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"The Insect World, the Planets True Heroes" Just happily helping the planet to survive .. no drilling for oil or arguing about wealth.
NOTE: I'm moving this pic and text (from one year ago) up in time, in honor of Vasquez Day - since a lot of my contacts who have added me since then might not have seen it. I was going to upload something new to my joint account with Sion, but this post pretty much says everything. This is my 19th Vasquez Day, which means half of my life now! :-D
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“What the hell is Vasquez Day???,” you ask?
Well Vasquez Day is the anniversary of the day I fell off a cliff and broke my spine -- which was 18 years ago today (I was 19 at the time, so almost half my life ago).
When the accident happened, the doctors said I would never walk again -- but I managed to prove them wrong, and a year later I WAS walking again with the help of forearm crutches like you see here. I still use them today -- never around home, but I always have them with me when I’m outside, to help me walk a bit faster and more balanced.
And ever since my accident, I’ve been celebrating the anniversary of it every year.
“Why would you celebrate such a tragic event, Anton?” you ask?
Well, while it may have seemed tragic that day, I can only see my accident as one of the best things that’s ever happened to me now. Besides giving me a dramatically different outlook on life, where I always look at the positive side of things (instead of the negative, which I used to), the accident also triggered a happy chain of events that has led me to where I am today.
If I hadn’t broken my back, I wouldn’t have met a certain friend, who would not have brought me to a certain party, where I would not have met a certain person I would spend the next nine years of my life with (and who is still one of my BEST friends today), and he would not have gotten a job in my favorite city in the world (NYC) and brought me with him, which meant I would never have gotten MY dream job at DC Comics, and most-likely would never have made the trip to Spain either where I met the love of my life, Sion.
NONE of these amazing things (among countless others too long to get into here) would have happened if I hadn’t fallen off a cliff 18 years ago. If it hadn’t happened, I would probably still be miserable in L.A. (sorry any Angelinos here, but I loathe that city), and I’d be quite unhappy with life. Yeah, I know what you’re going to say -- maybe in a different reality, where I hadn’t fallen off a cliff, I would win the lottery instead and be even happier. But that’s just not possible. I wouldn’t change the way my life has happened one bit. I would never give up the personal changes I went through, or the city I now live in, or the job I now have, or the friends I’ve made since, and, most especially, my dear Sion, for the chance to walk “normally” again.
Not in a million years. ;-)
“But…you never explained why it’s called ‘Vasquez Day,’ Anton!!” I hear you say…
Oh, that.
It’s named after the place where I fell, Vasquez Rocks -- a beautiful rock park where a lot of movies and TV shows are filmed (it was "Bedrock" in the Flintstones movie). The rock formations, which jut upwards in a unique diagonal fashion, are a result of being on the San Andreas fault. So basically, a trauma (to the Earth) brought forth something beautiful and unique. That’s kind of how I like to view my own “trauma” that happened there, and the path my life took because of it…
(Oh -- and Happy Easter, Passover, and whatever other holiday you might celebrate too!)
Taken with a Panasonic DMC-FS5
At home.
Please check out my joint Flickr account that I have with Sion Fullana.
And be sure to follow me on Twitter
At this time I would like to take a moment to give a Very Special Tribute to My Late Father and the many other Outstanding Military Fathers, Mothers, Sisters & Brothers who have unselfishly given & devoted their lives to the service of our country. The #TrueHeroes we should all Honor today, Memorial Day & Every Day! I salute you & may God Bless the Red, White & Blue Forever. AMEN_
Narayanganj, Bangladesh, 2011.
The monster of fire is fed with tons of iron...
Ambient temperature frequently rises above the boiling point of water.
Molten iron flows like a glass of water.
Noxious gases grip the lungs...
..Sometimes, to experience Hell, a physical death is not necessary.
Captured from a steel re-rolling mill in Narayanganj, Bangladesh. The workers are feeding iron to the monster hearth.
Dhaka, Bangladesh, 2009.
A nation's true heroes always remain behind the curtain.
The black curtain, created by us.
We, those who fear hard work.
....those who income millions a day signing some papers.
Who become very tired after one hour of work.
..............we are those demons, devouring their flesh and blood and calling them bastards because they don't know how to behave.
We know who are the true builders of a nation, yet ignore it.
Captured from Dhaka, Bangladesh.
All rights reserved worldwide. DO NOT use this image in any commercial, non-commercial or blogging purpose without my explicit permission. Otherwise, you'll face legal action for violating national or international copyright law.
For permission, mail me at:
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Back in 2011, I started collecting 1/18 scale military after having purchased a few Hasbro Indiana Jones sets. The collection quickly grew as I migrated from Indiana Jones to Ultimate Soldier/21 Century figures and vehicles. Power Team Elite/World Peacekeepers provided the perfect accessory sets including the building in the background. Custom decals printed on a color printer added the finishing touches to a few of the vehicles, tower, and fuel drums. I hope this image provides you Joe and 1/18 fans an inspiration in combining different brands in a single tabletop display. Enjoy!
Narayanganj, Bangladesh, 2011.
Contrary to the popular belief...
True heroes are always unseen, unsung.
..We are too afraid to accept the fact, so we turn our back towards them.
A door with lockable turning hatch swings downward when open. Two of three port holes are pictured to the right of the open hatch. The camo section partially seen above is removable for hull access.
1/18 scale
Featuring Ultimate Soldier/21st Century, Bravo Team, Power Team Elite, Indiana Jones, and True Heroes.
“It would take desperate men indeed to try to run a submarine through the Fjords with its tricky channels and the danger of falling ice.” - Professor Ericson (House of the 7 Gargoyles)
1/32 scale
"My duty as an officer is no longer to save my country, but to save human lives." -Col. Claus von Stauffenberg (Valkyrie)
This 23" x 43" 1/32 scale toy soldier tabletop battleground provides a lot of unwinding and relaxation as I place the mostly die cast metal vehicles and figures in various scenes to create the art of the battlefield. Did you enjoy playing with early Marx army men as a kid? This takes that play to a higher level in the form of collecting and placing much more detailed and more-to-scale vehicles on the tabletop mat.
I've slowly been replacing all my plastic figures and vehicles with die cast metal in an "upgrading fashion". From reissued molded-in-color Marx sets and artillery to Ultimate Soldier plastic vehicles, many of the newer items are now metal Forces of Valor vehicles and Oryon figures, thus the limited number of soldiers in the scene. Hope you enjoy and share your thoughts on adult tabletop play.
Notes have been added to identify each item and brand on the mat.
Oh ya! That's a removable control console that can be attached to the front section of the spacious hull. Now we just need more men for ultimate underwater attack. Need to go find Ace!
Dhamrai, Bangladesh, 2011.
You are civilized, indeed.
But have you ever thought about the constant sources of the ingredients that make our world a civilized one?
Captured during an industrial shoot in a paper mill in Dhamrai, Bangladesh.
A while back, Robot Galaxy had this thing with Toys R Us that was a kind of robot variation on Build-A-Bear. Several robot designs served as starting points for customs that could be made by swapping around the various components. One of the optional pieces was a motorized wheeled unit that could replace the legs of the robot. I found one of those wheel units at a thrift store and figured it could be a pretty neat vehicle on its own.
The driver is a Chap Mei Stellar Force Trooper. The spaceman on foot is from the Toys R Us True Heroes L.A.S.E.R. Squad.
Ultimate Soldier, Forces of Valor, CTS, and BMC to name a few; in the style of an old Marx playset - 1/32 scale. Older image/diorama recently photo-edited. This was a fun one!
Probably my favorite of the Ultimate Soldier / 21st Century 1/32 scale collection, this Panzer III is a fun little tank. Rolling treads, moving turret, and hatches that open, one can re-create numerous DAK N. Africa scenes with the Panzer III. As Lloyd Bridges stated in Death Race / State of Division (1973 made-for-TV movie), "she will see us through anything".
True Heroes Fast Attack Vehicle jeep drives out from the lowered rear ramp of a Chap Mei helo (Chinook?). A Mk 19 AGL (from BBI) is also mounted on the hood of the jeep.
Whatever pros and cons there are, this is the strangest thing about the Mega Bloks True Heroes weapons. While the large artillery look great to me, these smaller weapons only look good from one side.
The circle you see on these though does snap to a stud. Personally, I'd rather see it as a small peg that would fit into the hole on a figure's back. That would actually be pretty awesome.
There's no stud on the back of the figures though, so that really limits the usefulness of these guns. Your build has to have them angled to one side only unless you want to see the big hole!
Bebs