Once in a blue moon things are not like they seem, or at least are supposed to be, even deep in the heart of the old Confederacy.

 

This photograph could make one feel perhaps hopeful that -despite the recent violent setbacks like the senseless racially motivated mass murder of black people by a white supremacist in Buffalo, New York- racial tensions in the US could one day end.

Built in 1927-1928, this Art Deco and Romanesque Revival-style skyscraper was designed by Wirt C. Rowland and Smith, Hinchman and Grylls, and was named for the indigenous Penobscot tribe of Maine. The building was the tallest in Detroit upon its completion and the eighth-tallest in the world, remaining the tallest building in the city until 1977, at a height of 664 feet (202 meters) and 47 stories. The building features a limestone-clad exterior, arched openings at the base with brass trim at the windows on the lower floors, geometric motifs on the exterior, sculptures of indigenous American people, one-over-one windows, light wells on the front and rear facades, setbacks at the top of the building, arched window bays near the top of the tower, and a large antenna atop the roof. The building is a contributing structure in the Detroit Financial District Historic District, listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 2009. In 1977, the building was overtaken by the Renaissance Center Hotel Tower, and later by the Comerica Bank Building in 1993, today being Detroit’s third-tallest building. The building today remains in use as an office building.

Unique Italianate-style townhouse, circa late 19th Century, with a complex cornice and a side wing with a deep setback from the street.

Developers have submitted a petition to the Zoning Committee to demolish the Fulton Market Kitchen, a two-story restaurant building at 311 N. Sangamon St., and replace with the new 14-story hotel. The 1890 warehouse at 310 N. Peoria St., designed by Adler and Sullivan, will get a fifth-floor addition and combined with the new building to the west.

 

NOTE: Designed by Hirsch MPG, renovation plans for early 2024 call for adding a setback fifth floor and repurposing the timber loft into boutique office space. A new restaurant will occupy the first floor, second floor and basement. The lobby for the adjacent approved hotel will be located under an existing industrial-style canopy, which will also shelter diners on a large, raised exterior patio.

PLEASE, NO invitations or self promotions, THEY WILL BE DELETED. My photos are FREE to use, just give me credit and it would be nice if you let me know, thanks.

 

Piber Castle was formerly the Abbey of St. Lambrecht.

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------

The Piber Federal Stud Farm is dedicated to the breeding of Lipizzan horses, located at the village of Piber. It was founded in 1798, began breeding Lipizzan horses in 1920, and today is the primary breeding farm that produces the stallions used by the Spanish Riding School, where the best stallions of each generation are bred and brought for training and later public performance. One of Piber’s major objectives is "to uphold a substantial part of Austria’s cultural heritage and to preserve one of the best and most beautiful horse breeds in its original form."

 

The Lipizzan breed as a whole, suffered a setback when a viral epidemic hit the Piber Stud in 1983. Forty horses and eight percent of the expected foal crop were lost. Since then, the population at the farm has increased, with 100 mares as of 1994 and a foal crop of 56 born in 1993. In 1994, the pregnancy rate increased from 27% to 82% as the result of a new veterinary center.

Škoda publicity picture with a very rare convertible version of the Škoda 130 Type 743 range.

 

In the mid 1960s Škoda manufacturer AZNP started to think about a successor for the 1000 MB and the later 100/110 series. Ital Design founder Giorgetto Giugiaro (It., 1938) was asked for ideas. In June 1969 useful sketches were approved, and in Aug. 1969 the first model 740 prototype was presented.

After overcoming many problems and setbacks, production could finally start in 1976.

 

The Škoda Type 742 and 746 share the same body. They were available as 105, 120 and as 125, depending on the engine. The type designation 130 Type 743 was reserved for the coupe.

In 1983 renewed 742 versions were presented. They received rectangular head lamps.

 

In the UK these cars were sold as Estelle. In France as 1050, because Peugeot had claimed the rights of using the 105 model name for their own cars.

 

1289 cc L4 rear engine.

Performance: 58 bhp.

890 kg.

Production Škoda Type 742 series: Aug. 1976-1989.

Production Škoda 742 series this 2nd version: Sept. 1983-1989.

Production Škoda Type 743 Coupe series: late 1981-1988.

Production Škoda Type 743 this 130 Cabriolet: Aug. 1984-1988.

 

Image found in:

Auto Totaal, alle Automerken van de Wereld, De Oosteuropese Merken, Red. K.A. v.d. Hoek, Karel Hubert en John Bekker, Uitgeverij Lekturama, 1992.

(from own book collection, 1994).

Original photographer, exact place and date unknown.

 

Halfweg, May 18, 2025.

 

© 2025 Lekturama/Sander Toonen Halfweg | All Rights Reserved

Some protestors are attempted to take cover during the 2019-20 Hong Kong protests. This specific event depicts the Chinese University of Hong Kong conflict as protestors set up roadblocks, disrupting traffic and facilitated strikes. It started on November the 11th and ended on the 15th in the same month. Protestors threw objects onto the railway tracks near the University station from the Chinese University of Hong Kong. As a result the police started to shoot pepper bullets and waves of tear gas. On the next day, clashes started between the two groups that lasted for an entire day.

The HKPF started to storm into the campus to conduct arrests, while the protestors in turn threw petrol bombs. As the night fall, the vice-chancellor and president of the CUHK arrived at the scene to seek meditation with the police, but they rejected any form of negotiation. As a result the conflict escalated into widespread protests in various parts of the city in an attempt to distract the attention of the police. More than 70 students were injured during the whole ordeal.

The protestors occupied the university for a brief moment from 13 to 15 november where they proceed to set up barricades and used makeshift weapons inside the university campuses. Other universities also barricaded their schools. The most famous one is the PolyU which was besieged by the police on the 17th of november.

 

As the counts of allegations of misconduct by the Hong Kong Police Force continue to rise and the government stance of ignoring the 5 demands of the protests, violence from both sides has escalated at a fast rate. The death of Chow Tsz Lok, who met his end after failing one floor in a car park, resulted into a widespread anger in Hong Kong, while his initial cause of death is unknown, the protestors accused the police of obstructing medics from attending him, resulting that his treatment came too late. The protestors called for a general strike that would be facilitated by obstructing the traffic during rush hours. It was dubbed as ‘’Operation Dawn’’ by the demonstrators which involved several protestors of the Chinese University of Hong Kong.

 

While not as famous as the siege of PolyU, this was just an appraiser of what was going to happen. While opinions were divided among various factions of the protestors regarding the effectiveness of this strategy and the overall handling of the situation, with some students wanting to leave while some wanted to stay. Over the course of the university sieges, up to a 1000 protestors were arrested which was a setback for the overall movement.

 

This picture is obviously based on the iconic picture taken during that day where a group of protestors were taking cover while waving the ‘’Liberate Hong Kong’’ flag and surrounded by tear gas.

This conflict was depicted for a short moment in an animation I made about the Hong Kong protests, the link that said animation can be found below:

 

Link to the brickfilm:

www.youtube.com/watch?v=VGX097ZOhJQ

It's time. I've managed (finally) to finish editing my 455 film photos from last year's hikes, and figured that today - my birthday - was as good a time as any to celebrate accomplishments.

 

And what a year of hiking it was. A year of carving out time, typically one day per week, and often sleeping on the couch in order to not disturb anyone with my 3 or 4 AM alarm. A lot of driving in the dark to trailheads. A lot more driving in general, really - I find that I crave new hikes, new places, and so I found myself venturing further and further out for a "simple" day hike. There were a fair number of 4-hour drives (and 4+ hours on the way home, due to traffic).

 

When drives were too long, I had a few opportunities to drive up (it was nearly always "up", into Washington) and stay the night before a hike. Lance and Kelsie helped me manage a two-day trip up so that we could hike Royal Basin. Michael watched the kiddos so that I could combine my vet CE conference in Tacoma with a few extra days of hiking around Snoqualmie Pass.

 

And then. AND THEN. There was the pinnacle of planning, the dreamed of, hoped for, can't-believe-we-get-to-do-this trip of the year: The Enchantments Core with my amazing and unstoppable friend Ara. It was her lucky lottery permit that scored us a trip into that stunning region at a time when the larches glowed golden. It was that trip that consumed 80% of the "hiking prep and planning" part of my brain. That trip did NOT disappoint.

 

There were a few setbacks over the year. Namely, not being able to hike South Sister due to smoke and weather. But having had 2-3 days already carved out for that trip, I was able to reverse direction and form a new challenge: hiking the Spray Park Loop at Mt. Rainier, with the addition of Tolmie Peak, all in one day: 22.5 miles, and my first "6,000 feet of elevation" day. I started in the dark and ended in the dark. I'm so proud that I did it. But I'd never do it again. So it goes.

 

There were some other setbacks as well. My right knee, needing at least a partial replacement at this point in my life, rallied exceptionally well after a PRP injection. A bad flareup of plantar fasciitis had me hobbling around in the late fall, but shockwave therapy has almost completely resolved the issue (big fan, and thanks to Cheryl for the info). Oh... and I got stuck in the snow on the road up Larch Mountain (that may have been my least favorite memory of the year, but made me very happy to have a Garmin device).

 

Many memories will stay with me forever... hiking Rowena Crest at sunset with my 6-year-old, him having the time of his life in the wind, me not able to lift my jaw from the ground due to being gob-smacked by balsamroot beauty. Zooming up the trail in the Wallowas to Ice Lake, finding it still sparkling and rimmed with snow-covered peaks. Several days in a row spent day hiking the Sunrise area at Mt. Rainier - the moon over Rainier before sunrise, the tough slog up third Burroughs and then into/out of Glacier Basin in the same day, startling a young bear at sunrise on the way up to Dege Peak. A hike to Snow Lake in the Snoqualmie area that left me utterly and insanely drenched and miserable by the end - and yet left me with indelibly beautiful memories of fog and lakes and mountains in the autumn colors. A few trips up to Mount St. Helens, one of them in time for sunrise, one of them to summit the mountain, all of them so surprisingly different. That hike up and past Royal Basin in the Olympics with friends - quiet tarns and wide, far-reaching valleys. Trips with the boys - to Glass Beach with the oldest, where his keen eyes found some amazing sea glass. To Mt. Rainier with the 4-year-old, who hiked to Panorama Point in the rain and fog (with the aid of many snacks). Into Cairn Basin on Mt. Hood with Michael, where the paintbrush carpeted parts of the trail. A winter wonderland on Dog Mountain. A heart-pounding hike in Indian Heaven, where I shared the trail with cougar tracks for miles. And of course, The Enchantments.

 

Interesting stats: my day at Rowena with Elliot was the most prolific, with 28 photos saved. But Mary's Peak in the fog came close, at 23. As for my three cameras, the Hasselblad accounted for 50% of my favorites, Pinhole 30%, and Nikon FM 20%.

 

As we head further into 2025, my fingers are crossed for more opportunities: lotteries entered for Mt. Rainier and the Enchantments. A trip to Banff with Michael. South Sister. More exploration of Snoqualmie pass. A few hopeful short trips into the Cascades. The wish list goes on. And on.

Luhrs Tower is an Art Deco skyscraper office building in downtown Phoenix, Arizona. It is located at the southeast corner of First Avenue and Jefferson Street, on the south side of the former Patriots Square Park. Built in 1929 by George Luhrs, a prominent local businessman, the tower reaches a height of 185 ft (56 m). Luhrs Tower has 14 stories, with symmetrical setbacks at the 8th and 11th floors. It was designed by the El Paso architectural firm of Trost & Trost and bears a considerable resemblance to another design by the same firm, the O. T. Bassett Tower in El Paso. The design features several components of Eliel Saarinen's Tribune Tower.

NRHP

It was a UP SD90macH. Now after a couple of years and some setbacks, it's now a Cummins QSK95 powered 4300 HP locomotive.

Naysayers beware, I like the design, the sound, and I think it has great potential. You will not convince me otherwise.

Found this photo on my computer... completely forgot about it.

 

This past year has been trying and best. I've lost several friends and a family member. I have also dealt with quite a few personal setbacks. This photo was taken shortly after the second of my friends died.

 

I am in a much better place now, but this photo will help me not to forget how I felt in that difficult time. It also will help to remind me to reach out to those around me for help and in turn help those around me.

 

Hyacinths in a surprise March snow in Madison, Alabama.

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Fidelity-Philadelphia Trust Company Building

(Wells Fargo Building)

  

sculptors: Piccirilli Brothers

 

windows designers: d'Ascenzo Studios

 

architect: Simon & Simon, 1927-28

 

architectural style: Beaux-Arts

 

Center City - Rittenhouse Square

Avenue of the Arts - Broad Street Historic District

123-151 S. Broad St.

Philadelphia, Pennsylvania

  

INSTAGRAM TWITTER

 

The Pythian Temple

 

architect: Thomas W. Lamb, 1927

 

architectural style: Art Deco, Egyptian & Assyrian Revival Temple

 

Built as the Headquarters of the 120 Pythian lodges of New York City.Converted to residential use by architect David Gura in 1986.

  

Manhattan, Upper West Side

Lincoln Square neighborhood

135 West 70th Street

New York City, NY

 

En cuanto pasó el manganeso por Celada salí volando de nuevo hacia Mataporquera. Las japonesas del cemento llevaban media hora allí y si aún no habían terminado la maniobra no debía faltarles demasiado. Cuando llegué a la localidad me las encontré ya encabezadas a la composición y al manganeso perdiéndose en la lejanía. Probablemente estaban a punto de salir y yo necesitaba por lo menos 10 minutos para llegar al punto que había escogido. Dejé el coche en el extremo norte de la cementera y tras cruzar la vía de Feve me llevé un buen revés. La vía de Renfe estaba vallada hasta donde me alcanzaba la vista y yo necesitaba cruzarla. Tras un segundo de duda decidí seguir adelante y eché a trotar girando la cabeza cada pocos segundos para asegurarme de que no venía el tren. A mitad de trayecto encontré una puerta abierta pero como del otro lado no parecía haber ninguna decidí seguir por el camino hasta el cruce de la línea de Feve sobre la de Renfe. Allí le eché imaginación al asunto y en un santiamén me planté al otro lado, muy cerca ya de mi destino, adonde llegué apenas un minuto después. Tras montar el campamento recuperé el aliento, lamenté haber dejado el agua en el coche y comencé a esperar bajo una luz estupenda. A las 11:30 apareció un Alvia y pensé que saldría detrás, pero no. A las 12 consulté las webs de Renfe y Adif para ver si había más trenes de viajeros circulando pero hasta las 13 no venía nada más. Confiaba en que para entonces yo ya estaría bastante lejos de allí pues tenía otra cita en León y además la luz empezaba a no estar ya tan bien, pero de momento el cementero no aparecía. A las 12:30, justo cuando perdía definitivamente el favor del sol, vi asomar a las 269s con varias tolvas y durante un instante me emocioné, pero para mi decepción frenaron y tras invertir la marcha volvieron a desaparecer. Llevaban casi 2 horas allí y ni siquiera habían terminado las maniobras! Se conoce que lo que yo había visto al llegar era sólo medio tren. Seguí esperando, ya bastante inquieto, y cuando dieron las 13 ya supe que por lo menos iba a estar allí otros 15 o 20 minutos, pues el 599 para Santander debía estar al caer. Así fue. A los 5 minutos pasó zumbando hacia Pozazal y 10 minutos después al fin se puso el cementero en marcha.

 

As soon as the mangenese train passed Celada I fastly returned back to Mataporquera. The "japonesas" of the cement carrier had been there for a half an hour and if they hadn't finished shunting yet they were about to do it. When I arrived to the town I found them already headed to the formation and the manganese losing in the distance. They were probably going to depart immediatly and I still needed at least 10 minutes to arrive to the desired spot. I left the car in the north side of the cement factory and after crossing Feve track I suffered a big setback. Renfe track was fenced as far as I could see and I needed to cross it. After a second of doubt I decided to continue ahead and started jogging always with an eye on the back checking for the train. After half the run I found an opened door which could give me access to the track but as I couldn't see another one in the opposite side I decided to stay in the path until the crossing of Feve line over Renfe one. There I used my imagination to solve the problem and seconds later I was in the proper side, very close to my destination, where I arrived a minute later. After setting up the camp I regain my breath, regretted to have left the water in the car and started to wait under a nice light. At 11.30 am appeared an Alvia and I thought that the freight would come after it, but wasn't the case. At 12 pm I checked Renfe and Adif websites to check for more passenger trains but there weren't any until 1 pm. I was hopping to be far from there by then because I had another appointment in León and besides the light was worsening, but there were no signs of the cement train so far. At 12.30, just when I definetely lost the sun's favour, I saw the 269s with several hoppers in the distance and I thought that finally it was it, but to my disappointment they stopped and then reversed and disappeared again. They had been there for almost 2 hours and they had still more shunting to do! Seemed that what I had seen when I had arrived was only half of the train. I continued the wait, more and more worried every minute and at 1 pm I knew that I'd have to wait for another 15 or 20 minutes, because the 599 to Santander had to be somewhere around. And that was what happened. 5 minutes later appeared buzzing towards Pozazal and 10 minutes later the cement carrier finally departed.

Canon EOS 5D Mark III + 24-105 f/4L IS

This is a very recent addition to my garden, bought on the last day of the season at Hill Close Gardens in Warwick. It's Anisodontea 'El Royo', also known as African Mallow. Its label says it's evergreen and flowers all year round – and apart from a short setback when it was planted out, this seems to be true. Its flowers are a glorious pink – I just hope it's hardy enough to survive the winter.

Flynn injured himself this week. He spotted a stick, pounced on it, ran about a moment... then I glanced away for a split second & as I did so, he yelped & bolted to me. He seemed to recover quickly but a few hours later, the poor pup was refusing to eat, or move. Panicked, I begged the local vet to stay open & see us & thankfully, he agreed. A very scared, but thankfully fairly cooperative Flynn was examined for signs of any stick lodged in his mouth or throat...

 

Luckily, it seems he'd "just" given himself a badly scratched throat & the only treatment needed has been a course of antibiotics. He's been on a soft food nearly all week, lost his bark for a few days & was fairly miserable with life for a good few days, although he now seems back to normal - noisy & bouncy! I've never been so happy to hear Flynn woof & am so relieved he seems to have avoided a more serious accident. I've also been very pleased with the pup's behaviour since his injury.

 

Flynn really doesn't cope well with pain - previously, things like minor cuts on paws caused deteriorations in his behaviour & even resulted in bites. Plus, I far overstepped Flynn's boundaries on Mon. Being restrained is his worst fear & I had to hold him still for a prolonged period of time at the vet. I worried I would've lost a lot of trust with him & thought we'd be in for a tough time, until I could regain that trust. However, all week, Flynn's been very good & shown me no signs of aggression, let alone biting - he's remained eager to engage & play. Despite some setbacks, I think we've made some good progress over the course of this year!

PLEASE, NO invitations or self promotions, THEY WILL BE DELETED. My photos are FREE to use, just give me credit and it would be nice if you let me know, thanks.

 

Piber Castle was formerly the Abbey of St. Lambrecht.

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------

The Piber Federal Stud Farm is dedicated to the breeding of Lipizzan horses, located at the village of Piber. It was founded in 1798, began breeding Lipizzan horses in 1920, and today is the primary breeding farm that produces the stallions used by the Spanish Riding School, where the best stallions of each generation are bred and brought for training and later public performance. One of Piber’s major objectives is "to uphold a substantial part of Austria’s cultural heritage and to preserve one of the best and most beautiful horse breeds in its original form."

 

The Lipizzan breed as a whole, suffered a setback when a viral epidemic hit the Piber Stud in 1983. Forty horses and eight percent of the expected foal crop were lost. Since then, the population at the farm has increased, with 100 mares as of 1994 and a foal crop of 56 born in 1993. In 1994, the pregnancy rate increased from 27% to 82% as the result of a new veterinary center.

I hadn't really expected to encounter substantially-masted sailing ships in Oban Bay, but it seems both of these ships regularly offer sailing tours of Scotland.

 

'Flying Dutchman', the topsail schooner on the left, was built in 1903 and registered in Amsterdam. On the right, the barquentine 'Thalassa' was built in 1980 in Harlingen, Netherlands, but sank in 1985. However, that was only a temporary setback: after a complete rebuilt and refit, she was relaunched in 1995 and has repeatedly competed in The Tall Ships Races since 2004: those three masts, reaching 35 m, can support 800 m² of sail.

 

The general cargo ship moored behind 'Thalassa' is 'Havgull', built in 1967 and apparently now serving the offshore salmon farms of Shetland, where she's registered (on Whalsay, evidently).

 

The Neo-Gothic catholic cathedral of St Columba is on the right edge of the image, behind the quay buildings. Designed by Sir Giles Gilbert Scott, it was built near the northern end of Oban's sea front between 1931 and 1951.

 

The background is the island of Lismore, as low cloud hides the actual horizon: the hills of Morvern.

Excerpt from www.historicplaces.ca/en/rep-reg/place-lieu.aspx?id=3374:

 

Description of Historic Place

The former Walkerville Post Office is an early 20th century, two-storey brick structure in the Beaux Arts style prominently located on Devonshire Road.

 

A local landmark since its construction in 1914, it is formally recognized for its heritage value by City of Windsor Bylaw 12756, 1996.

 

Historical Value

The building’s historical value lies in the fact that its very existence was a recognition by the federal government of the growing importance of the Town of Walkerville. Constructed in 1914 on lands purchased from the Walkerville Land & Building Co., it played a prominent role in the community, providing postal services from 1914 until 1993.

 

Architectural/Aesthetic Value

The post office was constructed by Pigott & Healey Contractors, based on designs provided by staff architects from the Federal Department of Public Works, who included the Beaux Arts style for important government buildings. Its aesthetic quality is reinforced by the deep setback, rhythmical symmetry and massive styling.

 

It displays the architectural complexity of the Beaux Arts style by featuring pedimented entrances, projecting end bays, engaged columns that separate five window bays across the front façade, an ornamental parapet that conceals the flat roof and an immense entablature decorated with a dentilled cornice.

 

Contextual Value

The addition of the Walkerville Post Office, with its massive styling and detailed design, further heightened Devonshire Road as Walkerville’s main street which at the time had a bank, train station and hotel, as well as Romanesque Revival semi-detached houses for management and the clergy. The area surrounding the Walkerville Post Office site was developed by the Walkerville Land & Building Co. Contrary to the company’s preference for red brick and limestone, buff brick and cast concrete were chosen to distinguish the building from its surroundings.

 

Character-Defining Elements

Character-defining elements that express the architectural value of this Beaux Arts style government building include its:

- massive proportions;

- symmetrical street façade on a stone podium;

- distinguishing ochre-coloured brick veneer on reinforced concrete with pre-cast concrete trim;

- six engaged non load-bearing columns across the front separating five window bays;

- flat roof concealed by ornamental parapet and decorated with a dentilled cornice;

- projecting end bays with pedimented entrances;

- bays on the side elevations, defined by flat brick pilasters; and

- generously proportioned windows, one-on-one sash in simple frames, with those on the first floor having keystones.

 

Key elements that contribute to the building’s local landmark status and contextual value include its:

- massive styling and ochre-coloured brick veneer, distinguishing it from the neighbourhood’s largely red brick and limestone buildings;

- prominent siting with landscaped setbacks on three sides;

- location on historic Devonshire Road in the heart of early Walkerville, which was developed by the Walkerville Land & Building Co.; and

- close proximity to other important residential and commercial heritage properties, including the Crown Inn (1893), former Walkerville Town Hall (1904) and Devonshire Road Bank Building (1921).

Leica X

www.deathbysushi.org

Sometimes you make dumb decisions, and everything works out. Other times you think very careful about every move you make, and by some dumb luck nothing goes right. It can pretty much describes my summer of 2016. But then in the long run we never know... To move on after a setback (change) is just as difficult as going back to working out after a break. This time I have to start both simultaneously :)

This is a very recent addition to my garden, bought on the last day of the season at Hill Close Gardens in Warwick. It's Anisodontea 'El Royo', also known as African Mallow. Its label says it's evergreen and flowers all year round – and apart from a short setback when it was planted out, this seems to be true. Its flowers are a glorious pink – I just hope it's hardy enough to survive the winter.

Walt Disney World Resort

Magic Kingdom Park

Main Street, USA

SpectroMagic Parade

 

We just returned from seven fun days at the Walt Disney World Resort. I will discuss the trip itself in an upcoming trip report, but for now, here are (some of) the photographic points. I went into the trip with a list of shots that I wanted to get, and although I only referred to the list twice, I think I did fairly decently. I did have some tripod related setbacks that held me back at the Studios and EPCOT. However Magic Kingdom went fairly well, and I did manage to get this shot.

 

This is a shot that I first envisioned while studying for finals in May (I think of any reason I can to daydream while studying). At the time, I was absolutely ecstatic about the shot. I thought it had never been tried before, as I had never seen a shot like it. That did, however, get me a little worried, as usually when I think of a shot that I have never seen, it: a) can't be done, or b) has been done, and I just haven't seen it, or forgot I have seen it. Although I later saw discussion about this type of shot (which was a little deflating since I thought my idea was unique!), I still have yet to see a Spectro long exposure.

 

Given that I had been waiting so long to get this shot (and since it was at the "top" of my list), I wanted to get it as quickly as possible. However tripod issues and large crowds postponed it until the last night, when I expected crowds to be lighter. Of course it was just as packed the last night as the night's prior, with the only difference being that the last night only had 1 showing of Spectro, versus the previous night's 2 showings. Concerned that we wouldn't get the spot we needed at the Main Street Train Station, we waited an hour and a half in advance for this spot. It was actually pretty fun waiting there, and we even managed to 'sneak' some fine cuisine from Cosmic Ray's over for the wait. I captured several similar shots of the parade, but this is the best, in my opinion.

 

It's one of my favorite shots from the trip, so I thought I would post it today, which just so happens to mark one year of me posting on Flickr. I have learned a lot in that time, and I think I can safely say the content I will be posting in the coming year will eclipse that of my first year. Thanks to all of you who have commented on and assisted with my growth as a photographer in this first year!

 

Thanks for the comments and faves, everyone! This image made it to #76 in Explore for August 19th, 2009!

 

If you want tips for taking better photos at Disney, read this article! In it, I share advice applicable for everyone (from amateurs with iPhones to pros with DSLRS) heading to Disney!

 

View my Disney Photo Gallery for thousands of Disney photos that aren't on Flickr!

 

DisneyTouristBlog | Facebook | Twitter | Photo Gallery | Google+ | ISO 5571 - Podcast

The New York skyline from Brooklyn at blue hour. After a lot of walking on this day, soon after this photo was taken I fell and broke my foot! This seriously curtailed the photos I had planned for this trip but I managed to hobble around and get a few snaps that I can maybe use. Not the ending I'd hoped for but we had a lot of fun despite the setback.

Source: en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stuttgart

 

Stuttgart (Swabian: Schduagert) is the capital and largest city of the German state of Baden-Württemberg. Stuttgart is located on the Neckar river in a fertile valley known locally as the "Stuttgart Cauldron." It lies an hour from the Swabian Jura and the Black Forest. Its urban area has a population of 609,219, making it the sixth largest city in Germany. 2.7 million people live in the city's administrative region and another 5.3 million people in its metropolitan area, making it the fourth largest metropolitan area in Germany. The city and metropolitan area are consistently ranked among the top 20 European metropolitan areas by GDP; Mercer listed Stuttgart as 21st on its 2015 list of cities by quality of living, innovation agency 2thinknow ranked the city 24th globally out of 442 cities and the Globalization and World Cities Research Network ranked the city as a Beta-status world city in their 2014 survey.

 

Since the 6th millennium BC, the Stuttgart area has been an important agricultural area and has been host to a number of cultures seeking to utilize the rich soil of the Neckar valley. The Roman Empire conquered the area in 83 AD and built a massive castrum near Bad Cannstatt, making it the most important regional centre for several centuries. Stuttgart's roots were truly laid in the 10th century with its founding by Liudolf, Duke of Swabia, as a stud farm for his warhorses. Initially overshadowed by nearby Cannstatt, the town grew steadily and was granted a charter in 1320. The fortunes of Stuttgart turned with those of the House of Württemberg, and they made it the capital of their county, duchy, and kingdom from the 15th century to 1918. Stuttgart prospered despite setbacks in the Thirty Years' War and devastating air raids by the Allies on the city and its automobile production during World War II. However, by 1952, the city had bounced back and it became the major economic, industrial, tourism and publishing centre it is today.

 

Stuttgart is also a transport junction, and possesses the sixth-largest airport in Germany. Several major companies are headquartered in Stuttgart, including Porsche, Bosch, Mercedes-Benz, Daimler AG, and Dinkelacker.

 

Stuttgart is unusual in the scheme of German cities. It is spread across a variety of hills (some of them covered in vineyards), valleys (especially around the Neckar river and the Stuttgart basin) and parks. This often surprises visitors who associate the city with its reputation as the "cradle of the automobile". The city's tourism slogan is "Stuttgart offers more". Under current plans to improve transport links to the international infrastructure (as part of the Stuttgart 21 project), the city unveiled a new logo and slogan in March 2008 describing itself as "Das neue Herz Europas" ("The new Heart of Europe"). For business, it describes itself as "Where business meets the future". In July 2010, Stuttgart unveiled a new city logo, designed to entice more business people to stay in the city and enjoy breaks in the area.

 

Stuttgart is a city with a high number of immigrants. According to Dorling Kindersley's Eyewitness Travel Guide to Germany, "In the city of Stuttgart, every third inhabitant is a foreigner." 40% of Stuttgart's residents, and 64% of the population below the age of five, are of immigrant background.

 

Source: en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mercedes-Benz_Museum

 

The Mercedes-Benz Museum is an automobile museum in Stuttgart, Germany. It covers the history of the Mercedes-Benz brand and the brands associated with it. Stuttgart is home to the Mercedes-Benz brand and the international headquarters of Daimler AG.

 

Source: en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Benz_Patent-Motorwagen

 

The Benz Patent-Motorwagen ("patent motorcar"), built in 1885, is widely regarded as the world's first production automobile, that is, a vehicle designed to be propelled by an internal combustion engine. The original cost of the vehicle in 1885 was 600 imperial German marks, approximately 150 US dollars (equivalent to $4,268 in 2019). The vehicle was awarded the German patent number 37435, for which Karl Benz applied on 29 January 1886. Following official procedures, the date of the application became the patent date for the invention once the patent was granted, which occurred in November of that year.

 

Benz's wife, Bertha, financed the development process.

 

Benz unveiled his invention to the public on 3 July 1886, on the Ringstrasse in Mannheim.

 

About 25 Patent-Motorwagen were built between 1886 and 1893.

Ospreys are masters of the dive—precision hunters with talons built for fishing. But not every dive goes to plan.

Back in 2010, in the mangroves of Qatar, I witnessed one of these powerful birds take a dive into shallow water. Instead of a clean catch, the osprey became entangled in the mangroves. For a few tense minutes, it struggled to break free. I remember thinking—it might drown. At last, it managed to pull itself clear, but the effort left it completely soaked. With heavy, waterlogged wings, it could barely fly. The bird managed to reach a nearby post, just a few meters from me, where it perched, shivering and spreading its wings to dry.

Looking back at my photos, I’m reminded that even the most skilled hunters face setbacks. Nature is never predictable, and sometimes survival depends as much on resilience as it does on skill

Gasquet, California USA

With every injury there are setbacks. A few of you may have already know that I broke my right shoulder from doing something that I absolutely love. I am afraid to admit that this is a season ending injury. Surprisingly I am not feeling a lot of pain instead I feel disappointed and frustrated. All I can really do now is focus on getting back to where I used to be.

 

Website

Twitter

500px

 

Dagmar, Uxbridge

 

"Failure is only a fact when you give up. Everyone gets knocked down, the question is: Will you get back up?" - Anonymous

Winter ended ten days ago according to the calendar. But the cold and snow tend to linger well past their expiration date in these parts. One of the frustrations of March and April is a repeating whipsaw of temperature extremes. The village was basking under a brilliant sun with temperatures reaching up near 70 degrees just a day or so before this photo. With the sun came an unbridled (and perhaps unwarranted) sense of optimism and wellbeing. All of that was swept away with the arrival of a cold front and the return of snow, cold and wind. I found my cold weather conditioning, acquired over several weeks, was wiped out during that brief mild spell. That made the resurgence of winter seem that much harsher.

 

As I wandered about the neighborhood, I was struck by the sense that this snow was somehow different than the deep freeze of December and January. The landscape looked more like a special effect scene in a Hollywood movie. One where artificial snow is used to create the feel of winter. It had a temporary feel. The ground here squished beneath my boots as it wasn't truly frozen. The snow covered the exterior branches of the evergreens, but did not penetrate beneath the boughs. Beneath it all was a nascent greenish hue, the emerging spring growth leaching into the whiteness. The actual growth still amorphous, but a decided shift in the sickly yellow hues that prevailed in the dead of winter. Cold yes, but end-of-winter cold which I know will be short lived. For now I'm just waiting to out.

I don't miss Calurin. The plants were wierd, they seemed to be in constant growth. And the floating rocks just didn't make any sense. I was especially happy to leave a planet infested with sith and Tarisin.

 

I have high hopes for Gand. I dessert planet sounds like good change. I recived a new DC-15A, I modified and personalized it with a new bipod and larger clip system. I also recevied a new back pack, this one is specialized to send and receive transmissions in the harsh environment of the dessert. I've also been promoted to Lieutinant.

 

From right to left:

_______

Lt. Rain:

 

Name: CT-2810 "Rain"

Rank: Lieutinant

Weapon of choice: Modified DC-15A

______

Pillbox:

 

Name: CT-64-5400 "Pillbox"

Rank: Corporal

Weapon of choice: Modified HH-15 Projectile Launcher

 

______

Tipper:

 

Name: CT-39002 "Tipper"

Rank:Private

Weapon of choice: Semi-Modified DC-15A

 

_______

Setback:

 

Name: CT-1443 "Setback"

Rank: Private

Weapon of choice: Semi-Modified DC-15A

__________________________________________________________________________

Here is my update for Missions 6.1 - 6.3 Ultimatum of Gand! I decided to change the colors to give it a better contrast in the desert. I also think it looks cooler. But your opinion is what counts!

Raven is the daughter of Trigon, an other-dimensional being of great power and great evil. Raven's mother, Arella, is human.

 

Aware of Trigon's desire to subjugate and destroy Earth, Raven tries to alert the Justice League. However, Zatanna, sensing the evil of Trigon through Raven, warns the League away from her.

 

In desperation, Raven uses her powers as an empath to manipulate young heroes into forming the New Teen Titans, patterned after the original group. The team consisted of Robin, Kid Flash, Wonder Girl, Starfire, Cyborg, and Beast Boy (then known as Changeling).

 

Though Raven had manipulated the others, her motivation was for Earth to be protected. The Teen Titans came to understand these things and the team, though formed in guile, became a family.

 

With the Teen Titans, Raven battled a number of villains but, all the while, she watched and waited for Trigon's coming. As that time drew closer and Trigon's power and presence was more acutely felt by Raven, there were times when she was overpowered by him and took a form resembling him.

 

The Teen Titans fought for her during these times and never turned her away or lost trust in her.

 

When the battle with Trigon finally came, the team had bonded so that, despite Trigon's power and despite setbacks, losses, and very hard lessons along the way, the Teen Titans were victorious. Though they could not defeat Trigon, such is his power, they were able to deny him Earth.

 

Raven was cleansed of Trigon's control and influence.

 

As the daughter of the inter-dimensional destroyer Trigon, Raven is very powerful and has displayed a vast amount of abilities. Because Raven's nature is intensely emotion-based, her abilities have fluctuated wildly in power over her career, depending on the circumstances.

 

She is firstly an empath, able to sense and alter the emotions of others. She can induce calm, suppress negativity, and even make someone fall in love with her.

 

By absorbing the pain of the wounded into herself, she can induce rapid healing for the affected person while she suffers in their place.

 

Raven can astral project a solid black energy form that takes the shape of a bird, called her soul-self. Her soul-self can travel long distances, become intangible, and is able to telepathically communicate. It can act as a shield as it can absorb a limited amount of energy and solid matter, regurgitating them before reintegrating with Raven.

 

Using her soul-self, she can convert her physical body and carry or teleport herself and others over a limited distance.

 

Her soul-self can mentally subdue at least one person by enveloping them inside of itself. Raven's soul-self could initially stay outside her body for exactly five minutes; failure to reintegrate in time would cause mental torment for her, though she eventually overcame this limitation.

 

She has displayed the ability to control, manipulate and or generate pure shadows and darkness.

 

Raven can manipulate energy, emotions and, on rare occasions, even time.

 

Her empathic control is her primary ability and manifests in different variations, from causing supremely destructive pain, inducing tension, fear-based illusions, and stealing emotions from others.

 

Before she realized that she could never stop Trigon on her own, Raven studied magic and has displayed sorcerous abilities, such as inducing unconsciousness with a touch, releasing balls of fire "within the folds of her cloak" or hurling electric blasts strong enough to take down the Titans.

 

She was seen to completely annihilate the demon army of Rankor numbering more than three thousand individuals and which contained powerful individual demons that had taken the Titans down in ambushes previously.

 

Raven also has limited precognition, which allows her to predict future events that are about to happen, although this happens involuntarily and infrequently.

 

Though not a physical fighter, Raven has studied with Robin/Nightwing and has proven, when necessary, that she is not without hand-to-hand skills.

 

⚡ Happy 🎯 Heroclix 💫 Friday! 👽

_____________________________

A year of the shows and performers of the Bijou Planks Theater.

 

Secret Identity: Rachel Roth

 

Publisher: DC

 

First appearance: DC Comics Presents 26 (October 1980)

 

Created by: Marv Wolfman (Writer) and George Pérez (Artist)

 

Raven has appeared on the Bijou Planks stage in BP 2018 Day 314:

www.flickr.com/photos/paprihaven/45814587191/

and in BP 2019 Day 24:

www.flickr.com/photos/paprihaven/31918688737/

 

Raven has been seen in action in the war in episodes like Paprihaven 1585:

www.flickr.com/photos/paprihaven/50157739091/

PLEASE, NO invitations or self promotions, THEY WILL BE DELETED. My photos are FREE to use, just give me credit and it would be nice if you let me know, thanks.

 

St. Andrew's Church in Piber has existed before the donation to the St. Lambrecht's Abbey in 1103.

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

The Piber Federal Stud Farm is dedicated to the breeding of Lipizzan horses, located at the village of Piber. It was founded in 1798, began breeding Lipizzan horses in 1920, and today is the primary breeding farm that produces the stallions used by the Spanish Riding School, where the best stallions of each generation are bred and brought for training and later public performance. One of Piber’s major objectives is "to uphold a substantial part of Austria’s cultural heritage and to preserve one of the best and most beautiful horse breeds in its original form."

 

The Lipizzan breed as a whole, suffered a setback when a viral epidemic hit the Piber Stud in 1983. Forty horses and eight percent of the expected foal crop were lost. Since then, the population at the farm has increased, with 100 mares as of 1994 and a foal crop of 56 born in 1993. In 1994, the pregnancy rate increased from 27% to 82% as the result of a new veterinary center.

Sometimes I want to...just fade into the background.

Accept the Judgment in the Last Days and Be Raptured Before God | "My Dream of the Heavenly Kingdom"

 

www.holyspiritspeaks.org/videos/my-dream-movie/

 

Accept the Judgment in the Last Days and Be Raptured Before God | "My Dream of the Heavenly Kingdom"

 

Just as a South Korean pastor is eagerly awaiting the coming of the Lord, he learns about Eastern Lightning, which has appeared in China and bears witness that the Lord has already returned. He goes to China to look into the true way. After a number of setbacks he is able to read Almighty God's words, but just as he comes to recognize the Lord's voice through Almighty God's words he is suddenly arrested by the CCP government and is deported to Korea. Not being able to read Almighty God's words, he feels very upset and despondent…. One day he suddenly discovers the gospel website of The Church of Almighty God and establishes contact with the church again. Through the testimony and fellowship of witnesses from The Church of Almighty God, he fully determines that Almighty God is the return of the Lord Jesus. He joyfully accepts Almighty God's work of the last days and finds the path to enter the kingdom of heaven. His chance at the heavenly kingdom finally becomes reality.

  

Eastern Lightning, The Church of Almighty God was created because of the appearance and work of Almighty God, the second coming of the Lord Jesus, Christ of the last days. It is made up of all those who accept Almighty God's work in the last days and are conquered and saved by His words. It was entirely founded by Almighty God personally and is led by Him as the Shepherd. It was definitely not created by a person. Christ is the truth, the way, and the life. God's sheep hear God's voice. As long as you read the words of Almighty God, you will see God has appeared.

 

Terms of Use en.godfootsteps.org/disclaimer.html

  

Dublin, Ireland.

Please don't use this image on websites, blogs or other media without my explicit permission.

My photos are © all rights reserved. Please e-mail me if you would like to use these photos.

Simon Williams is the son of rich industrialist Sanford Williams, owner of Williams Innovations. Simon inherits the munitions factory after his father's death, but the company's profits fall due to its biggest competitor Tony Stark and his company Stark Industries.

 

On the advice of his brother Eric, Simon tries to embezzle funds from his company but is caught and incarcerated.

 

Simon blames Stark for this and accepts the proposition of master villain Baron Heinrich Zemo after the Enchantress pays his bail, as a pawn is required to infiltrate the Avengers.

 

The desperate Simon Williams agrees and is transformed into an ion-powered being with superhuman powers. His powers are tested, and he is shown to have great superhuman strength and durability, even defeating the Executioner.

 

Called Wonder Man by Zemo, he is then sent to meet and join the Avengers, with instructions to betray them at a critical moment so that Zemo's Masters of Evil can destroy the Avengers.

 

Zemo ensures Wonder Man's loyalty by advising him that as a result of the treatment his body now requires periodic doses of a serum to survive—a serum that only Zemo can provide. The Avengers are lured into a trap and captured.

 

The plan fails when Wonder Man decides to save the Avengers and aid them against Zemo, apparently at the cost of his own life. Hank Pym records Wonder Man's brain patterns in the hope that one day he can be revived.

 

Unbeknownst to the Avengers, Wonder Man's body has simply entered a catatonic state as it adjusts to the effects of the treatment. Eric Williams becomes distraught over the apparent death of his sibling and, blaming the Avengers, assumes the identity of the Grim Reaper in an effort to destroy them. The Grim Reaper steals Simon's body at one point, and attacks the Avengers three times before Wonder Man finally returns.

 

Wonder Man remains in suspended animation for years, and it is during this period that Ultron, the evil robot creation of Hank Pym, steals the brain patterns recorded by the Avengers for use as a template for the synthezoid Vision.

 

It is later revealed that Vision is built from the original Human Torch, an android created by Professor Phineas Horton.

 

During this vulnerable time, Wonder Man is used as a pawn on three occasions. Wonder Man is briefly revived by Kang the Conqueror to battle the Avengers as part of his Legion of the Unliving, and later "resurrected" as a zombie by Black Talon and the Grim Reaper to attack the Avengers once more.

 

On the final occasion, the Living Laser hypnotizes a now-awake but still very weak Wonder Man, in an unsuccessful attack on the Avengers.

 

After this encounter, Wonder Man was restored to true life and chooses to remain with the Avengers, aiding them against Attuma and Doctor Doom.

 

He also fought the Vision, and helped the Avengers battle Graviton. He soon after defeats the Grim Reaper, who was intent on destroying the Vision as he was "artificial" and a "mockery" of his brother; Wonder Man at this point is revealed to have become a being of ionic energy.

 

Wonder Man eventually joins the Avengers in a full-time capacity and becomes close friends with his teammate, the Beast. For several months after his resurrection, Wonder Man suffers from slight claustrophobia and a fear of dying in battle, as he did once before. Wonder Man finally overcomes his fear of death during the final battle with Korvac.

 

Wonder Man invaded his former plant which had been taken over by the Maggia, and fought Madame Masque and the Dreadnought.

 

Developing an interest in acting, Wonder Man stars in minor roles before moving to Hollywood, where fellow Avenger Hercules uses his contacts to establish Wonder Man's career. Wonder Man also works for a time as a stuntman, an ideal vocation since he is invulnerable to virtually all conventional weapons.

 

Wonder Man helps form the West Coast Avengers, and his new-found confidence begins to become arrogance. He develops a serious rivalry with Iron Man, but sees the error of his ways after a brutal battle with the Abomination.

 

He also foils Doctor Doom's plot to control the world. His acting career rises, and he is cast as the villain in the fourth film in the successful Arkon franchise.

 

Wonder Man eventually accepts the Vision as his "brother", but there is a setback when the Vision is dismantled and rebuilt as an emotionless machine by a global conglomerate.

 

The Scarlet Witch—the Vision's wife—asks Wonder Man to provide his brainwaves once again in order to rebuild the foundational personality matrix of the original Vision, but Wonder Man refuses, having feelings for her himself.

 

The Wasp further deduces that the Vision's original relationship to the Scarlet Witch may even have been predicated by Wonder Man's initial donation for the original personality matrix; at this, Wonder Man confirms that several of his hesitations about making the attempt arise from these doubts and the subconscious desire he's felt toward the Scarlet Witch since her separation from her husband. He is then ensorcelled by the Enchantress, and battles the Avengers.

 

Wonder Man battles old foes Goliath and the Enchantress, before meeting his would-be sidekick "Spider" and battling Gamma-Burn, resulting in wrecking his jet-pack.

 

Wonder Man then battles the assassin Splice for the first time. Wonder Man takes part in the Kree/Shi'ar War, and had his powers altered when he and the Vision failed to prevent the Shi'ar Nega-Bomb from detonating.

 

He battled Angkor, and then journeyed to Hades where he battled Mephisto, Blackheart, the Enchantress, and the Grim Reaper; he then learned that he was immortal.

 

When Avengers West Coast (renamed) disbands after a dispute, Wonder Man becomes a founding member of its successor group Force Works, but is disintegrated in an explosion during their first mission against the alien Kree.

 

Many months later, the Scarlet Witch accidentally resurrects Wonder Man in ionic form; while in this form he appears when she is in need.

 

Several months later, the Scarlet Witch is able to fully revive Wonder Man and he now exists in an independent, more human form. It is also discovered later that the Grim Reaper - dead at the time - is also revived.

 

Wonder Man becomes romantically involved with the Scarlet Witch, but ends their affair during the Kang Dynasty saga, due to her residual feelings for the Vision.

 

Wonder Man is blackmailed into working for S.H.I.E.L.D. during the Civil War storyline. Due to charges of misappropriation of funds in his non-profit organization, Wonder Man is pressured to work for the pro-registration side in the ensuing Civil War drama.

 

In addition to capturing renegade vigilantes and criminals, Wonder Man is instrumental in creating televised messages to educate the public and yet-unregistered superhumans about the specifics of the Registration Act. Wonder Man became a member of the Mighty Avengers.

 

Wonder Man began a romantic relationship with fellow Mighty Avenger Ms. Marvel warning her not to use her position as leader of the Avengers to keep him out of potentially dangerous situations just because of their relationship.

 

Following the events of the Secret Invasion, Norman Osborn created a new team of Avengers, effectively retiring Wonder Man during the Dark Reign storyline.

 

Wonder Man later appears on television, lamenting his tenure as an Avenger, claiming it was all a waste of time, and that using violence to uphold justice has caused nothing but heartache and death. He ends his speech by sadly admitting that having Osborn in charge is exactly what the country deserves.

 

After this, Wonder Man is imprisoned as a member of the new Lethal Legion. This group opposes the tyrannical efforts of Osborn; Wonder Man joins to try to keep them from hurting innocents.

 

Wonder Man has been seen alongside his old West Coast Avengers teammates, Ronin, Mockingbird, Tigra and War Machine in battle with a new version of Ultimo.

 

During the Heroic Age sequence, Simon is approached by Steve Rogers to join the new team of Avengers. Simon refuses stating that the Avengers have caused more problems than they have solved and implies as Rogers leaves that he will make sure his old allies realize the mistake they are making.

 

Simon also mentioned as having been in jail until Steve bailed him out. After learning that Rogers had disregarded his advice, Wonder Man attacks the new team causing some damage to their base before inexplicably disappearing.

 

Thor and Iron Man later contact him to try and reason with him, but Simon refuses to listen to their arguments, stating that the dead heroes that have resulted from the Avengers working together should be a clear sign that the concept is doomed, departing as Thor and Iron Man try to argue that all heroes are aware of the risks when they begin. Significantly, Iron Man notes that Simon is 'leaking' ionic energy, suggesting that his current mental condition may relate to his powers rather than being simply a matter of choice.

 

Wonder Man put together the Revengers, a team of super-powered people to stop the Avengers because he believes they do more harm than good, blaming the Avengers for Ultron's existence, the damage caused by the Scarlet Witch and the Hulk, the Civil War, and Osborn's Dark Avengers. His team subsequently defeats the New Avengers in a quick attack on the mansion before he moves on to attack Avengers Tower, stating that he will destroy the tower unless the Avengers immediately disband.

 

Although Iron Man manages to trap him in a prison specifically designed to contain his ionic energy with the Revengers being quickly defeated by the combined Avengers teams, Wonder Man has still successfully managed to spread doubt among the population about the merits of the Avengers as a concept particularly since Captain Rogers has yet to officially rebuff any of his arguments, asking Beast to remember his words simultaneously reflecting that he may be able to see the Avengers from the outside as he has not been 'real' since his resurrection before he apparently disappears from his prison.

 

Wonder Man later reappears to Captain America (Steve Rogers), telling him that he feels sorry for his past actions and that he is trying to redeem himself. Before he can accept help from the Avengers, he is attacked by the Red Hulk. He managed to take him down and looks at Avengers Tower, claiming that he will "earn his way back". He later plays a pivotal role in rescuing the Wasp from the Microverse. After this, Wonder Man is shown celebrating Jan's return alongside the rest of the Avengers at Stark Tower.

 

At Wasp's urging, Simon later joins the Avengers Unity Squad. During conversations with Jan and Sunfire, he makes it clear has no intentions of fighting, and only wants to help use his PR skills to win over skeptical citizens. He and the Scarlet Witch rekindle their relationship. During the final confrontation with the Celestial Executioner, he allows Rogue to absorb him to give her the power to oppose the Celestial, but his essence remains in Rogue after Wanda expels the other absorbed powers from her, leaving Rogue with Simon's powers and once again unable to touch others.

 

During the AXIS events, Wonder Man's consciousness was still in Rogue at the time when the X-Men and the Avengers were inverted by an inversion spell. Rogue used Wonder Man's powers when helping the X-Men.

 

At the time when the Avengers Unity Squad traveled to Counter-Earth to find Quicksilver and Scarlet Witch, Rogue was captured by High Evolutionary's right-hand man Master Scientist who removed Wonder Man's consciousness from Rogue.

 

After Rogue was unable to see or hear Wonder Man, he was still in Rogue's mind. When Rogue kissed Deadpool, Wonder Man was freed from Rogue's body as the result of Deadpool's healing factor acting like a circuit breaker that enabled Wonder Man to escape from Rogue's body.

 

During the "Secret Empire" events, Wonder Man appears as a member of the Underground which is a resistance movement against Hydra ever since they took over the United States.

 

During the "Empyre" storyline, Wonder Man, Quicksilver, and Mockingbird deal with the Kree and the Skrull's fight with the Cotati near Navojoa. When Quicksilver is hit by special spheres fired by the Cotati magicians, Mockingbird and Wonder Man come to his aid and help the Kree and the Skrull turn the tide against the Cotati.

 

Powers and abilities

 

Simon Williams gained his superhuman powers due to chemical and radiation treatments with "ionic" energy by Baron Zemo, giving him superhuman strength, speed, stamina, durability, agility, and reflexes. While Zemo's initial aim is to use ionic energy treatments to make Wonder Man at least "the equal of any Avenger," his treatments surpassed his expectations and endowed Wonder Man with strength comparable to that of Thor.

 

Captain America once describes Wonder Man as having "Sentry-level" strength, though that is anecdotal rather than scientific. Zemo's treatments also grant Wonder Man virtual invulnerability, immortality, enhanced physicality likened to greater stamina, agility, speed, and instantaneous reflexes. Zemo also outfits Wonder Man with a rocket pack in his belt to achieve flight.

 

When the Scarlet Witch resurrected him Wonder Man was able to transform into a state of pure ionic energy at will and back again. Following his resurrection and metamorphosis, Wonder Man eventually relearned he is capable of true flight and energy projection. Due to his self-regenerating ionic energy, Simon has the ability to go without air, food, or water. His eyes also glow a bright red and he usually wears sunglasses to conceal the effect but Simon can normalize their appearance as well.

 

Before his "death" at the hands of the Kree, Wonder Man discovered new abilities. In his beginning years, Williams sometimes wore an ionic energy powered apparatus which allowed him simulated flight. Over the course of his career he would gain true flight without need of a thrust system.

 

Other abilities begotten from manipulating his own ion energies include emitting force or flame beams from his hands and eyes. Alternating his physical shape in undiscovered ways either changing his size (enabling him to grow taller than his adversary Goliath), morphing his hand into a sickle or transforming into a more demonic semblance.

 

Withholding the energy in hand to increase the impact force of his physical blows. He could potentially even give superpowers to non-powered individuals by imparting his ionic force onto them and can just as easily reabsorb it back into himself as this somewhat weakens his superhuman abilities.

 

Since his resurrection, he has rarely used most of these powers but can still shift between human and energy states at will.

 

Later, his ionic form has begun to "leak" energy, allowing Iron Man to track him by following his unique energy signature, the other heroes speculating that his condition is responsible for his currently unstable attitude and anger at the Avengers.

 

In later appearances he appears to have increased in strength and power, having also learned to teleport at will. He has done so several times in recent appearances; once being when he was detained by the Avengers after staging an attack on the mansion, and again while battling and easily winning against the Red Hulk.

 

Wonder Man has some limited effect on Electromagnetic phenomena as was explained to him by Hank and Nadia Pym, to that end he can absorb various forms of energy be it radiological, ionic, even anti-material in nature.

 

Simon is an exceptional hand-to-hand combatant, having received Avengers training in unarmed combat from Captain America. He has an advanced degree in electrical engineering, is an experienced stuntman, and a talented actor. He is also exceptionally wealthy, being the owner of his own private weapons company as well as a successful movie star.

 

⚡ Happy 🎯 Heroclix 💫 Friday! 👽

_____________________________

A year of the shows and performers of the Bijou Planks Theater.

 

Secret Identity: Simon Williams

 

Publisher: Marvel

 

First appearance: The Avengers #9 (October 1964)

 

Created by:

Stan Lee

Jack Kirby

Don Heck

Members of South Sudan's White Army, a predominantly Nuer militia, which is fighting alongside army drfectors against President Salva Kiir, in Lankien, Jonglei State, Jann 22 2014. gMilitiamen, residents and wounded sodleirs vowed to fight on, despite recent setbacks, insisting they will only have peace when President Kiir steps down.

EXPLORE #145 Welcome to the world new Nephew, I have another one!!! YAY! He is in NICU right now, he was early and his lungs are experiencing a little setback, he will be great though. He is so beautiful and I am one extremely lucky Auntie. :)

*He came home with mom and dad yesterday evening :) YAY!

'The Beam' is the name given to the first development of the large Sunderland city-centre site that was once occupied by the Vaux brewery.

After the brewery closed, the site was cleared but lay empty for many years while a wrangle ensued after a supermarket chain bought the land with a view to building a new supermarket. It's fair to say that there was much opposition to the plans and in the end, the supermarket chain built their new outlet, but at another more acceptable location to the north of the River Wear.

More than a decade had passed since the closure of the brewery before work commenced on developing the site for mixed use. Another setback came when the construction giant Carillion collapsed and work stopped. Eventually, the work re-started with Tolent being brought in to finish of this first phase of work. All being well, the building should be ready for fitting out in the Spring.

HAPPY WINDOW WEDNESDAY(S) ))

Sorry, but I don't know what kind of truck this is. It seems very old. I think curved automobile glass was first used in commercial vehicles in the late 1940s.

 

* Keep on Truckin' :

It's an idiom, meaning

"to continue or persist, regardless of circumstances or setbacks; to keep trying or striving."

It seems like a good motto during the current COVID-19 pandemic.

 

It also has been a curiously persistent name for a variety of pop culture things: a dance movement, several songs, a comic strip and even a TV show.

From: en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Keep_on_Truckin%27

 

Location: Kreiterhof, near Village of Nebenau, District of Lörrach, Baden-Württemberg DE.

 

In my album: Dan's Windows.

 

La Real Colegiata de Santa María es un conjunto monumental situado en la localidad de Roncesvalles (Navarra, España), considerado como el mejor ejemplo navarro del gótico, al más puro estilo de la región parisina de la Isla de Francia. Su construcción fue impulsada por el rey de Navarra Sancho VII, el Fuerte quién deseaba, al mismo tiempo, le sirviera de lugar de enterramiento como finalmente fue. Se levantó a principios del siglo XIII y acogiendo entre sus paredes una preciosa imagen de la Virgen del siglo XIV. Ha sufrido varias reformas y reconstrucciones tras varios contratiempos siendo la reconstrucción del siglo XVII la que afectó a todo el conjunto especialmente a la iglesia y claustro.

 

Hoy la iglesia presenta una planta de tres naves, la central de doble anchura que las laterales, que se dividen en cinco tramos a los que hay que añadir en la nave central una cabecera pentagonal; las laterales terminan en recto. El sistema de soportes está compuesto de pilares cilíndricos que separan las naves de grosor alternante, se apoyan en una basa y rematan en capitel decorado con doble faja de crochets de tratamiento muy simple. Los pilares sirven de apoyo a los arcos formeros apuntados y a las columnillas que soportan las cubiertas. Sobre los arcos formeros corre el triforio, formado en cada tramo de la nave central por cuatro arquillos apuntados sobre columnillas con el mismo tipo de capitel, galería que da paso sin elementos de separación al óculo en el que se dispone como único elemento decorativo una secuencia de arcos apuntados. En la cabecera se abren grandes ventanales decorados con vidrieras coloreadas modernas fabricadas en Alemania.

 

Preside el templo una magnífica escultura de la Virgen de Roncesvalles. Es una talla de madera, forrada de plata, gótica, de mediados del siglo XIV y realizada en Toulouse. Transmite a la perfección el espíritu gótico en lo que tiene de cercanía, naturalismo y familiaridad.

 

es.wikipedia.org/wiki/Real_Colegiata_de_Santa_María_de_R...

  

The Royal Collegiate Church of Santa Maria is a monumental complex located in the town of Roncesvalles (Navarra, Spain), considered the best example of Gothic Navarre, in the purest style of the Parisian region of the Isle of France. Its construction was promoted by the king of Navarre Sancho VII, the Strong who wished, at the same time, to use it as a burial place, as it finally was. It was erected at the beginning of the 13th century and it houses within its walls a beautiful image of the Virgin of the 14th century. It has undergone several reforms and reconstructions after several setbacks being the reconstruction of the seventeenth century which affected the whole especially the church and cloister.

 

Today the church has a plan of three naves, the central one of double width than the lateral ones, which are divided into five sections to which a pentagonal chancel must be added in the central nave; the lateral ones end in a straight line. The system of supports is composed of cylindrical pillars that separate the naves of alternating thickness, supported on a base and topped with a capital decorated with a double band of crochets of very simple treatment. The pillars support the pointed former arches and the small columns that support the roofs. Over the former arches runs the triforium, formed in each bay of the central nave by four pointed arches on small columns with the same type of capital, a gallery that gives way without separating elements to the oculus in which there is a sequence of pointed arches as the only decorative element. In the chancel there are large windows decorated with modern colored stained glass windows made in Germany.

 

A magnificent sculpture of the Virgin of Roncesvalles presides over the temple. It is a wood carving, covered with silver, Gothic, mid-fourteenth century and made in Toulouse. It transmits to the perfection the Gothic spirit in what it has of closeness, naturalism and familiarity.

 

Translated with www.DeepL.com/Translator (free version)

 

Location: Ludlow, Shropshire, England.

Ludford bridge crosses the River Teme between Ludlow and Ludford and is historically important as it was the site of the War of the Roses, largely bloodless, Battle of Ludford Bridge, which took place on 12 October 1459, and resulted in a setback for the Yorkists. Although this seemed to be a triumph for the Lancastrians at the time, they had given away their advantage within six months.

 

Thank you for visiting - your faves and comments are all very much appreciated.

To view more popular, interesting and sometimes unusual places and subjects, please click the link below:-

www.flickriver.com/photos/micky_b/popular-interesting

PLEASE fave the original image by dustin

 

Recently I was interviewed by Ms. Audrey Gray for the cover article in Picture Business magazine's April issue. This image by Dustin is going to be on the cover!! Two of my images are going in the magazine, equipped will accompany the article FULL PAGE and change of pace will be in the table of contents.

 

Thanks Audrey, we are both ecstatic!!!

 

On the other end of my lens, the white lights.

With Kevin Rose, founder of Digg, and Nathan Myhrvold (former CTO of Microsoft). The founders of Google and Twitter were to my right for this TED Braintrust lunch.

 

An usual confluence of invitations had me dining with Gates for lunch and dinner on the same day (coincidentally, philosopher-king Daniel Dennett was also at both meals).

 

After we sat down, Gates lamented the setback from the Muslim clerics who preached that polio vaccines made the girls infertile: "The anti-vaccine movement has killed many people. It's frustrating. But we are working with the clerics. It is very hierarchical, so we can start at the top. In the next three years, we will either conquer polio, or we won't. It's a very important time."

 

This one of the rarest plants in Britain and is in bloom at the moment.

  

www.first-nature.com/worldsites/uk-gait-barrow.php

  

Species Recovery Programme - the Lady's Slipper Orchid

 

This wonderful flower has become a potent symbol for how much of our wonderful wildlife heritage has been lost and continues to be lost as a result of the many pressures affecting our countryside - increasing industrialisation, commercial and housing development, intensive farming and the use of herbicides and pesticides, and water abstraction to name but a few.

 

The Lady's Slipper Orchid was recognised as a native European species in 1568, and the earliest record of a British plant is of a dried herbarium specimen from 1640, collected from the Ingleton area in Yorkshire. Although still widespread in some parts of Europe, the Lady's Slipper Orchid was always a rarity in Britian and consequently highly prized by plant collectors who, from the mid-18th Century, collected the plants with such ruthlessness that by 1888 great concern was being expressed at the disappearance of the Lady's Slipper Orchid from the wild. Regrettably the population continued to decline, resulting in its declared extinction by 1917.

  

In 1930 a single plant was discovered in Yorkshire, on a privately-owned site where visiting is strictly prohibited. As a result of close protection this plant continues to grow and is gradually increasing in vigour and flowering performance. The intense concern about the survival of this single plant led ultimately to the formation of the Cypripedium Committee, an organisation made up from members of Natural England, Yorkshire Wildlife Trust and the Yorkshire Naturalists Union; their primary aim was to ensure the safety of the single surviving plant. A secondary aim has been to propagate the plant and to attempt to re-introduce it to some of its former flowering sites, so that Lady's Slipper Orchids could be visited and enjoyed by the public. By this time, two other specimens of our native Lady's Slipper Orchid, collected from the Ingleton area of Yorkshire at the turn of the Century, were known of; these plants, which provide important genetic material, were being maintained in cultivation for possible cross-pollination with plants grown for the purposes of re-introduction. This long and difficult process received a major boost when in 1983 a generous donation was made by Sir Robert and Lady Sainsbury, resulting in the establishment of the Sainsbury Orchid Project at the Royal Botanic Gardens at Kew, in London.

 

After much work and many setbacks a reliable technique for the mass-reproduction of seedlings and a method for weaning the seedling plants have been established. As a result, in the autumn of 1989, the first seedlings were planted in the wild. Today, despite the many dangers and predations that threaten these young plants, there are some thriving young Lady's Slipper Orchids in a number of sites. It will be many years, however, before a healthy population of Lady's Slipper Orchids, free from the threat of extinction, can be established.

 

The Silverdale Plant

 

This specimen of the Lady's Slipper Orchid is thought to have been planted in Victorian times in some form of landscape gardening. It has been cared for over many years by dedicated local naturalists and has received formal protection since 2000 to ensure that visitors to the plant enjoy it without having a damaging impact on the plant and its location. As a result of an intensive programme of care, this is now a vigorous and beautiful plant with many gorgeous flowers. Controlled public access to this plant provides an opportunity for people to see the Lady's Slipper Orchid without adding pressure to the true wild sites where the re-introduced plants are in their most fragile stage of growth and development.

 

Despite all the care and protection given to the Silverdale plant it has been attacked by plant thieves on several occasions, and so access to it remains under review. Of all the threats that exist to our rare and beautiful wildflowers in Britian, human predation remains one of the greatest. Those selfish and obnoxious individuals who pick the flowers or dig up rare plants would do well to heed the words written about one of their kind, a Miss Thomasin Tunstall, who was responsible for so much collection and the resulting disappearance of many specimens of the Lady's Slipper Orchid in the 1600s:

 

'A worthy Gentlewoman indeed! O Mistress Thomasin if only you had loved these delights a little less ruinously for future generations! Do you sleep quiet, you worthy Gentlewoman, in Tunstall Church or does your uneasy sprite still haunt the Helks Wood in vain longing to undo the wrong you did? "Accursed for evermore, into the lowerest of the Eight Hot Hells, be all reckless uprooters of rarities". John Parkinson, 1629.

Si vis pacem, para bellum

 

In the vast theater of life, a warrior stands,

Infinite battles fought with heart and hands,

Against foes both seen and those concealed,

A quest for truth, a destiny revealed.

The warrior's armor is courage and might,

Ready to conquer, to embrace the fight,

For life's path is strewn with trials unseen,

The battles within, where the soul is keen.

Invisible enemies, shadows in the mind,

Doubt, fear, and darkness, they're left behind,

With strength and resilience, the warrior strides,

Through the darkest valleys, where courage abides.

Visible adversaries, they too shall appear,

As challenges and setbacks draw near,

The warrior confronts them, head held high,

With unwavering spirit, to reach the sky.

Infinite battles, they're the trials we face,

To find our purpose, to claim our place,

The human spirit, a flame that burns bright,

A warrior's heart, embracing the fight.

So, as you journey through life's endless fray,

Remember the warrior, come what may,

For in the battles you face, both near and far,

You'll find the strength within, your guiding star...

 

by me

 

Ardennes, December 28th 1944

There is no particular point of interest in this picture other than that it has been my own little "Sitting in The Dock of The Bay" location for over four decades.

It is a river that was tidal since the ice age, until the late 1990's when tidal gates were installed downstream at Bow, putting a stop to that valuable twice a day natural phenomena. Sea fish (Dab, Bass, Smelt & Flounder) could be caught as far upstream as Lea Bridge Road (East London), where an 18th Century weir had previously restricted access to their natural habitat.

 

Until two hundred years ago Salmon would swim upstream to spawn and the river was the setting for the book, 'The Compleat Angler' by Izaak Walton (1653).

 

This is the river that Viking raiders used on their way to loot and do battle in Luton (Easter 913AD).

It is still recovering from a great amount of industrial pollution in the 19th & 20th Centuries, though unfortunately there are still occasional setbacks.

 

There are rumours of a WW2 bomb crater on the riverbed in the middle of this picture.

 

LR3696

Accept the Judgment in the Last Days and Be Raptured Before God | "My Dream of the Heavenly Kingdom"

 

www.holyspiritspeaks.org/videos/my-dream-movie/

 

Accept the Judgment in the Last Days and Be Raptured Before God | "My Dream of the Heavenly Kingdom"

 

Just as a South Korean pastor is eagerly awaiting the coming of the Lord, he learns about Eastern Lightning, which has appeared in China and bears witness that the Lord has already returned. He goes to China to look into the true way. After a number of setbacks he is able to read Almighty God's words, but just as he comes to recognize the Lord's voice through Almighty God's words he is suddenly arrested by the CCP government and is deported to Korea. Not being able to read Almighty God's words, he feels very upset and despondent…. One day he suddenly discovers the gospel website of The Church of Almighty God and establishes contact with the church again. Through the testimony and fellowship of witnesses from The Church of Almighty God, he fully determines that Almighty God is the return of the Lord Jesus. He joyfully accepts Almighty God's work of the last days and finds the path to enter the kingdom of heaven. His chance at the heavenly kingdom finally becomes reality.

  

Eastern Lightning, The Church of Almighty God was created because of the appearance and work of Almighty God, the second coming of the Lord Jesus, Christ of the last days. It is made up of all those who accept Almighty God's work in the last days and are conquered and saved by His words. It was entirely founded by Almighty God personally and is led by Him as the Shepherd. It was definitely not created by a person. Christ is the truth, the way, and the life. God's sheep hear God's voice. As long as you read the words of Almighty God, you will see God has appeared.

 

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