Growth of Viet Cong - A Documentary

 

 

The Viet Minh became the Viet Cong over decades of warfare. This documentary tells of their durability against many enemies and forms of combat in the tropical rain forest regions they knew so very well. This military insurgent organisation has got to be one of the most formidable fighting forces that the world has ever come across. Despite horrendous casualties; the Viet Minh/Viet Cong kept coming back to continuously fight against foreign powers in their country. 

Dark Gothic Dream Sound

I think this piece and the artwork look and sound great. I hope you enjoy this too, it's Chakra Meditation Music. It makes a morbid graveyard give death a compeling allurment and, dare I say, beauty.

Britain in 1960s decade - Cilla Black

When I was a kid, I can remember that Cilla Black had a weekend TV show, that was very popular. Of course she has hosted other TV shows since then and she is an iconic household name in the UK with her Liver bird (Liverpool girl) accent. She came to fame during the time of the Beatles and played at the same venues in Liverpool. I am told she featured in the famous Cavern where the Beatles played too.

One of my favourite things about being British; was growing up in the 1960s. Every memory is still through naive childhood eyes. I thought all our adults where great and our entertainment was fun too. It is still good now, but I think we are overdosed with too many fine artists and most don't get the nationwide appeal on the scale that many of the Retro Brit sixties celebrities got. I have chosen two Cilla Black songs that conjure up all sorts of kind memories from my childhood.

Paul and Robert Powell in United Kingdom 1988 - two of my four sons - Colin Powell

Paul is now twenty six and Robbie is twenty four. This is them in 1988. I've put it on here so as it will not be lost. It is the only moving footage I have of any of my sons at this age. I lost all the other old VHS tapes of them. I wished I still had them, but live in hope that they might be found in the ex-wife's loft.

Nephilim Watchers and Giants

A documentary video about Nephilim Giants and how they came about from the religious point of view and the reason why their down fall came about by God's hand. A bit heavy from one point of view - perhaps farcical and fantastic from another.

Read: Renee Pawlish on Nephilim Giants

Different Realms

I always wonder if we will be able to inter-react in realms like this on a personal level, when games consoles become more advanced - like a holodeck I suppose. I don't do PlayStation or Xbox or any other of those things. Even though some of the art is great. However, I live in hope of them becoming advanced enough to enter a realm where scenes like this montage are all around us and we can walk in such places - well convincingly tricked into thinking so... :)

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Invaders - Saxon Gewisse v Dumnonian Celts AD 567

Saxon Quest

by C. A. Powell

Calamity in the Dark Ages - A Celtic king dies. He leaves a realm in West Britain without an heir.

The inhabitants of a neighbouring Saxon kingdom see the chance to invade.

This bold undertaking appears straight forward to the invaders...

However, the fixations of intoxicated and audacious men do not always deliver the desired outcome, when up against cold reality.

This gripping novel is based on the real history of Britain back in the Dark Ages of the 6th Century.

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Moyra Melons ear ring attention diverters

Moyra Melons called her husband into the on-suite when they were getting ready to go out one night. She was impatient to try on her new ear rings and wanted an honest opinion. 

"How do these look?"

"Well..." began her husband, shaking slightly. "They look absolutely adorable dear."

"I thought a glitzy type of necklace here," she said putting her hands upon the incline of her neck and shoulders as you, the reader, see in the photo above.

"Well perhaps darling..." replied her husband finding it a little difficult to concentrate on tiny ear rings and attempting, woefully, to visualise a glimmering necklace.

"Well I thought it would take one's gaze from these ear rings. I don't want to over emphasize them, so I thought a nice necklace would divert attention from such prominent attractions."

"I don't think a necklace would take attention from such things," replied her husband coming over in a very excited hot flush.

"Really?" replied Moyra Melons, a tad disappointed.

"However, I don't think your ear rings will steal the show completely because there are other things to take into account dear," said her husband. "Allow me to lend this understanding to you my little ear ring charmer."

"Oh please do," requested Moyra Melons enthusiastically.

He closed the on-suite door and from inside; came the sound of a lot of splashing and giggling - jolly frivolity, one might say. The result of which, allowed Moyra Melons to realise that she did not need a necklace to divert attention away from her ear rings.

Obviously, Moyra Melons has a patient and understanding husband who believes in making education a fun thing - would you not agree?

Harrier Jump Jet.

The Harrier Jump Jet is a British designed, vertical take off and landing aircraft. There are many types that have had design upgrades over the decades. The Sea Harrier saw military action in 1982 and the plane has also been used during the Balkans conflict of the 1990s. It is a craft that captures the imagination and the sea Harriers are excellent for use on board small aircraft carriers.

 

Vampire - John Polidori of Romantic Movement/Fantasy Fiction - The Vampyre

John Polidori

John Polidori was born in London in 1795 of an Italian father who was a political exile and an English mother who was a governess. He had many brothers and sisters too. During his education he went to Edinburgh and studied medicine where he obtained a degree as a doctor at the age of nineteen in 1815.

During his short life, he was one of so called 'in crowd' of the Romantic Movement - the young toffs of the early nineteenth century. This fraction of young people, led by Lord Byron, was a group that stayed by Lake Geneva and tried each, to write a ghost story. Among the group was John Polidori who was employed as the young Lord Byron's personnel physician. Also present was Percy Bysshe Shelly - a renowned poet, and his future wife Mary Wollstonecraft Godwin who, as Mary Shelly, would write the famous Frankenstein story.

John Polidori was credited with writing the first English version vampire story, though his short novella would be over shadowed by Bram Stoker's Dracula in later years.

John Polidori wrote The Vampyre and it was published in 1819 under Lord Byron's name. Lord Byron and John Polidori both agreed The Vampyre was written by John Polidori and there was some confusion concerning this.

In 1821 at the age of just twenty five, John Polidori was found dead - some suspected suicide because of mounting debts, though a coroner stated natural causes.

His novella - The Vampyre is in the public domain today and can be read on many sites as a freebie. The link below will take you to such a site.

The Vampyre and Other Tales of the Macabre by John Polidori - Powell's Books

Best Epic Audiomachine - Thunderdome

Epic audiomachine music, titled Thunderdome against splendid fantasy artwork - a double whammy of great art, visual and audio.

 

AEfthryth - Queen Elfthryth of England AD 962 - AD 975

Queen Elfthryth

Queen Elfthryth was an Anglo Saxon Queen of England. She was the second wife of Anglo Saxon King Edgar and was the first of all English King’s wives’ known to be crowned in full Christian ritual. This was in a ceremony before an Arch Bishop and in a cathedral in the city of Bath. Her name is spelt in many ways: AEfthryth, Alfrida, but for this blog it is Elfthryth.

She lived from AD 945 to AD 1000 or AD 1001 – the records are not too sure on her death, but she was around mid-fifties when she passed away, which was a fair age for that time. It was still Dark Age Britain and Queen Elfthryth was important because of what happened to her and what she did. Some historians have given her a bad press but she was a survivor and was capable of doing under hand things to protect her off spring in a world fraught with danger.

She was born of a noble family of Wessex and was renowned for her beauty. One day, in a year around early AD 960s, she was visited by an Earl called AEthelwald. She was about fifteen to seventeen years and Earl AEthelwald was on a mission for the Anglo Saxon king of England. The Earl was charged to see how her beauty was. For AEfthryth was reported to be one of the most beautiful ladies of the land. AEthelwald was so smitten that he asked for her hand in marriage and reported back to King Edgar that the reports were exaggerated and she was not attractive at all.

How long passed is not known, concerning the time of Elfthryth’s marriage to AEthelwald, but King Edgar heard of the deception and he decided to visit the supposedly afflicted Lady Elfthryth. Earl AEthelwald tried to make sure his new wife, Elfthryth, made herself unappealing before King Edgar, but instead she did her best to look beautiful. Maybe Elfthryth was angered by not knowing the king had looked upon her as potential Queen and she had been deceived as much as King Edgar the Peaceful, as he was often called. The year of the visit was AD 962 and upon seeing the beautiful Elfthryth, King Edgar was also smitten.

He went hunting in the surrounding lands and had Earl AEthelwald killed while on the hunt. Supposedly, Edgar the Peaceful was not living up to his name on this particular day. He then took Elfthryth to be his wife and returned to his Anglo Saxon seat of power with his young and beautiful wife. King Edgar would have been about nineteen or twenty years of age while his wife perhaps seventeen or eighteen.

When the young Queen Elfthryth came to the king’s court, he already had a son called Edward and a daughter called Edith. This son was not the acknowledged heir to the throne and perhaps Queen Elfthryth felt secure in the knowledge her children would become heirs. However, this was the Dark Ages, and people of power would kill to gain prominence, none more so then kings or emperors. At such a young age, Elfthryth would not probably have been too sensitive to such dangers, but as she got older and bore her own son by King Edgar, she would have matured in understanding. She might have even known that certain people of the king’s council would favour the oldest son over her's, AEthelred. This circumstance would have prevailed for many years during King Edgar’s reign.

Although Edgar was called King and Elfthryth Queen, it was fourteen years into his reign before he went through the ceremonial coronation in the year of AD 973. It was a grand occasion and six kings from various parts of Britain went to see him in Chester shortly after the coronation. Among them, were two kings from domains in Scotland. This was also the coronation in which Elfthryth was officially proclaimed Queen of England.

King Edgar and six British Kings

Two years later in AD 975, King Edgar the Peaceful died in his early thirties. Elfthryth was no longer Queen and the late King Edgar’s unacknowledged heir became King Edward of England. He would have been just fifteen years of age and was almost certainly influenced by older advisers.

Elfthryth watched the young King Edward’s reign for three years until an opportunity presented itself to her when the King was visiting Corfe Castle in today’s county of Dorset. It is believed her servants and supporters of her son, AEthelred, assassinated King Edward at the castle in AD 978. He was later proclaimed Edward the Martyr.

Corfe Castle where
King Edward the Martyr was killed

Elfthryth had secured the throne for her son AEthelred who was around ten years old and too young to rule. Therefore Elfthryth ruled as Dowager until young King AEthelred was old enough to become king. He would become known as King AEthelred the Unready, which meant bad council or ill advised.

Elfthryth would have seen much of the mismanaged rule and the trouble with Danish settlers. She died in about AD 1000 – 1001 with the stigma of creating Edward the Martyr because her servants were believed to have killed the young king in favour of her own son.

Had Edward the Martyr lived to become older and wiser, he may have dealt the same demise upon Elfthryth and her son AEthelred, it was a dog eat dog world and perhaps Elfthryth had learnt the art of survival better then young King Edward and his advisers.

Nosferatu - 1922 Ultra classic film that almost never made it.

Ultra classic that almost never made it. Nosferatu was very nearly destroyed over copyright. Now in the public domain and from YouTube.

F. W. Murnau's landmark vampire film Nosferatu isn't merely a variation on Bram Stoker's Dracula: it's a direct steal, so much so that Stoker's widow went to court, demanding in vain that the Murnau film be suppressed and destroyed. The character names have been changed to protect the guilty (in the original German prints, at least), but devotees of Stoker will have little trouble recognizing their Dracula counterparts. The film begins in the Carpathian mountains, where real estate agent Hutter (Gustav von Wagenheim) has arrived to close a sale with the reclusive Herr Orlok (Max Schreck). Despite the feverish warnings of the local peasants, Hutter insists upon completing his journey to Orlok's sinister castle. While enjoying his host's hospitality, Hutter accidently cuts his finger-whereupon Orlok tips his hand by staring intently at the bloody digit, licking his lips. Hutter catches on that Orlok is no ordinary mortal when he witnesses the vampiric nobleman loading himself into a coffin in preparation for his journey to Bremen. By the time the ship bearing Orlok arrives at its destination, the captain and crew have all been killed-and partially devoured. There follows a wave of mysterious deaths in Bremen, which the local authorities attribute to a plague of some sort. But Ellen, Hutter's wife, knows better. Armed with the knowledge that a vampire will perish upon exposure to the rays of the sun, Ellen offers herself to Orlok, deliberately keeping him "entertained" until sunrise. At the cost of her own life, Ellen ends Orlok's reign of terror once and for all. Rumors still persist that Max Schreck, the actor playing Nosferatu, was actually another, better-known performer in disguise. Whatever the case, Schreck's natural countenance was buried under one of the most repulsive facial makeups in cinema history-one that was copied to even greater effect by Klaus Kinski in Werner Herzog's 1979 remake - Nosferatu the Vampyre

Spitting Image Took No Prisoners

This Spitting image scene about 'Essex is Crap' had me in stitches of laughter. I live in Essex and most of the UK give us a stereotype, thick thugs, attitude with Barby doll girls sporting orange fake tans. This of course is not true, though there is the odd one or two that might comfortably fit the image. I love Essex and this joke on Spitting Image sending up Essex people. This UK tv show took no prisoners when it was at its height in the 1980s of Thatcher's Britain.

Corner Stone Cues - Madokara Mieru

 

Corner Stone Cues does music for movies, tv ads, and video game consuls. Above and below are examples of fine music by Corner Stone Cues. The top is Madokara Mieru. Corner Stone Cues music came into cult appeal after the Lord of the Rings second movie; The Two Towers. In the two clips I have chosen from YouTube; the music is complimented by some splendid fantasy artwork that is also very breath taking. Hope you enjoy... :)

Look up Corner stone Cues on YouTube and find a host of such music with fabulous artwork too.

 

 

Alien Planet Documentary

This is a great documentary from YouTube about alien planets and the future hope of exploration. Top scientists and film makers lend their views about what we might expect in the coming decades.

Aliens from another Planet by (YouTube lemaro1977)

Wow! Check out lemaro1977 and have your mind blown away by wonderful artistic impressions of alien life. Look up lemaro1977 on YouTube and see a host of artistic images like the one above. This person comes from Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. This work is spell binding and captivating. 

Moyra Melons Drops Her Ear Rings.

Moyra Melons and her husband were walking through the car park after a late night trip in the shopping centre.

"Oh dear," said Moyra. "I've dropped a fine pair of ear rings that I've just purchased."

Her husband, who was walking ahead slightly, stopped. He only caught mumbled jargon, as his mind was on; where he had parked his car.

"I beg your pardon dear," he replied looking back at his darling Moyra, as you, the reader, can see her in this photo.

"I've dropped this pair somewhere," she added.

"You can certainly say that again dear," he replied.

"I can't find them. I should be able to, they are quite dazzling, that's what attracted me to them in the first place."

"I see what you mean, they are very dazzling indeed."

Moyra looked up confused. "Can you see them then?"

"I certainly can Moyra and if you keep that stance, every other Tom, Dick and Harry is going to see the dazzling things too." 

"What do you mean? I can't see them," Moyra looked about her earnestly.

"Well you can't see what I can in this position," he grinned.

Moyra walked over to where her husband stood in the hope she could see the ear clasps somewhere upon the car park floor. She was thrilled to see her husband had the ear rings in his hand.

"You've got them!" she exclaimed jubilantly.

"I had them all the time. I put them in my pocket when I purchased them for you, remember?

"Oh yes, now I do." She frowned. "Why did you let me believe I had dropped them?"

"Well I thought you had dropped something my dear. I'll elaborate more when we get home as to go too deeply into such things here, in a public car park, would not be tactful, to say the least."

As the reader, you can well imagine that Moyra Melons did realise she had dropped something when she got home. And, she secretly agreed with her husband - such a delicate matter could not be demonstrated in a public car park.

Highwayman Tom Faggus and the Magical Strawberry Mare.

Tom Faggus and his magical strawberry mare are legendary in the west country of England. He was a notorious highwayman who achieved fame because he managed to evade capture for a long time.

He was a blacksmith in the Devon town called North Molton and he loved a woman who was to marry him. Together, with his bride, Tom dreamed of a happy life.

During his courtship, Tom came upon a young orphaned foal, caught in a muddy pond. The struggling animal was on the verge of death. Tom managed to rescue the young beast and nursed it to good health. The foul was a young female and she grew to be a fine mare that was the envy of the county. The talk was of Tom Faggus and his strawberry mare and his celebrity grew far and wide.

Then bad fortune came upon Tom. He lost his fair love when he tried to acquire some land. He was swindled and made penniless by unscrupulous lawmen. This diminished his future prospects and his fair lady broke off the engagement. In this day and age family could step in and make the engagement null and void. Especially if prospects lowered for the man's ability to provide.

The swindlers, who brought financial hardship upon Tom, may have been parliamentarian men of Cromwell’s order. This would be during the time of the English Commonwealth. Royalty was abolished and England was a republic in all but name. The country was under rule of Protestant fundamentalists. From the perspective of our day and age, these men would be religious extremists in every sense of the word. It was a world where people could be maimed for not attending enough hours a week at church. Local priests were like Big Brother reporting to higher orders about peasant's behaviour. Also Whichfinder Generals patrolled the villages and towns of England. These dreaded men searched for signs of demonic practice with twisted and unfounded religious beliefs. It was a very dark period.

Tom Faggus took to the highway robbing rich untouchable gentry on the stagecoach routes in and out of the West Country. This part of England was very remote in that day and age. Therefore it was more difficult to police. Tom managed to stay at large until 1671, if the poem about him is anything to go by. He had many daring escapes and one of his most noted was on the long bridge in the town of Barnstable. He was caught by militiamen, at either end of the bridge, when half way across. To every onlooker's surprise, Tom's bold strawberry mare, Winnie, jumped into the river with mounted rider. Both managed to swim with the tide and escaped further up river. I would imagine that a few shots were fired as man and horse went with the tidal flow. Maybe a few stray musket balls splashed around the escapees as they battled the flow. No shot found its mark. Tom with Winnie - his dynamic strawberry mare, managed to escape. 

At a later date, Tom's wonderful Winnie - the infamous strawberry mare passed away, The seasoned highway man was captured broken hearted from his loss. He stood trial for highway robbery in 1671 and was sentenced to hang in a town of Somerset county. This would be during the time of the Restoration when King Charles II had come back to power and the old Protestant zealots had all but had their day. This was a time when things had become more relaxed and people were allowed more expression.

There is no record of Tom Faggus' execution. He was convicted but 'perhaps' not hanged. Some say the stage that transported him never got to the town and that Tom Faggus may have escaped. Legend says his spirit is often riding Exmoor on his magical strawberry mare, Winnie. Maybe he was pardoned. Who knows for sure?

The Victorian novelist R.D. Blackmoore included Tom Faggus in his Lorna Doone Novel. In this story, Tom Faggus married John Ridd’s sister and his magical strawberry mare saved him from death on the field of battle after the Monmouth rebellion. This was in 1685, which means Tom Faggus was put in the future, probably after his death in real terms.

Another Highwayman named Andrew Ailes wrote a grand poem about Tom Faggus and Winnie – the magical strawberry mare and also Tom Faggus has his guns in a museum. (St Anne's Chapel Museum, Barnstaple.)

He was probably hanged but the romantics of folklore like to believe he escaped from the stage that was taking him to execution.

Z Cars theme

Z Cars was a British tv police drama set in Liverpool. It started in the 1960s and run into the 1970s. The theme tune was from a piece called the 'Lost Patrol.' I used to remember this sound very vividly as a kid when Z Cars came on television. It is another of those tunes that takes me back to my Retro Brit childhood.

The tune is often heard at Everton football club when they are playing at home.