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So I’ve been frantically searching for a GG Chelsie head everywhere and luckily, @audreysworldofdolls was kind enough to offer me her thrift find Chelsie for the cost of shipping.
The package turned up today and she included two extra heads. One was a SiS Grace head and the other is a Hawaiian Barbie head with the Steffie sculpt.
This was my first time handling a SiS head and I’m actually quite jealous that SiS wasn’t available in Australia because the head is like collector Barbie sized and screening is super detailed and mature. Maybe it’s a good thing they weren’t available here cuz I could see myself buying a lot of them.
Hawaiian barbie has a lot of Factory flaws, especially the fact her scalp paint is lopsided and print directly onto her forehead. She’s also missing a lot of hair in the back so I’m debating on rerooting her entirely or just filling in the missing plugs…
Either way, these dolls need a spa day and I got to go out soon so yeah.
Tomorrow kicks off a new month, but you can start by getting your PRIMA body today!
Join the PRIMA VIP group and enjoy an exclusive 20% OFF on all bodies! Grab your favorite PRIMA body at a discount, and you can still gift the same body to a friend with our extended Buy One, Give One offer, now available until September 30th. This deal is valid everywhere, including our main store. Don’t miss out—save, share, and be part of the VIP experience! And while you’re there, join the VIP group and enter the giveaway!
🚕 maps.secondlife.com/secondlife/Radiant%20Wonder/168/102/24
All images available for licensing via me. I offer commercial and editorial pet photography on a commissioned basis. And with a pet picture database with thousands of hand-picked images of dogs, cats, as well as horses, I might already have what you are looking for. All pictures here can be licensed.
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Namibia offers spectacular landscapes. Incredible sunrises and sunsets. Amazing starry nights with no lights to disturb you. There are no words to express the emotions that overwhelm you. You can only experience it first hand.
Namibia ofrece espectaculares paisajes. Increibles amaneceres y ocasos. Alucinantes noches estrelladas sin luces que molesten. No hay palabras para expresar las emociones que te embargan. Solo se puede vivir en primera persona.
Ronan: I have a counter-offer. Why not spend some time here? Observe me?
I mean, you're a tenet, you must be hunting razers, right? (gives a
small flourish of one hand) I happen to be in-the-know about local
nefarious types.
Caly: You associate with razers?
Ronan: If I say yes, will you kill me?
Caly: (shrugs) It's not specifically against our code of ethics.
Ronan: Be an absolute dear and get me a copy of those, would you? (holds
up a hand when she looks annoyed) All I'm saying is, I can be an asset
to you. I don't like razers, and I don't mind pointing them out.
Caly: I'm a tenet.
Ronan: Oh, that solitary crusader schtick is certainly titillating, but
even knights on a quest were known to bring along bards to amuse them.
Caly: (skeptical) Did they?
Ronan: According to the historian, Monty Python.
Caly: Hm.
(At that moment, Dir. Wilson bursts through the front doors, spotting
them through the pass through.)
Dir. Wilson: You! Both of you! Come outside and help!
Ronan: Director Wilson! You look positively frantic!
(Cut to main eating area, Ronan and Caly go out to meet Dir. Wilson.)
Dir. Wilson: It's the girl they found, it's terrible! She used to be a
camp employee! Guests are making assumptions, it's just chaos out there.
All hands on deck, people! We need cool heads out there! (motions
vigorously at them and they leave the lodge.)
(Cut to the dark hallway leading from the rear offices to the kitchen.
Mateo steps into the kitchen with a dismayed expression. He looks from
the stove, to the lodge doors, to the stunner in his hand.)
(Cut to the RV park. Dir. Wilson is jogging toward the lake which is a
hive of activity with police, aid units, and a throng of onlookers.
Ronan and Caly are lagging a little behind him.)
Ronan: I need to talk to you.
Caly: I thought we did.
Ronan: Just need to spill a little tea.
(He abruptly draws her behind an RV, speaking low and earnestly.)
Ronan: There's a lot of them, here. Razers, I mean.
Caly: Here? (she looks toward the lake)
Ronan: No, Mother Energy, not here, this area. And it's been building. I
get the feeling that they're planning something.
Caly: I'm going to blame your odd melding with a human for your lack of
concise reporting.
Ronan: (sighs) I'm not a detective, and I'm not exactly "on the inside"
of things, but more and more razers have been settling in the area.
Medina and Hunts Point is almost exclusively razers, now.
Caly: Hunts Point was why I came here.
Ronan: I'm not arguing the intimidating vibes you project, but I don't
suppose you have a small army of tenets on standby?
Caly: Tenets are solitary because we don't require armies.
Ronan: Fan me before I faint, but I am being serious. We're talking
about hundreds of razers, and you might not need an army, but I think
they're creating one.
Caly: So, it will be as it was when we arrived on this planet.
Conquerors against colonists.
Ronan: Oh, no. We need a new tagline, Kubla Calm. Colonialism is frowned
upon.
Caly: But our people were colonists seeking new, unpopulated worlds on
which to live.
Ronan: So was everyone else.
Caly: We were stranded. Conquest was not our mission.
Ronan: That table was flipped over 5,000 years ago. Baddies decided to
rule, goodies decided to protect the dominant lifeform that evolved
here, and I'll work on a tagline that's less problematic.
Caly: I will defeat the razers.
(Cut to view above the RV park, showing Ronan and Caly joining the mass
of activity from one direction while Mateo joins from another direction.
Camera soars higher, focusing on a point of land jutting into the Sound,
moving toward it. Cut to above golf course. Cut to ornate entrance sign,
"Golden Lake Country Club." Cut to interior, ballroom filled with
attractive people of varying ages, all dressed casually (for wealthy
folk), their attention focused on the dais where a handsome 30-something
man, Trajan August, is speaking.)
Trajan: Our time has truly come! We will tear this world asunder, and
take our rightful place as rulers! She has risen again! And tonight, she
is with us, here! Lilitus!
(Lights flash around the dais and the crowd rises to their feet,
chanting the name, "Lilitus.")
(To be continued in Part 3!)
Special thanks to cast!
Ronan: Seth
Mateo: BSM
Caly: TB
Playing host to the rescheduled Foo Fighters concert at Wembley (that was cancelled after frontman Dave Grohl broke his leg falling off stage at a show in Gothenburg, Sweden), the National Bowl in Milton Keynes came alive on Sunday, September 6, 2015 with the sound of 65,000 screaming fans. Following sets from rock duo Royal Blood and the eclectic propo-punk icon Iggy Pop, the Foos knew they had to deliver. From the moment the curtain sucked into a black hole vortex to the end of the show, it was obvious it was going to be one hell of a night to remember. Debra, Karl and I had arrived relatively early for the show and, being among the first to enter the MK Bowl, were offered "Inner Pit" passes. Issued on a first-come-first-serve basis, these gave fenced-off access to the stage and were an excellent surprise. We had a great view of the day's action and I was well positioned for photographs. "All My Life" opened the two and a half hour set, with Grohl spending the entire show seated on a most gloriously over-the-top throne, designed by Grohl himself and adorned by guitar necks. It transported the front-man up and down the runway, and was in itself a crowd pleaser! I have wanted to see the Foo Fighters for about two decades - and desperate to do so since "Wasting Light"- and they did not disappoint. A shredding version of "White Limo" alone justified the ticket price, and the rest was a wonderful (and sometimes nostalgic) tour through their back-catalogue. All in all, it was a triumphant, heart-warming singalong set that showed why, for so many, the Foo Fighters have been the soundtrack to the last two decades. Here's the Foo Fighters' set list for the Milton Keynes "Broken Leg" concert.
If I was desperate to see the Foo Fighters, I was absolutely aching to see 69 year old rock legend, Iggy Pop. I narrowly missed one of his gigs in Amsterdam at the end of 1978 and, after this initial disappointment, Iggy stayed on my Bucket List through the late-80's in London, the 90's in Prague and the naughties in the UK. When he was in town, I was always travelling, had other commitments or just had bad luck (i.e. the cancellation of the Foo's concert at Wembley in June where Iggy was on the supporting bill). Well, I finally got to see James Newell Osterberg, Jr. in full, topless, action in Milton Keynes on a fine evening in September 2015! Iggy brought his old school punk snarl to the party, prompting mass singalongs to classic tunes, some of which he penned with his old mate David Bowie in Berlin in the 70's. If I'm still as active as Iggy when I'm almost 70, I'll be more than happy! He made fine use of the runway before him, skipping, kicking, twisting and turning as only Iggy can. He took a breather every now and then, but Iggy still has more energy than any new breed act you care to mention. Fucking hell - he's the man that wrote "Lust for Life"! The snot-noses in the audience didn't know what hit them :-) FYI, here's the Iggy Pop's set list for the night.
A wonderful, sunny day and balmy evening with my family, and a fine way to celebrate the 32nd anniversary of my first date with my future-wife on September 7, 1983.
Los charcos siempre ofrecen una buena oportunidad para el fotógrafo; aquí encontré que unas ramitas se convertían en mis aliados dibujando unos peces.
Puddles always offer a good opportunity for the photographer; here I found that some twigs became my allies when I drew some fish.
Les flaques d'eau offrent toujours une bonne opportunité au photographe ; ici j'ai découvert que certaines brindilles sont devenues mes alliées lorsque j'ai dessiné des poissons.
THE SITUATION IN MINEAPOLIS
I thought it would be useful to offer you some first-hand perspective of what’s happening here as I don’t think people who are watching from afar quite understand what is unfolding, how it feels, and what it means.
In Minneapolis we are living under a fascist assault, and most of our institutions appear to be failing us, including the law, the government, our elected leaders, and the media.
There are masked, highly armed men roaming our city in unmarked cars terrorizing us, assaulting us, kidnapping us, and now killing us. They have attacked my friends’ kids’ school, teargassing students, staff, and community members. Many of my non-white friends are carrying their passports with them at all times now. A friend of mine was assaulted, kidnapped and illegally detained for about 9 hours. Here is her account:
youtu.be/Inn-sfiMcyE?si=G69LrIXMJ2Trrt_l
There is no due process, there is zero regard for the law, there is no regard for safety of anyone, and so far there has been no institutional check on their violence and intimidation. People are disappearing with no way to find out where they were taken. The police are nowhere to be seen, so the lawlessness is becoming increasingly brazen.
They are also joined by outside provocateurs and agitators. One image that got a lot of play in the media was a man burning an American flag. What is less known is that he was masked, no one knows who he is, and he left immediately after creating the spectacle. Some protestors followed him asking who he was or where he was from but he refused to respond and left the scene.
No one is helping us, so we are having to do it ourselves. We have people who are too scared to leave their homes so thousands of us are quickly mobilizing to join neighborhood chats and resource sharing to get groceries and supplies to families that need them. We are keeping eyes on ICE activities and alerting our neighbors of their presence whenever and wherever we can. We are organizing peaceful protests and trying to demand accountability from our leaders. The people responding are not far-left agitators or extremists. These are neighbors from every walk of life who are stepping in where our institutions are failing us, documenting the hundreds of crimes being inflicted on us daily, sharing information in real time, sharing food, and resources. And yes, we are pissed, and sometimes things get heated, but the David/Goliath dynamics here cannot be overstated.
I don’t use the term fascism lightly or carelessly. I really hope people can understand crystal clear the implications of what is happening.
The other day Mayor Frey told a reporter that yes, legally the police could and should arrest the people doing this to us. But, he said there are more of them and they have more guns. Let that sink in. The people who are supposed to be keeping us safe, who took an oath to defend us and the constitution, who are supposedly trained and armed and paid to do just that, appear to be either too scared, or indifferent, so it has fallen upon us to keep our neighbors safe, and to fight for our rights.
If this administration is allowed to so brazenly trample our civil liberties in such a public and spectacular way, with zero accountability, and zero checks on their power, then the game’s up. This is a constitutional crisis. This administration has said it doesn’t care about the constitution and is daring constitutional institutions to do something about it and they are not.
We are all terrified. But here in Minnesota we are standing up for each other, for our safety, our rights, and our lives, and praying our institutions may come around and decide to join us. It is incredibly inspiring to watch the community come together for mutual aid, defense and support. And seeing it makes me so so hopeful. Do not feel defeated. Organize your own community and understand the way we make it out of this is together. Find the people who have been fighting fascism for decades, learn from them, plug into those networks, build power, and don’t let fear lead to inaction because that is how they win.
All images available for licensing via me. I offer commercial and editorial pet photography on a commissioned basis. And with a pet picture database with thousands of hand-picked images of dogs, cats, as well as horses, I might already have what you are looking for. All pictures here can be licensed.
For licensing and commission requests: info{at}elkevogelsang.com -
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So far I’ve written a lot about the unique focal length the Batis 2/40 CF offers (or 'the odd', depends how you see it). Great work, but kind of theoretical. How does the 40mm focal length feel in practice? To be honest, it's difficult to give any final conclusions after so short usage, but one interesting thing I've noticed is that I perceive more it as a wide angle 35mm than a standard 50mm. And as a substitute for 35mm it feels ok: wide enough for indoors and I don't find myself taking steps backwards too often. There's also at least one advantage compared to a regular 35mm lens: portraits are a bit more flattering because of added compression that extra 5mm brings. All in all, the Batis 2/40 CF would make a good 35mm lens substitute.
But thinking it as a substitute for something else is not really intellectually honest – it's not an alternative for 35mm lens, it's 40mm and should be thought like that. This brings me to my point: as a focal length the 40mm is not immediately familiar and I find myself comparing it to both 35mm and 50mm. There are some particular focal lengths that I know like pockets of my jacket, like the 25mm, 85mm & crop-50mm, and I can 'scan the environment' through these lenses without the camera, but the 40mm is something else. Maybe it’s again the idea of the 'standard focal length' that guides my inner perception and taps into the latent fears and anxieties: it’s comforting to categorize the Batis 2/40 either a 35mm or 50mm because these are the categories we have been cultivated to understand and see around us. But the 40mm is of course neither; it is as close to 35mm as it is to 50mm.
So, having worked with the Batis 2/40 there are some images that look to me like ‘the 35mm’ and there are some others that resemble more 'the 50mm'. But here's the interesting thing: there are some pictures where I kind of see both, 'the 35mm' and 'the 50mm'. Like the one I'm sharing today. When I took this picture it was the last exceptionally warm days of autumn in Finland (now it's totally different). Meri is playing at the edge of the fountain while her big sister Aura stands behind her. In my eyes this picture kind of has 'the wide angle field of view' from the 35mm lens and 'a bit of a telecompression' from the 50mm (and pretty nice painterly background blur as well). It’s the pictures like this where I think I start to see the unique properties of the 40mm lens. And this is precisely what I mean when I say that I need to learn to 'see the forty' with its unique characteristics. At its best I see it combining the wide angle look with the little compression taken from the standard field of view. This offers great possibilities and it is definitely a new and flexible way of working within that standard of field of view. I think this is the best way I can describe the feeling of forty.
Disneyland Paris is an entertainment resort in Chessy, France, 32 kilometres (20 miles) east of Paris. It encompasses two theme parks, resort hotels, a shopping, dining and entertainment complex, and a golf course. Disneyland Park is the original theme park of the complex, opening in 1992. A second theme park, Walt Disney Studios Park, opened in 2002. Disneyland Paris celebrated its 30th anniversary in 2022; by then 375 million people had visited, making it the most visited theme park in Europe. It is the second Disney park outside the United States, following the opening of the Tokyo Disney Resort in 1983, and the largest. Disneyland Paris is also the only Disney resort outside of the United States to be completely owned by The Walt Disney Company. It includes seven hotels: Disney Hotel Santa Fe, Disney Hotel Cheyenne, Sequoia Lodge, Newport Bay Club, Hotel New York – the Art of Marvel, The Disneyland Hotel, and Davy Crockett Ranch.
Disneyland Paris is considered to be the largest single-site employer in France with its 17,000 employees.
Ownership
Walt Disney announced a €1 billion ($1.25 billion) bailout plan to rescue its subsidiary Disneyland Paris, the Financial Times reported on 6 October 2014. The park is burdened by its debt, which is calculated at about €1.75 billion ($2.20 billion) and roughly 15 times its gross average earnings.
Until June 2017, Disney only held a minority stake in the resort. In 2017, The Walt Disney Company offered an informal takeover of Euro Disney S.C.A., buying 9% of the company from Kingdom Holding and an open offer of 2 euros per share for the remaining stock. This brought The Walt Disney Company's total ownership to 85.7%. The Walt Disney company also invested an additional 1.5 billion euros to strengthen and develop Disneyland Paris. In June 2017, Disney completed a tender offer to own over 97% of Euro Disney and then implemented a full buyout of the shares they did not already own. In 2018, after taking full control of Disneyland Paris, Walt Disney reported its plans to invest 2 billion euro ($2.47 billion) in Disneyland Paris. The investment aimed to expand the park with a lake and new themed areas based on Marvel superheroes, Disney's animated movie Frozen and Star Wars. The investment also sought to develop 'new attractions and live entertainment experiences'.
History
Following the success of Disneyland in California, plans to build a similar theme park in Europe emerged in 1966 with sites in Frankfurt, Paris, London or Milan under consideration. Under the leadership of E. Cardon Walker, Tokyo Disneyland opened in 1983 in Japan with instant success, forming a catalyst for international expansion. In late 1984 the heads of Disney's theme park division, Dick Nunis and Jim Cora, presented a list of approximately 1,200 possible European locations for the park. Britain, France, Italy and Spain were all considered. However, Britain and Italy were dropped from the list due to both lacking a suitable expanse of flat land. By March 1985, the number of possible locations for the park had been reduced to four; two in France and two in Spain. Both nations saw the potential economic advantages of a Disney theme park and offered competing financing deals to Disney.
Both Spanish sites were located near the Mediterranean and offered a subtropical climate similar to Disney's parks in California and Florida. Disney had asked each site to provide average temperatures for every month for the previous 40 years, which proved a complicated endeavour as none of the records were computerised. The site in Pego, Alicante became the front-runner, but the location was controversial as it would have meant the destruction of Marjal de Pego-Oliva marshlands, a site of natural beauty and one of the last homes of the almost extinct Samaruc or Valencia Toothcarp, so there was some local outcry among environmentalists. Disney had also shown interest in a site near Toulon in southern France, not far from Marseille. The pleasing landscape of that region, as well as its climate, made the location a top competitor for what would be called Euro Disneyland. However, shallow bedrock was encountered beneath the site, which would have rendered construction too difficult. Finally, a site in the rural town of Marne-la-Vallée was chosen because of its proximity to Paris and its central location in Western Europe. This location was estimated to be no more than a four-hour drive for 68 million people and no more than a two-hour flight for a further 300 million.
Michael Eisner signed the first letter of agreement with the French government for the 20-square-kilometre (4,940-acre) site on 18 December 1985, and the first financial contracts were drawn up during the following spring. The final contract was signed by the leaders of the Walt Disney Company and the French government and territorial collectivities on 24 March 1987. Construction began in August 1988, and in December 1990, an information centre named "Espace Euro Disney" was opened to show the public what was being constructed. Plans for a theme park next to Euro Disneyland based on the entertainment industry, Disney-MGM Studios Europe, quickly went into development, scheduled to open in 1996 with a construction budget of US$2.3 billion. The construction manager was Bovis.
In order to provide lodging to patrons, it was decided that 5,200 Disney-owned hotel rooms would be built within the complex. In March 1988, Disney and a council of architects (Frank Gehry, Michael Graves, Robert A.M. Stern, Stanley Tigerman, and Robert Venturi) decided on an exclusively American theme in which each hotel would depict a region of the United States. At the time of the opening in April 1992, seven hotels collectively housing 5,800 rooms had been built.
An entertainment, shopping, and dining complex based on Walt Disney World's Downtown Disney was designed by Frank Gehry.
With its towers of oxidised silver and bronze-coloured stainless steel under a canopy of lights, it opened as Festival Disney. For a projected daily attendance of 55,000, Euro Disney planned to serve an estimated 14,000 people per hour inside the Euro Disneyland park. In order to accomplish this, 29 restaurants were built inside the park (with a further 11 restaurants built at the Euro Disney resort hotels and five at Festival Disney). Menus and prices were varied with an American flavor predominant and Disney's precedent of not serving alcoholic beverages was continued in the park.
2,300 patio seats (30% of park seating) were installed to satisfy Europeans' expected preference of eating outdoors in good weather. In test kitchens at Walt Disney World, recipes were adapted for European tastes. Walter Meyer, executive chef for menu development at Euro Disney and executive chef of food projects development at Walt Disney World noted, "A few things we did need to change, but most of the time people kept telling us, 'Do your own thing. Do what's American'."
Recruitment/employment
Unlike Disney's American theme parks, Euro Disney aimed for permanent employees (an estimated requirement of 12,000 for the theme park itself), as opposed to seasonal and temporary part-time employees. Casting centres were set up in Paris, London, and Amsterdam. However, it was understood by the French government and Disney that "a concentrated effort would be made to tap into the local French labour market". Disney sought workers with sufficient communication skills, who spoke two European languages (French and one other), and were socially outgoing. Following precedent, Euro Disney set up its own Disney University to train workers. 24,000 people had applied by November 1991.
In 2011, the park provided 55,643 direct and indirect jobs in France. According to Damien Audric, Director of Development and the Environment, Disneyland Paris would generate 63,000 jobs by 2022. Overall, in 2022, Disneyland Paris was still Seine-et-Marne's largest employer.
Controversies
The prospect of a Disney park in France was a subject of debate and controversy. Critics, who included prominent French intellectuals, denounced what they considered to be the cultural imperialism of Euro Disney and felt it would encourage an unhealthy American type of consumerism in France. On 28 June 1992, a group of French farmers blockaded Euro Disney in protest of farm policies supported at the time by the United States.
A journalist at the centre-right French newspaper Le Figaro wrote, "I wish with all my heart that the rebels would set fire to [Euro] Disneyland." Ariane Mnouchkine, a Parisian stage director, named the concept a "cultural Chernobyl", a phrase which would be echoed in the media during Euro Disney's initial years.
In response, French philosopher Michel Serres noted, "It is not America that is invading us. It is we who adore it, who adopt its fashions and above all, its words." Euro Disney S.C.A.'s then-chairman Robert Fitzpatrick responded, "We didn't come in and say O.K., we're going to put a beret and a baguette on Mickey Mouse. We are who we are."
Topics of controversy also included Disney's American managers requiring English to be spoken at all meetings and Disney's appearance code for members of staff, which listed regulations and limitations for the use of makeup, facial hair, tattoos, jewellery, and more.
French labour unions mounted protests against the appearance code, which they saw as "an attack on individual liberty". Others criticised Disney as being insensitive to French culture, individualism, and privacy, because restrictions on individual or collective liberties were illegal under French law, unless it could be demonstrated that the restrictions are requisite to the job and do not exceed what is necessary.
Disney countered by saying that a ruling that barred them from imposing such an employment standard could threaten the image and long-term success of the park. "For us, the appearance code has a great effect from a product identification standpoint," said Thor Degelmann, Euro Disney's personnel director. "Without it we couldn't be presenting the Disney product that people would be expecting."
Opening day and early years
Euro Disney opened for employee preview and testing in March 1992. During this time visitors were mostly park employees and their family members, who tested facilities and operations. The press was able to visit the day before the park's opening day on 12 April 1992.
On 12 April 1992, Euro Disney Resort and its theme park, Euro Disneyland, officially opened. Visitors were warned of chaos on the roads. A government survey indicated that half a million people carried by 90,000 cars might attempt to enter the complex. French radio warned traffic to avoid the area. By midday, the car park was approximately half full, suggesting an attendance level below 25,000. Explanations of the lower-than-expected turnout included speculation that people heeded the advice to stay away and that the one-day strike that cut the direct RER railway connection to Euro Disney from the centre of Paris made the park inaccessible. Due to the European recession that August, the park faced financial difficulties as there were a lack of things to do and an overabundance of hotels, leading to underperformance. The failure of Euro Disney caused the cancellation of several projects like WestCOT, Disney's America, Tomorrowland 2055 at Disneyland and Beastly Kingdom at Disney's Animal Kingdom.
A new Indiana Jones roller-coaster ride was opened at Euro Disney in 1993. A few weeks after the ride opened there were problems with the emergency brakes which resulted in guest injuries.
In 1994, the company was still having financial difficulties. There were rumours that Euro Disney was getting close to having to file for bankruptcy. The banks and the backers had meetings to work out some of the financial problems facing Euro Disney. In March 1994, Team Disney went into negotiations with the banks so that they could get some help for their debt. As a last resort, the Walt Disney Company threatened to close the Disneyland Paris park, leaving the banks with the land.
In May 1992, entertainment magazine The Hollywood Reporter reported that about 25% of Euro Disney's workforce, approximately 3,000 people, had resigned from their jobs because of unacceptable working conditions. It also reported that the park's attendance was far behind expectations. The disappointing attendance can be at least partly explained by the recession and increased unemployment, which was affecting France and most of the rest of the developed world at this time; when construction of the resort began, the economy was still on an upswing.
Euro Disney S.C.A. responded in an interview with The Wall Street Journal, in which Robert Fitzpatrick claimed only 1,000 people had left their jobs. In response to the financial situation, Fitzpatrick ordered that the Disney-MGM Studios Europe project would be put on halt until a further decision could be made. Prices at the hotels were reduced.
Despite these efforts in May 1992, park attendance was around 25,000 (some reports give a figure of 30,000) instead of the predicted 60,000. The Euro Disney Company stock price spiraled downwards and on 23 July 1992, Euro Disney announced an expected net loss in its first year of operation of approximately 300 million French francs. During Euro Disney's first winter, hotel occupancy was so low that it was decided to close the Newport Bay Club hotel during the season.
Initial hopes were that each visitor would spend around US$33 per day, but near the end of 1992, analysts found spending to be around 12% lower. Efforts to improve attendance included serving alcoholic beverages with meals inside the Euro Disneyland park, in response to a presumed European demand, which began 12 June 1993.
By the summer of 1994, Euro Disney was burdened with $3 billion worth of debt. Disney CFO Richard Nanula and Wall Street financier Steve Norris worked with Alwaleed's business advisor Mustafa Al Hejailan to rescue the overleveraged company. In that deal, Disney's 49 percent stake was reduced to 39 percent, the banks agreed to forego interest payments until 1997, Disney wrote off royalties and fees until 1999, and Alwaleed agreed to pay $345 million for a 24 percent stake in Euro Disney.
1995 turnaround
On 1 October 1994, Euro Disney changed its name to Disneyland Paris. On 31 May 1995, a new attraction opened at the theme park. Space Mountain: De la Terre à la Lune had been planned since the inception of Disneyland Paris under the name Discovery Mountain, but was reserved for a revival of public interest. With a redesign of the attraction (which had premiered as Space Mountain at the Walt Disney World Resort's Magic Kingdom in 1975) including a "cannon launch" system, inversions, and an on-ride soundtrack, the US$100 million attraction was dedicated in a ceremony attended by celebrities such as Elton John, Claudia Schiffer, and Buzz Aldrin.
On 25 July 1995, Disneyland Paris reported its first quarterly profit of US$35.3 million. On 15 November 1995, the results for the fiscal year ending 30 September 1995 were released; in one year the theme park's attendance had climbed from 8.8 million to 10.7 million, an increase of 21%. Hotel occupancy had also climbed from 60 to 68.5%. After debt payments, Disneyland Paris ended the year with a net profit of US$22.8 million.
2000–2017
As of March 2002, Disneyland Paris underwent a second name change to Disneyland Resort Paris. In 2002, Euro Disney S.C.A. and the Walt Disney Company announced another annual profit for Disneyland Paris. However, it then incurred a net loss in the three years following. By March 2004, the Walt Disney Company had agreed to write off all debt that Euro Disney S.C.A. owed to the Walt Disney Company. On 1 December 2003, Euro Disney S.C.A launched the 'Need Magic?' campaign, which lasted until March 2006 to bring new, first-time European visitors to the resort. And by 2005, having been open fewer than fifteen years, Disneyland Paris had become the number one tourist destination for Europe, outselling the Louvre and the Eiffel Tower.
In March 2006, Disneyland Resort Paris launched the advertising campaign "believe in your dreams" and paired with the TGV East European Line to encourage European family attendance to the resort. Shortly after announcing a 12% increase in revenues for the fiscal year of 2007, Euro Disney S.C.A. implemented a "reverse split" consolidation of shares of 100 to 1. August 2008 brought the resort's 200 millionth visitor, and made for the third consecutive year of growth in revenues for the resort as well as a record 15.3 million visitors in attendance.
In 2009, the resort demonstrated dedication to the recruitment of new employment positions, especially for the Christmas and summer seasons, which continued in 2010 and 2011 when 2,000 and 3,000 employment contracts being offered, respectively. The 2009 fiscal year saw a decrease in revenues by 7% and a net loss of 63 million followed by stable revenues at 1.2 billion in fiscal 2010. Euro Disney S.C.A. refinanced their debt to Walt Disney Company again for 1.3 billion euros in September 2012.
A study done by the Inter-ministerial Delegation reviewing Disneyland Paris' contribution to the French economy was released in time for the Resort's 20th anniversary in March 2012. It found that despite the resort's financial hardships, it has generated "37 billion euros in tourism-related revenues over twenty years", supports on average 55,000 jobs in France annually, and that one job at Disneyland Paris generates nearly three jobs elsewhere in France.
For the first time in the resort's history, both the Disneyland Park and Walt Disney Studios Park closed from 14 to 17 November 2015, as part of France's national days of mourning following the November 2015 Paris attacks.
In 2015, Euro Disney announced major renovations for 2015, 2016 and 2017 in preparation for the complex's 25th anniversary.
The Themed Entertainment Association considers Disneyland Paris to be the leading European resort in 2016 with a total of 13,37 million visitors. With two amusement parks and 5800 rooms, it is followed by the Europa-Park resort with 5,6 million visitors and 953 rooms. The Spanish complex PortAventura World completes the rank top three in Europe. It features two themed-parks and a third being under construction, as well as 2100 rooms.
2017–present: Recent Expansions
On 19 June 2017, the resort's operating company, Euro Disney S.C.A, was acquired by The Walt Disney Company, giving them full control of the resort. In December 2018, Natacha Rafalski took over as CEO. On 1 September 2017 the resort's second nature resort opened as Les Villages Nature Paris.
On 26 March 2017, the opening of Star Tours: The Adventures Continue - a new version of Star Tours - marked the start of Disneyland Paris' 25th anniversary. On 31 March, 2017, forums announced plans for Marvel attractions at Walt Disney Studios Park as well as renovations to the Disneyland Hotel and Disney's Hotel New York in the next ten years. On 14 May 2017, to celebrate Disneyland Paris' 25th anniversary, the park welcomed actors from Pirates of the Caribbean : Dead Men Tell No Tales, for the film's European premiere.
On 27 February 2018, Walt Disney Company CEO Bob Iger announced that company would invest €2 billion into the Disneyland Paris resort. The Walt Disney Studios Park will be expanded with three new areas between 2021 and 2025, based upon Marvel, Frozen and Star Wars.
In March 2018, a Disney Parks West regional division was formed with Disneyland Resort in California, Walt Disney World in Florida, and Disneyland Paris under Catherine Powell, outgoing Disneyland Paris president. This mirrors the Disney Parks East regional division consisting of Shanghai Disney Resort, Hong Kong Disneyland and Walt Disney Attractions Japan and headed by Michael Colglazier. In September 2019, Powell exited her post as president of the Parks West division, with the division dissolving, and Disneyland Paris transferred to Disney Parks International, while the East region reverted to its prior name.
On 1 June 2019, Disneyland Paris sponsored the Magical Pride Party, an LGBTQ celebration. Previous similar events have taken place at the park since 2014, but were not officially sponsored by Disney.
Natacha Rafalski was promoted from chief financial officer to president for Disneyland Paris in December 2018. On 15 March 2020, in line with other Disney parks and resorts, Disneyland Paris was shut down due to the worldwide COVID-19 pandemic. Disneyland Park and Walt Disney Studios Park reopened to the public on 15 July with the rest of the resort. On 29 October 2020, the resort closed again due to a second nationwide lockdown. Disneyland Paris reopened on 17 June 2021.
In 2022,Disney's shares in Villages Nature Paris were sold.
In 2022, Disneyland Paris celebrated its 30th anniversary. In March 2022, in celebration of its 30th anniversary, Disneyland Paris marked its 30 years with a nightly drone show entitled 'Disney D-Light' in partnership with the Bordeaux-based company Dronisos. The visual spectacle was realized with the use of 200 drones. In fact, Disney D-Light won the Park World Excellence Awards' title of the 'Best Live Entertainment of the Year' in 2022.
In the summer of 2022, to mark the park's anniversary in France, Disneyland Paris inaugurated the Marvel Avengers Campus, an area dedicated to the superheroes of the Marvel Universe, with the presence of the actress Brie Larson who plays Captain Marvel.
At the Expo of the International Association of Amusement Parks and Attractions (IAAPA), Disneyland Paris' 30th Anniversary Celebration was elected for the 'Most Creative Property-Wide Event,Amusement Parks and Attractions, Including Water Parks, Annual Attendance More than 1 million'.
Entertainment shows
On 8 July 2017, Disneyland hosted its first-ever EDM festival entitled Electroland, in celebration of Disneyland Paris' 25th anniversary. Steve Aoki, NERVO & Michael Calfan were the main highlights of the first edition. The second edition of the festival was held on 29 and 30 June 2018, which featured Afrojack, Dimitri Vegas & Like Mike, Klingande, Robin Schulz, Bob Sinclair, Mosimann and Lovely Laura & Ben Santiago. The third edition was held over a span of 3 days from 5 July through to 7 July in 2019. The theme of the third edition was based upon Disney's movie The Lion King. The lineup included Steve Aoki, Nervo, Showtek, The Magician, Nicky Romero, Alesso, Armin Van Buuren, Nora En Pure etc. Disneyland also announced the fourth edition of the 3-day festival in 2020 starting from 4 July.
Disney Junior Dream Factory
In July 2021, Disneyland Paris launched a new show; Disney Junior Dream Factory, which lasts 20 minutes and whose theme is 'dare to believe in your dreams and they will come true'. The show includes characters like Mickey, Minnie and Timon. It also features characters like Disney Junior's rising stars Vampirina and Fancy Nancy Clancy, joined by the Dream Factory crew. To enable as many people as possible to take part in the story and the theme of the show, Disneyland Paris presents a French sign language version of the show every weekend.
Together
In July 2023, Disneyland Paris introduced its new show 'Together' which includes Dory, Coco, Buzz Lightyear and all the characters from Pixar films.[91] It is a cine-concert that features a live orchestra with actors on stage, music extracted from the movies and original compositions.
Regional impact
Disneyland Paris is considered to be Europe's leading tourist destination. It is also the driving force behind the urban and economic development of the Val-d’Europe conurbation.
Disneyland is also one of Europe's leading private tourist destinations with nearly 15 million visitors every year. After 25 years of its opening, Disneyland Paris recorded 320 million visits in 2017. The same year, it was reported that Disneyland Paris benefited the French economy by €66 billion in added value since its opening in 1992. It was also noted that Disneyland Paris contributed to the French economy through producing 56,000 direct and indirect jobs in 2017.
Besides, Disneyland Paris contributes to the sector of tourism in France. Indeed, tourists visiting Disneyland Paris generate 6% of tourism revenue in France and 17% of sales in the Ile-de-France region. In 2023, it was reported that more than 375 million visitors have been to Disneyland Paris with an average of 50% French and 50% foreign.
Get the satisfaction of knowing Kodak offers a lifetime guarantee, but is it for your lifetime or Kodaks lifetime?
I was sorting some old prints on the rainy weekend, and came across some of these memories from the film days.
Truncated Wikipedia text is :-
Kodak was founded by George Eastman in 1889 and in 1976 had a 90% market share of photographic film sales in the United States.
The letter "K" was a favorite of Eastman's; he is quoted as saying, "it seems a strong, incisive sort of letter."
He and his mother devised the name Kodak with an Anagrams set. Eastman said that there were three principal concepts he used in creating the name:
it should be short
one cannot mispronounce it
and it could not resemble anything or be associated with anything but Kodak
In 2011 Kodak rapidly used up its cash reserves, stoking fears of bankruptcy.
On January 19, 2012 Kodak filed for Chapter 11 Bankruptcy Protection.
The photographers of the world have a lot to thank Kodak for.
The Letter P (Pictures) theme
Brand new base-model Mahindra XUV700 offered by Mahindra Wayville on display at Westfield Marion, Oaklands Park SA.
I quite like the new XUV700, in person I would say it's about the size of a T33 X-Trail. There are some similar design cues to cars of the Renault-Nissan-Mitsubishi alliance such as the C-shaped headlights similar to the outgoing HZG Koleos and the tailgate portion of the taillight clusters resemble the new T33 X-Trail.
But there is nothing wrong with these similarities, they tie in good with all the cues of the XUV700.
In the daytime, there were salesmen presenting this car I think (but they also could have been for the Suzuki and jet-ski giveaway on the other side, I couldn't quite see from where I was) and while I was there photographing it around 6:40PM ACST after the salesmen had gone home, there were still a fair number of people checking it out.
I hope the Mahindra XUV700 finds ground in Australia. If supply is good, it is received well and more urban dealerships open, then there shouldn't be a problem. Priced from $36,990 Driveaway at the moment, it undercuts cars such as the Nissan X-Trail ST (from $40,460 D/A), Mitsubishi Outlander ES (from $41,380 D/A in NSW) and Toyota Rav4 GX (from $42,200 D/A in Sydney NSW) if you manage to secure one that is!
While it doesn't beat the MG HS (from $32,990 D/A), it does definitely give it some cheaper competition, and I tell you what, I would take the Mahindra any day over the MG. I just do not like what the MG brand has been turned into.
Year: 2023
Series: No Series
Engine: 2.0L 4 Cylinder Turbo Intercooled
Transmission: 6 Speed Automatic
Fuel: Unleaded Petrol
Drive: Front Wheel Drive
Colour: Dazzling Silver
Plate Number: Unregistered
Date Registered: N/A
I needed a screen for a presentation, I was offered to use a bed sheet and ... not that I'm a perfectionist, but... definitely not a bed sheet! I decided that I would have procured the screen on my own. My dad was an avid photographer and made many many many slides. Then, once there was no Flickr ... and used to, back from vacation or travel, invite all friends at home, they were offered beer, chips, pizza and forced, in turn, looking at those 3572 slides that did not interest anyone: only the photographer ... but people went willingly to the home of friends, to see the slides, a bit because dinner was offered and a bit because everybody was then entitled to show their pics. However it was nice ... despite the boredom, people socialized ... My dad, I remember it clearly, was projecting slides on a screen ... Reason why I quickly convinced myself that this should still be somewhere, and who, in the internet era, could ever take a screen? Considering in addition that you can very well use a sheet! I looked everywhere in my parents' house and in my studio and no screen! But I found three beautiful photos taken by my dad in 1967 ... I do not remember to see them anywhere but I want to frame them, I found also other objects, whose chance to be used rapidly convinced me to leave them in their place. And then I found a real gem! A real treasure! A wonder! A large roll of paper about 4 cm. Wide and with a diameter of about 50 cm. I do not know what the whole strip is long but very long ... I can not imagine, for it, a more appropriate use of polyhedra by Heinz Strobl ... I quickly folded this beautiful Archimedean solid: the icosidodecahedron ... it is a bit 'big ... I think I'll make a lamp holder ... Beautiful, beautiful, beautiful
Ah! I forgot the organizers of the conference under the pressure of one speaker more, how can I say ... "charismatic" than me ... they then found a reasonable screen;-)
I wish you this week to find someone "charismatic" who has your same needs ... seems bad to say but ... it solves!
West-German postcard by Kolibri-Verlag G.m.b.H., Minden/Westf., no. 2487 Photo: Columbia. Publicity still for The Guns of Fort Petticoat (George Marshall, 1957).
Audie Murphy (1925-1971) was the most decorated US soldier of World War II. Subsequently, he was a film actor and songwriter. In the 1950s and 1960s, he enjoyed success as a performer in Westerns and adventure films. Murphy received every military award his country had to offer, some of them more than once - a total of 33 awards and medals; among others, he was a recipient of the Medal of Honor. He received five of his decorations from France and one from Belgium. During his three years of service, he served in the 3rd US Infantry Division, where he rose from Private to First Lieutenant.
Audie Leon Murphy was born in Kingston, Texas in 1925. His parents were Josie Bell (Killian) and Emmett Berry Murphy, poor sharecroppers of Irish descent. There was great poverty in his family which counted eleven children, two of whom died. As soon as these children were old enough, they were employed to help earn a living. His father disappeared one day and was never heard from again. Over the years, the mother became increasingly weak and died when Murphy was 16 years old. The three youngest children were sent to an orphanage and Murphy went to work, first at a petrol pump and then at a radio repair shop. When the Japanese attacked Pearl Harbor, he decided to enlist in the army. On his seventeenth birthday, he applied to a Marine recruiting station but was rejected because he was not of sufficient weight. Finally, after another unsuccessful application to the paratroopers, he was accepted into the infantry. With the help of his sister, he had used a forged birth certificate, with 1924 as his date of birth, to make himself look old enough. At Fort Meade, where his training was to be completed, he kept insisting on being sent overseas and in early 1943 Murphy landed with the rest of the troops in North Africa. He would become the most decorated American soldier of World War II and participated in combat operations for 27 months. Early in June 1945, a month after the German capitulation, Murphy returned to the United States, where he received a hero's welcome in his native Texas. He was honourably discharged from the army with the rank of a first lieutenant on 21 September 1945. Murphy became world famous when he appeared on the cover of Life (16 July 1945) as the "most decorated soldier". After the outbreak of the Korean War in June 1950, he reenlisted in the 36th Infantry Division of the Texas National Guard. However, this division did not participate in combat. When Murphy left the Guard in 1966 it was with the rank of major. After Murphy returned from Europe, he bought a house in Farmersville for his eldest sister Corrine, her husband Poland Burns and their three children. His intention was that his youngest sister and two brothers, Nadine, Billie and Joe, who had been in an orphanage since their mother's death, would also move in with them but six children under one roof proved a bit much so Murphy took them in.
After actor James Cagney had seen Audie Murphy's picture on the cover of Life magazine, he invited him to Hollywood in September 1945. The first years there were difficult for Murphy. Cagney Productions paid for acting and dancing lessons but was reluctantly forced to admit that Murphy - at least at that point in his career - didn't have what it took to become a movie star. For the next several years he struggled to make it as an actor. Due to a lack of work, he became disillusioned, often ran out of money and slept on the floor of an old gym 'Terry Hunt's Athletic Club', owned by his friend Terry Hunt. He eventually got a bit role in the film Beyond Glory (John Farrow, 1948) starring Alan Ladd, and in Texas, Brooklyn and Heaven (William Castle, 1948) with Guy Madison and Diana Lynn. In this third film, Bad Boy (Kurt Neumann, 1949), Murphy got a leading role. Murphy also appeared in the film adaptation of Stephen Crane's book The Red Badge of Courage (John Huston, 1951), for which he received rave reviews. Murphy wrote his autobiography 'To hell and back' in 1949 and it became a national bestseller. The book was written by his friend David "Spec" McClure, a professional writer. He had great difficulty playing himself in the film version, To Hell and Back (Jesse Hibbs, 1955). He initially saw it as a kind of sell-out of his actions during the war and thought Tony Curtis should be given the lead role in the film. In the film, the reality was followed and Murphy's comrades died just as was mentioned in the book. At the end of the film, Murphy was the only member of his original regiment left. During the ceremony in which Murphy was awarded the Medal of Honor, his friends were represented as ghosts. This was Murphy's idea to honour his friends. The film was a huge hit and brought in almost 10 million US dollars during its first years, setting a box-office record for Universal that wasn't broken for 20 years until it was finally surpassed by Jaws (Steven Spielberg, 1975). One of his better pictures was Night Passage (James Neilson, 1957), a Western in which he played the kid brother of James Stewart. In 1959 he starred in the Western No Name on the Bullet (Jack Arnold, 1959), which was well received, despite Murphy playing a professional killer. He worked for Huston again on The Unforgiven (John Huston, 1960) opposite Burt Lancaster and Audrey Hepburn.
Audie Murphy was plagued by insomnia, bouts of depression and nightmares, probably a result of the many battles he had to fight during his life. His first wife, Wanda Hendrix, often spoke of Murphy's struggles. During the 1960s Murphy was addicted to the sleeping pill Placidyl for a time. When he realised he had become addicted he locked himself in a hotel room and taught himself not to use it. He also broke the taboo of talking about war-related mental conditions. To draw attention to the problems of returning veterans from Korea and Vietnam, he spoke candidly about his own. He called on the US government to pay more attention to this issue and to study more closely the impact of war on mental health. Meanwhile, the studio system that Murphy grew into as an actor crumbled. Universal's new owners, MCA, dumped its "International" tag in 1962 and turned the studio's focus toward the more lucrative television industry. For theatrical productions, it dropped its roster of contract players and hired actors on a per-picture basis only. That cheap Westerns on the big screen were becoming a thing of the past bode no good for Murphy, either. The Texican (Lesley Selander, 1966) with Broderick Crawford, his lone attempt at a new, European form of inexpensive horse opera, to become known as "the Spaghetti Western", was unsuccessful. His star was falling fast. He made a total of 44 films, but Murphy was also a rancher and businessman. He bred and raised thoroughbred horses and owned several ranches in Texas, Arizona and California. Murphy was also successful as a country singer and composer. He worked with Guy Mitchell, Jimmy Bryant, Scott Turner, Coy Ziegler and Ray and Terri Eddlemon, among others. Murphy's songs were recorded and sung by Dean Martin, Eddy Arnold, Charley Pride, Jimmy Bryant, Porter Waggoner, Jerry Wallace, Roy Clark and Harry Nilsson, among others. His two biggest hits were 'Shutters and Boards' and 'When the Wind Blows in Chicago'. In 1949, Murphy married film actress Wanda Hendrix and divorced her in 1952. He then married flight attendant Pamela Archer, with whom he had 2 children, Terrance Michael and James Shannon - named after two of his closest friends. Audie Murphy died in 1971 in a plane crash in the mountains of Virginia. Murphy was buried with military honours in Arlington National Cemetery. The official government representative was the decorated World War II veteran and future President G.H.W. Bush.
Sources: Wikipedia (Dutch) and IMDb.
And, please check out our blog European Film Star Postcards.
Offered by Deco International Corporation of Pacoima CA, which would import and modify the vehicle to meet EPA and
DOT regulations at a cost of $12,900.
Baker Beach offers one of San Francisco's most iconic views of the Golden Gate Bridge, where natural beauty meets architectural marvel in perfect harmony. This mile-long stretch of coastline, situated within the Presidio, provides photographers and visitors with a stunning perspective of the bridge's southern span against the backdrop of the Marin Headlands.
The beach, which was historically part of the Presidio military base, now serves as a popular recreational destination within the Golden Gate National Recreation Area. The image captures the classic postcard view, featuring the rust-colored suspension bridge rising majestically above the San Francisco Bay's steel-blue waters.
In the foreground, a rustic fence line traces the coastal trail, while native cypress trees frame the scene, providing a characteristic touch of Northern California's coastal landscape. The sandy beach shows evidence of the typical wave action that shapes this dynamic shoreline, with white surf creating a natural leading line toward the bridge.
The Marin Headlands rise dramatically across the Golden Gate strait, their slopes showcasing the natural topography that makes the Bay Area's geography so distinctive. The weather conditions captured in the image display the characteristic marine layer, with high clouds creating depth in the sky while maintaining excellent visibility of the landmark bridge.
The path visible in the image is part of the California Coastal Trail, which offers hikers and nature enthusiasts access to this spectacular viewpoint. The beach's position, facing north, makes it particularly popular for photography during golden hour and sunset, though this daytime shot demonstrates how the location maintains its grandeur throughout the day.
The sun setting over the jagged shoreline of #FortWilliamsPark and the #PortlandHeadLighthouse in Maine. Make sure to experience all the natural beauty and Treasures Of Traveling this park has to offer!
treasuresoftraveling.com/portland-head-light/
#TreasuresOfTraveling #Portland #Maine #NewEngland #TravelBlog #WorldTravel #WorldTraveler #TravelBlogger #TravelPics #TravelPhotos #LukeKeelerTravels #TravelUSA #GlobeTrotter #PassportStamps #TravelTheWorld #TourThePlanet #TheGlobeWanderer #Wanderlust #DiscoverEarth #AwesomeGlobe #FantasticEarth #TravelGram #OptOutside #NaturalBeauty #GayTraveler #Coastline #Sunset #GuysWhoTravel
This installation is titled Polyhedras. It looks really awesome at night.
"Geometry is universal across cultures and religions, across the globe, and even across the planets. "
dbg.org/events/light-bloom/2024-10-12/
www.youtube.com/watch?v=FFelgzzzQqg
LIGHT BLOOM by HYBYCOZO is a limited-time exhibit where nature and light converge. This mesmerizing display invites you to explore the Garden transformed by stunning geometric light installations that illuminate the beauty of the desert landscape in a new way. As the sun sets, LIGHT BLOOM comes to life, casting intricate shadows and vibrant hues across the Garden. Wander the trails and let the enchanting installations transport you to a magical realm where the natural world meets the abstract.
HYBYCOZO is the collaborative studio of artists Serge Beaulieu and Yelena Filipchuk. Based in Los Angeles, their work consists of larger than life geometric sculptures, often with pattern and texture that draw on inspirations from mathematics, science, and natural phenomena. Typically illuminated, the work celebrates the inherent beauty of form and pattern and represents their ongoing journey in exploring the myriad dimensions of geometry. HYBYCOZO is short for the Hyperspace Bypass Construction Zone, a nod to their favorite novel (The Hitchhikers Guide to the Galaxy) and was the title of their first installation in 2014. They continue to create under this name. In the novel earth was being destroyed to make way for a bypass. It lead Serge and Yelena to ask what it means to make art at a time where the earth’s hospitable time in the universe may be limited.
dbg.org/meet-the-artists-behind-light-bloom/
Q: Walk us through your creative process?
A: The focus of our creative process is to explore the intricate interplay between geometry, light, space and to inspire contemplation, wonder and a sense of place among our audiences. Geometry and pattern-making serve as the backbone of our creative expression. It is the framework through which we navigate the complexities of form, proportion and spatial relationships. Patterns, both simple and complex, have a profound impact on our perception and understanding of the world. They possess the ability to evoke a sense of order, balance and aesthetic pleasure. Pattern making and geometry offer us a means of storytelling and communication. These patterns serve as conduits for deeper exploration, provoking introspection and contemplation to uncover the underlying symbols embedded within the human psyche.
This attractive young lady offers some perspective to the size of this radio controlled hydroplane. It measures 50 inches in length, 24 inches in width, 10 inches high at the engine, and 17 inches from the bottom of the rudder to the top of the tail fin. It is powered by a custom gas-burning air-cooled V8 engine designed and built by Mr. Storoz in the mid 1950’s. The engine measures about 11 inches long, 8 inches wide, and six inches high, has a bore of about 1-1/8 inch and a stroke of about 7/8 inch making the total capacity 7.2 cubic inches. It is equipped with a radio controlled throttle and spark advance and sports a chain drive to the prop shaft.
John was a tool and die maker for the auto industry in the Detroit area and began this project in 1954. First he fabricated the patterns and molds and cast the crankcase in his home shop; he spent about three years designing and machining the parts necessary to finish the engine. We believe he started to design and build the hydro in 1958 and he completed the entire project in 1961. Mr. Storoz fabricated everything except the spark plugs, fasteners, sprockets and chain, and the radio control unit.
See More Model Boat Engines at: www.flickr.com/photos/15794235@N06/sets/72157641089388694/
See More V8 engines at: www.flickr.com/photos/15794235@N06/albums/72157663468409191
See Our Model Engine Collection at: www.flickr.com/photos/15794235@N06/sets/72157602933346098/
Visit Our Photo Sets at: www.flickr.com/photos/15794235@N06/sets
Courtesy of Paul and Paula Knapp
Miniature Engineering Museum
Samadhi Yoga Ashram offer Traditional Yoga Teacher Training in Rishikesh provides certified courses by Yoga alliance USA 200 hours, 300 hours, 500 hours Hatha, Kundalini Yoga TTC For Beginners, Intermediate And Advance level Students in Rishikesh, India.
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Cavendish Mews is a smart set of flats in Mayfair where flapper and modern woman, the Honourable Lettice Chetwynd has set up home after coming of age and gaining her allowance. To supplement her already generous allowance, and to break away from dependence upon her family, Lettice has established herself as a society interior designer, so her flat is decorated with a mixture of elegant antique Georgian pieces and modern Art Deco furnishings, using it as a showroom for what she can offer to her well heeled clients.
Today however, we are beneath the streets, pavements and private squares of Mayfair in the brightly lit London Underground railway station of Down Street*, with its white and green tiled walls, decorated with advertisements and maps of the London Underground. It is here on a wooden bench that they share with a rather dowdy and overweight matron that Edith, Lettice’s maid, and her best friend and fellow maid, Hilda, await the next train to take them down the Piccadilly line to Leicester Square along with a smattering of other passengers milling around the railway station with their luggage. Hilda works as a live-in maid just around the corner from Cavendish Mews in Hill Street for Lettice’s married friends, Margot and Dickie Channon. However, Edith and Hilda met one another at their previous employer, Mrs. Plaistow’s, Pimlico townhouse where the two shared a cold and uncomfortable attic bedroom. In spite of the fact that they are both working for different people now, the girls remain the very best of friends, and catch up frequently.
It is Wednesday, and both Edith and Hilda have Wednesday afternoons off. They usually do something together on their midweek afternoons off, like go shopping for haberdashery, take refreshments in a respectable and reasonably priced tea room, or on warm spring days like today, visit a public park and just chat, enjoying one another’s company. Yet today, although they are both destined for Leicester Square Railway Station, they are going in separate directions. Edith has been invited by her beau, Frank Leadbetter, local delivery boy for Mr. Willison’s Grocery in Binney Street, Mayfair, to join him for a special surprise of some kind at Clapham Junction where she has agreed to meet him.
“So where do you think you’re going, then, Edith?” Hilda asks with keen and inquisitive eyes as she sits on the wooden bench next to her best friend. She nudges her lightly with her elbow and smiles conspiratorially. “What’s the surprise?”
“At first I thought we might be going to Clapham Common** for a picnic.” Edith replies a little uncertainly.
“But now you’re unsure.” Hilda remarks, completing Edith’s unspoken thought.
“I am, Hilda.”
“Why? What makes you think otherwise?”
“Well, for a start, what do I have with me to carry?” Edith asks.
Hilda glances down at Edith’s lap where her usual green leather handbag nestles comfortably across her neat black skirt, whilst in Edith’s net lace gloved left hand she holds her usual, battered black umbrella that has probably seen one too many London winter rainstorms. Her face crumples.
“Exactly!” Edith opines. “No picnic basket, no ribbon sandwiches and no thermos*** of tea.”
“Frank could be providing them, Edith.” Hilda ventures.
Edith snorts derisively. “I doubt that very much! Frank’s a good man, but he certainly doesn’t know how to cook, and from everything he tells me about his landlady and her daughter, I doubt either of them would be charitable enough to make him a picnic lunch.” She screws up her nose at the thought. “And even if they did, I somehow don’t think I’d fancy whatever they would have as their picnic fare.”
“Remember when we came back from our overnight visit to Manchester, and he brought us some tea and oranges?”
“Oh, I know Frank can make tea, but a couple of discarded oranges from Mr. Willison’s is hardly a picnic lunch.”
“Ahem!” The older woman on the bench next to them clears her throat noisily causing both maid to glance at her.
Taking up more than her fair share of the wooden railway bench, the portly woman with a rather disapproving jowly face is squeezed into a dark coat that is firstly too small for her, judging by the gapes in the fabric between the buttons, and secondly is unseasonal for the warm May weather, as is her matching black cloche hat. Her knitting needles clack noisily as she makes something in mustard yellow. At her feet rests her beaded handbag and a basket full of groceries. The girls glance at one another and wonder whether she is a customer of Mr. Willison’s Grocery in Binney Street where Frank works and where their mistress’ both have accounts. Hilda nods shallowly at Edith who returns her nod: their silent agreement not to mention Mr. Willison’s establishment in earshot of this woman again, who may well be the cook or maid of one of his customers. The last thing either girl wants is for Frank to get into trouble, or worse yet lose his position as delivery boy and sometimes window dresser. Whilst the oranges that they ate that day were sweet and juicy, Edith cannot guarantee that Frank actually bought them for she and Hilda. He may have taken a few that were not suitable for sale in the shop and sat in the back room. That might make them fair game for Frank, but Mr. Willison would doubtless have other ideas.
“And anyway,” Edith goes on. “Frank asked me to wear my good white blouse with the Peter Pan collar*** and the mother-of-pearl buttons. It’s not exactly picnic wear, Hilda.”
“There’s nothing wrong with dressing up for a picnic, Edith.”
“I know there isn’t, but the fact that Frank asked me to wear it specifically, and he knows it is a blouse I reserve for more special occasions, suggests that we’re not going on a picnic.”
“Well, perhaps it’s another kind of special occasion.” Hilda offers. “Hasn’t he told us before that he has a friend who runs a restaurant?” She ponders for a moment, ruminating. “Yes, an Italian restaurant as I recall!”
“Yes, that’s his friend Giuseppe,” Edith concurs. “But he has a restaurant up the Islington*****, not in Clapham Junction.”
“And you don’t think his landlady would host a lunch for you in her front parlour, Edith? Some landladies do, you know.”
“Not Mrs. Chapman!” Edith scoffs dismissively. “From everything Frank has told me about her, she’s a real tartar******, and she wouldn’t countenance any female guests of her lodgers in her front room.”
“Ahem!” the old woman next to Hilda clears her throat again, this time glancing up from her gnashing stitches, looking critically at Hilda and Edith over the tops of her horn-rimmed spectacles before returning her attentions to her knitting with a tight and disapproving pout.
Edith and Hilda roll their eyes at one another.
“Well maybe it’s another restaurant he wants to take you to, then, Edith.” Hilda suggests. “Clapham Junction has some lovely shops, like Arding and Hobbs*******, so there are bound to be some nice restaurants and tea rooms up Lavender Hill********.”
“Maybe.” Edith muses. “I can’t think what else we could be doing. However liberated Frank might be in his thinking, I can’t see he and I walking through Arding and Hobbs together whilst I buy thread and trims.” She giggles.
Hilda joins her friend, chuckling lightly as well at the thought of Frank going around the drapery store. “Perhaps not, Edith.” She laughs a little more before adding, “Maybe he’s going to take you shopping for a wedding ring, finally. There are lots of jewellers along Lavender Hill too.”
Edith pulls a face. “Oh, I very much doubt that! The last time we looked at jewellery in the window of Schwar’s********* up the Elephant********** we had the fiercest row over wedding rings.”
“Well, didn’t your…” Hilda pauses mid-sentence and quickly glances at the disapproving matron with her deeply set frown as she knits intensely, before lowering her voice slightly. “Your Madam Fortune…”
“Madame Fortuna.” Edith corrects her friend politely.
“Madame Fortuna. Well, didn’t she tell you that Frank was going to pop the question soon?”
“Hilda Clerkenwell!” Edith gasps in a mixture of surprise and incredulity, her eyes widening as she does. “You told me that you don’t believe in all that ‘mumbo-jumbo fortune telling’!”
“Well, I don’t.” Hilda defends. “I believe in cold hard facts, but you obviously do believe all that mumbo-jumbo if you went to see her.” She shakes her head at her friend in mild disapproval. “Didn’t you tell me that she’d said he would propose soon.”
“Before the year was out, was what she said.”
“Humph!” Hilda snorts. “Suitably vague for a charlatan.”
“Madame Fortuna was not a charlatan!” Edith hotly defends Mrs. Fenchurch, the ‘discreet clairvoyant’ in Swiss Cottage*********** with whom she corresponded via Box Z 1245, The Times, E.C.4., and finally went to see a few weeks ago.
“So you say.” Hilda mumbles self-righteously.
“Anyway, we’re only in May. Why should it be today?”
“Why shouldn’t it be?” Hilda eyes her friend suspiciously before adding, “You’ve changed your tune, Edith. Whatever is the matter?”
“Oh nothing.” Edith flaps her hand dismissively at Hilda. “I just…” She sighs heavily. “I just don’t want to get my hopes up.” She glances guiltily into her friend’s pudgy, concerned face. “I was for a while. After Frank and I spoke about getting married, I kept hoping he’d ask me whenever we went to the Premier in East Ham************ to watch a moving picture, or when we would go dancing at the Hammersmith Palais*************, but I’ve been waiting in vain. It’s disappointing.”
“Oh, I’m sure it is, Edith!”
“So, I just try to temper my wishes and stop getting my hopes up. I only get hurt when he doesn’t.”
“But he will, Edith.” Hilda assures her friend, reaching out her hands and squeezing Edith’s comfortingly. “I know he will!”
“How do you know, Hilda.”
“I told you, Edith. I’m a firm believer in cold, hard facts. And one thing I know for certain fact is that Frank is every bit as mad for you as you are for him. He’ll propose soon enough, and that’s a fact too.” Hilda nods seriously. “You mark my words, rather than Madame Fortuna’s.”
“Do you know what’s going on?” Edith gasps. “Has Frank said anything to you about today when he was delivering groceries to you?”
“Goodness me, no!” Hilda retorts quickly. “If I knew what you were doing today, why on earth would I ask you?”
“It could be part of some elaborate ruse.” Edith cannot help but betray the hope that today might be the day that Frank proposes as it causes her bright blue eyes to sparkle a little more and for a smile to tease the corners of her mouth as a flush fills her cheeks.
Hilda shakes her head again. “You’ve been reading too many of those Madeline St John romance novels, Edith! The world isn’t made up of sweeping, grandiose admissions of love: especially not now, with a dearth of young men after the war took so many of them away.”
“No. No, of course not! How foolish of me.” Edith replies, guilt filling her face as she remembers how her friend has no young man at all to step out with in her life. “Forgive me Hilda. I’m so thoughtless.”
“No you aren’t, Edith.” Hilda replies kindly with a dismissive wave of her own. “You’re just anxious, and wound up with the idea of getting married is all. Who wouldn’t be? I’d be the same if I were in your shoes.”
“No, I should be more considerate of your situation, Hilda.”
“Oh, you don’t have to tread around on eggshells************** on my account, Edith. I’m fine.”
“I don’t suppose you’ve met a nice young man, have you?”
“Pshaw!” Hilda mutters dismissively. “I haven’t even met a not-so-nice young man.”
Hilda gives her friend a doubtful look, and they both laugh good-naturedly, but their laughter is tinged with a little sadness. Edith still hopes that her best friend will one day meet a young man, or even an older one, who will meet her desires for an intelligent match, and form a loving relationship with him.
“Hasn’t Mrs. Minkin tried to match you up with a young man of her acquaintance?” Edith asks, referring to the old Jewess whom both she and Hilda visit when they shop of haberdashery in Whitechapel, and whose knitting circle Hilda has joined.
“It’s a bit hard when you aren’t Jewish.” Hilda remarks with a tone of despondence. “I’m one of the few women there who isn’t. Rachel Katz has a rather serious and studious elder brother who is unmarried, but their mother would never consider someone who wasn’t of their faith for him.”
“Oh, what a pity, Hilda.” Edith consoles her friend.
“It’s not a pity at all.” Hilda giggles in reply, surprising Edith.
“It isn’t?” Edith queries with a perplexed look.
“I’ve never met him, so he could be ugly, or beastly, or both, or simply not to my liking!” Hilda says matter-of-factly. “I’d rather be a spinster than marry a man I don’t love. I don’t understand how some women can do that.”
“Oh, I agree, Hilda!” Edith replies eagerly. “Don’t get married until you find the one, and yes, marry for love and nothing less.”
“Like you are with Frank.”
Edith smiles at her friend. “Don’t worry Hilda. Your Frank is out there somewhere.”
“Well, I just wish he’d bloody well hurry up and find me!” Hilda replies with a cheeky smile.
Both girls take a sideways glance at the matron on the bench next to them.
“Ahem!” she clears her throat loudly, pointedly expressing her disapproval of Hilda’s choice to swear, and her knitting becomes more fervent as she refuses to look at either Hilda or Edith, the furrows in her brow growing deeper and the scowl on her face becoming more pronounced.
“So where are you going to go then, whilst, I am going to my as of yet unknown destination with Frank in Clapham Junction, Hilda?” Edith asks. “The sales perhaps?”
“Good heavens no! I only just tolerate the department stores when I’m with you, Edith.” Hilda retorts. “No, I have a far more enticing assignation.”
“Assignation!” Edith gasps. “With whom? You just said you weren’t stepping out with anyone!”
“I’m not!” Hilda laughs. “I’m going to the British Museum*************** to see the Rosetta Stone**************** since it seems the whole of London has been gripped by Tutmania****************. I’ve never seen it, and now, I want to.”
Just at that moment with the thunder and rattle of its engine and the squeal of breaks, the Piccadilly line train with its brown painted carriages noisily enters Down Street railway station before coming to a juddering halt.
Edith, Hilda and the plump, grumpy matron in the undersized coat and cloche join the small number of other passengers boarding the train.
“I hope she isn’t going to the British Museum too.” Hilda remarks, nodding at the elderly lady as she waddles away from the two maids with her heavy basket of groceries in one hand and her blue beaded handbag with her knitting needles sticking out of it in the other, determined to sit in a different carriage to them.
“She looks more like she’ll come to Clapham Junction with me!” Edith giggles. “Let’s hope not. Come on.”
The two girls nimbly step aboard the carriage directly in front of them as the engine gently idles beneath them, making it thrum with a soothing vibration. Closing the door behind them, the guard at the end of the train blows his whistle shrilly, and as Edith and Hilda take two seats, the train jerks and commences the journey on to Dover Street railway station, Piccadilly Circus and Leicester Square as the pair head off on their Wednesday afternoon adventures.
*Down Street, is a disused station on the London Underground, located in Mayfair. The Great Northern, Piccadilly and Brompton Railway opened it in 1907. It was latterly served by the Piccadilly line and was situated between Dover Street (now named Green Park) and Hyde Park Corner stations. The station was little used; many trains passed through without stopping. Lack of patronage and proximity to other stations led to its closure in 1932. During the Second World War it was used as a bunker by the Prime Minister, Winston Churchill, and the war cabinet. The station building survives and is close to Down Street's junction with Piccadilly.
**At over eighty-five hectares in size, Clapham Common is one of London’s largest, and oldest, public open spaces, situated between Clapham, Battersea and Balham. Clapham Common is mentioned as far back as 1086 in the famous Domesday Book, and was originally ‘common land’ for the Manors of Battersea and Clapham. Tenants of the Lords of the Manors, could graze their livestock, collect firewood or dig for clay and other minerals found on site. However, as a result of increasing threats from encroaching roads and housing developments, it was acquired in 1877 by the Metropolitan Board of Works, and designated a “Metropolitan Common”, which gives it protection from loss to development and preserves its open character.
***When we think of thermos flasks these days we are often reminded of the plaid and gawdy floral varieties that existed in the 1950s, 60s and 70s. Invented in 1892 by Sir James Dewar, a scientist at Oxford University, the "vacuum flask" was not manufactured for commercial use until 1904, when two German glass blowers formed Thermos GmbH. They held a contest to name the "vacuum flask" and a resident of Munich submitted "Thermos", which came from the Greek word "Therme" meaning "hot". In 1907, Thermos GmbH sold the Thermos trademark rights to three independent companies: The American Thermos Bottle Company of Brooklyn, New York; Thermos Limited of Tottenham, England; Canadian Thermos Bottle Co. Ltd. of Montreal, Canada. The three Thermos companies operated independently of each other, yet developed the Thermos vacuum flask into a widely sought after product that was taken on many famous expeditions, including: Schackelton\'s trip to the South Pole; Lieutenant Robert E. Peary\'s trip to the Arctic; Colonel Roosevelt\'s expedition to Mombassa and into the heart of the African Congo with Richard Harding Davis. It even became airborne when the Wright Brothers took it up in their airplane and Count Zepplin carried it up in his air balloon.
****A Peter Pan collar is a style of clothing collar, flat in design with rounded corners. It is named after the collar of Maude Adams's costume in her 1905 role as Peter Pan, although similar styles had been worn before this date. Peter Pan collars were particularly fashionable during the 1920s and 1930s.
*****The Italian quarter of London, known commonly today as “Little Italy” is an Italian ethnic enclave in London. Little Italy’s core historical borders are usually placed at Clerkenwell Road, Farringdon Road and Rosebery Avenue - the Saffron Hill area of Clerkenwell. Clerkenwell spans Camden Borough and Islington Borough. Saffron Hill and St. Peter’s Italian Catholic Church fall within the Camden side. However, even though this was the traditional enclave for Italians, immigrants moved elsewhere in London, bleeding into areas like Islington and Soho where they established bars, cafes and restaurants which sold Italian cuisine and wines.
******A tartar is a bad-tempered or aggressively assertive person, typically a woman, and is based upon the hard crust of calcium salts and food particles on the teeth which is known as tartar.
*******Arding and Hobbs was established in 1876. A second store was established on the corner of Falcon Road, Battersea, known as the Falcon Road Drapery Store, but this was sold to former employees Mr. Hunt & Mr. Cole in 1894. The original building was destroyed by a fire on 20 December 1909. The present building at the junction of Lavender Hill and St John's Road in Battersea was constructed in 1910 in an Edwardian Baroque style, and the architect was James Gibson. The department store was sold to the John Anstiss Group in 1938, however, John Anstiss was purchased by United Drapery Stores in 1948. The store was added to the Allders group in the 1970s and continued to operate until Allders went into administration in 2005. The building was subsequently broken up and sold, with the building split between a branch of Debenhams department store and TK Maxx retail.
********Lavender Hill is a bustling high street serving residents of Clapham Junction, Battersea and beyond. Until the mid Nineteenth Century, Battersea was predominantly a rural area with lavender and asparagus crops cultivated in local market gardens. Hence, it’s widely thought that Lavender Hill was named after Lavender Hall, built in the late Eighteenth Century, where lavender grew on the north side of the hill.
*********Established in 1838 by Andreas Schwar who was a clock and watch maker from Baden in Germany, Schwar and Company on Walworth Road in Elephant and Castle was a watchmaker and jewellers that is still a stalwart of the area today. The shop still retains its original Victorian shopfront with its rounded plate glass windows.
**********The London suburb of Elephant and Castle, south of the Thames, past Lambeth was known as "the Piccadilly Circus of South London" because it was such a busy shopping precinct. When you went shopping there, it was commonly referred to by Londoners, but South Londoners in particular, as “going up the Elephant”.
***********According to the Dictionary of London Place Names, the district of Swiss Cottage is named after an inn called The Swiss Tavern that was built in 1804 in the style of a Swiss chalet on the site of a former tollgate keeper's cottage, and later renamed Swiss Inn and in the early 20th century Swiss Cottage.
************The Premier Super Cinema in East Ham was opened on the 12th of March, 1921, replacing the 800 seat capacity 1912 Premier Electric Theatre. The new cinema could seat 2,408 patrons. The Premier Super Cinema was taken over by Provincial Cinematograph Theatres who were taken over by Gaumont British in February 1929. It was renamed the Gaumont from 21st April 1952. The Gaumont was closed by the Rank Organisation on 6th April 1963. After that it became a bingo hall and remained so until 2005. Despite attempts to have it listed as a historic building due to its relatively intact 1921 interior, the Gaumont was demolished in 2009.
*************The Hammersmith Palais de Danse, in its last years simply named Hammersmith Palais, was a dance hall and entertainment venue in Hammersmith, London, England that operated from 1919 until 2007. It was the first palais de danse to be built in Britain.
**************The idiom "walk on eggshells" meaning to be extremely cautious or careful, likely originated from the imagery of eggshells being fragile and easily broken when stepped on. The original, Eighteenth Century version was to “tread on eggs,” which the Oxford English Dictionary defines as “to walk warily, as on delicate ground.” The only two citations for the whole-egg version in the Oxford English Dictionary are from the same author, Roger North, and appear in biographical works he published around 1734.
***************The British Museum is a public museum dedicated to human history, art and culture located in the Bloomsbury area of London. Its permanent collection of eight million works is the largest in the world. It documents the story of human culture from its beginnings to the present. Established in 1753, the British Museum was the first public national museum.
****************The Rosetta Stone is a stele of granodiorite inscribed with three versions of a decree issued in 196 BC during the Ptolemaic dynasty of Egypt, on behalf of King Ptolemy V Epiphanes. The top and middle texts are in Ancient Egyptian using hieroglyphic and Demotic scripts, respectively, while the bottom is in Ancient Greek. The decree has only minor differences across the three versions, making the Rosetta Stone key to deciphering the Egyptian scripts.
*****************"Tutmania" refers to the widespread global fascination and cultural impact that followed the discovery of King Tutankhamun's tomb in 1922, sparking a surge in interest in ancient Egypt and its artifacts over the next few years.
This London Underground scene may look like one you could just walk into and sit down in, but it is not all that it seems, for it is in fact made up entirely with pieces from my 1:12 miniatures collection.
Fun thing to look for in this tableau include:
The travel advertisement, sale advert and London Underground map along the tiled wall are all 1:12 size posters made by the British miniature artisan Ken Blythe. Ken is known mostly for the 1:12 miniature books he created. I have quite a large representation of Ken Blythe’s work in my collection, but he also produced other items, including posters. All of these are genuine copies of real inter-war Art Deco travel posters put out by the different British railways to promote travelling on them. To create something so authentic to the original in such detail and so clearly, really does make these items miniature artisan pieces. Ken Blythe’s work is highly sought after by miniaturists around the world today and command high prices at auction for such tiny pieces, particularly now that he is no longer alive. I was fortunate enough to acquire pieces from Ken Blythe prior to his death about four years ago, as well as through his estate via his daughter and son-in-law. His legacy will live on with me and in my photography which I hope will please his daughter.
Edith’s green handbag and Hilda’s brown one are handmade from soft leather is part of a larger collection of hats and bags that I bought from an American miniature collector Marilyn Bickel.
The black umbrella came from an online stockist of 1:12 miniatures on E-Bay.
The basket I acquired from beautifully Handmade Miniatures in Kettering. In the basket are some very lifelike looking fruit and vegetables. The apples are made of polymer clay are made by a 1:12 miniature specialist in Germany. The leaves of lettuce are artisan made of very thin sheets of clay and are beautifully detailed. I acquired them from an auction house some twenty years ago as part of a lot made up of miniature artisan food. There are also several jars, one of Silver Shred Marmalade and one of P.C. Flett & Co Plum Jam, and a box of Hudson’s Soap, all made by Little Things Dollhouse Miniatures in Lancashire, with great attention to detail paid to their labels and the shapes of their jars.
Silver Shred lime marmalade still exists today and is a common household brand both in Britain and Australia. They are produced by Robertson’s. Robertson’s Golden Shred recipe perfected since 1874 is a clear and tangy orange marmalade, which according to their modern day jars is “perfect for Paddington’s marmalade sandwiches”. Robertson’s Silver Shred is a clear, tangy, lemon flavoured shredded marmalade. Robertson’s marmalade dates back to 1874 when Mrs. Robertson started making marmalade in the family grocery shop in Paisley, Scotland.
P.C. Flett and Company was established in Kirkwall in the Orkney Islands by Peter Copeland Flett. He had inherited a small family owned ironmongers in Albert Street Kirkwall, which he inherited from his maternal family. He had a shed in the back of the shop where he made ginger ale, lemonade, jams and preserves from local produce. By the 1920s they had an office in Liverpool, and travelling representatives selling jams and preserves around Great Britain. I am not sure when the business ceased trading.
Robert Spear Hudson invented the first dry soap powder, "Hudson's Dry Soap" in 1837 in his small pharmacy in West Bromwich, England, moving to Liverpool in the 1880s. He advertised extensively, first locally and then nationally, as his business and use of his products grew. The firm was taken over by Lever Brothers Ltd. (now part of Unilever) in 1908. The soap's use for cleaning the nursery floor (leaving the room "sweetened and purified"), baths, feeding bottles and on linen is boasted about on some small boxes on the reverse.
The beaded handbag is also a 1:12 artisan miniature. Hand crocheted, it is interwoven with antique blue glass beads that are two millimetres in diameter. The beads of the handle are three millimetres in length.
All the luggage you see on the platform are artisan pieces made by different unknown artists. All of them I acquired from Kathleen Knight’s Doll’s House Shop in the United kingdom. The fawn coloured parasol and Mary Poppins style parrot head umbrella are also artisan miniatures and were acquired from Kathleen Knight’s Doll’s House Shop as was the knitting which sits on the bench. The silver knobbed walking stick is also a 1:12 artisan miniature. The top is sterling silver. It was made by the Little Green Workshop in England who specialise in high end, high quality miniatures.
The bench is made by Town Hall Miniatures, and acquired through E-Bay.
Since my last portrait I have been offered a new job- happy days! I'll tell you more about it as it happens. Until then I am still officially off work. It's not bad at all, I've been walking a Cavipoo called Frankie (who is a dude) for a lady called Anne who is 83 and has a bad hip. I've been catching up with friends, staying off coffee and bread, cleaning and doing DIY.
I'm painting my bedroom dark grey. It's definitely bold but I love it. Pink and grey are pretty classic, my Grandma got married in a pink and grey dress.
When I work I listen to lectures. It feels like learning. Yesterday I was caught in a cycle of Ted Talks, there was one about not screwing yourself over when it comes to getting what you want. Acting in the moment regarding choices. When a thought comes to mind, do it and don't second guess it. The first daily choice most people make is to lie in bed a bit longer- so instead, get up and feel alive :)
I can do this with my selfies, wait for the perfect moment- when there are always a selection of perfect moments, and so this is me challenging myself in 10 minutes to get an idea, run with it, shoot it and stop. I kind of like where I am going right now.
More on that Ted Talk here: www.youtube.com/watch?v=Lp7E973zozc
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The Lost World (20th Century Fox, 1960).
youtu.be/h1CLA-gJbmA?t=5s Trailer
Irwin Allen, the producer who would go on to make the disaster film a huge success in the seventies, brought us this Saturday afternoon fodder with giant lizards posing as dinosaurs. Starring Michael Rennie, David Hedison, Claude Rains and Jill St. John.
Intended as a grand sci-fi/fantasy epic remake of Arthur Conan Doyle's classic novel. The first film adaptation, shot in 1925, was a milestone in many ways, but movie making and special effects had come a long way in 35 years. Irwin Allen's Lost World (LW) & 20th Century Fox version was derailed on the way to greatness, but managed to still be a respectable, (if more modest) A-film. Allen's screenplay followed the book fairly well, telling of Professor Challenger's expedition to a remote plateau in the Amazon upon which dinosaurs still lived. Aside from the paleontological presumptions in the premise, there is little "science" in The Lost World. Nonetheless, dinosaur movies have traditionally been lumped into the sci-fi genre.
Synopsis
When his plane lands in London, crusty old professor George Edward Challenger is besieged by reporters questioning him about his latest expedition to the headwaters of the Amazon River. After the irascible Challenger strikes reporter Ed Malone on the head with his umbrella, Jennifer Holmes, the daughter of Ed's employer, Stuart Holmes, offers the injured reporter a ride into town. That evening, Jenny is escorted by Lord John Roxton, an adventurer and big game hunter, to Challenger's lecture at the Zoological Institute, and Ed invites them to sit with him. When Challenger claims to have seen live dinosaurs, his colleague Professor Summerlee scoffs and asks for evidence. Explaining that his photographs of the creatures were lost when his boat overturned, Challenger invites Summerlee to accompany him on a new expedition to the "lost world," and asks for volunteers. When Roxton raises his hand, Jenny insists on going with him, but she is rejected by Challenger because she is a woman. Ed is given a spot after Holmes offers to fund the expedition if the reporter is included. The four then fly to the Amazon, where they are met by Costa, their guide and Manuel Gomez, their helicopter pilot. Arriving unexpectedly, Jenny and her younger brother David insist on joining them. Unable to arrange transportation back to the United States, Challenger reluctantly agrees to take them along. The next day, they take off for the lost world and land on an isolated plateau inhabited by dinosaurs. That evening, a dinosaur stomps out of the jungle, sending them scurrying for cover. After the beast destroys the helicopter and radio, the group ventures inland. When one of the creatures bellows threateningly, they flee, and in their haste, Challenger and Ed slip and tumble down a hillside, where they encounter a native girl. The girl runs into the jungle, but Ed follows and captures her. They then all take refuge in a cave, where Roxton, who has been making disparaging remarks about Jenny's desire to marry him solely for his title, angers Ed. Ed lunges at Roxton, pushing him to the ground, where he finds a diary written by Burton White, an adventurer who hired Roxton three years earlier to lead him to the lost diamonds of Eldorado. Roxton then admits that he never met White and his party because he was delayed by a dalliance with a woman, thus abandoning them to certain death. Gomez angrily snaps that his good friend Santiago perished in the expedition. That night, Costa tries to molest the native girl, and David comes to her rescue and begins to communicate with her through sign language. After Gomez goes to investigate some movement he spotted in the vegetation, he calls for help, and when Roxton runs out of the cave, a gunshot from an unseen assailant is fired, nearly wounding Roxton and sending the girl scurrying into the jungle. Soon after, Ed and Jenny stray from camp and are pursued by a dinosaur, and after taking refuge on some cliffs, watch in horror as their stalker becomes locked in combat with another prehistoric creature and tumbles over the cliffs into the waters below. Upon returning to camp, they discover it deserted, their belongings in disarray. As David stumbles out from some rocks to report they were attacked by a tribe of natives, the cannibals return and imprison them in a cave with the others. As the drums beat relentlessly, signaling their deaths, the native girl reappears and motions for them to follow her through a secret passageway that leads to the cave in which Burton White lives, completely sightless. After confirming that all in his expedition perished, White tells them of a volcanic passageway that will lead them off the plateau, but warns that they must first pass through the cave of fire. Cautioning them that the natives plan to sacrifice them, White declares that their only chance of survival is to slip through the cave and then seal it with a boulder. After giving them directions to the cave, White asks them to take the girl along. As the earth, on the verge of a volcanic eruption, quakes, they set off through the Graveyard of the Damned, a vast cavern littered with dinosaur skeletons, the victims of the deadly sulfurous gases below. Pursued by the ferocious natives, Roxton takes the lead as they inch their way across a narrow ledge above the molten lava. After escaping the natives, they jam the cave shut with a boulder and, passing a dam of molten lava, finally reach the escape passage. At its mouth is a pile of giant diamonds and a dinosaur egg. As Costa heaps the diamonds into his hat, Challenger fondles the egg and Gomez pulls a gun and announces that Roxton must die in exchange for the death of Santiago, Gomez' brother. Acting quickly, Ed hurls the diamonds at Gomez, throwing him off balance and discharging his gun. The gunshot awakens a creature slumbering in the roiling waters below. After the beast snatches Costa and eats him alive, Ed tries to dislodge the dam, sending a few scorching rocks tumbling down onto the monster. Feeling responsible for the peril of the group, Gomez sacrifices his life by using his body as a lever to dislodge the dam, covering the creature with oozing lava. As the cave begins to crumble from the impending eruption, the group hurries to safety. Just then, the volcano explodes, destroying the lost world. After Roxton hands Ed a handful of diamonds he has saved as a wedding gift for him and Jenny, Challenger proudly displays his egg, which then hatches, revealing a baby dinosaur. The End.
The 50s had seen several examples of the dinosaur sub-genre. LW is one of the more lavish ones, owing to color by DeLuxe and CinemaScope. The A-level actors help too. Claude Rains plays the flamboyant Challenger. Michael Rennie plays Roxton, perhaps a bit too cooly. Jill St. John and Vitina Marcus do well as the customary eye candy. David Hedison as Malone and Fernando Lamas as Gomez round out the bill.
The first film version of LW was a silent movie shot in 1925: screenplay by Marion Fairfax. The film featured stop-motion animated dinosaurs by a young Willis O'Brien. Fairfax followed Doyle's text, but Fairfax added a young woman to the team, Paula White. Ostensibly trying to find her father from the first failed expedition, she provided the love triangle interest between Malone and Roxton.
Allen's screenplay tried to stick to Doyle's text as much as Hollywood would allow. It carried on Fairfax's invention of the young woman member of the group as triangle fodder. Fairfax had Doyle's ape men (ape man) but omitted the native humans. Allen had the natives, but no ape men. Allen revived the Gomez/revenge subplot, which Fairfax skipped. Doyle's story had Challenger bringing back a pterodactyl. Fairfax made it a brontosaur who rampaged through London streets (spawning a popular trope). Allen suggested the baby dinosaur traveling to London.
Willis O'Brien pitched 20th Century Fox in the late 50s, to do a quality remake of LW. He had gained much experience in the intervening 35 years, so his stop-motion dinosaurs were to be the real stars. Fox bass liked the idea, but by the time the ball started rolling, there was trouble in studioland. Fox's grand epic Cleopatra was underway, but was already 5 million dollars over budget. Cleo would nearly sink 20th Century Fox when it was finally released in 1963. To stay afloat, all other Fox films' budgets were slashed. Allen could no longer afford the grand O'Brien stop-motion.
Allen's production is often criticized for its "cheap" dinosaurs, which were live monitor lizards and alligators with fins and plates and horns glue onto them. (more on that below) These were already a bit cheesy when used in the 1940 film One Million B.C.. O'Brien is still listed on the credits as "Effects Technician," but all Allen could afford was lizards with glued on extras. Somewhat amusingly, the script still refers to them as brontosaurs and T-Rexes.
The character of Jennifer Holmes starts out promising. She's a self-assured to the edges of pushy, and is said to be able to out shoot and out ride any man. Yet, when she gets to the Amazon jungle, she's little more than Jungle Barbie, dressed in girlie clothes and screaming frequently. She even does the typical Hollywood trip-and-fall when chased by the dinosaur, so that a man must save her.
Bottom line? FW is a finer example of the not-quite-sci-fi dinosaur sub-genre. The actors are top drawer, even if some of their acting is a bit flat. Nonetheless, FW is a fair adaptation of Doyle's
classic adventure novel, given the constraints of Hollywood culture.
The Movie Club Annals … Review
The Lost World 1960
Introduction
There was absolutely nothing wrong with Irwin Allen's 1960 production of The Lost World. Nothing. It was perfect in every way. I therefore find myself in the unique and unfamiliar position of having to write a rave review about a Movie Club movie that was entirely devoid of flaws.
Faced with such a confounding task, I half-heartedly considered faking a bad review, then praying my obvious deceptions would go unnoticed. But the patent transparency of my scheme convinced me to abandon it posthaste. After all, leveling concocted criticisms at such an unassailable masterpiece would be a futile and tiresome exercise, the pretense of which would escape nary a semi-cognizant soul.
Thus, having retreated from my would-be descent into literary intrigue, I start this review in earnest by borrowing a quote from the legendary Shelly Winters, spoken during the 1972 filming of Irwin Allen's The Poseidon Adventure:
"I'm ready for my close up now, Mr. Allen.” Shelly Winters, 1972
Review
A bit of research into the casting choices of Irwin Allen, who wrote, produced, and directed The Lost World, begins to reveal the genius behind the virtuosity.
The first accolades go to Irwin for his casting of Vitina Marcus, the immaculately groomed Saks 5th Avenue cave girl with exquisite taste in makeup, jewelry, and cave-wear. No finer cave girl ever graced a feature film.
Vitina Marcus, as The Cave Girl
She was the picture of prehistoric glamour, gliding across the silver screen in her designer bearskin mini-pelt, her flawless coiffure showing no signs of muss from the traditional courting rituals of the day, her perfect teeth the envy of even the most prototypical Osmond. Even her nouveau-opposable thumbs retained their manicure, in spite of the oft-disagreeable duties that frequently befell her as an effete member of the tribal gentry.
By no means just another Neanderthal harlot, Vitina had a wealth of talent to augment her exterior virtues. Her virtuoso interpretation of a comely cave girl in The Lost World certainly didn't escape the attention Irwin Allen. In fact, he was so taken with her performance that he later engaged her services again, casting her as the Native Girl in episode 2.26 of his Voyage to The Bottom of The Sea TV series.
Leery of potential typecasting, Vitina went on to obtain roles with greater depth and more sophisticated dialogue. This is evidenced by the great departure she took from her previous roles when she next portrayed the part of Sarit, a female barbarian, in episode 1.24 of Irwin Allen's The Time Tunnel TV series.
Vitina, as Sarit
Vitina's efforts to avoid typecasting paid off in spades, as she was soon rewarded with the distinctive role of Girl, a female Tarzanesque she-beast character, in episode 3.14 of The Man From U.N.C.L.E. TV series.
Lured back from the U.N.C.L.E. set by Irwin Allen, Vitina was next cast in the role of Athena (a.k.a. Lorelei), the green space girl with the inverted lucite salad bowl hat, in episodes 2.2 and 2.16 of the revered Lost in Space TV series.
And with this, Vitina reached the pinnacle of her career. For her many unparalleled displays of thespian pageantry, she leaves us forever in her debt as she exits the stage.
For those who would still question the genius of Irwin Allen, I defy you to find a better casting choice for the character of Lord John Roxton than that of Michael Rennie. Mr. Rennie, who earlier starred as Klaatu in The Day the Earth Stood Still, went on to even greater heights, starring as The Keeper in episodes 1.16 and 1.17 of the revered Lost in Space TV series. Throughout his distinguished career, Mr. Rennie often played highly cerebral characters with
unique names, such as Garth A7, Tribolet, Hasani, Rama Kahn, Hertz, and Dirk. How befitting that his most prolific roles came to him through a man named Irwin, a highly cerebral character with a unique name.
The selection of David Hedison to play Ed Malone was yet another example of Irwin's uncanny foresight. Soon after casting him in The Lost World, Irwin paved Mr. Hedison's path to immortality by casting him as a lead character in his Voyage to The Bottom of The Sea TV series. Although Voyage ended in 1968, Mr. Hedison departed the show with a solid resume and a bright future.
In the decades following Voyage, Mr. Hedison has been a veritable fixture on the small screen, appearing in such socially influential programs as The Love Boat, Fantasy Island, Knight Rider, The Fall Guy and The A Team. Mr. Hedison's early collaborations with Irwin Allen have left him never wanting for a day's work in Hollywood, a boon to the legions of discerning fans who continue to savor his inspiring prime time depictions.
Irwin selected Fernando Lamas to play Manuel Gomez, the honorable and tortured soul of The Lost World who needlessly sacrificed himself at the end of the movie to save all the others. To get a feel for how important a casting decision he was to Irwin, just look at the pertinent experience Mr. Lamas brought to the table:
Irwin knew that such credentials could cause him to lose the services of Mr. Lamas to another project, and he took great pains to woo him onto the set of The Lost World. And even though Mr. Lamas never appeared in the revered Lost in Space TV series, his talent is not lost on us.
Jay Novello was selected by Irwin Allen to play Costa, the consummate Cuban coward who perpetually betrays everyone around him in the name of greed. In pursuing his craven calling, Mr. Novello went on to play Xandros, the Greek Slave in Atlantis, The Lost Continent, as well as countless other roles as a coward.
Although Mr. Novella never appeared in the revered Lost in Space TV series, his already long and distinguished career as a coward made him the obvious choice for Irwin when the need for an experienced malingerer arose.
Jill St. John was Irwin's pick to play Jennifer Holmes, the "other" glamour girl in The Lost World. Not to be upstaged by glamour-cave-girl Vitina Marcus, Jill played the trump card and broke out the pink go-go boots and skin-tight Capri pants, the perfect Amazonian summertime jungle wear.
Complete with a perfect hairdo, a killer wardrobe, a little yip-yip dog named Frosty, and all the other trappings of a wealthy and pampered prehistoric society, Jill's sensational allure rivaled even that of a certain cave girl appearing in the same film.
With the atmosphere rife for an on-set rivalry between Jill and Vitina, Irwin still managed to keep the peace, proving that he was as skilled a diplomat as he was a director.
Claude Rains, as Professor George Edward Challenger
And our cup runneth over, as Irwin cast Claude Rains to portray Professor George Edward Challenger. His eminence, Mr. Rains is an entity of such immeasurable virtue that he is not in need of monotonous praise from the likes of me.
I respectfully acknowledge the appearance of Mr. Rains because failure to do so would be an unforgivable travesty. But I say nothing more on the subject, lest I state something so obvious and uninspiring as to insult the intelligence of enlightened reader.
Irwin's casting of the cavemen mustn't be overlooked, for their infallibly realistic portrayals are unmatched within the Pleistocene Epoch genre of film. Such meticulous attention to detail is what separates Irwin Allen from lesser filmmakers, whose pale imitations of his work only further to underscore the point.
To be sure, it is possible to come away with the unfounded suspicion that the cavemen are really just a bunch of old white guys from the bar at the local Elks lodge. But Irwin was an absolute stickler for authenticity, and would never have allowed the use of such tawdry measures to taint his prehistoric magnum opus.
In truth, Irwin's on-screen cavemen were borne of many grueling years of anthropological research, so the explanation for their somewhat modern, pseudo-caucasian appearance lies obviously elsewhere. And in keeping with true Irwin Allen tradition, that explanation will not be offered here.
1964 - Voyage to the Bottom of the Sea, Season One, Episode 7 - "Turn Back the Clock", featuring Vitina Marcus as The Native Girl. Produced by Irwin Allen.
And then there was Irwin Allen's masterful handling of the reptilian facets of The Lost World, most notably his inimitable casting of the dinosaurs. His dinosaurs were so realistic, so eerily lifelike, that they almost looked like living, breathing garden variety lizards with dinosaur fins and horns glued to their backs and heads.
The less enlightened viewer might even suppose this to be true, that Irwin's dinosaurs were indeed merely live specimens of lizards, donned in Jurassic-era finery, vastly magnified, and retro-fitted into The Lost World via some penny-wise means of cinematic trickery.
But those of us in the know certainly know better than that, as we are privy to some otherwise unpublished information about The Lost World. The lifelike appearance of the Irwin's dinosaurs can be attributed to a wholly overlooked and fiendishly cunning approach to the art of delusion, which is that the dinosaurs didn't just look real, they were real.
While the world abounds with middling minds who cannot fathom such a reality, we must follow Irwin's benevolent leanings and temper our natural feelings of contempt for this unfortunate assemblage of pedestrian lowbrows. In spite of Irwin's superior intellect, he never felt disdain toward the masses that constituted his audiences. He simply capitalized on their unaffectedness, and in the process recounted the benefits of exploiting the intellectually bereft for personal gain.
The purpose of all this analysis, of course, is to place an exclamation point on the genius of Irwin Allen, the formation of his dinosaur exposé being a premier example. Note how he mindfully manipulates the expectations of his unsuspecting audience, compelling them to probe the dinosaurs for any signs of man-made chicanery. Then, at the palatial moment when the dinosaurs make their entry, he guilefully supplants the anticipated display of faux reptilia with that of the bona fide article.
Upon first witnessing the de facto dinosaurs, some in the audience think they've been had, and indeed they have. Irwin, in engineering his masterful ruse, had used reality as his medium to convey the illusion of artifice. His audience, in essence, was blinded by the truth. It was the immaculate deception, and none but Irwin Allen could have conceived it.
Indeed, the matter of where the live dinosaurs came from has been conspicuously absent from this discussion, as the Irwinian technique of fine film making strongly discourages the practice of squandering time on extraneous justifications and other such trite means of redundant apologia. For the benefit of the incessantly curious, however, just keep in mind that Irwin Allen wrote and produced The Time Tunnel TV Series, a fact that should provide some fair insight into his modis operandi.
Carl R.