Doubtful Sound is a very large and naturally imposing fjord (despite its name) in Fiordland, in the far south west of New Zealand. It is located in the same region as the smaller but more famous and accessible Milford Sound.

Doubtful Sound was named 'Doubtful Harbour' in 1770 by Captain Cook, who did not enter the inlet as he was uncertain whether it was navigable under sail. It was later renamed Doubtful Sound by whalers and sealers.

A Spanish scientific expedition commanded by Alessandro Malaspina visited Doubtful Sound in February 1793 to conduct experiments measuring the force of gravity using a pendulum, a part of the effort to establish a new metric system. The officers of the expedition, which included Felipe Bauzá y Cañas, a cartographer, also made the first chart of the entrance and lower parts of the Sound, naming features of it. Today these form a unique cluster of the only Spanish names on the map of New Zealand: Febrero Point, Bauza Island and the Nee Islets, Pendulo Reach and Malaspina Reach.

There are three distinct arms to the sound, which is the site of several large waterfalls, notably Helena Falls at Deep Cove, and the Browne Falls which have a fall of over 600 metres. The steep hills are known for their hundreds of waterfalls during the rainy season.

Access to the sound is either by sea, or by the Wilmot Pass road from the Manapouri Power Station. Most areas of the sound itself are only accessible by sea however, as the road network in this area of New Zealand is sparse or nonexistent, as is the human population.

Charles John Lyttelton, 10th Viscount Cobham, Governor-General of New Zealand (1957-1962) wrote about this part of Fiordland:

"There are just a few areas left in the world where no human has ever set foot. That one of them should be in a country so civilized and so advanced as New Zealand may seem incredible, unless one has visited the south-west corner of the South Island. Jagged razor backed mountains rear their heads into the sky. More than 200 days of rain a year ensure not a tree branch is left bare and brown, moss and epiphytes drape every nook. The forest is intensely green. This is big country... one day peaceful, a study in green and blue, the next melancholy and misty, with low cloud veiling the tops... an awesome place, with its granite precipices, its hanging valleys, its earthquake faults and its thundering cascades."

Doubtful Sound is unusual in that it contains two distinct layers of water that scarcely mix. The top few meters is fresh water, fed from the high inflows from the surrounding mountains, and stained brown with tannins from the forest. Below this is a layer of cold, heavy, saline water from the sea. The dark tannins in the fresh water layer makes it difficult for light to penetrate. Thus, many deep-sea species will grow in the comparatively shallow depths of the Sound.

This fiord is home to one of the southernmost population of bottlenose dolphins. The Doubtful Sound bottlenoses have formed a very insular sub-group of only about 70 individuals, with none having been observed to leave or enter the Sound during a multi-year monitoring regime. Their social grouping is thus extremely close, which is also partly attributed to the difficult and unusual features of their habitat, which is much colder than for other bottlenose groups and is also overlaid by the freshwater layer.

Other wildlife to be found in Doubtful Sound includes fur seals and penguins (Fiordland crested and blue), or even rare large whales (Southern Right Whale, Humpback Whale, Minke Whale, Sperm Whale and some Giant Beaked Whales. Orca, the Killer Whales and Long-Finned Pilot Whales can be found also. The waters of Doubtful Sound are also home to an abundance of sea creatures, including many species of fish, starfish, sea anemones and corals. It is perhaps best known for its black coral trees which occur in unusually shallow water for what is normally a deep water species.

The catchment basin of Doubtful Sound is generally steep terrain that is heavily forested except for locations where surface rock exposures are extensive. Nothofagus trees are dominant in many locations. In the understory there are a wide variety of shrubs and ferns.

Phottix recently came out with a new remote that uses 2.4GHz wireless. The Phottix Plato. It's a little pricier (~$45) but from first glance, I can see a couple of advantages over the Cleon.

[0] Digital encoding gives you a more discrete signal and helps to avoid misfires.

[1] Smart codes rolls the codes automatically to avoid contention with other remotes or RF signals.

[2] Two-way communications between receiver and transmitter confirms you are within range or not. It also seems to have a longer range.

[3] Interchangeable end-cords allows you to use the same remote on various cameras simply by replacing the connecting cord. For instance, use the N8 cord for the D300 and the N6 cord for the D80.

[4] Uses more common batteries rather than the expensive "exotic" ones the Cleon uses.

[5] Slicker looking construction.

So... I decided to get one. Tonight I came home from a business trip and found my Plato sitting in my mailbox. There were three items in the package... well five if you count the two double-packs of AAA batteries.

[0] Transmitter

[1[ Receiver

[3] Cable

Both the transmitter and receiver take common AAA batteries. This is a great improvement over some of the older Phottix and Cactus wireless remotes that took a combination of CR2 and type-N... both of which are rather expensive. There was also a single instruction sheet which was as expected written in Engrish although admittedly it's not as bad as some other products I've seen. There was however one glaring error which I will go into about later.

After installing the batteries, both the transmitter and receivers immediately power up. Shutting each of them down requires a push of their power/select button for about 3 seconds. Both have an auto-poweroff feature that shuts them off after an hour of inactivity.

Unlike previous Phottix RF remotes, this one uses rolling codes instead of choosing from amongst preset frequencies. So instead of flipping DIP switches on each device to match one another, the transmitter and receivers must be paired like bluetooth devices. The set comes pre-synced to one another from the factory but you can reset the code by resyncing them. This is accomplished by first turning on the receiver and transmitter. The transmitters picks a code. Then on the receiver, you set it to learning mode by tapping the power button five times. On the transmitter, you push the shutter release button and the two are now synced. You can sync as many as 16 million receivers to the same transmitter. The remote uses the 2.4GHz band which can get congested so in certain environments, it may take a while for the pair to negotiate with one another. But once paired the likelihood of misfires or inadvertent triggers is nearly nonexistent. There are two status LEDs on the transmitter. Half-pressing the shutter release button will confirm that you're in range by lighting them both green as well as passing a half-press action to the camera which should respond in kind (ie. activate AF and VR) depending on how the camera is configured.

The transmitter and receiver are make and model agnostic. The vendor specific interface is handled by the cable. In my case, I am using the N8 cable for the D200 and D300. One end of the cable plugs into the camera and the other end is a simple three-contact 3.5mm "headphone" style plug which can be plugged into the receiver or the transmitter. When plugged into the receiver, the transmitter is in wireless mode. If however you wish to trigger things via a wired remote, you can plug the cable into the transmitter directly. All functions are the same in either mode. Note that the instruction sheet says that it is the receiver that can be used for wired triggering operations but this is in fact incorrect.

The transmitter has two buttons. The big button is the shutter release. The smaller button is the mode select and power button. Holding down this button for about 3 seconds powers the transmitter on or off. There is a series of LEDs that indicate which type of triggering mode you've selected. The following modes are supported:

[] Single - Pressing the shutter release acts like a single press of your camera's shutter release.

[] 2s Delay - Pressing the shutter release button invokes a 2-second delay before a single release signal is sent.

[] Continuous - Pressing the shutter release button once will cause the remote to trigger five individual releases. Holding down the button will act like holding down the shutter release on your camera. The camera's behaviour will be governed by the drive-mode in such a case.

[] Bulb - Pressing the button once is the same as holding down the shutter release on the camera. Press it again to release. This is intended to be used with the bulb shutter-speed setting but if combined with any other shutter speed will act like a press once to activate and press again to release so for instance, if you are in AF-C and don't have bulb set for the shutter-speed, your camera will continue shooting until you tap the button again.

Again, half-press operation is supported and in wireless mode, the two status LEDs at the top will turn green to confirm transmitter-to-receiver signal reception. A full press will turn the two LEDs red. In wired mode only LED #1 will show status.

The receiver has a single button for on/off and learning mode selection. There are also two LEDs. In normal operation, the left most LED will repeatedly flash red to indicate that the unit is on and ready. The right LED will turn green when it receives a trigger signal from the transmitter. Putting the receiver into learning mode causes the right LED to flash rapidly. The receiver also has a hot-shoe mount so it can be conveniently secured to the flash shoe.

All in all, I'm pretty happy with this remote. It's certainly a nice improvement over the older Cleon and would highly recommend it over the Cleon line even though it's about $10 more expensive.

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 VALUE OF PIGEONS

Pigeons are fascinating to watch. Their courting behavior is quite entertaining. Their affectionate attention to their mate is sweet and romantic.

© D.L. Roth, 4/96

Taken from this page

© All rights reserved. Please do not use this image without my permission.

still from a nonexistent film

About an hour and 15 minutes' worth of startrails at Lake Sabrina, west of Bishop in the High Sierra. Pointing southwest - you can actually see the smear of the Milky Way cloud at the left of the image - see the previous single-shot image I posted earlier, which is just one of the frames for this image stack. I actually like the garish green from the tackle/snack shop light but I decided to replace the foreground with another image taken about 45 minutes before I started the startrail sequence.

Which brings up a point - that most people in the world will not see a Milky Way or a bazillion stars like this because of light pollution. Even here, in the High Sierra, a bastion of dark sky, someone somewhere finds it important to light up the lake which is practically nonexistent because of serious drought condition. Not a soul around except me and my two crazy friends. Pshew, I feel better.

If you click on the map view, you can see I'm set up in front of the island, virtually on the lake bottom because the water level is so low.

Rare surviving Ford from 1959.

Ford Prefect 1000E Deluxe.

Equipped with a three speed gearbox and 1172 sidevalve engine, performance was sluggish.

Qingdao is China’s premier “beer” city, as the country’s most famous brew – Tsingtao – was founded and continues to be brewed here. (For those who do come to the city, Tsingtao makes a decent dark beer – Yuan Jiang – that is quite hard to get outside of the city.) I guess the easiest comparison I can make would be to say that Qingdao is the same to beer culture here as St. Louis and Milwaukee are in the United States; a town famous for a mass-produced beer.

The Tsingtao brewery and museum (slightly underwhelming, according to my Lonely Planet guidebook) is located on Dengzhou Lu a bit north of Zhongshan Park. Dengzhou Lu is also famously known as Pijiu Jie (Beer Street). During the day, it’s easy to see the nightlife potential. At night, almost every establishment along this stretch of Dengzhou Lu (probably about a half kilometer to a one kilometer long) is a restaurant that opens up with the focus on drinking beer – almost always Tsingtao. (Curiously, in coming by here at night, the taxi took me past Hongjiu Jie – Red Wine Street. It looked quite a bit less subdued as wine culture here is, well, nonexistent. I didn’t have a chance to get back and look around there. Having drunk Chinese wine before…I don’t think I’m missing too much.)

I’ve lived in China for almost three years now; about two years in Shanghai and one year in Tianjin. Shandong province is the province that’s on the sea between the two cities. (From Shanghai to Tianjin by train is around 5 hours; by plane, 2 hours.) Qingdao, probably the most well-known city in Shandong, is a charming city, to say the least. In my opinion, it’s exceptionally photogenic – with very nice beaches, great architecture, good geography/topography, and terrific food.

Qingdao also happens to be known for the most famous of Chinese beers (Tsingtao), which is actually a company started by the Germans. (For what it’s worth, Chinese beers are quite watery and Tsingtao is somewhat like the Budweiser of Chinese beers. That being said, I’m happy to drink an ice cold Tsingtao on a hot summer day whereas I wouldn’t say the same thing about a Budweiser.

So what to make of Qingdao then? Before colonial powers swept in and started chopping up China piecemeal, Qingdao was basically a sleepy fishing village. During the Ming dynasty, a battery was built here. In 1898, the Germans seized control of Qingdao when two missionaries were killed. (Personally, it seems alarming to me that a country could lose a city because two foreigners happened to be killed – and China sure lost a lot that way during the 19th century. I guess that’s the downside to outmoded military technology; the Europeans and Americans basically plundered China…) At any rate, Qingdao was ceded to the Germans for 99 years, but that didn’t last long, thanks to World War I.

During the 15-20 years that the Germans did have control of the town, they managed to build a handful of churches (still standing) and missionaries, in addition to the aforementioned Qingdao brewery. Because of that, a lot of the European architecture has a heavy German influence and there are still a few random signs of German heritage around town.

From the Germans, Qingdao didn’t land directly with the Chinese. It spent 8 years under Japanese control (1914-1922) before being returned to the Kuomintang (aka General Chiang Kai-Shek’s clan). The Japanese took control once again in 1938 (as they swept through northeast China and across half the country) before losing it for the last time in 1945 at the end of World War II. Since then, it’s been in Chinese hands. (Brief history courtesy of Lonely Planet.)

Contemporary Qingdao certainly makes its way as a tourist destination – and it’s a fine one at that. The population (per my LP from 2011) lists it at 1.73 million. The city has a few areas that are quite appealing to tourists: the Old Town (the heart of the city) off the beach and just east of the railway station downtown, Badaguan (which means “eight passes”) is a hilly area with a lot of nice residential architecture to the east of the Old Town. Other than that, there are a lot of parks, a beer street, churches, and a 40 km. scenic walk (which, obviously, most people do not cover from end to end) along the shore which goes by all of the beaches in the area.

All in all, Qingdao is the type of town that, if you get the chance to visit, I think you would find yourself thinking it would be great to return again and again.

meeting at Jeder el Mohguene

-.-

Travel the world means to pass by from a province to another, everyone of which is a solitary star. For the greater part of the persons who live in the real world ends on the home’s threshold, at the limit of the village, at the extreme - to the border of the valley.

The world that is beyond is nonexistent and quite useless, while the one around them and all what their eye succeeds to embrace, rises to the dimensions of the great cosmos that darken all the rest.

Often the inhabitants of a place and who come from outside have difficulty to find a common language, since everyone of them watches the place from a various optical: who comes from outside uses to wideangle, than make smaller the images but increases the horizon, while the person of the place has always used the telephoto lens, if not quite the telescope, than enlarge the minimums details.

Rysard Kapuscinski (Ebony)

It seems one Marvel-based film franchise isn’t enough for Josh Brolin.

The actor plays the supervillain Thanos in Marvel Studios’ Avengers: Infinity War and in just under a month will hop across some (soon-to-be nonexistent) intellectual property lines to play Nathan Summers AKA Cable in 20th Century Fox’s X-Men film, Deadpool 2.

The sequel to Ryan Reynolds’s R-rated hit will be the first of four films that Brolin has signed on for.

Brolin has had an illustrious film career that only really hit full-speed in the mid aughts, with the actor admitting that he was put off film work for years after watching his second feature film, Thrashin’.

In 2018 Josh Brolin plays supervillain Thanos in Avengers: Infinity War and Cable in Deadpool 2

‘It’s a skateboard movie, and when I went to the premiere, I was crushed. I thought my acting was horrendous,’ the actor told the New York Times while promoting his 2010 film, Jonah Hex.

‘It was the worst acting I’ve ever seen in my life. I moved to New York after that. And I devoted myself to the theater.’

Here is all you need to know about Josh Brolin including what his net worth is, his roles in The Goonies and as Thanos and Cable in Infinity War and Deadpool 2.

Who is Josh Brolin?

Josh James Brolin was born in Santa Monica, California to Jane Cameron and James Brolin.

Brolin’s mother was the assistant casting director on the 1960s Batman TV series and met Brolin’s father, the actor James Brolin on the show’s set.

Brolin’s parents divorced when he was 16 and in 1998 James Brolin married the Oscar-winner Barbra Streisand.

Brolin’s first big role came in 1985’s cult-classic The Goonies, acting alongside future Lord of the Rings star Sean Astin, and Corey Feldman.

He followed that up with Thrashin but then took a break from films until 1993’s The Road Killers, in-between missing out on a lead role in 21 Jump Street to Johnny Depp.

After Brolin’s mother died after a car crash in 1995, on the actor’s 27th birthday, he started drinking and using again, only getting treatment after a close friend from AA staged an intervention.

After getting sober, Brolin’s acting career resumed, albeit very slowly. ‘I was the last-resort guy,’ the actor told Esquire.

Brolin’s life and career turned around in 2006, when he landed the role in the Coen brothers’ film, No Country for Old Men. At the time, Brolin was in Robert Rodriguez’s film Grindhouse.

He was having breakfast with the American playwright and actor Sam Shepard, who told him about the film.

Despite believing he had no chance of getting a role, Brolin made an audition tape – directed by Quentin Tarantino, who was visiting the Grindhouse set that day – and landed the role of Llewelyn Moss.

A string of increasingly big films followed including American Gangster, George W Bush biopic W. and Milk, for which Brolin was nominated for an Oscar.

Brolin’s industrious approach to acting continued through to the 2010s. High-profile films such as True Grit, Men in Black 3, Guardians of the Galaxy and Sicario consolidated Brolin’s status as a Hollywood star.

In 2018 alone, Brolin will star in Avengers: Infinity War, Deadpool 2, Sicario: Day of the Soldado and The Legacy of a Whitetail Deer Hunter.

Brolin has been married three times, to actress Alice Adair between 1988 and 1994 and with whom he has two children; Diane Lane between 2004 and 2013; and former assistant Kathryn Boyd in 2016.

What is Josh Brolin’s net worth?

Josh Brolin’s net worth is estimated to be $35 million (£25.3m), according to Celebrity Net Worth.

Most of Brolin’s net worth is bolstered by his salaries in huge films such as Marvel’s Avengers and Guardians of the Galaxy, and his four-film deal with 20th Century Fox to play Cable in the X-Men series.

via The Little Moment ift.tt/2r49e1S

One really can never get enough of Benedict Cumberbatch... most of the planet is still waiting for Sherlock Season 5 to finally be filmed. But in the mean time, there's of course his biggest money maker, Dr. Strange.

Strange was most recently seen headlining the first half of the Avengers Infinity Saga - Infinity War, while coming back for the climactic battle with Thanos in Endgame. Hot Toys and Marvel Legends did their versions of this character a while ago, and now it was time for Figuarts and Mafex, with the latter being out of my price range... for now.

I do get bored, after all.

As the fancy box indicates, this is Strange from the Battle on Titan, before he made that ultimate sacrifice and disappeared for a movie. It comes decently packed, though is missing two key items - the multi armed effect, and a FREAKING STAND TO LEVITATE HIM WITH.

Contents do, however, include the figure, an alternate eye closed sculpt, 14 posing hands, one additional Crimson Bands of Cytorek hand, two small and medium Time Stone hand effects coupled with one "large" effect, two small, medium, and large general orange effects, his mystic sword, interchangeable Eye of Agamoto and Time Stone chest effect, and finally, a giant ass portal effect.

Even from the prototype pictures, it's easy to see that Tamashii Nations improved the figure aesthetically. I say that because I only own components of the first figure. Two major areas of discussion, namely the sculpt and the cape.

The sculpt I'm pretty sure my photos speaks for itself. Like with most of the recent Avengers release.. again.. MOST, because their Loki is made of the stuff I laugh at. Tamashii Nations have done a damn fine job of capturing the essence of the actor. The first one really isn't that great., nailing maybe the hairstyle and general facial structure.

The cape isn't super fancy per se, but it IS a wired cloth cape, though sadly the section that drapes over the shoulder is rigid plastic. The work on the Mafex cape admittedly destroys this, as it really does look like a scaled down Hot Toys version. This cape, however, is far superior to the Wile E Coyote steam roller accident prop that came with the first one. It's truly a sight to behold, possibly being the worst toy cape I've ever seen on any toy, with the only redeeming value being that it's decently painted. Furthermore, this wired cape still allows for some pretty cool posing.

Having said that, we're now free to move on to this figure.

The outfit is multi layered, which does look nice. Unfortunately, those layers are made of some pliable, yet still pretty rigid plastic, which looks great but generally gets in the way of everything. There's even a warning about permanent deformation if you leave Strange in his crossed leg pose for too long.

The Eye of Agamoto is something you want to keep your eye on because there is a tendency for the piece to go flying should you move the figure too quickly. Also, the Eye is connected to two raised and painted lines that represent the necklace strap, rather than being on an actual strap.

The translucent plastics used for the effects are also somewhat concerning, given the fragility of them and all. Especially the sword, where you have to shove the handle into a fist. The larger mystic mandalas are printed on clear plastic, which are less fragile, but more susceptible to scratching. There's also lovely warnings in the manual about potential paint wear as you pose the figure and attach the various mystic effects.

From an articulation perspective, Strange is about the same as Bucky, except that Strange has pull down hips. Based on previous practices and general logic, I'm going to go ahead and guess that they probably reused the actual body. You get ankles, single jointed knees, hips with thigh twist, waist, mid torso, standard shoulders with butterfly joints for lateral movement, single jointed elbows, wrist, neck, and head.

I've mentioned the hips, so here's some other highlights. The ankle joints are terrible, probably due to the bulk of the boot. Basically they're nonexistent. The coattails predictably get in the way of leg movement, as does the solid shoulder piece on the cape. All-in-all, it's a functional body with decent posing options, but I can't help but feel it's an older body that they didn't want to spend money to bring up to Ant Man standards.

Paint is generally above average. Work on the head and body are very good. Even in the areas of finer detail you can make out the masking is pretty sharp. Things like the Eye of Agamoto I can give a pass on as it is hard to get the paint into every tiny crevice. Paint work appears smooth. But, it's the hands that knock it down a peg for me. For starters, paint application is a bit thick, but maybe that's a material thing.

What you might not be able to make out is that wrist at the wrist there's a very small layer of black to help it blend in with the wrist and sleeves. The masking here is horrible.. like, they didn't even try, and it's consistent across all the hands I looked at. I wish they hadn't bothered at all, and just kept them as all flesh coloured.

Build quality, however, is all good. The usual criteria of joints, materials used, QC, tolerances, finish - none of those register a true concern or complaint from me and are up to what I expect from a Figuarts release.

Overall, I'd say this Dr. Strange is pretty much what the WW 84 Figuarts was like, namely its what they should have done in the first place, though I guess I can say that at least WW was better than Dr. Strange. While from an overall perspective the Figuarts certainly looks more like Benedict Cumberbatch as compared to the Mafex photos, you are getting a better articulated body and an outfit that works with you as opposed to against you... and a 120 USD preorder price tag.

To me, it's fascinating that each of the two figures chose a different key moment to include accessories for. Maybe this was planned so they didn't compete with each other?

*Sigh* I guess I'll just have to eventually get the other one too.

I like this one. Even though the double exposure effect is very subtle...almost nonexistent.

Taken by Trina (pixelmama) and Connie (Surfma)

Went for geocaching walkabout today. I hiked 8.42 miles round trip. The trail up Morena Butte, after it leaves the PCT, is rocky, steep, and nonexistent in places. It's worth every step of the 8.42 miles round trip.

That's Lake Morena down below. It's about sucked dry these days, feeding thirsty homes in San Diego County. That big, flat, green area used to be underwater, a few years ago.

Though personalized art appeared during World War I, and occasionally grew to incorporate the entire aircraft, most pilots carried a saying or a slogan, or a family crest, or squadron symbol. Some were named, but nose art was not common. During World War II, nose art not only saw its true beginnings, but its heyday.

No one knows exactly who started nose art first--it appeared with both the British and the Germans around the first time, with RAF pilots painting Hitler being kicked or skulls and crossbones on their aircraft, while German nose art was usually a personal symbol, named for a girlfriend or adopting a mascot (such as Adolf Galland using Mickey Mouse, something Walt Disney likely didn't approve of). It would be with the Americans, and a lesser extent the Canadians, that nose art truly became common--and started including its most famous forms, which was usually half-naked or completely naked women. This was not always true, but it often was.

The quality of nose art depended on the squadron or wing artist. Some of it was rather crude, while others were equal to the finest pinup artists in the United States, such as Alberto Vargas. For men thousands of miles away from home and lonely, a curvaceous blonde on a B-17 or a P-51 made that loneliness a bit easier. Others thought naked women were a little crude, and just limited themselves to names, or depicted animals, cartoon characters, or patriotic emblems, or caricatures of the Axis dictators they were fighting.

Generally speaking, there was little censorship, with squadron and group commanders rarely intervening on names or pictures; the pilots themselves practiced self-censorship, with profanity almost unknown, and full-frontal nudity nearly nonexistent. After the loss of a B-17 named "Murder Inc.," which the Germans captured and used to make propaganda, the 8th Air Force, at least, set up a nose art committee that reviewed the nose art of aircraft--but even it rarely wielded its veto. For the most part, nose art was limited only by the crew's imagination and the artist's ability. The British tended to stay away from the lurid nudes of the Americans, though the Canadians adopted them as well. (The Axis also did not use nose art in this fashion, and neither did the Soviets, who usually confined themselves to patriotic slogans on their aircraft, such as "For Stalin!" or "In the Spirit of the Motherland!")

When World War II ended, so did nose art, for the most part. In the peacetime, postwar armed forces, the idea of having naked women were wives and children could see it was not something the postwar USAF or Navy wanted, and when it wasn't scrapped, it was painted over. A few units (especially those away from home and family) still allowed it, but it would take Korea to begin a renaissance of nose art.

"What's Up, Doc?" is C-47B 44-76423, which ironically spent very little of its over 30 year career with the USAAF--most of it was spent as an RC-47 reconnaissance aircraft with the Israeli Air Force. When it was sold to the Palm Springs Air Museum in 2003, it was repainted as an aircraft of the 438th Troop Carrier Group at RAF Langar, as it would have appeared during the D-Day landings. Museum artist Stan Stokes painted Bugs Bunny on the nose, with his catchphrase. "Doc" is very much flyable. I hadn't had a chance to get a picture of this nose art when I first saw "Doc" in 2021, but I was able to get this shot in 2023.

Agoutis have five front and three hind toes; the first toe is very small. The tail is very short or nonexistent and hairless.

For the end result, see www.flickr.com/photos/31322479@N04/17492077660/in/datepos...

STS033-082-021 Ord River and Lake Argyle, Western Australia November 1989

Lake Argyle and the rugged eastern portion of the Kimberley Plateau are visible in this low-oblique, north-northwest-looking photograph. Lake Argyle is part of the Ord River irrigation scheme, which provides a consistent supply of water for agriculture in this region. Because of the monsoonal climate, the region receives rainfall approximately 4 months of the year. The Ord River rises in the high Kimberley Plateau near the Durack Range (not visible in the photograph) and flows generally northward 200 miles (320 kilometers) before emptying into the Joseph Bonaparte Gulf near the city of Wyndham (not visible in the photograph). The Kimberley Plateau, once a limestone and coral bank larger than the present Great Barrier Reef, comprises a number of varied ranges, most of which are composed of rugged sandstone dissected by deep gorges. The aborigine word for the Kimberley is Wandjima, "the land of the wind and the water." Population is sparse, and transportation routes are almost nonexistent in this hot, desolate wilderness.

Aggie Ring ’84 likes to make his own cultured butter, cheeses, and crème fraîche for various uses in the kitchen. Unfortunately, the local grocery stores don’t carry dairy products that are up to Aggie Ring standards. Aggie Ring ’84 has a buddy who is a retired Army Medic who runs a coffee and espresso business who hooked Aggie Ring up with a special bottle of heavy cream.

The little Aggie Ring was just as pleased as a little Aggie Ring can be when he saw that it arrived in a glass bottle. “Gee!” said Aggie Ring, “This is just like when we’d buy milk back in the 80s when we were living in Bryan, Texas. “Why, yes is is.” I replied. I thought to myself that dairy products seem so much cleaner when they come in a glass container.

This particular bottle of heavy cream was produced by the Apple Valley Creamery in East Berlin, Pennsylvania. It is approximately 40% to 45% butterfat depending on the cows’ diet at the time of the year. Now, this particular heavy cream is pasteurized only (not ultra-pasteurized, a process that kills off most of the milk or cream’s delicious flavor). Also, it is NOT homogenized. Almost everyone in the USA these days can only buy homogenized or “homo” dairy products. When he has a choice, Aggie Ring is a “non-homo” type of ring because that’s the way he rolls.

Aggie Ring’s favorite thing about “non-homo” heavy cream is that the heavy butterfat separates from the milk and floats to the top of the bottle. Aggie Ring has to use a knife to break through that delicious, heavy sweat cream to get to the rest of the liquid in the bottle before he heats it up to a tepid temperature and adds the bacteria that will culture it overnight so he can make the cultured butter or crème fraîche for his culinary requirements.

The Aggie Ring test for a proper bottle of “non-homo” heavy cream is if he can sit on top of the butterfat that has risen to the top of the bottle for at least 30 seconds before sinking in. For “educational” purposes, Aggie Ring asked me to photograph him sitting on top of that delicious sweet cream. Unfortunately, it took me a bit longer than 30 seconds to adjust the lights and set the exposure on the camera. The last thing I heard Aggie Ring say before he began to sink into the delicious “non-homo” heavy cream was, “Oh dear, this is a kerfuffle, isn’t it?” The next thing I knew, poor Aggie Ring had broken through the butterfat and had sunk to the bottom of the bottle.

When I poured the delicious “non-homo” sweet whole cream into the container Aggie Ring uses to culture it overnight, I had to retrieve him with a spoon. No teeth this time. I asked Aggie Ring, “Does it remind you of an old fashioned Aggie Ring Dunking?” Aggie Ring replied, “Sort of, but there was no Shiner Bock.” I told Aggie Ring, “Yes, I suppose you’re right.”

Aggie Ring then said, “It’s a good thing I’m a Genuine Texas A&M Aggie Ring pure of heart and in spirit and not a VMI ring. One of those heavy and fat, gaudy VMI rings would have sunk down into the bottle immediately and its lack of Aggie class would have most certainly soured the cream. Also, the artificial stone in most of the VMI rings might have poisoned it as well.” The Aggie Ring is very good at pointing things like this out.

Now… There’s one other type of dairy product that Aggie Ring likes the most. He didn’t want me to say anything about it because it’s very illegal in New Jersey. However, Aggie Ring allowed me to mention it if I didn’t name names because, as Aggie Ring always says, “Snitches wind up in ditches!” So, the little Aggie Ring’s favorite type of milk and cream is the “raw” stuff. Since it’s illegal to sell raw dairy in New Jersey, Aggie Ring has found “a guy” that can hook him up with the “real stuff.” The closest thing I can compare obtaining raw dairy in New Jersey to would be a “drug deal.” You see, when Aggie Ring wants the “raw stuff,” he has to call his “guy” in PA and place an order during the week. Then, on Saturday morning not long after the sunrise, Aggie Ring’s “guy” meets Aggie Ring and others in back of a local train station in a van that has been driven over from PA. Cash exchanges hands and the raw, illegal contraband gets put into Aggie Ring’s car trunk just in case he’s stopped by the dairy police on the way home.

Aggie Ring used to occasionally milk cows at the Texas A&M Dairy Farm in College Station, Texas back when he was a young Aggie Ring and he’d occasionally try milk directly from the cow. Aggie Ring thinks this is the best type of milk in the world.

Aggie Ring says, “The cows up here in PA and in New Jersey must be the happiest cows in the world. They have four wonderful seasons of weather up here and the humidity is almost nonexistent.

Just before I posted this, Aggie Ring said, “Don’t forget to remind them that the road goes on forever and the party never ends!”

One really can never get enough of Benedict Cumberbatch... most of the planet is still waiting for Sherlock Season 5 to finally be filmed. But in the mean time, there's of course his biggest money maker, Dr. Strange.

Strange was most recently seen headlining the first half of the Avengers Infinity Saga - Infinity War, while coming back for the climactic battle with Thanos in Endgame. Hot Toys and Marvel Legends did their versions of this character a while ago, and now it was time for Figuarts and Mafex, with the latter being out of my price range... for now.

I do get bored, after all.

As the fancy box indicates, this is Strange from the Battle on Titan, before he made that ultimate sacrifice and disappeared for a movie. It comes decently packed, though is missing two key items - the multi armed effect, and a FREAKING STAND TO LEVITATE HIM WITH.

Contents do, however, include the figure, an alternate eye closed sculpt, 14 posing hands, one additional Crimson Bands of Cytorek hand, two small and medium Time Stone hand effects coupled with one "large" effect, two small, medium, and large general orange effects, his mystic sword, interchangeable Eye of Agamoto and Time Stone chest effect, and finally, a giant ass portal effect.

Even from the prototype pictures, it's easy to see that Tamashii Nations improved the figure aesthetically. I say that because I only own components of the first figure. Two major areas of discussion, namely the sculpt and the cape.

The sculpt I'm pretty sure my photos speaks for itself. Like with most of the recent Avengers release.. again.. MOST, because their Loki is made of the stuff I laugh at. Tamashii Nations have done a damn fine job of capturing the essence of the actor. The first one really isn't that great., nailing maybe the hairstyle and general facial structure.

The cape isn't super fancy per se, but it IS a wired cloth cape, though sadly the section that drapes over the shoulder is rigid plastic. The work on the Mafex cape admittedly destroys this, as it really does look like a scaled down Hot Toys version. This cape, however, is far superior to the Wile E Coyote steam roller accident prop that came with the first one. It's truly a sight to behold, possibly being the worst toy cape I've ever seen on any toy, with the only redeeming value being that it's decently painted. Furthermore, this wired cape still allows for some pretty cool posing.

Having said that, we're now free to move on to this figure.

The outfit is multi layered, which does look nice. Unfortunately, those layers are made of some pliable, yet still pretty rigid plastic, which looks great but generally gets in the way of everything. There's even a warning about permanent deformation if you leave Strange in his crossed leg pose for too long.

The Eye of Agamoto is something you want to keep your eye on because there is a tendency for the piece to go flying should you move the figure too quickly. Also, the Eye is connected to two raised and painted lines that represent the necklace strap, rather than being on an actual strap.

The translucent plastics used for the effects are also somewhat concerning, given the fragility of them and all. Especially the sword, where you have to shove the handle into a fist. The larger mystic mandalas are printed on clear plastic, which are less fragile, but more susceptible to scratching. There's also lovely warnings in the manual about potential paint wear as you pose the figure and attach the various mystic effects.

From an articulation perspective, Strange is about the same as Bucky, except that Strange has pull down hips. Based on previous practices and general logic, I'm going to go ahead and guess that they probably reused the actual body. You get ankles, single jointed knees, hips with thigh twist, waist, mid torso, standard shoulders with butterfly joints for lateral movement, single jointed elbows, wrist, neck, and head.

I've mentioned the hips, so here's some other highlights. The ankle joints are terrible, probably due to the bulk of the boot. Basically they're nonexistent. The coattails predictably get in the way of leg movement, as does the solid shoulder piece on the cape. All-in-all, it's a functional body with decent posing options, but I can't help but feel it's an older body that they didn't want to spend money to bring up to Ant Man standards.

Paint is generally above average. Work on the head and body are very good. Even in the areas of finer detail you can make out the masking is pretty sharp. Things like the Eye of Agamoto I can give a pass on as it is hard to get the paint into every tiny crevice. Paint work appears smooth. But, it's the hands that knock it down a peg for me. For starters, paint application is a bit thick, but maybe that's a material thing.

What you might not be able to make out is that wrist at the wrist there's a very small layer of black to help it blend in with the wrist and sleeves. The masking here is horrible.. like, they didn't even try, and it's consistent across all the hands I looked at. I wish they hadn't bothered at all, and just kept them as all flesh coloured.

Build quality, however, is all good. The usual criteria of joints, materials used, QC, tolerances, finish - none of those register a true concern or complaint from me and are up to what I expect from a Figuarts release.

Overall, I'd say this Dr. Strange is pretty much what the WW 84 Figuarts was like, namely its what they should have done in the first place, though I guess I can say that at least WW was better than Dr. Strange. While from an overall perspective the Figuarts certainly looks more like Benedict Cumberbatch as compared to the Mafex photos, you are getting a better articulated body and an outfit that works with you as opposed to against you... and a 120 USD preorder price tag.

To me, it's fascinating that each of the two figures chose a different key moment to include accessories for. Maybe this was planned so they didn't compete with each other?

*Sigh* I guess I'll just have to eventually get the other one too.

Haugestad. City on a rock (in the middle), surrounded by flatland. 2009.

Oolick is a rambunctious little guy that never shuts up! He is the worst gossip in Hollywood. Racing around on those little wheels of his, he can spread news like a wildfire. The only trouble is that his memory is shot and his attention span is nonexistent. So, he gets all his stories mixed up. How did you think Tabloids get all their crazy stories?

Robot sculpture assembled from found objects by Brian Marshall - Wilmington, DE. Items included in my sculptures vary from vintage household kitchen items to recycled industrial scrap. Some of my favorite items to use are old oil cans, aluminum measuring spoons, electrical meters, retro blenders, anodized cups, and pencil sharpeners.

The bridge was demolished recently and was in use from 1924-2005. It was unique because of the "Hip" as I'll call it. Watch for the spot where I go up and then level out at the 3rd joint I cross on the bridge (at about 27 seconds to go in the video). The road comes to a "T" intersection at a war memorial on the cliffs of Lexington visible in the distance as the video ends. It was a very narrow bridge, crumbling and ready to go but I liked it. You can see the curbs are mostly nonexistent at this point.

Filmed with my old Nikon 990. It only did 40 second videos with no sound.

Last night, Jessica Lo and I met up at the airport to begin our exciting month-long journey to the East Coast :)

At around 11:15 ish, I got up to get in line to board our plane that was departing at 11:45pm only to find out I was in the line to get on the wrong plane haha. Shows you how excited I was to get going!

Slept pretty much the whole way through the plane ride, got to JFK at around 8:30am (Eastern Time from now on!) and met up with Lily Nunez and Nancijane Carolipio, along with two other program-mates who took the same flight. We followed Professor Halle's directions to our dorm:

Air Train $5

Subway E and 6 $2.50

(this was definitely an experience, lugging around 50lb bags + all these carry-on stuff up and down stairs to get from one subway to another... for some reason, most of the elevators or escalators were either broken or nonexistent whenever we needed one! the seven of us had a blast... and that's what Lily calls an "experience" haha)

It was awesome though because people here in NY are so nice - some offered to help us carry stuff when we were struggling, others gave us directions. It is definitely a different environment here!

We got out of the subway station, looked up and there was our dorm / apartment! Looked very nice on the outside, right next to Dunkin' Donuts, Chipotle, Subway, Trader Joe's, etc. When we got in, it wasn't as "nice" as the outside looked... but not bad enough to complain! My roommate, Thieny Nguyen (in the picture above! - btw, she's from UCSD, cool beans!), had already moved in but wasn't in the room. I met this sweet girl later on (in an hour or so) and definitely like her a lot so far :)

Went with Jessica to Walgreen's (around the corner) to get toiletries... came back and showered! Went to lunch at Ray's Pizza with the ladies... shopped at K-Mart for more toiletries and whatnot.

Came back, unpacked... and napped for a good two hours!

We had dinner plans with the professor and our program-mates at The Coffee Shop about 10 minute walk away at 7pm. Had yummy food - coconut shrimp, chicken satay, salad, rotisserie chicken, fruit plate - then walked around Union Square where I saw this guy "tagging" on NYC maps... just like the one featured in Day 5 of my project, with Company! Definitely reminded me of him... and home :)

We walked around some more, then went to Trader Joe's to find a nice cake for Lily's 21st birthday tomorrow! But the line was too long and cake selection was limited, so we walked back to Whole Foods to get her a nice Chocolate Cake (and some fruit tarts for NJ and me haha).

Now, I am sitting here in the commons of our dorm with my roomie, just taking advantage of the internet (we don't have internet YET in our room...)

I'm realizing how important this project is to me, that I would constantly be thinking about pictures, and blogging, and what to write about... what to catch in my photos.

I really like this photo - taken at K-Mart.

Thieny and her watermelon Kleenex box haha :) Really cool cause there was a subway station that went directly into K-Mart. Which brings me to the topic of what Jess and I were talking about at our terminal last night: public transportation really leads to people were are more friendly and sociable... I can see the difference here!

Really can't wait to explore some more :)

It's gonna be great!

I really want to try my best to be healthy here, so if you're there and you think of me, send me some love and text me to remind me to be/stay healthy (no soda, much fruits, sunblock, wash face = no acne, etc.) Thank you in advance.

I finished watching Autumn's Concerto last night. It was so bomb. As long as I have loved, I will leave this world satisfied :)

Good night for now.

Might blog some more on tumblr!

Follow me there.

I miss home, but this is where I am for the next month. I better enjoy it before the four weeks fly by!

A journey awaits!

unicamp.kintera.org/campathon/mwltatertots

www.lucytseng.tumblr.com

Qingdao is China’s premier “beer” city, as the country’s most famous brew – Tsingtao – was founded and continues to be brewed here. (For those who do come to the city, Tsingtao makes a decent dark beer – Yuan Jiang – that is quite hard to get outside of the city.) I guess the easiest comparison I can make would be to say that Qingdao is the same to beer culture here as St. Louis and Milwaukee are in the United States; a town famous for a mass-produced beer.

The Tsingtao brewery and museum (slightly underwhelming, according to my Lonely Planet guidebook) is located on Dengzhou Lu a bit north of Zhongshan Park. Dengzhou Lu is also famously known as Pijiu Jie (Beer Street). During the day, it’s easy to see the nightlife potential. At night, almost every establishment along this stretch of Dengzhou Lu (probably about a half kilometer to a one kilometer long) is a restaurant that opens up with the focus on drinking beer – almost always Tsingtao. (Curiously, in coming by here at night, the taxi took me past Hongjiu Jie – Red Wine Street. It looked quite a bit less subdued as wine culture here is, well, nonexistent. I didn’t have a chance to get back and look around there. Having drunk Chinese wine before…I don’t think I’m missing too much.)

I’ve lived in China for almost three years now; about two years in Shanghai and one year in Tianjin. Shandong province is the province that’s on the sea between the two cities. (From Shanghai to Tianjin by train is around 5 hours; by plane, 2 hours.) Qingdao, probably the most well-known city in Shandong, is a charming city, to say the least. In my opinion, it’s exceptionally photogenic – with very nice beaches, great architecture, good geography/topography, and terrific food.

Qingdao also happens to be known for the most famous of Chinese beers (Tsingtao), which is actually a company started by the Germans. (For what it’s worth, Chinese beers are quite watery and Tsingtao is somewhat like the Budweiser of Chinese beers. That being said, I’m happy to drink an ice cold Tsingtao on a hot summer day whereas I wouldn’t say the same thing about a Budweiser.

So what to make of Qingdao then? Before colonial powers swept in and started chopping up China piecemeal, Qingdao was basically a sleepy fishing village. During the Ming dynasty, a battery was built here. In 1898, the Germans seized control of Qingdao when two missionaries were killed. (Personally, it seems alarming to me that a country could lose a city because two foreigners happened to be killed – and China sure lost a lot that way during the 19th century. I guess that’s the downside to outmoded military technology; the Europeans and Americans basically plundered China…) At any rate, Qingdao was ceded to the Germans for 99 years, but that didn’t last long, thanks to World War I.

During the 15-20 years that the Germans did have control of the town, they managed to build a handful of churches (still standing) and missionaries, in addition to the aforementioned Qingdao brewery. Because of that, a lot of the European architecture has a heavy German influence and there are still a few random signs of German heritage around town.

From the Germans, Qingdao didn’t land directly with the Chinese. It spent 8 years under Japanese control (1914-1922) before being returned to the Kuomintang (aka General Chiang Kai-Shek’s clan). The Japanese took control once again in 1938 (as they swept through northeast China and across half the country) before losing it for the last time in 1945 at the end of World War II. Since then, it’s been in Chinese hands. (Brief history courtesy of Lonely Planet.)

Contemporary Qingdao certainly makes its way as a tourist destination – and it’s a fine one at that. The population (per my LP from 2011) lists it at 1.73 million. The city has a few areas that are quite appealing to tourists: the Old Town (the heart of the city) off the beach and just east of the railway station downtown, Badaguan (which means “eight passes”) is a hilly area with a lot of nice residential architecture to the east of the Old Town. Other than that, there are a lot of parks, a beer street, churches, and a 40 km. scenic walk (which, obviously, most people do not cover from end to end) along the shore which goes by all of the beaches in the area.

All in all, Qingdao is the type of town that, if you get the chance to visit, I think you would find yourself thinking it would be great to return again and again.

Outside the development was a busy Boulevard with access to EDSA, SLEX, and the nearby condominiums and malls. The traffic was so disorganized, they had to place concrete blocks (painted black and white stripes) to prevent illegal u-turns and left and right turns that would block traffic for hours. And like all Asian cities, tropical greens mixed with concrete jungles. Flyovers (as they flew over the old streets to avoid cross-city traffic) interrupted old neighborhoods as environmental impact studies and neighborhood inputs were nonexistent. Homes and commercial buildings from the 1960s fronted new condominiums and malls recently built to copy western countries. It was always a sight to behold.

Shooting Date/Time1/12/2011 10:23:30 PM

Tv( Shutter Speed )1/800

Av( Aperture Value )4.0

Metering ModeEvaluative Metering

ISO Speed160

Auto ISO SpeedOFF

LensEF24-105mm f/4L IS USM

Focal Length24.0mm

IMG_7798cx2011

(c) Rebecca Tun | May 2015

model: Jake Chatterton - www.purpleport.com/portfolio/jakechatterton

Manchester, UK

How about a photo adventure of Sylvan Springs? It's that bare area way out there beyond the Gibbon River in Yellowstone, about 4 miles southwest of Norris Geyser Basin. Hardly anybody goes out there. Want to see it up close?

I wondered about it ever since I was a teenager on a family vacation decades ago. I had asked a park ranger and he said it's a wet, muddy hike across the meadow (this, I found out, is true). But there are interesting thermal features to see. Photos of these are rare to nonexistent on Flickr. From my recent trip, I brought back new shots of rarely-seen springs, mudpots and geysers. Join me on a mini-adventure!

First, we have to wade across the Gibbon River, then walk over a mile. Come back over the next few hours to see what it's like out there. Teaser: there's a beautiful pool in the group named Evening Primrose Spring.

You can see the whole hike (22 photos and 1 video) with descriptions in my new Sylvan Springs album.

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

Doubtful Sound is a very large and naturally imposing fjord (despite its name) in Fiordland, in the far south west of New Zealand. It is located in the same region as the smaller but more famous and accessible Milford Sound.

Doubtful Sound was named 'Doubtful Harbour' in 1770 by Captain Cook, who did not enter the inlet as he was uncertain whether it was navigable under sail. It was later renamed Doubtful Sound by whalers and sealers.

A Spanish scientific expedition commanded by Alessandro Malaspina visited Doubtful Sound in February 1793 to conduct experiments measuring the force of gravity using a pendulum, a part of the effort to establish a new metric system. The officers of the expedition, which included Felipe Bauzá y Cañas, a cartographer, also made the first chart of the entrance and lower parts of the Sound, naming features of it. Today these form a unique cluster of the only Spanish names on the map of New Zealand: Febrero Point, Bauza Island and the Nee Islets, Pendulo Reach and Malaspina Reach.

There are three distinct arms to the sound, which is the site of several large waterfalls, notably Helena Falls at Deep Cove, and the Browne Falls which have a fall of over 600 metres. The steep hills are known for their hundreds of waterfalls during the rainy season.

Access to the sound is either by sea, or by the Wilmot Pass road from the Manapouri Power Station. Most areas of the sound itself are only accessible by sea however, as the road network in this area of New Zealand is sparse or nonexistent, as is the human population.

Charles John Lyttelton, 10th Viscount Cobham, Governor-General of New Zealand (1957-1962) wrote about this part of Fiordland:

"There are just a few areas left in the world where no human has ever set foot. That one of them should be in a country so civilized and so advanced as New Zealand may seem incredible, unless one has visited the south-west corner of the South Island. Jagged razor backed mountains rear their heads into the sky. More than 200 days of rain a year ensure not a tree branch is left bare and brown, moss and epiphytes drape every nook. The forest is intensely green. This is big country... one day peaceful, a study in green and blue, the next melancholy and misty, with low cloud veiling the tops... an awesome place, with its granite precipices, its hanging valleys, its earthquake faults and its thundering cascades."

Doubtful Sound is unusual in that it contains two distinct layers of water that scarcely mix. The top few meters is fresh water, fed from the high inflows from the surrounding mountains, and stained brown with tannins from the forest. Below this is a layer of cold, heavy, saline water from the sea. The dark tannins in the fresh water layer makes it difficult for light to penetrate. Thus, many deep-sea species will grow in the comparatively shallow depths of the Sound.

This fiord is home to one of the southernmost population of bottlenose dolphins. The Doubtful Sound bottlenoses have formed a very insular sub-group of only about 70 individuals, with none having been observed to leave or enter the Sound during a multi-year monitoring regime. Their social grouping is thus extremely close, which is also partly attributed to the difficult and unusual features of their habitat, which is much colder than for other bottlenose groups and is also overlaid by the freshwater layer.

Other wildlife to be found in Doubtful Sound includes fur seals and penguins (Fiordland crested and blue), or even rare large whales (Southern Right Whale, Humpback Whale, Minke Whale, Sperm Whale and some Giant Beaked Whales. Orca, the Killer Whales and Long-Finned Pilot Whales can be found also. The waters of Doubtful Sound are also home to an abundance of sea creatures, including many species of fish, starfish, sea anemones and corals. It is perhaps best known for its black coral trees which occur in unusually shallow water for what is normally a deep water species.

The catchment basin of Doubtful Sound is generally steep terrain that is heavily forested except for locations where surface rock exposures are extensive. Nothofagus trees are dominant in many locations. In the understory there are a wide variety of shrubs and ferns.

© branko

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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.”

Chuck E. Cheese #545 (closed) [10,578 square feet]

1280 Central Park Boulevard, Central Park, Fredericksburg, VA

Opened September 4th, 1999, closed May 29th, 2020, reopened in July 2021

The Super Bonus machine seemed to be the only trace of Avenger-era Chuck E. left in the building. Any renditions of Chuck E. before the 2012 makeover are nonexistent here otherwise. They scrubbed the place pretty clean of all the older elements!

Hong Kong Museum of History.

Postwar Hong Kong had a severe overcrowding problem, as those who were forcibly resettled by the Japanese started to return. Even more people crowded in when the Chinese Civil War ended in 1949 and the Communists took over China. Many people lived in shantytowns, but after a vicious 1953 fire left a large number of residents homeless overnight, authorities scrambled for solutions. Soon, apartment blocks went up.

Living conditions were very spartan. An apartment of barely 11 square meters had to house a full family of seven or eight people, with meals having to be cooked on balconies. Laundry and toilets were communal, schools were thrown up on rooftops as afterthoughts, and hospitals and other services were nonexistent. But the low rent, at only HKD $14 per month, was unbeatable, and having a real roof over one's head was priceless.

One demonstrator carried this punning reference to a certain "fair and balanced" news outlet that shall remain nameless. In a broader sense, most of the "mainstream" national media were also offering up faux news.

To be on the ground in Madison during the rallies, and especially on Saturday, and then take a look at the national coverage was like looking in a funhouse mirror -- and the result was not fun at all. I was really offended Saturday when NBC headlined their report "State of Chaos." This was in reference to the largest and most peaceful demonstration I have ever seen in Madison. The news peg wasn't "chaos." It was that a crowd rivaling Badger football crowds in size gathered peacefully on the Capitol Square and there were no arrests. Similarly, there was a lot of unsubstantiated talk about nonexistent "violence" and "union thugs." And even the Huffington post picked up an AP wire service story that was filled with faux facts -- that the Capitol was filthy from the debris left by all the people, and that the building "reeked" from all the people who had occupied it for a week.

Yes, Virginia -- they really do make stuff up.

PS: Compared to the national media, most of the local newspapers and electronic media have been doing a much better job of trying to get their facts right. But, then, they live here.

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

joe mangrum

washington square park

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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Hiroko Masuike/The New York Times

Kareem Barnes of Tic and Tac collected donations on Sunday.

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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.”

Visionary Poet of the Millennium

An Indian poet Prophet

Seshendra Sharma

October 20th, 1927 - May 30th, 2007

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Rivers and poets

Are veins and arteries

Of a country.

Rivers flow like poems

For animals, for birds

And for human beings-

The dreams that rivers dream

Bear fruit in the fields

The dreams that poets dream

Bear fruit in the people-

* * * * * *

The sunshine of my thought fell on the word

And its long shadow fell upon the century

Sun was playing with the early morning flowers

Time was frightened at the sight of the martyr-

-Seshendra Sharma

"We are children of a century which has seen revolutions, awakenment of large masses of people over the earth and their emancipation from slavery and colonialism wresting equality from the hands of brute forces and forging links of brotherhood across mankind.

This century has seen peaks of human knowledge; unprecedented intercourse of peoples and

perhaps for the first time saw the world stand on the brink of the dilemma of one world or destruction.

It is a very inspiring century, its achievements are unique.

A poet who is not conscious of this context fails in his existence as poet."

-Seshendra Sharma

(From his introduction to his “Poet’s notebook "THE ARC OF BLOOD" )

* * * * * *

B.A: Andhra Christian College: Guntur: A.P: India

B.L : Madras University: Madras

Deputy Municipal Commissioner (37 Years)

Dept of Municipal Administration, Government of Andhra Pradesh

Parents: G.Subrahmanyam (Father) ,Ammayamma (Mother)

Siblings: Anasuya,Devasena (Sisters),Rajasekharam(Younger brother)

Wife: Mrs.Janaki Sharma

Children: Vasundhara , Revathi (Daughters),

Vanamaali ,Saatyaki (Sons)

Seshendra Sharma is one of the most outstanding minds of modern Asia. He is the foremost of the Telugu poets today who has turned poetry to the gigantic strides of human history and embellished literature with the thrills and triumphs of the 20th century. A revolutionary poet who spurned the pedestrian and pedantic poetry equally, a brilliant critic and a scholar of Sanskrit, this versatile poet has breathed a new vision of modernity to his vernacular.Such minds place Telugu on the world map of intellectualism. Readers conversant with names like Paul Valery, Gauguin, and Dag Hammarskjold will have to add the name of Seshendra Sharma the writer from India to that dynasty of intellectuals.

* * *

Seshendra Sharma better known as Seshendra isa colossus of Modern Indian poetry.

His literature is a unique blend of the best of poetry and poetics.

Diversity and depth of his literary interests and his works

are perhaps hitherto unknown in Indian literature.

From poetry to poetics, from Mantra Sastra to Marxist Politics his writings bear an unnerving pprint of his rare genius.

His scholarship and command over Sanskrit , English and Telugu Languages has facilitated his emergence as a towering personality of comparative literature in the 20th century world literature.

T.S.Eliot ,ArchbaldMacleish and Seshendra Sharma are trinity of world poetry and Poetics.

His sense of dedication to the genre of art he chooses to express himself and

the determination to reach the depths of subject he undertakes to explore

place him in the galaxy of world poets / world intellectuals.

Seshendra’seBooks :http://kinige.com/author/Gunturu+Seshendra+Sharma

Seshendra Sharma’s Writings Copyright © Saatyaki S/o Seshendra Sharma

Contact :saatyaki@gmail.com+919441070985+917702964402

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Seshendra Sharma : Scholar - Poet

Seshendra Sharma, a scholar - poet was born (October 20, 1927) into a Pujari ( Priests ) family in Nellore District in the state of Andhra Pradesh in India . Seshendra’s father and his grandfather were well versed in Sanskrit Literature, Vedas and scriptures. At home itself, thus from his childhood , Seshendra got the opportunity of learning and training in Sanskrit. This was further nurtured by the Village school of Thotapalligudur, where he spent best part of his childhood.

Seshendra’s father was a well-to-do person, a Munsif ( village officer ) of the village, possessing more than Ten Acres of agricultural Wet land and own house . Father’s desire to see his son flower into a top man turned a new leaf in Seshendra’s life. Seshendra’s father admitted him for B.A. Graduation course in Andhra Christian College in Guntur. Incidentally, Seshendra’s Family Sir Name and this town’s name are one and the same. This is a turning point in the budding poet’s journey. Seshendra got significant exposure to the Western World, particularly to the Western Literature. The makings of a Visionary Poet germinated in him in this Alma Mater. His journey of poetry started with Translation of Mathew Arnold’s “Sohrab and Rustum “ , a long poem , which Seshendra translated into Telugu in Metrical poetry with accomplished finesse . This trend eventually blossomed and Seshendra emerged as an Epic – Poet. His My Country – My People : Modern Indian Epic is observed by learned critics as a land mark in modern poetry ranking it on par with T.S. Eliot’s Waste Land . This long poem was nominated for Nobel Prize in 2004. His subsequent works Gorilla, Turned into water and fled away, Ocean is my name – long poems were reviewed in scholarly strain.

Seshendra’s desire to perform in films took him to Madras, today’s Chennai in Tamil Nadu. In Madras he formally joined B.L. Course with Madras Law College. And was developing contacts in the Telugu Cinema Circles and was working as a freelance journalist. He used to translate articles into Telugu for Janavani , a popular weekly of those times whose editor was Tapi Dharma Rao , a towering personality of Telugu Literature. This facet of journalism of his personality rose to its full heights in 90s. When Soviet Union collapsed he wrote a series of articles in Telugu as well as in English decrying the west’s sinister plot, villainous machinations to pull down Communist Regimes. He sang odes / Laurels to communism and expressed in aggressive tone and style that communism will never die. It remains in the genes of oppressed peoples of the world for ever. Perhaps Seshendra is the only poet from the Indian Subcontinent to pen Anti – Imperialist essays during those times. He completed his Law course but his desire to act in films remained unfulfilled. Seshendra’s Classmates at his Alma Mater, A.C.College, Guntur, N.T.Rama Rao and Kongara Jaggaiah became popular actors of Telugu Cinema. N.T.R became an all time super –hero. Seshendra’s father and maternal uncle forcibly brought him back from Madras, and with the good offices of native Member of Parliament put him in Government service as Deputy Panchayat Officer. In due course of time, on deputation, joined Municipal Administration Department and worked as Municipal Commissioner in all Major cities and towns of Andhra Pradesh. With the result he got wide exposure to conditions of social life of his times. He obtained personal acquaintance of Common Man’s life and his travails. This enriched his vision of life and literature a great deal.

With Seshendra Poetry and Poetics are Siamese Twins. He penned works of Literary Criticism both on classical and contemporary poetry. Sahitya Kaumudi (Telugu ) and his bi-lingual book “ the ARC of Blood : My Note Book “ illustrate this point. His Research work on Valmiki’s Ramayana , Shodasi : Secrets of The Ramayana , questions the very foundations of centuries old assumptions. Seshendra, based on scientific research citing from the original text of Valmiki and Vedas, reveals that The Ramayana is not just story of Rama told in enchanting poetry , But the Sage wrote the epic to spread Kundalini Yoga among the masses of his era. His observations that the concepts of Vishnu and Reincarnation were non –existent during Valmiki’s Epoch constitute a revolt against centuries old beliefs. Sita is the central character of The Ramayana and she is Kundalini Shakti / Adi Para Shakthi . During that era temples and prayers were nonexistent. This hits directly at the very foundation of Temple System.

His Kavisena Manifesto , is a noteworthy work on Modern Poetics. In this work, he compiles cogently definitions of poetry cutting across centuries and countries and writes scintillating commentary. This Manifesto of Modern Poetry is a sort of Wikipedia page of world poetry. Seshendra, finally concludes that poetry is emotions and feelings skilfully garbed in unusual diction, and poetry is a way of life.

Discerning scholars critics and academics are of intrinsic opinion that T.S.Eliot ,Archibald MacLeish and Seshendra Sharma are trinity of world poetry and Poetics.

But this Scholar – poet of 20th century is an unsung and unwept genius of his times.

Prime Minister of India honoured Seshendra with Gold Medal in Sahitya Akademi ( India ) Golden Jubilee celebrations and Chief Minister of AP honoured him with Hansa Literary Award on the eve of UGADI , Telugu New Year Day in 2005 .

In one of his poems he says fragrance of stars is calling me. Seshendra left this world and vanished into fragrance of galaxies on May 30, 2007.

* * * * * *

GunturuSeshendraSarma: an extraordinary poet-scholar

One of the ironies in literature is that

he came to be known more as a critic than a poet

HYDERABAD: An era of scholastic excellence and poetic grandeur has come to an end in the passing away of GunturuSeshendraSarma, one of the foremost poets and critics in Telugu literature. His mastery over western literature and Indian `AlankaraSastra' gave his works a stunning imagery, unparalleled in modern Indian works. One of the ironies in literature is that he came to be known more as a critic than a poet. The Central SahityaAkademi award was conferred on him for his work `KaalaRekha' and not for his poetic excellence. The genius in him made him explore `Kundalini Yoga' in his treatise on Ramayana in `Shodasi' convincingly. His intellectual quest further made him probe `NaishadhaKaavya' in the backdrop of `LalitaSahasraNaamavali', `SoundaryaLahari' and `Kama Kala Vilasam' in `SwarnaHamsa', Seshendra saw the entire universe as a storehouse of images and signs to which imagination was to make value-addition. Like Stephene Mallarme who was considered a prophet of symbolism in French literature, SeshendraSarma too believed that art alone would survive in the universe along with poetry. He believed that the main vocation of human beings was to be artists and poets. His `Kavisena Manifesto' gave a new direction to modern criticism making it a landmark work in poetics. Telugus would rue the intellectual impoverishment they suffered in maintaining a `distance' from him. Seshendra could have given us more, but we did not deserve it! The denial of the Jnanpeeth Award to him proves it

The Hindu

India's National Newspaper

Friday, Jun 01, 2007

* * * * * *

Pardon Me Father!

I could not rescue him from the clutches of that nymphomaniac and vampire. There may be an exception or two but an average Indian woman desires from the depths of her soul that her husband should live long and she should pass away before him. She performs prayers and fasts on auspicious days for this purpose. She in spite of being 3years elder to him did away with my father in a planned and premeditated manner and I was a silent and helpless witness to it. He suffered 1st Heart attack in November 1997. Cardiologists performed angiogram and advised open heart surgery. Because there were blocks in vessels and one valve was damaged. But she successfully thwarted it and without my knowledge or informing any one got angioplasty done in Mediciti (Hyderabad: AP; India) her plan was to do away with him and live long, and establish herself as his wife through his books. He was succumbing to her blackmail. My overwhelming hunch is that she was threatening him with social insult and humiliation if he parts ways with her.

Between 1997-2007, she played football with his body. He used to be hospitalized every now and then with swollen body and heart pain. Because of damaged valve pumping was impaired and water used to accumulate in the system. Every time I used to force her to hospitalize him. He used be in ICCU for a couple of days and recover marginally. After each visit to hospital he was getting debilitated gradually. He was put on wheel chair. He was virtually under house arrest. He was not allowed to speak to friends and family members. Visitors were kept away. He was taking Lasix (Tablet: is a diuretic that is used to treat fluid accumulation, caused by heart failure, cirrhosis, chronic kidney failure, and nephrotic syndrome.) to flush out water accumulated in his body. This creates a painful dilemma in me whether my interference in his health matters was just. As his son it was my moral duty to protect him. But I sometimes feel if I were not to interfere she would have put him to death long ago and thus he would have escaped from physical and mental torture quite early.

Towards perhaps end of the month of March she withdrew medication. He got swollen suddenly and that condition continued till the last day i.e. 30th may 2007. Each time I visited I used to tell that witch to take him to hospital. But after a couple of visits I got convinced that she made up her mind this time to do away with him. I requested a bastard who was feigning to be a friend of mine, who incidentally happens to be a legal luminary of this region to send a doctor friend to that place and ascertain the exact condition of his health. But of no avail.

I kept on telling him to come out of that place and lead a normal and healthy life. Her blackmail gained an upper hand and I lost in my efforts to restore health to him and bring him back to civilized society. O God pardon me for not being able to outmanoeuvre her machinations. Pardon me father.

* * *

Who Are The Legal Heirs of Seshendra Sharma ?

DISCLAIMER

The literary world is aware that my father Gunturu Seshendra Sharma, eminent poet, litterateur and scholar-critic, died on 30th may 2007. Ever since he expired, there has been no mention of his parents, family members and other personal details in the news and in the articles about him. Not only this, fictional lies are being spread and using money power one shady lady is being propagated as his wife and so on. This has been causing me, as his son, a great mental agony. That is why, through this article, I am revealing certain fundamental truths to the literary field of this country and the civilized society. I appeal to your conscience to uphold truth, justice and values of our composite culture.

Seshendra Sharma's family members are: Parents: Subrahmanyam Sharma, Ammaayamma- Wife: Janaki Daughters: Vasundhara, Revathi, Sons: Vanamali, Saatyaki. Only these two are legal heirs of Seshendra Sharma, socially and morally too.

Street Play and Circus: In 1972, away from the civilized society, without the knowledge of parents and near and dear, in a far flung village called Halebeed in Karnataka a circus, a street play was staged. Let me make it clear that even after this street play my father did not divorce my mother Mrs.G.Janaki legally. He never had even a faint intention of committing such an uncivilized act. On the contrary, in all crucial Government documents he nominated my mother as his legal heir from time to time. During his long career as Municipal Commissioner with The Government of Andhra Pradesh, he retired 3 times. His first retirement came in 1975 by way of compulsory retirement for his anti establishment writings during Mrs. Gandhi's' emergency. His second retirement came in 1983 when the then new chief minister N.T. Rama Rao's government reduced the age of service from 58 to 55 years. The third and final retirement in the year 1985 on attaining 58 years of age. On all these occasions, in all the government documents, my father Seshendra Sharma nominated my mother Mrs. Janaki as his legal heir. This is precisely why the self contradictory 'second marriage' is a circus enacted away from the society and Law does not recognize this type of street plays as marriage.

Lakshmi Parvathi in literature

N.T. Rama Rao, actor turned politician married Ms. Lakshimi Parvathi in 1994 and subsequently in January 1995 he came to power for the second time. She used to act as an extra constitutional power and run the matters of government and the party. She developed her own coterie of cohorts and started dominating the party. After NTR was toppled by his own son- in-law, most of them parted ways with her. And the remaining touts left her for good the day NTR breathed his last. Ms.Indira Dhanrajgir has been playing the same role in Telugu literature over a period of more than 3 decades. In the guise of literature she developed her own coterie of lumpens with extra literary and money mongering elements - Tangirala Subba Rao, Velichala Kondala RAo(Editor:Jayanthi) Cheekolu Sundarayya(A.G.'s Office, Hyderabad et al).

There are a couple[ of dissimilarities between these two instances. After the demise of NTR, L.P's coterie of cohorts disappeared once and for all. Whereas, in Indira Dhanrajgir's case new lumpens are entering the field with the passage of time. Squandering her late father's wealth, she is roping in new touts. Since NTR's wife Basava Tarakam passed away in 1984 and since he was old and sick NTR's marriage with LP has ethical basis and is legal completely. Whereas I.D's is neither ethical nor legal. Hence it is a street play. This is the reason why after my father's death she has been spending money on a larger scale and indulging in false publicity and propaganda. Bh. Krishna Murthy, Sadasiva Sharma (The then Editor of Andhra Prabha:Telugu Daily, presently with Hindi Milap) Chandrasekhara Rao(Telugu lecturer: Methodist Degree College) etc. are indulging in all sorts of heinous acts to prop up I.D as my father's wife.

My father passed away on 30 May 2007. When our family was in grief and I was performing the 11 day ritual as per my mother's wish, the above mentioned Sadasiva Sharma went to Municipal Office on 4th June, created ruckus, played havoc telling them that he is from the Prime Minister's Office , мейд some 'senior officials' make phone calls to the officials concerned and got my father's death certificate forcibly issued. When the entire family was mourning the death of the family head, a stranger and a lumpen S.S -Why did he collect my father's death certificate forcibly from the municipal authorities? Whom did he collect it for?

THREE NAMES OF THE SAME PERSON IN 3 DECADES

This is perhaps for the first time that the name of a lady appears in 3 forms at a time. Perhaps in 1970, in my father's collection of poems"PAKSHULU her name appeared As Rajkumari Indira Devi Dhanrajgir. In 2006 she published a fake version of Kamaostav(Rewritten by a muffian Called Chandrasekhara Rao) . In this book her name appears as R.I.D.D. Prior to 1970 in Maqdoom Mohiuddeen's(Renowned Urdu Poet) anthology of poetry 'Bisath -E-Raks', in Urdu as well as Hindi , at the end of two poems her name appears as Kumari Indira Dhanrajgir. On 15th June 2007 A.P state cultural affairs department and Telugu University jointly held my father's memorial meeting. I.D hijacked this meeting by issuing her own commercial advertisements in English and Telugu dailies. In these advertisements her name appeared as Smt. Indira Devi Seshendra Sharma and again in the commercial public notices мейд by her in the month of November 2007her name appeared as Rajkumari devi etc. Why does her name appear in different forms on different occasions? Will I.D explain? Will Sadasiva Sharma clarify, who forcibly took my father's death certificate after four days of his death? Or will Bh.Krishna Murthy clarify?

If I.D has even an iota of regard, respect for or faith in love, or relation, the institution of marriage, immediately after'Halebeed Circus', she would have used my father's family sir name and her name would have appeared as Gunturu Indira. Since she was conscious of her goal during all times and conditions she did not take such a hasty and mindless step of change of her name.

WHERE DOES THE REAL SECRET LIE? Her life is totally illegal, anti-social and immoral. I.D's father performed her marriage with SRikishenSeth, Nephew of the then Prime minister to Nizam, Maharaja Kishen pershad in 1945. On the day of marriage itself I.D beat SrikeshenSeth up and ran away from him. She did not stop at that. She propagated among his friends and relatives and near and dear that he was not enough of a man and unfit for conjugal/ marital life. She filed a divorce case against him and dragged it till 1969/70. Lion's share of her husband's life got evaporated and was sapped completely by then. His parents used to approach I.D's father and plead with him to prevail upon his daughter, put sense into her head and see that she either lives with their son or dissolves the marriage legally so that they can remarry off their son. But I.D did not heed. Raja Dhanrajgir after getting disgusted with her nasty activities stipulated a mandatory condition in his will. He stated that I.D would be entitled to get a share of his property only if she is married.

This is the reason why ID who has no respect for the institution of marriage or regard or desire for marital life , in the guise of love and love poetry inflicted indelible blemish on the institution of marriage which is unprecedented in the literary history of the world. After my father's death she has been indulging in more rigorous false publicity along with her coterie of touts.

KAMOSTAV:STORY OF ID'S SOUL:

With this novel Kamostav, father's literary life came to an end for good. He did not produce literary works worth mentioning in his later phase of life. During those days he asked for my opinion on that novel. I told him clearly that it lacks the form and content of a novel- it does not have a story line, plot, sequences, characters and eventually a message which every novel gives. Hence it is a trash. Several people went to court and got its publication in a weekly stopped. ID got this very trash rewritten completely by Chandrasekhara Rao and printed it. This kind of heinous development has never taken place in the recorded history of Telugu literature till date. A writing which brought disrepute to my father in the literary field and isolated him in the society, why did she get it rewritten by somebody and publish it claiming copyright to be hers? What is her motive? What is her aim? That is why Kamotsav is ID's biography, story of her inner soul.

SESHENDRA'S COPYRIGHTS:

My father gifted away copyrights of his entire works along with their translations to me by way of birth day gift to me on 2.12.1989. Since then I have published several of his works during his lifetime itself. Kamostav, the version that is secretly мейд available is the dirty work of cheapsters and lumpens under the leadership of ID. It is much worse than violation of copyrights. That is the reason why I have been reluctant to take action so far. If she and her debased henchmen try to violate copyrights of my father's works bequeathed to me, I shall take exemplary legal action against them.

ID мейд 2 public notices to the effect that my father cancelled all his earlier transfer of copyrights and retransferred all his rights to her. This is a palace intrigue in the modern era in our civilized society.

WHAT DOES LAW SAY ABOUT COPYRIGHTS?

An author can transfer copyrights of his works to any one as per her/his wish. But the Copyrights Act 1957 and the Supreme Court in its various judgments has clearly stipulated a procedure to revoke earlier assignment and transferring of copyrights to somebody else subsequently. The author has to issue a notice to the 1st assignee, giving 6 months time for reply. Depending on the reply the author can take his next step. Where as in my father's copyrights matter he did not even inform me orally of any such cancellation. ID claims that she has a typed document of transfer of copyrights signed by my father on 5.1.2006. Between 5.1.2006 and 30.5.2007, leave alone issuing a notice, he did not even inform me orally.

My father who assigned copyrights to me in his own handwriting, when he was relatively young and physically fit did not require to cancel the 1st assignment when he was totally dilapidated, almost bedridden and was counting his days. Another important aspect of the matter is that I have printed the Xerox of my father's document in his own works as early as 1995 and have been doing so from time to time during his life time. Where as ID claims to possess a document after my father's death and she has not мейд it public so far. ID tried to get my father's complete works published in different languages by Telugu University (Hyderabad: A.P: India) by paying them Rs. 6 Lakhs. I approached Telugu University and apprised them of facts. On the advice of legal experts, they stopped this project and returned ID's money to her. It is an incontrovertible fact that ID's document is a forged and fraudulent document which does not stand scrutiny before law. Court shall certainly award her exemplary punishment. In all societies and times literature has been social wealth/public property from time immemorial. It should not be used as a mask to grab share of parental property illegally and unethically. I am committed to this cause/ ideal and appeal to the civilized society to strengthen my hands in this endeavor. ID's younger brother Sri Mahendra Pratapgir is the lone legal heir apparent of that family and keeping him in dark, she is squandering her father's wealth in Telugu literature for her nasty propaganda.

FATHER PASSED AWAY:

In 1997 when he suffered the 1st heart attack he was half-dead. Dr.Sudhakar Reddy, cardiologist of Mediciti Hospitals (Native of Warangal.A.P) performed angiogram and diagnosed that he had blocks in arteries and one valve was damaged completely. He advised open heart surgery. But ID averted it and got angioplasty performed. His health declined rapidly since then and was leading the life of virtually an invalid till he breathed his last. He suffered inexplicable mental and physical torture for about a decade. During the last leg of his journey he was isolated from his family completely. He was deserted by one and all in the literary field. When his younger brother passed away, his younger sister passed away he did not visit his ancestral home in his village and call on those families. He became target of jealousy and animosity in the society. He became a victim of false impression with the society that he was an aristocrat and rolling in luxuries. Whereas, he was deprived of even his native vegetarian food for decades together. As a silent and helpless witness to these painful happenings, I was subject to untold mental agony.

In the later half of March 2007 on one of my visits to him, I was aghast at his condition. His entire body was swollen. His appearance was like that of a stuffed gunny bag. I told him to get hospitalized. I told ID to rush him to a hospital. But of no avail. On 30th may 2007 at about 11 pm I got a phone call from her" Come soon/Serious" she said. As I entered at 11.15 pm "Go inside/he is no more' she said.

* * One day when swarms of lamps vanish, in the light of a lonely lamp I ask the dumb pillars "Can't you liberate me from the disgust of this existence? I ask those stand still forest flame trees

which blossom flowers at that very place year after year

"can't you rescue me?

I ask those high roof tops and this Venetian furniture

which every one feels are greater than me, "can't you rescue me from the disgust of this existence?" All these answer in a melancholic voice "We have been languishing since more than 100 years watching the same unchanging scenes we are older prisoners than you are" (Janavamsham: Telugu: Seshendra: Page 80-81:1993: Translated by me)

My father's first biography (in Hindi) titled "Rashtrendu Seshendra: Ashesh Aayaam" by Dr.Vishranth Vasishth appeared in 1994. Touching upon these very sensitive aspects of my father's life he commented in that book"SONE KE PINJRE ME PANCHCHI" (A bird in a golden cage). Alarmed and agonized by his rapidly declining health, as early as June 2002, in order to bring pressure on ID, I gave a 2 cassettes long interview to Vijayaviharam of Janaharsha group. Later on when I enquired about that interview they said that in the raids conducted on their premises, they got destroyed.

I wanted to rescue my father and bring him back home when he was in good health. Alas! At last, I took him to the burial ground, laid him on the funeral pyre and consigned him to flames and returned home all alone.

G.Satyaki S/o Late.G.Seshendra Sharma

Hyderabad.T.S.INDIA

saatyaki@gmail.com

+91 94410 70985, 7702964402

This photo was taken on 20 March 2017, but I also saw and photographed these rather strange animals every day that we were staying at the Asa Wright Nature Centre on the island of Trinidad. They like to hang around the Asa Wright building, finding food, and then they seem to disappear into the forest for most of the day. Many of my photos of them came out blurry for some reason, but this one worked OK.

"Agoutis have five front and three hind toes; the first toe is very small. The tail is very short or nonexistent and hairless. Agoutis may grow to be up to 60 cm (24 in) in length and 4 kg (8.8 lb) in weight. Most species are brown on their backs and whitish or buff on their bellies; the fur may have a glossy appearance and then glimmers in an orange colour. Reports differ as to whether they are diurnal or nocturnal animals.... They can live for as long as 20 years, a remarkably long time for a rodent

In the wild, they are shy animals and flee from humans, while in captivity they may become trusting. In Trinidad, they are renowned for being very fast runners, able to keep hunting dogs occupied with chasing them for hours." From Wikipedia.

en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Common_agouti

This adventure was only the second holiday of any kind, anywhere, that I have had in something like 30 or 35 years! The other holiday was a wonderful, one-week trip with my dear friends from England, Linda and Tony, when we went down south to Yellowstone National Park and the Grand Tetons in September 2012. I have had maybe half a dozen weekends away, including to Waterton National Park, which have helped keep me going.

Six birding/photographer friends and I decided that we would take this exciting trip together (from 12-21 March 2017), spending the first two or three days on the island of Tobago and then the rest of the time at the Asa Wright Nature Centre on the nearby, much larger island of Trinidad. We decided to take a complete package, so everything was included - accommodation at both places, all our food, and the various walks and day trips that we could choose from. Two of my friends, Anne B. and Brenda, saw to all the planning of flights and accommodations, which was so very much appreciated by the rest of us. I could never have done all this myself! We were so lucky with our flights, as we were just in time to get Black Friday prices, which were 50% off!

What a time we had, seeing so many beautiful and interesting things - and, of course, everything was a lifer for me. Some of these friends had visited Costa Rica before, so were familiar with some of the birds. There was a lot more to see on Trinidad, so we were glad that we chose Tobago to visit first and then spend a longer time at Asa Wright. It was wonderful to be right by the sea, though, at the Blue Waters Inn on the island of Tobago. Just gorgeous.

The Asa Wright Nature Centre, on Trinidad, is such an amazing place! We stayed in cabins up or down hill from the main building. Really, one doesn't need to travel away from the Centre for birding, as so many different species visit the Hummingbird feeders that are right by the huge, open veranda, and the trees of the rain forest high up the mountainous road. The drive up and down this narrow, twisting, pot-holed road was an adventure in itself! Never would I ever do this drive myself - we had a guide who drove us everywhere in a minibus. I had read many accounts of this road, lol! There was enough room for two vehicles to pass each other, and the honking of horns was almost continuous - either to warn any vehicle that might be coming fast around the next bend or as a sign that drivers knew each other. The drive along this road, from the coast to Asa Wright, took just over an hour each way.

I still miss the great food that was provided every single day at Asa Wright and even the Rum Punch that appeared each evening. I never drink at all, so I wasn't sure if I would even try the Punch - glad I did, though, as it was delicious and refreshing. Breakfast, lunch and dinner were all served buffet-style, with a great variety of dishes from which to choose. To me, pure luxury. So very, very grateful to have been invited to be part of this amazing adventure.

This is a video that I came across on YouTube, taken by Rigdon Currie and Trish Johnson, at many of the same places we visited on Trinidad and Tobago. Not my video, but it made me feel like I was right there still. Posting the link here again, so that I won't lose it.

youtu.be/BBifhf99f_M

I also came across the following 27-minute YouTube video of the flora and fauna of Trinidad, filmed by John Patrick Smith in February 2015.

youtu.be/6HHBm9MIxnk

Qingdao is China’s premier “beer” city, as the country’s most famous brew – Tsingtao – was founded and continues to be brewed here. (For those who do come to the city, Tsingtao makes a decent dark beer – Yuan Jiang – that is quite hard to get outside of the city.) I guess the easiest comparison I can make would be to say that Qingdao is the same to beer culture here as St. Louis and Milwaukee are in the United States; a town famous for a mass-produced beer.

The Tsingtao brewery and museum (slightly underwhelming, according to my Lonely Planet guidebook) is located on Dengzhou Lu a bit north of Zhongshan Park. Dengzhou Lu is also famously known as Pijiu Jie (Beer Street). During the day, it’s easy to see the nightlife potential. At night, almost every establishment along this stretch of Dengzhou Lu (probably about a half kilometer to a one kilometer long) is a restaurant that opens up with the focus on drinking beer – almost always Tsingtao. (Curiously, in coming by here at night, the taxi took me past Hongjiu Jie – Red Wine Street. It looked quite a bit less subdued as wine culture here is, well, nonexistent. I didn’t have a chance to get back and look around there. Having drunk Chinese wine before…I don’t think I’m missing too much.)

I’ve lived in China for almost three years now; about two years in Shanghai and one year in Tianjin. Shandong province is the province that’s on the sea between the two cities. (From Shanghai to Tianjin by train is around 5 hours; by plane, 2 hours.) Qingdao, probably the most well-known city in Shandong, is a charming city, to say the least. In my opinion, it’s exceptionally photogenic – with very nice beaches, great architecture, good geography/topography, and terrific food.

Qingdao also happens to be known for the most famous of Chinese beers (Tsingtao), which is actually a company started by the Germans. (For what it’s worth, Chinese beers are quite watery and Tsingtao is somewhat like the Budweiser of Chinese beers. That being said, I’m happy to drink an ice cold Tsingtao on a hot summer day whereas I wouldn’t say the same thing about a Budweiser.

So what to make of Qingdao then? Before colonial powers swept in and started chopping up China piecemeal, Qingdao was basically a sleepy fishing village. During the Ming dynasty, a battery was built here. In 1898, the Germans seized control of Qingdao when two missionaries were killed. (Personally, it seems alarming to me that a country could lose a city because two foreigners happened to be killed – and China sure lost a lot that way during the 19th century. I guess that’s the downside to outmoded military technology; the Europeans and Americans basically plundered China…) At any rate, Qingdao was ceded to the Germans for 99 years, but that didn’t last long, thanks to World War I.

During the 15-20 years that the Germans did have control of the town, they managed to build a handful of churches (still standing) and missionaries, in addition to the aforementioned Qingdao brewery. Because of that, a lot of the European architecture has a heavy German influence and there are still a few random signs of German heritage around town.

From the Germans, Qingdao didn’t land directly with the Chinese. It spent 8 years under Japanese control (1914-1922) before being returned to the Kuomintang (aka General Chiang Kai-Shek’s clan). The Japanese took control once again in 1938 (as they swept through northeast China and across half the country) before losing it for the last time in 1945 at the end of World War II. Since then, it’s been in Chinese hands. (Brief history courtesy of Lonely Planet.)

Contemporary Qingdao certainly makes its way as a tourist destination – and it’s a fine one at that. The population (per my LP from 2011) lists it at 1.73 million. The city has a few areas that are quite appealing to tourists: the Old Town (the heart of the city) off the beach and just east of the railway station downtown, Badaguan (which means “eight passes”) is a hilly area with a lot of nice residential architecture to the east of the Old Town. Other than that, there are a lot of parks, a beer street, churches, and a 40 km. scenic walk (which, obviously, most people do not cover from end to end) along the shore which goes by all of the beaches in the area.

All in all, Qingdao is the type of town that, if you get the chance to visit, I think you would find yourself thinking it would be great to return again and again.

Tracy's hair actually looks significantly shinier in person. The flash from my camera washed this out a bit, which is unusual, since most of the time, my flash creates nonexistent shine. This Tracy's doll's hair isn't quite as beautiful and new looking as my first doll's. However, I'm very pleased with the final result. Her curls are much more manageable, since the boil wash softened them. I was afraid that her hair wouldn't lie flat against her head, being that it had been in a ponytail for so long, and considering that she has saran hair, which is notoriously more stubborn. But fortunately, the boil wash water must have been hot enough, because it only took one session to tame the beast. Tracy's head was alarmingly loose though, which was odd considering her head was still on her body (unlike her decapitated friends). I decided to pop her head off in the hot water and tighten her neck joint while I was beautifying Miss Tracy. Now her head is much tighter, and can actually hold a pose--unlike before, when her head would loll back without any provocation.

Tutorial: How I Clean Dolly Bodies & Faces

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

Tutorial: How I Boil Wash Doll Hair

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

Barrow, Alaska, was practically nonexistent sixty years ago when my father was stationed at Point Barrow; but even then Browers Cafe was ancient. Originally built as a whaling station in the Nineteenth Century, it was a general store during my dad's time there.

These days, it's a very nice restaurant where I had a cheeseburger which was excellent verging on spectacular, and some Chinese dumplings which weren't quite so much.

Out back of the restaurant, on a long beach running down to the Arctic Ocean, are the skeletons of two whaling boats and one (partial) whale.

Ernest Maxwell looks at the clock on the wall and sees that the time between wars is now almost nonexistent—

He’s been teased and taunted into opening his valise of undiscovered gods, secret equations, abrupt breakups, inspiring beginnings, comical refusals, counterfeit data, manufactured emotions and predictable reprisals—

His humid green eyes ignore mistakes on the courthouse lawn as iron grey clouds gather and smoke from burning vineyards looks like mountains on the horizon like ladybugs crawling over split wood—

He kicks a diseased tree and pronounces: I am the Seamless Man, the Frontierless Man, the Peerless Man, the Reckless Man, the Guileless Man, the Handless Man, the Bookless Man, the Loveless Man, the Nationless Man, the Shadowless Man, the Doomsday Man, the Cashless Man, the Shoeless Man, the Hatless Man, the Feckless Man, the Theoryless Man, the Timeless Man, the Artless Man, the Moonless Man—

Flower Mound TX. (Photo rotated to horizontal for better viewing) Many weeks later we found our little friend in much better shape and with a longer tail, although as you can see the new tail is inferior with its coloring and distorted shape. Fortunately, we have many places for such critters to hide. I had to stand on my tip toe with my point and shoot and could not get very close because it kept running away. Note how parts of his body blends in with the screen. The Greater Roadrunners keep our toads, frogs and lizards almost nonexistent. I have noticed a change in coloring of these lizards over the years, as they are becoming paler and more yellowish. I found a sick one the other day that was really yellow, perhaps from liver problems. We do not use pesticide except for the fire ants that are taking over.

NWA 2737

Martian Chassignite

Morocco

Found: 2000

TKW: 611 g / OBJ: Micro

NORTHWEST AFRICA 2737

‘Diderot’

Martian Chassignite

Dunite

Nine rock fragments constituting a single 611 g stone were found in the Moroccan Sahara by meteorite hunters under the organization of Bruno Fectay and Carine Bidaut. These black fragments were not recognized as meteoritic until several years later, at which time a sample was submitted for analysis. The importance of this meteorite was soon evident, and multiple analyses were conducted through a collaboration of research groups in France and elsewhere:

Laboratoire des Sciences de la Terre, (Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique—Unité Mixte de Recherche [CNRS–UMR]), École Normale Supérieure de Lyon: P. Beck, Ph. Gillet, B. Van de Moortele, B. Reynard

Université de Bretagne Occidentale, Institut Universitaire Européen de la Mer: J-A. Barrat, J. Cotten

Institut français de recherche pour l'exploitation de la mer (IFREMER), Centre de Brest (Centre national de la recherche scientifique—Unité mixte de recherche [CNRS-UMR]): M. Bohn

Planetary and Space Science Research Institute, Open University, United Kingdom: I.A. Franchi, R.C. Greenwood

Johnson Space Center, Houston, Texas

University of Tokyo, Japan

With the assigned name of NWA 2737, this olivine–chromite cumulate was classified as a dunite that exhibits many mineralogical, chemical, and petrographical similarities to the first known martian chassignite that fell in Chassigny, France in 1815. A third chassignite designated NWA 8694 (photo courtesy of L. Labenne) has been classified at the Museum National d'Histoire Naturelle, Paris, France (Hewins et al., 2014, 2015). Northwest Africa 2737 is composed of 89.6 vol% shock-blackened, cumulus forsteritic olivine, 3.1 vol% chromite, 1.6 vol% sanidine, 1.0 vol% pyroxene (augite, pigeonite, and orthopyroxene), and 0.2 vol% phosphate. Carbonates are present in both chassignites, with at least some of them showing evidence for a martian origin—shock fractures post-date the carbonate formation (Beck et al., 2006). Both chassignites have similar REE patterns, elements that are carried mostly in their apatite component. A martian origin is attested by the abundance ratio of Fe/Mn in olivine, the bulk Na/Al ratios, and by the O-isotopic ratios.

Northwest Africa 2737 is one of the least terrestrially altered martian finds as shown by its trace element composition (e.g., low Ba and Sr contents) and noble gas signatures. However, in contrast to Chassigny and the nakhlites, NWA 2737 contains trapped noble gases more similar to those in shergottites, as evidenced by the lack of martian mantle Xe, the lack of fission-derived Xe from plutonium, and the enrichment of martian atmospheric Xe (Marty et al., 2006).

While feldspars in Chassigny are mostly composed of plagioclase, with lesser amounts of labradorite and sanidine, the feldspars in NWA 2737 only occur as K-rich sanidine or Na-rich analbite. These differences could have been caused by a relatively low Al concentration in the parental melt, resulting in the delayed nucleation of plagioclase with a consequent buildup of Na in the melt (Beck et al., 2006; Papike et al., 2009). The olivine and chromite grains in both chassignites contain melt inclusions with a unique mineralogy, including the occurrence of hydrous kaersutitic (Ti-rich) amphibole, while those in NWA 2737 also include an alkali feldspar-rich glass. Six distinct melt inclusion species were described in NWA 2737 by He et al. (2010,2013) based on the diverse mineral assemblages, including olivine, orthopyroxene, augite, pigeonite, kaersutite, chlorapatite and fluorapatite, biotite, chromite, pyrrhotite, and feldspathic glass; these minerals occur in melt inclusions that span a wide range of sizes (~5–300 µm). It is thought that some melt inclusions might contain trapped parental magma at various stages of fractionation.

It was determined experimentally that the parental magma of the chassignites may have resembled a terrestrial, silica-saturated hawaiite magma with a higher than terrestrial Mg# and an aluminum content of ~12 wt% (Filiberto, 2008). It was ascertained that the chassignites likely crystallized after ~30% crystallization of mafic phases was attained.

In an effort to estimate the original magma composition of the cumulate chassignites, He et al. (2013) examined the ubiquitous, sub-mm-sized, trapped magmatic inclusions in olivine grains. In consideration of the water diffusion coefficient between amphibole and melt, as well as the extent of melt crystallization that occurred prior to amphibole formation (~45%) and other pertinent assumptions, the water content of the primary melt of NWA 2737 was calculated to be ~0.48–0.67 wt%; the water content of the primary melt of the Chassigny meteorite was previously calculated by McCubbin et al. (2010) to be 0.43–0.84 wt%. Utilizing the MELTS program with the known parameters, the research team determined that NWA 2737 was formed under pressure of ~6.8 kbar. Their deduced parental composition for NWA 2737 based on Ca:Al ratios and Mg# is quite similar to that of the martian basalt Humphrey, measured in situ by the MER rover Spirit in Gusev Crater. A broad range of Al contents has been found in martian parental source rocks—Al is relatively high in basaltic surface rocks and the chassignites, while it is thought to have been sequestered at depth in garnet in the nakhlites and most shergottites; this has implications for the magma ocean scenario of Mars' petrogenetic history.

Several differences between Chassigny and NWA 2737 have been identified by Mikouchi (2005): interstitial chromite has a larger grain size in NWA 2737, feldspar occurs as the sodic plagioclase albite in NWA 2737 rather than the calcic plagioclase anorthite, and all phases of NWA 2737 have a more magnesian composition than those in Chassigny, perhaps reflecting conditions of higher temperature and pressure during fractional crystallization from a less evolved parental melt as suggested by Nekvasil et al. (2005). Petrographic evidence indicates that NWA 2737 was the first cumulate to crystallize at the bottom of the pile, followed by Chassigny next in the sequence, while the order for NWA 8694 remains to be determined (McCubbin et al., 2013). In further studies, Mikouchi et al. (2016) found that significant ambiguities exist among the three known chassignites. For example, although each of the chassignites exhibit a similar cooling rate (0.003–0.1 °C/hr), olivine compositions between them show large variations: NWA 8694 is Fa46, Chassigny is Fa31, and NWA 2737 is Fa21; moreover, each chassignite exhibits a distinct shock history. Therefore, they suggest that each of the chassignites is more likely associated with a separate flow or lobe (possibly within a common extensive igneous unit) rather than a single sequential accumulation. See the Nakhla page for further details on the stratographic sequence for nakhlites and chassignites.

Lorand et al. (2012) studied the sulfide mineralogy and native metal assemblages in NWA 2737 and made comparisons to Chassigny. While the bulk sulfide abundance in NWA 2737 is low, troilite (and rare pentlandite) blebs up to tens of µm in size are ubiquitous at primary mineral grain contacts, and as even smaller blebs associated with chromite within melt inclusions. Although the sulfide pyrite is abundant in Chassigny, it was not identified in NWA 2737, and the Cu-sulfide chalcopyrite was virtually nonexistent; both sulfide phases were likely lost during an impact-heating event. Similarly, Fe–Os–Ir alloys that are observed in close association with troilite grains in NWA 2737 are considered to have exsolved from pyrrhotite during subsequent cooling from an impact-heating event. These differences that exist between these two chassignites can be attributed to impact-shock-related reduction processes involving high temperatures, leading to the devolatilization of S and the loss of magnetic properties.

While the overall shock effects in Chassigny are only moderate (S4), portions are present that must have experienced much higher shock pressures (45–55 GPa; S5–S6) consistent with the presence of planar deformation features and localized melting. By contrast, the olivine in NWA 2737 exhibits exceptional darkening which is thought to reflect the disordered lattice state of an incomplete transformation to olivine high pressure polymorphs, as well as the presence of nanophase FeNi-metal particles within the olivine (Reynard et al., 2006). These Fe nanoparticles are thought to have formed through subsolidus reduction of olivine during the high temperature phase (~1300°C) of a shock event corresponding to a minimum shock stage of S5. A partial cause of the darkening (brown color) in olivines as described by Treiman et al. (2006) derives from the conversion of Fe2+ to Fe3+ in an oxidizing environment, resulting from the shock heating loss of H+ that was previously dissolved in a hydrous magma. Only a low ppm abundance of Fe3+ would be required to cause the observed darkening. Continued investigations utilizing spectral reflectance techniques, including Mössbauer spectroscopy, indicate that the darkening is primarily the result of shock disseminated nanophase metallic iron particles (Pieters et al., 2007). Other deformed olivine grains in NWA 2737 have been recrystallized to a visually colorless phase. Takenouchi et al. (2015) suggested that the Fe nanoparticles were formed in association with high-pressure polymorphs such as wadsleyite during a high-pressure, high-temperature shock event. Ultimately, the wadsleyite was back-transformed to olivine during a period of high post-shock temperatures, and this olivine now appears brown due to the presence of the Fe nanoparticles. Subsequent studies were conducted by Takenouchi and Mikouchi (2016) of NWA 2737 and several shergottites that contain darkened olivine associated with shock-melt phases. They found higher Fe3+ ratios in both brown (or brownish) olivine compared to adjacent colorless olivine located within the same grain, attesting to the formation of Fe nanoparticles by olivine oxidation and reduction during transformation to high-pressure polymorphs such as ringwoodite and wadsleyite.

Cooling rate estimates for both Chassigny and NWA 2737 have been set at 28–30°C/year, consistent with a formation within a thick lava flow or a shallow dike or sill. The Sm–Nd data for both plot on a similar isochron—1.416 (±0.057) b.y. for NWA 2737, and 1.380 (±0.030) b.y. for Chassigny. Both of these chassignites, as well as the nakhlites, also have similar CRE ages of 10–11 m.y. based on 3He and 21Ne. Therefore, it may be argued that both of these chassignites, as well as the nakhlites, were ejected during a common impact event from the same igneous region on Mars. Based on Ar–Ar data, it was proposed by Bogard and Garrison (2008) that NWA 2737 may have experienced an intense impact event resulting in its burial ~1–20 m deep under a warm ejecta blanket, while a subsequent, less-intense impact event was responsible for its ejection from Mars 10–11 m.y. ago.

Differences have been noted in the gas retention ages of Chassigny and NWA 2737. After correction for terrestrial contamination, a more accurate determination of the K–Ar crystallization age for NWA 2737 was made, and this revised K–Ar age of 376 (±168) m.y. is significantly younger than that of Chassigny and the nakhlites, and more like that of shergottites (Marty et al., 2005; 2006). However, this discordant age has been attributed to the higher shock metamorphism experienced by NWA 2737

Actually it posted hours after I tried to post it so I was fast asleep. I live in the woods and the internet is almost nonexistent...

car keys.

the ultimate expression of personal freedom in America, the symbol of mobility, ability; an extension of the individual. with a car many things are possible - travel, shopping, hauling, visiting or just plain driving for the pleasure of it. we take cars for granted - if you don't have one you are somehow deficient - and we've largely forgotten how powerful they are.

my wife has a car, a modest vehicle that gets her where she needs to go - work, school, errands, visits with friends and family. it's utility is undeniable. there is a faux-sportiness about it, and the color - blackberry - is quite pleasing to the eye. i know that car backwards and forwards with only one minor detail - i haven't a clue what it is like to drive it.

i have what is termed these days a "seizure disorder", known more widely as "epilepsy", once known as "having fits". my brain does not function correctly, prone to electro-chemical misfiring that renders it chaotic, unusable, dysfunctional. during these neurological meltdowns i may fall to the ground and shake violently, sit in a chair and stare off into space, drooling, or wander panicked around the house sniffing the air for a scent that exists only in my inside-out mind.

the aftermath of these seizures covers a range. at the minimum i am exhausted and confused when i come to or am forced to wake up. my muscles will be sore, my head in the thrall of a serious pounder, speech heavily slurred, thought largely impossible. if i'm really lucky i'll still have the smell of burning wire or insulation in my nose, and the taste of hot metal in my mouth, both by-products of the seizures involving that nonexistent odor. a long period of sleep is required for me to function at even the most rudimentary level.

the permanent effects become more pronounced as the seizures continue. my short term memory is a mess, i'm very forgetful, and while speaking or writing i'll lose words, and i mean lose them so completely i'll have to find another way to speak/write my thought. i'm prone to sudden exhaustion, sleep poorly, and my temper has become short, too short, which is hard on rachel. coupled with my instant forgetfulness, i've started quite a few needless arguments based on the fruits of a faulty memory.

my first seizure occurred when i was 20 years old - not exactly rare, but not that common. as far as i know it was not the direct result of a brain injury, though my left frontal lobe does show two very small areas of scarring. it is not known whether or not this has any relation to the seizures, though the only one caught during eeg monitoring originated from that same lobe. i have been medicated on and off for the last twenty years with no real success. presently, i am at the end of the medication road, taking my current prescription as much to satisfy my neurologist (an excellent doctor - high praise from someone like me) as to control seizures. my longest period without seizures was eighteen months, during which time i was not taking any meds at all. the pace, variety, and severity of the seizures has increased over the years.

the treatments left to me are all invasive, requiring surgical testing to determine my fitness for the procedures themselves. "it's only brain surgery" my doctor cracks in his deadpan way. for the time being i'm unprepared to risk the possible loss of function, which varies wildly depending upon which parts of the brain must be removed. perhaps walking won't be possible, or speech, there may be memory loss, and so forth.

so for the indeterminate future i have to find a way to get along with a brain and body prepared to betray me without a seconds warning. i cannot leave the house by myself. fear of having seizures in public or finding myself appearing stupid because my memory has chosen an inopportune moment to abandon me keeps me at home. so does the sheer danger of walking around by myself and the potentially fatal possibilities of having a seizure while crossing the road or using the stairs, or any of a dozen other scenarios. rachel works and goes to school, so i'm pretty much on my own, essentially house bound.

the immobility may be somewhat alleviated in months to come. i am applying to an organization called Paws With A Cause, a non profit that raises and trains working dogs to aid the disabled and chronically ill. for epileptics there are seizure response dogs which can be trained to respond in a variety of ways depending upon the nature of the seizures the person experiences. this can include staying with me, trying to awaken me, bringing the phone so i can call for help, and monitoring me as i move about the house, or go outside. in the outside world the dog can help me get around, blocking me before i walk into objects, go down stairs, cross the street. once given a command (something i would not be able to do during a seizure) the dog would allow me to proceed. it would also be able to alert strangers to my status, and carry a cell phone pre-programmed with my wife's phone number as well as my meds.

the application process has only begun, and i don't know if i will be approved nor how long it will all take, but this could be my set of keys to the kingdom.

of course, even with the dog at my side, i still won't be able to drive. :)

Arachnophobia - (ə-rāk'nə-fō'bē-ə, -nō-)

"Arachnophobia" is derived from the Greek "arachne" (spider) and "phobos" (fear). The Greek word was derived from the name "Arachne," a maiden in Greek mythology whom the goddess Athena turned into a spider after the girl, a skilled weaver, challenged Athena to a weaving contest. .

Ruigrijk | Python 31/03/2018 13h04

The contemporary way of communication in the Efteling. Designer Anton Pieck (19 April 1895 – 24 November 1987) who died more than 30 years ago never could imagine what this sign was about. Social media like Facebook, Messenger, Twitter, Instagram and Snapchat were nonexistent. Anton Pieck never wanted the Python in 'his' park as well, but the opening of Python transformed De Efteling from a playground with some fairytales to one of the most important themeparks in Europe and even in the world.

De Efteling

The Efteling is a fantasy-themed amusement park in Kaatsheuvel in the Netherlands. The attractions are based on elements from ancient myths and legends, fairy tales, fables, and folklore.

The park was opened in 1952. It has since evolved from a nature park with a playground and a Fairytale Forest into a full-sized theme park. It now caters to both children and adults with its cultural, romantic, and nostalgic themes, in addition to its wide array of amusement rides.

It is the largest theme park in the Netherlands and one of the oldest theme parks in the world. It is twice as large as the original Disneyland park in California and antedates it by three years. Annually, the park has nearly 5 million visitors. In 2016, it was the third most visited theme park in Europe, behind Disneyland Paris and Europa-Park. Over the years, it has received over 125 million visitors.

Location: Kaatsheuvel, North Brabant, Netherlands

Opened: 1952

Operating season: Year-round

Visitors per annum: 4.76 million in 2016

Area: 72 ha the park; 276 ha the resort

Rides: Total 35

Roller coasters 6

Water rides 4

[ Source and much more Info: Wikipedia - De Efteling [2017]

NWA 2737

Martian Chassignite

Morocco

Found: 2000

TKW: 611 g / OBJ: Micro

NORTHWEST AFRICA 2737

‘Diderot’

Martian Chassignite

Dunite

Nine rock fragments constituting a single 611 g stone were found in the Moroccan Sahara by meteorite hunters under the organization of Bruno Fectay and Carine Bidaut. These black fragments were not recognized as meteoritic until several years later, at which time a sample was submitted for analysis. The importance of this meteorite was soon evident, and multiple analyses were conducted through a collaboration of research groups in France and elsewhere:

Laboratoire des Sciences de la Terre, (Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique—Unité Mixte de Recherche [CNRS–UMR]), École Normale Supérieure de Lyon: P. Beck, Ph. Gillet, B. Van de Moortele, B. Reynard

Université de Bretagne Occidentale, Institut Universitaire Européen de la Mer: J-A. Barrat, J. Cotten

Institut français de recherche pour l'exploitation de la mer (IFREMER), Centre de Brest (Centre national de la recherche scientifique—Unité mixte de recherche [CNRS-UMR]): M. Bohn

Planetary and Space Science Research Institute, Open University, United Kingdom: I.A. Franchi, R.C. Greenwood

Johnson Space Center, Houston, Texas

University of Tokyo, Japan

With the assigned name of NWA 2737, this olivine–chromite cumulate was classified as a dunite that exhibits many mineralogical, chemical, and petrographical similarities to the first known martian chassignite that fell in Chassigny, France in 1815. A third chassignite designated NWA 8694 (photo courtesy of L. Labenne) has been classified at the Museum National d'Histoire Naturelle, Paris, France (Hewins et al., 2014, 2015). Northwest Africa 2737 is composed of 89.6 vol% shock-blackened, cumulus forsteritic olivine, 3.1 vol% chromite, 1.6 vol% sanidine, 1.0 vol% pyroxene (augite, pigeonite, and orthopyroxene), and 0.2 vol% phosphate. Carbonates are present in both chassignites, with at least some of them showing evidence for a martian origin—shock fractures post-date the carbonate formation (Beck et al., 2006). Both chassignites have similar REE patterns, elements that are carried mostly in their apatite component. A martian origin is attested by the abundance ratio of Fe/Mn in olivine, the bulk Na/Al ratios, and by the O-isotopic ratios.

Northwest Africa 2737 is one of the least terrestrially altered martian finds as shown by its trace element composition (e.g., low Ba and Sr contents) and noble gas signatures. However, in contrast to Chassigny and the nakhlites, NWA 2737 contains trapped noble gases more similar to those in shergottites, as evidenced by the lack of martian mantle Xe, the lack of fission-derived Xe from plutonium, and the enrichment of martian atmospheric Xe (Marty et al., 2006).

While feldspars in Chassigny are mostly composed of plagioclase, with lesser amounts of labradorite and sanidine, the feldspars in NWA 2737 only occur as K-rich sanidine or Na-rich analbite. These differences could have been caused by a relatively low Al concentration in the parental melt, resulting in the delayed nucleation of plagioclase with a consequent buildup of Na in the melt (Beck et al., 2006; Papike et al., 2009). The olivine and chromite grains in both chassignites contain melt inclusions with a unique mineralogy, including the occurrence of hydrous kaersutitic (Ti-rich) amphibole, while those in NWA 2737 also include an alkali feldspar-rich glass. Six distinct melt inclusion species were described in NWA 2737 by He et al. (2010,2013) based on the diverse mineral assemblages, including olivine, orthopyroxene, augite, pigeonite, kaersutite, chlorapatite and fluorapatite, biotite, chromite, pyrrhotite, and feldspathic glass; these minerals occur in melt inclusions that span a wide range of sizes (~5–300 µm). It is thought that some melt inclusions might contain trapped parental magma at various stages of fractionation.

It was determined experimentally that the parental magma of the chassignites may have resembled a terrestrial, silica-saturated hawaiite magma with a higher than terrestrial Mg# and an aluminum content of ~12 wt% (Filiberto, 2008). It was ascertained that the chassignites likely crystallized after ~30% crystallization of mafic phases was attained.

In an effort to estimate the original magma composition of the cumulate chassignites, He et al. (2013) examined the ubiquitous, sub-mm-sized, trapped magmatic inclusions in olivine grains. In consideration of the water diffusion coefficient between amphibole and melt, as well as the extent of melt crystallization that occurred prior to amphibole formation (~45%) and other pertinent assumptions, the water content of the primary melt of NWA 2737 was calculated to be ~0.48–0.67 wt%; the water content of the primary melt of the Chassigny meteorite was previously calculated by McCubbin et al. (2010) to be 0.43–0.84 wt%. Utilizing the MELTS program with the known parameters, the research team determined that NWA 2737 was formed under pressure of ~6.8 kbar. Their deduced parental composition for NWA 2737 based on Ca:Al ratios and Mg# is quite similar to that of the martian basalt Humphrey, measured in situ by the MER rover Spirit in Gusev Crater. A broad range of Al contents has been found in martian parental source rocks—Al is relatively high in basaltic surface rocks and the chassignites, while it is thought to have been sequestered at depth in garnet in the nakhlites and most shergottites; this has implications for the magma ocean scenario of Mars' petrogenetic history.

Several differences between Chassigny and NWA 2737 have been identified by Mikouchi (2005): interstitial chromite has a larger grain size in NWA 2737, feldspar occurs as the sodic plagioclase albite in NWA 2737 rather than the calcic plagioclase anorthite, and all phases of NWA 2737 have a more magnesian composition than those in Chassigny, perhaps reflecting conditions of higher temperature and pressure during fractional crystallization from a less evolved parental melt as suggested by Nekvasil et al. (2005). Petrographic evidence indicates that NWA 2737 was the first cumulate to crystallize at the bottom of the pile, followed by Chassigny next in the sequence, while the order for NWA 8694 remains to be determined (McCubbin et al., 2013). In further studies, Mikouchi et al. (2016) found that significant ambiguities exist among the three known chassignites. For example, although each of the chassignites exhibit a similar cooling rate (0.003–0.1 °C/hr), olivine compositions between them show large variations: NWA 8694 is Fa46, Chassigny is Fa31, and NWA 2737 is Fa21; moreover, each chassignite exhibits a distinct shock history. Therefore, they suggest that each of the chassignites is more likely associated with a separate flow or lobe (possibly within a common extensive igneous unit) rather than a single sequential accumulation. See the Nakhla page for further details on the stratographic sequence for nakhlites and chassignites.

Lorand et al. (2012) studied the sulfide mineralogy and native metal assemblages in NWA 2737 and made comparisons to Chassigny. While the bulk sulfide abundance in NWA 2737 is low, troilite (and rare pentlandite) blebs up to tens of µm in size are ubiquitous at primary mineral grain contacts, and as even smaller blebs associated with chromite within melt inclusions. Although the sulfide pyrite is abundant in Chassigny, it was not identified in NWA 2737, and the Cu-sulfide chalcopyrite was virtually nonexistent; both sulfide phases were likely lost during an impact-heating event. Similarly, Fe–Os–Ir alloys that are observed in close association with troilite grains in NWA 2737 are considered to have exsolved from pyrrhotite during subsequent cooling from an impact-heating event. These differences that exist between these two chassignites can be attributed to impact-shock-related reduction processes involving high temperatures, leading to the devolatilization of S and the loss of magnetic properties.

While the overall shock effects in Chassigny are only moderate (S4), portions are present that must have experienced much higher shock pressures (45–55 GPa; S5–S6) consistent with the presence of planar deformation features and localized melting. By contrast, the olivine in NWA 2737 exhibits exceptional darkening which is thought to reflect the disordered lattice state of an incomplete transformation to olivine high pressure polymorphs, as well as the presence of nanophase FeNi-metal particles within the olivine (Reynard et al., 2006). These Fe nanoparticles are thought to have formed through subsolidus reduction of olivine during the high temperature phase (~1300°C) of a shock event corresponding to a minimum shock stage of S5. A partial cause of the darkening (brown color) in olivines as described by Treiman et al. (2006) derives from the conversion of Fe2+ to Fe3+ in an oxidizing environment, resulting from the shock heating loss of H+ that was previously dissolved in a hydrous magma. Only a low ppm abundance of Fe3+ would be required to cause the observed darkening. Continued investigations utilizing spectral reflectance techniques, including Mössbauer spectroscopy, indicate that the darkening is primarily the result of shock disseminated nanophase metallic iron particles (Pieters et al., 2007). Other deformed olivine grains in NWA 2737 have been recrystallized to a visually colorless phase. Takenouchi et al. (2015) suggested that the Fe nanoparticles were formed in association with high-pressure polymorphs such as wadsleyite during a high-pressure, high-temperature shock event. Ultimately, the wadsleyite was back-transformed to olivine during a period of high post-shock temperatures, and this olivine now appears brown due to the presence of the Fe nanoparticles. Subsequent studies were conducted by Takenouchi and Mikouchi (2016) of NWA 2737 and several shergottites that contain darkened olivine associated with shock-melt phases. They found higher Fe3+ ratios in both brown (or brownish) olivine compared to adjacent colorless olivine located within the same grain, attesting to the formation of Fe nanoparticles by olivine oxidation and reduction during transformation to high-pressure polymorphs such as ringwoodite and wadsleyite.

Cooling rate estimates for both Chassigny and NWA 2737 have been set at 28–30°C/year, consistent with a formation within a thick lava flow or a shallow dike or sill. The Sm–Nd data for both plot on a similar isochron—1.416 (±0.057) b.y. for NWA 2737, and 1.380 (±0.030) b.y. for Chassigny. Both of these chassignites, as well as the nakhlites, also have similar CRE ages of 10–11 m.y. based on 3He and 21Ne. Therefore, it may be argued that both of these chassignites, as well as the nakhlites, were ejected during a common impact event from the same igneous region on Mars. Based on Ar–Ar data, it was proposed by Bogard and Garrison (2008) that NWA 2737 may have experienced an intense impact event resulting in its burial ~1–20 m deep under a warm ejecta blanket, while a subsequent, less-intense impact event was responsible for its ejection from Mars 10–11 m.y. ago.

Differences have been noted in the gas retention ages of Chassigny and NWA 2737. After correction for terrestrial contamination, a more accurate determination of the K–Ar crystallization age for NWA 2737 was made, and this revised K–Ar age of 376 (±168) m.y. is significantly younger than that of Chassigny and the nakhlites, and more like that of shergottites (Marty et al., 2005; 2006). However, this discordant age has been attributed to the higher shock metamorphism experienced by NWA 2737