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It's here, it's here, time to do some book chatting! Friends and readers, don't fail me now... just speak your mind in the comments and let's see where we go. (If you're looking for prompts, this is for you.)
1. Let's talk about the title, which sets up some very clear and simple boundaries. This book is not concerned with dudes or dude lives or dude problems. It will not be about women or girls. It won't even be about all of the ladies who reside in the small, mean, vaguely inbred "backwater" town of Byron in the Blue Mountains of Australia. It will be specifically about a type, constricted by both sex and status:
To fill in their empty days the ladies of Missalonghi knitted and tatted and crocheted endlessly, grateful for the gifts of wool and threads and linens that came their way each Christmas and birthday, giving back some of the end results as their gifts in their turn, and stockpiling a great deal more in the spare room.
That they acquiesced so tamely to a code and a regimen inflicted upon them by people who had no idea of the loneliness, the bitter suffering of genteel poverty, was no evidence of lack of spirit or lack of courage. Simply, they were born and lived in a time before the great wars completed the industrial revolution, when paid work and its train of comforts were a treason to their concepts of life, of family, of femininity.
A little on-the-nose editorializing there, but true enough and recognizable still. The ladies of Missalonghi inhabit a world filled with broadly sketched cheaters, backstabbers, and snobs, where no husband = no money and no beauty = no prospects. In circumstances like these, you'd best hitch yourself to a good lie and ride that motherfucker down into the valley. I mean seriously, what have you got to lose?
2. Let's talk about the opening:
"Can you tell me, Octavia, why our luck never seems to change for the better?" asked Mrs. Drusilla Wright of her sister, adding with a sigh, "We need a new roof."
That's the start of a fairytale (you can almost hear "Once upon a time"), but it also outlines the full shape of their misery. What these two ladies long for is practical and useful; what they're accustomed to is disappointment, which they accept as the way things are, have been, and always will be. There's no questioning and no argument; they surrender to their circumstances:
It had been Sir William's policy to distribute his worldly goods among his sons only, leaving his daughters possessed of a dowry consisting of a house on five good acres of land. On the surface it seemed a good policy, discouraging fortune-hunters whilst ensuring the girls the status of landowners as well as a measure of independence. Nothing loath (since it meant more money for them), his sons had continued the policy, and so in their turn had their sons. Only as the decades passed, the houses became steadily less commodious, less well built, and the five good acres of land tended to become five not-so-good acres of land.
The result two generations later was that the Hurlingford connection was divided into several camps; uniformly wealthy males, females who were well off due to fortunate marriages, and a group of females who had either been tricked out of their land, or forced to sell it for less than its real value, or struggled still to subsist upon it, like Drusilla Hurlingford Wright.
Drusilla was my favorite character, btw. I love cranky widows who know more than they tell.
But Missy is the one who fights back.
3. Let's talk about Missy, who seems to come straight out of Cinderella: small, dark, and homely, poor but generous, mild but tough. Easy to overlook. Of course she's a bookworm and a green thumb and a genius with a needle. Of course she does what she's told while breaking small, harmless rules on the side. Ugh. Snoresville.
And yet!
Driven by sheer exhaustion, exasperation, and a false reading of her own symptoms, it turns out she's just as willing to play dirty as the rest of the Hurlingford clan. Eavesdropping at opportune moments? Check. Secret backroom deals with old ladies to reclaim their stolen gold doubloons? Check. Going turncoat on family in the interest of justice? Telling her bitchy Nellie Oleson cousin to bugger off? Check and check. Missy Wright, Spinster Superhero.
The most interesting thing about her, though, is the lie she concocts to secure her own happiness, by deciding that John Smith—appearing out of nowhere as a sort of Paul Bunyan Prince Charming—is her ticket to salvation. Did you care that she lies to him? Or that she gets away with it? I did not, since I'm an American and we want what we want when we want it, no matter who we're tricking into emergency fake death nuptials, although I certainly see how this might read as "unwise" in a rational human light. Does it matter? Is a lie really an untruth if it ends well for everyone involved? As Missy tells Una,
"I had to resort to trickery and deception to get him."
"If you couldn't get him any other way, why not?"
"I told him I was dying of heart trouble."
"Aren't we all?"
Una's the kind of pal you want by your side when the chips are down, obviously, although she's also the type who might talk you into shoplifting or pulling some Thelma-and-Louise-type gas station heist. I get the sense that I should be outraged by these machinations of the heart, although Missy's man-trapping scheme is straight out of a daytime soap opera and not unlike how I myself once dreamed of nabbing a Quartermaine. Also it's just a story, and isn't fiction a safe space where one is allowed—nay, encouraged—to imagine all sorts of unimaginable things? Thus I harbor no objections. Case closed.
4. Let's talk about Una! Una the ghost, Una the fairy godmother. Did you guess this as you were reading, what with the constant references to her preternatural aura? (I'm sorry to say it only made me picture Mr. Burns' nuclear glow in that "Springfield Files" episode.) Her surprise appearances and absences, arriving at the perfect moment with the perfect smutty book or the perfect red dress, always one step ahead of the curve? Or the fact that no one but Missy seems to know she exists?
She sat in stony silence, unable to move the smallest part of her. Una. Una!
How could her mother and aunt sit there so unresponsive to that name, when they had met her and entertained her in this very house? Didn't they remember the biscuits, the documents?
Haven't they ever seen "The Sixth Sense"?!
Una drops hints herself when we first meet her in the library, as she tells Missy about her divorce: "So here I am, washed ashore for the very last time in a backwater like Byron, doing penance for my sins." The way this is stated actually makes it sound like she's John Smith's fairy godmother, not Missy's. And what a different story that would make.
5. Let's talk about the ending:
A chill breeze puffed in through the open door, and just before Drusilla reached to shut it out, it whispered for Missy's ears alone, "Never tell him! Oh please, never tell him!"
Now you tell me: does that sound like a happy ending, or a curse?


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"Poetry and art are not about answers to me; they are about questions." Lucille Clifton
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subset: commoncrawl


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Hard to believe we began our adventure amidst pouring rain and thunderstorms in the Midwest already a week ago. After a long journey filled with a predictable flight cancellation and delays once we got to hour twenty six we found ourselves being interviewed by our temporary travel partners/film crew in the Moscow airport. Looking forward to seeing that dreary eyed footage where we share our expectations for what we anticipate when in Yerevan (: Less than an hour upon our arrival in country we approach our new home with cameras in tow and are graciously welcomed by our host family with juice and desserts. Despite exhaustion are so happy to be met with such warmth, smiles, and laughter.
With only three days with the documentarians, Stephanie and Joe, we set off to pack a week of experiences into their brief stay. Saturday we shared in a very somber, fittingly drizzly hour with fellow volunteers reflecting and listening to readings at the Yerevan Genocide Memorial (Tsitnernakaberd). The Saturday excursion provided us the opportunity to meet many of our fellow Birthright and Armenian Volunteer Corps (AVC) volunteers. They are an extremely interesting and diverse group that come from all over the world. They currently represent at the very least England, the US, Argentina, France, Jordan, Lebanon, Syria, Australia, and we are sure we must be forgetting some. To hear readings recited in English being translated into Eastern Armenian so that Spanish and French speakers can follow along serves as a great snapshot of how worldly our group truly is.
Sunday we traveled with Stephanie and Joe, our host family (minus the birthday girl, Toma), Ani (our translator and friend) to visit some sights outside of Yerevan. In our many world travels it is hard for anything we have previously seen to compare to the absolute beauty, history, and cultural significance of Geghard Monastery. We also visited the Garni Temple which was built in the hard to wrap your mind around, First Century AD. Making the day all the more exceptional was that it was our host grandmother's (Tateek is Armenian for grandmother) first visit to these sights.
Photos 1-4: Geghard Monastery / Photos 5 & 6: Garni Temple
The day ending there would have been amazing enough but we came home to celebrate Toma's birthday with what seemed like an endless supply of delicious Armenian dishes. We dined with the always appreciative and flexible documentarians, several family members and friends. Countless cheers were shared for Toma, Tateek, and the American guests (including us) with wine and oghee (homemade 130 proof apricot vodka...our esophagi may still be burning). This wonderful night served as a very pleasant welcome and introduction into our Armenian family.
We started our language lesson classes on Tuesday. Our host family has also been extremely patient and helpful in teaching us. Although Annie wouldn't think so we have already learned so much since we arrived and can at least speak in basic (very basic) sentences.
We have both started at your job placements. Annie is working for the Women's Resource Center of Armenia. They are a very progressive feminist organization in an otherwise patriarchal country where she will quite possibly training teachers how to facilitate sexual health programming (likely to adult women as sexual health in schools is not currently taught). There are a variety of other projects that she will also be getting involved in to help support the center with some of their other programming.
John visited his first school Wednesday to observe a group. He will be co-teaching in Sardarapat. The 17 students have a varied level of English comprehensive but all understand most of what we are saying and have a great desire to learn English. They are all very happy to hear I have an Armenian mother! I will teach my first solo lesson today in Hatsik. In all he will be working at three schools (one day each per week) and then be planning/grading, etc in Yerevan two days a week.
You mothers reading this will be happy to know that we have the most adorable and caring host mother and host grandmother constantly caring/worrying/feeding/hugging us. We both feel very blessed to be with great organizations, a wonderful family, in Yerevan during such a historic time, and with a great view of Ararat from our room to boot.


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Robots at the helm for claims
Insurance companies that don't embrace the use of intelligent "learning" computer algorithms to speed up their claims process will be left behind, says a leading industry analysis firm. KPMG's latest overview of the Australian industry has identified "machine learning" as a game-changer for the industry. Machine learning refers to a set of algorithms that predict current or future outcomes based on historical data. It is already in use by banks to identify irregular transaction activity. "The big question is why insurers have been so slow to start collaborating with machines," KPMG states. "A shift from human resources to to automation should deliver significant cost savings. "KPMG has worked with a global insurer to develop an algorithm focused on efficient claims processing. The time to process claims was reduced from months…
Link to Full Article: Robots at the helm for claims
Robots at the helm for claims


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- Fonds
- 1945-2005
The fonds contains publications, reports, and other material created and accumulated by Bruce Mitchell.
Mitchell, Bruce, 1944-
The fonds contains publications, reports, and other material created and accumulated by Bruce Mitchell.
Mitchell, Bruce, 1944-
The fonds contains publications, correspondence, and other materials produced and accumulated by John Theberge.
Theberge, John B., 1940-
Kitchener-Waterloo Community Concert Association fonds
The fonds contains official papers, financial records, correspondence, membership lists, programs, performance lists, and other materials produced by the Kitchener-Waterloo Community Concert Association.
Over 200 photographs are included in the collection. These are not photographs of Kitchener-Waterloo Community Concert Association performances. They are promotional photographs of performers, provided to KWCCA.
Kitchener-Waterloo Community Concert Association
The Earle Clare Shelley fonds contains personal papers, photographs, publications and newspaper clippings created and accumulated by Earle Clare Shelley. The collection includes his biographical information on Shelley's educational, teaching, military, municipal, and retirement careers, teaching certificates, and notebooks from before and during the Second World War, as well as unpublished poetry, sermons, essays, and a French grammar dictionary written by Shelley. Included is an essay he wrote in 1986 entitled "The Twilight Country: An Out-of-Body Experience."
Shelley, Earle Clare
The fonds contains photographs, playbills, programs, newspaper clippings, and other material created and accumulated by Bev Hayes during his time at Waterloo College.
Hayes, Beverly L.
The fonds contains material acquired and created by Maureen Forrester. Includes musical scores, photographs, concert programs, clippings, awards, audio recordings, video recordings, working files, professional and personal records, correspondence and other material.
Although the fonds does contain some personal records, the majority of the collection is Forrester's professional files. This includes more than 2,800 scores. Some of the scores are notated and signed by Maureen Forrester.
Forrester, Maureen
The fonds contains four posters collected by Frank Erschen during his years as an undergraduate student at Wilfrid Laurier University.
Erschen, Frank
St. John's Lutheran Church (Carrick, ON) fonds
The fonds contain minute books, parish registers, a draft constitution, correspondence and notes from 1886-1974.
St. John's Evangelical Lutheran Church (Carrick, Bruce County, ON)
St. Paul's Evangelical Lutheran Church (Hamilton, ON) fonds
The fonds contain financial records, minutes, legal records, and lists of pastors.
St. Paul's Evangelical Lutheran Church (Hamilton, ON)
St. Peter's Evangelical Lutheran Church (Cambridge, ON) fonds
The fonds contains records of St. Peter's Evangelical Lutheran Church in Cambridge, Ontario.
St. Peter's Evangelical Lutheran Church (Cambridge, ON)


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Day 1 – Thursday, 23 February
8:30am – 10am (Husky Energy Foyer, Max Bell Building)
Workshop Registration Opens
10 am – 1 pm (Max Bell Room 251, Max Bell Building)
Workshop (add-ons for participants)
10am – 1pm (Max Bell Room 251)
Workshop (add-ons for participants)
What Good is Your Content if You Can't Get it Made?
The top ten, in the trenches, lessons on funding and selling new media content in Hollywood. This half day workshop is designed to breakdown all the misconceptions, understand the current reality of traditional network and studios funding, and what content is desirable and why. Learn how new media funding and purchasing is done, content valuation and what an intellectual property owner needs to know to close the deal.
Presenter: Evette Vargas, Writer and Producer
10am – 5:30pm (Rice Studio, Jeanne and Peter Lougheed Building)
Workshop (add-ons for participants)
VR, AR & 360 – Dispelling the Mysteries and Putting Your Skills into Action
Films, Games, Docs and Apps – You can't go anywhere without hearing the word VR. What is the true virtual reality landscape for the content creators? How does one tell a story and why should I be paying attention to this new storytelling medium?
Presenters: Dylan Pearce, Director, Evette Vargas, Writer and Producer, John D. Canning, VP New Media, Producers Guild of America
2pm – 5:30pm (Max Bell Auditorium, Max Bell Building)
Workshop (add-ons for participants)
Content Discoverability and Distribution in the Age of Abundance
The old saying "when a tree falls in a forest…" The same can be true about your content. You got it made, and now what? In this modern age of content abundance and of multiple distribution choices, this half day workshop will outline the ways to increase your content's discoverability, identify new distribution options. Understand your key audience and the many technological choices content creators have in their toolbox.
Elizabeth Karr, Producer, Discovery Productions, John Alan Simon, Screen Writer / Director / Producer, Discovery Productions
2pm – 5:30pm (Telus Studio, Jeanne and Peter Lougheed Building – JPL)
Workshop (add-ons for participants)
From Script to Set
How does a written story come to life on set? What are the skills needed to capture the written essence visually, through directing, cinematography, and camera operating? How do you build your production team and crew to fulfill your vision and bring your story to life? Learn from these experts who have all worked on block buster productions in this engaging half day workshop.
Presenters: Stephen Campanelli, SOC, Camera Operator and Sean Savage, Assoc BSC, ACO, SOC, Camera Operator
5:30pm – 7pm (Bentley Chamber Music Studio, Music & Sound Building)
Welcome Reception
Day 2 – Friday, 24 February
9am – 10am (Husky Energy Foyer, Max Bell Building)
Registration, coffee with fellow participants
10am – 11am (Max Bell Auditorium, Max Bell Building)
Opening Keynote
How to Stop Time: Design Principles for Immersive Storytelling
Overwhelmed by endless streams of passive content, sophisticated audiences are demanding deeper, more powerful experiences. Innovative technologies enable and inspire new forms of stories, but immersion is not a property of technology, it is a product of a great experience. Mike Monello, one of the original creators of The Blair Witch Project and CCO of Campfire at SapientRazorfish shares secrets from over 15 years on the frontline of emerging technology and storytelling.
Mike Monello, Vice President, Creative, CCO, Campfire at SapientRazorfish
11am – 11:30am (Husky Energy Foyer, Max Bell Building)
Coffee Break
11:30am – 12:15pm (Max Bell Auditorium, Max Bell Building)
Who's Content is it Anyways? The New Rules and Deals of IP
This panel of content owners and deal makers will present the new rules, regulations and deals being made by networks and production companies for scripted, non-scripted and multiplatform distributed content. Learn how to craft the best deal, protect your concept and IP, and what the networks and productions companies expect.
Presenters: Matt Gould, Executive Vice President, PactUS, Reena Liebling, VP, Partner Strategy, Kin Community
Moderated by Kate McCallum, Producer, Writer, Transmedia Consultant
12:30pm – 2:00pm (Vistas Dining Room, Sally Borden Building)
Lunch & Table Tops Discussions with Speakers and Experts
(sign up at registration)
2:15pm – 3:30pm (Max Bell Auditorium, Max Bell Building)
I Hear Ya! – Storytelling Through the Audio Experience
What makes that memorable storyline or scene stick in our minds – the audio and the music scoring. How do storytellers capture this elusive sense to heighten the audience's story engagement and entertainment experience? Hear from audio expert, Orest Sushko, as he describes the sound design, music scoring and mixing choices that are made every day to insure that the story is told with all of our senses. Projects will be screened demonstrating audio choices and designs used to guide the experience of storytelling.
2:15pm – 3:30pm (Max Bell Room 251, Max Bell Building)
Invisible World Extended Global Experience
Pushing the boundaries of traditional cinema, Invisible World is an interactive project available on the web, as an app, and as a live VR experience (the latter in co-production with the Canadian Film Centre). Based on actual events but re-imagined for the screen, this 22-minute interactive film follows the story of three strangers whose lives intersect when they all share a traumatic experience in post-civil war Cambodia. Invisible World uses an innovative split-screen technology that allows the viewer to physically manipulate three separate panels on screen or in a VR environment, each of which shows a different perspective on the story being told. By expanding, contracting, hiding, or revealing these panels, the viewer adds depth and detail to the story, questioning the idea of perspective and what we choose to see—or choose to hide. During this case study, NFB Producer Bonnie Thompson and co-creator Galen Scorer will discuss the development and production of this story and talk about creating work for both the desktop and VR worlds. Invisible World is created by Tyler Enfield (writer, cinematographer and director), Galen Scorer (interactive creator, co-director, cinematographer and editor), and producer Bonnie Thompson. It is produced by the National Film Board's North West Centre. David Christensen is Executive Producer. Ana Serano from the Canadian Film Centre, is Co-Producer and Co-Executive Producer on the Invisible World VR Project.
3:30pm – 4pm (Husky Energy Foyer, Max Bell Building)
Coffee Break
4pm – 5:30pm (Max Bell Auditorium, Max Bell Building)
Closing Keynote Panel
Game of Thrones – The Creative Collaboration
Audience engagement through cinematic storytelling, multiple stories lines, and complex characters are all part of the Game of Thrones experience, which has changed the landscape of television and has gained an international cult following. Director of Photography, Fabian Wagner, BSC and A Camera Operator, Sean Savage, Associate BSC, ACO, SOC discuss their creative process in shooting Game of Thrones. Learn how they approach each scene, a specific shot and how they capture the best performances, while pushing production boundaries. Watch selected clips and hear the inside stories and on set problem solving of shooting this epic production.
Presenters: Fabian Wagner, BSC, Cinematographer, Sean Savage, Assoc BSC, ACO, SOC, Camera Operator
Moderated by: Michael Jorgensen, Filmmaker, Myth Merchant Films
6pm – 8pm (Kinnear Centre, KCC 303)
Summit Reception
Day 3 – Saturday, 25 February
8:30am – 9:30am (Husky Energy Foyer, Max Bell Building)
Registration, coffee with fellow participants
9:30am – 10:30am (Max Bell Auditorium, Max Bell Building)
Welcome, Day 2 Review & Opening Keynote Conversation
The Business of Storytelling
A keynote discussion with John Alan Simon
Story is core to every entertainment property, regardless of platform. But writers sometimes have trouble getting their stories told due to elusive business issues. How do writers turn themselves into smart business people? How do they get projects financed? When should a writer put on a director's hat, or a show runner's hat to guide a project from script to screen?
John Alan Simon, screenwriter/director/producer of the successful indie sci-fi feature Radio Free Albemuth, adapted from Philip K. Dick's acclaimed novel, shares insights from his experience writing and producing at both indie and studio level, as well as his expertise as a producer's rep and in distribution. He describes the development of business and professional skills, content creators need to capitalize on emerging funding and production/distribution opportunities.
10:30am – 11am (Husky Energy Foyer, Max Bell Building)
Coffee Break
11:00am – 12:00pm (Max Bell Auditorium, Max Bell Building)
My Career Path to the Hollywood Set
Hear from Stephen Campanelli, SOC, whose own story could be told in a Hollywood Cinderella story. Growing up in Montreal he had a dream of working with Clint Eastwood since early childhood (even naming his childhood dog, Clint). He is now a working Director and Camera Operator, having worked on over twenty-two of Clint Eastwood movies including Sully, American Sniper, Jersey Boys, J. Edgar, Million Dollar Baby, Mystic River… in addition to many other non-Clint Eastwood productions. Stephen graduated from the "University of Clint Eastwood" where he learned the master's secrets. Learn and hear from Stephen's experience and lessons to chart your own career path.
Moderator: Michael Jorgensen, Filmmaker, Myth Merchant Films
12:15pm – 12:45pm (Max Bell Auditorium, Max Bell Building)
Alternative Content Distribution and Business Opportunities
Content of all types is being consumed and distributed at an ever increasing pace, across all types of platforms and experiences. Audiences want more and this opens up new opportunities for content creators and levels the playing field for monetization. Learn where the opportunities are and how to capitalize on them. As well as where there are potential risks and who are the leaders in these new areas of consumption.
Elizabeth Karr, Producer, Discovery Productions, Mark Lehman, VP Business Development, Worldplay Networks, Alan Cannistraro, Founder and CEO, Rheo TV
Moderated by Alex Gault, Software and Media Entrepreneur
12:15pm – 12:45pm (Max Bell Room 251, Max Bell Building)
How to Monetize the Fastest-Growing Entertainment Market in the World: China
China is hungry for all forms of entertainment, and growth in the Chinese domestic market for entertainment is still accelerating. In this session we will discuss the dos and don'ts of entering the china market.
We will cover:
- How to ensure IP protection in China in the multimedia and entertainment industry
- The different forms of partnerships and corporate structures used when doing business in China
- Managing business partnerships in China
We will discuss a few success stories and examples of common mistakes to avoid when entering the Chinese market.
Presenter: Carl Breau, General Manager, Saimen
1pm – 2:15pm (Vistas Dining Room, Sally Borden Building)
Lunch & Table Tops Discussions with Speakers and Experts
(sign up at registration)
2:30pm – 3:45pm (Max Bell Auditorium, Max Bell Building)
Presented by TELUS STORYHIVE
What's Next in VR and Audience Experience?
Join this group of thought leaders discussing the most innovative ways that VR is being used in storytelling and entertainment. What works in the business of VR and where are the opportunities? What are the responsibilities of content creators to engage their audience and create new and unique experiences? What is the consumption path for VR, AR and 360 content? These topics and more will be discussed. The Future is now…
Presenters: Kim Hsu Guise, Director, Local Content & Original Programming, TELUS, Ed Lantz, Vortex Immersion Media, Patrick McGuire, Head of Content, VICE Canada, Nina Sudra, General Manager, VICE Canada, John D. Canning, VP New Media, Producers Guild of America, Dylan Pearce, Director
Moderated by Kate McCallum, Producer, Writer, Transmedia Consultant
3:45pm – 4:15pm (Max Bell Auditorium, Max Bell Building)
Closing Remarks & Story Summit Recap
Closing Remarks and Recap from the Summits Speakers and Presenters
4:15pm – 5pm (Elder Tom Bear Crane Room, Max Bell Building)
Closing Summit Reception


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So the holidays were a thing. Hope everyone here had a good one. I was traveling around the western US visiting family, so I ended up on planes for the most part of the time off. I'd like to talk about airplanes for a second.
I don't like flying. I'm too stupid to understand how planes actually stay up in the air, so in my mind, I feel like the fact that these thousand ton metal machines are even able to stay up there seems to me to be spitting in the face of science. Like, I know its aerodynamics and all that good stuff, but still. It's pretty crazy when you actually think about it. So for me, sleeping on a plane is impossible. Every time there is the tiniest bit of turbulence, I basically start mentally preparing for my own fiery demise. It's not healthy for sure. If anyone knows how to help with getting over a fear of flying, I'm all ears.
On top of the crazy physics going on to keep those things afloat in the sky, I also read recently that pilots are paid like, fast food employee wages in some cases. That is what's truly terrifying to me. These guys are in one of the most specialized jobs out there that, as far as I'm concerned, require the utmost concentration. Yet their being paid like they're keeping cheeseburgers warm, not transporting a bus with wings full of 200 people at the speed of sound through the damn atmosphere. If I was a pilot, I'd be a little irked that my very demanding role is not being properly appreciated. I know from my own personal experience that when I'm not being valued at my job, I start cutting corners here and there. That's the scary part. If pilots started doing that we'd all be in some serious trouble. Although, when you have that many lives in your hands you probably never slack off even if you feel like you're undervalued. Maybe that's why they're the pilots and I'm the squirmy guy sitting in coach. Hopefully.
So this holiday I was on three different flights. One of them was great, the other two, a total nightmare. One the first one, I had a couple drinks, played some Rocket League on the Switch, and boom, done. Easy peasy.
The next flight was a little seven seater Cessna. That was maybe the worst flight I've ever been on. First of all, the pilot was younger than me, maybe 24 years old. I'm pretty sure he was reading a book on how to actually fly the plane while he was flying the plane. And if you don't know, on those planes you feel every tiny bump of turbulence and it feels like a friggin' rollercoaster ride. We flew through a storm so you could imagine how nice and bumpy that ride was. I was so nervous I sweated through a sweater and a jacket. I was wearing both, and I sweated through them. I'm not kidding.
The last flight, the flight home, ended up getting delayed by about 8 hours. That's another lovely part of air travel. When you live in places that storm a lot, that's what you get. At least when you're delayed you get to stay in the terminal. Which is on the ground. Which is where I like to be. On the ground and in San Diego. It's good to be home.
Word Count: 575


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PM BUZZ: 'I Dream Of NeNe' Super Trailer; Rihanna Shades Fan On IG; Beyonce Pulled Into Crowd
'I Dream Of NeNe' Super Trailer
Grab a chair hunty, because this is about to get good! Not only did NeNe and Gregg walk down the aisle again, they brought high-definition cameras along, which means we get to see every frown line, forehead wrinkle and tears on their journey to the altar. Bravo released the super trailer, chronicling the lead-up to the big day and everything that could go wrong in the process, including: NeNe's attempts to get Greg to sign a prenup, the disaster with the wedding planner, bridesmate-zillas and family drama (of course). We'll be paying very close attention, so make sure you tune in on September 17, 9pm.
Rihanna Shades Fan On IG
Rihanna isn't one of those celebrities whose social media accounts are operated by management, you better believe the "Pour It Up" bad gal is the person behind the QWERTY keyboard on the other end…
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"When you put a seed in the ground, it doesn't stop growing after eight hours. It keeps going every minute that it's in the earth. We, too, need to keep growing every moment of every day that we are on this earth." -- Ruth Asawa
Ruth Asawa, Star (galvanized wire), 1960
Untitled, 1965
"S/145/60" -- steel wire sculpture
Desert Plant Black Reverse 1965
Untitled, 1970's (ink on paper)
Untitled, 1980's (ink on paper)
Desert Flower, ca. 1975
Imogen Cunningham - Ruth Asawa, Sculptor, 1963
Ruth Asawa by Imogen Cunningham
Work Date 1968 Copyright © The Imogen Cunningham Trust


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Expand Your Mind--And Your Business!
Expansion. It can be a bad thing or a good thing depending upon where it's happening. Expansion around the waistline is generally a bad thing. But....
Expansion of the economy is a good thing, but at the present time it doesn't appear to be happening as successfully as the expansion of our maturing waistlines. Is there anything we can do to harness the power of expansion to our benefit? How about expanding our minds?
I'm not talking about the Timothy Leary approach; I'm talking more along the path of expanding our knowledge and skills. Sure, the job opportunities right now may be fewer and further between, but this can be viewed as an opportunity to turn towards upping your mental assets. If you've got extra time on your hands, get out the manuals for that camera or the recent software apps that you've acquired and become proficient in all the features. Tap into the plethora of online resources; there's a myriad of tutorials and instructional programs from Total Training, Lynda.com, Creative Cow, Adobe TV & others. Take a course at a local community college in any one of several production-related subjects; you'll add new skills and new services that you can dangle in front of your clients.
Now is also a good time to expand your contact base! Using the online social networks (LinkedIn and Facebook to name a few) are a great way to stay connected with current clients and colleagues, /and reconnect with past ones. If you haven't set up an account, it only takes a few minutes to get started and then you be amazed at how quickly your connections grow. But don't let these new online tools overshadow the value of good 'ol face to face networking.
One of the best ways to do that is by attending the monthly meetings organized by MCA-I. The presenters and topics are always interesting and provide topical, useful information for the production community. And getting involved as a member can significantly increase your contact options, both locally and with the entire national association. The industry here in the OC is comprised of many "one-person shops" and production boutiques, but we still work in a collaborative business; we rely on the services and support of each other. Essentially, the bigger your network, the better you can work your business.
So how about planning for some expansion through the rest of this year? If you can direct it more towards mental and social growth (and less towards abdominal growth), you'll be poised and ready to pounce with the next phase of economic growth!
Gary Stone
Gold Standard Productions
Gary Stone is one of a number of volunteers currently working to connect all MCA-i members through a number of social network services. In his non-professional life, Gary is not content with watching others have all the adventure. He's a commercial instrument-rated pilot, certified rescue diver, an avid hiker & backpacker and sings with a quartet. He's currently preparing for a 10-day trek on the High Sierra Trail this summer.


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So I typed a nice long post on Blogger… and it was totally bugging out and ate everything ;_; It's still bugging out. In dramatic sadness, I migrated to WordPress immediately. I must say the layouts & interfaces have improved much from 6 years ago.
When I saw this Long Wear BB Cushion at Innisfree's Bugis Junction store, I knew i had to get it. I've been testing this for 2 months now. So long? Well a Long Wear Summer Cushion is timeless is forever hot and humid Singapore! Timeless! Here's my review XD


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Thelma - A Norwegian Zebra PrincessDecember 19th, 2010 in member junk
Lauretta, member
60"H x 30"W x 30"D Assemblage sculpture I made with an old wicker dress form I covered in cloth strips, decoupaged with pages from an old book called "Thelma." I found the Zebra head in a garbage can at a Thrift store that was closing. I then used scraps of metal I welded together for the skirt and waist band. The antique shoe forms made great dancing shoes for the Princess, don't you think????!!!!!
posted in: member junk, vintage, , antiques, assemblage, zebra, lauretta lowell, california assemblage artist, norwegian princess, assemblage artist
Comments (4)
BJjunk writes: Way fun, gives me some ideas for a very old dress form that we have. Posted: 4:32 am on January 17th
CottageElements writes: The shoe forms were perfect and "Thelma" cracks me up. You can weld, too? Great job!
Lani Posted: 8:47 am on December 22nd
Lani Posted: 8:47 am on December 22nd
oldnews writes: Amazing!! Wow! Marie Posted: 7:42 am on December 20th
RustyDiva writes: Thelma is AWESOME!!! Posted: 7:31 am on December 20th
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It sounds like you are going to do a lot of extra coding, to make all of your users come up with security questions and answers, to avoid confusing a user if a poser tries to get his kicks by triggering an unwanted email.
Doesn't that just inconvenience everyone? Do you anticipate a level of abuse that would warrant that?
Maybe I'm missing something. I've never had an issue with the "Forgot Password" email.
The way the forgot password feature works currently in SA (if my understanding is correct), is that any person can click on the forgot password link which prompts for an email address (in our case, the email address is their MemberID because it's unique to them). Once the email address is supplied, the owner of that email address is sent an email containing a password that contains the plain text version of a randomly generated password. Meanwhile the encrypted version of the new password is saved in the database for the owner of the email address (our client).
The problem here is that ANYONE could supply an email address for someone else which would cause a new password to be generated and stored in the database despite the fact that the owner of the email address didn't request it (sometimes the owner of the email address may request it, but there's nothing stopping someone else from entering the user's email address).
When users create their profile the first time, they enter their contact info, and pick from a list of questions we have stored in a table. A question might be "what is the name of your favorite pet?". The user answers this question with a name. They could also choose a question that is more complex that requires a multiple word answer (which is what we suggest they do). It's their choice. We store the question they picked plus their secret answer in their profile. The purpose of the secret question/answer is to ensure we are dealing with the actual user (our client) and not a poser.
It isn't a lot of extra coding because we simply create a table with the list of secret questions and present that to the user in a drop-down list dynamically on their profile page. The question they pick is an option number that corresponds to a question in the secret question table. They don't make up a secret question, they pick from a list of questions and then supply their answer (in the telecom industry there is a law regarding what the questions can be). We can easily retrieve and display the question because we stored the option number from the dynamic list of questions along with their answer in their profile.
The key here is that we are trying to stop posers that are trying to screw with an account because they think it's funny or they are trying to cause our business harm by causing confusion for our customers when our customer gets an email saying their password has been reset (and they didn't request it). The person clicking the forgot password link does NOT need the email address and password because the whole idea here is that the person couldn't remember their password (for the legitimate user). This is to address a person that doesn't necessarily want to get access to the user's info, but more that they intend to cause problems for our clients or our business by creating confusion.
It's already occurring in our business and causes problems for us because we get phone calls from the client wanting to know who requested a password change since they didn't do it. When you find yourself dealing with a few hundred thousand clients, the phone calls and answering emails quickly becomes a problem that costs us money and affects our reputation not counting the hassle for our clients. Picking a secret question from a canned list of questions and supplying a secret answer is very minor since it only occurs when the profile is set up. We offer them the ability to select a new question and supply a new answer when they want to edit their profile info, but they may choose to never change this again after the initial profile was created. Sometimes the secret Q/A is changed because a new person (representing a company) takes on the role of the client and didn't like the previous secret Q/A.
Hopefully this clears up some of the confusion.


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Words by Ashton Vogelhuber
On the third floor of Rockwell Hall, glass encloses a space filled with hums and whirs. This space houses a laser cutter, 3-D printer, embroidery machine, knitting machine, poster printer and textile printer that, when in use, emit these continuous noises. Welcome to the TechStyleLAB.
The TechStyleLAB is part of Kent State's Fashion School and provides resources for students creating projects for classes or during the Fashion/Tech Hackathon in January.
"The wearable technology that the students make at the Hackathon are usually my favorite, because it is a large group of individuals working on a project with a variety of skills," Kevin Wolfgang, the lab's manager, says.
During the Fashion Tech Hackathon, majors collide when students team up to create innovative fashion designs incorporating technology.
"It's more interesting because you may have an engineer, a fashion merchandising major, an art major and an interior designer all working on the same project," Wolfgang says.
When students aren't gearing up for the Hackathon, many fashion majors use the lab to complete class projects.
Senior Krista Zolton, majoring in fashion merchandising, printed mood boards and scarves for both a product development and tech class.
"I think it's cool that we can use the lab, but it's also great to see how it is all used," Zolton says.
Kendall Grice, a junior majoring in fashion merchandising, used the lab's poster printer and textile printer.
"I have made silk scarves that are a project in the fashion tech class," she says.
To use the equipment, a form can be filled out at the lab's website or appointments can be made in the lab.
Students are charged fees to use the equipment in the lab.
"This is all grant funded," Wolfgang says. "There's no budget, it doesn't come out of course fees, unless you're taking a specific course, it doesn't come out of your tuition."
The lab charges students the wholesale cost for the materials they purchase to complete projects. This keeps the lab sustainable. Digitally exclusive projects, however, are free.
The lab also helps students interested in creating a fashion-related business connect and consult with LaunchNET.
"We do programming, we teach workshops, we sponsor the Fashion/Tech Hackathon and discuss entrepreneurial opportunities," Wolfgang says.
Currently, the lab is teaming up with Stan Hywet Hall and Gardens to help protect history.
"We're reprinting some historical textiles for them," Wolfgang says. "They're going to use the printed textiles in the museum and then store the antique textiles for preservation."
The lab is open on weekdays all year from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. and assists anywhere from 10 to 15 students on a given week. It is located on the third floor of Rockwell Hall in room 302.
Ashton Vogelhuber is the technology reporter for The Burr.


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What we now regard as a wedding is not what anybody can just lay his hand on without proper consideration despite the maturity of age. This usually affect the right time to get married of an individual.
The impression of people about what a good wedding should look like is on the high side, that you have to spend lavishly to meet up with this social demand. Nigerians aso ebi, befitted event centers, expensive wedding attire and popular musicians to sing, make the whole thing a change in Nigeria.
Most times, the problem are always the ladies, who won't mind to list the number of their friends or co-workers who had been succeeded in organising such an elaborated wedding ceremony for her husband to see. She won't want to feel inferior and intimidated among her friends with whom she shares the same social status.
With this, the groom will not mind going into huge debt, which they will definitely find difficult to settle for several years. This is because the real financial capacity of the couple do not really matter while they were planning the event.
Those who could not go into huge debt due to one reason or the other will report to selling of expensive wedding uniform (Aso Ebi ) at exorbitant price in order to have their gain. These kind of couples will also invite not less than five thousand people to witness the event.
The question of whether you would be entitled to any refreshment in such kind of event now solely depend on your ability to buy the cloth (Aso Ebi). This is the new trend in town, and most ladies would not mind to do this, just to have a socially respected wedding.
The question of whether you would be entitled to any refreshment in such kind of event now solely depend on your ability to buy the cloth (Aso Ebi). This is the new trend in town, and most ladies would not mind to do this, just to have a socially respected wedding.
I doubt if there is any part in the whole world where wedding ceremonies are celebrated extravagantly without consideration for how the life would be for the couples after marriage like Nigeria. And apart from gaining the social recognition with the regards to the wedding, all others are negative effects which has a way of leading wedding to an end.
Wedding should be a celebration of love not a "show off event", but it is unfortunate that our new culture of living a fake lifestyle has succeeded in changing the real value of marriage from what it used to be.
I can't keep wondering why are people placing more importance to the ways their wedding are celebrated than how to create a happy home after wedding.
Sharing is caring...please kindly share this to others.


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shane's coverage
mac enthusiasts were anticipating something "big" at macworld san francisco 2003. the rumor mills were fairly quiet, and there was nothing being leaked from the mother ship in cupertino. then boom! enough stuff to "fill two macworld expos." jobs announces software galore: the ilife apps (itunes, iphoto, imovie, and idvd–all freely downloadable except idvd, the bundle costs us$49), keynote presentation software, safari web browser developed from open source khtml–with safari's source being released back into open source, final cut express, and x11 for os x . but jobs doesn't stop there. all the rumor sites missed it … we all missed it. jobs rolls out airport extreme–802.11g wireless networking–and then the kickers: two new notebooks. one is a 1ghz 17-inch tft widescreen with 512 mb ram, 60 gb hard drive, slot-loading superdrive, an nvidia geforce 440 go with 64 mb of ddr sdram, and built-in bluetooth and airport extreme (802.11g) card. the "little guy" is the smallest powerbook apple has ever made, which sports a 12.1-inch screen and 1024×768 resolution. it comes equipped with a 867mhz g4 processor with 256 mb ram, a slot-loading combo drive, 40 gb hard drive, nvidia geforce4 420 go with 32 mb ddr sdram, built-in bluetooth, and is airport ready. the new powerbooks run us$3,299 and $1,799 respectively. all the speculation regarding an uproar over the charging for the "iapps" was drowned out by the cheers of joy over the new software and hardware. i can easily see apple integrating sherlock with the new safari web browser in the next 6 months. macworld san francisco surprised me, and apple has started off 2003 with some great software and hardware to build on.
thomas's coverage
well, shane, we didn't all miss it all. i did predict airport extreme, and we brought you news of firewire 800 tuesday morning. :) i was off on the tablet guess, though [rob's note: and the iphone? :)]. i'm glad; i still don't believe in tablets long-term. i thought maybe apple would convince me. during the keynote, when jobs talked about the illuminated keyboards of the 17″ and called it the "17-inch landscape notebook," the hair on my neck stood up. i really thought with the emphasis on "landscape" and "sturdiest keyboard we've ever used" that steve was going to say, "one more thing," and pull the screen off the 17″ powerbook, saying, "it's also a tablet." i fell in love at first site with the 12″ powerbook–i've already ordered one. a powerbook for $1,799? that's what i paid for my ibook (14″ with combo drive)! the ibook is going on ebay in a week and a half! keynote looks great; it's really going to put powerpoint to shame. it makes me wonder if apple will slowly, one app at a time, release its own office killer. safari: forget about it. i've been using it since about 2 p.m. yesterday afternoon. i used to use two browsers to write geek.com material: one to write (omniweb for its in-line spell-checking) and one to browse (omniweb can be painfully slow, and doesn't view many pages quite right). now i just use safari; it has in-line spell-checking and it's a great browser. i just realized it also lets you use the "find" feature in your bookmarks, in case you have a huge collection like mine and need some help! apple really did a great job for a beta! this is not only the fastest browser i've ever used on the mac platform, it's the fastest browser i have ever used period. now if apple would only add tabbed browsing … it's also beyond cool that it's an overhaul of konqueror (or at least it's based on khtml from kde), and it just gets that much better when steve announces that all the work the engineers did on safari is open source and will be shared with the community. gee, i wonder why apple is becoming so popular with the slashdot crowd … final cut express at $299 is fantastic. i have a buddy who just graduated from film school. he's kicking himself now because he scraped and saved for months to get final cut pro (at $999). while in the long-run he will likely need the features of pro, it would have been nice for him to have started his career 8 months ago, just buying express. this is going to open the door to so many aspiring film-makers who don't have financiers (be they parents or otherwise) willing to fork over $1,000 for software. lastly, apple also quietly announced x11 for mac os x yesterday. steve really should have announced this at the expo. if you're not familiar with x11, it's the window-system that unix and linux use. this is the os layer that provides their gui. since mac os x is based on a unix distribution (the bsd-based darwin), you can apply a second gui layer to it and simultaneously run x11 and aqua. why would you want to do that? apps. linux apps can be very easily ported to run in darwin, but not in aqua. darwin is totally open, but aqua is not. if you have your own x windows system (x11), you can run ported linux apps in that! there have been some others out for a while, but this is a) apple-approved and supported, and b) a much easier installation than the others. if you're wondering what sort of linux app anyone with a mac would be interested in, check out filmgimp. i must say, this is not the macworld i expected, but i am giddy as a schoolgirl (especially with the knowledge that my new powerbook is on the way)!
rob's coverage
this isn't the macworld i was expecting either, but it seems like it hardly ever is lately. apple did a good job playing to its strengths: software, integration, and laptop hardware. there were no new desktops announced, as there are no new g4 chips to be had. i'm expecting a 1.4ghz g4 sometime in february, but that may or may not happen. some of the announcements were actually pretty huge, once you get the sadness of "no new chips again?" out of your heart. if you didn't think that apple was targeting the geeks before, you know that it is now. first, let's look at the software. the safari browser frees mac users from internet explorer. one thing i didn't notice was whether it supported pop-up blocking. it had a very simple interface and flash built-in. not only that, but it's developed from an open source project, and the code was set to be released back into the wild. that means, i'm assuming, that we could see an updated khtml or even a safari for windows. on top of that, apple is not only embracing open source and working with the community, it switched its core to a unix-based derivative with os x and now is supporting x11. i suppose jobs didn't mention that because half of the audience wouldn't understand the significance, but maybe he wanted to keep it a low profile as more and more linux-loving geeks start buying apple notebooks. os x lets all those linux/unix geeks use the command line interface that they are used to. windows does not. have you tried to use the built-in telnet for windows, or any of its text tools? it seems like each new release of windows loses more features and has more "bugs" that don't get fixed. it's terrible. the apple notebooks were quite impressive. i thought 16″ might be the limit in screen size, but apple brought us to 17″. of course, that's a "widescreen" 17″, so it probably has about the same screen area as a non-widescreen 16″ lcd since it doesn't have to be as tall. that aside, the keyboard on that massive beast looks like it's lost in all the plastic. why not a full-sized ergo keyboard? the backlight is neat, though. the tiny powerbook with 12″ screen looked incredibly small. i could actually see myself carrying around a laptop of that size. apple has played to its strengths. it's predicting a larger move to the notebook market, and this may push a lot of people in that direction. so, the fastest laptop chip apple has to offer is 1ghz? this year intel will release its banias chip that will top out at 1.6ghz. the difference between 1ghz and 1.6ghz isn't that great (as opposed to 1ghz vs. 3.06ghz), and apple is playing this the right way, as its products are engineered very nicely. both laptops are less than 1″ thick [update: actually, they are about 1.2″ thick. my bad – rob]. that's really nice. i don't know that this will move apple laptops into corporations, but the geek elite will have to take a long look at these new products. there are some quicktime ads online where you can get a peek at the new laptops being used. i would also suggest watching the keynote speech, especially if you are planning to write some anti-mac stuff. apple is really far ahead of anyone in digital media integration and ease of use, as well as laptop design.
user comments 154 comment(s)
|x11 on apple: more open source software!!! (1:25pm est wed jan 08 2003)
finally x11 (x-window) on os x. now you don't have to build x11 yourself. now there is a lot of open source gui for os x. – by open source mac
|apple's web site… (1:41pm est wed jan 08 2003)
says the smaller notebook is 1.18 inches thick. – by spud boy
|safari (1:59pm est wed jan 08 2003)
it does block the popups…that much i've already tested.
something that just floors me is that with every new release, apple software runs faster on the same hardware! i'm still limping along on my g4 400 sawtooth, but its maxed out with ram and every new release of os x and this new browser runs faster!
try that moving to windows xp from 2k
its a great time to be an apple user.
now i'm just going to hold on a bit longer till ibm starts supplying their powermac chips to buy a new workstation. – by 505
|apple becoming the next microsoft? (2:24pm est wed jan 08 2003)
it seems like apple is designing all these products (ilife, safari, etc) that makes using a mac much easier. i don't have a problem with that. however, when microsoft did the same thing, everyone cried foul. when apple does it everyone cries innovation. now apple is coming out with their own internet browser. when microsoft tied ie into windows, netscape yelled monopoly. but for some reason it's perfectly fine for apple to do it. over the past couple years, apple is creating more and more of their own products, which is exactly what microsoft has been doing for years, but apple is being applauded. why the different treatment? why should microsoft be restricted from what they can include and bundle when apple is free to do what they want because they are the minority? – by dreek
|still no osx on x86. (2:25pm est wed jan 08 2003)
either it ran very slow on todays x86 cores or apple is building up apps for a huge x86 os bundle. – by tech
|x86 (2:30pm est wed jan 08 2003)
i doubt that there will ever be an os x for x86. however, a bundle of the iapps for x86 is very interesting. apple would have the problem of distributing and supporting all of that on such an open architecture platform though, and i doubt they would want the hassle. – by kirk
|@dreek (2:43pm est wed jan 08 2003)
the main differences between apple's and microsofts approaches are imo:
– when you decide not to use safari, the iapps, sherlock, etc.. you just drag their icons to the trash and empty it. never again wil the os bother you with them. try that with ie (or any other installed software on a windows system, especially when it' microsofts own) it won't work. so, of course the apps are highly optimized with os x, the os itsself is not dependant on them (except for quicktime, but you could omit the movieplayer, without running into trouble).
– apple uses open standards, for instance the quicktime codecs are available for other media-players on several platforms. or for instance the use of pdf (instead of a windows metafile), and rtf (instead of doc).
– apple shares (part of) their development with the open-source community. safari is open, the underpinnings of os x are open, etc.
those are big differences. – by johan-olof
|dreek… (2:47pm est wed jan 08 2003)
apple is not turning into ms. comparing ms's ie to safari is not good. if you actually used the new browser, you'd see that safari is based off of gekko and is open source, something that is found in netscape, mozilla, chimera, etc. second, it's not intergrated into the system like ie was with windows.
people cried foul about microsoft because microsoft really stuck their customers in a pigeon hold when it came down to choices. apple is not forcing you to use their software like ms does on a regular basis. ::cough:: ms office ::cough cough:: apples software, unlike many ms products, actually attracts users because of how intuitive it is. people actually want to use it, not just use it because the boss says so.
people who compare apples tactics to those of microsoft obviously do not know enough about apple to make these speculations.
– by jb
|you guys make me laugh (3:23pm est wed jan 08 2003)
what is with you linux geeks? i have no problem with linux or even open-source at all – i actually run a red hat distro on one of my comps. the thing i hate about the real linux geeks (and apple fanatics increasingly), is that anything that is not open source is evil, and since microsoft is the king of all things proprietary(except of course xml), that anything microsoft is evil. get off of your psuedo-socialist high-horse. open-source tends to have more problems than proprietary because of the loose way that developers can implement a specific technology – look at firewire and bluetooth for examples. the problem very often with ms is not the "proprietary nature" of their products, it's the often short-sightedness of qa. this is a problem throughout american companies. the proper solution would be to abandon ms developed apps and products until they increase the quality of their products. the main reason many people don't leave microsoft is because despite all their flaws, they still develop applications that are robust, full-featured, and easy to use(but not to master). if people have a problem with ie being tightly integrated to windows, don't buy a windows machine – microsoft cannot force you to use ie unless they put a gun to your head and say "double click the 'e'" which ironically enough is the tactic used by mediocre competitors such as apple, aol, and sun – they have uncle sam put a gun to bill's head and say "include this browser that you don't find efficient."
get over it geeks, all the technologies have their respective flaws and their respective strengths – they'll all find their market, and if they fail those markets with shoddy products they will be punished by those markets. – by procapitalist
|everyday…just a little closer…. (3:25pm est wed jan 08 2003)
everytime i see a little more come from apple and a little smarter i am moving toward…but i still need a few things, a little more – not much but some – gaming ability (i love my games) and more ability to play with my hardware…not a whole lot but some stuff…and maybe if they get around to it, some more speed (but i really dont need it because everything i do is not superprocessor dependent) – by distempered
|dreek (3:41pm est wed jan 08 2003)
you are obviously a microsoft brown-nose. in your own words you showed your ignorance �when microsoft tied ie into windows�. apple hasn�t �tied� anything to its os, they�ve developed an alternative. microsoft rammed ie down windows users� throats by burying it in the os. have you ever tried to remove it? you couldn�t until the federal courts made them provide the user a way to uninstall it. and why is �apple is free to do what they want�? because they don�t require the user to install the software, let alone use it. try taking your head out of bill gates� butt once in a while you�re suffering from asphyxiation. – by rcv
|math (4:03pm est wed jan 08 2003)
"i thought 16″ might be the limit in screen size, but apple brought us to 17". of course, that's a "widescreen" 17″, so it probably has about the same screen area as a non-widescreen 16″ lcd since it doesn't have to be as tall." — rob
rob, a = s^2/2 for orthogonal quadrilaterals.
a square is the minimum perimeter of an orthogonal quadrilateral for a set area = a. – by jj brannon
|10x the innovation on 1/10th the budget (4:08pm est wed jan 08 2003)
as a software company, apple has proven to be superior to microsoft in every way and in every catagory. their design approach and philosophy. the quality and stability of their releases, from 1.0 up. their standards support. everything. nothing on the windows platform approaches what the ilife bundle does. the seamless continuity between apps in interface and execution. the artistic sense in design is incredible. they really think about which features people want and which features are probably just bloatware. their apps and os are modular and lean. just outstanding.
microsoft's design philosophy is simple: be first to market (or rip off apple as fast as possible) corner it, than fix the problems later (while charging people for it). their 1.0 releases are always unuseable. their feature-bloat is used to justify upgrade costs. no thought is given to ergonomics and their style is just plain aweful.
there's a reason the only divisions of microsoft that are successful are the ones with entrenched and legally proven monopolies: windows and office. every other division is a money losing venture.
it's all about where their heart is in the end. both are companies and are looking for profit, but one does it with style and care as an innovator that loves the game, the other is a rough bully that only wants to win. – by dr alien
|by the way (4:16pm est wed jan 08 2003)
the windows xp installer still loses track of files it needs during the installation and asks the user to locate them on the disk! the friggin system installer can't find it's own files in it's own directory structure. nice innovation.
the mac platform has it all now. integrated apps for every media type, global contact and calender access and synchronizing with open api's and standards support. all on a solid, secure unix os with a journaled file system and opengl interface. theres really no contest. – by dr alien
|actualy jb (4:44pm est wed jan 08 2003)
the browser is based on konquer, still open, just not assosiated to any big browser out there like gekko/netscape is. – by death cab for cutie
|apple and microsoft part 2 (4:59pm est wed jan 08 2003)
some of you (ie rcv, johan, and jb) are obviously anti microsoft. i am, in fact, not a microsoft brown nose. i do appreciate microsoft products and what they have done for the computer industry. i am also a linux user. do i like that microsoft has bundled ie to windows? sure. that way i don't have to worry about installing windows and not having ie. anybody using any version of windows is not forced into using ie. sure it is always there in some versions of windows, but anyone can install netscape, opera, or anything else choose. just because microsoft makes it a convenience by integrating it into windows does not mean they are making it impossible to use another browser. i don't understand what the big deal with integrating ie into windows. i wouldn't care if apple did it with safari only if it wasn't "illegal" for microsoft.
one thing is certain, if one day microsoft decided to make their own computer, that only ran windows, not allowing linux or other oss to be installed, don't you think there would be a big deal made out of it? they would be prohibited from doing it. yet apple not only makes the computer, makes the os, and makes software that runs on it, but they are now making more and more programs and now even an open source browser. sounds like even more control than microsoft. – by dreek
|yawn!!!! (4:59pm est wed jan 08 2003)
zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz – by joe
|perhaps you're missing the point… (5:15pm est wed jan 08 2003)
apple doesn't control 95% of the desktop market though. when you are a monopoly everything you do gets scrutinized, especially by government regulators (i used to work for the phone company so believe me i know this). if apple controled 95% of the market all this iapp, ical, isync, browser stuff would be heavily scrutinized. it would be viewed as monopolistic behavior. however, since apple has only a small part of the market, nobody is going to cry foul at them. apple is doing what they feel they need to do to compete. whereas microsoft can practically print its own money. – by joejoe
|dreek / procapatilist (5:38pm est wed jan 08 2003)
the problem with microsoft and ie /etc is not that microsoft is good / bad / ugly. it's that microsoft is essentially a monopoly in the desktop market (and economics major would agree that 90% market share translates to monopoly). monopolies are not bad, but there are things that they cannot legally do, when they do them they are bad. this is the problem with microsoft's business practices. apple can never do this, they will never have 90% market share. – by mac convert
|joejoe (5:42pm est wed jan 08 2003)
ha, nearly simultateous posts… darn the phone calls – by mac convert
|joe joe… (5:47pm est wed jan 08 2003)
my point exactly. they shouldn't be treated differently just because one controls the market and another doesn't. it would be like dell being told they can't include sound cards in their computers when smaller computer manufacturers can include it. – by dreek
|dreek… (5:54pm est wed jan 08 2003)
they absolutely should be treated differently – go look up monopolies in a law or economics textbook…. – by mac convert
|note to all about monopolies (6:01pm est wed jan 08 2003)
check and econ text, monopolies aren't by themselves bad. there needs to be a desktop monopoly, microsoft just happens to be it. however, there are certain things that a monopoly cannot and should not be allowed to do. any time they use their monopoly power to leverage another product, it is illegal and immoral. it's called anti-competitive tactics. it's just wrong, just as wrong as price-gouging by pre-deregulation of phone companies.
a desktop os monopoly is needed in many ways, however if microsoft does things to stifle competition in other markets that it is in by utilizing it's os monopoly power, it is wrong. end of story. if microsoft wasn't a monopoly it wouldn't be illegal.
note: if dell had a market share of 95% market share of desktop unit design and decided to "upgrade" their mb design to edge out third-party soundcard manufactures, then that would be illegal. other than that dreek's analogy isn't valid. – by mac convert
|dreek/procapatilist (6:08pm est wed jan 08 2003)
if there were no holds on monopolies, compitition will cease to exist. say good bye to open source or anything else. companies like microsoft can lock out other os's and charge what ever they want. frankly do what ever they want. i don't get why you don't don't understand this? we are talking about freedom! maybe you prefer a totalitarian state.
ps be happy no one ownes the internet! – by mixmedia
|egads….. (6:14pm est wed jan 08 2003)
….here we go again. ie was originally a separate little program on it's own, but as i recall it was about the time they had version 4 with the "shell enhancements" for windows 98 (1st edition) is when microsoft began bundling it into the operating system.
ergo it couldn't be "removed" without destroying the os and therefore was microsoft's reasoning in the anti-trust lawsuit. that this was happening after the fact wasn't lost on anyone, but it was really netscape that dropped the ball in the david and goliath fight.
so apple makes a new browser–good for them, no surprise it runs faster when optimized for osx. i think the most interesting thing about the keynote (aside from the two glowing apple logos on either side of steve–a little spooky there) was the 12 inch powerbook. at $500 less it would probably be a giant killer, but the 17 inch is little more than a technological exercise—who's got the biggest? (btw, enough with titanium, how about a lead powerbook so when you've had enough you can clobber someone with it?)
but i agree with some of the other posters, apple is not the font of all innovation and creatvity in the universe, and the same steps by microsoft would be seen as some totalitarian exercise.
true, apple spend a huge amount on research and development, and is probably more productive with it than in the drudge days of the mid-nineties, but steve still continues on making artsy machines that are pretty but not really for the masses.
the lessons of the original imac should lave been learned, a cheap little machine is what sells and what gets people started, not high quality art pieces. as i mentioned to el gropo probably a year ago, the best thing steve could do would be to get a beige case (not the old beige macs but a standard atx case) with a standardized motherboard and start licensing parts and motherboards.
|egads (2) (6:15pm est wed jan 08 2003)
(expect some quote about how no, i said exactly this, etc, etc.) a little wal-mart machine would probably make more difference than all the 17 inch powerbooks in the world.
but much like an old miser steve concentrates on the "whole package" approach (like the apple stores) which takes the view that anyone other than apple making parts or computers is cutting into his pie. if steve wants to "save" the world from microsoft (or was it ibm?) he'll have to give to win, otherwise apple will probably stay about where it is. – by ziwiwiwiwiwiwiwiwiwi
|egads (3) (6:28pm est wed jan 08 2003)
shows it's not impossible, although at $470 the price would be too much to make it worth it. but prices are an economy of scale, imagine the same sort of board in mass production with a power4 processor….
(the board is intended for ppc linux, btw, even if it does use a g3.) – by ziwiwiwiwiwiwiwiwiwi
|dreek (7:46pm est wed jan 08 2003)
first, the issue with microsoft is that it used its os monopoly to force itself into new markets. apple neither has an os monopoly nor is it forcing itself into the browser market (you can use os x quite well without safari, as others have pointed out windows will not run without ie).
second, apple does allow other os's to run on their hardware (mandrake linux ppc, for instance).
third, apple is a hardware company, and their software exists to add value to their hardware sales. no one complains that dell bundles musicmatch on their pcs, nor did anyone complain when all the clone makers bundled their own crappy windows shells and answering machine software on the pcs they sold.
the primary thing to remember, and the reason microsoft's tactcs were deemed illegal, is that microsoft is a monopoly. monopolies have to play by different rules than the rest of us, because the free market constrains other companies. for instance, apple using os x to obtain a large market lead in web browsers by making no other browser run in os x would be both ineffective (safari would only gain a relatively small portion of the browser marketplace) and suicidal (they would break os x which itself has competition and therefore would not be able to withstand the competitive disadvantage).
this is why antitrust laws exist.
being a monopoly is not illegal.
bundling products is not illegal.
using one's influence in one market to obtain influence in another market is not illegal.
being a monopoly *and* using that monopoly status to obtain a lead or a monopoly in another market using tactics such as bundling *is* illegal.
– by jet tredmont
|drool (8:07pm est wed jan 08 2003)
the 12″pb (with superdrive, of course, and probably a t68i and an elura minidv cam) may actually be what finally gets me to switch from linux for my carry-around machine… a "switch" from making things work to *using* things that work :-) – by _me_
|17 inch (8:21pm est wed jan 08 2003)
i would like one of those 17 inch powerbooks, to bad i can't run windows on it, i guess apple has a monopoly. – by smart
|jj brannon… (8:27pm est wed jan 08 2003)
rob's math is good. a 17 in. diagonal @ a 16:10 ratio is a rectangle of 9 x 14.4, or 129.6 sq in.
a diagonal of 17 in. @ a 4:3 ratio is a rectangle of 10.2 x 13.6, or 138.7 sq in.
rob says that a 17 in. widescreen is about the same as 16 in standard screen (4:3), which is right because 16 in. @ a 4:3 ratio is 9.6 x 12.8, or 122.9 sq in.
your comment about perimeter has nothing to do with what rob was talking about…
i was suprised to read your post because you usually post valid comments…
careful… you don't want to start sounding like ziwiwiwiwiwiwiwiwiwiwiwiwiwiwiwiwiw
|re: peter (8:41pm est wed jan 08 2003)
in other words it's a rectangle. are we feeling bitter today? try a happy pill, and smile at the sunshine. – by ziwiwiwiwiwiwiwiwiwi


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Recently I wrote a post on Psychology Today wondering why the selfie phenomenon hadn't been embraced by brands. Selfies capture an authentic moment because it does something that we haven't done before, allowed the photographer and the subject to be one and the same. Apparently I don't get out enough. A few days ago I saw what I'm sure is going to be only one of many creative uses of selfies in advertising that captures their playful and participatory qualities—an Epic Selfie Shootout between NBA basketball star Kobe Bryant and international soccer star Lionel Messi for Turkish Airlines. (See Sam Thielman's write up in AdWeek)
Selfies are immediate, personal, and authentic. Selfies are fun, participatory and transient. Selfies capture a moment. Selfies are playful. Selfies challenge social norms about portraiture and a bunch of other things. I've been surprised that aren't brands using them more. The more we recognize selfies as visual journals, the sooner people will realize that they do not represent the decline of civilization or a narcissistic generation.
This seems like a natural for brands that sell experience and identity, like #Nike or #Starbucks. Why aren't they asking for consumer selfies? Or better yet, why isn't the #Surfrider Foundation? What could be more compelling than the personal experience of surfing? Usually brand marketers are all over this kind of thing.
Yes. Selfies are weird to everyone who didn't teethe on a camera phone. That doesn't make them bad, just uncomfortable. Yes. Selfies are self-centered. That's the point. Otherwise we wouldn't call them selfies. It's not a psychiatric diagnosis. Selfies let you experience being both the photographer and the subject. You are mugging for yourself; you are celebrating yourself; you are experiencing yourself. I know, I know, they end up on Instagram. But long before that happens comes the psychological switch that happens when you flip the lens on your iPhone. You are in control of both sides. That's pretty significant power shift and quite new.
Are you hesitant to ask a stranger to take your picture in a restaurant, in front of Tiffany's or at the Eiffel Tower? Would you ever do that when you're alone? Selfies not only let you take that picture when you're alone but they let you vamp like Audrey Hepburn at Breakfast at Tiffany's and have this mini-story experience all by yourself. Tiffany's knows about story. Where are the selfies? Selfies allow you to frame the experience for yourself with your own sensibility no matter where you are. It turns everyone into storytellers.
So why aren't brands enlisting all these visual storytellers? There are, admittedly, a few clever campaigns happening around selfies besides the Selfie Shoot-out I mentioned above (JCrew for one) but few capture the emotion or experience that comes from selfie control of the lens. (Let me know of ones you've seen!). So far most have following the new "selfie norm" about a decorated self. It's a way. But, as the Turkish Airlines campaign shows, selfies can also about experiencing self, life and time. There's a huge amount of energy to be unleashed here that's about those distinctly and positive human experiences, joy and playfulness, that have nothing to do social validation.
Check it out on YouTube: Kobe vs. Messi: The Selfie Shootout


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Know Your Credit Score Now: If you do not know your credit score — and you plan to finance a new car — get your credit report/score. Some dealers will try and make you feel less creditworthy than you actually are.
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Born This Way Body Arts is home to award-winning, talented body piercing technicians. Our resident piercers work daily to help make your piercing dreams come true. We are home to the only piercers in Knoxville, TN, no the entire state of Tennessee, that are members of the Association of Professional Piercers! The Association of Professional Piercers is a, international non-profit organization dedicated to the dissemination of vital health and safety information about body piercing to piercers, health care professionals, legislators, and the general public.
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8 Feb 2019
Suppliers Required to Register in European Product Database for Energy Labelling
The European Commission has announced that suppliers – manufacturers, importers or authorised representatives – need to register their appliances, which require an energy label, in the European Product Database for Energy Labelling (EPREL), before selling them on the European Union market. A range of data and documentation will need to be uploaded into the database, for all products that are subject to EU energy labelling rules. The product database will serve the following purposes: to support market surveillance authorities, including inspection and enforcement actions; to provide the public with information about the products and their energy labels; and to provide the Commission with up-to-date energy efficiency information for products for reviewing energy labels. The database has a public part that can be accessed by anyone, and a compliance part that can be accessed by the authorities.
Hong Kong sellers of household electrical appliances such as washing machines, dryers and refrigerators will recall that the energy labelling requirements for individual product groups have been created under the EU's Energy Labelling framework Regulation (2017/1369). The legal basis for the development of the product database stems from this Regulation on Energy labelling, and the database is said to have started applying from 1 January 2019. The Energy Labelling Regulation 2017/1369 itself resulted from a revision of the previously existing Directive 2010/30/EU.z
Regulation 2017/1369 makes reference to the obligations of the supplier. The supplier is defined as "a manufacturer established in the Union, the authorised representative of a manufacturer who is not established in the Union, or an importer, who places a product on the Union market". Thus, in the case of Hong Kong sellers, the supplier for the purposes of registration would be either the importer of electrical appliances or else the Hong Kong manufacturer's authorised representative in the EU.
For products placed on the EU market between 1 August 2017 and 1 January 2019, the registration by the suppliers can be done until 1 July 2019. For products placed on the EU market before 1 August 2017, registration is carried out on a voluntary basis.
Product information to be entered in the database relates to the energy label, technical documentation and compliance information. Prior to registration, suppliers will have to create an EU login account. The EPREL guidelines explain how to register as a new supplier-user and how to upload product models in the database.
According to a European Commission announcement, the label generator is an easy-to-use tool for creating a tailor-made energy label for a product in high-resolution pdf format, for printing or online publication.
The following product groups are subject to registration:
- Air conditioners
- Cooking appliances (domestic)
- Dishwashers (household)
- Heaters (space and water heaters)
- Lamps
- Local space heaters
- Refrigerating appliances (household)
- Refrigeration (professional)
- Solid fuel boilers
- Televisions
- Tumble dryers
- Tyres
- Vacuum cleaners
- Ventilation units (residential)
- Washing machines (household)
As for the data that needs to be uploaded, Article 12 and Annex I of Regulation 2017/1369 specify what the database should look like, and which data will need to be uploaded to it. The database consists of a public part, a compliance part and an online portal giving access to those two parts. For suppliers, the following is required:
- the name or trademark, address, contact details and other legal identification of the supplier (public part);
- the model identifier (public part);
- the label in electronic format (public part);
- the energy efficiency class(es) and other parameters of the label (public part);
- the parameters of the product information sheet in electronic format (public part);
- the model identifier of all equivalent models already placed on the market (compliance part);
- the following technical documentation (compliance part):
- a general description of the model, sufficient for it to be unequivocally and easily identified;
- references to the harmonised standards applied or other measurement standards used;
- specific precautions that shall be taken when the model is assembled, installed, maintained or tested;
- the measured technical parameters of the model;
- the calculations performed with the measured parameters;
- testing conditions if not described sufficiently in another point.
Customers using the public part of the product database must be able to easily identify the best energy class populated for each product group, allowing them to compare model characteristics and to choose the most energy-efficient products.
Customers will be able to search the EPREL database for energy labels and product information sheets as from the second quarter of 2019.
For hyperlinks to logging in and obtaining the guidance, please see the following Commission's webpage.


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As soon as I heard the words poetry the Indian artist had my attention. Amongst the "you look my stuff" jewellery beach traders, the "you want dolphin boat ride ma'am" tour guides and the rip off ayurvedic masseuses prowling the beaches of Goa, the offer of buying a genuine piece of someone's art certainly seemed like a refreshing respite. I looked over and smiled as he walked towards me, advertising his poems. "Anyone like to hear some poetry?" He asked. Yeah defo I thought to myself. He continued calling out as he approached my sun bed. I'm sitting up getting ready to give him my full attention, when suddenly I hear him say "I got every kind of poetry...I got love poetry...sex poetry...f*** poetry." He then added a whole other selection of vulgar poems he had just before stopping by my feet. Eeek!! I felt like someone had thrown up on me. Shocked, I asked him why he was saying that, like seriously dude…you have got to refrain from using that kind of filthy language! He responded that people want to hear it. Errr, not everyone, I informed him! He clearly thought I was mad...and off he went on his merry way, loudly continuing to advertise his vulgar poetry on the beach front.
The next day I see him again, as I'm walking past and there he is...calling out to people to buy his obscene poetry, using the same foul vocabulary as yesterday to arouse interest. Once again my ears were graced with his filthy sales pitch. I stopped and approached him. I asked him why he felt the need to use such obscene language to sell his art. I kindly informed him, that it was wrong of him to approach people with the assumption that this type of foul language was okay with them. He said "sorry maam, but I think you're the only person on this beach who's uncomfortable with it...people on the beach like this kind of talk. I said I doubted that given how many young families were on the beach. And then I added that even if the whole beach was accustomed to that type of profanity it didn't mean he needed to stoop that low just to suit what he thought people wanted to hear - surely he had more self respect than that. He shrugged his shoulders. I walked away shaking my head like an old granny.
The following day I'm chilling at a different beach further along and there he is again, walking towards me. Suddenly my heart goes out to him as I contemplate just how far he has to walk each day to share his art and earn a living. This time however, I hear him advertising his art without a single profanity clearly in consideration towards little old moi, and so as he approaches my bed he says "poetry...poetry... respectable poetry..." I smile at him, encouraged by the change, and he comes over, sits down on my sunbed and suddenly he apologies about yesterday. He tells me he wasn't able to receive what I was saying...because he was irritated about other stuff that had happened and so wasn't willing to listen to something that could potentially teach him something valuable. Wow, how humble. He explained that although he sort of understood where I was coming from he still didn't see anything wrong in what he was doing. People liked to hear words like that he said. He explained that he believed he totally had self respect...but that he liked to shock people and gain their attention. He liked making people smile...and if people liked that kind of language then what was wrong with making people happy by using such vulgarities. He shared that when he made people laugh, it made him feel liked and accepted.
I told him that I understood, but just because everyone seemingly liked profanity it didn't make it okay. He could still choose to be wholesome if he wanted to - instead of lowering his moral standards in order to gain the approval of mere strangers - who within a fleeting second of hearing his "shockingly" obscene sales pitch were most likely to completely forget about him. Therefore was the shock tactic really worth it? I made the statement that surely his poetry was good enough by itself, without it needing to be reduced to a bunch of shocking profanities in order to be accepted. He quietly nodded and then said "no one will be interested in hearing my stuff if I don't sell it this way. The vulgarities are what attract people's attention."
My heart grieved at the deception that held him hostage. Desperately wanting to make him understand it wasn't his profanity that had aroused my interest – it was his art form, I said "geezer...you had me at poetry!" I added that there are other people like me who want to hear and read and experience wholesome art. I advised him not to throw his pearls at swines and tried to convince him that he didn't need to lower the tone of his art for the sake of likeability or to generate sales. Be true to your art - surely if people are only buying your poetry because they want to read the F word and not because they dig your gift then hey they ain't worth selling to. I implored him not to sell out. Finally I gave him an example of when I was doing Stand Up Comedy - I had a choice. I could use the usual sexually oriented, self demeaning, cursing, x-rated, material in my act or I could work much harder in order to stay true to myself and use only clean, wholesome material on stage. I chose the latter and as challenging as it may have been I didn't sell out to suit the masses. I suggested he did the same. We actually had a great convo. I shared how vulgar I too had been before having my mind renewed as a Christian. He was intrigued and asked me loads of questions about my faith and said what I'd shared definitely made sense. Before leaving he promised he'd read some of Jesus' words to get some wisdom. Over the next few days whenever I would see him on the beach he would call me "poetry lady" and after a brief chat he would walk much further away before tentatively unleashing his shocking sales pitch.
Imagine my joy though, when a few days later he comes to me and tells me he has totally reassessed his "sales pitch" after being told the same thing by several other people on the beach. He tells me he now says..."I write all kinds of poetry…funny poetry…love poetry…naughty poetry". I smile, totally pleased with the turnaround...grateful for his renewed mind. He thanks me for helping him understand a better way. Haha! So, it's with a real sense of appreciation that I ask him to share some of his poetry with me on the final day of my holiday. He happily shares all his clean stuff with me and when I select his Mandela Poem to buy asking him how much to pay him he tells me he couldn't ask me for payment given that I had already given him something so valuable. Wow. How crazy mad encouraging. Yet I do pay him, for I wanted to bless him…and I wanted to honour him for keeping it clean. I was totally blessed too, for I believe our conversations were a turning in the tide for this young artist…and for me personally I loved seeing his outlook transform into a positive, wholesome view that would certainly bear good fruit in his life.
As I pondered my encounters with him, I was all too aware that we all have similar sorts of decisions to make time and time again...whether as artists or as people in general. Each day we too are faced with various choices where we will need to decide if we will be people pleasers or God pleasers...if we will choose to stand set apart, steadfast upon our convictions or if we will succumb to dancing to the drumbeat of the masses, simply to fit in...simply to be accepted...simply to be popular.
You know I think of this poet on the beach…who was so willing to lower his standards in order to be acknowledged…in fact he had become so desensitised to that which is vulgar that he hadn't even realised how foul it was…he had just assumed that because it was what everybody wanted it was okay…and so he was ready to provide it. He was ready to be obscene because it made him attractive…it drew people to him...it caused people to laugh with him...and for a moment...though short lived...He felt he was accepted. His art was accepted. His talent was accepted. Likewise I think as creatives we can mould ourselves or our art to suit the masses…we provide what we think people want to see...or hear…or read. We think if we give people exactly what they want then they will accept us or accept our creativity...or they will affirm us...yet the truth is that whatever we use to attract someone is the very thing we will need to keep using in order to sustain their interest. Not just with our art but with everything in life…
Therefore I reckon it's always better to keep it real...that way those that hang around you do so because they know and love the real you...or those that invest in your creativity do so because it's a genuine reflection of who you are, not a mirage that's been created just to fit in…and those that become a fan of your work do so out of genuine affection and approval of what you carry not because you misled them or because you have compromised. It's a question we must be willing to ask ourselves…as artists what are we willing to compromise for the sake of acceptance? Similarly, as Christians what are we willing to compromise in order to stay cool, to avoid persecution or to be accepted by this world…a world which is ultimately fading away? See because the truth is that we don't need to compromise at all. Because we have been accepted just as we are, in fact we have been accepted warts and all, in our very worst condition. We don't have to change our personality, our art, our gift or our faith to fit in or to get anyone to accept us because we are already fully irrevocably accepted as we are. And what we all carry is unique and beautiful and does not need to adapt to make people like us. We are anointed to be successful in our God given destinies whether people support us or not.
Yet as we continue to grow in our faith and at the same time discover our callings and the God given impact that we can have upon our families, our society, and upon our generation, we will find ourselves time and time again faced with the challenge of doing things the way the world does or doing things Kingdom style. And as hard and as at times lonely as it may be to stand for all that is noble, pure, true, holy, praiseworthy and lovely…without compromise…without shame, with conviction - it is so worth it, because the more we stand up for what's right…what's truly right the more we will empower change. And though we may at times be in the minority, lives will surely be impacted one at a time...if only we determine that, one single voice, as hushed and overlooked as it may often seem in the intense clamour of this world…can indeed make a difference. x


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Back to About Us
Lori Reading President
Lori is fascinated by all the different types of people in the world. She prefers the nicer ones. If people-watching was a paid job, she'd apply! Strangers are just friends she hasn't met yet.
"Hahahaha….good times"-- Megan
My Favorites
How I Roll
More About MeYear started at ITB: Trick Question for me – I started on Day 1!Something most don't know about you: I was a nanny in New YorkFavorite swag: Bags and anything on the quirky sideFavorite quote:
"Be yourself, everyone else is already taken"-- Oscar Wilde
The # Game3 - granddogs and grandkids10 - fingers that do not have nail polish on them1 - glasses of wine I prefer daily (that can fluctuate depending on the day!)28 - years I've been married to the SAME man1 - of 5.8 billion people NOT on facebook.


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Don't you think the games now are all the same? Don't you think people have no imagination to develop games? Well, this is something different. Welcome.
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