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xtruss · 3 years

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Philip, In Role With No Job Description, Was Queen’s Bedrock

— By Jill Lawless And Gregory Katz | AP | Friday April 04, 2021

LONDON (AP) — When Prince Philip married the heir to the British throne, he knew he was stepping into virtually uncharted territory.

There was no official role for the husband of a sovereign queen, no constitutional duty or legal responsibility.

“There was no precedent,” he said when he turned 90. “If I asked somebody, ‘What do you expect me to do?’ They all looked blank. They had no idea.”

His wife Elizabeth knew exactly what she had to do when she became queen in 1952 after the premature death of her father, King George VI. For Philip, though, her ascension to the throne marked the end of his career as a naval officer and a plunge into uncertainty.

But at that crucial moment, he carved out the part he would carry through the decades: the queen’s honest and unwavering bedrock of support through a turbulent reign in which the thousand-year-old monarchy was forced to reinvent itself for the 21st century. It was a role the Duke of Edinburgh played until his death Friday at age 99.

His marriage both defined and constricted his life, placing the irascible, tough-minded Philip three steps behind the queen in public, even if he played a significant role at home, including in raising four children.

His life spanned nearly a century of European history, starting with his birth as a member of the Greek royal family and ending with him as the longest serving consort in British history, surpassing Queen Charlotte, wife of King George III.

He was known for his occasionally deeply offensive remarks — and for gamely fulfilling more than 20,000 royal engagements to boost British interests home and abroad. He headed hundreds of charities, founded programs that helped British schoolchildren participate in challenging outdoor adventures.

Philip saw his sole role as providing support for his wife as she confronted the changing demands placed on a constitutional monarch who began her reign as Britain retreated from empire and steered the monarchy through decades of declining social deference and U.K. power into a modern world where people demand intimacy from their icons.

In the 1970s, Michael Parker, an old navy friend and former private secretary of the prince, said of him: “He told me the first day he offered me my job, that his job — first, second and last — was never to let her down.”

The queen — a very private person not given to extravagant displays of affections — once called him “her rock” in public.

In private, Philip called his wife Lilibet; but he referred to her in conversation with others as “The Queen.”

Over the course of the decades, Philip’s image changed from that of handsome, dashing athlete to arrogant and insensitive curmudgeon. In his later years, the image finally settled into that of droll and philosophical observer of the times, an elderly, craggy-faced man who maintained his military bearing in public despite a host of ailments.

Not content to stay on the sidelines, he promoted British industry and science, espoused environmental preservation long before it became fashionable, and traveled widely and frequently in support of his many charities.

In those frequent public appearances, Philip developed a reputation for being impatient and demanding and was sometimes blunt to the point of rudeness.

Many Britons appreciated what they saw as his propensity to speak his mind, while others criticized behavior they labeled as racist, sexist or out of touch.

In 1995, for example, he asked a Scottish driving instructor, “How do you keep the natives off the booze long enough to pass the test?” Seven years later in Australia, when visiting Aboriginal people with the queen, he asked: “Do you still throw spears at each other?” On one visit to a military barracks, he asked a sea cadet instructor if she worked in a strip club.

Many believe his propensity to speak his mind meant he provided needed, unvarnished advice to the queen.

“The way that he survived in the British monarchy system was to be his own man, and that was a source of support to the queen,” said royal historian Robert Lacey. “All her life she was surrounded by men who said, ‘yes ma’am,’ and he was one man who always told her how it really was, or at least how he saw it.”

Lacey said that during the royal family’s difficult times with Diana, Philip spoke for the family with authority, showing that he did not automatically defer to the queen despite her position as monarch and head of state.

Philip’s relationship with Diana became complicated as her separation from Charles and their eventual divorce played out in a series of public battles that damaged the monarchy’s standing. It was widely assumed that he was critical of Diana’s use of broadcast interviews, including to accuse Charles of infidelity.

But letters between Philip and Diana released after her death showed that the older man was at times supportive of his daughter-in-law.

After Diana’s death in a car crash in Paris in 1997, Philip had to endure allegations by former Harrods owner Mohamed Al Fayed that he had plotted the princess’s death. Al Fayed’s son, Dodi, also died in the crash.

During a lengthy inquest into their deaths, a senior judge acting as coroner instructed the jury that there was no evidence to support the allegations against Philip, who did not publicly respond to Al Fayed’s charges.

Philip’s final years were clouded by controversy and fissures in the royal family.

His third child, Prince Andrew, was embroiled in controversy over his friendship with Jeffrey Epstein, an American financier who died in a New York prison in 2019 while awaiting trial on sex trafficking charges.

U.S. authorities accused Andrew of rebuffing their request to interview him as a witness, and Andrew faced accusations from a woman who said that she had several sexual encounters with the prince at Epstein’s behest. He denied the claim but withdrew from public royal duties amid the scandal.

At the start of 2020, Philip’s grandson Prince Harry and his wife, the American former actress Meghan Markle, announced they were quitting royal duties and moving to North America to escape intense media scrutiny that they found unbearable.

Britain’s Prince Harry talks to Prince Philip as members of the Royal family appear on the balcony of Buckingham Palace, during the Trooping The Colour parade, in central London on June 14, 2014. (AP Photo/Lefteris Pitarakis)

Last month, they gave an explosive interview to Oprah Winfrey, saying that Meghan had suffered neglect and racist attitudes while a working member of the family, though Winfrey later said Harry told her one particularly hurtful remark did not come from either of his grandparents. The palace called the issues raised by the couple “concerning” and said they would be “addressed by the family privately.”

Born June 10, 1921, on the dining room table at his parents’ home on the Greek island of Corfu, Philip was the fifth child and only son of Prince Andrew, younger brother of the king of Greece. His grandfather had come from Denmark during the 1860s to be adopted by Greece as the country’s monarch.

Philip’s mother was Princess Alice of Battenberg, a descendant of German princes. Like his future wife, Elizabeth, Philip was also a great-great-grandchild of Queen Victoria.

When Philip was 18 months old, his parents fled into exile in France. His father, an army commander, had been tried after a devastating military defeat by the Turks. After British intervention, the Greek junta agreed not to sentence Andrew to death if he left the country.

Philip went to school in Britain and entered Dartmouth Naval College as a cadet in 1939. He got his first posting in 1940 but was not allowed near the main war zone because he was a foreign prince of a neutral nation. When the Italian invasion of Greece ended that neutrality, he joined the war, serving on battleships in the Indian Ocean, the Mediterranean and the Pacific.

On leave in Britain, he visited his royal cousins and, by the end of war, it was clear he was courting Princess Elizabeth, eldest child and heir of King George VI. Their engagement was announced July 10, 1947, and they were married Nov. 20.

Then, in 1952, King George VI died of cancer at age 56.

Philip had to give up his naval career and his subservient status was formally sealed at the coronation, when he knelt before his wife and pledged to become “her liege man of life and limb, and of earthly worship.”

The change in Philip’s life was dramatic.

“Within the house, and whatever we did, it was together,” Philip told biographer Basil Boothroyd of the years before Elizabeth became queen. “People used to come to me and ask me what to do. In 1952, the whole thing changed, very, very considerably.”

Said Boothroyd: “He had a choice between just tagging along, the second handshake in the receiving line, or finding other outlets for his bursting energies.”

So Philip took over management of the royal estates and expanded his travels to all corners of the world, building a role for himself.

Since 1956 he had been Patron and Chairman of Trustees for the largest youth activity program in Britain, the Duke of Edinburgh’s Award, a voluntary, non-competitive program of practical, cultural and adventurous activities for young people that exists in over 100 countries worldwide.

He painted, collected modern art, was interested in industrial design and planned a garden at Windsor Castle. But, he once said, “the arts world thinks of me as an uncultured, polo-playing clot.”

In time, the famous blond hair thinned and the long, fine-boned face acquired a few lines. He gave up polo but remained trim and vigorous.

To a friend’s suggestion that he ease up a bit, the prince is said to have replied, “Well, what would I do? Sit around and knit?”

But when he turned 90 in 2011, Philip told the BBC he was “winding down” his workload and he reckoned he had “done my bit.”

The next few years saw occasional hospital stays as Philip’s health flagged. He announced in May 2017 that he planned to step back from royal duties — after roughly 22,000 royal engagements since his wife’s coronation.

Philip is survived by the queen and their four children as well as eight grandchildren and 10 great-grandchildren.

— Katz and Associated Press writer Robert Barr contributed to this report before their deaths.

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ilthit · 4 years

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I was tagged by @slow-burn-sally to list Five Famous Crushes!

First, let’s discuss the nature of celebrity crushes. Yes, this is a necessary step. I don’t entirely grasp them. I don’t think I do them the way other people do them. But I don’t want to presume how other people do them! It’s just--this is a more difficult question than you might think, especially considering I am a fan. I’ve just always sort of liked to separate the creator from the art, like I don’t feel the need to find out anything about the artists behind the songs I like or the actors who play the characters I like. Sometimes I like to know something about authors, this is true! Like I was interested to find Robin Stevens is an American who went to school in Britain. I’m not gonna, like, crawl through her postbox or anything but that has a bearing on her writing a foreign girl in an English public school.

I am getting off the point. The point is, I will try to be as truthful as I can be, and actually... I know very little about any of these people as people, either. See? I don’t think I’m doing this right.

- When I was, like, fourteen, I had a crush on Anthony Hopkins because of his roles in Bram Stoker’s Dracula and Silence of the Lambs. I can make no excuses for my fourteen-year-old self, but which of us can?

- At around the same time I had a crush on Dash X from Eerie, Indiana to the point that I tried to find what other things the actor had done because I thought he was just SO pretty. I found nothing.

- Lucy Lawless, because of Xena.

- Gillian Anderson, originally because of Scully. These are fairly universal experiences for wlw of my age group, I believe.

- Queen Latifah, because of various films.

- Most recently, Seth Rogen. I just find him physically attractive.

That’s it! That’s five. Oh wait that’s six!! Okay then that’s six.

WAIT I could also say Whoopi Goldberg. For various films. Hah, seven!

Not tagging anyone at this point, sorry! Do it if you want!

#meme reply #showing my age again

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travelonlinetipsofficial · 3 years

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Hong Kong Sightseeing: 10Best Sights Reviews

New Post has been published on https://www.travelonlinetips.com/hong-kong-sightseeing-10best-sights-reviews/

Hong Kong Sightseeing: 10Best Sights Reviews

The whole of Hong Kong is a sight to see: myriad skyscrapers set around one of the world’s most dramatic natural harbors make for an intriguing panorama by day or night, at dawn or dusk, noon or midnight.

Some of Hong Kong’s sights have been constructed on purpose, others have just grown up of their own accord. Madame Tussauds is a slightly unusual sight, but it’s as much fun observing the reactions of the local visitors as it is marveling at the waxworks of the rich and famous. And the Goldfish Market is pure Hong Kong – right in the heart of the city, a thriving sub-culture that’s right on the street.

And – get this – many of Hong Kong’s sights charge no admission at all, or just a couple of bucks. Stroll along Sai Kung’s Seafood Street for as long as you want, and it won’t cost you a red cent. Star Ferry and the Happy Valley Racecourse must rank as two of the world’s cheapest attractions.

Not all of Hong Kong’s major sights are in town – hop aboard the ferry or the cable car to see the Big Buddha at the Po Lin Monastery on Lantau Island, or wind your way out to the east of Hong Kong for a stroll around the old fishing port of Sai Kung and its buzzing seafood street.

Photo courtesy of Hong Kong Tourism Board

The gods of literature and the military are celebrated here in one of the oldest temples in Hong Kong. Built in the 1840s, you’ll find two unique chairs inside that were once used to carry these deities through the city during festivals. Former visitors have left sticks of incense over the years, which are now hanging from the ceiling; you can still buy one in hopes of fulfilling a wish, while a fortune teller runs a brisk business to one side of the temple. Man Mo is very much on the tourist trail, but with very good reason, and handy for antique shopping along Hollywood Road.

Recommended for Sightseeing because: Man Mo’s traditional architecture makes for a delicate contrast with the surrounding (rather dull) skyscrapers.

Ed’s expert tip: Fans of the Oscar-winning film “Love is a Many Splendored Thing” will recognize Man Mo which was the backdrop for several scenes.

Read more about Victoria Peak →

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missrkl · 3 years

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The Temple Chapter Seven

Rachel sat in her sofa at home feeling the comfort of the sofa welcoming her as she had just arrived home from the Elitist’s rehearsals. Kai had questioned her about how the team sounded on stage where she sat in the middle of the rows. She had a voice then as she shared her listening ears with him. Rachel felt like she had some power then, some say. Kai was the only one who ever dared speak to her, or rather be seen speaking to her. They didn’t speak all the time, it was very rare, but when it did happen Rachel always felt good about it. Although the heart pumping part wasn’t good, her blood pressure might have been through the roof with all that excitement. She could always feel the blood rush up to her head and she would feel like a coke bottle that’s been shaken and ready to burst. After eating her dinner and some lounging in front of the TV, Rachel opened up her bible to receive the next words Adon had for the gang. This is what Adon said “Now Jesus turned to address his disciples, along with the crowd that had gathered with them. “The religion scholars and Pharisees are competent teachers in God’s Law. You won’t go wrong in following their teachings on Moses. But be careful about following them. They talk a good line, but they don’t live it. They don’t take it into their hearts and live it out in their behavior. It’s all spit-and-polish veneer.”

‭‭Matthew‬ ‭23:1-3‬ ‭MSG‬‬

Rachel knew that was very true. The Elitists was one prime example where they talked the talk but never walked the walk. They would sprout wisdom of love and family and unconditional love, but in their ‘behaviour’ they would be the exact opposite. Judging, accusing, condemning, blaming, shaming, slandering, hating, segregating, labelling, blocking, controlling and denying. Rachel read how Adon described them “So practice and obey whatever they tell you, but don’t follow their example. For they don’t practice what they teach. They crush people with unbearable religious demands and never lift a finger to ease the burden. “Everything they do is for show. On their arms they wear extra wide prayer boxes with Scripture verses inside, and they wear robes with extra long tassels. And they love to sit at the head table at banquets and in the seats of honor in the synagogues. They love to receive respectful greetings as they walk in the marketplaces, and to be called ‘Rabbi.’”

‭‭Matthew‬ ‭23:3-7‬ ‭NLT‬‬

How The leaders and the Elitists and even some of the other factions moved to be glorified, loved being famous, loved having a title, loved being set up on pedestals by the rest of the members of The Temple. In Rachel’s mind, if anyone set you up on a pedestal the most likely following route would be to fall. What goes up must come down, most especially if it’s pride. A lot of them were seekers really, seekers of fame and fortune, or at least seekers of glory and high calling ministries, global ministerial fame was the goal of a chosen few. Rachel couldn’t stand it, they were taking worship away from their Deity Yah, this was an abomination to him. Rachel knew that a lot of them had forgotten that a ‘minister’ was really a servant as Adon had described in his Holy Book ““Don’t let anyone call you ‘Rabbi,’ for you have only one teacher, and all of you are equal as brothers and sisters. And don’t address anyone here on earth as ‘Father,’ for only God in heaven is your Father. And don’t let anyone call you ‘Teacher,’ for you have only one teacher, the Messiah. The greatest among you must be a servant. But those who exalt themselves will be humbled, and those who humble themselves will be exalted.”

‭‭Matthew‬ ‭23:8-12‬ ‭NLT‬‬

Everybody wanted to be a teacher, everybody wanted to teach, or have some other logistical power of authority within The Temple instead of the real authority in Adon’s kingdom of The Unseen. Mashiac Yeshua was Lord over all of things seen and The Unseen. Rachel couldn’t agree more with what Adon said next ““What sorrow awaits you teachers of religious law and you Pharisees. Hypocrites! For you shut the door of the Kingdom of Heaven in people’s faces. You won’t go in yourselves, and you don’t let others enter either. “What sorrow awaits you teachers of religious law and you Pharisees. Hypocrites! For you cross land and sea to make one convert, and then you turn that person into twice the child of hell you yourselves are!”

‭‭Matthew‬ ‭23:13, 15‬ ‭NLT‬‬

All of their small groups and discipleship trainings was to create miniature puppets of the leaders, someone they could control and manipulate, someone who wanted to be ‘exactly like them’ rather than ‘be themselves.’ Every single person that ever rose to high ranks in The Temple always seemed to hold a ‘same-same’ persona as their mentor. Like an exact replica image of themselves, and since themselves wasn’t perfect neither good, neither were their replicas.

Rachel continued reading ““What sorrow awaits you teachers of religious law and you Pharisees. Hypocrites! For you are so careful to clean the outside of the cup and the dish, but inside you are filthy—full of greed and self-indulgence! “What sorrow awaits you teachers of religious law and you Pharisees. Hypocrites! For you are like whitewashed tombs—beautiful on the outside but filled on the inside with dead people’s bones and all sorts of impurity. Outwardly you look like righteous people, but inwardly your hearts are filled with hypocrisy and lawlessness.”

‭‭Matthew‬ ‭23:25, 27-28‬ ‭NLT‬‬

Yes, these people were beautiful, their services rendered were outstanding that one cannot say their worship or presentation of worship is less than. But inside, their hearts were as ‘cold as ice.’ They mocked others behind their backs, they slandered those in other factions, they belittled The Voiceless because they were black, foreign and having a bad reputation in the past. They could never ‘let go’ or ‘forgive’ or even ‘forget’ even though Adon always forgave and forgot their own sinful behaviours. Rachel felt adamant at this injustice and could feel that fire burning within her again. Despite having such a fiery passion at them all, she knew she also played her part and so this time her anger was ‘holy anger’, anger that Adon Himself felt at all the little injustices that went on in that house where no eye could see, no ear could hear except Him because he was Yah.

Rachel continued reading ““O Jerusalem, Jerusalem, the city that kills the prophets and stones God’s messengers! How often I have wanted to gather your children together as a hen protects her chicks beneath her wings, but you wouldn’t let me. And now, look, your house is abandoned and desolate. For I tell you this, you will never see me again until you say, ‘Blessings on the one who comes in the name of the Lord!’”

‭‭Matthew‬ ‭23:37-39‬ ‭NLT‬‬

A lot of them had lost their ‘discernment’ and couldn’t tell those who ‘came in the name of the Lord’ to those ‘who came in their own names.’ Tragic.

Rachel read from same verses in a different and more modern angle ““You’re hopeless, you religion scholars and Pharisees! Frauds! You keep meticulous account books, tithing on every nickel and dime you get, but on the meat of God’s Law, things like fairness and compassion and commitment—the absolute basics!—you carelessly take it or leave it. Careful bookkeeping is commendable, but the basics are required. Do you have any idea how silly you look, writing a life story that’s wrong from start to finish, nitpicking over commas and semicolons? “You’re hopeless, you religion scholars and Pharisees! Frauds! You burnish the surface of your cups and bowls so they sparkle in the sun, while the insides are maggoty with your greed and gluttony. Stupid Pharisee! Scour the insides, and then the gleaming surface will mean something. “You’re hopeless, you religion scholars and Pharisees! Frauds! You’re like manicured grave plots, grass clipped and the flowers bright, but six feet down it’s all rotting bones and worm-eaten flesh. People look at you and think you’re saints, but beneath the skin you’re total frauds.”

‭‭Matthew‬ ‭23:23-28‬ ‭MSG‬‬

You know what else Adon said? He said “By this all people will know that you are my disciples, if you have love for one another.” John 13:35 ESV there definitely was no love in any of this. The segregation, the separation, the masks of religious activities minus the heart of Adon’s unconditional love and compassion, grace and mercy. Adon was described in his Holy Book as compassion and “The LORD is compassionate and merciful, slow to get angry and filled with unfailing love.” Psalm 103:8 NLT So if Adon didn’t treat the Voiceless and others like them that way, why were they? Exactly.

Rachel then turned to pray. She had to pray about all of these situations. Adon always talked about “But I say, love your enemies! Pray for those who persecute you!”

‭‭Matthew‬ ‭5:44‬ ‭NLT so Rachel did as she remembered her long time Mentor and spiritual dad Martin who told her ‘take everything to the Lord in prayer. This is your most powerful weapon. Do you know why there are quarrel’s and fights among you and jealousies and covetousness? Because you ask not, because you pray not. Instead you envy and be jealous and fight to get what you want, not bringing God into it. If you bring everything to God in prayer, involve God, then you will get what you want, you will bring His kingdom into it, you will bring Elysium down. This was known as ‘loving in the most excellent way.’ You can’t solve your problems without love, without Adon, without prayer. When we pray we are releasing divine energy into situations. We bring Adon into the scenes in our lives. Prayer is strong powerful able victorious. Prayer really works and is the most practical thing you can do to deal with daily situations you face. Then you can walk confidently with kingdom love knowing that Adon is in control. Adon is able to come through. If Adon commands us to be victorious and loving then we have that ability. What Rachel was connecting with was ‘wisdom from above,’ which is prayer, not ‘wisdom from the flesh.’ That was the only way to be confidence and victorious. Praying to Adon about it was the only way to bring His unconditional love into it and filling yourself with love to do it and all throughout it. This was Rachel’s job, this was her strength. This is how she won her fights. Down on her knees in prayer. No matter how long it took, she didn’t mind waiting.

References: https://youtu.be/ySD9yDhe200 - take it to the Lord in prayer by Bruce Atkinson

Matthew 23 both NLT and MSG versions.

And as an added bonus Don’t mind waiting by Juanita Bynum

https://youtu.be/_hEiGEfm2uE

youtube

#Youtube

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aion-rsa · 3 years

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How Star Trek: The Next Generation’s Killing of Tasha Yar Became an Awkward Mistake

https://ift.tt/32BBsEk

“[I] died a senseless death in the other timeline. I didn’t like the sound of that, Captain. I’ve always known the risks that come with a Starfleet uniform. If I am to die in one, I’d like my death to count for something.”

Denise Crosby’s Lt. Tasha Yar, Star Trek: The Next Generation’s inaugural chief of security, managed—due to some alternate timeline trickery—to take that legendary meta-minded dig at her own death from two years earlier in the Season 1 episode, “Skin of Evil.” With that episode having originally aired on April 25, 1988, the anniversary is a good occasion to look back on the controversial behind-the-scenes circumstances that resulted in poor Tasha’s unspectacular, abrupt, red-shirt-like fatal encounter with an alien tar monster on a cheap-looking set.

“Skin of Evil” was the 22nd episode of Star Trek: The Next Generation’s inauspicious inaugural season—just three episodes away from the season finale. Consequently, with audiences at this point having stuck with the show for seven months since its September 26 premiere, the death of a main cast member certainly felt like a stakes-redefining kick against procedural complacency. However, those who had been following industry trades, and read the then-fresh, spoiler-teasing cover story exposé in Starlog magazine, titled “The Security Chief Who Got Away,” pretty much already knew that Crosby was on the outs with the series. Thus, the prevalent question going into Season 1’s final few episodes was not if Tasha Yar was leaving the Enterprise D, but how. Well, said how would prove to be one of the most controversial, lamentable moments in Star Trek history.

While Crosby denied the growing rumors of her impending exit during contemporaneous interviews published before “Skin of Evil” aired, she had indeed quit the series, mostly due to the lack of character development given to Tasha Yar. While she was given a backstory of a rough upbringing on the lawless abandoned Earth colony, Turkana IV, Yar’s only real moment in the spotlight (besides her famous seduction of android Data in “The Naked Now” while under alien viral influence,) had been Episode 3, “Code of Honor,” in which she became the amorous focus of an authoritarian alien leader, and would be forced to participate in a campy fight to the death with the leader’s outraged first wife. Thus, dealing with the show’s notoriously demanding schedule, and faced with the believed prospect of spending years soullessly saying “hailing frequencies open,” Crosby put in a request to be released from her contract, which creator Gene Roddenberry granted.

Unfortunately for Tasha Yar, Roddenberry’s acquiescence would come with a shocking caveat: a sudden and underwhelming onscreen death. “Skin of Evil,” directed by Joseph Scanlan, written by Joseph Stefano and Hannah Louise Shearer, set things up with a rescue mission after an Enterprise shuttlecraft containing Counselor Deanna Troi and pilot Lt. Ben Prieto crashed on the barren planet, Vagra II. Accordingly, Yar joins an away team consisting of Cmdr. William Riker, Lt. Cmdr. Data, Dr. Beverly Crusher to the planet surface, on which they encounter a powerful, tar-like creature that calls itself Armus. There, Yar quickly loses patience as the creature continues to block their rescue effort, and tries to move past it, resulting in an attack that sends her flying backwards, leaving her tar-marked face lifeless on the ground as the essence drains from her body; a condition even beyond the help of subsequent emergency efforts back on the Enterprise. Thus, Yar’s arc, for what it was, had come to an anti-climactic conclusion; a fate attributed to the dangerous nature of Starfleet service, especially for someone in security. However, said fate allegedly wasn’t inspired by any artful motivations.

Why Star Trek Needs More Characters Like Captain Lorca

By Lacy Baugher

Q’s Return on Star Trek: Picard Season 2 will Follow “Significant Trauma”

By Joseph Baxter

So, why did Yar’s exit down this way? Crosby recounted in 1993 behind-the-scenes book, Trek: The Next Generation Crew Book that “Gene [Roddenberry] really felt that the strongest way to go would be to have me killed. That would be so shocking and dramatic that he wanted to go with that.” However, another anecdote-touting tome, 1992’s Trek: The Unauthorized Behind-The-Scenes Story of The Next Generation, alleges that the “Skin of Evil” script—as with other Season 1 episodes—was secretly tweaked and/or rewritten by Roddenberry’s lawyer, Leonard Maizlish, who held an ambiguously-defined full-time staff position on the series. The purported rewrite, which would have been illegal in the Writer’s Guild, was believed to have been designed to deny any dramatic or sentimental value to Crosby’s character. With Roddenberry having recently lost creative control of the Star Trek movie franchise from Paramount Pictures, Maizlish may have been there to protect his bottom line, in this case ensuring that a dead-and-forgotten Tasha would leave no incentive for a potentially-costly new contract for Crosby down the line.

Nevertheless, “Skin of Evil” concluded with an emotional sendoff for Yar, with a memorial service—consisting of only the main cast member characters—set on the holodeck, where the late security chief posthumously delivers well wishes to her colleagues, notably a weeping, possibly guilt-ridden rescuee, Troi (actress Marina Sirtis was reacting to Crosby’s set presence off-camera). Yet, Crosby still had to endure the show’s apparent power plays, even after said memorial, since the show’s out-of-sequence production schedule resulted in her having to shoot one last appearance for her death episode’s immediate predecessor, Episode 21, “Symbiosis,” which also provided another famous Tasha Yar moment, in which she delivers a ham-fisted, Just-Say-No-era anti-drug speech to Wesley Crusher when addressing the episode’s alien drug pushers. It’s a bit of trivia that Crosby famously used in 2019 in a now-famous Twitter dunk on controversial executive producer Rick Berman.

Oh friend, my final scene on @StarTrek was not in SKIN OF EVIL but SYMBIOSIS which was filmed out of order. You came to the set to thank me and brought a cake, then ceremoniously ripped off my Communicator badge saying “you won’t be needing this anymore.” Don’t remember?

— Denise Crosby (@TheDeniseCrosby) February 4, 2019

While Crosby’s post-Star Trek aspirations wouldn’t quite pan out the way she had likely envisioned, save for a co-starring role in 1989 movie Pet Sematary, (she’s recently banked an impressive amount of TV appearances, notably on shows like The Walking Dead and Ray Donovan,) her apparent status as persona non grata on the Enterprise wouldn’t last long, and she would make a monumental return as Tasha in 1990 Season 3 episode “Yesterday’s Enterprise,” in which a temporal anomaly alters the timeline of the Enterprise D, creating a reality in which the Enterprise D is fighting a war with the Klingon Empire, and an anachronistic Season 3-era Yar is very much alive. Pertinent to the episode’s time-bending meeting with predecessor vessel the Enterprise C, Yar—after learning of her main timeline death from Guinan—would transfer to the embattled historical ship (after the earlier-quoted speech,) to ensure that it fulfills a sacrificial destiny to prevent a war that wasn’t supposed to take place, finally giving meaning to her death.

“Yesterday’s Enterprise” was so well-received that it facilitated more Yar-adjacent material, first with the 1990 Season 4 episode, “Legacy,” in which the Enterprise crew go to Tasha’s home, Turkana IV, and become embroiled in a scheme concocted by her bitter estranged sister, Ishara (Beth Toussaint). However, a prominent Crosby comeback would dominate Seasons 4-5’s two-part cliffhanger storyline, “Redemption,” when she played Commander Sela, the daughter of the “Yesterday’s Enterprise” alt-timeline Tasha Yar and a Romulan general to whom she was forced to become a concubine after the Enterprise C’s war-preventing act. In a twist of fate, Crosby, once an underutilized outcast crew member, had been positioned to play one the show’s most memorable villains, since Sela is a ruthless, unwaveringly loyal servant of the bellicose Romulan Empire, and displays her own heartlessness when revealing that her mother, alt-Tasha, was killed while trying to escape with her as a child. Additionally, Crosby reprised the role of prime-Tasha in Picard’s Q-conjured pilot-era flashbacks of 1994 two-part series finale “All Good Things.”

Paramount Television

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Historically, it seems clear that a series of myopic mistakes rendered Denise Crosby’s Star Trek journey more circuitous than necessary. However, the result was a character arc that stands the test of time. Plus, not for nothing, the fantastical nature of current spinoff series Star Trek: Picard could easily facilitate a contemporary Crosby comeback—either as Commander Sela (who eventually became a Romulan empress in the non-canon story of video game Star Trek Online,) or even as alt-Tasha, whose alleged death was never confirmed onscreen. To put it in the parlance of the late security chief, such a comeback would be a jewel for fans.

The post How Star Trek: The Next Generation’s Killing of Tasha Yar Became an Awkward Mistake appeared first on Den of Geek.

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#aion-rsa #Den of Geek

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snicketsleuth · 7 years

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Who runs Black Cat Coffee?

Black Cat Coffee, corner of Caravan and Parfait, counts amongst the most emblematic places of “All the Wrong Questions”, showing up in 3 of the 4 books. Yet by the end of the series several questions have yet to be answered:

Why would a café moonlight as a post office?

Why is Stain’d-by-the-Sea’s post delivery so fast?

Why have we never met the postman/waiter who runs the café?

Stay with us after the cut to unravel these mysteries... and others.

On a purely cultural level, Black Cat Coffe’s piano and automatic delivery service might be loosely inspired by the pianocktail, a semi-fictional musical instrument from Boris Vian’s surrealist novel “Froth on the daydream”. The pianocktail mixes a custom cocktail depending on the melodies which are played on it (usually jazz). Daniel Handler is a cocktail enthusiast and allusions to Vian show up in “Why We Broke Up”. Fittingly, the café is also named after 3 Duke Ellington songs: ”Caravan”, “Parfait (A Little Max)” and “Black Cat Blues”, which might also be an allusion to Edgar Allan Poe’s famous story. It’s no wonder Ellington Feint loves the place so much.

Well, it seems like the cultural allusion won’t help us here. Our only hope is to examine the café’s logistics. When did Ellington discover the place? It clearly seems like she’s already used the post office before the start of “All The Wrong Questions”. When Lemony brings her the Bombinating Beast, she knows exactly what to do.

“Is the mail delivery reliable here?” I asked. “Yes,” she said. “You should have it by tomorrow morning. Surprisingly, delivery around here is very fast.” [Who Could That Be At This Hour?, Chapter Seven]

Then again, she has a lot of time on her hand and could just have discovered the secret attic by snooping around. Cleo Knight is also a customer but isn’t aware of the secret attic as far as we know. A violent butcher named Mack and his abused son Drumstick, who show up in “File Under: 13 Suspicious Incidents”, know of the attic’s existence. Dashiell Qwerty is also a customer and tries to set up a meeting with Ellington in “Shouldn’t You Be In School”. All in all, not a whole lot of people seem to frequent Black Cat Coffee: Hungry’s restaurant, which essentially functions as a soup kitchen, is the preferred meeting place of Stain’d-by-the-Sea’s residents. This would explain why so many mysteries remain about the place.

A question deserves to be asked: does Hangfire know Black Cat Coffee’s intended purpose? Our money’s on “no”. Ellington uses the attic to hide the Bombinating Beast in “Who Could That Be At This Hour?”, and Inhumane Society doesn’t seize the chance to get it. This is especially embarrassing as samples of Doctor Flammarion’s laudanum also show up in the attic in “Who Could That Be At This Hour?”. So we see that the post office tends to deliver stuff from anyone to anyone, as fast as possible. Whoever runs it has a decently neutral position in the conflict and the place is not monitored by Hangfire.

“Attic,” I said. It was a good place to keep packages. The music from the piano told me there was nothing to worry about, but I climbed the staircase with my belly full of bread and butterflies. I was tired of surprises in strange rooms. But the attic of Black Cat Coffee was just another big room with nobody in it. Along the wall were a few cupboards, and shelves with bags of coffee on them. There was a long table with envelopes and packages stacked in separate piles, as if quite a few people collected their mail at Black Cat Coffee instead of at home. I wondered why. There were not that many packages. There was a small box marked MEDICAL SUPPLIES addressed to a Dr. Flammarion. There was a long tube marked ELECTRICAL EQUIPMENT addressed to nothing more than a pair of initials that were unfamiliar. And then there was a package about the size of a bottle of milk, wrapped in newspaper with a handwriting I recognized immediately. I unwrapped it carefully. It was the Bombinating Beast. [Who Could That Be At This Hour?, Chapter Ten]

So it’s unlikely that the person who runs the post office is in league with Hangfire. That strikes out people like Nurse Dander, Doctor Flammarion, Sally Murphy, Sharon Haines, etc. So far so good, but who else could it be? No one in Stain’d-by-the-Sea looks like a satisfying candidate.

If this account can be called a mystery, then Black Cat Coffee is a mystery inside a mystery. There were certainly mysterious things in the establishment. The shiny machinery in the center of the room—which produced bread or coffee, depending on which button you pressed—always worked perfectly, but I never saw anyone attending to it. The attic was a place where you could retrieve packages, but I never saw anyone delivering them. The player piano played tunes I couldn’t identify. But these aren’t what I mean. I don’t care who oiled the machinery of Black Cat Coffee and made sure the bins were full of flour and roasted beans, or who delivered the boxes of books filled with blank pages or gears used in botanical extraction. The music doesn’t matter to me. [When Did You See Her Last?, Chapter Nine]

Sometimes the only way to solve a mystery is to link it to another unsolved mystery. And when one looks at the numerous plot threads left hanging at the end of “All The Wrong Questions”, it becomes tempting to suspect the Bellerophon brothers.

Hangfire seems to hold a grudge against their family, as his final diatribe attests:

“You fold together a flimsy decoy,” Hangfire said scornfully, “and try to play me like a clarinet, but you’ll collapse when you stand against me. All of you Stain’d citizens are the same. Your mother, Mallahan, was a journalist searching for the truth, but she didn’t have the courage to face what she found. Your parents, Hix, are too scared to come back to town, even to fetch their son. The Knight family drained the sea, and then went down the drain themselves. I could go on and on. The Losts. The Bellerophons. Doctors and actors, nurses and naturalists. Everyone was utterly worthless, and then along came a little girl who could perform all the trickery I needed.” [Why Is This Night Different From All Other Nights?, Chapter Twelve]

This is a long list of people Hangfire names as his enemies:

The Knights engineered the economic and ecological disaster that motivated the creation of Inhumane Society.

Ornette Lost’s mother tried to revert this disaster through tourism and, as such, threatened the lawless no man’s land Hangfire wanted to create. She’s also theorized to have been a member of V.F.D., Hangfire’s archenemy. So it’s possible that the fire that killed her was actually started by Hangfire.

Moxie’s mother is a journalist sworn to expose the truth, so she’d have to be removed from the town to enable Hangfire’s conspiracy.

However we are missing a motive for the Hix and Bellerophon families:

We have no information on what Jake’s parents did before they left the town, but as they fled they can’t possibly be involved in the shenanigans going on at Black Cat Café.

Pip’s and Squeak’s father is a trickier case because he’s still in town. He’s also an elusive taxi driver who’s always sick for some reason.

But the Bellerophon brothers’ story clashes with another passage:

“I’ve got to get that formula finished,” she said. “It’s a puzzle, but I’ve got to solve it. Invisible ink that actually works could make Ink Inc. a successful company again. We could save this town from all the people who want to destroy us. I’ve got to do it myself. I told my mother and father that, in my note. I love them, but my parents have given up on making things better.” “So have mine,” Jake said, and the Bellerophon brothers nodded too. Even Moxie nodded in agreement. [When Did You See Her Last?, Chapter Twelve]

They imply that he “gave up” on trying to make the town better, yet also insist he’s in town. Jake’s parents left, Moxie’s mother left and her father is clearly depressive… But the Bellerophon father is just “sick”. That’s not the same as “giving up”. They’re judging him pretty harshly for something he has no control over. Why do they put him on the same level as other cowardly parents?

We never see Pip’s and Squeak’s father throughout the entire series, which is an enormous red flag. Some readers believe he was actually murdered by Hangfire and that his children are covering up his death. Maybe they don’t want to be put up for adoption, but that’s still pretty drastic. Is it really in their best interest to lie to the authorities? They have no guardians and are forced to work at a very early age. Why not just admit the truth and leave the town?

There’s probably something more complicated going on here. As Stain’d-by-the-Sea’s last taxi driver, he was essentially in charge of its public transport. That’s an interesting position to be in for the survival of the town, but not an essential one in Hangfire’s masterplan. Because he needs to protect his civil identity (Armstrong Feint), he wouldn’t be able to take the taxi very often. For the most part, Hangfire seems content to travel by foot.

Controlling information, on the other hand, is extremely important. A taxi driver would pick up on a lot of stuff throughout his errands. We also know that Hangfire depends on the postman because he needs massive amounts of laudanum to subdue the Knight parents, the patients of the Colophon Clinic and the students of Wade Academy. Lemony even finds one of Flammarion’s shipments of laudanum in the attic of Black Cat Café. Had he destroyed this shipment, Hangfire’s entire masterplan would have had to be delayed. So it would be critical for Hangfire to control the mail delivery of Stain’d-by-the-Sea.

So what if Stain’d-by-the-sea’s taxi driver were actually the elusive postman from Black Cat Café?

There’s a reason no one’s caught the postman yet: he’s been hiding in plain sight. It’s only natural for a taxi to drive through the town, day and night. If the car was actually used to deliver mail, no one would notice. The two professions are actually very similar: one delivers information, the other people.

The theory goes like this: the Bellerophon’s father realized the danger Hanfire represented and decided to minimize his involvement with the mail delivery service. He started simulating a sickness to get out of Inhumane Society’s radar. He didn’t want Hangfire to realize he was the postman. His sons Pip and Squeak eventually found out his secret and took it upon themselves to ensure the mail delivery, as a desperate bid to keep the town alive. They are torn between their sense of civic duty and their loyalty to their father, who prefers to keep a low profile. So they pretend he’s sick as a way to protect him.

Are Pip and Squeak even aware Black Cat Coffee moonlights as a post office? Why, yes they are. Consider this passage:

I lay on the statue and thought, and the world went on without me. Moxie Mallahan was tucked into her bed, and Cleo Knight let herself into Handkerchief Heights, where her scientific equipment waited for her. Jake Hix started cooking up breakfast at Hungry’s, and the Bellerophon brothers put an old-fashioned record player and a huge stack of papers in the attic of Black Cat Coffee. [When Did They See Her Last?, Chapter Thirteen]

Granted, it’s possible that Lemony just told them about the attic. But this conversation, if it ever happened, is never mentioned in the narration. And this passage describes events that Lemony couldn’t have witnessed by himself anyway (he’s, not unlike ourselves, making hypotheses)

ADDENDUM, 3rd of August 2017:

Hermes from the 667 Dark Avenue message board (Link) pointed out how wrong I was about this. We do hear the conversation:

“In the back of the building is a spiral staircase,” I said. “At the top is a room with a broken window, and somewhere in that room is an old-fashioned record player. It was on a bed stand, but Hangfire hid it right before I came in. Please take it, along with all those papers on the desk, to Black Cat Coffee and put it in the attic. There’s a cupboard there that’s larger than it looks.” Squeak frowned. “Who wants all that stuff? Another associate of yours?” [When Did You See Her Last?, Chapter Twelve]

Then again Squeak doesn’t ask Lemony how to get to the attic, which suggests he is at the very least familiar with it. It doesn’t contradict the theory but does make it less likely.

END OF ADDENDUM

So the postman and current manager of Black Cat Coffee would be, for all intents and purposes, Pip and Squeak. Which would at least explain how they manage to get food and shelter, what with their father being so “sick” he can’t work. Running the café would hardly be a hassle. It’s all automated anyway. Going to the attic at night to store and pick up the mail would not take much time, and if they ever got caught, they would pretend being normal customers exploring the attic.

#0514 #theory #Lemony Snicket #atwq #all the wrong questions #Bouvard Bellerophon #pecuchet bellerophon #armstrong feint #hangfire #ellington feint #moxie mallahan #cleo knight #dashiell qwerty #ornette lost #prosper lost #vfd #sally murphy #sharon haines

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pamphletstoinspire · 7 years

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Saint Louis IX - Feast Day: August 25th - Both Calendars

Throughout his life, he kept in his heart the admonishment of his mother: " I would rather see you dead at my feet St. Louis IX.. St Francis.. and than guilty of a mortal sin."

Louis was born in 1214 and became King of France when twelve years old. His mother, the half-English Blanche of Castile, was regent during his minority, and an influence while she lived. In 1234 Louis married Margaret of Provence, sister of Eleanor the wife of Henry III of England (no, not the couple from A Lion in Winter -- that was Henry II and Eleanor of Aquitaine: this is two generations later).

St. Louis the King of France is first and foremost the great defender of the Church and the Catholic Faith. A magnificent model ideal for boys and young men who dream of wielding swords and fighting the enemies of Holy Mother Church in the Crusades. However, here he bears the Crown of Thorns, more precious to him than his own earthly crown since it was the crown worn by the King of Kings, the Savior of Mankind.

All his life, St. Louis had a special devotion to the Crown of Thorns and Passion of Our Lord. He built the magnificent Saint Chapelle in Paris to house three Thorns from the Crown Our Lord wore in the Passion. He knew well that the obligations of leadership were to be understood as sacrifice: to rule meant that he was obliged to carry the weight of the kingship and to always sacrifice his own personal tastes to represent the needs and desires of his subjects. Today we have lost the idea of this elevated conception of sacrifice. Many of our age assume that a man should place wealth and power at his own service and pleasure. This is completely different from the notion born from Christian Civilization in the Age of Faith.

Obviously, a man like Saint Louis was able to order the highest lords of France, but simultaneously he chose to serve the most humble of men, which he used to do once a year, when he personally used to serve at a table of the poor of Paris. This very Catholic tradition was called the Feast of Deposuit, in a reference to the Magnificat of Our Lady, when She sang: Deposuit potentes de sede et exaltavit humiles (He hath put down the mighty from their seat and exalted the humble). To rule was to serve, to embrace the Cross, and this model-ideal ever after remained for all earthly rulers.

In Louis IX of France were united the qualities of a just and upright sovereign, a fearless warrior, and a saint. This crusading king was a living embodiment of the Christianity of the time: he lived for the welfare of his subjects and the glory of God…

After taking the government of the realm into his hands, one of the young King’s first acts was to build the famous monastery of Royaumont, with funds left for the purpose by his father. Louis gave encouragement to the religious orders, installing the Carthusians in the palace of Vauvert in Paris, and assisting his mother in founding the convent of Maubuisson. Ambitious to make France foremost among Christian nations, Louis was overjoyed at the opportunity to buy the Crown of Thorns and other holy relics from the Eastern Emperor at Constantinople. He sent two Dominican friars to bring these sacred objects to France, and attended by an impressive train, he met them at Sens on their return. To house the relics, he built on the island in the Seine named for him, the shrine of Saint-Chapelle, one of the most beautiful examples of Gothic architecture in existence. Since the French Revolution it stands empty of its treasure.

Louis loved sermons, heard two Masses daily, and was surrounded, even while traveling, with priests chanting the hours. Though he was happy in the company of priests and other men of wisdom and experience, he did not hesitate to oppose churchmen when they proved unworthy…

In 1230 the King forbade all forms of usury, in accordance with the teachings of the Christian religion. Where the profits of the Jewish and Lombard money-lenders had been exorbitant, and the original borrowers could not be found, Louis exacted from the usurers a contribution towards the crusade which Pope Gregory was then trying to launch…

After recovering from a violent fever in 1244, Louis announced his long-cherished intention of undertaking a crusade to the East. ...On June 12, 1248, Louis left Paris, accompanied by his wife and three brothers. Their immediate objective was Egypt, whose Sultan, Melek Selah, had been overrunning Palestine. Damietta, at the mouth of one of the branches of the Nile, was easily taken. Louis and the Queen, accompanied by his brothers, the nobles, and prelates, made a solemn entry into the city, singing Te Deum. The King issued orders that all acts of violence committed by his soldiers should be punished and restitution made to the persons injured. He forbade the killing of any infidel taken prisoner, and gave directions that all who might desire to embrace the Christian faith should be given instruction, and, if they wished it, baptized. Yet as long as the army was quartered around Damietta, many of his soldiers fell into debauchery and lawlessness. The rising of the Nile and the summer heat made it impossible for them to advance and follow up their success. After six months they moved forwad to attack the Saracens on the opposite side of the river, in Mansourah. The ranks of the crusaders were thinned more by disease than by combat. In April, 1250, Louis himself, weakened by dysentery, was taken prisoner, and his army was routed.

During his captivity, the King recited the Divine Office every day with two chaplains and had the prayers of the Mass read to him. He met insults with an air of majesty which awed his guards until he was released.

The foundation for the famous college of theology which was later known as the Sorbonne were laid in Paris about the year 1257. Its head, Master Robert de Sorbon, a learned canon and doctor, was the King’s friend and sometimes his confessor. Louis helped to endow the college and obtained for it the approval of Pope Clement IV. It was perhaps the most famous theological school of Europe. The King himself founded in Paris the hospital of Quinze-vingt, so named because it had beds for three hundred patients. He also received indigent persons daily and saw that they were fed; in Lent and Advent he cared for all who came, often waiting on them in person. He had, as we have said, a passion for justice, and changed the "King’s court" of his ancestors into a popular court, where, seated in his palace or under a spreading oak in the forest of Vincennes, he listened to any of his subjects who came with grievances and gave what seemed to them wise and impartial judgments. The feudal method of settling disputes by combat he tried to replace by peaceful arbitration or the judicial process of trial, with the presentation of testimony…

One day, after standing godfather to a Jewish convert who had been baptized at St. Denis, Louis remarked to an ambassador from the emir of Tunis that to see the emir baptized he would himself joyfully spend the rest of his life in Saracen chains…

Dysentery and other diseases broke out among the crusaders, and Louis’ second son, who had been born at Damietta during the earlier crusade, died. That same day the King and his eldest son, Philip, sickened, and it was soon apparent that Louis would not recover. He was speechless all the next morning, but at three in the afternoon he said, "Into Thy hands I commend my spirit," and quickly breathed his last. His bones and heart were taken back to France and kept enshrined in the abbey-church of St. Denis, until they were scattered at the time of the Revolution. Louis was strong, idealistic, austere, just; his charities and foundations were notable, and he went on two crusades. Little wonder that a quarter of a century after his death the process of canonization was started and quickly completed the man who was "every inch a king" became a saint of the Church in 1297, twenty-seven years after his death.

Saint Louis IX, is the patron of the Third Order of St. Francis. He led crusades against that wicked religion called Islam. He was a defender of justice. He was professed into the Third Order of St. Francis. He spent many hours in prayer and penance.

#st. louis ix

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helloanime247-blog · 7 years

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For the One Piece character question thing, I'm gonna give you: 1. Monkey D. Luffy, 2. Nico Robin, 3. X Drake, 4. Jinbe, 5. Gecko Moria, 6. Buggy, 7. Aokiji, 8. Akainu, 9. Tashigi, 10. Marco, 11. Magellan, 12. Shirahoshi, 13. Momonosuke, 14. Monet, and 15. Bartolomeo! :P Sorry, stole some of the ones you asked me, you just picked great ones!! XD

1. MonkeyD. Luffy: Whatis your dream job?

I honestly have no idea and it seriously kills me that I appear to be wandering around aimlessly not knowing what my dream job is!! :( I really just want a job where I go to work everyday and feel both happy (and incredibly lucky) that this is my job!! I’m still waiting for some ‘sign’ to tell me what my vocation in life is.....hahahaha!! Unfortunately, I must endure my current misery until that ‘eureka’ moment comes along. :P Maybe Gintoki will hire me to work as part of his Odd Jobs gang!! ;) :P

2. NicoRobin:What was the first book that you can remember reading?

I remember the first books that I ever borrowed from my local library were ‘The Famous Five’ series by Enid Blyton. I was just blown away by the adventures that they went on! I always craved adventure and I still do....I would love to (one day) go on some sort of epic adventure myself! :D

I also discovered ‘The Harry Potter’ series when I about seven years old. I remember going into town with my Mum and picking up ‘Harry Potter and the Philosophers Stone’. I saved up my pocket money to buy it and when I got home I distinctly recall sitting on my bed to begin reading it. I couldn’t put it down, my Mum kept calling me to eat my dinner, but I kept refusing to go downstairs. I finished the book before I went to bed, I was such a weird child! XD

3. XDrake: Ifyour dad was a pirate, and you were captured by Marines would youserve for them?

No, I don’t think I would, as I really hate the Marines. I’m only on episode 27 of ‘One Piece’ so my knowledge of them is still a little bit hazy. However, in the earlier episodes I came across a Marine called Fullbody and he was such a despicable human being. He was both arrogant and nasty, if there are two traits that I absolutely cannot abide in a person....it’s definitely those two. Fullbody acted as if he was better than everybody else, which was ultimately his downfall, as Sanji’s reaction was AMAZING. Sanji certainly used some words of wisdom to bring Fullbody down a peg or two, which he most definitely deserved.

4. Jinbe:Would you take up Luffy’s offer to be in the crew or act as anally?

I would definitely love to be part of Luffy’s crew!! I already mentioned that I have a thirst for adventure, so what would be a better way to quench this thirst than to set sail with Luffy and his gang of pirates! It’s always said that sometimes the journey is more important than the destination. This would certainly be true if I could become a member of the straw hats. I mean, it would be great to find the elusive treasure that is named one piece, however, it would also be pretty great to be able to be friends with Luffy and the rest of the gang! Also, as we would be setting sail and having so many adventures along the way.....life would indeed be wonderful!!

5. GeckoMoria: Areyou fan of horror movies? If not, what was your worstexperience.

I am most definitely not a fan of horror movies, I like psychological thrillers, but the horror genre is most definitely not my thing. Emmmmmmm.......my worst experience was probably more embarrassing than anything else!! I remember I went to see a horror movie with my friend, unlike me he’s obsessed with this film genre! I can’t recall the name of the film that we went to see, but it was terrible....and when I say terrible, I mean terribly bad! Anyway, this really ridiculous moment happened in the film.....and I screamed so loudly......and nobody else screamed at all........everybody started laughing!! I immediately went bright red, and in that moment, I just wanted to leave the cinema! XD

6. Buggy:Are you a leader or a follower?

I have my own beliefs, my own opinions and my own way of dressing! If anybody goes against what I believe in, then I will engage in a lively debate with them! I will never willingly accept what another person says to me to be the ‘Gospel truth’! I like to think of myself as being able to independently evaluate a situation for myself.....that doesn’t mean to say that my mind can’t be changed. However, you must present a good case for me to undergo this change of mind. I don’t know if that’s necessarily being a leader, I think it’s just more of a case of being true to yourself.

I used to always be a follower when I was younger, as my first friend was a bit of a bully towards me! I think that negatively impacted on my self-confidence, as we were friends from junior infants up until first class. When I finally stood up to her....it was one of the best things that I have ever done and from that point on I told myself that nobody would treat me like that again.

7. Aokiji: Wouldyou throw away all position and power in your job because you don’tagree with the ethics of the organization?

Yes, I actually think I would!! I have certain core beliefs that are like my foundation stones which guide me through life....almost like a moral compass. I would like to think that no amount of power could corrupt me into accepting unacceptable ethical practices by any organisation.

I was once involved in such a situation where I tackled one of my teachers over his absolutely appalling views on animal rights. From that moment on.....he HATED me with a passion.......he really turned on me! He actually told my Mum that I was too headstrong for my own good......!!

8. Akainu:What kind of justice do you believe in?

I believe that if you commit a crime then you should be made pay for your actions! Of course in an ideal world there would be peace and everybody would be able to live in harmony with each other! Unfortunately, this type of world is non-existent, therefore, certain measures must be put in place in order to prevent things such as murder from occurring! If these measures didn't exist, then society as we know it would descend into a state of lawlessness. People themselves have different beliefs as to what is right and what is wrong. This is why we look to those in power to guide us in the right direction as to what is the proper conduct. We all know that government officials, the police force etc are corruptible! This means that often those who should pay for their evil deeds end up not paying for their crimes. Unfortunately, money seems to be the deciding factor in determining whether or not a person does indeed go to jail for their crime. I personally feel as if we should treat others as we wish to be treated ourselves. Our moral compass should guide us through life and we should have the presence of mind to know right from wrong. If somebody carries out a premeditated murder then they should pay for their actions by spending the rest of their life in jail!

9. Tashigi:Do people ever tell you that you look like someone they know?

Emmmmmmmm....no......I don’t think that anyone has ever told that I look like somebody else!! :( I did once get mistaken for being a boy though, does that count??!! :P If you have any ideas about who I may look like.....please tell me!! :P

10. Marco:If you could have any devil fruit, what would it be?

I had to look up the different types of devil fruit that are available....and out of all of them....I would probably eat Ope Ope no Mi, as it definitely seems like the most useful fruit!

11. Magellan:Are you allergic to anything?

Yes, I’m allergic to pollen, as I suffer with hay fever! :( I have a spray that I use whenever I get a headache or sore eyes! It also means that I normally don’t wear perfume, I especially try to avoid perfume whenever I have to study....as my brain wouldn’t be able to function at all!!

12. Shirahoshi:Do you hold grudges?

Emmmmmmmmmmmmmmmm......yes.....I hold grudges....eeeekkkk! I once had an argument with my friend that lasted a couple of months!! I was just so angry with her that I didn’t want to see her at all!! XD

I also used to hold a grudge against people who had hurt me in the past, however, I slowly realised that this type of grudge was hurting me more than them, so I gradually learned to overcome it! Sometimes you need to move on for your own sake!

13. Momonosuke: Whenwas the last time that you had a nightmare?

Thankfully, I haven’t had a nightmare in quite a long time! However, I do have a recurring one where I’m being chased by a witch! I spend that entire nightmare running and running away from her! I always wake up in a cold sweat from that dream! XD

14. Monet:Do you enjoy writing? Share a snippet?

Yes, I love writing!! It’s one of my favourite hobbies! :D Emmmmmmm.......I would be too nervous to share a snippet......but I will tell you that I’m currently writing a novel based during the Second World War! I love German history and I’m especially interested in politics! Therefore, it’s a story about the struggle of a Jewish family, who are living in fascist Germany! It documents their desire to escape from this society, however, will they be able to escape in time to avoid being sentenced to death??!!

15. Bartolomeo:Are you massively obsessed with something?

Yes.....I’m obsessed with anime guys......I really wish I was joking when I say that! :P

I’m also currently obsessed with collecting anime figures!! I check the websites of both AmiAmi and Mandarake at least once a day! HELP ME!!

Finally, I love anime so much! I tend to incorporate watching anime into my daily routine!! XD

Thanks for asking me these questions, Sophie! @akatsuki3519

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martinlawless · 5 years

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Tour of Malta 2019

Foreign National, General Classification Staged Race Masters E1234 10-13 April 2019

Extracts from my tour diary, to CC Ashwell’s club forum…

Tour registration day Wednesday 10 April 2019

Team CC Ashwell have arrived in Malta all safe and well. Mitchy - riding for Contour Cycles - had a nightmare getting over but he got here eventually. Me, Dave W and Jenny are representing the club. My dad and young Ellie Mitchinson are here in support. The Tour of Malta is a four stage GC race, registered as a Foreign Race with British Cycling, so hard to earn points for individual stages and overall GC are out there for the taking. But primarily, this is racing at its most enjoyable. It’s truly a friendly Tour, very much in the Maltese spirit. We are messing around on bikes in a warm country and drinking coffee in between: so we're all winners.

Among the registered riders, former multi GB national champ, Colin Sturgess, is in with me and Dave in the ‘Masters’ (40+) GC. A former stablemate of Bradley Wiggins, I fully expect to see Colin's wheel briefly before he rides off into the distance. Go get him Mitchy!

I’m staying in the official Tour hotel, so it's nice to bump into others, including Steve and Rachel from Verulam in St Albans. The weather forecast is pretty good. Around 16-20 degrees. Dry. Windy. It’s always windy on these small Mediterranean islands. Malta looks pretty in the Spring with lots of flowers and the grass not yet sun-baked brown. The drivers here are friendly. Just as well, as the major roads are quite busy and some of them are in poor quality.

The first stage is a 7 miles TT. I remember it from last year. It uses one of the National courses here, up and down the hill several times, besides the amazing ancient walled city of Mdina. It’s a nightmare to get any kind of TT rhythm and doesn’t play to whatever strengths I might have. But that’s the way it goes for us all. Fair enough. After that, there are three road race stages. The fourth of which is the one featuring the famous local climb of San Martin: Malta’s mini Alpe d’Huez. We’ll be hitting that seven times.

To check my bike over, I rode a few miles to Mosta this morning to buy a pump. Mosta is famous for its massive domed church, where in the Second World War a gigantic bomb landed through the roof but failed to explode. Sending an already ultra-religious nation into overdrive. Hopefully, this big failing bomb is not a metaphor for my performance on this tour. My objective is to simply enjoy it this time.

I spoke to an old boy outside his bicycle workshop in Mosta. Turns out it’s 78 years old John Magri. Maltese cycling legend, several times national champ and among other accolades finished 31st in the 1972 Olympics. Over an hour later, I’m getting nano-detail on some of his best races and cycling stories from this complete stranger. He’d make a great guest speaker for a Club social evening. He fixed his first bike in 1949. His gran opened the bike shop in 1899. I bought a pump from his son who now runs the shop who laughingly asked if his dad had been talking to me for a while...

In the afternoon, we all met up to ride gently over to Golden Bay for a coffee in the beachside cafe. Dave and Jenny had a swim in the sea and we tootled back. A leisurely way to spend an afternoon. The climb up San Martin has been partially resurfaced, but up top, the surface is not unlike Paris-Roubaix.This Stage 4 will have a bit of everything.

We register this evening and get briefed and find out out TT start times for tomorrow. Then a bit of local pasta and an evening of fettling with bike and kit. I’ve had a decent winter of training by my standards. It’s not at all scientific, but I gauge myself as being just about as fit as last year - so let’s see how we get on. The word is, the Masters field is tougher this year in general.

We'll be updating this thread as much as we can. Writing helps pass the time as we don't really want to ride or drink or eat too much to rest in between stages. And the messages of support give us a great boost. Racing day after day for four days is draining. Imagine the pros doing it for three weeks in a grand tour!

If there was ever a bike race to suit Ashwell, it would be this: it has the competitive element and camaraderie of our grass track events... But with sunshine. They drive on the left, use three-way plugs, Malta has it all. Stick it in your diary for 2020 and it will motivate you to train throughout the winter.

Tour of Malta, Stage 1 Individual Time Trial Mdina Bypass Thursday 11 April 2019 It’s warm and calm today. In fact, it’s the hottest day that I’ve raced here. It’s going to be a fast day. Certainly faster than this stage last year in the wind and rain. Luckily, it’s still quite early. All stages start at 10am.

The team muster on a side street off the TT course: which is a modern dual carriageway bypass road, bookended by roundabouts, by the side of the UNESCO World Heritage ancient walled city Mdina, which is not out of place if it were in Game of Thrones. The road is pretty much a straight line with quite a slope on it: think like the gentler part of the slope to Tadlow on our TT course, but around a half mile long. We have to repeat the loop five times for a 7 miles course.

The local teams always turn out in force and set up well: gazebos, pumping music, bottles and gels neatly laid out, rollers, their DSs do a great job. It gives each stage a festival-like feeling. We chat to various people. We spot (World Champ) Colin getting ready. He looks big and strong. We are friendly with Mosta Cycling Club mostly, so park ourselves there. We see our smiling Italian friend from last year. The Gibraltar team have good team branded kit: I note to up our tour kit game next time. We catch up with a few Brits. Everyone is pepped and excited, and a little nervous too of course and keen to get going.

With the road closed, we tootle around to warm up and familiarise ourselves with the loop and test our bikes. I’m delighted to see that last year’s dodgy eroded part of the road is well patched up. At the bottom corner, there is a lot of debris. Daryl, from CC london who we have adopted, asks the organisers to brush it, but I take the opportunity to remove the big bits while down there. I pick up a twig, then realise it’s a squashed giant centipede. As big as your big finger. I’m reminded that we’re not that far from Africa and Libya.

Team Ashwell and Contour prep well. Everything is easier when the weather is good. I've removed my bottle cage. Put on rubber aero socks. I’ve got tri-bars on which means I have no computer to look at, but actually don’t mind that: I intend to not use numbers - but riders - to gauge my effort and define my power exertions.

Jenny is the second rider off. Before you know it she is up and down the loop like a yo-yo. The start/finish is in the middle of the course and we get a good opportunity to cheer our team on twice a lap. Soon enough Dave is off, then Mitchy is off just in front of me and Daryl a few riders behind.

The good conditions mean we get the ramp start. Quite a nervous thing as there’ll be instant gravity in effect from the moment you’re released: you go hard instantly or you’ll slide off. “Watch this one, he’s Lawless. Breaking the law.” say the organisers in thick Maltese English, fascinated by the surname as I’m counted down. Three two one. Go. I’m off.

Despite the initial climb, months of stockpiled adrenaline from thinking about this start is released in an instant and I go off like a rocket to the top of the loop in what feels like three breaths. This course is technical in as much as gear selection is everything with no level section. I turn and go down in a high-ish gear not really knowing if I’m being optimal. The legs instantly hurt. To be expected. I can feel a soft wind in my face going downhill and think it will suit me as it will inhibit the power guys who can smash me on this section. I turn quite confidently in the good, bone-dry conditions and break the imminent uphill down into parts: an easier first bit until the fifth lamppost and then a hard gear on the steadier section in search of a good rhythm before nudging back a touch for the steeper peak and then turning for the downhill again. I count each lap out aloud to myself when going over the line. Without a computer I have a small fear that in the midst of the effort I’ll ride too few, or too many, laps.

I can’t yet see my minute-man, but on the second lap, Daryl goes past me on the downward section like a rocket. I know he’s good but all the same am impressed he’s caught me so soon. I’m delighted, all of a sudden I’ve got a perfect rabbit to chase after: someone better than me. It really focuses me. On the uphill, Daryl is surprised that I actually overtake him, such is the difference between my uphill and downhill power outputs. But I only serve to galvanise him and 20 seconds later he’s back in front. But this is good for me and I can sense I am pushing hard as I’ve got quite a stitch now and breathing hard. The air is hot. I move to my highest gear on the downhills to try and keep sight of him. It’s super hard and hurtful: but I know it’s short-term.

By lap 4, Daryl is too far ahead to be any use as a marker. I’m motivated by my team mates’ cheers and picking off the various riders on the course. Some are way off any TT form: but credit to them for turning up on a working day and having a go and enjoying themselves. Into the last lap and I spot my 2-minute man. He makes a good target, but eventually I catch him with three-quarters of a lap to go. It’s the downhill run and I’m like John Noakes in that Blue Peter episode when he’s training with the paratroopers in a plane in high-up thin air and he can’t remember his name or the name of Shep. I endeavour to glance at the big digital clock at the start line, on the other side of the road as I go past - because I start to doubt myself on how many laps I’ve done. It tells me I’ve got exactly two and half minutes to cross the line if I want to break 20 minutes. Righto: I’ve got one final thing to aim for to make me push hard in the final run in.

Out of nowhere, ‘Safety Dance’ by Men Without Hats pops into my head. It’s a song I know is very short and just over two and a half minutes long as it took a tiny amount of space on my Now That’s What I Call Music album. I hurtle down to the bottom of the course with ‘We can dance if we want to...’ going through my mind. I turn for the uphill and happily go into the red in the knowledge I can blow up over the line. ‘Am I in the second chorus bit?’ I think to myself as I see the finishing line coming up. ‘It’s the Safety Daaaaance’ I can hear as I make out Jenny urging me on on the line. Surely there’s still some of the song left? - I think as I blast over the line and glide to a stop where Mitchy is recovering by the side of the road.

We stumble back to the start, sweat is dribbling down my face and my uncomfortable TT helmet is about to get thrown into the cacti as I find out that I had broken 20 minutes with 19:46. Happy days!

There’s a short wait for all the Masters to complete their rides to find out I’d come 8th. I’m delighted. I’ve beaten local sports legend Fabio by 3 seconds, who has his own branded car with his face on it and ’Team Fabio’ written on it and everything. Dave W is 15th and Mitchy 6th. Jenny is 7th in her race, smashing the gap to the winner from over two minutes last year, to just 40 seconds. Wow. So, great results for us all considering the quality of the field. Of course, Colin Sturgess wins the Masters. Indeed, his time beats the winner of the Elites race. Wow. He will be hard to undo for the GC race in the next three road stages - that’s for sure. It will be great to be involved as things unfold. Daryl gets 3rd and takes the podium after we have a drink in the most delightful cafe nearby that’s utterly hidden away from anywhere.

So, we are now prepping for Stage 2. A hilly crit near the hotel, essentially. We’re all unsure as to how the dynamic of the peloton will work out: if it will break? More than once? Who’s where? How everyone will place and how it will affect GC? These are the thoughts I will take to my 10 euro buffet hotel dinner downstairs.

Tour of Malta, Stage 2 Road Race St Paul’s Bay Friday 12 April 2019 Last year, this stage got cancelled. It’s on top of a big hill really near where we are staying and totally exposed to the weather. It was so windy it wasn’t safe, and some club gazebos and the podium blew away.

This year: it’s much better. It’s a bit cooler this morning than yesterday. Mainly because of the stiff breeze coming in from the sea. But it’s fine. Sunny. This stage sends us up and over the road seven times. Each side is a bit like the climb up through the Weston Hills tunnel Baldock bypass road: about as long as it takes to get to the roundabout at the top and yes, pretty steep!

We make our base at the start/finish line at the top of the hill, sign on and prep. I realise I’ve left my aero socks behind, so will be racing in my bed socks that I left on all morning. Other than that, we’re all good. We are all thinking a one bottle strategy as this race is only 26 miles or so. I need to think carefully about this for the fourth stage as I drank much more than anticipated in the warmth and ran pretty low towards the end. We wonder what Colin will do who is in the Red Jersey following his win yesterday. The Elites start first. Then us in the Masters and Juniors races, then the Ladies race, with Jenny looking to improve on her last time here two years ago when she got dropped from the peloton.

We’re off. We take it fairly easy at the start, as to be expected. The first climb is almost like a warm-up. Everyone is settling in and it’s a bit cagey. The riding standard seems pretty high and there doesn’t seem to be any wild antics from anyone. Up, we crest the top and get cheers, then lurch down the steep winding west side of the hill into the wind. It’s a fairly tight turn on both sides. My new brake blocks squeak to let me know they’re working. We turn to climb back up east. This side is steeper. I resolve to keep it in the big ring all the way - but am in the granny ring at the back. The angle suits me and find it OK to stay at the spearhead of the peloton. All eyes are on Colin, waiting to see what he does. First lap done though and he keeps his cards to his chest as we descend to start the second lap.

It starts to crank up from here. Eventually, Colin shows a bit of his strength. The group respond. A few Maltesers have a go but are brought in. The big Gibraltarian who smashed the TT yesterday has a dig. I’m impressed, he’s a big powerful unit. He must have lungs the size of a blue whale. It’s great to have Steve from Veralum around whose wheel I can trust. He’s a very animated rider and nosing around at the front a lot. I’m just being careful and being really quite disciplined on positioning among the riders and tuning my position to shelter from the breeze.

The climb east is hurting some riders and I can hear it getting quieter at the back. I can see Dave W is over his bike in a way to suggest he’s in the red. There’s nothing I can do to stop the momentum of the front and eventually I catch Dave in the corner of my eye when he’s detached with a couple of other Brits who are forming up a second group.

Colin and co are doing that thing of putting the hammer down as we crest the hill so that there’s no respite. I’m holding on OK all the same, as are Mitchy and Daryl. We begin to tonk it down the long descent, comfortably holding 38mph until we squeak brakes, turn and generally take it easyish for the climb. The group puts in pulses of effort and I can see we are shelling riders. Soon, I see its down to twelve of us. Of which, I’m very much in the lower ranks! I ride alongside Colin. He’s a strong looking fella. I get the sense he could do us all if he wanted to. But hasn’t really done so yet.

In a lull, Daryl goes for it and pings off the front. On his wheel an Italian I’d not really noticed before. Daryl and the man from Milan quickly establish a gap of several seconds. The rest of us look to Colin who is watching his Red Jersey disappear. But there really isn’t a response. I can see Mitchy isn’t in the mood to chase his friend, or risk doing a lot of work on his own and blowing up. As we approach the last two laps, it’s clear that the break won’t be chased down and the two brave breakaways will get first and second. Well done to them for their bravery.

So, back in the bunch of ten, it’s going to be a bunch sprint for third place onwards. I really don’t want the last two places and be out of the BC points in eleventh or twelfth. I also want to preserve my GC position too if I can. It’s the bell lap. It’s laughably slow on the initial climb. I even find myself on the front for the first and only time here. Me: in front of this group. lol. I get a bit irritated after a while as no one will take the front off me, even though I'm doing that snakey whiplash thing across the road to shake the front. Then, Mitchy bursts through to ripple the group and I’m relieved of duty. We shoot down the other side and turn for the final climb. I look to see if somehow we’d dropped anyone, but alas, two people will miss on points here.

I’m feeling pretty good as we climb for the final time. I tell myself I can do all right and spin in a strongish gear near the front. We get down to the final 200 metres and there are several riders dropped from the Elites race in the way ahead of us. It’s a bit of a mess as we lurch into the gallop and I miss out on having a decent clean sprint. It’s eyeballs out. As we approach the line, I see Fabio in front who I have 3 seconds on in GC and focus on his wheel. Another 25 metres, I might have caught him, but he beats me by 0.5 second. In the cheering and melee, it’s hard to count my position, but I’m excited to think I got 10th. Mitchy beats Colin in the bunch sprint to get 3rd. Verulam Steve gets 7th. Daryl gets 1st by over 40 seconds and we work out he’s taken the Red Jersey off Colin by around 15 seconds or something (GC positions unconfirmed at the mo) I wander to the race HQ and see I’m confirmed as 9th. I’m delighted.

We gather and swap stories. Dave and Ellie go for a photo with Colin and he gives Ellie his cap! Jenny comes through for the Ladies race finish. She’s in the lead bunch and grabs 6th. This is proper amazing when you consider she got spat out on this same race two years ago. She has transformed herself in that time. Dave, working with the Brits, comes in 17th. I’ll be keen to see that he has kept or even improved on his GC position.

This afternoon, Jenny gets a massage. Mitchy and Ellie go to the beach. We catch up with Dave for a coffee, and then spend ages cleaning kit with hand wash in the bathroom sink. It’s Friday night. But all revelry is to be bottled for Sunday night. Stage 3 tomorrow is designed to give our climbing legs a rest: it’s a flat crit. Surely it will be a bunch sprint. Will it? Will it?? Or, will it? Tune in tomorrow for the continued adventures of Ashwell racing abroad.

Tour of Malta, Stage 3 Crit Zebbug bypass Saturday 13 April 2019 Today was a flat, super simple crit. It’s designed to give the legs a break after yesterday’s hilly road race - and in anticipation of the fourth and final stage: the San Martin road race stage with its steep climb. The course is quite far away from the hotel base and in the middle of the island.

In truth, the straight lined course does tilt. Gently so, but with a fierce headwind on top, today wouldn’t have the simple rhythm that could have been expected. It would swing from steady to bullet fast - depending on head or tailwind.

We would do 10 laps of the 2.6 miles course in the Masters race. As would Jenny in the Ladies race. The wind made the weather feel fresh. It was sunny, but there would be very light showers now and then all morning.

Most of this race went as predicted. Any idea of a break was impossible to imagine. Dave W was clearly loving his favourite course ever - and happily burning watts on the front during the fast tailwind side. There were silly solo attempts, including one by Fabio who I have to keep in check as I only have 3 seconds on him in GC. I think he just wanted to give the fans something to cheer for a little while. But we hauled him in soon enough. At one point it was all Hertfordshire and surrounding areas on the front, with me, Dave, Mitchy, Daryl and Steve from Verulam in a line. Indeed, we were always generally knocking around the front or thereabouts.

10 laps is hard to count accurately what with everything going on. What doesn’t help is when the lapboard gets out of sync which I’m fairly sure is what happened. We thought we were approaching one lap to go, when Colin’s team mate launched a late attack - in an obvious attempt to lure us and give Colin an opportunity to spring the trap. But we brought him in eventually quite easily as we had further to go than thought.

As we approach the final lap, I hear the sudden bang and hiss of a puncturing tyre. Sadly, it turns out to be our Dave. Rotten luck - especially when he’d animated the race so well. He’d hit a pothole at high speed. To his massive credit, he runs to the Start/finish line where young Ellie Mitchinson is waiting with a spare rear wheel. He’d lose a good couple of minutes from the rest of us, but finished and still holds on to a good chance of clawing back up the GC in Stage 4.

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Meanwhile, back in the bunch, it’s all winding up to the big sprint finish we’d anticipated. This would be one for the sprinters. Without the ability to compete, my plan was to go long and build up momentum. Weeks and weeks of road race training all winter with all the talent down at Welwyn had taught me that if I can make the sprint over 20 seconds, I begin to compete and negate the power of the fast sprinters. As we turn the final corner, there’s a lot of hustle and bustle. A few shoulders to shoulders. Mitchy touches wheels with Colin - and quickly apologises. This bit is not for the faint-hearted. Some riders back off. But, I’m loving the rush. I’ve got my eye on Colin and Mitchy and plan to jump into the gap they will leave when they fire the afterburners. The line is fast approaching and I can hear the shouts of support. It cranks up early as I’d hoped and indeed I seize the gap. I’m clear on the right and have a delightfully clear dash to the line. I can’t hear riders huffing behind me but quickly running out of road to do more damage up front. I’m 8th. Mitchy: wins! Beating Colin by a handsome margin. Daryl in the Red Jersey is on my left in 6th. Verulam Steve is 10th. He’d have placed higher for sure but did way too much work on the front earlier on.

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We cruise around and congratulate each other for a good race. I tell Colin how impressed I was by his racing style: so bullish and confident. We get back to see Jenny finish. She’s in the bunch chasing 2nd place downwards, and comes in 7th. She is frustrated as other riders lolling after their race got in her way and pegged her sprint. It’s a shame, but still a massive result. She’s got no team mates and fighting on her own all the way, all the time.

We reconvene and swap stories as we wait for the presentations. It’s great to see Mitchy get a win and pop the champagne on the podium: all in front of his daughter. Daryl retains the Red Jersey. It will be an exciting final stage as a final race, and in GC it will be a great game of chess. A lot can change. Friendships, pacts and allies will be made, then turn on each other. We will be doing calculations in our head to work out time gaps. There will be competitions within the competition. There’ll be heroes, villains, good fortune and cruel fate played out on the winding slope of San Martin hill, its vertiginous descent towards the sea and the crazy fast tailwind valley, repeated seven times. The French say ‘Allez!’, the Maltese say ‘Imshi!’.

Tour of Malta, Stage 4 Road race San Martin Saturday 13 April 2019 In GC terms, this final stage is the decider. Forget what has gone on before.

The San Martin race course is famous here. It has three parts: a vicious, long climb. With a much needed switchback. It varies from not very steep at all to out of the saddle steep for a mile or so. It levels off at the top for a flat fast section before turning for a fast descent on new tarmac. We then turn for a ridiculously fast flat road section through the valley until we start the climb again. For us Masters and Ladies races, we’d do this six times.

The day was pretty fresh, but very warm in the sun. A lot of riders were nervous about this race, though I was pretty calm. I was quite philosophical about everything. What will be will be.

Off we go and Dave hits the front for most of the first lap. It’s steady enough, though I feel my legs are tired. I’m a bit surprised by this and wish I’d done some massage work. We turn for the first climb of San Martin. One of the Italians, Gerloamo, pings off the front straight away. There’s an initial lull as we don’t think the guy is a contender. Then, there’s a surge. Led by another Italian, Tommaso. On reflection: this was a pre-planned Italian move. The weaker guy (not that weak) getting a head start before the stronger guy then stretches the group ensuring both make it.

It’s the first climb, and we are absolutely and suddenly in the red. We are attacking on a massive slope. This is outrageous riding. I know that we’ve instantly shed riders and the race hasn’t even done a lap. This is brutal. Like organ failingly brutal. Seeing stars. Can’t feel my hands. Can’t think. Breathing like a steam train. This is the fastest climb of the hill I’ve ever done, in the smallest group. I cling on as the climb stretches out and try and hold onto the selection at the top. I almost make it, but six guys make a few bike lengths of distance, including Mitchy, Daryl and Colin, while I’m with Verulam Steve and six others in group two. By the time we approach the descent, there’s not enough firepower into our group to bridge back and we have to work with what we’ve got.

That’s not to say things got easier. The GC factor kicks in. This second group is aggressive too. Derek from Gibraltar wants to keep his high place. Fabio wants to do me in. Steve knows he can climb the ranks. The second climb of San Martin is equally devastating. Steve, a rider considerably better than me, records his highest power 5 mins, 15 mins, 1hr and 90 minutes on this race. I mirror him so will have likely done the same stats.

We spin like mad to the top. I don’t know how I do it but I keep with the second group. I keep thinking that I've come all this way for this so am not going to give in. We drop big Derek, but he fights back. I really know we are burning watts: when we catch and pass the Elites race! They started two minutes ahead too. It’s a mess, but we get through them. This race is nuts.

Again and again we go up. It’s super hard. The Elites peloton eventually passes us on the climb. Fabio jumps on to the back of their bunch. A probable DQ in Britain, but acceptable here. He disappears out of view and I know I’ve slipped down a place in GC. At the top Derek puts in a great effort. I can’t believe his power: he’s a proper unit but can do the climbs too. Amazingly, he solos off the front and he too consolidates his GC position when I least expected him to do so.

So six riders up front, plus Fabio and Derek in between us in the second group, means we’re fighting for 9th place down.

We enter the last lap, I lob one bidon and squirt all but a swig of liquid from the other. Grammage counts now. As we climb San Martin for the final time, I actually feel pretty good. I take to the front with Steve and get into a rhythm. I can tell somehow that i’m hurting the others. No one is coming through and it’s very quiet behind me. We approach the line and Steve takes a lead. I hold his wheel but I can’t get past it and to be fair: he’d done so much work on the front, I'd feel bad if I nicked him on the line. Steve gets 9th and I get 10th. Despite the pain: a single BC point for my efforts. All good.

We are all breathing hard, but soon recover to chat. Fabio gives us all respect for holding on to the second group, and my nemesis Ivan from last year is very friendly and kind and says he remembers me from last year and is impressed with my improvements. I was in awe of everyone: this race was a brute to take on.

Mitchy gets 5th from the front group. Colin wins the stage, but Daryl preserves his Red Jersey and we get to see him on the podium to celebrate his GC win.

All of a sudden, it’s all done. The trophies are handed out and we make plans to watch Paris-Roubaix in the hotel bar with everyone. Johnnie, the MCF president and main organiser, has a tearful moment while wrapping everything up, having had the chance to meet the Pope recently for all his efforts to promote cycling in Malta. It’s a big deal to this highly Catholic country.

Jenny comes in 7th on her race. Another great performance on the front bunch. She really has had a strong Tour: up there and in the mix at the tip of each race. Dave comes in around 20th in a third group, along with a couple of friendly Colchester lads who thought Malta would be a bit like Majorca.

10th place today, and 10th in GC for me in end. A very successful trip, especially when the quality of the field is accounted for. The Tour of Malta has awarded me I think 12 BC points. Half the total required for preservation of 2nd Category status. I can’t wait to hit the grass track and score more.

:-)

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almohamady-blog · 5 years

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Champions League semi-final - Barcelona vs Liverpool predictions

Liverpool's hopes of reaching a second successive Champions League final run through Barcelona, with the Spanish champions standing in the way of Jurgen Klopp's men. The Reds have seen off Bayern Munich and Porto in the knockout stages to reach the final four, but now face their toughest test, against the competition favourites. Barca, with Lionel Messi having scored 46 times already this season, are full of confidence after sealing another Spanish title at the weekend. But this is the competition they really want, having seen Real Madrid win the last three on the spin. But who will gain the first leg advantage in the battle between a pair of five-time winners? Mirror Football's reporters make their picks...

Mohamed Salah has a look around the stadium (Image: AFP/Getty Images) READ MORE How Lionel Messi changed his preparation as Barcelona clash with Liverpool John Cross Barcelona 2-1 Liverpool I cannot imagine Liverpool not scoring but I also fancy Barcelona to win in the Nou Camp. I think Liverpool playing away first is a huge advantage as Barcelona have made a habit of overwhelming English teams in the second leg of ties, Lionel Messi turns on the style and they win through. But Barcelona may be more cautious and then Liverpool have the return at Anfield. I fancy Liverpool over two legs. David Maddock Barcelona 1-2 Liverpool I'm going for a surprise away win...Liverpool have been brilliant on the road of the knock out stage in the Champions' League, and are up for this game. If Barca have a weakness, it's against pace at the back, and you can see there being chances on the break for Salah and co. There is always the Messi factor though, so it's not exactly a confident prediction...!

Messi and Suarez during training (Image: AFP/Getty Images) Matt Lawless Barcelona 1-2 Liverpool I've got to say, I really fancy Liverpool to surprise quite a few people. Barcelona are the favourites but Jurgen Klopp's side are in tremendous form and have the firepower to really cause problems to the home side's defence. The question is, can they stop Lionel Messi? Whatever that answer may be, I reckon Sadio Mane and Mohamed Salah will inspire the Reds to a famous Nou Camp win tonight. Mike Walters Barcelona 1-1 Liverpool This is much, much harder to predict than the last time Barcelona hosted an English club in the Champions League - when Manchester United's exit from Europe in the Nou Camp was, sadly, all too predictable. Take Lionel Messi out of this Barcelona team and you'd fancy Liverpool to reach the final, no sweat. But with Messi, you always wonder if there is one more rabbit in the top hat. At the risk of needing splinters surgically removed, I'm going to sit on the fence here. Both teams to score, cagier than a lions' den at the zoo, level-pegging when they go back to Anfield.

Mane is enjoying a stunning season (Image: PA) Steve Bates Barcelona 2-1 Liverpool Barcelona see destiny calling this season in the Champions League and that will make a difficult trip to the Nou Camp even more tricky for Jurgen Klopp and his stars, Liverpool's front three certainly have the firepower to land some blows on Barcelona but the Spaniards have their own deadly trio of Lionel Messi, Luis Suarez and Philippe Coutinho and it's hard to see how even Virgil van Dijk can help Klopp's men lock them down for 90 minutes. Klopp's tactics will be vital - does he go Gung-Ho or be more pragmatic? Maybe a mixture of the two would be sensible. But this isn't an invincible Barcelona and although Manchester United were routed by them over two legs in the quarter-finals there were moments in both games where a better organised team with superior players like Liverpool would have punished Ernesto Valverde's men. That's why I believe Liverpool can get a vital away goal in the Nou Camp - and if Barcelona take no more than a one goal lead to Anfield next week it could be advantage Liverpool.

Jurgen Klopp with Mohamed Salah (Image: REUTERS) Simon Mullock Barcelona 2-1 Liverpool Lionel Messi is driven by the desire to win another Champions League - so it is going to be tough night for Jurgen Klopp's men. Can Virgil van Dijk and Co contain the Argentine? Have Liverpool got the nouse to compete in midfield? How will Barca cope with Salah, Mane and Firmino? There are some intriguing battles, but I can see the Catalans edging it in the Nou Camp to set-up a mouthwatering return at Anfield. But Barca can be attacked - and Liverpool have the tools to take home a priceless away goal. Alex Richards Barcelona 1-0 Liverpool Two teams blessed with outstanding attacks so you’d expect goals, right? Nah, not for me. Right now, the best two central defenders on the planet are Virgil van Dijk and Gerard Pique, and with both on the field here, I think defences could find themselves on top at Camp Nou. Neither side will want to risk a first leg massacre and both managers know that the other is capable of dishing out a severe beating. Throw in the natural conservatism of Ernesto Valverde and I’m expecting this to be much like Liverpool’s second round first leg against Bayern, which ended 0-0 at Anfield. Only this time there’s Lionel Messi involved and he’s in red hot form. With 46 goals and 21 assists in 45 games this season, he might just give Barca the edge. A tight one, but ultimately, a first leg lead for the Catalans.

The King of Catalunya (Image: Reuters) Neil Moxley Barcelona 2-2 Liverpool I think Barcelona may be in for a shock this evening. Liverpool are fresh, scoring goals and exude confidence. Barca didn’t really need to hit top gear against Manchester United. They’ll need to be at it tonight because I think this Reds team is outstanding. But winning in the Nou Camp is never easy. I think it will be set up beautifully for the return...

How will Suarez fare against his former club? (Image: AFP/Getty Images) James Nursey Barcelona 2-1 Liverpool If Liverpool can keep the tie alive for when Barcelona return to Anfield, they will have done well. You have to expect the Spaniards will score infront of their own fans with Lionel Messi in fine form as usual. Hopefully Liverpool can sneak a goal on the break and limit what i expect to a defeat, to perhaps 2-1. Barca showed few vulnerabilities when they dumped out Manchester United previously and I think they will be even better in the semis as they are starting at home. Mark Jones Barcelona 1-2 Liverpool There aren't any golf clubs or angry Welshmen this time, but Liverpool can stage a repeat of the scoreline from 2007 when goals from Craig Bellamy and John Arne Riise made them the most recent team to win at the Nou Camp. The game could follow a similar pattern too, with Barca dominating possession and perhaps even taking the lead. But this Liverpool is made of strong stuff these days, and with the home defence looking somewhat creaky then they should create more than enough chances to improve on the seven away goals they've so far scored in the knockout stages. Unless they get Messi'd, obviously.

Craig Bellamy celebrates in 2007 (Image: REUTERS) Tom Hopkinson Barcelona 2-1 Liverpool So difficult to predict but if Liverpool can keep it tight and nick an away goal then they will fancy their chances at Anfield. Everyone will be looking for big performances from Van Dijk, Salah and Mane but you’d expect that on this stage. The key for Liverpool will be the performance of the lads around them - if they are at their best then they can be a match for the superstars of Catalonia. Neil McLeman Barcelona 2-1 Liverpool I reckon it will be open and exciting with three goals a conservative estimate. Liverpool won’t be able to stop Messi - but will have hope going into the second leg. Darren Lewis Barcelona 2-2 Liverpool I think Liverpool will fight fire with fire as they did with Manchester City last year. Messi will terrorise them, yes, but Mane and Salah will give their defence something to think about too. Read the full article

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Cities Quotes

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• A city is a place where there is no need to wait for next week to get the answer to a question, to taste the food of any country, to find new voices to listen to and familiar ones to listen to again. – Margaret Mead • A city must be a place where groups of women and men are seeking and developing the highest things they know. – Margaret Mead • A great city is not to be confounded with a populous one. – Aristotle • A great city is that which has the greatest men and women. – Walt Whitman • A great city, whose image dwells in the memory of man, is the type of some great idea. Rome represents conquest; Faith hovers over the towers of Jerusalem; and Athens embodies the pre-eminent quality of the antique world, Art. – Benjamin Disraeli • A large city cannot be experientially known; its life is too manifold for any individual to be able to participate in it. – Aldous Huxley • A portrait of the young Charlie Parker with a degree of vivid detail never before approached. . . [Kansas City Lightning is] a deft, virtuosic panorama of early jazz. . . This is a mind-opening, and mind-filling, book. – Tom Piazza • A suburb is an attempt to get out of reach of the city without having the city be out of reach. – Mason Cooley • A tranquil city of good laws, fine architecture, and clean streets is like a classroom of obedient dullards, or a field of gelded bulls – whereas a city of anarchy is a city of promise. – Mark Helprin • A wonderful fact to reflect upon, that every human creature is constituted to be that profound secret and mystery to every other. A solemn consideration, when I enter a great city by night, that every one of those darkly clustered houses encloses its own secret; that every room in every one of them encloses its own secret; that every beating heart in the hundreds of thousands of breasts there, is, in some of its imaginings, a secret to the heart nearest it! – Charles Dickens • All cities are mad: but the madness is gallant. All cities are beautiful: but the beauty is grim. – Christopher Morley • All inquiry into antiquity, all curiosity respecting the Pyramids, the excavated cities, Stonehenge, the Ohio Circles, Mexico, Memphis,–is the desire to do away this wild, savage, and preposterous There and Then, and introduce in its place the Here and Now. – Ralph Waldo Emerson • All things atrocious and shameless flock from all parts to Rome. – Tacitus • America is a nation with no truly national city, no Paris, no Rome, no London, no city which is at once the social center, the political capital, and the financial hub. – C. Wright Mills • And one by one the nights between our separated cities are joined to the night that unites us. – Pablo Neruda • Any city, however small, is in fact divided into two, one the city of the poor, the other of the rich; these are at war with one another. – Plato • As a remedy to life in society I would suggest the big city. Nowadays, it is the only desert within our means. – Albert Camus • As I criss-cross the city hurrying, I feel always the unchanging cold beneath the pavement. – Mason Cooley • As our boys and men are all expecting to be Presidents, so our girls and women must all hold themselves in readiness to preside inthe White House; and in no city in the world can honest industry be more at a discount than in this capital of the government of the people. – Jane Swisshelm

jQuery(document).ready(function($) var data = action: 'polyxgo_products_search', type: 'Product', keywords: 'Cit', orderby: 'rand', order: 'DESC', template: '1', limit: '68', columns: '4', viewall:'Shop All', ; jQuery.post(spyr_params.ajaxurl,data, function(response) var obj = jQuery.parseJSON(response); jQuery('#thelovesof_cit').html(obj); jQuery('#thelovesof_cit img.swiper-lazy:not(.swiper-lazy-loaded)' ).each(function () var img = jQuery(this); img.attr("src",img.data('src')); img.addClass( 'swiper-lazy-loaded' ); img.removeAttr('data-src'); ); ); ); • Buffalo is one of America’s great designed cities. The interweaving of great architecture, landscape architecture and important historic sites makes Buffalo a must see destination for preservationists, designers, history buffs, and anyone wishing to see an inspiring example of American design. – Richard Moe • But look what we have built … This is not the rebuilding of cities. This is the sacking of cities. – Jane Jacobs • But look what we have built low-income projects that become worse centers of delinquency, vandalism and general social hopelessness than the slums they were supposed to replace. Cultural centers that are unable to support a good bookstore. Civic centers that are avoided by everyone but bums. Promenades that go from no place to nowhere and have no promenaders. Expressways that eviscerate great cities. This is not the rebuilding of cities. This is the sacking of cities. – Jane Jacobs • Chicago is an October sort of city even in spring. – Nelson Algren • Chicago is not the most corrupt American city. It’s the most theatrically corrupt. – Studs Terkel • Chicago is the great American city, New York is one of the capitals of the world, and Los Angeles is a constellation of plastic; San Francisco is a lady – Norman Mailer • Chicago is unique. It is the only completely corrupt city in America. – Charles Edward Merriam • Chicago seems a big city instead of merely a large place. – A. J. Liebling • Chicago sounds rough to the maker of verse. One comfort we have – Cincinnati sounds worse. – Oliver Wendell Holmes Sr. • Cities are 2% of the earths crust, but they are 50% of the worlds population. – Carlo Ratti • Cities are distinguished by the catastrophic forms they presuppose and which are a vital part of their essential charm. New York is King Kong, or the blackout, or vertical bombardment: Towering Inferno. Los Angeles is the horizontal fault, California breaking off and sliding into the Pacific: Earthquake. – Jean Baudrillard • Cities are obvious metaphors for life. We call roads arteries and so forth. – Geoffrey West • Cities are the abyss of the human species. – Jean-Jacques Rousseau • Cities force growth and make people talkative and entertaining, but they also make them artificial. – Ralph Waldo Emerson • Cities give us collision. ‘Tis said, London and New York take the nonsense out of a man. – Ralph Waldo Emerson • Cities have to realize that whatever the federal government is going to do, its not going to be enough. And cities that proactively take control of their own quality of life initiatives are going to be the cities that ultimately attract the highly talented young people and create the jobs. – Mick Cornett • Cities tolerate crazy people. Companies don’t. – Geoffrey West • Cities, like cats, will reveal themselves at night. – Rupert Brooke • City and country — each has its own beauty and its own pain. Some of the smallness of small towns — cattiness, everybody knowing everybody’s business — that can be challenging. And cities can be challenging, because no one can connect except electronically. – William P. Young • City life is millions of people being lonesome together. – Henry David Thoreau • City of prose and fantasy, of capitalist automation, its streets a triumph of cubism, its moral philosophy that of the dollar. New York impressed me tremendously because, more than any other city, it is the fullest expression of our modern age. – Leon Trotsky • City of rest! – as it seems to our modern senses, – how is it possible that so busy, so pitiless and covetous a life as history shows us, should have gone to the making and the fashioning of Venice! – Mary Augusta Ward • City wits, country humorists. – Mason Cooley • Dinocrates did not leave the king, but followed him into Egypt. There Alexander, observing a harbor rendered safe by nature, an excellent center for trade, cornfields throughout all Egypt, and the great usefulness of the mighty river Nile, ordered him to build the city of Alexandria, named after the king. This was how Dinocrates, recommended only by his good looks and dignified carriage, came to be so famous. – Marcus Vitruvius Pollio • During my eleven years as a New York City public school teacher, I saw firsthand the impact that poverty has on the classroom. In low-income neighborhoods like Sunset Park, where I taught, students as young as five years old enter school affected by the stresses often created by poverty: domestic violence, drug abuse, gang activity. – Sal Albanese • Even cities have their graves! – Henry Wadsworth Longfellow • Eventually, I think Chicago will be the most beautiful great city left in the world. – Frank Lloyd Wright • Every city has a sex and an age which have nothing to do with demography. Rome is feminine. So is Odessa. London is a teenager, an urchin, and, in this, hasn’t changed since the time of Dickens. Paris, I believe, is a man in his twenties in love with an older woman. – John Berger • Every city is a living body. – Saint Augustine • Everything is real, except Beika City – Gosho Aoyama • Fields and trees are not willing to teach me anything; but this can be effected by men residing in the city. – Plato • First in violence, deepest in dirt, lawless, unlovely, ill-smelling, irreverent, new; an overgrown gawk of a – village, the “tough” among cities, a spectacle for the nation. – Lincoln Steffens • Great Homer’s birthplace seven rival cities claim, Too mighty such monopoly of Fame. – Thomas Seward • He [Caesar Augustus] found a city built of brick; he left it built of marble. [Lat., Urbem lateritiam accepit, mamoream relinquit.] – Suetonius • Hog butcher for the world, Tool maker, stacker of wheat, Player with railroads and the nation’s freight handler; Stormy, husky, brawling, City of big shoulders. – Carl Sandburg • How well does your experience of the sacred in nature enable you to cope more effectively with the problems of mankind when you come back to the city? – Willi Unsoeld • I am going to St. Petersburg, Florida, tomorrow. Let the worthy citizens of Chicago get their liquor the best they can. I’m sick of the job-it’s a thankless one and full of grief. I’ve been spending the best years of my life as a public benefactor. – Al Capone • I dreamed in a dream, I saw a city invincible to the attacks of the whole of the rest of the earth; I dreamed that was the new City of Friends; Nothing was greater there than the quality of robust love—it led the rest; It was seen every hour in the actions of the men of that city, And in all their looks and words. – Walt Whitman • I get out of the taxi and it’s probably the only city which in reality looks better than on the postcards, New York. – Milos Forman • I grew up in suburban New York City and London, England, where my dad was working. – J. C. Chandor • I have an affection for a great city. I feel safe in the neighborhood of man, and enjoy the sweet security of the streets. – Henry Wadsworth Longfellow • I have found by experience that they who have spent all their lives in cities contract not only an effeminacy of habit, but of thinking. – Oliver Goldsmith • I have never felt salvation in nature. I love cities above all. – Michelangelo • I have struck a city – a real city – and they call it Chicago… I urgently desire never to see it again. It is inhabited by savages. – Rudyard Kipling • I know this year hasn’t gone as we’d all like it. But please, please, everyone do not forget about that 2013 season – the worst to first, the tragedy of the Boston Marathon, everyone rallying around the city, the finish line, the duck boats, everything, celebrating at home. Might be down a little bit in the win/loss column right now, but do not let that erase any of those memories from last year that I get to wear a ring on my finger for. I’m proud to be a Red Sox for those times. – Jonny Gomes • I live not in myself, but I become Portion of that around me: and to me High mountains are a feeling, but the hum of human cities torture. – Lord Byron • I personally object to the veil on aesthetic as well as other grounds; but I must admit that, for instance in the suburbs of American cities, I have often seen women attired more sloppily than our Persian women normally are. – Mohammed Reza Pahlavi • I really like Kansas City Royals stadium – Kauffman Stadium. – Bert Blyleven • I see a beautiful city and a brilliant people rising from this abyss, and, in their struggles to be truly free, in their triumphs and defeats, through long years to come, I see the evil of this time and of the previous time of which this is the natural birth, gradually making expiation for itself and wearing out. – Charles Dickens • I see less difference between a city and a swamp than formerly. – Henry David Thoreau • If a city has a 30% Negro population, then it is logical to assume that Negroes should have at least 30% of the jobs in any particular company, and jobs in all categories rather than only in menial areas. – Martin Luther King, Jr. • If a hiker gets lost in the mountains, people will coordinate a search. If a train crashes, people will line up to give blood. If an earthquake levels a city, people all over the world will send emergency supplies. This is so fundamentally human that it’s found in every culture without exception. Yes, there are assholes who just don’t care, but they’re massively outnumbered by the people who do. – Andy Weir • If we tire of the saints, Shakspeare is our city of refuge. – Ralph Waldo Emerson • If you would be known, and not know, vegetate in a village; if you would know, and not be known, live in a city. – Charles Caleb Colton • I’m not defending what Cory Booker said. I’m saying I understand why he has to kiss the asses of the rich people on Wall Street, because there’s no other way to keep his city afloat. – Bill Maher • In a strange city, I connect through food and fantasy. – Mason Cooley • In the Big City a man will disappear with the suddenness and completeness of the flame of a candle that is blown out. – O. Henry • In the Greek cities, it was reckoned profane, that any person should pretend a property in a work of art, which belonged to all who could behold it. – Ralph Waldo Emerson • It is the city of mirrors, the city of mirages, at once solid and liquid, at once air and stone. – Erica Jong • It’s an odd thing, but anyone who disappears is said to be seen in San Francisco. It must be a delightful city and possess all the attractions of the next world – Oscar Wilde • It’s one of the most progressive cities in the world. Shooting is only a sideline. – Will Rogers • I’ve lived in London, Paris, Rio de Janeiro, New York, and Turin. But New York is my favorite city. It has so much energy, so much toughness. – Lapo Elkann • I’ve never seen a tornado and I’ve lived in Oklahoma City basically my whole life. It’s not like we’re infested with them on a continual basis. But you learn to live with the warnings. And you learn what to do if one is coming your way. And then you cross your fingers and make the best judgments you can. – Mick Cornett • I’ve reported murders, scandals, marriages, premieres and national political conventions. I’ve been amused, intrigued, outraged, enthralled and exasperated by Chicago. And I’ve come to love this American giant, viewing it as the most misunderstood, most underrated city in the world. There is none other quite like my City of Big Shoulders. – Irv Kupcinet • I’ve spoken of the shining city all my political life, but I don’t know if I ever quite communicated what I saw when I said it. But in my mind it was a tall, proud city built on rocks stronger than oceans, windswept, God-blessed, and teeming with people of all kinds living in harmony and peace; a city with free ports that hummed with commerce and creativity. And if there had to be city walls, the walls had doors and the doors were open to anyone with the will and heart to get there. That’s how I saw it, and see it still. – Ronald Reagan • Just as language has no longer anything in common with the thing it names, so the movements of most of the people who live in cities have lost their connection with the earth; they hang, as it were, in the air, hover in all directions, and find no place where they can settle. – Rainer Maria Rilke • Kansas City Lightning succeeds as few biographies of jazz musicians have. . . This book is a magnificent achievement; I could hardly put it down. – Henry Louis Gates • Knowledge and power in the city; peace and decency in the country. – Mason Cooley • Language is a city to the building of which every human being brought a stone. – Ralph Waldo Emerson • Life is a journey, not a home; a road, not a city of habitation; and the enjoyments and blessings we have are but little inns on the roadside of life, where we may be refreshed for a moment, that we may with new strength press on to the end – to the rest that remaineth for the people of God. – Horatius Bonar • Man is the end of nature; nothing so easily organizes itself in every part of the universe as he; no moss, no lichen is so easilyborn; and he takes along with him and puts out from himself the whole apparatus of society and condition extempore, as an army encamps in a desert, and where all was just now blowing sand, creates a white city in an hour, a government, a market, a place for feasting, for conversation, and for love. – Ralph Waldo Emerson • Man’s course begins in a garden, but it ends in a city. – Alexander MacLaren • Marshes that are stagnant and have no outlets either by rivers or ditches, like the Pomptine marshes, merely putrefy as they stand, emitting heavy, unhealthy vapors. A case of a town built in such a spot was Old Salpia in Apulia … Year after year there was sickness, until finally the suffering inhabitants came with a public petition to Marcus Hostilius and got him to agree to seek and find them a proper place to which to remove their city. – Marcus Vitruvius Pollio • Most benefactors are like unskillful generals who take the city and leave the citadel intact. – Nicolas Chamfort • Most human beings have enough sense to know that if they work in a city that has a serious smog problem, it’s wise to either stay indoors or at least wear a mask that will filter out the poison. But cigarette smokers have their own little concentrated toxic smog pack that they don’t avoid. – Ray Comfort • Most inspiration still comes from bicycling around San Francisco. This city never fails to inspire me. It is one of the most vibrant cities – especially visually – with a constant influx of young energy arriving daily. I love it. – Barry McGee • Movement was the essence of Manhattan. It had always been so, and now its sense of flow, energy, openness, elasticity as Charles Dickens had called it, was headier than ever. Half the city’s skill and aspirations seemed to go into the propagation of motion. – Jan Morris • My first day in Chicago, September 4, 1983. I set foot in this city, and just walking down the street, it was like roots, like the motherland. I knew I belonged here. – Oprah Winfrey • New Orleans is a city of paradox. Sin, salvation, sex, sanctification, so intertwined yet so separate. – Harry Connick, Jr. • New York is full of abandoned churches. A Godless city, but full of superstitions on every subject–art, money, sex, food, health. – Mason Cooley • New York now leads the world’s great cities in the number of people around whom you shouldn’t make a sudden move. – David Letterman • New York… is a city of geometric heights, a petrified desert of grids and lattices, an inferno of greenish abstraction under a flat sky, a real Metropolis from which man is absent by his very accumulation. – Roland Barthes • No city should be too large for a man to walk out of in a morning. – Cyril Connolly • No one can understand Paris and its history who does not understand that its fierceness is the balance and justification of its frivolity. It is called a city of pleasure; but it may also very specially be called a city of pain. The crown of roses is also a crown of thorns. Its people are too prone to hurt others, but quite ready also to hurt themselves. They are martyrs for religion, they are martyrs for irreligion; they are even martyrs for immorality. – Gilbert K. Chesterton • Not the children of the rich or of the powerful only, but of all alike, boys and girls, both noble and ignoble, rich and poor, in all cities and towns, villages and hamlets, should be sent to school – John Amos Comenius • Not to find one’s way in a city may well be uninteresting and banal. It requires ignorance – nothing more. But to lose oneself in a city – as one loses oneself in a forest – that calls for a quite different schooling. Then, signboard and street names, passers-by, roofs, kiosks, or bars must speak to the wanderer like a cracking twig under his feet in the forest. – Walter Benjamin • One of the things is that the good intentions of Prohibition, from reading over the years and from becoming obsessed with the research of gangs in New York City, seems to have allowed crime figures at the time, like Luciano, Capone, Torrio and Rothstein, to organize to become more powerful, which pulled all the way through until the ’70s. – Martin Scorsese • One who is unassuming in dealing with people exhibits his arrogance all the more strongly in dealing with things (city, state, society, age, mankind). That is his revenge. – Friedrich Nietzsche • Our world is evolving without consideration, and the result is a loss of biodiversity, energy issues, congestion in cities. But geography, if used correctly, can be used to redesign sustainable and more livable cities. – Jack Dangermond • Overcome the Empyrean; hurl Heaven and Earth out of their places, That in the same calamity Brother and brother, friend and friend, Family and family, City and city may contend. – William Butler Yeats • Reclusive? The inner city will secure your privacy better than any desert cave. – Mason Cooley • Rich, poor, Panhandle, Gulf, city, country, Texas is the obsession, the proper study, and the passionate possession of all Texans. – John Steinbeck • Rome is the city of echoes, the city of illusions, and the city of yearning. – Giotto di Bondone • Society’ in America means all the honest, kindly-mannered, pleasant- voiced women, and all the good, brave, unassuming men, between the Atlantic and the Pacific. Each of these has a free pass in every city and village, ‘good for this generation only,’ and it depends on each to make use of this pass or not as it may happen to suit his or her fancy. – Henry Adams • Suicide by carbon monoxide used to be done in the garage. Now, all you have to do is go to Mexico City and inhale. – Richard Bayan • That is the way to lay the city flat, To bring the roof to the foundation, And bury all, which yet distinctly ranges, In heaps and piles of ruin. – William Shakespeare • That’s great advertising when you can turn Chicago into a city you’d want to spend more than three hours in. – Jerry Della Femina • The bottom line is that we have entered an age when local communities need to invest in themselves. Federal and state dollars are becoming more and more scarce for American cities. Political and civic leaders in local communities need to make a compelling case for this investment. – Mick Cornett • The catalogue of forms is endless: until every shape has found its city, new cities will continue to be born. When the forms exhaust their variety and come apart, the end of cities begins. – Italo Calvino • The chief function of the city is to convert power into form, energy into culture, dead matter into the living symbols of art, biological reproduction into social creativity. – Lewis Mumford • The cities drain the country of the best part of its population: the flower of the youth, of both sexes, goes into the towns, andthe country is cultivated by a so much inferior class. The land,–travel a whole day together,–looks poverty-stricken, and the buildings plain and poor. – Ralph Waldo Emerson • The cities of America are inexpressibly tedious. The Bostonians take their learning too sadly; culture with them is an accomplishment rather than an atmosphere; their Hub, as they call it, is the paradise of prigs. Chicago is a sort of monster-shop, full of bustles and bores. Political life at Washington is like political life in a suburban vestry. Baltimore is amusing for a week, but Philadelphia is dreadfully provincial; and though one can dine in New York one could not dwell there. – Oscar Wilde • The cities of the world are concentric, isomorphic, synchronic. Only one exists and you are always in the same one. It’s the effect of their permanent revolution, their intense circulation, their instantaneous magnetism. – Jean Baudrillard • The city an epitome of the social world. All the belts of civilization intersect along its avenues. It contains the products of every moral zone. It is cosmopolitan, not only in a national, but a spiritual sense. – Edwin Hubbel Chapin • The city as a center where, any day in any year, there may be a fresh encounter with a new talent, a keen mind or a gifted specialist-this is essential to the life of a country. To play this role in our lives a city must have a soul-a university, a great art or music school, a cathedral or a great mosque or temple, a great laboratory or scientific center, as well as the libraries and museums and galleries that bring past and present together. A city must be a place where groups of women and men are seeking and developing the highest things they know. – Margaret Mead • The city is a fact in nature, like a cave, a run of mackerel or an ant-heap. But it is also a conscious work of art, and it holds within its communal framework many simpler and more personal forms of art. Mind takes form in the city; and in turn, urban forms condition mind. – Lewis Mumford • The city is not a concrete jungle, it is a human zoo. – Desmond Morris • The City is what they want it to be: thriftless, warm, scary and full of amiable strangers. No wonder they forget pebbly creeks and when they do not forget the sky completely think of it as a tiny piece of information about the time of day or night. – Toni Morrison • The conditions of city life may be made healthy, so far as the physical constitution is concerned; but there is connected with the business of the city so much competition, so much rivalry, so much necessity for industry, that I think it is a perpetual, chronic, wholesale violation of natural law. There are ten men that can succeed in the country, where there is one that can succeed in the city. – Henry Ward Beecher • The country is the place for children, and if not the country, a city small enough so that one can get out into the country. – Theodore Roosevelt • The first requisite to happiness is that a man be born in a famous city. – Euripides • The government burns down whole cities while the people are forbidden to light lamps. – Mao Zedong • The great city is that which has the greatest man or woman: if it be a few ragged huts, it is still the greatest city in the whole world. – Walt Whitman • The human race will have no respite from evils until those who are really philosophers acquire political power or until, through some divine dispensation, those who rule and have political authority in the cities become real philosophers. – Plato • The last copy of the Chicago Daily News I picked up had three crime stories on its front page. But by comparison to the gaudy days, this is small-time stuff. Chicago is as full of crooks as a saw with teeth, but the era when they ruled the city is gone forever. – John Gunther • The life of our city is rich in poetic and marvelous subjects. We are enveloped and steeped as though in an atmosphere of the marvelous; but we do not notice it. – Charles Baudelaire • The most delicate beauty in the mind of women is, and ever must be, an independence of artificial stimulants for content. It is not so with men. The links that bind men to capitals belong to the golden chain of civilization,–the chain which fastens all our destinies to the throne of Jove. And hence the larger proportion of men in whom genius is pre-eminent have preferred to live in cities, though some of them have bequeathed to us the loveliest pictures of the rural scenes in which they declined to dwell. – Edward Bulwer-Lytton, 1st Baron Lytton • The outline of the city became frantic in its effort to explain something that defied meaning. Power seemed to have outgrown its servitude and to have asserted its freedom. The cylinder had exploded, and thrown great masses of stone and steam against the sky. – Henry Adams • The people are the city. – William Shakespeare • The screech and mechanical uproar of the big city turns the citified head, fills citified ears – as the song of birds, wind in the trees, animal cries, or as the voices and songs of his loved ones once filled his heart. He is sidewalk-happy. – Frank Lloyd Wright • The smaller the town the more important the ball club was. But if you beat a bigger town they’d practically hand you the key to the city. Any if you lost a game by making an error in the ninth or something like that, well, the best thing to do was just pack your grip and hit the road, because they’d never let you forget it. – Smoky Joe Wood • The spoiled superstar brat wouldn’t get far in Oklahoma City. We’re very value-conscious. Our city was settled in a land run. Those 10,000 people were desperate for a better life. – Mick Cornett • The two elements the traveler first captures in the big city are extra human architecture and furious rhythm. Geometry and anguish. – Federico Garcia Lorca • The whole tree itself is but one leaf, and rivers are still vaster leaves whose pulp is intervening earth, and towns and cities are the ova of insects in their axils. – Henry David Thoreau • There are almost no beautiful cities in America, though there are many beautiful parts of cities, and some sections that are glorious without being beautiful, like downtown Chicago. Cities are too big and too rich for beauty; they have outgrown themselves too many times. – Noel Perrin • There is a time of life somewhere between the sullen fugues of adolescence and the retrenchments of middle age when human nature becomes so absolutely absorbing one wants to be in the city constantly, even at the height of summer. – Edward Hoagland There’s nothing that builds up a toil-weary soul Like a day on a stream, Back on the banks of the old fishing hole Where a fellow can dream. There’s nothing so good for a man as to flee From the city and lie Full length in the shade of a whispering tree And gaze at the sky. . . . . It is good for the world that men hunger to go To the banks of a stream, And weary of sham and of pomp and of show They have somewhere to dream. For this life would be dreary and sordid and base Did they not now and then Seek refreshment and calm in God’s wide, open space And come back to be men. – Edgar Guest • This City is what it is because our citizens are what they are. – Plato • This City now doth like a garment wear The beauty of the morning; silent, bare, Ships, towers, domes, theatres and temples lie Open unto the fields and to the sky; All bright and glittering in the smokeless air. – William Wordsworth • To look at the cross-section of any plan of a big city is to look at something like the section of a fibrous tumor. – Frank Lloyd Wright • To one who has been long in city pent, ’Tis very sweet to look into the fair And open face of heaven, — to breathe a prayer Full in the smile of the blue firmament. – John Keats • Tower’d cities please us then, And the busy hum of men. – John Milton • Traveling, you realize that differences are lost: each city takes to resembling all cities, places exchange their form, order, distances, a shapeless dust cloud invades the continents. – Italo Calvino • Washington is a city of Southern efficiency and Northern charm. – John F. Kennedy • We are animals, born from the land with the other species. Since we’ve been living in cities, we’ve become more and more stupid, not smarter. What made us survive all these hundreds of thousands of years is our spirituality; the link to our land. – Sebastiao Salgado • We are in danger of making our cities places where business goes on but where life, in its real sense, is lost. – Hubert H. Humphrey • We can change the world one thought at a time, one child at a time, one family at a time, one community at a time, one city, one state and one country at a time. – Bryant H. McGill • We did such a great job of creating the interstate highway system in Oklahoma City that we don’t have traffic congestion. You can actually get a speeding ticket during rush hour in the city. That’s how great our traffic flows. – Mick Cornett • We do not look in great cities for our best morality. – Jane Austen • We form cities in order to enhance interaction, to facilitate growth, wealth creation, ideas, innovation, but in so doing, we create from – from a physicist’s viewpoint, entropy, meaning all of those bad things that we feel are engulfing us. – Geoffrey West • We had a branding problem. We have allowed ourselves to be branded by our tragedies. If you said ‘Oklahoma City,’ chances are the next word out of your mouth was ‘bombing.’ – Mick Cornett • We must have an America in which White men and women can live and work, in their homes and in the streets of our cities, without fear. – George Lincoln Rockwell • We thought of universities as the cathedrals of the modern world. In the middle ages, the cathedral was the center and symbol of the city. In the modern world, its place could be taken by the university. – Roger Revelle • We will neglect our cities to our peril, for in neglecting them we neglect the nation. – John F. Kennedy • We’re crazy about this city. Los Angeles? That’s just a big parking lot where you buy a hamburger for the trip to San Francisco. – John Lennon • We’re here because we want to go to the Orient House. We’re here because this is our city. It’s an occupied city, I know. They have arms, they have weapons, they have police, they have mortar guns, but it is Palestinian and it is under occupation. – Hanan Ashrawi • What I like about cities is that everything is king size, the beauty and the ugliness. – Joseph Brodsky • What is the city but the people? – William Shakespeare • Whatever events in progress shall disgust men with cities, and infuse into them the passion for country life, and country pleasures, will render a service to the whole face of this continent, and will further the most poetic of all the occupations of real life, the bringing out by art the native but hidden graces of the landscape. – Ralph Waldo Emerson • When the Spirit came to Moses, the plagues came upon Egypt, and he had power to destroy men’s lives; when the Spirit came upon Elijah, fire came down from heaven; when the Spirit came upon Gideon, no man could stand before him; and when it came upon Joshua, he moved around the city of Jericho and the whole city fell into his hands; but when the Spirit came upon the Son of Man, He gave His life; He healed the broken-hearted. – Dwight L. Moody • When we get piled upon one another in large cities, as in Europe, we shall become as corrupt as Europe. – Thomas Jefferson • When you look at a city, it’s like reading the hopes, aspirations and pride of everyone who built it. – Hugh Newell Jacobsen • When you take a flower in your hand and really look at it, it’s your world for the moment. I want to give that world to someone else. Most people in the city rush around so, they have no time to look at a flower. I want them to see it whether they want to or not. – Georgia O’Keeffe • White swan of cities slumbering in thy nest . . . White phantom city, whose untrodden streets Are rivers, and whose pavements are the shifting Shadows of the palaces and strips of sky. – Henry Wadsworth Longfellow • Years ago, as I was beginning my professional career on Wall Street, I volunteered as a Big Brother in New York City. – Gerald Chertavian • You could not have evolved a complex system like a city or an organism – with an enormous number of components – without the emergence of laws that constrain their behavior in order for them to be resilient. – Geoffrey West • You gotta constantly purify yourself, living in the city, around human beings. There might be people close to you who affect you inside yourself in such a corrupt way that it screws with your ability to do what you do. But if you make sure that the people who are close you are good people who are there for you and love you, you can create your temple everywhere you go. – John Frusciante • Your city is remarkable not only for its beauty. It is also, of all the cities in the United States, the one whose name, the world over, conjures up the most visions and more than any other, incites one to dream. – Georges Pompidou • Your machinery is beautiful. Your society people have apologized to me for the envious ridicule with which your newspapers have referred to me. Your newspapers are comic but never amusing. Your Water Tower is a castellated monstrosity with pepperboxes stuck all over it. I am amazed that any people could so abuse Gothic art and make a structure not like a water tower but like a tower of a medieval castle. It should be torn down. It is a shame to spend so much money on buildings with such an unsatisfactory result. Your city looks positively dreary. – Oscar Wilde

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jQuery(document).ready(function($) var data = action: 'polyxgo_products_search', type: 'Product', keywords: 'u', orderby: 'rand', order: 'DESC', template: '1', limit: '4', columns: '4', viewall:'Shop All', ; jQuery.post(spyr_params.ajaxurl,data, function(response) var obj = jQuery.parseJSON(response); jQuery('#thelovesof_u').html(obj); jQuery('#thelovesof_u img.swiper-lazy:not(.swiper-lazy-loaded)' ).each(function () var img = jQuery(this); img.attr("src",img.data('src')); img.addClass( 'swiper-lazy-loaded' ); img.removeAttr('data-src'); ); ); );

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equitiesstocks · 5 years

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Cities Quotes

Official Website: Cities Quotes

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mitchbeck · 6 years

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CANTLON'S CORNER: NACHBAUR HAS CT HOCKEY DNA

BY: Gerry Cantlon, Howlings HARTFORD, CT - Hartford gave Don Nachbaur a chance to live two hockey dreams. The first was when he was an active player and the second came when he returned last week for "Whalers Weekend" at Dunkin’ Donuts Park. It made him truly happy. “It's awesome to be back in the city again. I have seen so many old friends and faces the last two days; it's hard to keep track of all of them,” Nachbaur said. His smile radiated throughout the entire room. “Taking it all in 36 years later, how much the city has changed. This is fantastic. The late ‘70’s and early ‘80’s, it was a vibrant downtown scene. Then it had plenty of places to go, eat, and every day it was a happy place. Kinda sad to see how things have gotten in a bad way here. "We used to go to places and meet the fans and had a great time. You don’t see too much of that now. The Yards Goats, thankfully, are doing great things today in honoring the Whalers though. I really appreciate it. It always thrills me to reconnect with a lot of people.” Now an assistant coach with the Los Angeles Kings, Nachbaur was selected in the third round (60th overall) in the early 1980’s by the Whalers. The pick came during their first NHL Draft. Nachbaur was a grinding, hard-working, left-winger who battled his way from the Billings (MT) Bighorns (WHL) to the Connecticut capitol by scoring 44 goals, logging 96 points and 175 PM in 69 games in the season that got him drafted. Right off the bat, Nachbaur got to see some of his hockey dreams come true, from playing in the NHL to getting to be with his boyhood heroes. “A lot of players wish they had the kind of memories I had. I got to play some exhibition games with Gordie Howe and Dave Keon that first year and it was something you never forget. Real icons of the game to be around. They were something. Talking to Marty Howe today, I told him his Dad was my hero. I said to sit and play a few games with him was something I treasure greatly. I played with Marty in Springfield my first year and with Mark in Hartford and then again in Philadelphia not many people can say they played with all three Howes on three different teams,” Nachbaur said with a laugh. His first NHL camp in 1979-’80, he found himself face-to-face with "Mr. Maple Leaf" of the 1960’s, Dave Keon. Not often did Nachbaur get to attend his first NHL training camp with one of his heroes, but he also got to room with him. “As a kid, I wrote #14 - Dave Keon on all my sticks and when they told me at camp he was gonna be my roommate, I almost jumped out my socks right there. It was amazing that this was actually happening. "In fact, I just reached out to him. He's living in Florida and I was talking to him about coming here," Nachbaur said. "We have kept in contact at points over the years and he is still as classy now as he was then. I have incredible respect for him. That's what's so great about this sport, the relationships you develop, and the good ones that last a lifetime. The Whalers gave me that chance to have these experiences." As a young man growing up in Kitimat, BC, hockey was just as much King of Canada then as it is today... just a bit different. “Back in those days, we had just five Canadian teams. Mostly two were on national TV in Toronto and Montreal, and the Maple Leafs were my team.” His first NHL goal he remembers clearly. “Assisted by Nick Fotiu and Mark Howe. I got the puck in the high slot and zipped it past (ex-Whaler) Pittsburgh’s Greg Millen (now an announcer of Ottawa Senators broadcasts), didn’t miss that shot,” said Nachbaur as if the play happened yesterday. His time in Hartford was brief. He was part of the famous deal that sent Mark Howe to Philadelphia where he was then flipped to Edmonton with Ken “The Rat” Linseman and a draft pick for slick skating defenseman, Risto Siltanen. “The draft pick turned out to be Troy Loney who I played with at the end of my NHL career. It was tough to get a spot in Edmonton then. They had guys named Gretzky, Kurri, and Messier, so I was on Moncton their (AHL) farm team. I had a solid season, but there was no room for me up there (in Edmonton).” Nachbaur put up solid numbers for the Moncton Alpines scoring 33 goals, tallying 66 points and 125 PM in 70 games. He was picked up on waivers in the summer by Los Angeles, but that didn’t work out. “They had turmoil right from the start. The coach, Don Perry, was a pretty popular guy in New Haven as I remember (second leading all-time point scorer and PM guy with EHL New Haven Blades) got fired early. It was crazy, so I didn’t get time in LA." However, their farm team was in New Haven and that was a good thing as he had a solid season with the Nighthawks. Nachbaur registered 65 points, on 33 goals and 194 PIM in 70 games. It showcased him for other teams. “I had a really good year there. I had tons of ice time. My game got better and I was in all types of situations. A lot of friends from Hartford came down to see me play and vice versa. Hartford and New Haven were similar, both fun places to play. I got to play with Daryl Evans, Warren Holmes, Mario Lessard and an old Whaler teammate, Alan Hangsleban, who was at the end of his career. There was a lot of NHL experience on that team,” Nachbaur remarked. The next season he hooked-up with Philadelphia and played in Hershey where he won a Calder Cup title. He was also a key recall for the Flyers playing the crashing and banging role and scrapping when needing to. He was in Philly for five seasons. “It was great hockey culture in Hershey. We had that Calder Cup and a couple Stanley Cup runs with Philly, but we came up a bit short. They were both great organizations there because it was a winning mentality in both places and as a player, that’s all you can ask for.” After five years bouncing up and down between Philadelphia and Hershey, Nachbaur decided to head to Europe where he stayed for four years playing for EC Graz in Austria. While he was there, he played with former Whaler teammate, Paul Lawless, for one year and closing out his playing career. After hanging up his skates, he headed back to his western roots where he had a six-year run with the WHL's Seattle Thunderbirds. He also had a six-year run with the Tri-City Americans, followed by another seven with the Spokane Chiefs before going to LA, where he is at present. “I was lucky to catch a job so quickly after I was done playing. It's with high-level kids between 16-20 (years old) trying to get to the NHL and I knew all about that. It has had its challenges over the years, but I have been very fortunate to be able to coach some very talented, young players who have gone on to the NHL and become major stars like Carey Price and Patrick Marleau. It's one of the rewards of coaching junior hockey.” Sandwiched in between, Nachbaur returned to Philadelphia where he was an assistant with AHL Phantoms, and then Binghamton where he was a head coach. In LA, he has former Whaler, John Stevens, serving as the head coach. The two have a history. “John and I played in Hershey together and we were together with the Phantoms. It's the relationships you develop over the years. I was in the WHL six or seven years when Philly called about the AHL opening with the Philadelphia Phantoms. That’s how it works sometimes. After a few years, I headed back to the Western League. I wanted to be a head coach again after two years as an assistant. "It was also, in part, about my family, and the kids. Now, I never had the big dream to coach in the NHL, but it is a good organization, and it was the right time to make this move,” Nachbaur said of his second tour of duty with the Kings. This time he made it to the City of Angels. The game has changed dramatically from his days in Hartford and New Haven. “The players, as always, are self-driven and clearly the money in the game is amazing. We just a signed a player (Drew Doughty) to an eight-year, $88 million-dollar deal $11 million a year, for one player! I will be willing to wager that salary was more than the total combined salaries of the last three teams, NHL and AHL combined, that I played on. "It has drastically changed the way we do business. In my day, we wanted to play in the NHL, and yes, make some money to play in the NHL was a driving force, and the money wasn’t there for us then, but today money is a big part of the equation. You can’t escape it." While he has been on the West Coast in junior and pro hockey, Nachbaur has one foot still in the New England region. His son, Daniel, attends and plays hockey at UMASS-Boston (NECSAC), a Division III program. “He really loves it out here and he is working this summer in Boston and taking classes. As a parent, you appreciate the dedication to come out here. He’s been out West his whole life. He is learning that you have to work to earn stuff in life, and his older sister works for the Department of Energy now, and I couldn’t be prouder of both of them.” With a potential NHL expansion team coming to Seattle in a few years, Don Nachbaur might be a name tossed about in the Pacific Northwest once again. At the heart of all of that, Nachbaur's heart is still in Hartford where the Whalers made his hockey dreams possible. (This is series Four on Whalers Alumni Features will conclude with a dual feature on Brian Propp and Chuck Kaiton) Read the full article

#2004NHLEntryDraft #2007MichiganStateSpartansfootballteam #2007NCAAMen'sDivisionIBasketballTournament #2007NewEnglandPatriotsseason #2007NewYorkGiantsseason #2008NHLEntryDraft #2008StanleyCupFinals #2009StanleyCupplayoffs

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creativesage · 7 years

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By Grant Faulkner

Grant Faulkner likes big stories and small stories. He lives in the Bay Area and is the executive director of National Novel Writing Month and the cofounder of 100 Word Story. His stories have appeared in dozens of literary magazines, including the Southwest Review, Green Mountains Review, and PANK. His essays on creativity have been published in the New York Times, Poets & Writers Magazine, Writer’s Digest, and the Writer. He recently published a collection of one hundred 100-word stories, Fissures (Press 53, 2015), two of which are included in The Best Small Fictions 2016 (Queens Ferry Press, 2016). His book of essays on creativity, Pep Talks for Writers: 52 Insights and Prompts to Boost Your Creative Mojo, is forthcoming from Chronicle Books in the fall of 2017.

When I first came to San Francisco as a young English major during my spring break in 1987, I knew nothing of the Bay Area’s literary history. I didn’t know that the young bootstrapping Jack London had determinedly chiseled himself into a writer in nearby Oakland, or that Allen Ginsberg’s famous “Howl” reading had riled the literary world (and its censors) in San Francisco in the 1950s. I hadn’t yet read Dashiell Hammett’s noir novels, nor Eldridge Cleaver’s Soul on Ice (Ramparts Press, 1968), nor Armistead Maupin’s Tales of the City (Harper & Row, 1978). And I had no idea that Gertrude Stein had said, “There’s no there there,” about Oakland (if only she could see the “there there” now).

I didn’t know that so many writers had lived out their insurrectionary impulses and beliefs in San Francisco—that for many authors the Bay Area served as a place of refuge, escape, and even salvation from the rest of America.

I had only one thing on my list. A friend told me that if I did just one thing in San Francisco, I had to go to City Lights (261 Columbus Avenue), a bookstore and publishing house owned by the doyen of the Beats, Lawrence Ferlinghetti.

I’d never be quite the same again. When I walked through the doorway, I didn’t just see rows of bookshelves; I felt drawn in, seduced, by the exotic call of the ideas and stories that seemed as if they were part of the air itself. The wooden floors were creaky and uneven, each room a mysterious cavern, a haven. I picked up books published by presses I’d never heard of, books that felt alluring and dangerous, as if they’d prick me with new thoughts. I greedily bought as many as I could afford, and then went to Vesuvio Cafe, the bar across the alley from City Lights where the Beats themselves had thrashed through ideas over too many drinks, and I immersed myself in the lawless careening of their words, enthralled by an edgy, searching, incandescent expression I didn’t know was possible.

Thus began my love affair with the roguish spirit of the Bay Area and its literary tribes of misfits, dropouts, and seekers. If you haven’t been to San Francisco, ban the popular notion of it as a bastion of tie-dyed hippies with streets full of cute cable cars and postcard views of the Golden Gate Bridge. It’s much more than that. It’s a place spawned by the raucous boom-and-bust spirit of the Gold Rush, a place where people have always exuberantly and recklessly searched for different kinds of fortunes. It’s a city that disregards the need for stability, resting precariously on a restless fault line, inviting gate crashers who strive to push the limits of being and shake up all forms poetry and prosody.

“It's an odd thing, but anyone who disappears is said to be seen in San Francisco,” said Oscar Wilde. It’s a city for those who feel “other,” who feel lost, and then find themselves in the Bay Area.

Literature Born in the Streets

Silicon Valley has moved into San Francisco in many ways—“invaded” or “encroached,” some might say, driving up rents and driving out bohemians—but the rollicking energy of former days is alive and well in literary festivals like Litquake, an annual orgy of readings and discussions that sends literary tremors throughout the city for nine days each October. Events take place in unlikely spaces—chapels, bars, and hair salons—and everything culminates in a bacchanalia called Lit Crawl, a pub crawl of readings that wends through the teeming streets of the Mission District on the final Saturday night.

What’s nice about Litquake is that while it includes a healthy lineup of big-name authors, its fundamentally a celebration of local authors and the maverick spirit of the city. Founded in 1999 by San Francisco writers Jack Boulware and Jane Ganahl, Litquake is now the largest independent literary festival on the West Coast, and it’s grown to Austin, Seattle, New York City, Iowa City, Los Angeles, Portland, London, and Helsinki.

Similarly, Oakland has spawned the Oakland Book Festival, a festival that captures the unique character of the quickly evolving East Bay, which has in some ways become the Bay Area’s version of Brooklyn, a haven for artists priced out of San Francisco. It’s not a festival designed around book tours, as many festivals can be, but serves as an exploration of ideas on topics related to Oakland’s past, present, and future, with the goal of encouraging debate. Each year’s festival, which takes place in Oakland’s City Hall in May, has a different theme. This year’s theme is “Equality and Inequality,” following “Labor” and “Cities.”

The Bay Area offers so many literary events and festivals that I can’t list them all. Beast Crawl, a version of Lit Crawl for the East Bay, takes over Uptown Oakland for one night every July with more than one hundred and fifty writers who have roots in the East Bay. The San Francisco Writers Conference brings together best-selling authors, literary agents, editors, and publishers from major publishing houses every President’s Day weekend to help emerging writers launch their professional writing career. And then the Bay Area Book Festival, now in its third year, features notable authors from across the country for a two-day festival in early June in downtown Berkeley. Of note, each year the festival constructs Lacuna, an outdoor library that is assembled with fifty thousand books, all available to take for free, and always empty by the end.

Redefining Readings

You might say the Bay Area itself is an ongoing literary festival, though. Bookstores are crowded with authors on book tours, and there’s a farrago of ongoing series that break the boundaries of conventional readings and invoke a communal spirit that transcends them.

Quiet Lightning, a submission-based reading series, has produced more than a hundred shows over the last seven years—in locations as varied as night clubs, a greenhouse, a mansion, a sporting goods store, and a cave. The series is named Quiet Lightning because it aspires to create “that feeling of what was in the room when someone has stopped talking, but everyone has been listening and paying close attention,” says Evan Karp, founder of the series. Quiet Lightning readings are always bursting with people, yet exist in a hush of focused attention. One person reads, and then the next, with no banter or introductions in between, creating a focus on just the work itself and a feeling that the entire evening is an experience of a single continuous piece of art. Of special note, Quiet Lightning publishes a corresponding book of writings from each show.

Other reading series are less quiet, but pack their own definition of lightning. Porchlight, a monthly storytelling series that takes place at the fabulous Verdi Club (2424 Mariposa Street), features six people telling ten-minute stories without using notes. Like Quiet Lightning, cofounders Beth Lisick and Arline Klatte don’t invite just famous storytellers, but strive to create a space for the voices of all sorts of characters of the city. Storytellers have included school bus drivers, mushroom hunters, politicians, socialites, sex workers, social workers, and even me.

Then there’s the ribald, bawdy Shipwreck, which is billed as “San Francisco’s premier literary erotic fanfiction event,” and takes place on the first Thursday of every month in the Booksmith (1644 Haight Street), one of San Francisco’s best bookstores. Shipwreck thumbs its nose at the sanctimony of conventional literary events by “destroying” classic works. A few weeks before each event, six local authors are selected and assigned to write an erotic story from the point of view of a character from a classic novel. Their pieces are then read aloud to the audience while the authors watch from the stage, trying to show no signs of which piece is theirs before voting begins. In December, Victor Hugo's Les Misérables was erotically plumbed, and this January, Laura Ingalls Wilder's The Little House on the Prairie will be undressed.

Writers With Drinks is a monthly literary variety show with a raucous cross-genre approach held each month at the Make Out Room (3225 22nd Street) in the Mission, which hosts many literary events. Writers With Drinks features six readers from six different genres, but the show isn’t just about readings—it’s one part stand-up comedy, one part erotica, one part rant, and one part something else. I go just to hear the hilarious host, Charlie Jane Anders, spin fictitious biographies of the authors. And then there’s plenty of drinking, of course.

I sometimes sneak out of work for the Lunch Poems series that former U.S. poet laureate Robert Hass started at the University of California in Berkeley’s sumptuous Morrison Library (101 Doe Library). When I first heard that the Mechanics’ Institute Library (57 Post Street) was a private library, I imagined it as an elite bibliophile’s country club, but it’s anything but that. It hosts a diverse range of cultural events including author readings and conversations, the CinemaLit Film Series, and the oldest continuously operating chess club in the United States (its plump leather chairs are also perfect for afternoon naps, as I learned when I worked nearby). The San Francisco Poetry Center (1600 Holloway Avenue) was founded in 1954 with a small donation by W. H. Auden, and it now puts on thirty public readings, performances, and lectures each year on the San Francisco State University campus and at various off-campus venues. If you can’t go to a reading, dive into its American Poetry Archives, a collection of five thousand hours of original audio and video recordings documenting its reading series.

Other engaging series include Why There Are Words, a monthly reading series put on by Peg Alford Pursell that fills the Studio 333 gallery in Sausalito every second Thursday. And then I’d be remiss if I didn’t mention the series I cohost with Jane Ciabatarri, Kirstin Chen, and Meg Pokrass, the Flash Fiction Collective series, which showcases writers in San Francisco’s bustling flash fiction scene at the funky Alley Cat Books (3036 24th Street). Many call San Francisco the hub of flash fiction because so many writers in the Bay Area have found a literary home in the shorter side of stories.

[Excerpt — click on the title link to read all three pages of Grant Faulkner’s excellent CITY GUIDE to the San Francisco Bay Area literary scene.]

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We’re glad that the U.S. economy has significantly improved in the past few years, and that “new Silicon Valleys,” or place-specific innovation centers, are growing all over the world, at least in terms of innovation and the development of creative economy ecosystems — and we would love to visit them all! We all learn best by exchanging ideas across cultures and industries. We fully support complete diversity in the workplace, and overcoming the inequality challenges that are still too prevalent in our world.

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Join our email list and visit our web site, or call: (510) 845-5510 for more information.

You’ll take away essential, valuable insights that you could not achieve in any other way, while enjoying the experience of a lifetime!

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