“No,” the wire whispered. “You can’t—you’ll burn—”
The branch smiled sadly, looking up at the tree that had protected her for so many years. But, the branch needed to know for herself the heat and passion of the wires. “I would rather burn a hundred times over,” she said softly, “than live an eternity away from you.”
“But, I’m right here! You can see me every day!” The wire pleaded desperately. “You don’t have to do this!”
“Actually, I do,” the branch replied. “I’m falling and it’s only a matter of time. Please…tell me you’ll catch me. Even if I’ll burn, tell me you’ll catch me.”
The wire was silent before swaying in affirmation, gazing up at the branch that had always been so far above him. Always out of reach, always kept away, protected jealously by the tree.
The wind was picking up, and with each blow, the branch swung ever closer to the wires until finally, she was ripped from the tree and fell down into the waiting arms of her beloved.
“Hello,” she whispered, feeling that dreadful heat creeping up from her base. It wouldn’t be long now. The sparks were already starting and she was starting to glow. The wire tried to prevent the inevitable, desperately trying to contain the power he knew would lead to her violent destruction, but all he could do was watch her burn as they swayed in the wind.
It was over within a few seconds. There was a sudden burst of colorful flames and everything was still. Even the wind had died down, leaving the remnants of the branch…his branch…sprawled across him, nothing more than a charred memory.
This is Crown Prince Rudolf of Austria. He had a way with the ladies. (Allegedly, he showed up at his own wedding with a lover as his date.)
No one’s exactly sure of the circumstances of his death, but it appears that on the night of January 29, 1889, he shot himself in the head after shooting and killing his mistress, a teenaged baroness named Mary Vetsera, in a hunting lodge. He was 30. The white bandage you see in that picture is there to cover up the gunshot wound.
Mary’s body was smuggled away and buried hastily, to avoid a scandal. Rudolf, on the other hand, lies in the Habsburg Imperial Crypt in Vienna. His father pulled some strings to get him interred there: special arrangements were necessary because his death was a suicide.
His death left his parents—Franz Josef I, Austria’s emperor, and Elisabeth of Bavaria, cousin to King Ludwig—without an heir and likely caused their already shaky marriage to collapse. His mother—whose extreme fasting and exercise regimens, by the way, remind me of the the fads of a century later—also died a violent death. She was stabbed with a needle file by an anarchist in 1898.
You can read more about the (alleged) murder/suicide here and here.
Image source: Wikipedia.
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Another portrait I took of Nicky Wire from last year for all you Manics fans out there… It’s just a pretty simple head shot really - and nowhere near as intimate or interesting as the one where he’s holding his guitar that I had printed in National Treasures, he doesn’t give much away with the shades - but there is something about it I quite like.
'30 Rock' Live Show: Weighing the Big Differences Between the East and West Coast Broadcasts | THR
THR has an overview of the differences, but there are many more little ones so you’ll have to watch both eps to catch them.
The Big Cameo
30 Rock ripped the band-aid in the opening scene when Liz (Tina Fey) acknowledged that anything could happen on live television. For the East Coast that meant Paul McCartney dropping by Jack’s (Alec Baldwin) office to use his private bathroom. For the west coast? Kim Kardashian. Advantage: East Coast.Opening Titles
Duplicating the previous live episode’s intro, the musical number was performed by Jane Krakowski, with returning guest Cheyenne Jackson singing in her place, three hours later. Jackson’s appearance was welcome after such a long absence from the series, but it’s nearly impossible to top Krakowski breaking out into earnest song. Advantage: East Coast.Dr. Spaceman
Choosing between Chris Parnell and Chris Parnell is a real Sophie’s Choice, but the Nazi jokes from the first broadcast got a little old during the Chatterton Cigarettes commercials — especially when the West Coast enjoyed the revelation that Leo Spaceman’s father was gay. Advantage: West Coast.Apollo 13 Newscast
Thankfully, both coasts got a dose of Jon Hamm during racist 1950s show Alfie and Abner — so he didn’t really need to reappear as a sexist newscaster, as he did in the first broadcast. The West Coast was treated to Brian Williams, uttering the same misogynist banter. Advantage: West Coast.Telethon
Yes, both coasts caught Jimmy Fallon and Amy Poehler as younger Jack and Liz, but Fred Armisen’s hilarious cameo as a nosy woman in the phone bank seemed to be cut short in the second outing. Advantage East Coast.Closer
Though Kim Kardashian gets points for making a joke about breaking a toilet, the reappearance of Paul McCartney was still the tops. And only the East Coast was treated to the surreal sight of Jack and and Pete (Scott Adsit) making out as the curtain closed. Advantage: East Coast.
99 We don’t have a precise read on why this slower pace of growth is persisting,
When is comes to the state of our economy the US government is out of answers and out of time.
In his report yesterday Bernake, head of the Federal reserve, acknowledged that after hundreds of billions of dollars in bailouts the economy is still in dire straits.And that the deep wounds the economy has suffered actually required more than billion dollar band aids
As growth has sputtered this year, economists have pointed to higher oil prices, the Japanese earthquake, bad weather, and a lack of confidence. The unifying theme was that spending and investment would surge as these temporary impediments subsided. The Fed’s latest forecast, however, reflects the surprising weight of deeper and more intractable problems, including unsustainable public and private debts, the wreckage of the housing market, and trade imbalances. Roughly 25 million Americans were unable to find full-time work in May, and the central bank projects that most of those people will remain unemployed for years.
It may be a bleak image, but it’s the one staring back at us in the mirror.
Fortunately, entrepreneurs have not been sitting idly by.
In 2007, as customers of Northern Rock in London made a panic fueled run on the bank, Mark Pincus was launching Zynga. In 2008, as Goldman Sachs, Bank of America and others consumed hundreds of billions in bailout money, yCombinator was helping to launch future billion dollar businesses like DropBox and AirBnB for tens of thousands of dollars. While upwards of 25 million of our fellow Americans are hopelessly out of work, our portfolio companies can’t fill seats fast enough. While the rest of the nation sinks deeper and deeper into the depths of the greatest depression in our history, entrepreneurs are debating the presence of a bubble and frothy funding environments.
The contrast is stark.
The economy we’ve constructed to support us in the past will not support our future. The insulation these institutions have relied on in the past will not protect them going forward. The same entrepreneurial energy that built this country will recreate it with, or without, the support of government leaders.
They had their chance to bail us out and they failed. It’s our turn to lead. We’ve done, with our hundreds of millions, what they couldn’t do with their hundreds of billions. From here on out we should work to build each of our company’s like the fate of our country depends on it.
Because, quite frankly, it does.
(via brycedotvc)
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