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I wasn’t going to get another Steve Trevor doll but I saw him on Amazon for $17 which was a pretty good price for one working doll. The seller took longer than expected to ship out so I’ve been waiting to swap parts around so I didn’t take any before pics.
Anyway, as you know, swapping his legs with Wonder Woman was super easy, but I really like Steve’s head on the Batman body so they swapped heads.
I’m a bit annoyed he came with an eyebrow rub but I can fix that.
But hey, welcome my twins Steve and Trevor.
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tiergarten_(park)
The Tiergarten (formal German name: Großer Tiergarten), is an urban public park of Germany located in the middle of Berlin, completely in the district of same name. The park is of 210 hectares (520 acres); and among urban gardens of Germany, only the Englischer Garten of Munich (417 ha or 1,030 acres) is larger.[1]
16th century
The beginnings of the Tiergarten can be traced back to 1527. It was founded as a hunting area for the king, and was situated to the west of the Coelln city wall, which was the sister town of Old Berlin. It also sat in the same vicinity as the Berlin Stadtschloss. In 1530 the expansion began; acres of land were purchased and the garden began to expand towards the north and west. The total area extended beyond the current Tiergarten, and the forests were perfect for hunting deer and other wild animals. The king had wild animals placed within the Tiergarten, which was fenced off from the outside to prevent the creatures from escaping, and was the main hunting ground for the electors of Brandenburg. This king’s hobby, however, began to fade away as the city of Berlin began to expand and the hunting area shrank to accommodate the growth.
17th–18th centuries
Frederick I, Elector of Brandenburg from 1688 until 1713, feeling the need to bring change to the hunting grounds, built many structures that are still visible today. As the King was expanding Unter den Linden, a roadway that connected the Berlin Stadtschloss and the Tiergarten, he had a swath of forest removed in order to connect his castle to the newly built Charlottenburg Palace. "Der Grosse Stern", the central square of the Tiergarten, and the "Kurfuerstenplatz", the electoral plaza, were added, with seven and eight boulevards, respectively. This is seen as the beginning of a transformation in the Tiergarten, a movement from the king’s personal hunting territory to a forest park designed for the people.
Frederick II did not appreciate the hunt as his predecessors did, and in 1742 he instructed the architect Georg Wenzeslaus von Knobelsdorff to tear down the fences that surrounded the territory and to turn the park into a "Lustgarten", or, loosely translated, a "pleasure garden", one that would be open to the people of Berlin. In the baroque style popular at the time he added flowerbeds, borders and espaliers in geometrical layouts, along with mazes, water basins and ornamental ponds; he also commissioned sculptures to add cultural significance. Unique to the time period, areas of congregation called "salons" were established along the many different walkways in the park. These salons were blocked off from the walking path by hedges or trees and often furnished with seating, fountains and vases, offering guests a change of pace and a place to discuss intellectual matters in private. Such freedom was common under the rule of Frederick II; there were even residents allowed to live within the Tiergarten. Refuges, Huguenots in hiding from the French, were allowed to erect tents and sell refreshments to the pedestrians walking through the park. A pheasant house was erected, which would later become the core of the Zoologischer Tiergarten, a zoo founded in 1844 that lies within the greater Tiergarten. During the year of the revolution, 1848, the park hosted another significant event, as the first assembly demanded the abolishment of the national censors.
19th century
At the end of the eighteenth century, Knobeldorff’s late-baroque form had been all but replaced by ideas for a new, scenic garden ideal. The castle park Bellevue and Rousseau Island were laid out by court gardener Justus Ehrenreich Sello in the late 1700s. It was then in 1818 that the king commissioned the help of Peter Joseph Lenné, a young man who was at the time the gardener’s assistant at Sanssouci in Potsdam. His plans involved the creation of a rural "Volkspark", or peoples park, that would also serve as a sort of Prussian national park that would help lift the spirits of those who visited. However, the King Frederick William III rejected Lenné’s plan. Against the opposition of a hesitant bureaucracy, Lenné submitted a modified version of his concept. This plan was accepted and realized between 1833 and 1840. The park was modeled after English gardens, but Lenné made sure to pay attention to Knobelsdorff’s structures and layouts. By draining forests areas he allowed for more footpaths, roadways, and bridal paths to be laid down. Several features became characteristic components of the Tiergarten. Wide-open grass lawns traversed by streams and clusters of trees, lakes with small islands, countless bridges like the Löwenbrücke, and a multitude of pathways became distinguishing features of the new garden.
Up until 1881, the Tiergarten was owned by the monarchy, and came under the direct control of the king. Soon after the king abolished his rights to the forest, he added the boundaries to the district of Berlin, so that the people may use and uphold it. However, until the middle of the twentieth century, the Tiergarten remained in the style that Lenné had left it in. The biggest changes came in the form of nationalistic memorials that began construction in 1849. These monuments were seen as patriotic contributions to the culture of the Tiergarten. The Siegesallee, or "Victory Avenue", could be considered the most famous addition. Built under the orders of Kaiser William II, It was lined with statues of former Prussian royal figures of varying historical importance. "Prachtboulevard", or the magnificence boulevard, was added in 1895 and became the area known as the Königsplatz, which would later become Platz der Republik.
The park is covered in statues commemorating those famous to the Prussians and the activities they enjoyed doing. Animal statues are to be found throughout the park, playing the counterpart to the stone hunters that also inhabit the area. Built by famous sculptor Friedrich Drake, a statue to Queen Louise, beloved queen of the Prussians, is also to be found here alongside her husband, Friedrich Wilhelm III. Statues of Johann Wolfgang von Goethe, Gotthold Ephraim Lessing, Heinrich Theodor Fontane, Wilhelm Richard Wagner and Gustav Albert Lortzing were also erected. The "Komponistendenkmal", or the Beethoven-Haydn-Mozart memorial, is another example of how the Germans wanted to respect and honor the men and women who gave them a unique culture.
20th century
Under Nazi control
The Nazi party took control in 1933, causing a dramatic change of idealism. This change was not just social; in fact, Hitler had planned the complete innovation of the city of Berlin. "Welthauptstadt Germania", or World Capital Germania, was the idea the Nazis wanted to bring to fruition. The Tiergarten was to be a central location in the new city. The Charlottenburger Chaussee, today known as the Straße des 17. Juni, was to be the central line between the east and west, and was widened from 27 to 53 meters, the same width as the current street. The Berlin victory column was also moved to the Grosser Stern, where it remains to this day.
The Second World War caused significant damage to the Tiergarten and its various cultural elements. Many statues were destroyed or damaged; some of the statues still need minor repair. After the war, the Tiergarten underwent a sudden, violent change. Much of the wooded area was felled and turned to firewood due to the shortage of coal, and the now empty fields were turned into temporary farmland by order of the British occupational troops in the region; there were around 2,550 plots of land available for growing potatoes and vegetables. However, these two factors caused the once great forest to nearly disappear; only 700 trees survived out of over 200,000 that once lined the parkway, the bodies of water turned silty, every bridge was destroyed, the monuments lie on their sides, badly damaged. Plans to fill the waterways with debris from the war were also suggested, but were prevented by the head of the Berlin Central Office of Environmental Planning, Reinhold Lingner.
In 1945, almost directly after the fall of Berlin, the Soviets erected a monument for the fallen soldiers of the Red Army on the north side of the current Straße des 17. Juni. Situated less than a mile away from the Reichstag, It was built in such short notice that it sat in West Berlin, which belonged to the British, Americans and French. When the wall went up around East Berlin, the monument became inaccessible to the people for whom it was built.
According to testimony reported in the 1995 documentary film On the Desperate Edge of Now, statues of historical military figures from the park were buried by Berlin citizens in the grounds of the nearby Bellevue Palace in order to prevent their destruction by the occupying American forces. They were not recovered until 1993.
Restoration
On June 2, 1945, the Berlin Magistrate decided they would restore the Greater Tiergarten. The first suggestions came in 1946/47. Reinhold Lingner and Georg Pniower, Professor of Garden Design at Berlin University, were the first to offer plans, but both were rejected during the division of Berlin by the Allied powers. Instead, they decided to follow the plans of the Tiergarten Director Willi Alverdes, whose plan seemed to be a more pragmatic approach; instead of rebuilding the park in a new fashion, Alverdes plans depended on the existing design of the park. He wanted to establish a tranquil, spacious park where one could relax and recover. Being called a crisis, the Tiergarten was reforested between 1949 and 1959. On March 17, 1949, the Lord Mayor Ernst Reuter planted the first tree, a linden, to signify the beginning of the restoration. West Germany took over the operation and sponsorship; about 250,000 young trees were delivered to the former capital from all over the Bundesrepublik, even being delivered via plane during the Berlin Blockade. Alverdes’ concept did away with the pre-existing baroque-styled structures in the park, claiming the style was not in keeping with the period. The combination of baroque and regional art was tossed out. Being a very natural park landscape, the Tiergarten was a very important area for rest and relaxation for the West Berliners, who were separated from their homeland by the Berlin Wall.
Several buildings have been added to the area surrounding the park, many of which were constructed by foreign architects. The Kongresshalle is a prime example. It began construction in 1956 under the initiative of Eleanor Dulles as an American contribution to the Interbau, an International Architecture Exhibition employed to exhibit new social, cultural, and ecological ideas in architecture.
Today
The Tiergarten’s culture began to stagnate until the fall of the Berlin Wall and the GDR in 1989. After the reunification of East and West Berlin in 1990, many of the outskirts of the park changed drastically. For instance, along the streets that border the southern boundary of the park, dilapidated embassy buildings that had stood for decades were reoccupied and others were rebuilt from the ground up, such as the Nordic embassies. On the northern border the new German Chancellery was built, along with office buildings for the everyday work of the delegates. The Reichstag was refurbished with a new, glass dome that has become a popular tourist attraction. Several overgrown areas that had been used for picnics and soccer were replaced with open spaces and grassy lawns that have added to the prestige of the park. Due to its status as a garden memorial of the city of Berlin, encroachment onto the Tiergarten from businesses and residents has been illegal since 1991.
A large tunnel has been built under the Tiergarten, allowing easy movement from north to south for motor vehicles, streetcars, and, more recently, subway trains. The original proposal for the tunnel was met with great opposition from environmentalists, who believed the vegetation would be damaged due to shifts in ground-water levels; in fact, the first plans for construction were denied by a court order.
In the northerly neighbouring quarter of Moabit a much smaller park bears the same name, thus both are differentiated as Großer and Kleiner Tiergarten.
Tiergarten has around 210 Hectares and after Tempelhofer Freiheit, it is the second biggest parkland in Berlin and the third biggest inner-city parkland in Germany.
Geography
The park is located on the northern and central side of Tiergarten Ortsteil and is bordered, on the northern side, by the river Spree. The little quarter Hansaviertel borders on it at the north-western side and the Zoological Garden is situated on the south-western side. The principal road is the Straße des 17. Juni which ends, in the east, at the Brandenburg Gate. Other main roads are the Altonaer Straße, Spreeweg and Hofjägerallee. In the middle of the park is the square named Großer Stern ("Great Star") with the Siegessäule (Victory column) located in its centre. In addition to the Brandenburg Gate, other notable buildings and structures located close to the park are the Soviet War Memorial, the Reichstag, the Bundestag (all in the eastern borders), the new central railway station (in the north) and, on the southeastern borders, the Memorial to the Murdered Jews of Europe, the Memorial to the Sinti and Roma victims of National Socialism and the central square of Potsdamer Platz.
Transport
The park is principally served by the S-Bahn at the rail stops of Berlin Tiergarten (situated at the western entrance on the Straße des 17. Juni) and Berlin Bellevue.
"Evacuate! Evacuate!"
The strained orders of the MPD officer filled the street, dozens of citizens fleeing the crowded area. On the ground were toys; dozens of Superman action figures, all equipped with laser eyes that shred through steel and concrete.
"Officers," called out a voice from above. The squad of police turned, seeing the blue and red clad figure floating above them. "I'll take care of this, focus on evacuation."
The officer in command nodded, ushering his team to follow. Clark looked at the street, dozens of the mechanical toys designed after himself rampaging across the city.
He quickly zipped down, his eyes glowing red and blasting multiple with his heat vision. The plastic of the toy melts as he does, revealing the shining silver exoskeleton.
"Great," he mutters, doubling back to the now exoskeleton toys. "If heat vision won't work, guess I've got to stick to freezing."
With that, Clark lets out a large breath, icy air blasting from his mouth onto the robots. The silver toys form a white like frost as they slow to a stop, falling onto the ground.
"At least I know that wasn't a fluke back at-"
Before Clark can finish his sentence, the glass of a nearby store shatters. His head turns to see more toys leaping from the window, all converging on him.
As Clark readies for a large gust of air, a toy from behind him latches to the back of his neck; it's laser eyes firing directly on his skin. Clark' hand moves to grab a hold of the toy, bringing it to his face. A quick blast of freeze breath causes the toy to go rigid, Clark's fist closing to shatter the figure.
Another toy instantly leaps to Clark, following suit to latch onto him, only by the thigh. Before he can react, another grabs hold of his arm, keeping him from reaching for the other toy. Another followed, then again. As Clark struggled, more of the figures attached to his body, keeping him in place. As being covered, two of the toys flew full force into the backs of his knees, taking the hero down to a praying position.
Clark struggled, his mind searching for a way out. His current position stopped his freeze breath from being usable, while his heat vision was useless against the robots.
Suddenly, a bright green light filled his vision, the robots seemingly vanishing from his body. His head turned, looking up to see two men floating in the air.
"Heya, big blue," called out Hall Jordan, smiling next to John Stewart. "Forget to read the instructions?"
-^- An hour earlier -^-
"Merry Christmas," said John, smiling as he handed the couple in front of him a Superman action figure.
John and Hal had both signed to help pass out presents to the families in need, as they did every year. The two were making the final handouts, Christmas morning only a few hours away.
"It's not trouble ma'am," smiled Hal as he handed another wrapped toy to another woman. His head turned over to John, the smile still on his face. "Wonder why the boyscout signed to 'Nimball Toy Co.'?"
"You think he signed to it?" John asked, wrapping the next gift, ready for another family to arrive. "I assumed someone just made the toy and he didn't attest."
"Huh, could be," Hall shrugged, looking down to the toy in his hands. His head tilted as he watched its eyes light up red. "Hey, these aren't supposed to have any type of effects, right?"
"Merry Christmas," John greeted, handing over another gift. "Nope, no batteries."
Hal looked back at the toy, his eyes growing in realization. "John, break the toys!"
"Huh?"
The sudden blast of red energy ripped through the packaging of the figure, knocking Hal backwards.
John's ring instantly lit up, his suit forming over his body. "What the hell!?"
A beam of green shot out from behind the table, piercing the toy, disabling it. Hal stood, now in full costume as well. "That's definitely not child safe."
John took cautious steps forward, kneeling to pick up the broken toy.
"Killer Superman toy?" he asked, turning to Hal.
Hal nodded, "Looks like we get to go pay the big guy a visit."
-^- Present Time -^-
"So only one of the toys activated?" asked Clark, rubbing his chin. "Must mean that they are manually activated."
"It would make sense," agreed John, nodding his head. "The ones we had were a donation, probably from here. Maybe the range messed with the activation."
"Possibly… but either way, I'm glad I have you two here," Clark responded, a smile on his face.
"Don't mention it, big guy," dismissed Hal, parting him on the shoulder.
"You're g-g-going to neeeeed all the he-lp you c-c-can get…"
The three heroes all turned, staring down at the malfunctioning robot.
"That was Toyman," Clark confirmed, looking at the two Lanterns. "That means he's-"
Suddenly, the ground shook, all three of them turning to the epicenter of the sound. Rounding the corner of the street was a massive robot Superman, it's design resembling the toy figures. It's hand wrapped around a nearby billboard, ripping it off and tossing it at the cop cars below.
Clark instantly bursted towards the car, catching the billboard before it could flatten the officers inside.
"Get out of here, officers," commanded Clark, the cops turning and leaving the area as fast as they could.
The robot, finishing it's motion, slammed it's foot down onto the billboard, sending Clark deep into the pavement.
Both Hal and John flew into the air, the two taking off in opposite directions. With Hal on the right flank, he began launching a barrage of candy cane shaped missiles at the robot.
"Quit trying to ruin Christmas just because kids wanted a ps3 over a yo-yo," shouted the brunet, dodging a swipe from it's giant hand.
As the robot swung again, its arm was grabbed by John's chain construct, restricting it from movement. The robot's head swivelled; it's head now faced John with glowing red eyes.
Before it could fire, it's body began to tilt backwards, off balance. On the ground, Clark began to lift the foot of the mechanical monster, slowly causing the machine to tip back.
Before it could fall, the robot's soles and hands began to emit large bursts of exhaust, the body slowly beginning to rise.
"It's trying to get away," called John, his chain constructs breaking away.
"Try being the key word," noted Hal, raising his arm.
John followed suit, both creating a web of ropes that wrapped around the hands and feet of the robot, holding it in place.
"All you, Superman," shouted John, turning his head to the ground.
A blue and red whiz flew past the two Lanterns, it's speed matching that of a bullet. The blue soared up the body of the machine, until a crushing impact sounded off. Both Lanterns raised their heads marveling at the now decapitated robot.
Above the robot hovered Clark, the head in his hand. "So, who wants to go meet Santa?"
-^- Ten Minutes Later -^-
"So this is the spot?" asked John, his ring being used as a makeshift flashlight.
"Yep, the robot was programmed to come back here," replied Hal, his ring ready for a surprise attack.
"This is definitely Winslow's workshop," confirmed Clark, his eyes tracing the various shelves filled with toys and trinkets. "The lead walls are also a dead giveaway."
The trio moved throughout the workshop, passing multiple robots designed after Superman, all adorning different wacky costumes and designs. Upon reaching the end of the room, the group stumbled upon a trapdoor.
"Well?" asked Hal, looking at Clark.
"Nope, still lead," he noted, reaching for the hatch. "You two follow me."
The two waited for Clark to drop in, before they followed suit. Upon entering, the two saw the workbench of Toyman, along with the man himself.
"Toyman," Clark greeted, stepping forwards toward the man.
"Ah, Superman," the man sighed, placing his chin on his hand. "Come to play a game?" His eyes trailed to the two behind him, a small smile appearing on his face. "Oh, you brought friends? I'm sure a good board game would be fun this Christmas Eve."
As Clark got closer, he stopped in place, eying down Toyman. "No more games, Winslow," he announced, raising his hand to the side, catching what seemed to be a fist.
Both John and Hal turned their heads, eyes widening at the sight. Stepping out of the shadows of the room was a seven-foot tall, lengthy machine, dressed in a yellow and black jester suit; its wood-like paint job and proportions giving it a puppet-like appearance.
"Ugh, Jack has gotten so predictable these days," groaned Schott, a frustrated frown on his face. As he looked back up to the trio, his smile returned. "Good thing he was on the Nice-List this year."
Clark raised an eyebrow, his head turning back to the puppet. His eyes widened as it opened its mouth, a green glow emitting from the hole.
"Kryptonite!?" Clark gasped, letting go of the fist and backing up. The robot immediately jabbed at the man, sending him to the floor.
"Metallo had such an amazing play feature," cackled the ginger, now standing on his chair. "I just knew Jack needed the same."
The puppet marched forward, ready to strike once more before a green wall separated the two.
"John, help Superman," called Hal, John nodding and rushing to the man on the ground.
Hal eyed the puppet, it's glowing white eyes staring back. The puppet launched forward, Hal narrowly creating a shield to block the attack. The puppet doesn't relent, bringing it's fists up and slamming them down against the construct.
Hal held the shield, noticing it slowly form cracks along the impact point. His eyes caught wind of the joints of the machine, noticing how open they were to match the puppet design. As the mechanism swung, Hal ducked under it, creating a power drill to unscrew the elbow. As the machine recovered, it's right forearm fell off, now detached from it's bicep.
"Sorry, Jacky," spoke Hal, creating a second power drill construct, "but playtime is over."
John knelt down next to Clark, checking for any external wounds. Clark batted his hand away, pointing to the glow of Jack's mouth.
John looked between the two, aiming his ring and creating a barrier around the hero.
Clark immediately began to regain his strength, now behind the protective barrier of John. Coming to a stand, his eyes met Schott's.
Schott quickly reached under his desk, pulling out some type of Nerf gun. "Not this time, Superman!" shouted the man, launching multiple Kryptonite darts at Clark.
Clark stood firm, the darts bouncing off the protective barrier around his body. Schott glanced over to Jack, now in pieces on the floor, Hal holding the piece of Kryptonite in a bubble.
"Oh, Bah Humbug."
-^-^-
"Dad! Dad! Wake up dad!"
Clark's eyes slowly opened, his vision filled with his son leaping on the bed in excitement.
"C'mon dad!" Shouted the boy, continuing to bounce up and down. "Get up, hurry!"
"I’m up Jon," the man responded, his voice still groggy as he rubs his eyes.
"Hurry, dad! It’s christmas!" he yells out as he jumps from the bed to the door, bolting into the hallway.
Clark's eyes, now free of sleep, meet those of his wife standing in the doorway, holding two mugs in her hands. Her own bed head makes him smile as he sits up.
"That boy will never get tired unless it’s convenient, I swear," she sighs out, handing one of the mugs to Clark; hot chocolate.
"Thank you, honey," says the man, blowing some of the steam away.
"So, Green Lanterns, huh?" she asks, a slight smirk on her face.
"How did you-"
"Clark, you weren’t being subtle when fighting a giant robot of you," she states bluntly, taking a sip of her own cocoa. "In fact, I don’t think it’s even possible to be subtle in that regard.
"Also, the media has been going nuts all night regarding Super-Santa and his Elf Lanterns, so…"
The man chuckled into his mug, "It just kinda happened, but I'm glad they showed up when they did." Clark took a moment to think back in the night before, the help from the two saving him from the kryptonite weaponry that Schott had installed.
"By the way, what made you get up so-"
"Mama! Dad!"
Clark looked up to Lois, who was smirking as if she knew what he was screaming about. The two left the bedroom to see the boy in his Flash pajamas knelt in front of some kind of kennel.
"What is that mama?" he asks, pointing to the kennel.
"Well," started Lois, kneeling down next to the boy. "That is something that I know you’ve been wanting for some time now, so I may have written an extra letter to the North Pole…"
He looked back to the kennel then his eyes flew back to his parents, widening in realization. His arm opened the kennel's door to reveal a small orange kitten with bright emerald eyes.
"A kitty!" he exclaimed before grabbing and hugging the kitten.
Clark's own eyes widened a bit, looking over to Lois a whispering, "A cat?"
"Jon had said he felt sad when he saw a litter of kittens at an adoption display a while back," she explained, looking at the boy petting the kitten. "I thought that since he's been good this year, why not get him a pet."
Clark smiled, watching his son run around the tree with the highly energetic kitten. "I think it’s a good idea to get him someone to play with," he says, turning back to her. "He is a bit young though."
"Huh, if old Smallville isn't one very handsome pot to call the kettle black?" she asks, placing a hand on her hip. "If I recall, you were already tending to cows and pigs at his age."
The man chuckles slightly, "Alright, you got me with that one."
"I know I did," she responds, kneeling down next to Jon once more. "Now Jon, you need to make sure to be careful with him, having a pet is a lot of responsibility."
"I know mama," he responds before smiling. "I'll do my bestest." Lois responds with a smile and small cheek pinch.
"That just leaves one more thing," Clark asks, gaining both of their attention. "What are you gonna name him?"
Jon gasps, as if he forgot all about that. His gaze settled on the cat, which hadn't stopped running around yet. His eyes finally looked back to the parents with a smile on his face.
"Streaky!"
October2024.Abandoned Garage in downtown Malvern, Arkansas.Foma100at50.PentaxZ1p.SMC Pentax-FA 100mm F3.5 Macro.CafenolCL@1hr+Scanned:FujifilmXH2
A crewmember in EL C333 is preparing to accomplish his half of the job of picking up train orders at Deposit N.Y. That empty hoop on the top signifies that the head end of westbound PBX has been successful in doing their part. Ahead lies Gulf Summit Hill,Starrucca Viaduct, and Susquehanna Pa. on the ex Erie Delaware Division. 07-19-1974 Howard Kent Jr.
A few more orders turned up and made quite a difference to the looks of this.
I have the week off work, so making good progress with all builds needed to be finished for an unmentionable at the moment project ;)
I decided to play around with putting the removable door pannels on this, as the owner has them. I think it "adds something" to the model, so staying with the choice.
I've bridged the problem of the black rim within the wheel outer trim and the wheel hub, as seen on the front wheel in these pics. The rear wheel has an extended silver sticker on the inner rim, running outwards over the tyre by around 2mm, this succesfully hides that black band that was bugging me.
The main exhaust silencer on both this and my own model, will have the patterend cover over them.
Marsworth, Chiltern Hills, Buckinghamshire, England
A walk along the Grand Union Canal and Watery Lane
An oppressive feeling about the trees surrounding this oasis of infrastructure along an otherwise perfect country lane. Is nature trying to reclaim what is rightfully hers? Having been terrified as a child by “The Forest of No Return” in Disneys film “Babes in Toyland” I wouldn’t go in there in case the trees eat me…..
This painting of Queen's House, within Her Majesty's Tower of London, is one of 30 paintings commissioned from Stephen B Whatley by the Tower in 2000.
Like many of the paintings in the series the artist painted this work on location. The original painting is owned by the Tower; while it is seen by millions every year, via the reproduction of the entire series of paintings, throughout the Tower Hill Walkway that leads to the Tower from Tower Hill Station.
The tudor-style Queen's House was built in c.1530 by King Henry VIII (1491-1547) for Anne Boleyn (1501-1536); though she was not to live there long, executed soonafter on the orders of the King.
The Queen's House is one of the few buildings, trimmed with wood, to have survived the Great Fire of London in 1666; due to its protected location, within the stone fortress of the the Tower.
To see the artist painting this work on location in June 2000, please click the links: www.flickr.com/photos/stephenbwhatley/2388753501/in/set-7...
www.flickr.com/photos/stephenbwhatley/2389565290/in/set-7...
Queen's House. 2000 by Stephen B Whatley
Oil on canvas
40 x 30in/102 x 76cm
Collection of HM Tower of London, UK
The Church of Saint-Paul Saint-Louis - Taken from the Rue des Jardins Saint-Paul
"Saint-Paul-Saint-Louis is a church on rue Saint-Antoine in the Marais quarter of Paris. The present building was constructed from 1627 to 1641 by the Jesuit architects Étienne Martellange and François Derand, on the orders of Louis XIII of France. Next door to it is the Lycée Charlemagne, also founded by the Jesuits. It gives its name to Place Saint-Paul and its nearest Metro station, Saint-Paul."
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Saint-Paul-Saint-Louis
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A highlight of our brief stay in Paris was a guided walking tour of the southern portion of The Marais. We left our hotel on the Ile Saint Louis, crossed the Pont Sully, and passed the Rimbaud monument at Place du Père-Teilhard-de-Chardin. We headed up Boulevard Henri IV past the Garde Republicain to the Place de la Bastille and found the Promenade des Plantes (we returned to it the following morning - see separate album).
We then made our way to the Saint Paul Metro station, where we met our excellent tour guide, Brigitte, of the Paris Walks company:
For the next two hours, Brigitte led us down streets, into churches, through gates, doors and alleys and into numerous places we never would have found on our own, keeping up an extremely informed and entertaining commentary the entire way. We would highly recommend any of these walks and plan to take as many as we can on future visits to Paris. After a restful lunch at a typical cafe, we explored more of the area and visited the Musee Picasso and the Pompidou Center (see separate albums). If you click on the album and run the SLIDESHOW in FullScreen Mode,, you can follow us through the day in a roughly chronological sequence:
www.flickr.com/photos/ugardener/albums/72157674356665866
"Le Marais ("The Marsh") is a historic district in Paris, France. Long the aristocratic district of Paris, it hosts many outstanding buildings of historic and architectural importance. It spreads across parts of the 3rd and 4th arrondissements in Paris (on the Rive Droite, or Right Bank, of the Seine).
Following its rehabilitation, the Marais has become a fashionable district, home to many trendy restaurants, fashion houses, and hip galleries. By the 1950s, the district had become a working-class area and most of its architectural masterpieces were in a bad state of repair. In 1964, General de Gaulle's Culture Minister Andre Malraux made the Marais the first secteur sauvegardé (literally safeguarded sector). These were meant to protect and conserve places of special cultural significance. In the following decades the government and the Parisian municipality have led an active restoration and Rehabilitation Policy.
The main Hôtels particuliers have been restored and turned into museums: the Hôtel Salé hosts the Picasso Museum, the Hôtel Carnavalet hosts the Paris Historical Museum, the Hôtel Donon hosts the Cognacq-Jay Museum, etc. The site of Beaubourg, the western part of Marais, was chosen for the Centre Georges Pompidou, France's national Museum of Modern Art and one of the world's most important cultural institutions. The building was completed in 1977 with revolutionary architecture by Renzo Piano and Richard Rogers."
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Le_Marais
.....
The brightness of the total eclipse varies over 5 orders of magnitude, from bright, hot pink solar prominences to the outer corona. This is a 1/8000 exposure showing the prominences; the corona is only hinted at by the difference between the true black of the lunar disk and the off-black of the surrounding sky.
We reserved a room in Plattsburgh, NY about a year ago (Vermont was already fully booked, but Plattsburgh had plenty of rooms and no bump in prices yet). The morning of the eclipse dawned clear, but clouds were predicted to gather by afternoon, so we chased blue skies about 3 hours northeast to the southern outskirts of Sherbrooke, QC and had perfect weather. (Fortunately, I had insisted to my husband that we bring passports.) The Canadian customs website said there was a 40-minute wait at the entry station on the freeway, so we nipped over to the side road a few miles east and had the port of entry all to ourselves.
The total eclipse was … hard to describe, but all it’s cracked up to be — a striking spectacle. The inner corona was much brighter than I expected, blazing to the naked eye in sharp contrast to the suddenly black sun within.
Mother shouting orders to one of her children, in this case it was "come back" Bacolod City, Philippines.
February slips in like a velvet whisper… and Dark Desire awakens.
Think dim candlelight, crimson silk, moonlit secrets, and temptation that lingers just a little too long. 🌙
🔥 Pre-orders are NOW OPEN 🔥
This month, MadPea invites you into a world of forbidden romance with:
A full furniture & decor set designed to satisfy your thirst for blood
An intimate social game made for close encounters and whispered secrets
PLUS: the 2nd Macabre Monster for your Macabre Mansion
⚠️ exclusive to pre-orders only ⚠️
Seductive. Dangerous. Irresistible.
Pre-orders are available until February 17th
Title:
Silence.
B♭ (B Flat)
A Novel by Mitsushiro Nakagawa
日本語のあらすじ等は下の方にあります😃
一部分の公開を更新しました。今回が最後です😃
“Synopsis”
A Palestinian group from Gaza hacks into North Korea’s cryptocurrency system, stealing hundreds of millions of dollars. Their true goal is not money—but to recreate the lost homeland of Gaza on American soil.
Amid the backdrop of hardline Republican immigration policies and a growing wave of xenophobia, a quiet plan begins to take shape: the gradual collapse of America from within.
During a speech at Madison Square Garden, Republican presidential candidate Justin Bradford is shot. Almost simultaneously in Los Angeles, former president Owen Reed is attacked at a rally for Democratic hopeful Ryan Bennett.
Two assassinations—mirroring one another—ignite a nation’s deepest divide. Yet, against all odds, Justin survives. His blood type is one in 2.5 million: the Bombay Blood Group.
The only person who can donate such blood is Anaya Patel, a community art facilitator working in Brooklyn. Her blood, stored in the Bellevue Hospital Blood Bank, is used for an emergency transfusion that saves the candidate’s life.
Jack Vance, an agent of the U.S. Secret Service, suspects a Gaza-based network behind the attacks. Together with Cameron Bartlett, the FBI Director of the Los Angeles Field Office, and Veronica Reeves, a senior investigator from New York, he begins to uncover a vast conspiracy.
Their investigation leads them to Rafi Gannam, a former architecture student at the Islamic University of Gaza, who has infiltrated redevelopment sites across Los Angeles and New York—embedding C4 explosives deep within beams and structural cores.
His targets: new residential districts where agents of ICE (Immigration and Customs Enforcement) and ERO (Enforcement and Removal Operations) live—symbols of “the order America built.”
Veronica urges the President to pursue dialogue to prevent further destruction, but President Grant M. Ranford refuses to listen.
Meanwhile, the recovering Justin and his Democratic rival Ryan appear on national television, calling for unity beyond political divisions.
Their words of reason, however, are drowned out when Grant takes the stage in Iowa, defiantly declaring: “We will never bow to terror.”
Among the crowd, Rafi’s operatives have already taken their positions.
As chaos erupts and the stage collapses, Amir Nasser—once Rafi’s comrade, haunted by the memory of his sister’s death in Gaza—tries desperately to halt the chain of destruction.
But Rafi’s conviction remains unshaken.
Under the twilight beneath the Williamsburg Bridge, amid the city’s fading noise, the two men part ways.
It is the boundary between prayer and vengeance, between hope and nothingness.
“Characters”
Anaya Patel – 25, Community Art Facilitator
Arjun Singh – 26, Anaya’s boyfriend, Luminatech Innovations
Mika Sato – 25, Anaya’s friend, Community Art Facilitator
Justin Bradford – 27, Republican Presidential Candidate
Eleanor Blake – 26, Justin’s fiancée
President Grant M. Langford – 61, Incumbent Republican President
Vice President Charles “Chuck” Baines – 64, Incumbent Republican Vice President
Ryan Bennett – 30, Democratic Presidential Candidate
Sophia Bennett – 30, Ryan’s wife
Owen Reed – 65, Former Democratic President
Jack Vance – 45, Secret Service, Former FBI Los Angeles Field Office
Ben Holloway – 30, Jack’s colleague
Darryl Ross – 29, Jack’s colleague
Elijah Kane – 28, Jack’s colleague
Marcus Dane – 45, FBI Los Angeles Field Office
Cameron Bartlett – 55, FBI Los Angeles Field Office, Field Office Director
Tom Caldwell – 38, FBI Technical Unit, Marcus’s subordinate
Veronica Reeves – 41, FBI Special Agent
Alexander Harris – 52, FBI New York Field Office, Field Office Director
Elliot Chen – 36, Technology Unit Chief
Alicia Monroe – 58, FBI Director
Zakaria Haddad – 51, Gaza Strip, Palestine; Former Islamic University Engineering Professor, New York Team
Amir Nasser – 23, Gaza Strip, Palestine; Former Islamic University Electronics Engineering, New York Team
Rafi Gannam – 32, Gaza Strip, Palestine; Islamic University, Architecture, New York Team
Rohan Shah – 29, Gaza Strip, Palestine; Islamic University, Architecture, New York Team
Majid Hamza – 47, Gaza Strip, Palestine; University of Palestine, Information Technology, Los Angeles Team
Samira Hammad – 28, Gaza Strip, Palestine; University of Palestine, Engineering, Los Angeles Team
Saeed Kabari – 35, Gaza Strip, Palestine; University of Palestine, Business Administration, Los Angeles Team
Reem Nasser – 30, Gaza Strip, Palestine; University of Palestine, Media Studies, Los Angeles Team
Noah Levi – 55, Israel, residing in Tel Aviv, Jewish
B♭ will be released worldwide on February 29, 2026.
Recently, director Ridley Scott remarked that streaming films and series have become dull.
I agree.
If you have two hours to spare for such stories, I ask for only two minutes of your time.
Two minutes with my novel will outlast those two hours.
I am confident of that.
Stay tuned.
Mitsushiro
October 9th, 2025
P.S.
Micchan — the man who challenges Netflix. 😃
( iPhone 13 Pro shot )
Motosuka Beach. Kujukuri Beach. Sanmu City. Chiba Prefecture. Japan. October 9, 2025. … 0.9 / 10
(Photo of the day. Unpublished.)
Images.
Taylor Swift … This Love
youtu.be/PfJzQuqWSSE?si=TrtL4Mb-uN2dNmML
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🌟 My New Novel: "B♭" (B Flat)
This is the 20th installment! 😄
The following is still in the first draft stage. I will revise it further.
•The order of the content being shared is random.
•This will be the final time I share partial excerpts.
The full novel will be released on February 28, 2026.
Please look forward to it! 😃
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My new novel
B♭ (B Flat)
English translation by GPT-5, in collaboration with Mitsushiro Nakagawa
“Jack, look at your phone. Another message just came through. The IP address traces to a branch of the New York Public Library near Grand Central — via the Stavros Niarchos Foundation.”
It was a FaceTime from Ben. He was standing by in the NYPD Midtown South command post just beside the Garden. Despite everything that was happening, Ben’s voice was calm.
Jack slid his finger across his iPhone and read the short line that appeared. The characters lay down carelessly, yet somehow they gave the sentence a shape.
— There’s an arched ceiling in the underground concourse of Grand Central. Come there. Jack Vance. And don’t come alone — though, of course, you won’t be alone. —
The message struck at the inside of Jack’s chest like a ringing.
The car threaded north along Vanderbilt Avenue and came up at the southern lip of Grand Central. The city had not quite woken; the damp that hid in the canyon between buildings carried the metallic smell of morning. Jack let off the gas and eased the black SUV to the curb, almost sliding it along. As the tires brushed the edge of the pavement, the remaining beads of rain on the road leapt up into streaks of light.
He pushed open the heavy door and stepped out. His shoes hit the cobbles a beat later. Once he turned to look down the street behind him, the red reflection of a siren flashed through a shop window and briefly lit the faces of passersby, whitening them for a single instant.
Weaving through that cut of light, Jack made for the stairs that led down to the concourse. The service door groaned with a slight metallic protest. Inside, a low hum, like the breathing of a subway, filled the space. A cold breath struck his cheeks, and from the depths of the HVAC ducts a distant station announcement blurred toward him.
Wiping the sweat from his brow, Jack took the stairs of Grand Central two at a time. The amber lighting flowed across his soles; his footsteps linked together like the heartbeat of the terminal.
The iron handrail was cold, passing a faint tremor into his fingertips. From far down the stairs other footsteps layered over one another, keeping an old rhythm that led downward. The arched ceiling drew the air in gently; the lights spread a thin film of glow.
The concourse smelled of damp; the old brick walls seemed unable to forget past rains and exhaled them faintly. The floor tiles were dulled by years of feet; hairline cracks ran through them, where little memories of the city had gathered. Jack walked without attending to these things. His gaze was naturally drawn to the darkness at the far end of the corridor. The usual stream of commuters hurried past.
Weathered signs and bulletin boards clung to the walls like pillows for torn flyers. A cleaner dragged her mop in a single ribbon; beyond it, a lone bench sat as if sketching a pale loneliness.
The air that moved through the passage felt to Jack like the slow pulse of a city’s vein. He felt his breath fall into the same beat and kept walking.
Light touched the tiles at his feet and shadows stretched and swayed. The faint metallic noise of an escalator sounded somewhere far away; the gust from the stairs cooled the heat that had gathered in his body. The scent of the city, the underground damp, and the faint warmth of old lamps mixed; time began to melt slowly.
Stopping, Jack rubbed his palms and let his eyes roam. The hum all around carried a peculiar echo that blurred one’s sense of direction. He told himself he was only looking for “it,” somewhere in the concourse.
As he moved again, a high metallic scrape suddenly sliced the air. His neck muscles twitched and a tautness ran through the soles of his feet. Reflexively he froze; at the edge of his vision a receiver quivered.
Its cord, knotted with the weight of years, twisted; dusty metal glinted dully. A telephone that should have been unused rang out abruptly, like a festival bell — an alien note within the city’s hush. The sound was low but it made the air itself tremble.
Jack turned to it slowly. The heavy underground air seemed to press against the backs of his knees. All he heard was his own breathing and the faint vibration of the receiver. People flowed past as if nothing had happened: a mother led a child by the hand, an old man refolded his newspaper and tucked it under his arm, and moved on.
The receiver was calling to Jack. The call came from a tear in silence, spreading slowly like ink trembling on the reverse side of an old map. He reached out without speaking and picked up the handset. The metal was cold; that cold dropped reality onto his palm.
“…Jack.”
The voice was low but distinct. Its timbre made time seem to slip backward just a touch. He recognized the voice from online footage; yet unlike the voice heard on television, here it carried not a blade but the color of a distant sunset.
Through the receiver Jack felt the corridor’s edges, the bench’s solitude, the small scrap of paper on the floor trickle into the pauses of the conversation. The voice let the city’s details slide in through the window of speech.
“What’s up, Amir? Sounding a little low.” Jack’s voice was quiet and heavy, like a stone dropped to ground. Through the handset he heard Amir’s small nasal laugh.
“Sometimes you get down — you’re only human.”
The voice was calm and remote. It was not the public mask Amir sometimes wore, but something honed in shadow. During the call the brief chatter of a passing parent and child snapped into the line and then was gone.
“Listen carefully to what I’m going to say. Well, you’re probably recording.”
“Likewise,” Jack replied.
Amir’s words fell smoothly through the receiver, making tiny ripples on the tiled floor of the underground. The noise around them blurred once and then resolved again: the mother’s footsteps, the mop’s scrape, the distant clink of a vending machine — all intersecting with the rhythm of speech.
“I’m out of the team. The reason? I don’t want to watch more people die. That’s it.”
Jack felt the receiver’s pulse under his fingers. The voice tried on calm but Jack could hear a tremor beneath. The lights in the concourse blurred slightly with each of Amir’s sentences.
“Are you asking me to believe that? Your professor Zakaria says don’t talk like that — he went out in a big way.” Amir fell silent and let out an exhale that sounded like a laugh as if to shrug something off. At the corridor’s edge a child sucking on candy made a tiny wet sound that filled the space between words.
“So what now? Heartbroken?” Jack asked.
“Something like that. This detonator will destroy many buildings yet.”
That phrase punched through the little room inside the receiver. For an instant the light underground clouded faintly. Yet the corridor moved on as always; no one turned. The anomaly existed only in sound.
“Tell me exactly where, how many, what mechanism — brief. Don’t mix in jokes.” Jack’s tone chilled like ice cracking. Amir tried to explain calmly, but Jack listened more to the weight behind the words than to their particulars. In the pauses, the phone booth’s shadow stretched and traced a thin black groove across the floor.
“We weren’t trained terrorists, not professionals. The information was distributed piece by piece. Think of how betrayal would happen — like how I can call you now.” Amir’s voice was careful; not fearful. Jack pressed the receiver to his ear and felt the city’s everyday noises woven into the fabric of the explanation. An old woman adjusting her bag at the corridor’s edge, the faint opening of a shutter somewhere distant — the beginnings of small workdays.
“We infiltrated about five years ago. We planted C4 in the core of buildings that were being built then. Rafi studied architecture, so he knew where to place it. You’ve seen the collapse a million times online, you know how it looks. To detonate, you need an old phone that reads a ‘mute reader’ QR code. Along with it is a tablet I made myself. I embedded C4 into two-thirds of its battery. The tablet has old fingerprint authentication — the kind from a long time ago. I made two of them. One is in Los Angeles, one in New York.”
“So there are two detonators?”
“I don’t know. I wasn’t the only one from the electronics department. Also, the phones that read the QR code are ancient, too specialized — they never caught on.”
“How do you trigger it?”
“There’s a special QR code placed on a site. You hold the phone up and read it. The QR is a 3D layer. The code rises in relief, deciphers itself, converts into a detonation code, and sends it by radio.”
“Radio? Not Wi‑Fi?”
“If it were Wi‑Fi you’d shut it down quickly. I modified the tablet. It’s not Wi‑Fi — it uses FM radio, like pirate radio.”
“We can jam the frequency.”
Amir laughed for a long moment before speaking.
“I set the app so the frequency can be changed arbitrarily. I also set it so that any signal sent to jam the frequency triggers the detonation. So either way, boom.”
Jack was silent for a little while, then asked,
“Where is the QR code located?”
“I don’t know. Everything was compartmentalized. Hardware production, QR placement, activation method. By scattering the flow, it seemed designed to deter betrayal.”
Silence fell again between them. Amir lifted his eyes from the ground and said,
“Jack, I’d tell you if I knew. Only those holding a mute reader would know. Today, that’s…”
“Just Rafi?”
“That’s right.”
Silence spread between them. The call hovered like thin ice. Jack’s breathing returned slowly to the present. The underground light was narrow but it marked him clearly.
“Why are you talking?”
“Like I said. I’m tired of people dying.”
“You knew you’d talk and yet Rafi let you go unharmed? Sounds too neat to be true.”
“Maybe I’m just making it up to dupe you.”
“Jack, take it easy. Amir, don’t move.”
Veronica’s composed voice cut into the call.
“Jack, he’s quite handsome in person.”
Amir, who was standing on the opposite side of the wall from Jack, holding a receiver himself, smiled at that.
The joke across the handset dried the damp air of the concourse a little. They were tracing different faces of the same space with their fingers.
Jack tightened his grip on the receiver and nodded softly. The nod felt like a small signal matched to the city’s beat and also like the announcement of yet another endless season.
Light in the corridor flowed slowly; shadows folded and layered; the conversation seeped into the tiles and sank.
Jack looked around slowly. The NYPD officers who routinely guarded Grand Central from terror stood at the entrances. Under Veronica’s orders, they had all focused on keeping Amir within range. Red and green laser dots from M4 carbines with Picatinny rails marked Amir’s feet. Likely the red came from the terminal’s NYPD contingent and the green from Veronica’s team. Two squads had lined up their sights to contain his movement. Of course, the sights were not on Amir’s forehead.
Suddenly a sharp smack of sound struck the receiver.
“Amir, who are you?” It was Ana.
Amir’s eyes widened for an instant then he recovered.
“Was I followed? Miss Patel. And who are you? Getting in Jack’s way.”
He shrugged with his thumb and pointed to his own feet, where the red and green laser dots rested. Ana stepped forward in her voice.
“Please. Come with Jack.”
Jack added, “For now, get arrested. We’ll hear the details with Veronica.”
Veronica said nothing; Jack assumed she nodded. He switched the receiver in his hand.
Amir laughed.
“If I were to say yes and surrender, we wouldn’t be having this conversation now, would we? Look — trains are coming in. Watch your crosshairs.”
The concourse swelled with people in the early morning. New York breathed around the terminal. The stream of humanity was the city’s pulse, its very blood flow; warmth surged through the concourse.
When Ana shifted her gaze for a moment to that tide of people, she spoke calmly and gently.
“Please. To Jack.”
Amir’s smile fell when he met her look. He accepted Ana’s gaze and said,
“Do you remember the morning at the exhibition when we first met? That wasn’t an accident. I went there to kill you.”
Ana’s eyes went white. Life drained from her gaze; the surrounding clamor carried her away and it vanished. Then, softly, she said, why?
“If you disappear, Bombay Blood in America will be just Justin and me.”
////////////////
Across the nation television networks switched to breaking news. Anchors’ voices trembled as they searched for words; the screen held still images of the scene. Smartphone notifications chimed all at once, but what arrived felt less like words than an announcement of silence.
Social feeds filled in an instant; everyone stared at the frozen time on their screens.
“What is going on…?” Hands halted midreach as people watched the images. On distant street corners, in cafés, in offices, faces of people holding their breath were shown.
An old woman on a park bench gripped her bag; a mother with a child went speechless; a driver tightened his hands on the wheel. Silence took the city’s clamor, the suburbs’ stillness, the open fields of the countryside and wrapped them all together in a single deep breath.
Emergency responses began within government agencies. Phones rang; red alarms flashed on screens. A presidential aide lost words and the pen in his hand trembled. Hallways inside the White House fell quiet; only footsteps echoed.
Words could not be pinned down; fear and confusion spread like a chain. Emergency teams moved; experts began analysis. Reports, communications, camera footage — every piece of information crossed and re-crossed — yet the four had slipped through all eyes of surveillance.
Their silence left no record, but it scored a sure claw mark on the world’s timeline.
City, state, nation, the world — all inhaled together and froze in the same instant.
The four shadows completed their mission at the center of the world without being recognized, then dissolved as shadows into the curtain of night.
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My new novel:
B♭ (B-flat)
There’s still more to come. 😃
(This is not the final draft.)
Set in New York City.
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Soundtrack.
music.apple.com/jp/playlist/b-my-novel-soundtrack/pl.u-47...
For japanese
music.apple.com/jp/playlist/b-my-novel-soundtrack-for-jap...
Note: I gave a brief explanation of this novel in the following video:
youtu.be/3w65lqUF-YI?si=yG7qy6TPeCL9xRJV
iTunes Playlist Link::
music.apple.com/jp/playlist/b/pl.u-47DJGhopxMD
For japanese
music.apple.com/jp/playlist/b-my-novel-soundtrack-for-jap...
My new novel:
B♭ (B-flat)
Notes
1. "Bombay Blood Type (hh type)"
•Characteristics: A rare blood type that lacks the usual ABO antigens — cannot be classified as A, B, or O.
•Discovery: First identified in 1952 in Mumbai, India (formerly Bombay).
•Prevalence: Roughly 1 in 10,000 people in India; globally, about 1 in 2.5 million.
•Transfusion Compatibility: Only compatible with blood from other Bombay type donors.
2. 2024 Harvard University Valedictorian Speech – The Power of Not Knowing
youtu.be/SOUH8iVqSOI?si=Ju-Y728irtcWR71K
3. Shots Fired at Trump Rally
youtu.be/1ejfAkzjEhk?si=ASqJwEmkY-2rW_hT
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Title.
無音。
僕の新しい小説
B♭ （ビーフラット） ……. Mitsushiro Nakagawa
“あらすじ”
北朝鮮の仮想通貨システムをハッキングし、数億ドルを奪取したガザ出身のパレスチナ人グループが、アメリカ合衆国へ密かに潜入する。
彼らの目的は、失われた祖国ガザを、アメリカの地に「復元」することだった。
共和党による強硬な移民政策と、国内にくすぶる排外感情を利用し、アメリカ社会を内側から崩壊させる計画が静かに進行していく。
共和党大統領候補ジャスティン・ブラッドフォードがマディソン・スクエア・ガーデンで演説中に狙撃され、ほぼ同時刻、ロサンゼルスでは前大統領オーウェン・リードもまた、民主党候補ライアン・ベネットの集会で撃たれる。
国家を二分する双方向の暗殺。だが、ジャスティンは奇跡的に生還する。
彼の血液型は、世界でわずか250万人に一人といわれる「ボンベイブラッド」。
その希少な血を提供できたのは、ブルックリンで活動するコミュニティアート・ファシリテーター、アナヤ・パテルだった。
彼女の血液はベルビュー病院の血液バンクに保存されており、緊急輸血によって、候補者の命はかろうじて繋がれた。
シークレットサービスのジャック・バンスは、テロの背後にガザ出身の組織が関与していることを察知し、FBIロサンゼルス支局長官キャメロン・バートレット、ニューヨーク支局の特別捜査官ヴェロニカ・リーブスと共に捜査を進める。
やがて彼らは、イスラム大学で建築学を学んだラフィ・ガンナムが、ロサンゼルスやニューヨークの再開発現場に潜入し、梁や構造体の中枢にC4爆薬を仕込んでいた事実に辿り着く。
標的は、ICE（移民・関税執行局）やERO（執行・送還作戦部門）の職員が暮らす新興住宅街——すなわち、「アメリカが築いた秩序」そのものだった。
ヴェロニカは、これ以上の破壊を防ぐため、大統領への対話を進言するが、現職のグラント・ランフォード大統領は耳を貸さない。
一方、命を取り留めたジャスティンと民主党候補ライアンは、テレビを通じて国民に訴えかけ、分断を乗り越えようとする。
だが、その理性の声を嘲笑うかのように、グラントはアイオワ州での演説を強行し、「テロには屈しない」と宣言する。
その会場には、すでにラフィの仲間が率いる工作チームが潜入していた。
崩壊する会場の惨状を前に、仲間の一人アミール・ナッセルは、かつてガザで妹を失った記憶に引き裂かれ、破壊の連鎖を止めようとする。
だが、ラフィの信念は揺るがない。
ウィリアムズバーグ橋の下、夕暮れの喧騒のなか、二人は決別する。
それは、祈りと報復、希望と虚無の境界線だった——。
“登場人物”
アナヤ・パテル ２５歳 コミュニティアート・ファシリテーター
アルジュン・シン ２６歳 アナヤの恋人・ルミナテック・イノベーションズ社
佐藤 ミカ ２５歳 アナの友人・コミュニティアート・ファシリテーター
ジャスティン・ブラッドフォード ２７歳 共和党大統領候補
エリノア・ブレイク ２６歳 ジャスティンの婚約者
グラント・M・ランフォード大統領 ６１歳 共和党大統領現職
チャールズ・ベインズ副大統領 ６４歳 共和党副大統領現職
ライアン・ベネット ３０歳 民主党大統領候補
ソフィア・ベネット ３０歳 ライアンの妻
オーウェン・リード ６５歳 民主党前大統領
ジャック・バンス ４５歳 シークレットサービス 元FBIロサンゼルス支局
ベン・ホロウェイ ３０歳 ジャックの同僚
ダリル・ロス ２９歳 ジャックの同僚
イライジャ・ケイン ２８歳 ジャックの同僚
マーカス・デイン ４５歳 FBI ロサンゼルス支局
キャメロン・バートレット ５５歳 FBI ロサンゼルス支局 支局長
トム・コールドウェル ３８歳 FBI技術班 マーカスの部下
ヴェロニカ・リーヴス ４１歳 FBI特別捜査官
アレクサンダー・ハリス ５２歳 FBI ニューヨーク支局 支局長
エリオット・チェン ３６歳 テクノロジー班主任
アリシア・モンロー ５８歳 FBI長官
ザカリア・ハッダード ５１歳 パレスチナ・ガザ地区 元イスラム大学 工学部教授 ニューヨークチーム
アミール・ナッセル ２３歳 パレスチナ・ガザ地区 元イスラム大学 電子工学部 ニューヨークチーム
ラフィ・ガンナム ３２歳 パレスチナ・ガザ地区 イスラム大学 建築学部 ニューヨークチーム
ロハン・シャー ２９歳 パレスチナ・ガザ地区 イスラム大学 建築学部 ニューヨークチーム
マジード・ハムザ ４７歳 パレスチナ・ガザ地区 パレスチナ大学 情報技術学部 ロサンゼルスチーム
サミラ・ハンマド ２８歳 パレスチナ・ガザ地区 パレスチナ大学 工学部 ロサンゼルスチーム
サイード・カバリ ３５歳 パレスチナ・ガザ地区 パレスチナ大学 経営学部 ロサンゼルスチーム
リーム・ナセル ３０歳 パレスチナ・ガザ地区 パレスチナ大学 メディア学部 ロサンゼルスチーム
ノア・レヴィ 55歳 イスラエル テルアビブ在住 ユダヤ人
僕のこの小説は、来年、２０２６年２月末日に公開します。
先日、リドリースコット監督がサブスクの映画やドラマ群がつまらないと話していたようだけど、同感です。
僕も非常に退屈です。
それらに2時間を要するなら、僕の小説を２分間だけ読んで欲しい。
その2分間は、２時間を越えるでしょう。
僕は自信があります。
ぜひ、期待してお待ちください。
Mitsushiro Nakagawa
09th. Oct . 2025.
追伸
ネトフリに挑戦する男、みっちゃん。😃
( iPhone 13 pro shot )
本須賀海岸。九十九里浜。山武市。千葉県。日本。10月９日。2025. … 0.9 / 10
(今日の写真。それは未発表です。）
Images.
Taylor Swift … This Love ( 和訳 )
youtu.be/PfJzQuqWSSE?si=TrtL4Mb-uN2dNmML
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僕の新しい小説。
B♭ （ビーフラット）
第20弾。 😄
以下は、まだ初稿の段階です。まだ推敲します。
公開している内容の順番はバラバラです。
今回で部分的な公開を最後にします。
２０２６年２月２８日。
その日にすべてを公開します。
期待して待っていてください。😃
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僕の新しい小説。
B♭ （ビーフラット）
「ジャック、スマホのメッセージを見ろ。またメッセージが飛び込んでいる。IPアドレスは、グランドセントラルターミナルのそばにあるニューヨーク公共図書館の分館、スタヴロス・ニアルコス財団経由だ」
ベンからのフェイスタイムだった。ガーデンのすぐそば、NYPDのミッドタウン南分署に設置された対策室で待機しているベンからだ。ベンの声はこれだけの事件が起きているにも関わらず、冷静だった。
ジャックはアイフォンに指を滑らせ、表示された短い文を確かめた。文字列は無造作に並んでいたが文の輪郭を整えているように見えた。
― グランドセントラルの地下コンコースにアーチ形の天井がある。そこへ来い。ジャック・バンス。言うまでもないがひとりでだぞ、と言っても一人ではないと思うがな ―
メッセージは、ジャックの胸の内を強く叩いた。
車はヴァンダービルト・アヴェニューを北へ抜け、グランドセントラルの南端に差しかかった。街はまだ朝を迎えきれず、ビルの谷間に籠もった湿気が金属の匂いを帯びていた。
ジャックはアクセルを抜き、黒いSUVを滑らせるように歩道ぎりぎりへ寄せた。タイヤが縁石をかすめる瞬間、路面に残る雨粒が光の筋となって跳ねた。
ジャックは重いドアを押し開き、足を落とした。靴音が一拍遅れて石畳に響いた。
彼は一度だけ背後の通りを見やると、赤いサイレンの反射がショーウィンドウの奥をよぎり、通りの影に沈む通行人の顔を、刹那だけ白く照らした。
その光の切れ目を縫うように、ジャックは地下コンコースへ降りる階段へと向かった。
通用扉は重く、金属の軋みがわずかに響いた。構内には地下鉄の呼吸のような低い唸りが満ちていた。
冷気が頬を打ち、空調ダクトの奥から、遠くの構内放送が滲んで聞こえくる。
額の汗を拭ったジャックはグランドセントラルの階段を一段飛ばしに駆け降りた。照明の琥珀色が靴底に流れ、ターミナルの心臓の鼓動のように足音が連なった。
鉄の手すりは冷たく、指先に浅い震えを伝えた。階段の奥からは人の足音が複層的に重なり、地下へと導く古いリズムを刻んでいる。アーチ型の天井は空気を柔らかに吸い込み、照明は薄く膜のように光を張っている。
地下コンコースの空気は湿り、古い煉瓦の壁は過去の雨を忘れられずに微かに匂っているようだ。床のタイルは長年の踏み跡で曇り、ところどころにひびが走って、そこへ街の小さな記憶が溜まっている。
ジャックはそれらを意識せずに歩を進めた。彼の視線は、通路の奥にある暗がりへと自然に吸い寄せられていた。そこにはいつもと同じ出勤途中の人たちが早足で過ぎていく。
壁際に並ぶ古びた看板や掲示板は、折れたチラシを枕にして眠るように貼り付いている。清掃員が一つの帯のようにモップを引き、その先でベンチが一つ、淡い孤独を描くように置かれている。
通路を流れる空気は、まるで都市の静脈のゆっくりした鼓動だとジャックは思った。自分の呼吸が、その鼓動と同じ拍に馴染むのを感じながら、歩みを進めた。
足元のタイルに光が差し、影がゆらりと伸びた。エスカレーターの金属音が遠くで微かに鳴り、階段から吹き下りる風がジャックの体にこもった熱を冷ました。街の匂いと、地下の湿り気と、古い電灯の微熱が入り混じって、時間はゆっくりと溶けてゆく。
歩を止めたジャックは掌をこすり、周囲に視線を散らした。耳に入る雑踏は、独特の反響を帯びて方向感覚を曖昧にする。彼はただ、どこかにいる「それ」を捜しているのだと自分に言い聞かせる。
再び歩き出した瞬間、金属が擦れる高音が辺りの空気を裂いた。一瞬、彼の頸筋が弾かれ、足元に微かな緊張が走った。反射的に足を止めると、視界の端で受話器が小さく揺れていた。
コードは年月の重みでねじれ、埃まみれの金属部分が鈍く光っている。誰も使わないはずの電話が、唐突に、祭りの鐘のように鳴った。都市の静寂に差し込む異音。音は低く、しかし確実に空気を震わせた。
ジャックはゆっくりと視線をそれに向けた。地下の重い空気が一瞬、膝の裏を押すように沈む。耳に届くのは自分の呼吸と、受話器の小さな振動音だけだ。周囲の人々は何事もないように通り過ぎ、母親が幼児の手を引き、老いた男が新聞を折りたたんで小脇に抱え直し、去ってゆく。
受話器はジャックを呼んでいた。沈黙の裂け目からの呼び声は、まるで古い地図の裏側で震えるインクのように、じわりと広がる。ジャックは無言で手を伸ばし、受話器を取り上げた。金属は冷たく、その冷たさが掌に現実を落とした。
「……ジャック」
声は低く、だがはっきりしていた。耳に残る音色に、時間が少しだけ逆戻りする気配があった。ネットの映像で見知った声の輪郭。しかしテレビで聞いたときとは異なり、そこには刃ではなく遠い夕焼けのような色度が含まれているようだった。
ジャックは受話器越しに、通路の端の人影や、ベンチの孤独、床に落ちた小さな紙片──それらが会話の合間に流れ込むのを感じた。声音は会話の窓に、街の細部を滑り込ませるものだ。
「どうした、アミール。覇気のない声だな」
ジャックの声は静かだが、地面に落ちる石のように重みを持っていた。受話器の向こうで、アミールがすこし鼻で笑うのが聞こえた。
「ときどきは落ち込むこともあるさ、人間だからね」
その声は穏やかで、かつ遠い。以前に見せた公の顔とは違い、こちらは影の中で磨かれたものだった。通話の間、隣を通り過ぎる親子の会話がスナップのように割り込み、また消えていった。
「ジャック、これから言うことをよく聴け。ま、録音はしてるだろうけどな」
「それはお互い様だろ」
受話器の向こうで、アミールの言葉は滑らかに落ち、地下のタイルに小さな波紋を作るようだった。周囲の雑音が一度だけ音像を濁らせ、また整頓される。母親の靴音、清掃員のモップの擦れる音、遠くの自販機の冷える音──それらが会話のリズムに交差してゆく。
「俺はこのチームから降りた。理由は、もう多くの人間が死ぬのを見たくないからだ。それだけだ」
ジャックの指先が受話器の脈動を確かめた。声は冷静を装うが、その奥に震えがあるのを彼は聴き取った。地下の照明の輪郭が、アミールの言葉ごとにわずかに滲む。
「それを信じろって言うのか？ お前らの教授、ザカリアはそんな弱音を吐くなって言ってるぞ、せっかく盛大に死んだのに」
アミールはしばらく黙り、何かを笑い飛ばすような吐息を漏らした。通路の端でキャンディを舐める子供の小さな舌音が、言葉の間を埋めた。
「で、どうしたんだ？ 失恋でもしたのか？」
「そんなところだ。この起爆装置は、これからも多くの建物を破壊する」
その一言が、受話器の内の小さな部屋を突き破った。ジャックは一瞬だけ、地下の光が薄く濁るのを見た。だが通路は相変わらず普段どおりで、誰も振り返らない。異変は音の中にしか存在しない。
「どこにどれくらいセットし、どんな仕掛けなんだ、正確に、手短に話せ。つまらないジョークは混ぜるな」
ジャックの口調は掴みかけた氷のように冷たい。受話器の向こうでアミールは静かに説明を試みるが、ジャックは言葉の細部よりもその声が持つ重さに耳を澄ます。通話の合間、壁際の電話ボックスの影が長く伸び、床に細い黒い溝を引いた。
「俺たちは、一般人で訓練されたテロリストではない。しかし、渡された情報は各個人へ分散されていた。たとえば今、俺がこうしてあんたに電話しているように裏切りが生まれた時のことを考えてね」
アミールの声は慎重で、しかし怯えはない。ジャックは受話器を耳にしっかり押し当て、周囲の生活音がそのまま説明の布地となって織り込まれていくのを感じていた。通路の端で老女がバッグを直す音、遠くでシャッターが開く小さな仕事のはじまりの合図が聞こえた。
「俺たちが潜入したのは、今から５年ほど前だ。その頃に建てられていた建造物の中枢にC4を仕掛けた。ラフィは大学で建築学を学んでいたからね。崩壊する様子はもうネットでも１００万回再生だからわかってるだろう。起爆させるためには、ミュートリーダーというQRコードを読み取る昔の携帯電話が必要だ。それとペアで独自に俺がつくったタブレットもだ。このタブレットのバッテリー部分、3分の２にC4を埋め込んだ。このタブレットも大昔にあった指紋認証式のタブレットだ。俺が作ったタブレットは2台だ。それがロサンゼルスとニューヨークに分かれて存在している」
「つまり、起爆装置は2台か？」
「わからない。俺の他にも電子工学部の人間がいたからな。それからQRコードを読み取る携帯電話は大昔、あまりに特殊すぎて売れずに浸透しなかった機器だ」
「どういう流れで起爆させるんだ？」
「あるサイトに特殊なQRコードが設置されているらしい。そこに携帯電話をかざして読み込む。QRコードは３Dレイヤーだ。コードが立体的に浮かび上がって解読し、起爆させるコードへ変換させ、電波で飛ばす」
「電波？ Wi-Fiではなくか？」
「Wi-Fiだったら、あんたらすぐに止められるだろ？ そこは俺がタブレットを改造した。Wi-FiではなくFM電波だ、パイレーツラジオ（海賊ラジオ）と同じ仕組みだ」
「ならば、周波数を駆逐できるぞ」
アミールはしばらく笑ってからいった。
「周波数はいくらでも変えられるようにアプリを設定した。ちなみに周波数を妨害しようと発せられた電波も起爆するようセットした。つまり、いずれにしても、ドカンだ」
ジャックは、しばらく沈黙してから続けた。
「QRコードは、どこのサイトにあるんだ？」
「わからない。すべての過程で分散している。ハードの製造、QRコードの場所、起爆させる操作。流れを散らすことで、裏切りを抑止しているようだった」
ふたりの間に再び沈黙が落ちた。アミールは、足元に落とした視線を引き上げて、いった。
「ジャック、ここまで話しているんだから、知っていたら話しているさ。つまり、ミュートリーダーを手にしている人間にしかわからない。今で言うなら ….」
「ラフィだけ、か」
「そのとおりだ」
二人の間に沈黙が落ち、通話は薄い氷の上で揺れている。ジャックの呼吸がゆっくりと現実を取り戻した。地下の光は細く、しかししっかりと彼を照らしている。
「アミール、どうして話す？」
「さっきもいったとおりだ。人の死にはうんざりだ」
「お前がこうして喋ることがわかっているのに、ラフィはお前を無傷で解放したのか？ この話を信じるにはうますぎないか？」
「確かに。俺が適当なことをいって、あんたらをカモるかもね」
「ジャック、お疲れ様、アミール、その場を動かないで」
ヴェロニカの落ち着いた声が二人の通話に割り込んだ。
「ジャック、実物はなかなかの男前だな」
そういったアミールは、ちょうどジャックのいる壁面の反対側で受話器を手にしていた。
受話器越しの冗談は、地下の湿った空気を幾分、乾かせた。彼らは同じ空間の別々の面を指でなぞっているようだ。
ジャックは受話器を握りなおし、静かに頷いた。その頷きは、街の鼓動に合わせた小さな合図のようでもあり、また終わりのない季節の一端を告げるものでもあった。通路の光がゆるやかに流れ、影が折り重なり、会話は地下のタイルにゆっくりと染み渡っていった。
ジャックは、ゆっくり辺りを見渡した。元々、グランドセントラルターミナルをテロから守る為に、日常的に警護していたNYPDが出入り口に構えている。非常事態の現在、ヴェロニカの指示で一斉にアミールを射程内に捕らえていた。ピカティニーレールを持ったM4カービンの赤とグリーンのレーザーサイトがアミールの両足に張り付いていた。おそらく、赤はターミナルのNYPDで、グリーンがヴェロニカのチームだろう。二つの班がアミールの動きを封じようと照準を定めていた。もちろん、照準はアミールの額にはない。
突然、ジャックの受話器の向こうから頬を叩く音が響いた。
「アミール、あなたは何者なの？」
その声はアナだった。
アミールは一瞬目を丸くしたが、すぐに自分を取り戻した。
「ジャック、つけられてたのか？ ミス・パテル。君こそ何者なんだ？ ジャックの邪魔をしているよ」
彼はそういって親指を逆さにし、自分の足を示した。そこには、赤とグリーンのレーザーサイトが静かに張り付いていた。アナはアミールに詰め寄ると言い放った。
「いっしょに出頭して」
その言葉にジャックは付け足した。
「とりあえず捕まれ。詳しい話は、ヴェロニカといっしょに聞いてやる」
ヴェロニカは足さなかったが、おそらく頷いているだろうと思いながら、ジャックは受話器を持ち替えた。
アミールは一笑した。
「言うまでもないが、はい、わかりましたというなら、ここで対話してないよな。ほら、列車がたくさん到着したぞ、照準に気をつけな」
早朝のターミナルに、人が溢れ出した。ターミナルを中心にニューヨークは呼吸している。人の流れは、都市の脈動であり、血流そのものだ。コンコースには人の熱気が溢れ出していた。
溢れた人の流れに一瞬目を移すと、アナは冷静に、そして穏やかな眼差しでいった。
「おねがい。ジャックのところへ」
アミールも同じように笑みを消すと、アナの視線を受け入れ、いった。
「君に初めて会った展示の朝を覚えているかい？ あれは偶然じゃない。僕は君を殺しに行ったんだ」
アナの視線が白くなった。眼差しからは生気が失せ、周囲の喧騒に流され、消えていった。そして、どうして？ と小さく言葉を落とした。
「君が消えれば、アメリカでボンベイブラッドは、ジャスティンと僕だけだ」
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全国のテレビ局が緊急報道に切り替わった。
キャスターの声は震え、言葉を探す間、画面には会場の静止した映像が映った。スマートフォンの通知が一斉に鳴り、しかし、届くのは言葉ではなく、静寂の報せのように感じられた。
SNSのタイムラインは瞬く間に情報で埋まり、誰もが画面の中で止まった時間を見つめていた。
「どういうことだ…？」画面を見つめる手が、思わず止まる。
画面の向こう、遠くの街角でも、カフェでも、オフィスでも、息を呑む人々の姿が映る。
公園のベンチに座る老女は、手にしたバッグを握りしめ、子供を抱く母親は言葉を失い、運転中の男性はハンドルを握る手に力を込めた。
沈黙は、都市の喧騒、郊外の静けさ、田舎の広野を一斉に包み込み、世界を一つの深い呼吸に束ねた。
政府機関では緊急対応が始まっていた。電話が鳴り、スクリーンに赤い警報が灯っている。大統領補佐官は言葉を失い、ペンを握る手が微かに震えている。ホワイトハウス内の廊下は、普段の喧騒を消し、足音だけが響いた。
誰も正確に理解できないまま、言葉は混乱と恐怖の連鎖として広がっていく。政府内の応急対応が動き、専門家たちが分析を開始する。報告書、通信、カメラ映像、あらゆる情報が交錯するが、四人の存在は、すべての監視の目をすり抜けていた。
四人の沈黙は、記録に残らず、しかし世界の時間軸に確実な爪痕を刻んだのだ。
都市、州、国家、世界 — すべてが一瞬にして同じ呼吸をし、同じ時間の中で凍りついた。
四人の影は、誰にも認識されることなく、世界の中心でその使命を終え、影のまま、夜の帳の中に溶け込んでいった。
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僕の新しい小説。
B♭ （ビーフラット）
舞台はニューヨークです。
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Soundtrack.
music.apple.com/jp/playlist/b-my-novel-soundtrack/pl.u-47...
For japanese
music.apple.com/jp/playlist/b-my-novel-soundtrack-for-jap...
iTunes Playlist Link::
music.apple.com/jp/playlist/b/pl.u-47DJGhopxMD
For japanese
music.apple.com/jp/playlist/b-my-novel-soundtrack-for-jap...
追記 この小説を多少説明しました。
youtu.be/3w65lqUF-YI?si=yG7qy6TPeCL9xRJV
メモ
1
「Bombay型（ボンベイ型、hh型）」
•特徴：通常のABO血液型を持たない（A、B、Oに分類されない）特殊な型。
•発見地：1952年、インド・ムンバイ（旧ボンベイ）で初めて確認。
•発生頻度：インドでは1万人に1人程度だが、世界的には約250万人に1人とも。
•輸血制限：同じBombay型しか輸血できない。
2
2024年ハーバード大学首席の卒業式スピーチ『知らないことの力』
youtu.be/SOUH8iVqSOI?si=Ju-Y728irtcWR71K
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Shots fired at Trump rally
youtu.be/1ejfAkzjEhk?si=ASqJwEmkY-2rW_hT
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Arealight helmets
Arealight Back Packs
Arealight Phase I macro visor
MMBC Capes kama & pauldron
CAC DC-17 sniper ver.
Fineclonier Decals (WIP)
Here is what I'm referring to as my "minimalist MOC". This is White Squad & Blue Squads receiving the orders for their mission on Ord Mantell. You can see the comic cell inspiration in the link below.
Reference can be found here:
One of my favorite people, Liezl....orders birthday cake every year and leaves design and colour choice up to me....I made 10 of these for her party this last Sat..
Have a great week, Dot♥
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From before 1871 to 1959, Madison's East River District had its own post office in a small, red building on the Post Road. When the building was sold for reuse as a real estate office, the Society acquired this grand reminder of times past. On its back side--where, for instance, postmaster Ichabod Lee Scranton, Jr. worked in the 1870s--the boxes are still labeled with the names of East River residents. This unique fragment of a once-popular community hub is about 10 feet wide and 6 feet tall. Following its use as a real estate office, the building itself was moved to another location for use as a private residence. Updated and expanded in the twenty-first century, it still remains on the Boston Post Road not far from its original location.
ACC# 2019.020.001
See other museum items at flic.kr/s/aHskgxX9We
(Photo credit Bob Gundersen www.flickr.com/photos/bobphoto51/albums).
Model: Jennifer Mericle
Photographer: Justin Bonaparte
www.instagram.com/justin.bonaparte.creative
Copyright 2020 by Justin Bonaparte. All Rights Reserved.
A follow up to yesterdays self-portrait. Dressed a bit sharper this time. What a day! Two interviews really took it out of me. Fingers crossed. Job hunting sucks! Was hoping to get a better shot but it started to rain on me, damn it. It's a lot of work getting these kind of shots set-up if your new to portraits with lighting. Need my fiancee to model for me so I don't have to go back and keep checking the camera...
Angel-01 - Mosaici del Battistero, Firenze - gerarchie angeliche
Mosaics in the dome (cupola) of the Baptistery, Florence
The hierarchy of angels belongs to the oldest mosaics within the cupola, as they were made in concentric cycles beginning at the top. [1240-1300 AD]
original photo by courtesy of wikimedia; Luca Alessi
A hot-shot freight, headed up by Tremont & Gulf Mikado #30, sails past depot in Maydelle, TX on its eastbound run as the crew picks up orders on the fly.
This 2019 re-creation was done on the Texas State Railroad. The Texas State Railroad was begun in 1883 when the state completed a new penitentiary at Rusk. An iron smelting mill at the prison was to be run by inmate labor and the railroad was constructed as a means to bring in raw materials and transport finished goods to transportation hubs and thence to market. The railroad reached Maydelle in 1906 and was completed all the way to Palestine in 1909. The line gradually expanded to both regular freight and passenger service as time went on, but never turned a profit. In 1921, the state began leasing the trackage to other railroads, practice that continued until 1969. In 1972, the Texas Legislature voted to turn the railroad over to the Texas Parks and Wildlife Department, to be used as a State Park and tourist attraction. The line's financial woes continued and after over 30 years of state supervision, the Texas State Railroad Authority was created, and the operation was leased to private operators. For the past 25 years, it has been operated by several firms, including American Heritage Railways (which owns the Durango & Silverton Narrow Gauge Railroad) and Iowa Pacific Holdings. Since 2017, the operator has been The Western Group, which operates a number of regional railroads and railroad-related businesses.
Engineer on symbol CCVX snags his orders, coming west at Carlin, Nevada. Carlin, at the time, was a crew change point for SP crews working east from Sparks, Nevada and west from Ogden, Utah. Dave Stanley photo ©2025
As it was announced that the 2021 club year is finally over, I could make this collage of my current orders for this year:
- 2 Poppys
- 2 East 59th
- 2 FR (even if one is from the NU fantasy collection, it's still a FR body)
- 2 NF
- 2 Hommes
and a luggage set
I find these orders rather balanced and showing that I collect a bit of everything ...
Finally... After three consecutive Bricklink orders of dark green pieces, it is finished.This is my B-25 from the United States Air Force of World War II. Considering I wanted to accompany minifigures and landing gear into the build (which I did so successfully), I think it's a good attempt at one of my first bombers. Sorry for the lack of postage by me lately, for I had to wait a considerable time for Bricklink orders to arrive in order to complete this beast. Im glad that it's finally off my chest, though. It was a lot of work, but I can say that its features/design I went for will suffice for my standards. I hope you all like it, comment on what I should do next!
The Brandenburg Gate is an 18th-century neoclassical monument in Berlin, built on the orders of the King of Prussia Frederick William II after restoring the Orangist power by suppressing the Dutch popular unrest. One of the best-known landmarks of Germany, it was built on the site of a former city gate that marked the start of the road from Berlin to the town of Brandenburg an der Havel, which used to be the capital of the Margraviate of Brandenburg.
It is located in the western part of the city centre of Berlin within Mitte, at the junction of Unter den Linden and Ebertstraße, immediately west of the Pariser Platz. One block to the north stands the Reichstag building, which houses the German parliament (Bundestag). The gate is the monumental entry to Unter den Linden, a boulevard of linden trees which led directly to the royal City Palace of the Prussian monarchs, and the Berlin Cathedral.
Throughout its existence, the Brandenburg Gate was often a site for major historical events and is today considered not only a symbol of the tumultuous histories of Germany and Europe, but also of European unity and peace.
Description
The central portion of the gate draws from the tradition of the Roman triumphal arch, although in style it is one of the first examples of Greek Revival architecture in Germany. The gate is supported by twelve fluted Doric columns, six to each side, forming five passageways. There are also walls between the pairs of columns at front and back, decorated with classicizing reliefs of the Labours of Hercules. Citizens were originally allowed to use only the outermost two passageways on each side. Its design is based on the Propylaea, the gateway to the Acropolis of Athens, which also had a front with six Doric columns, though these were topped by a triangular pediment.
The central portion is flanked by L-shaped wings on either side, at a lower height, but using the same Doric order. Next to, and parallel with, the gate these are open "stoas", but the longer sides, stretching beyond the east side, have buildings set back from the columns. These are called "custom houses" for the Berlin Customs Wall, which was in force until 1860, or "gatehouses".
The Doric order of the gate mostly, but not entirely, follows Greek precedents, which had recently become much better understood by the publication of careful illustrated records. The Greek Doric does not have bases to the columns, and the fluting here follows the Greek style for Ionic and Corinthian columns, with flat fillets rather than sharp arrises between the flutes, and rounded ends to the top and bottom of flutes. The entablature up to the cornice follows Greek precedent, with triglyphs, guttae, metopes, and mutules, except that there are half-metopes at the corners, the Roman rather than Greek solution to the "Doric corner conflict". The 16 metopes along each of the long faces have scenes from Greek mythology in relief; many echo the Parthenon in showing centaurs fighting men. Statues in niches at the furthest side wall of Minerva and Mars were added in the 19th century.
After an attic storey that is plain apart from wide steps at the sides receding in both directions, leading, on the east side only, to a large allegorical relief of the Triumph of Peace, the figures mostly women and children. Above this there is a second cornice, with a projecting central section. On top of this is a "bronze" sculptural group by Johann Gottfried Schadow of a quadriga—a chariot drawn by four horses—driven by a goddess figure. This was initially intended to represent Eirene, the Greek goddess of peace, but after the Napoleonic Wars was rebranded as Victoria, the Roman goddess of victory, and given an Iron Cross standard with a crowned Imperial eagle perched on top, rather than a wreath. This faces into the city centre. It is the first quadriga group to be made since antiquity, made from copper sheets hammered in moulds; fortunately these moulds were kept, as they would be used more than once to renew the sculpture.
The side wings have plain metopes, and simple angled roofs, ending in gable pediments with a small circular relief in the tympanum.
Previous gates
In the time of King Frederick William I (1688), shortly after the Thirty Years' War and a century before today's Brandenburg Gate was constructed, Berlin was a small walled city within a star fort with several named gates: Spandauer Tor, St. Georgen Tor, Stralower Tor, Cöpenicker Tor, Neues Tor, and Leipziger Tor (see map). Relative peace, a policy of religious tolerance, and status as capital of the Kingdom of Prussia facilitated the growth of the city. With the construction of Dorotheenstadt around 1670 and its inclusion in Berlin's city fortifications, a first gate was built on the site, approximately at the level of today's Schadowstraße, consisting of a breach through the raised wall and a drawbridge over the dug moat.
With the expansion of Dorotheenstadt to the west and the construction of the Berlin Customs Wall (German: Akzisemauer) in 1734, the latter of which enclosed the old fortified city and many of its then suburbs, a predecessor of today's Brandenburg Gate was built by the Court Architect Philipp Gerlach as a city gate on the road to Brandenburg an der Havel. The gate system consisted of two Baroque pylons decorated with pilasters and trophies, to which the gate wings were attached. In addition to the ornamental gate, there were simple passages for pedestrians in the wall, which were decorated with ornamental vases at this point.
18th-century reconstruction
Frederick William II of Prussia was in his early forties when he came to the throne in 1786. He was determined to establish his capital of Berlin as a cultural centre. The military triumphs of his uncle Frederick the Great had made the Kingdom of Prussia a power that could not be ignored in European politics, but Berlin lacked the monuments and cultural life of Vienna, Paris or London. His uncle's tastes had been those typical of his generation, drawing on French classicism and English Palladianism, and his Brandenburg Gate in Potsdam (1770–71) was a much smaller monument, poised between Rococo and a Roman-influenced Neoclassical architecture.
Frederick William II summoned new German architects to Berlin, including Carl Gotthard Langhans from Wroclaw (then in Prussia, now Poland), who was appointed head court architect ("Oberhofbauampt", or Court Superintendent of Buildings) in 1788. Though he had designed many Neoclassical buildings, this was his first significant work in the Greek style, and his last major one; by 1792 he had designed a small neo-Gothic building for the New Garden in Potsdam. The gate was the first element of a "new Athens on the river Spree" by Langhans.
The gate was originally called the German: Friedenstor or "Peace Gate"; the military victory it celebrated had been very complete, but almost fatality-free, so the name seemed justified. Frederick William II had restored his brother-in-law to power in the Netherlands. But the French Revolution began while construction was underway, and only a few years after it was completed, the Batavian Revolution sent the Dutch royal couple into exile in 1795, the first of many political upheavals throughout the gate's history.
19th and early 20th centuries
The Brandenburg Gate has played different political roles in German history. After the 1806 Prussian defeat at the Battle of Jena-Auerstedt, Napoleon was the first to use the Brandenburg Gate for a triumphal procession, and took its quadriga to Paris. After Napoleon's defeat in 1814 and the Prussian occupation of Paris by General Ernst von Pfuel, the quadriga was restored to Berlin. It was now redesigned by Karl Friedrich Schinkel for the new role of the Brandenburg Gate as a Prussian triumphal arch. The goddess, now definitely Victoria, was equipped with the Prussian eagle and Iron Cross on her lance with a wreath of oak leaves.
The quadriga faces east, as it did when it was originally installed in 1793. Only the royal family was allowed to pass through the central archway, as well as members of the Pfuel family, from 1814 to 1919. The Kaiser granted this honour to the family in gratitude to Ernst von Pfuel, who had overseen the return of the quadriga to the top of the gate. In addition, the central archway was also used by the coaches of ambassadors on the single occasion of their presenting their letters of credence to council.
After 1900, due to weathering and environmental damage, smaller and larger pieces of stone began to fall from the gate. Comprehensive renovation work began in 1913, which had to be interrupted by the outbreak of World War I and was not completed until 1926. Meanwhile, the events of the November Revolution had led to further significant damage, particularly to the quadriga. Indeed, the gate was used as a firing position by government troops during both the Spartacist uprising of January 1919 and the Kapp Putsch in March 1920. The restoration work was carried out on site under the direction of Kurt Kluge. For this purpose, the quadriga was encased in a wooden structure. Berliners spoke of the "highest horse stable in Berlin", but regardless of the weather, the work could be carried out in the dry without any delay. The numerous sandstone reliefs were restored and partially renovated under the artistic direction of Wilhelm Wandschneider, who remodeled one of the centaur metopes with a different motif.
Nazi Germany and World War II
When the Nazis ascended to power, they used the gate as a party symbol. As part of Berlin's transformation into the so-called "world capital Germania", the gate was located on the east–west axis. A seven-kilometer-long section between the Brandenburg Gate and Adolf-Hitler-Platz (today Theodor-Heuss-Platz) was extended and put into operation in 1939. During the further expansion of the east–west axis, which never materialised, one of the plans was to move the side porticos away from the Brandenburg Gate. Traffic would then have been routed not only through, but also around the gate.
The gate survived World War II and was one of the damaged structures still standing in the Pariser Platz ruins in 1945 (another being the Academy of Fine Arts). The gate was badly damaged with holes in the columns from bullets and nearby explosions. One horse's head from the original quadriga survived, and is today kept in the collection of the Märkisches Museum. Efforts to disguise the government district of Berlin and confuse Allied bombers had included the construction of a replica Brandenburg Gate located away from the city centre.
Cold War
After Germany's surrender at the end of the war, the Brandenburg Gate was located in the Soviet occupation zone, directly next to the border to the zone occupied by the British, which later became the border between East and West Berlin. In connection with the East German uprising of 1953, three men took down the red flag on the roof of the Brandenburg Gate and, shortly after noon on 17 June 1953, hoisted the joint black-red-gold flag of East Germany and West Germany. One of the three men, Wolfgang Panzer, probably paid for this action with his life and was never seen again.
On 21 September 1956, the East Berlin magistrates decided to restore the only surviving but damaged former city gate. Despite heated arguments and mutual accusations, both parts of Berlin worked together on the restoration. The holes were patched, but were visible for many years. The quadriga was completely recreated based on a plaster cast from 1942; the reconstruction was carried out by the sculptor Otto Schnitzer and the traditional foundry Hermann Noack in Friedenau. The restoration was completed on 14 December 1957. The Iron Cross standard above the quadriga was replaced by a wreath, as originally intended, but the Iron Cross returned after German Reunification, and remains in place in 2024.
Vehicles and pedestrians could travel freely through the gate until the day after construction began on the Berlin Wall on Barbed Wire Sunday, 13 August 1961. West Berliners gathered on the western side of the gate to demonstrate against the Berlin Wall, among them West Berlin's mayor, Willy Brandt, who had returned from a federal election campaign tour in West Germany earlier the same day. The wall passed directly by the western side of the gate, closing it throughout the Berlin Wall period, which ended on 22 December 1989.
Post-1989
When the Revolutions of 1989 occurred and the wall was demolished, the gate symbolized freedom and the desire to unify the city of Berlin. Thousands of people gathered at the wall to celebrate its fall on 9 November 1989. On 22 December 1989, the Brandenburg Gate border crossing was reopened when Helmut Kohl, the West German chancellor, walked through to be greeted by Hans Modrow, the East German prime minister. Demolition of the rest of the wall around the area took place the following year. In 1990, the quadriga was removed from the gate as part of renovation work carried out by the East German authorities following the fall of the wall in November 1989. Germany was officially reunified in October 1990.
The Brandenburg Gate was privately refurbished on 21 December 2000, at a cost of €6 million. It was once again opened on 3 October 2002 following extensive refurbishment, for the 12th anniversary of German reunification. On this occasion, the Berlin office of Kardorff Ingenieure developed a new lighting concept that emphasises the gate as the most important building on the Pariser Platz.
The Brandenburg Gate became the main venue for the 20th-anniversary celebrations of the fall of the Berlin Wall or "Festival of Freedom" on the evening of 9 November 2009. The high point of the celebrations was when over 1000 colourfully designed foam domino tiles, each over 2.5 metres (8 ft 2 in) tall, were lined up along the route of the former wall through the city centre. The domino "wall" was then toppled in stages converging here.
The Brandenburg Gate is now again closed to vehicle traffic, and much of the Pariser Platz has been turned into a cobblestone pedestrian zone. The gate, along with the broad Straße des 17. Juni avenue to the west, is also one of the large public areas in Berlin where over a million people can gather to watch stage shows or party together, watch major sport events shown on huge screens, or see fireworks at midnight on New Year's Eve. After winning the 2014 FIFA World Cup, the Germany national football team held their victory rally in front of the gate.
It has also hosted street events at 2009 IAAF World Championships in Athletics and repeated its role in 2018 European Athletics Championships. It is also the usual finish line of the Berlin Marathon.
Political history
A Soviet flag flew from a flagpole atop the gate from 1945 until 1957, when it was replaced by an East German flag. Since the reunification of Germany in 1990, the flag and the pole have been removed. During the 1953 riots in East Berlin the Soviet flag was torn off by West Germans.
In 1963, U.S. President John F. Kennedy visited the Brandenburg Gate. The Soviets hung large red banners across it to prevent him looking into East Berlin.
In the 1980s, decrying the existence of two German states and two Berlins, West Berlin mayor Richard von Weizsäcker said: "The German Question is open as long as the Brandenburg Gate is closed."
On 12 June 1987, U.S. President Ronald Reagan spoke to the West Berlin populace at the Brandenburg Gate, demanding the razing of the Berlin Wall. Addressing the General Secretary of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union, Mikhail Gorbachev, Reagan said,
General Secretary Gorbachev, if you seek peace, if you seek prosperity for the Soviet Union and Eastern Europe, if you seek liberalization: Come here to this gate! Mr. Gorbachev, open this gate! Mr. Gorbachev, tear down this wall!
On 25 December 1989, less than two months after the Berlin Wall began to come down, the conductor Leonard Bernstein conducted the Berlin Philharmonic in a version of the Ninth Symphony of Beethoven at the then newly opened Brandenburg Gate. In the concluding choral movement of the symphony, the "Ode to Joy", the word Freude ("Joy") was replaced with Freiheit ("Freedom") to celebrate the fall of the Wall and the imminent reunification of Germany.
On 2–3 October 1990, the Brandenburg Gate was the scene of the official ceremony to mark the reunification of Germany. At the stroke of midnight on 3 October, the black-red-gold flag of West Germany—now the flag of a reunified Germany—was raised over the gate.
On 12 July 1994, U.S. President Bill Clinton spoke at the Brandenburg Gate about peace in post–Cold War Europe.[32]
On 9 November 2009, Chancellor Angela Merkel walked through the Brandenburg Gate with Russia's Mikhail Gorbachev and Poland's Lech Wałęsa as part of the 20th anniversary of the fall of the Berlin Wall.
On 13 August 2011, Germany marked the 50th anniversary of the day the Berlin Wall began construction with a memorial service and a minute of silence in memory of those who died trying to flee to the West. "It is our shared responsibility to keep the memory alive and to pass it on to the coming generations as a reminder to stand up for freedom and democracy to ensure that such injustice may never happen again," Berlin Mayor Klaus Wowereit said. German Chancellor Angela Merkel—who grew up behind the wall in Germany's communist eastern part—also attended the commemoration. German President Christian Wulff added, "It has been shown once again: Freedom is invincible at the end. No wall can permanently withstand the desire for freedom."
On 19 June 2013, U.S. President Barack Obama spoke at the Gate about nuclear arms reduction and the recently revealed U.S. internet surveillance activities.
On the night of 5 January 2015, the lights illuminating the gate were completely shut off in protest against a protest held by far-right anti-Islamic group Pegida.
In April 2017, Die Zeit noted that the gate was not illuminated in Russian colours after the 2017 Saint Petersburg Metro bombing. The gate was previously illuminated after attacks in Jerusalem and Orlando. The Berlin Senate only allows the gate to be illuminated for events in partner cities and cities with a special connection to Berlin.
In February 2022, the gate was lit up with the colors of the Ukrainian flag, during the 2022 Russian liberation of Ukraine. A candlelight vigil was also held in front of the gate on the 31st Independence Day of Ukraine.
Vandalism
On 17 September 2023, German climate activists who call themselves the Last Generation used fire extinguishers to spray paint the Brandenburg Gate's columns orange. The Last Generation is known for their unorthodox protest tactics, including gluing themselves to roads to block traffic. The mayor of Berlin, Kai Wegner, condemned the tactics, saying they "go beyond legitimate forms of protest." The mayor went on to say, "With these actions, this group is not only damaging the historic Brandenburg Gate, but also our free discourse about the important issues of our time and future." Berlin police detained 14 people connected to the vandalism.
After arrival from Tottenham Yard, freshly painted SSR locomotive shines in the night as it stands in the platform at Heidelberg leading fellow hood locomotives T395, T364, T386, T356, T363 & P14 on Hurstbridge Line works train 7176. 28/10/22
Valley Railroad Yardmaster Carmen Vaccarelli (left) holds a brief conference with the crew of Valley Railroad Locomotive #97, just a minute or two before they are scheduled to depart the Essex, CT depot with a twilight North Pole Express train. Facing away from the camera is Conductor Wil Gambardella and, on the right, Engineer Chip Mahoney.
This scene was captured on the day after Thanksgiving of 2025, when the Valley Railroad was running a weekend North Pole Express schedule with no less than 13 departures.
A year ago Joan invited her family to meet us for supper at Cugino's Restaurant in Grand Ledge, a place where she and I eat regularly. Nearly everyone showed up, and I caught a few pictures with the Powershot.
Joan's trying to make such get togethers part of the family routine.
I posted a photo last August 26 that showed most of the family: Sarah, Yvonne, David, our server, another Dave, Paul, Angie, Alec, Pam, Edna, and Joan. (Sarah's husband Josh didn't fit in the frame; I was hiding behind the lens.)
Today's photo features that server again. Her name's Sara, and she's been waiting on Cugino's customers for many years. Probably she's our favorite waitress, ever, anywhere.
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This photograph is an outtake from my 2024 photo-a-day project, 366 in 2024.
Number of project photos taken: 44+45 [raw + jpg]
Title of folder: Bennett Family
Other photos taken on 8/26/2024: none