{Photo is of the statue of Dr Thomas Guthrie, Edinburgh, Scotland.}

 

Often while traveling, I find statues memorializing people about whom I know nothing.

 

In an effort to learn more about the people and culture of the places I visit, sometimes, when my curiosity is piqued, I take a photo of the statue with the intent of researching the individual after the conclusion of my trip.

 

Such is the case with this statue of Dr. Guthrie. Here is what I learned:

 

According to information I found posted on the "Relatively Scottish" website {see link below}, "Dr. Thomas Guthrie was a Victorian minister and philanthropist who established the Edinburgh Original Ragged Industrial Schools in 1847 to educate some of the destitute children found on the city streets. Over time the schools evolved, coming into the state education system around 1920 and later becoming ‘approved schools’ for the care of juvenile offenders and children requiring protection."

 

While all of that sounds wonderful and explains why the city of Edinburgh erected a statue to honor and memorialize the man, as with all human endeavors, for every "good" action there seems always and inevitably to be a correspondingly equal and opposite "bad" one.

 

In the case of Dr. Guthrie, whose intentions were clearly altruistic and most certainly resulted in improving the lives of many destitute children, I learned, however, that many of the children who ended up in one of the "Edinburgh Original Ragged Industrial Schools" were sexually, emotionally, and/or physically abused by teachers and staff members.

 

I don't understand this dark side of being human.

 

Why is it that when entrusted with the care of -- and given an opportunity to protect, nurture, and mentor -- vulnerable children, so many, many, many people choose instead to exploit them in such horrific and permanently disabling ways?

 

I don't understand.

 

In this age of uncovering and including in our histories a broader, more accurate, and more inclusive view of past events, I wish the city of Edinburgh would erect a statue next to the one of Dr. Guthrie to memorialize all the children who were victimized in his schools by those who were supposed to help them.

 

We need to be able to learn from the good as well as from the bad.

 

For more information go to: relativelyscottish.com/dr-guthries-schools-edinburgh/

 

2022MAR20 SLYNNLEE-2117

Austrian postcard by Iris Verlag, no. 5316. Photo: Universal-Film.

 

Blonde and utterly beautiful Mary Nolan (1902-1948) appeared on stage, on screen, and most of all in the tabloids. After a 'sex scandal', she fled to Germany where she starred in 17 silent films under her real name, Imogene Robertson.

 

Mary Nolan was born Mary Imogene Robertson in Louisville, Kentucky, U.S. in 1902 (according to Wikipedia and 1905 according to IMDb). She was one of five children born to Africanus and Viola Robertson. Her mother died of cancer at the age of 46. Unable to care for five young children, Africanus Robertson placed Mary in a foster home. She eventually went to live in a Catholic orphanage in Missouri where she earned the nickname 'Bubbles'. The beautiful blonde arrived broke in New York in 1919. Eve Golden at Films of the Golden Age: "She really was breathtaking with her perfect bone structure, a cloud of thick blonde hair, and china-blue eyes. It wasn't long before Mary got work as an artist's model for such big shots as James Montgomery Flagg and Arthur William Brown." Famous Broadway producer Oliver Morosco launched her stage career in the choruses of Daffy Dill and Lady Butterfly (1923). Bubbles proved to be a Jazz-Age baby and a party girl by nature. Florenz Ziegfeld Jr. signed her up for his Follies shows on Broadway. As a showgirl, she performed under the stage name Imogene 'Bubbles' Wilson. For the next several years, she started a violent love/hate relationship with Ziegfeld comedian Frank Tinney. Tinney was married to the comedy star Edna Davenport. Tinney set Mary up in a West 72nd Street apartment and showered her with expensive gifts, but he also showered her with bruises, both physical and emotional. The abusive affair stirred up a major sex scandal in 1924. The tabloids exposed the tumultuous relationship when Mary was seriously hospitalised after one of their many arguments. Mary was fired by Ziegfeld and set sail for France where she was scheduled to appear in vaudeville. She made her way to London in October where she reunited with Frank Tinney. By December 1924, Tinney had resumed drinking and began to physically abuse her again. In early 1925, Nolan finally ended the relationship. She then travelled to Germany where she began to work in the film industry under the new stage name Imogene Robertson. Her first German film was Verborgene Gluten/Hidden Fires (Einar Bruun, 1925) with Alphons Fryland. Later that year, she appeared in the title role of Die Feuertänzerin (Robert Dinesen, 1925) for the Ufa. She received good reviews for her work in the film which prompted the Ufa to offer her a contract for $1500 a week. Nolan worked steadily in Germany from 1925 to 1927 and continued to receive favourable reviews for her acting. Her best-known films include the mystery Das Parfüm der Mrs. Worrington/The Parfum of Mrs. Worrington (Franz Seitz, 1925) with Ernst Reicher as detective Stuart Webbs, Das süße Mädel/The sweet girl (Manfred Noa, 1926) with Nils Asther, and the drama Die Abenteuer eines Zehnmarkscheines/The adventures of a 10-mark note (Berthold Viertel, 1926).

 

While in Germany, Imogene Robertson received offers from Hollywood producers to appear in American films but turned them down. She finally relented after Joseph M. Schenck offered her a contract with United Artists. She returned to the United States in January 1927. To solve the problem of audiences connecting her with her scandalous past, United Artists suggested she change her name to Mary Nolan. For United Artists, she appeared in an uncredited bit part in Topsy and Eva (Del Lord, 1927), and a supporting role in Sorrell and Son (Herbert Brenon, 1927). In 1928, Nolan was signed to Universal Pictures. Her first film for the company was Good Morning, Judge (William A. Seiter, 1928), starring Reginald Denny for which she received good reviews. Universal loaned her out to Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer for West of Zanzibar (Tod Browning, 1928), about the vengefulness of a cuckolded magician (Lon Chaney) paralysed in a brawl with his rival (Lionel Barrymore). Nolan played Chaney's defiled daughter Maizie. The film was a hit and Nolan received favourable reviews for her work in the film. The following year, she was loaned to MGM again for the romantic drama Desert Nights (William Nigh, 1929), with John Gilbert. Two thieves (Noland and Ernest Torrence) victimize a diamond mine and kidnap its manager (Gilbert), but he gains the upper hand (and falls in love with Nolan) when they flee into the hostile desert. Desert Nights was another financial success and served to boost Nolan's career. Shortly after signing with Universal in 1927, Nolan had begun a relationship with another married man, studio executive Eddie Mannix. Mannix used his clout to further Nolan's career and was responsible for her loan outs to MGM. Shortly after Desert Nights was released in 1929, Mannix abruptly ended the relationship. This angered Nolan who threatened to tell Mannix's wife Bernice of their affair. Mannix became enraged and beat her unconscious. Nolan was hospitalised for six months and required fifteen surgeries to repair damage Mannix inflicted on her abdomen. While hospitalized, Nolan was prescribed morphine for pain. She eventually became addicted which contributed to the decline of her career. In the Universal production Young Desire (Lew Collins, 1930), Nolan plays Helen Herbert aka 'La Belle Helene', a carnival sideshow dancer. She falls in love with wealthy, wet-behind-the-ears Bobby Spencer who whisks her off to his hometown of Spencerville and stakes her to an apartment and a job. But Helen's sordid past catches up with her... By then, Nolan's acting career had begun to decline due to her drug abuse and reputation for being temperamental. She was fired from the film What Men Want (1930). Nolan got into an argument with the film's director, Ernst Laemmle after she learned she was the only cast member who hadn't received a close-up shot. Laemmle banned Nolan from the set and she was subsequently fired. After threatening to file a lawsuit against Universal, the studio bought her out of her contract in January 1931. She married stock broker Wallace T. McCreary on 29 March 1931. One week before they married, McCreary lost $3 million on bad investments. The couple used McCreary's remaining money to open a dress shop in Beverly Hills. The shop went out of business within months and Nolan filed for bankruptcy in August 1931. Nolan divorced McCreary in July 1932. After her exit from Universal, she was unable to secure film work with any of the major studios. Nolan spent the remainder of her acting career appearing in roles in low-budget films for independent studios. She made her final film appearances in File 113 (Chester M. Franklin, 1933), for Allied Pictures Corporation. From then on, Nolan appeared in vaudeville and performed in nightclubs and roadhouses around the United States. Later, Mary Nolan suffered several nervous breakdowns and her health declined. She turned to heroin, and it spelt the end. In 1948, she died of cardiac arrest and liver problems (according to IMDb, but Wikipedia writes she died of a barbiturate overdose). Gary Brumburgh at IMDb: "Mary became just one more Hollywood tragedy -- an incredible beauty whose life turned absolutely beastly."

 

Source: Gary Brumburgh (IMDb), Eve Golden (Films of the Golden Age), Thomas Staedeli (Cyranos), Wikipedia and IMDb.

 

And, please check out our blog European Film Star Postcards.

Austrian postcard by Iris-Verlag, no. 5408. Photo: Universal-Film.

 

Blonde and utterly beautiful Mary Nolan (1902–1948) appeared on stage, on screen, and most of all in the tabloids. After a 'sex scandal', she fled to Germany where she starred in 17 silent films under her real name, Imogene Robertson.

 

Mary Nolan was born Mary Imogene Robertson in Louisville, Kentucky, U.S. in 1902 (according to Wikipedia and 1905 according to IMDb). She was one of five children born to Africanus and Viola Robertson. Her mother died of cancer at the age of 46. Unable to care for five young children, Africanus Robertson placed Mary in a foster home. She eventually went to live in a Catholic orphanage in Missouri where she earned the nickname 'Bubbles'. The beautiful blonde arrived broke in New York in 1919. Eve Golden at Films of the Golden Age: "She really was breathtaking with her perfect bone structure, a cloud of thick blonde hair, and china-blue eyes. It wasn't long before Mary got work as an artist's model for such big shots as James Montgomery Flagg and Arthur William Brown." Famous Broadway producer Oliver Morosco launched her stage career in the choruses of Daffy Dill and Lady Butterfly (1923). Bubbles proved to be a Jazz-Age baby and a party girl by nature. Florenz Ziegfeld Jr. signed her up for his Follies shows on Broadway. As a showgirl, she performed under the stage name Imogene 'Bubbles' Wilson. For the next several years, she started a violent love/hate relationship with Ziegfeld comedian Frank Tinney. Tinney was married to the comedy star Edna Davenport. Tinney set Mary up in a West 72nd Street apartment and showered her with expensive gifts, but he also showered her with bruises, both physical and emotional. The abusive affair stirred up a major sex scandal in 1924. The tabloids exposed the tumultuous relationship when Mary was seriously hospitalised after one of their many arguments. Mary was fired by Ziegfeld and set sail for France where she was scheduled to appear in vaudeville. She made her way to London in October where she reunited with Frank Tinney. By December 1924, Tinney had resumed drinking and began to physically abuse her again. In early 1925, Nolan finally ended the relationship. She then travelled to Germany where she began to work in the film industry under the new stage name Imogene Robertson. Her first German film was Verborgene Gluten/Hidden Fires (Einar Bruun, 1925) with Alphons Fryland. Later that year, she appeared in the title role of Die Feuertänzerin (Robert Dinesen, 1925) for the Ufa. She received good reviews for her work in the film which prompted the Ufa to offer her a contract for $1500 a week. Nolan worked steadily in Germany from 1925 to 1927 and continued to receive favourable reviews for her acting. Her best-known films include the mystery Das Parfüm der Mrs. Worrington/The Parfum of Mrs. Worrington (Franz Seitz, 1925) with Ernst Reicher as detective Stuart Webbs, Das süße Mädel/The sweet girl (Manfred Noa, 1926) with Nils Asther, and the drama Die Abenteuer eines Zehnmarkscheines/The adventures of a 10-mark note (Berthold Viertel, 1926).

 

While in Germany, Imogene Robertson received offers from Hollywood producers to appear in American films but turned them down. She finally relented after Joseph M. Schenck offered her a contract with United Artists. She returned to the United States in January 1927. To solve the problem of audiences connecting her with her scandalous past, United Artists suggested she change her name to Mary Nolan. For United Artists, she appeared in an uncredited bit part in Topsy and Eva (Del Lord, 1927), and a supporting role in Sorrell and Son (Herbert Brenon, 1927). In 1928, Nolan was signed to Universal Pictures. Her first film for the company was Good Morning, Judge (William A. Seiter, 1928), starring Reginald Denny for which she received good reviews. Universal loaned her out to Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer for West of Zanzibar (Tod Browning, 1928), about the vengefulness of a cuckolded magician (Lon Chaney) paralysed in a brawl with his rival (Lionel Barrymore). Nolan played Chaney's defiled daughter Maizie. The film was a hit and Nolan received favourable reviews for her work in the film. The following year, she was loaned to MGM again for the romantic drama Desert Nights (William Nigh, 1929), with John Gilbert. Two thieves (Noland and Ernest Torrence) victimize a diamond mine and kidnap its manager (Gilbert), but he gains the upper hand (and falls in love with Nolan) when they flee into the hostile desert. Desert Nights was another financial success and served to boost Nolan's career. Shortly after signing with Universal in 1927, Nolan had begun a relationship with another married man, studio executive Eddie Mannix. Mannix used his clout to further Nolan's career and was responsible for her loan outs to MGM. Shortly after Desert Nights was released in 1929, Mannix abruptly ended the relationship. This angered Nolan who threatened to tell Mannix's wife Bernice of their affair. Mannix became enraged and beat her unconscious. Nolan was hospitalised for six months and required fifteen surgeries to repair damage Mannix inflicted on her abdomen. While hospitalized, Nolan was prescribed morphine for pain. She eventually became addicted which contributed to the decline of her career. In the Universal production Young Desire (Lew Collins, 1930), Nolan plays Helen Herbert aka 'La Belle Helene', a carnival sideshow dancer. She falls in love with wealthy, wet-behind-the-ears Bobby Spencer who whisks her off to his hometown of Spencerville and stakes her to an apartment and a job. But Helen's sordid past catches up with her... By then, Nolan's acting career had begun to decline due to her drug abuse and reputation for being temperamental. She was fired from the film What Men Want (1930). Nolan got into an argument with the film's director, Ernst Laemmle after she learned she was the only cast member who hadn't received a close-up shot. Laemmle banned Nolan from the set and she was subsequently fired. After threatening to file a lawsuit against Universal, the studio bought her out of her contract in January 1931. She married stock broker Wallace T. McCreary on 29 March 1931. One week before they married, McCreary lost $3 million on bad investments. The couple used McCreary's remaining money to open a dress shop in Beverly Hills. The shop went out of business within months and Nolan filed for bankruptcy in August 1931. Nolan divorced McCreary in July 1932. After her exit from Universal, she was unable to secure film work with any of the major studios. Nolan spent the remainder of her acting career appearing in roles in low-budget films for independent studios. She made her final film appearances in File 113 (Chester M. Franklin, 1933), for Allied Pictures Corporation. From then on, Nolan appeared in vaudeville and performed in nightclubs and roadhouses around the United States. Later, Mary Nolan suffered several nervous breakdowns and her health declined. She turned to heroin, and it spelt the end. In 1948, she died of cardiac arrest and liver problems (according to IMDb, but Wikipedia writes she died of a barbiturate overdose). Gary Brumburgh at IMDb: "Mary became just one more Hollywood tragedy -- an incredible beauty whose life turned absolutely beastly."

 

Source: Gary Brumburgh (IMDb), Eve Golden (Films of the Golden Age), Thomas Staedeli (Cyranos), Wikipedia and IMDb.

 

And, please check out our blog European Film Star Postcards.

“4 Mile March, We March for Justice, We March for Our Communities”: Martin Luther King Jr. Day: In Memory of the Stolen Lives: 14th Street and Union Square Park West and Foley Square, New York City, New York, Monday, January 19, 2015.

 

Sign reads: "Angry pacifist".

Image of a male YELLOW WARBLER looking for food to feed the big cowbird chick !

 

View Large Size.

 

Female cowbirds laid eggs on other species' nest....The cowbird chicks grow quickly, and may consume most of the food the host brings. If starvation does not kill the other birds, in some species the cowbird will use its large size to push the other chicks out of the nest......Wikipedia.

 

Nature has witnessed so many bizarre behaviors in animals. Cuckoo chicks are interlopers in the nests of other species, and they can be seen being frantically fed by their unwitting foster parents. You therefore wonder : why does crow expend so much energy raising offsprings of another species? Or, why haven’t a clever species, such as crow victimized by the cuckoo, evolved some form of defense against this nest parasitism?

But parasitism may not always be costly. Large cuckoos also parasitize carrion crows, but, as crow chicks are much larger than cuckoos, they are never out-competed. Crow parents always manage to raise a few young of their own. For other species like magpies, warblers etc. parasitism is too costly. For crows it is less so..

However, 16 years of observations has recently been published in the March 21, 2014 issue of Science, one of the most prestigious journals. Mysteries have now been unraveled. Daniela Canestrari, the chief investigator says that crows do not defend themselves because they actually get benefited of having a cuckoo in the nest. The study shows that nests containing cuckoos produce more crow chicks than those without. Why???

When disturbed, great spotted cuckoo chicks emit copious amounts of a sticky, smelly substance. The authors tested the novel hypothesis that this stinky substance deters predators from the nest. If cats and hawks were given tasty pieces of chicken meat that were smeared with the cuckoo’s excretion, these typical nest predators were repelled. This indicates that the cuckoo’s excretion is a very powerful defense mechanism, likely to save both cuckoo and crow chicks from the predators. So although crows appear to be behaving generously toward cuckoos, they are in fact still selfish—they tolerate cuckoos because of the benefit they provide their own young.

(Science, 2014. DOI: 10.1126/science.1249008) .

  

[ If you are interested see this movie from YouTube (www.youtube.com/watch?v=4Mb0GOITRUU )]

  

Lens used : Nikon 18-105.

 

Stranded in the slums, in these interminable raws of old buildings,

Simmering poverty and abandonment were my only allies

In this already lost war.

Son of a mother with wandering eyes, and dreams fixed in the impossible.

Dragging my existence through these stinking spotted floors,

Always cold in winter, and living through suffocating heat

When the days are long. Don''t know my father,

And never felt the arms and warmth of a human cave,

I used my dreams as favorite toys, but they broke to no avail.

Born to baby souls and bodies.

Unaccompanied city butterflies victimized in the cage of ignorace,

And then, I was given away thrown to the jaws of oblivion,

Lost in these country cells they call foster homes, I own no shoes,

no clothes, no bed, no memories, and inspire no love or gentleness.

Tomorrow, I''m told, I''ll be going to a worse and smaller place.

For luggage: desperation, anxiety, horror of being physically abused,

Tonight I''ll revisit the nightmares,

The faded images of my brothers and sisters whom I ever knew that well

I''ll cry under the borrowed sheets,

And I will say goodbye to screams melted on the walls.

I''ll take with me, though, my only true possession,

My hope to turn adult tomorrow.

 

Nico De Anda

Artist/maker: George Nelson

Culture: Kwakwaka'wakw

Materials: Cedar wood. Paint, Iron metal. Adhesive

Subjects:

Slaves, Killer whales

Date Made: c. 1906

Date Acquired: 1956

How Acquired: Transferred

Measurements: Part d: 4 m x 1.1 m

Place made: Canada: British Columbia, Quatsino; Xwatis

Location: Great Hall / Crossroads

Object Number: A50009 d

Museum of Anthropology

University of British Columbia

  

About this object

 

History of use

 

The beams and figures stood as part of a house frame, and acted as structural supports. Figures represented on house frames were supernatural beings which the family living in the house had the right, through their history and origins, to represent.

 

Narrative

 

Klix’ken Gukwdzi, or Sea-Lion House, was built sometime around 1906. Like other houses in the village it had a modern exterior with milled-lumber front and windows. Yet it also featured carved sea-lion posts supporting the boardwalk, and inside, a monumental post-and-beam structure with carved and painted house posts, beams, and other symbols of the family’s history. Klix’ken House was the last old-style dwelling erected in Xwatis as a home for an extended family or lineage—and probably one of the last built on the entire coast.

 

Cultural context

 

Status

 

Iconographic meaning

 

Slaves were captured members of other Northwest Coast groups.

  

Physical description

 

Part of interior house frame (also see records a-c and g-h). The large wooden human figure (part d) is carved in high relief in a seated position. It is painted with a killer whale on its chest and broken coppers on both arms. In between his hands and below the killer whale is a small white face. The head is large, has a protruding nose and mouth, large carved eyes and is heavily decorated with yellow, white and black Northwest Coast stylized designs. Before the figure stands a wooden platform or seat supported by two kneeling slave figures (parts e-f), with unusual grimacing faces. Both figures have their outside arm rested on the ground while the other is turned backwards as if to support the seat that rests on their backs. Their eyes and bared teeth are carved in shallow relief while the rest of their face is carved in high relief. Their arms and upper body are painted green with black rings around the wrist and forearm. Their faces are painted green, white and black with Northwest Coast stylized designs.

 

Museum photos: collection-online.moa.ubc.ca/search/item?keywords=a50009&...

 

Slavery

This monumental house post was part of the internal frame of Sea-Lion House, the last traditional-style lineage dwelling built in the village of Xwatis, around 1906. The central seated figure—painted with crest imagery including a killer whale and broken coppers—rests above a platform supported by two crouching slave figures. Their exaggerated grimaces, twisted limbs, and burdened posture reflect the brutal social reality of hereditary slavery on the Northwest Coast. This is not symbolic—it is literal social commentary carved in wood.

 

Slavery in Kwakwaka’wakw and neighboring Indigenous societies—Tlingit, Haida, Tsimshian, Nuu-chah-nulth—was an ancient, normalized institution. It dates back at least 2,500 years, likely much earlier, and was interwoven into kinship, economy, and status systems. The boundaries of the tradition extended along the entire Northwest Coast from the Columbia River to Southeast Alaska, including the coastlines and islands of British Columbia and parts of Washington State.

 

Slaves were captives taken during warfare or raiding, often from rival groups farther inland or up and down the coast. Over time, their status became hereditary: the children of slaves were born into bondage. Estimates vary, but 10–25% of the population in some Northwest Coast societies may have been enslaved—a figure comparable to or even exceeding that of classical Greece or the American South before emancipation.

 

Slaves were traded among high-ranking families, given as gifts, or redistributed in potlatch ceremonies, where public displays of wealth and hierarchy were enacted. Though not the primary economic engine, slave labor was integral to building houses, gathering food, processing materials, and assisting in ceremonial life.

 

There is evidence of ritual human sacrifice, particularly during high-ranking funerals and potlatches, where slaves might be killed to accompany a chief to the spirit world, or as offerings to supernatural beings. Such acts, though rare, reinforced the sacred and absolute authority of lineage heads. A notable recorded case describes the slow killing of a slave during the carving of a canoe, to transfer spiritual power to the object.

 

This post, made in the early 20th century, reflects a moment of cultural persistence under increasing colonial pressure. Though slavery had been outlawed by British and later Canadian authorities in the mid-19th century, the memory and meaning of the institution endured in ceremonial and artistic contexts. The figures here are not satirical. They are assertions of hereditary status and power, preserved in wood even as the old social order began to erode.

 

The reality of slavery among Indigenous societies—especially in the Pacific Northwest—poses a significant challenge to the sentimental or romanticized myth of pre-contact North America as a peaceful, egalitarian Eden undone solely by European colonialism.

 

This myth—promoted most often by well-meaning non-Indigenous individuals in settler or progressive circles—paints Indigenous peoples as spiritually superior, ecologically harmonious, and socially just in all respects. While this impulse may stem from guilt, admiration, or a desire to offer reparative narrative space, it too often flattens the complexities of Indigenous cultures and replaces one form of distortion with another.

🌿 The Problem with the "Noble Savage" Redux

 

This myth echoes the old "noble savage" trope, just updated for modern political sensibilities. In this version:

 

European colonists bring hierarchy, violence, gender inequality, greed, and ecological destruction;

 

Indigenous societies are cast as egalitarian, peaceful, and wise stewards of the land, free from coercion, patriarchy, or internal violence;

 

The existence of practices like slavery, ritual killing, raiding, and class stratification complicate or outright contradict that image.

 

In the Pacific Northwest, many Indigenous groups—particularly the Kwakwaka’wakw, Haida, Tlingit, and Tsimshian—developed complex, hierarchical, and materially affluent societies long before contact. These societies included:

 

Hereditary slavery on a large scale;

 

Social classes (nobility, commoners, slaves);

 

Warfare and raiding for captives and territory;

 

Ritual violence, including human sacrifice in some elite funerary and potlatch contexts;

 

Accumulation and symbolic destruction of wealth (e.g., coppers, blankets) as forms of status display and social competition.

 

None of this diminishes the brilliance or richness of these cultures—it simply acknowledges that power, exploitation, and inequality are human universals, not colonial inventions.

 

⚖️ The Danger of Utopianism

 

Romanticizing Indigenous societies erases:

 

The real ethical complexity of their histories;

 

The agency Indigenous people have always exercised—even when that included perpetuating internal systems of dominance;

 

The lived reality of Indigenous descendants of slaves, who still exist and whose identities complicate claims of cultural unity or purity.

 

It also distorts the moral landscape: if Indigenous cultures are idealized as perfect, then their suffering at colonial hands is treated not as a tragedy affecting real societies, but as the shattering of a fantasy. That is its own form of erasure.

 

What the House Post Tells Us

 

The 1906 house post you shared is not just an artwork—it’s a memory structure. It remembers lineage power, supernatural legitimacy, and a society where enslavement was normalized and ritually inscribed.

 

To take that seriously is not to diminish the culture—it’s to respect it enough not to lie about it.

 

🔎 1. Are descendants of slaves aware of their status?

 

Yes—in many cases, they are. Within some families and communities, ancestry linked to slavery is remembered, sometimes as oral history, sometimes as an open secret, and occasionally as a source of intra-community stigma that lingers to this day.

 

Slavery on the Northwest Coast was hereditary, and although it was officially abolished in the 19th century under colonial law, its social residues persisted, including in marriage eligibility, ceremonial roles, and internal status hierarchies.

 

In the words of several Indigenous scholars and community members, some descendants of enslaved people were, and sometimes still are, considered "lesser" or outside full hereditary status, particularly in contexts where lineage and clan descent remain important.

 

This creates a difficult legacy: some descendants of slaves are aware of that heritage, but there is also silence and discomfort, both due to shame and due to the fact that this internal history challenges the dominant narrative of Indigenous solidarity and external victimization.

 

2. Is there a movement to atone for or reckon with slavery?

 

There is no widespread, organized movement for atonement within Pacific Northwest Indigenous communities on the scale of, say, post-apartheid truth commissions or American university reckonings with slavery. However, there are pockets of discussion and acknowledgment emerging, especially among:

 

Younger Indigenous scholars, artists, and historians who are asking questions about internal power structures, the legacy of hereditary hierarchy, and the place of descendants of slaves within modern tribal identity;

 

Cultural revitalization movements, particularly those tied to potlatch, crest rights, and clan inheritance, where these histories must be confronted in order to authentically revive ceremonial practices;

 

Anthropological and museum settings, where Indigenous curators and collaborators are being forthright about what carvings (like the house post you showed) actually depict and how they should be interpreted.

 

That said, this is still a difficult conversation. In many communities, talking openly about historical slavery is seen as divisive, and in some cases, as airing internal matters to settler audiences, which carries a risk of misunderstanding or co-option.

 

️Indigenous Voices on the Topic

 

A few Indigenous scholars and thinkers who have touched on or addressed this history include:

 

Dr. Sarah Hunt (Tłaliłila’ogwa, Kwagu’ł) – who has written about Indigenous belonging, hierarchy, and the limits of unity narratives.

 

Marianne Ignace and Ronald Ignace – whose ethnohistorical work includes accounts of social hierarchy and enslaved peoples among the Secwépemc and other Interior and coastal nations.

 

Chief Robert Joseph (Kwakwaka’wakw) – while not focused on slavery per se, has spoken of the importance of truth-telling and internal healing in reconciliation.

 

⚖️ Final Thought

 

There’s no denying the power and beauty of Northwest Coast Indigenous cultures, but part of respecting them is recognizing that they, like all human cultures, contain contradictions, hierarchies, and histories of internal injustice. The story of slavery—its memory, its erasure, and its unresolved legacies—is one of those.

 

So while no formal atonement movement exists, the conversation has begun—and will likely deepen as Indigenous communities continue the work of cultural truth-telling on their own terms.

 

While slavery in the PNW and in the American South involved human bondage, PNW slavery was status-based, limited in scale, and embedded in kinship and prestige economies, whereas Southern slavery was racialized, industrialized, and ideologically justified for economic exploitation. The psychological, economic, and political aftershocks of American chattel slavery have been far more profound and enduring.

  

This text is a collaboration with Chat GPT.

 

©All photographs on this site are copyright: ©DESPITE STRAIGHT LINES (Paul Williams) 2011 – 2021 & GETTY IMAGES ®

  

No license is given nor granted in respect of the use of any copyrighted material on this site other than with the express written agreement of ©DESPITE STRAIGHT LINES (Paul Williams). No image may be used as source material for paintings, drawings, sculptures, or any other art form without permission and/or compensation to ©DESPITE STRAIGHT LINES (Paul Williams)

  

.

.

Unashamedly I will shout it from the rooftops.

  

I LOVE CARRION CROW.

   

There, I've said it. Words I use to describe these amazing birds would include stunning, beautiful, bold, magnificent, intelligent and fantastic, loving, tender, victimized...... oh yes, and sometimes they can be brutal (Let's face it, Mother nature often is).

  

Recently I had a resident pair of Carrion crows who decided that my garden was theirs, playing a game of cat and mouse with a pair of cheeky Magpies (Pica pica) for dominance and food rights. The male crow actually flew in and 'winged' the magpies to make them leave, an incredible sight to witness. It was an honour and a privilege to be able to win their trust and they have given me so much pleasure this year being able to get within a few feet of them, and their three youngsters, to photograph and feed them, and they have reinforced my already deep admiration for a bird that is brimming with beauty, intelligence, confidence and also surrounded by myths, legend and prejudice.

  

So let's begin with a look back over history.

  

LEGEND AND MYTHOLOGY

  

Crows appear in the Bible where Noah uses one to search for dry land and to check on the recession of the flood. Crows supposedly saved the prophet, Elijah, from famine and are an Inuit deity. Legend has it that England and its monarchy will end when there are no more crows in the Tower of London. And some believe that the crows went to the Tower attracted by the regular corpses following executions with written accounts of their presence at the executions of Anne Boleyn and Jane Gray.

  

In Welsh mythology, unfortunately Crows are seen as symbolic of evilness and black magic thanks to many references to witches transforming into crows or ravens and escaping. Indian legend tells of Kakabhusandi, a crow who sits on the branches of a wish-fulfilling tree called Kalpataru and a crow in Ramayana where Lord Rama blessed the crow with the power to foresee future events and communicate with the souls.

  

In Native American first nation legend the crow is sometimes considered to be something of a trickster, though they are also viewed positively by some tribes as messengers between this world and the next where they carry messages from the living to those deceased, and even carry healing medicines between both worlds. There is a belief that crows can foresee the future. The Klamath tribe in Oregon believe that when we die, we fly up to heaven as a crow. The Crow can also signify wisdom to some tribes who believe crows had the power to talk and were therefore considered to be one of the wisest of birds. Tribes with Crow Clans include the Chippewa (whose Crow Clan and its totem are called Aandeg), the Hopi (whose Crow Clan is called Angwusngyam or Ungwish-wungwa), the Menominee, the Caddo, the Tlingit, and the Pueblo tribes of New Mexico.

  

The crow features in the Nanissáanah (Ghost dance), popularized by Jerome Crow Dog, a Brulé Lakota sub-chief and warrior born at Horse Stealing Creek in Montana Territory in 1833, the crow symbolizing wisdom and the past, when the crow had became a guide and acted as a pathfinder during hunting. The Ghost dance movement was originally created in 1870 by Wodziwob, or Gray Hair, a prophet and medicine man of the Paiute tribe in an area that became known as Nevada. Ghost dancers wore crow and eagle feathers in their clothes and hair, and the fact that the Crow could talk placed it as one of the sages of the animal kingdom. The five day dances seeking trance,prophecy and exhortations would eventually play a major part in the pathway towards the white man's broken treaties, the infamous battle at Wounded knee and the surrender of Matȟó Wanáȟtaka (Kicking Bear), after officials began to fear the ghost dancers and rituals which seemed to occur prior to battle.

  

Historically the Vikings are the group who made so many references to the crow, and Ragnarr Loðbrók and his sons used this species in his banner as well as appearances in many flags and coats of arms. Also, it had some kind of association with Odin, one of their main deities. Norse legend tells us that Odin is accompanied by two crows. Hugin, who symbolizes thought, and Munin, who represents a memory. These two crows were sent out each dawn to fly the entire world, returning at breakfast where they informed the Lord of the Nordic gods of everything that went on in their kingdoms. Odin was also referred to as Rafnagud (raven-god). The raven appears in almost every skaldic poem describing warfare.Coins dating back to 940's minted by Olaf Cuaran depict the Viking war standard, the Raven and Viking war banners (Gonfalon) depicted the bird also.

  

In Scandinavian legends, crows are a representative of the Goddess of Death, known as Valkyrie (from old Norse 'Valkyrja'), one of the group of maidens who served the Norse deity Odin, visiting battlefields and sending him the souls of the slain worthy of a place in Valhalla. Odin ( also called Wodan, Woden, or Wotan), preferred that heroes be killed in battle and that the most valiant of souls be taken to Valhöll, the hall of slain warriors. It is the crow that provides the Valkyries with important information on who should go. In Hindu ceremonies that are associated to ancestors, the crow has an important place in Vedic rituals. They are seen as messengers of death in Indian culture too.

  

In Germanic legend, Crows are seen as psychonomes, meaning the act of guiding spirits to their final destination, and that the feathers of a crow could cure a victim who had been cursed. And yet, a lone black crow could symbolize impending death, whilst a group symbolizes a lucky omen! Vikings also saw good omens in the crow and would leave offerings of meat as a token.

  

The crow also has sacred and prophetic meaning within the Celtic civilization, where it stood for flesh ripped off due to combat and Morrighan, the warrior goddess, often appears in Celtic mythology as a raven or crow, or else is found to be in the company of the birds. Crow is sacred to Lugdnum, the Celtic god of creation who gave his name to the city of Lug

  

In Greek mythology according to Appolodorus, Apollo is supposedly responsible for the black feathers of the crow, turning them forever black from their pristine white original plumage as a punishment after they brought news that Κορωνις (Coronis) a princess of the Thessalian kingdom of Phlegyantis, Apollo's pregnant lover had left him to marry a mortal, Ischys. In one legend, Apollo burned the crows feathers and then burned Coronis to death, in another Coronis herself was turned into a black crow, and another that she was slain by the arrows of Αρτεμις (Artemis - twin to Apollo). Koronis was later set amongst the stars as the constellation Corvus ("the Crow"). Her name means "Curved One" from the Greek word korônis or "Crow" from the word korônê.

  

A similar Muslim legend allegedly tells of Muhammad, founder of Islam and the last prophet sent by God to Earth, who's secret location was given away by a white crow to his seekers, as he hid in caves. The crow shouted 'Ghar Ghar' (Cave, cave) and thus as punishment, Muhammad turned the crow black and cursed it for eternity to utter only one phrase, 'Ghar, ghar). Native Indian legend where the once rainbow coloured crows became forever black after shedding their colourful plumage over the other animals of the world.

  

In China the Crow is represented in art as a three legged bird on a solar disk, being a creature that helps the sun in its journey. In Japan there are myths of Crow Tengu who were priests who became vain, and turned into this spirit to serve as messengers until they learn the lesson of humility as well as a great Crow who takes part in Shinto creation stories.

  

In animal spirit guides there are general perceptions of what sightings of numbers of crows actually mean:

  

1 Crow Meaning: To carry a message from your near one who died recently.

 

2 Crows Meaning: Two crows sitting near your home signifies some good news is on your way.

 

3 Crows Meaning: An upcoming wedding in your family.

 

4 Crows Meaning: Symbolizes wealth and prosperity.

 

5 Crows Meaning: Diseases or pain.

 

6 Crows Meaning: A theft in your house!

 

7 Crows Meaning: Denotes travel or moving from your house.

 

8 Crows Meaning: Sorrowful events

  

Crows are generally seen as the symbolism when alive for doom bringing, misfortune and bad omens, and yet a dead crow symbolises potentially bringing good news and positive change to those who see it. This wonderful bird certainly gets a mixed bag of contradictory mythology and legend over the centuries and in modern days is often seen as a bit of a nuisance, attacking and killing the babies of other birds such as Starlings, Pigeons and House Sparrows as well as plucking the eyes out of lambs in the field, being loud and noisy and violently attacking poor victims in a 'crow court'....

  

There is even a classic horror film called 'THE CROW' released in 1994 by Miramax Films, directed by Alex Proyas and starring Brandon Lee in his final film appearance as Eric Draven, who is revived by a Crow tapping on his gravestone a year after he and his fiancée are murdered in Detroit by a street gang. The crow becomes his guide as he sets out to avenge the murders. The only son of martial arts expert Bruce Lee, Brandon lee suffered fatal injuries on the set of the film when the crew failed to remove the primer from a cartridge that hit Lee in the abdomen with the same force as a normal bullet. Lee died that day, March 31st 1993 aged 28.

  

The symbolism of the Crow resurrecting the dead star and accompanying him on his quest for revenge was powerful, and in some part based on the history of the carrion crow itself and the original film grossed more than $94 Million dollars with three subsequent sequels following.

  

TAKING A CLOSER LOOK

  

So let's move away from legend, mythology and stories passed down from our parents and grandparents and look at these amazing birds in isolation.

  

Carrion crow are passerines in the family Corvidae a group of Oscine passerine birds including Crows, Ravens, Rooks, Jackdaws, Jays, Magpies, Treepies, Choughs and Nutcrackers. Technically they are classed as Corvids, and the largest of passerine birds. Carrion crows are medium to large in size with rictal bristles and a single moult per year (most passerines moult twice). Carrion crow was one of the many species originally described by Swedish naturalist Carl Linnaeus (Carl Von Linne after his ennoblement) in his 1758 and 1759 editions of 'SYSTEMA NATURAE', and it still bears its original name of Corvus corone, derived from the Latin of Corvus, meaning Raven and the Greek κορώνη (korōnē), meaning crow.

  

Carrion crow are of the Animalia kingdom Phylum: Chordata Class: Aves Order: Passeriformes Family: Corvidae Genus: Corvus and Species: Corvus corone

  

Corvus corone can reach 45-47cm in length with a 93-104cm wingspan and weigh between 370-650g. They are protected under The Wildlife and Countryside Act 1981 in the United Kingdom with a Green UK conservation status which means they are of least concern with more than 1,000,000 territories. Breeding occurs in April with fledging of the chicks taking around twenty nine days following an incubation period of around twenty days with 3 to 4 eggs being the average norm.

  

They are abundant in the UK apart from Northwest Scotland and Ireland where the Hooded crow (Corvus cornix) was considered the same species until 2002. They have a lifespan of around four years, whilst Crow species can live to the age of Twenty years old, and the oldest known American crow in the wild was almost Thirty years old. The oldest documented captive crow died at age Fifty nine. They are smaller and have a shorter lifespan than the Raven, which again is used as a symbol in history to live life to the full and not waste a moment!

  

They are often mistaken for the Rook (Corvus frugilegus), a similar bird, though in the UK, the Rook is actually technically smaller than the Carrion crow averaging 44-46cm in length, 81-99cm wingspan and weighing up to 340g. Rooks have white beaks compared to the black beaks of Carrion crow, a more steeply raked ratio from head to beak, and longer straighter beaks as well as a different plumage pattern. There are documented cases in the UK of singular and grouped Rooks attacking and killing Carrion crows in their territory. Rooks nest in colonies unlike Carrion crows. Carrion crows have only a few natural enemies including powerful raptors such as the northern goshawk, the peregrine falcon, the Eurasian eagle-owl and the golden eagle which will all readily hunt them.

  

Regarded as one of the most intelligent birds, indeed creatures on the planet, studies suggest that Corvids cognitive abilities can rival that of primates such as chimpanzees and gorillas and even provide clues to understanding human intelligence. Crows have relatively large brains for their body size, compared to other animals. Their encephalization quotient (EQ) a ratio of brain to body size, adjusted for size because there isn’t a linear relationship is 4.1. That is remarkably close to chimps at 4.2 whilst humans are 8.1. Corvids also have a very high neuronal density, the number of neurons per gram of brain, factoring in the number of cortical neurons, neuron packing density, interneuronal distance and axonal conduction velocity shows that Corvids score high on this measure as well, with humans scoring the highest.

  

A corvid's pallium is packed with more neurons than a great ape's. Corvids have demonstrated the ability to use a combination of mental tools such as imagination, and anticipation of future events. They can craft tools from twigs and branches to hook grubs from deep recesses, they can solve puzzles and intricate methods of gaining access to food set by humans., and have even bent pieces of wire into hooks to obtain food. They have been proven to have a higher cognitive ability level than seven year old humans. Communications wise, their repertoire of wraw-wraw's is not fully understood, but the intensity, rhythm, and duration of caws seems to form the basis of a possible language. They also remember the faces of humans who have hindered or hurt them and pass that information on to their offspring.

  

Aesop's fable of 'The Crow and the Pitcher, tells of a thirsty crow which drops stones into a water pitcher to raise the water level and enable it to take a drink. Scientists have conducted tests to see whether crows really are this intelligent. They placed floating treats in a deep tube and observed the crows indeed dropping dense objects carefully selected into the water until the treat floated within reach. They had the intelligence to pick up, weigh and discount objects that would float in the water, they also did not select ones that were too large for the container.

  

Pet crows develop a unique call for their owners, in effect actually naming them. They also know to sunbathe for a dose of vitamin D, regularly settling on wooden garden fences, opening their mouths and wings and raising their heads to the sun. In groups they warn of danger and communicate vocally. They store a cache of food for later if in abundance and are clever enough to move it if they feel it has been discovered. They leave markers for their cache. They have even learned to place walnuts and similar hard food items under car tyres at traffic lights as a means of cracking them!

  

Crows regularly gather around a dead fellow corvid, almost like a funeral, and it is thought they somehow learn from each death. They can even remember human faces for decades.Crows group together to attack larger predators and even steal their food, and they have different dialects in different areas, with the ability to mimic the dialect of the alpha males when they enter their territory!

  

They have a twenty year life span, the oldest on record reaching the age of Fifty nine. Crows can leave gifts for those who feed them such as buttons or bright shiny objects as a thank you, and they even kiss and make up after an argument, having mated for life.

  

In mythology they are associated with good and bad luck, being the bringers of omens and even witchcraft and are generally reviled for their attacks on baby birds and small mammals. They have an attack method of to stunning smaller birds before consuming them, tearing violently at smaller, less aggressive birds, which is simply down to the fact that they are so highly intelligent, and also the top of the food chain. Their diet includes over a thousand different items: Dead animals (as their name suggests), invertebrates, grain, as well as stealing eggs and chicks from other birds' nests, worms, insects, fruit, seeds, kitchen scraps. They are highly adaptable when food sources grow scarce. I absolutely love them, they are magnificent, bold, beautiful and incredibly interesting to watch and though at times it is hard to witness attacks made by them, I cannot help but adore them for so many other and more important reasons.

  

OBSERVATIONS ON THE PAIR IN MY GARDEN

  

Crows have been in the area for a while, but rarely had strayed into my garden, leaving the Magpies to own the territory. Things changed towards the end of May when a beautiful female Carrion crow appeared and began to take some of the food that I put down for the other birds. Within a few days she began to appear regularly, on occasions stocking up on food, whilst other times placing pieces in the birdbath to soften them. She would stand on the birdbath and eat and drink and come back over the course of the day to eat the softened food.

  

Shortly afterwards she brought along her mate, a tall and handsome fella, much larger than her who was also very vocal if he felt she was getting a little too close to me. By now I had moved from a seated position from the patio as an observer, to laying on a mat just five feet from the birdbath with my Nikon so that I could photograph the pair as they landed, scavenged and fed. She was now confident enough to let me be very close, and she even tolerated and recognized the clicking of the camera. At first I used silent mode to reduce the noise but this only allowed two shooting frame rates of single frame or continuous low frame which meant I was missing shots. I reverted back to normal continuous high frames and she soon got used to the whirring of the frames as the mirror slapped back and forth.

  

The big fella would bark orders at her from the safety of the fence or the rear of the garden, whilst she rarely made a sound. That was until one day when in the sweltering heat she kept opening her beak and sunning on the grass, panting slightly in the heat. I placed the circular water sprayer nearby and had it rotating so that the birdbath and grass was bathed in gentle water droplets and she soon came back, landed and seemed to really like the cooling effect on offer. She then climbed onto the birdbath and opened her wings slightly and made some gentle purring, cooing noises....

  

I swear she was expressing happiness, joy....

  

On another blisteringly hot day when the sprayer was on, she came down, walked towards it and opened her wings up running into the water spray. Not once, but many times.

  

A final observation came with the male and female on the rear garden fence. They sat together, locked beaks like a kiss and then the male took his time gently preening her head feathers and the back of her neck as she made tiny happy sounds. They stayed together like that for several minutes, showing a gentle, softer side to their nature and demonstrating the deep bond between them. Into July and the pair started to bring their three youngsters to my garden, the nippers learning to use the birdbath for bathing and dipping food, the parents attentive as ever.

  

I was privileged to be in close attendance as the last juvenile was brought down by the pair, taught to take food and then on a night in July, to soar and fly with it's mother in the evening sky as the light faded. She would swoop and twirl, and at regular intervals just touch the juvenile in flight with her wing tip feathers, as if to reassure it that she was close in attendance. What an amazing experience to view.

  

Corvus Corone.... magnificently misunderstood by some!

  

Paul Williams June 4th 2021

  

I would like to say a huge and heartfelt 'THANK YOU' to GETTY IMAGES, and the 39.479+ Million visitors to my FLICKR site.

  

***** Selected for sale in the GETTY IMAGES COLLECTION on July 21st 2021

  

CREATIVE RF gty.im/1329638409 MOMENT ROYALTY FREE COLLECTION**

  

This photograph became my 5,114th frame to be selected for sale in the Getty Images collection and I am very grateful to them for this wonderful opportunity.

  

©DESPITE STRAIGHT LINES (Paul Williams)

  

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Photograph taken at an altitude of Fifty four metres at 20:37pm on an beautiful summer evening as the light faded away on Monday 19th July 2021, off Hythe Avenue and Chessington Avenue in Bexleyheath, Kent.

  

Here we see an adult Female Carrion Crow (Corvus corone) teaching the last of her three juveniles to swoop, soar and fly. She stayed close to it at all times, on occasions touching it with her wingtips to guide it and reassure it that she was there, an absolutely amazing sight to witness. Beauty and elegance from these magnificent birds that it's been my privilege to get close to for the last few months.

  

I've played my part in the rearing of the three babies, putting out food and water, gaining mum and dad's confidence, and what joy they have given me watching their progression. A passerine bird of the family Corvidae and the genus Raven (Higher classification: Corvus), which is native to western Europe and eastern Asia. It can grow to twenty inches in length with a wingspan of up to thirty nine inches.

  

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Nikon D850 Focal length: 280mm Shutter speed: 1/2500s Aperture: f/10.0 iso1000 Hand held with Tamron VC Vibration control set to ON (Position 1) 14 Bit uncompressed RAW NEF file size L (8256 x 5504 pixels) FX (36 x 24) Focus mode: AF-C AF-Area mode: 3D-tracking AF-C Priority Selection: Release. Nikon Back button focusing enabled 3D Tracking watch area: Normal 55 Tracking points Exposure mode: Manual exposure mode Metering mode: Matrix metering White balance on: Auto1 (7570k) Colour space: RGB Picture control: Neutral (Sharpening +2)

  

Tamron SP 150-600mm F/5-6.3 Di VC USD G2. Nikon GP-1 GPS module. Lee SW150 MKII filter holder. Lee SW150 95mm screw in adapter ring. Lee SW150 circular polariser glass filter.Lee SW150 Filters field pouch. Hoodman HEYENRG round eyepiece oversized eyecup.Mcoplus professional MB-D850 multi function battery grip 6960.Two Nikon EN-EL15a batteries (Priority to battery in Battery grip). Black Rapid Curve Breathe strap. My Memory 128GB Class 10 SDXC 80MB/s card. Lowepro Flipside 400 AW camera bag.

     

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LATITUDE: N 51d 28m 28.18s

LONGITUDE: E 0d 8m 10.47s

ALTITUDE: 52.00m

  

RAW (TIFF) FILE: 130.00MB NEF FILE: 92.3MB

PROCESSED (JPeg) FILE: 58.60MB

   

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PROCESSING POWER:

  

Nikon D850 Firmware versions C 1.10 (9/05/2019) LD Distortion Data 2.018 (18/02/20) LF 1.00

  

HP 110-352na Desktop PC with AMD Quad-Core A6-5200 APU 64Bit processor. Radeon HD8400 graphics. 8 GB DDR3 Memory with 1TB Data storage. 64-bit Windows 10. Verbatim USB 2.0 1TB desktop hard drive. WD My Passport Ultra 1tb USB3 Portable hard drive. Nikon ViewNX-1 64bit Version 1.4.1 (18/02/2020). Nikon Capture NX-D 64bit Version 1.6.2 (18/02/2020). Nikon Picture Control Utility 2 (Version 2.4.5 (18/02/2020). Nikon Transfer 2 Version 2.13.5. Adobe photoshop Elements 8 Version 8.0 64bit.

  

©All photographs on this site are copyright: ©DESPITE STRAIGHT LINES (Paul Williams) 2011 – 2021 & GETTY IMAGES ®

  

No license is given nor granted in respect of the use of any copyrighted material on this site other than with the express written agreement of ©DESPITE STRAIGHT LINES (Paul Williams). No image may be used as source material for paintings, drawings, sculptures, or any other art form without permission and/or compensation to ©DESPITE STRAIGHT LINES (Paul Williams)

  

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.

  

I would like to say a huge and heartfelt 'THANK YOU' to GETTY IMAGES, and the 39.268+ Million visitors to my FLICKR site.

  

***** Selected for sale in the GETTY IMAGES COLLECTION on July 20th 2021

  

CREATIVE RF gty.im/1329634066 MOMENT ROYALTY FREE COLLECTION**

  

This photograph became my 5,107th frame to be selected for sale in the Getty Images collection and I am very grateful to them for this wonderful opportunity.

  

©DESPITE STRAIGHT LINES (Paul Williams)

  

.

.

  

Photograph taken at an altitude of Fifty four metres at 20:35pm on an beautiful summer evening as the light faded away on Monday 19th July 2021, off Hythe Avenue and Chessington Avenue in Bexleyheath, Kent.

  

Here we see an adult Female Carrion Crow (Corvus corone) teaching the last of her three juveniles to swoop, soar and fly. She stayed close to it at all times, on occasions touching it with her wingtips to guide it and reassure it that she was there, an absolutely amazing sight to witness. Beauty and elegance from these magnificent birds that it's been my privilege to get close to for the last few months.

  

I've played my part in the rearing of the three babies, putting out food and water, gaining mum and dad's confidence, and what joy they have given me watching their progression. A passerine bird of the family Corvidae and the genus Raven (Higher classification: Corvus), which is native to western Europe and eastern Asia. It can grow to twenty inches in length with a wingspan of up to thirty nine inches.

  

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Unashamedly I will shout it from the rooftops.

  

I LOVE CARRION CROW.

   

There, I've said it. Words I use to describe these amazing birds would include stunning, beautiful, bold, magnificent, intelligent and fantastic, loving, tender, victimized...... oh yes, and sometimes they can be brutal (Let's face it, Mother nature often is).

  

Recently I had a resident pair of Carrion crows who decided that my garden was theirs, playing a game of cat and mouse with a pair of cheeky Magpies (Pica pica) for dominance and food rights. The male crow actually flew in and 'winged' the magpies to make them leave, an incredible sight to witness. It was an honour and a privilege to be able to win their trust and they have given me so much pleasure this year being able to get within a few feet of them, and their three youngsters, to photograph and feed them, and they have reinforced my already deep admiration for a bird that is brimming with beauty, intelligence, confidence and also surrounded by myths, legend and prejudice.

  

So let's begin with a look back over history.

  

LEGEND AND MYTHOLOGY

  

Crows appear in the Bible where Noah uses one to search for dry land and to check on the recession of the flood. Crows supposedly saved the prophet, Elijah, from famine and are an Inuit deity. Legend has it that England and its monarchy will end when there are no more crows in the Tower of London. And some believe that the crows went to the Tower attracted by the regular corpses following executions with written accounts of their presence at the executions of Anne Boleyn and Jane Gray.

  

In Welsh mythology, unfortunately Crows are seen as symbolic of evilness and black magic thanks to many references to witches transforming into crows or ravens and escaping. Indian legend tells of Kakabhusandi, a crow who sits on the branches of a wish-fulfilling tree called Kalpataru and a crow in Ramayana where Lord Rama blessed the crow with the power to foresee future events and communicate with the souls.

  

In Native American first nation legend the crow is sometimes considered to be something of a trickster, though they are also viewed positively by some tribes as messengers between this world and the next where they carry messages from the living to those deceased, and even carry healing medicines between both worlds. There is a belief that crows can foresee the future. The Klamath tribe in Oregon believe that when we die, we fly up to heaven as a crow. The Crow can also signify wisdom to some tribes who believe crows had the power to talk and were therefore considered to be one of the wisest of birds. Tribes with Crow Clans include the Chippewa (whose Crow Clan and its totem are called Aandeg), the Hopi (whose Crow Clan is called Angwusngyam or Ungwish-wungwa), the Menominee, the Caddo, the Tlingit, and the Pueblo tribes of New Mexico.

  

The crow features in the Nanissáanah (Ghost dance), popularized by Jerome Crow Dog, a Brulé Lakota sub-chief and warrior born at Horse Stealing Creek in Montana Territory in 1833, the crow symbolizing wisdom and the past, when the crow had became a guide and acted as a pathfinder during hunting. The Ghost dance movement was originally created in 1870 by Wodziwob, or Gray Hair, a prophet and medicine man of the Paiute tribe in an area that became known as Nevada. Ghost dancers wore crow and eagle feathers in their clothes and hair, and the fact that the Crow could talk placed it as one of the sages of the animal kingdom. The five day dances seeking trance,prophecy and exhortations would eventually play a major part in the pathway towards the white man's broken treaties, the infamous battle at Wounded knee and the surrender of Matȟó Wanáȟtaka (Kicking Bear), after officials began to fear the ghost dancers and rituals which seemed to occur prior to battle.

  

Historically the Vikings are the group who made so many references to the crow, and Ragnarr Loðbrók and his sons used this species in his banner as well as appearances in many flags and coats of arms. Also, it had some kind of association with Odin, one of their main deities. Norse legend tells us that Odin is accompanied by two crows. Hugin, who symbolizes thought, and Munin, who represents a memory. These two crows were sent out each dawn to fly the entire world, returning at breakfast where they informed the Lord of the Nordic gods of everything that went on in their kingdoms. Odin was also referred to as Rafnagud (raven-god). The raven appears in almost every skaldic poem describing warfare.Coins dating back to 940's minted by Olaf Cuaran depict the Viking war standard, the Raven and Viking war banners (Gonfalon) depicted the bird also.

  

In Scandinavian legends, crows are a representative of the Goddess of Death, known as Valkyrie (from old Norse 'Valkyrja'), one of the group of maidens who served the Norse deity Odin, visiting battlefields and sending him the souls of the slain worthy of a place in Valhalla. Odin ( also called Wodan, Woden, or Wotan), preferred that heroes be killed in battle and that the most valiant of souls be taken to Valhöll, the hall of slain warriors. It is the crow that provides the Valkyries with important information on who should go. In Hindu ceremonies that are associated to ancestors, the crow has an important place in Vedic rituals. They are seen as messengers of death in Indian culture too.

  

In Germanic legend, Crows are seen as psychonomes, meaning the act of guiding spirits to their final destination, and that the feathers of a crow could cure a victim who had been cursed. And yet, a lone black crow could symbolize impending death, whilst a group symbolizes a lucky omen! Vikings also saw good omens in the crow and would leave offerings of meat as a token.

  

The crow also has sacred and prophetic meaning within the Celtic civilization, where it stood for flesh ripped off due to combat and Morrighan, the warrior goddess, often appears in Celtic mythology as a raven or crow, or else is found to be in the company of the birds. Crow is sacred to Lugdnum, the Celtic god of creation who gave his name to the city of Lug

  

In Greek mythology according to Appolodorus, Apollo is supposedly responsible for the black feathers of the crow, turning them forever black from their pristine white original plumage as a punishment after they brought news that Κορωνις (Coronis) a princess of the Thessalian kingdom of Phlegyantis, Apollo's pregnant lover had left him to marry a mortal, Ischys. In one legend, Apollo burned the crows feathers and then burned Coronis to death, in another Coronis herself was turned into a black crow, and another that she was slain by the arrows of Αρτεμις (Artemis - twin to Apollo). Koronis was later set amongst the stars as the constellation Corvus ("the Crow"). Her name means "Curved One" from the Greek word korônis or "Crow" from the word korônê.A similar Muslim legend allegedly tells of Muhammad, founder of Islam and the last prophet sent by God to Earth, who's secret location was given away by a white crow to his seekers, as he hid in caves. The crow shouted 'Ghar Ghar' (Cave, cave) and thus as punishment, Muhammad turned the crow black and cursed it for eternity to utter only one phrase, 'Ghar, ghar). Native Indian legend where the once rainbow coloured crows became forever black after shedding their colourful plumage over the other animals of the world.

  

In China the Crow is represented in art as a three legged bird on a solar disk, being a creature that helps the sun in its journey. In Japan there are myths of Crow Tengu who were priests who became vain, and turned into this spirit to serve as messengers until they learn the lesson of humility as well as a great Crow who takes part in Shinto creation stories.

  

In animal spirit guides there are general perceptions of what sightings of numbers of crows actually mean:

  

1 Crow Meaning: To carry a message from your near one who died recently.

 

2 Crows Meaning: Two crows sitting near your home signifies some good news is on your way.

 

3 Crows Meaning: An upcoming wedding in your family.

 

4 Crows Meaning: Symbolizes wealth and prosperity.

 

5 Crows Meaning: Diseases or pain.

 

6 Crows Meaning: A theft in your house!

 

7 Crows Meaning: Denotes travel or moving from your house.

 

8 Crows Meaning: Sorrowful events

  

Crows are generally seen as the symbolism when alive for doom bringing, misfortune and bad omens, and yet a dead crow symbolises potentially bringing good news and positive change to those who see it. This wonderful bird certainly gets a mixed bag of contradictory mythology and legend over the centuries and in modern days is often seen as a bit of a nuisance, attacking and killing the babies of other birds such as Starlings, Pigeons and House Sparrows as well as plucking the eyes out of lambs in the field, being loud and noisy and violently attacking poor victims in a 'crow court'....

  

There is even a classic horror film called 'THE CROW' released in 1994 by Miramax Films, directed by Alex Proyas and starring Brandon Lee in his final film appearance as Eric Draven, who is revived by a Crow tapping on his gravestone a year after he and his fiancée are murdered in Detroit by a street gang. The crow becomes his guide as he sets out to avenge the murders. The only son of martial arts expert Bruce Lee, Brandon lee suffered fatal injuries on the set of the film when the crew failed to remove the primer from a cartridge that hit Lee in the abdomen with the same force as a normal bullet. Lee died that day, March 31st 1993 aged 28.

  

The symbolism of the Crow resurrecting the dead star and accompanying him on his quest for revenge was powerful, and in some part based on the history of the carrion crow itself and the original film grossed more than $94 Million dollars with three subsequent sequels following.

  

TAKING A CLOSER LOOK

  

So let's move away from legend, mythology and stories passed down from our parents and grandparents and look at these amazing birds in isolation.

  

Carrion crow are passerines in the family Corvidae a group of Oscine passerine birds including Crows, Ravens, Rooks, Jackdaws, Jays, Magpies, Treepies, Choughs and Nutcrackers. Technically they are classed as Corvids, and the largest of passerine birds. Carrion crows are medium to large in size with rictal bristles and a single moult per year (most passerines moult twice). Carrion crow was one of the many species originally described by Swedish naturalist Carl Linnaeus (Carl Von Linne after his ennoblement) in his 1758 and 1759 editions of 'SYSTEMA NATURAE', and it still bears its original name of Corvus corone, derived from the Latin of Corvus, meaning Raven and the Greek κορώνη (korōnē), meaning crow.

  

Carrion crow are of the Animalia kingdom Phylum: Chordata Class: Aves Order: Passeriformes Family: Corvidae Genus: Corvus and Species: Corvus corone

  

Corvus corone can reach 45-47cm in length with a 93-104cm wingspan and weigh between 370-650g. They are protected under The Wildlife and Countryside Act 1981 in the United Kingdom with a Green UK conservation status which means they are of least concern with more than 1,000,000 territories. Breeding occurs in April with fledging of the chicks taking around twenty nine days following an incubation period of around twenty days with 3 to 4 eggs being the average norm.

  

They are abundant in the UK apart from Northwest Scotland and Ireland where the Hooded crow (Corvus cornix) was considered the same species until 2002. They have a lifespan of around four years, whilst Crow species can live to the age of Twenty years old, and the oldest known American crow in the wild was almost Thirty years old. The oldest documented captive crow died at age Fifty nine. They are smaller and have a shorter lifespan than the Raven, which again is used as a symbol in history to live life to the full and not waste a moment!

  

They are often mistaken for the Rook (Corvus frugilegus), a similar bird, though in the UK, the Rook is actually technically smaller than the Carrion crow averaging 44-46cm in length, 81-99cm wingspan and weighing up to 340g. Rooks have white beaks compared to the black beaks of Carrion crow. There are documented cases in the UK of singular and grouped Rooks attacking and killing Carrion crows in their territory. Rooks nest in colonies unlike Carrion crows. Carrion crows have only a few natural enemies including powerful raptors such as the northern goshawk, the peregrine falcon, the Eurasian eagle-owl and the golden eagle which will all readily hunt them.

  

Regarded as one of the most intelligent birds, indeed creatures on the planet, studies suggest that Corvids cognitive abilities can rival that of primates such as chimpanzees and gorillas and even provide clues to understanding human intelligence. Crows have relatively large brains for their body size, compared to other animals. Their encephalization quotient (EQ) a ratio of brain to body size, adjusted for size because there isn’t a linear relationship is 4.1. That is remarkably close to chimps at 4.2 whilst humans are 8.1. Corvids also have a very high neuronal density, the number of neurons per gram of brain, factoring in the number of cortical neurons, neuron packing density, interneuronal distance and axonal conduction velocity shows that Corvids score high on this measure as well, with humans scoring the highest.

  

A corvid's pallium is packed with more neurons than a great ape's. Corvids have demonstrated the ability to use a combination of mental tools such as imagination, and anticipation of future events. They can craft tools from twigs and branches to hook grubs from deep recesses, they can solve puzzles and intricate methods of gaining access to food set by humans., and have even bent pieces of wire into hooks to obtain food. They have been proven to have a higher cognitive ability level than seven year old humans. Communications wise, their repertoire of wraw-wraw's is not fully understood, but the intensity, rhythm, and duration of caws seems to form the basis of a possible language. They also remember the faces of humans who have hindered or hurt them and pass that information on to their offspring.

  

Aesop's fable of 'The Crow and the Pitcher, tells of a thirsty crow which drops stones into a water pitcher to raise the water level and enable it to take a drink. Scientists have conducted tests to see whether crows really are this intelligent. They placed floating treats in a deep tube and observed the crows indeed dropping dense objects carefully selected into the water until the treat floated within reach. They had the intelligence to pick up, weigh and discount objects that would float in the water, they also did not select ones that were too large for the container.

  

Pet crows develop a unique call for their owners, in effect actually naming them. They also know to sunbathe for a dose of vitamin D, regularly settling on wooden garden fences, opening their mouths and wings and raising their heads to the sun. In groups they warn of danger and communicate vocally. They store a cache of food for later if in abundance and are clever enough to move it if they feel it has been discovered. They leave markers for their cache. They have even learned to place walnuts and similar hard food items under car tyres at traffic lights as a means of cracking them!

  

Crows regularly gather around a dead fellow corvid, almost like a funeral, and it is thought they somehow learn from each death. They can even remember human faces for decades.Crows group together to attack larger predators and even steal their food, and they have different dialects in different areas, with the ability to mimic the dialect of the alpha males when they enter their territory!

  

They have a twenty year life span, the oldest on record reaching the age of Fifty nine. Crows can leave gifts for those who feed them such as buttons or bright shiny objects as a thank you, and they even kiss and make up after an argument, having mated for life.

  

In mythology they are associated with good and bad luck, being the bringers of omens and even witchcraft and are generally reviled for their attacks on baby birds and small mammals. They have an attack method of to stunning smaller birds before consuming them, tearing violently at smaller, less aggressive birds, which is simply down to the fact that they are so highly intelligent, and also the top of the food chain. Their diet includes over a thousand different items: Dead animals (as their name suggests), invertebrates, grain, as well as stealing eggs and chicks from other birds' nests, worms, insects, fruit, seeds, kitchen scraps. They are highly adaptable when food sources grow scarce. I absolutely love them, they are magnificent, bold, beautiful and incredibly interesting to watch and though at times it is hard to witness attacks made by them, I cannot help but adore them for so many other and more important reasons.

  

OBSERVATIONS ON THE PAIR IN MY GARDEN

  

Crows have been in the area for a while, but rarely had strayed into my garden, leaving the Magpies to own the territory. Things changed towards the end of May when a beautiful female Carrion crow appeared and began to take some of the food that I put down for the other birds. Within a few days she began to appear regularly, on occasions stocking up on food, whilst other times placing pieces in the birdbath to soften them. She would stand on the birdbath and eat and drink and come back over the course of the day to eat the softened food.

  

Shortly afterwoulds she brought along her mate, a tall and handsome fella, much larger than her who was also very vocal if he felt she was getting a little too close to me. By now I had moved from a seated position from the patio as an observer, to laying on a mat just five feet from the birdbath with my Nikon so that I could photograph the pair as they landed, scavenged and fed. She was now confident enough to let me be very close, and she even tolerated and recognized the clicking of the camera. At first I used silent mode to reduce the noise but this only allowed two shooting frame rates of single frame or continuous low frame which meant I was missing shots. I reverted back to normal continuous high frames and she soon got used to the whirring of the frames as the mirror slapped back and forth.

  

The big fella would bark orders at her from the safety of the fence or the rear of the garden, whilst she rarely made a sound. That was until one day when in the sweltering heat she kept opening her beak and sunning on the grass, panting slightly in the heat. I placed the circular water sprayer nearby and had it rotating so that the birdbath and grass was bathed in gentle water droplets and she soon came back, landed and seemed to really like the cooling effect on offer. She then climbed onto the birdbath and opened her wings slightly and made some gentle purring, cooing noises....

  

I swear she was expressing happiness, joy....

  

On another blisteringly hot day when the sprayer was on, she came down, walked towards it and opened her wings up running into the water spray. Not once, but many times.

  

A final observation came with the male and female on the rear garden fence. They sat together, locked beaks like a kiss and then the male took his time gently preening her head feathers and the back of her neck as she made tiny happy sounds. They stayed together like that for several minutes, showing a gentle, softer side to their nature and demonstrating the deep bond between them. Into July and the pair started to bring their three youngsters to my garden, the nippers learning to use the birdbath for bathing and dipping food, the parents attentive as ever.

  

I was privileged to be in close attendance as the last juvenile was brought down by the pair, taught to take food and then on a night in July, to soar and fly with it's mother in the evening sky as the light faded. She would swoop and twirl, and at regular intervals just touch the juvenile in flight with her wing tip feathers, as if to reassure it that she was close in attendance. What an amazing experience to view.

  

Corvus Corone.... magnificently misunderstood by some!

  

Paul Williams June 4th 2021

  

Nikon D850 Focal length: 600mm Shutter speed: 1/1600s Aperture: f/7.1 iso640 Hand held with Tamron VC Vibration control set to ON (Position 1) 14 Bit uncompressed RAW NEF file size L (8256 x 5504 pixels) FX (36 x 24) Focus mode: AF-C AF-Area mode: 3D-tracking AF-C Priority Selection: Release. Nikon Back button focusing enabled 3D Tracking watch area: Normal 55 Tracking points Exposure mode: Manual exposure mode Metering mode: Matrix metering White balance on: Auto1 (6300k) Colour space: RGB Picture control: Neutral (Sharpening +2)

  

Tamron SP 150-600mm F/5-6.3 Di VC USD G2. Nikon GP-1 GPS module. Lee SW150 MKII filter holder. Lee SW150 95mm screw in adapter ring. Lee SW150 circular polariser glass filter.Lee SW150 Filters field pouch. Hoodman HEYENRG round eyepiece oversized eyecup.Mcoplus professional MB-D850 multi function battery grip 6960.Two Nikon EN-EL15a batteries (Priority to battery in Battery grip). Black Rapid Curve Breathe strap. My Memory 128GB Class 10 SDXC 80MB/s card. Lowepro Flipside 400 AW camera bag.

  

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LATITUDE: N 51d 28m 28.20s

LONGITUDE: E 0d 8m 10.40s

ALTITUDE: 54.00m

  

RAW (TIFF) FILE: 130.00MB NEF FILE: 91.0MB

PROCESSED (JPeg) FILE: 52.70MB

   

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PROCESSING POWER:

  

Nikon D850 Firmware versions C 1.10 (9/05/2019) LD Distortion Data 2.018 (18/02/20) LF 1.00

  

HP 110-352na Desktop PC with AMD Quad-Core A6-5200 APU 64Bit processor. Radeon HD8400 graphics. 8 GB DDR3 Memory with 1TB Data storage. 64-bit Windows 10. Verbatim USB 2.0 1TB desktop hard drive. WD My Passport Ultra 1tb USB3 Portable hard drive. Nikon ViewNX-1 64bit Version 1.4.1 (18/02/2020). Nikon Capture NX-D 64bit Version 1.6.2 (18/02/2020). Nikon Picture Control Utility 2 (Version 2.4.5 (18/02/2020). Nikon Transfer 2 Version 2.13.5. Adobe photoshop Elements 8 Version 8.0 64bit.

 

a macro of a forget-me-not bloom..I love the colors of these little flowers..

 

Prior to becoming the tenth province of Canada in 1949, Newfoundland (then a separate British Dominion) used the Forget-Me-Not as a symbol of remembrance of that nation's war dead. This practice is still in limited use today, though Newfoundlanders have adopted the Flanders Poppy as well.

 

Freemasons use the Forget Me Not to remember those masons who were victimized by the Nazi regime

©All photographs on this site are copyright: ©DESPITE STRAIGHT LINES (Paul Williams) 2011 – 2021 & GETTY IMAGES ®

  

No license is given nor granted in respect of the use of any copyrighted material on this site other than with the express written agreement of ©DESPITE STRAIGHT LINES (Paul Williams). No image may be used as source material for paintings, drawings, sculptures, or any other art form without permission and/or compensation to ©DESPITE STRAIGHT LINES (Paul Williams)

  

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Photograph taken at an altitude of Fifty two metres at 11:42am on a beautiful springtime morning on Saturday 29th May 2021, off Chessington Avenue in Bexleyheath, Kent.

  

Here we see a large adult Carrion crow (Corvus corone), a passerine bird of the family Corvidae and the genus Raven (Higher classification: Corvus), which is native to western Europe and eastern Asia.

 

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So, let's get one thing straight from the outset.

  

I LOVE CARRION CROW.

  

There, I've said it. Words I use to describe these amazing birds would include stunning, beautiful, bold, magnificent, intelligent and fantastic, loving, tender, victimized.

  

Right now I have a resident pair of Carrion crows who have decided that my garden is theirs, and are playing a game of cat and mouse with a pair of cheeky Magpies (Pica pica) for dominance and food rights. The male crow actually flies in and 'wings' the magpies to make them leave, an incredible sight to witness. It's an honour and a privilege to be able to win their trust and they have given me so much pleasure this year being able to get within a few feet of them, to photograph and feed them, and they have reinforced my already deep admiration for a bird that is brimming with beauty, intelligence, confidence and also surrounded by myths, legend and prejudice.

  

So let's begin with a look back over history.

  

LEGEND AND MYTHOLOGY

  

Crows appear in the Bible where Noah uses one to search for dry land and to check on the recession of the flood. Crows supposedly saved the prophet, Elijah, from famine and are an Inuit deity. Legend has it that England and its monarchy will end when there are no more crows in the Tower of London. And some believe that the crows went to the Tower attracted by the regular corpses following executions with written accounts of their presence at the executions of Anne Boleyn and Jane Gray.

  

In Welsh mythology, unfortunately Crows are seen as symbolic of evilness and black magic thanks to many references to witches transforming into crows or ravens and escaping. Indian legend tells of Kakabhusandi, a crow who sits on the branches of a wish-fulfilling tree called Kalpataru and a crow in Ramayana where Lord Rama blessed the crow with the power to foresee future events and communicate with the souls.

  

In Native American first nation legend the crow is sometimes considered to be something of a trickster, though they are also viewed positively by some tribes as messengers between this world and the next where they carry messages from the living to those deceased, and even carry healing medicines between both worlds. There is a belief that crows can foresee the future. The Klamath tribe in Oregon believe that when we die, we fly up to heaven as a crow. The Crow can also signify wisdom to some tribes who believe crows had the power to talk and were therefore considered to be one of the wisest of birds. Tribes with Crow Clans include the Chippewa (whose Crow Clan and its totem are called Aandeg), the Hopi (whose Crow Clan is called Angwusngyam or Ungwish-wungwa), the Menominee, the Caddo, the Tlingit, and the Pueblo tribes of New Mexico.

  

The crow features in the Nanissáanah (Ghost dance), popularized by Jerome Crow Dog, a Brulé Lakota sub-chief and warrior born at Horse Stealing Creek in Montana Territory in 1833, the crow symbolizing wisdom and the past, when the crow had became a guide and acted as a pathfinder during hunting. The Ghost dance movement was originally created in 1870 by Wodziwob, or Gray Hair, a prophet and medicine man of the Paiute tribe in an area that became known as Nevada. Ghost dancers wore crow and eagle feathers in their clothes and hair, and the fact that the Crow could talk placed it as one of the sages of the animal kingdom. The five day dances seeking trance,prophecy and exhortations would eventually play a major part in the pathway towards the white man's broken treaties, the infamous battle at Wounded knee and the surrender of Matȟó Wanáȟtaka (Kicking Bear), after officials began to fear the ghost dancers and rituals which seemed to occur prior to battle.

  

Historically the Vikings are the group who made so many references to the crow, and Ragnarr Loðbrók and his sons used this species in his banner as well as appearances in many flags and coats of arms. Also, it had some kind of association with Odin, one of their main deities. Norse legend tells us that Odin is accompanied by two crows. Hugin, who symbolizes thought, and Munin, who represents a memory. These two crows were sent out each dawn to fly the entire world, returning at breakfast where they informed the Lord of the Nordic gods of everything that went on in their kingdoms. Odin was also referred to as Rafnagud (raven-god). The raven appears in almost every skaldic poem describing warfare.Coins dating back to 940's minted by Olaf Cuaran depict the Viking war standard, the Raven and Viking war banners (Gonfalon) depicted the bird also.

  

In Scandinavian legends, crows are a representative of the Goddess of Death, known as Valkyrie (from old Norse 'Valkyrja'), one of the group of maidens who served the Norse deity Odin, visiting battlefields and sending him the souls of the slain worthy of a place in Valhalla. Odin ( also called Wodan, Woden, or Wotan), preferred that heroes be killed in battle and that the most valiant of souls be taken to Valhöll, the hall of slain warriors. It is the crow that provides the Valkyries with important information on who should go. In Hindu ceremonies that are associated to ancestors, the crow has an important place in Vedic rituals. They are seen as messengers of death in Indian culture too.

  

In Germanic legend, Crows are seen as psychonomes, meaning the act of guiding spirits to their final destination, and that the feathers of a crow could cure a victim who had been cursed. And yet, a lone black crow could symbolize impending death, whilst a group symbolizes a lucky omen! Vikings also saw good omens in the crow and would leave offerings of meat as a token.

  

The crow also has sacred and prophetic meaning within the Celtic civilization, where it stood for flesh ripped off due to combat and Morrighan, the warrior goddess, often appears in Celtic mythology as a raven or crow, or else is found to be in the company of the birds. Crow is sacred to Lugdnum, the Celtic god of creation who gave his name to the city of Lug

  

In Greek mythology according to Appolodorus, Apollo is supposedly responsible for the black feathers of the crow, turning them forever black from their pristine white original plumage as a punishment after they brought news that Κορωνις (Coronis) a princess of the Thessalian kingdom of Phlegyantis, Apollo's pregnant lover had left him to marry a mortal, Ischys. In one legend, Apollo burned the crows feathers and then burned Coronis to death, in another Coronis herself was turned into a black crow, and another that she was slain by the arrows of Αρτεμις (Artemis - twin to Apollo). Koronis was later set amongst the stars as the constellation Corvus ("the Crow"). Her name means "Curved One" from the Greek word korônis or "Crow" from the word korônê.A similar Muslim legend allegedly tells of Muhammad, founder of Islam and the last prophet sent by God to Earth, who's secret location was given away by a white crow to his seekers, as he hid in caves. The crow shouted 'Ghar Ghar' (Cave, cave) and thus as punishment, Muhammad turned the crow black and cursed it for eternity to utter only one phrase, 'Ghar, ghar). Native Indian legend where the once rainbow coloured crows became forever black after shedding their colourful plumage over the other animals of the world.

  

In China the Crow is represented in art as a three legged bird on a solar disk, being a creature that helps the sun in its journey. In Japan there are myths of Crow Tengu who were priests who became vain, and turned into this spirit to serve as messengers until they learn the lesson of humility as well as a great Crow who takes part in Shinto creation stories.

  

In animal spirit guides there are general perceptions of what sightings of numbers of crows actually mean:

  

1 Crow Meaning: To carry a message from your near one who died recently.

 

2 Crows Meaning: Two crows sitting near your home signifies some good news is on your way.

 

3 Crows Meaning: An upcoming wedding in your family.

 

4 Crows Meaning: Symbolizes wealth and prosperity.

 

5 Crows Meaning: Diseases or pain.

 

6 Crows Meaning: A theft in your house!

 

7 Crows Meaning: Denotes travel or moving from your house.

 

8 Crows Meaning: Sorrowful events

  

Crows are generally seen as the symbolism when alive for doom bringing, misfortune and bad omens, and yet a dead crow symbolises potentially bringing good news and positive change to those who see it. This wonderful bird certainly gets a mixed bag of contradictory mythology and legend over the centuries and in modern days is often seen as a bit of a nuisance, attacking and killing the babies of other birds such as Starlings, Pigeons and House Sparrows as well as plucking the eyes out of lambs in the field, being loud and noisy and violently attacking poor victims in a 'crow court'....

  

There is even a classic horror film called 'THE CROW' released in 1994 by Miramax Films, directed by Alex Proyas and starring Brandon Lee in his final film appearance as Eric Draven, who is revived by a Crow tapping on his gravestone a year after he and his fiancée are murdered in Detroit by a street gang. The crow becomes his guide as he sets out to avenge the murders. The only son of martial arts expert Bruce Lee, Brandon lee suffered fatal injuries on the set of the film when the crew failed to remove the primer from a cartridge that hit Lee in the abdomen with the same force as a normal bullet. Lee died that day, March 31st 1993 aged 28.

  

The symbolism of the Crow resurrecting the dead star and accompanying him on his quest for revenge was powerful, and in some part based on the history of the carrion crow itself and the original film grossed more than $94 Million dollars with three subsequent sequels following.

  

TAKING A CLOSER LOOK

  

So let's move away from legend, mythology and stories passed down from our parents and grandparents and look at these amazing birds in isolation.

  

Carrion crow are passerines in the family Corvidae a group of Oscine passerine birds including Crows, Ravens, Rooks, Jackdaws, Jays, Magpies, Treepies, Choughs and Nutcrackers. Technically they are classed as Corvids, and the largest of passerine birds. Carrion crows are medium to large in size with rictal bristles and a single moult per year (most passerines moult twice). Carrion crow was one of the many species originally described by Swedish naturalist Carl Linnaeus (Carl Von Linne after his ennoblement) in his 1758 and 1759 editions of 'SYSTEMA NATURAE', and it still bears its original name of Corvus corone, derived from the Latin of Corvus, meaning Raven and the Greek κορώνη (korōnē), meaning crow.

  

Carrion crow are of the Animalia kingdom Phylum: Chordata Class: Aves Order: Passeriformes Family: Corvidae Genus: Corvus and Species: Corvus corone

  

Corvus corone can reach 45-47cm in length with a 93-104cm wingspan and weigh between 370-650g. They are protected under The Wildlife and Countryside Act 1981 in the United Kingdom with a Green UK conservation status which means they are of least concern with more than 1,000,000 territories. Breeding occurs in April with fledging of the chicks taking around twenty nine days following an incubation period of around twenty days with 3 to 4 eggs being the average norm. They are abundant in the UK apart from Northwest Scotland and Ireland where the Hooded crow (Corvus cornix) was considered the same species until 2002. They have a lifespan of around four years, whilst Crow species can live to the age of Twenty years old, and the oldest known American crow in the wild was almost Thirty years old. The oldest documented captive crow died at age Fifty nine. They are smaller and have a shorter lifespan than the Raven, which again is used as a symbol in history to live life to the full and not waste a moment!

  

They are often mistaken for the Rook (Corvus frugilegus), a similar bird, though in the UK, the Rook is actually technically smaller than the Carrion crow averaging 44-46cm in length, 81-99cm wingspan and weighing up to 340g. Rooks have white beaks compared to the black beaks of Carrion crow. There are documented cases in the UK of singular and grouped Rooks attacking and killing Carrion crows in their territory. Rooks nest in colonies unlike Carrion crows. Carrion crows have only a few natural enemies including powerful raptors such as the northern goshawk, the peregrine falcon, the Eurasian eagle-owl and the golden eagle which will all readily hunt them.

  

Regarded as one of the most intelligent birds, indeed creatures on the planet, studies suggest that Corvids cognitive abilities can rival that of primates such as chimpanzees and gorillas and even provide clues to understanding human intelligence. Crows have relatively large brains for their body size, compared to other animals. Their encephalization quotient (EQ) a ratio of brain to body size, adjusted for size because there isn’t a linear relationship is 4.1. That is remarkably close to chimps at 4.2 whilst humans are 8.1. Corvids also have a very high neuronal density, the number of neurons per gram of brain, factoring in the number of cortical neurons, neuron packing density, interneuronal distance and axonal conduction velocity shows that Corvids score high on this measure as well, with humans scoring the highest.

  

A corvid's pallium is packed with more neurons than a great ape's. Corvids have demonstrated the ability to use a combination of mental tools such as imagination, and anticipation of future events. They can craft tools from twigs and branches to hook grubs from deep recesses, they can solve puzzles and intricate methods of gaining access to food set by humans., and have even bent pieces of wire into hooks to obtain food. They have been proven to have a higher cognitive ability level than seven year old humans. Communications wise, their repertoire of wraw-wraw's is not fully understood, but the intensity, rhythm, and duration of caws seems to form the basis of a possible language. They also remember the faces of humans who have hindered or hurt them and pass that information on to their offspring.

  

Aesop's fable of 'The Crow and the Pitcher, tells of a thirsty crow which drops stones into a water pitcher to raise the water level and enable it to take a drink. Scientists have conducted tests to see whether crows really are this intelligent. They placed floating treats in a deep tube and observed the crows indeed dropping dense objects carefully selected into the water until the treat floated within reach. They had the intelligence to pick up, weigh and discount objects that would float in the water, they also did not select ones that were too large for the container.

  

Pet crows develop a unique call for their owners, in effect actually naming them. They also know to sunbathe for a dose of vitamin D, regularly settling on wooden garden fences, opening their mouths and wings and raising their heads to the sun. In groups they warn of danger and communicate vocally. They store a cache of food for later if in abundance and are clever enough to move it if they feel it has been discovered. They leave markers for their cache. They have even learned to place walnuts and similar hard food items under car tyres at traffic lights as a means of cracking them!

  

Crows regularly gather around a dead fellow corvid, almost like a funeral, and it is thought they somehow learn from each death. They can even remember human faces for decades. Crows group together to attack larger predators and even steal their food, and they have different dialects in different areas, with the ability to mimic the dialect of the alpha males when they enter their territory!

  

They have a twenty year life span, the oldest on record reaching the age of Fifty nine. Crows can leave gifts for those who feed them such as buttons or bright shiny objects as a thank you, and they even kiss and make up after an argument, having mated for life.

  

In mythology they are associated with good and bad luck, being the bringers of omens and even witchcraft and are generally reviled for their attacks on baby birds and small mammals. They have an attack method of to stunning smaller birds before consuming them, tearing violently at smaller, less aggressive birds, which is simply down to the fact that they are so highly intelligent, and also the top of the food chain. Their diet includes over a thousand different items: Dead animals (as their name suggests), invertebrates, grain, as well as stealing eggs and chicks from other birds' nests, worms, insects, fruit, seeds, kitchen scraps. They are highly adaptable when food sources grow scarce. I absolutely love them, they are magnificent, bold, beautiful and incredibly interesting to watch and though at times it is hard to witness attacks made by them, I cannot help but adore them for so many other and more important reasons.

  

OBSERVATIONS ON THE PAIR IN MY GARDEN

  

Crows have been in the area for a while, but rarely had strayed into my garden, leaving the Magpies to own the territory. Things changed towards the end of May when a beautiful female Carrion crow appeared and began to take some of the food that I put down for the other birds. Within a few days she began to appear regularly, on occasions stocking up on food, whilst other times placing pieces in the birdbath to soften them. She would stand on the birdbath and eat and drink and come back over the course of the day to eat the softened food.

  

Shortly afterwards she brought along her mate, a tall and handsome fella, much larger than her who was also very vocal if he felt she was getting a little too close to me. By now I had moved from a seated position from the patio as an observer, to laying on a mat just five feet from the birdbath with my Nikon so that I could photograph the pair as they landed, scavenged and fed. She was now confident enough to let me be very close, and she even tolerated and recognized the clicking of the camera. At first I used silent mode to reduce the noise but this only allowed two shooting frame rates of single frame or continuous low frame which meant I was missing shots. I reverted back to normal continuous high frames and she soon got used to the whirring of the frames as the mirror slapped back and forth.

  

The big fella would bark orders at her from the safety of the fence or the rear of the garden, whilst she rarely made a sound. That was until one day when in the sweltering heat she kept opening her beak and sunning on the grass, panting slightly in the heat. I placed the circular water sprayer nearby and had it rotating so that the birdbath and grass was bathed in gentle water droplets and she soon came back, landed and seemed to really like the cooling effect on offer. She then climbed onto the birdbath and opened her wings slightly and made some gentle purring, cooing noises....

  

I swear she was expressing happiness, joy....

  

On another blisteringly hot day when the sprayer was on, she came down, walked towards it and opened her wings up running into the water spray. Not once, but many times.

A final observation came with the male and female on the rear garden fence. They sat together, locked beaks like a kiss and then the male took his time gently preening her head feathers and the back of her neck as she made tiny happy sounds. They stayed together like that for several minutes, showing a gentle, softer side to their nature and demonstrating the deep bond between them.

  

Corvus Corone.... magnificently misunderstood by some!

  

Paul Williams June 4th 2021

  

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Nikon D850 Focal length 600mm Shutter speed: 1/500s Aperture f/7.1 iso320 Hand held with Sigma OS Optical stabilization set to OFF control set to ON in position 1 14 Bit uncompressed RAW NEF file size L (8256 x 5504 pixels) FX (36 x 24) Focus mode: AF-C AF-Area mode: 3D-tracking AF-C Priority Selection: Release. Nikon Back button focusing enabled 3D Tracking watch area: Normal 55 Tracking points Exposure mode: Manual exposure mode Metering mode: Matrix metering White balance on: Auto1 (4460k) Colour space: RGB Picture control: Neutral (Sharpening +2)

  

Sigma 60-600mm f/4.5-6.3DG OS HSM SPORTS. Lee SW150 MKI filter holder with MK2 light shield and custom made velcro fitting for the Sigma lens. Lee SW150 circular polariser glass filter.Lee SW150 Filters field pouch. Hoodman HEYENRG round eyepiece oversized eyecup.Mcoplus professional MB-D850 multi function battery grip 6960.Two Nikon EN-EL15a batteries (Priority to battery in Battery grip). Black Rapid Curve Breathe strap. My Memory 128GB Class 10 SDXC 80MB/s card. Lowepro Flipside 400 AW camera bag.

    

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LATITUDE: N 51d 28m 27.99s

LONGITUDE: E 0d 8m 10.39s

ALTITUDE: 52.00m

  

RAW (TIFF) FILE: 130.00MB NEF FILE: 90.4MB

PROCESSED (JPeg) FILE: 45.30MB

   

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PROCESSING POWER:

  

Nikon D850 Firmware versions C 1.10 (9/05/2019) LD Distortion Data 2.018 (18/02/20) LF 1.00

  

HP 110-352na Desktop PC with AMD Quad-Core A6-5200 APU 64Bit processor. Radeon HD8400 graphics. 8 GB DDR3 Memory with 1TB Data storage. 64-bit Windows 10. Verbatim USB 2.0 1TB desktop hard drive. WD My Passport Ultra 1tb USB3 Portable hard drive. Nikon ViewNX-1 64bit Version 1.4.1 (18/02/2020). Nikon Capture NX-D 64bit Version 1.6.2 (18/02/2020). Nikon Picture Control Utility 2 (Version 2.4.5 (18/02/2020). Nikon Transfer 2 Version 2.13.5. Adobe photoshop Elements 8 Version 8.0 64bit.

 

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I would like to say a huge and heartfelt 'THANK YOU' to GETTY IMAGES, and the 39.399+ Million visitors to my FLICKR site.

  

***** Selected for sale in the GETTY IMAGES COLLECTION on June 11th 2021

  

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Unashamedly I will shout it from the rooftops.

  

I LOVE CARRION CROW.

   

There, I've said it. Words I use to describe these amazing birds would include stunning, beautiful, bold, magnificent, intelligent and fantastic, loving, tender, victimized...... oh yes, and sometimes they can be brutal (Let's face it, Mother nature often is).

  

Recently I had a resident pair of Carrion crows who decided that my garden was theirs, playing a game of cat and mouse with a pair of cheeky Magpies (Pica pica) for dominance and food rights. The male crow actually flew in and 'winged' the magpies to make them leave, an incredible sight to witness. It was an honour and a privilege to be able to win their trust and they have given me so much pleasure this year being able to get within a few feet of them, and their three youngsters, to photograph and feed them, and they have reinforced my already deep admiration for a bird that is brimming with beauty, intelligence, confidence and also surrounded by myths, legend and prejudice.

  

So let's begin with a look back over history.

  

LEGEND AND MYTHOLOGY

  

Crows appear in the Bible where Noah uses one to search for dry land and to check on the recession of the flood. Crows supposedly saved the prophet, Elijah, from famine and are an Inuit deity. Legend has it that England and its monarchy will end when there are no more crows in the Tower of London. And some believe that the crows went to the Tower attracted by the regular corpses following executions with written accounts of their presence at the executions of Anne Boleyn and Jane Gray.

  

In Welsh mythology, unfortunately Crows are seen as symbolic of evilness and black magic thanks to many references to witches transforming into crows or ravens and escaping. Indian legend tells of Kakabhusandi, a crow who sits on the branches of a wish-fulfilling tree called Kalpataru and a crow in Ramayana where Lord Rama blessed the crow with the power to foresee future events and communicate with the souls.

  

In Native American first nation legend the crow is sometimes considered to be something of a trickster, though they are also viewed positively by some tribes as messengers between this world and the next where they carry messages from the living to those deceased, and even carry healing medicines between both worlds. There is a belief that crows can foresee the future. The Klamath tribe in Oregon believe that when we die, we fly up to heaven as a crow. The Crow can also signify wisdom to some tribes who believe crows had the power to talk and were therefore considered to be one of the wisest of birds. Tribes with Crow Clans include the Chippewa (whose Crow Clan and its totem are called Aandeg), the Hopi (whose Crow Clan is called Angwusngyam or Ungwish-wungwa), the Menominee, the Caddo, the Tlingit, and the Pueblo tribes of New Mexico.

  

The crow features in the Nanissáanah (Ghost dance), popularized by Jerome Crow Dog, a Brulé Lakota sub-chief and warrior born at Horse Stealing Creek in Montana Territory in 1833, the crow symbolizing wisdom and the past, when the crow had became a guide and acted as a pathfinder during hunting. The Ghost dance movement was originally created in 1870 by Wodziwob, or Gray Hair, a prophet and medicine man of the Paiute tribe in an area that became known as Nevada. Ghost dancers wore crow and eagle feathers in their clothes and hair, and the fact that the Crow could talk placed it as one of the sages of the animal kingdom. The five day dances seeking trance,prophecy and exhortations would eventually play a major part in the pathway towards the white man's broken treaties, the infamous battle at Wounded knee and the surrender of Matȟó Wanáȟtaka (Kicking Bear), after officials began to fear the ghost dancers and rituals which seemed to occur prior to battle.

  

Historically the Vikings are the group who made so many references to the crow, and Ragnarr Loðbrók and his sons used this species in his banner as well as appearances in many flags and coats of arms. Also, it had some kind of association with Odin, one of their main deities. Norse legend tells us that Odin is accompanied by two crows. Hugin, who symbolizes thought, and Munin, who represents a memory. These two crows were sent out each dawn to fly the entire world, returning at breakfast where they informed the Lord of the Nordic gods of everything that went on in their kingdoms. Odin was also referred to as Rafnagud (raven-god). The raven appears in almost every skaldic poem describing warfare.Coins dating back to 940's minted by Olaf Cuaran depict the Viking war standard, the Raven and Viking war banners (Gonfalon) depicted the bird also.

  

In Scandinavian legends, crows are a representative of the Goddess of Death, known as Valkyrie (from old Norse 'Valkyrja'), one of the group of maidens who served the Norse deity Odin, visiting battlefields and sending him the souls of the slain worthy of a place in Valhalla. Odin ( also called Wodan, Woden, or Wotan), preferred that heroes be killed in battle and that the most valiant of souls be taken to Valhöll, the hall of slain warriors. It is the crow that provides the Valkyries with important information on who should go. In Hindu ceremonies that are associated to ancestors, the crow has an important place in Vedic rituals. They are seen as messengers of death in Indian culture too.

  

In Germanic legend, Crows are seen as psychonomes, meaning the act of guiding spirits to their final destination, and that the feathers of a crow could cure a victim who had been cursed. And yet, a lone black crow could symbolize impending death, whilst a group symbolizes a lucky omen! Vikings also saw good omens in the crow and would leave offerings of meat as a token.

  

The crow also has sacred and prophetic meaning within the Celtic civilization, where it stood for flesh ripped off due to combat and Morrighan, the warrior goddess, often appears in Celtic mythology as a raven or crow, or else is found to be in the company of the birds. Crow is sacred to Lugdnum, the Celtic god of creation who gave his name to the city of Lug

  

In Greek mythology according to Appolodorus, Apollo is supposedly responsible for the black feathers of the crow, turning them forever black from their pristine white original plumage as a punishment after they brought news that Κορωνις (Coronis) a princess of the Thessalian kingdom of Phlegyantis, Apollo's pregnant lover had left him to marry a mortal, Ischys. In one legend, Apollo burned the crows feathers and then burned Coronis to death, in another Coronis herself was turned into a black crow, and another that she was slain by the arrows of Αρτεμις (Artemis - twin to Apollo). Koronis was later set amongst the stars as the constellation Corvus ("the Crow"). Her name means "Curved One" from the Greek word korônis or "Crow" from the word korônê.A similar Muslim legend allegedly tells of Muhammad, founder of Islam and the last prophet sent by God to Earth, who's secret location was given away by a white crow to his seekers, as he hid in caves. The crow shouted 'Ghar Ghar' (Cave, cave) and thus as punishment, Muhammad turned the crow black and cursed it for eternity to utter only one phrase, 'Ghar, ghar). Native Indian legend where the once rainbow coloured crows became forever black after shedding their colourful plumage over the other animals of the world.

  

In China the Crow is represented in art as a three legged bird on a solar disk, being a creature that helps the sun in its journey. In Japan there are myths of Crow Tengu who were priests who became vain, and turned into this spirit to serve as messengers until they learn the lesson of humility as well as a great Crow who takes part in Shinto creation stories.

  

In animal spirit guides there are general perceptions of what sightings of numbers of crows actually mean:

  

1 Crow Meaning: To carry a message from your near one who died recently.

 

2 Crows Meaning: Two crows sitting near your home signifies some good news is on your way.

 

3 Crows Meaning: An upcoming wedding in your family.

 

4 Crows Meaning: Symbolizes wealth and prosperity.

 

5 Crows Meaning: Diseases or pain.

 

6 Crows Meaning: A theft in your house!

 

7 Crows Meaning: Denotes travel or moving from your house.

 

8 Crows Meaning: Sorrowful events

  

Crows are generally seen as the symbolism when alive for doom bringing, misfortune and bad omens, and yet a dead crow symbolises potentially bringing good news and positive change to those who see it. This wonderful bird certainly gets a mixed bag of contradictory mythology and legend over the centuries and in modern days is often seen as a bit of a nuisance, attacking and killing the babies of other birds such as Starlings, Pigeons and House Sparrows as well as plucking the eyes out of lambs in the field, being loud and noisy and violently attacking poor victims in a 'crow court'....

  

There is even a classic horror film called 'THE CROW' released in 1994 by Miramax Films, directed by Alex Proyas and starring Brandon Lee in his final film appearance as Eric Draven, who is revived by a Crow tapping on his gravestone a year after he and his fiancée are murdered in Detroit by a street gang. The crow becomes his guide as he sets out to avenge the murders. The only son of martial arts expert Bruce Lee, Brandon lee suffered fatal injuries on the set of the film when the crew failed to remove the primer from a cartridge that hit Lee in the abdomen with the same force as a normal bullet. Lee died that day, March 31st 1993 aged 28.

  

The symbolism of the Crow resurrecting the dead star and accompanying him on his quest for revenge was powerful, and in some part based on the history of the carrion crow itself and the original film grossed more than $94 Million dollars with three subsequent sequels following.

  

TAKING A CLOSER LOOK

  

So let's move away from legend, mythology and stories passed down from our parents and grandparents and look at these amazing birds in isolation.

  

Carrion crow are passerines in the family Corvidae a group of Oscine passerine birds including Crows, Ravens, Rooks, Jackdaws, Jays, Magpies, Treepies, Choughs and Nutcrackers. Technically they are classed as Corvids, and the largest of passerine birds. Carrion crows are medium to large in size with rictal bristles and a single moult per year (most passerines moult twice). Carrion crow was one of the many species originally described by Swedish naturalist Carl Linnaeus (Carl Von Linne after his ennoblement) in his 1758 and 1759 editions of 'SYSTEMA NATURAE', and it still bears its original name of Corvus corone, derived from the Latin of Corvus, meaning Raven and the Greek κορώνη (korōnē), meaning crow.

  

Carrion crow are of the Animalia kingdom Phylum: Chordata Class: Aves Order: Passeriformes Family: Corvidae Genus: Corvus and Species: Corvus corone

  

Corvus corone can reach 45-47cm in length with a 93-104cm wingspan and weigh between 370-650g. They are protected under The Wildlife and Countryside Act 1981 in the United Kingdom with a Green UK conservation status which means they are of least concern with more than 1,000,000 territories. Breeding occurs in April with fledging of the chicks taking around twenty nine days following an incubation period of around twenty days with 3 to 4 eggs being the average norm. They are abundant in the UK apart from Northwest Scotland and Ireland where the Hooded crow (Corvus cornix) was considered the same species until 2002. They have a lifespan of around four years, whilst Crow species can live to the age of Twenty years old, and the oldest known American crow in the wild was almost Thirty years old. The oldest documented captive crow died at age Fifty nine. They are smaller and have a shorter lifespan than the Raven, which again is used as a symbol in history to live life to the full and not waste a moment!

  

They are often mistaken for the Rook (Corvus frugilegus), a similar bird, though in the UK, the Rook is actually technically smaller than the Carrion crow averaging 44-46cm in length, 81-99cm wingspan and weighing up to 340g. Rooks have white beaks compared to the black beaks of Carrion crow. There are documented cases in the UK of singular and grouped Rooks attacking and killing Carrion crows in their territory. Rooks nest in colonies unlike Carrion crows. Carrion crows have only a few natural enemies including powerful raptors such as the northern goshawk, the peregrine falcon, the Eurasian eagle-owl and the golden eagle which will all readily hunt them.

  

Regarded as one of the most intelligent birds, indeed creatures on the planet, studies suggest that Corvids cognitive abilities can rival that of primates such as chimpanzees and gorillas and even provide clues to understanding human intelligence. Crows have relatively large brains for their body size, compared to other animals. Their encephalization quotient (EQ) a ratio of brain to body size, adjusted for size because there isn’t a linear relationship is 4.1. That is remarkably close to chimps at 4.2 whilst humans are 8.1. Corvids also have a very high neuronal density, the number of neurons per gram of brain, factoring in the number of cortical neurons, neuron packing density, interneuronal distance and axonal conduction velocity shows that Corvids score high on this measure as well, with humans scoring the highest.

  

A corvid's pallium is packed with more neurons than a great ape's. Corvids have demonstrated the ability to use a combination of mental tools such as imagination, and anticipation of future events. They can craft tools from twigs and branches to hook grubs from deep recesses, they can solve puzzles and intricate methods of gaining access to food set by humans., and have even bent pieces of wire into hooks to obtain food. They have been proven to have a higher cognitive ability level than seven year old humans. Communications wise, their repertoire of wraw-wraw's is not fully understood, but the intensity, rhythm, and duration of caws seems to form the basis of a possible language. They also remember the faces of humans who have hindered or hurt them and pass that information on to their offspring.

  

Aesop's fable of 'The Crow and the Pitcher, tells of a thirsty crow which drops stones into a water pitcher to raise the water level and enable it to take a drink. Scientists have conducted tests to see whether crows really are this intelligent. They placed floating treats in a deep tube and observed the crows indeed dropping dense objects carefully selected into the water until the treat floated within reach. They had the intelligence to pick up, weigh and discount objects that would float in the water, they also did not select ones that were too large for the container.

  

Pet crows develop a unique call for their owners, in effect actually naming them. They also know to sunbathe for a dose of vitamin D, regularly settling on wooden garden fences, opening their mouths and wings and raising their heads to the sun. In groups they warn of danger and communicate vocally. They store a cache of food for later if in abundance and are clever enough to move it if they feel it has been discovered. They leave markers for their cache. They have even learned to place walnuts and similar hard food items under car tyres at traffic lights as a means of cracking them!

  

Crows regularly gather around a dead fellow corvid, almost like a funeral, and it is thought they somehow learn from each death. They can even remember human faces for decades. Crows group together to attack larger predators and even steal their food, and they have different dialects in different areas, with the ability to mimic the dialect of the alpha males when they enter their territory!

   

They have a twenty year life span, the oldest on record reaching the age of Fifty nine. Crows can leave gifts for those who feed them such as buttons or bright shiny objects as a thank you, and they even kiss and make up after an argument, having mated for life.

  

In mythology they are associated with good and bad luck, being the bringers of omens and even witchcraft and are generally reviled for their attacks on baby birds and small mammals. They have an attack method of to stunning smaller birds before consuming them, tearing violently at smaller, less aggressive birds, which is simply down to the fact that they are so highly intelligent, and also the top of the food chain. Their diet includes over a thousand different items: Dead animals (as their name suggests), invertebrates, grain, as well as stealing eggs and chicks from other birds' nests, worms, insects, fruit, seeds, kitchen scraps. They are highly adaptable when food sources grow scarce. I absolutely love them, they are magnificent, bold, beautiful and incredibly interesting to watch and though at times it is hard to witness attacks made by them, I cannot help but adore them for so many other and more important reasons.

  

OBSERVATIONS ON THE PAIR IN MY GARDEN

  

Crows have been in the area for a while, but rarely had strayed into my garden, leaving the Magpies to own the territory. Things changed towards the end of May when a beautiful female Carrion crow appeared and began to take some of the food that I put down for the other birds. Within a few days she began to appear regularly, on occasions stocking up on food, whilst other times placing pieces in the birdbath to soften them. She would stand on the birdbath and eat and drink and come back over the course of the day to eat the softened food.

  

Shortly afterwards she brought along her mate, a tall and handsome fella, much larger than her who was also very vocal if he felt she was getting a little too close to me. By now I had moved from a seated position from the patio as an observer, to laying on a mat just five feet from the birdbath with my Nikon so that I could photograph the pair as they landed, scavenged and fed. She was now confident enough to let me be very close, and she even tolerated and recognized the clicking of the camera. At first I used silent mode to reduce the noise but this only allowed two shooting frame rates of single frame or continuous low frame which meant I was missing shots. I reverted back to normal continuous high frames and she soon got used to the whirring of the frames as the mirror slapped back and forth.

  

The big fella would bark orders at her from the safety of the fence or the rear of the garden, whilst she rarely made a sound. That was until one day when in the sweltering heat she kept opening her beak and sunning on the grass, panting slightly in the heat. I placed the circular water sprayer nearby and had it rotating so that the birdbath and grass was bathed in gentle water droplets and she soon came back, landed and seemed to really like the cooling effect on offer. She then climbed onto the birdbath and opened her wings slightly and made some gentle purring, cooing noises....

  

I swear she was expressing happiness, joy....

  

On another blisteringly hot day when the sprayer was on, she came down, walked towards it and opened her wings up running into the water spray. Not once, but many times.

A final observation came with the male and female on the rear garden fence. They sat together, locked beaks like a kiss and then the male took his time gently preening her head feathers and the back of her neck as she made tiny happy sounds. They stayed together like that for several minutes, showing a gentle, softer side to their nature and demonstrating the deep bond between them.

  

Corvus Corone.... magnificently misunderstood by some!

  

Paul Williams June 4th 2021

  

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Photograph taken at an altitude of Sixty four metres at 09:54am on a summer morning on Tuesday 8th June 2021, of an adult female Carrion crow (Corvus corone), catching some warm rays of sunlight in a garden off Hythe Avenue and Chessington Avenue in Bexleyheath, Kent.

    

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Nikon D850 Focal length 400mm Shutter speed: 1/640s Aperture f/8.0 iso200 Hand held with Tamron VC Vibration control set to ON in position 1 14 Bit uncompressed RAW NEF file size L (8256 x 5504 pixels) FX (36 x 24) Focus mode: AF-C AF-Area mode: 3D-tracking AF-C Priority Selection: Release. Nikon Back button focusing enabled 3D Tracking watch area: Normal 55 Tracking points Exposure mode: Manual exposure mode Metering mode: Matrix metering White balance on: Auto1 (4860k) Colour space: RGB Picture control: Neutral (Sharpening +2)

  

Tamron SP 150-600mm F/5-6.3 Di VC USD G2. Nikon GP-1 GPS module. Lee SW150 MKII filter holder. Lee SW150 95mm screw in adapter ring. Lee SW150 circular polariser glass filter.Lee SW150 Filters field pouch. Hoodman HEYENRG round eyepiece oversized eyecup.Mcoplus professional MB-D850 multi function battery grip 6960.Two Nikon EN-EL15a batteries (Priority to battery in Battery grip). Black Rapid Curve Breathe strap. My Memory 128GB Class 10 SDXC 80MB/s card. Lowepro Flipside 400 AW camera bag.

    

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LATITUDE: N 51d 28m 28.66s

LONGITUDE: E 0d 8m 10.51s

ALTITUDE: 64.0m

  

RAW (TIFF) FILE: 130.00MB NEF FILE: 90.10MB

PROCESSED (JPeg) FILE: 47.80MB

    

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PROCESSING POWER:

  

Nikon D850 Firmware versions C 1.10 (9/05/2019) LD Distortion Data 2.018 (18/02/20) LF 1.00

  

HP 110-352na Desktop PC with AMD Quad-Core A6-5200 APU 64Bit processor. Radeon HD8400 graphics. 8 GB DDR3 Memory with 1TB Data storage. 64-bit Windows 10. Verbatim USB 2.0 1TB desktop hard drive. WD My Passport Ultra 1tb USB3 Portable hard drive. Nikon ViewNX-1 64bit Version 1.4.1 (18/02/2020). Nikon Capture NX-D 64bit Version 1.6.2 (18/02/2020). Nikon Picture Control Utility 2 (Version 2.4.5 (18/02/2020). Nikon Transfer 2 Version 2.13.5. Adobe photoshop Elements 8 Version 8.0 64bit.

   

youtu.be/syvF_cutj8w

 

It's 1865 and the telegraph is heading west. George Crane, wanting to keep law and order out of his territory, is out to stop the construction. The engineer on the job is Ken Mason and he is the grandson of Zorro. As Crane sends his men or Indians to stop the work, Mason repeatedly puts on the Zorro costume and rides to the rescue in this 12-chapter serial.

 

Clayton Moore

September 14th, 1914 — December 28th, 1999

 

Clayton Moore, though best remembered today as television’s Lone Ranger, had a lengthy and distinguished career in serials. Moore was a physically ideal serial lead, but his greatest strengths were his dramatic, quietly intense speaking voice and expressive face. These gifts helped Moore to convey a sincerity that could make the most unbelievable dialogue or situations seem real. The bulk of Moore’s cliffhanger work was done after World War 2, when serials’ shrinking budgets cut back on original action scenes and made the presence of skilled leading players more important than in the serial’s golden age. Moore, with his sincerity and acting skill, was just the type of actor the post-war serials needed.

Clayton Moore was born Jack Carlton Moore in Chicago. He began to train for a career as a circus acrobat at the age of eight, and joined a trapeze act called the Flying Behrs after finishing high school; as a member of the Behrs, Moore would perform for two circuses and at the 1934 World’s Fair. An injury to his left leg around 1935 forced him out of the aerialist business, and after working briefly as a male model in New York he moved to Hollywood in 1937, beginning his film career as a stuntman. He played numerous bit roles in addition to his stunt work for the next three years, among them a miniscule part in his first serial, Zorro’s Fighting Legion (Republic, 1939), as one of the members of the titular group. Edward Small, an independent producer allied with United Artists, cast Moore in his first credited parts in a pair of 1940 films, Kit Carson and The Son of Monte Cristo. The former featured Moore as a heroic young pioneer, the latter as an army officer aiding masked avenger Louis Hayward. Following these two films, Moore began to get credited speaking parts in other pictures. In 1941 he played the romantic lead in Tuxedo Junction, one of Republic Pictures’ “Weaver Brothers and Elviry” comedies, and the next year the studio signed him for his first starring serial, Perils of Nyoka (Republic, 1942).

Perils of Nyoka (Republic, 1942) was a vehicle for Republic’s new “Serial Queen,” Kay Aldridge, who played Nyoka Gordon, a girl seeking her missing scientist father in the deserts of North Africa. Moore was the heroic Dr. Larry Grayson, a member of an expedition searching for the “Tablets of Hippocrates,” an ancient list of medical cures sought by Nyoka’s father before he disappeared. Nyoka joined forces with Grayson and his expedition to locate Professor Gordon and the tablets–and to battle Arab ruler Vultura (Lorna Gray) and her band of desert cutthroats, who were after the Tablets and the treasure hidden with them. Perils of Nyoka was a highly exciting serial, with consistently imaginative and varied action sequences, and colorful characters and locales. Although Moore took second billing to Aldridge, his character received as much screen time as hers and his performance was a major part of the serial’s success. Moore, with his intense sincerity, made his nearly superhuman physician character believable; the audience never felt like questioning Dr. Grayson’s ability to perform emergency brain surgery on Nyoka’s amnesiac father in a desert cave, or his amazing powers of riding, wall-scaling, marksmanship, and sword-fighting, far beyond those of the average medical school graduate.

  

Moore went into the army in 1942, almost immediately after the release of Perils of Nyoka. He served throughout World War Two, and didn’t resume his film career until 1946, when he returned to Republic Pictures to appear in The Crimson Ghost. The impact of his starring turn in Perils of Nyoka was diminished by his long hiatus, and he found himself playing a supporting role in this new serial. He was cast as Ashe, the chief henchman of the mysterious Crimson Ghost, and aided that villain in his attempts to steal a counter-atomic weapon called a “Cyclotrode.” Ashe was ultimately brought to justice, along with his nefarious master, by stars Charles Quigley and Linda Stirling. The Crimson Ghost showed that Moore could play intensely mean villains as well as intensely courageous heroes. His sneering, bullying Ashe came off as thoroughly unpleasant, as he stalked through the serial doing his best to kill off hero and heroine.

  

Moore returned to heroic parts in his next cliffhanger, Jesse James Rides Again (Republic, 1947). The serial’s plot had Jesse, retired from outlawry, forced to go on the run because of new crimes committed in his name. Jesse and his pal Steve (John Compton) wound up in Tennessee, where, under the alias of “Mr. Howard,” Jesse came to the aid of a group of farmers victimized by an outlaw gang called the Black Raiders. The Raiders, secretly bossed by local businessman Jim Clark (Tristram Coffin), were after oil reserves beneath the local farmland, but Mr. Howard ultimately outgunned them. James’ own identity was exposed in the process, but he was allowed to escape arrest by a sympathetic marshal. Jesse James Rides Again was Republic’s best post-war Western serial, thanks in part to the unusual plot device of an ex-badman hero. Moore was able to give Jesse James a dangerous edge that most other serial leads couldn’t have pulled off; his cold, steely-eyed glare when gunning down villains seemed very much in keeping with dialogue references to Jesse’s outlaw past.

 

G-Men Never Forget (Republic, 1947), Moore’s next serial, cast him as Ted O’Hara, an FBI agent battling a racketeer boss named Vic Murkland (Roy Barcroft). O’Hara broke up various protection rackets organized by Murkland, but his efforts were hampered by Murkland’s impersonation of a kidnaped police commissioner (also played by Barcroft). G-Men Never Forget possessed a tough and realistic atmosphere not typical of gang-busting serials, and Moore delivered a grimly determined performance well-fitted to the serial’s mood. Moore’s acting, good supporting performances, skilled direction, and a well-written script made G-Men Never Forget a superior serial, one that could hold its own against earlier gang-busting chapterplays like the Dick Tracy outings.

 

Moore’s next serial was Adventures of Frank and Jesse James (Republic, 1948), in which he reprised his Jesse James role. Joined this time by Steve Darrell as Frank James, Moore tried to help a former gang member named John Powell (Stanley Andrews) develop a silver mine. Part of the mine’s proceeds were to be used to pay back victims of James Gang robberies, but the plan was derailed by a crooked mining engineer (John Crawford), who discovered the mine contained gold instead of silver and murdered Powell to keep this find secret. Crawford then used every trick in the book to keep Moore, Darrell, and Noel Neill (as Powell’s daughter) from developing the mine, but the James Boys unmasked his treachery by the end. Frank and Jesse James drew heavily on stock footage and plot elements from Republic’s earlier Adventures of Red Ryder, and was thus more predictable than its predecessor, but it was still an entertaining and well-made serial. Moore again made Jesse seem both sympathetic and (when fighting the bad guys) somewhat frightening.

 

By now, Moore was established as Republic’s premiere serial hero; however, his next cliffhanger would lead to his departure from the studio and change the course of his career. The last in a long line of Republic Zorro serials, Ghost of Zorro (1949) starred Moore as Ken Mason, the original Zorro’s grandson, who donned his ancestor’s mask to help a telegraph company establish a line in the wild West in the face of outlaw sabotage. Like Adventures of Frank and Jesse James, the serial was somewhat derivative of earlier outings (particularly Son of Zorro), but smoothly and professionally done. Moore delivered another strong performance, but for some odd reason Republic chose to have his voice dubbed by another actor in scenes where he was masked as Zorro. This strange production decision did not diminish Moore’s potential as a masked hero in the eyes of a group of television producers who were trying to find an actor to play the Lone Ranger on a soon-to-be-launched TV show; Moore’s turn in Ghost of Zorro landed him the part. Moore debuted as the Ranger in 1949, and played the part for two seasons on TV. During this period, he did make one apparent serial appearance in Flying Disc Man From Mars (Republic, 1950), but all his footage actually came from The Crimson Ghost.

 

In 1952, Moore was dropped from The Lone Ranger without any explanation from the producers, who apparently feared that Moore was becoming too identified as the Lone Ranger, and that he might become so sure of his position that he’d ask for a bigger salary. John Hart replaced Moore as the Ranger for the show’s third season, and Moore returned to freelance acting. He played numerous small roles in feature films, made multiple guest appearances (usually as a heavy) on TV shows like Range Rider and The Gene Autry Show, and also found time to make four more serials.

The first of these was Radar Men from the Moon (Republic, 1952), which featured Moore as a gangster named Graber, who was working with lunar invaders to bring the Earth under the dominion of Retik, Emperor of the Moon (Roy Barcroft). Scientist “Commando” Cody (George Wallace) opposed the planned conquest with the aid of his flying rocket suit and other handy gadgets. Moore met a fiery demise when his car plummeted off a cliff in the last chapter, and Retik came to a similarly sticky end shortly thereafter. Moore’s characterization in Radar Men from the Moon was reminiscent of his performance as “Ashe;” once again he performed deeds of villainy with swaggering relish.

 

Moore’s next serial, Columbia’s Son of Geronimo (1952), was his first non-Republic cliffhanger. He returned to playing a hero in this outing, an undercover cavalry officer named Jim Scott out to quell an Indian uprising led by Rodd Redwing as Porico, son of Geronimo. The uprising was being encouraged by outlaws John Crawford and Marshall Reed to serve their own ends, and Scott and Porico ultimately joined forces to defeat them. Son of Geronimo remains one of the few popular late Columbia serials, due to its strong and unusually violent action scenes and the forceful performances of Moore and his co-stars, particularly Reed and Redwing.

 

Moore’s last Republic serial was Jungle Drums of Africa (1952), in which he played Alan King, an American mining engineer developing a valuable uranium deposit in the African jungles. Moore was assisted by lady doctor Phyllis Coates and fellow engineer Johnny Sands and opposed by a group of Communist spies (Henry Rowland, John Cason) and their witch-doctor accomplice (Roy Glenn). While Drums drew extensively on stock shots of African animals to augment its jungle atmosphere, it relied to an unusually large extent on original footage for its action scenes and chapter endings, and the result was a modestly-budgeted but enjoyable serial that served as a good finish to Moore’s career at Republic.

 

Gunfighters of the Northwest (Columbia, 1953), Moore’s final serial, cast him as the second lead, a Mountie named Bram Nevin who backed up RCMP Sergeant Jock Mahoney. Moore, in his first and only “sidekick” role, played well off Mahoney; while the latter’s character was the focus of the serial’s action, Moore’s role was really more that of co-hero than of a traditional sidekick. The serial pitted the two leads against the “White Horse Rebels,” a gang of outlaws trying to overthrow the Canadian government. Though thinly-plotted, Gunfighters, with its nice location photography and good acting, was the last really interesting Columbia serial; it was also Moore’s last serial. In 1954, he returned to the Lone Ranger series, its producers having been forced to realize that Moore was firmly established as the Ranger and that audiences wouldn’t warm up to his substitute John Hart. The fourth and fifth seasons of the show featured Moore in his familiar place as the “daring and resourceful masked rider of the plains.”

 

After the Lone Ranger series ended in 1956, Moore reprised the role in two big-screen movies and then retired from acting. He remained in the public view, however, making personal appearances throughout the country in his Lone Ranger garb. Publicly and privately, he upheld the ideals that the Lone Ranger–and his serial heroes–had upheld on the screen: courage, charity, and a sense of justice. In 1979, he was barred by court order from making personal appearances as the Lone Ranger because the property’s owners worried that Moore’s close identification with the character would undercut a new Lone Ranger film. Moore nevertheless maintained his status as the “real” Lone Ranger in the eyes of fans, and, after the failure of the new Ranger feature, he was allowed to resume his mask in 1984. Moore died in Los Angeles in 1999, leaving behind several generations of fans that honored him not only for his TV persona, but for the kindess that characterized the off-screen man behind the mask.

Part of Clayton Moore’s success as the Lone Ranger was due to his respectful attitude towards the character. While some actors would have had a hard time taking a masked cowboy from a children’s radio show seriously, Moore’s performance was as heartfelt as if he had been playing a Shakespearian role; he gave the part all the benefit of his considerable acting talent. Moore played his cliffhanger roles, heroic and villainous, with the same respect and the same wholeheartedness. It’s no wonder that serial fans hold him in the same high regard that the Lone Ranger’s fans do.

  

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So, let's get one thing straight from the outset.

  

I LOVE CARRION CROW.

  

There, I've said it. Words I use to describe these amazing birds would include stunning, beautiful, bold, magnificent, intelligent and fantastic, loving, tender, victimized.

  

Right now I have a resident pair of Carrion crows who have decided that my garden is theirs, and are playing a game of cat and mouse with a pair of cheeky Magpies (Pica pica) for dominance and food rights. The male crow actually flies in and 'wings' the magpies to make them leave, an incredible sight to witness. It's an honour and a privilege to be able to win their trust and they have given me so much pleasure this year being able to get within a few feet of them, to photograph and feed them, and they have reinforced my already deep admiration for a bird that is brimming with beauty, intelligence, confidence and also surrounded by myths, legend and prejudice.

  

So let's begin with a look back over history.

  

LEGEND AND MYTHOLOGY

  

Crows appear in the Bible where Noah uses one to search for dry land and to check on the recession of the flood. Crows supposedly saved the prophet, Elijah, from famine and are an Inuit deity. Legend has it that England and its monarchy will end when there are no more crows in the Tower of London. And some believe that the crows went to the Tower attracted by the regular corpses following executions with written accounts of their presence at the executions of Anne Boleyn and Jane Gray.

  

In Welsh mythology, unfortunately Crows are seen as symbolic of evilness and black magic thanks to many references to witches transforming into crows or ravens and escaping. Indian legend tells of Kakabhusandi, a crow who sits on the branches of a wish-fulfilling tree called Kalpataru and a crow in Ramayana where Lord Rama blessed the crow with the power to foresee future events and communicate with the souls.

  

In Native American first nation legend the crow is sometimes considered to be something of a trickster, though they are also viewed positively by some tribes as messengers between this world and the next where they carry messages from the living to those deceased, and even carry healing medicines between both worlds. There is a belief that crows can foresee the future. The Klamath tribe in Oregon believe that when we die, we fly up to heaven as a crow. The Crow can also signify wisdom to some tribes who believe crows had the power to talk and were therefore considered to be one of the wisest of birds. Tribes with Crow Clans include the Chippewa (whose Crow Clan and its totem are called Aandeg), the Hopi (whose Crow Clan is called Angwusngyam or Ungwish-wungwa), the Menominee, the Caddo, the Tlingit, and the Pueblo tribes of New Mexico.

  

The crow features in the Nanissáanah (Ghost dance), popularized by Jerome Crow Dog, a Brulé Lakota sub-chief and warrior born at Horse Stealing Creek in Montana Territory in 1833, the crow symbolizing wisdom and the past, when the crow had became a guide and acted as a pathfinder during hunting. The Ghost dance movement was originally created in 1870 by Wodziwob, or Gray Hair, a prophet and medicine man of the Paiute tribe in an area that became known as Nevada. Ghost dancers wore crow and eagle feathers in their clothes and hair, and the fact that the Crow could talk placed it as one of the sages of the animal kingdom. The five day dances seeking trance,prophecy and exhortations would eventually play a major part in the pathway towards the white man's broken treaties, the infamous battle at Wounded knee and the surrender of Matȟó Wanáȟtaka (Kicking Bear), after officials began to fear the ghost dancers and rituals which seemed to occur prior to battle.

  

Historically the Vikings are the group who made so many references to the crow, and Ragnarr Loðbrók and his sons used this species in his banner as well as appearances in many flags and coats of arms. Also, it had some kind of association with Odin, one of their main deities. Norse legend tells us that Odin is accompanied by two crows. Hugin, who symbolizes thought, and Munin, who represents a memory. These two crows were sent out each dawn to fly the entire world, returning at breakfast where they informed the Lord of the Nordic gods of everything that went on in their kingdoms. Odin was also referred to as Rafnagud (raven-god). The raven appears in almost every skaldic poem describing warfare.Coins dating back to 940's minted by Olaf Cuaran depict the Viking war standard, the Raven and Viking war banners (Gonfalon) depicted the bird also.

  

In Scandinavian legends, crows are a representative of the Goddess of Death, known as Valkyrie (from old Norse 'Valkyrja'), one of the group of maidens who served the Norse deity Odin, visiting battlefields and sending him the souls of the slain worthy of a place in Valhalla. Odin ( also called Wodan, Woden, or Wotan), preferred that heroes be killed in battle and that the most valiant of souls be taken to Valhöll, the hall of slain warriors. It is the crow that provides the Valkyries with important information on who should go. In Hindu ceremonies that are associated to ancestors, the crow has an important place in Vedic rituals. They are seen as messengers of death in Indian culture too.

  

In Germanic legend, Crows are seen as psychonomes, meaning the act of guiding spirits to their final destination, and that the feathers of a crow could cure a victim who had been cursed. And yet, a lone black crow could symbolize impending death, whilst a group symbolizes a lucky omen! Vikings also saw good omens in the crow and would leave offerings of meat as a token.

  

The crow also has sacred and prophetic meaning within the Celtic civilization, where it stood for flesh ripped off due to combat and Morrighan, the warrior goddess, often appears in Celtic mythology as a raven or crow, or else is found to be in the company of the birds. Crow is sacred to Lugdnum, the Celtic god of creation who gave his name to the city of Lug

  

In Greek mythology according to Appolodorus, Apollo is supposedly responsible for the black feathers of the crow, turning them forever black from their pristine white original plumage as a punishment after they brought news that Κορωνις (Coronis) a princess of the Thessalian kingdom of Phlegyantis, Apollo's pregnant lover had left him to marry a mortal, Ischys. In one legend, Apollo burned the crows feathers and then burned Coronis to death, in another Coronis herself was turned into a black crow, and another that she was slain by the arrows of Αρτεμις (Artemis - twin to Apollo). Koronis was later set amongst the stars as the constellation Corvus ("the Crow"). Her name means "Curved One" from the Greek word korônis or "Crow" from the word korônê.A similar Muslim legend allegedly tells of Muhammad, founder of Islam and the last prophet sent by God to Earth, who's secret location was given away by a white crow to his seekers, as he hid in caves. The crow shouted 'Ghar Ghar' (Cave, cave) and thus as punishment, Muhammad turned the crow black and cursed it for eternity to utter only one phrase, 'Ghar, ghar). Native Indian legend where the once rainbow coloured crows became forever black after shedding their colourful plumage over the other animals of the world.

  

In China the Crow is represented in art as a three legged bird on a solar disk, being a creature that helps the sun in its journey. In Japan there are myths of Crow Tengu who were priests who became vain, and turned into this spirit to serve as messengers until they learn the lesson of humility as well as a great Crow who takes part in Shinto creation stories.

  

In animal spirit guides there are general perceptions of what sightings of numbers of crows actually mean:

  

1 Crow Meaning: To carry a message from your near one who died recently.

 

2 Crows Meaning: Two crows sitting near your home signifies some good news is on your way.

 

3 Crows Meaning: An upcoming wedding in your family.

 

4 Crows Meaning: Symbolizes wealth and prosperity.

 

5 Crows Meaning: Diseases or pain.

 

6 Crows Meaning: A theft in your house!

 

7 Crows Meaning: Denotes travel or moving from your house.

 

8 Crows Meaning: Sorrowful events

  

Crows are generally seen as the symbolism when alive for doom bringing, misfortune and bad omens, and yet a dead crow symbolises potentially bringing good news and positive change to those who see it. This wonderful bird certainly gets a mixed bag of contradictory mythology and legend over the centuries and in modern days is often seen as a bit of a nuisance, attacking and killing the babies of other birds such as Starlings, Pigeons and House Sparrows as well as plucking the eyes out of lambs in the field, being loud and noisy and violently attacking poor victims in a 'crow court'....

  

There is even a classic horror film called 'THE CROW' released in 1994 by Miramax Films, directed by Alex Proyas and starring Brandon Lee in his final film appearance as Eric Draven, who is revived by a Crow tapping on his gravestone a year after he and his fiancée are murdered in Detroit by a street gang. The crow becomes his guide as he sets out to avenge the murders. The only son of martial arts expert Bruce Lee, Brandon lee suffered fatal injuries on the set of the film when the crew failed to remove the primer from a cartridge that hit Lee in the abdomen with the same force as a normal bullet. Lee died that day, March 31st 1993 aged 28.

  

The symbolism of the Crow resurrecting the dead star and accompanying him on his quest for revenge was powerful, and in some part based on the history of the carrion crow itself and the original film grossed more than $94 Million dollars with three subsequent sequels following.

  

TAKING A CLOSER LOOK

  

So let's move away from legend, mythology and stories passed down from our parents and grandparents and look at these amazing birds in isolation.

  

Carrion crow are passerines in the family Corvidae a group of Oscine passerine birds including Crows, Ravens, Rooks, Jackdaws, Jays, Magpies, Treepies, Choughs and Nutcrackers. Technically they are classed as Corvids, and the largest of passerine birds. Carrion crows are medium to large in size with rictal bristles and a single moult per year (most passerines moult twice). Carrion crow was one of the many species originally described by Swedish naturalist Carl Linnaeus (Carl Von Linne after his ennoblement) in his 1758 and 1759 editions of 'SYSTEMA NATURAE', and it still bears its original name of Corvus corone, derived from the Latin of Corvus, meaning Raven and the Greek κορώνη (korōnē), meaning crow.

  

Carrion crow are of the Animalia kingdom Phylum: Chordata Class: Aves Order: Passeriformes Family: Corvidae Genus: Corvus and Species: Corvus corone

  

Corvus corone can reach 45-47cm in length with a 93-104cm wingspan and weigh between 370-650g. They are protected under The Wildlife and Countryside Act 1981 in the United Kingdom with a Green UK conservation status which means they are of least concern with more than 1,000,000 territories. Breeding occurs in April with fledging of the chicks taking around twenty nine days following an incubation period of around twenty days with 3 to 4 eggs being the average norm.

  

They are abundant in the UK apart from Northwest Scotland and Ireland where the Hooded crow (Corvus cornix) was considered the same species until 2002. They have a lifespan of around four years, whilst Crow species can live to the age of Twenty years old, and the oldest known American crow in the wild was almost Thirty years old. The oldest documented captive crow died at age Fifty nine. They are smaller and have a shorter lifespan than the Raven, which again is used as a symbol in history to live life to the full and not waste a moment!

  

They are often mistaken for the Rook (Corvus frugilegus), a similar bird, though in the UK, the Rook is actually technically smaller than the Carrion crow averaging 44-46cm in length, 81-99cm wingspan and weighing up to 340g. Rooks have white beaks compared to the black beaks of Carrion crow. There are documented cases in the UK of singular and grouped Rooks attacking and killing Carrion crows in their territory. Rooks nest in colonies unlike Carrion crows. Carrion crows have only a few natural enemies including powerful raptors such as the northern goshawk, the peregrine falcon, the Eurasian eagle-owl and the golden eagle which will all readily hunt them.

  

Regarded as one of the most intelligent birds, indeed creatures on the planet, studies suggest that Corvids cognitive abilities can rival that of primates such as chimpanzees and gorillas and even provide clues to understanding human intelligence. Crows have relatively large brains for their body size, compared to other animals. Their encephalization quotient (EQ) a ratio of brain to body size, adjusted for size because there isn’t a linear relationship is 4.1. That is remarkably close to chimps at 4.2 whilst humans are 8.1. Corvids also have a very high neuronal density, the number of neurons per gram of brain, factoring in the number of cortical neurons, neuron packing density, interneuronal distance and axonal conduction velocity shows that Corvids score high on this measure as well, with humans scoring the highest.

  

A corvid's pallium is packed with more neurons than a great ape's. Corvids have demonstrated the ability to use a combination of mental tools such as imagination, and anticipation of future events. They can craft tools from twigs and branches to hook grubs from deep recesses, they can solve puzzles and intricate methods of gaining access to food set by humans., and have even bent pieces of wire into hooks to obtain food. They have been proven to have a higher cognitive ability level than seven year old humans. Communications wise, their repertoire of wraw-wraw's is not fully understood, but the intensity, rhythm, and duration of caws seems to form the basis of a possible language. They also remember the faces of humans who have hindered or hurt them and pass that information on to their offspring.

  

Aesop's fable of 'The Crow and the Pitcher, tells of a thirsty crow which drops stones into a water pitcher to raise the water level and enable it to take a drink. Scientists have conducted tests to see whether crows really are this intelligent. They placed floating treats in a deep tube and observed the crows indeed dropping dense objects carefully selected into the water until the treat floated within reach. They had the intelligence to pick up, weigh and discount objects that would float in the water, they also did not select ones that were too large for the container.

  

Pet crows develop a unique call for their owners, in effect actually naming them. They also know to sunbathe for a dose of vitamin D, regularly settling on wooden garden fences, opening their mouths and wings and raising their heads to the sun. In groups they warn of danger and communicate vocally. They store a cache of food for later if in abundance and are clever enough to move it if they feel it has been discovered. They leave markers for their cache. They have even learned to place walnuts and similar hard food items under car tyres at traffic lights as a means of cracking them!

  

Crows regularly gather around a dead fellow corvid, almost like a funeral, and it is thought they somehow learn from each death. They can even remember human faces for decades.Crows group together to attack larger predators and even steal their food, and they have different dialects in different areas, with the ability to mimic the dialect of the alpha males when they enter their territory!

  

They have a twenty year life span, the oldest on record reaching the age of Fifty nine. Crows can leave gifts for those who feed them such as buttons or bright shiny objects as a thank you, and they even kiss and make up after an argument, having mated for life.

  

In mythology they are associated with good and bad luck, being the bringers of omens and even witchcraft and are generally reviled for their attacks on baby birds and small mammals. They have an attack method of to stunning smaller birds before consuming them, tearing violently at smaller, less aggressive birds, which is simply down to the fact that they are so highly intelligent, and also the top of the food chain. Their diet includes over a thousand different items: Dead animals (as their name suggests), invertebrates, grain, as well as stealing eggs and chicks from other birds' nests, worms, insects, fruit, seeds, kitchen scraps. They are highly adaptable when food sources grow scarce. I absolutely love them, they are magnificent, bold, beautiful and incredibly interesting to watch and though at times it is hard to witness attacks made by them, I cannot help but adore them for so many other and more important reasons.

  

OBSERVATIONS ON THE PAIR IN MY GARDEN

 

Crows have been in the area for a while, but rarely had strayed into my garden, leaving the Magpies to own the territory. Things changed towards the end of May when a beautiful female Carrion crow appeared and began to take some of the food that I put down for the other birds. Within a few days she began to appear regularly, on occasions stocking up on food, whilst other times placing pieces in the birdbath to soften them. She would stand on the birdbath and eat and drink and come back over the course of the day to eat the softened food.

  

Shortly afterwards she brought along her mate, a tall and handsome fella, much larger than her who was also very vocal if he felt she was getting a little too close to me. By now I had moved from a seated position from the patio as an observer, to laying on a mat just five feet from the birdbath with my Nikon so that I could photograph the pair as they landed, scavenged and fed. She was now confident enough to let me be very close, and she even tolerated and recognized the clicking of the camera. At first I used silent mode to reduce the noise but this only allowed two shooting frame rates of single frame or continuous low frame which meant I was missing shots. I reverted back to normal continuous high frames and she soon got used to the whirring of the frames as the mirror slapped back and forth.

  

The big fella would bark orders at her from the safety of the fence or the rear of the garden, whilst she rarely made a sound. That was until one day when in the sweltering heat she kept opening her beak and sunning on the grass, panting slightly in the heat. I placed the circular water sprayer nearby and had it rotating so that the birdbath and grass was bathed in gentle water droplets and she soon came back, landed and seemed to really like the cooling effect on offer. She then climbed onto the birdbath and opened her wings slightly and made some gentle purring, cooing noises....

  

I swear she was expressing happiness, joy....

  

On another blisteringly hot day when the sprayer was on, she came down, walked towards it and opened her wings up running into the water spray. Not once, but many times.

A final observation came with the male and female on the rear garden fence. They sat together, locked beaks like a kiss and then the male took his time gently preening her head feathers and the back of her neck as she made tiny happy sounds. They stayed together like that for several minutes, showing a gentle, softer side to their nature and demonstrating the deep bond between them.

  

Corvus Corone.... magnificently misunderstood by some!

  

Paul Williams June 4th 2021

  

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Photograph taken at an altitude of Fifty three metres at 15:23pm on a beautiful summer afternoon on Tuesday 8th June 2021, off Chessington Avenue in Bexleyheath, Kent.

  

Here we see a large adult Carrion crow (Corvus corone), a passerine bird of the family Corvidae and the genus Raven (Higher classification: Corvus), which is native to western Europe and eastern Asia. It can grow to twenty inches in length with a wingspan of up to thirty nine inches. This one keeps the magpie's and Jackdaw's in their place, as top of the food chain, afraid of nothing. They can reach a length of 47cm with a 104cm wingspan and a weight of up to 650g, and in the UK they are in the Green conservation list status with over one million breeding territories.

  

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Nikon D850 Focal length 450mm Shutter speed: 1/500s Aperture f/11.0 iso500 Hand held with Tamron VC Vibration control set to ON in position 1 14 Bit uncompressed RAW NEF file size L (8256 x 5504 pixels) FX (36 x 24) Focus mode: AF-C AF-Area mode: 3D-tracking AF-C Priority Selection: Release. Nikon Back button focusing enabled 3D Tracking watch area: Normal 55 Tracking points Exposure mode: Manual exposure mode Metering mode: Matrix metering White balance on: Auto1 (4680k) Colour space: RGB Picture control: Neutral (Sharpening +2)

  

Tamron SP 150-600mm F/5-6.3 Di VC USD G2. Nikon GP-1 GPS module. Lee SW150 MKII filter holder. Lee SW150 95mm screw in adapter ring. Lee SW150 circular polariser glass filter.Lee SW150 Filters field pouch. Hoodman HEYENRG round eyepiece oversized eyecup.Mcoplus professional MB-D850 multi function battery grip 6960.Two Nikon EN-EL15a batteries (Priority to battery in Battery grip). Black Rapid Curve Breathe strap. My Memory 128GB Class 10 SDXC 80MB/s card. Lowepro Flipside 400 AW camera bag.

    

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LATITUDE: N 51d 28m 28.16s

LONGITUDE: E 0d 8m 10.61s

ALTITUDE: 53.00m

  

RAW (TIFF) FILE: 130.00MB NEF FILE: 91.1MB

PROCESSED (JPeg) FILE: 53.60MB

    

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PROCESSING POWER:

  

Nikon D850 Firmware versions C 1.10 (9/05/2019) LD Distortion Data 2.018 (18/02/20) LF 1.00

  

HP 110-352na Desktop PC with AMD Quad-Core A6-5200 APU 64Bit processor. Radeon HD8400 graphics. 8 GB DDR3 Memory with 1TB Data storage. 64-bit Windows 10. Verbatim USB 2.0 1TB desktop hard drive. WD My Passport Ultra 1tb USB3 Portable hard drive. Nikon ViewNX-1 64bit Version 1.4.1 (18/02/2020). Nikon Capture NX-D 64bit Version 1.6.2 (18/02/2020). Nikon Picture Control Utility 2 (Version 2.4.5 (18/02/2020). Nikon Transfer 2 Version 2.13.5. Adobe photoshop Elements 8 Version 8.0 64bit.

   

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So, let's get one thing straight from the outset.

  

I LOVE CARRION CROW.

  

There, I've said it. Words I use to describe these amazing birds would include stunning, beautiful, bold, magnificent, intelligent and fantastic, loving, tender, victimized.

  

Right now I have a resident pair of Carrion crows who have decided that my garden is theirs, and are playing a game of cat and mouse with a pair of cheeky Magpies (Pica pica) for dominance and food rights. The male crow actually flies in and 'wings' the magpies to make them leave, an incredible sight to witness. It's an honour and a privilege to be able to win their trust and they have given me so much pleasure this year being able to get within a few feet of them, to photograph and feed them, and they have reinforced my already deep admiration for a bird that is brimming with beauty, intelligence, confidence and also surrounded by myths, legend and prejudice.

  

So let's begin with a look back over history.

  

LEGEND AND MYTHOLOGY

  

Crows appear in the Bible where Noah uses one to search for dry land and to check on the recession of the flood. Crows supposedly saved the prophet, Elijah, from famine and are an Inuit deity. Legend has it that England and its monarchy will end when there are no more crows in the Tower of London. And some believe that the crows went to the Tower attracted by the regular corpses following executions with written accounts of their presence at the executions of Anne Boleyn and Jane Gray.

  

In Welsh mythology, unfortunately Crows are seen as symbolic of evilness and black magic thanks to many references to witches transforming into crows or ravens and escaping. Indian legend tells of Kakabhusandi, a crow who sits on the branches of a wish-fulfilling tree called Kalpataru and a crow in Ramayana where Lord Rama blessed the crow with the power to foresee future events and communicate with the souls.

  

In Native American first nation legend the crow is sometimes considered to be something of a trickster, though they are also viewed positively by some tribes as messengers between this world and the next where they carry messages from the living to those deceased, and even carry healing medicines between both worlds. There is a belief that crows can foresee the future. The Klamath tribe in Oregon believe that when we die, we fly up to heaven as a crow. The Crow can also signify wisdom to some tribes who believe crows had the power to talk and were therefore considered to be one of the wisest of birds. Tribes with Crow Clans include the Chippewa (whose Crow Clan and its totem are called Aandeg), the Hopi (whose Crow Clan is called Angwusngyam or Ungwish-wungwa), the Menominee, the Caddo, the Tlingit, and the Pueblo tribes of New Mexico.

  

The crow features in the Ghost dance, popularized by Jerome Crow Dog, a Brulé Lakota sub-chief and warrior born at Horse Stealing Creek in Montana Territory in 1833, the crow symbolizing wisdom and the past, when the crow had became a guide and acted as a pathfinder during hunting. Ghost dancers wore crow and eagle feathers in their clothes and hair, and the fact that the Crow could talk placed it as one of the sages of the animal kingdom.

  

Historically the Vikings are the group who made so many references to the crow, and Ragnar Lodbrok used this species in his banner as well as appearances in many flags and coats of arms. Also, it had some kind of association with Odin, one of their main deities. Norse legend tells us that Odin is accompanied by two crows. Hugin, who symbolizes thought, and Munin, who represents a memory. These two crows informed the Lord of the Nordic gods of everything that went on in their kingdoms.

  

In Scandinavian legends, crows are a representative of the Goddess of Death, known as Valkyrie (from old Norse 'Valkyrja'), one of the group of maidens who served the Norse deity Odin, visiting battlefields and sending him the souls of the slain worthy of a place in Valhalla. Odin ( also called Wodan, Woden, or Wotan), preferred that heroes be killed in battle and that the most valiant of souls be taken to Valhöll, the hall of slain warriors. It is the crow that provides the Valkyries with important information on who should go. In Hindu ceremonies that are associated to ancestors, the crow has an important place in Vedic rituals. They are seen as messengers of death in Indian culture too.

  

In Germanic legend, Crows are seen as psychonomes, meaning the act of guiding spirits to their final destination, and that the feathers of a crow could cure a victim who had been cursed. And yet, a lone black crow could symbolize impending death, whilst a group symbolizes a lucky omen! Vikings also saw good omens in the crow and would leave offerings of meat as a token.

  

The crow also has sacred and prophetic meaning within the Celtic civilization, where it stood for flesh ripped off due to combat and Morrighan, the warrior goddess, often appears in Celtic mythology as a raven or crow, or else is found to be in the company of the birds. Crow is sacred to Lugdnum, the Celtic god of creation who gave his name to the city of Lug

  

In Greek mythology Apollo is supposedly responsible for the black feathers of the crow. Turning them forever black from their pristine white plumage as a punishment after they failed to watch Coronis, lover of Apollo, battles a Native Indian legend where the once rainbow coloured crows became forever black after shedding their colourful plumage over the other animals of the world.

  

In China the Crow is represented in art as a three legged bird on a solar disk, being a creature that helps the sun in its journey. In Japan there are myths of Crow Tengu who were priests who became vain, and turned into this spirit to serve as messengers until they learn the lesson of humility as well as a great Crow who takes part in Shinto creation stories.

  

In animal spirit guides there are general perceptions of what sightings of numbers of crows actually mean:

  

1 Crow Meaning: To carry a message from your near one who died recently.

 

2 Crows Meaning: Two crows sitting near your home signifies some good news is on your way.

 

3 Crows Meaning: An upcoming wedding in your family.

 

4 Crows Meaning: Symbolizes wealth and prosperity.

 

5 Crows Meaning: Diseases or pain.

 

6 Crows Meaning: A theft in your house!

 

7 Crows Meaning: Denotes travel or moving from your house.

 

8 Crows Meaning: Sorrowful events

  

Crows are generally seen as the symbolism when alive for doom bringing, misfortune and bad omens, and yet a dead crow symbolises potentially bringing good news and positive change to those who see it. This wonderful bird certainly gets a mixed bag of contradictory mythology and legend over the centuries and in modern days is often seen as a bit of a nuisance, attacking and killing the babies of other birds such as Starlings, Pigeons and House Sparrows as well as plucking the eyes out of lambs in the field, being loud and noisy and violently attacking poor victims in a 'crow court'....

  

There is even a classic horror film called 'THE CROW' released in 1994 by Miramax Films, directed by Alex Proyas and starring Brandon Lee in his final film appearance as Eric Draven, who is revived by a Crow tapping on his gravestone a year after he and his fiancée are murdered in Detroit by a street gang. The crow becomes his guide as he sets out to avenge the murders. The only son of martial arts expert Bruce Lee, Brandon lee suffered fatal injuries on the set of the film when the crew failed to remove the primer from a cartridge that hit Lee in the abdomen with the same force as a normal bullet. Lee died that day, March 31st 1993 aged 28.

  

The symbolism of the Crow resurrecting the dead star and accompanying him on his quest for revenge was powerful, and in some part based on the history of the carrion crow itself and the original film grossed more than $94 Million dollars with three subsequent sequels following.

  

TAKING A CLOSER LOOK

  

So let's move away from legend, mythology and stories passed down from our parents and grandparents and look at these amazing birds in isolation.

  

Carrion crow are passerines in the family Corvidae a group of Oscine passerine birds including Crows, Ravens, Rooks, Jackdaws, Jays, Magpies, Treepies, Choughs and Nutcrackers. Technically they are classed as Corvids, and the largest of passerine birds. Carrion crows are medium to large in size with rictal bristles and a single moult per year (most passerines moult twice). Carrion crow was one of the many species originally described by Swedish naturalist Carl Linnaeus (Carl Von Linne after his ennoblement) in his 1758 and 1759 editions of 'SYSTEMA NATURAE', and it still bears its original name of Corvus corone, derived from the Latin of Corvus, meaning Raven and the Greek κορώνη (korōnē), meaning crow.

  

Carrion crow are of the Animalia kingdom Phylum: Chordata Class: Aves Order: Passeriformes Family: Corvidae Genus: Corvus and Species: Corvus corone

  

Corvus corone can reach 45-47cm in length with a 93-104cm wingspan and weigh between 370-650g. They are protected under The Wildlife and Countryside Act 1981 in the United Kingdom with a Green UK conservation status which means they are of least concern with more than 1,000,000 territories. Breeding occurs in April with fledging of the chicks taking around twenty nine days following an incubation period of around twenty days with 3 to 4 eggs being the average norm. They are abundant in the UK apart from Northwest Scotland and Ireland where the Hooded crow (Corvus cornix) was considered the same species until 2002. They have a lifespan of around four years, whilst Crow species can live to the age of Twenty years old, and the oldest known American crow in the wild was almost Thirty years old. The oldest documented captive crow died at age Fifty nine. They are smaller and have a shorter lifespan than the Raven, which again is used as a symbol in history to live life to the full and not waste a moment!

  

They are often mistaken for the Rook (Corvus frugilegus), a similar bird, though in the UK, the Rook is actually technically smaller than the Carrion crow averaging 44-46cm in length, 81-99cm wingspan and weighing up to 340g. Rooks have white beaks compared to the black beaks of Carrion crow. There are documented cases in the UK of singular and grouped Rooks attacking and killing Carrion crows in their territory. Rooks nest in colonies unlike Carrion crows. Carrion crows have only a few natural enemies including powerful raptors such as the northern goshawk, the peregrine falcon, the Eurasian eagle-owl and the golden eagle which will all readily hunt them.

  

Regarded as one of the most intelligent birds, indeed creatures on the planet, studies suggest that Corvids cognitive abilities can rival that of primates such as chimpanzees and gorillas and even provide clues to understanding human intelligence. A corvid's pallium is packed with more neurons than a great ape's. Corvids have demonstrated the ability to use a combination of mental tools such as imagination, and anticipation of future events. They can craft tools from twigs and branches to hook grubs from deep recesses, they can solve puzzles and intricate methods of gaining access to food set by humans., and have even bent pieces of wire into hooks to obtain food. They have been proven to have a higher cognitive ability level than seven year old humans. Communications wise, their repertoire of wraw-wraw's is not fully understood, but the intensity, rhythm, and duration of caws seems to form the basis of a possible language. They also remember the faces of humans who have hindered or hurt them and pass that information on to their offspring.

  

Aesop's fable of 'The Crow and the Pitcher, tells of a thirsty crow which drops stones into a water pitcher to raise the water level and enable it to take a drink. Scientists have conducted tests to see whether crows really are this intelligent. They placed floating treats in a deep tube and observed the crows indeed dropping dense objects carefully selected into the water until the treat floated within reach. They had the intelligence to pick up, weigh and discount objects that would float in the water, they also did not select ones that were too large for the container.

  

Pet crows develop a unique call for their owners, in effect actually naming them. They also know to sunbathe for a dose of vitamin D, regularly settling on wooden garden fences, opening their mouths and wings and raising their heads to the sun. In groups they warn of danger and communicate vocally. They store a cache of food for later if in abundance and are clever enough to move it if they feel it has been discovered. They leave markers for their cache. They have even learned to place walnuts and similar hard food items under car tyres at traffic lights as a means of cracking them!

  

Crows regularly gather around a dead fellow corvid, almost like a funeral, and it is thought they somehow learn from each death. They can even remember human faces for decades. Crows group together to attack larger predators and even steal their food, and they have different dialects in different areas, with the ability to mimic the dialect of the alpha males when they enter their territory!

  

They have a twenty year life span, the oldest on record reaching the age of Fifty nine. Crows can leave gifts for those who feed them such as buttons or bright shiny objects as a thank you, and they even kiss and make up after an argument, having mated for life.

  

In mythology they are associated with good and bad luck, being the bringers of omens and even witchcraft and are generally reviled for their attacks on baby birds and small mammals. They have an attack method of to stunning smaller birds before consuming them, tearing violently at smaller, less aggressive birds, which is simply down to the fact that they are so highly intelligent, and also the top of the food chain. Their diet includes over a thousand different items: Dead animals (as their name suggests), invertebrates, grain, as well as stealing eggs and chicks from other birds' nests, worms, insects, fruit, seeds, kitchen scraps. They are highly adaptable when food sources grow scarce. I absolutely love them, they are magnificent, bold, beautiful and incredibly interesting to watch and though at times it is hard to witness attacks made by them, I cannot help but adore them for so many other and more important reasons.

  

OBSERVATIONS ON THE PAIR IN MY GARDEN

  

Crows have been in the area for a while, but rarely had strayed into my garden, leaving the Magpies to own the territory. Things changed towards the end of May when a beautiful female Carrion crow appeared and began to take some of the food that I put down for the other birds. Within a few days she began to appear regularly, on occasions stocking up on food, whilst other times placing pieces in the birdbath to soften them. She would stand on the birdbath and eat and drink and come back over the course of the day to eat the softened food.

  

Shortly afterwards she brought along her mate, a tall and handsome fella, much larger than her who was also very vocal if he felt she was getting a little too close to me. By now I had moved from a seated position from the patio as an observer, to laying on a mat just five feet from the birdbath with my Nikon so that I could photograph the pair as they landed, scavenged and fed. She was now confident enough to let me be very close, and she even tolerated and recognized the clicking of the camera. At first I used silent mode to reduce the noise but this only allowed two shooting frame rates of single frame or continuous low frame which meant I was missing shots. I reverted back to normal continuous high frames and she soon got used to the whirring of the frames as the mirror slapped back and forth.

  

The big fella would bark orders at her from the safety of the fence or the rear of the garden, whilst she rarely made a sound. That was until one day when in the sweltering heat she kept opening her beak and sunning on the grass, panting slightly in the heat. I placed the circular water sprayer nearby and had it rotating so that the birdbath and grass was bathed in gentle water droplets and she soon came back, landed and seemed to really like the cooling effect on offer. She then climbed onto the birdbath and opened her wings slightly and made some gentle purring, cooing noises.... I swear she was expressing happiness, joy....

  

On another blisteringly hot day when the sprayer was on, she came down, walked towards it and opened her wings up running into the water spray. Not once, but many times.

  

A final observation came with the male and female on the rear garden fence. They sat together, locked beaks like a kiss and then the male took his time gently preening her head feathers and the back of her neck as she made tiny happy sounds. They stayed together like that for several minutes, showing a gentle, softer side to their nature and demonstrating the deep bond between them.

  

Corvus Corone.... magnificently misunderstood by some!

  

Paul Williams June 4th 2021

 

©DESPITE STRAIGHT LINES (Paul Williams)

  

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Photograph taken at an altitude of Sixty two metres at 09:53am on a summer morning on Tuesday 8th June 2021, of an adult Carrion crow (Corvus corone), off Hythe Avenue and Chessington Avenue in Bexleyheath, Kent.

    

Nikon D850 Focal length 400mm Shutter speed: 1/500s Aperture f/8.0 iso200 Hand held with Tamron VC Vibration control set to ON in position 1 14 Bit uncompressed RAW NEF file size L (8256 x 5504 pixels) FX (36 x 24) Focus mode: AF-C AF-Area mode: 3D-tracking AF-C Priority Selection: Release. Nikon Back button focusing enabled 3D Tracking watch area: Normal 55 Tracking points Exposure mode: Manual exposure mode Metering mode: Matrix metering White balance on: Auto1 (4760k) Colour space: RGB Picture control: Neutral (Sharpening +2)

  

Tamron SP 150-600mm F/5-6.3 Di VC USD G2. Nikon GP-1 GPS module. Lee SW150 MKII filter holder. Lee SW150 95mm screw in adapter ring. Lee SW150 circular polariser glass filter.Lee SW150 Filters field pouch. Hoodman HEYENRG round eyepiece oversized eyecup.Mcoplus professional MB-D850 multi function battery grip 6960.Two Nikon EN-EL15a batteries (Priority to battery in Battery grip). Black Rapid Curve Breathe strap. My Memory 128GB Class 10 SDXC 80MB/s card. Lowepro Flipside 400 AW camera bag.

    

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LATITUDE: N 51d 28m 28.61s

LONGITUDE: E 0d 8m 10.55s

ALTITUDE: 63.0m

  

RAW (TIFF) FILE: 130.00MB NEF FILE: 90.10MB

PROCESSED (JPeg) FILE: 37.80MB

   

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PROCESSING POWER:

  

Nikon D850 Firmware versions C 1.10 (9/05/2019) LD Distortion Data 2.018 (18/02/20) LF 1.00

  

HP 110-352na Desktop PC with AMD Quad-Core A6-5200 APU 64Bit processor. Radeon HD8400 graphics. 8 GB DDR3 Memory with 1TB Data storage. 64-bit Windows 10. Verbatim USB 2.0 1TB desktop hard drive. WD My Passport Ultra 1tb USB3 Portable hard drive. Nikon ViewNX-1 64bit Version 1.4.1 (18/02/2020). Nikon Capture NX-D 64bit Version 1.6.2 (18/02/2020). Nikon Picture Control Utility 2 (Version 2.4.5 (18/02/2020). Nikon Transfer 2 Version 2.13.5. Adobe photoshop Elements 8 Version 8.0 64bit.

  

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The Silken whisper of Flickering Desires

A Chronicle

Adapted from the Final Entry Entitled:

Their Regal Gambit

Subtitled:

While Sherlock Holmes vacationed

 

The first score had been made, now for the Coup de Grace! So far their little operation had gone as smooth as silk, or in this case, satin. Now just to make sure the husband of the silken gowned brunette displaying the jewels in question was still safely out of the picture! Then Mollie would let her husband know that with the coast clear, freeing him to stage his approach of the lady in the long swishing satin gown he had been keeping an eye on all evening. The one who was wearing the exquisite necklace of fiery flickering diamonds, just daring someone to expertly slip it away the throat of its unsuspecting owner.

 

And therein lay the rub, She happily thought….

 

As Mollie made her way down the quiet corridor to the gentlemen’s smoking lounge, she lovingly played through her mind the series of unfortunate ( or fortunate?) events that had led her and her husband to this place. It had all began with an innocent one named Tabitha…….

 

Mollies’ Flash back

 

They had first come across Tabitha at a resort casino deep in the Catskills. Mollie and her husband had been there about three days, scoping out the grounds, and its wealthy clientele. At the casino they both spotted Tabitha at the same time. She was seated at a baccarat table, really standing out in an elegant dress of gold and black striped silk and velvet Her well-toned body displayed numerous pieces of expensive jewelry. A fat little purse dangled, unheeded by her side. Tabitha had held Mollie’s attention mainly due to the strong resemblance she had to herself. Tabitha’s jewelry, a flashy diamond journey style necklace, matching earrings, wide diamond tennis bracelet, and multiple gem encrusted rings, had held Mollies pickpocket husbands’.

 

Mollie went on to the bar and watched as her husband waited for the seat next to Tabitha to become vacant. Then he sat, asking for chips, while unobtrusively eyeing Tabitha’s bracelet. He began striking up a conversation with Tabitha, finding her to be an easy mark. He soon learned from the chatty girl that she was a divorced, upper executive for a well-known digital arts company servicing the movie industry. It was during this conversation that Tabitha babbled about the upscale, invitation only(you know), black tie formal ball she would be attending in England the next month. Now, as her husband was keeping Tabitha occupied Mollie had walked by the pair, ‘tripping’ into her husband, who palmed off to her , the diamond bracelet which had been ever so subtly slipped from around the unwary Tabatha’s’ wrist. Walking away with the bracelet secured in her purse, Mollie made her way to their small bungalow. Her husband did not break in his conversation with Tabitha; a mark would seldom suspect a friendly person of stealing from her.

 

Later that evening, Mollie wore the pricy bracelet while mutually admiring it over a bottle of merlot with her husband. They discussed the high-class affair Tabitha had been bragging about. Wistfully, Mollie admitted it was a shame they had not received an invite. Her husband smiled, and pulled a thickly embossed and crested envelope from his pocket. Easily adopting a British accent, he said “The silly little twit was carrying this in her purse!” The envelope revealed a pair of invitations to the Princess’s Jubilee Royal Ball. As the pair continued to empty the bottle of fine merlot, what had started as speculation, turned towards reality, and soon plans had been laid.

 

As they lay in bed later that night, Mollie turned to her husband, just think about the jewels that will be worn at the English Ball, she shivered with the delightful thoughts. Do you remember the last time we were in England? Mollie looked at her husband slyly, you remember, the Wriggling Whelp Whispering Wisk! She stated teasingly. Mollie knew the quickest way to get her husband’s goat was coming up with silly phrases to describe his more outlandish endeavors. Such phrases like The Tingling Touch Ice Melt, The Slippery Slick Taffeta Pull, The Glossy Gowned Dangling Peel, or her personal favorite, The Ticklish Wedge Clam Dip, never failed to get a response. In this case the response was a brief pillow fight leading into a romantic interlude, ending up with them in bed as they reminisced about the last time they had “visited” England a few years back…..

It had proven a fairly profitable venture with the jewelry alone netting almost 100,000 pounds. It all had culminated quite nicely at one of the posh events they had crashed that final weekend. Their final score had come about from a rambunctious doe eyed Fourteen year old in a shiny dress who had been oblivious to the valuably delicious gold pendent studded with small rubies and emeralds that sparkled ever so invitingly as it swung from her throat. A pair of matching dangling earrings dripped from her ears as she has run around unminded by her elders. Mollie had indignantly stated to her husband that the antique trinkets were simply just too expensive for a child so squirminly young to be trusted with. Her husband then went about the task to prove his wife correct in her statement.

 

After talking a bit about the English Girls parents reaction to the unsolved disappearance of their daughters ultra-pricey pendent , Mollie came back to the present and asked if the lady in the maroon silk that her husband pointed out the previous evening would be wearing the same jewels to the dance tomorrow night? Or better her husband replied sleepily, good Mollie pronounced, I did like her emeralds.

 

In Merry Ole England

 

They had arrived in England several weeks before the Royal Ball and began the preparations.

 

In an irony of fate, the profit they had realized from poor Tabitha’s bracelet had paid for a large chunk of their little excursion. Keeping his accent, and adding a trim beard, Mollies husband looked radically different from the man Tabitha had encountered. During the weeks following their arrival, the pair had practiced like they always did before undertaking a new venture. But this time it was with a more daring edge, they quite simply could not afford being caught red handed in a foreign country. Mollie assumed her practice the role. That of the richly dressed, well jeweled quarry. Her husband would stalk and attempt to relieve her of a piece of her jewelry as she went about her business, shopping! The idea being that, If he was able to do so without being caught by an obviously aware Mollie, than he should have no problem at the Royal Ball. As it usually happened when they practiced in this manner, her husband did incredibly well. Mollie had had several pieces of jewelry vanish from her person during the week, without her noticing how or when.

 

The final night of practice Mollie decided to dress to kill. Looking quite devastating in a glossy gold halter and a long brown velvet skirt with gold stiletto heels clicking as she moved. A diamond heart pendant hung down from her neck, swaying provocatively out from between her breasts. A bracelet, similar to Tabitha’s purloined diamonds, was wrapped around her wrist.

 

She left their penthouse and made her way to the street outside. Some type of festival was going on as she waded through the crowded streets to the nightclub. Her rings sparkled as they kept rhythm with her swaying diamond waterfall earrings. Just daring her husband to make a move for any of them.

 

Mollie drank and danced the night away with no hide or hair of her husband until she returned late that evening to their apartment. She found him in the hot tub, smirking. She undressed and joined him. Okay, how did u do it she demanded? I felt nothing, no one bumped or brushed against me all evening that I was not aware of. He opened his fist, allowing her heart diamond pendant to dangle freely in front of her. A magician never reveals his tricks my little cat, he purred, as the pendant swayed in a sparkling arch.

 

Cat was short for “Cat Lady”, a moniker he had placed upon her when she had broken into a sleeping woman’s room and removed the jewels from her gold case, and even managed to slip off a ring she was wearing. The fact that she was passed out in a drunken stupor, still dressed in her long party gown, didn’t count , or so her husband teased.

 

You should have been a surgeon! , my dear, Mollie exclaimed with pride. Then she leaned towards him, her green eyes gleaming in earnest, time for a real practice run Mon Cherie, she said in dead seriousness. Then Her eyes opened wide, I got it she exclaimed, I’ll call it The Slinking Sneaky Shearing Snag she pronounced joyfully, getting a face full of water in reply to her effort. Okay Cat, let’s get down to business he retorted, I know just the affair. Mollie listened intensively as her Husband described their next plans, derived while eavesdropping on a couple of ladies shopping in a jewelers.

 

The next weekend (two weeks to the evening before the Royal Ball) Mollie found herself at a quaint upscale wedding reception held in the large gardens of a country church. She was attired in the same bewitching ensemble that she had been wearing on the final night of practice. Her only jewels were a recently acquired pair of sparkly cascading earrings set with emeralds and diamonds. The affair of the plump piqued peacock plucking she had mused while getting dressed. The only other exception was that the long fiery red hair she had inherited from her Irish namesake grandmother had been cut and dyed blond. Blue contacts had also been added to the disguise to hide her vivid green eyes.

 

They soon targeted an older jewel laden snob at the reception. An older lady , well jeweled, of the arrogant know it all, obey me totally type whom everyone tries to avoid. While Mollie engaged the mark in a mostly one sided conversation(the older ladies) the lady had become so deeply engrossed about talking about herself and her ties with royalty, that she never detected being relieved of a heirloom antique gold chain and jeweled pendent by Mollies husband who had approached her unnoticed from behind.

It was all Mollie could do no to bring attention to it by looking at the wickedly expensive piece as it was slipped up and away from the Dowager’s ruffled heavy satin blouse.

 

This time it was mollies turn to keep chatting as her husband headed to the door. He had almost made it when two youths ran into him as they scurried away from a rather sullen looking tween girl they had been teasing, and now were in possession of her purse. Mollie stole a look as she saw her husband topple onto the chasing girl. He managed to extracted himself from the girls long slinky gown that she had probably been forced into by an overly conceited mother. He apologized, and left the girl to go after her antagonizes. Later, when Mollie had caught up to him she teased him about his clumsiness. He just smiled, and pulled out from his vest pocket the most exquisitely matched pearls that the youth had been openly displaying from around her throat and wrist at the reception!

 

They were, most definitely, ready. The fated evening could not come soon enough. But it finally did.

 

They had had no problem with using the fancy invitations to gain entrance. Security was heavy, as expected, but with a very lax atmosphere. Mollie was wearing the salmon coloured gown she had had especially made for such occasions, her new blond hair style and the blue contacts. In a coup foray of sorts, Mollie wore the pearls that had been taken by her husband during his run in with the sullen girl at the wedding reception. Her husband was wearing his usual tux with a hand tied bowtie. His ruffled sleeves easily moved up and down along his wrists.

 

Mollie and her husband split up, each spending the first few hours mingling solo, and taking it all in as they thoroughly enjoyed the Ball and all its many stimulating attractions. It had gone smooth as silk. Spending the first few hours prowling while the guests liquored up Mollie scoping out exactly the right candidates. Dangling jewels with easy clasps were everywhere!, it was surprising how the best of jewel makers skimped on the clasps required to keep the expensive pieces in place. Clothing also made a difference. Silks and satins were quiet and slipped easily. Taffeta could be whispery, more of a challenge. Velvet could easily snag as a piece was being lifted. But these were the costliest of materials, and the wearers would logically be wearing the costlier of jewelry.

 

Mollie and her husband regrouped several hours later, unobtrusively under the pretense of dancing. Gently discussing their plans. They settled on three likely prospects amongst the almost three hundred present. The first was an older spinster type wearing a luxurious dress of embroidered navy silk and displaying jewelry studded with diamonds and sapphires. The second was a middle aged snotty blonde wearing a shamelessly low cut green silk taffeta gown (which Mollie secretly liked)wearing a thick gold bracelet studded with vulgarly large rubies surrounded by a sea of small sparkly diamonds. She was alone, and a heavy drinker. The third was a longshot. A lanky , flighty brunette wearing immensely valuable jewels of blindingly sparkling Diamonds. Her necklace alone was in the upper hundred thousand range, with a clasp that was one of the easiest to coax open. The only problem was that she came with an obviously newlywed husband who doted on her every move. Both were heavy drinkers, and if he would only leave his wife’s side for, say about fifteen minutes, the necklace would be theirs!

 

They had decided that any one of the three would produce results worth a king’s ransom, appropriately enough, all things considered. The plan was for her husband to take his time selecting the easiest jewel to acquire from amongst the ones the three marks were displaying , make his move, and pass it off to Mollie who would leave forthwith, while her husband stayed a little while longer to make sure everything remained calm before making his exit stage right via the hallway.

 

As Mollie went to her station, she saw the Blue silken lady, along with her sapphires and diamonds, leaving with a rather unsavory looking male, eyeing her with a look Mollie knew all too well. Mollie decided to follow them, thinking to herself that some women are just prone to being victimized. Good luck with that one Mollie thought unkindly, as she stole one last look at the ladies glistening sapphires, hope he leaves her with something she sarcastically wished wickedly to the couple’s backside as they went out the exit at the end of the hall. One down and out she thought. Then she spied the husband of the newlywed pair heading down the hall towards her with an older, grey bearded man. Getting close she heard them talking about the Gentlemen’s smoking lounge. Mollie decided to give her husband a signal, but when she found him he was already in the arms of the blond. Molly immediately noticed the absence of the jeweled bracelet from his partners’ wrist. She went back to her table. Immediately she was set upon by some drunken snob asking her to dance. She allowed herself to be taken up into his arms. Spending a few unenchanting minutes with Mr. two left feet, before her husband tapped him on the shoulder cutting in. They danced, Mollie placing a hand into his pocket and feeling something cold and metal wrapped her hand around it. Looking him in the eyes she told him about the now unguarded bride, as she palmed the willowy blonde’s bracelet. They decided to go for it, and as the music ended, Mollie made her way to the hall, where she secreted the blondes bracelet safely away

 

One down, one more to go! An exquisite necklace of flickering diamonds waiting to be nimbly slipped away from the throat of its unsuspecting wearer. Now just to make sure the husband of the silken gowned brunette displaying the jewels in question was still safely out of the picture! Then to let her husband know that with the coast clear, he was free to stage his approach of the lady in the long swishing satin gown he had been keeping a drooling eye on all evening. The one wearing the exquisite necklace of flickering diamonds waiting to be so expertly slipped away from the throat of its unsuspecting wearer.

 

She was able to see the groom in windowed room, the husband and his friend were smoking a pair of long cigars and drinking brandy in large glass snifters. Mollie passed unnoticed as she mad e her way to the ladies powder room. He was still there, only halfway through a long stogie as she passed again on her way back. Neither time was she observed. Mollie mad her way back to the Ballroom. She sat down at one side of the room, once again allowing the sights of so many bejeweled women to soak in. Her husband was dancing with a lady in a flowing red ball gown, jewels sparkling in abundance, not aware of the danger so close at hand, nor that even with her husband and his particular skill set so close to them, that at that moment nothing could be safer from his fingertips. Finally she caught her husband’s eye. Mollie innocently rubbed a finger along the side of her nose, a subtle signal that it was safe for him to precede.

 

Mollie was now uncharacteristically having butterflies in her stomach; it was a huge gamble, trying to get away with a pair of thefts in this inhospitable atmosphere. She kept second guessing herself, Bird in hand she kept thinking. But the lure was too great, and it was with a heavy sigh of relief when Mollie saw her husband finally kiss the hand of the young bride after their dance. Mollie could see that she was no longer sporting the thin silver necklace and its row of at least two caret diamonds that had been encircling her throat with their rippling flashy brilliance all evening. Molly stayed put, not daring to leave until her husband had brushed by her in passing and made his way out the hallway to the exit. She waited for a long fifteen minutes, then curling her hand around the necklace that had been dropped into her lap as he had passed; she gained the safety of the hallway. Just in time. For coming down the hallway was none other than the lady in the long luxurious gown and now bare throats groom and his distinguished looking friend. She passed by them, feeling the men eyeing her with roving wolfish gazes. Then she passed them, and proceeded unhindered to once again enter the ladies’ powder room where the necklace soon joined with the Blondes bracelet in its hiding spot.. Than calmly Mollie left, walking past two security Bobbies, virtually unnoticed. The Groom had been absolutely ignorant to the fact that his young Bride’s ridiculously valuable necklace had walked right past him out the door.

 

Mollie did not let herself really breathe until she had gained the safety of the street. She allowed herself to imagine the commotion as the news of the missing jewels were circulated around the cavernous Ballroom. There would be a flurry of activity, flashes and sparkles as the women checked themselves reassuringly that they were still in possession of their trinkets. Mollie would have loved to have stayed and watched, but obviously could not do so. She rejoined her husband at their meeting place and they drove off. They made their way to Ireland where they spent a cautious week touring before leaving for the states.

 

Once the profit was realized from their haul that eventful evening, including obnoxious Dowagers the jeweled antique pendent, and was added in to the modest amount they had already accumulated from previous adventures, Mollie and her husband were able to retire to Ireland and live quite an unpretentious life together in a small stone manor in the woods.

  

Courtesy of Chatwick University Archives

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No Part of this can reprinted, duplicated, or copied be without the express written permission and approval of Chatwick University.

 

These photos and stories are works of fiction. Any resemblance to people, living or deceased, is purely coincidental.

As with any work of fiction or fantasy the purpose is for entertainment and/or educational purposes only, and should never be attempted in real life.

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…if we endure, we will also reign with him…2 Timothy 2:12a

 

Deliverance Comes Through Endurance

 

Open Doors colleague, Ron Boyd-MacMillan, shares the following insight from his teaching, “Why I Need to Encounter the Persecuted Church.”

 

Christian testimonies on the whole tend to be dominated by those who experienced wonderful deliverances: deliverances of healing, from cancer or other life-threatening diseases, or deliverances from debt, or romance less marriages. Even when it comes to reporting on the persecuted, we read of Chinese house church leaders released from the grip of a deadly fever, or border guards with eyes miraculously blinded to the Bibles sitting in plain view on the back seat.

 

Yet it has to be said that deliverance stories—though they tend to grab the headlines—are not the norm. A dear old Christian in Beijing used to say to me, “Remember, for every deliverance story you hear, there are a hundred endurance stories.” He was right. The story of the persecuted is primarily one of endurance.

 

I never saw this principle better illustrated than in the story of an old Chinese woman known throughout the world as “Auntie Mabel.” A doctor in Beijing, she was well known for her bright Christian witness. She never married in order to look after a sick brother. Her family was wealthy. They lived in a large house in central Beijing. All that changed abruptly in 1949. Her large house marked her out as one of the landlord class. She was evicted from her house and forced to live in a garden shed, with just a stove, two deck chairs and an old bed.

 

The Red Guards—teenagers who were given power to direct the Cultural Revolution—began to visit her, beating her up, parading her in the streets, and forcing her to wear a placard with her crimes written on them. So thorough were the Red Guards that they erected a large sign outside her house declaring her a pariah because she had distributed “imperialistic literature.” Mabel was shunned by neighbors, victimized daily by her work gang, and regularly beaten by Red Guards.

 

Many years later, she knew why she endured all this. In the early eighties, after Mao died, Mabel began to receive a stream of visitors saying, “During the Cultural Revolution, there was a large sign outside your house full of your crimes. One of them was that you had distributed Bibles. So I’m here on the chance that you have some left.”

 

Amazingly that sign which made her life such a misery became the means of a new ministry. It kept people away from her during the Cultural Revolution, but afterwards, after she had endured, it drew them. A number of high-ranking members of the Communist Party in China today owe their faith to her endurance.

 

She reflected, “It’s been nice to know why. It helps my faith. But it was hard. Every day was hard. I can’t say I saw Jesus, or even felt him close most of the time. I just got the strength to keep going, and that was enough.”

 

God can deliver us by transforming a situation, but more often He delivers by giving us the strength to endure the situation. That way, others are transformed as well as ourselves.

----2018 Open Doors USA,

American postcard by American Postcard Company, no. 3897, 1998. Photo: Bob Adams / New Line Cinema. Publicity still for Polyester (John Waters, 1981). Caption: Divine as "Francine Fishpaw," in John Waters' Polyester, 1981. The film introduced "Odorama" which allowed the audience to share in 10-of the more penetrating odors that plagued poor "Francine".

 

Harris Glenn Milstead, better known by his stage name Divine (1945-1988), was an American actor, singer, and drag queen. He was closely associated with the independent filmmaker John Waters. Divine became the international icon of bad taste cinema.

 

Harris Glenn Milstead was born in 1945 in Baltimore, Maryland to a conservative middle-class family. His parents were Harris Bernard Milstead and Frances Milstead (née Vukovich). Their only child, his parents lavished almost anything that he wanted upon him, including food. He became overweight, a condition he lived with for the rest of his life. Divine preferred to use his middle name, Glenn, to distinguish himself from his father, and was referred to as such by his parents and friends. When he was 17, his parents sent him to a psychiatrist, where he first realised his sexual attraction to men as well as women, something then taboo in conventional American society. In 1963, he began attending the Marinella Beauty School, where he learned hair styling and, after completing his studies, gained employment at a couple of local salons, specialising in the creation of beehives and other upswept hairstyles.

Milstead developed an early interest in drag while working as a women's hairdresser. He eventually gave up his job and for a while was financially supported by his parents, who catered to his expensive taste in clothes and cars. They reluctantly paid the many bills that he ran up financing lavish parties where he would dress up in drag as his favourite celebrity, actress Elizabeth Taylor. By the mid-1960s he had embraced the city's countercultural scene. His friend from high school, John Waters gave him the name 'Divine' and the tagline of 'the most beautiful woman in the world, almost'. Waters later remarked that he had borrowed the name Divine from a character in Jean Genet's novel Our Lady of the Flowers (1943). Along with his friend David Lochary, Divine joined Waters' acting troupe, the Dreamlanders (which also included Mary Vivian Pearce and Mink Stole), and adopted female roles for their experimental short films. The first was Roman Candles (John Waters, 1966), which was shown 'triple projected' on three 8mm projectors running simultaneously but was never released commercially. Divine starred in drag as a smoking nun. Other short films were Eat Your Makeup (John Waters, 1968), and The Diane Linkletter Story (John Waters, 1969), filmed on Sunday afternoons. Again in drag, he took a lead role in Waters' first full-length film, Mondo Trasho (John Waters, 1969) Divine as an unnamed blonde woman who drives around town and runs over a hitchhiker. In their review of the film, the Los Angeles Free Press exclaimed that "The 300-pound (140 kg) sex-symbol Divine is undoubtedly some sort of discovery." In 1970, he travelled to San Francisco, California, a city which had a large gay subculture that attracted Divine, who was then embracing his homosexuality. Divine played the role of Lady Divine, the operator of an exhibit known as The Cavalcade of Perversion who turns to murdering visitors in Waters's film Multiple Maniacs. The film contained several controversial scenes, notably one which involved Lady Divine masturbating using a rosary while sitting inside a church. In another, Lady Divine kills her boyfriend and proceeds to eat his heart; in actuality, Divine bit into a cow's heart which had gone rotten from being left out on the set all day. At the end of the film, Lady Divine is raped by a giant lobster named Lobstora, an act that drives her into madness; she subsequently goes on a killing spree in Fell's Point before being shot down by the National Guard. Due to its controversial nature, Waters feared that the film would be banned and confiscated by the Maryland Censor Board, so avoided their jurisdiction by only screening it at non-commercial venues, namely rented church premises. Multiple Maniacs was the first of Waters's films to receive widespread attention, as did Divine; KSFX remarked that "Divine is incredible! Could start a whole new trend in films." Following his San Francisco sojourn, Divine returned to Baltimore and participated in Pink Flamingos (John Waters, 1972). Designed by Waters to be an exercise in poor taste, the film featured Divine as Babs Johnson, living in a pink trailer with her egg-eating grandmother, chicken-loving son and voyeuristic daughter. Babs claims to be 'the filthiest person alive' and she is forced to prove her right to the title from challengers, Connie (Mink Stole) and Raymond Marble (David Lochary). In one scene, the Marbles send Babs a turd in a box as a birthday present, and in order to enact this scene, Divine defecated into the box the night before. The final scene in the film proved particularly infamous, involving Babs eating fresh dog feces; Divine later told a reporter, "I followed that dog around for three hours just zooming in on its asshole," waiting for it to empty its bowels so that they could film the scene. The scene became one of the most notable moments of Divine's acting career, and he later complained of people thinking that "I run around doing it all the time". The film proved a hit on the U.S. midnight movie circuit, became a cult classic, and established Divine's fame within the American counterculture.

 

Divine returned to San Francisco, where he and Mink Stole starred in a number of small-budget plays at the Palace Theater as part of drag troupe The Cockettes, including Divine and Her Stimulating Studs, Divine Saves the World, Vice Palace, Journey to the Center of Uranus and The Heartbreak of Psoriasis. In 1974, Divine returned to Baltimore to film Waters's next motion picture, Female Trouble, in which he played the lead role. Divine was unable to appear in Waters's next feature, Desperate Living (John Waters, 1977), despite the fact that the role of Mole McHenry had been written for him. This was because he had returned to working in the theatre as the scheming prison matron Pauline in Tom Eyen's play Women Behind Bars and its sequel, The Neon Woman. While in London in 1978, Divine attended as the guest of honour at the fourth Alternative Miss World pageant, a 'mock' event founded by Andrew Logan in 1972 in which 'drag queens' – including men, women and children – competed for the prize. The event was filmed by director Richard Gayer, whose subsequent film, entitled Alternative Miss World, premiered at the Odeon in London's Leicester Square as well as featuring at the Cannes Film Festival, both events which were attended by Divine. Continuing his cinematic work, he starred in Polyester (John Waters, 1981) as Francine Fishpaw. Unlike earlier roles, Fishpaw was not a strong female but a meek and victimized woman who falls in love with her dream lover, Todd Tomorrow, played by Tab Hunter. The film was released in 'Odorama', accompanied by 'scratch 'n' sniff' cards for the audience to smell at key points in the film. In 1981, Divine embarked on a career in the disco industry by producing a number of Hi-NRG tracks, most of which were written by Bobby Orlando. He achieved international chart success with hits like 'You Think You're a Man', 'I'm So Beautiful', and 'Walk Like a Man', all of which were performed in drag. The next Divine film, Lust in the Dust (Paul Bartel, 1985), reunited him with Tab Hunter and was Divine's first film not directed by John Waters. Set in the Wild West during the nineteenth century, the film was a sex comedy that starred Divine as Rosie Velez, a promiscuous woman who works as a singer in saloons and competes for the love of Abel Wood (Tab Hunter) against another woman (Lainie Kazan). A parody of the Western Duel in the Sun (King Vidor, 1946), the film was a moderate critical success. Divine followed this production with a very different role, that of gay male gangster Hilly Blue in Trouble in Mind (Alan Rudolph, 1985), starring Kris Kristofferson and Keith Carradine. The script was written with Divine in mind. Although not a major character in the film, Divine had been eager to play the part because he wished to perform in more male roles and leave behind the stereotype of simply being a female impersonator. Reviews of the film were mixed, as were the evaluations of Divine's performance. The he reunited with John Waters for Hairspray (John Waters, 1988), which represented his breakthrough into mainstream cinema. Set in Baltimore during the 1960s, Hairspray revolved around self-proclaimed "pleasantly plump" teenager Tracy Turnblad (Ricki Lake) as she pursues stardom as a dancer on a local television show and rallies against racial segregation. As he had in Female Trouble, Divine took on two roles in the film, one of which was female and the other male. The first of these, Edna Turnblad, was Tracy's loving mother; the other was the racist head of the station that airs the Corny Collins show. Hairspray was only a moderate success upon its initial theatrical release, earning a modest gross of $8 million. However, it managed to attract a larger audience on home video in the early 1990s and became a cult classic. Divine's final film role was in the low-budget comedy horror Out of the Dark (Michael Schroeder, 1989), produced with the same crew as Lust in the Dust. Appearing in only one scene within the film, he played the character of Detective Langella, a foulmouthed policeman investigating the murders of a killer clown. Out of the Dark would be released the year after Divine's death. On 7 March 1988, three weeks after Hairspray was released nationwide, Divine was staying at the Regency Plaza Suites Hotel in Los Angeles. He was scheduled to film a guest appearance the following day as Uncle Otto on the Fox network's television series Married... with Children in the second season wrap-up episode. Shortly before midnight, he died in his sleep, at age 42, of an enlarged heart (according to Wikipdia or respiratory failure caused by sleep apnea (according to IMDb). It was probably a combination. Described by People magazine as the 'Drag Queen of the Century', Divine has remained a cult figure, particularly within the LGBT community, and has provided the inspiration for fictional characters, artworks, and songs. Various books and documentary films devoted to his life have also been produced, including Divine Trash (1998) and I Am Divine (2013), written by Divine's manager and friend Bernard Jay. Frances Milstead subsequently cowrote her own book about Divine, entitled My Son Divine (2001), with Kevin Heffernan and Steve Yeager. His mother's continued relationship with the gay community was later documented in a film Frances: A Mother Divine (Tim Dunn, Michael O'Quinn, 2010)

 

Sources: Wikipedia and IMDb.

Slut Walk Tel Aviv 2014

 

The Slut walk was triggered by a representative of the Toronto Police who said in 2011: “women should avoid dressing like sluts in order not to be victimized”. since then it was grew to a global movement, with Satellites happening all over the world.

Many women do not report or characterize their victimization as a crime for reasons such as embarrassment, because they do not want to define someone who assaulted them as a rapist, or because they do not know the legal definition of rape. Many women blame themselves.

 

1 out of every 6 American women has been the victim of an attempted or completed rape in her lifetime

 

See more at: www.rainn.org

Dutch postcard, no. 60. Photo: Croese Bosman Universal.

 

Blonde and utterly beautiful Mary Nolan (1902–1948) appeared on stage, on screen, and most of all in the tabloids. After a 'sex scandal', she fled to Germany where she starred in 17 silent films under her real name, Imogene Robertson.

 

Mary Nolan was born Mary Imogene Robertson in Louisville, Kentucky, U.S. in 1902 (according to Wikipedia and 1905 according to IMDb). She was one of five children born to Africanus and Viola Robertson. Her mother died of cancer at the age of 46. Unable to care for five young children, Africanus Robertson placed Mary in a foster home. She eventually went to live in a Catholic orphanage in Missouri where she earned the nickname 'Bubbles'. The beautiful blonde arrived broke in New York in 1919. Eve Golden at Films of the Golden Age: "She really was breathtaking with her perfect bone structure, a cloud of thick blonde hair, and china-blue eyes. It wasn't long before Mary got work as an artist's model for such big shots as James Montgomery Flagg and Arthur William Brown." Famous Broadway producer Oliver Morosco launched her stage career in the choruses of Daffy Dill and Lady Butterfly (1923). Bubbles proved to be a Jazz-Age baby and a party girl by nature. Florenz Ziegfeld Jr. signed her up for his Follies shows on Broadway. As a showgirl, she performed under the stage name Imogene 'Bubbles' Wilson. For the next several years, she started a violent love/hate relationship with Ziegfeld comedian Frank Tinney. Tinney was married to the comedy star Edna Davenport. Tinney set Mary up in a West 72nd Street apartment and showered her with expensive gifts, but he also showered her with bruises, both physical and emotional. The abusive affair stirred up a major sex scandal in 1924. The tabloids exposed the tumultuous relationship when Mary was seriously hospitalised after one of their many arguments. Mary was fired by Ziegfeld and set sail for France where she was scheduled to appear in vaudeville. She made her way to London in October where she reunited with Frank Tinney. By December 1924, Tinney had resumed drinking and began to physically abuse her again. In early 1925, Nolan finally ended the relationship. She then travelled to Germany where she began to work in the film industry under the new stage name Imogene Robertson. Her first German film was Verborgene Gluten/Hidden Fires (Einar Bruun, 1925) with Alphons Fryland. Later that year, she appeared in the title role of Die Feuertänzerin (Robert Dinesen, 1925) for the Ufa. She received good reviews for her work in the film which prompted the Ufa to offer her a contract for $1500 a week. Nolan worked steadily in Germany from 1925 to 1927 and continued to receive favourable reviews for her acting. Her best-known films include the mystery Das Parfüm der Mrs. Worrington/The Parfum of Mrs. Worrington (Franz Seitz, 1925) with Ernst Reicher as detective Stuart Webbs, Das süße Mädel/The sweet girl (Manfred Noa, 1926) with Nils Asther, and the drama Die Abenteuer eines Zehnmarkscheines/The adventures of a 10-mark note (Berthold Viertel, 1926).

 

While in Germany, Imogene Robertson received offers from Hollywood producers to appear in American films but turned them down. She finally relented after Joseph M. Schenck offered her a contract with United Artists. She returned to the United States in January 1927. To solve the problem of audiences connecting her with her scandalous past, United Artists suggested she change her name to Mary Nolan. For United Artists, she appeared in an uncredited bit part in Topsy and Eva (Del Lord, 1927), and a supporting role in Sorrell and Son (Herbert Brenon, 1927). In 1928, Nolan was signed to Universal Pictures. Her first film for the company was Good Morning, Judge (William A. Seiter, 1928), starring Reginald Denny for which she received good reviews. Universal loaned her out to Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer for West of Zanzibar (Tod Browning, 1928), about the vengefulness of a cuckolded magician (Lon Chaney) paralysed in a brawl with his rival (Lionel Barrymore). Nolan played Chaney's defiled daughter Maizie. The film was a hit and Nolan received favourable reviews for her work in the film. The following year, she was loaned to MGM again for the romantic drama Desert Nights (William Nigh, 1929), with John Gilbert. Two thieves (Noland and Ernest Torrence) victimize a diamond mine and kidnap its manager (Gilbert), but he gains the upper hand (and falls in love with Nolan) when they flee into the hostile desert. Desert Nights was another financial success and served to boost Nolan's career. Shortly after signing with Universal in 1927, Nolan had begun a relationship with another married man, studio executive Eddie Mannix. Mannix used his clout to further Nolan's career and was responsible for her loan outs to MGM. Shortly after Desert Nights was released in 1929, Mannix abruptly ended the relationship. This angered Nolan who threatened to tell Mannix's wife Bernice of their affair. Mannix became enraged and beat her unconscious. Nolan was hospitalised for six months and required fifteen surgeries to repair damage Mannix inflicted on her abdomen. While hospitalized, Nolan was prescribed morphine for pain. She eventually became addicted which contributed to the decline of her career. In the Universal production Young Desire (Lew Collins, 1930), Nolan plays Helen Herbert aka 'La Belle Helene', a carnival sideshow dancer. She falls in love with wealthy, wet-behind-the-ears Bobby Spencer who whisks her off to his hometown of Spencerville and stakes her to an apartment and a job. But Helen's sordid past catches up with her... By then, Nolan's acting career had begun to decline due to her drug abuse and reputation for being temperamental. She was fired from the film What Men Want (1930). Nolan got into an argument with the film's director, Ernst Laemmle after she learned she was the only cast member who hadn't received a close-up shot. Laemmle banned Nolan from the set and she was subsequently fired. After threatening to file a lawsuit against Universal, the studio bought her out of her contract in January 1931. She married stock broker Wallace T. McCreary on 29 March 1931. One week before they married, McCreary lost $3 million on bad investments. The couple used McCreary's remaining money to open a dress shop in Beverly Hills. The shop went out of business within months and Nolan filed for bankruptcy in August 1931. Nolan divorced McCreary in July 1932. After her exit from Universal, she was unable to secure film work with any of the major studios. Nolan spent the remainder of her acting career appearing in roles in low-budget films for independent studios. She made her final film appearances in File 113 (Chester M. Franklin, 1933), for Allied Pictures Corporation. From then on, Nolan appeared in vaudeville and performed in nightclubs and roadhouses around the United States. Later, Mary Nolan suffered several nervous breakdowns and her health declined. She turned to heroin, and it spelt the end. In 1948, she died of cardiac arrest and liver problems (according to IMDb, but Wikipedia writes she died of a barbiturate overdose). Gary Brumburgh at IMDb: "Mary became just one more Hollywood tragedy -- an incredible beauty whose life turned absolutely beastly."

 

Source: Gary Brumburgh (IMDb), Eve Golden (Films of the Golden Age), Thomas Staedeli (Cyranos), Wikipedia and IMDb.

 

And, please check out our blog European Film Star Postcards.

Apparently I can't upload anything from the external hard drive I want to, so here is something from last year.

It's based around prostitution and essentially representing the innocence and victimization of those in sex trafficking; in general visual depictions almost always seem to lay the blame on those working within these conditions on the women themselves.

Picture posed by model & hair and makeup artist Monica Rossi.

French postcard by Europe, no. 776. Photo: Universal Film.

 

Blonde and utterly beautiful Mary Nolan (1902-1948) appeared on stage, on screen, and most of all in the tabloids. After a 'sex scandal', she fled to Germany where she starred in 17 silent films under her real name, Imogene Robertson.

 

Mary Nolan was born Mary Imogene Robertson in Louisville, Kentucky, U.S. in 1902 (according to Wikipedia and 1905 according to IMDb). She was one of five children born to Africanus and Viola Robertson. Her mother died of cancer at the age of 46. Unable to care for five young children, Africanus Robertson placed Mary in a foster home. She eventually went to live in a Catholic orphanage in Missouri where she earned the nickname 'Bubbles'. The beautiful blonde arrived broke in New York in 1919. Eve Golden at Films of the Golden Age: "She really was breathtaking with her perfect bone structure, a cloud of thick blonde hair, and china-blue eyes. It wasn't long before Mary got work as an artist's model for such big shots as James Montgomery Flagg and Arthur William Brown." Famous Broadway producer Oliver Morosco launched her stage career in the choruses of Daffy Dill and Lady Butterfly (1923). Bubbles proved to be a Jazz-Age baby and a party girl by nature. Florenz Ziegfeld Jr. signed her up for his Follies shows on Broadway. As a showgirl, she performed under the stage name Imogene 'Bubbles' Wilson. For the next several years, she started a violent love/hate relationship with Ziegfeld comedian Frank Tinney. Tinney was married to the comedy star Edna Davenport. Tinney set Mary up in a West 72nd Street apartment and showered her with expensive gifts, but he also showered her with bruises, both physical and emotional. The abusive affair stirred up a major sex scandal in 1924. The tabloids exposed the tumultuous relationship when Mary was seriously hospitalised after one of their many arguments. Mary was fired by Ziegfeld and set sail for France where she was scheduled to appear in vaudeville. She made her way to London in October where she reunited with Frank Tinney. By December 1924, Tinney had resumed drinking and began to physically abuse her again. In early 1925, Nolan finally ended the relationship. She then travelled to Germany where she began to work in the film industry under the new stage name Imogene Robertson. Her first German film was Verborgene Gluten/Hidden Fires (Einar Bruun, 1925) with Alphons Fryland. Later that year, she appeared in the title role of Die Feuertänzerin (Robert Dinesen, 1925) for the Ufa. She received good reviews for her work in the film which prompted the Ufa to offer her a contract for $1500 a week. Nolan worked steadily in Germany from 1925 to 1927 and continued to receive favourable reviews for her acting. Her best-known films include the mystery Das Parfüm der Mrs. Worrington/The Parfum of Mrs. Worrington (Franz Seitz, 1925) with Ernst Reicher as detective Stuart Webbs, Das süße Mädel/The sweet girl (Manfred Noa, 1926) with Nils Asther, and the drama Die Abenteuer eines Zehnmarkscheines/The adventures of a 10-mark note (Berthold Viertel, 1926).

 

While in Germany, Imogene Robertson received offers from Hollywood producers to appear in American films but turned them down. She finally relented after Joseph M. Schenck offered her a contract with United Artists. She returned to the United States in January 1927. To solve the problem of audiences connecting her with her scandalous past, United Artists suggested she change her name to Mary Nolan. For United Artists, she appeared in an uncredited bit part in Topsy and Eva (Del Lord, 1927), and a supporting role in Sorrell and Son (Herbert Brenon, 1927). In 1928, Nolan was signed to Universal Pictures. Her first film for the company was Good Morning, Judge (William A. Seiter, 1928), starring Reginald Denny for which she received good reviews. Universal loaned her out to Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer for West of Zanzibar (Tod Browning, 1928), about the vengefulness of a cuckolded magician (Lon Chaney) paralysed in a brawl with his rival (Lionel Barrymore). Nolan played Chaney's defiled daughter Maizie. The film was a hit and Nolan received favourable reviews for her work in the film. The following year, she was loaned to MGM again for the romantic drama Desert Nights (William Nigh, 1929), with John Gilbert. Two thieves (Noland and Ernest Torrence) victimize a diamond mine and kidnap its manager (Gilbert), but he gains the upper hand (and falls in love with Nolan) when they flee into the hostile desert. Desert Nights was another financial success and served to boost Nolan's career. Shortly after signing with Universal in 1927, Nolan had begun a relationship with another married man, studio executive Eddie Mannix. Mannix used his clout to further Nolan's career and was responsible for her loan outs to MGM. Shortly after Desert Nights was released in 1929, Mannix abruptly ended the relationship. This angered Nolan who threatened to tell Mannix's wife Bernice of their affair. Mannix became enraged and beat her unconscious. Nolan was hospitalised for six months and required fifteen surgeries to repair damage Mannix inflicted on her abdomen. While hospitalized, Nolan was prescribed morphine for pain. She eventually became addicted which contributed to the decline of her career. In the Universal production Young Desire (Lew Collins, 1930), Nolan plays Helen Herbert aka 'La Belle Helene', a carnival sideshow dancer. She falls in love with wealthy, wet-behind-the-ears Bobby Spencer who whisks her off to his hometown of Spencerville and stakes her to an apartment and a job. But Helen's sordid past catches up with her... By then, Nolan's acting career had begun to decline due to her drug abuse and reputation for being temperamental. She was fired from the film What Men Want (1930). Nolan got into an argument with the film's director, Ernst Laemmle after she learned she was the only cast member who hadn't received a close-up shot. Laemmle banned Nolan from the set and she was subsequently fired. After threatening to file a lawsuit against Universal, the studio bought her out of her contract in January 1931. She married stock broker Wallace T. McCreary on 29 March 1931. One week before they married, McCreary lost $3 million on bad investments. The couple used McCreary's remaining money to open a dress shop in Beverly Hills. The shop went out of business within months and Nolan filed for bankruptcy in August 1931. Nolan divorced McCreary in July 1932. After her exit from Universal, she was unable to secure film work with any of the major studios. Nolan spent the remainder of her acting career appearing in roles in low-budget films for independent studios. She made her final film appearances in File 113 (Chester M. Franklin, 1933), for Allied Pictures Corporation. From then on, Nolan appeared in vaudeville and performed in nightclubs and roadhouses around the United States. Later, Mary Nolan suffered several nervous breakdowns and her health declined. She turned to heroin, and it spelt the end. In 1948, she died of cardiac arrest and liver problems (according to IMDb, but Wikipedia writes she died of a barbiturate overdose). Gary Brumburgh at IMDb: "Mary became just one more Hollywood tragedy -- an incredible beauty whose life turned absolutely beastly."

 

Sources: Gary Brumburgh (IMDb), Eve Golden (Films of the Golden Age), Thomas Staedeli (Cyranos), Wikipedia and IMDb.

 

And, please check out our blog European Film Star Postcards.

BASICS: Ethan Allen School, Wales, WI. 230 boys were there at time of visit. Average age is between 13-18. They can stay at Ethan School until they are 23. It now costs $268 a day, per kid, to house and service them.

 

PICTURED: S.T, age 15, is named after a famous, living basketball player. He is from Milwaukee and has been at Ethan Allen for two years. I asked if he could have the shackles removed while we speak in a controlled room: the answer was no. He has been housed in Martin, a higher security portion of the facility, for about a week, after he refused to return to his cell. He yearns to go back to JUNO (a place for the younger, smaller, more fragile kids -- the ones more subject to victimization), where he was originally housed. When he was at Juno, he had a five minute pass to go see the doctor. However, he stopped to break into a canteen on his way back and ended up eating enough candy bars to make himself sick enough to vomit. As a result, he was sent to Valis, but didn’t do well there because he was “being played by one of the staff.” His mother is a CAN and works in a nursing home. His father is unemployed, and simply does “stuff around the house" and takes care of his little brother, age 10, and his little brother sister, age 7.

Austrian postcard by Iris Verlag, no. 878/2. Photo: Vienna-Film. Imogene Robertson in Das süße Mädel/The sweet girl (Manfred Noa, 1926).

 

Blonde and utterly beautiful Mary Nolan (1902–1948) appeared on stage, on screen, and most of all in the tabloids. After a 'sex scandal', she fled to Germany where she starred in 17 silent films under her real name, Imogene Robertson.

 

Mary Nolan was born Mary Imogene Robertson in Louisville, Kentucky, U.S. in 1902 (according to Wikipedia and 1905 according to IMDb). She was one of five children born to Africanus and Viola Robertson. Her mother died of cancer at the age of 46. Unable to care for five young children, Africanus Robertson placed Mary in a foster home. She eventually went to live in a Catholic orphanage in Missouri where she earned the nickname 'Bubbles'. The beautiful blonde arrived broke in New York in 1919. Eve Golden at Films of the Golden Age: "She really was breathtaking with her perfect bone structure, a cloud of thick blonde hair, and china-blue eyes. It wasn't long before Mary got work as an artist's model for such big shots as James Montgomery Flagg and Arthur William Brown." Famous Broadway producer Oliver Morosco launched her stage career in the choruses of Daffy Dill and Lady Butterfly (1923). Bubbles proved to be a Jazz-Age baby and a party girl by nature. Florenz Ziegfeld Jr. signed her up for his Follies shows on Broadway. As a showgirl, she performed under the stage name Imogene 'Bubbles' Wilson. For the next several years, she started a violent love/hate relationship with Ziegfeld comedian Frank Tinney. Tinney was married to the comedy star Edna Davenport. Tinney set Mary up in a West 72nd Street apartment and showered her with expensive gifts, but he also showered her with bruises, both physical and emotional. The abusive affair stirred up a major sex scandal in 1924. The tabloids exposed the tumultuous relationship when Mary was seriously hospitalised after one of their many arguments. Mary was fired by Ziegfeld and set sail for France where she was scheduled to appear in vaudeville. She made her way to London in October where she reunited with Frank Tinney. By December 1924, Tinney had resumed drinking and began to physically abuse her again. In early 1925, Nolan finally ended the relationship. She then travelled to Germany where she began to work in the film industry under the new stage name Imogene Robertson. Her first German film was Verborgene Gluten/Hidden Fires (Einar Bruun, 1925) with Alphons Fryland. Later that year, she appeared in the title role of Die Feuertänzerin (Robert Dinesen, 1925) for the Ufa. She received good reviews for her work in the film which prompted the Ufa to offer her a contract for $1500 a week. Nolan worked steadily in Germany from 1925 to 1927 and continued to receive favourable reviews for her acting. Her best-known films include the mystery Das Parfüm der Mrs. Worrington/The Parfum of Mrs. Worrington (Franz Seitz, 1925) with Ernst Reicher as detective Stuart Webbs, Das süße Mädel/The sweet girl (Manfred Noa, 1926) with Nils Asther, and the drama Die Abenteuer eines Zehnmarkscheines/The adventures of a 10-mark note (Berthold Viertel, 1926).

 

While in Germany, Imogene Robertson received offers from Hollywood producers to appear in American films but turned them down. She finally relented after Joseph M. Schenck offered her a contract with United Artists. She returned to the United States in January 1927. To solve the problem of audiences connecting her with her scandalous past, United Artists suggested she change her name to Mary Nolan. For United Artists, she appeared in an uncredited bit part in Topsy and Eva (Del Lord, 1927), and a supporting role in Sorrell and Son (Herbert Brenon, 1927). In 1928, Nolan was signed to Universal Pictures. Her first film for the company was Good Morning, Judge (William A. Seiter, 1928), starring Reginald Denny for which she received good reviews. Universal loaned her out to Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer for West of Zanzibar (Tod Browning, 1928), about the vengefulness of a cuckolded magician (Lon Chaney) paralysed in a brawl with his rival (Lionel Barrymore). Nolan played Chaney's defiled daughter Maizie. The film was a hit and Nolan received favourable reviews for her work in the film. The following year, she was loaned to MGM again for the romantic drama Desert Nights (William Nigh, 1929), with John Gilbert. Two thieves (Noland and Ernest Torrence) victimize a diamond mine and kidnap its manager (Gilbert), but he gains the upper hand (and falls in love with Nolan) when they flee into the hostile desert. Desert Nights was another financial success and served to boost Nolan's career. Shortly after signing with Universal in 1927, Nolan had begun a relationship with another married man, studio executive Eddie Mannix. Mannix used his clout to further Nolan's career and was responsible for her loan outs to MGM. Shortly after Desert Nights was released in 1929, Mannix abruptly ended the relationship. This angered Nolan who threatened to tell Mannix's wife Bernice of their affair. Mannix became enraged and beat her unconscious. Nolan was hospitalised for six months and required fifteen surgeries to repair damage Mannix inflicted on her abdomen. While hospitalized, Nolan was prescribed morphine for pain. She eventually became addicted which contributed to the decline of her career. In the Universal production Young Desire (Lew Collins, 1930), Nolan plays Helen Herbert aka 'La Belle Helene', a carnival sideshow dancer. She falls in love with wealthy, wet-behind-the-ears Bobby Spencer who whisks her off to his hometown of Spencerville and stakes her to an apartment and a job. But Helen's sordid past catches up with her... By then, Nolan's acting career had begun to decline due to her drug abuse and reputation for being temperamental. She was fired from the film What Men Want (1930). Nolan got into an argument with the film's director, Ernst Laemmle after she learned she was the only cast member who hadn't received a close-up shot. Laemmle banned Nolan from the set and she was subsequently fired. After threatening to file a lawsuit against Universal, the studio bought her out of her contract in January 1931. She married stock broker Wallace T. McCreary on 29 March 1931. One week before they married, McCreary lost $3 million on bad investments. The couple used McCreary's remaining money to open a dress shop in Beverly Hills. The shop went out of business within months and Nolan filed for bankruptcy in August 1931. Nolan divorced McCreary in July 1932. After her exit from Universal, she was unable to secure film work with any of the major studios. Nolan spent the remainder of her acting career appearing in roles in low-budget films for independent studios. She made her final film appearances in File 113 (Chester M. Franklin, 1933), for Allied Pictures Corporation. From then on, Nolan appeared in vaudeville and performed in nightclubs and roadhouses around the United States. Later, Mary Nolan suffered several nervous breakdowns and her health declined. She turned to heroin, and it spelt the end. In 1948, she died of cardiac arrest and liver problems (according to IMDb, but Wikipedia writes she died of a barbiturate overdose). Gary Brumburgh at IMDb: "Mary became just one more Hollywood tragedy -- an incredible beauty whose life turned absolutely beastly."

 

Source: Gary Brumburgh (IMDb), Eve Golden (Films of the Golden Age), Thomas Staedeli (Cyranos), Wikipedia and IMDb.

 

And, please check out our blog European Film Star Postcards.

Vintage card.

 

Italian film and stage actress Giulietta Masina (1921-1994) starred in the classics La strada (1954) and Le notti di Cabiria (1957), both directed by her husband Federico Fellini and both winners of the Oscar for Best Foreign Language Film. The only 1,57 m long Masina was often called the ‘female Chaplin’. The skilled, button-eyed comedienne could deliver intense dramatic performances of naive characters dealing with cruel circumstances.

 

Giulia Anna Masina was born in San Giorgio di Piano near Bologna in 1921. Her parents were Gaetano Masina, a violinist and a music teacher, and Anna Flavia Pasqualin, a schoolteacher. She had three elder siblings: Eugenia, and twins Mario and Maria. Giulietta spent most of her teenage years in Rome at the home of a widowed aunt, where she cultivated a passion for the theatre. She attended the Hermanas Ursulinas school and graduated in Literature from the Sapienza University of Rome. At university, she turned to acting. From 1941 on, she participated in numerous plays that included singing and dancing as well as acting, all in the Ateneo Theater of her university. In 1942, she joined the Compagnia del Teatro Comico Musicale and played various roles on stage. After seeing her photographs, she was cast by Federico Fellini, who was writing the radio serial Terziglio about the adventures of the newlyweds Cico and Pallina. Masina and Fellini fell in love while working on the successful program and were married in 1943. Several months after her marriage to Fellini, in 1943, Masina suffered a miscarriage after falling down a flight of stairs. She became pregnant again; Pierfederico (nicknamed Federichino) was born on 22 March 1945 but died just a month later on 24 April owing to respiratory insufficiency. Masina and Fellini did not have another child. Despite distancing herself from live theatre, Masina did return to the university stage for some time acting with Marcello Mastroianni. Her last stage appearance was in 1951. Working together with her husband, Masina made the transition to on-screen acting. Half of her Italian films, the most successful ones, would be either written or directed by her husband.

 

Giulietta Masina made her film debut in an uncredited role in the neo-realist war drama Paisà/Paisan (Roberto Rossellini, 1946), co-written by Fellini. She received her first screen credit in the crime drama Senza pièta/Without Pity (Alberto Lattuada, 1948) starring Carla del Poggio, which was another adaptation by Fellini. Masina’s performance earned her a Silver Ribbon, Italy's most prominent motion-picture award, as Best Supporting Actress. She then co-starred in Fellini’s début as a director, Luci del varietà/Variety Lights (Federico Fellini, Alberto Lattuado, 1950) with Peppino di Filippo and Carla del Poggio. It is a bittersweet drama about a bunch of misfits in a traveling vaudeville troupe. A box office hit was the prostitution drama Persiane chiuse/Behind Closed Shutters (Luigi Comencini, 1951) with Massimo Girotti and Eleonora Rossi Drago. She had a supporting part in Europa '51/The Greatest Love (Roberto Rossellini, 1952) starring Ingrid Bergman. She also appeared in the second film of her husband, the hilarious comedy Lo sceicco bianco/The White Sheik (Federico Fellini, 1952) featuring Alberto Sordi. At AllMovie, Hal Erickson adds: “Featured in the cast is Fellini's wife Giuletta Masina as a prostitute named Cabiria, who'd be given a vehicle of her own, Nights of Cabiria, in 1955 (sic). Based on ‘an idea’ by Michelangelo Antonioni, The White Sheik was the main inspiration for Gene Wilder's The World's Greatest Lover (1977).” After some lesser films by other directors, she finally had her international breakthrough in Fellini's La Strada/The Road (Federico Fellini, 1954), as the young Gelsomina, who is sold to the violent traveling strongman Zampano (Anthony Quinn) by her poor mother. At IMDb, Matt Whittle writes: “Giulietta Masina is the highlight of the film. With a face like no other, it exudes a certain beauty but is also very odd, with a definite quirkiness to it.” She was also co-starring in Fellini’s next, lesser-known effort Il Bidone/The Swindle (Federico Fellini, 1955) with Broderick Crawford, Richard Basehart, and Franco Fabrizi as a trio of con artists who victimize the Italian bourgeoisie (who are shown to be no better than the crooks). Masina played Basehart’s wife. In 1957, she won the Best Actress Award at the Cannes Film Festival for her portrayal of the title role in Fellini's widely acclaimed Le notti di Cabiria/Nights of Cabiria (Federico Fellini, 1957). She played the innocent prostitute Cabiria who was born to lose - but still never would give up. In 1956 and in 1957 Fellini and Masina were awarded the Academy Award for Best Foreign Film, for La Strada, and for Le notti di Cabiria. In the following years, Masina appeared in several films by other directors, including the prison drama Nella città l'inferno/...and the Wild Wild Women (Renato Castellani, 1959) with Anna Magnani and the German-Italian production Jons und Erdme/Jons and Erdme (Victor Vicas, 1959) opposite Carl Raddatz.

 

In 1960, Giulietta Masina's career was damaged by the critical and box office failure of the massive international production Das kunstseidene Mädchen/The High Life (Julien Duvivier, 1960) with Gustav Knuth and Gert Fröbe. Subsequently, she became dedicated almost entirely to her personal life and marriage. Nonetheless, she again worked with her husband in Giulietta degli spiriti/Juliet of the Spirits (Federico Fellini, 1965), which earned both the New York Film Critics award (1965) and the Golden Globe award (1966) for Best Foreign Language Film. In 1969, Masina did her first work in English in The Madwoman of Chaillot (Bryan Forbes, 1969) which starred Katharine Hepburn. From 1966 till 1969, Masina hosted a popular radio show, Lettere aperte a Giulietta Masina, in which she addressed correspondence from her listeners. The letters were eventually published in a book. From the 1970s on, she appeared on television. Two performances, in Eleonora (Silverio Blasi, 1973) and Camilla (Sandro Bolchi, 1976), respectively, were particularly acclaimed. After almost two decades, Masina appeared in Fellini's Ginger e Fred/Ginger and Fred (Federico Fellini, 1986). Hal Erickson at AllMovie: “Fellini gently lampoons the world of small-time show business (...) Masina and Marcello Mastroianni star as Amelia Bonetti and Pippo Botticella, a one-time celebrity song-and-dance team. Having risen to fame with a dancing act where they recreated the acts of Ginger Rogers and Fred Astaire (hoping to become the Fred and Ginger of Italy), Amelia and Pippo parted company to pursue their separate lives. Neither one was particularly successful in other fields of endeavor, so when after many years Amelia is offered a guest-star gig on a TV variety show, she jumps at the chance. (...) The overall good cheer of the film was dampened when the real Ginger Rogers sued the distributors of Ginger and Fred for ‘defamation of character’.” Masina then rejected outside offers in order to attend to her husband's precarious health. Her last film was Aujourd'hui peut-être/A Day to Remember (Jean-Louis Bertucelli, 1991). Giulietta Masina died from lung cancer in 1994, aged 73, less than five months after her husband's demise. They are buried together at Rimini cemetery in a tomb marked by a prow-shaped monument, the work of sculptor Arnaldo Pomodoro. In 2014 Gianfranco Angelucci published a biography of Masina: 'Giulietta Masina attrice e sposa di Federico Fellini'. In 2021, on the occasion of Masina's 100th birthday, he published a new edition that is simply called 'Giulietta Masina'.

 

Sources: Matt Whittle (IMDb), Jason Ankeny (AllMovie), Hal Erickson (AllMovie), F.T. (Italica), Wikipedia, and IMDb.

 

And, please check out our blog European Film Star Postcards.

On Tuesday, December 12th, a woman came to the door of my house while my elderly parents were at home. She rang the bell and let herself in as my father was answering the door (which they forgot to lock). She acted as if she were a neighbor, knew them, and began talking to them like a long-lost friend - “How have you been feeling?,” “I’ve missed seeing you around,” “I wanted to stop by and check in,” etc. She closed the door behind her and instructed them both to come into the kitchen because she was selling some handmade items (crocheted doilies and the like) for Christmas. My mother was upstairs in the bedroom, and the woman asked she be called down. All along, this woman was being very calculating - steering them into the far side of the house, showing them her items, talking loudly - but being very friendly and polite the entire time. When my father mentioned he needed to step into another room (one that faces the front door), she said he shouldn’t do that, and called him back. She asked for a glass of water, kept talking, kept on with her act. During this time she had a purse clutched closely to her side. After 5 minutes or so of this, her cell phone rang, she began speaking in a language my parents did not recognize, and then told them she had to run. When my father asked her to write her name down, she said “no,” dropped one of the doilies, and bolted out of the house.

 

It wasn’t until about 15 minutes later that my mother found clothes and empty jewelry boxes strewn about her bedroom floor. Drawers were opened and items unsettled. My father found an empty bank envelope on the floor of his office, which borders their bedroom. After all was said and done, they realized someone had stolen pretty much every bit of her jewelry (dating back 50 years - gold wedding bands and charm bracelets, keepsakes, etc.), and also money from his office.

 

These two people knew exactly what they were doing. This was rehearsed as if they did it 100 times before. One person distracts while the other sneaks in and grabs whatever cash and high-priced items they can find in areas they KNOW people keep them - under clothing in dressers, underneath mattresses, in shoe boxes. The local police mentioned a similar incident happened weeks before on Cortlandt Street (2 blocks away). We never heard of it. They commented that these two could have been watching the house for weeks, may have followed my mother home from Kmart or the mall a street over, and struck when they knew two elderly people were at home alone.

 

The woman that came to the door was in her late 30s, short, with brown hair tucked up under a bucket hat, and blue eyes. She was wearing a white down jacket and blue jeans. Her face is imprinted on my mother's memory. She can't stop seeing it, even in her sleep. She's woken up crying for the past few nights. I've taken off from work to be here for support, to give them both some sense of "security."

 

I share this so you can be forewarned. If you have elderly relatives or friends, make sure they keep their doors locked at ALL times. Tell them to not let anyone in to their homes without properly identifying themselves first. When out, they should keep their money safely tucked away, and watch for anyone that may be following them, in a car or otherwise.

 

We like to think things like this “can’t happen here” in our little suburban neighborhood, but they can. Luckily, no one was harmed, but the next person or family they do this too may not be so fortunate. What I think is worse, is the sense that you can no longer feel safe in your own home any more, in the one place you consider your one refuge from the rest of the world. So, please be very careful this holiday.

 

Thank you for all of your notes and email, for your comments and well wishes. Continue to keep us in your prayers. I'll try to be around more often to post and visit your pages.

 

Right now, there's just a lot to take care of.

Mah piercing,mah tattoo,mah life in the shadow。。。！

 

✖✖✖ If you like you can see Punk ☆'s photos on Flickriver

   

Song : Jesus of suburbia

Singer : Green Day

 

[Part 1]

I'm the son of rage and love

The Jesus of Suburbia

From the bible of none of the above

On a steady diet of soda pop and Ritalin

No one ever died for my sins in hell

As far as I can tell

At least the ones I got away with

 

And there's nothing wrong with me

This is how I'm supposed to be

In a land of make believe

That don't believe in me

 

Get my television fix sitting on my crucifix

The living room or my private womb

While the moms and Brads are away

To fall in love and fall in debt

To alcohol and cigarettes and Mary Jane

To keep me insane and doing someone else's cocaine

 

And there's nothing wrong with me

This is how I'm supposed to be

In a land of make believe

That don't believe in me

 

[Part 2: City Of The Damned]

 

At the center of the Earth

In the parking lot

Of the 7-11 where I was taught

The motto was just a lie

It says home is where your heart is

But what a shame

Cause everyone's heart

Doesn't beat the same

It's beating out of time

 

City of the dead

At the end of another lost highway

Signs misleading to nowhere

City of the damned

Lost children with dirty faces today

No one really seems to care

 

I read the graffiti

In the bathroom stall

Like the holy scriptures of a shopping mall

And so it seemed to confess

It didn't say much

But it only confirmed that

The center of the earth

Is the end of the world

And I could really care less

 

City of the dead

At the end of another lost highway

Signs misleading to nowhere

City of the damned

Lost children with dirty faces today

No one really seems to care

 

[Part 3: I don't care]

 

I don't care if you don't

I don't care if you don't

I don't care if you don't care

[x4]

 

I don't care

 

Everyone is so full of shit

Born and raised by hypocrites

Hearts recycled but never saved

From the cradle to the grave

We are the kids of war and peace

From Anaheim to the middle east

We are the stories and disciples

Of the Jesus of suburbia

Land of make believe

That don't believe in me

Land of make believe

And I don't believe

And I don't care!

I don't care! [x4]

 

[Part 4: Dearly beloved]

 

Dearly beloved are you listening?

I can't remember a word that you were saying

Are we demented or am I disturbed?

The space that's in between insane and insecure

Oh therapy, can you please fill the void?

Am I retarded or am I just overjoyed

Nobody's perfect and I stand accused

For lack of a better word, and that's my best excuse

 

[Part 5: Tales of another broken home]

 

To live and not to breathe

Is to die In tragedy

To run, to run away

To find what you believe

And I leave behind

This hurricane of fucking lies

 

I lost my faith to this

This town that don't exist

So I run

I run away

To the light of masochist

And I leave behind

This hurricane of fucking lies

And I walked this line

A million and one fucking times

But not this time

 

I don't feel any shame

I won't apologize

 

When there ain't nowhere you can go

Running away from pain

When you've been victimized

Tales from another broken home

 

You're leaving...

You're leaving...

You're leaving...

Ah you're leaving home...

 

“Black Lives Matter!”: Millions March for the Victims of Police Violence: March to Protest Against Police Brutality and Recent Grand Jury Decisions on the Deaths of Michael Brown in Ferguson, Missouri, and Eric Garner in New York: Washington Square Park, New York City, New York, Saturday, December 13, 2014.

 

www.millionsmarchnyc.org/

 

Subject Heading: Abuses against minorities / Choke holds / Chokeholds / End NYPD abuses / End NYPD brutality / End NYPD violence / End police abuses / End police brutality / End police violence / Hands up don’t shoot / Human rights / Human rights abuses / Law enforcement abuses / Mass incarceration / Militarization of police / Militarized police forces / New York City demonstrations / New York City demonstrators / New York City Police Department / New York City protesters / New York City protests / No justice No peace / NYPD / NYPD abuses / NYPD brutality / NYPD violence / Police abuses / Police brutality / Police killings / Police militarization / Police shootings / Police violence / Racial profiling / Racism / Racism in law enforcement / Racism in police forces / Repression / Street demonstrations / Street demonstrators / Street protesters / Street protests / Victimization of minorities / Victims of police abuses / Victims of police brutality / Victims of police violence / Whose streets Our streets

Hello all. It is around that time so I decided to take a shot of a Jack-O-Lantern I carved in 15 minutes (and it shows). I did borrow the carving idea from a picture I once saw. I took this picture in my office. note for next time... Wipe surfaces clean...

 

Strobist info

SB-600 full power inside pumpkin (you can see it if you look close) shoulda put it in a bag... smells a bit like pumpkin...next time.

Sb-28dx bare camera right fired at 1/8th power (you can see the glare on the victimized pumpkin)

 

125 Watt Second monolight fired at half power from rear pumpkin left

125 Watt Second monolight fired at half power from rear pumpkin right

 

Triggered by cactus v4

“Black Lives Matter!”: Millions March for the Victims of Police Violence: March to Protest Against Police Brutality and Recent Grand Jury Decisions on the Deaths of Michael Brown in Ferguson, Missouri, and Eric Garner in New York: Washington Square Park, New York City, New York, Saturday, December 13, 2014.

 

www.millionsmarchnyc.org/

 

Subject Heading: Abuses against minorities / Choke holds / Chokeholds / End NYPD abuses / End NYPD brutality / End NYPD violence / End police abuses / End police brutality / End police violence / Hands up don’t shoot / Human rights / Human rights abuses / Law enforcement abuses / Mass incarceration / Militarization of police / Militarized police forces / New York City demonstrations / New York City demonstrators / New York City Police Department / New York City protesters / New York City protests / No justice No peace / NYPD / NYPD abuses / NYPD brutality / NYPD violence / Police abuses / Police brutality / Police killings / Police militarization / Police shootings / Police violence / Racial profiling / Racism / Racism in law enforcement / Racism in police forces / Repression / Street demonstrations / Street demonstrators / Street protesters / Street protests / Victimization of minorities / Victims of police abuses / Victims of police brutality / Victims of police violence / Whose streets Our streets

Juneteenth, Oakland, CA. This day is so important in remembering emancipation in my home state, now celebrated country-wide.

 

So many thousands of people... showing up in solidarity to demand change, justice, and peace, police officers in East Palo Alto kneeling for just under nine minutes with protestors, a conspicuous lack of officers in San Jose that just a week ago was described as a "war zone" by police.

Massive protests ALL OVER THE COUNTRY AND WORLD have demonstrated that people can attempt to understand the brutality and racism and just anti-blackness that American Police brandish with little to no fear of recourse by the oppressed.

We are witnessing not the birth of a movement because these sentiments and violations are not new. But we are seeing the critical mass consume the hearts and minds of allies. Maybe the shelter in place from the pandemic played a large part in frustrated people needing a cause to vent their anger. Maybe it was the cumulated pain of so many extrajudicial murders by police caught on video. I'm not going to look this gift horse in the mouth until the movement falters. So far, the energy of the protests has been further stoked by FURTHER police brutality in response to the protests themselves. But as many across the country are witnessing, the cops are wisening up. They are realizing they are hurting their own cause in the midst of the most serious propositions to defund and abolish they've ever faced.

So I ask you all to not relent. Do not let this become another 2-week media cycle. Find fuel for your passionate defense of those victimized by racism in sustainable sources. Read about the many, many haunting and beautiful accounts and studies of oppression. Talk to your friends about their experiences and fears. Take inspiration from all those protesting despite a pandemic.

At the very least, we need real reform in the police across America.

This little wasp was busy laying eggs all over her soon-to-be unfortunate host.

 

Mesochorus are hyperparasitoid ichneumon wasps that parasitize other parasitic ichneumon wasps. They are somehow able to sense which caterpillars have already been victimized and lay their eggs on them. Eventually the original wasps eggs will hatch to feed on the caterpillar, followed by the mesochorus wasps hatching and feeding on the original wasp's larvae.

 

(I know this because a wasp expert on bugguide was able to identify our little friend here)

 

This poor caterpillar is going to be crawling with more harmful parasites than the hand towels in the bathroom at Club Goodtimes.

Dutch postcard by Uitg. Takken, Utrecht, no. 3383. Photo: N.V. Standaardfilms. Giulietta Masina as Gelsomina in La Strada (Federico Fellini, 1954).

 

Italian film and stage actress Giulietta Masina (1921-1994) starred in the classics La strada (1954) and Le notti di Cabiria (1957), both directed by her husband Federico Fellini and both winners of the Oscar for Best Foreign Language Film. The only 1,57 m long Masina was often called the ‘female Chaplin’. The skilled, button-eyed comedienne could deliver intense dramatic performances of naive characters dealing with cruel circumstances.

 

Giulia Anna Masina was born in San Giorgio di Piano near Bologna in 1921. Her parents were Gaetano Masina, a violinist and a music teacher, and Anna Flavia Pasqualin, a schoolteacher. She had three elder siblings: Eugenia, and twins Mario and Maria. Giulietta spent most of her teenage years in Rome at the home of a widowed aunt, where she cultivated a passion for the theatre. She attended the Hermanas Ursulinas school and graduated in Literature from the Sapienza University of Rome. At university, she turned to acting. From 1941 on, she participated in numerous plays that included singing and dancing as well as acting, all in the Ateneo Theater of her university. In 1942, she joined the Compagnia del Teatro Comico Musicale and played various roles on stage. After seeing her photographs, she was cast by Federico Fellini, who was writing the radio serial Terziglio about the adventures of the newlyweds Cico and Pallina. Masina and Fellini fell in love while working on the successful program and were married in 1943. Several months after her marriage to Fellini, in 1943, Masina suffered a miscarriage after falling down a flight of stairs. She became pregnant again; Pierfederico (nicknamed Federichino) was born on 22 March 1945 but died just a month later on 24 April owing to respiratory insufficiency. Masina and Fellini did not have another child. Despite distancing herself from live theatre, Masina did return to the university stage for some time acting with Marcello Mastroianni. Her last stage appearance was in 1951. Working together with her husband, Masina made the transition to on-screen acting. Half of her Italian films, the most successful ones, would be either written or directed by her husband.

 

Giulietta Masina made her film debut in an uncredited role in the neo-realist war drama Paisà/Paisan (Roberto Rossellini, 1946), co-written by Fellini. She received her first screen credit in the crime drama Senza pièta/Without Pity (Alberto Lattuada, 1948) starring Carla del Poggio, which was another adaptation by Fellini. Masina’s performance earned her a Silver Ribbon, Italy's most prominent motion-picture award, as Best Supporting Actress. She then co-starred in Fellini’s début as a director, Luci del varietà/Variety Lights (Federico Fellini, Alberto Lattuado, 1950) with Peppino di Filippo and Carla del Poggio. It is a bittersweet drama about a bunch of misfits in a traveling vaudeville troupe. A box office hit was the prostitution drama Persiane chiuse/Behind Closed Shutters (Luigi Comencini, 1951) with Massimo Girotti and Eleonora Rossi Drago. She had a supporting part in Europa '51/The Greatest Love (Roberto Rossellini, 1952) starring Ingrid Bergman. She also appeared in the second film of her husband, the hilarious comedy Lo sceicco bianco/The White Sheik (Federico Fellini, 1952) featuring Alberto Sordi. At AllMovie, Hal Erickson adds: “Featured in the cast is Fellini's wife Giuletta Masina as a prostitute named Cabiria, who'd be given a vehicle of her own, Nights of Cabiria, in 1955 (sic). Based on ‘an idea’ by Michelangelo Antonioni, The White Sheik was the main inspiration for Gene Wilder's The World's Greatest Lover (1977).” After some lesser films by other directors, she finally had her international breakthrough in Fellini's La Strada/The Road (Federico Fellini, 1954), as the young Gelsomina, who is sold to the violent traveling strongman Zampano (Anthony Quinn) by her poor mother. At IMDb, Matt Whittle writes: “Giulietta Masina is the highlight of the film. With a face like no other, it exudes a certain beauty but is also very odd, with a definite quirkiness to it.” She was also co-starring in Fellini’s next, lesser-known effort Il Bidone/The Swindle (Federico Fellini, 1955) with Broderick Crawford, Richard Basehart, and Franco Fabrizi as a trio of con artists who victimize the Italian bourgeoisie (who are shown to be no better than the crooks). Masina played Basehart’s wife. In 1957, she won the Best Actress Award at the Cannes Film Festival for her portrayal of the title role in Fellini's widely acclaimed Le notti di Cabiria/Nights of Cabiria (Federico Fellini, 1957). She played the innocent prostitute Cabiria who was born to lose - but still never would give up. In 1956 and in 1957 Fellini and Masina were awarded the Academy Award for Best Foreign Film, for La Strada, and for Le notti di Cabiria. In the following years, Masina appeared in several films by other directors, including the prison drama Nella città l'inferno/...and the Wild Wild Women (Renato Castellani, 1959) with Anna Magnani and the German-Italian production Jons und Erdme/Jons and Erdme (Victor Vicas, 1959) opposite Carl Raddatz.

 

In 1960, Giulietta Masina's career was damaged by the critical and box office failure of the massive international production Das kunstseidene Mädchen/The High Life (Julien Duvivier, 1960) with Gustav Knuth and Gert Fröbe. Subsequently, she became dedicated almost entirely to her personal life and marriage. Nonetheless, she again worked with her husband in Giulietta degli spiriti/Juliet of the Spirits (Federico Fellini, 1965), which earned both the New York Film Critics award (1965) and the Golden Globe award (1966) for Best Foreign Language Film. In 1969, Masina did her first work in English in The Madwoman of Chaillot (Bryan Forbes, 1969) which starred Katharine Hepburn. From 1966 till 1969, Masina hosted a popular radio show, Lettere aperte a Giulietta Masina, in which she addressed correspondence from her listeners. The letters were eventually published in a book. From the 1970s on, she appeared on television. Two performances, in Eleonora (Silverio Blasi, 1973) and Camilla (Sandro Bolchi, 1976), respectively, were particularly acclaimed. After almost two decades, Masina appeared in Fellini's Ginger e Fred/Ginger and Fred (Federico Fellini, 1986). Hal Erickson at AllMovie: “Fellini gently lampoons the world of small-time show business (...) Masina and Marcello Mastroianni star as Amelia Bonetti and Pippo Botticella, a onetime celebrity song-and-dance team. Having risen to fame with a dancing act where they recreated the acts of Ginger Rogers and Fred Astaire (hoping to become the Fred and Ginger of Italy), Amelia and Pippo parted company to pursue their separate lives. Neither one was particularly successful in other fields of endeavor, so when after many years Amelia is offered a guest-star gig on a TV variety show, she jumps at the chance. (...) The overall good cheer of the film was dampened when the real Ginger Rogers sued the distributors of Ginger and Fred for ‘defamation of character’.” Masina then rejected outside offers in order to attend to her husband's precarious health. Her last film was Aujourd'hui peut-être/A Day to Remember (Jean-Louis Bertucelli, 1991). Giulietta Masina died from lung cancer in 1994, aged 73, less than five months after her husband's demise. They are buried together at Rimini cemetery in a tomb marked by a prow-shaped monument, the work of sculptor Arnaldo Pomodoro.

 

Sources: Matt Whittle (IMDb), Jason Ankeny (AllMovie), Hal Erickson (AllMovie), F.T. (Italica), Wikipedia, and IMDb.

 

And, please check out our blog European Film Star Postcards.

Although sexual attitudes tracing back to Ancient Greece (8th to 6th centuries BC to the end of antiquity (ca. 600 AD)) have been termed homophobia by scholars, the term itself is relatively new,and an intolerance towards homosexuality and homosexuals grew during the Middle Ages, especially by adherents of Islam and Christianity.Homophobia encompasses a range of negative attitudes and feelings toward homosexuality or people who are identified or perceived as being lesbian, gay, bisexual or transgender (LGBT). It has been defined as contempt, prejudice, aversion, hatred or antipathy, may be based on irrational fear, and is often related to religious beliefs.Homophobia is observable in critical and hostile behavior such as discrimination and violence on the basis of sexual orientations that are non-heterosexual. Recognized types of homophobia include institutionalized homophobia, e.g. religious homophobia and state-sponsored homophobia, and internalized homophobia, experienced by people who have same-sex attractions, regardless of how they identify.Negative attitudes toward identifiable LGBT groups have similar yet specific names: lesbophobia is the intersection of homophobia and sexism directed against lesbians, biphobia targets bisexuality and bisexual people, and transphobia targets transgender and transsexual people and gender variance or gender role nonconformity.In the USA, according to the 2010 Hate Crimes Statistics released by the FBI National Press Office, 19.3 percent of hate crimes across the United States "were motivated by a sexual orientation bias."Moreover, in a Southern Poverty Law Center 2010 Intelligence Report extrapolating data from fourteen years (1995–2008), which had complete data available at the time, of the FBI's national hate crime statistics found that LGBT people were "far more likely than any other minority group in the United States to be victimized by violent hate crime."Coined by George Weinberg, a psychologist, in the 1960s,the term homophobia is a blend of the word homosexual, itself a mix of neo-classical morphemes, and phobia from the Greek φόβος, Phóbos, meaning "fear" or "morbid fear". Weinberg is credited as the first person to have used the term in speech.The word homophobia first appeared in print in an article written for the May 23, 1969, edition of the American pornographic magazine Screw, in which the word was used to refer to heterosexual men's fear that others might think they are gay.Conceptualizing anti-LGBT prejudice as a social problem worthy of scholarly attention was not new. A 1969 article in Time described examples of negative attitudes toward homosexuality as "homophobia", including "a mixture of revulsion and apprehension" which some called homosexual panic. In 1971, Kenneth Smith used homophobia as a personality profile to describe the psychological aversion to homosexuality.[16] Weinberg also used it this way in his 1972 book Society and the Healthy Homosexual,published one year before the American Psychiatric Association voted to remove homosexuality from its list of mental disorders.Weinberg's term became an important tool for gay and lesbian activists, advocates, and their allies. He describes the concept as a medical phobia:[A] phobia about homosexuals.... It was a fear of homosexuals which seemed to be associated with a fear of contagion, a fear of reducing the things one fought for — home and family. It was a religious fear and it had led to great brutality as fear always does.Internalized homophobia refers to negative stereotypes, beliefs, stigma, and prejudice about homosexuality and LGBT people that a person with same-sex attraction turns inward on themselves, whether or not they identify as LGBT. The degree to which someone is affected by these ideas depends on how much and which ideas they have consciously and subconsciously internalized.These negative beliefs can be mitigated with education, life experience and therapy,especially with gay-friendly psychotherapy/analysis.Internalized homophobia also applies to conscious or unconscious behaviors which a person feels the need to promote or conform to cultural expectations of heteronormativity or heterosexism.This can include extreme repression and denial coupled with forced outward displays of heteronormative behavior for the purpose of appearing or attempting to feel "normal" or "accepted." Expressions of internalized homophobia can also be subtle. Some less overt behaviors may include making assumptions about the gender of a person's romantic partner, or about gender roles.[52] Some researchers also apply this label to LGBT people who support "compromise" policies, such as those that find civil unions acceptable in place of same-sex marriage.Some studies have shown that people who are homophobic are more likely to have repressed homosexual desires.[59] In 1996, a controlled study of 64 heterosexual men (half said they were homophobic by experience, with self-reported orientation) at the University of Georgia found that men who were found to be homophobic (as measured by the Index of Homophobia)[60] were considerably more likely to experience more erectile responses when exposed to homoerotic images than non-homophobic men.Another study in 2012 arrived at similar results when researchers found that students who came from "the most rigid anti-gay homes" were most likely to reveal repressed homosexual attraction.The researchers said that this explained why some religious leaders who denounce homosexuality are later revealed to have secret homosexual relations.They noted that "these people are at war with themselves and are turning this internal conflict outward."Researcher Iain R. Williamson, in his 1998 work "Internalized Homophobia and Health Issues Affecting Lesbians and Gay Men" finds the term homophobia to be "highly problematic" but for reasons of continuity and consistency with the majority of other publications on the issue retains its use rather than using more accurate but obscure terminology..The phrase internalized sexual stigma is sometimes used in place to represent internalized homophobia.An internalized stigma arises when a person believes negative stereotypes about themselves, regardless of where the stereotypes come from. It can also refer to many stereotypes beyond sexuality and gender roles. Internalized homophobia can cause discomfort with and disapproval of one's own sexual orientation. Ego-dystonic sexual orientation or egodystonic homophobia, for instance, is a condition characterized by having a sexual orientation or an attraction that is at odds with one's idealized self-image, causing anxiety and a desire to change one's orientation or become more comfortable with one's sexual orientation. Such a situation may cause extreme repression of homosexual desires.[60] In other cases, a conscious internal struggle may occur for some time, often pitting deeply held religious or social beliefs against strong sexual and emotional desires. This discordance can cause clinical depression, and a higher rate of suicide among LGBT youth (up to 30 percent of non-heterosexual youth attempt suicide) has been attributed to this phenomenon.Psychotherapy, such as gay affirmative psychotherapy, and participation in a sexual-minority affirming group can help resolve the internal conflicts, such as between religious beliefs and sexual identity.Even informal therapies that address understanding and accepting of non-heterosexual orientations can prove effective.Many diagnostic "Internalized Homophobia Scales" can be used to measure a person's discomfort with their sexuality and some can be used by people regardless of gender or sexual orientation. Critics of the scales note that they presume a discomfort with non-heterosexuality which in itself enforces heternormativity.

en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Homophobia

Enjoying the fourth day of Autumn! But also thinking about the women and men who were victimized by hurricanes — tragic.

Remedios Varo, Anglès, ES 1908 - Mexico City 1963

Der Aufruf - The call (1961)

National Museum of Women in the Arts, Washington D.C., USA

 

Mysterious and provocative, the architectural stage is cluttered with conflicting clues. The walls are tall; the windows small and out of reach; the sky inflamed; the morbid folds props of oppression. Yet, the floor is elaborately tiled, the doorways arched, the steps well-tended. The stage is firmly cast, oppression is institutionalized.

 

Varo’s enigmatic Call, part dream part symbolic reality, seems at once a calling and a call to action. The flaming figure wears the signs and halo of science. Bathed in the light of knowledge, she steps forward boldly to dispel the darkness. In the painter’s surreal universe as well as ours, the female phantoms on the wall stand for poverty, confinement, disease. Overlooked by societies, biomedical research, and healthcare systems; battered by AIDS, malaria, and other infections; victimized by globalization; and stigmatized by the very diseases that confine and kill them, women slumber in the shadows. The flaming figure’s flask contains the science. Her call is a wake-up call.

 

Source:https://wwwnc.cdc.gov/eid/article/10/11/ac-1011_article

 

The greatest danger for a visitor in Tamil Nadu and I suppose in all India is that coming here you get such a tremendous culture shock but once you get through that you are harassed and deceived so many times that you become apathetic, chasing away all beggars crudely like flies, double-check every info after been told so much lies and promises by sweet-talkers, noticing that you are victimized many times by a system of corruption and bribery cause you are considered as an easy naive rich bank to be milked out.

Truth, dreams, lies, hollow promises ... society here is all a mix from this, you start to doubt what is reality and what is illusion ... and like you could expect, even the most simple true people here are victimized by politicians with most sensational promises ... after a while you couldn't care less for all this and you shut yourself off like so many others here in their middle class houses imprisoned with iron bars.

 

Wrong, if you come here, you have to dare to challenge this society, learning to see the real from the false, the rightful beggars from the promising deceivers but never become apathetic to the beauty that still grows on even the worse dump. Think twice cause you will be put to the test of worlds most falluated manipulators of mind to see through it and still reach your hand to people who really are in need.

It is not the sensational inviting glitter that will enrich you as often it reveals its real face after a short while of impersonal clever manipulation that on the contrary will impoverish in finance and mind and your believe of people here. You have to discover the real society that you will find so much easier by the simple people of the street not protected by walls of hypocrisy.

 

So open your mind, be aware to be still able to see a little mother here, hided behind an auto rickshaw, who tries to survive by gathering up scraps of thrown paper to sell, ensuring herself an income as she doesn't have a pension and most probably no family to look after her. She is still proud to look after herself, all on her own and not by begging around.

 

And don't forget, India is so promising but when the cat went away, so many mice are dancing on the table, still a long way to go to make a healthy society where truth and trust could grow in a new young generation that reject all forms of impoverishing impersonal sensational begging lies.

 

This is not copied from Wipikedia but one of my personal views on this big country, you don't have to agree ... hoping that you become more aware with what you have to deal when coming here ... I even would dare to say, don't be naive the rest of your life, come to India and learn to see through walls of hypocrisie to discover still the beauty of real life.

Log open:

 

You would think the republic would AT-LEAST spend those extra few credits to make your suit impenetrable by sand, but OH no, sure enough; the sand from Balesco's terrain got right into my suit and sincerely irritated me. That's why I tended to walk on the man-made architecture rather than those pesky sand grains. But after a while the hard materiel starting the beginnings of some damn ugly blisters.. So the cycle of walking on sand paths, then the built paths kept going in a cycle. I couldn't win.

 

A different story was set in my mind according to the mission. There was one option; getting in the 457h Corps.

I had this mind-set the second I was aware of such an elite group. I trained and trained, until there was nothing separatist or enemy that could beat me. This would be the last training until I get assigned for some real sh!t. I had moaned and groaned over the choice of the rifle I was given, but later on I realized a good soldier should excel in whatever he has at disposal.

 

Many hours had been elapsed into walking in and out of buildings, and hiking up and down huge, colossal mountains. But alas, some clues were visible. An inverted trial was aligned into the sand leading to a building. My eyes widened and eyebrows rose when I realized I had bin in this building before. I stepped closer to it to realize some, of what I thought was debris. I picked it up only to drop it back down again, portraying it's L shape in the sand. It was very heavy and very hot. The L shaped debris had left an imprint on my victimized hand in a red colour, soon changing black with the cooling.

It must have been a component of the Probe Droid's engine to be THAT hot I thought to myself..

 

I double checked my rifle was loaded then swiftly tapped the door enter button with my right hand then attached it back to the underbelly of the gun's barrel. illumination was dead in there, due to the broken lights. Assuming they've been broken from past training missions. But when the door smoothly slid to the left, the sun light flooded the room like an aggressive, blood thirsty virus let loose inside an open body. The light bounced straight off the broken glass that lay spread everywhere in the cuboid room, and shot directly in my unsuspecting eyes turning all vision into a pale white.

 

Red..Red. RED! Red coming toward me so fast my instinct almost delayed. Laying head to the sky on the sand from the dodge, the droid pointed it's viscous blaster's barrel linear between my eyes, bashing against my helmet smudging it's black predeceasing gun fire south to north on my helmet. In a rapid action; I kicked it's centre body with my right leg, tilting the droids stance and pushing it back, then I whacked it with my rifles shoulder stump, which then lead to my jumping up, securing the droids fall with my left foot then shooting the droid at point blank 6 times.

 

The ambitious thoughts of my stay in the 457th Corps was that of a pleasant one..

 

Log end.

     

I really thank you for your improvements suggested on this, and I also thank you if you read the whole thing! It took some time to wright!

  

Another one being victimized :P Does he pass as Claude Faustus? XD

I couldn't find Farda's glasses so... ;__; Sorry Farda! Will get you a new one!!

 

However, victimizing him is not as fun as victimizing Levi coz Sero looks like he's going to kill me T_T

 

(actually, i don't get it why he's so grumpy about it D:< he's basically just being himself unlike poor Levi -_-)

Vintage card.

 

Italian film and stage actress Giulietta Masina (1921-1994) starred in the classics La strada (1954) and Le notti di Cabiria (1957), both directed by her husband Federico Fellini and both winners of the Oscar for Best Foreign Language Film. The only 1,57 m long Masina was often called the ‘female Chaplin’. The skilled, button-eyed comedienne could deliver intense dramatic performances of naive characters dealing with cruel circumstances.

 

Giulia Anna Masina was born in San Giorgio di Piano near Bologna in 1921. Her parents were Gaetano Masina, a violinist and a music teacher, and Anna Flavia Pasqualin, a schoolteacher. She had three elder siblings: Eugenia, and twins Mario and Maria. Giulietta spent most of her teenage years in Rome at the home of a widowed aunt, where she cultivated a passion for the theatre. She attended the Hermanas Ursulinas school and graduated in Literature from the Sapienza University of Rome. At university, she turned to acting. From 1941 on, she participated in numerous plays that included singing and dancing as well as acting, all in the Ateneo Theater of her university. In 1942, she joined the Compagnia del Teatro Comico Musicale and played various roles on stage. After seeing her photographs, she was cast by Federico Fellini, who was writing the radio serial Terziglio about the adventures of the newlyweds Cico and Pallina. Masina and Fellini fell in love while working on the successful program and were married in 1943. Several months after her marriage to Fellini, in 1943, Masina suffered a miscarriage after falling down a flight of stairs. She became pregnant again; Pierfederico (nicknamed Federichino) was born on 22 March 1945 but died just a month later on 24 April owing to respiratory insufficiency. Masina and Fellini did not have another child. Despite distancing herself from live theatre, Masina did return to the university stage for some time acting with Marcello Mastroianni. Her last stage appearance was in 1951. Working together with her husband, Masina made the transition to on-screen acting. Half of her Italian films, the most successful ones, would be either written or directed by her husband.

 

Giulietta Masina made her film debut in an uncredited role in the neo-realist war drama Paisà/Paisan (Roberto Rossellini, 1946), co-written by Fellini. She received her first screen credit in the crime drama Senza pièta/Without Pity (Alberto Lattuada, 1948) starring Carla del Poggio, which was another adaptation by Fellini. Masina’s performance earned her a Silver Ribbon, Italy's most prominent motion-picture award, as Best Supporting Actress. She then co-starred in Fellini’s début as a director, Luci del varietà/Variety Lights (Federico Fellini, Alberto Lattuado, 1950) with Peppino di Filippo and Carla del Poggio. It is a bittersweet drama about a bunch of misfits in a traveling vaudeville troupe. A box office hit was the prostitution drama Persiane chiuse/Behind Closed Shutters (Luigi Comencini, 1951) with Massimo Girotti and Eleonora Rossi Drago. She had a supporting part in Europa '51/The Greatest Love (Roberto Rossellini, 1952) starring Ingrid Bergman. She also appeared in the second film of her husband, the hilarious comedy Lo sceicco bianco/The White Sheik (Federico Fellini, 1952) featuring Alberto Sordi. At AllMovie, Hal Erickson adds: “Featured in the cast is Fellini's wife Giuletta Masina as a prostitute named Cabiria, who'd be given a vehicle of her own, Nights of Cabiria, in 1955 (sic). Based on ‘an idea’ by Michelangelo Antonioni, The White Sheik was the main inspiration for Gene Wilder's The World's Greatest Lover (1977).” After some lesser films by other directors, she finally had her international breakthrough in Fellini's La Strada/The Road (Federico Fellini, 1954), as the young Gelsomina, who is sold to the violent traveling strongman Zampano (Anthony Quinn) by her poor mother. At IMDb, Matt Whittle writes: “Giulietta Masina is the highlight of the film. With a face like no other, it exudes a certain beauty but is also very odd, with a definite quirkiness to it.” She was also co-starring in Fellini’s next, lesser-known effort Il Bidone/The Swindle (Federico Fellini, 1955) with Broderick Crawford, Richard Basehart, and Franco Fabrizi as a trio of con artists who victimize the Italian bourgeoisie (who are shown to be no better than the crooks). Masina played Basehart’s wife. In 1957, she won the Best Actress Award at the Cannes Film Festival for her portrayal of the title role in Fellini's widely acclaimed Le notti di Cabiria/Nights of Cabiria (Federico Fellini, 1957). She played the innocent prostitute Cabiria who was born to lose - but still never would give up. In 1956 and in 1957 Fellini and Masina were awarded the Academy Award for Best Foreign Film, for La Strada, and for Le notti di Cabiria. In the following years, Masina appeared in several films by other directors, including the prison drama Nella città l'inferno/...and the Wild Wild Women (Renato Castellani, 1959) with Anna Magnani and the German-Italian production Jons und Erdme/Jons and Erdme (Victor Vicas, 1959) opposite Carl Raddatz.

 

In 1960, Giulietta Masina's career was damaged by the critical and box office failure of the massive international production Das kunstseidene Mädchen/The High Life (Julien Duvivier, 1960) with Gustav Knuth and Gert Fröbe. Subsequently, she became dedicated almost entirely to her personal life and marriage. Nonetheless, she again worked with her husband in Giulietta degli spiriti/Juliet of the Spirits (Federico Fellini, 1965), which earned both the New York Film Critics award (1965) and the Golden Globe award (1966) for Best Foreign Language Film. In 1969, Masina did her first work in English in The Madwoman of Chaillot (Bryan Forbes, 1969) which starred Katharine Hepburn. From 1966 till 1969, Masina hosted a popular radio show, Lettere aperte a Giulietta Masina, in which she addressed correspondence from her listeners. The letters were eventually published in a book. From the 1970s on, she appeared on television. Two performances, in Eleonora (Silverio Blasi, 1973) and Camilla (Sandro Bolchi, 1976), respectively, were particularly acclaimed. After almost two decades, Masina appeared in Fellini's Ginger e Fred/Ginger and Fred (Federico Fellini, 1986). Hal Erickson at AllMovie: “Fellini gently lampoons the world of small-time show business (...) Masina and Marcello Mastroianni star as Amelia Bonetti and Pippo Botticella, a one-time celebrity song-and-dance team. Having risen to fame with a dancing act where they recreated the acts of Ginger Rogers and Fred Astaire (hoping to become the Fred and Ginger of Italy), Amelia and Pippo parted company to pursue their separate lives. Neither one was particularly successful in other fields of endeavor, so when after many years Amelia is offered a guest-star gig on a TV variety show, she jumps at the chance. (...) The overall good cheer of the film was dampened when the real Ginger Rogers sued the distributors of Ginger and Fred for ‘defamation of character’.” Masina then rejected outside offers in order to attend to her husband's precarious health. Her last film was Aujourd'hui peut-être/A Day to Remember (Jean-Louis Bertucelli, 1991). Giulietta Masina died from lung cancer in 1994, aged 73, less than five months after her husband's demise. They are buried together at Rimini cemetery in a tomb marked by a prow-shaped monument, the work of sculptor Arnaldo Pomodoro. In 2014 Gianfranco Angelucci published a biography of Masina: 'Giulietta Masina attrice e sposa di Federico Fellini'. In 2021, on the occasion of Masina's 100th birthday, he published a new edition that is simply called 'Giulietta Masina'.

 

Sources: Matt Whittle (IMDb), Jason Ankeny (AllMovie), Hal Erickson (AllMovie), F.T. (Italica), Wikipedia, and IMDb.

 

And, please check out our blog European Film Star Postcards.

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Photograph taken at an altitude of Fifty four metres at 20:35pm on an beautiful summer evening as the light faded away on Monday 19th July 2021, off Hythe Avenue and Chessington Avenue in Bexleyheath, Kent.

  

Here we see an adult Female Carrion Crow (Corvus corone) teaching the last of her three juveniles to swoop, soar and fly. She stayed close to it at all times, on occasions touching it with her wingtips to guide it and reassure it that she was there, an absolutely amazing sight to witness. Beauty and elegance from these magnificent birds that it's been my privilege to get close to for the last few months.

  

I've played my part in the rearing of the three babies, putting out food and water, gaining mum and dad's confidence, and what joy they have given me watching their progression. A passerine bird of the family Corvidae and the genus Raven (Higher classification: Corvus), which is native to western Europe and eastern Asia. It can grow to twenty inches in length with a wingspan of up to thirty nine inches.

  

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Unashamedly I will shout it from the rooftops.

  

I LOVE CARRION CROW.

   

There, I've said it. Words I use to describe these amazing birds would include stunning, beautiful, bold, magnificent, intelligent and fantastic, loving, tender, victimized...... oh yes, and sometimes they can be brutal (Let's face it, Mother nature often is).

  

Recently I had a resident pair of Carrion crows who decided that my garden was theirs, playing a game of cat and mouse with a pair of cheeky Magpies (Pica pica) for dominance and food rights. The male crow actually flew in and 'winged' the magpies to make them leave, an incredible sight to witness. It was an honour and a privilege to be able to win their trust and they have given me so much pleasure this year being able to get within a few feet of them, and their three youngsters, to photograph and feed them, and they have reinforced my already deep admiration for a bird that is brimming with beauty, intelligence, confidence and also surrounded by myths, legend and prejudice.

  

So let's begin with a look back over history.

  

LEGEND AND MYTHOLOGY

  

Crows appear in the Bible where Noah uses one to search for dry land and to check on the recession of the flood. Crows supposedly saved the prophet, Elijah, from famine and are an Inuit deity. Legend has it that England and its monarchy will end when there are no more crows in the Tower of London. And some believe that the crows went to the Tower attracted by the regular corpses following executions with written accounts of their presence at the executions of Anne Boleyn and Jane Gray.

  

In Welsh mythology, unfortunately Crows are seen as symbolic of evilness and black magic thanks to many references to witches transforming into crows or ravens and escaping. Indian legend tells of Kakabhusandi, a crow who sits on the branches of a wish-fulfilling tree called Kalpataru and a crow in Ramayana where Lord Rama blessed the crow with the power to foresee future events and communicate with the souls.

  

In Native American first nation legend the crow is sometimes considered to be something of a trickster, though they are also viewed positively by some tribes as messengers between this world and the next where they carry messages from the living to those deceased, and even carry healing medicines between both worlds. There is a belief that crows can foresee the future. The Klamath tribe in Oregon believe that when we die, we fly up to heaven as a crow. The Crow can also signify wisdom to some tribes who believe crows had the power to talk and were therefore considered to be one of the wisest of birds. Tribes with Crow Clans include the Chippewa (whose Crow Clan and its totem are called Aandeg), the Hopi (whose Crow Clan is called Angwusngyam or Ungwish-wungwa), the Menominee, the Caddo, the Tlingit, and the Pueblo tribes of New Mexico.

  

The crow features in the Nanissáanah (Ghost dance), popularized by Jerome Crow Dog, a Brulé Lakota sub-chief and warrior born at Horse Stealing Creek in Montana Territory in 1833, the crow symbolizing wisdom and the past, when the crow had became a guide and acted as a pathfinder during hunting. The Ghost dance movement was originally created in 1870 by Wodziwob, or Gray Hair, a prophet and medicine man of the Paiute tribe in an area that became known as Nevada. Ghost dancers wore crow and eagle feathers in their clothes and hair, and the fact that the Crow could talk placed it as one of the sages of the animal kingdom. The five day dances seeking trance,prophecy and exhortations would eventually play a major part in the pathway towards the white man's broken treaties, the infamous battle at Wounded knee and the surrender of Matȟó Wanáȟtaka (Kicking Bear), after officials began to fear the ghost dancers and rituals which seemed to occur prior to battle.

  

Historically the Vikings are the group who made so many references to the crow, and Ragnarr Loðbrók and his sons used this species in his banner as well as appearances in many flags and coats of arms. Also, it had some kind of association with Odin, one of their main deities. Norse legend tells us that Odin is accompanied by two crows. Hugin, who symbolizes thought, and Munin, who represents a memory. These two crows were sent out each dawn to fly the entire world, returning at breakfast where they informed the Lord of the Nordic gods of everything that went on in their kingdoms. Odin was also referred to as Rafnagud (raven-god). The raven appears in almost every skaldic poem describing warfare.Coins dating back to 940's minted by Olaf Cuaran depict the Viking war standard, the Raven and Viking war banners (Gonfalon) depicted the bird also.

  

In Scandinavian legends, crows are a representative of the Goddess of Death, known as Valkyrie (from old Norse 'Valkyrja'), one of the group of maidens who served the Norse deity Odin, visiting battlefields and sending him the souls of the slain worthy of a place in Valhalla. Odin ( also called Wodan, Woden, or Wotan), preferred that heroes be killed in battle and that the most valiant of souls be taken to Valhöll, the hall of slain warriors. It is the crow that provides the Valkyries with important information on who should go. In Hindu ceremonies that are associated to ancestors, the crow has an important place in Vedic rituals. They are seen as messengers of death in Indian culture too.

  

In Germanic legend, Crows are seen as psychonomes, meaning the act of guiding spirits to their final destination, and that the feathers of a crow could cure a victim who had been cursed. And yet, a lone black crow could symbolize impending death, whilst a group symbolizes a lucky omen! Vikings also saw good omens in the crow and would leave offerings of meat as a token.

  

The crow also has sacred and prophetic meaning within the Celtic civilization, where it stood for flesh ripped off due to combat and Morrighan, the warrior goddess, often appears in Celtic mythology as a raven or crow, or else is found to be in the company of the birds. Crow is sacred to Lugdnum, the Celtic god of creation who gave his name to the city of Lug

  

In Greek mythology according to Appolodorus, Apollo is supposedly responsible for the black feathers of the crow, turning them forever black from their pristine white original plumage as a punishment after they brought news that Κορωνις (Coronis) a princess of the Thessalian kingdom of Phlegyantis, Apollo's pregnant lover had left him to marry a mortal, Ischys. In one legend, Apollo burned the crows feathers and then burned Coronis to death, in another Coronis herself was turned into a black crow, and another that she was slain by the arrows of Αρτεμις (Artemis - twin to Apollo). Koronis was later set amongst the stars as the constellation Corvus ("the Crow"). Her name means "Curved One" from the Greek word korônis or "Crow" from the word korônê.A similar Muslim legend allegedly tells of Muhammad, founder of Islam and the last prophet sent by God to Earth, who's secret location was given away by a white crow to his seekers, as he hid in caves. The crow shouted 'Ghar Ghar' (Cave, cave) and thus as punishment, Muhammad turned the crow black and cursed it for eternity to utter only one phrase, 'Ghar, ghar). Native Indian legend where the once rainbow coloured crows became forever black after shedding their colourful plumage over the other animals of the world.

  

In China the Crow is represented in art as a three legged bird on a solar disk, being a creature that helps the sun in its journey. In Japan there are myths of Crow Tengu who were priests who became vain, and turned into this spirit to serve as messengers until they learn the lesson of humility as well as a great Crow who takes part in Shinto creation stories.

  

In animal spirit guides there are general perceptions of what sightings of numbers of crows actually mean:

  

1 Crow Meaning: To carry a message from your near one who died recently.

 

2 Crows Meaning: Two crows sitting near your home signifies some good news is on your way.

 

3 Crows Meaning: An upcoming wedding in your family.

 

4 Crows Meaning: Symbolizes wealth and prosperity.

 

5 Crows Meaning: Diseases or pain.

 

6 Crows Meaning: A theft in your house!

 

7 Crows Meaning: Denotes travel or moving from your house.

 

8 Crows Meaning: Sorrowful events

  

Crows are generally seen as the symbolism when alive for doom bringing, misfortune and bad omens, and yet a dead crow symbolises potentially bringing good news and positive change to those who see it. This wonderful bird certainly gets a mixed bag of contradictory mythology and legend over the centuries and in modern days is often seen as a bit of a nuisance, attacking and killing the babies of other birds such as Starlings, Pigeons and House Sparrows as well as plucking the eyes out of lambs in the field, being loud and noisy and violently attacking poor victims in a 'crow court'....

  

There is even a classic horror film called 'THE CROW' released in 1994 by Miramax Films, directed by Alex Proyas and starring Brandon Lee in his final film appearance as Eric Draven, who is revived by a Crow tapping on his gravestone a year after he and his fiancée are murdered in Detroit by a street gang. The crow becomes his guide as he sets out to avenge the murders. The only son of martial arts expert Bruce Lee, Brandon lee suffered fatal injuries on the set of the film when the crew failed to remove the primer from a cartridge that hit Lee in the abdomen with the same force as a normal bullet. Lee died that day, March 31st 1993 aged 28.

  

The symbolism of the Crow resurrecting the dead star and accompanying him on his quest for revenge was powerful, and in some part based on the history of the carrion crow itself and the original film grossed more than $94 Million dollars with three subsequent sequels following.

  

TAKING A CLOSER LOOK

  

So let's move away from legend, mythology and stories passed down from our parents and grandparents and look at these amazing birds in isolation.

  

Carrion crow are passerines in the family Corvidae a group of Oscine passerine birds including Crows, Ravens, Rooks, Jackdaws, Jays, Magpies, Treepies, Choughs and Nutcrackers. Technically they are classed as Corvids, and the largest of passerine birds. Carrion crows are medium to large in size with rictal bristles and a single moult per year (most passerines moult twice). Carrion crow was one of the many species originally described by Swedish naturalist Carl Linnaeus (Carl Von Linne after his ennoblement) in his 1758 and 1759 editions of 'SYSTEMA NATURAE', and it still bears its original name of Corvus corone, derived from the Latin of Corvus, meaning Raven and the Greek κορώνη (korōnē), meaning crow.

  

Carrion crow are of the Animalia kingdom Phylum: Chordata Class: Aves Order: Passeriformes Family: Corvidae Genus: Corvus and Species: Corvus corone

  

Corvus corone can reach 45-47cm in length with a 93-104cm wingspan and weigh between 370-650g. They are protected under The Wildlife and Countryside Act 1981 in the United Kingdom with a Green UK conservation status which means they are of least concern with more than 1,000,000 territories. Breeding occurs in April with fledging of the chicks taking around twenty nine days following an incubation period of around twenty days with 3 to 4 eggs being the average norm. They are abundant in the UK apart from Northwest Scotland and Ireland where the Hooded crow (Corvus cornix) was considered the same species until 2002. They have a lifespan of around four years, whilst Crow species can live to the age of Twenty years old, and the oldest known American crow in the wild was almost Thirty years old. The oldest documented captive crow died at age Fifty nine. They are smaller and have a shorter lifespan than the Raven, which again is used as a symbol in history to live life to the full and not waste a moment!

  

They are often mistaken for the Rook (Corvus frugilegus), a similar bird, though in the UK, the Rook is actually technically smaller than the Carrion crow averaging 44-46cm in length, 81-99cm wingspan and weighing up to 340g. Rooks have white beaks compared to the black beaks of Carrion crow. There are documented cases in the UK of singular and grouped Rooks attacking and killing Carrion crows in their territory. Rooks nest in colonies unlike Carrion crows. Carrion crows have only a few natural enemies including powerful raptors such as the northern goshawk, the peregrine falcon, the Eurasian eagle-owl and the golden eagle which will all readily hunt them.

  

Regarded as one of the most intelligent birds, indeed creatures on the planet, studies suggest that Corvids cognitive abilities can rival that of primates such as chimpanzees and gorillas and even provide clues to understanding human intelligence. Crows have relatively large brains for their body size, compared to other animals. Their encephalization quotient (EQ) a ratio of brain to body size, adjusted for size because there isn’t a linear relationship is 4.1. That is remarkably close to chimps at 4.2 whilst humans are 8.1. Corvids also have a very high neuronal density, the number of neurons per gram of brain, factoring in the number of cortical neurons, neuron packing density, interneuronal distance and axonal conduction velocity shows that Corvids score high on this measure as well, with humans scoring the highest.

  

A corvid's pallium is packed with more neurons than a great ape's. Corvids have demonstrated the ability to use a combination of mental tools such as imagination, and anticipation of future events. They can craft tools from twigs and branches to hook grubs from deep recesses, they can solve puzzles and intricate methods of gaining access to food set by humans., and have even bent pieces of wire into hooks to obtain food.

  

They have been proven to have a higher cognitive ability level than seven year old humans. Communications wise, their repertoire of wraw-wraw's is not fully understood, but the intensity, rhythm, and duration of caws seems to form the basis of a possible language. They also remember the faces of humans who have hindered or hurt them and pass that information on to their offspring.

  

Aesop's fable of 'The Crow and the Pitcher, tells of a thirsty crow which drops stones into a water pitcher to raise the water level and enable it to take a drink. Scientists have conducted tests to see whether crows really are this intelligent. They placed floating treats in a deep tube and observed the crows indeed dropping dense objects carefully selected into the water until the treat floated within reach. They had the intelligence to pick up, weigh and discount objects that would float in the water, they also did not select ones that were too large for the container.

  

Pet crows develop a unique call for their owners, in effect actually naming them. They also know to sunbathe for a dose of vitamin D, regularly settling on wooden garden fences, opening their mouths and wings and raising their heads to the sun. In groups they warn of danger and communicate vocally. They store a cache of food for later if in abundance and are clever enough to move it if they feel it has been discovered. They leave markers for their cache. They have even learned to place walnuts and similar hard food items under car tyres at traffic lights as a means of cracking them!

  

Crows regularly gather around a dead fellow corvid, almost like a funeral, and it is thought they somehow learn from each death. They can even remember human faces for decades. Crows group together to attack larger predators and even steal their food, and they have different dialects in different areas, with the ability to mimic the dialect of the alpha males when they enter their territory!

  

They have a twenty year life span, the oldest on record reaching the age of Fifty nine. Crows can leave gifts for those who feed them such as buttons or bright shiny objects as a thank you, and they even kiss and make up after an argument, having mated for life.

  

In mythology they are associated with good and bad luck, being the bringers of omens and even witchcraft and are generally reviled for their attacks on baby birds and small mammals. They have an attack method of to stunning smaller birds before consuming them, tearing violently at smaller, less aggressive birds, which is simply down to the fact that they are so highly intelligent, and also the top of the food chain. Their diet includes over a thousand different items: Dead animals (as their name suggests), invertebrates, grain, as well as stealing eggs and chicks from other birds' nests, worms, insects, fruit, seeds, kitchen scraps. They are highly adaptable when food sources grow scarce. I absolutely love them, they are magnificent, bold, beautiful and incredibly interesting to watch and though at times it is hard to witness attacks made by them, I cannot help but adore them for so many other and more important reasons.

  

OBSERVATIONS ON THE PAIR IN MY GARDEN

  

Crows have been in the area for a while, but rarely had strayed into my garden, leaving the Magpies to own the territory. Things changed towards the end of May when a beautiful female Carrion crow appeared and began to take some of the food that I put down for the other birds. Within a few days she began to appear regularly, on occasions stocking up on food, whilst other times placing pieces in the birdbath to soften them. She would stand on the birdbath and eat and drink and come back over the course of the day to eat the softened food.

  

Shortly afterwards she brought along her mate, a tall and handsome fella, much larger than her who was also very vocal if he felt she was getting a little too close to me. By now I had moved from a seated position from the patio as an observer, to laying on a mat just five feet from the birdbath with my Nikon so that I could photograph the pair as they landed, scavenged and fed. She was now confident enough to let me be very close, and she even tolerated and recognized the clicking of the camera. At first I used silent mode to reduce the noise but this only allowed two shooting frame rates of single frame or continuous low frame which meant I was missing shots. I reverted back to normal continuous high frames and she soon got used to the whirring of the frames as the mirror slapped back and forth.

  

The big fella would bark orders at her from the safety of the fence or the rear of the garden, whilst she rarely made a sound. That was until one day when in the sweltering heat she kept opening her beak and sunning on the grass, panting slightly in the heat. I placed the circular water sprayer nearby and had it rotating so that the birdbath and grass was bathed in gentle water droplets and she soon came back, landed and seemed to really like the cooling effect on offer. She then climbed onto the birdbath and opened her wings slightly and made some gentle purring, cooing noises....

  

I swear she was expressing happiness, joy....

  

On another blisteringly hot day when the sprayer was on, she came down, walked towards it and opened her wings up running into the water spray. Not once, but many times.

  

A final observation came with the male and female on the rear garden fence. They sat together, locked beaks like a kiss and then the male took his time gently preening her head feathers and the back of her neck as she made tiny happy sounds. They stayed together like that for several minutes, showing a gentle, softer side to their nature and demonstrating the deep bond between them. Into July and the pair started to bring their three youngsters to my garden, the nippers learning to use the birdbath for bathing and dipping food, the parents attentive as ever.

  

I was privileged to be in close attendance as the last juvenile was brought down by the pair, taught to take food and then on a night in July, to soar and fly with it's mother in the evening sky as the light faded. She would swoop and twirl, and at regular intervals just touch the juvenile in flight with her wing tip feathers, as if to reassure it that she was close in attendance. What an amazing experience to view. A few days later, the juvenile, though now gaining independence and more than capable of tackling food scraps in the garden, was still on occasions demand feeding from it's mother who was now teaching him to take chicken breast, hotdogs or digestive biscuits and bury them in the garden beds for later delectation.

  

The juvenile also liked to gather up peanuts and bury them in the grass. On one occasion I witnessed a pair of rumbanctious Pica Pica (Magpies), chasing the young crow on rooftops, leaping at him no matter how hard he tried to get away. He defended himself well and survived the attacks, much to my relief.

  

Into August and the last youngster remained with the adults, though now was very independent even though he still spent time with his parents on rooftops, and shared food gathering duties with his mum. Hotdog sausages were their favourite choice, followed by fish fingers and digestive biscuits which the adult male would gather up three at a time.

  

Corvus Corone.... magnificently misunderstood by some!

  

Paul Williams June 4th 2021

  

Nikon D850 Focal length: 600mm Shutter speed: 1/1600s Aperture: f/7.1 iso640 Hand held with Tamron VC Vibration control set to ON (Position 1) 14 Bit uncompressed RAW NEF file size L (8256 x 5504 pixels) FX (36 x 24) Focus mode: AF-C AF-Area mode: 3D-tracking AF-C Priority Selection: Release. Nikon Back button focusing enabled 3D Tracking watch area: Normal 55 Tracking points Exposure mode: Manual exposure mode Metering mode: Matrix metering White balance on: Auto1 (6300k) Colour space: RGB Picture control: Neutral (Sharpening +2)

  

Tamron SP 150-600mm F/5-6.3 Di VC USD G2. Nikon GP-1 GPS module. Lee SW150 MKII filter holder. Lee SW150 95mm screw in adapter ring. Lee SW150 circular polariser glass filter.Lee SW150 Filters field pouch. Hoodman HEYENRG round eyepiece oversized eyecup.Mcoplus professional MB-D850 multi function battery grip 6960.Two Nikon EN-EL15a batteries (Priority to battery in Battery grip). Black Rapid Curve Breathe strap. My Memory 128GB Class 10 SDXC 80MB/s card. Lowepro Flipside 400 AW camera bag.

  

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LATITUDE: N 51d 28m 28.23s

LONGITUDE: E 0d 8m 10.40s

ALTITUDE: 54.00m

  

RAW (TIFF) FILE: 130.00MB NEF FILE: 91.1MB

PROCESSED (JPeg) FILE: 52.70MB

   

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PROCESSING POWER:

  

Nikon D850 Firmware versions C 1.10 (9/05/2019) LD Distortion Data 2.018 (18/02/20) LF 1.00

  

HP 110-352na Desktop PC with AMD Quad-Core A6-5200 APU 64Bit processor. Radeon HD8400 graphics. 8 GB DDR3 Memory with 1TB Data storage. 64-bit Windows 10. Verbatim USB 2.0 1TB desktop hard drive. WD My Passport Ultra 1tb USB3 Portable hard drive. Nikon ViewNX-1 64bit Version 1.4.1 (18/02/2020). Nikon Capture NX-D 64bit Version 1.6.2 (18/02/2020). Nikon Picture Control Utility 2 (Version 2.4.5 (18/02/2020). Nikon Transfer 2 Version 2.13.5. Adobe photoshop Elements 8 Version 8.0 64bit.

   

Unashamedly I will shout it from the rooftops.

  

I LOVE CARRION CROW.

   

There, I've said it. Words I use to describe these amazing birds would include stunning, beautiful, bold, magnificent, intelligent and fantastic, loving, tender, victimized...... oh yes, and sometimes they can be brutal (Let's face it, Mother nature often is).

  

Recently I had a resident pair of Carrion crows who decided that my garden was theirs, playing a game of cat and mouse with a pair of cheeky Magpies (Pica pica) for dominance and food rights. The male crow actually flew in and 'winged' the magpies to make them leave, an incredible sight to witness. It was an honour and a privilege to be able to win their trust and they have given me so much pleasure this year being able to get within a few feet of them, and their three youngsters, to photograph and feed them, and they have reinforced my already deep admiration for a bird that is brimming with beauty, intelligence, confidence and also surrounded by myths, legend and prejudice.

  

So let's begin with a look back over history.

  

LEGEND AND MYTHOLOGY

  

Crows appear in the Bible where Noah uses one to search for dry land and to check on the recession of the flood. Crows supposedly saved the prophet, Elijah, from famine and are an Inuit deity. Legend has it that England and its monarchy will end when there are no more crows in the Tower of London. And some believe that the crows went to the Tower attracted by the regular corpses following executions with written accounts of their presence at the executions of Anne Boleyn and Jane Gray.

  

In Welsh mythology, unfortunately Crows are seen as symbolic of evilness and black magic thanks to many references to witches transforming into crows or ravens and escaping. Indian legend tells of Kakabhusandi, a crow who sits on the branches of a wish-fulfilling tree called Kalpataru and a crow in Ramayana where Lord Rama blessed the crow with the power to foresee future events and communicate with the souls.

  

In Native American first nation legend the crow is sometimes considered to be something of a trickster, though they are also viewed positively by some tribes as messengers between this world and the next where they carry messages from the living to those deceased, and even carry healing medicines between both worlds. There is a belief that crows can foresee the future. The Klamath tribe in Oregon believe that when we die, we fly up to heaven as a crow. The Crow can also signify wisdom to some tribes who believe crows had the power to talk and were therefore considered to be one of the wisest of birds. Tribes with Crow Clans include the Chippewa (whose Crow Clan and its totem are called Aandeg), the Hopi (whose Crow Clan is called Angwusngyam or Ungwish-wungwa), the Menominee, the Caddo, the Tlingit, and the Pueblo tribes of New Mexico.

  

The crow features in the Nanissáanah (Ghost dance), popularized by Jerome Crow Dog, a Brulé Lakota sub-chief and warrior born at Horse Stealing Creek in Montana Territory in 1833, the crow symbolizing wisdom and the past, when the crow had became a guide and acted as a pathfinder during hunting. The Ghost dance movement was originally created in 1870 by Wodziwob, or Gray Hair, a prophet and medicine man of the Paiute tribe in an area that became known as Nevada. Ghost dancers wore crow and eagle feathers in their clothes and hair, and the fact that the Crow could talk placed it as one of the sages of the animal kingdom. The five day dances seeking trance,prophecy and exhortations would eventually play a major part in the pathway towards the white man's broken treaties, the infamous battle at Wounded knee and the surrender of Matȟó Wanáȟtaka (Kicking Bear), after officials began to fear the ghost dancers and rituals which seemed to occur prior to battle.

  

Historically the Vikings are the group who made so many references to the crow, and Ragnarr Loðbrók and his sons used this species in his banner as well as appearances in many flags and coats of arms. Also, it had some kind of association with Odin, one of their main deities. Norse legend tells us that Odin is accompanied by two crows. Hugin, who symbolizes thought, and Munin, who represents a memory. These two crows were sent out each dawn to fly the entire world, returning at breakfast where they informed the Lord of the Nordic gods of everything that went on in their kingdoms. Odin was also referred to as Rafnagud (raven-god). The raven appears in almost every skaldic poem describing warfare.Coins dating back to 940's minted by Olaf Cuaran depict the Viking war standard, the Raven and Viking war banners (Gonfalon) depicted the bird also.

  

In Scandinavian legends, crows are a representative of the Goddess of Death, known as Valkyrie (from old Norse 'Valkyrja'), one of the group of maidens who served the Norse deity Odin, visiting battlefields and sending him the souls of the slain worthy of a place in Valhalla. Odin ( also called Wodan, Woden, or Wotan), preferred that heroes be killed in battle and that the most valiant of souls be taken to Valhöll, the hall of slain warriors. It is the crow that provides the Valkyries with important information on who should go. In Hindu ceremonies that are associated to ancestors, the crow has an important place in Vedic rituals. They are seen as messengers of death in Indian culture too.

  

In Germanic legend, Crows are seen as psychonomes, meaning the act of guiding spirits to their final destination, and that the feathers of a crow could cure a victim who had been cursed. And yet, a lone black crow could symbolize impending death, whilst a group symbolizes a lucky omen! Vikings also saw good omens in the crow and would leave offerings of meat as a token.

  

The crow also has sacred and prophetic meaning within the Celtic civilization, where it stood for flesh ripped off due to combat and Morrighan, the warrior goddess, often appears in Celtic mythology as a raven or crow, or else is found to be in the company of the birds. Crow is sacred to Lugdnum, the Celtic god of creation who gave his name to the city of Lug

  

In Greek mythology according to Appolodorus, Apollo is supposedly responsible for the black feathers of the crow, turning them forever black from their pristine white original plumage as a punishment after they brought news that Κορωνις (Coronis) a princess of the Thessalian kingdom of Phlegyantis, Apollo's pregnant lover had left him to marry a mortal, Ischys. In one legend, Apollo burned the crows feathers and then burned Coronis to death, in another Coronis herself was turned into a black crow, and another that she was slain by the arrows of Αρτεμις (Artemis - twin to Apollo). Koronis was later set amongst the stars as the constellation Corvus ("the Crow"). Her name means "Curved One" from the Greek word korônis or "Crow" from the word korônê.A similar Muslim legend allegedly tells of Muhammad, founder of Islam and the last prophet sent by God to Earth, who's secret location was given away by a white crow to his seekers, as he hid in caves. The crow shouted 'Ghar Ghar' (Cave, cave) and thus as punishment, Muhammad turned the crow black and cursed it for eternity to utter only one phrase, 'Ghar, ghar). Native Indian legend where the once rainbow coloured crows became forever black after shedding their colourful plumage over the other animals of the world.

  

In China the Crow is represented in art as a three legged bird on a solar disk, being a creature that helps the sun in its journey. In Japan there are myths of Crow Tengu who were priests who became vain, and turned into this spirit to serve as messengers until they learn the lesson of humility as well as a great Crow who takes part in Shinto creation stories.

  

In animal spirit guides there are general perceptions of what sightings of numbers of crows actually mean:

  

1 Crow Meaning: To carry a message from your near one who died recently.

 

2 Crows Meaning: Two crows sitting near your home signifies some good news is on your way.

 

3 Crows Meaning: An upcoming wedding in your family.

 

4 Crows Meaning: Symbolizes wealth and prosperity.

 

5 Crows Meaning: Diseases or pain.

 

6 Crows Meaning: A theft in your house!

 

7 Crows Meaning: Denotes travel or moving from your house.

 

8 Crows Meaning: Sorrowful events

  

Crows are generally seen as the symbolism when alive for doom bringing, misfortune and bad omens, and yet a dead crow symbolises potentially bringing good news and positive change to those who see it. This wonderful bird certainly gets a mixed bag of contradictory mythology and legend over the centuries and in modern days is often seen as a bit of a nuisance, attacking and killing the babies of other birds such as Starlings, Pigeons and House Sparrows as well as plucking the eyes out of lambs in the field, being loud and noisy and violently attacking poor victims in a 'crow court'....

  

There is even a classic horror film called 'THE CROW' released in 1994 by Miramax Films, directed by Alex Proyas and starring Brandon Lee in his final film appearance as Eric Draven, who is revived by a Crow tapping on his gravestone a year after he and his fiancée are murdered in Detroit by a street gang. The crow becomes his guide as he sets out to avenge the murders. The only son of martial arts expert Bruce Lee, Brandon lee suffered fatal injuries on the set of the film when the crew failed to remove the primer from a cartridge that hit Lee in the abdomen with the same force as a normal bullet. Lee died that day, March 31st 1993 aged 28.

  

The symbolism of the Crow resurrecting the dead star and accompanying him on his quest for revenge was powerful, and in some part based on the history of the carrion crow itself and the original film grossed more than $94 Million dollars with three subsequent sequels following.

  

TAKING A CLOSER LOOK

  

So let's move away from legend, mythology and stories passed down from our parents and grandparents and look at these amazing birds in isolation.

  

Carrion crow are passerines in the family Corvidae a group of Oscine passerine birds including Crows, Ravens, Rooks, Jackdaws, Jays, Magpies, Treepies, Choughs and Nutcrackers. Technically they are classed as Corvids, and the largest of passerine birds. Carrion crows are medium to large in size with rictal bristles and a single moult per year (most passerines moult twice). Carrion crow was one of the many species originally described by Swedish naturalist Carl Linnaeus (Carl Von Linne after his ennoblement) in his 1758 and 1759 editions of 'SYSTEMA NATURAE', and it still bears its original name of Corvus corone, derived from the Latin of Corvus, meaning Raven and the Greek κορώνη (korōnē), meaning crow.

  

Carrion crow are of the Animalia kingdom Phylum: Chordata Class: Aves Order: Passeriformes Family: Corvidae Genus: Corvus and Species: Corvus corone

  

Corvus corone can reach 45-47cm in length with a 93-104cm wingspan and weigh between 370-650g. They are protected under The Wildlife and Countryside Act 1981 in the United Kingdom with a Green UK conservation status which means they are of least concern with more than 1,000,000 territories. Breeding occurs in April with fledging of the chicks taking around twenty nine days following an incubation period of around twenty days with 3 to 4 eggs being the average norm.

  

They are abundant in the UK apart from Northwest Scotland and Ireland where the Hooded crow (Corvus cornix) was considered the same species until 2002. They have a lifespan of around four years, whilst Crow species can live to the age of Twenty years old, and the oldest known American crow in the wild was almost Thirty years old. The oldest documented captive crow died at age Fifty nine. They are smaller and have a shorter lifespan than the Raven, which again is used as a symbol in history to live life to the full and not waste a moment!

  

They are often mistaken for the Rook (Corvus frugilegus), a similar bird, though in the UK, the Rook is actually technically smaller than the Carrion crow averaging 44-46cm in length, 81-99cm wingspan and weighing up to 340g. Rooks have white beaks compared to the black beaks of Carrion crow, a more steeply raked ratio from head to beak, and longer straighter beaks as well as a different plumage pattern. There are documented cases in the UK of singular and grouped Rooks attacking and killing Carrion crows in their territory. Rooks nest in colonies unlike Carrion crows. Carrion crows have only a few natural enemies including powerful raptors such as the northern goshawk, the peregrine falcon, the Eurasian eagle-owl and the golden eagle which will all readily hunt them.

  

Regarded as one of the most intelligent birds, indeed creatures on the planet, studies suggest that Corvids cognitive abilities can rival that of primates such as chimpanzees and gorillas and even provide clues to understanding human intelligence. Crows have relatively large brains for their body size, compared to other animals. Their encephalization quotient (EQ) a ratio of brain to body size, adjusted for size because there isn’t a linear relationship is 4.1. That is remarkably close to chimps at 4.2 whilst humans are 8.1. Corvids also have a very high neuronal density, the number of neurons per gram of brain, factoring in the number of cortical neurons, neuron packing density, interneuronal distance and axonal conduction velocity shows that Corvids score high on this measure as well, with humans scoring the highest.

  

A corvid's pallium is packed with more neurons than a great ape's. Corvids have demonstrated the ability to use a combination of mental tools such as imagination, and anticipation of future events. They can craft tools from twigs and branches to hook grubs from deep recesses, they can solve puzzles and intricate methods of gaining access to food set by humans., and have even bent pieces of wire into hooks to obtain food.

  

They have been proven to have a higher cognitive ability level than seven year old humans. Communications wise, their repertoire of wraw-wraw's is not fully understood, but the intensity, rhythm, and duration of caws seems to form the basis of a possible language. They also remember the faces of humans who have hindered or hurt them and pass that information on to their offspring.

  

Aesop's fable of 'The Crow and the Pitcher, tells of a thirsty crow which drops stones into a water pitcher to raise the water level and enable it to take a drink. Scientists have conducted tests to see whether crows really are this intelligent. They placed floating treats in a deep tube and observed the crows indeed dropping dense objects carefully selected into the water until the treat floated within reach. They had the intelligence to pick up, weigh and discount objects that would float in the water, they also did not select ones that were too large for the container.

  

Pet crows develop a unique call for their owners, in effect actually naming them. They also know to sunbathe for a dose of vitamin D, regularly settling on wooden garden fences, opening their mouths and wings and raising their heads to the sun. In groups they warn of danger and communicate vocally. They store a cache of food for later if in abundance and are clever enough to move it if they feel it has been discovered. They leave markers for their cache. They have even learned to place walnuts and similar hard food items under car tyres at traffic lights as a means of cracking them!

  

Crows regularly gather around a dead fellow corvid, almost like a funeral, and it is thought they somehow learn from each death. They can even remember human faces for decades.Crows group together to attack larger predators and even steal their food, and they have different dialects in different areas, with the ability to mimic the dialect of the alpha males when they enter their territory!

  

They have a twenty year life span, the oldest on record reaching the age of Fifty nine. Crows can leave gifts for those who feed them such as buttons or bright shiny objects as a thank you, and they even kiss and make up after an argument, having mated for life.

  

In mythology they are associated with good and bad luck, being the bringers of omens and even witchcraft and are generally reviled for their attacks on baby birds and small mammals. They have an attack method of to stunning smaller birds before consuming them, tearing violently at smaller, less aggressive birds, which is simply down to the fact that they are so highly intelligent, and also the top of the food chain. Their diet includes over a thousand different items: Dead animals (as their name suggests), invertebrates, grain, as well as stealing eggs and chicks from other birds' nests, worms, insects, fruit, seeds, kitchen scraps. They are highly adaptable when food sources grow scarce. I absolutely love them, they are magnificent, bold, beautiful and incredibly interesting to watch and though at times it is hard to witness attacks made by them, I cannot help but adore them for so many other and more important reasons.

  

OBSERVATIONS ON THE PAIR IN MY GARDEN

  

Crows have been in the area for a while, but rarely had strayed into my garden, leaving the Magpies to own the territory. Things changed towards the end of May when a beautiful female Carrion crow appeared and began to take some of the food that I put down for the other birds. Within a few days she began to appear regularly, on occasions stocking up on food, whilst other times placing pieces in the birdbath to soften them. She would stand on the birdbath and eat and drink and come back over the course of the day to eat the softened food.

  

Shortly afterwards she brought along her mate, a tall and handsome fella, much larger than her who was also very vocal if he felt she was getting a little too close to me. By now I had moved from a seated position from the patio as an observer, to laying on a mat just five feet from the birdbath with my Nikon so that I could photograph the pair as they landed, scavenged and fed. She was now confident enough to let me be very close, and she even tolerated and recognized the clicking of the camera. At first I used silent mode to reduce the noise but this only allowed two shooting frame rates of single frame or continuous low frame which meant I was missing shots. I reverted back to normal continuous high frames and she soon got used to the whirring of the mechanisms as the mirror slapped back and forth.

  

The big fella would bark orders at her from the safety of the fence or the rear of the garden, whilst she rarely made a sound. That was until one day when in the sweltering heat she kept opening her beak and sunning on the grass, panting slightly in the heat. I placed the circular water sprayer nearby and had it rotating so that the birdbath and grass was bathed in gentle water droplets and she soon came back, landed and seemed to really like the cooling effect on offer. She then climbed onto the birdbath and opened her wings slightly and made some gentle purring, cooing noises....

  

I swear she was expressing happiness, joy....

  

On another blisteringly hot day when the sprayer was on, she came down, walked towards it and opened her wings up running into the water spray. Not once, but many times.

  

A further revelation into the unseen sides to these beautiful birds came with the male and female on the rear garden fence. They sat together, locked beaks like a kiss and then the male took his time gently preening her head feathers and the back of her neck as she made tiny happy sounds. They stayed together like that for several minutes, showing a gentle, softer side to their nature and demonstrating the deep bond between them. Into July and the pair started to bring their three youngsters to my garden, the nippers learning to use the birdbath for bathing and dipping food, the parents attentive as ever. Two of the youngsters headed off once large enough and strong enough.

  

I was privileged to be in close attendance as the last juvenile was brought down by the pair, taught to take food and then on a night in July, to soar and fly with it's mother in the evening sky as the light faded. She would swoop and twirl, and at regular intervals just touch the juvenile in flight with her wing tip feathers, as if to reassure it that she was close in attendance. What an amazing experience to view. A few days later, the juvenile, though now gaining independence and more than capable of tackling food scraps in the garden, was still on occasions demand feeding from it's mother who was now teaching him to take chicken breast, hotdogs or digestive biscuits and bury them in the garden beds for later delectation. The juvenile also liked to gather up peanuts and bury them in the grass. On one occasion I witnessed a pair of rumbanctious Pica Pica (Magpies), chasing the young crow on rooftops, leaping at him no matter how hard he tried to get away. He defended himself well and survived the attacks, much to my relief.

  

Into August and the last youngster remained with the adults, though now was very independent even though he still spent time with his parents on rooftops, and shared food gathering duties with his mum. Hotdog sausages were their favourite choice, followed by fish fingers and digestive biscuits which the adult male would gather up three at a time.

  

Corvus Corone.... magnificently misunderstood by some!

  

Paul Williams June 4th 2021

  

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Photograph taken at an altitude of Fifty metres at 13:58pm on a beautiful summer afternoon on Monday 7th June 2021, off Chessington Avenue in Bexleyheath, Kent.

  

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Nikon D850 Focal length 500mm Shutter speed: 1/500s Aperture f/7.1 iso250 Hand held with Tamron VC Vibration control set to ON in position 1 14 Bit uncompressed RAW NEF file size L (8256 x 5504 pixels) FX (36 x 24) Focus mode: AF-C AF-Area mode: 3D-tracking AF-C Priority Selection: Release. Nikon Back button focusing enabled 3D Tracking watch area: Normal 55 Tracking points Exposure mode: Manual exposure mode Metering mode: Matrix metering White balance on: Auto1 (4760k) Colour space: RGB Picture control: Neutral (Sharpening +2)

  

Tamron SP 150-600mm F/5-6.3 Di VC USD G2. Nikon GP-1 GPS module. Lee SW150 MKII filter holder. Lee SW150 95mm screw in adapter ring. Lee SW150 circular polariser glass filter.Lee SW150 Filters field pouch. Hoodman HEYENRG round eyepiece oversized eyecup.Mcoplus professional MB-D850 multi function battery grip 6960.Two Nikon EN-EL15a batteries (Priority to battery in Battery grip). Black Rapid Curve Breathe strap. My Memory 128GB Class 10 SDXC 80MB/s card. Lowepro Flipside 400 AW camera bag.

     

LATITUDE: N 51d 28m 28.44s

LONGITUDE: E 0d 8m 10.57s

ALTITUDE: 50.00m

  

RAW (TIFF) FILE: 130.00MB NEF FILE: 90.6MB

PROCESSED (JPeg) FILE: 44.10MB

    

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Nikon D850 Firmware versions C 1.10 (9/05/2019) LD Distortion Data 2.018 (18/02/20) LF 1.00

  

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They met at a waterfront dance. She was pretty, but her cheap clothes labeled her as a shanty-town girl. She didn’t look 18. But when she clung fiercely to Matt Kovacs down on the beach, he was ready to believe anything. Later he asked, “How old are you?” Her answer filled Matt with shocked fury. “Stay away from me, baby. You’re jailbait.” But she didn’t stay away, and Matt left town. When he returned ten years later, he found her a lushly beautiful woman – waiting to ruin him no matter what the cost!

 

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