a specific gravity in the hands of those who wait. a quiet rebellion of bone and skin resisting the slow evaporation of the hour.

SN/NC: Luffa aegyptiaca, Syn. Luffa cyllindrica, Cucurbitaceae Family

 

Bucha (Luffa aegyptiaca; Luffa cyllindrica) is a tall vine of the cucurbit family, and as belonging to the Luffa genus it is sometimes called simply by Lufa or sponge gourde. It has palm-lobed leaves, yellow flowers, bursts of green, and obovated, oblong berries, up to 45 centimeters similar to cucumber. Some varieties can reach more than 1.2 meters. The loofah is native to the tropical regions of the so-called "Old World".

Despite having a specific restriction "aegyptiaca", which may lead you to think that it is native to Egypt, it is believed to be native to India and Pakistan. When the species was described, it was known in Europe as "Egyptian cucumber".

It is a sub-spontaneous plant, also cultivated in other tropical regions for its medicinal uses, sprouts and edible green fruits (not to be confused with buchinha-do-norte (Luffa operculata), which is toxic). The loofah is cultivated especially by the fibers of the dried fruit, which are used mainly as a bath mop, and can also be used as insole and loofah for shooting, among other functions.

 

Bucha (Luffa aegyptiaca; Luffa cyllindrica) é uma trepadeira alta da família das cucurbitáceas, e como pertencente ao gênero Luffa é por vezes chamada simplesmente por Lufa. Possui folhas palmatilobadas, flores amarelas, rajadas de verde, e bagas obovadas, oblongas, de até 45 centímetros semelhante ao pepino. Algumas variedades podem atingir mais de 1,2 metro. A bucha é nativa das regiões tropicais do chamado \"Velho Mundo\".

Apesar de ter como restritivo especifico \"aegyptiaca\", que pode levar a pensar que é nativa do Egipto, acredita-se que seja nativa da Índiae do Paquistão. Quando a espécie foi descrita, era conhecida na Europa como \"pepino do Egipto\".

É uma planta subespontânea, também cultivada em outras regiões tropicais por seus usos medicinais, brotos e frutos verdes comestíveis (não confundir com a buchinha-do-norte (Luffa operculata), que é tóxica). A bucha é cultivada especialmente pelas fibras do fruto seco, que são usadas principalmente como esfregão de banho, podendo também ser usadas como palmilha e bucha de carga para tiro, entre outras funções.

A bucha também é conhecida como bucha-dos-paulistas, bucha-dos-pescadores, bucha-de-cerca, bucha-de-parreira, esfregão, fruta-cocta, fruta-dos-paulistas, gombô-grande, mamalongo e quingombô-grande. Em outros idiomas, conhecida como: spongo (Esperanto), pashte (Guatemala), susemi (Coréia), loufa (França), musú (República Dominicana) e paste (El Salvador).

 

Bucha (Luffa aegyptiaca; Luffa cyllindrica) is een hoge wijnstok van de komkommer familie, en als behorend tot het Luffa-geslacht wordt het soms eenvoudigweg door Lufa genoemd. Het heeft palmlobbige bladeren, gele bloemen, uitbarstingen van groen en omgekeerd langwerpige bessen, tot 45 centimeter vergelijkbaar met komkommer. Sommige soorten kunnen meer dan 1,2 meter bereiken. De luffa komt oorspronkelijk uit de tropische streken van de zogenaamde "Oude Wereld".Ondanks dat er een specifieke beperking "aegyptiaca " is, die u kan doen denken dat het inheems is in Egypte, wordt aangenomen dat het inheems is in India en Pakistan. Toen de soort werd beschreven, stond hij in Europa bekend als "Egyptische komkommer". Het is een subspontane plant, ook gekweekt in andere tropische regio's vanwege zijn medicinale toepassingen, spruiten en eetbare groene vruchten (niet te verwarren met buchinha-do-norte (Luffa operculata), die giftig is). De luffa wordt vooral gekweekt door de vezels van het gedroogde fruit, die voornamelijk als badmop worden gebruikt, en kan ook worden gebruikt als inlegzool en luffa voor onder andere schieten.

 

La bucha (Luffa aegyptiaca; Luffa cyllindrica) es una enredadera alta de la familia de las cucurbitáceas y, como pertenece al género Luffa, a veces se la llama simplemente Lufa. Tiene hojas con lóbulos de palmera, flores amarillas, ráfagas de verde y bayas obovadas y oblongas, de hasta 45 centímetros similares al pepino. Algunas variedades pueden alcanzar más de 1,2 metros. La esponja vegetal es originaria de las regiones tropicales del llamado "Viejo Mundo".A pesar de tener una restricción específica "aegyptiaca", que puede llevarlo a pensar que es originaria de Egipto, se cree que es originaria de India y Pakistán. Cuando se describió la especie, en Europa se la conocía como "pepino egipcio".Es una planta sub-espontánea, también cultivada en otras regiones tropicales por sus usos medicinales, brotes y frutos verdes comestibles (no confundir con buchinha-do-norte (Luffa operculata), que es tóxica). La esponja vegetal se cultiva especialmente por las fibras de los frutos secos, que se utilizan principalmente como fregona de baño, y también se puede utilizar como plantilla y esponja vegetal re-lleno de cartuchos para tiro en caza, entre otras funciones.

 

Bucha (Luffa aegyptiaca ; Luffa cyllindrica) est une grande vigne de la famille des cucurbitacées, et comme appartenant au genre Luffa, elle est parfois appelée simplement par Lufa ou gourde éponge. Il a des feuilles palmées, des fleurs jaunes, des éclats de vert et des baies obovales et oblongues, atteignant 45 centimètres semblables à celles du concombre. Certaines variétés peuvent atteindre plus de 1,2 mètre. Le luffa est originaire des régions tropicales de ce qu'on appelle le « Vieux Monde ».

Malgré une restriction spécifique "aegyptiaca", qui peut laisser penser qu'elle est originaire d'Égypte, on pense qu'elle est originaire d'Inde et du Pakistan. Lorsque l'espèce a été décrite, elle était connue en Europe sous le nom de « concombre égyptien ».

C'est une plante sub-spontanée, également cultivée dans d'autres régions tropicales pour ses usages médicinaux, ses pousses et ses fruits verts comestibles (à ne pas confondre avec la buchinha-do-norte (Luffa operculata), qui est toxique). Le luffa est cultivé notamment à partir des fibres des fruits secs, qui sont principalement utilisées comme vadrouille de bain, et peuvent également être utilisées comme semelle intérieure et luffa pour le tir, entre autres fonctions.

 

Bucha (Luffa aegyptiaca; Luffa cyllindrica) ist eine hohe Rebe aus der Familie der Kürbisgewächse und wird manchmal einfach Lufa oder Schwammkürbis genannt, da sie zur Gattung Luffa gehört. Sie hat palmengelappte Blätter, gelbe, grüne Blüten und verkehrt eiförmige, längliche Beeren, die bis zu 45 Zentimeter lang und gurkenähnlich sind. Einige Sorten können mehr als 1,2 Meter erreichen. Der Luffa ist in den tropischen Regionen der sogenannten „Alten Welt“ beheimatet.

Obwohl es eine spezifische Einschränkung „Aegyptiaca“ gibt, die den Eindruck erwecken könnte, dass es in Ägypten beheimatet ist, wird angenommen, dass es in Indien und Pakistan beheimatet ist. Als die Art beschrieben wurde, war sie in Europa als „Ägyptische Gurke“ bekannt.

Es handelt sich um eine subspontane Pflanze, die auch in anderen tropischen Regionen wegen ihrer medizinischen Verwendung, Sprossen und essbaren grünen Früchten angebaut wird (nicht zu verwechseln mit Buchinha-do-norte (Luffa operculata), das giftig ist). Der Luffa wird vor allem durch die Fasern der Trockenfrüchte kultiviert, die vor allem als Badewischer verwendet werden, unter anderem aber auch als Einlegesohle und Luffa beim Schießen verwendet werden können.

 

La Bucha (Luffa a Egyptiaca; Luffa cyllindrica) è un'alta pianta rampicante della famiglia delle cucurbitacee, e in quanto appartenente al genere Luffa è talvolta chiamata semplicemente Lufa o spugna gourde. Ha foglie palmate lobate, fiori gialli, sprazzi verdi, e bacche obovate, oblunghe, fino a 45 centimetri, simili al cetriolo. Alcune varietà possono raggiungere più di 1,2 metri. La luffa è originaria delle regioni tropicali del cosiddetto “Vecchio Mondo”.

Nonostante abbia una restrizione specifica "a Egyptiaca", che potrebbe portare a pensare che sia originaria dell'Egitto, si ritiene che sia originaria dell'India e del Pakistan. Quando la specie fu descritta, era conosciuta in Europa come "cetriolo egiziano".

È una pianta subspontanea, coltivata anche in altre regioni tropicali per usi medicinali, germogli e frutti verdi commestibili (da non confondere con la buchinha-do-norte (Luffa operculata), che è tossica). La luffa viene coltivata soprattutto dalle fibre della frutta secca, che vengono utilizzate principalmente come spazzolone da bagno, e possono essere utilizzate anche come soletta e luffa per la pulizia, tra le altre funzioni.

 

ブチャ（Luffa aegyptiaca; Luffa cyllindrica）はウリ科の高性つる植物で、ヘチマ属に属するため、単にヘチマまたはヘチマと呼ばれることもあります。 ヤシの葉状の葉、黄色い花、緑のはじけた果実、そしてキュウリに似た最大45センチメートルの倒卵形の長方形の果実を持っています。 品種によっては1.2メートルを超えるものもあります。 ヘチマは、いわゆる「旧世界」の熱帯地域が原産です。

「aegyptiaca」という特定の制限があるため、エジプト原産であると思われるかもしれませんが、インドとパキスタン原産であると考えられています。 この種が記載されたとき、ヨーロッパでは「エジプトキュウリ」として知られていました。

これは亜自生植物であり、他の熱帯地域でも薬用、新芽、食用の緑色の果実として栽培されています（有毒なブチンハ・ド・ノルテ（ヘチマ）と混同しないでください）。 ヘチマは特に乾燥した果実の繊維を利用して栽培されており、主にバスモップとして使用されますが、その他にも中敷きや射撃用のヘチマなどにも使用されます。

 

a؛ Luffa cylindrica) هي كرمة طويلة من عائلة القرعيات، وباعتبارها تنتمي إلى جنس Luffa، يطلق عليها أحيانًا ببساطة اسم Lufa أو الجوردة الإسفنجية. لها أوراق مفصصة من النخيل، وأزهار صفراء، ورشقات نارية من اللون الأخضر، وتوت مستطيل الشكل، يصل طوله إلى 45 سم يشبه الخيار. يمكن أن تصل بعض الأصناف إلى أكثر من 1.2 متر. اللوف موطنه الأصلي المناطق الاستوائية لما يسمى "العالم القديم".

على الرغم من وجود قيد محدد "aegyptiaca"، مما قد يدفعك إلى الاعتقاد بأن موطنها الأصلي هو مصر، إلا أنه يعتقد أن موطنها الأصلي هو الهند وباكستان. وعندما تم وصف هذا النوع كان يعرف في أوروبا باسم "الخيار المصري".

إنه نبات شبه عفوي، يُزرع أيضًا في مناطق استوائية أخرى لاستخداماته الطبية، وبراعمه وفواكهه الخضراء الصالحة للأكل (يجب عدم الخلط بينه وبين بوشينها دو نورتي (Luffa operculata)، وهو سام). تتم زراعة الليفة بشكل خاص بواسطة ألياف الفاكهة المجففة، والتي تستخدم بشكل أساسي كممسحة حمام، ويمكن استخدامها أيضًا كنعل داخلي وليفة للتصوير، من بين وظائف أخرى.

The Disconcerting

 

Part 1

Midnight Shadows

 

Maybe is because of the specific role-play games my twin and I grew up playing. Maybe it’s also because of My love of dressing up in elegant attire and the wearing of jewellery. Or just maybe I am one of those mystic magnets of a soul that attracts this sort of thing to happen?

 

I had actually written this one out a year after it happened because someone suggested to me to do so, but wish now I had done so right after it happened so I would have a more descriptive memory of it.

 

It’s brief because the actual incident as it played out, happened so fast that it all was such a blur, there are no real recollections as far as detailed descriptions go.

 

Not even sure if it fits in with this collection of stories based on role play and similar games from youth and young adulthood.

 

For it may have been a game, but it certainly was not one of ours.

 

££££££££££

 

This rather harrowing experience occurred on the evening of a fancy dress Girl’s only party I attended some years ago.

 

My twin brother I were 22 years old at the time, as was my best friend Ginny.

 

The party mentioned was a BAFTA themed get together held in the nearby city.

 

Ginny and I were both attired for the party as though we were attending the real thing, which was the idea. And we were not alone in dressing up like that.

 

For at this annual party held by a university chum’s older sister, everyone attending was mandated to dress up like an actress attending the awards ceremony.

 

Ginny, as always when she does fancy proper, was drop-dead gorgeous.

 

She looked smashing, poured into her shimmering, off one shoulder gown of thin silk, silver with copper threads woven in. The gown really had a nice sexy fluid flow as she moved. Long elbow-length gloves of a dark copper satin, finished the effect.

 

She was wearing her good earrings. A pierced ear style set with real diamonds(1/2 Carat diamond with a dangling a pear-shaped 1 1/2 carat diamond), a diamond rhinestone choker, a matching rhinestone bracelet, and two cocktail rings. The 2 carat earrings and one of her rings were real, the rest good quality antique rhinestones.

 

Her silky hair, a darker natural red than mine, was worn up with an elegant bun held with a long silver clip on one side. Several strands purposely fell alongside her freckled face, adding a rather far too cute effect.

 

Myself, I was wearing a pretty party dress of Mum’s. One that I (and Papa) felt she looked breathtakingly beautiful wearing it on a night out.

 

It was a solid coloured sky blue taffeta dress that shone with a tight sleekness down along my figure. Maybe a bit too tight for it outlined my every curve, making me look sexier than I knew I was. The skirt was higher in front( touching just below my knees) than in the back where it swished a few inches above my ankles and my deep blue silk stiletto heels. The neckline of the dress was of a long open scoop and had wavy ruffles running along with its opening, the sleeves went to my elbows, ending in ruffles. With it, I was also wearing deep blue 3/4 length satin gloves.

 

For jewellery, I wore mum’s full set of enticingly sparkling rhinestones. The pricey imitation diamonds that Papa teased he needed sunglasses to look at her whenever Mum wore them out, which was a lot.

 

The centerpiece of the set was undoubtedly the long glittery necklace that looked like an upside-down,loosely attached, elongated pyramid filled with blazing diamond-like stones.

This eye-catcher hung down low along the open neck of the dress, swaying a few inches up from my (small)cleavage.

 

The set also had a matching bracelet, long earrings, and a ring. I added two more of my real gemstone rings for effect.

 

My own freshly washed long, naturally red hair was pulled back in a plait and I had a thin diamond chip encrusted silver Tiara to hold it all in place.

 

Please get a good mental picture of how Ginny and I were dressed up for the affair before reading on( and I hope you will read on) it should add a little clarity to the story.

  

Part 2

Midnight Ball (Faux)

 

To fit in with the party theme my twin brother actually was able to again borrow papa’s friend’s elegant antique car. An old dark purple Rolls Royce.

 

My brother dressed the part as a chauffeur( at Ginny and my puppy-eyed request), wearing a suit, formal shirt, and bow tie. He refused to wear the white gloves or hat though.

 

He thoroughly was into playing his role, opening the door for each of us as we were helped into the back, with him sitting alone upfront.

 

The party was at a house 30 minutes away in the city, with about 25 guests expected to attend.

 

All of whom had gone wild with their fancy dress ideas.

 

Gowns and formal dresses, many of which were old bridesmaids affairs, flowed, shined, and shimmered along with our fellow guest's youthful female figures.

 

Copious amounts of Gemstones, mostly rhinestone with more than a few real ones, were glittering with amazing brilliance from their mistresses.

 

As you can imagine, I was really into that atmosphere and it was really for me, a quite enjoyable and engaging experience.

 

The party itself was a lot of fun and very enjoyable for all in attendance. This was the pre-cell phone era, so we all were quite focused on the party.

 

On and off we watched the awards show, but the main attraction was the drinking and guessing games we played.

 

We also had a fashion show with a makeshift red carpet that everyone did a catwalk along.

 

My mum’s rhinestone attracted a lot of notice, they sparkled so much.

 

And yes, once when mum was wearing them out a lady actually asked if they were real. We all had a good laugh over that.

 

My brother and even Ginny commented on how they would sparkle in the city street lamps as we drove under them on the way in.

 

By the time the party was winding down we all

were feeling pretty well lit, and very huggy.

 

All too soon it was time to go.

 

After my twin brother had dropped us off, he waiting for us at the riverside pub named Poet and the Peasant.

 

He told us to call at the pub and then wait inside the house for him to arrive. The neighborhood was nice enough, but still, it was the city, so he felt more comfortable if we were to not be out wandering.

 

He would honk the Roll’s horn at the curb to let us know when he was there.

 

We called from the house after midnight when ready and he told us he’d be there in about 15 minutes after leaving the pub where he was playing darts with a few lads.

 

We had told others about the Rolls Royce, and some had asked to see it. So, ignoring my brother’s request, we all gathered outside to wait.

 

Twenty minutes later my brother drove up, spying our group he honked the horn as he pulled up curbside.

 

Playing the part in front of so many well-dressed ladies, my brother was in his glory as helped each of us slip into the back seat of the rolls Royce, closing our doors like a gentleman, before hopping back in the driver's seat to take us home. Honking the horn again to the few remaining jealous admirers who waved us on.

 

We felt like real movie stars at that.

 

And like real movie stars, we soon had a following.

  

Part 3

Midnight Followers

 

It was after my brother turned off the street where the party house was located, that he first noticed the red auto behind us.

 

He was not sure where it had come from, but, something he could never put a finger on, made him think that it was a deliberate appearance

 

The red auto, keeping about two car lengths behind, began to match my brother’s turns as he began to take his usual way home. The car never signaled its turns he noticed.

 

Not saying anything to us chattering away in the back leather seats, he turned off into a side street at random to see what would happen. The auto turned down the same street following, again no turn signal.

 

My brother then turned down another street and pulled the Rolls over midway along it, stopping at the curb directly in front of a house, so the auto could pass if he also turned In behind.

 

It did come around the same corner, but instead of passing the parked Rolls, the red auto ominously pulled to the curb about three houses behind us, leaving its lights on.

 

Ginny and I had been chatting happily in the back seat, my brother stopping the Rolls Royce first drew our attention that something was up.

 

When asked what’s going on, he said that he thinks someone in an automobile is following us.

 

We laughed at him, thinking he was trying to play games with us.

 

On the way to the party, he kept teasing us on how sparkly our jewels were in the rearview mirror when illuminated by street lights.

 

I had snickered saying

“it’s a good thing your here to protect us then Luv.”

 

He had looked back at me with a wicked smile in his eyes. “Ah, true lass, but what if I was a thief in disguise?”

 

So now we both thought he was just trying to put a scare into us playing off on those remarks.

 

Not smiling at our taunts, he sternly told us to just turn around and watch the auto parked down the road with the headlights on.

  

Part 4

Midnight Apprehension

  

We both turned in our seats, surprised to see that he was right.

 

“Who do you think it is?” Ginny asked reasonably.

 

“Really don’t know, Luv?” He answered putting the Rolls in gear.

 

He pulled away, and after a few seconds so did the auto with the headlights on.

 

My brother then took two more random turns down roads and we realized he was really telling the bloody truth.

 

We knew then it wasn’t something my brother had dreamed up as role-play with his lads. He would not stoop this low and besides, to tell the truth, he was not all that good of an actor to pull it off.

 

The auto kept pace, matching

us turn for turn.

 

I would think by then whoever was in the red Auto knew that we realized they were tailing us. But they still kept following.

 

I remember as we watched from the back, Ginny and I turning to look at each other, both of us not really knowing what to do if even there was anything we could have done?

 

I can also clearly recollect how Ginny’s diamond earrings were glimmering as I looked into her concerned face. But bit my tongue.

 

I did not want to alarm her with my thoughts. Knowing how expensive her earrings were. That, plus the fact most of the jewellery I was wearing belonged to Mum, really gave me worries. Still, I knew Ginny was also harboring similar unsaid concerns.

 

Neither of us daring to give voice to those worries, lest it became a reality.

 

But two elegantly clad young ladies being driven around inside a Rolls Royce with a chauffeur at the wheel could say the least, easily attract notice. Something we had not given any thought to as we planned out this evening.

 

Inviting attention, both when arriving in the city, and as well as when they were leaving it.

 

Both of us turned back to look out the window.

 

Again watching the bright headlights, I shuddered at another thought that popped into my head.

 

What if the occupants of the red auto had followed us in, and while we were enjoying the party, had been waiting patiently for us to leave it?

 

That really creeped me out and I shivered.

 

My brother, silent with unspoken worries of his own, was keeping to the well lit, residential streets while trying to think of how to get out of this if he needed to.

 

It could be just two joyriders doing this on a lark after all.

 

A second issue was that the big Rolls Royce was a lumbering beast not made to outspeed pursuit.

 

Then there was a third issue: He also did not want to lead our shadowers near to where Ginny or we both lived.

 

We still lived in a rambling country cottage with my parents. Ginny lived a few houses over in the old stone house that had once been a summer home for a large, prewar, estate owner.

 

Not voicing any of these concerns to his passengers, my brother stayed in the city, which he knew quite well.

 

Turning up a boulevard he saw a traffic light ahead.

 

We pulled up to it and the Red Auto stopped about a car length back.

 

We could make out the shadowy figures of two unmistakable males, talking to each other as they were pointing fingers.

 

They were not just pointing at us, but past us. That gave me the creeps as I told my brother what the occupants were doing.

 

The light turned green, and without signaling, he turned the Rolls to the right, entering a Main Street.

 

The red auto did the same, not signaling either.

 

Approaching another light as it was turning red, my brother ran it, cutting off a lurching double-decker just coming into the intersection.

 

As we received a blast of horns for our transgression, my brother shifted into a higher gear and forced the whining old Rolls into its top speed.

 

All I remember at that point, was thinking we were not going fast enough at all.

 

But this maneuver held up the red auto only long enough for us to turn down an alley between two businesses about 3/4 of a block past the red light. I was watching our rear and I knew the red auto, just leaving the intersection, had seen us turn.

 

My brother knew that the alleys on this street all let out onto a road that ran along the grounds of a rugby stadium.

 

There were street lamps on the opposite side of the road from the stadium. There were no lights on at all on the stadium side, making the area darker at night than India ink.

 

We pulled out of the alleyway without seeing any following headlights yet coming in behind us.

 

“There is usually a patrol car parked along the stadium at night, “my brother said.

 

“Keep an eye out”

 

But of course, tonight was the exception, no cars were parked there.

 

I was looking back at the alleyway we had left and I saw headlights casting along the brick walls.

 

I gave warning, but it came out as a girlish shriek.

 

“I see it.” My brother said, he had killed the headlights and was already turning into the exit end of the stadium’s long parking lot

 

My twin pulled the Rolls under the shadows of some trees that lined the inner side of the parking lot, facing the way we had come.

 

We all scrunched down and waited.

  

Part 5

Midnight Escape

 

A few very long seconds later, the red auto, driving slowly, appeared at the end of the alley and stopped.

 

Then, without signal,

it slowly turned off onto the street and started going in the opposite direction, at a crawl.

 

Looking For our Rolls Royce we probably rightly suspected.

 

Our hearts were pounding and I believe we were all holding our breaths with disquieting

trepidation.

 

The red auto went down past that end of the stadium.

 

My heart leaped into my throat as I put a hand to my beating breasts, watching it turn up the next street leading back to the intersection with the red light we had blown through.

 

My brother put in the clutch, keeping the headlamps off, he slowly turned the auto around.

 

Ginny and I sat up and watched behind us.

 

We turned off the parking lot went back the opposite of where our pursuers had gone.

 

Once in the street my brother turned on the headlamps and gave the old engine some gas. We turned up the next street and then some side streets.

 

Nervously we watched the streets behind us. But only saw a few headlights coming on the road, and they were all false alarms.

 

Finally circling around we made it back to the Main Street that led to the highway turnoff.

 

Nervously all three of us scanned the cars parked along both sides of the streets. But no one pulled out behind us that seemingly going on forever stretch of road.

 

Apparently, we had lost our shadower’s in the red auto.

 

We made it to the turnoff without further mischief befalling us and went onto the highway and headed back home.

 

We never saw the red auto again.

 

Ginny and I were spending the rest of the weekend in her basemen bedroom at her house, her parents bring out of town.

 

Neither of us was ashamed to admit we accepted my brother’s offer to spend the night upstairs.

 

When we got to her place, Ginny helped us raid Uncle’s small bar in the basement. We sat up for the rest of the early morning, still fully dressed, talking it over.

 

We all believed was no lark, hoax, or a joke being played on us. The occupants of that red auto seemed all too intent on something.

 

To this very day, none of us have any real idea of what that intent may have been, just only our speculation.

 

I do remember that we had come up with a whole gauntlet of theories before turning in.

 

But we are all quite ok with not finding out which theory was the correct one that night.

 

And Like me, I’m sure we all finally drifted off to sleep considering what may have played out if...?

^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^

 

Would love to hear thoughts on this in the comments below. Especially if anyone has ever had a similar experience.

   

Love Hibiscus? Me too! Enjoy more in my newly created set of my Hibiscus flowers:

 

www.flickr.com/photos/motorpsiclist/sets/72157634426592235/

 

You might enjoy viewing it as a slideshow:

 

www.flickr.com//photos/motorpsiclist/sets/721576344265922...

 

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Copyright © notice: My photographs and videos and any of my derivative works are my private property and are copyright © by me, John Russell (aka "Zoom Lens") and ALL my rights, including my exclusive rights, are reserved and protected by United States Copyright Laws and by the Berne Convention and the Universal Copyright Convention.

 

Do not rip these photos off; they do not belong to you!

 

ANY use without my permission in writing is forbidden by law, including use on blogs; pin boards such as Pinterest; Tumblr; Facebook; or any other use without my specific written permission.

 

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~

 

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A Site Specific Installation

Installed @ Fridman Gallery NYC

Materials: Neon, 3 channel Video w/ Audio, Projectors, Flatscreen TV, Media Players, Wire, Audio Amplifier, Speakers

 

Licensing

 

A selection of my photography is available for commercial, editorial and media licensing, with high-resolution files available through my stock photography portfolios.

 

For licensing enquiries, stock availability, or to enquire about a specific photograph:

 

• Adobe Stock: stock.adobe.com/uk/contributor/213316334/Chris%20Jones

• Alamy: www.alamy.com/stock-photo/?cid=PX7TB98Y3L9LPU3CG4AWN87626...

• Portfolio: chrisgj6.myportfolio.com

 

© Chris Jones (chrisgj6). All rights reserved. Please do not reproduce or use this photograph commercially without permission or an appropriate licence.

  

A specific, creative struggle is going on at the moment.

 

It's true. I admit. It is a panging question.

 

What's next?

 

How does artistic progression occur without redundancy?

 

Does this happen to you?

 

Creating images is so very important to me. It feeds both my wants and needs of expression and communication. I believe that when you are shy or introverted, in particular, photography offers a voice; a presence with proof that all, sometimes socially awkward, inconveniently timid, and the often meek can be not only heard but expressive. Photography gifts this not only to myself but to many others.

 

Without the use of words, an image can resonate with another human like nothing spoken. Images gift the viewer an opportunity to interpret a soulful message specific to their needs. A communicative conduit through which the viewer receives precisely the emotion that at he/she needs or wants. Be it sadness, peacefulness, happiness, positivity, negativity, love, etc ... Isn't that amazing?

 

Think about it.

 

I do.

 

It's huge.

 

As 2019 begins, I wish to transform my photography fetish and move forward into sharing a more stimulating and creative forum. I am not a goal-oriented human, but perhaps it is time to structure a few things. I am struggling to make headway in the creative direction that my heart wishes to travel. It is frustrating.

 

I want to try something new; such as, write a novel and or a book of poetry, teach a class, offer online workshops, hold a photography retreat, open a studio, and more.

 

I even start a 365 on January 1st, eyes rolling, knowing I have much more important, challenging photography things to accomplish. I have done a 365 previously, four years ago. Why revisit it? Do I find ways to procrastinate creating obstacles to reaching my true wants? Hmmm.

 

What is the "thing" you are struggling to uncover or explore? As we move into another year of our lives, in which we so very much want to be productive not only for ourselves but for others, what is yours?

 

For me, the first step is going to be clearing away the fog, the obstacles that are requiring my time which is inhibiting my ability to do the things of creative choice. Prioritize I suppose, would be most specific. Seems like a great place in which to begin.

 

xo

 

_________

Panging by Angie Lambert

 

There is a want

and a need

to be inspirational.

Stealthy,

a blur reveals.

Teasing with clarity

and snippets of precision,

it feeds.

 

What is next?

I do hear you.

Mind and body hungry,

needing less of the blur

rather than more,

the pang continues.

Site-specific by Giuseppe Stampone | The Invisible Dog Art Center a Brooklyn, New York

 

Ordinary Love is the title of the new single of U2 composed for the soundtrack to the biography Mandela: Long Walk To Freedom, a film directed by Justin Chadwick.

The music video for Ordinary Love, directed by Mac Premo and Oliver Jeffers, has as its location the installation "Caronte" by Giuseppe Stampone which is located in the spaces of The Invisible Dog Art Center in Brooklyn, New York.

 

Ordinary Love è il titolo del nuovo singolo degli U2 composto per la colonna sonora del film biografico Mandela: Long Walk To Freedom, pellicola diretta da Justin Chadwick.

Il video musicale di Ordinary Love, diretto da Mac Premo e Oliver Jeffers, ha come location l'installazione site specific "Caronte" di Giuseppe Stampone che si trova negli spazi di The Invisible Dog Art Center a Brooklyn, New York.

   

Porsche 991 GT3 RS - Karlsruhe

  

en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Barn_swallow

 

The barn swallow (Hirundo rustica) is the most widespread species of swallow in the world.[2] It is a distinctive passerine bird with blue upperparts, a long, deeply forked tail and curved, pointed wings. It is found in Europe, Asia, Africa and the Americas.[2] In Anglophone Europe it is just called the swallow; in Northern Europe it is the only common species called a "swallow" rather than a "martin".[3]

 

There are six subspecies of barn swallow, which breed across the Northern Hemisphere. Four are strongly migratory, and their wintering grounds cover much of the Southern Hemisphere as far south as central Argentina, the Cape Province of South Africa, and northern Australia.[2] Its huge range means that the barn swallow is not endangered, although there may be local population declines due to specific threats.

 

The barn swallow is a bird of open country that normally uses man-made structures to breed and consequently has spread with human expansion. It builds a cup nest from mud pellets in barns or similar structures and feeds on insects caught in flight.[4] This species lives in close association with humans, and its insect-eating habits mean that it is tolerated by humans; this acceptance was reinforced in the past by superstitions regarding the bird and its nest. There are frequent cultural references to the barn swallow in literary and religious works due to both its living in close proximity to humans and its annual migration.[5] The barn swallow is the national bird of Estonia.

  

Description

  

The adult male barn swallow of the nominate subspecies H. r. rustica is 17–19 cm (6.7–7.5 in) long including 2–7 cm (0.79–2.76 in) of elongated outer tail feathers. It has a wingspan of 32–34.5 cm (12.6–13.6 in) and weighs 16–22 g (0.56–0.78 oz). It has steel blue upperparts and a rufous forehead, chin and throat, which are separated from the off-white underparts by a broad dark blue breast band. The outer tail feathers are elongated, giving the distinctive deeply forked "swallow tail". There is a line of white spots across the outer end of the upper tail.[4] The female is similar in appearance to the male, but the tail streamers are shorter, the blue of the upperparts and breast band is less glossy, and the underparts paler. The juvenile is browner and has a paler rufous face and whiter underparts. It also lacks the long tail streamers of the adult.[2]

 

The song of the barn swallow is a cheerful warble, often ending with su-seer with the second note higher than the first but falling in pitch. Calls include witt or witt-witt and a loud splee-plink when excited (or trying to chase intruders away from the nest).[4] The alarm calls include a sharp siflitt for predators like cats and a flitt-flitt for birds of prey like the hobby.[6] This species is fairly quiet on the wintering grounds.[7]

 

The distinctive combination of a red face and blue breast band render the adult barn swallow easy to distinguish from the African Hirundo species and from the welcome swallow (Hirundo neoxena) with which its range overlaps in Australasia.[2] In Africa the short tail streamers of the juvenile barn swallow invite confusion with juvenile red-chested swallow (Hirundo lucida), but the latter has a narrower breast band and more white in the tail.[8]

  

Taxonomy

  

The barn swallow was described by Linnaeus in his Systema Naturae in 1758 as Hirundo rustica, characterised as H. rectricibus, exceptis duabus intermediis, macula alba notatîs.[9] Hirundo is the Latin word for "swallow"; rusticus means "of the country".[10] This species is the only one of that genus to have a range extending into the Americas, with the majority of Hirundo species being native to Africa. This genus of blue-backed swallows is sometimes called the "barn swallows".[2][3]

 

The Oxford English Dictionary dates the English common name "barn swallow" to 1851,[11] though an earlier instance of the collocation in an English-language context is in Gilbert White's popular book The Natural History of Selborne, originally published in 1789:

 

The swallow, though called the chimney-swallow, by no means builds altogether in chimnies [sic], but often within barns and out-houses against the rafters ... In Sweden she builds in barns, and is called ladusvala, the barn-swallow.[12]

 

This suggests that the English name may be a calque on the Swedish term.

 

There are few taxonomic problems within the genus, but the red-chested swallow—a resident of West Africa, the Congo basin and Ethiopia—was formerly treated as a subspecies of barn swallow. The red-chested swallow is slightly smaller than its migratory relative, has a narrower blue breast-band, and the adult has shorter tail streamers. In flight, it looks paler underneath than barn swallow.[8]

  

Subspecies

  

Six subspecies of barn swallow are generally recognized. In eastern Asia, a number of additional or alternative forms have been proposed, including saturata by Robert Ridgway in 1883,[13] kamtschatica by Benedykt Dybowski in 1883,[14] ambigua by Erwin Stresemann[15] and mandschurica by Wilhelm Meise in 1934.[13] Given the uncertainties over the validity of these forms,[14][16] this article follows the treatment of Turner and Rose.[2]

 

H. r. rustica, the nominate European subspecies, breeds in Europe and Asia, as far north as the Arctic Circle, south to North Africa, the Middle East and Sikkim, and east to the Yenisei River. It migrates on a broad front to winter in Africa, Arabia, and the Indian subcontinent.[2] The barn swallows wintering in southern Africa are from across Eurasia to at least 91°E,[17] and have been recorded as covering up to 11,660 km (7,250 mi) on their annual migration.[18]

 

H. r. transitiva was described by Ernst Hartert in 1910. It breeds in the Middle East from southern Turkey to Israel and is partially resident, though some birds winter in East Africa. It has orange red underparts and a broken breast band.[2]

 

H. r. savignii, the resident Egyptian subspecies, was described by James Stephens in 1817 and named for French zoologist Marie Jules César Savigny.[19] It resembles transitiva, which also has orange-red underparts, but savignii has a complete broad breast band and deeper red hue to the underparts.[6]

 

H. r. gutturalis, described by Giovanni Antonio Scopoli in 1786,[13] has whitish underparts and a broken breast band. Breast chestnut and lower underparts more pink-buff.[20] The populations that breed in the central and eastern Himalayas have been included in this subspecies,[21] although the primary breeding range is Japan and Korea. The east Asian breeders winter across tropical Asia from India and Sri Lanka[22] east to Indonesia and New Guinea. Increasing numbers are wintering in Australia. It hybridises with H. r. tytleri in the Amur River area. It is thought that the two eastern Asia forms were once geographically separate, but the nest sites provided by expanding human habitation allowed the ranges to overlap.[2] H. r. gutturalis is a vagrant to Alaska and Washington,[23] but is easily distinguished from the North American breeding subspecies, H. r. erythrogaster, by the latter's reddish underparts.[2]

 

H. r. tytleri, first described by Thomas Jerdon in 1864, and named for British soldier, naturalist and photographer Robert Christopher Tytler,[13] has deep orange-red underparts and an incomplete breast band. The tail is also longer.[20] It breeds in central Siberia south to northern Mongolia and winters from eastern Bengal east to Thailand and Malaysia.[2]

 

H. r. erythrogaster in Washington State, US

 

H. r. erythrogaster, the North American subspecies described by Pieter Boddaert in 1783,[13] differs from the European subspecies in having redder underparts and a narrower, often incomplete, blue breast band. It breeds throughout North America, from Alaska to southern Mexico, and migrates to the Lesser Antilles, Costa Rica, Panama and South America to winter.[7] A few may winter in the southernmost parts of the breeding range. This subspecies funnels through Central America on a narrow front and is therefore abundant on passage in the lowlands of both coasts.[24]

The short wings, red belly and incomplete breast band of H. r. tytleri are also found in H. r. erythrogaster, and DNA analyses show that barn swallows from North America colonised the Baikal region of Siberia, a dispersal direction opposite to that for most changes in distribution between North America and Eurasia.[25]

  

Behaviour

  

Habitat and range

  

The preferred habitat of the barn swallow is open country with low vegetation, such as pasture, meadows and farmland, preferably with nearby water. This swallow avoids heavily wooded or precipitous areas and densely built-up locations. The presence of accessible open structures such as barns, stables, or culverts to provide nesting sites, and exposed locations such as wires, roof ridges or bare branches for perching, are also important in the bird's selection of its breeding range.[4]

 

It breeds in the Northern Hemisphere from sea level to typically 2,700 m (8,900 ft),[26] but to 3,000 m (9,800 ft) in the Caucasus[4] and North America,[27] and it is absent only from deserts and the cold northernmost parts of the continents. Over much of its range, it avoids towns, and in Europe is replaced in urban areas by the house martin. However, in Honshū, Japan, the barn swallow is a more urban bird, with the red-rumped swallow (Cecropis daurica) replacing it as the rural species.[2]

 

In winter, the barn swallow is cosmopolitan in its choice of habitat, avoiding only dense forests and deserts.[28] It is most common in open, low vegetation habitats, such as savanna and ranch land, and in Venezuela, South Africa and Trinidad and Tobago it is described as being particularly attracted to burnt or harvested sugarcane fields and the waste from the cane.[7][29][30] In the absence of suitable roost sites, they may sometimes roost on wires where they are more exposed to predators.[31] Individual birds tend to return to the same wintering locality each year[32] and congregate from a large area to roost in reed beds.[29] These roosts can be extremely large, one in Nigeria had an estimated 1.5 million birds.[33] These roosts are thought to be a protection from predators, and the arrival of roosting birds is synchronised in order to overwhelm predators like African hobbies. The barn swallow has been recorded as breeding in the more temperate parts of its winter range, such as the mountains of Thailand and in central Argentina.[2][34]

 

Migration of barn swallows between Britain and South Africa was first established on 23 December 1912 when a bird that had been ringed by James Masefield at a nest in Staffordshire, was found in Natal.[35] As would be expected for a long-distance migrant, this bird has occurred as a vagrant to such distant areas as Hawaii, Bermuda, Greenland, Tristan da Cunha the Falkland Islands,[2] and even Antarctica.[36]

  

Feeding

  

The barn swallow is similar in its habits to other aerial insectivores, including other swallow species and the unrelated swifts. It is not a particularly fast flier, with a speed estimated at about 11 m/s, up to 20 m/s and a wing beat rate of approximately 5, up to 7–9 times each second.[37][38]

 

The barn swallow typically feeds in open areas[39] 7–8 m (23–26 ft) above shallow water or the ground often following animals, humans or farm machinery to catch disturbed insects, but it will occasionally pick prey items from the water surface, walls and plants.[4] In the breeding areas, large flies make up around 70% of the diet, with aphids also a significant component. However, in Europe, the barn swallow consumes fewer aphids than the house or sand martins.[4] On the wintering grounds, Hymenoptera, especially flying ants, are important food items.[2] When egg-laying, barn swallows hunt in pairs, but will form often large flocks otherwise.[2]

 

The amount of food a clutch will get depends on the size of the clutch, with larger clutches getting more food on average. The timing of a clutch also determines the food given; later broods get food that is smaller in size compared to earlier broods. This is because larger insects are too far away from the nest to be profitable in terms of energy expenditure.[40]

  

Isotope studies have shown that wintering populations may utilise different feeding habitats, with British breeders feeding mostly over grassland, whereas Swiss birds utilised woodland more.[41] Another study showed that a single population breeding in Denmark actually wintered in two separate and different areas.[42]

 

The barn swallow drinks by skimming low over lakes or rivers and scooping up water with its open mouth.[27] This bird bathes in a similar fashion, dipping into the water for an instant while in flight.[32]

 

Swallows gather in communal roosts after breeding, sometimes thousands strong. Reed beds are regularly favoured, with the birds swirling en masse before swooping low over the reeds.[6] Reed beds are an important source of food prior to and whilst on migration; although the barn swallow is a diurnal migrant that can feed on the wing whilst it travels low over ground or water, the reed beds enable fat deposits to be established or replenished.[43]

  

Breeding

  

The male barn swallow returns to the breeding grounds before the females and selects a nest site, which is then advertised to females with a circling flight and song. The breeding success of the male is related to the length of the tail streamers, with longer streamers being more attractive to the female.[4][44] Males with longer tail feathers are generally longer-lived and more disease resistant, females thus gaining an indirect fitness benefit from this form of selection, since longer tail feathers indicate a genetically stronger individual which will produce offspring with enhanced vitality.[45] Males in northern Europe have longer tails than those further south; whereas in Spain the male's tail streamers are only 5% longer than the female's, in Finland the difference is 20%. In Denmark, the average male tail length increased by 9% between 1984 and 2004, but it is possible that climatic changes may lead in the future to shorter tails if summers become hot and dry.[46]

 

Males with long streamers also have larger white tail spots, and since feather-eating bird lice prefer white feathers, large white tail spots without parasite damage again demonstrate breeding quality; there is a positive association between spot size and the number of offspring produced each season.[47]

 

The breeding season of the barn swallow is variable; in the southern part of the range, the breeding season usually is from February or March to early to mid September, although some late second and third broods finish in October. In the northern part of the range, it usually starts late May to early June and ends the same time as the breeding season of the southernmost birds.[48]

 

Both sexes defend the nest, but the male is particularly aggressive and territorial.[2] Once established, pairs stay together to breed for life, but extra-pair copulation is common, making this species genetically polygamous, despite being socially monogamous.[49] Males guard females actively to avoid being cuckolded.[50] Males may use deceptive alarm calls to disrupt extrapair copulation attempts toward their mates.[51]

 

As its name implies, the barn swallow typically nests inside accessible buildings such as barns and stables, or under bridges and wharves.[52] Before man-made sites became common, it nested on cliff faces or in caves, but this is now rare.[2] The neat cup-shaped nest is placed on a beam or against a suitable vertical projection. It is constructed by both sexes, although more often by the female, with mud pellets collected in their beaks and lined with grasses, feathers, algae[52] or other soft materials.[2] The nest building ability of the male is also sexually selected; females will lay more eggs and at an earlier date with males who are better at nest construction, with the opposite being true with males that are not.[53] After building the nest, barn swallows may nest colonially where sufficient high-quality nest sites are available, and within a colony, each pair defends a territory around the nest which, for the European subspecies, is 4 to 8 m2 (43 to 86 sq ft) in size. Colony size tends to be larger in North America.[27]

 

In North America at least, barn swallows frequently engage in a mutualist relationship with ospreys. Barn swallows will build their nest below an osprey nest, receiving protection from other birds of prey that are repelled by the exclusively fish-eating ospreys. The ospreys are alerted to the presence of these predators by the alarm calls of the swallows.[27]

 

There are normally two broods, with the original nest being reused for the second brood and being repaired and reused in subsequent years. The female lays two to seven, but typically four or five, reddish-spotted white eggs.[2] The clutch size is influenced by latitude, with clutch sizes of northern populations being higher on average than southern populations.[54] The eggs are 20 mm × 14 mm (0.79 in × 0.55 in) in size, and weigh 1.9 g (0.067 oz), of which 5% is shell. In Europe, the female does almost all the incubation, but in North America the male may incubate up to 25% of the time. The incubation period is normally 14–19 days, with another 18–23 days before the altricial chicks fledge. The fledged young stay with, and are fed by, the parents for about a week after leaving the nest. Occasionally, first-year birds from the first brood will assist in feeding the second brood.[2]

 

The barn swallow will mob intruders such as cats or accipiters that venture too close to their nest, often flying very close to the threat.[45] Adult barn swallows have few predators, but some are taken by accipiters, falcons, and owls. Brood parasitism by cowbirds in North America or cuckoos in Eurasia is rare.[4][27]

 

Hatching success is 90% and the fledging survival rate is 70–90%. Average mortality is 70–80% in the first year and 40–70% for the adult. Although the record age is more than 11 years, most survive less than four years.[2] Barn swallow nestlings have prominent red gapes, a feature shown to induce feeding by parent birds. An experiment in manipulating brood size and immune system showed the vividness of the gape was positively correlated with T-cell–mediated immunocompetence, and that larger brood size and injection with an antigen led to a less vivid gape.[55]

 

The barn swallow has been recorded as hybridising with the cliff swallow (Petrochelidon pyrrhonota) and the cave swallow (P. fulva) in North America, and the house martin (Delichon urbicum) in Eurasia, the cross with the latter being one of the most common passerine hybrids.[45]

  

Status

  

The barn swallow has an enormous range, with an estimated global extent of 51,700,000 km2 (20,000,000 sq mi) and a population of 190 million individuals. The species is evaluated as least concern on the 2007 IUCN Red List,[1] and has no special status under the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES), which regulates international trade in specimens of wild animals and plants.[27]

 

This is a species that has greatly benefited historically from forest clearance, which has created the open habitats it prefers, and from human habitation, which have given it an abundance of safe man-made nest sites. There have been local declines due to the use of DDT in Israel in the 1950s, competition for nest sites with house sparrows in the US in the 19th century, and an ongoing gradual decline in numbers in parts of Europe and Asia due to agricultural intensification, reducing the availability of insect food. However, there has been an increase in the population in North America during the 20th century with the greater availability of nesting sites and subsequent range expansion, including the colonisation of northern Alberta.[2]

 

A specific threat to wintering birds from the European populations is the transformation by the South African government of a light aircraft runway near Durban into an international airport for the 2010 FIFA World Cup. The roughly 250 m (270 yd) square Mount Moreland reed bed is a night roost for more than three million barn swallows, which represent 1% of the global population and 8% of the European breeding population. The reed bed lies on the flight path of aircraft using the proposed La Mercy airport, and there were fears that it would be cleared because the birds could threaten aircraft safety.[61][62] However, following detailed evaluation, advanced radar technology will be installed to enable planes using the airport to be warned of bird movements and, if necessary, take appropriate measures to avoid the flocks.[29]

 

Climate change may affect the barn swallow; drought causes weight loss and slow feather regrowth, and the expansion of the Sahara will make it a more formidable obstacle for migrating European birds. Hot dry summers will reduce the availability of insect food for chicks. Conversely, warmer springs may lengthen the breeding season and result in more chicks, and the opportunity to use nest sites outside buildings in the north of the range might also lead to more offspring.[46]

  

Relationship with humans

  

The barn swallow is an attractive bird that feeds on flying insects and has therefore been tolerated by humans when it shares their buildings for nesting. As one of the earlier migrants, this conspicuous species is also seen as an early sign of summer's approach.[63]

 

In the Old World, the barn swallow appears to have used man-made structures and bridges since time immemorial. An early reference is in Virgil's Georgics (29 BC), "Ante garrula quam tignis nidum suspendat hirundo" (Before the twittering swallow hangs its nest from the rafters).[64]

  

Many cattle farmers believed that swallows spread Salmonella infections, however a study in Sweden showed no evidence of the birds being reservoirs of the bacteria.[65]

  

In literature

  

Many literary references are based on the barn swallow's northward migration as a symbol of spring or summer. The proverb about the necessity for more than one piece of evidence goes back at least to Aristotle's Nicomachean Ethics: "For as one swallow or one day does not make a spring, so one day or a short time does not make a fortunate or happy man."[63]

 

The barn swallow symbolizes the coming of spring and thus love in the Pervigilium Veneris, a late Latin poem. In his poem "The Waste Land", T. S. Eliot quoted the line "Quando fiam uti chelidon [ut tacere desinam]?" ("When will I be like the swallow, so that I can stop being silent?") This refers to the myth of Philomela in which she turns into a nightingale, and her sister Procne into a swallow.[66] On the other hand, an image of the assembly of swallows for their southward migration concludes John Keats's ode "To Autumn".

 

The swallow is cited in several of William Shakespeare's plays for the swiftness of its flight, with "True hope is swift, and flies with swallow's wings" from Act 5 of Richard III, and "I have horse will follow where the game Makes way, and run like swallows o'er the plain." from the second act of Titus Andronicus. Shakespeare references the annual migration of the species in The Winter's Tale, Act 4: "Daffodils, That come before the swallow dares, and take The winds of March with beauty".

 

In culture[edit]

Further information: Birds in culture

Gilbert White studied the barn swallow in detail in his pioneering work The Natural History of Selborne, but even this careful observer was uncertain whether it migrated or hibernated in winter.[12] Elsewhere, its long journeys have been well observed, and a swallow tattoo is popular amongst nautical men as a symbol of a safe return; the tradition was that a mariner had a tattoo of this fellow wanderer after sailing 5,000 nmi (9,300 km; 5,800 mi). A second swallow would be added after 10,000 nmi (19,000 km; 12,000 mi) at sea.[67] In the past, the tolerance for this beneficial insectivore was reinforced by superstitions regarding damage to the barn swallow's nest. Such an act might lead to cows giving bloody milk, or no milk at all, or to hens ceasing to lay.[5] This may be a factor in the longevity of swallows' nests. Survival, with suitable annual refurbishment, for 10–15 years is regular, and one nest was reported to have been occupied for 48 years.[5]

 

It is depicted as the Martlet, Merlette or Merlot in heraldry, where it represents younger sons who have no lands. It is also represented as lacking feet as this was a common belief at the time.[68] As a result of a campaign by ornithologists, the barn swallow has been the national bird of Estonia since 23 June 1960.

The dusky dolphin (Lagenorhynchus obscurus) is a dolphin found in coastal waters in the Southern Hemisphere. Its specific epithet is Latin for "dark" or "dim". It is very closely genetically related to the Pacific white-sided dolphin, but current scientific consensus holds they are distinct species.

 

The dolphin's range is patchy, with major populations around South America, southwestern Africa, New Zealand, and various oceanic islands, with some sightings around southern Australia and Tasmania. The dusky dolphin prefers cool currents and inshore waters, but can also be found offshore. It feeds on a variety of fish and squid species and has flexible hunting tactics. The dusky dolphin is known for its remarkable acrobatics, having a number of aerial behaviours. The status of the dolphin is unknown, but it has been commonly caught in gill nets.

 

The dusky dolphin is small to medium in length compared with other species in the family. There is significant variation in size among the different population areas. The largest dusky dolphins have been encountered off the coast of Peru, where they are up to 210 cm (6 feet) in length and 100 kg (210 pounds) in mass. The size for dusky dolphins in New Zealand have been recorded to be a length range of 167–178 cm and a weight range of 69–78 kg for females and a length range of 165–175 cm and a weigh range of 70–85 kg for males.

 

Almost no sexual dimorphism occurs in this species, although males have more curved dorsal fins with broader bases and greater surface areas. The back of the dolphin is dark grey or black, and the dorsal fin is distinctively two-toned; the leading edge matches the back in colour, but the trailing edge is a much lighter greyish white. The dusky dolphin has a long, light-grey patch on its fore side leading to a short, dark-grey beak.

 

The throat and belly are white, and the beak and lower jaw are dark grey. Two blazes of white colour run back on the body from the dorsal fin to the tail. Right between the white areas remains a characteristic thorn-shaped patch of dark colour, by which the species can easily be recognised. Aside from that, dusky dolphins may be confused with other members of their genus when observed at sea. It can be distinguished from the common dolphin, which has a more prominent and longer beak and yellow flank markings. The skull of a dusky dolphin has a longer and narrower rostrum than that of an hourglass dolphin or Peale's dolphin of similar age and size.

 

This image was taken in the Beagle Channel as we sailed towards Punta Arenas in Chile.

Mom's note on this album page says, "Kathy Freeland's 4th Birthday Party - summer 1948. Kathy, Ed, unidentified boy & Donna Bowman."

 

With no specific date, I've arbitrarily chosen June 1st of that year.

 

**********************************

 

All of the photos in this album are “originals” from the 3-month period that my family spent in Denver from 1947-50 — i.e., the period before I lived in Omaha, Riverside, Roswell, Ft. Worth and a separate stay in Denver in 1951-53 (which you may have seen already in my Flickr archives).

 

Before I get into the details, let me make a strong request — if you’re looking at these photos, and if you are getting any enjoyment at all of this brief look at some mundane Americana from 65+ years ago: find a similar episode in your own life, and write it down. Gather the pictures, clean them up, and upload them somewhere on the Internet where they can be found. Trust me: there will come a day when the only person on the planet who actually experienced those events is you. Your own memories may be fuzzy and incomplete; but they will be invaluable to your friends and family members, and to many generations of your descendants. (Actually, I should listen to my own advice: unlike my subsequent visits to Roswell, Riverside, and Omaha I did not even track this early home down, let alone take any photos.)

 

So, what do I remember about the 3 early-childhood years that I spent in Denver? Since I was only 3 years old when we first moved there, the simple answer is: hardly anything. Here are the few random memories that I can dredge up:

 

1. I don’t think my Dad had even seen the ocean as a boy, but that didn’t stop him from enlisting in the Navy a while after he graduated from high school (there weren’t many other jobs on the Utah-Colorado border in those Depression-era days). He got sent out to the Pacific on some kind of naval vessel … and as it turned out, his ship was behind schedule getting back to home port in Hawaii on the evening of December 6, 1941. The submarine nets into Oahu harbor had been drawn closed, and his ship had to anchor outside … which helps explain why his ship didn’t end up at the bottom of the harbor the next morning.

  

2. Fifty years later, on December 7, 1991, I happened to be in a big park in downtown Tokyo, surrounded by thousands of young Japanese citizens, cheering as they waved their red-and-white national flags back and forth — waiting for a glimpse of the new Japanese empress, who was being presented to the public for the first time after her wedding. I heard someone near me speaking in English, so I asked him if he thought there was anything special about the 50th anniversary of Pearl Harbor Day. He was polite, but he was also puzzled and confused: he had never heard the phrase before.

  

3. But I digress … Dad eventually got back to the U.S. and left the Navy in 1947 while stationed in Washington, DC. Like so many of his generation, he decided to go to college, with most expenses paid for by the G.I. Bill. He managed to get into Denver University, and he went on ahead of my mother and me. I vaguely remember that we took the train all the way out there. (I probably don’t remember it at all; but my mother repeatedly told me about some strange man grabbing me out of her arms, and dashing off to the restroom on the train … all I know is that we arrived in Denver safely.)

  

4. We lived in an old form of military housing, known as Quonset Huts, at the edge of the D.U. campus, and I had a tiny bedroom to myself. I have only a few memories of the place: during the brutally-cold winters, Dad would use a garden hose to fill the tiny patch of grass outside the front door with a sheet of water … which froze, and provided the neighborhood kids with a place to ice-skate.

  

5. Though it wasn’t a hardship, I do remember that we had relatively little money for food. My grandparents still lived out near the Utah-Colorado border (just south of the small town of Vernal), and once a week they would send a dozen fresh eggs to us, packed in a carefully padded wooden box. We also made our own ice cream, and I’ll never forget the time Dad used some food-coloring to make blue ice-cream. I had no idea that ice cream could be any color other than brown (chocolate) or white (vanilla).

 

6. During our last year in Denver, I attended kindergarten. I was allowed to walk to school, which felt like it was miles away, across several interstate highways. But there were no Interstates at the time, and it was probably just a two-lane street a few blocks away…

 

7. At Christmas and a few other times of the year, we drove from Denver to spend the holidays with my grandparents. Not only were there no Interstate highways in those days, but there were also no ski resorts: no Vail, no Aspen. I think we drove on the old highway U.S. 40, and we went through a mountain pass (Rabbit Ear pass?) that was always snow-filled, bitter-cold, and dangerous in the winter. Invariably, Dad had to stop to put tire-chains on the car, a process that entailed much cursing and yelling. But we always got there.

 

8. Dad went to school 12 months of each year, and got a B.S. in Electrical Engineering after just 3 years, in June of 1950. I was allowed to wear his graduation cape and gown for a few minutes, and I snuck a paper airplane into the huge gymnasium where friends and families gathered to watch the graduation ceremony. We were way in the back, way up high; and I was convinced that my airplane would sail all the way across the gym, if only I could throw it. If only, if only … but I didn’t.

 

9. Dad must have gotten a job (back in Glen Oaks, NY) right away, and their lease/rental of the Quonset Hut must have ended at about the same time. I mention that only because he drove back East alone, leaving me and my very pregnant mother behind. We lived in a tiny apartment at an old Air Force base at the edge of Denver (Buckley Field?) until July, when it was time for my mother to head to the hospital and deliver my sister, Patrice. Meanwhile, I was picked up by Dad’s older brother, and driven all the way out to Utah to spend a week with my grandparents … before everyone reconnected in Denver, and we took an airplane flight back East.

 

10. There is probably more … but that’s all I can remember at this point...

You're looking at a model of the HMS Victory at the Chatham Historic Dockyard. This specific model was built for the 1941 film "That Hamilton Woman," starring Vivien Leigh and Laurence Olivier. The real HMS Victory was Nelson's flagship at the Battle of Trafalgar in 1805, where the British defeated the French and Spanish fleets. The Victory was built between 1759 and 1765 at the Chatham Dockyard. Today, the actual HMS Victory is preserved as a museum ship at the Portsmouth Historic Dockyard.

 

The Victory, First Rate Ship of the Line was launched 7 May 1765. The Victory is Chatham's most famous ship and the ultimate example of a Chatham built ship of the line. The Victory embodies the work of the twenty six trades and the many hundreds of men who built, repaired and refitted her at Chatham during 65 years distinguished service at sea. Her survival at Portsmouth to this day is a testament to the men who built her, those who served on board and her role as a symbol of 18th century national power.

 

In December 1758, the Admiralty placed an order for five new ships, including '1 of 100 guns at Chatham' - later to be named Victory. Thomas Slade, the Master Shipwright at the Dockyard, started Victory's construction the following summer with the keel being laid on the 23 July 1759. By August 1760 the timber frame was complete and left to season in frame. Victory wouldn't be launched for a further five years, as the requirement for a new First Rate lessened with Britain's victory in the Seven Years War.

 

Launched on the 7 May 1765 the Victory was placed in ordinary (reserve) and moored on the River Medway, where she remained for thirteen years. During this time she was brought in to dry dock on two occasions to repair her hull. In 1778, when the risk of France and Spain joining the American War of Independence against Britain became a real threat, Victory was fitted for sea and made ready for active service.

 

Between 1778 and 1797 Victory took part in fleet actions in the English Channel and the Mediterranean. Her presence at key battles underlined Britain's naval strength, projecting power to her enemies. A defining moment in Victory's career was as flagship to Admiral Sir John Jervis at his victory at the Battle of Cape St. Vincent in 1797. Although outnumbered, Victory led a British fleet that was better prepared and trained compared to the Spanish.

 

The Battle of Trafalgar ended Napoleonic France’s ambitions to invade Britain and her Navy’s ability to threaten Britain’s worldwide Command of the Oceans. The end of the Napoleonic Wars in 1815 ushered in a century of ‘Pax Britannica’ Britain’s undisputed naval power and position as global superpower – and laid the foundations for much of the modern world we know today.

 

thedockyard.co.uk/the-collections/dockyard-history/buildi...

 

Green 1977 Ford Escort RS2000 - RYP 969R - seen on display at the Trackday & Car Show, Knockhill Racing Circuit, Fife, Scotland, May 2019.

 

Any additional information clarifying the vehicle's make, model, modifications made and its specific history will be welcomed.

 

Press "L" to view large.

THE DRUNKEN MUSE

The story "Drunken Muse" was audio recorded on a hidden voice recorder during the conversations about two decades ago. The story-teller didn't know or consent to the recording.

en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tape_recorder

en.wikipedia.org/wiki/8-track_tape

en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Compact_Cassette

The audio tapes on compact cassettes were never used. The records were partially damaged and lost.

Herewith the unedited transcript version.

 

medium.com/paul-jaisini-paints-invisible-paintings/paul-j...

I am so pumped to get back to painting as I return to the second year of the art school after a full year suspension. As always it is like time-travel culturally speaking, like walking right into the middle ages going through the antique building’s portal.

Art studios are the huge L-shaped lofts with super tall ceilings 20 feet no less with the wall to wall windows so that sunlight illuminates the space from south and east side designed for the purpose so that one could paint there from morning till sunset.

In a studio there are classical gypsum sculptures, expensive copies of Venus de Milo, David, Laocoön and the others. In the art studio there stood the noses, eyes, lips, feet, and palms on the wood shelves.

Sketching the gypsum body parts helps you to build the classic academic base on which stands the whole modern and contempo art. This sort of teaching is specific for the art schools that preserve the traditions they had been founded on. There is only few art schools like this and of this caliber left now. Could be that this is the only legendary school that continues to function as if nothing had changed in the world. In the rest of the world with billions of some art classes nobody knows what does the old tradition of art school is for, its totally unfashionable.

Studying classic art (en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Academic_art) here is the foundation for creativity in any of the art styles.

  

The smell of art is what defines the studio but not from human presence, something like an aroma reminiscent of the eastern market where smoke from hookaahs mix with the oil vapors, exotic fragrance from candles and spices. The Art Studios were never renovated since the times they were built over 150 years ago. The wood floors are saturated with art oils as if the floor is waxed with the organic oils from nuts, linen ( linseed oil, poppy seed oil, and so forth.) Adding to the mix the varnishes used by painters (pine wood varnish, Dammar varnish and others) It makes this ART SMELL to be the most intoxicating and ever-lasting musk.

  

en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Oil_painting

en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Oil_painting - Ingredients

en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Studio - Art_studio

  

The instance you enter the studio space you feel the belonging to a knighthood and the whole art history. You are the undivided part of those people who left their creation imprints.

Super pumped up after the long break up with the arts after my full year of non-stop party marathons I had returned to the bohemian life style.

Actually my other life style wasn't any different from the bohemian.

The only difference is that there is some meaning in the bohemian life style, something to create, to shape. Not just spend time doing sports and girls but something on a whole 'nother level only with the same sub text and by far more emotionally connected.

The bohemian I think is much more my thing, that fits me as a person. Maybe because my old man is the greatest sculptor.

He is color blind so apparently I took up the torch, I have a very special sense for color.

  

en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sculpture

en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bohemianism

en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Color_blindness

  

There could be an inborn human predicament or inborn genius.

I returned into the world to kiss its ground. I like everything about it, the babeville and its fashion circus.

The art students are known to come up with endless varieties of how to be stylish.

Take me for example, I am chilling in a suit jacket. It was professionally hand-tailored out of a denim Pajamas with stripes and starry silk underlining.

This “look” is completed by my python leather jeans. And over that an authentic LONG military Germany Waffen Elite Officer black Leather Coat from the WWII, only it is without a Swastika.

I never part with my large portfolio and a Field Easel.

EASEL

  

About 700 students attend the studies. The art school accepts only the best of best with few exception such as the kids of celebrity artists, writers and musicians and people who had real power in the city.

I wasn't enrolled for money or the A-lister parents, but for my talents. The Art specialty (painting, drawing, sculpture) teachers here are the world-wide recognized contemporary artists.

In a matter of my working ethics these important artists would point at me as the example of how fast I work, how well I sketch in color, how I always choose the most unexpected and unusual angle for my composition and so on...

  

en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Composition_(visual_arts)

name banner gif

  

Optical illusion geometric gif

  

(portraiture, still-life, and landscape)

en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Still_life

en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Portrait

en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Landscape_painting

en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Figure_drawing

en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Figure_painting

  

I never work on an académie (live drawing of a model, live painting of a model) the given eighty -- ninety hours. My whole process is about six -- nine hours to fully complete the work so I get out of the studio for some action and fun.

I’m probably the strongest in the class. My art professors know I don’t need to be there to distract the others.

When I’ve got nothing to do I start banging the head against the wall. Still I am criticized SUPER harshly for cutting the classes.

At this point I am not aware of the inner workings of “THE SYSTEM”.

I call suitcase with a secret compartment.

At the grade shows I only see the bad grades on my best artworks.

There is another side of the coin. It revealed in the future when I got to befriend a secretary at the Dean’s office. It was about the time of my graduating year.

The art teachers actually always considered me to be the leading artist among all students. They would grade all my artworks high on my personal record I knew nothing about.

That was how the art school’s system pushed the talented students to go further to open up their potential. Pushing to the limits of impossible.

I am harshly criticized for cutting a lot of classes.

There is another side of the coin. It will be revealed in the future when I got to befriend a secretary at the Dean's office. It was about the time of my graduating year.

The art teachers actually always considered me to be the leading artist among all students. They would grade all my artworks high on my personal record I knew nothing about.

That was how the art school's system pushed the talented students to go further to open up their potential. Pushing to the limits of impossible.

Willing or not but the doubts get in my head. I was thinking (rather frantically) that maybe I’m all just misguided. I will work to beef up my skills unable to accept that I am not really a “genius” artist. The bad grades were corrupting my vision.

Totally clueless that these bad grades in my case were used as "disciplinary measures" for my behavior of anarchy. These grades had nothing to do with my artworks.

And yet my best drawings and paintings are graded the lowest. At the same time the art professors are taking my works home. I always find empty walls where my works were displayed for the semester shows.

Sooner or later the missing artworks got me enraged. My classmates tell me the back story on what REALLY had happened.

All the art professors usually go the painting major's finals. So they just took my artworks right off the wall.

Ever since I heard this back story I flaunt how IDGAF to even pick up my works with the bad grades after the finals end.

Like a bunch of some doomsday looters in sight of an electronic store the art students same as the teachers vultured my artworks. Later some of my paintings and drawings were seen at the school's museum, especially the paintings.

The story of the artworks snatched off my exhibit wall developed further.

In the art school the art teachers are the privileged kind who exhibit regularly. All are the accomplished artists with big names.

Another thing about my artworks (no longer mine and in someone else's possession) is the story that involves someone with the top art rep being the art dynasty. Even so it happed that the leading art professor nicknamed Molly (for her annoying facial mole) used my art stuff to have her son who studied same years as me, just never expelled, to apply to an art academy with the highest qualification requirements. Molly's son portfolio sucked. To get him qualified to apply she gave her son all of my artworks she collected.

The juice was given to me by the reliable sources. The story was concurred by the eye--witnesses the students who were applying to the same academy together with Molly's son. Some of these students knew my work by the style, special color palette and the brushwork.

They all knew that Molly's son was using my artworks. He only had to forge his signature and remove mine.

en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Study_(art)

  

My drawings, sketches, paintings, watercolors are in "wide" use by others.

I tell that to describe the routine of my life.

It could explain why I was expelled three times for the chronic absence, for sabotaging the lectures -- getting my classmates to leave the studio and go to the movies or to the beach.

Fast forward to that event of the breaking point when I started to work systematically.

  

I was sucked into work as if a drug addiction. I was penetrating deeper to the very core of creativity. Reading books, going to the museums, working in the field, working in the museums to copy masters. I completely forgot all about life around me.

Practically I was devoured and digested with my nails and hair by that devil called the academic art. It sucked out the leftovers of my soul.

I stayed in the studio after the classes to work. There were only few students like this, spiritually close to me. To them it was their life style since the day they had entered the art school unlike me. Whenever I'd get bored with art I'd quit working and just leave without asking permission.

Now as if something had hit me hard and I started to really work. Most art students here typically come from such backgrounds when they did their baby steps and studied in the children's (secondary) art school from an early age and tutored by art teachers at home

I had a tendency to take on a higher complexity unprepared without the experience of any art school training (the eight years on a daily basic with teachers and methodical practice.)

As long as I remember myself I was drawing, during my school years, on the notebooks, with chalk on the asphalt, with stick on the sand. I did it subconsciously, not knowing what I was doing.

IDK, could be due to the several bad bike accidents when my head ended up hitting the brick...

  

Why did my brain moved into the direction of noticing those things that normal people should not be noticing? That the leaves on the trees are not at all green, but violet.

The falling shadows from the street lights are not at all outlined by black, the contours are the absolute blue.

The trees look like people.

There are so much more shades of colors that language could articulate.

Stuff like this filled up my head so that there was no place left for just a thought about girls, more so even the thoughts to manipulate my body functions. For instance using the

bathroom. I almost peed my pants. Truthfully I was on the edge of madness.

I remember how I hallucinated during my work imagining that someone had come into my studio and I spoke to "the guest." My brain was ill, there was no escape from that hell.

  

en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Violet_(color)

  

Once I was walking on a street without any awareness. My mind was no longer in command of anything accept the obsession with my painting. As I was pushing the limits of what was humanly possible in a matter of progress from the previous stage when I could draw and paint with intuitive results now I considered as totally armature waste of art materials. My condition would be hard to describe since I could hardly remember what was it like during that madly intense period. I know that I was working non--stop and did make some major break through. It worked but at the same time the progress turned its evil side, I wasn't able to stop even for a brief moment. Something happened to my otherwise incorruptible memory that I could only remember few things from that period. And one of those things was my death walk through the city streets on a day I was supposed to disappear.

When I realized that I was walking automatically, blind and incredibly

avoiding the cars, for the first time I felt the fear of madness that can easily take my life. It wasn't something I would fear if I was in my other life when loosing it would be quite an ordinary thing and not due to my lost mind.

Whatever it was I survived with no chances to stay alive that day. I had more chances to live on when I was shot at execution style, when I was drowning in bad storm, climbing on a building like a cat, and on many others such occasions.

Some guardian angel was looking over me as I came to the final moment of certain death, blind, deaf, disoriented and delusional.

As we finished with draperies, still life, gypsum figures we moved on to the nude. To draw and paint from the live sitter, male or female model.

There comes an old fat hag to be posed before the artists. She will be POSING even during the breaks. She sits professionally without a slight move of her flab folds for us to draw her “forms”. ‘assume it was done for the boys not to get distracted with the female anatomy.

The models with “rounded” forms were chosen so we would study the reflects and double reflects on a “sphere-like” and “cylinder-like” forms.

There would be plenty of the cast shadow (a type of shadow that is created on a form), and a drop shadow ( below the image).

  

en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_human_positions

en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Figure_study

  

The working objective was to concentrate on the drawing’s construction.

When we’d get a young female model, she’d be so skeletal that we studied the skeleton. This type of models was as unattractive as the fat ones.

The art students without an eye for a drawing and technique produced their works of caricature quality. With the lost proportions the models looked like animals, skinny chickens or fat frogs.

For me it was a serious job, body didn’t exist. I x-rayed the flubs of fat to see the bones to connect them to muscles, to build a form.

  

en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Caricature

en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Muscle

en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Skeleton

en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Human_skeleton

  

The illness I call the overdose had progressed and my end was near.

Homies who knew me used to say that I was cracked.

When I moved from the classicism to modern (I refused to see any modern or contemporary art, never wanted to see it, or ever saw it) I entered the Modern art on my own, as my foot stepped into the forth dimension.

I entered the world of mad pressure. Good I stepped in it one foot yet.

I was sleeping in the studio right on the floor near my work and placed an electric heater near by.

It was impossible to heat up whole place where fifty heavy-duty easels only took a quarter of the studio space.

In the center there was a huge round stage made from a special hard wood to hold any number of models when needed for the multiple human-figure compositions.

The place was full of easels, portable and the large for the field. The chairs, tables, palettes, boxes with paint, cases with paper and lots of other art stuff piled up into mountains.

The parquet floor was always covered in fresh oil paints even though the teachers tried in vein to prove a fact that working neatly was by far more productive.

  

We had a dormitory built same year as the art school which was 150 something years ago.

If you stayed late in the studio that was forbidden, you couldn't get to the dorm.

A guard at the main door was a real watch dog, he faithfully guarded the pathway knowing every student's face.

The dorm was occupied by those who couldn't pay for a room or the apartment in the city.

Ten beds were squeezed in a dorm room.

This part of the antique building was never renovated probably b/c it was planned to be turned into more art studios.

But since there were out of town students who had no place to live they were given a place in this dorm.

The beds were of a good prison-like quality so the survival was possible. Another thing is what was happening in the dorm.

On a typical day nobody there had any money left after the expensive art materials. Not a penny to get high. Alcoholic liquid (40-60%) was soaked into the bread.

From one bite of that bread you could instantly drop dead as if your legs got cut off by a train.

The receptors inside the nose absorb the fumes to hit right into the brain, this way the booze doesn't ever enter the digestive system and blood.

It kills or makes one go bonkers.

Some pissheads in desperation poured vodka into a wine bottle cap to inhale it like coke. After one cap screw it was a total alchoholocaust.

There were many ways of economizing: to use a medical thin rubber tube to suck the drink very slowly, one bottle would

serve four alkies.

It was the usual schizophrenic day for me. I had my dose of coffee and ate on a way to the studio.

Those days I didn't miss a class afraid to get expelled for the last and final time.

I couldn't understand this thing about my artworks. Why did my classmates literally begged on their knees to have the C-graded artworks I was never satisfied with.

It became my trade mark to give away all of my stuff left and right. I didn't know why I let go of my drawings and paintings so easy. Now I regret that. It would be interesting to see the growth.

Once I happened to tell a guy from my class who worked very hard on his drawing (he wasn't a good draftsman): "Oh Wow! you are doing a lot of progress, buddy, congrats!" I looked at his portfolio and pointed at a piece: "This drawing here is really mature and quite interesting, you achieved volume and air in just a linear drawing."

The guy suddenly goes red, stares at me wide-eyed with anger or confusion I couldn't quite understand...

"Am I saying something wrong?" I asked.

"You're fucking dissing me!" He answered.

"Why?" I wondered.

"This is YOUR drawing," Was the answer: "I took it, that is when I asked you and you gave it to me, don't you remember?"

I didn't recognize, didn't see my signature, as it was overlapping the drawing.

The guy was holding a grudge for this but it didn't turn him into one of my enemies.

  

At some point I am thankful to the teachers for their sneaky methods and experience on how to tame the most unruly and bring them into the art's stable. On the other hand these people were like sadistic fascists who used their special gases on me experimenting, would I survive it and live on.

The bohemian hyped up life only started after the classes at about seven in the evening. This part of the artist's life was full of sex, booze, and drugs, more sex booze drugs and orgies. The art youth was progressive, the sex - communal with the conveniently shared girlfriends and boyfriends.

Strangely the good times didn't concern me anymore now.

There was a small group of idiots who followed their criteria of achievement: to draw and paint a vase with flowers so that it comes to life, right out of the canvas to the carrying hands of the one who painted it. The flowers turned alive would be given to the girl/boyfriend.

The madness of the 4th dimension.

The art group was lead by me and another guy soon (one month later) to disappear forever for the reasons unknown.

After the classes me and few others searched for a studio. Found it. Not my studio. Any studio with the door unlocked.

As usual I would set a still life. Take off my nazi coat.

Set my next canvas on the easel to start quick sketching.

Out of nowhere shows up some dude who was a new student, he was much older, about twenty three, somewhere from Texas and just plain untalented.

He wanted to hang around with "the power-group" to learn.

There were few girls with the ambition to reach the level of a manly hand in creation.

We all usually worked in grave silence and even a slight noise would be extremely annoying.

If a brush would fall it seemed the atomic bomb had exploded somewhere near. We would exchange vicious cursing at the jittery creaking sneezing noise maker.

When you are focusing intensely and can't quite catch the brush stroke to complete the shaping of a form so that the image would turn real and come out of the flat surface the nerves are high strung to the limit.

The last months I just never left the studio, didn't even come outside. Slept on my German coat in the corner. It was veiled with the drapery. I'd wake up in the morning. The doorman was already used to give me the keys knowing that I sleep and work there. It came with a warning that if I am discovered I must tell any story and solemnly kept the secret.

The memories from those years distract me from telling what I want. It's about the event that had closed for me the entry into the forth dimension.

That day I was getting upset over some stupid teases: "What had happened to you!"

Whether the bros wanted to elevate my mental state, or they needed to get my works it had really caused me distraction. I was focusing on my work. Suddenly I hear the sounds of music in the studio. It jumped me: “Are you out of your fucking minds? That asshole doorman will come here."

"No he ain’t gonna."

"Why?"

"He is passed out, we had to carry him away." Was the answer.

"What is going down?" I worried.

"Not much, nothing is going down, we just want some fun. The way it is on here is so buzz-killing."

Was it some holiday, I didn’t know. Holidays passed by me, I didn’t smoke or drink and only worked. What they were saying didn’t reach me.

“Shut down the music. You’re gone but I must sleep here."

"Why must you sleep here?" Asked Lorenzo (nick-named after his personal preferences of the Benzos)

"Hmm, I guess there will be no way of working today?" I asked.

"Working, way working, you gonna make me some home works," Assured me the dude nicknamed Kuz. "For that I will make your sculpture complete."

As interesting as it was to play with the real forms in sculpting I disliked dealing with the clay. Those times I believed the painting to be so much more in gradations, possibilities and complexity. Now I changed my mind to consider any art media possess the unlimited possibilities.

I agreed. Suddenly the guys were fixing to leave and I had to ask: "So? Who will finish building up the sculpture if you're leaving?"

"No worries, will build it up, brb just a quick run for some booze before the stores closed up."

"What booze? Get out of here go to another studio. I work, don’t mess me up."

"No biggie, son, you can rest for once."

It was pointless to argue, they'd already been drunk and I was only getting nervous. My work wasn’t going good at all. I have changed the lighting set up many ways in vein.

Suddenly, out of nowhere Muse appears. A young, very-very attractive girl about eighteen. The returned gang introduced her to me:

"J-Sin, meet her... lets say Nicky."

"Eh, hello Nicky, who and what are you?" were my greetings.

She smiled to everyone and answered: "I will be posing for you today."

"We agreed about everything, will pay the price,” –explained Lorenzo barely moving his tongue, "She is gonna be happy!"

His bag full of bottles made loud clanking noise.

When the drunks got them out I counted six.

“Yes, this is going to be a wild night.” I was thinking what to do now. I approached the model, took off her coat and hanged it, removed her blouse and explained that she can go behind the curtain.

"Hey, hey! What curtain son, what’s with you? She is from the med school, our people!"

I heard the Kuz's inebriated voice. "She is THE model!"

"What -- nude?" I wondered.

"And what did you think, she'd sit covered up in here?" They burst into laughter.

Suddenly I feel elated with the anticipation of the new and amazing subject for the work. I was fed up with the poor set up and the struggle to "find" the good lighting for the gypsum head. How wonderful it turned out that I could make some picturesque oil sketches.

When the model took off her bra, her young breasts, her nipples instantly distract my attention from work.

Shit, I couldn’t focus. Since we hadn’t a glimpse at such models it was too interesting. Could be that something about this evening or the environment was different. First time in a long while the music was playing, the glasses jingled and filled up with wine.

As she posed we were all doing the quick sketching. She removed everything except her panties.

The drunken assholes wouldn’t let me focus.

"Let me finally have a chance to work." I yelled getting distracted.

They seemed to try bargaining: "We brought you the model, hey girl turn around!" Kuz pulled up her skirt and slapped her buddy. "Look at these buns, you've got to do another

drawing for the semester show."

"Boys, you are so bad!" She giggled to Kuz. "I will spank you for being soooo bad!" And she was laughing in most contagious sexy trills of her childish capricious voice.

  

I didn’t understand what these die--hard drunks were doing at the art school, without any talent or interest in art. My former palls in another life that was long forgotten. Today the serious artists who always worked together with me had left the moment this bad company swam by.

Now I was looking at their watery eyes winking at the model. They caressed her things as she reclined on the wooden stage to rest. I wanted to figure out why did they distract me even more now?

I was the same age as the model. I didn’t see her body, to me now it was the model for painting.

It was getting late when the cold winds penetrate the place from the drafty wall size windows. I put on my sweater in the starting freezer. The one meter or the three feet and 33/8 inch walls are like the thermos to absorb and hold the cool temperature. I looked at the laughing bunch who labored on my sculpture.

One was drawing a huge flying dick with wings with a charcoal right on a white wall.

I had finished sketching the figure. I came up to the stage to set up the heater. I asked the model if she could sit some more taking breaks whenever she needs to move.

When she looked at me she was constantly smiling.

"Sure she’ll sit! And she'll lay, right, sweet buns?"

I held my breath working imagining how awesome would be to have such a model every day. With a shaky hand I was working fast as a machine expecting any minute now she would say that she is too cold to sit another minute and she leaves, its all over. I will have to kill her and sit her lifeless body on a chair to complete my work.

“Shit! Shit! Shit!"

The heater I placed caused the red reflexes on the body. I was painting and had to get the color right. So I removed the heater. The model immediately complained about the cold. Kuz brought her a glass of wine asking me why did I remove the heater.

From wine her face flushed red. I tried to adjust the color scale, laying brushstrokes over the whole figure.

Meanwhile the music turned up it was getting real loud.

The model took her break.

I walked after her studying her forms.

"Is something wrong?" She asked.

"Its all right, could you turn this way."

"Oh, I see. Same in our med school, the nut cases," She openly declared to the others when I was on a floor looking from a lower viewpoint.

"Who is this?" She asked: "What kind of a mental is he?"

"Its a disease, but it will pass" – was the answer for her. "Sometimes it is terminal. Not his tho, his will pass, he loves the young girls very much…"

Something from the stupid jokes had reached me.

"Hon, now he needs the medical attention. You are the medic? We are forever in debt to yous for allowing us come to the mortuary and for helping with the dead bodies... What we have here is a zombie. You are the goddess who saves the body as your calling."

What I heard was polluting my pure artistic brain with that life I refused. Now I was paying attention not to the mammary glands but to her breasts. Her back muscles are slightly weak. As I looked over the skeleton the muscles slowly disappeared. No matter how hard I tried to focus my x-rays were weakened. Maybe the electricity turned off inside my head.

"Pour me some," I asked.

Six months of my immaculate virginity and celibacy was broken by a wine glass. The red wine like the blood of innocents was running in my throat filling up the brain that shortly was boiling with vigor. So I said:

"Could you please remove your panties?"

"It wasn’t the deal," protested the model with her eyes glowing like honey.

Lorenzo interrupted her:

"For god’s sake, take of your panties, what is it to you, aren't you a medic?"

"I thought someone here was shy, as for me" She lustfully licked her lips. "Well, of course its nothing."

"Who is shy?" Asked someone.

"Him the weirdo!" She giggled in a very cute bubbly little voice.

"Are you shy?"

"It seems it was me who asked her to remove the panties." I explained.

She just jumped right out of her panties not without pleasure it seemed.

I imagined how to position her, what pose should she take.

"Hey!" I asked Kuz to pour me another glass. He was cheering me on yet reminding that I should first finish the drawing.

"Later," I mumbled turning to the model: "Would you please sit on a chair and spread your pretty legs a little, as much as you wish."

"Hey, Alex, so he is normal?" She asked.

I was far away from normality. A actual girl weaved from the reality. But the process was a transformation with splitting dimensions.

She was turning more real when I touched her to show how to position her legs.

I glimpsed at the red pubic hair seeing the pink flesh of her vaginal lips.

I couldn't focus on my work. Could the “female anatomy” destroy the temple of magic I was erecting for the eight months?

I returned to my easel and continued working. She was fidgeting changing poses uncomfortable this something hurting that... But it was only natural, she was sitting naked on a plain hard wooden chair. She was sliding from one side of the chair to another. I was buzzed from wine and couldn’t work, but I tried to complete my work just to annoy these assholes who screwed up my day. First work was washed off with turpentine and I wiped up the canvas dry with a rag.

I was sketching now not with a charcoal but brushing in umber. It resulted in an interesting tonality and I was captured again. The model squirming on her hard chair complained.

"Yo, why don’t you lay her down, what is she suffering for?" Asked Alex, "Lay her the fuck down, why not."

Right! I thought a little and told her to lay on the stage. Underneath her I spread some drapery.

After few wine glasses I took off my sweater, my cheeks were on fire. Hers too. I unbuttoned my shirt, my blood was boiling, the body was washed with the warmth.

The heater was moved away.

"So true that wine warms you up," she said to Alex.

"Jay, so tell me how to lay her down there. Sit, sit, you poor thingy, I'll assist you" And he jumped on the stage. "Do you want her legs spread this way?" he asked opening

up her legs so that her whole anatomy was showing.

"Is this ok for you?" He winked at me: "Is it good?"

"Oh no, can’t show it like this at the mid-semester show." Thinking some I added: " Let it be, lift her leg a little higher, like this. Turn her head down."

"Like this?" He kissed her on the lips.

"Alex, the fuck you're doing, I don’t have any time."

"Work, keep drawing, go on!" he said. "We won’t disturb you."

I was outraged after I just washed everything off my canvas ready to work, but this wasn't going anywhere. I kept asking Alex what did he mean by not disturbing me when he messed everything up. I heard the girls laughing trills. "For real, he is ill!"

"The sick can be cured." Insisted Alex. "Will hill him." He slurred.

Of course, I own them my very life. If it weren't for them –- that’s it, finito.

Kissing her on the lips and winking at me Alex continued bugging me: “Is this right?”

For like ten minutes I was staring in the infinity in the emptiness… Then I yelled: "Why are you sucking her? Get away from her, let her lay there quietly."

Only to hear some nonsensical mumbling.

"But I want you to work on the position, is this position right?"

"Right, just fuck off of her."

Meanwhile Kuz, I noticed, was taking off his pants. He said: “Let him go fuck himself. Motherfucker is gonna fuck us up today, if he doesn’t want it, so fuck it.”

Now I thought I knew what they wanted from me.

I saw Alex’s naked butt as he laid on the stage, banging the girl and his ass wiggled.

I started sketching their nude asses.

My consciousness was still in the process of transforming.

I thought of how interesting were their poses.

Lorenzo came up to me and took the brushes from my hands placing all in my field easel he closed up.

"Listen, J-man, you’re being a fucking buzzkill. Go draw some vases, fuck off to another studio. You don’t want it. For free?"

I didn't understand him what did he mean. He explained:

"What do you see Alex is doing right now?"

"He is fucking his girlfriend." I said.

Lorenzo continued:

"Whose girlfriend? What we have here is a

scientist, from the med school who is helping us in our artistic quests, to understand the core of anatomy not only from the outside but from the inside. I recommend you, in order to comprehend, as you must know, you can only know the truth from the inside, experiencing the inside, to understand the outside. That’s why I seize the brushes. Here is another glass of wine. Drink!"

I looked at him as a doctor listening to his drunken bullshit.

"The most important thing for you is to understand from the inside. See, you can’t understand it from the outside, it’s not how things are done."

"Yes knowing the internal anatomy helps, take a muscle, body doesn’t exist without muscles." I agreed.

"Hell yeah, yeah… ha ha…that’s what I am going about. Look how Alex is working how he is learning."

I looked at the bare ass's motions back and forth, at the girl who was lifting her legs and actively moving her hips. Alex jumped off, wiped up his cock with the drapery, he also wiped out the girl. “Who is next?”

Kuz was kissing her from one side, when Lorenzo said:

"He worked very hard today, he must learn from the inside. You see, because he just can’t break through the inside."

When Kuz was mounting her, Lorenzo spanked him loudly:

"You can wait, the man needs the muse, get it? Understanding the Muse comes only from the inside.." They all bust into laughter.

Lorenzo nearly helped my cock inside the girl cheering on: "Just do it, little one, everything is gonna be great. Honey, turn him back into a soldier that we've lost."

"The man is gone, the man known yesterday is not the man you meet, forever, around the corner, in London or in the street..." chanted Nick appearing from nowhere. He continued slurring his poems.

Hearing the noise I didn’t know what’s going on as I kissed her breasts.

"Feel the forms." I heard the racket near by as I was buzzing off the wine and licking the girl's body. On the other side Lorenzo had joined in groping her breasts. To be more at ease I moved her body closer to the stage’s edge. I was on top.

I didn't hear any sounds of music, the entry door was covered with the draperies as the orgy just steamed up for the whole night.

I woke up on the stage from loud knocking.

The art students asked me what happened to the busted still life set.

I exhaled my dragon breath to hear no more questions. Took my coat and left the building. Walking the street I met Alex.

"Your face is not yet blushed, your eyes are a bit foggy, can’t say anything after the sleepless night. Like Cures Like."

He grinned getting money out of his pocket. "Let us get some treatment."

We walked to the known spot for aching heads gathering.

   

This old building, once a Convent and now the James Cook Museum in Cooktown has two histories really. If in Cooktown, it should not be missed as it is one of the better regional museums and best dedicated to a specific subject (mostly anyway) that I have seen. Do not miss out. I have a couple of shots from inside coming tomorrow.

 

I can do no better than hand over the whole story to Wikipedia....

 

James Cook Historical Museum is a heritage-listed former convent and school and now museum at Furneaux Street, Cooktown, Shire of Cook, Queensland, Australia. It was designed by Francis Drummond Greville Stanley and built from 1888 to 1889 Hobbs & Carter. It was formerly known as St Mary's Convent and School. It was added to the Queensland Heritage Register on 21 October 1992.

 

This substantial, two-storeyed brick building was erected in 1888-1889 as St Mary's Convent and School. It was the inspiration of the first Vicar Apostolic of Cooktown, Bishop John Hutchinson; designed by former colonial architect Francis Drummond Greville Stanley, of Brisbane; and staffed initially by Sisters of Mercy from Dunvargan in Ireland.

 

Bishop Hutchinson was one of three Irish Augustinian Fathers who arrived in Cooktown in 1884 to take charge of the Pro-Vicariate of North Queensland, established in 1876 and extending from Cardwell to Cape York Peninsula. In the mid-1880s it was appropriate that the Augustinians were based at Cooktown, rather than Cairns, as the former was emerging as the principal town and port of far North Queensland. Such was the rapid progress of Cooktown during the second half of the 1880s that the Pro-Vicariate of North Queensland was constituted the Vicariate Apostolic of Cooktown in 1887. Father Hutchinson was appointed the first Vicar Apostolic and was consecrated a Bishop in August the same year. In late 1887 Bishop Hutchinson returned to Ireland to recruit more priests and to encourage an order of sisters to establish a convent school at Cooktown. There was an existing primary school, staffed by lay teachers, attached to St Mary's Pro-Cathedral in Cooktown, but Bishop Hutchinson envisaged a grander establishment which could offer a superior education, both religious and academic, to the girls (future wives and mothers) of Far North Queensland. It was to operate as both a day school and a boarding school for girls.

 

St Mary's Convent and School was designed by former colonial architect FDG Stanley, one of Queensland's most prolific late 19th century architects. In the 1880s he designed a number of other Catholic churches and institutional buildings, including St Patrick's Church at Gympie (1883–88), additions to St Mary's Church at Maryborough (1884–85), dormitories at St Vincent's Orphanage, Nudgee (1886–87), Holy Cross Church at Bundaberg (1886–88), the Magdalene Asylum at Wooloowin, Brisbane (1888–89), and the Sisters of Mercy Convent at South Brisbane (1889).

 

The tender for St Mary's Convent and School at Cooktown was let about May 1888 to Brisbane contractors Hobbs & Carter, who had erected the much admired Cook Monument at Cooktown in 1887. When Bishop Hutchinson returned from Ireland in June 1888 with five Sisters of Mercy to staff the school, the convent building was far from complete, but work continued rapidly and the building was occupied by May 1889.

 

Stanley's original design was for a two-storeyed brick core with two transverse wings, but when officially opened by Bishop Hutchinson on 12 May 1889, only the core and north wing had been completed, at a cost of nearly £5,000. The intention was to complete the second wing as funds permitted, but this did not eventuate. The substantial brick building was the most imposing structure in Cooktown, pre-dating the Queensland National Bank building in Charlotte Street by about two years. The footings were of concrete and the plinth was constructed of Cooktown granite. Most of the bricks were obtained from Campbell & Sons' brickworks in Brisbane, and shipped to Cooktown. Much of the skilled labour required for the construction also came from Brisbane.

 

Internally, the ground floor comprised a central entrance hall, off which opened a large dining room (also used as the school chapel) to the right and a large reception room for visitors to the left. Behind these rooms were two classrooms, each divided by folding doors. Beyond the reception room was the school hall, a large room 44 by 18 feet (13.4 by 5.5 m), which occupied most of the ground floor of the north wing. Beyond the eastern end of the hall were the lavatories. A central staircase led from the entrance hall to the upper floor, which contained boarders' dormitories at the north end and dormitories for the sisters at the south end. Upper floor lavatories and bathrooms were located above the ground floor lavatories at the east end of the north wing. Boarders used a second staircase on the rear verandah, rather than the grand central stair. At the rear, the kitchen, scullery and servant's room formed a detached wing, connected to the main building via a covered way. Stanley had taken account of the Cooktown climate: the rooms were large, light and airy, and there were deep verandahs front and back. The rear verandahs were enclosed with "curtain boards", and the front verandahs were decorated with cast iron.

 

The site selected was on the crest of the ridge running south from Grassy Hill, above the main street of Cooktown, with a spectacular view over the Endeavour River estuary. By the 1890s the imposing building had become a Cooktown landmark, regularly featured in visiting journalists' descriptions of the town.

 

Bishop Hutchinson had made the establishment of the convent school at Cooktown a personal project, donating much of his own money and borrowing from his relatives in Ireland, but substantial funds were raised locally as well. The community clearly recognised the need for an educational institution for girls in far North Queensland which offered a superior education to that available in small local state schools, and St Mary's was patronised by families of all denominations. It was the first girls' high school in the area and gained a strong reputation for the quality of its music curriculum. World-acclaimed Queensland singer Gladys Moncrieff was educated there.

 

The significance of Cooktown as a port deteriorated in the 1890s, as production from the alluvial diggings on the Palmer Goldfields declined. Bishop Hutchinson died in 1897, and his successor, Bishop James Murray, is understood to have paid off the debt on the convent building by conducting a lecture tour in the United States. In 1906 Bishop Murray moved his residence to Cairns, which had eclipsed Cooktown as the principal port of far North Queensland.

 

Despite the decline of Cooktown - both in population and significance - St Mary's Convent and School remained an important educational facility for girls in far North Queensland until the 1930s. The building suffered substantial damage during the cyclone of January 1907, which demolished the Catholic Church behind the convent and removed part of the convent roof, but was repaired immediately. However, many of the businesses destroyed in the 1907 cyclone were not re-established, and an entire block of shops and offices in the main street of Cooktown, destroyed by fire in 1919, were never re-built. St Mary's boarding school closed in the 1930s but co-educational day classes were continued until 1941, when the building is understood to have been commandeered by United States military authorities.

 

Although the building was returned to the Church in 1945, the school was not re-opened and the Sisters never returned. Another cyclone damaged the building in 1949 and by 1969 it was considered to be in such a ruinous state that tenders for its demolition were called. Following public protest the building was donated to the National Trust of Queensland on condition that it be restored to house the collection of the James Cook Historical Museum at Cooktown. The new Museum was opened on 22 April 1970 by Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II, during her visit to Australia to celebrate the bi-centenary of Cook's charting of the east coast. The former St Mary's Convent and School continues to be maintained by the National Trust, and is one of the principal tourist attractions in Cooktown. In the early 1970s, extensions were made to the rear of the building to house the museum collection. The grounds have been landscaped as the Joseph Banks Memorial Garden, planted with about 40 of the 186 plants catalogued by Joseph Banks and Dr Daniel Solander during their 7-week stay at the Endeavour River in 1770. Each of these 40 plants is peculiar to the Cooktown area.

  

The roads were under the protection of the gods, Mercury and Mars in particular. Intersections of roads had their particular deities: Diviae, Triviae, Quadriviae (junction of 2, 3 or 4 roads), deities of Celtic or Illirian origin , who were worshiped in specific sanctuaries named compita.

www.academia.edu/17219170/Roman_Roads_in_Moesia_Inferior_...

Because the theme for this year’s Convention was Supermodel, I did have a few expectations and one specific wish that I have was to see Adele with the 2.0 sculpt. It was such a relief to find out that Glamazon Adele is (almost) everything that I hoped for. There are other characters that could channel Naomi Campbell but it’s really a no-brainer Adele is that one doll who should, but for some reason I can’t see her represent Naomi with the 3.0 sculpt. Sure that sculpt is very close to Naomi’s facial features but l’m gonna call it like it is. 2.0 is a much better sculpt… for many reasons. One of those reasons is that 2.0 has a much relaxed expression. There’s a certain ease and effortlessness to the sculpt which is a contrast to 3.0’s stern expression. I also find 2.0’s face balanced and much more symmetrical. Of course 2.0 have those sultry lips that I can’t get enough of. She is just mesmerizing in every angle I can’t even stop from staring. She is modeling 360 degrees! As fabulous as the OOAK Obsession Adele was with the 3.0 sculpt which may have been considered for Adele, I’m so glad that we got 2.0 mass produced.

 

One of the things I was worried about was for the Convention dolls to have the same face designs as the main collection and true enough they do. But the designers proved me wrong. It didn’t matter. For almost three years now I find the face designs for Fashion Royalty to be lackluster. It was the “almost there but not quite” faces that didn’t impress me. In 2013 the "Classic" look seemed out-dated. In 2014 we had great eye designs but the eyebrows were not on point. In 2015 the vintage style which was a departure from the usual designs turned out to be unimpressive. This year Fashion Royalty put their best face forward. Something we haven’t seen in ages. We have the sass, the haughty expressions, and the arched eyebrows back. Each of the dolls’ faces, particularly for the Convention, were designed flawlessly. I love that the entire FR collection is consistent and cohesive with the face design as that does not happen all the time like in some of the past collections. Half of the dolls look great and half are so-so.

 

While Glamazon is flawless in my eyes, she was that one doll I wanted side glancing. It’s like everyone else was side glancing except for her. Integrity why are you doing this to me?! LOL. Why am I obsessed with side glancing eyes and why does it matter you ask? For Adele in particular, the last time she had the best side glance was The Muse, Paparazzi Bait, Something Sexy and Bodacious. It’s the squint and the side eye that I want perfected with Adele. To me side glancing eyes gives the dolls’ personality as opposed to the stoic look that they give when they’re looking straight forward. Although I’m not holding my breath, I’m hoping to see Adele with the 2.0 sculpt as the W Club Exclusive and hopefully they give her a variant of the face design that has side glancing eyes like what they did to Love, Life and Lace and Sister Moguls Agnes this year. Vanessa 1.0 showed up as the Exclusive last year, so it’s not impossible to see Adele 2.0 as the Exclusive this time.

 

For Glamazon to have the lowest edition size of 350 in the collection is somehow frustrating. Integrity lowered her edition size as last year’s table centerpiece Time and Again Adele is still in stock up to this day and they don’t want that to happen again. In my opinion, dolls of color do not sell not because of their skin tone but for me the design is a huge factor on that. I mean, looking at those two versions of the same character and I think it’s safe to say they are miles apart. Time and Again is matronly while Glamazon is sexy. Obviously with Glamazon selling out at the Convention only means they’ve done something right with the character and we want our sexy and sultry Adele back and hopefully this won’t be the last.

Trichocentrum longicalcaratum in situ, sans taches dans les pétales et les sépales. L'imagination de la nature n'a pas de limite pour s'adapter á des centaines d'habitats particuliers avec des microclimats spécífiques, créant des especes d'orchidées les plus surprenantes les unes que les autres de par leurs formes, couleurs et parfums. Colombie.

 

Trichocentrum longicalcaratum in situ, without dots on the petals and sepals. Imagination of nature has no limit to adapt to hundreds of particular habitats with specific microclimate, creating more astounding orchid species one than the other by their shapes, colors and fragrances. Colombia.

 

Trichocentrum longicalcaratum in situ, sin manchas en los pétalos y sépalos. La imaginación de la naturaleza no tiene límite para adaptarse a cientos de hábitats particulares con microclimas específicos, creando especies de orquídeas más asombrosas una que la otra por sus formas, colores y fragancias. Colombia.

...Scientists were not able to give a distinctive explanation of this phenomenon. It is known that appearance of Delleh's mirages is spontaneous and depends neither on a specific geographical position, nor on the day part.

It should be mentioned that the possibility of appearance is stronger in sparsely populated regions, on abandoned territories and wastes. However, cases of mirages in densely populated areas were recorded as well...

 

***

I was coming back to this place again and again trying to capture a new phantom. I had a long time wandering through the Buninskaya valley on the outskirts of Moscow.

I felt I will be lucky that day and kept searching systematically, trying not to pay attention to the bitter cold.

Delleh's Mirage appeared around 2 pm when I was already chilled to the bone.

This time it was a flying warship. I think if the fighter could be real, its repulsor system or something like had been damaged, and the pilot was forced to make an emergency landing...

 

Despite severe frost in that late night it was still possible to encounter people in the streets. The shot was made a moment before on the road next to the ravine exactly opposite the spot where I stood appeared half-drunk hobo pushing a stolen from the nearest supermarket trolley filled with unremarkable stuff. When he saw me he shouted in a characteristic hoarse manner: "Uuh! Wut are you.. shoo..ting here!?" Apparently, he decided the photographer had been waiting to take a picture of him. But I just silently pointed at the bottom of the ravine. He came closer and looked down. Phantom gradually dissolved in the frosty air. I bet I heard him cursing the booze he had been drinking ...

_________________________

Перевод текста на английский by Alexander (Shurik_13)

 

... Ученые не могут дать четкое объяснение природe возникновения данного феномена. Известно лишь, что появление миражей Дельлеха спонтанно, не связано с конкретной географической зоной и не зависит от времени суток. Отмечается, что вероятность их появления выше в безлюдных местах, на заброшенных территориях и пустырях. Однако фиксировались случаи появления фантомов и в густонаселенных городских районах...

 

***

Я возвращался на это место снова и снова в надежде запечатлеть очередной фантом. Приходилось подолгу бродить по Бунинской лощине на окраине Москвы.

В тот день я чувствовал, что мне повезет и методично продолжал поиски, стараясь не обращать внимание на сильный мороз.

Мираж Дельлеха появился примерно около двух часов ночи, когда я уже промерз до мозга костей.

На этот раз я сумел запечатлеть фантом некоего летающего боевого корабля. Сложилось впечатление, что будь истребитель реальным, у него могла повредиться система репульсора или что-то вроде нее и пилот вынужден был совершить аварийную посадку...

 

Даже при сильном морозе в позднюю ночь на улице еще можно было встретить людей. Кадр был сделан за мгновение до того, как на дорогу рядом с оврагом ровно напротив того места, где стоял я, вышел полупьяный бродяга, толкая впереди себя тележку из ближайшего супермаркета, заполненную непримечательным хламом. Увидев меня, он крикнул характерным хриплым голосом: "Ээ! Ч-че ты тут... ф..фото... гра..ффируешь?" Видимо, решил, будто фотограф специально ждал появления его персоны. Но я лишь молча указал рукой на дно оврага. Он подошел поближе и глянул вниз. Фантом постепенно растворялся в морозном воздухе. Мне послышалось, что мужичок сквозь бороду проклинал пойло, употребленное им в этот день...

In specific, Holy Week is the week just before Easter that extends from Palm Sunday until Holy Saturday and marks the last week of Lent. It has earned the name 'Holy', according to the Orthodox Church, due to the significant events that take place for Christianity in regard to the sufferings of Jesus Christ.

 

Saturday evening is filled with the anticipation of celebrating Easter Sunday. In some areas, people begin to gather in the churches and squares in cities, towns and villages by 11pm for the Easter liturgies. A few minutes before midnight, all the lights are turned off and the priest exits the altar holding candles lit by the Holy Light, which is distributed to everyone inside and outside the church. At midnight, the priest exits the church and announces the resurrection of Jesus. Many people carry large white candles called lambada, and the church bells toll as the priests announce “Christ is Risen!” at midnight. Each person in the crowd replies with a similarly joyous response.

The capital of the Republic of Cyprus is also its cultural heartbeat.

 

Nicosia is the capital and largest city on the island of Cyprus, as well as its main business centre.

 

There is one thing the photograph must contain, the humanity of the moment.

 

We are making photographs to understand what our lives mean to us.

 

The best thing about a picture is that it never changes, even when the people in it do.

 

The camera is an instrument that teaches people how to see without a camera.

 

I really believe there are things nobody would see if I didn’t photograph them.

 

SN/NC: Larus Glaucescens, Laridae Family

 

The glaucous-winged gull (Larus glaucescens) is a large, white-headed gull. The genus name is from Latin Larus which appears to have referred to a gull or other large seabird. The specific glaucescens is New Latin for "glaucous" from the Ancient Greek, glaukos, denoting the grey color of its wings. The glaucous-winged gull is rarely found far from the ocean. It is a resident from the western coast of Alaska to the coast of Washington. These glaucous winged gulls can also be found in the Puget Sound region. It also breeds on the northwest coast of Alaska, in the summertime and in the Russian Far East. During winter, they can be found along the coast of California, Oregon, Baja California, Baja California Sur, and Sonora. Glaucous-winged gulls are thought to live about 15 years, but some live much longer; a bird in British Columbia, for example, lived for more than 21 years, while one in the US state of Washington lived for at least 22 years, 9 months. The longevity record though, is more than 37 years, for a bird banded as a chick in British Columbia.

The glaucous-winged gull nests in the summer, and each pair produces two or three chicks which fledge at six weeks. Young birds are brown or gray with black beaks, and take four years to reach adult plumage.

It feeds along the coast, scavenging for dead or weak animals, fish, mussels and scraps. In urban areas it is well known for its tendency to accept food from people and peck open unprotected garbage bags in search of edibles.

Its call is a low-pitched "kak-kak-kak" or "wow", or a more high-pitched wailing.

 

A gaivota de asa glaucosa (Larus glaucescens) é uma grande gaivota de cabeça branca também conhecida como Gaivota-de-Bering. O nome do gênero é do latim Larus, que parece ter se referido a uma gaivota ou outra grande ave marinha. O glaucescens específico é o novo latim para "glaucous" do grego antigo, glaukos, denotando a cor cinza de suas asas. A gaivota de asas glaucosa raramente é encontrada longe do oceano. É um residente da costa oeste do Alasca até a costa de Washington. Essas gaivotas aladas glaucosas também podem ser encontradas na região de Puget Sound. Também se reproduz na costa noroeste do Alasca, no verão e no Extremo Oriente russo. Durante o inverno, eles podem ser encontrados ao longo da costa da Califórnia, Oregon, Baja California, Baja California Sur e Sonora. Acredita-se que as gaivotas de asas-glaucas vivam cerca de 15 anos, mas algumas vivem muito mais; um pássaro na Colúmbia Britânica, por exemplo, viveu por mais de 21 anos, enquanto um no estado americano de Washington viveu por pelo menos 22 anos e 9 meses. O recorde de longevidade, porém, é de mais de 37 anos, para um pássaro anilhado como filhote na Colúmbia Britânica. Se alimenta de mexilhão e peixes e os restosdo lixo humano, ao lado da costa.

 

De witkopmeeuw (Larus glaucescens) is een grote witkopmeeuw. De geslachtsnaam komt uit het Latijn Larus, die lijkt te hebben verwezen naar een meeuw of andere grote zeevogel. De specifieke glaucescens is Nieuw Latijn voor "glaucous" van het oude Grieks, glaukos, wat de grijze kleur van zijn vleugels aanduidt. De blauwvleugelmeeuw wordt zelden ver van de oceaan gevonden. Het is een inwoner van de westkust van Alaska tot de kust van Washington. Deze grote gevleugelde meeuwen zijn ook te vinden in de regio Puget Sound. Hij broedt ook aan de noordwestkust van Alaska, in de zomer en in het Russische Verre Oosten. In de winter zijn ze te vinden langs de kust van Californië, Oregon, Baja California, Baja California Sur en Sonora. Groot-gevleugelde meeuwen worden verondersteld ongeveer 15 jaar te leven, maar sommige leven veel langer; een vogel in British Columbia bijvoorbeeld, leefde meer dan 21 jaar, terwijl een vogel in de Amerikaanse staat Washington minstens 22 jaar, 9 maanden leefde. Het levensduurrecord is echter meer dan 37 jaar, voor een vogel met een band als een kuiken in British Columbia.

 

Il gabbiano dalle ali glauche (Larus glaucescens) è un grande gabbiano dalla testa bianca. Il nome generico deriva dal latino Larus che sembra si riferisse ad un gabbiano o ad un altro grande uccello marino. Lo specifico glaucescens è il nuovo latino per "glaucous" dal greco antico, glaukos, che denota il colore grigio delle sue ali. Il gabbiano dalle ali glauche si trova raramente lontano dall'oceano. È residente dalla costa occidentale dell'Alaska alla costa di Washington. Questi gabbiani alati glauchi si trovano anche nella regione del Puget Sound. Si riproduce anche sulla costa nord-occidentale dell'Alaska, in estate e nell'Estremo Oriente russo. Durante l'inverno, possono essere trovati lungo la costa della California, dell'Oregon, della Baja California, della Baja California Sur e di Sonora. Si pensa che i gabbiani dalle ali glauche vivano circa 15 anni, ma alcuni vivono molto più a lungo; un uccello nella Columbia Britannica, ad esempio, ha vissuto per più di 21 anni, mentre uno nello stato americano di Washington ha vissuto per almeno 22 anni e 9 mesi. Il record di longevità, tuttavia, è di oltre 37 anni, per un uccello fasciato come un pulcino nella Columbia Britannica.

 

La gaviota de alas glaucas (Larus glaucescens) es una gaviota grande de cabeza blanca. El nombre del género proviene del latín Larus, que parece haberse referido a una gaviota u otra ave marina grande. El glaucescens específico es el latín nuevo para "glauco" del griego antiguo, glaukos, que denota el color gris de sus alas. La gaviota de alas glaucas rara vez se encuentra lejos del océano. Es residente desde la costa occidental de Alaska hasta la costa de Washington. Estas gaviotas de alas glaucas también se pueden encontrar en la región de Puget Sound. También se reproduce en la costa noroeste de Alaska, en verano y en el Lejano Oriente ruso. Durante el invierno, se pueden encontrar a lo largo de la costa de California, Oregón, Baja California, Baja California Sur y Sonora. Se cree que las gaviotas de alas glaucas viven unos 15 años, pero algunas viven mucho más; un pájaro en la Columbia Británica, por ejemplo, vivió durante más de 21 años, mientras que uno en el estado de Washington, EE. UU., vivió durante al menos 22 años y 9 meses. Sin embargo, el récord de longevidad es de más de 37 años, para un ave anillada como polluelo en la Columbia Británica.

 

Le goéland à ailes grises (Larus glaucescens) est un grand goéland à tête blanche. Le nom du genre vient du latin Larus qui semble avoir fait référence à une mouette ou à un autre grand oiseau marin. Le glaucescens spécifique est le nouveau latin pour "glaucous" du grec ancien, glaukos, désignant la couleur grise de ses ailes. Le goéland à ailes grises se trouve rarement loin de l'océan. C'est un résident de la côte ouest de l'Alaska à la côte de Washington. Ces goélands ailés glauques peuvent également être trouvés dans la région de Puget Sound. Il se reproduit également sur la côte nord-ouest de l'Alaska, en été et dans l'Extrême-Orient russe. En hiver, ils peuvent être trouvés le long des côtes de la Californie, de l'Oregon, de la Basse-Californie, de la Basse-Californie du Sud et de Sonora. On pense que les goélands à ailes grises vivent environ 15 ans, mais certains vivent beaucoup plus longtemps; un oiseau en Colombie-Britannique, par exemple, a vécu plus de 21 ans, tandis qu'un autre dans l'État américain de Washington a vécu au moins 22 ans et 9 mois. Le record de longévité est cependant de plus de 37 ans pour un oiseau bagué au stade de poussin en Colombie-Britannique.

 

Die Blauflügelmöwe (Larus glaucescens) ist eine große Weißkopfmöwe. Der Gattungsname stammt vom lateinischen Larus, der sich anscheinend auf eine Möwe oder einen anderen großen Seevogel bezog. Das spezifische glaucescens ist neulateinisch für „glaucous" aus dem Altgriechischen, glaukos, was die graue Farbe seiner Flügel bezeichnet. Die Blauflügelmöwe wird selten weit vom Ozean entfernt gefunden. Es ist ein Bewohner von der Westküste Alaskas bis zur Küste Washingtons. Diese Blauflügelmöwen sind auch in der Region Puget Sound zu finden. Es brütet auch an der Nordwestküste Alaskas, im Sommer und im russischen Fernen Osten. Im Winter sind sie entlang der Küste von Kalifornien, Oregon, Baja California, Baja California Sur und Sonora zu finden. Es wird angenommen, dass Eismöwen etwa 15 Jahre alt werden, aber einige leben viel länger; Ein Vogel in British Columbia zum Beispiel lebte mehr als 21 Jahre, während einer im US-Bundesstaat Washington mindestens 22 Jahre und 9 Monate lebte. Der Langlebigkeitsrekord liegt jedoch bei mehr als 37 Jahren für einen als Küken gebänderten Vogel in British Columbia.

 

النورس ذو الأجنحة الزرقاء (Larus glaucescens) هو نورس كبير أبيض الرأس. اسم الجنس مأخوذ من اللاتينية Larus التي يبدو أنها أشارت إلى نورس أو طائر بحري كبير آخر. كلمة glaucescens المحددة هي اللاتينية الجديدة لكلمة "glaucous" من اليونانية القديمة ، glaukos ، للدلالة على اللون الرمادي لأجنحتها. نادرًا ما توجد النورس ذات الأجنحة الزرقاء بعيدًا عن المحيط. وهي مقيمة من الساحل الغربي لألاسكا إلى ساحل واشنطن. يمكن أيضًا العثور على هذه النوارس المجنحة اللامعة في منطقة بوجيه ساوند. تتكاثر أيضًا على الساحل الشمالي الغربي لألاسكا ، في الصيف وفي الشرق الأقصى الروسي. خلال فصل الشتاء ، يمكن العثور عليها على طول ساحل كاليفورنيا وأوريجون وباجا كاليفورنيا وباجا كاليفورنيا سور وسونورا. يُعتقد أن النوارس ذات الأجنحة اللامعة تعيش حوالي 15 عامًا ، لكن بعضها يعيش لفترة أطول ؛ على سبيل المثال ، عاش طائر في كولومبيا البريطانية لأكثر من 21 عامًا ، بينما عاش طائر في ولاية واشنطن الأمريكية 22 عامًا على الأقل و 9 أشهر. ومع ذلك ، فإن الرقم القياسي لطول العمر هو أكثر من 37 عامًا ، بالنسبة لطائر مرتب على شكل كتكوت في كولومبيا البريطانية.

 

シロカモメ (Larus glaucescens) は、大きな白い頭のカモメです。属名はラテン語の Larus に由来し、カモメや他の大きな海鳥を指しているようです。特定の glaucescens は、翼の灰色を表す古代ギリシャ語 glaukos からの「青々とした」の新ラテン語です。シロカモメが海から遠く離れた場所で見られることはめったにありません。アラスカの西海岸からワシントンの海岸までの居住者です。これらの白く翼のあるカモメは、ピュージェット サウンド地域でも見られます。また、アラスカの北西海岸、夏の間、ロシア極東でも繁殖します。冬の間、カリフォルニア州、オレゴン州、バハ カリフォルニア州、バハ カリフォルニア スル州、ソノラ州の海岸沿いで見られます。シロカモメは約 15 年生きると考えられていますが、それよりも長く生きるカモメもいます。たとえば、ブリティッシュ コロンビア州の鳥は 21 年以上生きましたが、米国ワシントン州の鳥は少なくとも 22 年 9 か月生きました。しかし、寿命の記録は、ブリティッシュ コロンビア州でひよことして結ばれた鳥の 37 年以上です。

Lighting of the Sails: Metamathemagical

 

For the 10th Anniversary of Vivid Sydney, celebrated Australian Artist Jonathan Zawada will create a site-specific artwork that transforms the Sydney Opera House sails into a series of kinetic digital sculptures.

 

Jonathan Zawada’s concept for the installation explores metaphysical themes using imagery inspired by the Australian environment.

Mirror, Mirror, on the wall . . . Vanity is hard in SL - so few mirrors

So, being reflective, lets enjoy the warmth of this golden moment together

 

Visit this sim location: TheOuterGarden

 

This sim has a forced landing point, so, follow the 231/192/2511 coordinates to find this specific spot

 

My custom WindLight Atmosphere setting:

- Est Ang 0.299

- All the rest are "Alchemy Immortalis - Dark Misty Night" settings

 

No editing other then cropping

 

Some facelights

 

Outfit:

- Blueberry Leather Skirt - Beige

- Erratic Mirari bodysuit - gold

 

See my earlier photos for jewelry details

 

(May not be noticeable, but, trying a lusher body shape)

Most lionesses reproduce by the time they are four years of age. Lions do not mate at a specific time of year and the females are polyestrous. Like those of other cats, the male lion's penis has spines that point backward. During withdrawal of the penis, the spines rake the walls of the female's vagina, which may cause ovulation. A lioness may mate with more than one male when she is in heat. Generation length of the lion is about seven years. The average gestation period is around 110 days; the female gives birth to a litter of between one and four cubs in a secluded den, which may be a thicket, a reed-bed, a cave, or some other sheltered area, usually away from the pride. She will often hunt alone while the cubs are still helpless, staying relatively close to the den. Lion cubs are born blind; their eyes open around seven days after birth. They weigh 1.2–2.1 kg (2.6–4.6 lb) at birth and are almost helpless, beginning to crawl a day or two after birth and walking around three weeks of age. To avoid a buildup of scent attracting the attention of predators, the lioness moves her cubs to a new den site several times a month, carrying them one-by-one by the nape of the neck.

 

Usually, the mother does not integrate herself and her cubs back into the pride until the cubs are six to eight weeks old. Sometimes the introduction to pride life occurs earlier, particularly if other lionesses have given birth at about the same time. When first introduced to the rest of the pride, lion cubs lack confidence when confronted with adults other than their mother. They soon begin to immerse themselves in the pride life, however, playing among themselves or attempting to initiate play with the adults. Lionesses with cubs of their own are more likely to be tolerant of another lioness's cubs than lionesses without cubs. Male tolerance of the cubs varies—one male could patiently let the cubs play with his tail or his mane, while another may snarl and bat the cubs away.

 

File:Lion Cubs Phinda 2011.ogv

Video of a lioness and her cubs in Phinda Reserve

Pride lionesses often synchronise their reproductive cycles and communal rearing and suckling of the young, which suckle indiscriminately from any or all of the nursing females in the pride. The synchronisation of births is advantageous because the cubs grow to being roughly the same size and have an equal chance of survival, and sucklings are not dominated by older cubs.Weaning occurs after six or seven months. Male lions reach maturity at about three years of age and at four to five years are capable of challenging and displacing adult males associated with another pride. They begin to age and weaken at between 10 and 15 years of age at the latest.

 

When one or more new males oust the previous males associated with a pride, the victors often kill any existing young cubs, perhaps because females do not become fertile and receptive until their cubs mature or die. Females often fiercely defend their cubs from a usurping male but are rarely successful unless a group of three or four mothers within a pride join forces against the male. Cubs also die from starvation and abandonment, and predation by leopards, hyenas and wild dogs.Up to 80% of lion cubs will die before the age of two. Both male and female lions may be ousted from prides to become nomads, although most females usually remain with their birth pride. When a pride becomes too large, however, the youngest generation of female cubs may be forced to leave to find their own territory. When a new male lion takes over a pride, adolescents both male and female may be evicted. Lions of both sexes may be involved in group homosexual and courtship activities; males will also head-rub and roll around with each other before simulating sex together.

What was the hardest part of this capture?

 

It was not the exposure. With a solid cloud cover, I was able to lock in a manual exposure for perfect results on every shot. In this case, I chose a 1/1000 shutter speed (the bird was moving a lot and quickly), an f/5.6 aperture (to isolate the bird using shallow depth of field) and ISO 160 to bring the brightest whites up to near RGB 255,255,255.

 

The challenge was not the tight framing of the bird. I was able to slowly belly-crawl close to the small flock of terns. So close that I only needed a 234mm focal length in front of the 7D II's APS-C sensor. I should have used a slightly wider angle still as I added a small amount of canvas on the left in post, providing additional breathing room for the wing.

 

The challenge was also not the low shooting position. Using the NatureScapes Skimmer Ground Pod II (www.the-digital-picture.com/Reviews/NatureScapes-Skimmer-...), I was able to push the camera forward as I crawled in the sand. Shooting from on the ground gave me a clean background (only sky) and the remaining land in the frame is primarily a blur of texture.

 

The big challenge? Timing the shutter release in conjunction with using the proper AF tactics to get this specific composition with the head included in focus. The sandwich tern cleaning process involved a wide array of moves, few of which I was able to predict and all of them fast. The head was constantly moving in what seemed like all directions and fast framing adjustment with a properly-selected AF point proved very challenging. A narrower aperture would have reduced the AF task, but the result would have been more ground in focus for a different look.

 

One aspect of this image that I like is the complete separation of the head from the body. Many of the preening positions did not have this attribute (and many had a completely hidden head). I also like the balance. While I don't often place my subject in the center of the frame, I felt that centered worked best in this case. The wing and tail balance the bird over the dark, eye-catching legs. The head extended to the right caused me to want the legs shifted just left of center to get what I felt was the right overall balance. My shooting position was low enough that only the legs intersected the color of the sand. The small amount of feather pulling through the bill is the bonus feature. I'll credit the 7D II's short shutter lag for enabling that timing.

 

This sandwich tern was on the gulf shores of Captiva Island, just north of Blind Pass. This location in southwest Florida is ideal for expanding one's bird photography portfolio.

 

Gear Used:

Canon EOS 7D Mark II

Canon EF 100-400mm f/4.5-5.6L IS II USM Lens

NatureScapes Skimmer Ground Pod II

 

Camera and Lens Settings:

234mm f/5.6 1/1000s, ISO 160, 5622 x 3648px

 

Click on the image to view large. Get more camera gear and photo information at www.the-digital-picture.com/

 

#Canon #CanonPhotographers #Canon7DMarkII #Telephoto #Bokeh #Sand #SandwichTern #Nature #NaturePhotography #Wildlife #WildlifePhoto #WildlifePhotography #Bird #Birds #BirdPhotography #BirdPhoto #BirdsUnlimited #SeaBirds #Shorebirds #Birding #BirdWatching #USA #UnitedStates #Florida #Captiva #SanibelIsland #BlindPass #Photo #Photography

Spiders, a specific order (Araneae) of animals in the larger class of arachnids, range in size from the small jumping spiders commonly seen in residential areas to the Goliath Birdeater tarantula of South America, the world's largest spider.

 

Two body parts and eight legs separate them from the three body part, six legged world of insects.

 

Formal spider categorization follows the same taxonomic pattern of insects with groups placed into families and genera, based on specific criteria.

 

Less formal approaches to grouping types of spiders provides alternative ways for understanding the order.

 

As carnivores, spiders catch their food in one of two ways. They either use a web or actively hunt on the land or water.

 

Spiders are members of the arachnid family and there are over 30,000 different types of spiders. In fact, scientists speculate that there could actually be as many as 100,000 different types of spiders in the world, but most of these have not yet been identified.

150516_Ibirapuera_0008

 

This picture was taken in a specific Ibirapuera Park's area called "cachorródromo" (something as dogtrack in english), once dogs are seen everywhere running and playing together and with their proud owners. In this picture, considered one of the smartest dogs in the world, a male black and white border collie takes his silver soccer ball back to a boy that is already preparing to throw it away once more.

Pitbull, bull terrier and rottweiler are the only breeds not allowed to run freely without leash/collar or, at least a nose-piece.

Specific Perfection ENB ------- it is hidden at the moment

PLEASE BE CONSIDERATE AND COMMENT IF YOU FAVORITE

 

(2PJL) Coast City -

 

My name is Kyle Rayner...and I'm afraid that I might kill a man tonight. Dr. Arthur Light, to be specific. Just hours ago, he kidnapped my girlfriend Alex, and is now using her as bait to lure me to him. He claims that he will kill her if I don't give him the 'light' which I still am not sure what he means by that.

 

My ring located Dr. Light in an abandoned warehouse near the docks, which is only 50 meters away. Before landing, I scan the warehouse for both Dr. Light and Alex. My ring detects them both in the middle of the building. I'm actually a bit surprised that Alex is indeed here, like he promised.

 

I make myself an opening in the building's wall via a rocket launcher from my ring. As I enter the warehouse, I outstretch the hand that my ring is placed on and use it as if it were a flash light. I wander aimlessly through the dark building until I finally see Alex.

 

Once noticing me, she beings to struggle in her restraints as a way to single me to cut her loose. I nearly begin to assure her that it's alright, and even almost say her name, but then I remember that she doesn't know that it is me. To her, I'm just the man that they call Green Lantern on T.V.

 

Suddenly, out of the shadows, comes Dr. Light. I brace myself as his hands and eyes begin to glow, almost as if he is planning to attack.

 

"Kyle Rayner?" asks Dr. Light.

 

I realize now that my identity will be revealed to Alex if I assure him that I am indeed who he believes. I take a moment to ponder my options, yet decide that my only choice is to reveal my secret.

 

"Yes...I am Kyle Rayner." I respond.

 

Alex muffles something through the tape over her mouth and begins to struggle even more.

 

"Good...good! Now...give me the light! Give it to me!" orders Dr. Light.

 

"I don't know what you're talking about, what is the 'light'?" I reply.

 

"Don't play games with me boy...give me it...give me the power!"

 

"Hey, you've gotta understand, I don't know what you're talking about! Please, just let her go, leave her out of this. I'm here now, you don't need her anymore."

 

"No...no...no, no that won't work at all! You won't give me the light! Give it to me...give me the light...or she dies...I'll kill her!"

 

Alex begins to sob. I begin to understand that Dr. Light won't take no for an answer. The only way to get Alex out now is a with a fight. I'm sure that I can buy her enough time to escape, I just don't know if I can make it out as well.

 

"I'm not going to let that happen...you are not going to touch Alex." I demand.

 

I send a blast from my ring in his direction yet he deflects it by constructing a shield made of pure light. Next I fashion a large baseball bat, while he assembles a sword like light structure. As I engage in a duel with Dr. Light, I construct a pair of scissors and have them begin cutting through the tape around Alex.

 

I get about halfway done, before my focus is stopped due to a blow to my stomach from Dr. Light. Luckily, it was enough to free Alex's arms, which allows her to continue removing the tape. Knowing this, I focus my attention on defeating Dr. Light.

 

I assumed a giant mech-suit and charge at Dr. Light. I grab him using my suit's claw and begin to fly up towards the ceiling. I slam my other claw through the roof and continue to rise higher up and out of the warhouse. I planned on taking the fight away from the city, to avoid any unnecessary losses, yet I was rendered unable to do so as Dr. Light caused some sort of light explosion, causing me to loose my grip around him.

 

He flies back into the city, I assume to use it's large buildings as cover. I dismantle the mech-suit as a means to increase my speed, although Dr. Light is too fast. I hit him with a blast from my ring, causing him to drop down into the middle of Coast City Park. The civilians there quickly run as they see us enter the park grounds. Good, less things to worry about.

 

Dr. Light gets up and tries to regain flight, though I manage to construct a pair of strong ankle cuffs around him before he can do so. He blasts the cuffs off of his legs and stands up. I assemble a shield and slam into him sending him through the large, metal statue of the other Green Lantern located in the middle of the park.

 

I rush towards him though I'm knocked onto the floor as he fires a blast at my feet. He continues to fire more projectiles at me, though luckily I manage to assemble a brick wall between us to counter the attacks. Eventually, he stops shooting, noticing that he cannot break through the construct, and takes flight. He moves over the wall and then drops right above me, hoping to crush me when he lands.

 

Still on the ground, I roll backwards, just as he slams into the ground creating a large crater. I leap at Dr. Light and tackle him. We struggle to our feet, each grabbing the others knuckles, trying gain the advantage.

 

"The light! Give me the light!" Dr. Light pleads.

 

"I can't do that, I don't even know how to do that! And I won't let you hurt Alex!" I reply.

 

"I just need the light! Give me the light, Kyle Rayner! Give it to me!"

 

"You have to understand! I don't know what you mean!"

 

"Lies! AHHHH!"

 

Dr. Light fires a blast from his hands straight into mine. I drop down into the grass, my hands burning and covered in flames. Dr. Light stands over me with his arms outstretched in front of him, ready to deliver the final blow.

 

"Give it to me...please!" Dr. Light begs.

 

Surprisingly, he falls to his knees and his eyes fill with tears. It was at this moment that I notice that Dr. Light wasn't the bad man that I thought he was. Something else was going on here, and I'm going to find out...

 

Next - Love

 

Really sorry for the long read, I just didn't want to rush through this issue, as it is a quite important point in the volume. I hope that you all enjoyed it anyway. Thanks for reading! -Michael

REAR VIEW of Indian Cuckoo (Cuculus micropterus)

  

The generic name derives from the onomatopoeic name for a cuckoo, based on the bird's call, in Old English = coccou or cukkow, in French = coucou and in Greek = kokkux or kokkyx. The specific name results from a combination of two Greek words: micro = little or very small and ptero = wing. Together, the name literally means "small winged cuckoo" which is reflected in an early common name.

 

Other common names: Short-winged Cuckoo, Indian Hawk-Cuckoo.

 

Taxonomy: Cuculus micropterus Gould 1837, Himalayas.

 

Sub-species & Distribution: Two races are recognised, both of which are found in this region:

 

micropterus Gould 1837, Himalayas. Ranges from India, Nepal, Bangladesh, Sri Lanka, Myanmar and Thailand, east to E China, Mongolia, Korea and E Russia. It winters south to the Andamans and Nicobars, West Malaysia, Singapore, Sumatra, Java, Borneo and the Philippines.

 

concretus S. Müller 1845, Borneo. This smaller resident form is found in Borneo, Sumatra and Java. It is also found from Phattalung, in S Thailand, south to Johore (Medway & Wells 1976).

 

Similar species: It is very similar to two other Cuculus species. The Common Cuckoo C. canorus does not occur in this region. The Oriental Cuckoo C. saturatus is a rare winter visitor and passage migrant. Both these birds do not have a broad black sub-terminal band, tipped with white, on the tail.

 

Size: 12½ to 13" (31 to 33 cm). Sexes differ slightly.

 

Description: Male: Head and neck dark ashy-grey tinged with brown, paler on the lores, chin, throat and upper breast. Remaining upperparts, scapulars and wing coverts dark ashy-brown, the primaries and secondaries similar but barred with white along the inner webs. Tail dark ashy-brown with a broad black sub-terminal band and tipped with white. Basally, the tail feathers have a series of alternating white and black bands, more on the outer feathers than the inner ones, often with white or rufous notches along both edges. Lower breast and abdomen creamy-white, boldly barred with dark blackish-brown bars, the vent, axillaries, undertail and underwing coverts more narrowly barred with blackish-brown.

 

Female: Very like the male, with the throat and breast tinged with rufous.

 

Immature birds: Juvenile birds appear largely white to rufous-white with dark brown bars on the head, nape, upper back, chin, throat, sides of neck and breast, the face and ear coverts less heavily marked. Remaining upperparts, including wing coverts more rufous, the feathers broadly edged with rufous-buff and tipped with white. Lower breast, belly and vent pale buffy-white, broadly barred with blackish-brown, more so on the flanks. The tail appears largely to be barred with rufous and black, with more numerous bars than adult have. They, too, like the adults, have a broad black sub-terminal tail band.

 

Gradually, the white and rufous edges on the upperparts disappear, the throat and upper breast turn ashy, and the bars on the underparts become more defined. Within five months of leaving the nest, the young are almost in adult plumage, the rufous band across the upper breast being ultimately lost except in females. However, they often have rufous or whitish tips to the flight feathers and upperwing coverts (Oates & Blanford 1895).

 

Soft parts: Iris dark yellowish-brown, orbital ring orange-yellow. Upper mandible black, lower mandible greenish-horn tipped with black, gape orange-yellow. Legs and feet orange-yellow, claws black.

 

Status, Habitat & Behaviour: A common winter visitor and passage migrant, is found throughout Singapore, the earliest date being 14th September, the latest date 19th May (Wang & Hails 2007). Between these two dates, this bird has not been recorded in Singapore, which suggests that C. m. concretus, the resident form found south to Johore in west Malaysia, does not occur in Singapore.

 

The nominate form is a vagrant to Borneo where C. m. concretus, a smaller and darker form, is also the resident race (Smythies & Davison 1999), up to 1100 m (3300 feet) in the Kelabit Highlands of Sarawak. In Sabah, it is found in primary, peatswamp and logged forests (Sheldon et. al. 2001).

 

In Singapore, it is more usually found in forests, along forest edges, in mangroves, secondary scrub and, occasionally, in gardens and parks (Wang & Hails 2007). In West Malaysia, both resident and migrant forms are found to 760 m (2500 feet), in the canopy of lowland and hill forests, as well as on offshore islands (Medway & Wells 1976). In India and Nepal, where it is very common in summer, it can be found in fairly wooded country to 2300 m, even up to 3700 m (Baker 1927).

 

A solitary and shy bird, it is generally found singly and easily overlooked, keeping to the treetops or flying hawk-like over the forest canopy. During the breeding season, however, it becomes very vocal, calling incessantly during the early hours of dawn and again at dusk, far into the night, especially on moonlit nights, even calling on the wing during courtship chases (Ali & Ripley 1969).

 

Food: It mainly eats caterpillars, ants, locustids, fruit, butterflies and grasshoppers (Smythies 1968), sometimes coming down to the ground, hopping about awkwardly to pick up insects from within the leaf litter (Ali & Ripley 1969). In Singapore, it was found feeding at a termite hatch (Subaraj 2008).

 

Voice and Calls: In India, its most common four-note call is a fine melodious pleasing whistle from which evolved some of its popular local names, Bo-kota-ko in Bengali (Jerdon 1862), Kyphulpakka (Oates & Blanford 1895), and the "Broken Pekoe" bird in English (Baker & Inglis 1930). The call has also been variously annotated by several other authors: as "crossword puzzle" (Ali & Ripley 1969), a far-carrying wa-wa-wa-wu (Medway & Wells 1976), a flute-like ko-ko-ta-ko (King, Woodcock & Dickinson 1975), as reminiscent of the beginning of Beethoven's 5th symphony (Sheldon et. al. 2001). There are several other interpretations of its call (Tsang 2010).

 

In the Kelabit Highlands of Sarawak, its call was continuously heard in late February over sub-montane forest at 900 m (3000 feet). The loud four-note call was fairly musical, koh-koh-koh-kok, the first three syllables on the same pitch, the third sometimes higher, the last note always lower. It was persistently uttered for several minutes at a time, each burst of four-note lasting slightly over one second with about two seconds between each burst, occasional with a fifteen to thirty seconds break between each set of notes. Once or twice, it made a more rounded fluting and musical variation of the same four notes. Most of the time, the call was echoed, almost synchronously, by a four-note squeaking call, much more shrill and softer, sometimes in a lower key (Sreedharan 2005).

 

It usually calls from the tops of tall trees or when flying from tree to tree (Jerdon 1862), and much more persistently during breeding season, often calling all night long (Smythies 1968). The call is uttered intermittently for hours on end, for more than five minutes at a stretch, at about 23 calls per minute, and, while courting a nearby female, the wings are dropped, the tail spread wide and erected, the bird pivoting from side to side (Ali & Ripley 1969).

 

Breeding: Very little is known of the breeding of this Cuckoo. It is brood parasitic and, instead of building its own nest, it surreptitiously lays eggs in the nests of several host species, its choice of victim varying from location to location. The nominate form, C. m. micropterus, does not breed in our area. The local form, C. m. concretus breeds in peninsular Malaysia.

 

The breeding season varies from May to July in northern China, March to August in India, January to June in Burma and January to August in the Malay Peninsula.

 

In India, the host species are said to be Streaked Laughing-Thrush Garrulax lineatus, White-bellied Redstart Hodgsonius phoenicuroides, Indian Bush-Chat Saxicola torquata and Indian Blue Robin Luscinia brunnea, all of which lay blue or bluish eggs, similar to those of this Cuckoo (Baker 1927).

 

Additionally, it is said to victimise species such as Fork-tailed Drongo Dicrurus adsimilis, Ashy Drongo Dicrurus leucophaeus but other species, "in whose nests putative eggs of this cuckoo are claimed to have been found, or have been observed feeding its young", include the Asian Paradise-flycatcher Terpsiphone paradisi, the Streaked Spiderhunter Arachnothera magna and, in Sri Lanka, the Black-hooded Oriole Oriolus xanthornus (Ali & Ripley 1969).

 

Given the difficulty in determining the identity of young cuckoos, it is hardly surprising that these two authors have included a caveat, stating that the available data on the breeding biology of this bird, indeed, of all parasitic cuckoos are, "by and large, meagre, and of dubious authenticity. Most accounts are vague, largely conjectural and often contradictory. The whole subject calls for a more methodical de novo re-investigation".

 

Currently, this picture (Ong 2008), of a juvenile Indian Cuckoo fostered by a Black-and-yellow Broadbill Eurylaimus ochromalus provides the only incontrovertible evidence of a confirmed host in Malaysia. In Amurland, Siberia, its main host is the Brown Shrike Lanius cristatus, the cuckoo's eggs hatching in about 12 days, two to three days sooner than that of the shrike (Ali & Ripley 1969).

 

Oviduct eggs from females are said to be of two types: whitish with small reddish-brown dots, closely matching drongo eggs, or pale greyish-blue, like those of the Turdinae, the eggs c. 25 x 19 mm in size (Ali & Ripley 1969).

 

Migration: Seventeen night-flying migrants, attributed to C. m. micropterus, were caught at Fraser's Hill from 10th October to 27th November and 7th to 14th April between 1966 and 1969. Birds on passage were also collected in November at One Fathom Bank Lighthouse and on Rembia and Pisang islands. None of these belonged to the resident races have been handled (Medway & Wells 1976).

 

Moult: In the Family Cuculidae, moult strategy is quite complex, occasionally suspended. The primaries moult from two centres, P1 to P4 descendantly, P5 to P10 ascendantly. The secondaries, too, have two centres, S1 to S5 centripetally, S6 to S9 ascendant and alternate. Tail moult is irregular. They moult twice annually, undergoing a partial summer moult and a complete winter moult which finishes in early spring (Baker 1993).

 

None of the migrant birds from the off-shore sources were in moult. The migrants caught at Fraser's Hill in autumn were all in post-juvenile or adult plumage, indicating that the annual moult is completed in the breeding grounds, before they reach winter quarters (Medway & Wells 1976).

 

Review of the very specific Laowa 25 mm f/2.8 2.5-5X Ultra Macro on my Sony a7iii on www.matthieu-berroneau.fr.

 

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Made a specific visit here to photograph the colorful foliage reflecting into the pond.

Miki H. (An Inspiration Station) and I photographed the foliage here last year; think I'm going to make it a yearly tradition.

 

Along Main Road

Sweet Valley, Pennsylvania

Sunday, October 11th, 2015

 

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Tinkelberg training ground near Saarburg. From an album dedicated to A7Vs and German tanks. This completes the pair, the quality of this postcard makes it unmistakably the same set as the blocked A7V 507. Photo taken between late August and early September.

 

I saw this photo identified as the 506 Mephisto tank but that's impossible because it was captured a long time ago. Also seen identified 503 and I don't have too much argument to decide except that I saw a photo of the 543 identified with the same specific camo (cross + "banana" stain on the right). Difficult to say without more info.

 

I will scan as soon as possible.

 

REF: 175-200-9

The Postcard

 

A postally unused postcard that was printed in Switzerland by Engadin Press on behalf of Swissair.

 

On the divided back of the card is printed:

 

'Swissair Boeing 747-357.

Wing Span 59.6 m

Length 70.6 m

Height 19.3 m

Max. Cruising Speed 976 km/h

Passenger Seats 375 (Passenger Version)

252 (Combi Version)'.

 

The aircraft in the photograph (Registration Number H8-IGD) entered service with Swissair on the 19th. March 1983, and stopped being used by them on the 30th. June 1999. The aircraft was originally delivered to Swissair as a Combi Passenger/Freight Version.

 

After Service with Swissair it went to Northwest Airlines. A conversion to full freighter is planned, although the aircraft is currently (2019) sitting in storage in the Mojave Desert.

 

The Boeing 747 and its Safety Record

 

As of 2026, the Boeing 747 was first flown commercially 56 years previously in 1970.

 

As of August 2020, 62 Boeing 747 aircraft, or just under 4% of the total number of 747's ever built, have been involved in serious accidents and incidents resulting in a hull loss.

 

Hull loss means that the aircraft has either been destroyed, or has been damaged beyond economic repair.

 

Of the 62 Boeing 747 aircraft losses, 29 resulted in loss of life. In three separate hijackings, a total of 23 passengers were executed, and in a fourth hijacking, a terrorist was killed.

 

Some of the aircraft that were declared damaged beyond economic repair were older 747's that had sustained relatively minor damage. Had these planes been newer, it might have been financially viable to repair them, although with the 747's increasing obsolescence, this is becoming less common.

 

747's have been involved in accidents resulting in:

 

(a) The highest death toll of any aviation accident.

 

(b) The highest death toll of any single aeroplane

accident.

 

(c) The highest death toll resulting from a mid-air collision.

 

However, as with most aircraft accidents, the causes of these incidents involved multiple factors which rarely could be attributed to flaws in the 747's design, manufacture, or its flying characteristics.

 

Specific 747 Incidents

 

Specific 747 events are as follows:

 

-- 1970's

 

(1) On the 6th. September 1970, a new Pan American World Airways aircraft flying from Amsterdam to New York was hijacked by the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine.

 

It was flown first to Beirut, then on to Cairo. Shortly after the occupants were evacuated from the aircraft after arriving at Cairo, it was blown up. Pan Am Flight 93 became the first hull loss of a Boeing 747.

 

(2) Japan Airlines Flight 404, the second 747 hull loss, was very similar to the first. The aircraft was hijacked on a flight from Amsterdam to Anchorage, Alaska, on the 20th. July 1973, again by the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine working together with the Japanese Red Army.

 

The aircraft flew to Dubai, then Damascus, before ending its journey at Benghazi. The occupants were released, and the aircraft was blown up. One of the hijackers died.

 

(3) Lufthansa Flight 540 was the first fatal crash of a 747. On the 20th. November 1974, it stalled and smashed into the ground moments after taking off from Nairobi, with 59 deaths and 98 survivors. The cause was an error by the flight engineer, in combination with the lack of an adequate warning system.

 

(4) Air France Flight 193, a Boeing 747 operating the sector between Mumbai and Tel Aviv to Paris CDG, was destroyed by fire on the 12th. June 1975 at Mumbai's Santa Cruz Airport, following an aborted take-off.

 

(5) Imperial Iranian Air Force flight ULF48, a 747 freighter, crashed near Madrid on the 9th. May 1976, due to the structural failure of its left wing in flight, killing the 17 people on board.

 

The accident investigation determined that a lightning strike caused an explosion in a fuel tank in the wing, leading to flutter and separation of the wing.

 

(6) This is The Big One. On the 27th. March 1977, the highest death toll of any aviation accident in history occurred when KLM Flight 4805 collided on the runway with Pan Am 1736 in heavy fog at Tenerife Airport, resulting in 583 fatalities.

 

There were 61 survivors, all from the Pan Am 747. The Pan Am aircraft was coincidentally the first 747 to have entered commercial service.

 

Joani Feathers was one of the 61 who survived. She recalled how she saw a fellow passenger sliced in half by her seatbelt, and another woman set alight.

 

After the smash, her then-boyfriend Jack Ridout tried to help a stewardess trying to deploy an escape raft – only for an explosion to decapitate the Pan Am worker.

 

Recalling the near-death experience to the Daytona Beach News-Journal, Feathers told of how she was nervous about the presence of the KLM 747 that crashed into her plane moments before it happened. After voicing her fears to Ridout, he jokingly replied:

 

"Don’t worry. If he hits us,

you won’t feel a thing."

 

She felt the plane she was on veer sharply to the left as it tried to avoid the other airliner, then looked up to see the roof of the 747 sliced open like a tin can. Feathers, who had been flying from Los Angeles to the Canaries to begin a Mediterranean cruise, added:

 

"All my rings had come off

my fingers. My shoes came

off. I just didn’t want to burn

up.’

 

The ex-cop credits her law enforcement training for making her one of the few survivors, as she knew not to wait to help, and to keep a constant check on her surroundings.

 

She and Ridout freed themselves from their seats, before jumping two storeys from a door of the wrecked jet. The couple then sprinted away from the plane, shortly before it exploded in a huge fireball.

 

Feathers, who now lives in Daytona Beach, said she kept repeating "No. No. I can’t believe this is happening" as she ran from the plane. She added:

 

"The plane went up

like an atom bomb."

 

Afterwards, Feathers and Ridout were flown back to California where they lived, but split up soon afterwards.

 

(7) On the 3rd. November 1977, one passenger died after a decompression event on an El Al 747 over Belgrade, Yugoslavia.

 

(8) Air India Flight 855 crashed into the sea off the coast of Mumbai on the 1st. January 1978. All 213 passengers and crew died.

 

The cause was lack of situation awareness on the captain's part after executing a banked turn due to the failure of an attitude detector. The false reading led to pilot confusion and spatial disorientation.

 

-- 1980's

 

(9) Korean Air Lines 747-200 Flight 015, operating a flight from Los Angeles to Seoul was damaged beyond repair on the 19th. November 1980. The aircraft undershot its landing, and impacted just short of the runway.

 

The landing gear collapsed, and the aircraft caught fire after it slid to a stop. Of the 226 occupants, 8 passengers and 6 crew members died, along with one person on the ground.

 

(10) On the 11th. August 1982, Pan Am 747-100, Flight 830, was en route from Tokyo to Honolulu with 285 aboard when a bomb exploded under a seat, killing 16-year-old Toru Ozawa, and injuring 16 others. The damaged airliner was able to land safely in Honolulu.

 

Mohammed Rashed, linked to the 15th. May Organisation, was convicted of murder in 1988.

 

(11) On the 16th. August 1982, China Airlines 747 encountered severe turbulence near Hong Kong; two of the 292 passengers were killed.

 

(12) On the 4th. August 1983, Pan Am Flight 73, a 747-100, struck a VASI light installation and its concrete base while taking off at Karachi International Airport, causing the nose gear to collapse backwards to the left.

 

This resulted in the total destruction of the VASI light installation, and damage to the forward cargo hold, the floor of the first class section, and the stairway leading to the upper deck.

 

(13) On the 1st. September 1983, Korean Air Lines Flight 007, a 747-200B from New York City to Seoul, strayed into Soviet air space as a result of a navigation error.

 

The aircraft was shot down just west of Sakhalin Island by the Soviet Air Force, killing all 269 passengers and crew on board.

 

(14) On the 27th. November 1983, Avianca Flight 011, a 747-200 flying from Paris to Bogotá via Madrid, crashed into a mountainside due to a navigational error while manoeuvring to land at Madrid Barajas International Airport, killing 181 out of the 192 on board.

 

(15) On the 19th. February 1985, China Airlines 747SP was flying from Taipei to LA. About 350 miles from San Francisco, incorrect crew responses to an engine failure led to an uncontrolled descent.

 

The aircraft lost 30,000 feet, and high air speeds and g-forces led to damage to the horizontal stabilisers, wings and landing gear doors. The crew diverted to San Francisco, and all 22 crew members and 374 passengers survived.

 

(16) On the 16th. March 1985, a UTA Boeing 747-300 was destroyed on the ground at Paris CDG when a fire was accidentally started while the aircraft's cabin was being cleaned. (.... How can you start a major fire when cleaning a plane???)

 

(17) On the 23rd. June 1985, a bomb exploded on Air India Flight 182, a 747-200B en route from Montreal to New Delhi, causing the aircraft to explode and crash off the Southwest coast of Ireland, killing all 329 on board.

 

Until the September 11 attacks of 2001, the Air India bombing was the deadliest terrorist attack involving aircraft. It remains the worst mass murder in Canadian history.

 

(18) On the 12th. August 1985, Japan Airlines Flight 123 crashed when the rear pressure bulkhead of a 747 flying from Tokyo to Osaka failed at cruising altitude, destroying most of the aircraft's vertical stabiliser.

 

The pilots kept it in the air for 32 minutes - time for passengers to write notes to their loved ones - but the aircraft eventually crashed on Mount Takamagahara. Out of the 524 people on board, only four survived, making it the deadliest-ever single-aircraft accident.

 

Among those who had caught the flight was one of Japan 's most popular singers, Kyu Sajamoto. He had become known to Western audiences in the 1960's with his hit record Sukiyaki.

 

(19) On the 5th. December 1985, Air France Flight 91 overshot the runway during a landing at Rio de Janeiro-Galeão International Airport, Brazil. There were no fatalities, but the aircraft was damaged beyond repair.

 

(20) On the 5th. September 1986, Pan Am Flight 747-100 Flight 73 was about to depart Karachi for a flight to Frankfurt when four hijackers boarded the aircraft and attempted to take control of it.

 

However, the flight crew left the aircraft via the cockpit escape hatch (I'm all right, Jack). The hijackers killed 20 of the passengers before the hijacking ended.

 

(21) On the 28th. November 1987, South African Airways Flight 295, a 747-200 Combi en route from Taipei to Johannesburg, crashed into the ocean off Mauritius.

 

A fire had broken out in the rear cargo hold, leading to separation of the tail and damage to vital control systems. All 160 people on board died.

 

(22) On the 5th. April 1988, Kuwait Airways 747-200 Combi Flight 422 was hijacked during a flight from Bangkok to Kuwait. The aircraft was first diverted to Iran and later to Cyprus.

 

During the 16-day event, two hostages were killed in Cyprus before the hijackers surrendered at their final stop in Algeria.

 

(23) On the 21st. December 1988, Pan Am Flight 103, a 747-100, disintegrated in mid-air after a bomb in the luggage hold exploded; the wings, with their tanks full of fuel, landed on Lockerbie, Scotland.

 

All 259 people on board and 11 people in Lockerbie died. A Libyan national was eventually convicted at a Scottish court sitting in the Netherlands of murder in connection with the bombing.

 

For more on the Lockerbie disaster, please search for the tag 36FBP37

 

(24) On the 19th. February 1989, Flying Tiger Line Flight 66, a 747-100F, was flying using a non-directional beacon (NDB) approach to Runway 33 at Sultan Abdul Aziz Shah Airport, Kuala Lumpur, when the cargo aircraft hit a hillside 600 ft (180 m) above sea level.

 

The crash resulted in the deaths of all four people on board. The crew had descended below the glide path after receiving ambiguous instructions from air traffic control.

 

(25) On the 24th. February 1989, United Air Lines 747-100, Flight 811 was flying from Honolulu to Auckland when it experienced sudden decompression.

 

The crew was able to return to Honolulu and land 14 minutes after the decompression. All 18 crew members survived, but 9 of the 337 passengers were killed. (...What did the 18 crew members do to ensure that they all survived???)

 

-- 1990's

 

(26) British Airways Flight 149 was a 747-100 flying from London Heathrow to Sultan Abdul Aziz Shah Airport, Kuala Lumpur with stopovers in Kuwait International Airport and Madras International Airport (now Chennai).

 

The aircraft landed in Kuwait City on the 1st. August 1990, four hours after the Gulf War had broken out. (Bad Move!!!)

 

All 385 passengers and crew were taken hostage by Iraqi forces; one was executed but the others were released. The aircraft was subsequently blown up. (....Why didn't someone radio the captain during the initial four hours of the war and mention that they were about to land in a war zone???? Who knows ....)

 

(27) On the 29th. December 1991, China Airlines Flight 358, a 747-200, crashed shortly after take-off from Chiang Kai-Shek International Airport in Taipei, Taiwan, killing all 5 crew members.

 

The crash occurred when the number-three and number-four engines (both on the right wing) detached from the aircraft. (... One engine falling off could perhaps have a valid explanation, but both????)

 

(28) On the 20th. February 1992, a passenger on Aerolineas Argentinas 747 en route to LA from Argentina died from food poisoning.

 

(29) On the 4th. October 1992, an El Al 747-200 cargo flight crashed shortly after take-off from Amsterdam Schiphol Airport after the right-side engines both fell off due to metal fatigue and damaged the right wing.

 

The aircraft crashed into an apartment building, killing all three crew members and the single passenger on board, as well as 43 people in the building and on the ground.

 

(30) On the 4th. November 1993, China Airlines Flight 605, a brand-new 747-400 flying from Taipei to Hong Kong Kai Tak Airport, landed 2000 feet past the threshold of runway 13, with insufficient braking power.

 

Unable to stop before the end of the runway, the captain steered the aircraft into Victoria Harbour. All passengers were evacuated via inflatable life rafts.

 

The vertical fin was blown off with explosives, as it disrupted airport operations. The aircraft was recovered from the harbour days later, and was written off.

 

(31) On the 11th. December 1994, a small liquid-explosive bomb detonated under a seat of a Philippine Airlines 747-200 flying from Cebu to Tokyo. The bomb, which exploded over the Pacific, killed one of the 287 passengers and injured 10 others.

 

The aircraft itself was seriously damaged by the blast, and although vital control systems were damaged, the pilots were able to safely land the airliner at Okinawa an hour later.

 

The bomb was assembled and planted for al-Qaeda by Ramzi Yousef, as a test for the planned bombings of the Bojinka plot. This was a January 1995 al-Qaeda plot to destroy several airliners over the Pacific Ocean using liquid explosives. The conspirators were discovered before they could carry out the terrorist attacks.

 

(32) On the 17th. July 1996, TWA Flight 800, a 747-100 bound for CDG Airport in Paris, exploded during its climb from John F. Kennedy International Airport in New York, killing all 230 people aboard.

 

A spark from a wire in the centre fuel tank caused the explosion near Long Island. Changes in fuel tank management were adopted after the crash.

 

For more information on the TWA 800 crash and the virtuoso guitarist who was one of the passengers, please search for the tag 74GND75

 

(33) On the 5th. September 1996, Air France 747-400 experienced severe turbulence near Ouagadougou, Burkina Faso.

 

The turbulence injured 3 of the 206 passengers. One of the 3 later died of injuries caused by an in-flight entertainment screen. (.... How can an in-flight entertainment system kill you??? Perhaps it was terminal boredom. Alternative explanations on a postcard please).

 

(34) On the 12th. November 1996, Saudi Arabian Airlines Flight 763, a 747-100B, collided with Kazakhstan Airlines Flight 1907, an Ilyushin Il-76, in mid-air over Charkri Dadri in Haryana, India.

 

The collision resulted in the deaths of all 349 occupants of both aircraft, more than any other mid-air collision in history. The Ilyushin had apparently descended below its assigned altitude.

 

(35) On the 6th. August 1997, Korean Air Flight 801, a Boeing 747-300, crashed into a hillside while on a night-time approach in heavy rain to Antonio B. Won Pat International Airport on the island of Guam.

 

The crash resulted from a controlled flight into terrain due to insufficient training and pilot fatigue. Of the 254 people on board, only 26 survived.

 

(36) On the 28th. December 1997, United Air Lines 747-100, Flight 826 encountered severe turbulence when flying from Tokyo to Honolulu. All 19 crew members survived, but one of the 374 passengers was killed.

 

(37) On the 4th. January 1998, Olympic Airways 747 was scheduled to fly from Athens to New York. Prior to the flight, an asthmatic passenger with a history of sensitivity to second-hand smoke asked for a seat in the non-smoking area of the aircraft.

 

However, once on board, it was clear that the assigned seat was only 3 rows ahead of the smoking section, with no partition.

 

Three requests were made to the cabin crew to switch seats, but the cabin crew would not move the passenger to one of the eleven available unoccupied seats. Several hours into the flight, the passenger suffered a reaction to the ambient smoke and died.

 

(.... Why didn't the flight crew just let the passenger move seats??? Who knows ...)

 

(38) On the 5th. August 1998, Korean Air Flight 8702, a Boeing 747-400, overshot a runway at Incheon International Airport while landing. The fuselage split and 25 people were injured.

 

(39) On the 5th. March 1999, Air France flight 6745, a 747-2B3F carrying 66 tons of cargo from Paris CDG to Madras International Airport via Karachi and Bangalore HAL Airport, was destroyed by fire after landing with gear up. There were no fatalities.

 

(40) On the 23rd. September 1999 Qantas Flight 1, a passenger flight between Sydney and London was involved in a runway overrun at Don Mueang International Airport in Bangkok as it was landing for a stopover.

 

Visibility was very poor due to heavy rain, and the previous aircraft had executed a go-round, although the Quantas crew were not made aware of this.

 

Flight 1 landed over 3,000 feet beyond the runway threshold, and the undercarriage wheels aquaplaned on the wet ungrooved runway.

 

The Pilot and First Officer took conflicting corrective action, leading to the aircraft running off the end of the runway over a long stretch of boggy grassland, colliding with a ground radio antenna as it did so, and coming to rest with its nose resting on the perimeter road.

 

38 passengers sustained minor injuries, but there were no fatalities. The extensive damage to the aircraft was such that it was initially declared a write-off, but to preserve the company's reputation, Qantas had it repaired at a cost of $100 million. By returning the aircraft to service, Qantas was able to retain its record of having had no hull-loss accidents since the advent of the Jet Age.

 

(41) On the 22nd. December 1999, Korean Air Cargo Flight 8509, a 747-200F from London Stansted Airport, crashed shortly after take-off, killing all four crew. The captain of the aircraft had mishandled it due to erroneous indications on his attitude indicator.

 

-- 2000's

 

(42) On the 31st. October 2000, Singapore Airlines Flight 006, a 747-400 flying from Singapore to LA via Taipei, collided with construction equipment while attempting to take off in heavy rain from a closed runway at Taiwan's Chiang Kai-Shek International Airport.

 

The aircraft caught fire, killing 79 passengers and four crew members on board. There were 96 survivors.

 

(43) On the 31st. January 2001, Japan Airlines Flight 907, a Boeing 747-400 en route to Naha Airport, Okinawa, narrowly avoided a mid-air collision with Japan Airlines Flight 958, a McDonnell Douglas DC-10.

 

The incident was attributed to errors made by air traffic controller trainee Hideki Hachitani and trainee supervisor Yasuko Momii. Had the collision occurred, given the combined total of 677 people on board both aircraft, this could have potentially been the deadliest aviation accident ever, surpassing the 1977 Tenerife airport disaster.

 

Once they had seen each other, the two aircraft avoided collision by using extreme evasive manoeuvres, and passed within about 135 metres (443 ft) of each other.

 

Seven passengers and two crew members in the 747 sustained serious injuries; one 54-year old woman broke her leg. Additionally, 81 passengers and 10 crew members reported minor injuries.

 

Some unbelted passengers, flight attendants, and drink carts hit the ceiling, dislodging ceiling tiles. The manoeuvre threw one boy across four rows of seats. In addition, a drink cart spilled, scalding some passengers.

 

After a criminal investigation, on the 11th. April 2008, the two air traffic controllers were found guilty of giving incorrect instructions, and received suspended prison sentences.

 

(44) On the 23rd. August 2001, Saudia Flight 3830, 747-368, rolled into a drainage ditch at Kuala Lumpur Airport and toppled forward, causing severe damage to the nose section. The aircraft was being taxied by a ground engineer.

 

When trying to make a turn, the brakes and steering had no effect, and the aircraft continued into the ditch. It emerged that the auxiliary hydraulic pumps, which actuated the brakes and steering, were switched off.

 

(45) On the 21st. November 2001, MK Airlines 747-200F was on an international cargo flight from Luxembourg to Port Harcourt, Nigeria when it crashed about 700 metres short of the runway. Of the 13 individuals on board, 1 died.

 

(46) On the 25th. May 2002, China Airlines Flight 611, a 747-200B en route to Hong Kong International Airport from Chiang Kai-Shek International Airport, broke up in mid-air 20 minutes after take off, and crashed into the Taiwan Strait, killing all 225 people on board.

 

Subsequent investigation determined the cause to be metal fatigue cracking due to an improperly-performed repair after a tail strike.

 

The aircraft was about to be sold to another carrier the following month. According to Boeing, it had been delivered to China Airlines in July 1979, and had accumulated approximately 21,180 landings and 64,394 flight hours. (.... That's a total of over 7 years in the air!!!)

 

This 22-year old aircraft was nevertheless younger than similar models in the fleets of US airlines. According to the FAA, the average age of Boeing 747-200 and 300 models in US fleets at the time of the event was 24 years.

 

(47) On the 14th. October 2004, MK Airlines Flight 1602, a 747-200F, crashed while attempting to take off from Halifax Stanfield International Airport, killing all seven on board.

 

The aircraft's take-off weight had been incorrectly calculated, and it was only airborne briefly before stalling at the end of the runway.

 

(48) On the 8th. September 2005, while Saudi Arabian Airlines 747-300 was taxiing for takeoff on a flight from Colombo to Jeddah, air traffic controllers had an anonymous call concerning a possible bomb on the aircraft. The crew performed an emergency evacuation.

 

This resulted in 62 injuries amongst the 430 passengers and crew members. One passenger died as a result of his injuries, and 19 were hospitalised. A subsequent search revealed that there was no bomb on board.

 

(49) On the 7th. June 2006, Tradewinds International Airlines Flight 444, a 747-200F, aborted a take-off from Rionegro/Medellín-José María Córdova Airport and overran the runway. The aircraft was damaged beyond economic repair, and was withdrawn from service.

 

(50) On the 25th. May 2008, a Kalitta Air 747-200F broke up when it overran Runway 20 at Brussels Airport, Belgium, while en route to Bahrain International Airport, with no injuries.

 

(51) 44 days later, on the 7th. July 2008, another Kalitta Air 747-200F crashed into a farm field near the village of Madrid, Colombia shortly after take-off from El Dorado International Airport.

 

This time, the crew had reported an engine fire, and were attempting to return to the airport. One of the aircraft's engines hit a farmhouse and killed three people inside it.

 

-- 2010's

 

(52) On the 3rd. September 2010, UPS Airlines Flight 6, a 747-400F, crashed near Dubai International Airport, killing two crew members. The crash was blamed on a major fire that had been triggered by the auto-ignition of 81,000 lithium-ion batteries in a cargo pallet in the hold.

 

(53) On the 28th. July 2011, Asiana Airlines Flight 991, a 747-400F, caught fire and crashed in the sea near Jeju island, killing both crew members.

 

(54) On the 29th. April 2013, National Airlines Flight 102, a 747-400BCF, stalled and crashed shortly after taking off from Bagram Airfield, killing all 7 crew members.

 

At one point, the aircraft had rolled to the right past 45 degrees. Although the crew managed to get the wings more or less level, by then the aircraft was too low, and it impacted the ground at high vertical speed, causing an explosion and fire.

 

(55) On the 22nd. December 2013, the right wing on British Airways Flight 34, a Boeing 747–436, struck a building at O. R. Tambo International Airport in Johannesburg after missing a turning on a taxiway.

 

The wing was severely damaged, but there were no injuries amongst the crew or 189 passengers, although four on the ground were injured. The aircraft was officially written off in February 2014.

 

(56) On the 19th. March 2015, a 747-SP used by the president of Yemen was damaged by gunfire from troops loyal to deposed president Ali Abdullah Saleh. Photos released a few months later showed the remains of the aircraft after it had been set on fire.

 

(57) On the 16th. January 2017, Turkish Airlines Flight 6491, a 747-400F operated by ACT Airlines en route from Hong Kong to Istanbul via Bishkek, overshot the runway on landing in thick freezing fog at Manas International Airport in Bishkek, Kyrgyzstan.

 

The aircraft caught fire, and 39 people died, including all four crew members, as well as 35 residents of a village at the crash site.

 

(58) On the 7th. November 2018, SkyLease Cargo Flight 4854, a 747-400F, overran the runway while landing at Halifax Stanfield International Airport. Although the aircraft sustained substantial damage, all four crew members survived with minor injuries.

 

-- 2020's

 

(59) On the 27th. August 2020, a Boeing 747-SP belonging to Las Vegas Sands Corporation was damaged beyond economic repair by Hurricane Laura while being stored at Chennault International Airport in Louisiana.

 

The tip of the right wing struck a steel beam, causing the tip to separate. The nose section of the aircraft was also damaged by the wing of another aircraft stored at the airport.

 

(60) On the 20th. February 2021, Longtail Aviation Flight 5504 littered the Dutch town of Meerssen with metal parts that fell from the sky onto property and people, shortly after departing Maastricht Airport for New York.

 

According to witness reports, there was a fire visible in one of the Boeing 747-400 cargo plane’s engines. The plane was able to land safely at Liège airport in Belgium, about 30 kilometres (19 miles) south of where it took off.

 

Soon after the incident Maastricht Airport spokesperson Hella Hendriks stated that several cars and houses had been damaged, and that pieces were found across the residential neighbourhood on roofs, gardens and streets.

 

Ms Hendriks confirmed that dozens of pieces fell. The metal parts apparently measured 5cm wide and 25cm long. She noted:

 

"The initial photos indicate they were parts

of engine blades, but that’s being investigated.”

 

Two people were injured by the debris, including an elderly woman who had to be taken to hospital.

 

The plane was powered by Pratt & Whitney PW4000 engines, a smaller version of those on the United Airlines Boeing 777 that caught fire and dropped engine parts over Denver on the same day.

 

(61) On the 8th. September 2022, part of a Boeing 747’s engine plunged through a couple's garage roof. Louis and Adela Demaret, from Waremme in the Liège region of Belgium, heard a low-flying aircraft, followed by a deafening noise.

 

The flight was being operated by Air Atlanta Icelandic, and was travelling to Malta-Luqa airport when it lost the aft cowl of one of the engines.

 

Their garage window was also damaged, and another section of the plane’s engine landed next to the couple’s driveway. Fortunately no one was injured.

 

(62) On the 20th. October 2025, Emirates SkyCargo Flight 9788 suffered a runway excursion at Hong Kong International Airport at around 03:53 HKT (19:53 UTC). Flight 9788 was a scheduled international cargo flight from Al Maktoum International Airport, Dubai, to Hong Kong.

 

The Boeing 747-400 collided with a ground vehicle and subsequently crashed into the South China Sea. The two airport security staff in the ground vehicle were killed, while all four occupants of the aircraft survived. The aircraft, which split into two pieces, was destroyed and written off.

 

Airport Authority Hong Kong later announced runway 07L, the incident runway, was fit for use. It was the first fatal aviation incident to occur at Hong Kong International Airport since China Airlines Flight 642 in 1999.

 

The flight crew consisted of 35-year-old Captain Atilla Yilmaz, 44-year-old first officer Candemir Ulker, 35-year-old loadmaster Caner Durgut and 46-year-old aircraft maintenance engineer Muzaffer Tuydu. All of them were Turkish nationals.

 

The two airport security staff killed in the collision were a 41-year-old man and a 30-year-old man.

 

The aircraft landed at Hong Kong on runway 07L. The thrust reverser for engine four was inoperative. Upon landing, thrust reversers for engines one, two and three were activated. The aircraft had decelerated to about 90 knots (170 km/h; 100 mph) when the number four engine spooled to 95% forward thrust, and the aircraft veered off the left side of the runway about 5,000 feet (1,500 m) past the threshold.

 

The aircraft did not send an emergency signal, and did not respond to air traffic control.

 

During the excursion, the aircraft struck a patrol vehicle that was carrying out patrolling duty on the road outside the fenced perimeter of the runway. The aircraft came to rest in the sea with its tail section separated from the rest of the fuselage, being nearly submerged in the water with large cracks clearly visible aft of the rear pressure bulkhead.

 

The ground vehicle was dragged five metres from the shore and trapped seven metres under water. The aircraft hit the water at about 49 knots (91 km/h; 56 mph).

 

All four crew members on the aircraft survived and were transported to hospital.

 

All flight recorders were recovered. On the 26th. October, salvage crews recovered the fuselage and loaded it onto a vessel. The aircraft's tail and other parts including the FDR and the CVR were lifted and sent for preliminary examination.

 

The AAIA reported on the 18th. November that the thrust reverser on engine four was inoperative at the time of the accident. Upon landing, the flight crew an electronic message that the autobrakes had disconnected, prompting the captain to take over control and begin manual braking.

 

Thrust reversers for engines two and three were activated to 90% reverse thrust, while engine one's thrust reverser was selected to idle reverse thrust. 30 seconds after touchdown, engine four spooled up to 95% forward thrust, causing the airframe to swerve left.

 

The crew then deactivated the thrust reversers to try to regain equal engine thrust. The number four engine continued to accelerate to 106% forward thrust. The aircraft then veered off the runway, and thrust reversers were again reactivated. The aircraft then struck the ground vehicle and plunged into the sea.

 

Summary

 

The 62 incidents listed above resulted in a total of 3,932 fatalities.

 

3,932 people standing in a line with a one metre gap between each would form a queue over 5.23 km (3.25 miles) long.

In Bluebirds, the blue colour is produced by the structure of the feather - there is no blue pigment. "Tiny air pockets in the barbs of feathers can scatter incoming light, resulting in a specific, non-iridescent color. Blue colors in feathers are almost always produced in this manner. Examples include the blue feathers of Bluebirds, Indigo Buntings, Blue Jay's and Steller's Jays."

 

www.allaboutbirds.org/guide/Mountain_Bluebird/id

 

www.jstor.org/discover/pgs/index?id=10.2307/4077277&i...

 

Two days ago, on 27 July 2021, I found out that I was going to have to spend 1-3 days at home, waiting for a gift basket to be delivered. So, I decided that I would go for a short drive. There were three barns/sheds that I thought I could find, and I also wanted to find some Police Car Moths, which I love. I always forget how small they are.

 

First, though, I called in at a pond and, though the bird I would have like to see wasn't to be seen, I spent some time watching what I think were three families of possibly Lesser Scaup females with all their babies. The mothers were so patient with their ducklings, swimming all over the pond, keeping a close watch over their precious babies. The youngsters tended to get a bit mixed up with which group they were supposed to belong to, but I'm sure they all got sorted out in the end.

 

There were quite a few Police Car Moths where I had seen them several other years. There was also a tiny orange Fritillary species of butterfly flitting about.

 

As for the old barns, I was unable to find any of them. The last one I looked for was a big mistake, as I ended up on a road where a new surface was being laid. No tar, just wet, pale coloured 'mud'. Traffic crawled along so slowly but, despite being as careful as possible, I ended up with a car that was, I think, dirtier than it had ever been before, partly due to three back road day trips in the last 10 days. As a result, I had to spend part of the afternoon at the carwash, getting it sparkling clean (at least, on the outside). The rewarding feeling lasts only for so long, till I go on my next drive, ha.

 

A Mountain Bluebird gave me such a surprise at the end of my drive, just before I turned on to the highway to come home from my trip. I actually drove past it, as it barely looked blue, but on reversing, I found such a beautiful sight. This male was so gorgeous and looked beautiful in contrast with the bright yellow sign on which it was perched. I have seen so few Bluebirds this spring/summer, so this one, with its beak full of insects for its babies, was a very welcome sight

 

By the way, the gift basket arrived today and its contents were delightful! Several bottles of different Olive Oils and Balsamic Vinegars that all sound so good, along with a beautifully produced book of Greek recipes to go with them. How lucky I am!

Natural Flora - Natural Medicine

 

Today, marijuana is being reevaluated on a cultural and legal level after being considered an illegal substance for decades.

 

Recent research reports a majority of Americans support legalizing marijuana for medical or recreational use. As such, many states have legalized marijuana for either medical and recreational purposes, or both.

 

Still, some researchers and lawmakers want to see more scientific evidence supporting specific benefits of marijuana. Aside from more research, there are concerns that marijuana’s potential risks could outweigh its benefits in some cases.

 

Curious about whether the benefits behind this substance are all they’re talked up to be? We break down some of the most researched benefits as well as a few considerations.

 

What are the benefits vs. risks of marijuana?

Just as synthetic drugs can help some conditions and not others, marijuana isn’t a one-size-fits-all line of treatment. It’s thought that marijuana’s benefits come from some of its compounds called cannabinoids, such as cannabidiol (CBD).

 

CBD is one of the most widely studied cannabinoids in marijuana. CBD is also found in another related plant called hemp.

 

One major difference between CBD and marijuana is that the former only contains a trace amount of the cannabinoid tetrahydrocannabinol (THC). This compound is best known for its hallucinogenic effects on the brain.

 

Cannabis plants may contain up to 40 percent CBD. CBD is thought to have anti-inflammatory effects on the central nervous system. This can translate to multiple benefits in the body.

 

Still, there remains concern over the effects of THC in traditional marijuana. This is due to the fact that it can have stimulating or depressant effects in some people, which may lead to other side effects.

 

Thus, when considering marijuana for any medical condition, your doctor will likely assess whether the anti-inflammatory benefits outweigh any psychological risks.

 

What are the benefits of marijuana?

Currently, there are two synthetic versions of marijuanaTrusted Source. Doctors prescribe them for the treatment of severe epilepsy and chemotherapy side effects.

 

The following list of marijuana benefits are some of the most commonly discussed in scientific research, as well as anecdotally.

 

Pain management

The cannabinoids in marijuana may reduce pain by altering pain perception pathways in the brain. This may be helpful to treat conditions that cause chronic pain, such as:

 

arthritis

fibromyalgia

endometriosis

migraine

It may also minimize cancer treatment side effects, like loss of appetite.

 

In some instances, medical marijuana is reported to help replace the long-term use of nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs) like ibuprofen, which can have negative side effects.

 

Reduced inflammation

CBD in marijuana is thought to help reduce inflammation. In theory, this may benefit inflammatory conditions, such as:

 

Crohn’s disease

irritable bowel syndrome

rheumatoid arthritis

Decreasing inflammation in the body can also improve overall health.

 

Neurological and mental disorders

Due to its effects on the limbic system, doctors sometimes prescribe marijuana to treat the following neurological and mental health conditions:

 

anxiety

epilepsy

multiple sclerosis

Parkinson’s disease

post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD)

Tourette syndrome

Sleep management

The relaxing effects of marijuana may help improve sleep disorders, such as insomnia. And improved sleep may also occur when pain is reduced from marijuana usage.

 

What are the risks of marijuana?

Marijuana is said to have opioid-like effects on the central nervous system. However, it poses much fewer risks than synthetic opioids. It’s also not considered as addictive as other substances.

 

Those are two reasons why many advocates are pushing for marijuana legalization, so patients can have safer options for pain management. In fact, some people use marijuana as a way to treat opioid addiction.

 

Still, the potential risks of marijuana need to be considered in equal measure. Below are some of the side effects you should discuss with your doctor:

 

Hallucinogenic effects. Marijuana may cause mild hallucinations, poor motor skills, or altered perceptions of reality. For these reasons, certain activities may be unsafe after using marijuana, such as operating heavy machinery. Do not drive after using marijuana. Not only is it unsafe, but it is illegal in every state to drive after using marijuana – even in states in which marijuana use is legal.

Depressant-like effects. Marijuana may cause depressant effects, similar to those seen with alcohol use. You may feel calm and relaxed but also have issues with coordination and concentration. Some people may also feel depressive symptoms as a side effect.

Stimulating effects. Marijuana may boost mood, but it may also cause hyperactivity, rapid breathing, and increases in both blood pressure and heart rate. These effects aren’t as common in marijuana compared to depressant effects.

Other side effects. These may include bloodshot eyes, dry mouth, and increased appetite.

It’s important to know that the side effects of marijuana can vary between people. You may not know your exact experiences until after you’ve used it.

 

The legal issues

As of January 2020, 11 states as well as Washington, D.C., have legalized recreational marijuana, and 33 states have legalized it for medical use. However, marijuana itself is still considered illegal under federal law.

 

So, what does this mean if you’re interested in using marijuana for medical purposes?

 

First, talk to your doctor about the pros and cons of marijuana for your condition.

 

Next, look up the laws in your state. Even if marijuana is legal in your state, you could be prosecuted for using it if you travel to a different state where it’s not legal. Plan accordingly to avoid any legal issues.

 

It’s also important to distinguish the difference between marijuana and CBD.

 

Hemp-derived CBD products (with less than 0.3 percent THC) are legal on the federal level but are still illegal under some state laws.

 

Marijuana-derived CBD products are illegal on the federal level but are legal under some state laws.

 

Check your state’s laws and those of anywhere you travel. Keep in mind that nonprescription CBD products aren’t approved by the Food and Drug Administration and may be inaccurately labeled.

 

The takeaway

Marijuana is perhaps one of the most contentious topics today, both from a legal and health perspective.

 

More research on the benefits of marijuana for your health is needed for both sides of the debate to come to an agreement on its use in medical and recreational settings.

 

In the meantime, if you’re interested in the potential benefits of marijuana for your own health, it’s important to reach out to a doctor first. They can help guide you through the benefits versus any potential risks, as well as the legalities behind obtaining a medical marijuana card, depending on where you live.

 

Never try any drug or substance to treat a medical condition on your own. This includes plant-based sources like marijuana.

www.healthline.com/health/medical-marijuana/benefits-of-m...

Picture Taken Of Brand New NYPD Car #5952-16 - 2016 Dodge Charger Assigned To The Highway Patrol Unit. It Is Not Assigned To Any Specific Highway Patrol Unit But Is Escorting United Nations Delegates Around New York City During The United Nations 72nd General Assembly. Photo Taken Tuesday September 19, 2017.

 

IMG2161

 

iPhone 7 Plus

Remains of a specific medieval fortress, which was built into four basalt towers, which are the remains of an ancient volcano. It was a guard castle with a large tower, which stood high above the landscape with a great outlook at the delta of Elbe river, an important trade route at that time. The original wooden castle stood at least in the 11th Century, and was modified to a stone castle sometimes in the 12th Century. It was expanded in the late 14th Century, attacked in 1444 and damaged, improvized repairs have been done but in the next year another enemies burned the castle down and killed all the men defending it (they were buried under the castle in a mass grave, which is still there). The castle is mentioned as abandoned in 1515, but the buildings under the core were used until WW2. Most of the stone walls sacked down the hill, creating still visible debris fields, today the basalt towers are pretty well accessible, and it is possible to climb to the highest point and have a beautiful look around the landscape.

Manufacturer: Fouga

Operator: AIrbus

Type: Fouga CM-170R Magister (serial number 569, registration F-AZZP) ivintage French-built jet trainer

Event/ Location: 2025 RIAT/ RAF Fairford

Comment: Frequently featured at airshows like the Royal International Air Tattoo. Known for its distinct V-tail, tandem seating, and twin-engine design, this specific aircraft operates in the aerobatic display circuit.

A subconjunctival hemorrhage occurs when a tiny blood vessel breaks just underneath the clear surface of your eye (conjunctiva). The conjunctiva can't absorb the blood very quickly, so the blood is trapped there.

 

You may not realize you have a subconjunctival hemorrhage until you look in the mirror and find the bright red patch on the white (sclera) of your eye. It may be the result of a sudden increase in blood pressure that can result from heavy lifting, coughing, sneezing or laughing.

 

Subconjunctival hemorrhage is usually a harmless condition that doesn't require any specific treatment and disappears within one or two weeks.

If you have followed my blog at all you have certainly noticed that one specific aspect in my pictures is connected to colors. For some unknown reason I've always been very drawn to colors when dealing with photography (I cannot do b&w stuff). I could even say that because of this preference my early experiences with digital cameras were mostly disappointing: I couldn't stand the standard look of the early digital cameras because colors were so different and flat compared to golden era of film photography. And because of this disappointment 'getting good colors' became the thing that I kept of chasing for years.

 

It's one thing to recognize that the flat look and 'the standard and objective' colors, which most of the current digital cameras provide out of the box, doesn't actually carry any resemblance to the visual legacy that was left from the era of film photography. Just take a look, for example, old Kodachrome slides and compare them to your JPEGs and you should see two very different interpretations of colors and also become aware that these differences are not only about 'technological advancement' but also artistic choices. Behind the Kodachrome (and other films) there is a artistic interpretation of 'what looks good' and how the colors should be reproduced. JPEG on the other hand is much more 'objective' (read: flat) with some minor contrast and skin color correction thrown in. No wonder why standard JPEGs from the camera look so boring (though they have really been getting better with time).

 

While it's easy to point JPEGs with your finger, it's entirely different thing to determine what are 'good colors'. For example, while I like film era colors, I don't think we should concentrate to reduplicate them as they were – instead I think we should bring in some influences from that visual era there but then continue to define what are good colors at 21th century photography. Rather than ready-made-Lightroom-presets this calls for a cultivated taste regarding colors, which is much harder. I would love to transfer something from the film era legacy to today's photography, but at the same time I don't want photographs to look like they were taken 20 or 30 years ago (read: faded look) as I think it is intellectually dishonest to add a feeling of nostalgia to a picture from a digital filter. Like I said, it's a difficult question.

 

So how I have I solved this 'getting good colors' so far? I believe everyone has to develop their own 'theory of good colors' and 'methodology' to get there eventually. For me it's a three part response: Zeiss glass, VSCO-presets as a starting point and editing. I used to search for clear and bright colors and ultimately found my answer from Zeiss lenses. I'll be first one to admit that there are also other manufacturers out there who deliver great equipment color wise, but for some reason I found Zeiss to provide those small nuances which made difference to me (from my current setup I think the Batis 2/25 is the best followed by the Touit 2.8/50M). Then I use VSCO-presets as a starting point. They give me an easy way to explore whole bunch of different looks which I would never come across without them. Do they look like film? In some cases yes, but I usually erase the vintage look by editing. If I would recommend some of their film packs I would say that the Film Pack 04 is great and Film Pack 07 provides pretty nice starting points for general explorations as well – other ones are way too much vintage for my taste. But even with Zeiss glass and VSCO-presets it comes down to editing. Sometimes it's easy to see what the picture asks for, but sometimes it takes much longer to realize what is wrong with colors or how I should adjust them. It looks like I will never get rid of this task as much as I would like to. Like I said, colors are complicated thing once you step outside of the supposition of objective colors.

 

Ps. For this particular picture I used Provia 100F emulation from the VSCO Film pack 04. One of my favorites, but most often provides way too much contrast which is frustrating with some images. It also shifts the white balance in a nonlinear way that it's difficult to edit. I've also noticed that one cannot just slap on slide film preset to any picture as the end result would look just bad. Slide film emulations, such as the Provia 100F, works as a good starting point when used with conditions that would be similar to real world use of that particular film - in this case it means a lot of sunlight.

 

Days of Zeiss: www.daysofzeiss.com

en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Beamish_Museum

 

Beamish Museum is the first regional open-air museum, in England, located at Beamish, near the town of Stanley, in County Durham, England. Beamish pioneered the concept of a living museum. By displaying duplicates or replaceable items, it was also an early example of the now commonplace practice of museums allowing visitors to touch objects.

 

The museum's guiding principle is to preserve an example of everyday life in urban and rural North East England at the climax of industrialisation in the early 20th century. Much of the restoration and interpretation is specific to the late Victorian and Edwardian eras, together with portions of countryside under the influence of industrial revolution from 1825. On its 350 acres (140 ha) estate it uses a mixture of translocated, original and replica buildings, a large collection of artefacts, working vehicles and equipment, as well as livestock and costumed interpreters.

 

The museum has received a number of awards since it opened to visitors in 1972 and has influenced other living museums. It is an educational resource, and also helps to preserve some traditional and rare north-country livestock breeds.

 

History

Genesis

In 1958, days after starting as director of the Bowes Museum, inspired by Scandinavian folk museums, and realising the North East's traditional industries and communities were disappearing, Frank Atkinson presented a report to Durham County Council urging that a collection of items of everyday history on a large scale should begin as soon as possible, so that eventually an open air museum could be established. As well as objects, Atkinson was also aiming to preserve the region's customs and dialect. He stated the new museum should "attempt to make the history of the region live" and illustrate the way of life of ordinary people. He hoped the museum would be run by, be about and exist for the local populace, desiring them to see the museum as theirs, featuring items collected from them.

 

Fearing it was now almost too late, Atkinson adopted a policy of "unselective collecting" — "you offer it to us and we will collect it." Donations ranged in size from small items to locomotives and shops, and Atkinson initially took advantage of a surplus of space available in the 19th-century French chateau-style building housing the Bowes Museum to store items donated for the open air museum. With this space soon filled, a former British Army tank depot at Brancepeth was taken over, although in just a short time its entire complement of 22 huts and hangars had been filled, too.

 

In 1966, a working party was established to set up a museum "for the purpose of studying, collecting, preserving and exhibiting buildings, machinery, objects and information illustrating the development of industry and the way of life of the north of England", and it selected Beamish Hall, having been vacated by the National Coal Board, as a suitable location.

 

Establishment and expansion

In August 1970, with Atkinson appointed as its first full-time director together with three staff members, the museum was first established by moving some of the collections into the hall. In 1971, an introductory exhibition, "Museum in the Making" opened at the hall.

 

The museum was opened to visitors on its current site for the first time in 1972, with the first translocated buildings (the railway station and colliery winding engine) being erected the following year. The first trams began operating on a short demonstration line in 1973. The Town station was formally opened in 1976, the same year the reconstruction of the colliery winding engine house was completed, and the miners' cottages were relocated. Opening of the drift mine as an exhibit followed in 1979.

 

In 1975 the museum was visited by the Queen Elizabeth The Queen Mother, and by Anne, Princess Royal, in 2002. In 2006, as the Grand Master of the United Grand Lodge of England, The Duke of Kent visited, to open the town masonic lodge.

 

With the Co-op having opened in 1984, the town area was officially opened in 1985. The pub had opened in the same year, with Ravensworth Terrace having been reconstructed from 1980 to 1985. The newspaper branch office had also been built in the mid-1980s. Elsewhere, the farm on the west side of the site (which became Home Farm) opened in 1983. The present arrangement of visitors entering from the south was introduced in 1986.

 

At the beginning of the 1990s, further developments in the Pit Village were opened, the chapel in 1990, and the board school in 1992. The whole tram circle was in operation by 1993.[8] Further additions to the Town came in 1994 with the opening of the sweet shop and motor garage, followed by the bank in 1999. The first Georgian component of the museum arrived when Pockerley Old Hall opened in 1995, followed by the Pockerley Waggonway in 2001.

 

In the early 2000s two large modern buildings were added, to augment the museum's operations and storage capacity - the Regional Resource Centre on the west side opened in 2001, followed by the Regional Museums Store next to the railway station in 2002. Due to its proximity, the latter has been cosmetically presented as Beamish Waggon and Iron Works. Additions to display areas came in the form of the Masonic lodge (2006) and the Lamp Cabin in the Colliery (2009). In 2010, the entrance building and tea rooms were refurbished.

 

Into the 2010s, further buildings were added - the fish and chip shop (opened 2011)[28] band hall (opened 2013) and pit pony stables (built 2013/14) in the Pit Village, plus a bakery (opened 2013) and chemist and photographers (opened 2016) being added to the town. St Helen's Church, in the Georgian landscape, opened in November 2015.

 

Remaking Beamish

A major development, named 'Remaking Beamish', was approved by Durham County Council in April 2016, with £10.7m having been raised from the Heritage Lottery Fund and £3.3m from other sources.

 

As of September 2022, new exhibits as part of this project have included a quilter's cottage, a welfare hall, 1950s terrace, recreation park, bus depot, and 1950s farm (all discussed in the relevant sections of this article). The coming years will see replicas of aged miners' homes from South Shields, a cinema from Ryhope, and social housing will feature a block of four relocated Airey houses, prefabricated concrete homes originally designed by Sir Edwin Airey, which previously stood in Kibblesworth. Then-recently vacated and due for demolition, they were instead offered to the museum by The Gateshead Housing Company and accepted in 2012.

 

Museum site

The approximately 350-acre (1.4 km2) current site, once belonging to the Eden and Shafto families, is a basin-shaped steep-sided valley with woodland areas, a river, some level ground and a south-facing aspect.

 

Visitors enter the site through an entrance arch formed by a steam hammer, across a former opencast mining site and through a converted stable block (from Greencroft, near Lanchester, County Durham).

 

Visitors can navigate the site via assorted marked footpaths, including adjacent (or near to) the entire tramway oval. According to the museum, it takes 20 minutes to walk at a relaxed pace from the entrance to the town. The tramway oval serves as both an exhibit and as a free means of transport around the site for visitors, with stops at the entrance (south), Home Farm (west), Pockerley (east) and the Town (north). Visitors can also use the museum's buses as a free form of transport between various parts of the museum. Although visitors can also ride on the Town railway and Pockerley Waggonway, these do not form part of the site's transport system (as they start and finish from the same platforms).

 

Governance

Beamish was the first English museum to be financed and administered by a consortium of county councils (Cleveland, Durham, Northumberland and Tyne and Wear) The museum is now operated as a registered charity, but continues to receive support from local authorities - Durham County Council, Sunderland City Council, Gateshead Council, South Tyneside Council and North Tyneside Council. The supporting Friends of Beamish organisation was established in 1968. Frank Atkinson retired as director in 1987. The museum has been 96% self-funding for some years (mainly from admission charges).

 

Sections of the museum

1913

The town area, officially opened in 1985, depicts chiefly Victorian buildings in an evolved urban setting of 1913.

 

Tramway

The Beamish Tramway is 1.5 miles (2.4 km) long, with four passing loops. The line makes a circuit of the museum site forming an important element of the visitor transportation system.

 

The first trams began operating on a short demonstration line in 1973, with the whole circle in operation by 1993.[8] It represents the era of electric powered trams, which were being introduced to meet the needs of growing towns and cities across the North East from the late 1890s, replacing earlier horse drawn systems.

 

Bakery

Presented as Joseph Herron, Baker & Confectioner, the bakery was opened in 2013 and features working ovens which produce food for sale to visitors. A two-storey curved building, only the ground floor is used as the exhibit. A bakery has been included to represent the new businesses which sprang up to cater for the growing middle classes - the ovens being of the modern electric type which were growing in use. The building was sourced from Anfield Plain (which had a bakery trading as Joseph Herron), and was moved to Beamish in the late 1970s and early 1980s. The frontage features a stained glass from a baker's shop in South Shields. It also uses fittings from Stockton-on-Tees.

 

Motor garage

Presented as Beamish Motor & Cycle Works, the motor garage opened in 1994. Reflecting the custom nature of the early motor trade, where only one in 232 people owned a car in 1913, the shop features a showroom to the front (not accessible to visitors), with a garage area to the rear, accessed via the adjacent archway. The works is a replica of a typical garage of the era. Much of the museum's car, motorcycle and bicycle collection, both working and static, is stored in the garage. The frontage has two storeys, but the upper floor is only a small mezzanine and is not used as part of the display.

 

Department Store

Presented as the Annfield Plain Industrial Co-operative Society Ltd, (but more commonly referred to as the Anfield Plain Co-op Store) this department store opened in 1984, and was relocated to Beamish from Annfield Plain in County Durham. The Annfield Plain co-operative society was originally established in 1870, with the museum store stocking various products from the Co-operative Wholesale Society (CWS), established 1863. A two-storey building, the ground floor comprises the three departments - grocery, drapery and hardware; the upper floor is taken up by the tea rooms (accessed from Redman Park via a ramp to the rear). Most of the items are for display only, but a small amount of goods are sold to visitors. The store features an operational cash carrier system, of the Lamson Cash Ball design - common in many large stores of the era, but especially essential to Co-ops, where customer's dividends had to be logged.

 

Ravensworth Terrace

Ravensworth Terrace is a row of terraced houses, presented as the premises and living areas of various professionals. Representing the expanding housing stock of the era, it was relocated from its original site on Bensham Bank, having been built for professionals and tradesmen between 1830 and 1845. Original former residents included painter John Wilson Carmichael and Gateshead mayor Alexander Gillies. Originally featuring 25 homes, the terrace was to be demolished when the museum saved it in the 1970s, reconstructing six of them on the Town site between 1980 and 1985. They are two storey buildings, with most featuring display rooms on both floors - originally the houses would have also housed a servant in the attic. The front gardens are presented in a mix of the formal style, and the natural style that was becoming increasingly popular.

 

No. 2 is presented as the home of Miss Florence Smith, a music teacher, with old fashioned mid-Victorian furnishings as if inherited from her parents. No. 3 & 4 is presented as the practice and home respectively (with a knocked through door) of dentist J. Jones - the exterior nameplate having come from the surgery of Mr. J. Jones in Hartlepool. Representing the state of dental health at the time, it features both a check-up room and surgery for extraction, and a technicians room for creating dentures - a common practice at the time being the giving to daughters a set on their 21st birthday, to save any future husband the cost at a later date. His home is presented as more modern than No.2, furnished in the Edwardian style the modern day utilities of an enamelled bathroom with flushing toilet, a controllable heat kitchen range and gas cooker. No. 5 is presented as a solicitor's office, based on that of Robert Spence Watson, a Quaker from Newcastle. Reflecting the trade of the era, downstairs is laid out as the partner's or principal office, and the general or clerk's office in the rear. Included is a set of books sourced from ER Hanby Holmes, who practised in Barnard Castle.

 

Pub

Presented as The Sun Inn, the pub opened in the town in 1985. It had originally stood in Bondgate in Bishop Auckland, and was donated to the museum by its final owners, the Scottish and Newcastle Breweries. Originally a "one-up one down" cottage, the earliest ownership has been traced to James Thompson, on 21 January 1806. Known as The Tiger Inn until the 1850s, from 1857 to 1899 under the ownership of the Leng family, it flourished under the patronage of miners from Newton Cap and other collieries. Latterly run by Elsie Edes, it came under brewery ownership in the 20th Century when bought by S&N antecedent, James Deuchar Ltd. The pub is fully operational, and features both a front and back bar, the two stories above not being part of the exhibit. The interior decoration features the stuffed racing greyhound Jake's Bonny Mary, which won nine trophies before being put on display in The Gerry in White le Head near Tantobie.

 

Town stables

Reflecting the reliance on horses for a variety of transport needs in the era, the town features a centrally located stables, situated behind the sweet shop, with its courtyard being accessed from the archway next to the pub. It is presented as a typical jobmaster's yard, with stables and a tack room in the building on its north side. A small, brick built open air, carriage shed is sited on the back of the printworks building. On the east side of the courtyard is a much larger metal shed (utilising iron roof trusses from Fleetwood), arranged mainly as carriage storage, but with a blacksmith's shop in the corner. The building on the west side of the yard is not part of any display. The interior fittings for the harness room came from Callaly Caste. Many of the horses and horse-drawn vehicles used by the museum are housed in the stables and sheds.

 

Printer, stationer and newspaper branch office

Presented as the Beamish Branch Office of the Northern Daily Mail and the Sunderland Daily Echo, the two storey replica building was built in the mid-1980s and represents the trade practices of the era. Downstairs, on the right, is the branch office, where newspapers would be sold directly and distributed to local newsagents and street vendors, and where orders for advertising copy would be taken. Supplementing it is a stationer's shop on the left hand side, with both display items and a small number of gift items on public sale. Upstairs is a jobbing printers workshop, which would not produce the newspapers, but would instead print leaflets, posters and office stationery. Split into a composing area and a print shop, the shop itself has a number of presses - a Columbian built in 1837 by Clymer and Dixon, an Albion dating back to 1863, an Arab Platen of c. 1900, and a Wharfedale flat bed press, built by Dawson & Son in around 1870. Much of the machinery was sourced from the print works of Jack Ascough's of Barnard Castle. Many of the posters seen around the museum are printed in the works, with the operation of the machinery being part of the display.

 

Sweet shop

Presented as Jubilee Confectioners, the two storey sweet shop opened in 1994 and is meant to represent the typical family run shops of the era, with living quarters above the shop (the second storey not being part of the display). To the front of the ground floor is a shop, where traditional sweets and chocolate (which was still relatively expensive at the time) are sold to visitors, while in the rear of the ground floor is a manufacturing area where visitors can view the techniques of the time (accessed via the arched walkway on the side of the building). The sweet rollers were sourced from a variety of shops and factories.

 

Bank

Presented as a branch of Barclays Bank (Barclay & Company Ltd) using period currency, the bank opened in 1999. It represents the trend of the era when regional banks were being acquired and merged into national banks such as Barclays, formed in 1896. Built to a three-storey design typical of the era, and featuring bricks in the upper storeys sourced from Park House, Gateshead, the Swedish imperial red shade used on the ground floor frontage is intended to represent stability and security. On the ground floor are windows for bank tellers, plus the bank manager's office. Included in a basement level are two vaults. The upper two storeys are not part of the display. It features components sourced from Southport and Gateshead

 

Masonic Hall

The Masonic Hall opened in 2006, and features the frontage from a former masonic hall sited in Park Terrace, Sunderland. Reflecting the popularity of the masons in North East England, as well as the main hall, which takes up the full height of the structure, in a small two story arrangement to the front of the hall is also a Robing Room and the Tyler's Room on the ground floor, and a Museum Room upstairs, featuring display cabinets of masonic regalia donated from various lodges. Upstairs is also a class room, with large stained glass window.

 

Chemist and photographer

Presented as W Smith's Chemist and JR & D Edis Photographers, a two-storey building housing both a chemist and photographers shops under one roof opened on 7 May 2016 and represents the growing popularity of photography in the era, with shops often growing out of or alongside chemists, who had the necessary supplies for developing photographs. The chemist features a dispensary, and equipment from various shops including John Walker, inventor of the friction match. The photographers features a studio, where visitors can dress in period costume and have a photograph taken. The corner building is based on a real building on Elvet Bridge in Durham City, opposite the Durham Marriot Hotel (the Royal County), although the second storey is not part of the display. The chemist also sells aerated water (an early form of carbonated soft drinks) to visitors, sold in marble-stopper sealed Codd bottles (although made to a modern design to prevent the safety issue that saw the original bottles banned). Aerated waters grew in popularity in the era, due to the need for a safe alternative to water, and the temperance movement - being sold in chemists due to the perception they were healthy in the same way mineral waters were.

 

Costing around £600,000 and begun on 18 August 2014, the building's brickwork and timber was built by the museum's own staff and apprentices, using Georgian bricks salvaged from demolition works to widen the A1. Unlike previous buildings built on the site, the museum had to replicate rather than relocate this one due to the fact that fewer buildings are being demolished compared to the 1970s, and in any case it was deemed unlikely one could be found to fit the curved shape of the plot. The studio is named after a real business run by John Reed Edis and his daughter Daisy. Mr Edis, originally at 27 Sherburn Road, Durham, in 1895, then 52 Saddler Street from 1897. The museum collection features several photographs, signs and equipment from the Edis studio. The name for the chemist is a reference to the business run by William Smith, who relocated to Silver Street, near the original building, in 1902. According to records, the original Edis company had been supplied by chemicals from the original (and still extant) Smith business.

 

Redman Park

Redman Park is a small lawned space with flower borders, opposite Ravensworth Terrace. Its centrepiece is a Victorian bandstand sourced from Saltwell Park, where it stood on an island in the middle of a lake. It represents the recognised need of the time for areas where people could relax away from the growing industrial landscape.

 

Other

Included in the Town are drinking fountains and other period examples of street furniture. In between the bank and the sweet shop is a combined tram and bus waiting room and public convenience.

 

Unbuilt

When construction of the Town began, the projected town plan incorporated a market square and buildings including a gas works, fire station, ice cream parlour (originally the Central Cafe at Consett), a cast iron bus station from Durham City, school, public baths and a fish and chip shop.

 

Railway station

East of the Town is the Railway Station, depicting a typical small passenger and goods facility operated by the main railway company in the region at the time, the North Eastern Railway (NER). A short running line extends west in a cutting around the north side of the Town itself, with trains visible from the windows of the stables. It runs for a distance of 1⁄4 mile - the line used to connect to the colliery sidings until 1993 when it was lifted between the town and the colliery so that the tram line could be extended. During 2009 the running line was relaid so that passenger rides could recommence from the station during 2010.

 

Rowley station

Representing passenger services is Rowley Station, a station building on a single platform, opened in 1976, having been relocated to the museum from the village of Rowley near Consett, just a few miles from Beamish.

 

The original Rowley railway station was opened in 1845 (as Cold Rowley, renamed Rowley in 1868) by the NER antecedent, the Stockton and Darlington Railway, consisting of just a platform. Under NER ownership, as a result of increasing use, in 1873 the station building was added. As demand declined, passenger service was withdrawn in 1939, followed by the goods service in 1966. Trains continued to use the line for another three years before it closed, the track being lifted in 1970. Although in a state of disrepair, the museum acquired the building, dismantling it in 1972, being officially unveiled in its new location by railway campaigner and poet, Sir John Betjeman.

 

The station building is presented as an Edwardian station, lit by oil lamp, having never been connected to gas or electricity supplies in its lifetime. It features both an open waiting area and a visitor accessible waiting room (western half), and a booking and ticket office (eastern half), with the latter only visible from a small viewing entrance. Adorning the waiting room is a large tiled NER route map.

 

Signal box

The signal box dates from 1896, and was relocated from Carr House East near Consett. It features assorted signalling equipment, basic furnishings for the signaller, and a lever frame, controlling the stations numerous points, interlocks and semaphore signals. The frame is not an operational part of the railway, the points being hand operated using track side levers. Visitors can only view the interior from a small area inside the door.

 

Goods shed

The goods shed is originally from Alnwick. The goods area represents how general cargo would have been moved on the railway, and for onward transport. The goods shed features a covered platform where road vehicles (wagons and carriages) can be loaded with the items unloaded from railway vans. The shed sits on a triangular platform serving two sidings, with a platform mounted hand-crane, which would have been used for transhipment activity (transfer of goods from one wagon to another, only being stored for a short time on the platform, if at all).

 

Coal yard

The coal yard represents how coal would have been distributed from incoming trains to local merchants - it features a coal drop which unloads railway wagons into road going wagons below. At the road entrance to the yard is a weighbridge (with office) and coal merchant's office - both being appropriately furnished with display items, but only viewable from outside.

 

The coal drop was sourced from West Boldon, and would have been a common sight on smaller stations. The weighbridge came from Glanton, while the coal office is from Hexham.

 

Bridges and level crossing

The station is equipped with two footbridges, a wrought iron example to the east having come from Howden-le-Wear, and a cast iron example to the west sourced from Dunston. Next to the western bridge, a roadway from the coal yard is presented as crossing the tracks via a gated level crossing (although in reality the road goes nowhere on the north side).

 

Waggon and Iron Works

Dominating the station is the large building externally presented as Beamish Waggon and Iron Works, estd 1857. In reality this is the Regional Museums Store (see below), although attached to the north side of the store are two covered sidings (not accessible to visitors), used to service and store the locomotives and stock used on the railway.

 

Other

A corrugated iron hut adjacent to the 'iron works' is presented as belonging to the local council, and houses associated road vehicles, wagons and other items.

 

Fairground

Adjacent to the station is an events field and fairground with a set of Frederick Savage built steam powered Gallopers dating from 1893.

 

Colliery

Presented as Beamish Colliery (owned by James Joicey & Co., and managed by William Severs), the colliery represents the coal mining industry which dominated the North East for generations - the museum site is in the former Durham coalfield, where 165,246 men and boys worked in 304 mines in 1913. By the time period represented by Beamish's 1900s era, the industry was booming - production in the Great Northern Coalfield had peaked in 1913, and miners were relatively well paid (double that of agriculture, the next largest employer), but the work was dangerous. Children could be employed from age 12 (the school leaving age), but could not go underground until 14.

 

Deep mine

Reconstructed pitworks buildings showing winding gear

Dominating the colliery site are the above ground structures of a deep (i.e. vertical shaft) mine - the brick built Winding Engine House, and the red painted wooden Heapstead. These were relocated to the museum (which never had its own vertical shaft), the winding house coming from Beamish Chophill Colliery, and the Heapstead from Ravensworth Park Mine in Gateshead. The winding engine and its enclosing house are both listed.

 

The winding engine was the source of power for hauling miners, equipment and coal up and down the shaft in a cage, the top of the shaft being in the adjacent heapstead, which encloses the frame holding the wheel around which the hoist cable travels. Inside the Heapstead, tubs of coal from the shaft were weighed on a weighbridge, then tipped onto jigging screens, which sifted the solid lumps from small particles and dust - these were then sent along the picking belt, where pickers, often women, elderly or disabled people or young boys (i.e. workers incapable of mining), would separate out unwanted stone, wood and rubbish. Finally, the coal was tipped onto waiting railway wagons below, while the unwanted waste sent to the adjacent heap by an external conveyor.

 

Chophill Colliery was closed by the National Coal Board in 1962, but the winding engine and tower were left in place. When the site was later leased, Beamish founder Frank Atkinson intervened to have both spot listed to prevent their demolition. After a protracted and difficult process to gain the necessary permissions to move a listed structure, the tower and engine were eventually relocated to the museum, work being completed in 1976. The winding engine itself is the only surviving example of the type which was once common, and was still in use at Chophill upon its closure. It was built in 1855 by J&G Joicey of Newcastle, to an 1800 design by Phineas Crowther.

 

Inside the winding engine house, supplementing the winding engine is a smaller jack engine, housed in the rear. These were used to lift heavy equipment, and in deep mines, act as a relief winding engine.

 

Outdoors, next to the Heapstead, is a sinking engine, mounted on red bricks. Brought to the museum from Silksworth Colliery in 1971, it was built by Burlington's of Sunderland in 1868 and is the sole surviving example of its kind. Sinking engines were used for the construction of shafts, after which the winding engine would become the source of hoist power. It is believed the Silksworth engine was retained because it was powerful enough to serve as a backup winding engine, and could be used to lift heavy equipment (i.e. the same role as the jack engine inside the winding house).

 

Drift mine

The Mahogany Drift Mine is original to Beamish, having opened in 1855 and after closing, was brought back into use in 1921 to transport coal from Beamish Park Drift to Beamish Cophill Colliery. It opened as a museum display in 1979. Included in the display is the winding engine and a short section of trackway used to transport tubs of coal to the surface, and a mine office. Visitor access into the mine shaft is by guided tour.

 

Lamp cabin

The Lamp Cabin opened in 2009, and is a recreation of a typical design used in collieries to house safety lamps, a necessary piece of equipment for miners although were not required in the Mahogany Drift Mine, due to it being gas-free. The building is split into two main rooms; in one half, the lamp cabin interior is recreated, with a collection of lamps on shelves, and the system of safety tokens used to track which miners were underground. Included in the display is a 1927 Hailwood and Ackroyd lamp-cleaning machine sourced from Morrison Busty Colliery in Annfield Plain. In the second room is an educational display, i.e., not a period interior.

 

Colliery railways

The colliery features both a standard gauge railway, representing how coal was transported to its onward destination, and narrow-gauge typically used by Edwardian collieries for internal purposes. The standard gauge railway is laid out to serve the deep mine - wagons being loaded by dropping coal from the heapstead - and runs out of the yard to sidings laid out along the northern-edge of the Pit Village.

 

The standard gauge railway has two engine sheds in the colliery yard, the smaller brick, wood and metal structure being an operational building; the larger brick-built structure is presented as Beamish Engine Works, a reconstruction of an engine shed formerly at Beamish 2nd Pit. Used for locomotive and stock storage, it is a long, single track shed featuring a servicing pit for part of its length. Visitors can walk along the full length in a segregated corridor. A third engine shed in brick (lower half) and corrugated iron has been constructed at the southern end of the yard, on the other side of the heapstead to the other two sheds, and is used for both narrow and standard gauge vehicles (on one road), although it is not connected to either system - instead being fed by low-loaders and used for long-term storage only.

 

The narrow gauge railway is serviced by a corrugate iron engine shed, and is being expanded to eventually encompass several sidings.

 

There are a number of industrial steam locomotives (including rare examples by Stephen Lewin from Seaham and Black, Hawthorn & Co) and many chaldron wagons, the region's traditional type of colliery railway rolling stock, which became a symbol of Beamish Museum. The locomotive Coffee Pot No 1 is often in steam during the summer.

 

Other

On the south eastern corner of the colliery site is the Power House, brought to the museum from Houghton Colliery. These were used to store explosives.

 

Pit Village

Alongside the colliery is the pit village, representing life in the mining communities that grew alongside coal production sites in the North East, many having come into existence solely because of the industry, such as Seaham Harbour, West Hartlepool, Esh Winning and Bedlington.

 

Miner's Cottages

The row of six miner's cottages in Francis Street represent the tied-housing provided by colliery owners to mine workers. Relocated to the museum in 1976, they were originally built in the 1860s in Hetton-le-Hole by Hetton Coal Company. They feature the common layout of a single-storey with a kitchen to the rear, the main room of the house, and parlour to the front, rarely used (although it was common for both rooms to be used for sleeping, with disguised folding "dess" beds common), and with children sleeping in attic spaces upstairs. In front are long gardens, used for food production, with associated sheds. An outdoor toilet and coal bunker were in the rear yards, and beyond the cobbled back lane to their rear are assorted sheds used for cultivation, repairs and hobbies. Chalkboard slates attached to the rear wall were used by the occupier to tell the mine's "knocker up" when they wished to be woken for their next shift.

 

No.2 is presented as a Methodist family's home, featuring good quality "Pitman's mahogany" furniture; No.3 is presented as occupied by a second generation well off Irish Catholic immigrant family featuring many items of value (so they could be readily sold off in times of need) and an early 1890s range; No.3 is presented as more impoverished than the others with just a simple convector style Newcastle oven, being inhabited by a miner's widow allowed to remain as her son is also a miner, and supplementing her income doing laundry and making/mending for other families. All the cottages feature examples of the folk art objects typical of mining communities. Also included in the row is an office for the miner's paymaster.[11] In the rear alleyway of the cottages is a communal bread oven, which were commonplace until miner's cottages gradually obtained their own kitchen ranges. They were used to bake traditional breads such as the Stottie, as well as sweet items, such as tea cakes. With no extant examples, the museum's oven had to be created from photographs and oral history.

 

School

The school opened in 1992, and represents the typical board school in the educational system of the era (the stone built single storey structure being inscribed with the foundation date of 1891, Beamish School Board), by which time attendance at a state approved school was compulsory, but the leaving age was 12, and lessons featured learning by rote and corporal punishment. The building originally stood in East Stanley, having been set up by the local school board, and would have numbered around 150 pupils. Having been donated by Durham County Council, the museum now has a special relationship with the primary school that replaced it. With separate entrances and cloakrooms for boys and girls at either end, the main building is split into three class rooms (all accessible to visitors), connected by a corridor along the rear. To the rear is a red brick bike shed, and in the playground visitors can play traditional games of the era.

 

Chapel

Pit Hill Chapel opened in 1990, and represents the Wesleyan Methodist tradition which was growing in North East England, with the chapels used for both religious worship and as community venues, which continue in its role in the museum display. Opened in the 1850s, it originally stood not far from its present site, having been built in what would eventually become Beamish village, near the museum entrance. A stained glass window of The Light of The World by William Holman Hunt came from a chapel in Bedlington. A two handled Love Feast Mug dates from 1868, and came from a chapel in Shildon Colliery. On the eastern wall, above the elevated altar area, is an angled plain white surface used for magic lantern shows, generated using a replica of the double-lensed acetylene gas powered lanterns of the period, mounted in the aisle of the main seating area. Off the western end of the hall is the vestry, featuring a small library and communion sets from Trimdon Colliery and Catchgate.

 

Fish bar

Presented as Davey's Fried Fish & Chip Potato Restaurant, the fish and chip shop opened in 2011, and represents the typical style of shop found in the era as they were becoming rapidly popular in the region - the brick built Victorian style fryery would most often have previously been used for another trade, and the attached corrugated iron hut serves as a saloon with tables and benches, where customers would eat and socialise. Featuring coal fired ranges using beef-dripping, the shop is named in honour of the last coal fired shop in Tyneside, in Winlaton Mill, and which closed in 2007. Latterly run by brothers Brian and Ramsay Davy, it had been established by their grandfather in 1937. The serving counter and one of the shop's three fryers, a 1934 Nuttal, came from the original Davy shop. The other two fryers are a 1920s Mabbott used near Chester until the 1960s, and a GW Atkinson New Castle Range, donated from a shop in Prudhoe in 1973. The latter is one of only two known late Victorian examples to survive. The decorative wall tiles in the fryery came to the museum in 1979 from Cowes Fish and Game Shop in Berwick upon Tweed. The shop also features both an early electric and hand-powered potato rumblers (cleaners), and a gas powered chip chopper built around 1900. Built behind the chapel, the fryery is arranged so the counter faces the rear, stretching the full length of the building. Outside is a brick built row of outdoor toilets. Supplementing the fish bar is the restored Berriman's mobile chip van, used in Spennymoor until the early 1970s.

 

Band hall

The Hetton Silver Band Hall opened in 2013, and features displays reflecting the role colliery bands played in mining life. Built in 1912, it was relocated from its original location in South Market Street, Hetton-le-Hole, where it was used by the Hetton Silver Band, founded in 1887. They built the hall using prize money from a music competition, and the band decided to donate the hall to the museum after they merged with Broughtons Brass Band of South Hetton (to form the Durham Miners' Association Brass Band). It is believed to be the only purpose built band hall in the region. The structure consists of the main hall, plus a small kitchen to the rear; as part of the museum it is still used for performances.

 

Pit pony stables

The Pit Pony Stables were built in 2013/14, and house the museum's pit ponies. They replace a wooden stable a few metres away in the field opposite the school (the wooden structure remaining). It represents the sort of stables that were used in drift mines (ponies in deep mines living their whole lives underground), pit ponies having been in use in the north east as late as 1994, in Ellington Colliery. The structure is a recreation of an original building that stood at Rickless Drift Mine, between High Spen and Greenside; it was built using a yellow brick that was common across the Durham coalfield.

 

Other

Doubling as one of the museum's refreshment buildings, Sinker's Bait Cabin represents the temporary structures that would have served as living quarters, canteens and drying areas for sinkers, the itinerant workforce that would dig new vertical mine shafts.

 

Representing other traditional past-times, the village fields include a quoits pitch, with another refreshment hut alongside it, resembling a wooden clubhouse.

 

In one of the fields in the village stands the Cupola, a small round flat topped brick built tower; such structures were commonly placed on top of disused or ventilation shafts, also used as an emergency exit from the upper seams.

 

The Georgian North (1825)

A late Georgian landscape based around the original Pockerley farm represents the period of change in the region as transport links were improved and as agriculture changed as machinery and field management developed, and breeding stock was improved. It became part of the museum in 1990, having latterly been occupied by a tenant farmer, and was opened as an exhibit in 1995. The hill top position suggests the site was the location of an Iron Age fort - the first recorded mention of a dwelling is in the 1183 Buke of Boldon (the region's equivalent of the Domesday Book). The name Pockerley has Saxon origins - "Pock" or "Pokor" meaning "pimple of bag-like" hill, and "Ley" meaning woodland clearing.

 

The surrounding farmlands have been returned to a post-enclosure landscape with ridge and furrow topography, divided into smaller fields by traditional riven oak fencing. The land is worked and grazed by traditional methods and breeds.

 

Pockerley Old Hall

The estate of Pockerley Old Hall is presented as that of a well off tenant farmer, in a position to take advantage of the agricultural advances of the era. The hall itself consists of the Old House, which is adjoined (but not connected to) the New House, both south facing two storey sandstone built buildings, the Old House also having a small north–south aligned extension. Roof timbers in the sandstone built Old House have been dated to the 1440s, but the lower storey (the undercroft) may be from even earlier. The New House dates to the late 1700s, and replaced a medieval manor house to the east of the Old House as the main farm house - once replaced itself, the Old House is believed to have been let to the farm manager. Visitors can access all rooms in the New and Old House, except the north–south extension which is now a toilet block. Displays include traditional cooking, such as the drying of oatcakes over a wooden rack (flake) over the fireplace in the Old House.

 

Inside the New House the downstairs consists of a main kitchen and a secondary kitchen (scullery) with pantry. It also includes a living room, although as the main room of the house, most meals would have been eaten in the main kitchen, equipped with an early range, boiler and hot air oven. Upstairs is a main bedroom and a second bedroom for children; to the rear (i.e. the colder, north side), are bedrooms for a servant and the servant lad respectively. Above the kitchen (for transferred warmth) is a grain and fleece store, with attached bacon loft, a narrow space behind the wall where bacon or hams, usually salted first, would be hung to be smoked by the kitchen fire (entering through a small door in the chimney).

 

Presented as having sparse and more old fashioned furnishings, the Old House is presented as being occupied in the upper story only, consisting of a main room used as the kitchen, bedroom and for washing, with the only other rooms being an adjoining second bedroom and an overhanging toilet. The main bed is an oak box bed dating to 1712, obtained from Star House in Baldersdale in 1962. Originally a defensive house in its own right, the lower level of the Old House is an undercroft, or vaulted basement chamber, with 1.5 metre thick walls - in times of attack the original tenant family would have retreated here with their valuables, although in its later use as the farm managers house, it is now presented as a storage and work room, housing a large wooden cheese press.[68] More children would have slept in the attic of the Old House (not accessible as a display).

 

To the front of the hall is a terraced garden featuring an ornamental garden with herbs and flowers, a vegetable garden, and an orchard, all laid out and planted according to the designs of William Falla of Gateshead, who had the largest nursery in Britain from 1804 to 1830.

 

The buildings to the east of the hall, across a north–south track, are the original farmstead buildings dating from around 1800. These include stables and a cart shed arranged around a fold yard. The horses and carts on display are typical of North Eastern farms of the era, Fells or Dales ponies and Cleveland Bay horses, and two wheeled long carts for hilly terrain (as opposed to four wheel carts).

 

Pockerley Waggonway

The Pockerley Waggonway opened in 2001, and represents the year 1825, as the year the Stockton and Darlington Railway opened. Waggonways had appeared around 1600, and by the 1800s were common in mining areas - prior to 1800 they had been either horse or gravity powered, before the invention of steam engines (initially used as static winding engines), and later mobile steam locomotives.

 

Housing the locomotives and rolling stock is the Great Shed, which opened in 2001 and is based on Timothy Hackworth's erecting shop, Shildon railway works, and incorporating some material from Robert Stephenson and Company's Newcastle works. Visitors can walk around the locomotives in the shed, and when in steam, can take rides to the end of the track and back in the line's assorted rolling stock - situated next to the Great Shed is a single platform for passenger use. In the corner of the main shed is a corner office, presented as a locomotive designer's office (only visible to visitors through windows). Off the pedestrian entrance in the southern side is a room presented as the engine crew's break room. Atop the Great Shed is a weather vane depicting a waggonway train approaching a cow, a reference to a famous quote by George Stephenson when asked by parliament in 1825 what would happen in such an eventuality - "very awkward indeed - for the coo!".

 

At the far end of the waggonway is the (fictional) coal mine Pockerley Gin Pit, which the waggonway notionally exists to serve. The pit head features a horse powered wooden whim gin, which was the method used before steam engines for hauling men and material up and down mineshafts - coal was carried in corves (wicker baskets), while miners held onto the rope with their foot in an attached loop.

 

Wooden waggonway

Following creation of the Pockerley Waggonway, the museum went back a chapter in railway history to create a horse-worked wooden waggonway.

 

St Helen's Church

St Helen's Church represents a typical type of country church found in North Yorkshire, and was relocated from its original site in Eston, North Yorkshire. It is the oldest and most complex building moved to the museum. It opened in November 2015, but will not be consecrated as this would place restrictions on what could be done with the building under church law.

 

The church had existed on its original site since around 1100. As the congregation grew, it was replaced by two nearby churches, and latterly became a cemetery chapel. After closing in 1985, it fell into disrepair and by 1996 was burnt out and vandalised leading to the decision by the local authority in 1998 to demolish it. Working to a deadline of a threatened demolition within six months, the building was deconstructed and moved to Beamish, reconstruction being authorised in 2011, with the exterior build completed by 2012.

 

While the structure was found to contain some stones from the 1100 era, the building itself however dates from three distinct building phases - the chancel on the east end dates from around 1450, while the nave, which was built at the same time, was modernised in 1822 in the Churchwarden style, adding a vestry. The bell tower dates from the late 1600s - one of the two bells is a rare dated Tudor example. Gargoyles, originally hidden in the walls and believed to have been pranks by the original builders, have been made visible in the reconstruction.

 

Restored to its 1822 condition, the interior has been furnished with Georgian box pews sourced from a church in Somerset. Visitors can access all parts except the bell tower. The nave includes a small gallery level, at the tower end, while the chancel includes a church office.

 

Joe the Quilter's Cottage

The most recent addition to the area opened to the public in 2018 is a recreation of a heather-thatched cottage which features stones from the Georgian quilter Joseph Hedley's original home in Northumberland. It was uncovered during an archaeological dig by Beamish. His original cottage was demolished in 1872 and has been carefully recreated with the help of a drawing on a postcard. The exhibit tells the story of quilting and the growth of cottage industries in the early 1800s. Within there is often a volunteer or member of staff not only telling the story of how Joe was murdered in 1826, a crime that remains unsolved to this day, but also giving visitors the opportunity to learn more and even have a go at quilting.

 

Other

A pack pony track passes through the scene - pack horses having been the mode of transport for all manner of heavy goods where no waggonway exists, being also able to reach places where carriages and wagons could not access. Beside the waggonway is a gibbet.

 

Farm (1940s)

Presented as Home Farm, this represents the role of North East farms as part of the British Home Front during World War II, depicting life indoors, and outside on the land. Much of the farmstead is original, and opened as a museum display in 1983. The farm is laid out across a north–south public road; to the west is the farmhouse and most of the farm buildings, while on the east side are a pair of cottages, the British Kitchen, an outdoor toilet ("netty"), a bull field, duck pond and large shed.

 

The farm complex was rebuilt in the mid-19th century as a model farm incorporating a horse mill and a steam-powered threshing mill. It was not presented as a 1940s farm until early 2014.

 

The farmhouse is presented as having been modernised, following the installation of electric power and an Aga cooker in the scullery, although the main kitchen still has the typical coal-fired black range. Lino flooring allowed quicker cleaning times, while a radio set allowed the family to keep up to date with wartime news. An office next to the kitchen would have served both as the administration centre for the wartime farm, and as a local Home Guard office. Outside the farmhouse is an improvised Home Guard pillbox fashioned from half an egg-ended steam boiler, relocated from its original position near Durham.

 

The farm is equipped with three tractors which would have all seen service during the war: a Case, a Fordson N and a 1924 Fordson F. The farm also features horse-drawn traps, reflecting the effect wartime rationing of petrol would have had on car use. The farming equipment in the cart and machinery sheds reflects the transition of the time from horse-drawn to tractor-pulled implements, with some older equipment put back into use due to the war, as well as a large Foster thresher, vital for cereal crops, and built specifically for the war effort, sold at the Newcastle Show. Although the wartime focus was on crops, the farm also features breeds of sheep, cattle, pigs and poultry that would have been typical for the time. The farm also has a portable steam engine, not in use, but presented as having been left out for collection as part of a wartime scrap metal drive.

 

The cottages would have housed farm labourers, but are presented as having new uses for the war: Orchard Cottage housing a family of evacuees, and Garden Cottage serving as a billet for members of the Women's Land Army (Land Girls). Orchard Cottage is named for an orchard next to it, which also contains an Anderson shelter, reconstructed from partial pieces of ones recovered from around the region. Orchard Cottage, which has both front and back kitchens, is presented as having an up to date blue enameled kitchen range, with hot water supplied from a coke stove, as well as a modern accessible bathroom. Orchard Cottage is also used to stage recreations of wartime activities for schools, elderly groups and those living with dementia. Garden Cottage is sparsely furnished with a mix of items, reflecting the few possessions Land Girls were able to take with them, although unusually the cottage is depicted with a bathroom, and electricity (due to proximity to a colliery).

 

The British Kitchen is both a display and one of the museum's catering facilities; it represents an installation of one of the wartime British Restaurants, complete with propaganda posters and a suitably patriotic menu.

 

Town (1950s)

As part of the Remaking Beamish project, with significant funding from the National Lottery Heritage Fund, the museum is creating a 1950s town. Opened in July 2019, the Welfare Hall is an exact replica of the Leasingthorne Colliery Welfare Hall and Community Centre which was built in 1957 near Bishop Auckland. Visitors can 'take part in activities including dancing, crafts, Meccano, beetle drive, keep fit and amateur dramatics' while also taking a look at the National Health Service exhibition on display, recreating the environment of an NHS clinic. A recreation and play park, named Coronation Park was opened in May 2022 to coincide with the celebrations around the Platinum Jubilee of Elizabeth II.

 

The museum's first 1950s terrace opened in February 2022. This included a fish and chip shop from Middleton St George, a cafe, a replica of Norman Cornish's home, and a hairdressers. Future developments opposite the existing 1950s terrace will see a recreation of The Grand Cinema, from Ryhope, in Sunderland, and toy and electricians shops. Also underdevelopment are a 1950s bowling green and pavilion, police houses and aged miner's cottages. Also under construction are semi-detached houses; for this exhibit, a competition was held to recreate a particular home at Beamish, which was won by a family from Sunderland.

 

As well as the town, a 1950s Northern bus depot has been opened on the western side of the museum – the purpose of this is to provide additional capacity for bus, trolleybus and tram storage once the planned trolleybus extension and the new area are completed, providing extra capacity and meeting the need for modified routing.

 

Spain's Field Farm

In March 2022, the museum opened Spain's Field Farm. It had stood for centuries at Eastgate in Weardale, and was moved to Beamish stone-by-stone. It is exhibited as it would have been in the 1950s.

 

1820s Expansion

In the area surrounding the current Pockerley Old Hall and Steam Wagon Way more development is on the way. The first of these was planned to be a Georgian Coaching Inn that would be the museum's first venture into overnight accommodation. However following the COVID-19 pandemic this was abandoned, in favour of self-catering accommodation in existing cottages.

 

There are also plans for 1820s industries including a blacksmith's forge and a pottery.

 

Museum stores

There are two stores on the museum site, used to house donated objects. In contrast to the traditional rotation practice used in museums where items are exchanged regularly between store and display, it is Beamish policy that most of their exhibits are to be in use and on display - those items that must be stored are to be used in the museum's future developments.

 

Open Store

Housed in the Regional Resource Centre, the Open Store is accessible to visitors. Objects are housed on racks along one wall, while the bulk of items are in a rolling archive, with one set of shelves opened, with perspex across their fronts to permit viewing without touching.

 

Regional Museums Store

The real purposes of the building presented as Beamish Waggon and Iron Works next to Rowley Station is as the Regional Museums Store, completed in 2002, which Beamish shares with Tyne and Wear Museums. This houses, amongst other things, a large marine diesel engine by William Doxford & Sons of Pallion, Sunderland (1977); and several boats including the Tyne wherry (a traditional local type of lighter) Elswick No. 2 (1930). The store is only open at selected times, and for special tours which can be arranged through the museum; however, a number of viewing windows have been provided for use at other times.

 

Transport collection

Main article: Beamish Museum transport collection

The museum contains much of transport interest, and the size of its site makes good internal transportation for visitors and staff purposes a necessity.

 

The collection contains a variety of historical vehicles for road, rail and tramways. In addition there are some modern working replicas to enhance the various scenes in the museum.

 

Agriculture

The museum's two farms help to preserve traditional northcountry and in some cases rare livestock breeds such as Durham Shorthorn Cattle; Clydesdale and Cleveland Bay working horses; Dales ponies; Teeswater sheep; Saddleback pigs; and poultry.

 

Regional heritage

Other large exhibits collected by the museum include a tracked steam shovel, and a coal drop from Seaham Harbour.

 

In 2001 a new-build Regional Resource Centre (accessible to visitors by appointment) opened on the site to provide accommodation for the museum's core collections of smaller items. These include over 300,000 historic photographs, printed books and ephemera, and oral history recordings. The object collections cover the museum's specialities. These include quilts; "clippy mats" (rag rugs); Trade union banners; floor cloth; advertising (including archives from United Biscuits and Rowntree's); locally made pottery; folk art; and occupational costume. Much of the collection is viewable online and the arts of quilting, rug making and cookery in the local traditions are demonstrated at the museum.

 

Filming location

The site has been used as the backdrop for many film and television productions, particularly Catherine Cookson dramas, produced by Tyne Tees Television, and the final episode and the feature film version of Downton Abbey. Some of the children's television series Supergran was shot here.

 

Visitor numbers

On its opening day the museum set a record by attracting a two-hour queue. Visitor numbers rose rapidly to around 450,000 p.a. during the first decade of opening to the public, with the millionth visitor arriving in 1978.

 

Awards

Museum of the Year1986

European Museum of the Year Award1987

Living Museum of the Year2002

Large Visitor Attraction of the YearNorth East England Tourism awards2014 & 2015

Large Visitor Attraction of the Year (bronze)VisitEngland awards2016

It was designated by the Museums, Libraries and Archives Council in 1997 as a museum with outstanding collections.

 

Critical responses

In responding to criticism that it trades on nostalgia the museum is unapologetic. A former director has written: "As individuals and communities we have a deep need and desire to understand ourselves in time."

 

According to the BBC writing in its 40th anniversary year, Beamish was a mould-breaking museum that became a great success due to its collection policy, and what sets it apart from other museums is the use of costumed people to impart knowledge to visitors, rather than labels or interpretive panels (although some such panels do exist on the site), which means it "engages the visitor with history in a unique way".

 

Legacy

Beamish was influential on the Black Country Living Museum, Blists Hill Victorian Town and, in the view of museologist Kenneth Hudson, more widely in the museum community and is a significant educational resource locally. It can also demonstrate its benefit to the contemporary local economy.

 

The unselective collecting policy has created a lasting bond between museum and community.

Fall has a very specific mood. It seems that nature is releasing it's tension and everything is getting a little bit more soft. <3

 

www.ferlitsch.net

What you see here; is a couple, blocking the bread I normally purchase. This was on 7-25-28, at 2:25 pm, at the Grand Junction, Colorado, Walmart. They were set up; before Koda and I, made the turn into the mile long bread section. They can be seen looking at us, as we turn, then stalling for several minutes. Directly in front of the bread I purchase. Blocking it completely. Maybe the guy thought I would be intimidated, by his size? Behind them, at the end of the aisle, was a Walmart employee, watching the whole skit. This is all captured on the Walmart, Grand Junction, Colorado, surveillance cameras. Can’t they, FBI Director Christopher Wray? This could be pretty much any Walmart, in the United States of America. Like the one in Laramie, Wyoming; depicted in my photostream.

They, along with many others; will set up in place. In front of items I purchase regularly. Like another woman on the same day. She had a small baby in her cart. She was attractive and nicely dressed. As Koda and I, approached the department I purchase a specific item in. She pushes her cart in front of that item, then walks away. Her cart had a small baby in it, wrapped in a baby carrier. She stepped away, then looks directly at us. This, again, was a conspired act. In hopes that I act out, and be persecuted for it. What are the chances that her child, will grow to be a bully in school, at work, or involved in Gang Stalking? We had another woman, using her teenage daughter, to get into Koda’s face, in hope he may act out. They followed us throughout the store.

Prior, to the above events; we were in the automotive section. A very well dressed, older woman; stood with her empty cart, in the oil section. She watched every move I made, and my oil selection. She was gathering information, for my next intentional blocking. She followed us throughout the store, then walked in front of our car, as we were leaving. Again, this is all captured on Walmart surveillance cameras. These cameras, many times, reviewed by our many Law Enforcement Agencies. So, why FBI Director Christopher Wray; don’t your Agents, do anything about Gang Stalking? They are fully aware of it, in the United States of America. They have been for decades!

We did come across a mother with two young children. One was in her cart, the other standing close to her, eating cheese squares. She said Mom, look at the dog. She was amazed at Koda, walking so calmly. We stopped, I very seldom do. I told the little girl “If you were to give him a piece of cheese, he will do tricks for you”. She smiled, but was afraid to approach Koda too closely. Koda sat patiently waiting a tasty cheese morsel. Her mother asked if it was OK. I said yes, but the little girl too shy, let her mother give it to him. Koda, was so gently taking it. He did several tricks for them, and the smiles were endless. We continued shopping, to be mobbed and harassed by others.

I’ve seen this over and over again, not the mother and two kids I just mentioned. Parents, willing to put their, and other children, possibly, in harms way, to harass my dog. This happened repeatably two years ago, in Grand Junction, CO. I called law enforcement, told the officer what was happening, showed him a couple of pictures. He said “next time this happens, take videos, and call me”. I did just that. After repeated phone calls and messages; he did not return any of my calls. These were people using young children, to harass Koda, right after I adopted him. American’s willing to put their children, in harms way, to harass a newly adopted, strange, dog.

Before we went to Walmart, we were at St Mary’s Hospital, in Grand Junction, Colorado. This like all hospitals; are supposed to be a place of help and healing. What we received was harassment and mobbing. Before we even entered the hospital, we were chased down by a guy with a weed-wacker. We walked towards the front side, of a patch of grass, so Koda could pee. As Koda, sniffs out a place to pee; the guy with a weed-wacker, comes rushing right at him. Koda, looked at him like the piece of shit that he is, and didn’t flinch or bark. I told Koda, as I do many times, “Koda, your working”. Me, on the other hand; walked up to the guy and asked “Is this how you harass a service dog, in Colorado”. He walked away quickly.

We walked into the main entrance of St Mary’s hospital, had a guy rush to crowd us, in the revolving door. Once we were in; there was a man playing a piano, in the main lobby. It was so loud, I couldn’t hear the woman, I asked for directions. She said something about the purple line. She had to repeat it several times. This tactic, is done to Targets, on a regular basis, They overwhelm you with noise, and talk over you; when you ask someone for help, or try to place a food order somewhere. In hopes, you are overwhelmed by the noise campaign, frustration, and won’t return. It didn’t faze me, Koda the Magnificent, and I, were on our way. We went to check into the clinic, but I was way early, and decided to go back to the main lobby. While I was driving, they called to schedule the appointment. It was at 1pm, but I scribbled down two number ones, making it look like 11. I get a lot of calls, while driving, or preoccupied by something.

The maniac, wasn’t smashing keys on the piano, anymore. I sat down, and Koda lay at my feet. There was a Security Guard standing in front of us. He and another guy, starts hugging each other. Perps, do this all the time; excessive, over-exaggerated, Public Displays of Affection. I mentioned before; these Perps have their tales, and they will throw it in your face. After the fake PDA, the other guy starts talking, almost yelling, pointing outstretched arm and finger, directly at Koda. He’s looking directly at Koda, while doing so. I said, “Sir, he’s a service dog”. The guy continues to point, talking extremely loud. He says to me, “I’ve raised more dogs than you’ll ever know”. He then starts doing a chicken dance. Flapping his arms. I looked to the Security Guard and asked, “are you going to allow this”. “This is a service dog”. He made excuses for the guy, and dismissed it. I asked if he knew the guy, he said he new his first name as Rod, didn’t know his last. They had pulled their skit, so the security guard walked away. They other guy was walking away too, but came back, pointing again. Again, It did faze Koda a bit. I nurse walked by, and I asked her; “is this the way you treat your patients”. She caught the tale end of it, as the Security Guard, just walked away from us. She said she would get a patient’s advocate, She did, the advocate spoke with me. I explained the situation, what had happens, as Koda lay at my feet. She said, she would gather more information, and call me back. She did, and told me the security guard, did tell her, he new the guy that was harassing Koda. The guard told me he didn’t really know him, just his first name.

Koda and I had enough of their bullshit. We had time to grab lunch, before our appointment. We walked about two blocks, to a Deli. As we waited for street lights across from the Deli. A woman came out from a child day care place. She stood in the small parking lot. She had something in her hand beside a phone. Then a car alarm went off, several feet from her. It continued, as the woman looked at us, in a stern manner. Once the light turn green, and we were able to cross, the car alarm stopped, and the woman went back inside. We get the car alarm treatment a lot. It’s another noise campaign, intended to onset anxiety in a Target. It didn’t faze Koda, we crossed, when the crosswalk audio began beeping.

We ordered our lunch, sat down and waited. There was no one ahead of us, but the stall began. The woman that took our order, clapping her hands for no apparent reason. She would walk behind the counter, throw her arms into the air, slap her palms to geather, and make a loud clap. It’s another Perp tale. They want you to know they are involved in Gang Stalking. She then brought out two big bags of ice, started slamming them on a counter, by the soda machine. She then, poured them into the top of the machine, as slow as possible. After that, she went back to clapping. A couple of people came in. A man that was eating when we came in, stood up, walked out of his way, to dispose of his trash. So he could stare Koda down, as he walked by.

We had our lunch and left. We just crossed the street, some guy was chasing us down with an electric cart thing. I’m supersized he didn’t have American flags, sticking out from the thing. I then heard a woman yelling, so I turned around. The woman that took our order at the deli, was yelling, asking if I left my credit card there. I knew I didn’t, I used a debit card. She asked if I was sure, I said yes. She wanted to stall me, as two young boys come racing at us on bicycles. The guy setting on the electric cart watching our response. These Perps, will do whatever it takes, to stall someone, until others show up to harass a Target. These same sequence of events, have been recorded and documented over and over. These conspired acts, have been repeated, from one state to another. It may change up a bit, but it’s always delaying a Target, so others can show up and get their licks in.

We made it back to the St Mary’s Hospital. We went to our clinic to check in. There was a woman in the clinic lobby, without a face mask. We get this often, in a required mask area. They want the Target to say something, to start a confrontation. I don’t bite, and the woman looked disappointed. The woman checking us in, wanted me to give her my social security and phone number out-loud. This was a small lobby, anyone in there could hear me giving personal information. Information, that can be used to steal your identity. The woman, even wanted me to repeat my social security number. Which was total bullshit. I told her, I shouldn’t be giving this information out-loud. They should have a form. She said they don’t, this is how they check people in. A lot of these acts, are designed to get a Target riled up, just before a blood pressure test. I just went with the flow, and got the ultrasound on my carotid arteries. The technician that did it, was decent, and enjoyed Koda. I told him, the only time Koda acted out, was when a doctor, had his finger up my ass, checking my prostate. I was kidding with him. This Hospital, has a 2 Star rating. I wonder why?

After our long morning of being baited, and hated; we headed back to camp. I spent the rest of the day, and night, trying to access, my medical records and MRI test. We vets, use MyHealthVet, to access this information online. I haven’t been able to access my MRI, and it was done on 5-27-22.

Here we are, and it’s Tuesday. I finally contact, tech support, with MyHealthVet. A woman named Monica, help me. I can’t give this woman enough praise. She spent over an hour with me. It wasn’t by catch, or browser. Someone had locked me out, my password was no longer valid, and I couldn’t reset it. She told me this happens often. I had the same thing happen, to my Flickr account. Monica, was finally able to remove my old password. This woman was extremely patient, kind and understanding.

I set a password and was able to download, and view my MRI results, and the images. They were worse, than I had anticipated. I could go into detail, but I’ll spare you. If you read my last post; you would have read the bullshit the Neurologist, with Barrows Neurological Institute, in Phoenix, puts me through.

I had my fist visit with him on 4-14-22. He said he reviewed my records, and if I was having vision problem in only one eye; it could not be a neurological problem. He, along with my VA primary care doctor, wanted to dismiss my physical problems, as migraine headaches. Even though, I told them I don’t have migraine headaches, I very seldom have mild headache. I asked for an MRI, on my brain.

He said there’s nothing in my records, warranting an MRI. I had to insist. They didn’t return my many calls to see if they received my MRI, for a video call on 7-18-22. On that call, he talks down to me again, telling me, it’s my responsibility, to insure they had it. When his staff, and Phoenix VA, Community Care person, didn’t return my calls for weeks. He still set up the video call, knowing they didn’t have it. Then on the call he tells me “anyone can read your MRI, to you”. But, they are holding off, releasing me to another physician, and Neurologist. Because, he wants to have another video call, go over my MRI (that he didn’t want done in the first place), so they can bill the VA, again. He is postponing, my care. Even though I told my physician, and the Community Team in Phoenix, the bullshit, they have pulled. I want to repeat this; my care is being delayed, so a man that didn’t want me to have an MRI, who’s staff doesn’t return my calls, so they can continue to bill the VA. This mans actions, and lack of, show; he could care less about my outcome, or receiving the Neurological care that I need. The nurse that has been corresponding with me, on my primary care team; has been a real dick too. They don’t want to release me to Grand Junction, either. When a patient is transferred to another VA facility, they lose their funding for that patient. Meanwhile, I’m denied the urgent care, I desperatly need.

Now, I’m setting up for a video call, with my Rheumatologist, in Phoenix. She’s one of the good ones. She puts all the bullshit aside, and looks out for her patients. I’m going on line, a black Cadillac, yes a Cadillac, parks about 100 meters behind us. Then, I hear a small drone flying around. I take a couple of pictures, from a window. They gather their things and slowly leave. I get cued to click onto the link. As soon as I do, gunshots, just to the left side of our motorhome.

I’m on the call now, my Rheumatologist able to access my MRI. She said, Rick, you need to see a Neurologist ASAP. I told her, I know. She was angered at the shit I’m going through, told me to keep a close eye on my blood pressure. Just as she did, a Jet dives, right over the top of our motorhome. It was probably, a National Guard Jet. They have a small base, in Grand Junction. Planes and jets, flight paths, are often diverted over a Targets whereabouts. It’s another conspired act, of overwhelming harassment. It also helps validitfy, the amoral actions of all the other minions. I will set up at a new boondocking site, in the middle of nowhere. Within a couple of days, there’s planes and jets, buzzing our motorhome. Colorado, Wyoming, Arizona; it doesn’t matter where I’m at. It’s not that I camp within flight patterns. The flight patters are changed, so aircraft can harass, surveil, and intimidate a Target.

Then, within minutes, the Village Idiots, start showing up. I have documented and recorded this, for many years.

We head back to St Mary’s Hospital, that afternoon. I had an appointment with a Vascular Surgeon. As we get close to the clinic within the hospital. One of the clinic staff is walking towards us, with her mask pulled down. As we get closer, she pulls it up. She left the clinic for her break, like the staff did in at the license branch, in a previous post. We walk into the clinic, no one at the window, so we set down in the unoccupied lobby. One of the women calls us back, said the other woman is gone, she will check check us in. She called us back to a crowded small hallway, so Koda and I could be mobbed. This creepy older couple walk right up to us, as we stood there at the counter. Then, there were a couple nurses, that had to get in on the action. The woman behind the counter, says she will get my information. As the older guy starts fake coughing, right in our face. He, and the woman, give Koda the stare down. She disappears, the guy steps to our other side. He continues to cough, as others work their way closer to us. This, all, in a very small hallway. The woman behind the counter said, “Oh, we already have your information. So, we just stood there. I finally had enough, and said, “if your done with this show, we will be in the lobby”. She quickly says, the nurse will take you back now.

The first thing the nurse did, was take my blood pressure. You can imagine, how high it is by now. We get this treatment all the time, at the VA. They do everything they can it elevate your blood pressure, so they can document it in your chart. But, when you try to address your valid medical problems, they dismiss them. Saying, if we don’t see it, we can’t put it in your records. The nurse took my vitals, and said the doctor will be in shortly.

The doctor knocked on the door, then entered, with two young women. He introduces them; one as a nurse in training, the other as his Physicians Assistant. Koda, laying at my left side. One of the women positioned to stare directly at him; as the doctor told me, one of my carotid arteries my be completely blocked. He said, we have had patients describe the gray curtain, in their eyes, like you have. He then says, there is no chance of a stroke. Which was bullshit. He may have had the two Honey Pots in there, in case, he has to collaborate a story. I have see this a lot, in questionable doctors. Like my Primary Care Doctor, in Phoenix. She and the Neurologist with Barrows, wanted to dismiss the extensive blood flow restrictions, as migraine headaches. Now, I’m seeing physical proof, that they are not. I’m falling on my face; because my brain is not getting the blood flow it needs, to produce the neurons, that signal for my left leg to lift, when I need it to. The doctor says he will, discuses the gray spot with the Ophthalmologist, and get back to me in 2-4 weeks. I have one artery completely blocked, blockage in another one, and he will get back to me in 2-4 weeks. I have addressed this with VA doctor, after doctor, for over two years. I’m told I’ll have to wait another 2-4 weeks, for a game plan. As brain tissue dies off, because of blood flow restrictions.

This is what happens to Americans, not gust veterans, that dare question, their medical care, or lack of. People go to a hospital for help and healing, and are harassed and dismissed. If you dare question these doctors, or medical facilities; your life will be a living hell. Like they did to my mother, in another Catholic Hospital. She truly feared the nurse treating her, after she took a bad fall in her 80s. My sister was there to witness, the rude and dismissive treatment. My mother pleaded with my sister, not to say anything. There are many great people in the medical field. Their dedication and sacrifices, are often overshadowed by the Bullies, that work along side them. Gaslighting and Workplace Mobbing, is off the charts in the medical field. Administrators, and what is labeled as leadership, allow it. Like many, many in the corporate world. Like our FBI Director.

The rest of the week, is filled with the same conspired acts of gaslighting, harassment and mobbing. We have the Village Idiots, walking around the back and sides of our motorhome, as we lay in bed at night. When I get up to pee in the middle of the night, they zoom pass the back of our motorhome. Like the Bully pictured in the white Tacoma, in the previous post. They will then stop and shine their lights, into our bedroom windows. I even had one shining their lights in to the bathroom, while I took a dump. I don’t know what kind of fetish, these sick fucks have with poop. Koda can’t take one outside; with out a plane and these idiots, showing up to watch, and harass him, as he scrunches up to drop one. It happened again this morning.

I spent the rest of the week making phone calls and emails to patient advocates and my primary care provider in Phoenix. They won’t transfer my care to Grand Junction. I was told by a dick in my primary care team; they will not release my care because the Neurologist that didn’t want me to have an MRI, scheduled a video call to read it. They won’t release my care to another Neurologist. I’m told, I need to coordinate with him, for a meeting on 8-18-22. I don’t know how I’m suppose to do this, when his staff won’t return my phone calls. Meanwhile, they bill the VA, for video calls. When, on the last one, he told me “anyone can read your MRI”.

Now were into Friday. I started writing this the day before. We’ve had the Village Idiots keeping us sleep deprived for three nights now. Zooming pass the back of the motorhome, walking around it, hitting the motorhome with something, as we lay in bed. They don’t want to be captured on camera, so they pick up the harassment and mobbing at night.

I took Koda for a short walk. A plane the keeps showing up as we step out, is overhead. It has a black underbelly, with white wings. I ignore it, and try to get Koda a little exercise. After, we went back in. I began my phone calls again. I called the Phoenix VA, to continue, trying to get my care transferred. I told everyone; I didn’t want to see the Neurologist from Hell again, or have anything to do with him. I told the young woman about the young patient advocate, that laughed at me, as I tried to explained what was going on. The supervisor that was trying to cover for the person in Community Care, that didn’t return my calls. They don’t seem to fucking get it. Veterans die every day; waiting for a phone call, or authorization for care. My close cousin did. He died in his mothers living room recliner. She was making him breakfast, called him into the kitchen. He didn’t come, she went into the living room, and found him dead, in her recliner. He was a Vietnam War Veteran, waiting for authorization, to receive VA care. Thiis is what happens, when Bullies, and Administrators, can pick and chose who receives care.

The woman I spoke with said she will forward this to the head supervisor, but she may not respond because its Friday. It was the 1st thing Friday. While I was on the phone with her; one of the Village Idiots is stopped behind our motorhome, harassing Koda, as he looked out the window. I stepped out with my camera, he spins off, throwing gravel and dust into the air. Here comes a plane again, buzzing directly overhead. I take a couple picks, go back inside.

I decided to call the White House VA Hotline. This was recommend to me by a Community Care Nurse, here in Grand Junction, trying to get me transferred. I spent an hour and 24 minutes speaking to a woman. I told her about the Neurologist dicking me around for months, and still wants too. I told her about being laughed at, by someone who was supposed to be my advocate. I told her about the Village Idiots shooting their high powered rifles over and in front of our motorhome. From Colorado, to Wyoming, to Arizona. I told her about the Village Idiots, keeping us up at night, and sleep deprived. I told her about me, being locked out of my medical and testing records. I told her, this is not a Biden Story, or a Trump Lie; these are facts. She didn’t seem at all surprised. She said she would start a case, it would take 2-4 weeks, for them to possibly get a resolution. Now, I have to wait another 2-4 weeks. How many veterans will die, waiting 2-4 weeks for a response? How may, Mr Denis Richard McDonough, VA Secretary? Meanwhile, Republicans block a bill, that would help fund the care of veterans dying from exposure to burn pits.

It’s not just the Republicans. Look at all the legislators that jumped on board, for the 880 billion dollar spending bill for defense. Or the 280 billion, to subsidies their buddies in the tech field, that will make billions from chip manufacturing. We have a former president that lied, pushed his lie, to start a 20 year war. Now, our legislators, won’t take care of the men and women that served in that war. How many of these legislators, have spouses, family, and corporate friends, making millions from these contracts. AS, they turn their backs on veterans once again. Right Joe! Have another televised meeting with your corporate friends, like you recently did. Like you did last year too. So, they can tell the American people, how great you are. Meanwhile, veterans are dying, awaiting care. Other veterans, and other United States Citizens, are being used as test subjects, for Direct Energy Weapons. Right, Mr. CIA, and FBI, directors.

It had been another taxing morning. It was mid afternoon, I was drained. I went to the bedroom, laid down to take a nap. Koda, lays at my feet. Withing 5 minutes, there was a jet, that dove right at, and over the top of, our motorhome. Not shortly, after my call, to the White House VA Hotline. Seriously people, this shit happens! The rest of the day was filled with noise campaigns, Village Idiots zooming pass, on a state highway. Every time we stepped out of the motorhome.

This is what happens to United States Citizens, that dare to speak out, about the vast corruption within our government, the defense and medical industry, and corporate America. This is what happens to Targeted Individuals, in the United States of America. It’s not a Biden, Bullshit Story, or a Trump Lie; these are facts. I don’t want your sympathy, your money. I want everyone to know the truth.

All photos, and content of my photostream, are free to download, copy, print and share. All I ask, is that they maintain my logos and copyright info. Help me share the truth! Knowledge, Truth and Exposure, are powerful tools. Please bare with me; when I try to post these truths, my internet speeds slows, or drops completely. Many times, unable to award those very deserving, in the many Flickr groups. I was even unable to edit my last post, from spelling and grammar.

 

Thanks for visiting our photstream. I have to go. Koda, is trying to protect me from the chipmunk, at our door. The poor guys has been a bit, stressed. He had to take a double poo, this morning; while planes and the Village Idiots, bombarded him with noise. Oh shit, here comes another National Guard Jet. I’m going to get some serious hate, from this post. My connection, just timed out.

@algonquinoutfit : HT&E Athlete Profile: Collin Collins t.co/XPtgzVAhQz at @Algonquintheatr Nov 30th at 7:30pm get tickets t.co/QqHiYE1QOa (via Twitter twitter.com/algonquinoutfit/status/800409694682628096)

the implied absence of explicit specificity

Presa spudoratamente da un'idea di Giona

 

Unashamedly inspired from an idea by Giona

  

Tutte le foto di ieri / all the pics taken yesterday by us: MWFOx

The Harry Cain Tower (Harry Cain Building) in downtown Miami was designed by the architectural firm Ferguson, Glasgow and Schuster.

 

Key Architectural Details

Completion Year: The building was completed in 1983.

 

Design Style: It features a honeycomb façade made of sculpted, precast concrete modules. This "naked concrete" aesthetic was intended to match the architectural language of the adjacent Miami Dade College (formerly Miami Junior College) New World campus.

 

Deeply Recessed Openings: The concrete modules are infilled with deeply recessed window and louver panels, a design choice intended to manage light and heat in the Miami climate.

 

Brutalist Influence: While often described in the context of the campus's specific "concrete language," its heavy use of raw, precast concrete and geometric modularity aligns with Brutalist design principles.

 

Significance: It was the first public housing project in Dade County to integrate mixed-use retail, originally housing a grocery store, pharmacy, and doctor's offices to serve its elderly residents.

 

Structure: The tower stands 14 stories tall and contains 154 units.

 

In recent years, the building has faced significant maintenance challenges, including issues with mold and sewage, leading to reports of residents being required to relocate for extensive repairs.

 

Demolition Plans: A demolition contract was awarded to RUDG Harry Cain, LLC (a subsidiary of Related Group). The total estimated cost for demolition and site clearance is approximately $11.6 million.

 

Land Swap: Under the proposed agreement, Miami-Dade County will convey the cleared Harry Cain site to MDC. In exchange, the college will provide the county with a 28,500-square-foot parking lot located at 200 NE 3rd Street.

 

Future Redevelopment

Miami Dade College Site: MDC plans to incorporate the parcel into its Wolfson Campus. While specific building plans haven't been finalized, officials have expressed interest in using the site for student and workforce housing.

 

Former Residents: The building's 154 units of public housing are being replaced elsewhere. Many former residents were relocated to Sawyer’s Walk in Overtown, a massive mixed-use development that opened in 2024 with dedicated units for low-income seniors.

 

Credit for the data above is given to the following websites:

www.google.com/search?q=who+was+the+architect+of+448+ocea...

www.google.com/search?q=the+harry+cain+building+miami&amp...

apps.miamidadepa.gov/PropertySearch/#/?address=448%20ocea...

www.google.com/search?q=what+is+the+architectural+style+o...

 

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