531 had languished. A new bill, S. 29, was introduced in the Senate by Senator Frank E. Moss of Utah and was essentially the same as the defunct S. 531 except that it called for an additional 10,834 acres (4,384 ha) of public lands for a Capitol Reef National Park. In the House, Utah Representative K. Gunn McKay (with Representative Lloyd) had introduced H.R. 9053 to replace the dead H.R. 17152. This time, the House bill dropped the concept of an adjunct Capitol Reef National Recreation Area and adopted the Senate concept of a 25-year limit on continued grazing. The Department of Interior was still recommending a national park of 254,368 acres (102,939 ha) and a 10-year limit for grazing phase-out.

 

S. 29 passed the Senate in June and was sent to the House, which dropped its own bill and passed the Senate version with an amendment. Because the Senate was not in agreement with the House amendment, differences were worked out in Conference Committee. The Conference Committee issued its report on November 30, 1971, and the bill passed both houses of Congress. The legislation—'An Act to Establish The Capitol Reef National Park in the State of Utah'—became Public Law 92-207 when it was signed by President Richard Nixon on December 18, 1971.

 

The area including the park was once the edge of a shallow sea that invaded the land in the Permian, creating the Cutler Formation. Only the sandstone of the youngest member of the Cutler Formation, the White Rim, is exposed in the park. The deepening sea left carbonate deposits, forming the limestone of the Kaibab Limestone, the same formation that rims the Grand Canyon to the southwest.

 

During the Triassic, streams deposited reddish-brown silt that later became the siltstone of the Moenkopi Formation. Uplift and erosion followed. Conglomerate, followed by logs, sand, mud, and wind-transported volcanic ash, then formed the uranium-containing Chinle Formation.

 

The members of the Glen Canyon Group were all laid down in the middle- to late-Triassic during a time of increasing aridity. They include:

 

Wingate Sandstone: sand dunes on the shore of an ancient sea

Kayenta Formation: thin-bedded layers of sand deposited by slow-moving streams in channels and across low plains

Navajo Sandstone: huge fossilized sand dunes from a massive Sahara-like desert.

 

The Golden Throne. Though Capitol Reef is famous for white domes of Navajo Sandstone, this dome's color is a result of a lingering section of yellow Carmel Formation carbonate, which has stained the underlying rock.

The San Rafael Group consists of four Jurassic-period formations, from oldest to youngest:

 

Carmel Formation: gypsum, sand, and limey silt laid down in what may have been a graben that was periodically flooded by sea water

Entrada Sandstone: sandstone from barrier islands/sand bars in a near-shore environment

Curtis Formation: made from conglomerate, sandstone, and shale

Summerville Formation: reddish-brown mud and white sand deposited in tidal flats.

Streams once again laid down mud and sand in their channels, on lakebeds, and in swampy plains, creating the Morrison Formation. Early in the Cretaceous, similar nonmarine sediments were laid down and became the Dakota Sandstone. Eventually, the Cretaceous Seaway covered the Dakota, depositing the Mancos Shale.

 

Only small remnants of the Mesaverde Group are found, capping a few mesas in the park's eastern section.

 

Near the end of the Cretaceous period, a mountain-building event called the Laramide orogeny started to compact and uplift the region, forming the Rocky Mountains and creating monoclines such as the Waterpocket Fold in the park. Ten to fifteen million years ago, the entire region was uplifted much further by the creation of the Colorado Plateau. This uplift was very even. Igneous activity in the form of volcanism and dike and sill intrusion also occurred during this time.

 

The drainage system in the area was rearranged and steepened, causing streams to downcut faster and sometimes change course. Wetter times during the ice ages of the Pleistocene increased the rate of erosion.

 

There are more than 840 species of plants that are found in the park and over 40 of those species are classified as rare and endemic.

 

The closest town to Capitol Reef is Torrey, about 11 mi (18 km) west of the visitor center on Highway 24, slightly west of its intersection with Highway 12. Its 2020 population is less than 300. Torrey has a few motels and restaurants and functions as a gateway town to Capitol Reef National Park. Highway 12, as well as a partially unpaved scenic backway named the Burr Trail, provide access from the west through the Grand Staircase–Escalante National Monument and the town of Boulder.

 

A variety of activities are available to tourists, both ranger-led and self-guided, including auto touring, hiking, backpacking, camping, bicycling (on paved and unpaved roads only; no trails), horseback riding, canyoneering, and rock climbing. The orchards planted by Mormon pioneers are maintained by the National Park Service. From early March to mid-October, various fruit—cherries, apricots, peaches, pears, or apples—can be harvested by visitors for a fee.

 

A hiking trail guide is available at the visitor center for both day hikes and backcountry hiking. Backcountry access requires a free permit.

 

Numerous trails are available for hiking and backpacking in the park, with fifteen in the Fruita District alone. The following trails are some of the most popular in the park:

 

Cassidy Arch Trail: a very steep, strenuous 3.5 mi (5.6 km) round trip that leads into the Grand Wash to an overlook of the Cassidy Arch.

Hickman Bridge Trail: a 2 mi (3.2 km) round trip leading to the natural bridge.

Frying Pan Trail: an 8.8 mi (14.2 km) round trip that passes the Cassidy Arch, Grand Wash, and Cohab Canyon.

Brimhall Natural Bridge: a popular, though strenuous, 4.5 mi (7.2 km) round trip with views of Brimhall Canyon, the Waterpocket Fold, and Brimhall Natural Bridge.

Halls Creek Narrows: 22 mi (35 km) long and considered strenuous, with many side canyons and creeks; typically hiked as a 2-3 day camping trip.

 

Visitors may explore several of the main areas of the park by private vehicle:

 

Scenic Drive: winds through the middle of the park, passing the major points of interest; the road is accessible from the visitor center to approximately 2 mi (3.2 km) into the Capitol Gorge.

Notom-Bullfrog Road: traverses the eastern side of the Waterpocket Fold, along 10 mi (16 km) of paved road, with the remainder unpaved.

Cathedral Road: an unpaved road through the northern areas of the park, that traverses Cathedral Valley, passing the Temples of the Sun and Moon.

 

The primary camping location is the Fruita campground, with 71 campsites (no water, electrical, or sewer hookups), and restrooms without bathing facilities. The campground also has group sites with picnic areas and restrooms. Two primitive free camping areas are also available.

 

Canyoneering is growing in popularity in the park. It is a recreational sport that takes one through slot canyons. It involves rappelling and may require swimming and other technical rope work. Day-pass permits are required for canyoneering in the park, and can be obtained for free from the visitor's center or through email. It's key to know that each route requires its own permit. If one is planning on canyoneering for multiple days, passes are required for each day. Overnight camping as part of the canyoneering trip is permitted, but one must request a free backcountry pass from the visitor center.

 

It is imperative to plan canyoneering trips around the weather. The Colorado Plateau is susceptible to flash flooding during prime rainy months. Because canyoneering takes place through slot canyons, getting caught in a flash flood could be lethal. Take care to consult reliable weather sources. The Weather Atlas shows charts with the monthly average rainfall in inches.

 

Another risk to be aware of during the summer months is extreme heat. Visitors can find weather warnings on the National Weather Service website. The heat levels are detailed by a color and numerical scale (0-4).

 

One of the most popular canyoneering routes in Capitol Reef National Park is Cassidy Arch Canyon. A paper by George Huddart, details the park's commitment to working with citizens to maintain the route as well as the vegetation and rocks. The canyon route is approximately 2.3 miles long (0.4 miles of technical work), consisting of 8 different rappels, and takes between 2.5 and 4.5 hours to complete. The first rappel is 140 ft and descends below the famous Cassidy Arch.

 

Utah is a landlocked state in the Mountain West subregion of the Western United States. It borders Colorado to its east, Wyoming to its northeast, Idaho to its north, Arizona to its south, and Nevada to its west. Utah also touches a corner of New Mexico in the southeast. Of the fifty U.S. states, Utah is the 13th-largest by area; with a population over three million, it is the 30th-most-populous and 11th-least-densely populated. Urban development is mostly concentrated in two areas: the Wasatch Front in the north-central part of the state, which is home to roughly two-thirds of the population and includes the capital city, Salt Lake City; and Washington County in the southwest, with more than 180,000 residents. Most of the western half of Utah lies in the Great Basin.

 

Utah has been inhabited for thousands of years by various indigenous groups such as the ancient Puebloans, Navajo, and Ute. The Spanish were the first Europeans to arrive in the mid-16th century, though the region's difficult geography and harsh climate made it a peripheral part of New Spain and later Mexico. Even while it was Mexican territory, many of Utah's earliest settlers were American, particularly Mormons fleeing marginalization and persecution from the United States via the Mormon Trail. Following the Mexican–American War in 1848, the region was annexed by the U.S., becoming part of the Utah Territory, which included what is now Colorado and Nevada. Disputes between the dominant Mormon community and the federal government delayed Utah's admission as a state; only after the outlawing of polygamy was it admitted in 1896 as the 45th.

 

People from Utah are known as Utahns. Slightly over half of all Utahns are Mormons, the vast majority of whom are members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (LDS Church), which has its world headquarters in Salt Lake City; Utah is the only state where a majority of the population belongs to a single church. A 2023 paper challenged this perception (claiming only 42% of Utahns are Mormons) however most statistics still show a majority of Utah residents belong to the LDS church; estimates from the LDS church suggests 60.68% of Utah's population belongs to the church whilst some sources put the number as high as 68%. The paper replied that membership count done by the LDS Church is too high for several reasons. The LDS Church greatly influences Utahn culture, politics, and daily life, though since the 1990s the state has become more religiously diverse as well as secular.

 

Utah has a highly diversified economy, with major sectors including transportation, education, information technology and research, government services, mining, multi-level marketing, and tourism. Utah has been one of the fastest growing states since 2000, with the 2020 U.S. census confirming the fastest population growth in the nation since 2010. St. George was the fastest-growing metropolitan area in the United States from 2000 to 2005. Utah ranks among the overall best states in metrics such as healthcare, governance, education, and infrastructure. It has the 12th-highest median average income and the least income inequality of any U.S. state. Over time and influenced by climate change, droughts in Utah have been increasing in frequency and severity, putting a further strain on Utah's water security and impacting the state's economy.

 

The History of Utah is an examination of the human history and social activity within the state of Utah located in the western United States.

 

Archaeological evidence dates the earliest habitation of humans in Utah to about 10,000 to 12,000 years ago. Paleolithic people lived near the Great Basin's swamps and marshes, which had an abundance of fish, birds, and small game animals. Big game, including bison, mammoths and ground sloths, also were attracted to these water sources. Over the centuries, the mega-fauna died, this population was replaced by the Desert Archaic people, who sheltered in caves near the Great Salt Lake. Relying more on gathering than the previous Utah residents, their diet was mainly composed of cattails and other salt tolerant plants such as pickleweed, burro weed and sedge. Red meat appears to have been more of a luxury, although these people used nets and the atlatl to hunt water fowl, ducks, small animals and antelope. Artifacts include nets woven with plant fibers and rabbit skin, woven sandals, gaming sticks, and animal figures made from split-twigs. About 3,500 years ago, lake levels rose and the population of Desert Archaic people appears to have dramatically decreased. The Great Basin may have been almost unoccupied for 1,000 years.

 

The Fremont culture, named from sites near the Fremont River in Utah, lived in what is now north and western Utah and parts of Nevada, Idaho and Colorado from approximately 600 to 1300 AD. These people lived in areas close to water sources that had been previously occupied by the Desert Archaic people, and may have had some relationship with them. However, their use of new technologies define them as a distinct people. Fremont technologies include:

 

use of the bow and arrow while hunting,

building pithouse shelters,

growing maize and probably beans and squash,

building above ground granaries of adobe or stone,

creating and decorating low-fired pottery ware,

producing art, including jewelry and rock art such as petroglyphs and pictographs.

 

The ancient Puebloan culture, also known as the Anasazi, occupied territory adjacent to the Fremont. The ancestral Puebloan culture centered on the present-day Four Corners area of the Southwest United States, including the San Juan River region of Utah. Archaeologists debate when this distinct culture emerged, but cultural development seems to date from about the common era, about 500 years before the Fremont appeared. It is generally accepted that the cultural peak of these people was around the 1200 CE. Ancient Puebloan culture is known for well constructed pithouses and more elaborate adobe and masonry dwellings. They were excellent craftsmen, producing turquoise jewelry and fine pottery. The Puebloan culture was based on agriculture, and the people created and cultivated fields of maize, beans, and squash and domesticated turkeys. They designed and produced elaborate field terracing and irrigation systems. They also built structures, some known as kivas, apparently designed solely for cultural and religious rituals.

 

These two later cultures were roughly contemporaneous, and appear to have established trading relationships. They also shared enough cultural traits that archaeologists believe the cultures may have common roots in the early American Southwest. However, each remained culturally distinct throughout most of their existence. These two well established cultures appear to have been severely impacted by climatic change and perhaps by the incursion of new people in about 1200 CE. Over the next two centuries, the Fremont and ancient Pueblo people may have moved into the American southwest, finding new homes and farmlands in the river drainages of Arizona, New Mexico and northern Mexico.

 

In about 1200, Shoshonean speaking peoples entered Utah territory from the west. They may have originated in southern California and moved into the desert environment due to population pressure along the coast. They were an upland people with a hunting and gathering lifestyle utilizing roots and seeds, including the pinyon nut. They were also skillful fishermen, created pottery and raised some crops. When they first arrived in Utah, they lived as small family groups with little tribal organization. Four main Shoshonean peoples inhabited Utah country. The Shoshone in the north and northeast, the Gosiutes in the northwest, the Utes in the central and eastern parts of the region and the Southern Paiutes in the southwest. Initially, there seems to have been very little conflict between these groups.

 

In the early 16th century, the San Juan River basin in Utah's southeast also saw a new people, the Díne or Navajo, part of a greater group of plains Athabaskan speakers moved into the Southwest from the Great Plains. In addition to the Navajo, this language group contained people that were later known as Apaches, including the Lipan, Jicarilla, and Mescalero Apaches.

 

Athabaskans were a hunting people who initially followed the bison, and were identified in 16th-century Spanish accounts as "dog nomads". The Athabaskans expanded their range throughout the 17th century, occupying areas the Pueblo peoples had abandoned during prior centuries. The Spanish first specifically mention the "Apachu de Nabajo" (Navaho) in the 1620s, referring to the people in the Chama valley region east of the San Juan River, and north west of Santa Fe. By the 1640s, the term Navaho was applied to these same people. Although the Navajo newcomers established a generally peaceful trading and cultural exchange with the some modern Pueblo peoples to the south, they experienced intermittent warfare with the Shoshonean peoples, particularly the Utes in eastern Utah and western Colorado.

 

At the time of European expansion, beginning with Spanish explorers traveling from Mexico, five distinct native peoples occupied territory within the Utah area: the Northern Shoshone, the Goshute, the Ute, the Paiute and the Navajo.

 

The Spanish explorer Francisco Vázquez de Coronado may have crossed into what is now southern Utah in 1540, when he was seeking the legendary Cíbola.

 

A group led by two Spanish Catholic priests—sometimes called the Domínguez–Escalante expedition—left Santa Fe in 1776, hoping to find a route to the California coast. The expedition traveled as far north as Utah Lake and encountered the native residents. All of what is now Utah was claimed by the Spanish Empire from the 1500s to 1821 as part of New Spain (later as the province Alta California); and subsequently claimed by Mexico from 1821 to 1848. However, Spain and Mexico had little permanent presence in, or control of, the region.

 

Fur trappers (also known as mountain men) including Jim Bridger, explored some regions of Utah in the early 19th century. The city of Provo was named for one such man, Étienne Provost, who visited the area in 1825. The city of Ogden, Utah is named for a brigade leader of the Hudson's Bay Company, Peter Skene Ogden who trapped in the Weber Valley. In 1846, a year before the arrival of members from the Church of Jesus Christ of latter-day Saints, the ill-fated Donner Party crossed through the Salt Lake valley late in the season, deciding not to stay the winter there but to continue forward to California, and beyond.

 

Members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, commonly known as Mormon pioneers, first came to the Salt Lake Valley on July 24, 1847. At the time, the U.S. had already captured the Mexican territories of Alta California and New Mexico in the Mexican–American War and planned to keep them, but those territories, including the future state of Utah, officially became United States territory upon the signing of the Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo, February 2, 1848. The treaty was ratified by the United States Senate on March 10, 1848.

 

Upon arrival in the Salt Lake Valley, the Mormon pioneers found no permanent settlement of Indians. Other areas along the Wasatch Range were occupied at the time of settlement by the Northwestern Shoshone and adjacent areas by other bands of Shoshone such as the Gosiute. The Northwestern Shoshone lived in the valleys on the eastern shore of Great Salt Lake and in adjacent mountain valleys. Some years after arriving in the Salt Lake Valley Mormons, who went on to colonize many other areas of what is now Utah, were petitioned by Indians for recompense for land taken. The response of Heber C. Kimball, first counselor to Brigham Young, was that the land belonged to "our Father in Heaven and we expect to plow and plant it." A 1945 Supreme Court decision found that the land had been treated by the United States as public domain; no aboriginal title by the Northwestern Shoshone had been recognized by the United States or extinguished by treaty with the United States.

 

Upon arriving in the Salt Lake Valley, the Mormons had to make a place to live. They created irrigation systems, laid out farms, built houses, churches, and schools. Access to water was crucially important. Almost immediately, Brigham Young set out to identify and claim additional community sites. While it was difficult to find large areas in the Great Basin where water sources were dependable and growing seasons long enough to raise vitally important subsistence crops, satellite communities began to be formed.

 

Shortly after the first company arrived in the Salt Lake Valley in 1847, the community of Bountiful was settled to the north. In 1848, settlers moved into lands purchased from trapper Miles Goodyear in present-day Ogden. In 1849, Tooele and Provo were founded. Also that year, at the invitation of Ute chief Wakara, settlers moved into the Sanpete Valley in central Utah to establish the community of Manti. Fillmore, Utah, intended to be the capital of the new territory, was established in 1851. In 1855, missionary efforts aimed at western native cultures led to outposts in Fort Lemhi, Idaho, Las Vegas, Nevada and Elk Mountain in east-central Utah.

 

The experiences of returning members of the Mormon Battalion were also important in establishing new communities. On their journey west, the Mormon soldiers had identified dependable rivers and fertile river valleys in Colorado, Arizona and southern California. In addition, as the men traveled to rejoin their families in the Salt Lake Valley, they moved through southern Nevada and the eastern segments of southern Utah. Jefferson Hunt, a senior Mormon officer of the Battalion, actively searched for settlement sites, minerals, and other resources. His report encouraged 1851 settlement efforts in Iron County, near present-day Cedar City. These southern explorations eventually led to Mormon settlements in St. George, Utah, Las Vegas and San Bernardino, California, as well as communities in southern Arizona.

 

Prior to establishment of the Oregon and California trails and Mormon settlement, Indians native to the Salt Lake Valley and adjacent areas lived by hunting buffalo and other game, but also gathered grass seed from the bountiful grass of the area as well as roots such as those of the Indian Camas. By the time of settlement, indeed before 1840, the buffalo were gone from the valley, but hunting by settlers and grazing of cattle severely impacted the Indians in the area, and as settlement expanded into nearby river valleys and oases, indigenous tribes experienced increasing difficulty in gathering sufficient food. Brigham Young's counsel was to feed the hungry tribes, and that was done, but it was often not enough. These tensions formed the background to the Bear River massacre committed by California Militia stationed in Salt Lake City during the Civil War. The site of the massacre is just inside Preston, Idaho, but was generally thought to be within Utah at the time.

 

Statehood was petitioned for in 1849-50 using the name Deseret. The proposed State of Deseret would have been quite large, encompassing all of what is now Utah, and portions of Colorado, Idaho, Nevada, Wyoming, Arizona, Oregon, New Mexico and California. The name of Deseret was favored by the LDS leader Brigham Young as a symbol of industry and was derived from a reference in the Book of Mormon. The petition was rejected by Congress and Utah did not become a state until 1896, following the Utah Constitutional Convention of 1895.

 

In 1850, the Utah Territory was created with the Compromise of 1850, and Fillmore (named after President Fillmore) was designated the capital. In 1856, Salt Lake City replaced Fillmore as the territorial capital.

 

The first group of pioneers brought African slaves with them, making Utah the only place in the western United States to have African slavery. Three slaves, Green Flake, Hark Lay, and Oscar Crosby, came west with this first group in 1847. The settlers also began to purchase Indian slaves in the well-established Indian slave trade, as well as enslaving Indian prisoners of war. In 1850, 26 slaves were counted in Salt Lake County. Slavery didn't become officially recognized until 1852, when the Act in Relation to Service and the Act for the relief of Indian Slaves and Prisoners were passed. Slavery was repealed on June 19, 1862, when Congress prohibited slavery in all US territories.

 

Disputes between the Mormon inhabitants and the federal government intensified after the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints' practice of polygamy became known. The polygamous practices of the Mormons, which were made public in 1854, would be one of the major reasons Utah was denied statehood until almost 50 years after the Mormons had entered the area.

 

After news of their polygamous practices spread, the members of the LDS Church were quickly viewed by some as un-American and rebellious. In 1857, after news of a possible rebellion spread, President James Buchanan sent troops on the Utah expedition to quell the growing unrest and to replace Brigham Young as territorial governor with Alfred Cumming. The expedition was also known as the Utah War.

 

As fear of invasion grew, Mormon settlers had convinced some Paiute Indians to aid in a Mormon-led attack on 120 immigrants from Arkansas under the guise of Indian aggression. The murder of these settlers became known as the Mountain Meadows massacre. The Mormon leadership had adopted a defensive posture that led to a ban on the selling of grain to outsiders in preparation for an impending war. This chafed pioneers traveling through the region, who were unable to purchase badly needed supplies. A disagreement between some of the Arkansas pioneers and the Mormons in Cedar City led to the secret planning of the massacre by a few Mormon leaders in the area. Some scholars debate the involvement of Brigham Young. Only one man, John D. Lee, was ever convicted of the murders, and he was executed at the massacre site.

 

Express riders had brought the news 1,000 miles from the Missouri River settlements to Salt Lake City within about two weeks of the army's beginning to march west. Fearing the worst as 2,500 troops (roughly 1/3rd of the army then) led by General Albert Sidney Johnston started west, Brigham Young ordered all residents of Salt Lake City and neighboring communities to prepare their homes for burning and evacuate southward to Utah Valley and southern Utah. Young also sent out a few units of the Nauvoo Legion (numbering roughly 8,000–10,000), to delay the army's advance. The majority he sent into the mountains to prepare defenses or south to prepare for a scorched earth retreat. Although some army wagon supply trains were captured and burned and herds of army horses and cattle run off no serious fighting occurred. Starting late and short on supplies, the United States Army camped during the bitter winter of 1857–58 near a burned out Fort Bridger in Wyoming. Through the negotiations between emissary Thomas L. Kane, Young, Cumming and Johnston, control of Utah territory was peacefully transferred to Cumming, who entered an eerily vacant Salt Lake City in the spring of 1858. By agreement with Young, Johnston established the army at Fort Floyd 40 miles away from Salt Lake City, to the southwest.

 

Salt Lake City was the last link of the First Transcontinental Telegraph, between Carson City, Nevada and Omaha, Nebraska completed in October 1861. Brigham Young, who had helped expedite construction, was among the first to send a message, along with Abraham Lincoln and other officials. Soon after the telegraph line was completed, the Deseret Telegraph Company built the Deseret line connecting the settlements in the territory with Salt Lake City and, by extension, the rest of the United States.

 

Because of the American Civil War, federal troops were pulled out of Utah Territory (and their fort auctioned off), leaving the territorial government in federal hands without army backing until General Patrick E. Connor arrived with the 3rd Regiment of California Volunteers in 1862. While in Utah, Connor and his troops soon became discontent with this assignment wanting to head to Virginia where the "real" fighting and glory was occurring. Connor established Fort Douglas just three miles (5 km) east of Salt Lake City and encouraged his bored and often idle soldiers to go out and explore for mineral deposits to bring more non-Mormons into the state. Minerals were discovered in Tooele County, and some miners began to come to the territory. Conner also solved the Shoshone Indian problem in Cache Valley Utah by luring the Shoshone into a midwinter confrontation on January 29, 1863. The armed conflict quickly turned into a rout, discipline among the soldiers broke down, and the Battle of Bear River is today usually referred to by historians as the Bear River Massacre. Between 200 and 400 Shoshone men, women and children were killed, as were 27 soldiers, with over 50 more soldiers wounded or suffering from frostbite.

 

Beginning in 1865, Utah's Black Hawk War developed into the deadliest conflict in the territory's history. Chief Antonga Black Hawk died in 1870, but fights continued to break out until additional federal troops were sent in to suppress the Ghost Dance of 1872. The war is unique among Indian Wars because it was a three-way conflict, with mounted Timpanogos Utes led by Antonga Black Hawk fighting federal and Utah local militia.

 

On May 10, 1869, the First transcontinental railroad was completed at Promontory Summit, north of the Great Salt Lake. The railroad brought increasing numbers of people into the state, and several influential businessmen made fortunes in the territory.

 

Main article: Latter Day Saint polygamy in the late-19th century

During the 1870s and 1880s, federal laws were passed and federal marshals assigned to enforce the laws against polygamy. In the 1890 Manifesto, the LDS Church leadership dropped its approval of polygamy citing divine revelation. When Utah applied for statehood again in 1895, it was accepted. Statehood was officially granted on January 4, 1896.

 

The Mormon issue made the situation for women the topic of nationwide controversy. In 1870 the Utah Territory, controlled by Mormons, gave women the right to vote. However, in 1887, Congress disenfranchised Utah women with the Edmunds–Tucker Act. In 1867–96, eastern activists promoted women's suffrage in Utah as an experiment, and as a way to eliminate polygamy. They were Presbyterians and other Protestants convinced that Mormonism was a non-Christian cult that grossly mistreated women. The Mormons promoted woman suffrage to counter the negative image of downtrodden Mormon women. With the 1890 Manifesto clearing the way for statehood, in 1895 Utah adopted a constitution restoring the right of women's suffrage. Congress admitted Utah as a state with that constitution in 1896.

 

Though less numerous than other intermountain states at the time, several lynching murders for alleged misdeeds occurred in Utah territory at the hand of vigilantes. Those documented include the following, with their ethnicity or national origin noted in parentheses if it was provided in the source:

 

William Torrington in Carson City (then a part of Utah territory), 1859

Thomas Coleman (Black man) in Salt Lake City, 1866

3 unidentified men at Wahsatch, winter of 1868

A Black man in Uintah, 1869

Charles A. Benson in Logan, 1873

Ah Sing (Chinese man) in Corinne, 1874

Thomas Forrest in St. George, 1880

William Harvey (Black man) in Salt Lake City, 1883

John Murphy in Park City, 1883

George Segal (Japanese man) in Ogden, 1884

Joseph Fisher in Eureka, 1886

Robert Marshall (Black man) in Castle Gate, 1925

Other lynchings in Utah territory include multiple instances of mass murder of Native American children, women, and men by White settlers including the Battle Creek massacre (1849), Provo River Massacre (1850), Nephi massacre (1853), and Circleville Massacre (1866).

 

Beginning in the early 20th century, with the establishment of such national parks as Bryce Canyon National Park and Zion National Park, Utah began to become known for its natural beauty. Southern Utah became a popular filming spot for arid, rugged scenes, and such natural landmarks as Delicate Arch and "the Mittens" of Monument Valley are instantly recognizable to most national residents. During the 1950s, 1960s, and 1970s, with the construction of the Interstate highway system, accessibility to the southern scenic areas was made easier.

 

Beginning in 1939, with the establishment of Alta Ski Area, Utah has become world-renowned for its skiing. The dry, powdery snow of the Wasatch Range is considered some of the best skiing in the world. Salt Lake City won the bid for the 2002 Winter Olympics in 1995, and this has served as a great boost to the economy. The ski resorts have increased in popularity, and many of the Olympic venues scattered across the Wasatch Front continue to be used for sporting events. This also spurred the development of the light-rail system in the Salt Lake Valley, known as TRAX, and the re-construction of the freeway system around the city.

 

During the late 20th century, the state grew quickly. In the 1970s, growth was phenomenal in the suburbs. Sandy was one of the fastest-growing cities in the country at that time, and West Valley City is the state's 2nd most populous city. Today, many areas of Utah are seeing phenomenal growth. Northern Davis, southern and western Salt Lake, Summit, eastern Tooele, Utah, Wasatch, and Washington counties are all growing very quickly. Transportation and urbanization are major issues in politics as development consumes agricultural land and wilderness areas.

 

In 2012, the State of Utah passed the Utah Transfer of Public Lands Act in an attempt to gain control over a substantial portion of federal land in the state from the federal government, based on language in the Utah Enabling Act of 1894. The State does not intend to use force or assert control by limiting access in an attempt to control the disputed lands, but does intend to use a multi-step process of education, negotiation, legislation, and if necessary, litigation as part of its multi-year effort to gain state or private control over the lands after 2014.

 

Utah families, like most Americans everywhere, did their utmost to assist in the war effort. Tires, meat, butter, sugar, fats, oils, coffee, shoes, boots, gasoline, canned fruits, vegetables, and soups were rationed on a national basis. The school day was shortened and bus routes were reduced to limit the number of resources used stateside and increase what could be sent to soldiers.

 

Geneva Steel was built to increase the steel production for America during World War II. President Franklin D. Roosevelt had proposed opening a steel mill in Utah in 1936, but the idea was shelved after a couple of months. After the attack on Pearl Harbor, the United States entered the war and the steel plant was put into progress. In April 1944, Geneva shipped its first order, which consisted of over 600 tons of steel plate. Geneva Steel also brought thousands of job opportunities to Utah. The positions were hard to fill as many of Utah's men were overseas fighting. Women began working, filling 25 percent of the jobs.

 

As a result of Utah's and Geneva Steels contribution during the war, several Liberty Ships were named in honor of Utah including the USS Joseph Smith, USS Brigham Young, USS Provo, and the USS Peter Skene Ogden.

 

One of the sectors of the beachhead of Normandy Landings was codenamed Utah Beach, and the amphibious landings at the beach were undertaken by United States Army troops.

 

It is estimated that 1,450 soldiers from Utah were killed in the war.

I got tagged with that "16 things" thing a million years ago. Since I just don't have much time I'm going to cheat and post my "25 things" list that I made for Facebook. Choose your favorite 16.

 

I've been tagged a few times with this one, and I like reading other peoples' 25 random things, so I've decided to post my own. I'm not going to tag anyone else though, because some people resent that kind of thing, you know. Besides, everyone's eventually going to be tagged with this one anyway.

  

1) I have an early memory of standing in the yard of my grandmother's house in Bolinas, trying to learn to whistle. There was a hummingbird flying around the yard and it suddenly swooped down and skimmed through the top of my hair. At that moment, I whistled.

 

2) In high school, I spent an inordinate amount of time designing and drawing plans for a perversely large mansion of the 80s neoromantic-artist/rock-aristocrat variety. These plans were drawn by hand, with pencils, rulers, and ink. There was no handy CAD machine in sight. It was quite a labor of love, or at least adolescent daydream fantasy. There was a two-story entry room with a marble chessboard for a floor and a balcony around the room so you could look down to better judge your next move. There was an Olympic-sized indoor swimming pool in a two-story room with skylights and roman columns. There were cypress trees out front because that was very, um, 'classical.' There was a room just for statues. There were hot tubs and fireplaces, a darkroom, and even a urinal (just to have one). My classmates nicknamed the house "The Chainsaw," because it kind of looked like a Husqvarna from the aerial view. Perhaps those fantasies were in part fueled by a bottle of Everclear that was secretly stashed away in the back room for years. These days I much prefer the aesthetics of shack architecture.

 

3) I find myself strangely addicted to television shows that I never would have imagined watching regularly four years ago. These days it's House, The Most Dangerous Catch, and just about every game that Arsenal plays. I also find myself watching a lot Star Trek: The Next Generation reruns. I find Sponge Bob Squarepants to be the most deeply absurdist homage to surrealist tendencies imaginable, and if you don't find it to also be deeply perverse than you're really not looking very hard (often it reminds me of the kind of horrifying erotics of Dali's The Great Masturbator). Plus it has great comic timing.

 

4) My first memories of television are of watching The Making of Star Wars on PBS while desperately futzing with the antenna to get better reception. Then I moved to San Francisco and watched a ton of Ultraman on Channel 2, as well as Godzilla movies, anything on Creature Features, and, strangely, I also remember watching Gone With the Wind. That was all in glorious black and white. I didn't live in a house with a television after that for about 20 years. The TV I own now is the first one I've ever bought — it's 3.5 years old.

 

5) I'm sure that far too many of my libidinal desires were shaped by early exposure to Elfquest and The X-Men. The very first comic I ever bought was an X-Men comic.

 

6) Jacques Cousteau was my childhood hero, and I still count him as one of the major influences in my life. And not just because on that one episode they drank some of the unopened wine they discovered on the wreck of a Roman ship. The Silent World is an incredibly beautiful book, and The Cousteau Almanac was deeply influential on the formation of my environmental consciousness (and way ahead of its time —seriously discussing wind power, alternatives to fossil fuels, and solar power, all back in 1981). I spent a huge part of my childhood wanting to become a marine biologist and reading volume after volume about undersea life. Nudibranchs are perhaps the most beautiful creatures that live on this planet.

 

7) I tend to ramble when I write prose. I haven't decided if that's a good thing or not. At least I don't write like someone who thinks they're going to be the new Hemingway.

 

8) For someone who really has no background in electrical engineering I know way too much about 12AX7s, ECC82s, EL-34s, 6L7s, KT88s, and, of course, the 300B.

 

9) Things I usually have in my bag when I go out: iPod, loaded up with music, Football Weekly, Democracy Now, and Against the Grain; a copy of The London Review of Books, Harper's, or The Wire (soon this list will include Radical Philosophy); a pair of chopsticks — I don't like to use disposables; a camera (always, always carry a camera!); ibuprofen; tissue papers; a pencil case, full; a notepad, full; a spare pair of batteries for my Voigtlander Bessa R2A, in case it goes dead. Sometimes I carry my electronic dictionary with me as well (Japanese/English).

 

10) I often get all weepy at weddings, but I have absolutely no desire to get married myself. Similarly, I love other peoples' pets, but I haven't wanted to own a pet of my own for decades now. When I did want to own a pet, it was an otter. More recently, I was thinking about a hedgehog, but then I found out that they can't be housebroken. That puts them right out.

 

11) I absolutely love the handmade eyeglasses that come out of Japan.

 

12) As the old joke among Marxists goes, "I've predicted seven of the last two economic crises!"

 

13) I was once asked, "Have you started collecting anything since you've moved to Japan?" Here are the collections that are forming: Kokeshi dolls (look it up! —I like the older, more traditional and alien-looking style); vinyl toys, especially representations of Ultraman's enemies; and goshuin stamps — stamps from temples and shrines that you use to round out pilgrimage books. I've always been something of a collector, and luckily I mostly am not completist about my collections (except when it comes to comic books). Here are some other collections that I've started in my time: stamp collection (including a large selection of Soviet stamps, as well as stamps chronicling the rise of Nazi Germany — and yes, I had that Tonga Banana stamp too); a rock collection; a shell collection; a collection of local fungus samples (my mycology phase, not quite over yet); a coin collection (only a lame one); a collection of old telephone-pole glass insulators; a vintage necktie collection; a collection of broken lighters; a pipe collection (I did use them for awhile, but ended up giving them away); of course I have a record/CD collection; a comic collection is de rigeur; a camera collection (not very big, as far as collections go); a fountain pen collection; and a collection of small and rare 1970s poetry magazines from the Bay Area.

 

14) I want to be on the raft with Jim. Or Huck. Or Huck and Jim. Really, I just want to be on the raft. And I want to run like the spotted camelopard.

 

15) According to my father, the first DeVore (it would have been "de Vore," of course) came over from France during the French and Indian War and promptly surrendered to the English. Even though it's probably an apocryphal story, this is definitely a family history I would take pride in. More likely the DeVore side of my family were originally French fur trappers, plying their trade up and down the Mississippi.

 

16) I once caught an alligator lizard that had two tails. And blue-belly lizards (I believe that "Western Fence Swift" is the official non-scientific designation) really do fall into a sleeplike trance when you turn them on their backs and rub their bellies.

 

17) I think that film photography is one of the most spectral, beautiful, haunting technologies ever invented. When you snap the shutter on a film camera, actual photons of light generated by the physical moment itself make their way onto the film strip and burn an image into it that is both a record of the moment, and contains a physical trace of the moment itself. Digital cameras take this trace and convert it into data, but the film trace is always also a physical part of the moment when the shutter snapped open. The film images of dead friends contain the actual physical trace of photons of light that that were reflected from their living bodies. Every film negative contains the actual physical trace of a moment in time, like an artifact from an archaeological dig.

 

18) At a zoo in Zurich, I once had my hand held by an elephant. This was not arranged in any way, but happened spontaneously on the edge of the elephant holding area. The elephant had walked to the wall that surrounded the holding area and it held it's trunk out in my direction. I held my hand up to the end of its trunk, and it sniffed my hand for a moment and then folded the very tip of its trunk around my hand. This kind of contact was totally exhilarating, but also quite terrifying since I had never imagined the incredible strength that an elephant has in its trunk muscles until then. The elephant was so strong that it could easily have broken my hand, but it seemed to know that just giving a light grip was the thing to do. This lasted for under a minute, and then something startled the elephant a bit and caused it to back off.

 

19) My "25 random things" entry is already way too long.

 

20) The first album I ever owned was Kiss, Destroyer. I left it in the sun and it got a slight warp in it. I used to go over to the house of the girl next door and we would listen to it together on her tiny toy record player. She was totally awesome and she had a silver tooth.

 

21) I have a deep and abiding memory of the moment when I looked at the word "t-h-e-r-e" and it coalesced in my brain as the word "there." It's the first memory I have of being able to read spontaneously without having to sound out the letters, bit by bit. It was like magic, or even possession.

 

22) My parents took me along to a Stan Brakhage film when I was just a baby and I ended up getting written up in a San Francisco Chronicle review of the film. "Soundtrack provided by Trane DeVore," or something of the sort. The reviewer wasn't very impressed by Brakhage's work. My parents also took me along to A Clockwork Orange, but apparently I cried so much they had to leave the theater half way. In hindsight, I suppose that was probably a pretty predictable outcome.

 

23) New things since moving to Japan: I bought my very first television set; I bought my very first mobile phone; I learned to snowboard; I can speak Japanese now (but my reading skills are pretty much nonexistent); I experienced my first typhoon (but it was pretty underwhelming); I made friends with people I had only met on the internet; I've decided that cooked, soy-marinated grasshoppers really are one of the world's great beer snacks; I have a research budget.

 

24) I once had shoulder-length hair. I cut it off when I woke up one night panicking because I thought that there were spiderwebs all over my face.

 

25) Did you know, Dear Reader, that I think that you are the most beautiful, intelligent, creative, wonderful and amazing person in the world?

There are not many times during my years of collecting that I have instantaneously clicked with a particular type of doll and knew I HAD to get my hands on them. Funnily enough, the ones that I end up being the most obsessed with are dolls who I originally disliked or overlooked. Such was the case with Bratz, Monster High, L.O.L. Surprise, Cave Club, etc. Every once in a while though, I will be caught off guard and will feel an immediate connection to a brand new line of dolls. It was sometime in 2015 when Colleen and I ventured to Toys 'R' Us to do some dolly shopping. I don't recall what particular doll or sale compelled us to pop in to Toys 'R' Us. As I meandered into the aisle with Monster High, Moxie Girlz, and Bratz, I spotted something new. Actually, I spotted two new somethings...Project MC² dolls and Disney Descendants. I was aware of the impending release of the Disney Descendants. In fact, I had immediately clicked with their grainy photos that were posted from a toy show. I even had some preconceived notions about who I would specifically buy ("Signature" Carlos and "Coronation" Lonnie). On the other hand, I had NO idea who the Project MC² dolls were. The Descendants felt a tad disappointing in person. I don't remember why anymore. Maybe I thought they looked cheaper or more generic. Or perhaps it was their price point. Either way, I didn't feel that same magnetic pull to them I experienced earlier via the internet. Strangely, I was immensely drawn to the Project MC² ladies, despite my disdain for inset eyes (generally speaking).

 

Colleen and I lusted over the Project MC² section for several minutes. Oh how I longed to buy one. I was not surprised when I looked at the branding on the bottom of the boxes and saw MGA's logo. That explained it...what with my obsession for Bratz and Moxie Girlz, it made sense that I was picking up on some craftsmanship/design similarities. I wasn't remotely put off by their inset eyes either, which had been a hang up of mine in the past with Liv and Bratzillaz dolls. In fact, I found them both to be horrendously creepy for a long time. It took time and gentle prodding for me to see the beauty in Liv and Zillaz. The same could not be said of the Project MC² dolls, because I adored their eyes right off the bat. I couldn't even decide which doll was my favorite from the bunch stocked at Toys 'R' Us that afternoon. I lamented to Colleen that if the dolls were cheaper, I would have loved to purchase one to see what they were like. If you are familiar with me, then you would know that is VERY rare for me to say. I almost always shrug off a new doll type and say, "Maybe I'll see what they are like when they go on sale or start popping up secondhand." That's part of why I'm so late to hop onto bandwagons. If I hadn't been in the midst of trying to curb my shopping addiction, and had the dolls been between $15 to $20, rather than a whopping $25, I would have caved. Part of why I was not about to fork over the money was because the extras the dolls came with weren't so great (they were experiments for kids to use). Had the gals been packaged with extra outfits, I think my wallet would have had a change of heart.

 

I constantly stalked the Project MC² dolls from then on. I religiously checked for sales in stores and online. Every time I spotted Project MC² dolls somewhere, I scanned them with the price checker, just to make certain they weren't marked down. To my greatest frustration, the prices on the dolls did not budge. What was even more vexing was that many stores didn't even carry the dolls in my area. I hardly recall seeing them at my local Walmart, which was the only toy stocked store within less than a half hour from us. To go to places like Target, who always had Project MC² dolls, was a 35 to 40 minute drive (one way). Therefore, the opportune moment did not strike for almost an entire year (if not a little more). Colleen and I were on an afternoon outing with our friend Lisa sometime during the summer of 2016. It's been so long that I can't remember exactly why we went to the shops in the first place. I think Lisa had received gift cards for her birthday and was trying to use them up. Anyways, we popped into Marshall's that afternoon. I was surprised to see a few "Basic" Project MC² dolls in stock. Since Marshall's is a discount store, the dolls were a few dollars off than they'd regularly have been priced. On top of that they were already budget versions. Lisa let us finish off the last few dollars of her gift card too! She did not like Marshall's, and was desperate to get rid of the remaining $2 or $3 she wasn't able to spend (I totally relate to that feeling when you get a gift card to a store that is IMPOSSIBLE to spend). I spent several minutes brooding over which doll I wanted to buy. I recall that all four of the original "Basic" ladies were in stock--Bryden, McKeyla, Camryn, and Adrienne. I was torn between McKeyla and Camryn most of all. In the end, I chose McKeyla because I liked her freckled face (reminiscent of Lil' Friends Chelsie). I even made sure to grab one that didn't have messed up face paint. Some of the dolls had eyelashes/liner that was placed far outside the cutouts for their acrylic eyes (which made them look super odd). In Lisa's car, I dissected the box to make it easier to transport home. I ditched the box itself in the trash outside a pizza place we stopped in at for lunch. McKeyla was a stowaway in my mini plaid backpack I had brought with me that day (I think I took it for my sunscreen since I burn so easily). Admittedly, McKeyla did make an appearance or two at the pizza place. I was giddy with excitement about procuring the coveted Project MC² doll. I couldn't help but steal a glance at her. Fortunately, Lisa is very understanding of my and Colleen's weirdness...she even enables it all the time (by feeding Colleen Pepsi which makes her insanely hyper).

 

For a little more than two years, Miss McKeyla was my lone Project MC² doll. That wasn't for any other reason other than it was still impossible to find the dolls for a reasonable price. I continued to check their prices whenever we popped in at Target or Toys 'R' Us. Since we only were there a few times a year (and at other places like Marshall's which occasionally stocked them) we didn't have many opportunities to buy them anyways. At the very end of 2018, my second gal finally joined the collection. Wouldn't you know it was the same "Basic" Camryn doll I was contemplating buying two years before. She turned up, still donning her factory garments, at a consignment store. She was our last purchase of 2018....well, Camryn and the handful of other dolls we rescued with her. I made the right choice that day at Marshall's, because in the end Camryn turned up in the wild. My collection stagnated for a while after that until the acquisition of a boxed Adrienne at the local flea market the following summer. I FINALLY caught a break at Target a year after that in 2020...two of the re-released ladies were super cheap. Beyond that, my luck in the wild was nonexistent despite my efforts. That's why eventually I turned to eBay and scooped up four dolls who were used but mostly complete. Since Project MC² dolls were limitedly stocked in my area, it was unlikely I'd find many secondhand in the future. Plus, given their removable hands and fragile joints, I could encounter a broken doll (or one with a missing limb). There would be no way I could justify purchasing such a charity case, given that I couldn't buy parts online for them readily (like with Mattel dolls). So for now, as I'm writing this in 2021, my collection has somewhat stagnated.

 

It's quite ironic how it all worked out with Project MC² dolls. Normally, I am hesitant or even begrudging towards new lines of dollies. But in the end, once I've had that "aha moment," it's hard for me to control myself. Such was the case with Monster High, L.O.L. Surprise, Bratz, etc. When that moment of passion finally struck me, I was consumed with a NEED for more dolls. My collections would go from zero dolls to close to 100 in a relatively short amount of time. Perhaps my immediate connection to Project MC² doomed me to have less good fortune in terms of purchasing them. I did put forth great effort and energy towards finding the dolls in a price range I felt was more reasonable, but it was in vain most of the time. Regardless, I was able to finally fulfill my fantasy of owning a few of these ladies...all of the main characters in fact who tantalized me that day at Toys 'R' Us. The only line I have managed to complete thus far is the original 2015 "Experiments" wave (at least it's one of the oldest). Ironically, these were the dolls that first caught my eye at Toys 'R' Us, who I so desperately wanted to take home. I suppose that my collection size right now reflects what it would have been had these dolls been out when I was a kid. Dad wouldn't have been as eager to buy me $25 dolls all the time (he was more relenting with his wallet when they were $10 dollies, or those "buy one get one free" sales at KB Toys). So although I can envision myself having pined for these gals as a kid, it wouldn't have been as easy for me to build a large family as it was with say Barbie (a similar situation played out with Bratz because they were so pricey in those days). I'm still on the lookout for my nerdy friends. That's something else that was always an appeal towards the Project MC² dolls--they were science based, not just fashion themed. I was that kid in school who excelled at science, so it's quite fun owning dolls who have similar talents! Granted, I didn't like science class they way I appreciated art or English, but it was something my brain naturally caught on to. Normally the basis behind dolls is quite shallow--fashion, makeup, boys, technology, etc. I like how these ladies encouraged and promoted education, science, and that there is no shame in being dedicated to school (not that I watched the show...I'm just basing off the way the dolls were marketed). That being said, MGA still ensured that these girls were stylish and had fun outfits to play with...they wouldn't be dolls if they didn't have awesome wardrobes after all! These Project MC² dolls are the best of both worlds--they are stunning/stylish, while also having some substance to their concept!

Bollywood actor, model and former porn star Sunny Leone speaking during an interview on Jan. 22, 2016, in New Delhi. (Waseem Gashroo / Hindustan Times via Getty Images)

  

For all their bare skin, suggestive dialogue and racy dance sequences, Bollywood movies generally are a marvel of chastity. The world’s biggest film industry is so squeamish about sex that its biggest stars rarely even kiss on screen.Then there’s Sunny Leone.

 

Anyone with an Internet connection can watch Leone do a lot more than kiss, and many Indians have. She consistently ranks as the most Googled person in the country, less for her roles in a dozen-odd Bollywood B-movies than for her previous career as one of the biggest porn stars in America.

 

Working in Los Angeles in the 2000s, she was a Penthouse Pet of the Year, starred in such titles as “Alabama Jones and the Busty Crusade,” created a line of sex toys and launched a production company called SunLust. At the height of her success, she left adult entertainment behind and found an unlikely second act in India, where her parents were born.

Since cavorting onto Indian screens in a reality TV show in 2011, Leone’s deep hazel eyes and endearingly American-accented Hindi have won over fans, if not critics. But it is her past career — and the sexual freedom it represents — that has elevated her to an object of fascination.

  

“For someone with my background to cross over to the mainstream, it’s next to impossible,” said Leone, 35.

 

It seems especially unlikely in India, which is striving to be a sophisticated, modern power but still hews to a buttoned-up public morality. This is the civilization that produced the Kama Sutra, that ancient guidebook to human sexuality, yet today pornography is banned. Cops have been known to arrest couples for making out in public. Sex education in schools is nearly nonexistent, and huge numbers of young people still get married having never laid eyes on their partner.

 

Enter Leone, who has become something of a national sex ed teacher.

 

In her early Bollywood movies, relatively low-budget affairs with gossamer-thin story lines, she played exotic, sexually liberated characters — including a porn star, twice. Promoting a brand of condoms called Manforce, she extols the virtues of using protection and undergoing routine STD tests.

 

Refreshingly direct about her adult film career, she refuses to apologize for what she calls a personal choice, saying she found the women in porn to be beautiful.

 

“I look at things differently than people do here,” said Leone, sheathed in a floor-length striped dress punctuated by stiletto heels, smiling earnestly across a desk in a Mumbai office. “When I watch a movie, sex and intimate scenes and getting close to someone is the norm. It’s not something abnormal. It happens every day.”

 

The backlash has been predictable. Some politicians have accused her of threatening Indian culture and even — following one particularly steamy condom commercial — encouraging rape. Many middle-class filmgoers won’t see her movies, and the big-name stars she idolized long kept a polite distance.

 

But the vast majority of Indians appear to have accepted her.

 

“She’s part of the sexual revolution in India, where sex is coming out of the closet and people are becoming more curious and accepting of it,” said Ira Trivedi, author of “India in Love: Marriage and Sexuality in the 21st Century.”

 

“Her timing couldn’t be better. I don’t think people would have received her with the same openness five or seven years ago.”

 

This year, after a cringe-inducing interview with a talk-show host who asked Leone about fears that she would steal women’s husbands — and wondered if he was being “morally corrupted” by sitting with her — fans, commentators and fellow actors ridiculed the host and praised Leone for responding with grace.

 

“There are a group of people who don’t agree with my choices and are very vocal and don’t like me,” Leone said. “But I’m very fortunate and I have more people that have been supportive….

 

“I’m not here to preach anything at all. My goal is, I was given a chance to shoot mainstream cinema. OK, it’s not in English. OK, it’s halfway across the world. But it’s something that I’ve always wanted to do.” bollywoodfuture.com/2016/08/25/can-porn-star-turned-bolly...

Many of the tropical butterflies have distinctive seasonal forms. This phenomenon is termed seasonal polyphenism and the seasonal forms of the butterflies are called the dry-season and wet-season forms. How the season affects the genetic expression of patterns is still a subject of research. The dry-season forms are usually more cryptic and it has been suggested that the protection offered may be an adaptation. Some also show greater dark colours in the wet-season form which may have thermoregulatory advantages by increasing ability to absorb solar radiation.

 

The wet-season form has large, very apparent multiple eyespots whereas the dry-season forms have very reduced, oftentimes nonexistent, eyespots. Larvae that develop in hot, wet conditions develop into wet-season adults whereas those growing in the transition from the wet to the dry season, when the temperature is declining, develop into dry-season adults. This polyphenism probably has an adaptive role. In the dry-season it is disadvantageous to have conspicuous eyespots because they blend in with the brown vegetation better without eyespots. By not developing eyespots in the dry-season they can more easily camouflage themselves in the brown brush. This minimizes the risk of visually mediated predation. In the wet-season, these brown butterflies cannot as easily rely on cryptic coloration for protection because the background vegetation is green. Thus, eyespots, which may function to decrease predation, are beneficial for Satyrine butterflies like the Bushbrown to express.

 

Pu'er, Yunnan, China

 

see comments for image of dry season form....

My favorite beach to photograph is Bandon Beach in Oregon. I still can't believe that I was the only one on this beach at dawn. I could hardly hear the almost nonexistent waves that were 'breaking' about 100 yards off shore. This beach is so flat that a 4 inch high 'wave' will send water 100 feet up the beach!

Canon 5D Mark II

Canon EF 16-35mm II, f/2.8 II, @ 16mm, ISO 400, f/13, 214 Second exposure.

Another misprint from a trip to Vanuatu in 2013. I'm loving the chance effects of whatever happened to the film negatives in the printing process. The lovely guy on the right was our guide in Port Vila. The left side is from another photo, taken from a terrace of a bar on the harbour. We only spent one day in Port Vila as part of our cruise so my knowledge of the city is almost nonexistent. But I'd love to go back and get to know the place better, as well as the rest of the country – which I'm sure is worth visiting and spending some time in.

 

Canon Eos 300

Canon EF 50mm f1.8

Some colour film

On the amphora main body fight between warriors and Amazons. All characters are named. At center of the scene, Herakles, retr. hερακλες, fights against the Amazon Andromache, Ανδρομαχε. Near the main scene two more fights: Ifis, [Ι]φις, vs. Pantariste, Πανταριστε, and Telamone, retr. Τελαμον, vs. Ainipe, Αινιπ[π]ε. Neck decoration: palmette-lotus festoons.

With Hyppolyte, the queen of the Amazons, willing to hand over her prized belt, Herakles’ ninth labor seemed rather simple. But the goddess Hera infected the Amazons with the notion that Herakles and his band of companions intended to abduct their queen. The ferocious women warriors therefore rushed to save Hippolyte from her nonexistent doom. Herakles ordered her warriors to attack, and killed the Amazons queen, taking the belt by force.

 

Tyrrhenian amphorae type is produced during the second quarter of the sixth century B.C. Made by the Athenians for export, perhaps filled with prime Attic oil, and aimed at a market which had been conditioned to the wares of Corinth, the Tyrrhenian amphora takes its name from that area in Italy, north of Rome, where they were found ( and once believed to have been made).

 

Black-figured Tyrrhenian neck amphora

Attributed to Prometheus Painter (Bothmer)

Second quarter 6th century BC

Athens, National Archaeological Museum, inv. n. 27524

 

Australian magpie (Gymnorhina tibicen)

 

The Australian magpie (Gymnorhina tibicen) is a medium-sized black and white passerine bird native to Australia and southern New Guinea. Although once considered to be three separate species, it is now considered to be one, with nine recognised subspecies. A member of the Artamidae, the Australian magpie is placed in its own genus Gymnorhina and is most closely related to the black butcherbird (Melloria quoyi). It is not, however, closely related to the European magpie, which is a corvid.

 

The adult Australian magpie is a fairly robust bird ranging from 37 to 43 cm (14.5 to 17 in) in length, with distinctive black and white plumage, gold brown eyes and a solid wedge-shaped bluish-white and black bill. The male and female are similar in appearance, and can be distinguished by differences in back markings. The male has pure white feathers on the back of the head and the female has white blending to grey feathers on the back of the head. With its long legs, the Australian magpie walks rather than waddles or hops and spends much time on the ground.

 

Described as one of Australia's most accomplished songbirds, the Australian magpie has an array of complex vocalisations. It is omnivorous, with the bulk of its varied diet made up of invertebrates. It is generally sedentary and territorial throughout its range. Common and widespread, it has adapted well to human habitation and is a familiar bird of parks, gardens and farmland in Australia and New Guinea. This species is commonly fed by households around the country, but in spring a small minority of breeding magpies (almost always males) become aggressive and swoop and attack those who approach their nests.

Over 1000 Australian magpies were introduced into New Zealand from 1864 to 1874 but have subsequently been accused of displacing native birds and are now treated as a pest species. Introductions also occurred in the Solomon Islands and Fiji, where the birds are not considered an invasive species. The Australian magpie is the mascot of several Australian sporting teams, most notably the Collingwood Magpies, the Western Suburbs Magpies and Port Adelaide Magpies.

  

Taxonomy

 

The Australian magpie was first described by English ornithologist John Latham in 1801 as Coracias tibicen, the type collected in the Port Jackson region. Its specific epithet derived from the Latintibicen "flute-player" or "piper" in reference to the bird's melodious call. An early recorded vernacular name is piping poller, written on a painting by Thomas Watling, one of a group known collectively as the Port Jackson Painter, sometime between 1788 and 1792. Tarra-won-nang, or djarrawunang, wibung, and marriyang were names used by the local Eora and Darug inhabitants of the Sydney Basin. Booroogong and garoogong were Wiradjuri words, and carrak was a Jardwadjali term from Victoria. Among the Kamilaroi, it is burrugaabu, galalu, or guluu. It was known as Warndurla among the Yindjibarndi people of the central and western Pilbara. Other names used include piping crow-shrike, piper, maggie, flute-bird and organ-bird. The term bell-magpie was proposed to help distinguish it from the European magpie but failed to gain wide acceptance.

 

The bird was named for its similarity in colouration to the European magpie; it was a common practice for early settlers to name plants and animals after European counterparts. However, the European magpie is a member of the Corvidae, while its Australian counterpart is placed in the family Artamidae (although both are members of a broad corvid lineage). The Australian magpie's affinities with butcherbirds and currawongs were recognised early on and the three genera were placed in the family Cracticidae in 1914 by John Albert Leach after he had studied their musculature. American ornithologists Charles Sibley and Jon Ahlquist recognised the close relationship between woodswallows and the butcherbirds in 1985, and combined them into a Cracticini clade, in the Artamidae. The Australian magpie is placed in its own monotypic genus Gymnorhina which was introduced by the English zoologist George Robert Gray in 1840. The name of the genus is from the Ancient Greek gumnos for "naked" or "bare" and rhis, rhinos "nostrils". Some authorities such as Glen Storr in 1952 and Leslie Christidis and Walter Boles in their 2008 checklist, have placed the Australian magpie in the butcherbird genus Cracticus, arguing that its adaptation to ground-living is not enough to consider it a separate genus. A molecular genetic study published in a 2013 showed that the Australian magpie is a sister taxon to the black butcherbird (Melloria quoyi) and that the two species are in turn sister to a clade that includes the other butcherbirds in the genus Cracticus. The ancestor to the two species is thought to have split from the other butcherbirds between 8.3 and 4.2 million years ago, during the late Miocene to early Pliocene, while the two species themselves diverged sometime during the Pliocene (5.8–3.0 million years ago).

The Australian magpie was subdivided into three species in the literature for much of the twentieth century—the black-backed magpie (G. tibicen), the white-backed magpie (G. hypoleuca), and the western magpie (G. dorsalis). They were later noted to hybridise readily where their territories crossed, with hybrid grey or striped-backed magpies being quite common. This resulted in them being reclassified as one species by Julian Ford in 1969, with most recent authors following suit.

  

Subspecies

 

There are currently thought to be nine subspecies of the Australian magpie, although there are large zones of overlap with intermediate forms between the taxa. There is a tendency for birds to become larger with increasing latitude, the southern subspecies being larger than those further north, except the Tasmanian form which is small.[26] The original form, known as the black-backed magpie and classified as Gymnorhina tibicen, has been split into four black-backed races:

•G. tibicen tibicen, the nominate form, is a large subspecies found in southeastern Queensland, from the vicinity of Moreton Bay through eastern New South Wales to Moruya, New South Wales almost to the Victorian border. It is coastal or near-coastal and is restricted to east of the Great Dividing Range.

 

•G. tibicen terraereginae, found from Cape York and the Gulf Country southwards across Queenslandto the coast between Halifax Bay in the north and south to the Mary River, and central and western New South Wales and into northern South Australia, is a small to medium-sized subspecies. The plumage is the same as that of subspecies tibicen, although the female has a shorter black tip to the tail. The wings and tarsus are shorter and the bill proportionally longer. It was originally described by Gregory Mathews in 1912, its subspecies name a Latin translation, terra "land" reginae "queen's" of "Queensland". Hybridisation with the large white-backed subspecies tyrannica occurs in northern Victoria and southeastern New South Wales; intermediate forms have black bands of varying sizes in white-backed area. Three-way hybridisation occurs between Bega and Batemans Bay on the New South Wales south coast.

 

•G. tibicen eylandtensis, the Top End magpie, is found from the Kimberley in northern Western Australia, across the Northern Territory through Arnhem Land and Groote Eylandt and into the Gulf Country. It is a small subspecies with a long and thinner bill, with birds of Groote Eylandt possibly even smaller than mainland birds. It has a narrow black terminal tailband, and a narrow black band; the male has a large white nape, the female pale grey. This form was initially described by H. L. White in 1922. It intergrades with subspecies terraereginae southeast of the Gulf of Carpentaria.

 

•G. tibicen longirostris, the long-billed magpie, is found across northern Western Australia, from Shark Bay into the Pilbara. Named in 1903 by Alex Milligan, it is a medium-sized subspecies with a long thin bill. Milligan speculated the bill may have been adapted for the local conditions, slim fare meaning the birds had to pick at dangerous scorpions and spiders. There is a broad area of hybridisation with the western dorsalis in southern central Western Australia from Shark Bay south to the Murchison River and east to the Great Victoria Desert.

  

The white-backed magpie, originally described as Gymnorhina hypoleuca by John Gould in 1837, has also been split into races:

 

•G. tibicen tyrannica, a very large white-backed form found from Twofold Bay on the New South Wales far south coast, across southern Victoria south of the Great Dividing Range through to the Coorong in southeastern South Australia. It was first described by Schodde and Mason in 1999. It has a broad black tail band.

 

•G. tibicen telonocua, found from Cowell south into the Eyre and Yorke Peninsulas in southern South Australia, as well as the southwestern Gawler Ranges. Described by Schodde and Mason in 1999, its subspecific name is an anagram of leuconota "white-backed". It is very similar to tyrannica, differing in having a shorter wing and being lighter and smaller overall. The bill is relatively short compared with other magpie subspecies. Intermediate forms are found in the Mount Lofty Ranges and on Kangaroo Island.

  

•G. tibicen hypoleuca now refers to a small white-backed subspecies with a short compact bill and short wings, found on King and Flinders Islands, as well as Tasmania.

 

•The western magpie, G. tibicen dorsalis was originally described as a separate species by A. J. Campbell in 1895 and is found in the fertile south-west corner of Western Australia. The adult male has a white back and most closely resembles subspecies telonocua, though it is a little larger with a longer bill and the black tip of its tail plumage is narrower. The female is unusual in that it has a scalloped black or brownish-black mantle and back; the dark feathers there are edged with white. This area appears a more uniform black as the plumage ages and the edges are worn away. Both sexes have black thighs.

 

•The New Guinean magpie, G. tibicen papuana, is a little-known subspecies found in southern New Guinea. The adult male has a mostly white back with a narrow black stripe, and the female a blackish back; the black feathers here are tipped with white similar to subspecies dorsalis. It has a long deep bill resembling that of subspecies longirostris. Genetically it is closely related to a western lineage of Australian magpies comprising subspecies dorsalis, longirostris and eylandtensis, suggesting their ancestors occupied in savannah country that was a land bridge between New Guinea and Australia and was submerged around 16,500 years ago.

  

Description

 

The adult magpie is a fairly solid, sturdy bird ranging from 37 to 43 cm (14.5 to 17 in) in length with a 65–85 cm (25.5–33.5 in) wingspan, and weighing 220–350 g (7.8–12.3 oz). Its robust wedge-shaped bill is bluish-white bordered with black, with a small hook at the tip. The black legs are long and strong. The plumage is pure glossy black and white; both sexes of all subspecies have black heads, wings and underparts with white shoulders. The tail has a black terminal band. The nape is white in the male and light greyish-white in the female. Mature magpies have dull red eyes, in contrast to the yellow eyes of currawongs and white eyes of Australian ravens and crows. The main difference between the subspecies lies in the "saddle" markings on the back below the nape. Black-backed subspecies have a black saddle and white nape. White-backed subspecies have a wholly white nape and saddle. The male Western Australian subspecies dorsalis is also white-backed, but the equivalent area in the female is scalloped black.

Juveniles have lighter greys and browns amidst the starker blacks and whites of their plumage; two- or three-year-old birds of both sexes closely resemble and are difficult to distinguish from adult females. Immature birds have dark brownish eyes until around two years of age. Australian magpies generally live to around 25 years of age, though ages of up to 30 years have been recorded. The reported age of first breeding has varied according to area, but the average is between the ages of three and five years.

Well-known and easily recognisable, the Australian magpie is unlikely to be confused with any other species. The pied butcherbird has a similar build and plumage, but has white underparts unlike the former species' black underparts. The magpie-lark is a much smaller and more delicate bird with complex and very different banded black and white plumage. Currawong species have predominantly dark plumage and heavier bills.

 

Vocalisation

 

One of Australia's most highly regarded songbirds, the Australian magpie has a wide variety of calls, many of which are complex. Pitch may vary as much as four octaves, and the bird can mimic over 35 species of native and introduced bird species, as well as dogs and horses. Magpies have even been noted to mimic human speech when living in close proximity to humans. Its complex, musical, warbling call is one of the most familiar Australian bird sounds. In Denis Glover's poem "The Magpies", the mature magpie's call is described as quardle oodle ardle wardle doodle, one of the most famous lines in New Zealand poetry, and as waddle giggle gargle paddle poodle, in the children's book Waddle Giggle Gargle by Pamela Allen.

 

When alone, a magpie may make a quiet musical warbling; these complex melodious warbles or subsongs are pitched at 2–4 KHz and do not carry for long distances. These songs have been recorded up to 70 minutes in duration and are more frequent after the end of the breeding season. Pairs of magpies often take up a loud musical calling known as carolling to advertise or defend their territory; one bird initiates the call with the second (and sometimes more) joining in. Often preceded by warbling, carolling is pitched between 6 and 8 kHz and has 4–5 elements with slurring indistinct noise in between. Birds will adopt a specific posture by tilting their heads back, expanding their chests, and moving their wings backwards. A group of magpies will sing a short repetitive version of carolling just before dawn (dawn song), and at twilight after sundown (dusk song), in winter and spring.

 

Fledgling and juvenile magpies emit a repeated short and loud (80 dB), high-pitched (8 kHz) begging call. Magpies may indulge in beak-clapping to warn other species of birds.They employ several high pitched (8–10 kHz) alarm or rallying calls when intruders or threats are spotted. Distinct calls have been recorded for the approach of eagles and monitor lizards.

 

Distribution and habitat

 

The Australian magpie is found in the Trans-Fly region of southern New Guinea, between the Oriomo River and Muli Strait, and across most of Australia, bar the tip of Cape York, the Gibson and Great Sandy Deserts, and southwest of Tasmania. Birds taken mainly from Tasmania and Victoria were introduced into New Zealand by local Acclimatisation Societies of Otago and Canterbury in the 1860s, with the Wellington Acclimatisation Society releasing 260 birds in 1874. White-backed forms are spread on both the North and eastern South Island, while black-backed forms are found in the Hawke's Bay region. Magpies were introduced into New Zealand to control agricultural pests, and were therefore a protected species until 1951. They are thought to affect native New Zealand bird populations such as the tui and kereru, sometimes raiding nests for eggs and nestlings, although studies by Waikato University have cast doubt on this, and much blame on the magpie as a predator in the past has been anecdotal only. Introductions also occurred in the Solomon Islands and Sri Lanka, although the species has failed to become established. It has become established in western Taveuni in Fiji, however.

 

The Australian magpie prefers open areas such as grassland, fields and residential areas such as parks, gardens, golf courses, and streets, with scattered trees or forest nearby. Birds nest and shelter in trees but forage mainly on the ground in these open areas. It has also been recorded in mature pine plantations; birds only occupy rainforest and wet sclerophyll forest in the vicinity of cleared areas. In general, evidence suggests the range and population of the Australian magpie has increased with land-clearing, although local declines in Queensland due to a 1902 drought, and in Tasmania in the 1930s have been noted; the cause for the latter is unclear but rabbit baiting, pine tree removal, and spread of the masked lapwing (Vanellus miles) have been implicated.

 

Behaviour

 

The Australian magpie is almost exclusively diurnal, although it may call into the night, like some other members of the Artamidae. Natural predators of magpies include various species of monitor lizard and the barking owl. Birds are often killed on roads or electrocuted by powerlines, or poisoned after killing and eating house sparrows or mice, rats or rabbits targeted with baiting. The Australian raven may take nestlings left unattended.

 

On the ground, the Australian magpie moves around by walking, and is the only member of the Artamidae to do so; woodswallows, butcherbirds and currawongs all tend to hop with legs parallel. The magpie has a short femur (thigh bone), and long lower leg below the knee, suited to walking rather than running, although birds can run in short bursts when hunting prey.

 

The magpie is generally sedentary and territorial throughout its range, living in groups occupying a territory, or in flocks or fringe groups. A group may occupy and defend the same territory for many years. Much energy is spent defending a territory from intruders, particularly other magpies, and different behaviours are seen with different opponents. The sight of a raptor results in a rallying call by sentinel birds and subsequent coordinated mobbing of the intruder. Magpies place themselves either side of the bird of prey so that it will be attacked from behind should it strike a defender, and harass and drive the raptor to some distance beyond the territory. A group will use carolling as a signal to advertise ownership and warn off other magpies. In the negotiating display, the one or two dominant magpies parade along the border of the defended territory while the rest of the group stand back a little and look on. The leaders may fluff their feathers or caroll repeatedly. In a group strength display, employed if both the opposing and defending groups are of roughly equal numbers, all magpies will fly and form a row at the border of the territory. The defending group may also resort to an aerial display where the dominant magpies, or sometimes the whole group, swoop and dive while calling to warn an intruding magpie's group.

 

A wide variety of displays are seen, with aggressive behaviours outnumbering pro-social ones. Crouching low and uttering quiet begging calls are common signs of submission. The manus flutter is a submissive display where a magpie will flutter its primary feathers in its wings. A magpie, particularly a juvenile, may also fall, roll over on its back and expose its underparts. Birds may fluff up their flank feathers as an aggressive display or preceding an attack. Young birds display various forms of play behaviour, either by themselves or in groups, with older birds often initiating the proceedings with juveniles. These may involve picking up, manipulating or tugging at various objects such as sticks, rocks or bits of wire, and handing them to other birds. A bird may pick up a feather or leaf and flying off with it, with other birds pursuing and attempting to bring down the leader by latching onto its tail feathers. Birds may jump on each other and even engage in mock fighting. Play may even take place with other species such as blue-faced honeyeaters and Australasian pipits.

 

Breeding

 

Magpies have a long breeding season which varies in different parts of the country; in northern parts of Australia they will breed between June and September, but not commence until August or September in cooler regions, and may continue until January in some alpine areas. The nest is a bowl-shaped structure made of sticks and lined with softer material such as grass and bark. Near human habitation, synthetic material may be incorporated. Nests are built exclusively by females and generally placed high up in a tree fork, often in an exposed position. The trees used are most commonly eucalypts, although a variety of other native trees as well as introduced pine, Crataegus, and elm have been recorded. Other bird species, such as the yellow-rumped thornbill (Acanthiza chrysorrhoa), willie wagtail(Rhipidura leucophrys), southern whiteface (Aphelocephala leucopsis), and (less commonly) noisy miner (Manorina melanocephala), often nest in the same tree as the magpie. The first two species may even locate their nest directly beneath a magpie nest, while the diminutive striated pardalote (Pardalotus striatus) has been known to make a burrow for breeding into the base of the magpie nest itself. These incursions are all tolerated by the magpies. The channel-billed cuckoo (Scythrops novaehollandiae) is a notable brood parasite in eastern Australia; magpies will raise cuckoo young, which eventually outcompete the magpie nestlings.

 

The Australian magpie produces a clutch of two to five light blue or greenish eggs, which are oval in shape and about 30 by 40 mm (1.2 by 1.6 in). The chicks hatch synchronously around 20 days after incubation begins; like all passerines, the chicks are altricial—they are born pink, naked, and blind with large feet, a short broad beak and a bright red throat. Their eyes are fully open at around 10 days. Chicks develop fine downy feathers on their head, back and wings in the first week, and pinfeathers in the second week. The black and white colouration is noticeable from an early stage. Nestlings are fed exclusively by the female, though the male magpie will feed his partner. The Australian magpie is known to engage in cooperative breeding, and helper birds will assist in feeding and raising young. This does vary from region to region, and with the size of the group—the behaviour is rare or nonexistent in pairs or small groups.

 

Juvenile magpies begin foraging on their own three weeks after leaving the nest, and mostly feeding themselves by six months old. Some birds continue begging for food until eight or nine months of age, but are usually ignored. Birds reach adult size by their first year. The age at which young birds disperse varies across the country, and depends on the aggressiveness of the dominant adult of the corresponding sex; males are usually evicted at a younger age. Many leave at around a year old, but the age of departure may range from eight months to four years.

 

Feeding

 

The Australian magpie is omnivorous, eating various items located at or near ground level including invertebrates such as earthworms, millipedes, snails, spiders and scorpions as well as a wide variety of insects—cockroaches, ants, beetles, cicadas, moths and caterpillars and other larvae. Insects, including large adult grasshoppers, may be seized mid-flight. Skinks, frogs, mice and other small animals as well as grain, tubers, figs and walnuts have also been noted as components of their diet. It has even learnt to safely eat the poisonous cane toadby flipping it over and consuming the underparts. Predominantly a ground feeder, the Australian magpie paces open areas methodically searching for insects and their larvae. One study showed birds were able to find scarab beetle larvae by sound or vibration. Birds use their bills to probe into the earth or otherwise overturn debris in search of food. Smaller prey are swallowed whole, although magpies rub off the stingers of bees and wasps before swallowing.

 

Relationship with humans

 

Swooping

 

Magpies are ubiquitous in urban areas all over Australia, and have become accustomed to people. A small percentage of birds become highly aggressive during breeding season from late August to early - mid October, and will swoop and sometimes attack passersby. Attacks begin as the eggs hatch, increase in frequency and severity as the chicks grow, and tail off as the chicks leave the nest.

 

The percentage has been difficult to estimate but is significantly less than 9%. Almost all attacking birds (around 99%) are male, and they are generally known to attack pedestrians at around 50 m (160 ft) from their nest, and cyclists at around 100 m (330 ft). There appears to be some specificity in choice of attack targets, with the majority of individuals specializing on either pedestrians or cyclists.Smaller - especially younger - people, lone people, and people travelling quickly (i.e., runners and cyclists) appear to be targeted most often by swooping magpies. Anecdotal evidence suggests that if a magpie sees a human trying to rescue a chick that has fallen from its nest, the bird will view this help as predation, and will become more aggressive to humans from then on.

 

Magpies may engage in an escalating series of behaviours to drive off intruders. Least threatening are alarm calls and distant swoops, where birds fly within several metres from behind and perch nearby. Next in intensity are close swoops, where a magpie will swoop in from behind or the side and audibly "snap" their beaks or even peck or bite at the face, neck, ears or eyes. More rarely, a bird may dive-bomb and strike the intruder's (usually a cyclist's) head with its chest. A magpie may rarely attack by landing on the ground in front of a person and lurching up and landing on the victim's chest and pecking at the face and eyes.

 

Magpie attacks can cause injuries, typically wounds to the head, and being unexpectedly swooped while cycling can result in loss of control of the bicycle, which may cause injury.

 

If it is necessary to walk near the nest, wearing a broad-brimmed or legionnaire's hat or using an umbrella will deter attacking birds, but beanies and bicycle helmets are of little value as birds attack the sides of the head and neck.

 

Magpies prefer to swoop at the back of the head; therefore, keeping the magpie in sight at all times can discourage the bird. A basic disguise such as sunglasses worn on the back of the head may fool the magpie as to where a person is looking. Eyes painted on hats or helmets will deter attacks on pedestrians but not cyclists.

 

Cyclists can deter attack by attaching a long pole with a flag to a bike, and the use of cable ties on helmets has become common and appears to be effective.

 

Magpies are a protected native species in Australia, so it is illegal to kill or harm them. However, this protection is removed in some Australian states if a magpie attacks a human, allowing for the bird to be killed if it is considered particularly aggressive (such a provision is made, for example, in section 54 of the South Australian National Parks and Wildlife Act).[ More commonly, an aggressive bird will be caught and relocated to an unpopulated area. Magpies have to be moved some distance as almost all are able to find their way home from distances of less than 25 km (16 mi). Removing the nest is of no use as birds will breed again and possibly be more aggressive the second time around.

 

Some claim that swooping can be prevented by hand-feeding magpies. Magpies will become accustomed to being fed by humans, and although they are wild, will return to the same place looking for handouts. The idea is that humans thereby appear less of a threat to the nesting birds. Although this has not been studied systematically, there are reports of its success.

  

Cultural references

 

The Australian magpie featured in aboriginal folklore around Australia. The Yindjibarndi people of the Pilbara in the northwest of the country used the bird as a signal for sunrise, frightening them awake with its call. They were also familiar with its highly territorial nature, and it features in a song in their Burndud, or songs of customs. It was a totem bird of the people of the Illawarra region south of Sydney.

 

Under the name piping shrike, the white-backed magpie was declared the official emblem of the Government of South Australia in 1901 by Governor Tennyson, and has featured on the South Australian flag since 1904. The magpie is a commonly used emblem of sporting teams in Australia, and its brash, cocky attitude has been likened to the Australian psyche. Such teams tend to wear uniforms with black and white stripes. The Collingwood Football Club adopted the magpie from a visiting South Australian representative team in 1892. The Port Adelaide Magpies would similarly adopt the black and white colours and Magpie name in 1902. Other examples include Brisbane's Souths Logan Magpies, and Sydney's Western Suburbs Magpies. Disputes over who has been the first club to adopt the magpie emblem have been heated at times. Another club, Glenorchy Football Club of Tasmania, was forced to change uniform design when placed in the same league as another club (Claremont Magpies) with the same emblem.

 

In New Zealand, the Hawke's Bay Rugby Union team, from Napier, New Zealand, is also known as the magpies. One of the best-known New Zealand poems is "The Magpies" by Denis Glover, with its refrain "Quardle oodle ardle wardle doodle", imitating the sound of the bird – and the popular New Zealand comic Footrot Flats features a magpie character by the name of Pew.

 

An online poll conducted by Guardian Australia and BirdLife Australia was held in late 2017 to choose the "Australian Bird of the Year". The Australian magpie won the contest with 19,926 votes (13.3%), narrowly ahead of the Australian white ibis.

 

[Credit: en.wikipedia.org]

Location: Berlin

 

The second Ford GT, the only one I've ever seen, too, is quite a cool machine. And a vehicle completely nonexistent in Berlin for some reason. The owner of this vehicle chose the right spec to represent his favorite football club, Schalke 04.

We had a flat battery on the Corolla, but this was still in the post!

 

I will never use jumper leads again.

I bet the first time I use it in anger, is on someone else's car!

 

At the moment it is charging my old HTC mobile and the old iPad as it played Leonard Cohen to my Bose speaker.

www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLAPczLULhUgzxxM5Jf7LXepkbC...

 

There are enough USB-A ports to power the Bose too, and at the same time as I charge the JS80. (it has pass-through charging...)

 

Now I am changing the Bose via the DC interface port on the JS80 with the supplied DC to cigarette lighter cable and the iTechWorld QC 3.0 (whatever that means) port to the Bose USB-A output interface via the Bose USB-A male to micro USB-B into the Bose Get all that lol...

 

The iTechworld JS80 can keep mobile phones charged via its Quick charge USB ports, provide lighting via its tactical grade torch and provides regulated power to 12v appliances such as a travel fridge or heated blanket.

I bought a 50w blanket and Mary tried it out for an hour.

 

The JS80 then took 6 hours to recharge from 25%.

 

Clip from the PDF manual..

 

The JS80 has four charge LEDs 25%, 50%, 75% and 100%. The charging LEDs indicate the state of charge (SOC) of the internal battery of the JS80. The charging time of the JS80 will vary depending on the discharge level and the power supply used.

5V 2A - 10 hours

9V 2A - 6 hours

12V 1.5A - 6 - 8 hours 12V 3A - 3 - 4 hours 20V 1.5A - 4 - 6 hours 20V 3A - 2 - 3 hours

 

Charging up to five devices here…

 

It charged two iPads, a mobile phone and the BOSE speaker & used down to 25% over 6 hours.

 

Type A is the female port on the computer (the host). The ports on the peripheral or mobile device are Type B, Mini USB, Micro USB or Apple Lightning.

 

Before USB-C was introduced, Type A ports were found on every computer.

 

USB-C is Symmetrical

 

Have them all on my new iTECHWORLD JS80 jump starter.. 08-05-21

 

See a review from Product Review here...

www.productreview.com.au/reviews/e3bba8ea-2e08-5b14-a99a-...

 

quotes..

3000amp jump starter

car vehicle backup power bank

battery charger

boat 12v 20000mah 88wh lithium-ion polymer.

Worlds safest.

 

Search for a review from www.productreview.com.au/

  

A negative review from another user..............

As you can see the battery has swollen. It has been kept regularly charged and under my car seat.

Took it back to itechworld their comments :

 

No, don't use it.

 

They can replace the battery but a new one is about the same price.

 

No warranty, no offer of a discount on a new one just blunt - buy a new one nothing else on offer by way of assistance.

 

Obviously won't buy anything more from them given this and other issues, poor service (previous enquiries that went unanswered). I know two other people who have had the itech packs fail to operate.

 

I do wonder how dangerous a battery in this state could be!

 

BUYERS BEWARE this company is only interested in taking your money and once they have it you’re on your own.

MANAGEMENT Hides behind employees who are clearly embarrassed.

SERVICE département Inefficient & Incompetent.

AFTER SALES Service Nonexistent.

  

How temperature affects your battery

iPad is designed to perform well in a wide range of ambient temperatures, ideally 16°C to 22°C (62°F to 72°F).

Avoid using or charging your iPad in ambient temperatures higher than 35°C (95°F), which can reduce battery lifespan permanently.

When using your iPad in a very cold environment, you may notice a decrease in battery life or that your device stops charging. This condition is temporary; when the battery’s temperature returns to its normal operating range, its performance will return to normal.

Software may limit charging above 80 per cent when the recommended battery temperatures are exceeded.

Find out more about how temperature can affect your iPad

} Thanks Detective Comics Unlimited for their offer to join their continuity, which I took so long to fulfill. I hope this application piques your interest! {

 

*Doorbell, or just knock?*

 

*Oh, yeah, they don’’t have a doorbell.*

 

Christopher King raps on the entrance to the Dunbars’ residence, and then for the twelve seconds it takes to be answered, he waits an entire hour on the stoop, paralyzed in the chilling morning air of early autumn in Fairfax, Maine.

 

*Please just let it be Roger. If I have to make one of his parents remember me I’m going to shrivel up right here on the spot…*

 

As fate would have it, it was Roger who was suddenly there in a sliver of the doorway. They hadn’t moved away, in all this time. In an instant, Christopher felt he was transported back, and nothing was as awkward as it had seemed moments ago. Everything was like old times, except…

 

“I’m taller than you, ha!” Christopher blurts out.

 

*… Well, so much for not awkward.*

 

Roger’s brow furrows, and his hand stays on the handle.

 

Christopher attempts to dislodge the softball in his throat and continues, “Crud. I mean, uh, I’m sorry to bother you, you… don’t remem-“

 

Roger flatly interrupts. “Chris. You still wear argyle. You know you don’t have to let your mom pick your wardrobe anymore.”

 

“The… heh…” Chris trips over a response, hyper-vigilant of his sweater now.

 

Roger moves out of the doorframe and grasps Chris, patting his back.

 

“This is a hug-moment? After you insulted me?” Chris asks, accepting the embrace stiffly like a mummy.

 

“Yeah it’s a ‘hug-moment’ you knitted space-alien,” Roger laughs, releasing him.

 

Chris takes a breath and briefly throws his arms at their general surroundings. “Seven years?”

 

Roger nods, “Thereabouts… Where did you go man? You just… fell off the earth.”

 

Chris inspects his shoes. “I know, it’s… it was my dad’s work.”

 

“He’s still a detective?”

 

“Yeah. Never stopped being one. He had some kind of deal to keep his position where we moved. We went south…”

 

Roger squints. “We’re in Maine. I think that’s a given.”

 

“Technically- … right, well, I guess none of that’s really important…” Chris concedes.

 

“… Was it like, witness-protection?”

 

Chris rolls his neck. “I guess? If it was, it wasn’t me who was the witness. I mean I was only eight… I just remember we packed in one night, Dad was… scared. I never want to see him that scared again. … I would’ve said goodbye Roger, I’m really sorry.”

 

Roger dismisses the apology entirely with a wave of the hand. “And your kid brother?”

 

“Gary was fine. I guess. He remembers even less, probably wasn’t that big of a deal for him.”

 

The two friends have moved to the front lawn now. Chris nudges a tire swing with his knee as they pass by, remembering.

 

“Are you… back, like back to stay again?”

 

Now Chris kicks himself mentally. “Yeah, we’re back, not just stopping by. Whatever it was, it must’ve blown over. We’re in that huge place on Jewel Avenue, not our old place.”

 

“You’re kidding. That’s terrific! Was that the place we tried to break into when we couldn’t even reach the mailbox?” Roger laughs. But before Chris can dive into the memory, Roger’s expression becomes unmistakably concerned.

 

“Chris, your dad moving you all back here, it’s not just for… I mean, him being on the force… he knows what he’s getting into here right? You know… what’s gone on in Fairfax since you left?

 

The pair stops their meandering down the street in front of the decorative slab greeting travelers to the city limits. Normally reading “Welcome to Fairfax - Birthplace of Tranquility,” the last word had recently been tagged with paint to produce a new slogan: “Meta-freaks”.

 

“They cleaned that just two weeks ago,” Roger mumbles.

 

Chris chews the inside of his cheek. “Yeah, Dad knows. It’s the whole reason he wanted to move us back. Mom was worried about Gary and me, but he says, ‘he won’t stand by when he knows he can do good here,’ and that… apparently, violent crime here is-

 

“Nonexistent,” Roger shrugs. “Bunch of powered criminals started cropping up, but they’re always under the radar, making quick grabs… The cops have just gotten used to it, and because there aren’t any biohazards stomping around eating telephone poles, or doomsday devices being planted… Well, why the heck are any of the big-name heroes going to waste their time on us?”

 

Chris turns to look at his friend, realizing how resentful his final words had been.

 

“Your family… hasn’t been able to leave,” Chris surmises.

 

Roger swallows.

 

“I’m-“

 

“Please, just,” Roger sighs, “don’t say you’re sorry.”

 

“Well I’m not gonna say I’m GLAD you’re stuck here. But I guess I’ll get used to US being stuck here,” Chris replies.

 

“You got sappy.”

 

“Just saying, we’re in this together again.”

 

“You don’t think I made any other friends when you weren’t here?” Roger asks with a straight face.

 

“Eh… I wasn’t trying t-“

 

“I’m kidding you again Chris. I’m glad you’re back. We’re going to run this town again.”

 

They both grin.

 

***

 

The man wakes with a start, treated to the vibrant trees and hyperactive birds of Fairfax’s remaining, undisturbed forests. He immediately takes a glance at his wristwatch: a bit after nine. He forces down his anxiety and tries to enjoy the splendor around him if only for a moment.

 

*Deep breaths. In through the nose, out through the mouth.*

 

He tracks a Canada jay hopping through the canopy, trying to come up with its binomial name. The creature flits to another tree, and than attempts a dive to a clearing below. Its left wing clips a trunk on the way down and it collides with another, beak-first. It drops to the grass, and the man jerks away.

 

It suddenly comes to him why he had awoken so abruptly. There were voices mingling with the birds’ twittering. Two voices, distinctly.

 

The man thrashes around and hurries to throw some things from his camp into his duffle bag. One of the rolls of gauze he tries to inspect for tears ravels into threads in his hand. He hisses and throws it away. Just as he zips the final pouch, he hears an exclamation behind him.

 

One of the vagrants calls out. “Hey… hey buddy! What do you think you’re doing? This is ours!”

 

The man swings his supplies over his shoulder and eases out of his crouching position. He doesn’t turn.

 

“I’m sorry, I’m… very sick. Please don’t come near me. I thought this camp was abandoned…”

 

The second vagrant speaks up. “We take most of our stuff with us, so leeches can’t come around and pick us clean. How’s about you set the bag down. So we can be sure.”

 

The man takes one step forward, away from them. “I told you I’m sick. I tell you I didn’t take anything that wasn’t mine. I’m just going to leave.” He coughs.

 

The second vagrant stomps more than just one step forward. “You ain’t jerking us around pal, drop the sack!”

 

The man takes off running, but he’s not yet fully awake, his joints aching from his night spent on the ground. His pursuers crash through the foliage just steps behind him. He tries to block them out, and continue pumping his legs. Then he feels a sharp pain on the back of his neck and jaw. One of the vagrants had thrown a rock. He tumbles into the soil and ivy, immediately curling into the fetal position.

 

“Take the bag! Take the bag and leave me!”

 

The first vagrant bends down to snatch it away, but the second bears down on the man.

 

“Should’ve led with that, my friend. I want to see your face.” He tries to yank away the hood on the man’s jacket, but the man recoils further, almost clawing into the earth.

 

“Go away, far away!” he half-pleads, half-commands.

 

The first vagrant sways with unease. “Just leave him, he won’t be back. He might actually be-“

 

The second vagrant refuses to give up. “He’s faking! He’s not going to walk all over us and just split! We need to see his face so we can tell the others to look out for...”

 

The hood flies off. The man uses his hands to feebly cover himself. The vagrants stand there, perplexed.

 

“Is… is that armor?”

 

“Did this guy nick it off one of those villains?”

 

“Where did you get this? Tell us!“

 

The first vagrant suddenly grabs his abdomen and chokes.

 

“For the love of god, run! Get away!” the man shrieks.

 

The second vagrant starts to reach for his fallen friend, but his ankle twists. He cries out and hobbles away, using trees to support himself. The first vagrant is writhing next to the man, beads of sweat dotting his brow.

 

The man wishes he could purge the pangs of dread assaulting him, but his past is overwhelming him. A massive creaking sound comes from the direction of the vagrant that fled. A sizable, dead limb has twisted off from a conifer high above, and is now cradled in the vagrant’s back. His companion is still now, but breathing. The man musters some senses and crawls further away. He whispers to himself.

 

*Don’t think. He’s not there. There’s no one there.*

 

“Please help. It hurts… to move my legs. Please, find an a-ambulance…”

 

The man has seen this before. With another person he killed. He had overheard the prognosis after shadowing the medics that found the body.

 

“Your benign tumor just became malignant,” he croaks to the vagrant behind him. “Maybe in your liver. And it just ruptured. I’m sorry, the pain won’t get better. IT… won’t get better. Not even if you got attention immediately.”

 

“I… have a..?” the vagrant gulps his next few breaths. His hands float above his midsection.

 

The man turns on his flank wearily, and in one motion twists the victim’s head. He shudders, and lets out a ragged whimper.

 

*Goddamnit, why did you sleep in?*

 

The man rises, his hoodie no longer hiding the sleek black plating covering his entire form. He begins scooping dirt with his hands, for two holes.

There is a long list of space illustrations which bother me for a variety of reasons, and images of protoplanetary disks are a big offender. While I'm not entirely pleased with my own rendition and may try again at a later point, several key issues are addressed:

 

1. The star is a point source. You will never see anything but a point source at the scale of planetary disks.

2. Just as you will never see the star as anything but a point, you will also never see any planets. At most, if you were looking in the infrared, you would see another point source many orders of magnitude dimmer than the parent star. It would have its own PSF (point spread function) and that's it. Maybe I could put a dim point source in one of those empty lanes. It's possible. I'll think about it.

3. Because there are no visibly large planets, there are no shadows being cast by them. Even if you were next to a planet, you probably wouldn't see any shadows because "god ray" style shadows depicted in sci-fi movies and art require very specific conditions to occur and probably never happen in space quite like that. Larger scale shadows, sure. We have even seen those recently, but that shadow is cast by perturbations of Earth-orbit-sized structures of the disk itself, not some puny little planet.

 

Anyway, here are some further thoughts running through my head when illustrating this:

 

Looking at ALMA and Hubble imagery of real planetary disks, I find them to be astonishingly regular. There are some leftover bumps and blips in Hubble's images, but that's from the star's PSF, not necessarily part of the disk itself. So I assume they are very, very circular and smooth. Something like Saturn's rings.

 

Understanding basic orbital mechanics and also from studying larger scale disk objects, I guess that they are fluffier as distance from the star increases. I tried to show that. I put some texture in the diffuse foreground ridge and made sure the dust significantly reddened the light passing through it. It might still be too dense at this point, which I imagine to be around 120 AU from the star.

 

I also imagined an extremely tenuous spherical orb of dust which is denser near the star and virtually nonexistent farther out. You can see it peeking out from under the foreground dust ring. The idea here is that even though this disk is regular now, in the past it had a tumultuous beginning before the angular momentum of the matter swirling around the star settled into its average position like this. Over millions of years this and all dust is dragged into the star, but before that happens, maybe a little is leftover to slowly spiral inward. Just an idea. Possibly totally wrong.

 

I used Hubble's PSF for the star. I'm a fan. So what. If you noticed that before reading this, then count yourself as either very experienced with Hubble or very perceptive. The PSF was modeled with Tiny Tim.

Blue -- Reincarnation Narcissus oil painting by Paul Jaisini, Gleitzeit Essay Circa 1994

Oil painting on linen Plywood support Signed Reincarnation series Early Period

The theme of Narcissus in Jaisini's "Blue..." may be paralleled with the problem of the two-sexes-in-one, unable to reproduce and, therefore, destined to the Narcissus-like end. Meanwhile, the Narcissus legend lasts. In the myth of Narcissus a youth gazes into the pool. As the story goes, Narcissus came to the spring or the pool and when his form was seen by him in the water, he drowned among the water nymphs because he desired to make love to his own image. Maybe the new Narcissus, as in "Blue Reincarnation," is destined to survive by simply changing his role from a passive man to an aggressive woman and so on. To this can be added that, eventually, a man creates a woman whom he loves out of himself or a woman creates a man and loves her own image but in the male form. The theme of narcissism recreates the 'lost object of desire. "Blue" also raises the problem of conflating ideal actual and the issue of the feminine manhood and masculine femininity. There is another story about Narcissus' fall, which said that he had a twin sister and they were exactly alike in appearance. Narcissus fell in love with his sister and, when the girl died, would go to the

spring finding some relief for his love in imagining that he saw not his own reflection but the likeness of his sister. "Blue" creates a remarkable and complex psychopathology of the lost, the desired, and the imagined. Instead of the self, Narcissus loves and becomes a heterogeneous sublimation of the self. Unlike the Roman paintings of Narcissus, which show him alone with his reflection by the pool, the key dynamic in Jaisini's "Blue" is the circulation of the legend that does not end and is reincarnated in transformation when

autoeroticism is not permanent and is not single by definition. In "Blue," we risk being lost in the double reflection of a mirror and never being able to define on which side of the mirror Narcissus is. The picture's color is not a true color of spring water. This kind of color is a perception of a deep-seated human belief in the concept of eternity, the rich saturated cobalt blue. The ultra hot, hyperreal red color of the figure of Narcissus is not supposed to be balanced in the milieu of the radical blue. Jaisini realizes the harmony in the most exotic color combination. While looking at "Blue," we can recall the spectacular color of night sky deranged by a vision of some fierce fireball. The disturbance of colors creates some powerful and awe-inspiring beauty. In the picture's background, we find the animals' silhouettes, which could be a memory reflection or dream fragments. In the story, Narcissus has been hunting - an activity that was itself a figure for sexual desire in antiquity. Captivated by his own beauty, the hunter sheds radiance that, one presumes, reflects to haunt and foster his desire. The flaming color of the picture's Narcissus alludes to the erotic implications of the story and its unresolved problem of the one who desires himself and is trapped in the erotic delirium. The concept can be applied to an ontological difference between the artists's imitations and their objects.

In effect, Jaisini's Narcissus could epitomize artistic aspiration to control levels of reality and imagination, to align the competition of art and life, of image with imaginable prototype. Jaisini's "Blue" is a unique work that adjoins reflection to reality without any instrumentality. "Blue" is a single composition that depicts the reality and its immediate reflection. Jaisini builds the dynamics of desire between Narcissus and his reflection-of-the-opposite by giving him the signs of both sexes, but not for the purpose of creating a hermaphrodite. The case of multiple deceptions in "Blue" seems to be vital to the cycle of desire. Somehow it reminds one of the fates of the artists and their desperate attempts to evoke and invent the nonexistent. "Blue" is a completely alien picture to Jaisini's "Reincarnation" series. The pictures of this series are painted on a plain ground of canvas that produces the effect of free space filled with air. "Blue," to the contrary, is reminiscent of an underwater lack of air; the symbolism of this picture's texture and color contributes to the mirage of reincarnation.

 

Entitled: Peking to Paris Auto Race Peking, China [1907] attribution unknown [RESTORED] I removed spots and minor defects, cleaned the sky, adjusted contrast, and added a sepia tone.

 

In one of China's oddest events, the European penchant for racing about the world once produced a contest that included the Qing Chinese capital as its starting point.

 

The Peking to Paris Race of 1907 was a spectacle for both Chinese and European observers alike, and involved a distance of over 8000 miles. The prize was just one single bottle of Mumm's Champagne, not much in monetary terms, but obviously the winner will have had tremendous crowing rights. The idea initially sprang from a public challenge (behind 1st spoiler) issued by French newspaper Le Matin (1883-1944), with an initial response of 40 entries. However, it was thereafter officially canceled as only 5 teams were able to ship cars and appeared at the schedule start point in Peking. Nonetheless, the small group of viable contestants decided to run the race anyway, and the rest is storied history. Since then, there have been various reenactments of this special race, but none has yet retraced the exact route of the original.

 

The original challenge:

 

"...We ask this question of car manufacturese in France and abroad: Is there anyone who will undertake to travel this summer from Paris to Peking by automobile? Whoever he is, this tough and daring man, whose gallant car will have a dozen nations watching its progress, he will certainly deserve to have his name spoken as a byword in the four quarters of the earth..."

 

Source: www.unmuseum.org/autorace.htm

 

The race was hobbled by the total lack of infrastructure and poor almost nonexistent roads. All the vehicles had to be pulled over muddy obstacles and some were unable to even climb the steep hills, requiring Chinese laborers to be involved at almost every step. One team got lost in the Gobi Desert and nearly died. The race was ultimately won by Prince Borghese of Italy in 62 days. But even his team suffered what seemed to be insurmountable difficulties, as detailed in the following account:

 

"...The policeman had jumped down. He had not had our experience on the subject of old bridges, and was using his judgment with virgin common sense. He thought it necessary to observe cautiously, to get down into the torrent and look at the planks. He was saying to us : " Wait, wait," and was preparing to reconnoitre. . .

 

Prince Borghese gave the order to Ettore.

 

" Go on, slowly."

 

The car advanced on the planks, which trembled, cracked a little, swayed as so many others had done under the weight of our machine. We were not greatly alarmed. Yet during such crossings one always has an indefinable sense of suspense and expectation; one follows the progress of the machine intently, one concentrates upon it the whole force of one's thought, almost as though one could endue matter in its arduous task with the energies of mind, as if one could help, uphold, push, direct it by the powerful tension of one's own will. I do not remember that we ever exchanged a word at such times.

 

The front part of the car had already traversed more than half the bridge. It was drawing near to the inviting grassy bank on the other side. Every danger seemed over. . . . Suddenly we heard a frightful crash. The planks had given way under the weight of the hind part of our machine. They were sinking in, they were drawing us under, the whole bridge was opening out and crumbling. This collapse seemed to us, who were in the midst of it at that moment, almost like a cataclysm. The engine was silent. The car, at the same moment in which it stopped, fell in backwards with a sudden heavy movement, and knocked its body on the broken edges of the planks. Then, continuing its rotation with a continuity which made it impossible for us to grasp the situation, it raised its front wheels up in the air and plunged with its back towards the abyss, and, describing a huge see-sawing movement, took up a vertical position. In this manner it plunged deep into the torrent—to the very bottom of it—carrying all three of us down amid a terrible debris of broken, wrenched, smashed planks and beams. When it had reached such a depth that the main tank was in the water, it still did not stop, but continued its revolution upon itself and turned over. It would have fallen upon the seat, had it not been held up by a beam jutting out above it; and there it remained almost overturned, with its wheels up, and the top of the seat towards the ground, showing only its lamps and its radiator among the debris and the remains of smashed woodwork..."

 

For anyone that wants to read the rest of the fascinating narrative and see other photographs about this extraordinary transcontinental event, you can freely download (from Google Books) a copy of: Pekin to Paris: an account of Prince Borghese's journey across two continents in a motor-car, 1908 written by Luigi Barzini (originally in Italian, translated into English), New York, Mitchel, Kennerley.

The nonexistent face

These were blooming with the day lilies at the Theater Guild last week. The bush is practically nonexistent!

Philadelphia, PA, est. 1682; pop. 1,567,442 (metro 6MM)

 

• built in 1740 • earliest known photograph is dated 1859 — bldg. was then 119 yrs. old [photo] • Georgian-Colonial trinity aka "bandbox" design • typically, trinity houses had 1 room per floor & were built facing each other in rows of 4 identical bldgs. • in addition to the room on each floor, this house had a walkable attic room & a cellar

 

• served as both business & residence for shopkeepers & artisans for over 150 yrs. • among the occupants in the 18th c. were a shoemaker, apothecary & an upholsterer named Betsy Ross, who is said to have sewn the first American flag in this building • estimates of when & how long she lived here have her arriving in 1773 at the earliest & departing as late as 1791

 

• over time the house changed in appearance [photos] as neighborhood houses were razed & replaced w/larger commercial buildings —Where's Betsy

 

Betsy Ross

 

• Elizabeth "Betsy" Griscom (1752-1836) was a fourth-generation American • daughter of Samuel Griscom (1717-1793) & Rebecca James (c. 1730-1793) • the 8th of their 17 children • great granddaughter of Andrew Griscom (c. 1654-1694), a Quaker carpenter who migrated from England to New Jersey in 1680, 1 yr. before William Penn founded Philadelphia

 

"She often laughed at the curious fact that she was born on the first day of the week, the first day of the month, the first day of the year, and the first year of the 'new style' [which was] the dividing line between the old way of measuring the years time and the new method under the [Gregorian calendar… She was also] the seventh daughter of a seventh daughter." —C.B. Satterthwaite, great grandson, The Des Moines Register, 07 Jan, 1906

 

• at age 3 Betsy's family moved to a large home at 4th & Arch Sts. • went to a Friends (Quaker) public school • 8 of her siblings died before adulthood • lost her mother, father & sister, Deborah, to the 1793 yellow fever epidemic

 

• upon completion of her schooling at age 12, her father apprenticed her to upholsterer John Webster • fell in love with fellow apprentice John Ross (1752-1773), son of an Episcopal asst. rector at Christ Church • defying her parents, in 1773 Betsy, age 21, eloped w/John

 

• Betsy's sister Sarah & her husband Capt. Wm. Donaldson rowed the couple across the Delaware River, heading 5 miles downstream to Gloucestertown, NJ • they were married at family friend William Hugg Jr.'s tavern & inn, known locally as Hugg's …more: The New Jersey Hugg Line

 

• because her marriage to a non-Quaker was considered an act of "disorderly and undutiful conduct," Betsy was split from her family & read out of meeting, i.e., disowned by her Quaker community • became a member of Christ Church • the Ross's pew No. 12 [photo] was adjacent to Martha & George Washington's No. 56 & not far from Deborah & Benjamin Franklin's No. 70

 

• the newlyweds — now trained upholsterers — opened their own business • c. 1773 they rented a house, probably at what is today 239 Arch St. although the exact site is still debated by historians • most records point to this house or one next door at No. 241, long since razed

 

"The identity of the location was always preserved in the family, which agrees with the records in the old Philadelphia directories… from 1785, the first published, to the removal of Betsy Ross and her husband from 239 Arch Street, in 1791" —Betsy Ross grandson George Canby, New York Times, 05 July, 1908

 

• Benjamin Franklin & Benjamin Chew were among the Rosses' customers • business slowed during the Revolutionary War as fabric was in short supply • John Ross joined the Pennsylvania militia • mid-Jan., 1776, he was gravely wounded by a powder explosion at a Delaware River ammunition cache, apparently while standing guard • Betsy nursed him in their home, but he died within days

 

• in June, 1777, Betsy married girlhood suitor Joseph Ashburn, a privateer who commanded the sailing sloop Swallow • the couple had 2 daughters • the 1st, Aucilla ("Zillah"), died in infancy

 

• British troops entered Philadelphia on 26 Sep., 1777 after their victory at the Battle of Brandywine • the Ashburn home was forcibly shared with British occupation soldiers as the Continental Army suffered through the killing winter at Valley Forge • the British soldiers nicknamed Betsy "Little Rebel" —US History•org

 

• Betsy was pregnant with Elizabeth ("Eliza") when Joseph accepted a job offer & shipped out as first mate on the 6-gun brigantine, Patty • returned to be present for the Feb., 1781 birth of their 2nd daughter

 

• Joseph became master of the 18-gun Lion & took her to sea late in the summer of 1781 • on 31 Aug., his ship was captured off the coast of France by a 44-gun British frigate, the HMS Prudente

 

• prior to March, 1782, the British refused to designate captured rebels as prisoners of war, thus the captives from the Lion were viewed as traitors, charged with high treason & committed to Plymouth, England's Mill Prison [images] • while incarcerated, Ashburn met fellow prisoner John Claypoole, a longtime friend of the Ross family

 

• Claypoole, a Continental Army vet, had been wounded at Germantown & consequently discharged • in 1781 he signed on to man the 18-gun Pennsylvania privateer Chevalier de la Luzerne & was captured in April • in the spring of 1782 Ashburn died in prison, leaving Betsy a 2-time war widow at age 30 —Betsy Ross and the Making of America

 

"In the Night of the 3d of March Mr Joseph Ashburn departed this life after an illness of about a week which he bore with amazing fortitude & resignation" —John Claypoole, Mill Prison

 

"The story goes that Ashburn, while in Mill Prison, often talked with John Claypoole about his wife, Betty*, and at his death sent farewell messages by him to her. Claypoole, on his arrival in Philadelphia, hastened to deliver these messages, and inside of eight months he married her." —John Claypoole's Memorandum-Book *Betsy is referred to as "Betty" in some 18th, 19th & early 20th c. books & media

 

• in 1782 Claypoole returned to Philadelphia, called on Betsy & married her the following year • gave up his seafaring career to join her at the Arch St. upholstery shop • though renamed "John Claypoole, upholsterer," to customers the shop remained Betsy's place • the couple had 5 daughters: Clarissa, Susanna, Rachel, Jane & Harriet, who died at 9 months • sometime after Susanna's birth in 1786, the Claypooles moved from Arch St. to a larger house on 2nd

 

• Betsy returned to her Quaker roots, albeit with the Free (Fighting) Quakers, a group exiled from the main Quaker community when their support for the Revolution was ruled a violation of the faith's peace testimony • the couple became members c. 1785 • image: Betsy Claypoole signature taken from the Meeting House roster

 

• it is widely believed that when the Free Quaker Meeting House shut down in 1834, it was its last attending members — Elizabeth Claypoole & Samuel Wetherill — who closed the doors

 

• in 1817, after a long illness, John Claypoole died • Betsy never remarried • after retiring, she moved to the home of her daughter, Susanna • she died on 30 Jan, 1836, age 84

 

The American Flags

 

"Flags were a rare sight on land in the British North American colonies," —Wooden Teachout, Capture the Flag: A Political History of American Patriotism

 

• American flags were seldom used in parades or displayed by private citizens • colors were flown mainly in battle, over government institutions & on ships, where they were essential to identifying other vessels & determining friend or foe

 

• this changed after America's 1876 Centennial Exposition, which explains why "flags made prior to the Civil War are extremely rare, and flags made before 1820 are practically nonexistent." —Jeff R. Bridgeman, Stars and Stripes, Early American Life, Aug. 2011

 

• with the onset of the Revolutionary War, a flag for the "United Colonies" was created without the sanction of the Continental Congress • this 1775 flag was known as the Continental Colors, aka Grand Union, Congress Flag, Cambridge Flag

 

• on 2 Dec., 1775, the 1st Continental Colors flag was hand sewn by milliner Margaret Manny, who had begun making flags & ensigns the previous year

 

"Everyone knows about Betsy Ross, why do we know nothing about Margaret Manny? Probably for no better reason than that she had fewer articulate friends and relatives to build a story around her." —historian Barbara Tuchman, The First Salute

 

• the Continental Colors had 13 alternating red & white stripes with the British Union crosses in the canton • was created to replace the use of individual colony flags • prior to the Declaration of Independence, it was probably the most used unofficial flag of the revolution • American Flag Timeline

 

• the inclusion of the British Jack in the design signals that this flag was intended not for a civil war of secession, but rather a crusade to secure the American colonists' rights as Englishman • prior to the signing of the Declaration of Independence, Gen. George Washington, still hoping for reconciliation with Mother England, would occasionally toast the King —The Forgotten Flag of the American Revolution and What It Means

 

• on 3 Dec, 1775, the new flag was raised by 1st Lt. John Paul Jones (1747-1792) on the 30-gun Continental Navy frigate USS Alfred [painting], the 1st national ensign to fly on an American fighting vessel —Naval History Blog

 

• the flag later flew over the signing of the Declaration of Independence & according to tradition (contested by some scholars), it was raised on a ship's mast atop Charlestown's Prospect Hill [painting] during Washington's 1 Jan., 1776 siege of Boston

 

• spotting the hybrid British/American flag for the first time, confused British observers took it as a signal of submission: “By this time, I presume, they begin to think it strange that we have not made a formal surrender of our lines,” Washington wrote • his psychological weaponry also included an early form of war propaganda

 

• absent a single government-mandated flag design, a variety of others were used • within a yr. after Prospect hill, the Continental Colors' Union Jack was replaced by a blue field w/13 white stars in various arrangements, e.g., rows, or possibly a circle?

 

• on 14 June, 1777, now celebrated as Flag Day, the American Flag was born by resolution of the Continental Congress, the country’s 1st flag law • during the Revolutionary period that followed, the stars on most American flags were arranged in rows of 4-5-4 with the number of points on most stars ranging from 4 to 8 • compared to the Continental Colors, the rows of stars made it easier to identify the flag/ship/nationality at sea —The 13 Stars & Stripes

 

The Story

 

• about a year before the Flag Resolution of 1777 Betsy Ross, 5-months a widow & struggling to make a ends meet, is said to have received a visit from a Continental Congress flag committee (apparently a secret one as there are no records of its existence)

 

• according to the well known Betsy Ross story, in late May of 1776 (but possibly 1777) 3 heroes of the revolution — George Ross, the uncle of Betsy's late husband, financier/slave trader Robert Morris & Betsy's pew neighbor Gen. George Washington [portraits] — called on her to discuss a flag for the new nation

 

• Rachel Fletcher (Betsy's daughter) recalled that "…she was previously well acquainted with Washington, and that he had often been in her house in friendly visits, as well as on business. That she had embroidered ruffles for his shirt bosoms and cuffs, and that it was partly owing to his friendship for her that she was chosen to make the flag." —Rachel's affidavit

 

• as told by Betsy, Gen. Washington, then head of the Continental Army, showed her a rough design of a flag with 6-pointed stars • she offered suggestions for modifications & stated a preference for 5-pointed stars • when her visitors expressed concern over the difficulty of producing them, she replied, "Nothing easier," which she then proved by cutting a 5-pointed star in a single snip • video: Make a perfect star with ONE cut! (1:15) • Two Conundrums Concerning the Betsy Ross Five-Pointed Star

 

• changes approved, Washington redrew the flag w/a pencil • Betsy's friend & collaborator William Barrett, a Cherry St. ornamental painter created a water color copy of the drawing for her to work from • 1-2 other seamstresses sewed alternate designs for the committee, but only Betsy's was approved & used

 

• what is known today as the "Betsy Ross flag" has 13 red & white stripes & a ring of 13, white 5-pointed stars • though the design may have been in use by 1777, vexillologists believe that between 1777-1795, (the yrs. the official flag had 13 stars) most flags displayed stars in rows, which are easier to produce than a circle

 

• None of the surviving flags from the 18th century exhibit the Betsy Ross pattern • however a few examples are depicted in the art of the era (although period art is notoriously unreliable for flag research)

 

• the flag depicted in Chas. Willson Peale's 1779 George Washington at the Battle of Princeton is generally considered credible & "may be the only evidence in a painting… that suggests that a circle-pattern flag may have existed in colonial times… Otherwise, you won't see an American flag with a perfect circle of stars made before the 1890s." —Jeff R. Bridgeman, loc. cit.13 Stars in the Betsy Ross Pattern • historically significant the American flags [images]

 

• though known as an upholsterer, there is no doubt that Betsy made flags, having sewn pennants & ensigns for the Pennsylvania State Navy Board (as did Margaret Manning & Rebecca Young, whose daughter Mary Pickersgill would go on to sew the enormous flag that inspired the U.S. National Anthem, Francis Scott Key's The Star-Spangled Banner)

 

• a month before Congress passed the Flag Resolution, Betsy was paid 14 pounds, 12 shillings, 2 pence (~$2,300 in 2017 USD) for what must have been a prodigious quantity of Pennsylvania Navy flags • there is no hard evidence that any of these were American flags • "...today we are reasonably convinced that Betsy’s flag was a naval flag, with a simple ‘in line’ arrangement of the stars…" —John B. Harker, Historian & Betsy Ross descendent

 

• Betsy (Elizabeth Claypool) was now in the business of producing flags & ensigns for the federal govt. • throughout the Jefferson & Madison admins. the skilled needlewoman made flags as large as 18' x 24' for American military installations, with demand peaking during the War of 1812

 

• for the rest of her life she — in her words — "never knew what it was to want employment" • her oldest daughter, Clarissa Sidney Wilson (1785-1864) [portrait], succeeded her, supplying arsenals, navy yards & the mercantile marine with flags for years —Betsy Ross•org

 

"In the last years of her life, Ross was neither more nor less important than other aging women who had lived through the Revolution. That she became famous while others were forgotten exposes the interlocking power of family history, local memory, and national politics." —How Betsy Ross Became Famous by Laurel Thatcher Ulrich, Historian

 

The Legend

 

"…at a time of great historic import such as that time when the Declaration was signed, people have no leisure to think about the minor events which are taking place. Thus, during the revolution no one thought of Betsy Ross as a national heroine, and it was not, in fact until 1870 that William J. Canby (1825-1890) first brought the story of how the first flag was made into general prominence." —Dr. Lloyd Balderston, great-grandson of Betsy Ross, The Philadelphia Inquirer, 3 Jul, 1908

 

• there is no record of the the Betsy Ross story prior to 1870 • that year — 34 years after her death — Betsy's 45 yr. old grandson, a title processor named William Jackson Canby, presented a paper titled The History of the Flag of the United States to the Historical Society of Pennsylvania • the document, accompanied by sworn affidavits, was an oral history passed on by descendants of Betsy Ross, including Canby himself who was 11 yrs. old when she died • …more: The Evolution of the American Flag by (Betsy Ross descendants) George Canby (1829-1907), Lloyd Balderston, Ph.D (1863-1933)

 

• the story was largely ignored until it was mentioned in historian George Henry Preble's 1872 book Our Flag & appeared in the July, 1873 Harper's Monthly [illustration] • with Civil War wounds slowly healing & the 1876 centennial celebration fast approaching, Betsy Ross & the flag entered American consciousness • in the 1880's her story began to appear in textbooks • by the mid 1890s it was often illustrated by an engraving of The Birth of Our Nation’s Flag, an 1893 painting by Charles H. Weisgerber (1856-1932)

 

• oral tradition has it that in 1892 Weisgerber, a 36 yr. old aspiring artist, was bent on winning a forthcoming art competition • walking along Arch St., he noticed a plaque at No. 239 which identified the bldg. as the site where Betsy Ross sewed the 1st American flag

 

• inspired, Weisgerber envisioned a scene of Betsy & the 1st flag set in her shop • to fill in details of the story, characters & setting, he drew on period portraits, the testimony of living descendants & the 22 yr. old Canby paper

 

• with no authentic image of Betsy in existence (according to her relatives), Weisgerber painted a composite taken from images of 4 of her daughters & a granddaughter who was said to closely resemble her • the resulting portrait was critiqued by relatives who had known her & modified accordingly • Weisgerber then created a massive 9' x 12' painting • portrayed the young Widow Ross, saintly matriarch of a new nation, as she presents the 1st American flag to 3 revered American patriarchs

 

• "the image was [said] …by Mrs. Ross' grandson, George Canby, to be the only correct likeness of [her]" — he was 7 yrs. old when Betsy Ross died —The Times (Philadelphia) 15 Jun 1893

 

• the flag depicted in the painting — with no evidence to support the authenticity of its design — has since been known as the "Betsy Ross flag," the standard for celebrating the U.S.A.'s birthday each 4th of July

 

The Apotheosis

 

• Weisgerber's painting won the $1,000 prize & in 1893 was showcased in the Pennsylvania Building at Chicago’s Columbian Exposition • seen by millions of visitors • contributed to the nascent reverence for Betsy Ross & the flag as sacred symbols of the emerging, quasi-religious American civil religion • politicians, patriotic societies & public sentiment propelled the flag's transformation into an object of veneration, its role expanding well beyond the customary military & govt. functions

 

On Flag Day, 1894, the Colonial Dames gathered 500 schoolchildren to honor “the adoption by Congress . . . of the flag made by Betsy Ross from the design submitted to her by Gen. Washington” • by 1895, 10 states had laws requiring public schools to display the flag on all school days — Laurel Thatcher Ulrich, loc. cit.

 

• in 1897 the City of New York bought thousands of lithographs of Weisgerber’s painting for its public schools: “It is thought that the representation which is declared historically correct, together with such lectures as the teachers may deliver, will add much to the pupil’s knowledge and keep alive a proper reverence for the country’s emblem.” —New York Times, 14 Feb, 1897

 

• in 1885, NYC school principal George T. Balch (1821-1908), a vet. of the Indian & Civil Wars, wrote Salute to the Flag, the U.S.A.'s first pledge of allegiance

 

"I give my hand and my heart to my country — one nation, one language, one flag."

 

• the heightened patriotism of the era inspired a movement to organize schoolyard flag raising ceremonies • the American Flag Assn. was founded in 1897 for the "fostering of public sentiment in favor of honoring the flag in our country and preserving it from desecration" • Natl. Flag Day was proclaimed in 1917

 

• Christian Socialist Francis Bellamy (1855-1931), who worked in the premium dept. of The Youth's Companion magazine, wrote a new U.S. Pledge of Allegiance (1892) for his employer • created as part of the magazine's campaign to sell American flags to public schools • goal was a flag in every classroom • 25,000 schools acquired flags the 1st yr. • though priced "at cost," banner sales proved profitable

 

• Bellamy also choreographed a salute — the "Bellamy Salute" — to accompany the pledge • because of its similarity to the Nazi heil it was replaced by a right-hand-over-heart gesture during World War II • another Youth's Companion employee, James Upham, headed a flag-centric project designed to engage public schools in the commemoration of the U.S.A.'s 1st Columbus Day (Oct. 1892)

 

The Verdict

 

• for nearly a century-and-a-half, historians have debated the available evidence in an attempt to prove that Betsy Ross either did or did not produce the 1st American flag: "There’s no good historical evidence that she did. But that doesn’t mean she didn’t. There’s simply a lack of documentation. Most historians believe the story is apocryphal." —Marc Leepson, author of Flag: An American Biography, The Truth About Betsy Ross

 

• the identity of the woman who sewed America's 1st flag may never be certain, but there is good reason to believe that its designer may have been Francis Hopkinson (1737-1791) • the NJ representative to the Continental Congress & signer of the Declaration of Independence is the only person entered into the Congressional record for designing the 1st American flag

 

• it has been speculated that on 14 June, 1777, it was Hopkinson who replaced the British crosses in the Continental Colors with white stars on a blue field • no original sketch of a Hopkinson flag exists, but surviving rough sketches including his design for the Great Seal of the U.S. incorporate elements of 2 of his flag designs —Wikipedia

 

On 25 May, 1780, Hopkinson wrote to the Continental Board, requesting "a Quarter Cask of the public Wine" as payment for several itemized "patriotic designs" he had completed, most notably, "the flag of the United States of America" • submitted another bill on 24 June for "drawings and devices," including "the Naval Flag of the United States"

 

• the Treasury Board rejected his request for payment because he "was not the only person consulted on those exhibitions of Fancy" & furthermore was not entitled to compensation as he was already on the government payroll —Did Francis Hopkinson Design Two Flags?, Earl P. Williams, Jr.

 

• Hopkinson is also considered America's 1st poet-composer • written at age 21, his song My Days have been so Wondrous Free (1759) is regarded as the earliest surviving American secular composition [listen] —UPen•edu

 

Saving Betsy's House

 

• by 1859, 239 Arch St. was occupied by the family of German immigrant (Carl) Philip Mund (1822-1883), who operated a tailor's shop on the 1st floor • the landlord, after collecting rent for the first year, never returned • over the succeeding rent-free decades, the Munds operated a variety of businesses in their retail space

 

• after Canby's 1870 speech identified the location of Betsy Ross's house as Arch between 2nd & 3rd, the Munds — occupants of the block's last standing colonial house — posted a sign: "First Flag of the US Made in this House" • in 1876, as visitors poured into the city for the Philadelphia Centennial Exhibition, the Munds ran an ad for their latest 1st floor business: "Original Flag House, Lager, Wine and Liquors. This is the house where the first United States flag was made by Mrs. John Ross." —Historic Philadelphia

 

• after Philip Mund died his wife Amelia, who objected to running a saloon, converted the space into a cigar store & candy shop which operated until 1892 — her son Charles then devoted the space to a museum/souvenir shop [photo] —The Betsy Ross House Facts, Myths, and Pictures by G.A. Anderson

 

• c. 1897 citizens led by Charles Weisgerber organized the American Flag Soc. & Betsy Ross Memorial Assn. • goal was to rescue the house from imminent demolition • intended to purchase it from Charles Mund, restore it to its 18th-c. appearance, preserve the memory of Betsy Ross & honor the American flag

 

• to raise the funds for purchasing the Betsy Ross "American Flag House," the Association devised a rudimentary multi-level marketing strategy • sold lifetime memberships for 10 cents • each member was encouraged to recruit others & form a group of 30; each group founder received a chromolithographograph of Weisgerber's painting • over 2 million monochrome certificates were sold at ten cents each • the colorful chromoliths were available at addl. cost (frame not included) —Enjoying Philadelphia

 

• the Association leased the house in 1898, purchased it in 1903 • Weisgerber & his family moved in • lived upstairs, kept the museum & a souvenir shop on the 1st floor • in 1902 they named their newborn son Charles Vexil Domus, Latin for "flag house" [photo] • he would later replace his parents as custodian of the house —G.A. Anderson, loc. cit.

 

• by 1936 the house was on the verge of ruin • in 1937 Philadelphia Mayor Davis Wilson proposed a restoration by WPA workers • this provoked "a storm of protest" from critics

 

• Pennsylvania Historical Soc. members wrote off the Betsy Ross story as "hokum" and "the bunk" • the protests from scholars & historians sparked an unwinnable faith vs. reason culture war with patriotic organizations such as the Daughters of the American Revolution & the Patriotic Order Sons of America

 

• amid the controversy, Philadelphia radio manufacturer & philanthropist A. Atwater Kent (1873-1949) offered to pay up to $25K for the restoration • Historical architect, Richardson Brognard Okie (1875-1945) won the commission

 

• the design for the restoration was derived from evidence & conjecture • goal was to return the bldg. to its c. 1777 appearance • surviving architectural elements were preserved when possible • materials salvaged from demolished colonial era homes were also used • in 1941, the Association gave the property to the city • the house now stands as one of Philadelphia's most popular tourist attractions

 

Postscript

 

• in 1929 Hugg's tavern, where Betsy Griscom defied family & church to marry John Ross, was demolished to make way for the Proprietor's Park swimming pool, which no longer exists • the Revolutionary War-era Hugg-Harrison-Glover House (1764), built on property owned by the Hugg family as early as 1683, was razed in the face of fervent opposition, March, 2017 —Facebook

 

• 178 yrs. after Betsy's wedding & just 5 blocks from where Hugg's once stood, another American legend was born at the Twin Bar [photo] when Bill Haley (and the Saddlemen) performed there in the early 1950s [poster] • in 1952 Haley's band laid down a cover of Rock the Joint [listen], an historic 1949 recording by Jimmy Preston & His Prestonians [listen] • each of these recordings has been cited as a candidate for the title of first rock 'n' roll song • Gloucester City thus became one of several U.S. sites that claims the title "Cradle of Rock 'n Roll"

 

Charles H. Weisgerber died in 1932 • his magnum opus, The Birth of the American Flag lay rolled up & hidden away in a barn loft & later in the back of a South Jersey dye-making workshop • his grandson Stuart (son of Vexil Domus) found it — still rolled up — in his mother's basement • its poor condition precluded exhibition: in the 50s, hanging in the old State Museum at Harrisburg, it had been vandalized, then incurred additional damage from repeated unrolling

 

• Weisgerber sought a Philadelphia home for the massive work but was unsuccessful • after a $40K restoration in 2002 the painting, it's appraised market value just $50K, returned to the State Museum at Harrisburg

 

• in 1976 the remains of Betsy Ross & 3rd husband John Claypoole were moved from Mount Moriah cemetery, Yeadon, PA, to the garden on the west side of the Betsy Ross House courtyard

And now you get to see why he was going so slow. The 72lb. rail, resting on rotten or nonexistent ties, if you can find them, didn't allow for more than 10mph. The C&NW eastbound freight with 35 cars + caboose, heading from Casper to Chadron, will be a long time getting those last 84 miles. Soon the C&NW will rebuild the track (more like push it over and start from the subgrade up to rebuild it, which is what they did) on this line from Crandall to Shawnee, 31.4 miles. From Joyce junction, on the Union Pacific's North Platte Valley branch, to Crandall on the existing line from Chadron, the C&NW built 56 miles of new railroad. From Shawnee on this Casper Subdivision, to Northwestern Junction on the BN's "Orin line", another 6.2 miles of new railroad was built. In between Crandall and Shawnee junctions was…this. On the occasional trip on Highway U.S.20 to and from Wyoming, I saw what appeared to be the work of front end loaders that literally pushed this track over into the ditch. Like Chris Thompson said, it was a whole lot of lonely country!

This is a nonexistent Weeble that I designed

a self-portrait set in a totally nonexistent environment. this was an experiment and is mostly enthusiasm, mixed with haste. I'm the laziest masker in the world, but aside from that I think it's a good start. Really I just wanted to practice the lighting and shadows, which are pretty hard.

 

oh, yeah, I forgot: some stock photos (the frames, the couch) from Morguefile. Morguefile rocks.

This was my second visit to this house. Both times I've decided not to go inside. This shot is from where the front door should be (it is missing) on where the front porch should be (it too, is missing) looking right into the entrance of this dying house. While this part of the house seems to be ok, anything pass that doorway in the background is a complete mess. And when I say a complete mess, I mean the floor is nonexistent and the roof could collapse at any moment. My hesitation to enter here is from the stones holding this house up off the ground -- they don't look sturdy. While there isn't much to look at on the first floor, that stair case keeps tempting me to go up, and see what I'm missing.....

Autumn Leaves, Tahoe Shoreline. Lake Tahoe, California. October 9, 2014. © Copyright 2014 G Dan Mitchell - all rights reserved.

 

Colorful autumn leaves along the northern shore of Lake Tahoe, California

 

As part of a project that I'm working on I spent a few days photographing and exploring in the greater Lake Tahoe area in early October. I've gone to Tahoe for years, but mostly in the winter for cross-country or Telemark skiing or in the summer for family trips, back when we would occasionally get a cabin up there. Oddly, my experience with the lake in the fall was almost nonexistent.

 

So this trip was part of a process to fix that omission. I spent time in some of the surrounding areas where there can be some spectacular autumn color and I spent one full day circumnavigating the lake. It was on that day that I paused at the north end of the lake, just inside the California border, to photograph these colorful trees against the deep blues of the sky, mountains, and lake.

  

G Dan Mitchell is a California photographer and visual opportunist whose subjects include the Pacific coast, redwood forests, central California oak/grasslands, the Sierra Nevada, California deserts, urban landscapes, night photography, and more.

Blog | About | Flickr | Twitter | Facebook | Google+ | 500px.com | LinkedIn | Email

 

Text, photographs, and other media are © Copyright G Dan Mitchell (or others when indicated) and are not in the public domain and may not be used on websites, blogs, or in other media without advance permission from G Dan Mitchell.

JD: "....Hey, did you see anything in the mines last night?"

 

SW: "No, why?"

 

JD: "I found Linda knocked out in the halls. She wouldn't say anything to me but...I think something attacked her?"

 

SW: "What makes you think that?"

 

JD: "A couple feet away from her there was some blood on the ground."

 

SW: "Oh goddammit..."

 

JD: "What?"

 

SW: "Maybe someone knows we're here. We need to get moving. Whoever attacked her made a rookie mistake leaving blood behind, though."

 

JD: "You're right. What a fucking idiot."

 

SW: "Then again she didn't say anything. Maybe that's her blood."

 

JD: "Like I'd know. She can't even look at me..."

 

SW: "At least she hasn't carved your eye out with a kitchen fork yet."

 

JD: "That's weirdly specific......"

 

SW: "......"

 

JD: "....oooohhh!..."

 

SW: "Yep."

 

JD: "That had to suck."

 

SW: "I had kids with her, too."

 

JD: "Ouch."

 

SW: "So yeah, at least someone you'd give your life for hasn't tried to take it yet."

 

JD: "yet...."

 

"You morons done drooling over yourselves?"

 

JD: "Haines! Buddy! How's the jaw?"

 

"I dunno, how's the sex life?"

 

JD: "As of now, nonexistent. Yet that's somehow better than yours."

 

SW: "As stupid as this is, I'm really glad I'm here right now."

 

"Good comeback, took you all night to think of that?"

 

JD: "What the fuck do you want?"

 

"To show you something. Look at this."

 

.....................................................................

 

JD: ".....did we pack extras or something? We did not have this much gear!"

 

"Of course not moron. While Vincent was busy treating the personnel of that Fort the SAS morons liberated, they got right back to work."

 

SW: "Raiding the Fort armory?"

 

"God, no. Do these weapons look prehistoric to you? All that data you brought back from the capitol had more than just dirt on the Fort Zhukov. There were dates, too. Delivery dates.'

 

JD: "For these guns."

 

"A massive shipment of NATO guns, body armor, explosives, and a bunch of headsets. Those are gonna be really useful."

 

SW: "I'm guessing these all came by truck. How many?"

 

"Four. And that's enough to arm these idiots to the teeth. They also had 10 mortars, so now we can shell the Fort, too."

 

JD: "Kinyetz is probably gonna figure out some shit got fucked with his shipment, though. I mean, four trucks?"

 

"I know. Which is why we've gotta start stage three. Like, right now."

 

SW: "I'll get my armor."

 

JD: "Mine too!"

APPROXIMATE RELEASE DATE: 2009

HEAD MOLD: "Josefina"

 

PERSONAL FUN FACT: I honestly thought that my "Year of the Girls" in 2022 was over when I found Kanani at the local flea market. Since the flea market season was winding down and I was staying strictly off eBay, it seemed impossible that my collection would grow anymore. It's not like American Girls just show up at my doorstep everyday! Funnily enough, that's almost exactly how Chrissa joined the dolly family. It was especially exciting that this doll found me, since she was not a character I'd ever planned on picking out myself. But don't misconstrue that to mean I didn't WANT Chrissa. As a self proclaimed doll addict, I can quite literally convince myself I want and desperately need just about any plastic creature (ahem, Kira Bailey).

 

When Chrissa debuted in 2009, I was finishing high school. Boy does that make me feel old. Chrissa was a wee little doll baby, being unleashed into the world as the latest, greatest Girl of the Year. I didn't have any idea that she existed back then. At some point, American Girl stopped sending us catalogues on a regular basis. They'd still show up in the mailbox on the rare occasion. That's how I found out about Cecile and Marie-Grace's debut two years later. By the time I was a senior in high school, I had convinced myself I was no longer into dolls. It made it a little easier to avoid gazing at dolls we saw in the wild at flea markets or in stores, and I certainly could restrain myself from flipping through a catalogue. The desire was still there, just deeply buried. I didn't get introduced to Chrissa until my adult collecting days. I'm not entirely sure...but I'm guessing I learned of her sometime in 2011. I didn't fully immerse myself into American Girl dolls until 2014. But I did spend a considerable amount of time watching Youtube videos about AGs, or researching them on the internet. I do recall hearing an awful lot about Sonali, Chrissa's companion friend. I thought it was the most absurd thing ever...that the limited edition Girl of the Year had TWO best friends. I think American Girl got a little greedy with the success of the best friends in the late 2000s.

 

One thing that stood out to me about Chrissa in those early days was her adorable short hair. I grew up in the American Girl era of the late 90s/early 2000s. Back then, the dolls were far more simple than they have become in recent years. Short hair was almost entirely nonexistent. Only Kit had that sort of hairdo, but certainly not any of the contemporary dolls that were available during my childhood (they all sported medium length tresses with thick, straight bangs). Her long bob and blue eyes reminded me a bit of my beloved Kit. But Chrissa was even more fetching, given that she sported the Josefina head mold. Even as a fresh adult collector, I knew Chrissa would have tickled my fancy as a child. Her collection wasn't so much up my alley as say Saige's (she was an artist/horse lover after all). But the pure aesthetic of Chrissa herself would have been enough to woo me into wanting her as a kid.

 

I mentioned Chrissa quite a bit whenever the Girl of the Year discussion came up between my sister and me. I could have spotted her anywhere at anytime...I was that familiar with Chrissa. Colleen could never quite recall what she looked like, and did not feel confident she'd know a Chrissa doll if they crossed paths. She also did not know Chrissa's wardrobe the way I did. Granted, the few scraps we acquired with my Bitty Twins in 2018 were innocuous (a pair of undies and a sweater). So even I didn't recognize those pieces. But I knew Chrissa's "Meet" dress the moment I saw it laying in a pile of American Girl garments at the flea market in 2022. I swear, that seller's items brought us luck. Shortly after purchasing Kanani's "Meet" dress, pjs, and swimsuit, Kanani herself turned up at the flea market. I joked that it was fate we acquired the clothes and the doll in such immediate succession. I also playfully said that Chrissa would be next, given I'd purchased her "Meet" dress from the same vendor. Lo and behold, I predicted the future.

 

It was November 2022 when Colleen hopped into the Jeep one evening, toting a large reusable shopping bag. She had a delighted, saucy grin on her face as she swung open the door, clutching the bag to her body. I inquired what she was holding, figuring it must be some sort of craft supply for a weekend work project. She gleefully informed me that I was going to LOVE who was in the bag and perhaps "poop" myself with excitement. She mentioned that there were two dolls stowed away--one we already had (but I'd be excited about), and another that was a top notch treasure. Once we were at the gas station, I begged her to let me see which new friends she had with her. Funnily enough, Colleen HAD identified Chrissa on the spot, when her work friend brought the dolls in. I guess between my Chrissa blabber and Colleen's cruising of the AG Playthings website during her lunch hour, she finally could distinguish her!!! Also in the reusable tote was a 2005 era Felicity and a Julie doll's arm (sadly not the rest of her). I couldn't be more thrilled or shocked.

 

The story behind the dolls was interesting. Colleen changed schools earlier that year, but stayed in the same district (they move people around depending on what schools need). Anyways, she still saw an old coworker at her second, after school job. That friend brought in someone else's dolls. Colleen always loves to tell people about our doll hobby and pets (I feel bad for anyone that has to look at the pictures she is bound to show and prattle on about). Over the years, a number of friends and coworkers have brought her their kids' old, unwanted dollies. But we NEVER received American Girl stuff. So the idea that we got not one, but TWO from someone was mind blowing. Plus, who could have picked a more perfect doll than Miss Chrissa?!!! She was already on my brain since I'd found her dress that summer, but she wasn't a character I'd have ever sought out on eBay or Mercari. The dolls were also in great condition, despite the neglect from children who lost interest.

 

I guess it's useless ever thinking you are done collecting something. I was so sure that I wouldn't be buying American Girls for a long time at the start of the year, after snagging Corinne. But good deals and opportunities happened to present themselves to me over the course of 2022. And who could turn down a doll who literally showed up (maybe not at my door, but at my Jeep door which is practically the same thing given how much I drive)?!! It makes Chrissa and the Felicity doll (aka Peridot) all that much more special, knowing that someone was thoughtful enough to give them to Colleen. Plus, it makes me happy knowing that the girls were probably sitting around unloved for a few years, thinking their good lives were over. Now they can relax and partially retire...after they had a fabulous day at the spa. Actually, given that I had to take the girls apart to wash their cloth torsos and stuffing, the spa day was probably not their favorite moment. My inner child is so excited to own Chrissa Maxwell, even if she didn't exist when I was younger. Lucky for my dad, the Girl of the Years became popularized when I was on a dolly hiatus....otherwise he'd have bought me them. I couldn't have asked for a more perfect, exciting story that I will remember for years to come; Chrissa will always be a little extra special!

This month’s challenge called I Smell A (Modern) Rat asks us what would rat rodding be like if we applied the same principles to modern cars. For this I chose a Dodge Magnum with a V-8 Hemi. Instead of a more predictable post-apoc Mad Max look, I went with a beach combing car with rugged tires, wood paneling, and a nonexistent roof and tailgate. Just enough rust and patina adds a bit of well loved character while a wooden deck and benches gives this “Magnum Opus” a boat-like appearance that’s suitable for fishing, surfing, or just soaking up some rays. Its the perfect modern rat rod for a hot summer day!

WEEK 41 – Wolfchase Sears Closing, Set IX (UL)

 

Ignoring that quandary, we next traverse down the actionway to our next – and last! – unexplored part of the store. I’m trying to stick to my promise of not labeling the actionways in this place, which honestly is a good thing for everyone since, being a mall store with multiple entry points, this Sears store doesn’t really have a defined front or back, left or right. That said… it’s also hard as heck not to have descriptors for those things when I’m writing!! In short, though, I can proceed outward from the center, and try to explain it from there… you’ll remember that we came up here via the escalators, placing us in the middle of the upper level. We next explored appliances, (nonexistent) electronics, and mattresses, which took us around our first corner putting us parallel with the mall entrance. The actionway we’ve traveled down here brings us to our next corner, just beyond the mall entrance; and shortly past that corner, as you can tell from the glimpse of sunlight in the background of this shot, is the upper level exterior entrance. (This exterior entrance, unlike the lower level one, is placed on a wall adjacent to, not opposite, the mall entrance.)

 

Make any sense? Nah, didn’t think so XD

 

(c) 2019 Retail Retell

These places are public so these photos are too, but just as I tell where they came from, I'd appreciate if you'd say who :)

there is a fire burning in the center of athens

there is something happening in the center of athens

calm ecstatic beautfiul

we sit all around and whisper our dreams our hopes our frustrations

time is nonexistent

we want children

we want meaningful jobs

we want art and togetherness

we want to own our days and our nights

we want to come out of our little apartments

and we do like snails we come out

we want love

and the fire burns

(and bonds)

every night without fail

there is something happening in the center of athens my friends

finally

our eyes are shining

 

in greek

 

in color

parkingparko.blogspot.com/

    

.

 

"the moment one definitely commits oneself, then providence moves too" - Johann Wolfgang Von Goethe

 

This picture makes me think of one of my proudest moments.

 

Three and a half years ago, I totaled my car. It was my first car ever. At 28 I was beginning a journey most begin around 16. I bought a new car. I could barely afford it. It's an interesting position to be in to both love the freedom your car gives you and hate that it's sucking the life out of you because you can do little else but own it. My interest rate couldn't have been better on the car loan and I set it up to only make payments for four years until it was paid off. But I was eager to pay it off earlier than that, so I paid more every month than was necessary.

 

But it was killing me. My social life was nonexistent. Buying the car was supposed to be a step towards rectifying that. It wasn't. I didn't even consider selling the car, but felt trapped by it.

 

13 months after owning it, I got in the accident. I honestly didn't even think the crash was major enough for the car to be considered a total loss. It's funny, I can still remember walking along the waterfront in downtown Portland after getting off the Greyhound from where the accident occurred. It was early evening and I felt entirely at peace for whatever reason. I had my point-and-shoot with me and took a couple pictures of the fountain before walking home.

 

My brother offered to let me stay with him for a little while to save up a few bucks until I got the next car. I moved into his place and started looking on Craigs List and other local auto websites. I had decided to buy a cheaper car that I would buy outright so I wouldn't be in the same predicament I was in before the accident. I didn't have the best of luck finding anything. I wanted to make sure the car I bought would be checked out buy a mechanic, among other things on my checklist. After a few months, I was just disgusted and growing impatient. I really didn't want to buy a car from a dealership because car salesmen, for the most part, are evil soulless human beings. But, I really just wanted to get this car shopping thing over with. And then I had an idea.

 

Since I was prepared to pay what a dealership wanted at that point, which is close to $1000 above what a private party would ask, why not open up my options dramatically and try buying a car out of the area? Way out of the area. And if we're talking way out of the area, just where exactly would I like to go? I began an extensive search of Craigs List on all the big cities up and down the east coast. I found out that Carfax offered a deal where, for $100, they'd send out a "qualified" car expert to do a general inspection of a car anywhere in the U.S., test drive it, and provide you with the results. Not exactly as good as being there myself, but I know nothing about cars to begin with. It was better than nothing. When I'd find an ad worth responding to, I sent the seller of the car an e-mail about my plan to fly out there, buy their car, and drive back home. It's interesting, most guys thought I was nuts and either thought it was a joke or just didn't think they had the time for what I was proposing. Or they just couldn't wrap their heads around it. Women were very intrigued by the idea. They thought it sounded fun.

 

I can be a perfectionist at times. And, considering I was about to spend thousands on a car, everything had to be in place. If anything seemed off, I bailed. Around 3 weeks after having the idea, and paying for a Carfax guy to check out 3 cars in random places along the east coast, and not having everything line up just right, I was wondering how long I was going to go through with this.

 

Soon though, everything lined up with a girl who lived in Alexandria, Virginia. I spoke with her over the phone a few times and liked what I was hearing. I immediately made plans to take a week off work, got a cashier's check for $7000, typed up a contract and bill of sale, and got prepared for a big trip like I'd never taken before. There were certainly risks and unknowns, but I prepared very well.

 

The day of the flight out, I took the MAX to the airport with baggage, an atlas, a couple of newly burned mix CD's specifically for the drive back, and a smile on my face. I told no one I was leaving, but I had warned my brother something big was about to happen that was more than just buying a car.

 

After I landed in D.C., I took a cab to a hotel I'd already had reservations at that was about a mile from the girl's home. In the hotel, the reality of the situation finally hit. "I'm 3000 miles away from home in an area I know nothing about. I haven't been in D.C. since I was 10 years old. What if this girl flakes? What if there's a problem with the permit at the DMV? What if the car dies on the way back home? I'm all alone on this one." I decide to get excited and call my brother. He picks up and I say, "Guess where I am right now?" Amused, he says, "You're out of state, aren't you?" I'm like, "Yes!" I let him in on all the specifics, he wishes me a safe trip, then I get ready for bed.

 

The next day, the wind is blowing horribly and it's chilly. I jog most of the way to the girl's house. Her husband is out front taking the license plates off the shiny black Honda Civic. I introduce myself and we head into their house. The girl is exceedingly friendly and talks up a storm. I hand over the check, we sign the contract and bill of sale and head off to the DMV just a few blocks away.

 

There was a stumbling block at the DMV. Not what I wanted to hear. Then, it's quickly determined that I'm buying a car to take out of state and am not keeping it in state, so I don't need a certain form of identification or something. Whew! Aside from that little bump in the road, everything goes like clockwork. We drive back to her place and talk for probably an hour. Honestly, I was eager to just get on the road.

 

I step into the car for the first time and realize "I've done it." The car's mine. It almost seemed like getting away with a crime. And I felt like maybe I was more powerful and in control of my life than I'd thought previously. Biting off what feels like more than you can chew is a bit scary, but can be extremely exhilarating.

 

Once I got on the highway and headed south, I threw on one of the CD's I'd burned from iTunes and smiled again. 3000 miles to go. To be perfectly honest, I was edgy from Virginia to New Orleans. Maybe I was expecting something to go wrong. I don't know for sure. But I loved Atlanta pretty much from the moment I saw the skyline. And New Orleans, for the hour or so I stopped there was wonderful. I was there about 6 months after Katrina hit. In many areas, it looked as though it had hit yesterday. I really felt for the people of New Orleans. I'd been there on vacation when I was 13 and fell in love with the French Quarter and all of New Orleans. I felt sad for what everyone had been through with Katrina. But photographing one of the St. Louis cemetery's there was incredible and I will never forget it. I still have the mardi gras beads I found there in the trunk of my car. The rest of the trip, well, it was easy. Although I did end up taking 9 days instead of 7 for the whole trip. By Vegas, I was calm and happy. The rest of the way was spent reflecting on the trip and my life.

 

So, back to this picture. This was taken at the White Sands National Monument in New Mexico. Fucking amazing place. If you're in the area, you simply must go. And take LOTS of sunblock! It's funny being there. You'd think you were walking through snow if it wasn't for the heat. I posted a shot from here nearly three years ago on that trip that's from a farther distance from this tree and I like them both. I'd forgotten about this shot until I came across it again on a thumb drive I rarely use. It brought back good memories, so I thought I'd share one of the few good stories I have about myself. I hope you enjoyed it.

 

Oh, and I have a map of the route across country I took if you'd like to see it. It's here

- The soldier ...... a nonexistent war, a war avoided .... .

The best war ........

 

- Al soldado de una guerra inexistente......, de una guerra evitada.....

La mejor guerra......

WEEK 20 – Former Lone Star, Southaven, MS

 

Here’s a shot of the left side of the repainted restaurant, with a bit of the front façade visible in the frame as well. This angle should be fairly comparable to the first two images of today’s set.

 

I should note that Lone Star Steakhouse, for those of you who are curious or may never have heard of them, once had many locations but does no longer. Most recently it existed with broken chain status following a 2017 Chapter 7 bankruptcy, but since that time it would seem even the final straggler locations mentioned in Zap’s linked post (dated January 2019) have closed, leaving the brand totally nonexistent in the continental US. As of May 2020, only the independently-owned location in Guam remains, literally the “lone star” of the now-former steakhouse chain.

 

Lone Star Steakhouse (now closed) // 6365 Airways Boulevard, Southaven, MS 38671

 

(c) 2020 Retail Retell

These places are public so these photos are too, but just as I tell where they came from, I'd appreciate if you'd say who :)

 

The Mourning Babbler, previously the Short-tailed Babbler, is a species of bird in the ground babbler family Pellorneidae. A long-legged babbler with an almost nonexistent stump for a tail, found in primary and secondary evergreen lowland and foothill forest.

It is found in the Malay Peninsula, Anambas Islands, Sumatra, Banyak Islands, Batu Islands, Riau Islands, Lingga Islands and the Natuna Islands.

 

Read more on: wildart.works/behindthelens/short-tailed-babbler

 

Subscribe to continue reading the stories.

 

20180818-0I7A0095-DN

THEME: www.youtube.com/watch?v=tUAcDMHuC2E

 

Introducing my Self-MOC! This is actually the 12th version (12.4 to be exact) and a character reboot, though, and I have revamped the whole thing again since this version, too. I will post a picture showing some of the previous versions (I don't have pictures of pre-7th versions, except for the very first), just so you can get an idea of the evolution of the character.

 

---DESCRIPTION---

Nicknamed "Rahksha" due to her Makuta heritage, Nyctoria is somewhat of a Toa: the most accurate way to put it is, she's a protector...of sorts. She has a strong link with the Netherverse, enabling her to draw on its dark power to perform necromancy, as well as harvest souls and summon them as Netherwalkers (inhabitants of the Netherverse) with her scythe. She can also reanimate corpses to serve her by using seals on their Kanohi.

 

However, the power of the Netherverse always takes it toll, and the user's soul - and therefore body - will decay the more they use it. The only way to maintain oneself is to harvest the souls of others. Hence, Nyctoria hunts down villains to defeat and consume.

 

While Nyctoria does defend others from Makuta and other threats, she is not altrustic in her motives -- she will just as easily consume innocents if there is no other source available, and rarely helps others unless she perceives them or the target as useful in her quest for revenge against her "father", Teridax -- and by extension, her de facto creator, Mutran.

 

As an individual, Nyctoria is largely anti-social, apathetic and an on-off misanthrope - hardly surprising considering her origins. That being said, she is not without a sense of justice and empathy, although her concept of morality is nonexistent at worst and dubious at best.

 

---BIO---

NAME: Nyctoria

 

ALIASES: Rahksha, Daughter of Teridax, Destral's Shadowborne

 

SPECIES: Rahkshi/Toa (mutant; Kraata infused with energy from a Nui Stone)

 

GENDER: Female

 

KANOHI: N/A

 

ELEMENT: Shadow

 

WEAPON: Harvest Scythe - "Slayer's Slave"

 

A sculpture of a swan that I made from LEGO bricks. This is actually a combination of two different species of swans. I grabbed various characteristics from the two of them, making a probably nonexistent species. It took maybe 40 hours to design and build.

 

The head and feet are recycled parts from my old bird, made a 1.5 years before this one. The old one fell off of a shelf, and I didn't want to repair it, so I made a better version.

 

The wings of this sculpture ended up being too heavy to sustain their own weight (although they are pretty durable), but the cross support holds them firmly in place.

Also known as the Loneliest Road in America. Traffic is almost nonexistent. It's like this for over 200 miles. One of my favorite road trips. And yes, I was cruising at 85-90 mph.

The Dark Matters (the twenty-second photo of the series)

www.facebook.com/photo.php?v=423927311019194

Youtube: Dream Factory

 

I finally reached the hill. It is very cold in here. And dark. Light is virtually nonexistent.

 

Location: Aşot / Sürmene / Trabzon (Gümüşhane) / Turkey / Planet Earth

Google Earth: 40°38'11.59"K (N) 40° 2'30.02"E

Photograph by Yusuf Alioglu

 

Facebook

Twitter

Blogger

Vimeo

Imagekind

UnbornArt

deviantART

Tumblr

MySpace

Google+

VIDEO: (Coming soon!)

 

••• SCRIPT/LYRICS: •••

 

MOLEMAN'S EPIC RAP BATTLES!!!!!!

 

GARNET…

 

…VS…

 

…FIRESTORM!!!

 

BEGIN!

 

Firestorm:

We could think about what gimmicks convolute our history:

Mixups with Russians, nature-forces and Yoruba witchery,

And we could think of crises wrought on our identity…

Yes, surely…

…But today, let's only think of flaming enemies with fury!

Hey, here comes a question most alarming; not to be dismissed,

And one whose comprehension won't take an atomic physicist:

Why let a contest measure merger-might to choose from we and you

When the answer is plainer than combining two plus freaking two?!

Don't get too cocky, Ronald; let's see this done as it ought to be:

Transmute lit lyrics from raw beats, and lecture blockheads properly!

It's gonna be a far cry from your Brightest Day; I'm going dark,

With aims to end this in a Flash just like my debut story arc!

Complete transparency, now; tip: skip on a kicked-in butt tonight.

Called on and dared to speak out? Quit, not even picking up the mic!

You see your worth as apt for some Gem-world princess, or even goddess,

Yet I wouldn't appraise your value at one-half Nicki Minaj's!

It's a lock, and un-jail-breakable, at that: you're getting blasted;

Your cut's unfit for this face-off, falling flat in every facet.

Why, it's evident: our foe lacks proper grasp of her position,

Just as suits the fruit of reckless, raw romance at first collision!

Molecules are being rewritten, spelling death for sucker golems;

Souring your Sugar sweetness!

That reminds me of a poem… how's it go?

A Ruby's red, and a Sapphire's colored blue;

When they're together, all the better to set fire onto you!

 

Garnet:

It seems your touted tangibility-tweaking tricks are getting screwy:

Though plainly made with fazing aims, your statements phase directly through me!

Fisticuffs raised to the max, I'll put it heavy-handedly:

This space-borne stone immortal's here to Vandalize you Savagely!

Don't think the balanced bond behind a harmonizing master humbled

By the body-bunking counterpart of Simon and Garfunkel;

You're the one Nuclear waste it's best to keep left in the ashcan:

That brute in Supes' ill-fated Quest for Peace was less a hack, man!

Your own saw Lanterns, Squads, the Reds and A-bombs quell your mission;

That's as jacked up as your black successor's break on television!

You'd do well to fission: squishies risk affliction, sticking to that kind of nexus;

It's as if you're mixing in black clouds in morning-time for breakfast.

Hawking off your power-set as something there's no reproducing?

Your old flame Lorraine objects, and check that shared New 52 scene!

Take me on? You're tripping; I could go all Summer Day,

Mad-laughing as you're curse-slapped, your collapse one stone's throw-down away!

 

Firestorm:

I'd hardly call that verse a gem, but do see you're impassioned;

Now, brace for an opposite, unequal nuclear reaction!

I'd advise you set about disarming; keep at trying to battle,

And you'll only fall apart, so turn around, three-eyes: skedaddle!

Put a bubble on your gushing pride, and hear just what I'm made of:

Nobel Prize-commemorated brains and brawn prime for the playoffs…

Oh, and right: the atoms' might, infused not in a tiny me,

But through a union whose inducement gets them splitting violently!

The irony…

These elements comprising me like father, son and holy ghost,

Your cotton candy composition couldn't come remotely close;

These bogglers are built to leave your flipping mind

As broken as that gay love metaphor between two different kinds!

Pursuing this is straight-up suicidal; heed some good advice:

Lest you be undone swiftly as a Slipknot, fleeing would be wise!

Hmm… knots, you say?

Tying yours sure garnered fandom's queerness-touting cheers.

What an accomplishment; it merely took damn-near six thousand years!

Our souls, conjoining, form an epic entelechy, knowing which,

Forgo all hopefulness of cloning this, as shown amiss with Soviets,

You cloying, kitschy clod! As for the riffs you spit haphazardly,

Those bare-bones bars have less meat than the prick who nicked your anthem, G!

Ours? Fine-tuned to the quantum level; spliced into arrangements

Set to shake your union to the brink of thrice-induced estrangement,

And don't count on pulling back together, damaged faith restored,

'Cause just the two of us are stronger than your whole volcanic Megazord!

 

Garnet:

Yeah, I'd imagine you'd know all about that, Orange Ranger,

But your floating mentor-head ought to have warned you to the danger;

What if I told you you'll be blindsided, both blacking-out in quick turn,

When I yank you from the Matrix like my name was Laurence Fishburne?

Known to wreck hard-headed haters, your hot one'll prove no different,

As part-timing casuals get taught the sum of true commitment!

Wanna see a giant of a power couple? I'm your girl; espouse its meaning:

Steady-rocking since mankind, they say, was still fresh out of Eden!

Plus, your Time Squad of a secret team can bite me;

Your whole future's at an end, and naught will tweak it, even slightly!

I mean, blimey: screw false pretense for some cackling magician bull;

That mind-entrapping weeks-long bender? Flatly unforgivable!

I'm dropping bombs; the biggest Ron, his mommy or his pops have seen,

For overkill to match the namesake of a poor man's Constantine:

Destabilizing deconstruction, it'll make them draw a blank.

I'd call your deal a nature-crime; rechristen Raymond: "Ronnie Frank"!

 

Firestorm:

You say your bodyguard-love schtick will never come to dissolution,

Like a pair of mutant, midget technicolor Whitney Houstons!

Think we'll have a problem here?

Now, that's bananas! We'll be home by daylight,

NASA asked that she's seen, fee-free, to her own, one-way flight!

Girl, your jointly self-absorbed felicity's an utter joke;

Make threats of dropping bombs, and watch your dignity go up in smoke!

You're unprepared for prime time, Gemmy! How can you expect to win this

When your origin got upstaged by a Robot Chicken Christmas?

From N.Y.C. streets to Justice Leagues, we've made ourselves a name;

You've kept ones shared with countless drones, all bred and trained to be the same!

I live up to and past the heights of my Star-Spangled heritage;

You aren't worth your own weight at the ideal price per carat, bitch:

You're meritless! You call those palette-swapped foam Hulk props on you gauntlets?

Come at me with them, and catch a flaming knuckle through the faceplate!

Your lame cheeto P.S.A. coach couldn't top this all-new hotness,

So if you can't stand the heat, beam back on up into your safe space.

See all notions that it's nearly so severely hard to beat her

Shattered like the trust invested in her dear, departed leader!

You perceive self-value more-than-constituting both your parts' sum,

But the math says otherwise; check any jewelry broker's charts, hon!

Half of you served in a royal court as its official seer;

You've gone some kind of third-eye-blind, though, if this isn't crystal-clear:

You don't look awesome, and it's time you went to bed!

Now close the deal!

I'll let your godson know that what you did today was choke, for real!

 

Garnet:

Oh, you'll find no exhaustion here; I'm far from prone to break a sweat:

When I wipe the floor with phony-hot shits, it's liable to wind up painted red!

It's viable to say I've wholly got this: child's play, though only for Garnet;

Joining in on it? You're gonna get rolled and left cold, all your folks going: "Oh no, they are dead."

Try on a total toxin-taste: raw space-rock rhymes, created ground-up,

Like your Ogaden oasis, the fate of which I wouldn't take it you're too proud of.

A tenth-level belter, I rep rebel melders:

Test against my mettle? Best inject some Nth; augment your cells, or get to shelter!

It's a song of ice and fire; when you're packing just the latter,

Your whole rhythm-ride's implosion-bound, and plasma's gonna splatter.

As for your nuclear family values? I'm beyond such rigid norms,

With Multiplex strengths, all rolled up inside one monolithic form!

Ever-flowering, love letter-showered, empowering, towering gay-romantic titan,

Shade thrown my way's, with a hand-flick, reflected, and BAM: it's the source who sees dishonor.

Dominant during debates, dissent-drainingly as any achromatic tyrant,

Try shouting this down, and watch me unshakenly pluck out your core; ensure you'll be a goner!

 

………

 

(*SOLO ROUND!*)

 

………

 

Martin Stein:

How's Stein's schooling session's starting something Sapph's supposed to handle?

Kindergarten rooms have brought her whole proud pairing to a standstill!

Singlehandedly one-upping that accursed menagerie,

Observe: in verse, a worse-disturbing blasphemy!

Your present-perspicacity has faltered from foresight-fixation; your taste in soulmates shows, for starters:

Even Jason never sunk to such low standards with his partners!

When this atomic architect takes to the floor,

The only overhyped-up ship that's headed for a wreck is yours!

 

Sapphire:

I see a glorified Jiminy Cricket with a nonexistent sex life.

He will find less clemency afforded here than with his ex-wife!

You've not met a Crystal cold to you as this; you'd better hide:

No psycho on any of infinite Earths could hope to sway me to your side.

Your Doomsday Clock is ticking; precognition needn't spell what's gonna happen,

When the baddest blue boss bombshells 'bout you break since Doc Manhattan's!

This alleged Legend won't see tomorrow: it's apparent you'll be slaughtered;

Deploring the oracle was a mistake just as aberrant as your daughter!

 

Martin Stein:

Hey, h- …Oh, why should I fall back onto dumb distraction-tunes,

When you're as prone to cause your own strikeout, all while we shoot the moon?

Cut with the C.R.A.P.; let this theory of mine be self-fulfilled: you'll cease to diss me,

Lest I cut your lifeline like your Greek ancestors three from Disney!

 

Sapphire:

If that Titanic travesty of trite trash-talk's all you've got,

Then it's no inner-fascist speaking when I say you should be shot!

Though I'd have warned you, that would be to squander breath for me; I know this:

You'd be heedless even with a quarter-century of notice!

 

Ruby:

Hit the streets, relapsed to homelessness: you'll want to keep anonymous;

A fuming-to-the-brim stone's bent on bringing your Apokalips!

The CW can have Ms. Kane informed on termination:

There was no room for her once this Ruby rose to the occasion!

 

Ronnie Raymond:

It was plain why you would be a cowboy: shit got polarizing.

Now, take one more comic page to heart: ride into the horizon;

No horsebacking, though! Try force-propelled ascension through the sky;

Yo, when you get to space's vacuum, tell your brethren I said "Hi",

And like the Happy of those five red dwarves reneged on standing with you,

Just back down from whence you've stepped up. Better yet, abandon ship, too!

Gangster-rapping worthily of some Dakotaversal bang-baby,

Watch this meta-S.T.A.R. extinguish your eternal flame, baby!

 

Ruby:

Funny you'd mention horizons: the events that I discern

Are painting you abyss-inbound, and past the point of no return!

Your jerkhole gripes and talking smack? I wouldn't fly to such judgments, were I to be you;

Full-circled like a Tokamak, your lapped back attacks will bite you something entirely new!

 

Ronnie Raymond:

A tempered temper lends to endless energy attained to blow through;

Rage has got you burning out, and that's my okay to K.O. you,

So let's leave the hero business to myself and the professor,

Making sure they'll see the written notice of your surrend

er!

 

Ruby:

Have you turned your own brains to jelly?! You're intoxicated; face it:

Flying off the rails, you'll plummet to rock bottom, getting wasted!

I'm out to bring hurt beyond mere heartbreak, and thus, your wounds yet need more salting,

Like your record's blackest mark, which Rusch won't soon let be forgotten!

Sapphire: That was rotten, alright; biting to look back upon as Sodom's burning.

White light this night, too, will end your torment, though with no returning!

Ruby: Or, in more straightforward wording: DIE. You must be nuts,

'Cause if the wedding stage didn't clue you in…

R+S: Today belongs to us!

 

Martin Stein:

I'll gladly rain on your reunion, jerks; it's time to face the truth:

You're plainly out of it as any circus sideshow saber-tooth!

Ronnie Raymond: If the professor is the passenger beside my pilot, punks,

That puts you as the ones blindfolded, bound and gagged inside our trunk!

Firestorm: You've walked Earth since prehistory?

Well, let's address the elephant…

A flung-back Furby's apt to outpace your epochal relevance!

You'll soon return to purpose-lacking, playing parent off the table,

Once our 'verses clash, and Steven takes an arrow in the navel!

 

Ruby:

Dude; leukemia is one thing, but those bars of your creation?

Sapphire: Cancerous beyond the help of your most cosmic incarnation!

R+S: Striking with a shadow's subtle grace, yet shining steel's lethality,

You may think it's Injustice, but we're winning by fatality! (Frosty!)

(*♪, ♪-♪-♪, ♪-♪*)

Garnet: You're getting throttled,

Harder than you dropped the ball with Brainiac's whole ship of bottles!

Take a moment to think, now, of just how very wrong you were, disputing me:

A clear-cut polymerized paragon; let no-con-fusion be.

 

?????????:

The trigger word's been stated! Now, my trap is activated;

Thus, the trump card's played in my fair maiden's name, so sayeth I!

The coming game's experience? You bums should take to fearing it,

Because it's time to D-D-D-D-D-D-D-D-D-DIE!

 

Blue-Eyes Ultimate Dragon:

I'm the overkill O.G. of owning old O.C.G. scenes; don't test me:

M.C. B.E.U.D. on the track? Best bet that it's your Death-T!

I inflict direct attacks; take life points down to zero, no doubt,

For this joke of a Gem-Knight and Elemental HERO dropout!

I drop right on in, without a brutal cost; sans Cyber-Stein:

Bring triple threats, converging onto Ruby, Ron, Sapphire and Stein!

You're all exhausted; left defenseless as a goblin-force one-shotter:

Losing hands dealt to you all played-out, and now I strike like Yata

Garasu, to lock you pussy Fusionists in strangleholds!

You'd never bend my will in shining armor forged of rarest gold.

In terms of targets fixed upon you, you'll have no chance to Scapegoat it:

One fell burst-stream's zapping your whole sheepish quartet of components!

Weighing you against me, the Millennium Scales will tip so hard,

You'll catapult, with robo-turtles wishing they could flick as far.

You're standing on the edge; ensuing shock is sure to wreck your balance,

Come the baddest dragon's dark discharge from his Zorc Necrophallus!

Need I spell it out? Your destiny is FINAL; undisputed!

As for changing fate, moreover, that's my job, with gods tributed!

Crushing you, why would I spring some virus? That ain't worth my time,

When all your values at their highest couldn't match a third of mine!

The legend that began it all: oft-mimicked, never replicated.

My pot runneth over; it's not necessary to explain it!

You'll beg for some shadow penalty, such twistedness you'll face;

For those who come in behind Blue-Eyes, a Limp Bizkit's what they taste!

 

Firestorm:

Self-special-summoning into our double-duel? Screw that whole deal;

If I had wanted a royale, I'd just be playing Battlefield!

Blue-Eyes Ultimate Dragon: Don't drag this out with dialogue, delaying; I haven't got all day,

And when this card is heartless to you, how can you so much as pray?

Garnet: Well, I'd say you've let your defenses down, and I ain't talking misprints:

Your effect on me's, put simply as your text box, nonexistent!

 

Blue-Eyes Ultimate Dragon:

It's the rapper-kingdom finals, whelp; that isn't gonna fly:

Those one-star-studded gauntlets plainly tell that you're unqualified!

I've got you insects flipping out, but doing so won't serve to bite me,

For your lot's too basic!

Lusterless!

Dull!

…Let alone worthy to ride me,

While I shine on ever brightly, even scaled down for the big screen;

Steal the thunder of Gate-Guards: my lyrics' layout's labyrinthine!

This collective looks combustion-bound, face flared up; in a frenzy,

But I've felled far more infernal red-eyed monsters full of envy.

Cards here stacked against you steeper still than Reshef of Destruction,

White light's sealing your demise, so though you guessed correct on one thing,

Know my arsenal's evolved to make for new alternatives;

With chaos rituals to maximize the pain, I'll burn you, bitch!

Watch me send this three-eyed sucker straight to the grave; negate a compensating deck search:

End malformed mashups' miseries, like the doggy saying "Edward"!

 

Garnet:

Oh, you can banish that shit; try, instead, Fullmetal Jacket,

'Cause I have to ask it: what is your mammoth malfunction, maggot?!

Firestorm: I have had it with these Muto-fighting dragons, coalesced as one,

But for us coming back from this hijacking, hopes look next to none…

Our best's yet unexhausted…

Garnet: The sole option left to take here…

Firestorm: …Should we all agree we want it.

Garnet: …Would be nuclear in nature.

Firestorm: Are you thinking what I am?

Garnet: I don't think that's how fusion works.

Firestorm: Well, screw the rules; we have fan fiction logic!

Garnet: Let's just do this, jerk…

 

………

 

Garnetstorm:

Know your last-minute winning plays; details: I take no pleasure in this

As I bust loose from our tightest spot and get direct to business,

No less vocal for it, mind you, while I counter-steal the show,

And finish what your master started, with one down, and three to go!

These blows will knock you sideways, keeping up the damage all the same,

With meteoric impacts fit to fuel your blackest rival's flames!

I'm breaking your sustaining chains; those of my components' restraint, too:

But four pieces here need come together to obliterate you!

Brightly-blazing stone conglomerate, far from some shadow puppet:

Mega-mixture; this vanilla triple-dipper can go shove it!

If you're triple-A, call me the alphabet's whole backmost leg;

No Toonish trickery required, I'll deflect attacks all day!

My fighting spirit's too intense to stay; my presence here is fleeting,

But the Last Turn is upon us, and you're set for searing beating!

Wanna end this with a draw? I'll go Berserker, then: get violent,

And remake Destroy All Monsters; stomp out this tri-headed tyrant.

 

WHO WON?

 

WHO'S NEXT?

 

I DECIDE!

 

MOLE…

 

…MAN'S…

 

HA!

 

…EPIC RAP BATTLES!!!!!!!

Black Swan Events were characterized by Nassim Nicholas Taleb in his 2007 book (revised and completed in 2010), The Black Swan. Taleb regards almost all major scientific discoveries, historical events, and artistic accomplishments as "black swans"—undirected and unpredicted. He gives the rise of the Internet, the personal computer, World War I, and the September 11 attacks as examples of Black Swan Events.[2]

 

The term black swan was a Latin expression—its oldest known reference comes from the poet Juvenal's characterization of something being "rara avis in terris nigroque simillima cygno" (6.165).[3] In English, this Latin phrase means "a rare bird in the lands, and very like a black swan." When the phrase was coined, the black swan was presumed not to exist. The importance of the simile lies in its analogy to the fragility of any system of thought. A set of conclusions is potentially undone once any of its fundamental postulates is disproved. In this case, the observation of a single black swan would be the undoing of the phrase's underlying logic, as well as any reasoning that followed from that underlying logic.[citation needed]

 

Juvenal's phrase was a common expression in 16th century London as a statement of impossibility. The London expression derives from the Old World presumption that all swans must be white because all historical records of swans reported that they had white feathers.[4] In that context, a black swan was impossible or at least nonexistent. After a Dutch expedition led by explorer Willem de Vlamingh on the Swan River in 1697, discovered black swans in Western Australia,[5] the term metamorphosed to connote that a perceived impossibility might later be disproven. Taleb notes that in the 19th century John Stuart Mill used the black swan logical fallacy as a new term to identify falsification.

 

en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Black_swan_theory

The greatest LEGO Space theme that never was, Seatron was conceived right after Futuron and would have given us our first (and more creative and interesting) LEGO aliens most of a decade before the UFO theme released.

 

All we have is some intriguing preliminary shots of a fascinating theme with a white, black and trans red "surface" palate and an Aquanauts-like yellow, black and trans blue "underwater" palate.

 

Anyway, I think it would have been a great theme, and it's well worth a MOC or several. And it being FebRovery let's make a rover.

 

Probably the Seatron faction minifigures would have been more Futuron-like than CS-like, but my Futuron minifig supplies are practically nonexistent.

 

I've done some Seatron-like MOCs before, connected with the Ice Planet faction as explorers of a subsurface ocean within Planet Krysto (a subtheme I call "Ice Planet: Aquarius Project"), but this is my first actual Seatron MOC.

....Here we are, standing at a door step of peace.

A war in which difference between a soldier and a civilian were nonexistent is now over.

This day, the 25th of September 2023 will be remembered as begging of a new age of humanity......

 

Check out the full gallery: www.flickr.com/photos/angelo_s/sets/72157630763011096/

 

My newest MOC, I think it is the first time I do something bigger related to modern military theme.

 

I don't have nothing much to say, about the creation, I just hope you enjoy it ;)

 

Every comment and fave is highly appreciated, so don't be shy!

I'm gobsmacked by several things here. First, the light was nonexistent. Yet the Sony A7RII performed extremely well at incredibly high ISO. Second, using knowledge developed around a digital Zone System, I knew precisely where I wanted the tonal values and was able to place them accordingly. Third, I am happy to confirm the dynamic range of the sensor extends usefully to below Zone 0 (Zone -2!), even at such high ISO settings. Fourth, 1950s German optics can do the trick. These images were made using a triplet wide angle. Who would design such a thing and make it work? Micro-contrast is something to be seen, otherwise you wouldn't believe it.