april 13

VOTD: Strange Worm

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I posted a picture of this thing in June of 2019. It was taken April 13th. Anybody know what kind of worm this is? ~Vic



Video of the Day

Movie Monday: The Sporting Venus 1925

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The Sporting Venus Image One
Image Credit: Mike Cline’s Then Playing Blog

Ninety-five years ago, today, the silent, black & white romance film The Sporting Venus was released by MGM. Directed by Marshall Neilan, story by Gerald Beaumont and screenplay by Thomas J. Geraghty, it was filmed at Cortachy Castle in Angus, Scotland and, MGM Studios. It starred Blanche Sweet (Neilan’s wife), Ronald Coleman, Lew Cody, Josephine Crowell and Edward Martindel. This was the first of two movies paring Sweet with Coleman.

Synopsis:

Lady Gwen, the last of the sporting Grayles, falls in love with Donald MacAllan, a bright young medical student far below her station. Gwen’s father, who opposes the match, introduces her to Prince Carlos, who wishes to marry her in order to pay off his creditors.

The Sporting Venus Image One
Photo Credit: imdb.com & amazon.com

Donald enlists during the World War and Carlos continues his courtship. When Donald returns from the fighting, Carlos tells him that he is engaged to Gwen and Donald, therefore, makes no attempt to see her. Gwen mistakes Donald’s seeming indifference for contempt and seeks to forget him by living riotously in several European capitals. Having exhausted her fortune, and ruined her health, Gwen returns to Scotland and goes to live in the same cottage where Donald used to study. She becomes ill and, in delirium, calls for Donald. Her old nurse goes to fetch him at the Grayle estate, which, having become wealthy, he has just bought. Donald rescues Gwen, who has wandered out in a storm, and nurses her back to health.

The Screen Review:

A Hollywood conception of Scotsmen who wear the kilt but, whose complexions betray nary a sign of the ruddy ruggedness due to Highland rain and wind, is to be seen at the Capitol this week in a picture called “The Sporting Venus” […]. [There] is a question [of] whether the Wallaces, the Bruces, the Watts and the McTavishes will smile with any satisfaction upon it. Not that they are intentionally maligned in this story but, that the men from the land of the heather are portrayed with studio-blanched complexions and, in one or two instances, wearing brocaded silk dressing gowns.

Ronald Coleman Image Two
Photo Credit: Ronald Coleman Gallery

Marshall Neilan, the director of this celluloid effusion, in his desire to depict Lady Grayle (Blanche Sweet) as a plucky person at the eleventh hour of a fast life, shows her ladyship smoking a cigarette before she breathes her last. Ronald Colman is undoubtedly a bonnie actor but, you just know that he never was born to wear a kilt, [though], he does for a few scenes. He impersonates Donald McAllen, frequently alluded to as a commoner.

Donald and the capricious lassie, Lady Gwendolyn, are happy in Scotland until the coming of Prince Carlos […]. This Prince, played by Lew Cody, is a man of many debts and a faithful valet. His creditors see only one way to get back their money and that is to have the oily gentleman marry a wealthy wife. Donald goes to France to fight, and when he returns on leave, [believes] the Prince’s story […] that [he], more or less, is to wed Lady Gwendolyn.

Lady Gwendolyn […] becomes […] a flighty young woman who gambles in millions. The young hero goes back to France, and as a surgeon, makes a great name for himself. He purchases Grayloch, the great estate of the Grayles.

With the background of Scotland, Mr. Neilan ought to have been able to make a production far stronger than this effort, which, at best, is only a mediocre diversion. It is true that it has some beautiful scenery and the settings are quite pleasing.

Mordaunt Hall
The New York Times
May 11, 1925

This film survived but, I can’t find any clips of it. Silent Era states that a premiere took place on May 10, 1925, at the Capitol Theatre in New York City and was released May 17, 1925. AFI disagrees. ~Vic

Sources:
The Sporting Venus (American Film Institute)
The Sporting Venus (IMDB)
Gentleman of the Cinema (Ronald Coleman Website)
The Screen (The New York Times)
The Sporting Venus (Wikipedia)

Chris Thomas: An Update On Our Evolution

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A Mini-Book From: The Chris Thomas Files

Update On Evolution Image One
Image Credit: energyenhancement.org

The Situation Post 21/12/12

Many people have asked me for an update of our situation following the passing of the 21st of December 2012 “deadline”. This essay is not intended to be a full update as not all of the information is yet available to carry out a full assessment of where we are and what exactly happened on the day. However, two things are already very clear:
[1] The reason for so few people undergoing soul re-integration is, as a result of, human lack of belief in themselves. I am not going to explore this aspect in full as this will be the subject of a future essay.
[2] Given that there were so few completions on that date, those who would re-shape the world into their view of a “New World Order” have stepped up their plans of moving people in directions that the NWO wish to go whilst totally ignoring the choices of the people.

It is this second situation that I would mainly like to explore in this essay and, in doing so, will highlight many of the reasons for the seeming “failure” of so many to re-integrate.

New World Order?

This is a term that has been used by most leading politicians, as well as many others, in recent years. However, not everybody is familiar with the term and certainly not with its implications. Think of Aldous Huxley’s [sic] novel “1984” [Note: George Orwell wrote 1984. Huxley wrote Brave New World, a very similar novel. Chris Thomas got his authors reversed. He was under enormous strain while writing in 2013. This is the last year he wrote anything.] and that will give you some idea of what the term “New World Order” means. Essentially, the plan is to create a one world government, a one world bank and a one world police force. A central government that rules the world and enforces its policies with a police force under its direct control.

Is this a bad thing? Well think about the governments we currently have. Are they honest? Do they carry out “the will of the people”? Do they treat all of their citizens equally? Most people would answer no to all of those questions. Imagine all of the political corruption there would be if there was only one world government. If you were a part of, or favoured by, that government, you would be allowed to get away with virtually anything. If you were not favoured by the government, you would be made to suffer or even be imprisoned.

There are far too many examples of these kinds of behaviour in the world today by individual governments. The only thing that holds back their, sometimes, extreme behaviour is the reactions of other individual governments. Without those individual governments expressing their views, the one world government could do as it pleases without hindrance. But, would this one world government actually be there to carry out the wishes of the electorate or would it be under the control of what has become known as “the industrial/military complex”?

Update On Evolution Image Two
Image Credit: learning-mind.com

At the time of writing, a bill is passing through the American government (Obama Administration) that has been written by the GMO company Monsanto. Known as the Monsanto Protection Act, it gives the company total immunity from all health and environmental controls that are currently in place in America. Monsanto are looking to be able to plant any genetically modified organism (GMO) anywhere it chooses on American soil with total immunity from any current or future environmental law. “Monsanto’s Law” has been passed by the American Congress and is headed towards the American Senate where it is anticipated it will pass without change.

Then, we have the situation in Guantanamo Bay prison. Both President GW Bush and President Obama have granted pardons to more than half of the prisoners held at Guantanamo as they have been proven to have no connections to any terrorist organisations. The Presidential Orders further state that the prisoners who have been granted pardons be repatriated to their home countries. The military controllers of Guantanamo have ignored both Presidents, locked down the prison, refused access to the prisoners’ legal representatives and stopped commercial flights into the area. The prisoners have responded by going on a hunger strike and this hunger strike has had a news blackout as it has not been reported in the western media.

We have all seen the recent banking situation in Cyprus. Due to EU and government policies, the banking system in Cyprus is in a state of dire collapse. The European Central Bank and the International Monetary Fund have stepped in with a rescue package of measures. The first thing they did was to reduce the level of state benefits to pensioners, the disabled, etc…by twenty percent and halt the spending on government projects. They, then, close the banks, preventing people from accessing their own money. They insist on a one-off tax of ten percent of all the money individuals hold in their bank deposit accounts. When this causes riots, they modify this tax to taking ten percent but, could be up to eighty percent, of the accounts that hold more than one hundred thousand Euros. The Bank of Cyprus collapses because of the activities of the European Central Bank, International Monetary Fund and the Cyprus government and, who pays the price for it? Ordinary people who have tried to generate some savings against a rainy day. Most people now see this as the model for future bank bailouts.

We have already had situations where governments gave the banks many millions of tax payers’ money but, next time the banks deliberately mess up the economy, they will plunder our savings accounts. At the time of writing, I have heard strong rumours that the Canadian government is looking to pass a law that gives them the powers to act in the same way as the Cyprus government is acting when future problems arise in the banks in Canada. Imagine how safe your savings would be if there was only a one world bank?

To continue reading (this is a 39-page mini-book), download the PDF version HERE.

[Note: This PDF was originally posted on the The Spirit Guides UK (Post Removed) and on the One Vibration Forum Blog on April 13, 2013.]

Shutterbug Saturday: Frog Strangler 2.0

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We continue to have stormy, rainy weather and the temperature has dropped, considerably. We traded floods for tornadoes, yesterday. I learned, today, that two small farms south of town were damaged. I have a healthy respect for Mother Nature. ~Vic

See Part I

Rain Storm Image One
Swollen drainage ditch to the river.
This helped flood my neighbor's backyard.
04-13-2019
Rain Storm Image Two
The tiny creek at Turnip Patch Park took out one of the benches.
Rain Storm Image Three
The Riverwalk is to the far right.
The town closed it for a couple of days.
I saw a juvenile garter snake making its way back across the walk when I was out on the third day.
Rain Storm Image Four
Train trestle in the background.
Rain Storm Image Five
The wooden fence is a barrier between Gold Park & the Eno.
Rain Storm Image Six
That is the bridge I was standing on to photograph the Riverwalk & the trestle.

FFTD: Wild Yellow Flower

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I have no idea what flower this is but, they are tiny and brilliant…and everywhere. ~Vic

Update:
This is a Ranunculus Repens or a Creeping Buttercup.

Yellow Flower Image
They are so cute.
04-07-2019

Flower for the Day

Shutterbug Saturday: Frog Strangler

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Or, Toad Strangler or, Gully Washer… My dad was fond of the frog saying and my maternal grandfather always used the latter. All three are good descriptions of the storm that just swept through here, today. I haven’t seen this much water since Hurricane Matthew in 2016. Have mercy… ~Vic

Rain Storm Image One
I thought my chairs might float away.
The backdoor neighbor had his own mini-river.
Rain Storm Image Two
Patio at the side door looks like a mini-swimming pool.
Water from the next door neighbor’s poor drainage…
Rain Storm Image Three
The gold pick-up in the first photo…this is his backyard.
The Eno hasn’t crested, yet and, the water is at his backdoor right now.
Rain Storm Image Four
Bench at Turnip Patch Park didn’t fare well.
Rain Storm Image Five
Entrance to Gold Park underwater.
One sewer access is over-flowing.
Rain Storm Image Six
Underwater graffiti.
See my previous post on this.
Picture #2

More to come…