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China, Beijing, Dashanzi, 798 Art District,
“Liu Ruowang” sculptured interpretation of the song „The East Is Red", a revolutionary song that was the de facto national anthem of the People's Republic of China during the Cultural Revolution in the 1960s.
The lyrics of the song were attributed to Li Youyuan, a farmer from the northern Shaanxi province & were adapted from an old Shaanxi folk song about love.
📌..."The questioning" is an eternal gesture of human beings to show humility & to admit that there are limits to human reason.
The folk song "The East is Red" has been sung for over half a century. Sculptural forms of the Qin & Han Dynasties, painted black, red & white, pay homage to the simplicity & nobility of Chinese peasants. Black goes with the quilted jackets of early peasants. Red symbolizes blood & revolution. Movement without recognizable change characterizes the Chinese, who support the revolution & hope for success with united forces.
The Art Zone 798 is located in the Chaoyang District. The three digit number "798" which stands for much more than the numbers for this once booming compound for the State's pre-reform electronic industries, in Beijing these numbers symbolize country's cutting edge art movement by the Chinese vanguard, untied artistic personalities with alternative life goals.
China's artist vanguard has turned an industrial graveyard into an artistic paradise wild & unconquered attitudes breeze inside 798's free & inconsequential atmosphere.
The large area was once a booming compound for the State’s pre-reform electronic industries, the buildings, designed by the former East German Republic & constructed with help from the now former Soviet Union, were vital for China's old industrial development projects & they're just as key to the art scene at 798.
Old Maoist slogans are visible on the ceiling arches. The Dashanzi factory complex began 1951, production in 1957, as an extension of the "Socialist Unification Plan" of military-industrial cooperation between the Soviet Union & the newly formed People's Republic of China.
Attracted by the Bauhaus Style buildings, around 2002 an amazing reincarnation process began when artists' studios started cheerily popping up like daisies over graves.
This area feels an affinity to what can be discovered & sensed along the Left Bank in Paris or around Greenwich Village, NYC. 798 has become the biggest arts area in China & earned great international reputation acclaim in just two years.
📌 …Artists began to gather to re-make the factory spaces, gradually developing them into swanky galleries, hip art centres, artists' studios, design companies, fashion stores, cosy coffeehouses, bistros, restaurant, bars etc. …..& one of my favoured places in Beijing.
👉 One World one Dream,
🙏...Danke, Xièxie 谢谢, Thanks, Gracias, Merci, Grazie, Obrigado, Arigatô, Dhanyavad, Chokrane to you & over
17 million visits in my photostream with countless motivating comments
This grand stair has seen the elevation and diminishment of strong climbers on the direct ascent that may become less steady and not so sure footed on their somewhat dizzying descent depending on their sociable reception of reverence, revelry and their aptitude for rambunctiousness. All that is sheer supposition of the progression of historical heights achieved and also of the downward floundering disarray of degradation in regression. All of this was swimming around my unsure head as my hips, knees and ankles offered to give way. The four broken toes were not to be considered as I tried to do this stair and the well within and without some justice in my pictures.
This stair is in Auchinleck House in East Ayrshire, Scotland. It will have seen and supported Dr. Samuel Johnson and James Boswell whilst about their ways to publishing, “A Journey to the Western Islands of Scotland,” also, “The Journal of a Tour to the Hebrides.” Dr. Samuel Johnson having risen to fame as The Man Of Letters of his age with critical acclaim and his outstanding lexicography work that would assure him a place in the Black Adder Pantheon of historical characters of true merit in the absolute finest of humours, “A Dictionary of the English Language. 1755, 1773.”
Blackadder, Ink and Incapability, Dr. Johnson being played perplexed over Sausage by Robbie Coltrane, Episode aired Sep 24, 1987, written by Richard Curtis, Ben Elton.
I happen to believe that I have failed in both pictures here produced together,
A staircase, no a challenge accepted and an achievement attempted
A stairwell staring back and questioning, “How you can picture it?”
I need to return and with crushed toes try much harder to achieve a result worthy of the Stair and of the Well both Inner and Outer.
© PHH Sykes 2025
phhsykes@gmail.com
It is the task of theology to probe deeper and deeper, to never cease questioning.
-Prayer takes us home : the theology and practice of Christian prayer / Gerhard Lohfink ; translated by Linda M. Maloney.
"Feels like you're miles from here,
in other towns with lesser names.
Where the unholy ghost doesn't tell
Mary or William exactly what they want to hear.
You remember the house on Ridge Road
told you and the Devil to both just leave me alone.
If this is salvation, I can show you the trembling.
You'll just have to trust me. I'm scared.
I am the patron saint of lost causes.
Aren't we all to you just near lost causes?
Aren't we all to you just lost
Tommy, you left behind
something that will mean everything right before you die.
What if you gained the whole world?
You've already lost four little souls from your life.
Widows and orphans aren't hard to find.
They're home missing daddy who's saving the abandoned tonight.
Wish your drinking would hurry and kill you.
Sympathy's better than having to tell you the truth.
That you are the patron saint of lost causes.
All you are to them is now a lost cause.
All you are to them is now, causes.
Billy, don't you understand?
Timothy stood as long as he could and now
you made his faith disappear.
More like a magician and less like a man of the cloth.
We're not questioning God.
Just those he chose to carry on His cross.
We're no better, you'll see.
Just all of us, the lost causes.
Aren't we all to you just lost causes?
Are we all to you lost?
Lost causes
So all we are to you,
Is all we are, is all we are
All we are is all we are
Patron Saint, are we all lost like you?
Take what you will and leave.
Could you kill, could you kill me
If the world was on fire
and nothing was left but hope or desire
And take all that I could require, is this love?
Or am I on the floor over-desperate?
Hold hands streaming of blood again?
And then take full weight of me
Guard my dreams, figure this out,
It's me on my own. Helpless, hurting, hell.
Will you stay strong as you promised?
Cause I'm stranded and bare.
Meanness is washed up and all that I have
is God. Take this and all,
Then grace takes me to a place
Of the father you never had
Ripping and breaking and tearing apart
This is not heaven
This is my hell."
Song: Fin
Played by: Anberlin
Heard this song coming home tonight, and while alot of the words are of Stephen Christian's own personal life experiences, the message and meaning behind this song hit me pretty hard, so i figured instead of going out and ruining it with a self portrait again, ill just do my regular post for today and share the song so you can listen and see if you like it or not. its basically about the dangers of putting your hope in wolves wearing sheep's clothes, and the last few lines are about the pain of purification and the suffering he endured for his faith.
This is another shot from the "secret" spot that John and i went to last week. have a great tuesday everyone!
Cut to the porch. Caly comes out of the office cabin, missteps on a
pebble on the top step, and falls off the porch, her backpack falling to
one side - while she falls right into Mateo's arms!
Caly: Wow! Nice catch!
Mateo gazes into her eyes.
Mateo: Amazing.
(Caly blinks at him, questioning.)
Mateo: Amazing that you didn't break your neck. Remember, always hold
the rail with one hand.
Caly: (smiles) Good advice. Thanks.
Mateo: Have we met before? Maybe high school? I just graduated, Newport.
Caly: That's going to be my school. I just got to the area. I'm Caly.
Mateo: Hi, I'm Mateo. (smiles)
Caly: Are you the people Uber?
Mateo: The? Oh! (realizes he's still holding her, sets her on her feet)
Sorry.
Caly: No problem. Thanks for the rescue. (she retrieves her backpack)
Nice falling onto you.
(Caly starts off for the main building, shouldering her backpack)
Mateo: (watching her) Could have gone better. Could have gone worse.
(He spots something on the ground where Caly's backpack landed and picks
it up, fiddles with it, there's a zap sound and sparks.)
Mateo: Whoa! Bug zapper! (looks for Caly, but she's gone)
(Cut to small office. Caly is seated at a small desk while Dyanna Lenos
cues up a video on the computer screen.)
Dyanna: My name is Dyanna, don't tell me yours until after.
Caly: After?
Dyanna: After the test, which is after the video. I don't want to waste
a brain cell with your name if this is the only time we meet.
Caly: Salty, but fair.
Dyanna: (says nothing, but her expression shows she approves of Caly's
response) Okay, there will be a test after the video. It's boring, but
the information is important so do your best not to fall asleep.
Caly: Has that happened?
Dyanna: More than once. I'll be back when it's over, to give you the
test. (she starts the video, gives Caly a small wave, and exits the office)
(to be continued)
Mateo: BSM
These are the horses that made the tracks in the last picture.
Not a lot of realism here, but sometimes its better that way IMO.
I've had a few people questioning processing recently. Processing is half of photography for me, the first half is getting the RAW material and the second half is making it into an image. Very rarely do I post SOOC. Photography for me is about dreams and fantasies and I use my camera and software to the best of my ability to achieve that. I'm not a purist, even when it comes to wildlife shots... I will take the best picture I can but if its worth improving I will try to improve it. In my hands, camera and software always lie and I don't feel a lack of integrity because of it, my aim is to make pictures, not to show reality.
Just thought I'd mention that so we all know where we stand :o)
When you read a sign that says "No Through Road" you tend not to go down it ........ unless you are called Trev & Jus & nosy!
The scenery down the "NTR" was breathtaking and continued its beauty for 30 mins, by this time we were questioning if the "NTR" was really a "NTR" ........... 40 mins later we came to a farm and realised YEP it was a "NTR". So we turned around and this is a shot taken as we drove back to the start!
the June 2025 exhibition @ The Annex of Nitroglobus
Happy and honoured to finally be able to exhibit MarVayu's art @ Nitroglobus. Somehow there always was something getting in between which prevented an exhibition.
However, now she is here with impressive works larded with turquoise prims and lights.
I won't repeat all MarVayu's lines here so I recommend you read her description about how she found works in her archive which somehow fitted well together and her questioning why she is in SL. Well a question we can all ask ourselves.
Enjoy the exhibition and please do read her lines.
dido haas, owner/curator
The Annex of Nitroglobus
My thanks goes to David Silence who created the excellent poster for this exhibition, based on an artwork of MarVayu.
***
Opening party: Monday 23 June, 12 PM SLT
Music by Frank Atisso
taxi: maps.secondlife.com/secondlife/Sunshine%20Homestead/166/4...
***
Description by the artist:
“Real liberation comes not from glossing over or repressing painful states of feeling, but only from experiencing them to the full.”
C.G. Jung, The Archetypes and the Collective Unconscious
(Collected Works 9i)
The images you see are from an archive of discarded works I created for past exhibits.
All images were made to accompany my micro poems.
I see a common thread between them but, not an actual story.
These remnants are memories from time spent searching for that common thread that links the many selves. A thread I believe exists within a collective whole.
Some might call it, “collective unconscious”, some might see it as myth or a philosophical rabbit hole. Maybe it is, but, I continue to have hope.
Someone stated to me once: “Maybe you should ask yourself, why are you here in SecondLife?”
Why am I even searching for an origin of the selves …
It wasn’t meant to have me ponder or discuss my reason, it was meant to make me doubt my belief has relevance. This simple statement pushed me to realize just how fluid our thoughts are and how far they flow leaving positive or negative effects.
Meaning, we experience more than our own or a single reality.
From this, I began to understand the concept of “projecting” and how we wear different masks to validate our thoughts through ourselves as well as others.
To make the “selves” heard and seen.
To let the “selves” breathe and feel.
To let them have life they call their own.
To let them become real.
But, I think there is more, so much more within any attempt to do so.
I see a lot of struggle as well as love, honesty and support expressed in virtual realms.
Expressed through our alternate self or selves. Through our avatars, our art, our music, our intuition and feelings. Feelings of pleasure and pain, of trust and betrayal, of love and hate.
I witness how we spend hours of real time in virtual worlds alone as well as, in congruence with others.
These spaces seem not a second life but an alternate life. A space where we connect regardless of time and distance. A place we congregate and express the selves.
A place that just might be a window or a door into the collective whole.
MarVayu
I caught Vint questioning the AI oracle.
Is it just me or has she changed since she started working for Rezzable ??
© Leanne Boulton, All Rights Reserved
Candid eye contact street photography from Glasgow, Scotland. A couple of recent trips into the city have been slim-pickings for street photography. I had been questioning my ability but in all honesty, the post-Christmas slump and mood on the street were almost entirely to blame. I may have to rely on some older images that I have never uploaded before, just for a while. In the meantime, this is my best shot from my last visit to Glasgow. Enjoy!
Questioning
"There are times when I question the validity of what I do. Why do all I can to save a life? Why jump in, no questions asked, not giving it a second thought as to what the future might hold for this person? We make many of these decisions automatically, so to speak, if you are, basically, not quite dead yet or even if you are recently dead (sudden cardiac arrest) we will throw everything, including the kitchen sink to try to save your life. But to what end…what kind of life are we giving you, and what life long struggles will you and your loved ones have to endure.
These thoughts flow through my psyche as I stand at the bedside of a patient today. The call was for difficulty breathing to an address that seemed familiar but not so sure. As I stand next to a young man in a hospital type bed who is only a shadow of who he once was the same questions arise again. His dreams, his families dreams, his friends dreams shattered in an instant last March. In that moment, all that he was, all that he could be, all that he would have been, became all that he never would be except for alive. And all he was, was alive, everything else was gone. I stand there and talk to him, no answers can come from him, wondering if he understands, seeing the heartache, the hardness on the families faces, of the dreams that will never be, pains me, again the same questions .
I was there that day in March when his dreams faded away. I was with him in the car as we all were, jumping in feet first, no questions asked, throwing everything including the kitchen sink, but knowing, damnit, full well knowing, that our efforts were futile, his dreams had already faded away.
Maybe we do this with the unrealistic hope of a miracle, the one in a million that this one will keep their dreams. Maybe that is why or maybe not. All I know is that it saddens me and I do not know why, I see death, heartache and suffering on a daily basis. Seeing his dreams gone, deeply, deeply saddens me and again the questions flow though my psyche as the tears roll down my cheek... "
"Learn from yesterday, live for today, hope for tomorrow. The important thing is not to stop questioning."
--Albert Einstein--
"Postcard" 2 from The Cathedral of St. John the Divine. This time focusing on the sculptural, architectural forms of the Cathedral itself.
Some might read my "tumbling" of churches and cathedrals as "DE-structive", and while there is an element of questioning by radically altering the consensus view of the buildings, it's not meant to connote a criticism of the institution itself. Although I do believe that RE-viewing what these places mean and can do, is in order. But that only falls into the bigger picture of the major paradigm shift that calls the last 1,000 years of Western history into question.
So the "tumbled" cathedral instead, depicts, so to speak, a re-thinking or restructuring of the current view - definitely not it's destruction. A cathedral in the process of re-shaping itself.
______________________________________________
Music Link: "Lux Aeterna" - Gyorgy Ligeti, Hungarian composer. This haunting, evanescent, cloudlike music is largely remembered as one of the 3 Ligeti pieces that Stanley Kubrick used for his soundtrack to "2001: A Space Odyssey".
Ligeti's genius was in creating music as sheets of colour and tone ( timbre, in music ) through unconventional 'clustering' of notes and sonorities that shifted and moved indefinably at different times, 'wafting' through a kaleidoscope of sonic colours to create a powerful, weightless music that is unforgettable.
Although Ligeti was quite clear that this piece was not religious in nature, it nevertheless has a mystical quality to it that speaks of something beyond the every day.
www.youtube.com/watch?v=Zy8SQ-LWC20
Zoom in !!!
© Richard S Warner ( Visionheart ) - 2015. All Rights Reserved. This image is not for use in any form without explicit, express, written permission.
View On Black • Yes, this shot is overexposed deliberately... Actually it was nicely lit and I just did a diffuse glow on it to support a point. In the last week I have both hated and missed doing my 365 shots. This insane project is taking time in a year (a LOT of time) and if participating in such a project brings me to think about the logic aspect of this... Well, I should just drop it all together.
But here's the problem, it's a love/hate relationship and Flickr is an addicting thing. I found myself missing visiting my favorite contacts this week and I've had people questioning to why I was doing this and putting so many pictures of myself up. I was working everyday and at night I couldn't take time for this either. So my question is (beside flickr being addictive, we all know that)... Is doing the 365 over-exposing our lives? Is this project too crazy? Food for thought... Give me your take on it.
2nd shot of the night had Phill questioning my technique for this shot as the initial results were a bit too inaccurate. Lucky he did or I would have been stuck with the image in my head and not appearing on the back of my camera. Managed to pull off something like I was imagining but I'm sure I could take it further.
PDS-01956
Yesterday morn answered to nothing
today, in a moment of silence
a reflection even
is a questioning of all I believe in...
still, today seems out of focus
a waterloogged pitch upon which
my agile hopes linger
recalling a striking left-winger
oh for those days to return
if only...I could, I would
scoring goals of sensuous joy
football seemed a God-given toy
now beleagured is the spine
of my dream-team letting go
perusing what's left of my abilities
becomes the statistical nightmare of disabilities
oh well, been there, done that, I suppose
as my course is now altered somewhat
navigating colder waters when I wish for warmth
sweating a fear seeking the sobriety so roomth
that chilled space of redeeming, healing time
memories lay ageless, the crystal souvenir elect!
what solace is found from recollections unbound
is the adaptability of motion within belief profound
those from my mother, my father, and distant forebears too
I want to say I love you so, as only a heart can do,
for you I return the favour of life and this living
to make it Heavenly is my last wish of Earthly giving
my course was instigated from the webs you spun
now from this distorted body I've clearly run aground
at times distal, from the effecting heavy medical involvement
I've sought you in the complexity of health's fight and endurement
surgeries dimplements have scarred my mind it is true
such times were but a compère, at least I hope
for the air of understanding to fill my body with the learning-
of how to be who I want to be in this frame so disconcerting
life does go on doesn't it...seemingly to never end
but for that end I have nearly seen, mine would have already arrived
so, it's clear the perfect welfare's state is one of simplicity and harmony
that, together with nature's endurance leaves me right beside you in synchrony.
by anglia24
10h00: 12/06/2008
©2008anglia24
Answers rarely come easily, often you have to go to lengths to get what you're looking for. The more you look, the deep the answer becomes. In the end, you start questioning yourself, do you really want to know this truth? Is it worth your very soul? Proceed at your own peril, for you are treading into that which many will not follow or help.
In the middle of the herd, some questioning looks. Clarabelle on the right seem to be leading the pack which probably explains why he was chosen to inherit the tracker. I can hear JoAnne in the distance calling to me - I thought I was pretty well hidden beside a tree still some distance away and which I thought offered me a certain protection as well - but even JoAnne found me. I will have to invest in some camouflage clothing.
Wakering Photography Group Wild Bird Printed Challenge.
I am not sure what this Duck is ?
There have been similar sightings over the last couple of years and they were questioning its origin so far it's known as the Green Billed Duck ?
Eva: Dave, I have some questions about the whole Santa thing.
Dave: Existential, pup culture related, or questioning the physics of sleigh flight at supersonic speeds?
Eva: It has to do with the song. The one where he is coming to town.
Dave: I’ll try my best.
Eva: Well, it says that “He sees you when you're sleeping”. I’m having trouble with that as I can’t see a thing with this hat on my head.
Dave: I have a feeling that the hat fits his head better than yours.
Eva: It also says “You better not pout”. Does it mean that I’m not being good if I’m pouting? Just because I don’t look like I’m enjoying something doesn’t mean that I’m not being exceedingly good by putting up with it.
Dave: Do you have a specific example?
Eva: How about now?
Dave: Don’t worry. You are being very nice. I’m sure that you will be on the nice list and get lots of cookies.
Eva: The last questions are how long his corporate memory is and what is his policy on mitigating circumstances.
Dave: Is that from the song?
Eva: Nope. More of a question about if I wait until December 26th to extract revenge on someone for making me wear this hat and pretend that I enjoy it, will he still remember when he packs the sleigh next year?
Dave: I guess that depends on how heinous the act of revenge is.
Eva: I’ll keep that in mind.
--------
We're wishing everyone a head start on the Merry Christmas thing. Or at least one of us is being merry about it. Special thanks to my daughter Julia for helping keep Eva "happy" during this photo shoot. And an extra special thanks to Eva for putting up with the whole thing.
~Learn from yesterday, live for today, hope for tomorrow. The important thing is not to stop questioning. ~
Albert Einstein
I really appreciate your visits and kind comments.
© ALL RIGHTS RESERVED. Use without permission is illegal
picture from: Cox collection
info from: Ships Nostalgia
The fifth ship to be named “Eastgate” built by Turnbull and Scott 1957
Shell 'K' or 'H' type vessel.
turbine product tanker 12166grt
----------------------------------------------------------------------------
British tanker ‘Eastgate’ under attack at Vung Ro bay june 6 1968.
story as told by W.T. Alexander
Quote
It promised to be an interesting stay in Vung Ro right from the start.
As we where mooring up to the sea buoys a US Navy destroyer at the entrance to the bay started lobbing 5-inch shells over us and the surrounding hills.
This made us look questioningly at the 2 members of the US Army who where taking samples of our JP4 cargo prior to discharging.
“Don’t you worry non son. There is a bit of battle goin on over them thar hills. But thars 10000 Koreans in them hills and Charlies scared shitless of them Koreans”
He the regaled us with stories of Koreans taking Viet Cong heads and sticking them on poles outside their bases. It all sounded very reassuring.
I was 17 years old and training to be an officer in the British Merchant Marine.
This was my first trip to sea and life was exciting. I’d joined the Eastgate just a couple of weeks before in Hong Kong. From there we had sailed to Singapore to load JP4 and other petroleum products for the United States Military in Vietnam.
Vung Ro was a small port south of Qui Nhon.
There where 4 bouys to berth a tanker a short distance from the shore. The tanker discharged through a submarine pipeline attached to a buoy. This pipeline supplied an airbase inland.
A jetty for cargo ships was just north of the base. These berths where occupied by the “American Scientist” and another US merchant vessel.
The day passed quickly with lots of things happening. A cliff face was blown up by the army engineers. A blast which knocked all of us interested spectators back two paces. Then two Hueys landed on the beach and some very nice looking young ladies stepped out and where escorted into the camp.
Our two resident army radio operators informed us of a strip show at the base that evening and if any of the crew where interested they would whistle up a boat. Well amazingly enough most of the crew where interested. So those who could get the time off duty duly went ashore and where royally treated by our American hosts.
Unfortunately I was not one of the chosen few but you can’t win them all.
I came on watch at midnight to find all was quiet.
Andy, my sidekick, informed me that pumping had been stopped due to a suspected hole in the pipeline and the hole was to be investigated the next morning. Sounded good to me.
0130. I was on the poop on a routine fire watch, looking over towards the base ashore.
A flash and a shower of silver sparks form the middle of the base followed immediately by an explosion, followed by another, and another. I got to thinking that this shouldn’t be happening.
I went back midships to see the 2nd Officer who was also of the opinion that this was not usual. The 2/O hit the alarm bells whilst I went to let the Captain know what was happening.
The Chief Officer started to organize the disconnection of the pipeline and attaching it to the buoy ready for use next time. Andy and I where sent off to make sure the ships blackout was complete whilst the Captain was conferring with the two radio operators as to the next move.
Meanwhile a mortar round exploded close to the bow of the “American Scientist”.
Many of the crew jumped overboard whilst others left the ship on the landward side. They ran along the jetty but 2 shells landed at the shore end of the jetty and they turned and ran back to the ship.
When I got back on deck after checking the blackout I found all the engineers on deck with lifejackets.
I asked the 3rd engineer what was going on and he said the Captain had told them to get ready to abandon ship.
What had happened was that the Captain was a bit unsure of what to do and had asked the American radio operators. The operators had lost touch with the shore and where unhappy about sitting on top of 12.000 tons of JP4 with mortar shells flying around the place. So they had advised getting everyone ashore.
Whilst the Captain considered the Chief Engineer, an old gnarled Scotsman with a limp, stormed up to him and told him in no uncertain terms “Captain you’r not abandoning this fucking ship”.
This had the effect of pulling the Captain out of his uncertainty and ordered the Chief to get the engines ready for leaving.
Our problem was that there was no emergency evacuation plan for leaving the port. We had lost touch with all other units and the local patrol boats where busy picking up the men in the water from the “American Scientist”. Ashore there was nu letup in the assault on the base with the sound of the mortar shells being joined by that of small arms fire.
Finally we where ready for off. We had to let our mooring ropes go from the ship as there where no boats available to let them go from the buoys. This would add to the hazards of leaving because of the risk of the ropes fouling the propeller.
We let go one from each buoy, but then came the next problem. The “American Scientist” had let go her moorings and was manoeuvring to leave the bay. It was far too dangerous to have 2 large vessels manoeuvring in such confined waters at night, blacked out, and in the middle of a battle. So we had to wait.
In the mean time helicopter gunships had arrived and where spraying the hillside above the base with gunfire and rockets. This was hugely spectacular and worth waiting to see.
So we where all stand by waiting to complete unmooring as soon as the “American Scientist” was clear. The only crew members who where not at their stations where our Arab firemen who where under the port lifeboat with packed suitcases. They where eventually driven back down the engine room by the 2nd Engineer.
I was up on the bridge as the order was finally given to let go the remaining mooring lines and leave the bay. A manoeuvre which the Captain did brilliantly, his former nerves now seemingly well settled. Our American radio operators still couldn’t get in touch with the base and where more than a little worried sat on the deck on the bridge wing. Our Captains remark to Dave Piggott the helmsman when we finally cleared the bay was “I don’t know about you Piggot but I think I need a new pair of underpants” Bit of a wag at times our Captain.
And so we spent the night a safe distance offshore to see what the morning would bring.
And the following morning, still no radio contact with the base, so we continued our offshore patrol.
Later in the day we received a message from Shell Tankers that we where to proceed to Qui Nhon to complete the discharge. But then the next problem. Most of our mooring ropes where still attached to the bouys in Vung To Bay and the Captain was loatch to go without them.
So we headed back towards the bay to see if we could get them back. As we approached the bay one of the patrol boats dashed out and a chap with a megaphone demanded to know “what the fuck are you doing here with that ship Captain ?”
The Captain explained that we had been told to go to Qui Nhon but could we have our ropes back first please.
Eventually a party of our crew went into the bay on the patrol boat and towed the mooring ropes out and we said goodbye to our radio men who seemed quite relieved to be off.
From there we sailed to Qui Nhon. Three days later we passed Vung Ro on the way back to Singapore. We could see fighter bombers attacking the hills to the north of the bay. And so it went on.
Postscript
About 8 years later I was on a chemical tanker sailing from Newhaven to Elizabethport. The pilot for Long Island Sound turned out to be the Captain of the other merchant vessel that was berthed alongside the “American Scientist” and a regular runner into Vung Ro.
Het told me that the Koreans had been moved from the hills around Vung Ro but no one had thought to inform the American troops of this fact. They thought they where well protected but where not.
The other thing he told me was that the “American Scientist” had a large quantity of napalm on board hence the crew reaction to the near miss.
W.T. Alexander
Hornsea England
Unquote
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
"Eastgate" sunk 30.3.1973
as a result of a collision when approaching Hong Kong at night.
With the French mv “Circea”.
fire amidships and 3 crewmembers lost their lives.
Total loss and delivered to ship breakers at Kaohsiung 3 months later.
You can walk through life questioning everything or you can walk through life accepting everything.
One will hold you back and the other will help guide you toward your next adventure.
Claimed to be on the prime among the many seven pure wonders of the world, you would simply spend a few days questioning at this magical creation of nature. An area delusion explains that the bay was karst have been created when a dragon descended on the ocean to thwart Chinese language invaders and spat out jade stones and pearls that ultimately grew to become the islands. The phrase “Ha Long” which means “descending dragon” is why it’s referred to as so. The geological purpose of it being created by tens of millions of years of mountain formation, encroaching sea and tectonic plate actions is equally awe inspiring.
The seascape is a set of about 2000 limestone karst of all sizes, shapes and shades of inexperienced jutting out the ocean. It’s a web site that you simply’ll see nowhere else on the earth and the sensation of cruising on Halong Bay cruises, irrespective of if the skies are sunny or overcast, is a rare feeling.
Prints & Downloads are available on my ☛ H o m e p a g e
Learn from yesterday, live for today, hope for tomorrow. The important thing is not to stop questioning. - Albert Einstein
2015 02 19 120552 Cheshire Little Morton Hall
"The important thing is not to stop questioning. Curiosity has its own reason for existing. One cannot help but be in awe when he contemplates the mysteries of eternity, of life, of the marvelous structure of reality. It is enough if one tries merely to comprehend a little of this mystery every day. Never lose a holy curiosity."
- Albert Einstein (1875-1955)
Like millions of people all over the world, I am watching the horrific events in Ukraine unfold; some in real-time on BBC NEWS 24 rolling news. Children (and some adults) in Mariupol have, and are dying of dehydration. They are surrounded by Russian troops who will not allow them to leave. These people have no food, no water. They risk their lives daily, leaving what little shelter they have, to go find water ….. in puddles, in sewers.
I have to keep reminding myself it’s 2022.
I’m constantly questioning the concept of “humanity”.
I despair but something makes me act. I honestly don’t know what that is.
I made this picture after witnessing the targeted bombing on a theatre in Mariupol where between 500 and 1200 people were sheltering. Two very large signs were painted on the ground outside the theatre. These signs simply read “CHILDREN”. The signs were clearly visible from satellites in space.
They would have been clearly visible from the air; and yet Putin’s troops were ordered to strike these defenceless women and children with WMD’s (WEAPONS of MASS DESTRUCTION).
CAN YOU HELP?
Millions of ordinary Ukrainians have lost their loved one’s, their homes, their livelihoods.
Many of these people now have no access to food, clean clothing, warm blankets, shelter, and clean running water.
Please donate if you can, to:
The INTERNATIONAL RED CROSS (HUMANITARIAN CRISIS IN UKRAINE) :
www.icrc.org/en/where-we-work/europe-central-asia/ukraine
The DISASTERS EMERGENCY COMMITTY (DEC - UKRAINE HUMANITARIAN APPEAL) :
www.dec.org.uk/?gclid=CjwKCAiAvaGRBhBlEiwAiY-yMLlwl8yvJkI...
Thank you for not looking away.
Hypersonic missiles:
A hypersonic missile travels at speeds of Mach 5 and higher – five times faster than the speed of sound (3836 mph), which is around 1 mile per second. Some missiles, such as Russia’s upcoming Kh-47M2 Kinzhal air-launched ballistic missile, are allegedly capable of reaching Mach 10 speeds (7672 mph) and distances up to 1200 miles.
Russia's military has fired a hypersonic ballistic missile and destroyed a big underground arms depot in western Ukraine, the defence ministry in Moscow has said.
If confirmed it would be Russia's first use in this war of the Kinzhal, or Dagger, ballistic missile launched from the air, most likely by a MiG-31 warplane. There is currently no operational or reliable method of intercepting them.
SOURCE : BBC NEWS March 2022
Thermobaric Missiles:
The thermobaric weapon, also known as an aerosol bomb or fuel air explosive, is a two-stage munition.
The first-stage charge distributes an aerosol made up of very fine material – from a carbon-based fuel to tiny metal particles. A second charge ignites that cloud, creating a fireball, a huge shock wave, and a vacuum as it sucks up all surrounding oxygen.
The blast wave can last for significantly longer than a conventional explosive and is capable of vaporising human bodies.
The use of such weapons has yet to be independently confirmed, though footage from Ukraine has shown thermobaric rocket launchers on Russia’s TOS-1 vehicles.
Dr Marcus Hellyer, senior analyst at the Australian Strategic Policy Institute, said while it was not clear if they had been deployed yet by Russia in Ukraine, it was only “a matter of time”.
SOURCE: The Guardian (Highly regarded British Newspaper) March 2022
Chemical and Biological Weapons:
Biological weapons are armed with disease-causing micro-organisms such as viruses, bacteria or other toxins.
They are produced and launched to spread disease and death among people, to target animals and infect livestock and to destroy agriculture, causing food shortages.
The weapons can be delivered by missiles, bombs, hand grenades and rockets, or spray-tanks grafted to aircraft, cars, trucks and boats.
Chemical weapons use toxins or chemical substances that attack the body’s system and are banned by the Chemical Weapons Convention of 1997.
Unlike biological weapons, which could take several days to cause maximum harm to victims by spreading diseases, chemical weapons are designed to cause death or injury more quickly.
They can use choking agents to attack the lungs and respiratory system, causing the victim to drown in their own lungs’ secretions.
Other blistering agents, such as mustard gas, can be used to burn and blind people.
Nerve agents, such as novichok, used by two Russian agents in the 2018 Salisbury attack, or VX, are the most toxic of known chemical warfare agents.
Russia could be planning a chemical or biological weapon attack in Ukraine - and "we should all be on the lookout", the White House has said.
They said they were "very concerned" about the risk the war could escalate, and particularly the possibility of Russia using non-conventional weapons.
This most likely refers to chemical weapons although the term also covers tactical (small-scale) nuclear weapons, biological weapons and dirty bombs.
"We've got good reason to be concerned," said one Western official.
They said this was partly because of what had been seen in other places where Russia has been engaged - notably Syria where chemical weapons were used by its allies.
SOURCE : BBC NEWS March 2022
SAM FENDER - HYPERSONIC MISSILES - PLAY
This person from the Renaissance fair is questioning....What is this green paper with no Queen, I demand my pound, I was cheated.
Looking back at a perfect hike through a very quiet and surreal part of Yosemite. I remember questioning if I really wanted to do this long hike... it was super cold that day, it had dumped the night before, and I’d be carrying a heavy pack with my gear through thick snow.... but that’s when I told myself, “why not?!”. So glad I said that to myself!