Whiskey
With much of the rest of the world at war, a number of bored British aristocrats live dissolute and hedonistic lives in a region of the Kenya Colony known as Happy Valley, drinking, drugging and indulging in decadent sexual affairs to pass the time. This is a dramatization of their story.
The World Passport is a document issued by the World Service Authority, a non-profit organization founded by Garry Davis in 1948. World Passports have reportedly been accepted on a de facto, case-by-case basis by over 150 countries, including Ecuador, Tanzania, and Togo.
Westvleteren, a Belgium brewery founded by Trappist monks. The infamous Westvleteren 12 beer comes from here.
William Desmond Taylor was an Irish-born American actor, successful film director of silent movies and a popular figure in the growing Hollywood film colony of the 1910s and early 1920s. His murder on February 1, 1922, along with other Hollywood scandals such as the Roscoe Arbuckle trial, led to a frenzy of sensationalistic and often fabricated newspaper reports. In the 1950 film Sunset Boulevard, the name Norma Desmond is a reference to both Taylor's middle name and one of his actress friends, Mabel Normand. Taylor's murder remains officially unsolved.
William Klein has always colored outside the lines. With forays into experimental photography, fashion photography at Vogue, and later, film, he had few preconceived notions about the art forms, and did not care to aspire to others’ norms - his methods were mostly improvised. Trained as a painter, Klein worked briefly in Fernand Léger’s Paris studio after serving in World War II, and never received professional photographic instruction.
On March 18, 1915 Wenseslao Moguel was captured while fighting in the Mexican revolution. Without trial he was sentenced to be executed by firing squad. Moguel was shot 9 times including a final bullet through his head at close range by an officer to insure death. Moguel somehow survived and managed to escape. Wenseslao went on to live a full life after his “execution”. The above photo shows Moguel in 1937 on the Ripley’s Believe It Or Not radio show pointing to his scar from the bullet that was shot at close range.
In these works Whistler aimed to convey a sense of the beauty and tranquility of the Thames by night.
West Wycombe Caves are a network of man-made chalk and flint caverns which extend one quarter of a mile underground, situated above the village of West Wycombe, England. They were excavated between 1748 and 1752 for the infamous Francis Dashwood, 15th Baron le Despencer, founder of the Dilettanti Society and co-founder of the notorious Hell Fire Club, whose meetings were held within the caves. These clubs were rumoured to be the meeting places of persons of quality who wished to take part in immoral acts, and the members were often very involved in politics. Neither the activities nor membership of the club are easy to ascertain.
The Woodlawn Vase is an American trophy given annually to the winning owner of the Preakness Stakes at Pimlico Race Course in Baltimore. For many years the trophy was given to the winning owner to keep for one year until the next running of the race. In 1917, the Woodlawn Vase was first awarded to the Preakness winner. In 1953 the winning owner was no longer allowed to keep it. In 1983 the trophy's silver design was appraised by Tiffany and Company of New York (the original creator in 1860) as priceless but a figure of $1,000,000 was established for insurance purposes. The value is now believed to be worth in excess of $4,000,000.
Willie Sutton was a prolific U.S. bank robber. During his forty year criminal career he stole an estimated $2 million, and eventually spent more than half his adult life in prison. When he was asked why he robbed banks, “That's where the money is.”