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Condor Wing 9: xmass = esh ~ labrat nation (numbers game) / Broken Rousseau / Hardy: Drummer Hodge (Under Strange Stars)

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Untitled | by katarzynakubiak1

Untitled [Barcelona]: photo by Katarzyna Kubiak, 18 December 2017 

Untitled | by katarzynakubiak1

Untitled [Barcelona]: photo by Katarzyna Kubiak, 18 December 2017 

Untitled | by katarzynakubiak1

Untitled [Barcelona]: photo by Katarzyna Kubiak, 18 December 2017 

Koyambedu, Chennai, 2017 | by bmahesh

Koyambedu, Chennai, 2017: photo by Mahesh Balasubramanian, 17 December 2017



Cars from an Amtrak train lay spilled onto Interstate 5 below as some remain on the tracks above today in DuPont, Wash. | Photo  @ElaineMThompson: image via AP Images @AP_Images, 19 December 2017

Writing on the wall | by ADMurr

Writing on the wall [eastside, LA]: photo by Andrew Murr, 19 December2017

SPUREN . TRACKS | by LitterART

STUREN . TRACKS: photo by LitterART, 14 December 2017

SPUREN . TRACKS | by LitterART

STUREN . TRACKS: photo by LitterART, 14 December 2017

SPUREN . TRACKS | by LitterART

STUREN . TRACKS: photo by LitterART, 14 December 2017

2017-12-18_06-33-16 | by Chris Tuarissa

2017-12-18_06-33-16 [Jakarta]: photo by Chris Tuarissa, 17 December 2017

2017-12-18_06-33-16 | by Chris Tuarissa

2017-12-18_06-33-16 [Jakarta]: photo by Chris Tuarissa, 17 December 2017

2017-12-18_06-33-16 | by Chris Tuarissa 
2017-12-18_06-33-16 [Jakarta]: photo by Chris Tuarissa, 17 December 2017

Untitled | by diadà

Untitled[pagan wedding, bologna]: photo by diadà, 15 December 2008

Untitled | by Md. Imam Hasan

Untitled[Sadarghat Boat Terminal, Dhaka]: photo by Muhammad Imam Hasan, 8 May 2015

100_0581 | by Francesco Luppolo

100_0581: photo by Francesco Luppolo, 21 June 2017

100_0581 | by Francesco Luppolo

100_0581: photo by Francesco Luppolo, 21 June 2017

100_0581 | by Francesco Luppolo

100_0581: photo by Francesco Luppolo, 21 June 2017

 A man pushes two children in a wheelchair as they flee heavy fighting between Islamic State militants and Iraqi special forces in Mosul, Iraq, Wednesday, May 10, 2017. (AP Photo/Maya Alleruzzo)

A man pushes two children in a wheelchair as they flee heavy fighting between Islamic State militants and Iraqi special forces in Mosul, Iraq, Wednesday, May 10, 2017.: photo by Maya Alleruzzo/AP, 10 May 2017

DSC_7117 | by ilanbenyehuda

Echo Park | by ADMurr

Echo Park [LA]: photo by Andrew Murr, 19 December 2017



The numerals 1 and 8 arrive in Times Square ahead of New Year's Eve celebrations #gettyimagesnews #2017 #2018 #nyc #newyork city #timessquare #nye #newyearseve: image via Drew Angerer @drewangerer, 13 December 2017

Iraq Mosul

Iraqi civilians fleeing walk past the destroyed al-Nuri mosque as Iraqi forces continue their advance against Islamic State militants in the Old City of Mosul, Iraq, Tuesday, July 4, 2017.: photo by Felipe Dana/AP, 4 July 2017

What lurks behind | by Albion Harrison-Naish

What lurks behind. An oldie but a goodie. [Sydney]: photo by Albion Harrison-Nash, 5 July 2017

File clerks on electric elevator desks, Prague, 1937 | by MichaelRyerson

File clerks on electric elevator desks, Prague, 1937: photo by Michael Ryerson, 16 December 2017

#13 | by Md. Imam Hasan

Untitled[Dhaka]: photo by Muhammad Imam Hasan, 30 August 2016
 
 More than 100 Islamic State suspects sit inside a small room in a prison south of Mosul, Tuesday, July 18, 2017. A total of more 370 IS suspects are being held in bad conditions in the prison. (AP Photo/Bram Janssen)

More than 100 Islamic State suspects sit inside a small room in a prison south of Mosul, Tuesday, July 18, 2017. A total of more 370 IS suspects are being held in bad conditions in the prison.: photo by Felipe Dana/AP, 18 July 2017


A Palestinian demonstrator dressed as Santa Claus hurls stones towards Israeli troops during clashes near the West Bank city of Ramallah Photo Mohamad Torokman: image via Reuters Pictures  @reuterspictures, 19 December 2017 

Untitled | by Môôôd

Bulgaria '17 | by G. Maggio

Bulgaria '17: photo by G. Maggio, 18 December 2017
Spots | by ADMurr

Spots [Hampden, Baltimore]: photo by Andrew Murr, 18 December 2017

Untitled | by patrickjoust

Untitled [Hoes Heights, Baltimore]: photo by Patrick, December 2016

Untitled | by ilan burla

Untitled [Tel Aviv]: photo by Ilan Burla, 17 November 2017

415 | by pkomo

415: photo by Petros Kotzabasis, 14 December 2017

 A youth stands on a rock as waves crash on the Mediterranean Sea shore during cold, stormy weather in Gaza City, Tuesday, Nov. 21, 2017. (AP Photo/Adel Hana)

A youth stands on a rock as waves crash on the Mediterranean Sea shore during cold, stormy weather in Gaza City, Tuesday, Nov. 21, 2017.: photo by Adel Hana/AP, 21 November 2017

Cocktails | by ADMurr

Cocktails [Green River, UT]: photo by Andrew Murr, 31 May 2017

 A blindfolded Islamic State suspect stands against a wall at a Kurdish screening center in Dibis, Tuesday, Oct. 3, 2017. Displaced people from Hawija are brought to the center where men are being separated from the women and children and are investigated for involvement in the Islamic State group. (AP Photo/Bram Janssen)

A blindfolded Islamic State suspect stands against a wall at a Kurdish screening center in Dibis, Tuesday, Oct. 3, 2017. Displaced people from Hawija are brought to the center where men are being separated from the women and children and are investigated for involvement in the Islamic State group.: photo by Bram Janssen/AP, 3 October 2017
 
3797 2 | by elheman68_2

3797-2: photo by jose gonzalez, 7 November 2017 

BXL | by Môôôd

BXL [Brussels]: photo by Maud Cressely, 25 September 2016
IMG_2837 | by selin1968

IMG_2837: photo by selin1968, 17 September 2017

Untitled | by Md. Imam Hasan

Untitled[Dhaka Medical College, Bakshibazaar]: photo by Muhammad Imam Hasan, 29 January 2015

Keeneland | by Joey Harrison

Keeneland [Lexington]: photo by Joey Harrison, 23 April 2016

the weight of things. los angeles, ca. 2017. | by eyetwist

the weight of things. los angeles, ca. 2017 | michael heizer's"levitated mass" at the los angeles county museum of art. [Park la Brea, CA]: photo by eyetwist, 19 February 2017

the weight of things. los angeles, ca. 2017. | by eyetwist

the weight of things. los angeles, ca. 2017. | by eyetwist

the weight of things. los angeles, ca. 2017 | michael heizer's"levitated mass" at the los angeles county museum of art. [Park la Brea, CA]: photo by eyetwist, 19 February 2017

 In this March 13, 2017 photo, people are seen from the window of a metro car, at El Zahraa metro station in Cairo, Egypt. Cairo’s subway is perhaps the cheapest in the world, 11 cents to ride as far as you want across the overcrowded, traffic-choked Egyptian capital -- but even that feels like a burden to many Egyptians at a time of tough economic reforms. (AP Photo/Nariman El-Mofty)

In this March 13, 2017 photo, people are seen from the window of a metro car, at El Zahraa metro station in Cairo, Egypt. Cairo’s subway is perhaps the cheapest in the world, 11 cents to ride as far as you want across the overcrowded, traffic-choked Egyptian capital -- but even that feels like a burden to many Egyptians at a time of tough economic reforms.: photo by Nariman El-Mofty/AP, 13 March 2017

Bucharest 2017 | by Bojan Nikolic

Bucharest 2017: photo by Bojan Nikolic, 13 November 2017

Bucharest 2017 | by Bojan Nikolic

Bucharest 2017: photo by Bojan Nikolic, 13 November 2017

Bucharest 2017 | by Bojan Nikolic

Bucharest 2017: photo by Bojan Nikolic, 13 November 2017

 Jerusalem Old City is seen trough a door with the shape of star of David, in Jerusalem, Wednesday, Dec. 6, 2017. U.S. officials say President Donald Trump will recognize Jerusalem as Israel's capital Wednesday, Dec. 6, and instruct the State Department to begin the multi-year process of moving the American embassy from Tel Aviv to the holy city. His decision could have deep repercussions across the region. (AP Photo/Oded Balilty)

Jerusalem Old City is seen through a door with the shape of star of David, in Jerusalem, Wednesday, Dec. 6, 2017. U.S. officials say President Donald Trump will recognize Jerusalem as Israel's capital Wednesday, Dec. 6, and instruct the State Department to begin the multi-year process of moving the American embassy from Tel Aviv to the holy city. His decision could have deep repercussions across the region.: photo by Oded Balilty/AP, 6 December 2017

Churchill Downs | by Joey Harrison

Churchill Downs: photo by Joey Harrison, 24 September 2016

 Palestinians clash with Israeli troops during a protest against U.S. President Donald Trump's decision to recognize Jerusalem as the capital of Israel in the West Bank city of Bethlehem, Friday, Dec.8, 2017.(AP Photo/Nasser Shiyoukhi)

Palestinians clash with Israeli troops during a protest against U.S. President Donald Trump's decision to recognize Jerusalem as the capital of Israel in the West Bank city of Bethlehem, Friday, Dec.8, 2017.: photo by Nasser Shiyoukhi/AP, 8 December 2017


 
crosses / marking absences (morning, Munroe Falls Metro Park, Summit County, Ohio): photo by wood_owl, 11 January 2014 

 A girl with a shaved head and her father cry as the family flees the al-Rifai neighborhood while Iraqi special forces battle Islamic State militants in western Mosul, Iraq, Wednesday, May 17, 2017.(AP Photo/Maya Alleruzzo)

A girl with a shaved head and her father cry as the family flees the al-Rifai neighborhood while Iraqi special forces battle Islamic State militants in western Mosul, Iraq, Wednesday, May 17, 2017.: photo by Maya Alleruzzo/AP, 17 May 2017

Paris 2017 | by eliemonferier

 Paris 2017: photo by Elie Monferier, 12 November 2017

His stars eternally
disappearing, learning  
they were made
of nothing              
                but expanding 
 gas
broke poor old Rousseau 
up, and he wasn't even really
all that
           old 


Iraq Mosul

Zeid Ali, 12, left, and Hodayfa Ali, 11, comfort each other after their house was hit and collapsed during fighting between Iraqi forces and Islamic State militants in Mosul, Iraq, Saturday, June 24, 2017. The Ali cousins said some of their family members are still under the rubble.: photo by Felipe Dana/AP, 24 June 2017

Untitled | by Yuro73

Untitled: photo by Yuro De Iuliis, 3 November 2015

Untitled | by Yuro73

Untitled: photo by Yuro De Iuliis, 3 November 2015

Untitled | by Yuro73

Untitled: photo by Yuro De Iuliis, 3 November 2015
Thomas Hardy: Drummer Hodge 


http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/8/80/Loopgrawe.JPG/1024px-Loopgrawe.JPG

The hill at Magersfontein overlooking the plain where the Battle of Magersfontein (Cape Colony, South Africa) was fought on 11 December 1899; looking south from the Boer position towards the British position in the distance. Remnants of the trenches can still be seen in the veldt.
[In the "Black Week" of 10-17 December 1899, the British Army suffered devastating defeats by the Boer Republics at the battles of Stormberg (690 dead), Magersfontein (948) and Colenso (1,138), with a total 2,776 men killed, wounded and captured: photo by RAM, 16 January 2006

I

They throw in Drummer Hodge, to rest
Uncoffined -- just as found: 
His landmark is a kopje-crest 
That breaks the veldt around; 
And foreign constellations west
Each night above his mound.

II

Young Hodge the Drummer never knew -- 
Fresh from his Wessex home -- 
The meaning of the broad Karoo, 
The Bush, the dusty loam, 
And why uprose to nightly view 
Strange stars amid the gloam.

III

Yet portion of that unknown plain
Will Hodge for ever be; 
His homely Northern breast and brain
Grow to some Southern tree, 
And strange-eyed constellations reign
His stars eternally.
 

File:Magersfontein Observation Balloon.jpg

An observation balloon being prepared by the British Royal Engineers at the Battle of Magersfontein, with the hills occupied by the Boers in the background, 11 December 1899 : photographer unknown; image by Socrates2008, 11 August 2009; edit by Hohum, 9 November 2010

File:Elangslaagte.jpg

The Battlefield of Elangslaagte (Second Boer War), 1899: photographer unknown; image by Socrates2008, 11 August 2009; edit by Vberger, 22 December 2008

This verse of Hardy's comes out of the Second Boer War. Not for a half century had Englishmen engaged other white men in mortal combat. The conflict stirred mixed emotions in British hearts. In October 1899, Hardy had ridden his bicycle to Southampton to stand on the docks and watch the troops departing for South Africa.By the end of November, 60,000 young men had sailed off from Southampton to the distant war.
Hardy's note added to the poem on its first periodical appearance (under the title The Dead Drummer, in the magazine Literature): "One of the Drummers killed was a native of a village near Casterbridge". (He meant, near Dorchester -- i.e., a local lad.)

Cf. Hardy's novel Tess of the D'Urbervilles: 

"The conventional farm-folk of his imagination -- personified in the newspaper-press by the pitiable dummy known as Hodge -- were obliterated after a few days' residence. At close quarters no Hodge was to be seen... He had been disintegrated into a number of fellow-creatures -- beings of many minds, beings infinite in difference; some happy, some serene, a few depressed, one here and there bright even to genius, some stupid, others wanton, others austere; some mutely Miltonic, some potentially Cromwellian; into men who had private views of each other, as he had of his friends..." 

kopje = small hillock
veldt = grassy plain, savanna
Karoo = high arid plateau in South Africa
Hodge = patronising generic name for rustic labourer


http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/9/90/Explosion_of_an_ammunition_wagon_during_the_Battle_of_Paardeberg%2C_Boer_War%2C_World%27s_Fair%2C_St.Louis%2C_U.S.A%2C_by_Underwood_%26_Underwood.jpg/1024px-Explosion_of_an_ammunition_wagon_during_the_Battle_of_Paardeberg%2C_Boer_War%2C_World%27s_Fair%2C_St.Louis%2C_U.S.A%2C_by_Underwood_%26_Underwood.jpg 
  
Explosion of an ammunition wagon during the Battle of Paardeberg, Boer War.[On "Bloody Sunday", 18 February 1900, the first day of the Battle of Paardeburg, British Imperial forces suffered a total 1,100 casualties, with 280 killed -- the worst single day loss of the Second Boer War]: photographer unknown (Robert N. Dennis collection of stereoscopic views /Stephen A. Schwarzman Building / Photography Collection, Miriam and Ira D. Wallach Division of Art, Prints and Photographs, New York Public Library)

http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/1/17/Canopus.jpg/1024px-Canopus.jpg

Canopus, brightest star in the southern constellation of Carina and Argo Navis, and the second brightest star in the night sky, after Sirius. Canopus is about 300 light years from Earth in the southern hemisphere constellation Carina and is a rare class “F” yellow-white (7800 Kelvin) super giant. It is 65 times wider and 15,000 times more luminous than the Sun and is large enough to stretch three-fourths of the way across Mercury’s orbit: photo by astronaut Donald R. Pettit, ISS, March 2003 (NASA)

Thomas Hardy (1840-1928): Drummer Hodge, from Poems of the Past and the Present, 1901

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