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Putto
harasha
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Not one of my areas of collecting, but yhis medal has all sorts of things going for it. Hot air balloons. City view. And one of the most impressive putti that I have seen.
Honors flysis Income beezis Onches nobis Inob keesis
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Gordon Bennett
I was somewhat slightly disappointed, though when the page loaded and I didn't see a horse
Amat Colligendo Focum
Top 10 • FOR SALE
I went up in a hot air balloon once, though it was tethered and only went up 100 feet or so.
It was both exhilarating and terrifying for me.
(More the latter, with the roaring of the gas jet and the swaying of the basketlike gondola we were crammed into.)
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Oh, that poster the Puffin found is too cool!
... but I am a bit surprised there are balloons in it.
Well it was a balloon (or de Ballons for the purist) meet after all...
Here's an exceedingly trivial bit of trivia. Red Dwarf fans will recall that Holly (the computer) would exclaim "Gordon Bennett!" when he was excited or amazed by something.
Typo- I meant I was a bit surprised there are NO balloons in it.
AH. Would have screwed up the graphics I think. Much more impactful without them.
And they may be there, deflated and in the warehouse on the extreme left. Across the river. In the distance. Behind the mountain.
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Ancient Custom Set
STLNATS, +1 for the Red Dwarf reference
Good to know that there's at least one other deranged person on the board!
On a more serious note, that great medal is a little over a century old. The world is a much different place and we've lost a lot of the wonder/amazement since flight of almost all types is pretty much taken for granted (ie the chances of getting there is close to 100%, meaning we can be free to complain about delays, long security lines, slow baggage claims, etc). The early flight pioneers were incredibly brave since, even in balloons, many met early and unpleasant ends. And my first thought when I saw the OP was about the balloon tragedy this past weekend and how, even today, things can go terribly awry and how much real danger still exists. Thanks again for sharing a great piece that really connects to the past for me.
Good to know that there's at least one other deranged person on the board!
Come to Dragon Con here in Atlanta over Labor Day weekend. I'll introduce you to lots of deranged persons. I'll be playing in the Hyatt on Friday and Saturday night, too.
Amat Colligendo Focum
Top 10 • FOR SALE
On a more serious note, that great medal is a little over a century old. The world is a much different place and we've lost a lot of the wonder/amazement since flight of almost all types is pretty much taken for granted (ie the chances of getting there is close to 100%, meaning we can be free to complain about delays, long security lines, slow baggage claims, etc). The early flight pioneers were incredibly brave since, even in balloons, many met early and unpleasant ends. And my first thought when I saw the OP was about the balloon tragedy this past weekend and how, even today, things can go terribly awry and how much real danger still exists. Thanks again for sharing a great piece that really connects to the past for me.
After my one short, limited experience, I have no doubt at all that early balloonists were intrepid souls. Think of what it must have been like when the Montgolfier brothers first flew in 1783. Or when Union troops used balloons for observation in the Civil War, and probably got shot at in the process. It's scary enough to hang in a little basket a hundred feet in the air as it is, even in a modern balloon.