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Fifteen hundred feet above Miami, the tiny plane shakes like the last leaf on a dying tree. Below, the suburbs of Kendall and Pinecrest stretch for miles like a massive computer motherboard. Beyond, Biscayne Bay is a sea of molten gold in the midday sun. But despite the beauty and the freedom and the fresh air streaming in at 110 miles per hour through open windows, all I can think of is the wind.
One gust after another grabs the aircraft and rattles it like a child's toy. Beside me in the pilot's seat, Luis Sotero struggles to keep the joystick steady. After all, his 970-pound SeaRay boatplane is little more than a motorcycle with wings. Its single 115 horsepower engine stubbornly keeps us suspended in midair as if by magic.
Suddenly, the air gives way. The plane sinks 50 feet in a second, and my stomach churns. Sotero, a short, 39-year-old Cuban-American with a hard-core adrenaline addiction and bristly goatee, isn't fazed. He knows his four planes like the back of his hand. He should: He's built most of 'em.
home-built aircraft
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So-called experimental aircraft, including home-built planes like Sotero's, grabbed headlines around the world this summer when a Florida daredevil crashed his World War II-era P-51 Mustang into the crowd at an airshow in Reno. Jimmy Leeward's heavily modified plane killed 11 people and injured nearly 100. Just a few months later on October 29, two aviators died when their experimental ultralight airplane crashed in Homestead.
Sotero is one of several hundred South Florida pilots who aren't content with merely defying death at high altitude — they want to do so in aircraft they've assembled themselves from components out of cardboard boxes delivered in the mail. Across the nation, the number of home-built craft has soared, in part because they cost a fraction of factory-built models and are encumbered by less regulation.
But they are also a hell of a lot more dangerous. Home-built aircraft are five times as likely to crash as professionally made planes. And if an accident does happen, their pilots are seven times as likely to die, according to federal investigators. So far this year, 212 home-built aircraft have crashed around the United States, killing 63 people; in the Sunshine State alone, almost 70 have perished in hundreds of crashes in the last decade, including 13 wrecks this year.
Time may be running out on home-built and experimental plane hobbyists, as deadly accidents and tightening regulations threaten to curtail a cutting-edge lifestyle that advocates say is worth the risk because it advances aviation by leaps and bounds.
Every headline about a fiery death-spiral leads to a more basic question, too: What drives these guys to risk life and limb?
There's only one way to find out: Hop in the plane with Sotero, a guy who's chased one adrenaline rush after another his whole life, from speedboats to motorcycles to planes — evading death by the same narrow margin he's stayed out of prison.
As our SeaRay barrels toward Biscayne Bay, Sotero suddenly looks at me through his sunglasses and shouts over the roar of the engine at our backs: "This is where it gets fun!"
Then he cuts the engine. The plane nosedives toward the sea.
Long before the motorcycles and the skydiving, the cigarette boats and the DIY airplanes, the operations and scars, there was just an emptiness where Luis's father should have been. His murder was the spark that has fueled his son's death-defying escapades.
Luis Sotero Sr. was a doctor in Pinar del Rio, Cuba, when Fidel Castro took over. But he hated the socialist. So when a small band of Miami exiles landed at the Bay of Pigs in April of 1961, the young forensic pathologist planted bombs inside the dead bodies of Castro's soldiers. He fled to Miami with a death warrant on his head.
Sotero settled in Little Havana. Then one day in 1968 he awoke to a fierce argument. Sotero's landlord was screaming at his neighbor and insulting the neighbor's pretty 17-year-old daughter, Mayra. Sotero dragged the landlord up to the second-floor balcony and threw him off.
"You could say it was love at first sight," the younger Sotero jokes of his parents' first meeting. Mayra gave birth to Luis Sotero Jr. on July 14, 1972, and another son, Albert, 18 months later.
Neither son would ever get to know his father. Sotero Sr. was at his usual Hialeah café in April 1976 when a customer began insulting a waitress. When Sotero told Mario Cimadevilla to lay off, he shoved Sotero. A mutual friend, José Luís Núñez, broke up the fight.
But Cimadevilla was humiliated and wanted revenge. Núñez, a convicted felon, was in need of money. Together, the two cooked up an idea to rob Sotero by claiming to have a boat for sale at a farmhouse in Hialeah. But when Sotero arrived, there was no boat — just Núñez stepping out from behind the house with a gun in his hand.
"Shoot me or I'm going to shove that gun up your ass," Sotero shouted as he rushed the gunman, according to Sotero's son. Núñez blasted Sotero twice in the stomach. The wounded man managed to climb back in his car, but died under a bridge a few miles from the emergency room. Cimadevilla and Núñez were both convicted of second-degree murder and sentenced to 50 years in prison. (Both men are now free, but neither could be reached for comment on Sotero's story of the murder.)
His dad's violent death forever marked the life of little Luis. Unlike his younger brother, he was old enough to recognize his mother's inconsolable grief, even though she did everything to shield him. "I didn't take him to the funeral," she says. "It would have been too ugly an impression for a child. Instead, I always tried to portray his [father's] death as a beautiful thing."
Whether it was Luis Sr.'s sudden death or his single mother's long work hours, Luis was a rambunctious child. Although he would dutifully assemble complicated electronics for his mother, he ran wild when she was away. Once Mayra came home to find the teenage boys missing and noises coming from the bathtub. When she peered inside, she shrieked: It was full of dozens of baby alligators.
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She drove around their Westchester neighborhood searching for Luis and Albert. After an hour, she returned home. But when she walked in, she saw the two brothers watching television as if nothing had happened. "What the hell is going on?" she demanded. "Why are there alligators in the bathtub?"
"Alligators in the bathtub?" said 14-year-old Luis quizzically. "You're crazy, mama." When Mayra checked again, the bathroom was gator-free.
But Luis was involved in more serious mischief. That same year, he was on his bike racing another boy on a go-cart when a cement truck slammed into him. He and his bike were crushed like tin cans. When Mayra arrived at the hospital, doctors told her that Luis had been declared dead, only to suddenly regain a pulse.
Miraculously, Sotero survived. And instead of scaring him into submission, the near-death experience only stoked his high-octane urges. "I've always had a need for adrenaline," he says. "It's in my blood. I guess it has something to do with [my father's death]."
Sotero dropped out of high school at 17 and started racing motorcycles. The electronics whiz paid for his habit by installing car alarms for as much as $3,000 a pop. Then, a few weeks after Luis's 18th birthday, Iraqi troops began pouring over the border into Kuwait. Sotero wanted in. A few months later he enlisted. "I joined the military to be a nuclear firefighter," he says. "For $14 bucks an hour, I would have glowed in the dark.'"
The day before he was to report to boot camp, however, Sotero was returning to Miami from a skydiving trip near Lake Okeechobee on his motorcycle when a boy on a bicycle pulled out in front of him. Sotero swerved, clipping the bike's wheel and skidding across the concrete at 80 mph. His right knee was shredded. He spent two days in the hospital and months on crutches.
The wreck ended Sotero's chance to serve in the military. He swore to his mother that he would never ride again. But soon he had a new dangerous obsession: racing around Miami Beach at 120 mph on cigarette boats. Sotero was the "throttle guy," in charge of deciding how much gas to give the engine.
It was in April of 1996 during his 43rd race that Sotero's luck ran out. With his then-wife Evelyn Menendez and toddler son Luis Sotero III watching from the stands, his two-person boat plowed into a wave head-on, wrenching him forward. He was thrown against the console as other vessels raced past.
The boat's driver desperately gave Sotero CPR on the damaged deck. Then a helicopter whisked his crushed body to Jackson Memorial. The crash had broken three ribs, his left arm, hand, and wrist, dislocated his shoulder, and punctured both lungs.
Two decades after losing his father, Sotero was losing control of his own life.
When I arrived at hangar 439 on a breezy early November afternoon, Luis Sotero was supergluing his plane together.
"These are vortex generators," he said, fastening a tiny, translucent shark fin to the top of a wing. "They help create lift to keep the plane from stalling. I don't know of any other experimental plane that uses them."
In fact, the plane that had crashed in Homestead only a week earlier had just been outfitted with similar vortex generators. The experimental aircraft spiraled to the ground near Richards Air Field, killing its pilot and passenger.
"They never should have gone up in that wind," Sotero said. "See those palm trees over there?" he asked, pointing to a line of fronds near his hangar. "That's how I tell if the wind is safe to fly."
My concerns were not entirely assuaged. In the week leading up to our much-delayed flight, three planes had crashed in or near Miami, including the Homestead disaster and an incredible emergency landing on the Florida Turnpike that could have killed dozens but instead injured only its pilot and one passenger.
"We don't want to be number four," Sotero told me as he handed me a life jacket. Sandwiching myself into the miniature cockpit next to Sotero was like trying to fit a family of eight into a Mini Cooper.
Sotero tried the engine. It coughed anemically. He tried again. Another cough. Finally, on the third attempt, the engine roared to life and we started taxiing toward the runway. As if playing with my anxiety, a recorded voice on the radio warned us to "use caution with birds and wildlife near the airport." Just for good measure, Sotero told me he once hit a bird while landing on the ocean and nearly died.
As we taxied, Sotero tested the foot pedals. He pumped them back and forth, sending our SeaRay — which Sotero had painted like a giant American flag — swerving like a drunken bride down the aisle.
We reached the end of the runway. Sotero lined us up. A staccato voice shrieked over the radio that we'd been cleared for takeoff. Suddenly, Sotero sent the plane sprinting forward. Three seconds later, we were in the air with nothing but the flimsy Plexiglas windows between us and a fatal fall.
Make your own paper plane with this week's New Times cover.
As the streets shrank, the city expanded beneath us. We climbed above 1,000 feet and Sotero checked his instruments. The trim indicator was stuck. He slammed the gadget with his fist. "Now it's OK," he said.
The turbulence was terrifying. Each ripple of air sent the plane shaking like an amusement park ride. People do this all the time, no problem, I thought to myself. But I couldn't help worrying that Sotero had misplaced a bolt or forgotten some tiny part. His personal "mantra," as he called it, wasn't reassuring.
"You live and you learn," he said. "Or you crash and you burn."
Sotero has crashed just about everything you can imagine: bicycles, motorcycles, cars, boats, and yes, even planes he's built. "A lot of the time I refrain from talking about it," he says when asked about his half-dozen glimpses of the Grim Reaper. "Let's just say I'm very lucky to be alive."
But there is another reason Sotero sometimes clams up about his adrenaline-soaked life. His thrill-seeking has led him to break more than speed limits. He's not just lucky to be alive — he's lucky not to be in prison.
On March 31, 1995, about a year after his near-fatal boat wreck, he and Menendez went to Black Point Marina in Cutler Bay to pick up a pair of Yamaha boat engines. Sotero cut a check for $2,150, including a $100 tip for the mechanic.
The check bounced. So did two others Sotero wrote for the salvaging and repair of his speedboat. He had half-heartedly tried to cover his tracks by changing one number on his driver's license and the month of his birthday. It was as if he was daring cops to catch him.
"It was a thrill thing," Sotero now admits. "I was young and stupid. What else can I say?" He was arrested two months later and charged with grand theft. A judge withheld adjudication, and Sotero was given one year of probation.
But Sotero was just getting started. Each arrest only seemed to spur him to commit another brazen crime. Barely two months after the first case was closed, Sotero wrote another bad check, this time to bail a buddy out of jail. Then, starting in the summer of 1996, Sotero went on a fraud frenzy.
According to court records, he bought a Toyota Camry, Kawasaki motorcycle, Dodge Viper, Cobra speedboat, and a furniture set — all with fake documents and bogus checks. The coup de grace was a '96 Porsche that Sotero bought under the identity of Richard H. Lumpkin, a Miami attorney.
"It was all white collar stuff, basically," he says. "I would pick up the phone and buy a $100,000 race boat, have it delivered here, filled with fuel, and then shake the guy's hand. It was like Catch Me if You Can," he says, laughing. "And the insurance companies were the smart ones that paid for it."
Sotero laughs recounting the crimes, but he was flirting with disaster. "I sold one boat title for $180,000," he remembers. "I cashed that check, bro, at the worst bank in Liberty City. People there were getting shot for $10, and I did it intentionally: a little white guy in shorts and flip-flops."
By fall of 1997, however, Sotero's lies had caught up to him. He was arrested for the Porsche scam on October 22. Miami-Dade Judge Lisa Walsh told him that the only reason he wasn't spending up to 14 years in prison was his "miracle worker" of a lawyer, according to court records. She then sentenced Sotero to 18 months in prison and five years' probation.
"Corrections corrected me," Sotero says now, 12 years after he walked out of a Miami-Dade prison.
Indeed, he hasn't been convicted of a crime since. Sotero now makes a living selling real estate, and says he neither hides nor advertises his criminal record. But he still believes his past schemes — like his death-defying hobbies — haven't hurt anyone except himself, calling them "victimless crimes."
Lumpkin, the attorney whose identity Sotero used during his spree, disagrees.
"It took me forever and a day to clear my name," he says. To this day, Lumpkin keeps copies of the police reports to convince creditors that it wasn't him. "Hopefully Mr. Sotero has rehabilitated himself."
Sotero caught the flying bug in an apartment on South Beach, when he heard the whine of a small engine. He raced outside to see what looked like a pair of bucket seats strapped to some wings, sea floats, and an engine. As the tiny drifter raced by at eye level, Sotero's pulse quickened.
With that first sighting, Sotero embarked on the path toward building his own planes — a siren song that has pulled in at least 2,235 in Florida and 33,000 nationwide. Each year, they spend millions on building and upgrading their planes, inventing new designs in the process. It's a hobby defended lustily by those like Sotero who point out that scores of innovations in small aircraft construction have come about because of risktakers and hobby builders.
"The vast majority of these planes are really well built," says Yale Mosk, who heads the local chapter of the Experimental Aircraft Association. "Some of them are real works of art. Plus they are usually a lot more economical to fly than certified planes and are faster too."
Sotero's younger brother, Albert, had started flying when he was a teenager. But Luis had been too busy racing to follow suit. Besides, he had always been bored by the idea of cruising so high that speed was an afterthought.
Make your own paper plane with this week's New Times cover.
A few days after first spotting the drifter, Sotero was on the ocean with friends when the same plane skidded to a stop next to their boat. The pilot told Sotero that he had built it himself, making it an "amateur-built" airplane according to the Federal Aviation Administration. That meant he could do all the repairs himself, and tweak the engine and design, as he'd done with his boats and bikes.
Sotero immediately forked over nearly $40,000 for a kit. It arrived in several giant cardboard boxes in the mail. Over the course of a few months, he and a friend slowly assembled the plane. Finally, the plane — and Sotero — was certified to fly.
When Luis told Albert about his new ride, the younger, more experienced pilot scoffed. "Those things are a piece of shit!" he said. Luis invited him up for a ride. "You're fucking crazy," Albert answered. "You crash everything! You think I'm going to go up in a plane with you?"
But his reluctance gave way to awe when he saw Luis doing flips and barrel rolls that would have been impossible in his fleet of Cessnas.
The Sotero brothers are now mainstays at Kendall-Tamiami Executive Airport, Miami's hub for experimental aviation. (Albert operated a large portion of the airport until this spring when Landmark Aviation took it over.) Here, inside metal hangars the size of suburban garages, middle-aged men and balding retirees hunker over home-built aircraft in various stages of completion.
Not all of them are adrenaline junkies like Luis Sotero. But building their airplanes does fill some deep-seated psychological need. There is a midlife crisis behind every sliding hangar door.
Take José Méndez, an affable Puerto Rican with a trim salt-and-pepper goatee, who has spent two years and $55,000 of his savings on building a helicopter. Not just any helicopter: a jet-powered helicopter that would look more at home in a James Bond movie than hovering over Miami. It bears the word EXPERIMENTAL in block letters. Méndez repairs emergency room equipment for a living at Bethesda Memorial Hospital in Boynton Beach. Building his own helicopter saved him $100,000 and let him trick out his baby like an East L.A. lowrider.
"This is the only set of controls like it in the world," he says, gripping what looks like a computer game joystick connected to a Samsung tablet. He pushes a button and Windows XP boots to life.
Unlike Sotero — who keeps a photo on his phone of his Porsche speedometer hitting 201 miles per hour — Méndez is no speed freak. Instead, his helicopter is a chance to make up for decades lost. He learned to fly before he could legally drive in his native Bayamon, but with five children, he didn't fly for 23 years.
Now that he is divorced, the helicopter has taken center stage in his life. For two years, Méndez spent six days a week working on it. "I have to have something to motivate me," he says. "So I built this."
He flicks on the engine and the machine whirs to life like Robocop, the engine screeching as it sucks in air. But Méndez cuts it after only a few seconds. The craft isn't certified yet, and won't get key parts until maker Helicycle inspects the chopper. "Without them, the vibrations would lead to catastrophic failure," he says matter-of-factly. "If this overheats," he says, pointing to a T62-32 Solar jet engine the size of a Harley-Davidson motor, "it would be like a missile going off."
Mosk, the association head, doesn't build his own planes, but he's spokesman in chief for the several dozen Miamians who do. The 77-year-old still flies a red and blue biplane whose design dates to 1926. While in the Army from 1955-57, Mosk flew unmanned aircraft around the deserts of New Mexico — the prototype for the Predator drones now tracking Al Qaeda members around the Middle East.
He says there's no reason to worry about pilots who build their own craft.
"There are always some around who don't know what they are doing and are going to hurt themselves," Mosk says. "[There are] plenty of people who should not be building airplanes. They should stick to rebuilding cars. But you can usually spot them right away."
"Oh fuck!" Luis Sotero screamed into his headset as his drifter plummeted toward a line of trees. "Why are you doing this to me now?" Moments before, Sotero and a friend had lifted off from a private lake in Homestead. But after a few seconds in the air, the engine had started to sputter and fail. Now they were careening toward certain death.
Sotero ran through the list of emergency responses. He didn't have time to double back and land on the water. Behind his chair sat a white tube containing a giant parachute, but they were too low to the ground for it to open in time. As a tree loomed up in front of them, he suddenly had an idea.
"My flaps!" he thought, punching a switch to raise the edges of his wings. The tiny plane vaulted over the tree, branches scraping its underside. Then the aircraft dropped like a stone for 30 feet into an empty field. The floats on each side exploded on impact but, astonishingly, Sotero and his passenger — a cameraman for National Geographic who filmed the malfunction — walked away unharmed.
"Bad fuel," Sotero claims now, a year later. "Some asshole sold me bad fuel that day. It nearly killed us."
Make your own paper plane with this week's New Times cover.
Crashes like Sotero's have become far too common, endangering not just their pilots but people on the ground. The reasons why home-built and experimental planes fail are multitude — from dangerously untested modifications to pilot error to badly installed parts — but federal investigators are now conducting a multimillion-dollar, yearlong study of the wrecks to see if there's a bigger, underlying problem: a lack of regulation and oversight.
As the rules stand today, tinkerers can change almost anything on their planes without having the alterations reinspected by federal investigators — an experimental freedom that sometimes leads to catastrophe. So far this year, the National Transportation Safety Board has sent investigators to the scenes of 212 home-built crashes to sort through the twisted metal. They have found 63 corpses among the wreckage, and logged pages of data about what contributed to the accidents.
"Why are all these accidents occurring? That's what we want to know," says Dr. Loren Groff, one of the authors of the NTSB study.
The feds' concerns made international news on September 16, when a heavily modified, experimental World War II-era plane smashed into the crowd at a Reno airshow. The P-51 Mustang killed 11 people and injured nearly 100. Jimmy Leeward, the pilot at fault, was from Ocala; investigators are still trying to figure out what happened, but many have speculated that unregulated changes to his aircraft could have contributed to the disaster.
Here in Florida, more than 200 home-built airplane accidents have peppered the landscape over the past decade, at a rate of nearly two crashes per month. Six people died in home-built airplane crashes in the Sunshine State last year. As recently as September 3, a home-built, two-seat Durling RV-6 lost power after lifting off from North Perry Airport in Hollywood. The pilot aborted the takeoff. The small plane skidded off the end of the runway and through a fence, injuring two.
Then, on October 29, a banana yellow, experimental, ultralight airplane crashed in Homestead just 1,000 feet from private Richards Field Airport. Pilot Rick Blanco and passenger Sandra Bronnenberg were killed as the impact thrust the plane's engine into the cockpit. The owner, Rich Bragassa, hung up on New Times. But Bronnenberg's husband, Dick — himself an experimental pilot — didn't blame the aircraft.
"I was there when it happened," he said. "I pulled her body from the wreck, so I know it wasn't the plane's fault."
Sometimes the smallest miscalculation can lead to fatalities. Take a crash on the evening of December 5, 2002, here in Miami. Employees at the Federal Reserve Bank in Doral were drinking eggnog at an office holiday party when they felt an explosion rock the building. When they ran outside, they found the fiery remains of an experimental two-seater airplane dashed against the northeast face of the building. Copilot Garry Williams's dead body was inside, but the charred corpse of pilot Rick Grannis was mysteriously found miles away in a lake at the Doral Golf Resort and Spa.
Investigators later learned that a month earlier, Grannis or Williams had swapped the pilot's chair for the motor-driven seat from a 1980s Cadillac Cimarron. But the pilots hadn't installed a powerful enough circuit breaker. The seat had likely caught on fire midflight, forcing Grannis to jump from the cockpit to his death.
Such deadly mishaps have become so common that federal investigators say they have to act. "Our mandate is to investigate accidents and make recommendations to prevent them from re-occurring," Groff says.
To many experimental pilots, that sounds like new regulations are on their way. There are 33,000 home-built aircraft in the U.S., yet only 5,000 owners responded to the NTSB's survey.
"I don't think home-builts are any more dangerous if they are properly built and inspected," Mosk insists. "It's really a question of who's inspecting it. If you get a lax NTSB inspector, then you're going to have a problem."
Sotero agrees. Besides, home-built airplanes are too popular for the feds to scrap. "There are too many of them," Sotero says. "And there's too much money to be made. Everyone including the FAA lives off the money we give them."
The feds won't release their study until next summer, but Groff insists the goal isn't an end to the home-built era — dangerous as the risktakers' modifications might be.
"There is also a lot of innovation coming out of this area," he says. "We don't want to take anybody's rights away."
Biscayne Bay rushes up at us at 120 miles per hour, blue and beautiful and deadly as a brick wall. Beside me, Sotero just laughs.
Despite his maniacal streak, he's a good pilot. Even after cutting the engine and tilting the seaplane down toward the ocean like a roller coaster, Sotero is in complete control. That's the point. As we plummet below 100 feet, he pushes the throttle and we level out over the water like a seagull skimming the waves.
"This is my playground," he says as we skate five feet above the bay. Here, in his own plane, he can forget about his criminal convictions. Here, he has momentarily mastered life and death: his father's and his own. However dangerous this might be, it's worth it.
"I have always taken risks," he says. "But now I take educated risks. Everything is controlled. Would I get on the back of a jet bike right now and do 200 miles per hour? No. Would I get in a plane and fly upside down over a runway? Yes."
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We sweep out over Virginia Key — Lolita the killer whale stirs in her Seaquarium tank below us — before circling back southwest toward the Tamiami Airport. Sotero drops the landing gear and veases the plane down on the runway. "That wasn't so bad, was it?" he asks with a smile.
But as we taxi back toward the hangar, Sotero gets quiet. He opens the window and somberly stares off into space. "I just worry about when I reach the plateau with this," he says finally. "What will I do then?"
We return the plane to its hangar, and he seems to remember something. His face brightens again and he beckons me toward the hangar's back door. Sotero opens it and points toward a ferocious-looking French military jet parked nearby that he's been coveting for months. Its red nose glints in the light as if on fire.
"That's my next project," Sotero says slyly. "Four hundred and seventy miles per hour."


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The chanted prayer we do regularly in Dharmavajra Centre is called Liberation from Sorrow and consists of praises and requests to the Twenty-one Taras. Tara is a female Buddha, a manifestation of the ultimate wisdom of all the Buddhas. Each of the Twenty-one Taras is a manifestation of the principal Tara, Green Tara. Tara is also known as the `Mother of the Conquerors'.
Tara is our common mother, our Holy Mother. When we are young we turn to our worldly mother for help. She protects us from immediate dangers, provides us with all our temporal needs, and guides and encourages us in our learning and personal development. In the same way, during our spiritual growth we need to turn to our Holy Mother, Tara, for refuge. She protects us from all internal and external dangers, she provides us with all the necessary conditions for our spiritual training, and she guides us and inspires us with her blessings as we progress along the spiritual path.
Tara means 'Rescuer'. She is so called because she rescues us from the eight outer fears (the fears of lions, elephants, fire, snakes, thieves, water, bondage, and evil spirits), and from the eight inner fears (the fears of pride, ignorance, anger, jealousy, wrong views, attachment, miserliness, and deluded doubts). Temporarily Tara saves us from the dangers of rebirth in the three lower realms, and ultimately she saves us from the dangers of samsara and solitary peace.
If we rely upon Mother Tara sincerely and with strong faith she will protect us from all obstacles and fulfil all our wishes. Since she is a wisdom Buddha, and since she is a manifestation of the completely purified wind element, Tara is able to help us very quickly. If we recite the twenty-one verses of praise we shall receive inconceivable benefits. These praises are very powerful because they are Sutra, the actual words of Buddha. It is good to recite them as often as we can.
Offering to the Spiritual Guide is a special Guru yoga of Je Tsongkhapa in conjunction with Highest Yoga Tantra. It was compiled by the first Panchen Lama, Losang Chökyi Gyaltsän, as a preliminary practice for Vajrayana Mahamudra. The main practice is relying upon the Spiritual Guide, but it also includes all the essential practices of the stages of the path (Lamrim) and training the mind (Lojong), as well as both the generation stage and completion stage of Highest Yoga Tantra.
The essence of Guru yoga is to develop a strong conviction that our Spiritual Guide is a Buddha, to make prostrations, offerings, and sincere requests to him or her, and then to receive his or her profound blessings. According to the Guru yoga of Offering to the Spiritual Guide, we develop conviction that our Spiritual Guide is the same nature as Je Tsongkhapa, who is an emanation of the Wisdom Buddha Manjushri.
By relying upon Je Tsongkhapa, our compassion, wisdom, and spiritual power naturally increase. In particular, because Je Tsongkhapa is an emanation of the Wisdom Buddha Manjushri, his faithful followers never experience difficulty in increasing their wisdom. There are many other benefits from practising Offering to the Spiritual Guide. These are explained in the book Great Treasury of Merit, which contains a complete commentary to the practice.

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"Just bend your knees like you're squatting, throw your arms over your head toward the ground, and your feet will follow," Tanis Tzavaras, the adult gymnastics coach at Kyle Shewfelt Gymnastics tells me as I prepare (hesitantly) to attempt my first back handspring. "I've got you."
And she does. As long as I hurl my body backwards and upside down with commitment and don't allow my elbows to buckle upon impact with the floor, all Tzavaras has to do is give a quick push on my lower back to ensure that my feet follow the lead of my hands. In theory, it's pretty simple: If you have enough shoulder and back flexibility — and apparently, I do — and enough strength to support your body weight in a handstand position, physics takes care of the rest. In reality, though, it's one of the more daunting tasks I've ever been asked to perform.
"You want me to do what?" is heard repeatedly on Wednesday nights when the adult gymnastics class takes place at Shewfelt's, the 2004 Olympic gold medallist in the men's floor event in Athens, southwest facility. Since they opened the doors in fall 2013 there has been group of eight or so grown-ups, varying in age from mid-twenties to mid-fifties, just looking to learn and explore what they are capable of in this challenging discipline, right alongside the kiddies decked out in their glittering bodysuits. (For the record, most of the adults opt for a slightly less flashy look during their practice.)
"Kyle and I are on the same page when it comes to 'gymnastics for everyone'. We love the sport and, even though we were both competitive athletes ourselves, we love the learning and enjoyment process of gymnastics outside of the competitive atmosphere," Tzavaras explains of her and Shewfelt's decision to offer classes to a more mature demographic as well.
It's difficult to say whether the rise in adults interested in gymnastics programs can be directly linked to the rise in popularity of crossfit, but considering the founder of the "sport of fitness", is a former gymnast and many of their cornerstone movements are based in gymnastics, it's a pretty safe assumption.
Crossfitters aren't the only ones showing up for adult gymboree, however.
"Crossfit has skyrocketed in popularity, so there is a group that will show a subsequent interest in gymnastics, and it makes sense," Tzavaras says. "I have also noticed a lot of parkour athletes, as well. It's nice to have a range of backgrounds, as adults can really learn from each other in a different way than children."
So what can one expect to learn in one of Shewfelt's eight-week programs? During each 90-minute class, students work on traditional aparati like trampoline, tumble track, rings, bars, ropes and balance beams, as well as floor skills like cartwheels, roundoffs and handsprings — it's the real deal. Each week, slightly more advanced options are offered for those who are ready, and those who are not yet comfortable with a particular movement can just keep practising.
"In a session we start with getting everyone on the same page with basics, stability, and safety. Then we progress to movements, twisting, and rotations — going both forwards and backwards — getting comfortable being upside down, and then working with different comfort and skill levels in progressions," Tzavaras says. "The basics are established and from there the opportunities are endless."
Adult students Angie Dean and Maury Dodd are proof of this. Both have enrolled in every session offered since October and, though they started out with very different backgrounds, both have found themselves improving with every class.
For Dean, who took gymnastics from the age of four to 14, she found returning to the activity she once loved to be not only a great way to round out her running and fitness class routine, but also legitimately fun.
"I go to a strength class on Tuesdays, and it's pure torture the entire time. It's hard work and it feels great to really push myself, but the best part by far is when it's done," says the 36-year-old city planner. "With gymnastics, it's the opposite. I go to the class and have a blast the entire time — I don't even realize how much of a workout it really is! It's not until I notice halfway through class that I'm sweating, or I wake up the next day and have sore muscles, that I realize how much work I was doing."
Tzavaras's classes were Dodd's first foray into gymnastics. It's not something most 50-year-old men think about signing up for, but with an athletic background in baseball, hockey, martial arts and longboarding, just to name a few, Dodd clearly isn't like most guys his age.
"I want to do a handstand on my skateboard again. That hasn't happened since I was about 16," he says of what inspired him to sign up in the first place.
"Gymnastics makes me smile, I find myself grinning throughout the class. With age, people care less about what others think and more about what drives them, feels good, or is just good old-fashioned fun. Ask someone the last time they tried a somersault — now that's fun!"
Dodd, Dean and the rest of the adult gymnastics crew whip them out every week and the looks on their faces are a pretty good indication that they are loving every minute of it.
As an added bonus, both Dean and Dodd are able to get their training in while their kids are working on their skills.
"The sense of accomplishment I get from nailing a move, or even just trying something that 14-year-old me couldn't even do — it's phenomenal. I go home from class every week feeling exhilarated," Dean says.
Crushing a skill-enhancing workout while their children do the same? Well it certainly beats spending an hour and a half in the waiting room focusing on Candy Crush.


text:
Lady Gaga disagrees with Arizona's much-controversial immigration law,
The pop star, who was in Mexico City for two shows, said at a news conferences that she has a strong bond with Mexican culture, The Associated Press reported. Her song "Americano," off of her upcoming album "Born This Way," was her reaction to the legislation.
"I don't stand by many of those unjust immigration laws in my country," she said yesterday.
U.S. & World
Arizona passed a law last year in which officers can question people they suspect of being in the U.S. illegally about their immigration status, according to the AP.
In other Gaga news, Billboard reported that the singer will be mentoring the four remaining contestants—Scott McCreery, Lauren Alaina, Haley Reinhart and James Durban of this season's "American Idol." That appearance will be coming up this Wednesday.
Gaga's "Monsters Ball" concert special will air on HBO Sunday.
Selected Sources: The Associated Press, Billboard.com, HBO, Twitpic


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text: The Apple iPhone 5C is a colourful fun phone with a bright 4-inch Retina Display and the latest iOS 7 operating system. The large screen delivers great clarity when web browsing and with 4G and Ultra fast Wireless you can enjoy superfast browsing. There is an A6 dual-core processor under the hood so multitasking is no problem for this phone and the App store is on hand for new apps to download. The 8-megapixel iSight camera includes the latest Camera app for adding filters to your photos and HD video recording with video image stabilisation ensures you capture live action in great detail. The phone includes Siri for using voice commands for tasks such as calling contacts and creating messages and FaceTime uses the 1.2-megapixel front facing camera for video chatting. The phone features a seamless plastic chassis which makes it great to hold and the battery delivers up to 10 hours of talktime.


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WEATHER: 35 and beautiful.
MOOD: In the mood to detoxify.
Having to push back this week's long run until tomorrow, when S. is available to drag me through it, I did a happy, watch-free, 7.5 miles today. Now I just have to shower and pretty myself up for a birthday party tonight, for my lovely lady friend, Texas…a birthday party at which I will not drink, in the hopes of not vomming on S.'s shoes tomorrow and — probably even more importantly — making it out to Rosslyn at 8:30 in order to even run w/ him in the first place.
Speaking of getting prettied up, I hereby show you the result of another New Year's resolution (aside from training extra-awesomely for Boston and blogging daily about it): LONG HAIR!
I like this resolution — so much so, in fact, that I've made it two years in a row: end the year with longer hair than how I began the year. It's nice because it allows me to just sit there, which is a far cry from running (definitelly NOT "just sitting there") and blogging (just sitting there, taking pictures of the insides of my nostrils/mouth with my compy's built-in camera, tapping a word every few minutes). See, a few years ago, in a typical post-break-up freak-out, I chopped all my hair off into a kicky little pixie cut, which became, to be honest, what I referred to as "built-in birth control." Cutesy and low-maintenance? Sure. Slow-motion unnecessarily-sensual Pantene-commercial honest-to-God attractive, or even flattering? Aw, HELL no.
And while one should never — but NEVER — do something just to please the men-folk (or women-folk, as one's proclivities may lean), one doesn't want to feel like a troll. Or for one's hair to contribute even more to one's androgynous look (if, that is, one does not want to look androgynous, not that there's anything wrong with that), already firmly established by one's A-cup-ness and lack of hips. Which (bringing it back to running) DO make running more pleasant (or so my well-endowed peers tell me), I suppose.
Was this post only marginally about running? Yes. No worries — I'll be back to talking about heavy breathing and Body Glide in due time. Oh, and running, too.


text:
I wish I could describe how I see humanity.
All those that live are precious, amazing miracles. They each have been given a set of circumstances that they react to in their own way. And it makes all of them-all of you-worthy of nothing short of fascination.
Take random members of my family. There's my uncle, who I have always viewed as very calm and soothing. He's a free spirit, doesn't care about anything too much... And I haven't seen him since I was thirteen, I think. I'm filed with wistful affection when I think of him. As much as other family members are angry, I only remember good about him. And I want an uncle Jimmy hug and kiss.
Then there's my brother. He's thirteen now, and I've become almost a little afraid of him, but not really. I just think the world of him and want him to trust me explicitly. So I try harder than I ever have to be the right amount of funny and savvy. Of course, on base I'm with boys about five years older than him, and I don't have to worry-they love me. I guess I care so much about Andrew that I try that much harder around him!
Skip to my step dad. Okay. So much to sort through. He's my nemesis, but it's true that he isn't that smart. And people who have less than me break my heart. So I can't hate him. When I see pictures of him, something in me squeezes painfully. I want to hug him and thank him for his passion, even though it hurt me so much. At least he gave a fuck. He's only human. See what I mean? When you look at humanity, there isn't room for hatred. Just a sad, ancient pain.
And my mom? Fuck, I don't know. I remember a lively little woman telling me stories as I weeded the garden. I remember her eagerly explaining new Christmas traditions. I remember her love for literature, a love she passed on to me. I can recall her making beautiful projects, a lovely flowing rose colored dress for me. Laughing as my sister
And I cut out cookies. Playing songs as I danced. She was the heart of our home.
Last summer I destroyed her. Granted, I was reeling with the shock of her spiritual demise. I didn't know why I had lived a lie my entire life, especially one I hated so thoroughly. So I viciously rejected her, because I didn't understand.
Now my heart bleeds for her. My sweet mom, always passionate, caring for others... I ruined that. I made a sad, hollow shell. I'll never forgive myself for clinging to the man I found and walking away from the one woman who never spared loving me. Her whole life was about me. Thanks to social ideas, we didn't get the dream life she strove
To attain for me.
How about my own life? I'm stuck here with a boy I had to cut ties with because he is nothing like what I married. I'm a constant study for coworkers. I'll say, "I speak my mind," and then they tell me they already know, they watch me and they list of a few more traits I didn't realize were so obvious. Mostly, I've given up caring, living to achieve personal goals. I danced with a sailor last night, and he wanted to take it further. In the past, I would be eager to please my new friend. As it was, I've not been too active lately, so I was agreeable... But I realized I just didn't feel like it, and oh by the way, I don't care... I opted for singing at the top of my voice with one of my new best friends.
I like my singing friends. They are the kind I can be myself around. Colton and I, for instance, shouted lyrics just because we could, and I trust him literally more than anyone I know. My choir friends all try to get to choir early, because if we have time, we play guitars and song lyrics that make us grin like fools. My
New roommate was shy, until I started playing some Michael Buble, and now she is another best friend.
I guess I've been a little shocked lately at the events of this year. Aaron turned out to have a side that really hurts. Then, I met a group of people, and we became each others sport through the dramatic summer. We didn't all stay friends. In the end, it was down to myself and two men, and we formed a trio. Then one left for Texas. That was horribly painful, cause this training command is a harsh enviroment and you learn to lean on each other. Finally, the other man drifted away, and somehow even though I wasn't terribly close, that ended up hurting a lot more, and that pain engulfed me.
I've never had that happen before. It's not an obsession, but it's in the back of my mind and at the base of a lot of things I do. It makes me miss the old Aaron. It inspires art and writings that display raw emotion. Maybe it's the fact that I'm finally alive and I've never felt so keenly. I've been getting counseled by a military service, and it's done wonders. But some nights I wake up wishing I could go
Back to September, and the most complete days of my life.
And in the end, all this inside me comes together so perfectly. It creates a more wholesome me than has ever been assembled. It's fairly well balanced, secure, sad, wise, young, eager, apathetic, and content.
That's your irregular update on me. Go to town. I think everyone should be able to relate to something. I'm pretty typical that way. Scorpio!


text:
The U.S. government led 26 countries in requests for user data and had the highest compliance rate by Google, the search engine reported Monday.
U.S. officials asked Google for user data 4,601 times in the last six months of 2010 and Google complied, at least partially, 94 percent of the time, according to Google's new Transparency Report. The U.S. requests rose almost 30 percent from 3,580 for the same time period in 2009. The United States was followed by Brazil with 1,804 and India with 1,699 requests. Both Brazil and India received 76 and 79 percent compliance from Google respectively.
This is the first time Google has recorded its compliance rate, so there were no previous numbers to compare the rate. However, the U.S. rate of 94 percent is significantly higher than any other country. Only Japan, with 72 requests, comes close with 90 percent compliance.
U.S. & World
Google also removed content because of 54 U.S. government requests. According to the country detail, the most common item for removal seemed to be defamation, with Google Groups responsible for 1,110 actions alone, mainly because of six court orders "relating to a case of continuous defamation against a man and his family."
The largest number of requests for removal came from the United Kingdom which asked for 93,518 "fraudulent" Google AdWords ads to be taken down, according to Google. In Thailand, Google also took action on material "mocking or criticizing the king," which is against Thai law. Google reacted by restricting the material being seen by Thai users.
Although the report was written to show transparency, Google released a caveat which said that not all requests and content removals data is used, mainly because the vast majority of requests to pull YouTube video comes from corporations or companies alleging copyright infringement.
It's not surprising that Google would be most compliant with the United States. After all, it has the home court advantage and Google needs to keep the federal government happy -- especially now that it's facing Federal Trade Commission scrutiny.


text:
OOB voters recall 6 of 7 councilors
Recall effort follows termination of town manager
Voters in Old Orchard Beach recalled all but one of their town councilors on Tuesday.
Officials said about one-third of the town's registered voters cast ballots in the election.
Four of the councilors were recalled after being accused of failing to follow proper procedure when they voted in March to fire Town Manager Mark Pearson.
A separate group of residents filed petitions to recall the other three councilors.
The new town councilors are Roxanne Frenette, Kenneth Blow, Jay Kelley, Joseph Thornton, Shawn O'Neill and Malorie Pastor.
Councilor Michael Coleman was recalled from office by 11 votes and has asked for a recount.
"The biggest thing that's going to happen, I think, is that the town can start to heal. There's been so much turmoil the last couple months. I think it's really what we need," resident Peter Flaherty said.
The town had been littered with campaign signs that called for the recall of the entire town council.
Councilor Robert Quinn was not recalled.
"It's a humbling experience to have received the support from the community that I did, and it also puts a burden on my shoulders in a way that I'm the only person left to give the council some continuity so we can move forward in a positive way. I think that will be the challenge," Quinn said.
Bob Peabody has been the interim town manager since Pearson was fired. Divisiveness grew between the councilors who voted for the firing and those who opposed it.
Pearson has filed a lawsuit against the town over his termination.
The new councilors will need to approve a municipal budget before the end of the fiscal year in two weeks and hire a permanent town manager.
The council will meet on Tuesday.


text:
wm1995 wrote:The list is too long to be reproduced here, but a brief summary:
Any vegetables
Almost all fruit
Anything spicy
Soup and anything similarly runny
Most forms of eggs
Most sweets
I hate it at restaurants when they put lemon in the water. I have to always ask for them to not put it in.
Super Nekou wrote:Funnily enough I dont like too spicy foods either and I also tend to stick to my favourites. Which is pasta. Sadly nobody else in my house likes it as much as me so get a bit annoyed when I want it 4 times a week. I also like to have my food exactly the same every time I have it, and of course cooking isnt like that so I get a little upset when it tastes a bit different. Dont show that, though.
Creative wrote:Pasta is one of my favourite foods too. I'm having it for tea tomorrow.
Return to General Dyspraxia Chat
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text:
OK, it's modest by most standards, but after one comes two, and two in a row is what the Capitals have won. Last night's 5-2 win over the Southeast Division-leading Carolina Hurricanes was a study in ambivalence…
On the one hand, the game was closer than what the final score indicated, the game being as close as 3-2 with less than two minutes to go in the game.
On the other hand, the Capitals never gave an indication that they would panic or wilt, even when the 'Canes managed to score two goals 2:18 apart, straddling the end of the second and beginning of the third period. Unlike the pattern of behavior in the depths of their slide in the standings, the Caps tended to business and made it difficult for the visitors to establish any rhythm on offense.
A lot of that had to do with a stunning change in the Caps' style that is probably more evident looking at the team live…they are a much more aggressive team with the puck, and related to that, they were much more adept at getting the puck below the face-off dots to establish their own offensive rhythm. Combine that with a sharp Olaf Kolzig, who turned away most mistakes that the Capitals made, and it was a recipe for a win that looked a lot like the Hurricanes, themselves, or the Tampa Bay Lightning – two teams the Capitals will have to beat, and beat often, to get back into the thick of playoff things.
Individually, it was a team effort. Odd as that sounds, it is a reflection of players doing what they do well, and just as important, leaving to others what they do well. Examples…
-- Alexander Ovechkin scored two goals in signature style. The first came off a no-look feed by Michael Nylander out of the right wing corner. Ovechkin snapped a wrist shot past goalie John Grahame's glove faster than you could say…well, whatever you can say fast. The second came on a move he has repeated in recent games…carrying the puck down the left side, then easing off the pedal as he enters the zone. Curling to the middle and crossing behind teammates, he can get the goalie moving side-to-side. He snapped another shot "wrong-side," catching Grahame moving left when the puck zipped past on the right side.
-- Mike Green repeated the weak-side one-timer he potted against
-- David Steckel won 63 percent of his draws on what was an otherwise brutal night for the Caps in the faceoff circle (other than Steckel, the Caps were 20 for 58 – 34.5 percent).
-- Tom Poti registered a hit (legitimately), but he was strong in keeping
-- Nicklas Backstrom registered his second straight multi-point game (he's 1-4-5 in his last pair).
-- Donald Brashear logged his highest ice time in almost a month. In his 8:48, he created chances for himself and others, and attempted six shots of his own.
-- Shaone Morrisonn had his second "plus" game in a row. That is not insignificant, since he hadn't had one since October 29th (the 7-1 win against
In last night's game, the Capitals played
There were some performances last night that might otherwise go unheralded, too. For instance, Brooks Laich and Tomas Fleischmann each put four shots on goal. Fleischmann had eight attempted shots. Although none went in, making the opponent play defense and expend energy in his own end is all part of the idea to attack and press the issue. Often, a team won't have much left in the third period when – hopefully, and as was the case last night – the opponent is playing catch-up.
The Capitals don't look so much different as much as they look like the team that won the first two games of the season. They cashed in on their opportunities, controlled the puck for long stretches, and made the opponent play all 200 feet of the ice – there weren't a lot of turnovers of the eye-rolling variety. Winning two in a row has gotten them closer to 29th place, so there is still quite a hole to climb out of. The Caps have ten games over the next three weeks, all of which are against Eastern Conference teams and five of which will be played against divisional opponents. There is no time like the present to right some wrongs and climb back into the thick of things.


text:
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text: Fortuner Vs Endeavour full blown SUV Competing for Buyers Wallet. Real SUV for SUV lovers from Toyota and Ford. Endeavour and Fortuner comes in 4*2 and 4*4 drive train. Fortunately both have the muscle, looks and power under their hoods to take any terrain with ease. Whilst, on paper feature to feature and engine comparison seems to be tilting the balance in favour of the Endeavour, however, Toyota has enough fan following who will willingly ignore any marquee for a Toyota at any price. Lucky Toyota.


text:
The Top 5 iPod Apps for Foodies
Over on Life Scoop, our J. Kenji Lopez-Alt rounds up five of the best iPod apps that'll help you cook everything (OK, over 2,000 things!) a la Mark Bittman, understand what seafood is sustainable, and more. Which apps would you add to the list?


text:
5 October 2011
Autumn 11 Sounds of the Woods
- NESHA said...
beautiful prints and stunning colours...
- 10/05/2011 1:36 pm
Lovely collection nadia. Well done. Hard to pick a favourite though!
- 10/05/2011 1:43 pm
- Demo said...
They are so gorgeous!!! The print and the touch of the fabrics are amazing. I can't pick my favourite one, because I love them all! but I am aiming to save up for the white birdy print blouse, or in a dress! oh dear... Nadia, this collection is really beautiful. LOVE LOVE LOVE!!! :D
- 10/05/2011 2:16 pm
- Rosaspina Vintage said...
Ooooh the petal blouse in red looks so elegant!
The blush dress (6th pic) with all the buttons and the bow on the waist is adorable as I expected, and I'm still a big fan of the "new Tweety" dress (4th pic), I think it was the one that suited me best when I tried it :)
And I love the last fabric, it looks so cosy!
Ahhh I can't wait to see them in your shop Nadia!
- 10/05/2011 2:20 pm
- rose-a-petits-pois said...
Nadia, I was so impatient to see it all and Oh my! It looks STUNNING.
It is feminine and slightly mysterious...
I love every single piece of the new collection, but my most favorite is still the cocoon shape dress in the middle !
- 10/05/2011 2:20 pm
- leilani.e said...
Oh I need that 4th dress, the beautiful grey one!!!!! Think I know what my grad present to myself will be...
- 10/05/2011 2:27 pm
- Emily, Ruby Slipper Journeys said...
Some really stunning pieces. I love the novelty prints... I always want to wear prints that aren't floral!
- 10/05/2011 2:32 pm
- Nadinoo said...
Thank you so much lovely ladies for your kind words, get so nervous showing a collection for the first time. Happy you are not disappointed!
We also have the Winter 11 collection which I hope you love just as much ; ) Aiming to get it our before Christmas so you have something special to wear while opening your presents!
- 10/05/2011 2:52 pm
- Sally Jane Vintage said...
All of it is so, so lovely! The bird prints are just wonderful. :)
- 10/05/2011 2:58 pm
- Taylor Kitto / The Little Deer said...
Everything is wonderful and gorgeous!
I absolutely love all of those prints... and the tights!
- 10/05/2011 5:00 pm
- Aleyn Comprendio said...
Nadinoo never fails to amaze us all <3 Possibly one of the most beautiful autumn 11 collection ive seen in my life!
- 10/05/2011 5:18 pm
- Maria Confer said...
I am blown away! The bird prints are stunning!
- 10/05/2011 5:35 pm
Every piece is so beautiful!
I am constantly inspired by your creations ♥
- 10/05/2011 5:43 pm
- Ashley Ording said...
Oh you are such a little genius. The collection is as beautiful as I knew it would be. Every little detail... you are too good! xoxo
- 10/05/2011 6:38 pm
- giselaandzoe said...
love all of them but the 3 i would love to own is the caftan dress, trousers and top!
great job! every season keeps getting better and better and harder to not buy! but i definitely will when i'm able too!
- 10/05/2011 7:07 pm
- YinGSaran said...
love the collection, look amazing
- 10/05/2011 7:10 pm
- Raquel Faria said...
♥ You know I love all of them!
- 10/05/2011 8:22 pm
- Anna Wallace said...
O0H MY GOSH THIS IS PERFECTION. the tent dress with the yellow stockings are just dreamy.
- 10/05/2011 10:48 pm
- Caitlin Rose said...
It's beautiful Nadia. The colours are so gorgeous. I love that cape-esque dress and that long skirt. But everything is stunning! Well done again!
- 10/06/2011 1:42 am
- Jo - Lost in the Haze said...
Wow wow wow! Nadia and team, you have done AMAZINGLY! I am seriously in love! I saw the sneak peek on Rosapina Vintage a while back, and have been eagerly awaiting the beautiful bird print! Love love love!
- 10/06/2011 8:03 am
The bird shirt !!!!
I hope it will be the first one to hit your lovely boutique :)
- 10/06/2011 10:49 am
So pretty! I LOVE the dress in the 6th picture. Lovely my dear :)
- 10/08/2011 1:00 am
- Annalise said...
So many pretty things, how can choose which one I want? The prints are all fabulous and just what I have on my wish list for fall. The sweet collars are just killing me. You have done an amazing job!
- 10/09/2011 6:23 pm
- Odessa said...
the prints are breathtakingly beautiful...i love them all! so in love with that 4th dress with the belt. :)
- 10/12/2011 6:16 am
- iris said...
Hi Nadia, they are seriously amazing. Congrats for this collection, you don't stop to amazed us! :)
It's difficult to choose a favourite! I'll post them in my blog at the end of this week. :-)
xxx from madrid!
- 10/16/2011 7:36 pm
- Aoife said...
One word: genius! I feel like I'm in The Animals of Farthing Wood. Your work is exceptionally wonderful xx
- 10/17/2011 12:06 pm


text:
Dear All,
I have decided to port an application that I wrote In C# in Managed C++ as I see that there is an advantage of mixing (directly,without DLL) managed and unmanaged code.I am mainly a pure C++ Win32 programmer.
The app is WinForm based.Under C#, I had this :
[return: MarshalAs(UnmanagedType.Bool)]
public static extern bool GetIconInfo(IntPtr hIcon, ref IconInfo pIconInfo);
public static extern IntPtr CreateIconIndirect(ref IconInfo icon);
public struct IconInfo
public bool fIcon;
public int xHotspot;
public int yHotspot;
public IntPtr hbmMask;
public IntPtr hbmColor;
public static Cursor CreateCursor(Bitmap bmp, int xHotSpot, int yHotSpot)
Bitmap x;
IntPtr ptr = bmp.GetHicon();
IconInfo tmp = new IconInfo();
GetIconInfo(ptr, ref tmp);
tmp.xHotspot = xHotSpot;
tmp.yHotspot = yHotSpot;
tmp.fIcon = false;
ptr = CreateIconIndirect(ref tmp);
return new Cursor(ptr);
I need the same think in managed c++,in order to be able to use the resulting cursor in managed code,so,I wrote that:
ref struct IconInfo
bool fIcon;
Int32 xHotspot;
Int32 yHotspot;
IntPtr hbmMask;
IntPtr hbmColor;
static bool GetIconInfo(IntPtr hIcon, IconInfo^ pIconInfo);
static IntPtr CreateIconIndirect(IconInfo^ icon);
Cursor^ ControlsHelpers::CreateCursor(Bitmap^ bmp, int xHotSpot, int yHotSpot)
IntPtr ptr = bmp->GetHicon();
IconInfo^ tmp = gcnew IconInfo();
tmp->xHotspot = xHotSpot;
tmp->yHotspot = yHotSpot;
tmp->fIcon = false;
ptr = CreateIconIndirect(tmp);
return gcnew Cursor(ptr);
The problem is that the GetIconInfo call fails (IconInfo structure containt is mostly NULL).
I am a bit confused from what I learnt the managed C++ has two new operators for unmanaged (^ = * and % = &),maybe I am wrong with the call?!
Any idea?
I would like also to say that it is very hard to find good information about managed C++,I think
that this language is very powerfull for heavy processing (MFC is dead,there is WinForms and still able to use fast unmanaged).
Thank you in advance,
Best regards.


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No. Of People
Minutes walk to the marina
Isle of Wight Festival Accommodation Accommodation, Cowes Isle of Wight
The Isle of Wight Pop Festival continues to draw large crowds, many of whom prefer to rent a house or cottage rather than camp at the site. If you need Pop Festival Accommodation then it is best to email us as availability is limited.
Property Ref: 149
Beautiful four bedroom, three bathroom gite in the Charente Maritime sleeping up to ten. Very large swimming pool (15 metres by eight metres with diving board) and sun terrace. Four bedrooms, two of which have en-suite shower rooms, one of those being on the ground floor.
The gite was completed in June 2012. A plan is available. Everything is brand new with full insulation (important in the hot summers), new bathrooms and kitchens from the UK and laminate flooring, slate laminate in the kitchen and bathrooms, and cherry everywhere else.
The gite is wired for internet and multi-media, and there is a hard drive with 250 plus films and 33,000 songs which are streamed to both of the ultra-thin TVs with sound bars. In the upstairs rumpus room there is also a Wii. Internet is also available wirelessly. If you bring your own PCs and DVDs then these can be plugged in and played as well.
There is a log burner there for chilly evenings and the whole gite is centrally heated in the winter.
There are lovely south facing views from all the bedrooms and reception rooms over rolling countryside with sunflowers, vines, wheat and corn. The gite has a private garden and BBQ area and plenty of parking.
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Property Ref: 121
Very impressive newly renovated (2011) four bedroom house with seperate two bedroom annexe. Huge entrtaining areas and large garden with decked area, the remainder laid to lawn. Fully fitted kitchen and seperate utility area with mega-flow tank so loads of hot water for the many bathrooms. Big TV's wifi etc. make this a great house for entertaining. Beds can be doubles or twins in all but one room. The annexe has two bedrooms, a further bathroom, and a living room, perfect for owner accommodation or for guests needing privacy.+ More details
Property Ref: 85
Lovely two bedroom ground floor apartment one block back from the seafront in the very popular Marinus development. Two bedrooms with parking immediately adjacent. Great views towards the Solent. Newly furnished to a very high standard with modern fully equipped biult in kitchen.+ More details
Property Ref: 104
Stunning interior designed family home on Mill Hill Road. Immaculately presented on three floors with three double rooms to which single beds can be added plus a further two single rooms. There is also a king sized sofa bed in the lounge. There are two bathrooms, one on each of the upper floors The immaculate feel extends to the garden which is perfect for corporate or family entertainment.+ More details
Property Ref: 44
A fabulously positioned (100 yards from Cowes Yacht Haven) with 4 bedrooms sleeping 8 with two bathrooms. Internally, the property is set over three floors and is finished to a high standard throughout with an open plan living, kitchen and dining area. Externally, there is a fully furnished decking area which is accessed via sliding doors which open out from the kitchen area.
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Property Ref: 148
Set in 6 acres of garden sloping down to our own lake, our two gites which are the old stables are being totally refurbished in 2011/12 and ready for Spring half term 2012. We have a huge 15m by 8m heated pool and loads of garden for playing in. We are in the Charente Maritime, 40 minutes from La Rochelle, 30 minutes from the nearest beach which is good because the Charente Maritime is the second sunniest region in France after the Cote d'Azur. We are surrounded by fields, some sunflowers and some wheat. the gites have their own private gardens and BBQ areas which face South. As we are renovating them at the moment there are only photos however if you have stayed at Windrush or Exmouth House before you will know what our standards are like. They will have fully fitted kitchens, cosy lounges, plenty of dining space both inside and out and modern hi specification bathrooms. We look forward to welcoming you.+ More details
Property Ref: 137
Lovely second floor apartment in the perrenially popular Marinus development. All mod cons including fully fitted kitchen, wifi, balcony, stunning views over the Solent. One twin room and one double with a very homely feel throughout.+ More details
Property Ref: 3
Simply stunning four bedroom house on three levels right on the waterfont in the heart of Old Cowes. The property has just been refurbished by new owners for 2014 Cowes Week. The best views, two balconies, two reception rooms, waterfront garden, RIB launching crane, everything you could want for Cowes Week. Set out with luxury owners accommodation on the top floor with private balcony. The middle floor is the entertaining area with fully fitted kitchen, dining area, lounge and balcony leading down to the garden. The lower floor is the crew accommodation set out as three bedrooms and a spacious crew lounge leading onto the garden and waterfront. The standard capacity of the house is eight with an additional double sofa-bed in the crew lounge if required. This property provides a unique Cowes Week experience.+ More details
Property Ref: 150
The only three bedroom Marinus apartment regularly available. At the very front of the building with views to die for. Two bedrooms with zip and link beds that can be doubles or singles and a further bedroom with grown up bunks. All the mod cons usualy associated with the Marinus apartments, fully fitted kitychen, wifi, dedicated secure parking etc.+ More details
Property Ref: 140
Second floor Marinus apartment immaculately presented with Period furniture. All the usual mod cons in a timewarp. Balcony with great view up the Solent. Available for Cowes Week, LBCC, Commodores Cup+ More details