Me, Larry and Louise.

Negotiating a broken light socket fitting, jutting out into the hallway, and an overturned plastic chair blocking what looked an otherwise disused stairwell, we made our way up to the hostel on the first floor.

Osama had driven us to the hostel through the wet evening streets of Nablus in his beaten up Peugeot, all the while frantically gesticulating, trying to impress on us the severity of the situation in this city, perhaps seeing us as his or Nablus’s only chance to share a Palestinian perspective with some internationals. With one eye on the road and one arm on the back of the passenger seat, turning to talk to us in the back seat, Osama told us of the closures, the curfews, the checkpoints and the difficulty of moving about freely. Between narrowly avoiding oncoming cars as he occasionally veered into the opposite lane he told us of the nightly Israeli military incursions, the rocket attacks on the refugee camps, the shootings and assassinations, the house demolitions, the funerals and the loss of innocent lives. But for all we were told perhaps the most upsetting thing for me was to see this desperate attempt to squeeze as much information as possible into what was no more than a 10 minute car journey. Most, if not all, Palestinians have shocking stories to tell, and are more than willing to share their opinions about the occupation and the hardship it has created, but nowhere as much as Nablus have I felt that this to be a need and certainly never one so desperate. Osama questioned us, “What life is this? Where is my dignity? Where is my dignity? And what of my son? What life is there for him?” We had no answers. All we could do was sit solemnly and nod, the windscreen wipers jolting back and forth as we continued through the wet streets. My mind wandering, I remembered that very morning when we had come through Hawara checkpoint, just to the south of the city. As we passed through wire mesh walkways, not unlike the pens used for livestock herding before a final despatching at the abattoir, and crossed a wasteland to where Nablus bound minibus taxis waited in muddy pot-holed car park, I watched an old lady, perhaps of grandmother age, tiptoe through sloppy mud to a wheel spinning taxi, its back end sliding out down the slippery dirt mounds. The old lady hitched her traditional style black embroidered dress, at the same time trying to pass her plastic bagged wares to a fellow passenger, finally being dragged aboard before the mud sprayed taxi bounced and skidded off across the wasteland rank. I thought of my own grandmother in a similar scenario, humbled by the relative immobility of old age and humiliated by a blind oppressive system that continues to punish the innocent in ways that are slowly becoming an excepted norm. While the Palestinians continue to put up with life as it is, to see it anew with an outsiders perspective is shocking. It simply isn’t right. Osama’s question came back to me then as it always will whenever the immense disparity between freedom and oppression makes itself even subtly apparent. Where is the dignity? What life is this?

The hostel’s reception desk, tucked away in a dingy corner of a strip lit room, was dead apart from where between nicotine yellowed walls the proprietor sat, stooped over a cigarette and a game of cards with another of the guests. A television set flickered and chattered away, ignored in the corner, and from an ashtray on the card table a column of Brownian smoke rose from the lodger’s unstubbed butt. Creaking out of his low chair, and shuffling across the room he took a key from the wall behind the desk and beckoned us to follow him. The better of the two rooms we were shown had what looked to be a relatively new a bullet-hole in the window. Broken reflected light from the florescent on the rear wall accentuated the fissures emanating from the crude hole, and a dent in the opposite wall betrayed the bullets trajectory. “Don’t worry.” Osama told us, “It’s just a stray bullet, probably from children throwing stones at soldiers from the roof.” With that and a recommendation that we didn’t go out, just to be on the safe side, Osama left us. Deciding on a supermarket purchased bread and hommous dinner and an early night, we took Osama’s advice.

Later, back in the smoke-filled reception room I sat with Samer, a construction worker from Hebron, in the south of the West Bank. Over the game of cards he continued to play with the proprietor, communicating in broken Arabic and English I learnt that he had no choice but to stay in the hostel during the week due to the difficulty in travel between Hebron and Nablus. Hebron would be just an hours drive away, unhindered, but with at least three main Israeli military checkpoints, and the further possibility of “flying checkpoints”, a system of permanent structures manned only on what seems a random basis, travel has become extremely difficult with no guarantee of reaching work on time, if at all. This, coupled to the rise in oil prices and the longer tortuous routes Palestinians are forced to take around any Israeli territory, including the illegal West Bank settlements, has become a serious issue for travel between all of the West Bank’s major cities and regions. This inefficiency of flow through the West Bank, these restrictive measures upon money, trade and people, has to be looked upon as a very shrewd move by Israel that has a very predictable outcome; a slow death for the Palestinian economy and a gradual chipping away at any chance of a viable Palestinian state. Looked at in terms of Nature, impeding blood circulation between body organs is a sure fire way of killing any organism.

At least the closures and checkpoints benefit hostels. The dribs and drabs of tourists though Nablus are certainly too few to keep the hostel industry afloat. In the centre of the city the tourist information centre is now used as mission control for Nablus’s street cleaning operations. We dropped in just to share the fact of our tourist status only to be met with apparent confusion and asked if we wanted the Turkish Bath, Nablus’s biggest attraction. When we again tried to make ourselves understood, we were just met with a shaking head, a smile, and asked if we wanted tea.

Just a short walk through the bustling new city reveals obvious signs of ongoing violence. Bullet dents in shops’ steel shutters, shattered, bullet pierced windows in some of the high rise buildings, bill board sized posters of young and proud Kalashnikov toting “militants”, the latest to be killed or assassinated by the Israeli military; one even of a father with his arm around the shoulder of, presumably, his son, not older than 12 years old and bearing an AK47 machine gun. In the old city, these “martyr” bill posters can be found on every free wall and shop shutter, the older sunlight faded faces progressively covered with those of new victims. I can’t help but feel that these serious posters lend further an underlying oppressive air to the everyday comings and goings of an otherwise culturally peaceful society. While I understand the natural principle of action and reaction, these young militants must understand that their activity can only ever at best be a gesture of resistance, never the real thing.

Due to its geographical location in the mountainous north of the West Bank, Nablus was at one time a stronghold of the West Bank Palestinian resistance whose militants posed a real problem to Israeli troops during the second Intifada. Now, however, the grinding occupation, closure, siege, and continuing violence has seen this resistance all but crushed, and large parts of the city’s infrastructure damaged with little hope of near future repair. The destruction that Israel has caused the city, both infrastructurally and socially, in retaliation for the actions of relatively few Palestinian militants really amounts to a collective punishment of the city’s population, a population that still live in fear of nightly Israeli military incursions, and even, as a visiting friend experienced last year, sonic boundary breaking Israeli fighter jets flying just hundreds of feet above Nablus city rooftops. I hate to think of the effect these deafening sonic booms have upon the developing inner ear of any young child. Beyond 10 o’clock in the evening the city’s streets are abandoned to Israeli soldiers and whoever they manage to taunt into a showdown. In the narrow alleyways of the old city, Israeli soldiers have been known, locals say, to shout out to anyone in range, “Mujahideen. Show yourselves and fight.” Any rise, usually from stone throwing youths, will be met with live ammunition and more often than not new statistics to add to the ever growing discrepancy between Israeli and Palestinian casualties. The fight, slowly but surely, is becoming a one sided campaign that not only represents continued harassment of the local Palestinian population and provokes disenfranchised youths into bloody confrontations; this fight is even further polarising the impressionable minds of teenage Israeli soldiers, youths that grow up believing popular right wing media and what life in the military instils – hatred for a perceived enemy.

Earlier in the day I had visited Al Lod Charitable Society in Nablus’s Asker refugee camp. Asker camp along with the infamous “Balata”, are among the most frequently targeted areas on the Israeli military’s agenda, and where any trouble can rapidly escalate. These camps are the usual sites of stone, Molotov cocktail, and gunfire exchange between angry yet apathetic Palestinian youths in disbelief of their ability to affect social change through peaceful means, and young indoctrinated Israeli soldiers. It was, in fact, the riot in Balata camp following the funeral of a youth killed by an Israeli sniper in 2000, that is partly attributed to the sparking of the second Intifada. I had been sent to photograph some of the donations and projects funded by Muslim Aid UK, an NGO that channels money, food, and education to Al Lod and similar organisations. I sat with Jamal in his office at the Al Lod centre while, over a cup of tea, he showed me some of the centre’s work: charitable donations of meat and money during the Eid festival; computer and Internet facilities for the surrounding camp neighbourhoods; educational and school materials for local children; even a “Charitable Cheese Project”, distributing 400 tons of cheese to camp residents. Besides charitable donations the centre is also involved in art workshop programs that help children deal with internalised emotional issues. Jamal showed me a collection of some of the art produced. One workshop was based around each child producing two drawings; one of a world in which the children would like to live, and one with life as it is in the camp. Flicking through the pages I was met time and time again with the same, or similar images; the idealism of young minds, rainbowed pastures and sunny hillsides, large rabbits eating carrots from a child’s outstretched hand, kite flying and park scenes – nothing materialistic, simple desires. Contrasting these images to the scenes of perceived camp life, green men chain-sawing trees, tanks demolishing homes, barbed wire, walls, rocket launchers, and war planes, a faceless brutality, it is austerely apparent that the occupation is forging young minds warped to the extremity. As I played with local children, called in off the streets to model for a impromptu photo shoot, some of whom had probably produced the drawings I had seen, I realised that these are the Palestinians in need of real help. These are the children whose only contact with Israelis is with armed soldiers sent to demolish a neighbour’s house, or arrest and drag away a youth in the middle of the night. These are the children amongst which real seeds of anger are being sown. All the while Israel is busy tackling its own perceived “security threat”, it is in the process of creating another perhaps more real future threat. If this brutal contact between Palestinian youths and Israeli soldiers, this inequality, is propagated much further into the future, Israel will only respond with ever more extreme measures; measures that will not only further escalate violence, but measures that will portray the State of Israel’s already tainted human rights track record as beyond all international acceptance. This further alienation of an already insecure state is not only dangerous; it is far from being in the global community’s interests. Without concerted effort and political pressure, Israel is itself in danger of becoming a “rogue” state.

That night, as I lay in bed, I could hear the distant bangs and echoes of stun grenades and bullet split air reverberate up and down streets and alleyways. Jeeps passed by outside, given away by the whirring of off-road tyres on tarmac, and their familiar throaty engine tone. I could not help but think that, in the morning, after sleep has come to us all, maybe, just maybe in those awakening moments, before the reality of the world we live in comes flooding back, before all the complex interactions that have formed the evolution of our social structures, there is a moment when all is well, when peace seems the only possible way, and every sole is equal. If only we could hold on to this innocence and let it permeate into our day.

Delhi.

Public info URL

www.safecreative.org/work/1902220026336-scenario-2

An Australian Army soldier from 2nd Commando Regiment sets up a mortar after assaulting, clearing and securing Whyalla airport in South Australia in the early hours of 28 June 2016 as part of the Exercise Hamel 2016 training scenario.

Exercise Hamel 2016

The Australian Army’s 1st Brigade is being tested from 26 June to 14 July 2016 in South Australia as part of Exercise Hamel to ensure its soldiers are ready to meet the Australian Government’s needs as the Australian Defence Force’s ‘ready’ brigade.

Exercise Hamel kicked off with 2nd Commando Regiment soldiers parachuting into Whyalla airport under cover of darkness from a Royal Australian Air Force C-130J aircraft.

The special forces soldiers rapidly conducted a ground assault, cleared and secured the airport prior to handing over to 1st Brigade soldiers from 5th Battalion, Royal Australian Regiment (5 RAR). Over the coming days, 5 RAR will use the airport as an evacuation handling centre to process civilian ‘evacuees’ through assembly areas as part of the non-combatant evacuation scenario.

Army uses the ‘Road to Hamel’ to build up its next ready brigade and Exercise Hamel is the final test. In 2016, Darwin's 1st Brigade is being put through its paces to ensure it is ready to support operational contingencies ranging from humanitarian assistance through to major combat operations

Exercise Hamel 2016 involves 8000 military personnel from the Australian Army, Royal Australian Navy, Royal Australian Air Force, United States Marine Corps, United States Army and the New Zealand Army.

For the first time, Exercise Hamel is being conducted in South Australia and will take place around Port Augusta, Port Pirie, Whyalla and the Cultana training area.

Thank you for commenting and faving my photos :-)

My Website: www.zeitfaenger.at

Creative Commons License: Attribution 3.0 Unported

What are you doing this weekend? I'm going to see my friends, Andrae and Jamie in a special two night show that they collaborated on called... BATHROOM FOLLIES! Check it out if you're around!

Contact: Leo Garcia

For Immediate Release (310) 453-1755

DANCE, FASHION, SPECIAL EVENTS leogarcia@highwaysperformance.org

PROJECT RUNWAY DESIGNER AND CHOREOGRAPHER COLLABORATE ON DANCE PRESENTATION ABOUT PUBLIC RESTROOM LIFE.

Santa Monica, CA - Highways Performance Space presents the premiere of "Bathroom Follies", a dance work conceived by Choreographer Jamie Benson and Project Runway's Andrae Gonzalo. Benson garnered critical attention originating the role of "Eldon" in LATC's Ovation award winning production of "Shag with a Twist" in 2005. Los Angeles Fashion Designer Andrae Gonzalo gained acclaim as the emotionally bald designer of Project Runway's 2nd season, and for his conviction that good fashion is "clothing that tells a story". In these pieces, Benson and Gonzalo appropriate the inherent relationship of dance with fashion to explore the dynamics of public vulnerability. Early notions for "Bathroom Follies" arose from their shared experiences, serving LA's cultural elite in the Founders Room of the Walt Disney Concert Hall, as well as the aftermath of Gonzalo's Emmy-nominated breakdown on Project Runway.

Highways performance Space is located at 1651 18th Street, in Santa Monica, CA, ½ block north of Olympic Blvd. Tickets are available for either night at $20/general and $15/students (students must present ID at door). Buy your tickets on-line @ www.highwaysperformance.org . Call 310-315-1459 for show information.

For this dance work, Benson and Gonzalo collectively investigated scenarios which dramatized the common human realities confronted within "the facilities". Inspired by this goal, the fashion/costumes for the piece are intended to be clothes which tell a more experiential story than those in an ordinary fashion show. Benson's choreography incorporates jazz, modern dance, and ballet, in order to access the varied spectrum of human dynamics found in this unorthodox setting. The final result is a series of six dance sequences which dissect the social and psychological dimensions of human activities in front of the bathroom sink, or within toilet stalls.

Each of these pieces focus on the public performances which occur the moment we expose our human intimacies to the florescent gaze of "the john". Whether transformed by the anxiety of pending urine test results, the vexing pretense of female social politics, or even the simple pleasures of an illicit blowjob, the bathroom still remains the quintessential "room of rest", and the repository of those experiences which unite us all as human beings.

Highways Performance Space is in its 18th year as Southern California''s boldest center for new performance, promoting the development of contemporary, socially involved artists and art forms from diverse local, national and international communities. Artistic Director Leo Garcia continues to affirm Highways mission of developing and presenting innovative performance. For more information, photos or interviews, please contact Leo Garcia, Artistic Director @ 310 453-1755

..in her character form.

After messing so much with enbeffect.fx (I should thank Kyo for makind such a work since I'm using his as a base.. I'm starting to understand something lol), restoring my enbseries config for .143 binaries and testing sweetfx filters (in the end I choose Vibrance and Curves, but DPX wasn't so bad either) and this is the result.

I had some difficults with detectors, maybe they still need some tweaking.

Any comment, critic, advice or anything else is welcome.

AKIBA scenario

AKIHABARA (秋葉原) also known as Electric Town or AKIBA in short. Its best-known as one of the largest shopping areas on Earth for electronic, computer, anime, and otaku goods. The character of Akihabara has constantly changed over the decades and continues to do so. A recent development is the emergence of Akihabara as a center of Japanese animation culture.

OTAKU culture in Akihabara has become increasingly famous in the recent years. Many people there have unique lifestyles, centered on technological enterprises and a love for Anime/Manga, that have made them outsiders in other sections of Japanese society. Otaku are afforded the chance to gather here and avoid alienation imposed by others who do not share their specific interests. The presence of such prolific "GEEKY" behavior has led to Akihabara being seen as a mecca of sorts for otaku, as well as to the term Akiba-kei, or Akiba-type.

In addition to conventional stores, various other animation related establishments have appeared in the area, such as cosplay ("costume play") cafes, where waitresses are dressed up like anime characters, and manga kissaten ("comics cafes"), where customers can read comics, watch DVDs and surf the internet.

Maid-kissa are coffee shops where the waitresses where fantasy like maid costumes. They dress up to look like characters from famous anime or Japanese comics. Since Akihabara caters not only to electronic enthusiasts but also young Japanese otaku which translates roughly to NERDS in English.

Every Sundays at Chuo-Dori, the main street in Akihabara you can find the "MAIDS" passing out pamphlets to their shops to passers by.

Akihabara is 5 minutes ride from (central) Tokyo Station

SOURCE:

Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

japan-guide.com

tokyoessentials.com

BEST VIEW LARGE

view the set of AKIBA SCENARIO

Essen

AKIBA scenario

AKIHABARA (秋葉原) also known as Electric Town or AKIBA in short. Its best-known as one of the largest shopping areas on Earth for electronic, computer, anime, and otaku goods. The character of Akihabara has constantly changed over the decades and continues to do so. A recent development is the emergence of Akihabara as a center of Japanese animation culture.

OTAKU culture in Akihabara has become increasingly famous in the recent years. Many people there have unique lifestyles, centered on technological enterprises and a love for Anime/Manga, that have made them outsiders in other sections of Japanese society. Otaku are afforded the chance to gather here and avoid alienation imposed by others who do not share their specific interests. The presence of such prolific "GEEKY" behavior has led to Akihabara being seen as a mecca of sorts for otaku, as well as to the term Akiba-kei, or Akiba-type.

In addition to conventional stores, various other animation related establishments have appeared in the area, such as cosplay ("costume play") cafes, where waitresses are dressed up like anime characters, and manga kissaten ("comics cafes"), where customers can read comics, watch DVDs and surf the internet.

Maid-kissa are coffee shops where the waitresses where fantasy like maid costumes. They dress up to look like characters from famous anime or Japanese comics. Since Akihabara caters not only to electronic enthusiasts but also young Japanese otaku which translates roughly to NERDS in English.

Every Sundays at Chuo-Dori, the main street in Akihabara you can find the "MAIDS" passing out pamphlets to their shops to passers by.

Akihabara is 5 minutes ride from (central) Tokyo Station

SOURCE:

Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

japan-guide.com

tokyoessentials.com

BEST VIEW LARGE

view the set of AKIBA SCENARIO

Mexico Sub @ Corder, MO

AKIBA scenario

AKIHABARA (秋葉原) also known as Electric Town or AKIBA in short. Its best-known as one of the largest shopping areas on Earth for electronic, computer, anime, and otaku goods. The character of Akihabara has constantly changed over the decades and continues to do so. A recent development is the emergence of Akihabara as a center of Japanese animation culture.

OTAKU culture in Akihabara has become increasingly famous in the recent years. Many people there have unique lifestyles, centered on technological enterprises and a love for Anime/Manga, that have made them outsiders in other sections of Japanese society. Otaku are afforded the chance to gather here and avoid alienation imposed by others who do not share their specific interests. The presence of such prolific "GEEKY" behavior has led to Akihabara being seen as a mecca of sorts for otaku, as well as to the term Akiba-kei, or Akiba-type.

In addition to conventional stores, various other animation related establishments have appeared in the area, such as cosplay ("costume play") cafes, where waitresses are dressed up like anime characters, and manga kissaten ("comics cafes"), where customers can read comics, watch DVDs and surf the internet.

Maid-kissa are coffee shops where the waitresses where fantasy like maid costumes. They dress up to look like characters from famous anime or Japanese comics. Since Akihabara caters not only to electronic enthusiasts but also young Japanese otaku which translates roughly to NERDS in English.

Every Sundays at Chuo-Dori, the main street in Akihabara you can find the "MAIDS" passing out pamphlets to their shops to passers by.

Akihabara is 5 minutes ride from (central) Tokyo Station

SOURCE:

Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

japan-guide.com

tokyoessentials.com

BEST VIEW LARGE

view the set of AKIBA SCENARIO

U.S. Army Sgt. Quran T. Williams, left, unpacks sample gear while Sgt. Nicky Lam, both Survey Team Members with the 21st Weapons of Mass Destruction-Civil Support Team (21st WMD-CST), New Jersey National Guard, photographs a simulated crime scene during a training exercise at Joint Base McGuire-Dix-Lakehurst, N.J., Oct. 23, 2019. The 21st WMD-CST supports civil authorities at man-made or natural disasters by identifying chemical, biological, radiological, and nuclear substances, assess the consequences, and advises on response measures. (New Jersey National Guard photo by Mark C. Olsen)

Snowed-in LED lights on a fence. Blue and yellow, early morning. The colours of Ukraine, too. A signal of hope in a bleak scenario.

Nikon Zf, Nikkor 400mm f/4.5 Z + TC14Z

2025.01.07 Lyslenke på nedsnødd rekkverk. Orderudåsen, Sørum kommune, Akershus. © Birna Rørslett-NN/Nærfoto < B202501073041 B202501 B2025 202501073041 202501 DIGITALBILDE, NATUR/NORGE/NORDEN> 2.0 MB IMAGE 07.01.2025 11:37:01 GPS UTM:PM,PM25,PM2550,PM251501 [NIKON Z f, Nikkor 400 mm f/4.5 S + TC1.4Z (560mm f/6.3)]

Some scenarios recreated at Huaca Pucllana to show typical activities

Model - Countess Grotesque

Strobist info -

Natural light through the shop window at camera left and one off camera flash at camera right firing through a shoot through umbrella at 1/8 (if I'm remembering correctly).

AKIBA scenario

AKIHABARA (秋葉原) also known as Electric Town or AKIBA in short. Its best-known as one of the largest shopping areas on Earth for electronic, computer, anime, and otaku goods. The character of Akihabara has constantly changed over the decades and continues to do so. A recent development is the emergence of Akihabara as a center of Japanese animation culture.

OTAKU culture in Akihabara has become increasingly famous in the recent years. Many people there have unique lifestyles, centered on technological enterprises and a love for Anime/Manga, that have made them outsiders in other sections of Japanese society. Otaku are afforded the chance to gather here and avoid alienation imposed by others who do not share their specific interests. The presence of such prolific "GEEKY" behavior has led to Akihabara being seen as a mecca of sorts for otaku, as well as to the term Akiba-kei, or Akiba-type.

In addition to conventional stores, various other animation related establishments have appeared in the area, such as cosplay ("costume play") cafes, where waitresses are dressed up like anime characters, and manga kissaten ("comics cafes"), where customers can read comics, watch DVDs and surf the internet.

Maid-kissa are coffee shops where the waitresses where fantasy like maid costumes. They dress up to look like characters from famous anime or Japanese comics. Since Akihabara caters not only to electronic enthusiasts but also young Japanese otaku which translates roughly to NERDS in English.

Every Sundays at Chuo-Dori, the main street in Akihabara you can find the "MAIDS" passing out pamphlets to their shops to passers by.

Akihabara is 5 minutes ride from (central) Tokyo Station

SOURCE:

Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

japan-guide.com

tokyoessentials.com

BEST VIEW LARGE

view the set of AKIBA SCENARIO

Crew-7 crew member Satoshi Furukawa during Emergency Scenarios training on Nov. 30, 2022. Credit: NASA/Riley McClenaghan

Paris, France

Crew-7 crew member Satoshi Furukawa during Emergency Scenarios training on Nov. 30, 2022. Credit: NASA/Riley McClenaghan

Crew-7 crew members Jasmin Moghbeli, Andreas Mogensen, and Satoshi Furukawa during Emergency Scenarios training on Nov. 30, 2022. Credit: NASA/Riley McClenaghan

Go Outside, worst case scenario, a bear kills you!

Photographed on the back window of a minivan

Hy Vee Parking Lot

Lakeville Minnesota

Friday October 1st 2021

Some background:

The origin of Rescue Labors dates back to 1998, when both the Tokyo fire and police departments were called out for a high risk job when a fire broke out at the Tower City skyscraper under construction in Tama.

As the fire fighters dealt with the fire, the police's AV-98 Ingrams carried out a rescue of the personnel and dignitaries trapped high in the tower. The impressive potential of the Labors in this scenario led city officials to publish a tender for a dedicated fire-fighting Labor.

A final, rather disturbing note is that it is uncertain where the two Type-8FF prototypes ended up. SEE took them back into custody after completion of the competition process in early 2000, but there has been no official record or documentation that the vehicles actually left Japan. Rumor has it that they are still on private SEE ground in the Tokyo region.

Technical Data:

Code name: Type-8FF "Florian"

Unit type: fire emergency labor prototype

Manufacturer: SEE (Schaft Enterprises Europe)

Operator: SEJ (Schaft Enterprises Japan), proposed to the Tokyo Fire Department

Rollout: April 1999 AD

Number built: 2

Accommodation: pilot only, in heat- and ABC-insulated cockpit in front torso

Dimensions:

Overall height 10,50 meters

Overall width 5.40 meters

Minimum revolving radius: 6.0 meters

Weight:

Standard 7.05 metric tons

Full 8.81 metric tons

Armor materials:

none

Powerplant:

unknown

Maximum weight lifting capacity:

4.00 metric tons

Equipment and design features:

Visual and acoustic sensors, range unknown

Highly articulated manipulator hands

White and IR searchlights

2x water cannon, mounted on shoulders and on right forearm

Extendable hydraulic crusher on left forewarm

Auxillary CO2 tank, mounted on backpack

Autonomous water turbo pump for in- and external operation

Winch (2.00 metric tons)

Fixed or optional armaments:

none

This model is a thorough conversion of a 1:60 "SEE Type-7 Brocken" IP kit from Bandai, and it is part of a Group Build at whatifmodelers.com under the theme "De-/Militarize it" (which still runs until the end of August 2015).

The mecha belongs into the Patlabor anime TV series. Anime is certainly not everyone's business, but it has a lot to offer.

The charm of the Patlabor universe is that these vehicles exist (these are no robots, except for rare cases there's a pilot inside) in everyday life. When the series was conceived in the 80ies it was a near-future setting in the nineties - SF, but VERY down to earth and "realistic".

The 'Labors', how these more or less humanoid vehicles are called, are special duty heavy machinery, e. g. for construction, loading, hazmat handling. They are also employed by the police (hence the title of the series, Patlabor, which circles around a police unit which fights labor crime) and by the military.

The Brocken is one of the dedicated military designs. It actually comes from Germany, hence probably the plate mail armor design. I am not certain if its name, Brocken, is the German word for hulk, or the mountain close to the inner German border in FRG/GDR times, because the Brocken was designed to patrol and protect this border - the Cold War was still part of the series' script!

There are actually firefighting Labors in the TV series, and the background story is built around the two types I am aware of. And in order to de-militarize the Brocken and change its look so far that the kit appears like a different vehicle, a lot of things had to be modified.

The head is completely new and supposed to remind of typical firefighter helmets. The cockpit section (in the breast) was changed, too, as well as the knee sections and different hands. Parts from other mecha kits (e. g. from a 1:72 Battroid VF-1 , a 1:100 Gerwalk VF-1, a 1:100 Destroid Phalanx, a 1:144 Gundam Zaku and even from an NGE EVA) were intergrated, but a lot of details were scratched.

For instance, the head with its sensor booms and the complex shape consists of ~30 pieces and putty, and the flashlights were completely scratched from clear sprue, styrene sheet and parts of PET toothbrush head protectors!

Having a dedicated duty, a lot of special equipment had to be integrated - in a fashion that it looks plausible and as an integral part, not just an add-on. Therefore, several light installations were added, two water cannons (one on the shoulder, one on the right forearm), a scratched winch, plus several protection bars all around the hull.

A CO2 tank was added on the back, plus a turbo pump installation that would drive the two water cannons and allow external water supply. An extandable hydraulic crusher on the right forearm was added, too, when knocking on the door simply does not meet the situation. Integrating the stuff into the hull meant much body work, and all the devices were meant to appear plausible and functional.

The paint scheme was simple: an all-red livery, inspired by typical German fire engines which wear RAL 3000 as official color. With some shading this eventually turned into a rather orange hue, but the Florian still looks like a fire fighting vehicle.

The yellow trim for a more international look was created with decals from several HO scale firefighting vehicle aftermarket sheets. Finally, after a black ink wash and some dry-painting, the kit received a coating with semi-matt acrylic varnish, and some pigment dust around the legs.

Future Bristol Low Carbon 2050. More info here -

www.futurebristol.co.uk/

I love these kinds of snowflakes, featuring “crowns” at the tips of the branches. Clearly illustrating shifts in growth patterns, it’s one you should view large!

The branches of this snowflake started early, but produced very little in the way of side-branching. This is uncommon, but not unheard of. In this scenario, you would have slightly lower humidity but temperatures around -10 to -15C in the clouds, and this would need to stay fairly stable. The tips of the branches showcase a visually different pattern of crystal growth, producing broad branches. Visually different doesn’t always equal different physics, however!

Broad branches typically grow in lower humidity, which would also be the cause of straight main branches towards the center. Slight changes in this lower-humidity environment can manifest as shifts in design, especially as the branches reach further and further away from the center of the crystal. One noticeable branching event happened just before the larger tips formed, should could have been the start of “phase two” in this snowflake. The variables would have only changed by a small margin, but the results are fantastic.

The results aren’t symmetrical, however. You’ll easily notice that the lower right branch is smaller than the rest. If you look a little closer, you’ll notice that the right side-branches of the adjacent branches are smaller, illustrating a lack of water vapour towards the right side of the snowflake. It could be that the snowflake favoured a position that put the left side towards the oncoming wind (and molecular building blocks), or that something had attached itself to the right side of the snowflake that was impeding its ability to collect additional water vapour. This is typical if a snowflake is part of a “cluster” of crystals or has another snowflake attached to it for a time. Either scenario could play out successfully here, it’s impossible to tell what has affected the snowflake.

I would have liked this snowflake more if there was greater balance, but the imbalance gives me something to talk about in my long-winded posts. I suppose that’s a good thing, right?

If you enjoy these posts, you’d love a copy of my book Sky Crystals: Unraveling the Mysteries of Snowflakes – skycrystals.ca/book/ - 304pg hardcover book that dives into the details and aims to explain every one of them. It also features a comprehensive photographic tutorial to help you make images like for yourself!

“The Snowflake” is a print that includes over 400 crystals that took over 2500 hours across five years to produce: skycrystals.ca/poster/ - if you enjoy this series of images, you’ll get a kick out of what similar photos can do when combined together. Give it a look!

Dutch Marines with 32nd Raiding Squadron during Exercise Caribbean Urban Warrior on Camp Lejeune, N.C., March 22, 2021.

The Marines participated in a Military Operations on Urbanized Terrain scenario to perfect tactics and skills.

The exercise is a bilateral training evolution designed to increase global interoperability between 2nd Reconnaissance Battalion, 2nd Marine Division and 32nd Raiding Squadron, Netherlands Marine Corps.

Photos : U.S. Marine Corps photo by Cpl. Armando Elizalde

Evidently, the locals do impromptu performances to relieve themselves of the apparent ennui in Orange County.

Noguchi did work with the theatre, so this was probably what he hoped for in the evenings!

It was a beautiful Spot. Had lots of fun.

quick upload from my archives,been too busy of late to shoot more..

View on black

* HDR .. with Monochrome ...

if you do decide to get your eyebrows threaded for 6 bucks a pop, and it does not go according to plan, you can always wear your sunglasses on your forehead until your brows right themselves.

During the second iteration of Cadet Basic Training, new cadets moved from range to range learning about different weapons systems like the M203 grenade launcher. The new cadets were given scenarios where they had to fire multiple grenades within a time limit at targets ranging from 130to 268 meters. The first 16 were paint rounds followed by two live rounds. U.S. Army photo by Mike Strasser/USMA PAO

RB: The Nutcracker 2020

The Nutcracker returns to the Royal Opera House, in a COVID-safe restaging of Peter Wright’s celebrated two-act production, features students of The Royal Ballet School alongside the full Company. 11 Dec 2020 – 3 Jan 2021.

The Royal Ballet will live stream The Nutcracker on 22 Dec at 7pm, £16, via www.roh.org.uk available on demand until 21 Jan.

Choreography: Peter Wright after Lev Ivanov

Music: Pyotr Il’yich Tchaikovsky

Original scenario: Marius Petipa

Production and scenario: Peter Wright

Designer: Julia Trevelyan Oman

Lighting designer: Mark Henderson

Company: The Royal Ballet

Cast:

The Sugar Plum Fairy: Fumi Kaneko

The Prince: William Bracewell

Herr Drosselmeyer: Christopher Saunders

Clara: Isabella Gasparini

Hans Peter/The Nutcracker: Luca Acri

Rose Fairy: Claire Calvert

see www.dancetabs.com

photo © Foteini Christofilopoulou | All rights reserved | For all usage/licensing enquiries please contact www.foteini.com

by kind permission of the Royal Opera House

AKIBA scenario

AKIHABARA (秋葉原) also known as Electric Town or AKIBA in short. Its best-known as one of the largest shopping areas on Earth for electronic, computer, anime, and otaku goods. The character of Akihabara has constantly changed over the decades and continues to do so. A recent development is the emergence of Akihabara as a center of Japanese animation culture.

OTAKU culture in Akihabara has become increasingly famous in the recent years. Many people there have unique lifestyles, centered on technological enterprises and a love for Anime/Manga, that have made them outsiders in other sections of Japanese society. Otaku are afforded the chance to gather here and avoid alienation imposed by others who do not share their specific interests. The presence of such prolific "GEEKY" behavior has led to Akihabara being seen as a mecca of sorts for otaku, as well as to the term Akiba-kei, or Akiba-type.

In addition to conventional stores, various other animation related establishments have appeared in the area, such as cosplay ("costume play") cafes, where waitresses are dressed up like anime characters, and manga kissaten ("comics cafes"), where customers can read comics, watch DVDs and surf the internet.

Maid-kissa are coffee shops where the waitresses where fantasy like maid costumes. They dress up to look like characters from famous anime or Japanese comics. Since Akihabara caters not only to electronic enthusiasts but also young Japanese otaku which translates roughly to NERDS in English.

Every Sundays at Chuo-Dori, the main street in Akihabara you can find the "MAIDS" passing out pamphlets to their shops to passers by.

Akihabara is 5 minutes ride from (central) Tokyo Station

SOURCE:

Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

japan-guide.com

tokyoessentials.com

BEST VIEW LARGE

view the set of AKIBA SCENARIO

Credit: GCTC

Week 4

Francesca Gostinelli, Head, Group Strategy, Economics and Scenario Planning, Enel, Italy; Rafaelita M. Aldaba, Undersecretary, Competitiveness and Innovation Group (CIG), Department of Trade and Industry of the Philippines

Mohit Bhargava, Executive Director, NTPC, India; Vincent Minier, Vice-President, Global Strategy and Sustainability, Energy Transition Research, Schneider Electric, France; Sharelynn Moore, Executive Vice-President; Chief Business Development and Marketing Officer, Bloom Energy, USA, speaking in the Accelerating Integrated Solutions for the Energy Transition session at the Industry Strategy Meeting 2023 in Geneva, Switzerland, 16 March. Copyright: World Economic Forum/ Marc Bader

Wet, unsettled weather makes a big return to San Jose, CA. We were also under hazardous weather advisories at the time. I miss this weather... It feels like it's been forever since I've seen rain!

Weather scenario/details:

At last, rain was finally making a return to California after a very dry February! Certainly, we were in for a lot of it! Although we were still in a drought, all this rain equals hazardous conditions... It may be too much of a good thing...

Here's a weather rundown: Why the sudden rains? An atmospheric river event was in store for California for early March 2016... Despite a very dry and mild February, a major pattern change toward a much wetter weather pattern was imminent. The 1st strong system of the series had hit by the first weekend of the month, bringing heavy rain, gusty winds, and heavy mountain snow. Wind & flood advisories were also issued with the first system of the series. The 1st system's strong cold front had approached the Bay Area by Saturday afternoon. Strong southerly winds have developed as the front passed thru. While this rain was to help replenish depleted water reservoirs and put a dent in the long-standing drought, the large amount of rain in a short time frame would lead to flooding and mudslides. Despite its drawbacks, the rainfall was beneficial to the state's water supply. Impacts from the 1st strong system had brought heavy rain & wind to my area in San Jose, CA. The 2nd system was expected to arrive by Sunday night and into Monday. At the time, the 2nd system appeared a bit stronger, bringing in more heavy rain, according to forecasters. Looks like this was El Nino's last hurrah this winter! Is a 'Miracle-March' imminent? Drive safe & stay dry out there, guys.

(Footage filmed Saturday, March 5, 2016 from around San Jose, CA)

This is the famous sculpture/garden (note the /) by Isao Noguichi. We had it completely to ourselves!