Green Energy
The Falling Man
... he departs from this earth like an arrow.
Although he has not chosen his fate, he appears to have, in his last instants of life, embraced it. If he were not falling, he might very well be flying.
He appears relaxed, hurtling through the air. He appears comfortable in the grip of unimaginable motion.
He does not appear intimidated by gravity's divine suction or by what awaits him. His arms are by his side, only slightly outriggered.
His left leg is bent at the knee, almost casually. His white shirt, or jacket, or frock, is billowing free of his black pants. His black high-tops are still on his feet.
In all the other pictures, the people who did what he did -- who jumped -- appear to be struggling against horrific discrepancies of scale. They are made puny by the backdrop of the towers, which loom like colossi, and then by the event itself. Some of them are shirtless; their shoes fly off as they flail and fall; they look confused, as though trying to swim down the side of a mountain.
The man in the picture, by contrast, is perfectly vertical, and so is in accord with the lines of the buildings behind him. He splits them, bisects them: Everything to the left of him in the picture is the North Tower; everything to the right, the South.
Though oblivious to the geometric balance he has achieved, he is the essential element in the creation of a new flag, a banner composed entirely of steel bars shining in the sun.
Some people who look at the picture see stoicism, willpower, a portrait of resignation;
others see something else --
something discordant and therefore terrible: freedom.
There is something almost rebellious in the man's posture, as though once faced with the inevitability of death, he decided to get on with it; as though he were a missile, a spear, bent on attaining his own end.
He is, fifteen seconds past 9:41 a.m. EST, the moment the picture is taken, in the clutches of pure physics, accelerating at a rate of thirty-two feet per second squared ...
... and he is upside down.
... he is frozen; in his life outside the frame, he drops and keeps dropping ...
Read the whole thing.
-
Why They Fought
Below on the left is my Great Grandfather Frank Bartlett. This picture was taken in Brooklyn, NY just prior to him embarking to WWI. The picture on the right is my great uncle Ted Bartlett taken during WWII. My uncle Jimmy Mitchell was an Air Force...
-
The Falling Man
In the picture, he departs from this earth like an arrow. Although he has not chosen his fate, he appears to have, in his last instants of life, embraced it. If he were not falling, he might very well be flying. He appears relaxed, hurtling through the...
-
Obama Desecrates Great Seal Of The United States
From Atlas Shrugs: OBAMA DESECRATES THE GREAT SEAL OF THE UNITED STATES (Trafalgar)Senator Obama’s web site contains a subliminal visual image that radically alters the Great Seal of the United States, and superimposes his logo over the symbol of...
-
A Modest Suggestion - Actual Billboard From Muslim Country
The billboard is from Indonesia. Click on the image to enlarge.Some great comment from our readers:Anonymous said... Notice that in the X side of the picture - the people are active and smiling.in the Muslim side - they are not.Damien said... Anonymous,Yeah...
-
In Syria, The Atmosphere Of Eve Of War
A Syrian reporter on the situation in Syria. "The atmosphere in Syria is in every way an atmosphere of war, or at least of the eve of war. Syrian television for the first time since the '80's has started broadcasting Syrian military marches and...
Green Energy