The second stop on the way home from my college visit was in Richmond!

 

The Richmond Kmart appears to be a former Grants (and thus reminded me of the Erie Kmart that I visited last summer). It is very noticeably bigger than Anderson; it is also very nice; it has a Kmart Express gas station and it has a former Kmart Cafe (that still has the counter/displays, the full menu board and even the register! Looks like a more recent KCafe closure from what I've seen; if anybody else here has any more information I would like to know more about it!). This store appears to be doing fairly well for one of the last remaining stores in/near the Miami Valley.

 

Of course, I had to check out the Kmart Express after my main store rounds were complete, so I headed over there and looked around. This is the second Kmart Express I've seen, but the first one I have actually visited, as the other one (at the now nonexistent Brooklyn Super Kmart) had already closed. I didn't buy anything at this KExpress though, as I had spent my money in the main store. Hopefully next time I can buy some coffee or donuts from Kmart Express while going to/from Anderson (if I plan another college visit to Anderson U, which is likely)!

 

Hopefully the Richmond Kmart will still be able to remain "normal" for a good time longer...I like this store! :D

 

Kmart #7246 - 3150 National Road West - Richmond, Indiana

Some lego Star Wars characters for a series of stop motion movies I'm planning on making. As you can see, I've included three characters from things other than Star Wars. These are Samus, The Inquisitor, and Brandon Hardesty as Jimmy Jango.

 

Gank:

Ganks, also known as Gank Killers, were a mysterious, bloodthirsty bipedal sentient species, who mainly resided on the Hutt controlled industrial moon known as Nar Shaddaa. They were often hired as mercenaries.

 

Elite Gank:

Ganks, also known as Gank Killers, were a mysterious, bloodthirsty bipedal sentient species, who mainly resided on the Hutt controlled industrial moon known as Nar Shaddaa. They were often hired as mercenaries. Elite Ganks are trained in swordplay and lightsaber combat.

 

Gank Pyro-Technician:

Ganks, also known as Gank Killers, were a mysterious, bloodthirsty bipedal sentient species, who mainly resided on the Hutt controlled industrial moon known as Nar Shaddaa. They were often hired as mercenaries. Gank Pyro-Technicians are trained to use flame throwers.

 

Nonak:

A Cathar hunter and poacher who was a member of the sith cult known as the Disciples of Ragnos. He was killed by wampas along with his brother (Nodon) in 12 ABY.

 

Ekrchry Frket Clarke:

A Cathar jedi. His parents were killed by Stormtroopers in 11 BBY. He was four at the time. He was adopted by a kind family. His step brother is Aj Clarke. He hates his name, but has decided against changing in for some reason.

 

Rachel Brown:

A human jedi. She was a friend of Ekrchry and Aj.

 

Aj Clarke:

A human jedi and Ekrchry's Step brother.

 

Nodon:

A Cathar hunter and poacher who was a member of the sith cult known as the Disciples of Ragnos. He was killed by wampas along with his brother (Nonak) in 12 ABY.

 

Jodo Kast:

Jodo Kast was a member of Alliance SpecOps who became a bounty hunter in the time of the Galactic Civil War. In his suit of modified Mandalorian armor, Kast was sometimes mistaken for the infamous bounty hunter Boba Fett, a fact he capitalized on when possible. Valuing credits over ideals and loyalties, Kast worked for the Empire, Black Sun, the New Republic, or anyone who would pay him. Kast's impersonation of Fett eventually caught up with him, though, when the other bounty hunter sought to reclaim his own reputation. Fett baited a trap on Nal Hutta, using an alias to offer a bounty on a nonexistent man. When Kast came to Nal Hutta, Fett attacked and defeated him, leaving Kast to be killed by his own exploding jetpack.

 

Keida:

The sister of Nodon and Nonak. She is unaware that her brothers are members of the Disciples of Ragnos. She is in love with Ekrchry.

 

Boba Fett:

Boba Fett was a Mandalorian warrior and bounty hunter. He was a clone of the famed Jango Fett, created in 32 BBY as the first of many Fett replicas designed to become part of the Grand Army of the Republic, and was raised as Jango's son. Jango taught Boba much, training the latter to become a skilled bounty hunter as his father-figure was before him.

 

The Inquisitor:

The Inquisitor is a self-repairing simulant who survived until the end of time and, coming to the conclusion that there is no God and no afterlife, decided that the only point of life was to live a worthwhile life. He is on a journey through time, seeking out the worthless and erasing them from existence, allowing a different person to exist in their place — the person who would have been conceived.

 

Mandalorian Death Watch:

The Death Watch was a Mandalorian splinter group. They wished to start a war, and continue to be brutal savages.

 

Heavy Death Watch:

The Death Watch was a Mandalorian splinter group. They wished to start a war, and continue to be brutal savages. Heavy troopers used extremely powerful weapons.

 

Death Watch Commander:

The Death Watch was a Mandalorian splinter group. They wished to start a war, and continue to be brutal savages. The Death Watch commander led the war effort and commanded the troops.

 

Samus Aran:

Samus is a freelance bounty hunter who is motivated at least in part by wrath as well as an accompanying sense of duty, since her "bounty hunting" helps the galaxy get rid of unsavory elements such as the mysterious lifeforms known as Metroids, who can drain life energy and are frequently used as biological weapons. She is currently tracking Boba Fett, who is tracking Jodo Kast, who is tracking Nodon and Nonak.

 

Jimmy Jango:

An unfortunate reporter who was nearly killed by the Death Watch remnant. He was rescued by Ekrchry and has traveled with Aj, Ekrchry, and Rachel ever since.

Speaking of marvels, I am alive

together with you, when I might have been

alive with anyone under the sun,

when I might have been Abelard’s woman

or the whore of a Renaissance pope

or a peasant wife with not enough food

and not enough love, with my children

dead of the plague. I might have slept

in an alcove next to the man

with the golden nose, who poked it

into the business of stars,

or sewn a starry flag

for a general with wooden teeth.

I might have been the exemplary Pocahontas

or a woman without a name

weeping in Master’s bed

for my husband, exchanged for a mule,

my daughter, lost in a drunken bet.

I might have been stretched on a totem pole

to appease a vindictive god

or left, a useless girl-child,

to die on a cliff. I like to think

I might have been Mary Shelley

in love with a wrongheaded angel,

or Mary’s friend, I might have been you.

This poem is endless, the odds against us are endless,

our chances of being alive together

statistically nonexistent;

still we have made it, alive in a time

when rationalists in square hats

and hatless Jehovah’s Witnesses

agree it is almost over,

alive with our lively children

who–but for endless ifs–

might have missed out on being alive

together with marvels and follies

and longings and lies and wishes

and error and humor and mercy

and journeys and voices and faces

and colors and summers and mornings

and knowledge and tears and chance.

 

-Lisel Mueller

"Change means movement. Movement means friction. Only in the frictionless vacuum of a nonexistent abstract world can movement or change occur without that abrasive friction of conflict."

-Saul Alinsky

 

The Crystal Lake Series

 

Saturday, July 2, 2016

Crystal Lake, Illinois

 

Lumix GH1

Lumix G Vario 14-45mm f/3.5-5.6 zoom

ISO 100 -- f/5.6 -- 1/100 -- 28mm

SOOC JPEG

 

CI-CLIL-2016-07-02-GH1-22

The second stop on the way home from my college visit was in Richmond!

 

The Richmond Kmart appears to be a former Grants (and thus reminded me of the Erie Kmart that I visited last summer). It is very noticeably bigger than Anderson; it is also very nice; it has a Kmart Express gas station and it has a former Kmart Cafe (that still has the counter/displays, the full menu board and even the register! Looks like a more recent KCafe closure from what I've seen; if anybody else here has any more information I would like to know more about it!). This store appears to be doing fairly well for one of the last remaining stores in/near the Miami Valley.

 

Of course, I had to check out the Kmart Express after my main store rounds were complete, so I headed over there and looked around. This is the second Kmart Express I've seen, but the first one I have actually visited, as the other one (at the now nonexistent Brooklyn Super Kmart) had already closed. I didn't buy anything at this KExpress though, as I had spent my money in the main store. Hopefully next time I can buy some coffee or donuts from Kmart Express while going to/from Anderson (if I plan another college visit to Anderson U, which is likely)!

 

Hopefully the Richmond Kmart will still be able to remain "normal" for a good time longer...I like this store! :D

 

Kmart #7246 - 3150 National Road West - Richmond, Indiana

Vitis (grapevine) is a genus of 81 accepted species of vining plants in the flowering plant family Vitaceae. The genus consists of species predominantly from the Northern Hemisphere. It is economically important as the source of grapes, both for direct consumption of the fruit and for fermentation to produce wine. The study and cultivation of grapevines is called viticulture.

 

Most cultivated Vitis varieties are wind-pollinated with hermaphroditic flowers containing both male and female reproductive structures, while wild species are dioecious. These flowers are grouped in bunches called inflorescences. In many species, such as Vitis vinifera, each successfully pollinated flower becomes a grape berry with the inflorescence turning into a cluster of grapes. While the flowers of the grapevines are usually very small, the berries are often large and brightly colored with sweet flavors that attract birds and other animals to disperse the seeds contained within the berries.

 

Grapevines usually only produce fruit on shoots that came from buds that were developed during the previous growing season. In viticulture, this is one of the principles behind pruning the previous year's growth (or "One year old wood") that includes shoots that have turned hard and woody during the winter (after harvest in commercial viticulture). These vines will be pruned either into a cane which will support 8 to 15 buds or to a smaller spur which holds 2 to 3 buds.

 

Description

Flower buds are formed late in the growing season and overwinter for blooming in spring of the next year. They produce leaf-opposed cymes. Vitis is distinguished from other genera of Vitaceae by having petals which remain joined at the tip and detach from the base to fall together as a calyptra or 'cap'. The flowers are mostly bisexual, pentamerous, with a hypogynous disk. The calyx is greatly reduced or nonexistent in most species and the petals are joined together at the tip into one unit but separated at the base. The fruit is a berry, ovoid in shape and juicy, with a two-celled ovary each containing two ovules, thus normally producing four seeds per flower (or fewer by way of aborted embryos).

 

Other parts of the vine include the tendrils which are leaf-opposed, branched in Vitis vinifera, and are used to support the climbing plant by twining onto surrounding structures such as branches or the trellising of a vine-training system.

 

In the wild, all species of Vitis are normally dioecious, but under domestication, variants with perfect flowers appear to have been selected.

 

The genus Vitis is divided into two subgenera, Euvitis Planch. have 38 chromosomes (n=19) with berries borne on clusters and Muscadinia Planch. 40 (n=20) with small clusters.

 

Wild grapes can resemble the single-seeded Menispermum canadense (moonseed), which is toxic.

 

Species

Most Vitis species are found mostly in the temperate regions of the Northern Hemisphere in North America and eastern Asia, exceptions being a few in the tropics and the wine grape Vitis vinifera which originated in southern Europe and southwestern Asia. Grape species occur in widely different geographical areas and show a great diversity of form.

 

Their growth makes leaf collection challenging and polymorphic leaves make identification of species difficult. Mature grapevines can grow up to 48 centimetres (19 inches) in diameter at breast height and reach the upper canopy of trees more than 35 metres (115 feet) in height.

 

Many species are sufficiently closely related to allow easy interbreeding and the resultant interspecific hybrids are invariably fertile and vigorous. Thus the concept of a species is less well defined and more likely represents the identification of different ecotypes of Vitis that have evolved in distinct geographical and environmental circumstances.

 

The exact number of species is not certain. Plants of the World Online states 81 species are accepted, but lists 84. More than 65 species in Asia are poorly defined. Approximately 25 species are known in North America and just one, V. vinifera has Eurasian origins; some of the more notable include:

 

Vitis aestivalis, the summer grape, native to the Eastern United States, especially the Southeastern United States

Vitis amurensis, native to the Asian continent, including parts of Siberia and China

Vitis arizonica, The Arizona grape is native to Arizona, Utah, Nevada, California, New Mexico, Texas, and Northern Mexico.

Vitis berlandieri, native to the southern North America, primarily Texas, New Mexico and Arkansas. Primarily known for good tolerance against soils with a high content of lime, which can cause chlorosis in many vines of American origin

Vitis californica, the California wild grape, or Northern California grape, or Pacific grape, is a wild grape species widespread across much of California as well as southwestern Oregon

Vitis coignetiae, the crimson glory vine, a species from East Asia grown as an ornamental plant for its crimson autumn foliage

Vitis labrusca L., the fox grapevine, sometimes used for winemaking and for jam. Native to the Eastern United States and Canada. The Concord grape was derived by a cross with this species

Vitis riparia, the riverbank grapevine, sometimes used for winemaking and for jam. Native to the entire Eastern United States and north to Quebec

Vitis rotundifolia (syn. Muscadinia rotundifolia), the muscadine, used for jams and wine. Native to the Southeastern United States from Delaware to the Gulf of Mexico

Vitis rupestris, the rock grapevine, used for breeding of Phylloxera resistant rootstock. Native to the Southern United States

Vitis vinifera, the European grapevine. Native to the Mediterranean and Central Asia.

Vitis vulpina, the frost grape, native to the Eastern United States, from Massachusetts to Florida, and west to Nebraska, Kansas, and Texas Treated by some as a synonym of V. riparia.

 

Plants of the World Online also includes:

Vitis acerifolia Raf.

Vitis amoena Z.H. Chen, Feng Chen & WW.Y. Xie

Vitis baihuashanensis M.S.Kang & D.Z.Lu

Vitis balansana Planch.

Vitis bashanica P.C.He

Vitis bellula (Rehder) W.T.Wang

Vitis betulifolia Diels & Gilg

Vitis biformis Rose

Vitis blancoi Munson

Vitis bloodworthiana Comeaux

Vitis bourgaeana Planch.

Vitis bryoniifolia Bunge

Vitis × champinii Planch.

Vitis chunganensis Hu

Vitis chungii F.P.Metcalf

Vitis cinerea (Engelm.) Millardet

Vitis davidi (Rom.Caill.) Foëx

Vitis × doaniana Munson ex Viala

Vitis erythrophylla W.T.Wang

Vitis fengqinensis C.L.Li

Vitis ficifolia Bunge

Vitis flavicosta Mickel & Beitel

Vitis flexuosa Thunb.

Vitis girdiana Munson

Vitis hancockii Hance

Vitis heyneana Schult.

Vitis hissarica Vassilcz.

Vitis hui W.C.Cheng

Vitis jaegeriana Comeaux

Vitis jinggangensis W.T.Wang

Vitis jinzhainensis X.S.Shen

Vitis kaihuaica Z.H.Chen, Feng Chen & W.Y Xie

Vitis kiusiana Momiy.

Vitis lanceolatifoliosa C.L.Li

Vitis longquanensis P.L.Chiu

Vitis luochengensis W.T.Wang

Vitis menghaiensis C.L.Li

Vitis mengziensis C.L.Li

Vitis metziana Miq.

Vitis monticola Buckley

Vitis mustangensis Buckley

Vitis nesbittiana Comeaux

Vitis × novae-angliae Fernald

Vitis novogranatensis Moldenke

Vitis nuristanica Vassilcz.

Vitis palmata Vahl

Vitis pedicellata M.A.Lawson

Vitis peninsularis M.E.Jones

Vitis piasezkii Maxim.

Vitis pilosonervia F.P.Metcalf

Vitis popenoei J.L.Fennell

Vitis pseudoreticulata W.T.Wang

Vitis quinlingensis P.C.He

Vitis retordii Rom.Caill. ex Planch.

Vitis romanetii Rom.Caill.

Vitis ruyuanensis C.L.Li

Vitis saccharifera Makino

Vitis shenxiensis C.L.Li

Vitis shizishanensis Z.Y.Ma, J.Wen, Q.Fu & X.Q.Liu

Vitis shuttleworthii House

Vitis silvestrii Pamp.

Vitis sinocinerea W.T.Wang

Vitis sinoternata W.T.Wang

Vitis tiliifolia Humb. & Bonpl. ex Schult.

Vitis tsoi Merr.

Vitis wenchowensis C.Ling

Vitis wenxianensis W.T.Wang

Vitis wilsoniae H.J.Veitch

Vitis wuhanensis C.L.Li

Vitis xunyangensis P.C.He

Vitis yunnanensis C.L.Li

Vitis zhejiang-adstricta P.L.Chiu

There are many cultivars of grapevines; most are cultivars of V. vinifera. One of them includes, Vitis 'Ornamental Grape'.

 

Hybrid grapes also exist, and these are primarily crosses between V. vinifera and one or more of V. labrusca, V. riparia or V. aestivalis. Hybrids tend to be less susceptible to frost and disease (notably phylloxera), but wine from some hybrids may have a little of the characteristic "foxy" taste of V. labrusca.

 

The Latin word Vitis is feminine,[19] and therefore adjectival species names take feminine forms, such as V. vinifera.

 

Ecology

Phylloxera is an American root aphid that devastated V. vinifera vineyards in Europe when accidentally introduced in the late 19th century. Attempts were made to breed in resistance from American species, but many winemakers and customers did not like the unusual flavour profile of the hybrid vines. However, V. vinifera grafts readily onto rootstocks of the American species and their hybrids with V. vinifera, and most commercial production of grapes now relies on such grafts.

 

Commercial distribution

According to the UN's Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO), 75,866 square kilometres of the world is dedicated to grapes. Approximately 71% of world grape production is used for wine, 27% as fresh fruit, and 2% as dried fruit. A portion of grape production goes to producing grape juice to be used as a sweetener for fruits canned "with no added sugar" and "100% natural". The area dedicated to vineyards is increasing by about 2% per year.

 

Domestic cultivation

Grapevines are widely cultivated by gardeners, and numerous suppliers cater specifically for this trade. The plants are valued for their decorative foliage, often colouring brightly in autumn; their ability to clothe walls, pergolas and arches, thus providing shade; and their fruits, which may be eaten as dessert or provide the basis for homemade wines. Popular varieties include:-

 

Buckland Sweetwater' (white dessert)

'Chardonnay' (white wine)

'Foster's Seedling' (white dessert)

'Grenache' (red wine)

'Muscat of Alexandria' (white dessert)

'Müller-Thurgau' (white wine)

'Phoenix' (white wine)

'Pinot noir' (red wine)

'Regent' (red wine)

'Schiava Grossa' (red dessert)

'Seyval blanc' (white wine)

'Tempranillo' (red wine)

 

The following varieties have gained the Royal Horticultural Society's Award of Garden Merit:-

'Boskoop Glory' (dessert/wine)

'Brant' (black dessert)

'Claret Cloak' or 'Frovit' (ornamental)

'New York Muscat' (black dessert)

'Purpurea' (ornamental)

 

Uses

The fruit of several Vitis species are grown commercially for consumption as fresh grapes and for fermentation into wine. Vitis vinifera is the most important such species.

 

The leaves of several species of grapevine are edible and are used in the production of dolmades and Vietnamese lot leaves.

 

Culture

The grapevine (typically Vitis vinifera) has been used as a symbol since ancient times. In Greek mythology, Dionysus (called Bacchus by the Romans) was god of the vintage and, therefore, a grapevine with bunches of the fruit are among his attributes. His attendants at the Bacchanalian festivals hence had the vine as an attribute, together with the thyrsus, the latter often entwined with vine branches. For the same reason, the Greek wine cup (cantharos) is commonly decorated with the vine and grapes, wine being drunk as a libation to the god.

 

The grapevine has a profound symbolic meaning in Jewish tradition and culture since antiquity. It is referenced 55 times in the Hebrew Bible (Old Testament), along with grapes and wine, which are also frequently mentioned (55 and 19, respectively). It is regarded as one of the Seven Species, and is employed several times in the Bible as a symbol of the Israelites as the chosen people. The grapevine has a prominent place in Jewish rituals: the wine was given a special blessing, "creator of the fruit of the vine", and the Kiddush blessing is recited over wine or grape juice on Shabbat and Jewish holidays. It is also employed in various parables and sayings in rabbinic literature. According to Josephus and the Mishnah, a golden vine was hung over the inner chamber of the Second Temple. The grapevine is featured on Hasmonean and Bar Kokhba revolt coinage, and as a decoration in mosaic floors of ancient synagogues.

 

In Christian iconography, the vine also frequently appears. It is mentioned several times in the New Testament. We have the parable of the kingdom of heaven likened to the father starting to engage laborers for his vineyard. The vine is used as symbol of Jesus Christ based on his own statement, "I am the true vine (John 15:1)." In that sense, a vine is placed as sole symbol on the tomb of Constantia, the sister of Constantine the Great, and elsewhere. In Byzantine art, the vine and grapes figure in early mosaics, and on the throne of Maximianus of Ravenna it is used as a decoration.

 

The vine and wheat ear have been frequently used as symbol of the blood and flesh of Christ, hence figuring as symbols (bread and wine) of the Eucharist and are found depicted on ostensories. Often the symbolic vine laden with grapes is found in ecclesiastical decorations with animals biting at the grapes. At times, the vine is used as symbol of temporal blessing.

 

In Mandaeism, uthras (angels or celestial beings) are often described as personified grapevines (gupna).

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

MANIFESTO GLEITZEIT 2015

BY STELLY RIESLING

Featured below is another original art work of mine in homage to THE PIONEER OF INVISIBLE ART — PAUL JAISINI. Forget all the copycats that came after him — Master Paul Jaisini was the *FIRST* of a totally original concept and the *BEST*. My favorite thing about him is that he’s a voice, not an echo, which is quite rare.

DISCLAIMER: This is for anyone who is a hater OR wishes to better understand me, what I’m all about, so you can decide whether I’m weird or normal enough for you — a kind of very loose manifesto, rushed and unrevised, full of raw uncut emotion that I don’t like to be evident in my writing as lately I prefer a more professional, formal style, so we can consider this a rough draft of the more polished writing to come when I have extra time. I might return to this text later and clean it up or break it into separate parts. Right now it’s a long-winded hot mess, so if you manage to make any sense of it, BIG PROPS TO YOU. lol …and if you manage to read it ALL, you have my solemn respect!!! in a day when reading has been reduced to just catchy headliners and short captions of images once in a while. The consequence of this one-liner internet culture is non-linear, tunnel thinking, which is baaaaaad.

There lives among us a most enigmatic and charismatic creature named Paul Jaisini who led me into the wonderful world of art, not personally, but through descriptions of his artworks in essays written and published online by his friend, which painted the most fascinating images in my mind. Early on as a kiddo, I experimented with photography, simple point and shoot whatever looked attractive to me. Digital manipulation of my photographs with computer software followed… and somehow I learned useful drawing techniques along the way to combine existing elements with nonexistent ones, which allowed me to elevate the context for my ideas. Later, I started creating my own digital art from scratch for my friends and family as a favorite pastime. They would shower me with praise and repeatedly encouraged me to share my “different” vision with the rest of the world… it took a while and wasn’t easy to overcome the insecurity of not being good enough along with a gripping fear of being harshly criticized, but one day I woman-ed up and started publishing my work on the web, reminding myself that my livelihood didn’t depend on a positive reception.

Paul Jaisini’s role in all this has been to not disgrace myself, even if what I do is just a hobby. And I would never do him and other genius artists the disservice of calling myself a professional because I know I’ll never be as good as any of the GIANTS of pre-modern history. Be the best or be nothing, no middle ground.

People’s jealousy in the past, future and present over my obsessive love of Paul Jaisini, which they are well aware is purely plutonic, has caused them to despise the man and has made many relationships/friendships impossible for me. I refuse to have such people in my life because by harboring any negativity towards Paul, they unknowingly feel that way about me and express it to me. It’s their own problem for not realizing this. Paul’s new art movement, Gleitzeit, shaped me into the allegedly awesome girl I am today, giving my art more edge, more “sexy” because it refined my vision of the world and propelled me to attain the skills necessary to not dishonor my family name through tenacious pursuit of perfection. Since the beginning of my life, I attempted to depict what I saw in visual, musical and literal forms, but continuously failed without adequate training and determination. Paul Jaisini’s Gleitzeit was the answer to my prayers. Who I am today I owe mostly to him and his selfless ideals of the artverse that I’ve given unconditional loyalty to (he has this cool ability for hyper-vision to see whole universes, not itty bitty worlds, hence I call it an artverse instead of art world, with him in mind). So again, anyone who hates Paul Jaisini hates ME because, regardless of what he means to you, he is the most important person in my life for making me ME. The way a famous actor, dancer or singer inspires others to act, dance or sing, Paul inspired me to become a better artist, better writer, better everything. More people would understand if he was a household name because they’re wired to in society. But we’re inspiring each other all the time in our own little communities without being famous, so if someone has the ability to change even ONE person’s life immensely with creativity, it is a massive achievement. And passionate folks like myself are compelled to scream it from the cyber rooftops. So here I am. It’s whatever.

Furthermore, I’d like to address here a few pressing matters in light of some recent drama brought on by both strangers and former friends. To start, I never judge the passions, interests or likes of others, which are often in my face all over the place, so likewise they have no right to judge any of mine. It is quite unfortunate and frustrating how very little understanding and education the majority of people have or want to have. Their logic is as primitive as a chipmunk when it comes to promotion of fine art on the web: “spamming, advertising, report!” It’s their own problem that they fail to understand what it’s about due to the distorted lens through which they see the world or inability to think for themselves; an inherent lack of perception or inquisitiveness. Well, guess what? Every single image, every animation, every video, every post dedicated to Mr. Paul Jaisini and “Gleitziet” (to elaborate: a revolutionary new art movement Paul founded with his partner in crime and personal friend, EYKG, who discovered him and believed in him more than anyone) has an important purpose. Every one of those things you run across is a piece of a puzzle, a move in a game, an inch down a rabbit hole; the deeper you go, the more interesting it gets; the more levels you pass, the more clues unfold, the greater the suspense and nearer the conclusion (yet further). You earn awesome rewards like enlightenment, spiritual revelations, truths, knowledge, wisdom and the most profound reward of all: the drive to improve yourself to the absolute maximum, so an unending, unshakable drive. People often make a wrong turn in this cyber game and go back a few levels or get stuck. Those that keep on pushing, however, will come to find the effort has been worth it. And what awaits you in the end of it all? The greatest challenge to beating the game: YOUR OWN MIND. You will be forced to let go of every belief you held before you had reached the last level, to completely alter your mindset and perception of the world, of life, of yourself. But by the time you’ve gotten to that point, it will be as easy as falling off a cliff! (It is a kind of suicide after all — death and rebirth of spirit.)

Paul Jaisini does NOT, *I repeat* does NOT use mystery and obscurity to his advantage as a clever marketing ploy, no, he’s too next level for that with a consciousness so rich, he should wear a radioactive warning sign (he’ll melt your brain, best wear a tinfoil hat in his presence as I certainly would.) The statement he makes is loud and clear, hidden in plain site for those who take the time to connect the dots and have enough curiosity to fuel their journey into unknown territory (an open mind and flexible perception helps a lot). Actually, anyone with an IQ above 90 is sure to figure it out sooner or later. Hint: You don’t have to SEE an extraordinary thing with your eyes to know it exists, to understand it and realize its greatness — you can only feel it in your bone marrow, your spinal fluid, your heart and soul. The moment you do figure it out, as the skeleton key of the human soul, it will unlock the greatness and massive potential buried deep within, changing the doomed direction humanity is undoubtedly headed. I don’t speak in riddles, I speak in a clear direct way that intelligent humans will understand, so I’m counting on them.

GIG is an international group of artists and writers that support Paul Jaisini’s Gleitzeit. We started off as an unofficial fan club of Jaisini in 1996, comprised of only 6 individuals spanning 3 countries, and eventually escalated in status to an official fan group across the entire globe. A decade later it had grown to hundreds of fans. Nearly another decade later, there are thousands. Let’s not leave out another delightful group of vicious haters that have been around for nearly as long as us since the late 90s and have also grown in impressive numbers. Now, for the record (and please write this one down because I’m sick of repeating myself), Paul Jaisini himself is not part of our group and has nothing to do with us. He loves and hates us equally for butchering his name and making him appear as a narcissistic nut-job in his own words. He casts hexes on us for the blinding flash we layer over the art that members contribute to GIG — “disgusting-police-lights, seizure-inducing-laser-lightshow, bourgeois-myspace-effects retarded-raver shit” in Paul’s words. Ahh, how we love his sweet-talking us. In a desperate attempt to please him, those among us who make the art and animations have spent countless hours and sleepless nights trying to solve a crazy-complex quantum-physics type of equation = how to not create tacky or tasteless content. He does fancy some of it now, we got better, that’s something! In the reason stated below, our mission just got out of hand at some point.

What little is known about Paul Jaisini, even in all this time, is he’s a horrible perfectionist who slaughtered hundreds of innocent babies — I mean — artworks of remarkable beauty created by his own right hand (mostly paintings, some watercolors and drawings). He’s a fierce recluse who wants nothing to do with anyone or anything in life. But those few of us who know of an incredible talent he possesses (one could go as far as calling it a superpower), could not allow him to live his life without the recognition he FUCKING DESERVES more than any artist out there living today and, arguably, yesterday. We use whatever means necessary to reach more people, lots of flash and razzle-dazzle to lure them into our sinister trap of a higher awareness. Mwahaha! The visual boom you’ve witnessed in both cyber and real worlds, that is GIG’s doing — two damn decades of spreading an art virus — IVA. InVisibleArtitis… or a drug as in Intravenous Art. It’s whatever you want it to be, honey.

Our Gleitzeit International Group (GIG) started off innocently enough and gradually spiraled out of control to fight the haters, annoying the hell out of them as much as humanly possible. They don’t like what we do? WE DO MORE AND MORE OF IT. But never without purpose, without a carefully executed plan in mind collectively. If we have to tolerate an endless tidal wave of everyone’s vomit — e.g., idiotic memes and comics; dumbed-down one-liner quotes; selfies; so-called “art photography” passed through one-click app filters; mindless scribbles or random splatters by regular folks who have the nerve to call themselves serious/pro artists; primitive images of pets, babies, landscapes, random objects, etc… then people sure as shit are gonna tolerate what we put out, our animated and non-animated visual art designed for our beloved master, Paul Jaisini, who has shown us the light, the right path to follow, taught us great things and done so much for us — and so in our appreciation of him, we stamp his name on everything, for the sacrifices he has made in the name of art, to save our art verse, he’s a goddamn hero. There’s a book being written in his dedication where little will be left to the imagination about him.

If Paul Jaisini was as famous as Koons or Hirst, for example, people would know it’s not him posting stuff online with his name on it but fans creating fanart like myself among others. But noooooo, such a thing is unfathomable to most people - the promotion of another artist. Like, what’s in it for us? Uhh, nothing?? This is all NON-PROFIT bitches, the way art should be. It’s a passion FIRST, a commodity/commercial product/marketable item LAST and least. Its been that way for us since the early 90s to this day. Not a single member of GIG has sold an art work (neither has Paul Jaisini who’s a true professional) and we want to keep it that way. We do it for reasons far beyond ego. So advertising? Really? How the hell do you advertise or sell thin air, you know, invisible paintings, invisible anything? Ha ha, very funny indeed. The idea here is so simple, your neighbor’s dog can grasp it. Our motives: replace fast food for the mind with fine art, actual fine art. You know, creativity? Conscious thought? Talent? Skill? Knowledge? All that good stuff rolled into one to bring viewers more than a momentary ooohand aaahh reaction. Replace the recycled images ad nauseum; repetitious, worn-out ideas; disposable, gimmicky, money-driven fast art for simpletons. Stick with the highest of ideals and save the whole bloody planet.

Fine art is often confused with craft-making. This often creates bad blood between classically trained artists who put out paintings that leave a lasting impression, that make strong conversation pieces, that are thought-provoking and deep… and trained craftspeople whose skills are adequate to create decorative pieces for homely environments — landscapes, still lifes, animals, pretty fairies, common things of fantasy, and other simplicity. Skills alone are not enough for high art, you need a vision, a purpose, the ability to tell a story with every stroke of your brush that will both fascinate and terrify the viewers, arousing powerful emotions, illuminating. I have yet to see a visible painting in my generation that does anything at all for me, other than evoke sheer outrage and disgust. What a terrible waste of space and valuable resources it all is.

Paul Jaisini leads, we follow. He wishes to remain unknown - so do most of us. I’m next in line, slipping into recluse mode, no longer wanting to attach my face, my human image to my art stuff. I wish to be a nameless, faceless artist as well, invisible like P.J., and in his footsteps I too have destroyed thousands of my own artistic photography and digital art made with tedious, labor-intensive handwork. The whole point of this destruction is achieving the finest results possible by letting go of the imperfect, purging it on a regular basis, to make way for the perfect. I love what I do so it doesn’t matter, I know I’ll keep producing as much as I’m discarding, keeping the balance. Hoarding is an enemy of progress, especially the digital kind as there’s absolutely no limit to it. It’s like carrying a load of bricks on your back you’ll never use or need.

The watering down of creativity that digital pack ratting has caused as observed over the years is most tragic. For the creative individual, relying on terabytes of stock photos or OSFAP as I call them (Once Size Fits All Photos) instead of making your own as you used to when you had no choice, being 100% original, is a splinter in the conscience. It’s not evil to use stock of, say, things you don’t have access to (outer space, deep sea, Antarctica, etc.), but many digital artists I know today can’t take their own shot of a pencil ‘cause they “ain’t got no time for that!” How did they have time before? Did time get so compressed in only a decade?

Ohhhhh, and the edits, textures, filters, plug-ins and what-have-you available out there to everyone and their cats… are responsible for the tidal wave of rubbish that eclipses the magnificent light of the real talents.

I can tell you with utmost sincerity there is no better feeling on earth than knowing your creation is ALL yours, every pixel and dot, from the first to the last. It’s not always possible to make it so, but definitely the most rewarding endeavor. I’m most proud of myself when I can accomplish that.

Back to Paul Jaisini, from the start there have been a number of theories floating around on what his real story is. One of my own theories is that he stands for the unknowns of the world who can’t get representation, can’t get exhibited at a decent gallery because highly gifted/trained artists aren’t good enough - those kind of establishments prefer bananas, balloon dogs, feces, gigantic dicks/cunts, and all kinds of what-the-fucks…

So again, you don’t get the Paul Jaisini thing? That’s your problem. Don’t hate others for getting it. People are good, very good, at making baseless assumptions and impulsively spewing it as truth. They criticize and judge as if they’re high authorities on the subject yet they clearly lack education in fine art or art history and possess little to no talent or skill to back up their bullshit. My little “credibility radar” never fails. When they say I know this or I know that, I reply don’t say “I know” or state things as fact as a general rule of thumb - instead say “I assume/believe” and state the reasons you feel thus to appear less immature, especially about a controversial topic like invisible art. I have zero respect or tolerance for egomaniacs who think they know it all and act accordingly like arrogant pricks. Who can stand those, right? Once again, a good example would be: I, Stelly Riesling, believe everything I’ve written in this little manifesto to be correct based on personal experience and observation from multiple angles, thorough research and sufficient data collected from verifiable sources (and don’t go copying-pasting my own words back at me, be original). Just because you or I say so doesn’t make it so. Just because you or me think or believe so doesn’t make it true or right. I only ask that my opinions are regarded respectfully and whoever opposes them does so in a mature, civilized manner. We should only be entitled to opinions that don’t bring out the worst in us.

I don’t normally take such a position, but the time has come to stand up for what I believe in! It’s quite amusing and comical how haters think calling me names, attacking me or my interests or members of the project I’m part of for years is going to change something. It only makes more evident the importance of what I’m doing so I push on harder still.

Words of advise to those who can identify with me, with my frustrations over people’s reluctance to change their miserable ways, with our declining art world…

DON’T waste time on people who sweat the small stuff, whose actions are consistently inconsistent with their words. DO waste time on people who always keep their eye on the ball—the bigger picture of life.

Paul Jaisini’s invisible paintings are more than hype, more than your lame assumptions. Here’s one I got that’s pure gold: a cult! It started out as A JOKE OF MINE that was used against me. I told a then-good friend that he should come join our little “art cult” in a clearly lighthearted manner, and later he takes this idea I put in his head first and accuses me of being in an (imaginary) cult—the jokes on me eh?. But wait, aren’t cults religious? Our group consists of people around the world of different faiths (or none at all) so how could that ever work? If religion was about making fine (non-pop) art mainstream and bringing awesome, fresh, futuristic concepts to the collective consciousness, the world would not be so fucked up today because talent, creativity, originality and individuality would be the main focus, not superficial poppycock; those things would be praised and encouraged and supported in society by all institutions, not demonized and stigmatized.

Here is one thing I CAN state as solid fact: only one person close to Paul Jaisini knows the TRUE story, or at least some of it: EYKG. Everything else that has ever been said about him is myth, legend, gossip, speculation, the worst of which is said by jealous non-artists (wannabes, clones, posers, hang-ons, unoriginal ppl in general) and anti-artists (religious psychos, squares, losers and -duh- stupid ppl). Sadly, people are unable to see the bigger picture by letting their egos run their lives or repeating after others as parrots.

Commercial art, consumerism, and ignorance of the masses truly makes me want to curl up in a ball, not eat or drink or move until I die, just die in my sleep while dreaming of a better world, a world where real fine artists rule it with real fine art as they used to and life is beautiful once again….

Well I hope that settled THAT for now, or perhaps inadvertently made matters worse. I hope I didn’t sound too pissed from all these issues that keep popping up like penises on ChatRoulette… just got to me already! Can you tell? I had to put my foot down, stomp ‘em all!

To be continued, still lots more ignorance and pettiness to battle… Till then peace out my bambini. MWAH!

  

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

MANIFESTO GLEITZEIT 2015

PROLOGUE

Paul Jaisini was like a messiah, as you wish, who saw/understood the impending end and complete degeneration of Fine art or Art become and investment nothing more than that. He predicted the bubble pops art when everybody would eventually become an artist, including dogs cats and horses, because they as kids followed the main rule: express yourself without skills or knowledge or any aesthetic concerns. J. Pollack started pouring paints onto canvases; Julian Schnabel, former cab driver from NY, suddenly decided he could do better than what he saw displayed in galleries, so he started gluing dishes on canvases; A.Warhol, an industrial artist who made commercial silk-screen for the factories he worked in, started to exhibit "Campbell's soup" used for commercial adds... and later the thing that made him an "American Idol": by copying and pasting Hollywood celebrities (same type of posters he made before for movie theaters).

When Paul Jaisini stood out against the Me culture in the US by burning all of his own 120 brilliant paintings (according to the then-new director of Fort Worth MoMa Museum, who offered hin an exhibition of his art in 1992, and later the Metropolitan Museum curator, Phillippe de Montebello, in 1994).Paul probably assumed all fellow true fine artists would join him or stand by him against corruption of the art world.

And after 20 years of his stand-off...the time has finally come today. Many artists and humanitarians around the world took a place beside him. His invisible Paintings became a synonym for the future reincarnation of fine art and long lost harmony. The establishment is in panic! The "moneybags" (as Paul Jaisini named them) are in panic, because they invested BILLIONS of dollars in real crap made by

craftsmen. Now they realize that the reputation of American legends of expressionism was nothing but a copy of Russian avant-garde" Kazimir Malevich, Vasiliy Kandinsky and tens of others from France and Germany.. US tycoon investors were spending billions on "Me more original, than you". "Artist Shit" is a 1061 artwork by the Italian artist Piero Manzoni. The work consists of 90 tin cans, filled with feces. A tin can was sold for £124,000, 180,000 at Sothebys, 2007.

EPILOGUE

Before I resume promoting and admiring a very important art persona on today's international art arena, I'd like to clear up some BIG questions; people ask continuously and subconsciously, directly & indirectly: "Why does the name Paul Jaisini, flood the Internet in such "obnoxious" quantities that it's started suppressing some other activities that my friends might share with the rest of the Internet's Ego Me only Me www society? I can't just answer this... so I'll try to explain why I'm writing this: Jaisini's followers keep posting art and info about,

He IMHO the only hope in quickly decomposing visual fine art. "Paul Jaisini realized many years ago, in 1994, when he declared (at that time to himself only) the start of a New era, a New vision, that he is trying to redirect from the rat race, started by an establishment in post-war New York, long before the Internet culture.

Sub related information: Adolf Gottlieb, Mart Rothko, etc (after visiting Paris France in 1933):

"We must forget analytical art, we must express ourselves, as a 5 year old child would, without a developed consciousness. Forget about results - do what you feel, EXPRESS yourself with your own unique style"

With this statement Mark Rothko starts to teach his students, degeneration of fine art begins, and the generation of war of styles took a start signal of the material race, greatly rewarded by establishment "individual" - eccentric craftsmen - show business clowns.

Sub related Information: In the summer of 1936, Adolf Gottlieb painted more than 800 paintings, which was 20X more than he created in his whole art career as a painter, starting from the time of Gottlieb becomes a founding member of "The Ten" group in NYC "Group of Ten" was a very peculiar, enigmatic group... Based on a religious point of view;(where a human figure was prohibited from being created)

GLOSSARY

IN 1997, Paul Jaisini's best friend Ellen Y.K.Gottlieb started a cyber campaign by promoting on a very young Internet, back then, Paul Jaisini's burned paintings as Invisible Paintings, visible only through poetic essays. She and a handful of people saw his originals and were devastated that nobody could ever see them again. "We, his fans, believe that someday Paul will recreate his 120 burned paintings if he has any decency and moral obligation to his fans, who have dedicated decades to make it happen, for their Phoenix to rise from the ashes and the whole world will witness that all these years we spent to get him back to re-paint the Visuals again were not in vain," - said E.Y.K.Gottlieb in 2014 during the 20th anniversary celebration of Invisible Paintings to GIGroup in NYCity. So now, hopefully, this clears up why I and others do what we do - our "cyber terrorism" of good art, dedicated to Paul Jaisini's return, which is & and was our mission & our goal. We post good art to fight "troll art" which is worthless pics, after being passed through 1-click filters of free web apps. We are, in fact, against this www pops pollution, done with "bubble art" by the out of control masses with 5 billon pics a day: Pics of cats, memes, quotes,national geographic sunsets and waterfalls, not counting their own daily "selfies: and whatever self-indulging Me-ego-Me affairs, sponsored happily by photo gadget companies like Canon, Nikon, Sony...who churn out higher quality madness tools at lower cost.

This way Government taking away attention from the real world crisis of lowest morality & economical devastation. The masses are too easily re-engineered/manipulated by the Establishment PopsStyle delivered to them by pop music and Hollywood "super" stars. In 1992 Paul Jaisini's Gleitzeit theory predict such a massive, pops self-entertain madness, following technologicalexplosion, but not in illusive scales.

Uber Aless @2015 NYC USA

NOTE Date's numbers and events can be slightly inaccurate.

#gleitzeit #paul-jaisini #invisible #painting #art #futurism #art-news,

 

The Star Hotel, 246 Silver Street, Elko, Nevada. The Star Hotel is a Basque, family-style restaurant and lounge, serving excellent European style food in an old world atmosphere. Specialties at the Star Hotel include steaks and lamb dishes.

 

The Star Hotel opened in December of 1910 after a September construction start and building costs of $11,000. The long time dream of Pete Jauregui to make a home away from home for Basques, had come true. Eleven rooms, one bath and heat from wood stoves provided a cozy home for herders needing a place to stay until spring. Two years later, increased business demands required adding on, thus doubling the size of the building to its present day size. Sheep bands were sold in the winter, leaving herders without a home. The Star Hotel offered a friendly place with familiar language and customs, so unlike the English language and the incomprehensible customs they found in their new, strange land. The Star Hotel was and continues to be a gathering place for all Basques. When it was first built, night life was nonexistent and the Star began holding dances, forerunners to the Sheepherders' Ball, still held during the winter. One attraction of these dances, was the presence of young Basque girls who had come over to work in the hotel as maids and waitresses. Turn over was rapid because most of the young women quickly received marriage proposals. Many weddings were performed at the Star, and the Jaureguis would furnish the wedding supper and dance as a wedding gift to the happy couples. In the years that followed the marriages, the Star served as a lying-in hospital for expectant mothers who came in from remote sheep camps and ranches where they lived. Matilde Jauregui, wife of the owner, assisted the doctor with deliveries and care of the mothers and their new babies. Also, during World War I, a flu epidemic raged, and many stricken people were cared for at the Star. Board and room during the early years cost $1.00 a day, and drinks at the bar were eight to ten for $1.00.

 

During prohibition, drinks were served in a private room where the evidence could quickly be hidden in the event of a raid. Meals were served family style, in the patterned copper ceiling dining room. When the meals were ready, a waitress rang a large bell which could be heard everywhere in the hotel. There were no menus, and everyone ate the same thing at long tables where they mingled while eating. Meals included porru-salda (leek soup), baratzuri-salda (garlic soup), bacaloa a la vizcaina (salt cod in tomato and pimento sauce), clams and rice, garbanzos with chorizos, arroz con pollo (rice with chicken), rice pudding and flan or fruit. Spaghetti and beans were added as side dishes. Most early diners were boarders of the hotel.

 

Family style service and the calling dinner bell are customs still practiced today. There are some long-term boarders who are considered family and who eat at the Star, but most of the restaurant business comes from the community and tourism. Jauregui, Corta, Arrascada, Garamendi, Bengoa, Ozamis, Juaristi, Esnoz, Yanci, Aldazabal, Sarasua, Leonis, Lazcano - these were the families that have made the Star Hotel continuously owned by Basques, carrying on a 97-year tradition of Basque hospitality. The present proprietors of the Star Hotel are Scott and Tricia Ygoa. They purchased the establishment in November of 2004 and are continuing to provide the friendly atmosphere and excellent food that has been the hallmark of the Star since 1910.

I'm so sorry I didn't tell you goodbye before you left.

Map drawn as a cover for a ring binder I gave my mother's for her 50st birthday. I made the map entirely by hand and with a brand pan - normal pencils won't stick on the plastic of the ring binder.

 

However, the varnish reacted somehow with the ink, so down under is blurred a bit (and a bit too much). Moreover, the ring binder isn't exactly water proof anymore, so the varnish actually counteracts the purpose of itself.

 

2011.

More nice poses from a vocalizing Willow Flycatcher. This pic also has some good ID marks - broad bill yellowish underneath, and white throat compared to gray chest… almost nonexistent eye ring and muted wing bars.

A Tenacious Midget

 

A man departed the comfort of his truck and put his back to a cold onshore wind. He walked across the parking area to where the snowplow had pushed the snow to a depth too deep for comfortable walking. Being a kind soul, he scattered kernels of corn upon this stretch of snow, on the other side of which, the Anna River flowed into frozen Munising Bay. Some 200 anticipating mallards rushed out of the partially frozen water, stumbling in their haste and shoving each other, each making an effort to consume as many kernels as possible. Three black ducks, dark as burnt wood, and a male green-winged teal, exquisite as a Christmas ornament, stood out from the melee. Delicate as the teal appeared, he was a tenacious midget. Barely a third the mass of a mallard, he threatened with open bill and shouldered his way into the crowd to get his share of corn and was quite successful at it.

 

At best the green-winged teal is an unexpected midwinter duck within the Lake Superior watershed. Compatible water for puddle ducks is quite scarce or nonexistent. The average January temperature in Munising is 12º F and in Sault Sainte Marie 10º F. These locations are on Lake Superior’s south shore. On the north shore at Marathon, Ontario, it is just 1º F.

 

Click on the following:

 

ebird.org/checklist/S33789783

 

Alan

 

The second stop on the way home from my college visit was in Richmond!

 

The Richmond Kmart appears to be a former Grants (and thus reminded me of the Erie Kmart that I visited last summer). It is very noticeably bigger than Anderson; it is also very nice; it has a Kmart Express gas station and it has a former Kmart Cafe (that still has the counter/displays, the full menu board and even the register! Looks like a more recent KCafe closure from what I've seen; if anybody else here has any more information I would like to know more about it!). This store appears to be doing fairly well for one of the last remaining stores in/near the Miami Valley.

 

Of course, I had to check out the Kmart Express after my main store rounds were complete, so I headed over there and looked around. This is the second Kmart Express I've seen, but the first one I have actually visited, as the other one (at the now nonexistent Brooklyn Super Kmart) had already closed. I didn't buy anything at this KExpress though, as I had spent my money in the main store. Hopefully next time I can buy some coffee or donuts from Kmart Express while going to/from Anderson (if I plan another college visit to Anderson U, which is likely)!

 

Hopefully the Richmond Kmart will still be able to remain "normal" for a good time longer...I like this store! :D

 

Kmart #7246 - 3150 National Road West - Richmond, Indiana

The second stop on the way home from my college visit was in Richmond!

 

The Richmond Kmart appears to be a former Grants (and thus reminded me of the Erie Kmart that I visited last summer). It is very noticeably bigger than Anderson; it is also very nice; it has a Kmart Express gas station and it has a former Kmart Cafe (that still has the counter/displays, the full menu board and even the register! Looks like a more recent KCafe closure from what I've seen; if anybody else here has any more information I would like to know more about it!). This store appears to be doing fairly well for one of the last remaining stores in/near the Miami Valley.

 

Of course, I had to check out the Kmart Express after my main store rounds were complete, so I headed over there and looked around. This is the second Kmart Express I've seen, but the first one I have actually visited, as the other one (at the now nonexistent Brooklyn Super Kmart) had already closed. I didn't buy anything at this KExpress though, as I had spent my money in the main store. Hopefully next time I can buy some coffee or donuts from Kmart Express while going to/from Anderson (if I plan another college visit to Anderson U, which is likely)!

 

Hopefully the Richmond Kmart will still be able to remain "normal" for a good time longer...I like this store! :D

 

Kmart #7246 - 3150 National Road West - Richmond, Indiana

After discovering the 517 was still a thing and operated by CT4N using Solos I decided to try and get a better planned photo in the sunshine. The route means there are barely any opportunities to get the afternoon sun on both the front and side at the same time, but I thought the bottom of School Lane might be a good call, which worked... sort of. As you can see, the sun isn't on the side because the angle for getting it was perfectly blocked by the blue car on the right, so I just had to make do with standing here instead.

 

As you can see, this is the 517 to Beeston thanks to CT4N actually providing a destination, unlike Nottingham Coaches which only provided the route number and Yourbus which provided nothing. Now all I need to figure out is where the damn thing starts (I'm guessing some random school) and if there's a morning journey in the opposite direction. Where do you come from, where do you go, where do you come from Cotton-Eye-517?

 

The 680, which used to pass in the opposite direction to the 517 along here, appears to be long-gone and would seem to have only operated in the Nottingham Coaches days when they always used one of their Van Hool T8s on it. Again, service information was nonexistent, but if it was still running I reckon CT4N would've taken that over too and not provided any vehicle worth getting excited over. They have that Omnidekka, but whether they've used it for anything other than loaning it to Redfern I have no idea.

 

So, here is one of CT4N's ex-Blackpool Solos at the bottom of School Lane in Chilwell (apt for a school bus), seen with the Charlton Arms behind it, plus a badly parked Peugeot and some boring, grey SUVs that do a good job of blending into the background.

 

22.9.21

024

Fortune Global Forum 2018

October 16th, 2018

Toronto, Canada

 

3:30 PM

THE NEW GLOBAL CONSUMER: DOING BUSINESS IN A DIGITAL ECONOMY

The digital economy is no longer part of the economy. It is the economy. How can traditional brick-and-mortar firms reinvent themselves, their supply chains, and their marketplaces to avoid the fate of brands once thought of as everlasting but which are now nonexistent? And how are new platforms – from e-commerce to shared services – rewriting the rules of the game? A conversation on how businesses can manage expectations for digitally empowered customers, and how technology is being used to enhance the customer experience.

Alain Bejjani, Chief Executive Officer, Majid al Futtaim

Andrea Stairs, General Manager, Canada and Latin America, eBay

Ning Tang, Founder and CEO, CreditEase

Moderator: Phil Wahba, Senior Writer, Fortune

 

Photograph by Stuart Isett/Fortune

The second stop on the way home from my college visit was in Richmond!

 

The Richmond Kmart appears to be a former Grants (and thus reminded me of the Erie Kmart that I visited last summer). It is very noticeably bigger than Anderson; it is also very nice; it has a Kmart Express gas station and it has a former Kmart Cafe (that still has the counter/displays, the full menu board and even the register! Looks like a more recent KCafe closure from what I've seen; if anybody else here has any more information I would like to know more about it!). This store appears to be doing fairly well for one of the last remaining stores in/near the Miami Valley.

 

Of course, I had to check out the Kmart Express after my main store rounds were complete, so I headed over there and looked around. This is the second Kmart Express I've seen, but the first one I have actually visited, as the other one (at the now nonexistent Brooklyn Super Kmart) had already closed. I didn't buy anything at this KExpress though, as I had spent my money in the main store. Hopefully next time I can buy some coffee or donuts from Kmart Express while going to/from Anderson (if I plan another college visit to Anderson U, which is likely)!

 

Hopefully the Richmond Kmart will still be able to remain "normal" for a good time longer...I like this store! :D

 

Kmart #7246 - 3150 National Road West - Richmond, Indiana

This is a glass negative copy of what appears to be a 6th plate Ambrotype. I'm not sure about her first name being Mary that's only my best guess. I'd try to find out some history on her but unfortunately records for African Americans at the time the Ambrotype was made are virtually nonexistent. Scanned from the original 3x4 inch glass negative.

Hiroshima Electric Railway Co., Ltd. (Hiroden): the city of Hiroshima has the largest tram network in Japan, with 35.1 km of standard gauge tracks, electrified at 600 V DC. This network can be divided into two parts: the urban one, with 19.0 km o tracks, and the suburban light rail line of Miyajima (16.1 km). The rolling stock consists of almost 300 vehicles and, unlike most Japanese tram networks, there are a large number of long articulated trams.

 

Public transportation in Japan is extraordinary. The impressive professionalism of its workers is fundamental to its operation.

 

And I want to reflect on this. During my trip, I observed that all public transportation systems have a large number of employees. A huge number! This is a fundamental difference compared to European services, where the presence of staff at stations, on trains, and on trams is increasingly smaller, or even nonexistent. It's true that the sheer volume of Japanese transportation can only function with such efficiency thanks to the large number of employees. But it's equally true that the staff reductions we experience in the West only create more problems.

 

Here we see a worker who wouldn't exist in Europe. This is the guard who protects the entrance and exit of the trams at the Hiroden-honsha-mae depot, as they have to cross the sidewalk. A job that wouldn't exist in our unfortunate ultra-liberal culture.

The second stop on the way home from my college visit was in Richmond!

 

The Richmond Kmart appears to be a former Grants (and thus reminded me of the Erie Kmart that I visited last summer). It is very noticeably bigger than Anderson; it is also very nice; it has a Kmart Express gas station and it has a former Kmart Cafe (that still has the counter/displays, the full menu board and even the register! Looks like a more recent KCafe closure from what I've seen; if anybody else here has any more information I would like to know more about it!). This store appears to be doing fairly well for one of the last remaining stores in/near the Miami Valley.

 

Of course, I had to check out the Kmart Express after my main store rounds were complete, so I headed over there and looked around. This is the second Kmart Express I've seen, but the first one I have actually visited, as the other one (at the now nonexistent Brooklyn Super Kmart) had already closed. I didn't buy anything at this KExpress though, as I had spent my money in the main store. Hopefully next time I can buy some coffee or donuts from Kmart Express while going to/from Anderson (if I plan another college visit to Anderson U, which is likely)!

 

Hopefully the Richmond Kmart will still be able to remain "normal" for a good time longer...I like this store! :D

 

Kmart #7246 - 3150 National Road West - Richmond, Indiana

happy holidays from muni & why life-after-death theories are societal dangers that allow USURERS to abuse other people, scott richard

PRESS PLAY

wishful thinking

wilco

 

one of the saddest things about the majority of the human population is their belief in "life after death."

 

it's bad enough that so many weak-minded people already believe that a virgin had a baby. there is something psychotic in this INCREDIBLY SILLY scenario.

 

especially when we all fundamentally know that the odds of virgin birth are MYTHICAL.

 

but ATHENA beat mary to the punch.

and she sprang FULLY FORMED from ZEUS' forehead.

 

plus, you don't have to be a genius to figure out that "child of god" was a contemporary vernacularism for BASTARD OFFSPRING.

 

even the allegedly associated prophecies xians site from isaiah indicate that the "messiah" will be born from the lowest place in society...

 

but xians can't handle GROWN UP SEXUAL POLITICKS. it's just one of their intellectual failures.

 

and it is from this SEXUAL IMMATURITY that xianity develops its neo-imperialism.

 

the bastard child becomes triumphant by being deified. and then you make up stories about the mysterious birth. it becomes the fundament.

 

but is this really a great role model for civil society?

 

it sounds like a rocknroll suicide to me.

and it leaves women in the position of whore or mother, which must be so boring. who wouldn't want to be both if you only had two choices?

 

but, i've known a bunch of whores who became mothers. or, as i sadly say, we used to be friends, now they're boring as fk. i'm kidding, they were all sort of weirdly asexual if i'm being honest. the women i knew who slept around a lot more did end up single and childless. sexual contact teaches us many, many things about life that sexual inexperience never will. another good reason why the sexually inexperienced should listen to the sexually experienced. experience is not indecipherable, but the way it changes people is permanent. and discussion is the easiest way to share experiences without having the experience. so i'm a fan of a lot more discussion. too many people are sexually immature and believe that sexual maturity is a moral issue instead of a PHYSICAL AND SPIRITUAL issue. they don't understand that abstinence and frigidity and disconnection is PHYSICALLY AND SPIRITUALLY worse than debauchery and disease. and admittedly, it does seem like there are intuitive and counter-intuitive forces at play.

 

but shying away from the forces is DIRECT social yielding. it is protective and an outgrowth of fear and cowardice. it ELIMINATES opportunity and positive growth with its expectations and presets. abstinence, frigidity and disconnection are all signs of abuse, infractions and shame. they are TOTALLY NORMAL in the united states' framework of acceptable sexual roles. many religious operating systems hijack personal sexuality and force it into the community decision making process.

 

some call it repression, but it is a forced hostility onto the spirit of sexuality and NON-SEXUAL relationshipping. it is an ATTACK against people, not a repression of something.

 

it has LONG TERM GOALS in mind, though so many of the true lessons of human sexuality teach us that LONG TERM GOALS = SLAVERY and monetized behavioral systems of control and restriction. we have almost EVERY human civilization with records to demonstrate this consistency.

 

and from this deep SICKNESS of spirit and physicality, HOMOLOATHING is fostered by the debt givers, our dear friends who give loans to family cycle logic -- homes and education & their insurance/health scam buddies who sell security and promises of safety.

 

so let's not pretend that these things called ABSTINENCE, FRIGIDITY and DISCONNECTION aren't HOSTILE ANTI-HUMAN FORCES. and they are currently allowed to do whatever they want even in the wake of such terrible children who are being force-fed poisons that will indebt them PHYSICALLY AND SPIRITUALLY to the vampire health system.

 

and a great french playwright crafted a fine play about it called TARTUFFE. it alleged that there is NOTHING WORSE than an aging hypocrite who has cheated and lied their way through life.

 

way to go bill cosby and all your fellow like -- you are far too numerous to count -- but you get the TARTUFFE award this decade for all the decades of work you did.

 

though i suppose, instead we should champion the very few men who haven't done the same...

 

and let's not forget a huuuuuuuuuge congrats to all the women along the way who helped cosby and trump become the legends they are right now and for a bit on how they will be known in a decade or so.

 

ah, sex and experience lead the man into temptation. but how many of the women loved it and wanted it and haven't spoken up about it?? GOT THE JOB BECAUSE OF IT!!!!!! THAT'S WHY THEY MAKE YOU SUCK DCK, DUMMY. SO THEY CAN TELL EVERYONE LATER.

 

SO HONESTLY, how many women haven't stood up and said, hey i sucked. i did it.== way too many fking women sucked and won't admit it. they GENERATED THE SAME CRASS STRUGGLE, lol. it was a two-way sex communion. just like usury. the powerful indebt the weak through promises and promotions/loans.

 

[trump blows loudly!!]

those who never sucked, please stand over here...

[the room remained motionless, not a single person moved, man or woman.]

 

besides, the way liars and cheaters work, cosby will get roasted and reinstated by 2030. but people like this make shtty husbands and the social battering their women take can't be good for any economic level of society.

 

call me SINIKAL if you like, but there is the obvious "life beyond hashtag" HER 3 moment. or, if people actually still waste time tweeting in a year or two, if will just be the #HER3 movement. you're welcome.

 

and i'll never understand why women put up with their lousy husbands or vice versa. and i don't like to be reminded of these unions.

 

some of these lady "friends" still call me up every year to get my mailing address so they can show off their family accomplishments each year -- the xmas card somehow the symbol of their year long creativity.

 

but somehow i can't help noticing that that fantastic ALBUM or PAINTING or POEM or NOVEL never got made and that these women were never going to become the person they so devoutly claimed they were going to be when we chose a friendship together.

 

and i was INTENTIONALLY biased. i literally CHOSE my friends based on their desire to propagate and create a family. if they were going in that direction, i parted ways. i grew up on hip hop and the first rule of hip hop is NEVER DATE A SINGLE MOM. if you cross translate this to reason, the embedded information can be decoded:

 

women with children will almost always prioritize their relationships AFTER their kids. kids get top billing.

 

and if they don't, that's almost worst, literally. it's a more fkt up situation if they don't really like their kids.

 

second, this prioritization precedes any relationship no matter what the historical longevity or nature of the association.

 

third, you won't get anything out it because it's a lopsided amago.

 

and men were way more into the idea of doing it so i ended up knowing a lot of women instead who were ADAMANTLY against bearing adam's seed. they were violently opposed to motherhood and the way it would steal their lives.

 

then, one-by-one, they all got knocked up or stalked husbands or finally said yes to the one guy who wouldn't stop bothering them. which was very" 1:30 a.m. in the bar", if you know what i mean. it was random and unprepared bipolar fk-uppery if you can imagine. these ladies just seemed to grab the most available dude around and bang out a carbon copy of themself.

 

terrifyingly for me, some of them even tried to use my seed or hit me up sexually. talk about a "friendship" shifter...

 

but i rode with the bipolar shift for several years with each of these women -- feeling more and more like an overgrown male cheerleader at a nursery school basketball game on a wednesday afternoon. and as time went on, it became clear that i would never get to hang out solo with any of them again until they had made it through their children's childhoods.

 

it became obvious since i knew so many women who were stricken so suddenly with this permanent and transformative condition people call motherhood. it was a slavery and they were trying to drag me through it with them, each with their own clever ways of masking their loss of freedom and associations with other sane adults.

 

each of them had self-generated these games that they would play and it altered their dance of social connection with everyone they had known before. for example, they would only reach out when they needed an "escape" from the drudgery. weirdly, they were in no mood or condition to actually escape. so their "reaching out" effort was more than a cry for help. it was a misery that they wanted to share with someone else who wasn't miserable. and that is grounds for boredom and rejection and resentment and disconnection.

 

they were ALL beat down and dumbed out by the mind-numbing effects of a "CONSTANT NEED" addition that was suddenly at the center of their new lifestyle. this hardly stopped ANY of them from filling out the cycle by having another child within two years of the first child. lucky for their generation they had the know-how to get the crawler walking before the new infant is born.

 

when i had lived in santa fe, new mexico, my partner had several girlfriends who also swore they were never having babies. one of them had just succumbed to the LATE BIRTHING DISORDER and had popped out a precious little copy of herself. she was the first person i watched going through this cycle.

 

and it was new for me to "be there" for someone who was socially plagued by a living creature. i've known "pet people" who have to constantly talk about their relationship with an animal like it's a person and chose them and aren't they so great because a dog or a cat tolerates them... and i generally terminate these relationships.

 

bestiality is a much greater sin than the RED MEAT INDUSTRY would want you to believe. it isn't just about having sex with animals. bestiality at its more immature and shallow and stupid state is PEOPLE HAVING SEX WITH ANIMALS. but the actual economic and social aspects of bestiality are what really led to the laws against what applies to the 99.999999999999999999999999999999999999999999999% of humanity which doesn't have sex with animals!!!!!

 

so let's start with basic definitions:

 

bestiality is when you become actively involved in the reproduction SEX cycle of an animal. this includes spaying/neutering, any kind of fertility enhancement or hormones or antibiotics.

 

bestiality is an ancient idea that forbids the enslavement of animals and the control of their reproduction cycle.

 

i didn't make this up. like i said, it's FKING ANCIENT.

 

anyway, pets and the ownership of pets is BESTIALITY. and i'm not blaming or judging, i'm just pointing out that there is a A LOT OF MODERN DELUSION about what bestiality is.

 

anyway, being a mom with a living creature that you made is life changing. in our society we naively believe that this is a change ALL women who give birth should go through.

 

whatta fking joke!!!

 

that is a lie made up by a bank clerk or a school don or a car salesman.

 

i can picture a world in which the beautiful and amazingly talented women i used to know before they had babies and made babies such a portion of their lives were allowed to become the women they were becoming.

 

instead, their family development decisions beat the crp out of them. and still do.

 

i finally told one of them (she has no idea that i know no so many cookie clone cut outs of her that made the same disastrous decision to hijack motherhood) that she didn't need to send me xmas cards since i'm not a xian and i don't believe in santa claus. nor do i give a fk about her life. and i know this is hard for her, but she didn't give a fk about her life either.

 

she acted like a man acts when he needs to blow a load and it gets so bad he's gonna almost rape his way into getting rid of the energy. and there's something sadly animalistic about this that defies our "social contracts" about being "human".

 

but why should women have to pay for this with the rest of their lives?

 

or rather, maybe women should stop FAKING like they can escape this syndrome that settles on them as the "biological clock" starts ticking in their heads.

 

in my opinion, fake monogamy and the family engineering FRONT that is currently in place works great for cheaters, liars and usurers.

 

but is it good for the OFFSPRING?

 

do the offspring benefit from being in these tense families of future divorce? the shotgun wedding was more like an AK47 showdown where the man was hunted down like prey. and in each case, the relationship wasn't the actual motivation for the union. it was babies.

 

and maybe giving birth to babies makes people wish they could live forever.

 

maybe there is just something so precious about having a baby. i've heard men and women both proclaim arrogantly that there is no deeper love or union than holding your own little creation.

 

but these are the same people who can take no note of the wall of beauty that is life which is always surrounding us. they perhaps needed the responsibility of another life to find meaning in their own existence, to find love within themself.

 

after a very strange showdown in 2009 with one of these ladies, i began to retract myself from these relationships. worse, i began to see them in similarity. you know how it is when something is happening and there are a myriad of sources and reasons and predicaments for which things can be attributed.

 

then the mirror effect begins to happen and you start to see that it is the "condition" that is creating the effect, not the people involved. the people involved are adversely affected by the condition, but they can't control it or bypass or reroute and relocate. i mean you can try. you can set aside time and make an effort to preserve "what you had.".

 

but what i had with all of these ladies was a fun and frolicking friendship based on getting out into the world and bouncing around and making contact with the unknown and the unfamiliar. having adventures!!! that's why one should go outside, imo.

 

instead, there would be kid-sits where you go with kids and sit somewhere while your girlfriend tries her best to pay attention to anything besides the kids. which she invariably can't and then becomes disappointed in herself and the condition, which as i've mentioned can't be changed unless you can make time to see your "friends" without your kids.

 

but even when that works, the human mind is relentless and the mother constantly circles back to the most prominent issues in her world -- her kids.

 

you can see quite clearly how LIFE AFTE DEATH could be a waking fantasy for people caught in this nightmare of joyous parenting.

 

you can see how they would lie to everyone and start to cheat on each other and fk around. you can see how the RISK of losing everything could become a secret addiction. and you can flip the coin and say, "yeah, the dad's prolly cheating on you already..." sheesh, i can't tell you the number of straight dudes having sex with gays. i started asking upfront so that i didn't waste my time crutching those losers, "so, are you married or cheating on anyone?" it made me feel like a loser for having to ask, but it sure saves time not having to listed to those sorry ass men married to women and so bored of them.

 

i say this because sometimes when your biological clock is ticking you can accidentally marry a gay guy who is too afraid to come out of the closet. i know someone like that. maybe two people. and before i made my "no married men" rule for casual sex, i won't even tell you the number of married men i've gone on "coffee dates" with... and 75% of them were misleading about their situation in one way or another so it was something i found out about later, further down the line after more of these "infidelities" had passed between us -- as a true american i don't support any kind of marriage. so i used to not care about people's marital status in anyway. i remained neutral and mostly unknowing. it was generally something that would be talked about later during future encounters. but over time, i realized that it wasn't my behavior that mattered as much as it was how my behavior aided-and-abetted their behavior -- cheating and lying on everyone ironically, the one person it didn't seem like the person was cheating with was me, which was a "known lie" right up front.

 

but again, not really my problem. i wasn't looking for any kind of relationship. just a non-solo sexual event.

an athletic romp, not a history lesson.

and i know for a FACT that any real man deals with this messed up paradigm for decades of their life. the inner rapist is a sexual energy that talks to us like the spirits of alcohol can talk or the addictive demons can speak. but this isn't religious if you cut open a body and see that which you should never see --

the inner workings/animals within us.

there's all this inner life going on with its own rules of exchange and commerce and distribution that is oddly reminiscent of the same rules of exchange and commerce and distribution that we use between our own kind.

 

but for a man, when he's sexually raging, the insanity of sexual deprivation can scream louder than all moral codes or manners or sensibilities. perhaps religions come out of this very seminal and ontological idea -- man is the rapist. women are to be raped.

 

seems weird to me, but i'm weird to everyone.

yes, i think REAL DOLLS will be a WORLDWIDE game changer and if i was in it to win it i would be figuring out how to buy into ABYSS stock or get lined up to buy them ASAP because they or whomever buys them will kick start the revolution. once REAL DOLLS are in distribution, autokar will get abundant go-aheads. the SHEER REDUCTION OF MALE MENTAL SEXUAL INSTABILITY will be noticeable everywhere.

 

and after that, women will lose their STRANGULATING sexhold over men and the hostile force of marriage will lift off of us at the same time that the spirit of USURY becomes more visible and EXTRACTABLE.

 

like a poison, it will be removed -- no longer controlling our SEX ORGANS AND REPRODUCTION cycles and agendas.

 

we will care for things differently when this oppression is ended/relieved. and the shame will lift.

 

so i guess if we're being honest, doesn't it seem like CHEATING AND INFIDELITY are the most obvious outcomes of monogamy? this often will start even before the child breeding part starts. divorce is typical solution at some point in the cycle. often when the children leave the home.

 

how much human awesomeness is LOST in this process?

how much human creativity is LOST in this process.

how many LITERAL years of these women's lives were devoted to the strange practice of INDEPENDENT CHILD REARING?

 

and don't we all know for a FACT that independent child rearing has disastrous effects on the children? especially children who suffer from too much attention, too little attention, too little resources, too many resources, too many disadvantages like PSYCHOTIC PARENTS and their friends or too few advantages like only ONE psychotic parent, bad schools, bad neighborhoods, bad opportunities and access to life threatening drugs and diseases.

 

as an american, i do wonder if fellow americans realize that it is the AMERiCAN DUTY to make sure that those disadvantages don't end up on the shoulders of american children.

 

lastly, let's not forget that it is the USURERS who benefit the most from the after-life theory.

 

after-life theories help to create the ZERO point in life theories.

 

but there is no ZERO point. this is abstract drivel. it's literally a PLACE CARD to demark a grammar construction problem. there is no way to "account" for everything.

 

the usurers know this and have skirted that issue by creating a ZERO POINT in time construct.

 

so many people are seduced by these false abstract concepts in the same way that they are seduced by santa claus and "death with headphones".

 

neither of these things "exist" but they have taken on physical form nonetheless.

 

in money loans and profiteering, the heist works the same way. if you can establish a ZERO point, you can create DEBT and PUNISHMENT for not paying DEBT.

 

this is transactional theology when it comes to "religions". and most religions are about transacting with others. religious texts provide transactional codes of social behavior and responsibiilities.

 

i'm not sure why religions get preference in this country anymore. the original ideas were FREEDOM FROM OTHER PEOPLE'S RELIGIOUS VIEWS, not FREEDOM TO HAVE ANY RELIGIOUS VIEWS YOU WANT. and this is used against our VAST population compared with the scarcity of the founding father population.

 

and still, today, we need freedom from RELIGION's codes and conducts. and people who are religious need to decide if they are AMERICANS first. if they aren't, they don't belong in this country. and this is hard because we have religious/cult groups who form their own economic empires in this country. and it's been allowed to expand, outside investors are seeing how these "religious" groups have used these NONEXISTENT LOOPHOLES ("loopholes" about things which are merely unmentioned and therefore NO RULING is translated by exploiters into a legal crooks' festival until the slow moving litigators catch up, but EVERYONE KNOWS that these aren't "loopholes". it's just more people cheating on others.)

 

but maybe you shouldn't worry so much about all of this.

you'll do better in the next world...

 

"Thin places: places where the boundary between the divine world and the human world becomes almost nonexistent, and the two, divine and human, can for a moment, dance together uninterrupted. Some are physical places, and some aren't places at all, but states of being or circumstances or a season.

 

There are years when the Christmas spirit is hard to come by, and it's in those seasons when I'm thankful for Advent. Consider it a beautiful way of being present to this season. Give up for a while your false and failing attempts at merriment, and thank God for thin places, and for Advent, for a season that understands longing and loneliness and long nights. Let yourself fall open to Advent, to anticipation, to belief that what is empty will be filled, what is broken will be repaired, and what is lost can always be found, no matter how many times it's been lost.

 

Christmas is a thin place, a season during which even the hardest-hearted of people think about what matters, when even the most locked-up people loosen their grasps for just a moment, in the face of the deep beauty and hope of Christmas. The shimmer of God's presence, not always plainly visible in our world, is more visible at Christmas.

 

For some people, this Christmas is, if I can stretch the phrase, doubly think. Maybe it's the first Christmas without a family member or a dear friend, and your heart has been so wholly battered that it allows God's presence and voice to seem into it at every turn."

 

-Shauna Neiquist

Indonesia, Japan, Korea, Myanmar, Nepal, Sri Lanka, Thailand, Tibet and Vietnam

 

english

 

Religion in Korea encompasses a number of different traditions. Traditional Buddhism, Mugyo with a background of Korean Confucianism and later Christianity all play a role in Korea's religious tradition. The modern separation of Korea into North and South Korea has also shaped religious practice, especially in the communist North.

 

Religion in South Korea

 

Just over 53 percent of South Koreans profess religious affiliation. That affiliation is spread primarily among three traditions - Buddhism (43 percent), Christianity (55 percent), and Mugyo (0.2 percent).[6] These numbers should be treated with some caution, however, as (with the exception of Christianity) there are few if any meaningful distinctions between believers and nonbelievers in Buddhism and Confucianism, which comprise more of a set of ethical values than a religion. The cultural impact of these movements is far more widespread than the number of formal adherents suggests. A variety of "new religions" have emerged since the mid-19th century, including Cheondogyo. Very small Muslim and Bahá'í minorities also exist due to the emigration of South Asians.

 

Religion in North Korea

 

Traditionally, Koreans have practiced Buddhism and observed the tenets of Korean Confucianism. Besides a number of practicing Buddhists (about 11.4 million, under the auspices of the official Korean Buddhist Federation), the population also includes some Christians (about 10,000 Protestants and 4,000 Roman Catholics, under the auspices of the Korean Christian Federation) and an indeterminate number of native Cheondogyo (Heavenly Way) adherents. However, religious activities in North Korea are almost nonexistent. North Korea has 300 Buddhist temples, but they are considered cultural relics rather than active places of worship. Several schools for religious education exist, including three-year religious colleges for training Protestant and Buddhist clergy. In 1989 Kim Il Sung University established a religious studies program, but its graduates usually go on to work in the foreign trade sector. Although the constitution provides for freedom of religious belief, in practice the government severely discourages organized religious activity except as supervised by the aforementioned officially recognized groups. Constitutional changes made in 1992 allow authorized religious gatherings and the construction of buildings for religious use and deleted a clause about freedom of anti-religious propaganda. The constitution also stipulates that religion "should not be used for purposes of dragging in foreign powers or endangering public security."

 

Mugyo

 

Koreans, like other East Asians, have traditionally been eclectic rather than exclusive in their religious commitments. Their religious outlook has not been conditioned by a single, exclusive faith but by a combination of indigenous beliefs and creeds imported into Korea. Belief in a world inhabited by spirits is probably the oldest form of Korean religious life, dating back to prehistoric times. There is a rather unorganized pantheon of literally millions of gods, spirits, and ghosts, ranging from the "god generals" who rule the different quarters of heaven to mountain spirits (sansin). This pantheon also includes gods who inhabit trees, sacred caves, and piles of stones, as well as earth spirits, the tutelary gods of households and villages, mischievous goblins, and the ghosts of persons who in many cases met violent or tragic ends. These spirits are said to have the power to influence or to change the fortunes of living men and women.

 

Shamans, most of whom are women, are enlisted by those who want the help of the spirit world. Female shamans (mudang) hold kut, or services, in order to gain good fortune for clients, cure illnesses by exorcising evil spirits, or propitiate local or village gods. Such services are also held to guide the spirit of a deceased person to heaven.

 

Often a woman will become a shaman very reluctantly—after experiencing a severe physical or mental illness that indicates "possession" by a spirit. Such possession can allegedly be cured only through performance of a kut. Once a shaman is established in her profession, she usually can make a good living.

 

Many scholars regard Korean shamanism as less a religion than a form of medicine in which the spirits are manipulated in order to achieve human ends. There is no notion of salvation or moral and spiritual perfection, at least for the ordinary believers in spirits. The shaman is a professional who is consulted by clients whenever the need is felt. Traditionally, shamans had low social status and were members of the ch'ommin class. This discrimination has continued into modern times.

 

Korean folk beliefs are strongly associated with the culture of fishing villages and are primarily a phenomenon found in rural communities. Shamans also treat the ills of city people, however, especially recent migrants from the countryside who find adjustment to an impersonal urban life stressful. The government has discouraged belief in shamanism as superstition and for many years minimized its persistence in Korean life. Yet in a climate of growing nationalism and cultural self-confidence, the dances, songs, and incantations that compose the kut have come to be recognized as an important aspect of Korean culture. Beginning in the 1970s, rituals that formerly had been kept out of foreign view began to resurface, and occasionally a Western hotel manager or other executive could even be seen attending a shamanistic exorcism ritual in the course of opening a new branch in Seoul. Some of these aspects of kut have been designated valuable cultural properties that should be preserved and passed on to future generations.

 

The future of shamanism itself was uncertain in the late 1980s. Observers believed that many of its functions in the future probably will be performed by the psychiatric profession as the government expands mental health treatment facilities. Given the uncertainty of social, economic, and political conditions, however, it appears certain that shamans will find large numbers of clients for some time to come.

 

Buddhism and Confucianism

 

Buddhism was the dominant religious and cultural influence during the Silla (668–935) and Koryo (918–1392) dynasties. Confucianism also was brought to Korea from China in early Three Kingdoms period, but it occupied a subordinate position until the establishment of the Choson Dynasty where it became the state ideology.

 

Christianity

 

Roman Catholic missionaries did not arrive in Korea until 1794, a decade after the return of the first baptized Korean from a visit to Beijing. However, the writings of the Jesuit missionary, Matteo Ricci, who was resident at the imperial court in Beijing, had been brought to Korea from China in the seventeenth century. It appears that scholars of the Sirhak, or practical learning, school were interested in these writings. Largely because converts refused to perform ancestor rites, the government prohibited the proselytization of Christianity. Some Catholics were executed during the early nineteenth century, but the anti-Christian law was not strictly enforced. By the 1860s, there were some 17,500 Roman Catholics in the country. There followed a more rigorous persecution, in which thousands of Christians died, that continued until 1884.

 

Protestant missionaries entered Korea during the 1880s and, along with Catholic priests, converted a remarkable number of Koreans. Methodist and Presbyterian missionaries were especially successful. They established schools, universities, hospitals, and orphanages and played a significant role in the modernization of the country. During the Japanese colonial occupation, Christians were in the front ranks of the struggle for independence. Factors contributing to the growth of Protestantism included the disorganized state of Korean Buddhism, the efforts made by educated Christians to reconcile Christian and Confucian values (the latter being viewed as purely a social ethic rather than a religion), the encouragement of self-support and selfgovernment among members of the Korean church, and the identification of Christianity with Korean nationalism.

 

A large number of Christians lived in the northern part of the peninsula where Confucian influence was not as strong as in the south. Before 1948 P'yongyang was an important Christian center: one-sixth of its population of about 300,000 people were converts. Following the establishment of a communist regime in the north, however, most Christians had to flee to South Korea or face persecution.

 

New religions

 

Ch'ondogyo, generally regarded as the first of Korea's "new religions," is another important religious tradition. It is a synthesis of Confucian, Buddhist, shamanistic, Daoist, and Catholic influences. Ch'ondogyo grew out of the Donghak Movement (also called Eastern Learning Movement) established by Choe Je-u, a man of yangban background who claimed to have experienced a mystic encounter with God, who told him to preach to all the world. Ch'oe was executed by the government as a heretic in 1863, but not before he had acquired a number of followers and had committed his ideas to writing. Tonghak spread among the poor people of Korea's villages, especially in the Cholla region, and was the cause of a revolt against the royal government in 1894. While some members of the Tonghak Movement-- renamed Ch'ondogyo (Teachings of the Heavenly Way)--supported the Japanese annexation in 1910, others opposed it. This group played a major role, along with Christians and some Confucians, in the Korean nationalist movement. In the 1920s, Ch'ondogyo sponsored Kaebyok (Creation), one of Korea's major intellectual journals during the colonial period.

 

Ch'ondogyo's basic beliefs include the essential equality of all human beings. Each person must be treated with respect because all persons "contain divinity;" there is "God in man." Moreover, men and women must sincerely cultivate themselves in order to bring forth and express this divinity in their lives. Self-perfection, not ritual and ceremony, is the way to salvation. Although Ch'oe and his followers did not attempt to overthrow the social order and establish a radical egalitarianism, the revolutionary potential of Ch'ondogyo is evident in these basic ideas, which appealed especially to poor people who were told that they, along with scholars and high officials, could achieve salvation through effort. There is reason to believe that Ch'ondogyo had an important role in the development of democratic and anti-authoritarian thought in Korea. In the 1970s and 1980s, Ch'ondogyo's antecedent, the Tonghak Movement, received renewed interest among many Korean intellectuals.

 

Apart from Ch'ondogyo, major new religions included Taejonggyo, which has as its central creed the worship of Tangun, legendary founder of the Korean nation. Chungsanggyo, founded in the early twentieth century by Chungsan Kang, emphasizes magical practices and the creation of a paradise on earth. It is divided into a great number of competing branches, the largest being Jeungsando and Daesun Jinrihoe.[7] Wonbulgyo, or Won Buddhism, attempts to combine traditional Buddhist doctrine with a modern concern for social reform and revitalization. There are also a number of small sects which have sprung up around Mount Kyeryong in South Ch'ungch'ong Province, the supposed future site of the founding of a new dynasty originally prophesied in the eighteenth century.

 

Several new religions derive their inspiration from Christianity. The Chondogwan, or Evangelical Church, was founded by Pak T'ae-son. Pak originally was a Presbyterian, but was expelled from the church for heresy in the 1950s after claiming for himself unique spiritual power. By 1972 his followers numbered as many as 700,000 people, and he built several "Christian towns," established a large church network, and managed several industrial enterprises.

 

Because of its overseas evangelism, the Hold Spirit Association for the Unification of the World Christianity, or Unification Church (T'ongilgyo), founded in 1954 by Reverend Sun Myong Moon (Mun Son-myong), also a former Christian, is the most famous Korean new religion. During its period of vigorous expansion during the 1970s, the Unification Church had several hundred thousand members in South Korea and Japan and a substantial (although generally overestimated) number of members in North America and Western Europe. Moon claimed that he was the "messiah" designated by God to unify all the peoples of the world into one "family," governed theocratically by himself. Like Pak's Evangelical Church, the Unification Church has been highly authoritarian, demanding absolute obedience from church members. Moon, for example, has arranged marriages for his younger followers; United States television audiences were treated some years ago to a mass ceremony at which several hundred young "Moonies" were married. Also like Pak, Moon has coupled the church's fortunes to economic expansion. Factories in South Korea and abroad manufacture arms and process ginseng and seafood, artistic bric-a-brac, and other items. Moon's labor force has worked long hours and been paid minimal wages in order to channel profits into church coffers. Virulently anticommunist, Moon has sought to influence public opinion at home and abroad by establishing generally unprofitable newspapers such as the Segye Ilbo in Seoul, the Sekai Nippo in Tokyo, and the Washington Times in the United States capital, and by inviting academics to lavish international conferences, often held in South Korea. At home, the Unification Church was viewed with suspicion by the authorities because of its scandals and Moon's evident desire to create a "state within a state." His influence, however, had declined by the late 1980s.

 

Islam

 

The number of Muslims in South Korea is estimated at about 35,000 mainly consisting of people who converted during the Korean War and their descendents and not including migrant workers from South and Southeast Asia. The largest mosque is the Seoul Central Mosque in the Itaewon district of Seoul; smaller mosques can be found in most of the country's major cities.[8]

 

In addition to native Korean Muslims, there are some 100,000 foreign workers from Muslim countries,[9] particularly Bangladesh and Pakistan.[

  

Judaism

 

The Jewish presence in South Korea effectively began with the outbreak of the Korean War in 1950. At this time a large number of Jewish soldiers, including the chaplain Chaim Potok, came to the Korean peninsula. Today the Jewish community is very small and limited to the Seoul metropolitan area. There have been very few Korean converts to Judaism.

 

Leamington is a municipality in Essex County, Ontario, Canada. With a population of 28,403, it is the second largest municipality in the Windsor-Essex County area (after the separated municipality of Windsor, Ontario). It includes Point Pelee, the southernmost point of mainland Canada.

 

Known as the "Tomato Capital of Canada", it is the location of a tomato processing factory owned by Highbury-Canco, previously owned until 2014 by the Heinz Company. Due to its location in the southernmost part of Canada, Leamington uses the motto "Sun Parlour of Canada". In 2006, MoneySense Magazine ranked Leamington as the No. 1 best place to live in Canada.

 

Leamington enjoys the second warmest climate in Canada, after the Lower Mainland of British Columbia.

 

Leamington has been known for its tourism and attractions and is known as the tomato capital of Canada. Leamington's attractions include cycle paths and nearby Point Pelee National Park. Leamington also has a large and modern marina. The town's water tower, visible for miles in the flat southern Ontario landscape, is also in the shape and colour of a giant tomato. Celebrating its position as an agricultural powerhouse and its heritage as the H. J. Heinz Company's centre for processing "red goods," the city hosts a "Tomato Festival" each August, as a kickoff of the tomato-harvesting season. Car shows, beauty pageants, parades, and a fair are featured at the festival.

 

Leamington's position on the north shore of Lake Erie makes it an important recreational centre. The tourist information booth in the centre of town is a large fiberglass tomato.

 

Leamington is also home to Point Pelee National Park, which contains the southernmost point on mainland Canada and draws thousands of visitors annually and is also home to one of the largest migrations of Monarch butterflies annually.

 

Known as the tomato capital of Canada, Leamington became the home of the H. J. Heinz factory in 1908. The Heinz products are shipped from Leamington, with English and French labels, mostly to the United States. Ketchup and baby food are the main products. In November 2013 Heinz announced that it would close the Leamington plant in 2014, meaning job losses for 740 employees at the plant and hundreds more support workers.

 

Due to a 54-year-old law in Canada, which bans the use of tomato paste in tomato juice, Highbury Canco still produces tomato juice and other products for Heinzs. Around 250 workers still process canned products at the over 100 year old factory.

 

Leamington has also been known for its greenhouses, and now has the largest concentration of commercial greenhouses in all of North America, with 1,969 acres (797 ha) of greenhouse vegetable production in the general area. Major products of the greenhouse industry, in addition to tomatoes, are peppers, cucumbers, roses, and other flowers. Hydroponic farming has been very successfully adopted by many greenhouse operators in Leamington. Historically, tobacco was an important crop in the area, but tobacco production declined in the 1960s and today is virtually nonexistent.

 

Migrant workers, mostly Mexican and Caribbean seasonal labourers, annually arrive in the region to work in Leamington's greenhouses and farms. Several Mexican and Jamaican shops and a Mexican consulate have opened to service the migrants.

 

en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Leamington,_Ontario

 

en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wikipedia:Text_of_Creative_Commons_...

I've always loved this hood ornament from the '55 Chevy Bel Air. I found this one at a "50's Cruise Night," which is held every Monday evening at one of our favorite eateries.

Of course Todd had to fill me in on the model and year, because my knowledge of classic cars is practically nonexistent.

 

And I've got to say, it was really nice of Chevrolet to put this cool ornament on a car in my birth year too. Thanks guys!

  

( some of you are probably too young to remember the old slogan for united airlines, fly the friendly skies, so i thought i would do a little "take-off" on it ;-)

063/366

 

The Creationist Lie ―The Myth of Intelligent Design

 

www.buzzfeed.com/frederickmckindra/nothingscarierthanbein...

 

“Horror films constantly reinforced the concept of the white body’s vulnerability, and subtly advised their audiences to treat only those bodies with concern. Meanwhile, for black characters, and by extension, black people, if no one ever saw you scream, tremble, or bleed, they never learned to see you as human. In the aughts, black characters in horror films were either disposable, not worth depicting at all, or rendered racial amnesiacs when it came to issues that would concern any black person in real life — a contrast to the progressiveness of Night of the Living Dead decades before. In this way, black characters have appeared in horror films, yes, but rarely as black people. Black female singers like Brandy (1997’s I Know What You Did Last Summer) or Kelly Rowland (2003’s Freddy vs. Jason) settled into the role of the final girl’s best friend. Black men like LL Cool J (1998’s Halloween H20) and Ving Rhames (2004’s Dawn of the Dead) were often cast as security guards, and so exploited a muscular physique, an aggressive disposition, a misguided hero complex, and a handgun. But a fully realized black person — connected to a black family, in possession of black friends, or written into a narrative that gave some attention to black concerns — was nonexistent.” ―Frederick McKindra

Another sign of the cafe's former life is the marks from the tables and chairs...

 

The second stop on the way home from my college visit was in Richmond!

 

The Richmond Kmart appears to be a former Grants (and thus reminded me of the Erie Kmart that I visited last summer). It is very noticeably bigger than Anderson; it is also very nice; it has a Kmart Express gas station and it has a former Kmart Cafe (that still has the counter/displays, the full menu board and even the register! Looks like a more recent KCafe closure from what I've seen; if anybody else here has any more information I would like to know more about it!). This store appears to be doing fairly well for one of the last remaining stores in/near the Miami Valley.

 

Of course, I had to check out the Kmart Express after my main store rounds were complete, so I headed over there and looked around. This is the second Kmart Express I've seen, but the first one I have actually visited, as the other one (at the now nonexistent Brooklyn Super Kmart) had already closed. I didn't buy anything at this KExpress though, as I had spent my money in the main store. Hopefully next time I can buy some coffee or donuts from Kmart Express while going to/from Anderson (if I plan another college visit to Anderson U, which is likely)!

 

Hopefully the Richmond Kmart will still be able to remain "normal" for a good time longer...I like this store! :D

 

Kmart #7246 - 3150 National Road West - Richmond, Indiana

I love these wide views. The vast nature before me. My issues I have with myself feel so small to nonexistent.

 

Instagram I Tumblr my personal Instagram I Prints

View of Downtown Los Angeles from Kenneth Hahn Regional State Park. I was lucky to get a glimpse of the snowcapped mountains behind Downtown Los Angeles. A few sort minutes later, the haze made the mountains look nonexistent.

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 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.

colinhuggins.bandcamp.com/track/rachmaninoff-rhapsody-on-...

 

NY Times, Dec. 4 2011

Colin Huggins was there with his baby grand, the one he wheels into Washington Square Park for his al fresco concerts. So were Tic and Tac, a street-performing duo, who held court in the fountain — dry for the winter. And Joe Mangrum was pouring his elaborate sand paintings on the ground near the Washington Arch.

 

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Enlarge This Image

 

Hiroko Masuike/The New York Times

Kareem Barnes of Tic and Tac collected donations on Sunday.

Enlarge This Image

 

Hiroko Masuike/The New York Times

Joe Mangrum showed his sand paintings on Sunday.

In other words, it was a typical Sunday afternoon in the Greenwich Village park, where generations of visitors have mingled with musicians, artists, activists, poets and buskers.

 

Yet this fall, that urban harmony has grown dissonant as the city’s parks department has slapped summonses on the four men and other performers who put out hats or buckets, for vending in an unauthorized location — specifically, within 50 feet of a monument.

 

The department’s rule, one of many put in place a year ago, was intended to control commerce in the busiest parks. Under the city’s definition, vending covers not only those peddling photographs and ankle bracelets, but also performers who solicit donations.

 

The rule attracted little notice at first. But the enforcement in Washington Square Park in the past two months has generated summonses ranging from $250 to $1,000. And it has started a debate about the rights of parkgoers seeking refuge from the bustle of the streets versus those looking for entertainment.

 

At a news conference in the park on Sunday organized by NYC Park Advocates, the artists waved fistfuls of pink summonses while their advocates, including civil rights lawyers, called on the city to stop what they called harassment of the performers.

 

“This is a heavy-handed solution to a nonexistent problem,” said Ronald L. Kuby, one of the lawyers.

 

The rule is especially problematic in Washington Square Park, performers say, because there are few locations across its 10 acres that are beyond 50 feet from a memorial or fountain — whether the bust of Alexander Lyman Holley, who introduced the Bessemer steel process to this country, or the statue of the Italian liberator Giuseppe Garibaldi.

 

Then there is the park’s international reputation as a gathering place for folk music pioneers and the Beats.

 

“Washington Square is the live-music park of New York City, and it would be close to impossible for any one of us to follow these regulations,” said Mr. Huggins, who has received nine summonses with fines totaling $2,250.

 

But Adrian Benepe, the parks commissioner, argues that there is ample room for performers away from the monuments. And, he added, a musician who is not putting out a tin cup is welcome to sit on the edge of the fountain or under a monument.

 

“It’s the whole issue of the ‘tragedy of the commons,’ ” he said. “If you allow all the performers and all the vendors to do whatever they want to do, pretty soon there’s no park left for people who want to use them for quiet enjoyment. This is a way of having some control and not 18 hours of carnival-like atmosphere.”

 

Gary Behrens, an amateur photographer visiting from New Jersey, applauded the city’s efforts to rein in the performers. “I’m O.K. with the guitar, but the loud instruments have taken over the park,” he said.

 

The lawyers and advocates, however, challenged the idea that street performers were selling a product as a vendor does. And threatening a lawsuit, they faulted the city for creating what they called “First Amendment zones” through the rules.

 

“Is this place zany?” asked Norman Siegel, the former director of the New York Civil Liberties Union. “You bet. Public parks are quintessential public forums. Zaniness is something we should cherish and protect.”

 

Park visitation has soared along with the rise of tourism in the last 15 years, and with it vendors and artists interested in a lucrative market.

 

Mr. Benepe insisted that the rules would not scare off future music legends.

 

“If Bob Dylan wanted to come play there tomorrow, he could,” he said, “although he might have to move away from the fountain.”

 

Oddly, the dispute coincided with the 50th anniversary of the so-called Folk Riot in Washington Square Park, when the parks commissioner tried to squelch Sunday folk performances. Hundreds of musicians gathered in protest, the police were called in and a melee ensued.

 

In April, Mayor Michael R. Bloomberg wrote a letter commemorating the Folk Riot, saying he applauded “the folk performers who changed music, our city and our world beginning half a century ago.”

I'm daydreaming about a future craft room in an as yet nonexistent house. Just getting ready with some ideas, thanks to some gorgeous Flickr photos.

 

1. Craft Room Transformation 1, 2. Notice all my baskets, 3. Stash corner, 4. indie vintage craft room

 

Created with fd's Flickr Toys.

Operation “Salt City" resulted in the arrest of 248 individuals from May through September 2015. Of those arrested, 124 were active gang members. During the operation 22 firearms, more than $237,000 in U.S. currency, 70 grams of heroin, 266 grams of cocaine, and 723 grams of marijuana with a total estimated street value of almost $44,000 was taken off Syracuse streets by participating agencies.

Operation Salt City is part of the U.S. Marshals nation-wide “Triple Beam” gang reduction initiative. Triple Beam partners federal, state, and local law enforcement to reduce violent crime and take dangerous offenders off the streets. The goal of the U.S. Marshals Gang Enforcement Program is to seek out and disrupt illegal gang activity in areas of the country with smaller or nonexistent gang enforcement units by providing manpower, funding and the Marshals’ renowned fugitive tracking abilities.

 

Photo by Shane T. McCoy / US Marshals

Leamington is a municipality in Essex County, Ontario, Canada. With a population of 28,403, it is the second largest municipality in the Windsor-Essex County area (after the separated municipality of Windsor, Ontario). It includes Point Pelee, the southernmost point of mainland Canada.

 

Known as the "Tomato Capital of Canada", it is the location of a tomato processing factory owned by Highbury-Canco, previously owned until 2014 by the Heinz Company. Due to its location in the southernmost part of Canada, Leamington uses the motto "Sun Parlour of Canada". In 2006, MoneySense Magazine ranked Leamington as the No. 1 best place to live in Canada.

 

Leamington enjoys the second warmest climate in Canada, after the Lower Mainland of British Columbia.

 

Leamington has been known for its tourism and attractions and is known as the tomato capital of Canada. Leamington's attractions include cycle paths and nearby Point Pelee National Park. Leamington also has a large and modern marina. The town's water tower, visible for miles in the flat southern Ontario landscape, is also in the shape and colour of a giant tomato. Celebrating its position as an agricultural powerhouse and its heritage as the H. J. Heinz Company's centre for processing "red goods," the city hosts a "Tomato Festival" each August, as a kickoff of the tomato-harvesting season. Car shows, beauty pageants, parades, and a fair are featured at the festival.

 

Leamington's position on the north shore of Lake Erie makes it an important recreational centre. The tourist information booth in the centre of town is a large fiberglass tomato.

 

Leamington is also home to Point Pelee National Park, which contains the southernmost point on mainland Canada and draws thousands of visitors annually and is also home to one of the largest migrations of Monarch butterflies annually.

 

Known as the tomato capital of Canada, Leamington became the home of the H. J. Heinz factory in 1908. The Heinz products are shipped from Leamington, with English and French labels, mostly to the United States. Ketchup and baby food are the main products. In November 2013 Heinz announced that it would close the Leamington plant in 2014, meaning job losses for 740 employees at the plant and hundreds more support workers.

 

Due to a 54-year-old law in Canada, which bans the use of tomato paste in tomato juice, Highbury Canco still produces tomato juice and other products for Heinzs. Around 250 workers still process canned products at the over 100 year old factory.

 

Leamington has also been known for its greenhouses, and now has the largest concentration of commercial greenhouses in all of North America, with 1,969 acres (797 ha) of greenhouse vegetable production in the general area. Major products of the greenhouse industry, in addition to tomatoes, are peppers, cucumbers, roses, and other flowers. Hydroponic farming has been very successfully adopted by many greenhouse operators in Leamington. Historically, tobacco was an important crop in the area, but tobacco production declined in the 1960s and today is virtually nonexistent.

 

Migrant workers, mostly Mexican and Caribbean seasonal labourers, annually arrive in the region to work in Leamington's greenhouses and farms. Several Mexican and Jamaican shops and a Mexican consulate have opened to service the migrants.

 

en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Leamington,_Ontario

 

en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wikipedia:Text_of_Creative_Commons_...

I've been after this shot for a while and having missed out on a nonexistent Corfe Castle sunrise and the weather blowing up this was the perfect chance. I have to thank my good friend Dorset_Flickr www.flickr.com/photos/catwards/ for the use of the Big Stopper. I was hoping to edit this one in Silver EFX but couldn't get the demo to work so this is the best I can do until next time!

Is this a wasp? my knowledge of bugs is virtually nonexistent!!..

Southern Class 377 Electrostar 377701 arrives at Watford Junction with the 17:21 2M47 East Croydon to Milton Keynes Central. Bombardier EMU's are as common as muck down here but are nonexistent in the West Midlands, unlike Siemens units. However one similarity between this unit and the 350s is they are operated by franchises that are part of Govia's portfolio (although not for much longer in the case of London Midland).

Kaluk is a very paranoid Matoran, rarely leaving his hut or the observatory in fear of the various (and nonexistent) threats that are lurking in the outside world, but no matter what, he does his best to help his fellow Sah-toran.

So when his friend Krataz asked if he would help him with the next Kohlii game, he thought perhaps going out wouldn't be too bad.. right before being startled by Kului poking his leg.

I can't believe that he accepted Columbia's invitation to speak.

 

I applaud Columbia for inviting him.

 

I can't believe Duncan Hunter (R-CA), who pledges "to cut off every single type of federal funding to Columbia University" for allowing Ahmadinejad to speak in an open forum.

 

I hear Ahmadinejad when he deplores (nameless) governments that "wish to justify their own wrongdoings…by creating nonexistent enemies, for example, and have insecure atmosphere."

 

I can't believe some of the other things he said.

 

// In Iran, we do not have this phenomenon. I don't know who's told you that we have it. [ LAUGHTER ] But, as for women, maybe you think that being a woman is a crime. It's not a crime to be a woman. Women are the best creatures created by God. //

 

Was it my imagination, or did the translator sound at several points like she was cracking up?

    

The second stop on the way home from my college visit was in Richmond!

 

The Richmond Kmart appears to be a former Grants (and thus reminded me of the Erie Kmart that I visited last summer). It is very noticeably bigger than Anderson; it is also very nice; it has a Kmart Express gas station and it has a former Kmart Cafe (that still has the counter/displays, the full menu board and even the register! Looks like a more recent KCafe closure from what I've seen; if anybody else here has any more information I would like to know more about it!). This store appears to be doing fairly well for one of the last remaining stores in/near the Miami Valley.

 

Of course, I had to check out the Kmart Express after my main store rounds were complete, so I headed over there and looked around. This is the second Kmart Express I've seen, but the first one I have actually visited, as the other one (at the now nonexistent Brooklyn Super Kmart) had already closed. I didn't buy anything at this KExpress though, as I had spent my money in the main store. Hopefully next time I can buy some coffee or donuts from Kmart Express while going to/from Anderson (if I plan another college visit to Anderson U, which is likely)!

 

Hopefully the Richmond Kmart will still be able to remain "normal" for a good time longer...I like this store! :D

 

Kmart #7246 - 3150 National Road West - Richmond, Indiana

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.

The bridge in these pictures is an exact replica of the original built over 400 years ago during the reign of the Ottoman empire. The occupying Croatian Army destroyed the bridge on November the 9th 2003, a minor act of aggression in comparison to the wider atrocities that happened in Mostar and across Bosnia. However, the bridge had always been seen as the unofficial bridging point between the cultures of east and west and indicative of the tolerant, peaceful Bosnian population. The demolition became one of the iconic images from the war.

 

The bridge was rebuilt between 1999 and 2004 and it, along with its surrounding area Stari Most, was named a UNESCO World Heritage Site and is now the major tourist attraction of a very attractive city.

 

Series Description: The first of plenty of shots taken on my recent (all too brief) backpack around Bosnia and Croatia.

 

Part of my reason for going to the Balkans , Bosnia and Herzegovina in particular was to find out what happened in the Yugoslav War. I was worried about how the people I met would feel about this but there seemed to be a strong desire from most if not all of the Bosnians I met to make sure their story was told so I will do my meagre bit and put some information in with my pictures for the few folk who actually look at these images. The info will either be what I have learned or was told so if there are any inaccuracies, please let me know.

 

I've had spy pen toys with ultraviolet blacklight bulbs smaller than even this.

 

Mainly, I want to see a whole line based around a brick like this (the brick should be black though...).

 

There are many blacklight-reactive Lego colors out there, so it'd seem very natural to introduce a brick like this to do just that.

 

I fully allow Lego the rights to use this idea, with absolutely NO compensation or credit considered, despite whatever the idea's level of success may be.

Leamington is a municipality in Essex County, Ontario, Canada. With a population of 28,403, it is the second largest municipality in the Windsor-Essex County area (after the separated municipality of Windsor, Ontario). It includes Point Pelee, the southernmost point of mainland Canada.

 

Known as the "Tomato Capital of Canada", it is the location of a tomato processing factory owned by Highbury-Canco, previously owned until 2014 by the Heinz Company. Due to its location in the southernmost part of Canada, Leamington uses the motto "Sun Parlour of Canada". In 2006, MoneySense Magazine ranked Leamington as the No. 1 best place to live in Canada.

 

Leamington enjoys the second warmest climate in Canada, after the Lower Mainland of British Columbia.

 

Leamington has been known for its tourism and attractions and is known as the tomato capital of Canada. Leamington's attractions include cycle paths and nearby Point Pelee National Park. Leamington also has a large and modern marina. The town's water tower, visible for miles in the flat southern Ontario landscape, is also in the shape and colour of a giant tomato. Celebrating its position as an agricultural powerhouse and its heritage as the H. J. Heinz Company's centre for processing "red goods," the city hosts a "Tomato Festival" each August, as a kickoff of the tomato-harvesting season. Car shows, beauty pageants, parades, and a fair are featured at the festival.

 

Leamington's position on the north shore of Lake Erie makes it an important recreational centre. The tourist information booth in the centre of town is a large fiberglass tomato.

 

Leamington is also home to Point Pelee National Park, which contains the southernmost point on mainland Canada and draws thousands of visitors annually and is also home to one of the largest migrations of Monarch butterflies annually.

 

Known as the tomato capital of Canada, Leamington became the home of the H. J. Heinz factory in 1908. The Heinz products are shipped from Leamington, with English and French labels, mostly to the United States. Ketchup and baby food are the main products. In November 2013 Heinz announced that it would close the Leamington plant in 2014, meaning job losses for 740 employees at the plant and hundreds more support workers.

 

Due to a 54-year-old law in Canada, which bans the use of tomato paste in tomato juice, Highbury Canco still produces tomato juice and other products for Heinzs. Around 250 workers still process canned products at the over 100 year old factory.

 

Leamington has also been known for its greenhouses, and now has the largest concentration of commercial greenhouses in all of North America, with 1,969 acres (797 ha) of greenhouse vegetable production in the general area. Major products of the greenhouse industry, in addition to tomatoes, are peppers, cucumbers, roses, and other flowers. Hydroponic farming has been very successfully adopted by many greenhouse operators in Leamington. Historically, tobacco was an important crop in the area, but tobacco production declined in the 1960s and today is virtually nonexistent.

 

Migrant workers, mostly Mexican and Caribbean seasonal labourers, annually arrive in the region to work in Leamington's greenhouses and farms. Several Mexican and Jamaican shops and a Mexican consulate have opened to service the migrants.

 

en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Leamington,_Ontario

 

en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wikipedia:Text_of_Creative_Commons_...

Leamington is a municipality in Essex County, Ontario, Canada. With a population of 28,403, it is the second largest municipality in the Windsor-Essex County area (after the separated municipality of Windsor, Ontario). It includes Point Pelee, the southernmost point of mainland Canada.

 

Known as the "Tomato Capital of Canada", it is the location of a tomato processing factory owned by Highbury-Canco, previously owned until 2014 by the Heinz Company. Due to its location in the southernmost part of Canada, Leamington uses the motto "Sun Parlour of Canada". In 2006, MoneySense Magazine ranked Leamington as the No. 1 best place to live in Canada.

 

Leamington enjoys the second warmest climate in Canada, after the Lower Mainland of British Columbia.

 

Leamington has been known for its tourism and attractions and is known as the tomato capital of Canada. Leamington's attractions include cycle paths and nearby Point Pelee National Park. Leamington also has a large and modern marina. The town's water tower, visible for miles in the flat southern Ontario landscape, is also in the shape and colour of a giant tomato. Celebrating its position as an agricultural powerhouse and its heritage as the H. J. Heinz Company's centre for processing "red goods," the city hosts a "Tomato Festival" each August, as a kickoff of the tomato-harvesting season. Car shows, beauty pageants, parades, and a fair are featured at the festival.

 

Leamington's position on the north shore of Lake Erie makes it an important recreational centre. The tourist information booth in the centre of town is a large fiberglass tomato.

 

Leamington is also home to Point Pelee National Park, which contains the southernmost point on mainland Canada and draws thousands of visitors annually and is also home to one of the largest migrations of Monarch butterflies annually.

 

Known as the tomato capital of Canada, Leamington became the home of the H. J. Heinz factory in 1908. The Heinz products are shipped from Leamington, with English and French labels, mostly to the United States. Ketchup and baby food are the main products. In November 2013 Heinz announced that it would close the Leamington plant in 2014, meaning job losses for 740 employees at the plant and hundreds more support workers.

 

Due to a 54-year-old law in Canada, which bans the use of tomato paste in tomato juice, Highbury Canco still produces tomato juice and other products for Heinzs. Around 250 workers still process canned products at the over 100 year old factory.

 

Leamington has also been known for its greenhouses, and now has the largest concentration of commercial greenhouses in all of North America, with 1,969 acres (797 ha) of greenhouse vegetable production in the general area. Major products of the greenhouse industry, in addition to tomatoes, are peppers, cucumbers, roses, and other flowers. Hydroponic farming has been very successfully adopted by many greenhouse operators in Leamington. Historically, tobacco was an important crop in the area, but tobacco production declined in the 1960s and today is virtually nonexistent.

 

Migrant workers, mostly Mexican and Caribbean seasonal labourers, annually arrive in the region to work in Leamington's greenhouses and farms. Several Mexican and Jamaican shops and a Mexican consulate have opened to service the migrants.

 

en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Leamington,_Ontario

 

en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wikipedia:Text_of_Creative_Commons_...

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 design aka "bandbox" • 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 18th c. occupants were a shoemaker, apothecary & upholsterer Betsy Ross, who is said to have sewn the 1st 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) • 8th of their 17 children • great granddaughter of Quaker carpenter Andrew Griscom (c. 1654-1694), 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 • attended 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 Betsy, age 21, eloped w/John in 1773

 

• on a November night, 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

 

• 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 & near Deborah & Benjamin Franklin's No. 70

 

• the newlyweds — now trained upholsterers — opened a 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, NY Times, 05 July, 1908

 

• 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 an 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

Leamington is a municipality in Essex County, Ontario, Canada. With a population of 28,403, it is the second largest municipality in the Windsor-Essex County area (after the separated municipality of Windsor, Ontario). It includes Point Pelee, the southernmost point of mainland Canada.

 

Known as the "Tomato Capital of Canada", it is the location of a tomato processing factory owned by Highbury-Canco, previously owned until 2014 by the Heinz Company. Due to its location in the southernmost part of Canada, Leamington uses the motto "Sun Parlour of Canada". In 2006, MoneySense Magazine ranked Leamington as the No. 1 best place to live in Canada.

 

Leamington enjoys the second warmest climate in Canada, after the Lower Mainland of British Columbia.

 

Leamington has been known for its tourism and attractions and is known as the tomato capital of Canada. Leamington's attractions include cycle paths and nearby Point Pelee National Park. Leamington also has a large and modern marina. The town's water tower, visible for miles in the flat southern Ontario landscape, is also in the shape and colour of a giant tomato. Celebrating its position as an agricultural powerhouse and its heritage as the H. J. Heinz Company's centre for processing "red goods," the city hosts a "Tomato Festival" each August, as a kickoff of the tomato-harvesting season. Car shows, beauty pageants, parades, and a fair are featured at the festival.

 

Leamington's position on the north shore of Lake Erie makes it an important recreational centre. The tourist information booth in the centre of town is a large fiberglass tomato.

 

Leamington is also home to Point Pelee National Park, which contains the southernmost point on mainland Canada and draws thousands of visitors annually and is also home to one of the largest migrations of Monarch butterflies annually.

 

Known as the tomato capital of Canada, Leamington became the home of the H. J. Heinz factory in 1908. The Heinz products are shipped from Leamington, with English and French labels, mostly to the United States. Ketchup and baby food are the main products. In November 2013 Heinz announced that it would close the Leamington plant in 2014, meaning job losses for 740 employees at the plant and hundreds more support workers.

 

Due to a 54-year-old law in Canada, which bans the use of tomato paste in tomato juice, Highbury Canco still produces tomato juice and other products for Heinzs. Around 250 workers still process canned products at the over 100 year old factory.

 

Leamington has also been known for its greenhouses, and now has the largest concentration of commercial greenhouses in all of North America, with 1,969 acres (797 ha) of greenhouse vegetable production in the general area. Major products of the greenhouse industry, in addition to tomatoes, are peppers, cucumbers, roses, and other flowers. Hydroponic farming has been very successfully adopted by many greenhouse operators in Leamington. Historically, tobacco was an important crop in the area, but tobacco production declined in the 1960s and today is virtually nonexistent.

 

Migrant workers, mostly Mexican and Caribbean seasonal labourers, annually arrive in the region to work in Leamington's greenhouses and farms. Several Mexican and Jamaican shops and a Mexican consulate have opened to service the migrants.

 

en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Leamington,_Ontario

 

en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wikipedia:Text_of_Creative_Commons_...

It's been a busy afternoon since I got home from work. Seems like they all are short and full. I just downloaded the new Silver Efex Pro 2. SSSwwweeeeet! Love it. It has a selective color feature that I used on the eyes in this image.

This is a shot of one of our rescues, Rufus. He's a Chartreuse, a real sweet heart and a mama's boy. He seems to think the world revolves around Sassy and really could care less about anyone else in the house. As soon as Sassy walks through the front door he's just meowing and dancing around at her feet. During the work week, I get home about an hour or two before Sassy does and while she's not here, he is nonexistent. We have plenty other fur kids excited and demanding of my attention when I get home, so I'm not put off at all by his exclusion of me as a person of interest.

 

Yay!! We got through Monday. Hope to find some flicker time tomorrow.

God Bless!

Unfortunately, communication was difficult (my Turkish is more than limited and their English was nonexistent), but I assume they are working for the TCDD. Nevertheless, they had been very friendly...and saw my appearance as a nice break of routine. I had brought with me copies of historical photographs which aroused their interest very easily...they had never ever before seen photographs of Pozanti dating back to WW1....while having a look and starting to talk in Turkish with each other about their hometown, they almost got slightly out of their extremely relaxed attitude ;-)