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Gnarly Adventurer
Joined: Feb 2012
Location: Northern EU
Oddometer: 109
The Black Sea tour 2012_ adv style
Hello - Hello!
For a breef moment there I hesitated and thought that I would not be making this trip at all.
After giving it a proper concideration - aww, lets say at least 2 minutes or so, I decided It Must Be Done.
The time of year is spring and I´m making myself a big sandwich to go with my even bigger apple juice.
I´m thinking of the places that my father has traveled and feeling not up to that. I feel like, whilst reaching almost 30, I´m somewhat behind all that, what he had achieved and seen by that time. So I pick up a book that describes the life and nature on the coasts of the Black Sea. Just by reading something so spectacular (written o so - 70 years ago) my mind already wonders off into motorcycle daydreams of ironbutting myself down there. Why "down" there?? - well, because I´m an estonian guy, from northern part of Europe ( for those who don´t know what Estonia is - its a little splat of green on the map just below finland - You know, the place Santa is from ).
It takes me half a year to get the budjet ready and to have a reserve for the trip. It also involves my bike being changed - from a K4 gixxer to a K3 DL1000 V-Strom. Getting aquainted with new folks for the trip and gearing properly up for the task.
I will not start with all that I thought that needed to get done to the bike to make it "my" bike and up for the trip - but lets say, it took some time and effort and plenty of EUR-os. Here goes out a big THANK YOU to my friend, who helped with the engine rebuild and also gps mounts and other bits and pieces. Nothing substitutes a good friend, I think.
The plan was simple from the beginning - I have 16 days off from work - I will try to make the best use of that.
Here is the base map link for You all. https://maps.google.com/maps?saddr=T...,15,16&t=m&z=5
There will be corrections to it. There always are. But the idea is to ride and enjoy and visit places, that we never seen before and take a ton of pictures.
So a little intro for the bikes as well - and contestants -
1) There is a proper mud/dirt lover KTM Adventure with a skinny dude on top of it, whom we call MUNK
2) There will be a spirited "treehugger" friend on a Suzuki SV 1000
3) And then there is me. Just me, riding on a "fluffy" DL1000
Some gear introduction -
on the bike:
Metzeler tourance tyres
custom made over dash GPS mount
crash bars
Kappa 35l top
2x 25l sides - military style
new chain and original sprockets
MRA - touring windscreen lip
thicker fork oil
12V outlets and USB charger mounted
Stuff for me:
Helmet by HJC - FS-15 with some aerodynamics mods on it
Warm /mesh gloves EVO
Cold weather/fat leather gloves - noname
Lindstrands motorcycle jeans with CE protectors and kevlar
Motoboots by Xped
coolmax underpants
many different breathable shirts
Rain gear
EVO 3-in- 1 Adventure jacket
Windstopper by New balance
fff- load of socks
flip-flops for the beach
hygiene stuff
Helmet cam - VADO HD
DSLR - Pentax K200 Weather proof with two "tubes"
GPS - with smartphone LG Optimus 2x
Pic of my dog
and PAPERWORK - feels like I´m making a RTW trip.
Since the trip is due from 29th of june - we are still making preparations and therefore I have some pics to upload.
As things develop, there will be more to come but for now - lets just end on that.
PIc of cam setup
PIC of airvent that needed "tuning" in order to make the helmet really quiet
Pic of the bluetooth settings on the helmet
not actually final version - but its working already.
Pic of the army style boxes that still need some work and fitment
NOTE! - full aluminium - weigh probably less than my cam bag.
Pic of my DL getting the side case carriers mounted.
These things are from GIVI and mount up in 20 minutes.
Now all they need are the cases...
Now its getting to late already and a lot of stuff still need sorting out - but we have a whole week to deal with everything
and I´ll be posting as time goes along...
Gnarly Adventurer
Joined: Feb 2012
Location: Northern EU
Oddometer: 109
7 days till D-day.
Today was a good day at the garage.
Side cases got painted and drilled and mounted. Also the boxes lids got welded, just in case.
Oil got changed, nuts and bolts tightened and then some.
We have a weekend of national summer holiday and massive barbeque coming upp, so I hope to be in good shape next week to crack on with the stuff that still need sorting out.
Still waiting for some stuff from backorder and got my riding pants back from the tailor (they needed some work so my fat ass would feel more comfy in em ).
Here is a pic of the panniers mounted to the bike.
Gnarly Adventurer
Joined: Feb 2012
Location: Northern EU
Oddometer: 109
3 days till D-day.
3 Days till D-day.
The day before yesturday I was really busy in the garage, getting all the mounts checked and painting the boxes one more time. Since the first installation of the boxes did not satisfy my anal needs for perfection - I decided to do it again.
This time got the boxes evenly seated and the bolts and nuts fit just perfectly.
Here is a little pretty "photoshoparized" picture of the Strom with the stickers and the boxes ready for action.
Now after getting all the gear stuff ready - I thought it might be a good time to check all the technical things again, just to be sure...
I did the old "oil plug loose let it drip on paper" oil test and what i got, was a brownyellowish oil drop that spread nicely evenly and in a good way. And just as I was getting happy with the thing i saw a shiney piece of metal in there
Let out some more oil from the tank and got some more of these "flakes". Theyr size is like 0,3mm by 2,0mm and they have a aluminium look to them. Not magnetic also. (sorry - no pics of it).
Just to make me not start wimp and twist and turn on the garage floor, I decided - well, it must be from the engine "open- brake clutchbasket- new stuff in - clean oil filter - close" cycle that we did on the motor during winter.
So in order to make my day a little "softer" took the decision of changin oil completely again. 10W-40 semi-synth went in and itll have to hold for the trip. Nothing seemed to come out of the oil filter so i hope for the best. (now getting the oil filter off was a totally different story - the amount of s*ts and da*ns and other strong words were needed to persuede the oil filter to get loose. (that last oil change was probably done by a true brofecionaldo who found that 12Nm of torque, written of the filter, means : AS TIGHT AS F***).
Back home:
lot of searching and sniffing around...
No, thats not me - that was my Jack Russel going through the stuff that got piled on the floor of my bedroom.
Lot of shopping needed to be done also. So here is a 90% readyness pic of the stuff that got sniffed by the expert..
Here is the expert:
And here is the unorganized pile of equipment.
After an hour and a half of hard work and heavy labour the result was amazing - I could see it now fitting to the side cases, even without using massive amount of hydraulic pressure
Today we make one of the packing tests and we´ll see it from there, what still need to be sorted...
Don't want a pickle
Joined: Jun 2011
Location: Fin Land
Oddometer: 246
Seems like a great trip coming up
I'm off towards the Black Sea from Helsinki this Saturday. I got a bit different route plan (or actually I'm still sort of working on it) but maybe I'll see you down the road.
First I was planning to go through St. Petersburg and then south but now I'm thinking to save some time and take the first ferry to Tallinn on Saturday morning and then ride to Russia from there. Still waiting for the Russian visa though
Since I'm on a tightish schedule I'm not planning to spend much time on the Black Sea, maybe just check out Odessa. I try to save more time to exploring the Carpathian mountain passes.
Gnarly Adventurer
Joined: Feb 2012
Location: Northern EU
Oddometer: 109
Safe travels!!!
We will be the ones with the estonian flags
And we will be around Odessa on the 7th and 8th July.
So we might meet!
Don't want a pickle
Joined: Jun 2011
Location: Fin Land
Oddometer: 246
Rode from Bryansk to Kiev today, probably the most boring road in the world.
Only entertainment was a dozen speed traps on the way
Looks like I'll be in Odessa tomorrow already, then I'm off to Carpathians through Moldova.
Ride safe and watch out for the militsiya!
Gnarly Adventurer
Joined: Feb 2012
Location: Northern EU
Oddometer: 109
Back home...
Hello fellow adventurers.
The trip is done.
It was hard and interesting and full of adventures and many "sights" to see and photograph.
Through the technical issues and the heat and stron rain we ran into people. People we will never forget and make our
days on this planet yet another bit more interesting and worth the effort.
I will start with the blogging tomorrow (because all the material needs sorting out) and post just a few teasers for now of the pics I took.
Here is us being sent on our merry way by some estonian moto-beauty -
isnt this just staggering what a motooutfit does to a beautiful woman
Here - after only few houndred kilometers You can see the KTM already acting upp.
Just You wait - it wount be the last of it...
Here is another reminder for us who (countries) were overrun by some of em´ - but being a man - try n keep yourself away from taking pictures
Now after miles and miles of bad roads and terribly hot weather we reached Yalta - and had some seal sightseeing to be done :)
Trust me - there is plenty more, where all that came from...
Gnarly Adventurer
Joined: Feb 2012
Location: Northern EU
Oddometer: 109
Day 1 of that trip
So here we go:
It was the friday of 29th of june when i got off work at around 1600hours and headed off towards home.
I took the liberty of having fun with my dog for about 10 minutes, took a walk with her and then changed my clothes from the corporate crap to something more suitable for a MOTORCYCLE TRIP! I still had some unpacked stuff on me. And a lot of it. The case had been - i tried to get everything packed already 2days beforehand and managed it. Problem was, I forgot some stuff. OK - said goodbye to home and dog and took a last drive with the car to the garage. I had a plastic bag full of stuff that still needed fitting and I did the obvious. Took 1 or two things that looked like I would really use on the trip and left the rest to the side. Now, whilst rolling the bike out the garage I almost dropped it. Was it that the bike was heavy or that I had gotten so nervous - dunno, but the "omgimgonnadropthecow" moment was totally there. Alright then - out the garage and onto the road.
A quick call to MUNK to say I´m ready and to get confirmation - he was not.
Here is the last pic before starting the rolling from the garage.
I then headed off to the last gas station I would see on my "hometerritory".
Had there been a good communication between us - I would have not needed to wait another hour in the gas station parking lot, for the "carrot racing team" of MUNK and he´s KTM. But after cooking in the sun for about 53minutes and some sec - but hey, who was counting, right - I saw the orange epicness of traveldsome friend - I say the grin on his face was so big it barely fit into the helmet.
A little bit of bla -bla and were off to vacation!!!
The ride from Tallinn to the crossroads of Tartu freeway and Jõgeva fw. was just as boring as playing chess with a sleeping rock. But then!!! the almighty slapped us in the face with a nice piece of evidence, that He exists and took a lot more time when creating a woman, than a man! Since our pace had been modest, to say the least - we were met by an estonian motowoman already miles ahead of our destination and she was kind enough to lead the (now not so boring way anymore) to Tarmos house. Though must say - if she were to lead us into some bush or lets say straight over a cliff - we would have probably followed with no questiones asked.
Well after 25 or so miles we finally reached the fields of Tarmo´s home and were greeted by a barking behemoth and a family of three - Tarmo, the woman and a shy little 3yo girl they had managed to create.
Here is the big bike comparison going on and all the "omgyougotthisandigotthat" talk.
The evening carried on with a plan on the desk and beercans around it with some raw-ish meat (reminder never to let women near the meat grill - Tarmo) and some good old fashioned sauna, that we really needed, to get the edge off a bit.
Here are Tarmo and MUNK - the last one of them studing the bluetooth pairing system - that we never got to work properly, because there was some problem with one of the mics.
And after all the meat and the shbones and the bla-bla till 0200am we went to bed @ Tarmo´s house and waited till the early morgning...
To be continued...
Here and There
Joined: Nov 2009
Location: Middle of the USA
Oddometer: 59
Good beginning.
Gnarly Adventurer
Joined: Feb 2012
Location: Northern EU
Oddometer: 109
Day 2 of that trip
It is 0600 am and I can hear someone walking nervously around the house.
Is it me - or is it a bit early for breakfast at that time of day.
Well - it was the "tripnerv" of Tarmo, that did not let him sleep longer than that and made him run around the house - collecting some last minute stuff together.
We hauled our asses off the couch and got dressed to be greeted with the good smell of pancakes and a sleepy face of Tarmo`s wife and child. Nothing like homemade pancake with morgning cartoons, huh!??!
After collecting our minds and getting the gear ready and pumping blood with fresh cafein - we were ready to get outside and start making our way from estonia to latvija and the border of belarus.
For the first day we had only 250miles or even less planned and on that route there should be some nice scenery and good roads to ride, but we´ll come to that later.
Here are the somewhat still sleepy faces gathering around bikes and preping to leave home for a longer run.
The miles piled up and we were already feeling the heat on our back. Weather was nice and roads clean and the bikes happy to be on them. In southern part of estonia we suddenly bumped into a gathering.
And a nice one it was! Many classic cars on the side of the road, just waiting for us to take pictures and film all the oldtimer glory.
Since the heat and the anxiousness was already getting on our nerves - we desided to ride on and not let the pretty cars take up too much of our precious time. In the southern part of estonia there are many places where a tourist will find themselves looking from left to right and just going "awwwwwwww" all the time. Wheater its the beatiful nature, the pretty little homes or the humpy streets and curvy roads - its the same to us too. I use to serve my time on the boarder over there many years ago and have never been back since. Nostalgic, frantic and feeling like almost home - but all the good gravel roads have now turned into tarmac and the little shops that were still breathing 10years ago are now gone. Its like going to Your old apartment - You feel as if it is homelike but the new people have ruined the set for you.
Nevertheless - here are some pics of the sand dunes of Piusa:
And here is a longest daisy i have ever seen, growing in the middle of the forest just alone.
It´s Tarmo - lending a hand(groin) to measure the height of the flower.
Just a few miles up the road we can see the new big railway station already up and running.
So we took some pictures - I just needed to climb up a very steep hill. My ass still remembers the way of newton´s law - what goes upp - must come down
This is where our official adventures in estonia ended. We still managed actually to get gas from an estonian station and visit a shop for food and purchase estonian flags for the bikes. Unfortunatelly they only had 2 so MUNK got them all.
It was around midday that we already reached the border of estonia and latvia. Of course we took the complimentary first border crossing pics.
here we are on estonian side -
and just 3feet further is already the other side
A few miles into latvija and we hit good gravel road. I stop to get confirmation from others - should we proceed or find another way?
Well - everybody is happy with the road so far, so lets go ahead and just ride the damn thing.
Guess what - it aint over until its over - huh? The road suppose to end into nice tarmac and some villages. But before that, it decided to deteriorate into some offroadish wabble of a road that wanted to dismantle me and the strom and the SV1000 that Tarmo was on. We stopped in the middle of the road, when it was the worst and decided to have lunch brake. MUNK was that "recon" guy this time with the KTM and turned off the road into the bush to find lake shore. He was back in 10 to give us bad news - no road for road bikes. He stopped for a second and KTM just threw up!
And I mean literally - everything that can come up, came up and poored onto the nice latvijan gravel.
What happened, was that the KTM overheated, the fan never started and it boiled the coolant out of the reservoir.
Here You can see MUNK sticking a little branch into the fan blades triyng to make them move.
After half an hour on the side of the road - we felt the engine being cool enough to make it to the next place on a lake shore and make a rest there. We tried to remove the fan with everything we had on us, but the damn thing was just too packed away - so we decided to let it stay and go to a computer shop in the next big town and get us computer fan that can be activated on demand. We got the fan moving again - thought just that something caught in the blades for a moment or so and ditched the idea of the separate fan for now. (boy was that a wrong decision or what).
Camp for the afternoon near some small lake in latvia.
Some more technical talk - the rough road had wabbeled loose Tarmo´s bike steering damper. It was almost on its way to latvijan bush when I touched it, whilst fixing the bikes suspension settings. Tarmo complained about the bike hitting the bumps really hard. Well - the rear shock was ok to be adjusted but the front forks had been tampered with so, that there was no way of making them better. The last oil change of forks had been with a huge amount of overfill and even with no preload and no damping force dialed in - the forks were stiff as bone. It was the shitty situation that Tarmo had to live with for the rest of the way...
Now after some boring and fast miles of road we took a little rest near the village of Dricani and took some "situational" pictures.
Here is me - waiting for the bus, that never arrived.
It was a short stop - maybe 10 minutes just to get our head straight and carry on towards the next town where we needed to resupply and gather our thoughts on the evening and were to stay for the night.
Here is a picture of a "sleeping beauty" if You wish - in front of the big store that we visited for food and water.
And You can see the bikes getting heavier already - the heat needs you to gather water and such and it is not an easy deal whilst being cramped with space on a motorcycle.
Small roads of latvia are friends of motorcyclists. You will find many abandoned sites or quiet lakeshores and so did we -
and if this isnt wild camping, I don´t know what is.
MUNK nearly slept on a tree - rather than under one.
After a while i cracked some branches in the bush and came out saying :" there is bear poo around here - so you better watch out"!
I guess the look on Tarmo´s face says it all - but I had a good night sleep
This day was ended by few zips of hot liquer and thousands of hungry latvian moskitos.
to be continued...
Gnarly Adventurer
Joined: Dec 2010
Location: Basel, Switzerland
Oddometer: 399
Nice start with a fun way of storytelling. I'm in for the ride.
Russia and Scandinavia 2011
Balkan-Istanbul 2012
Russia, Caucasus, Kazakhstan 2013
Gnarly Adventurer
Joined: Feb 2012
Location: Northern EU
Oddometer: 109
Day 3 of that trip.
Night 2 and day 3 of the trip.
I wake up in the tent to listen to the rain drops on my small home for 2 two weeks.
Will it hold, or will it make me wet like a bum on the streetcorner, who has nowhere to hide from the fury of the nature?
I hear a bear snoring right next to my tent. I picture meself the big animal eating me raw and licking the last piece of evidence of the bones. But actually it is just MUNK breathing rather heavily. On the other side of my accomodation i can hear the still restless countryman Tarmo. He is twisting and turning like a snake in a jar trying to find a way out of the tent. I even kinda feel like the situation bizzare. Quick look at the time and it is around 0400. We agreed to get up really early and tow our ass...ets to the border in order to get across quickly and with as little fuss as possible. Can´t remember the rest. Probably fell asleep for an hour or so.
I hear the phone ringing. Open one eye to look - "damn - 0600". And the training kicks in.
Out of the sleeping gear and into riding stuff - boots on, jacket, hood, put the camera stuff back and step out of the tent in less than 2 minutes.
Our last night fear came true - the bear had been here and eaten the rest of us!
Naah - just kidding. Quick "good mooooorgning vieetnaaaaaaaam" as loud as I can yell to the fellows and we start the morgning ritual of coocking and mocking.
All packed and ready to leave - I´m the first to have a go at the mountain side, that we lowered ourselves down from, last night. Suppose to be slippery and scary to get up - but no, its like any other soft road. Here I do need to post the pictures of the climb and the complimentary pic to ADV. I was suppose to get the sticker but never made it. So i used what was left of the morgning moisture and latvijan dirt.
Here is the SV1000 crawling up the hill
here just a pretty sight of the road, that we found the lake shore nearby.
And here is the famous ADV sticker - that really isn´t a sticker.
Then - after fighting with the gps for several miles I decided to take the matters into my own hands.
This is what happened.
I found the only patch of soft dirt on this road and totally lost the front of the strom there.
Went down like mammoth with a pierced heart. Hit my head on the ground and twisted the left shoulder a bit whilst trying to soften the blow.
The result - lot of dirt on me, on the bike and on the gear. Broken left turning signal light and somewhat tilted left side box.
And the most - I think I totally lost the "honor" thingy right there. Picked up what was left of my self asteem and just carried on, like the GPS suggested.
Under the latvijan disappearing sun (don´t get me wrong, it was the bloody rain that tried to catch up with us again) we reached the border of Belarus!
Is all paperwork over there - for two hours of running around and filling dokuments we have no idea what they mean.
But a very helpful local guy gave us a hand with that all. And the LADIES on the Belarussian side. If they were to detain us for a proper search - I know, I would not have minded that.
After 2-3 hours over there and swetting like pigs we finally reached the other side.
Taking the complimentary picture of the sign and waving goodbye to the nice borderguardesses, we headed off towards SE of Belarus. And even if the first few houndred yards of the belarussian road shocked us (especially me, who was still a bit on the edge, because of the morgning mishap) the road after that was totally fine.
We rode on the bigger road from Polatsk to Vitsebsk to Homyel and finally to the border by the end of the day.
Having a transit visa - good for 48hours after check in - is no problem, if You don´ t have any technical issues.
Here is tarmo - shooting the good and cheap!!! - 0.7 eur/l petrol.
As for the architecture in Belarus - well, its no where near EURO style, we might say, but the country is clean and maintained. Is it the suppression, or the local "order" but everything is quiet and neat and very clean.
Anyway - we had a pause near a gas station and had lunch brake just to admire the breeze of summer and take pics of the weird looking trams.
Is it me - or they look like doors are added later for comfort?
And here is just a weird looking thingy at the same gas station
- they actually even had fountain on the other side and a little cafe - but we were "dirtyminded" for that institution, so we stayed outside with the horses.
And good for that - at some point, during the meal a car makes a sudden U-turn on the big road (tyres screaming and everything) and pulls up right next to us. guy steps out of the van and comes straight to us - :" So tourists, huh? How much this motorcycle cost?" Now - I can relate to people being curious and such, but this seemed a little too straight forward.
So I said :"How much You got?" The man looked at me funny for a few seconds and then just nodded for a confirmation to the other guy, who was sitting behind the wheel and the took off again.
Was that the hint that we had been sitting long enough on one spot? Dunno, but pretty soon after that we started moving again...
Here is the "camp" at the site.
So we took off into the light breeze and heat of the Belarus.
Next stop - another gas station, where MUNK needed to get some more coolant for the KTM to throw up again.
We needed RED coolant - he bought green/blue. The perky girl behind the counter never let us return the wrong one - and just made us buy another one. Maybe it was the heat or the girl, but we barely complained
MONK here - getting the "syrup" ready.
And Tarmo, being all "ahh, look at me, my bike´s got no trouble at all".
Thank You for visiting and come back again -
You´ll see that everywhere in belarus. Just expect trouble when filling up with credit card. They still use the :" I want 20l fuel" - and need to pay forehand for everything.
This is the last gas station and the bigger stop before reaching Ukrainian and Belarus border, later that evening.
We lubed the chains, checked the oil and tyres and let some air out of the pants - here You can see that MUNK almost lost he´s.
SV1000 inspection - bend over style :)
And then it was time for us the waste the rest of the daylight and the dark time on the border.
It was just an emmence time of running around with papers, getting yelled at by officers and many stupid questions like" What is - keitiemm?? - this is no motorcycle!!!"
Never got the chance to take a picture of a loose dog on the checkpoint territory, but I must say I totally fell for that little thing. It was a knee high dark gray dog with tips of the paws and tail all white. And with attitude and somewhat royal behaviour. Oh yeah - if I did not mention it before then there are a lot of loose dogs in these countries.
We spent our 6,5 hours on the border. Took off from there to ride into complete darkness and turn of the main road after 3-4 miles and camped in the woods. My god they have vicious moskitos there.
The end of day 3 and we are sleeping in Ukraine already.
to be continued...
Gnarly Adventurer
Joined: Feb 2012
Location: Northern EU
Oddometer: 109
Day 4 of that trip.
Its day 4. We have managed to find a hideout on a little trail to the woods just near the border from Belarus. It is basically the same place as Chernobol - just on the other side of the big water reservoir.
Anyway - its already 0600 am and I take a cold peek out of the 2x2 hole in front of my nose. I hear some weird noises. Again with the bears! - Nop, its the sleepy men next to me and some local folk riding theyr bicyles down the road.
OK - its time to wake up and look around, what the moskitos have eaten away this time. Usually they clear out by the morgning, but noo, not these! They been hungry the whole night and now that the graveyard shift is over, they called for backup. Morgning snack is eaten whilst whipping with some leafs around my head and trying to survive the attacks.
This is our camp for the short night that we had.
Plan of today - Go to Kiev, take pictures, travel north and try to get in to Chernobol. (let us be reminded that since last year the introduced a military checkpoint system to the Zone and it is quite hard to get close, apparently many visitors never liked to just take pictures of the things, but take the radioactive stuff with them).
Now it takes us half the day to get there. Some of what is due to the heat and some of it just cause we slow and taking pictures of tanks and such on the way.
Here is an example of one of the tanks that needed picture taking!
And this is MUNK getting the best of he´s phones abilities to take pics.
Soon after taking pics of the tank we hear a big bug coming down the road.
After sleeping only, o say 2 hours, You start to make wrong connections between stuff.
It was a whining noise but behind that noise was a full grown Ukrainian man with a russian built scooter.
The guy on the scoooter yelled something - we cound not get the meaning of it - so we just waved and went on our merry way.
After few miles down the (now not so merry) way we needed gas again. It was somewhere between Chernihiv and Kiev that we found a good spot to make a pause and finish the morgning ritual also, that the moskitos had totally ruined earlier that day. In the gas station we had a lot of intention like always.
Suddenly a guy drives up to us with a Hyundai Sonata with totally blacked out windows and starts yappin so fast in russian, I could not underestand a word he said. Then asks from us - :" You from estonia- huh?" we nodded - just because having breakfast and our mouths were full of moskito salvage.
then he goes on :" I was in estonia once, the police sucks there, I was driving only 10, maybe 15 km/h faster than was allowed and they wrote me a ticket! Here in Ukraine you can drive as fast as You want!"
On that bomshell he thought it would be appropriate to leave us with such a hasty abandon that the skidmarks will probably be there for another few years.
Then the bikes - a little chekup showed us that the tyres are working ok and we are moving on right pressure and pace for them. All the nuts and pieces seemed to be in order too. Even on the "carrot racing team" machine.
Suddenly a very nifty girl pops up right next to our bikes. I take my camera out and she just picks up her phone and starts a call, while walking away from us. Well I don´t mind - I say neglection is as good as saying yes quietly
So here is the back of her :
And also the front of her :
2 seconds later I hear a man laughing loudly maybe 10ft away.
Its her father - looking at us, looking at her, looking at me, taking pictures of her
Now she smiles and makes a weird gesture with her hand but the camera is already off and the gloves go on and it is time for us to ride again. (its around 1030 am and +30 degrees celcius outside)
An hour later I can already offer You a panorama of the Kiev city center and the new bridge being built right in the middle of that all.
This is the harbour on the south side, where we stopped for a breef moment to take a few pics and comment on the immence heat...
Here You can see the cruiser on dock, being washed by two young guys on top of it - who were literally also throwing garbage off the boat.
But all the garbage and oil and such never bothered this guy from fishing.
From what I hear, they even might be selling the caught stuff to tourists right there on the spot.
We were out of gas again. Not really - but we wanted to have more when going towards Chernobol, because You never know what adventures may lay ahead.
We cross the old big wabbly bridge to the other side and find a nice Lukoil gas station. Why that - well because they have the advertisment on the billboard that they do take VISA. And it works. Aside from the unnatural heat, I find Kiev not too big nor intimidating. Maybe its the russian way of work ethics that really calms me down.
Don´t let the problems bother You and You´ll live longer.
We take off - we know, the road is bad and full of villages and roadwork so it must take us at least few hours to get to the checkpoint of Chernobol.
About 60- or 70 km later we are toast. The weather is so hot, that we need a rest and lunchtime is nearing. We spot a big bridge on the way where we can see locals going swimming. Heureka moment not a second too soon. Park the bikes take off Your clothes and little splatting later we are offline for at least an hour.
In the shade of some big trees, where we sleep, I finally wake up. I hear kids jumping into the water, I see the sun burning through the branches of the tree and I hear a weird noise of someone fixing a bike. You know - wrenches dropping and some swearing going one etc.
For now, this was MUNK - trying to do something to the KTM - that really never worked.
But not too far from us I spot a local couple eyeballing us for a longer period of time already. So I grab the cam and take a pic before they jump up screaming something like: "ESTONIANS, run for your life!"
Here the local kids swimming.
And one poor classic being tortured by a half naked guy in the sun.
it is now around early afternoon. We have only a little bit to go further. And that is what we do.
As You get closer and closer to Chernobol region, You will see less and less people around. The road is pretty ok for the most part of it and not much traffic on it. You´ll see military preposts and local police sitting around almost every corner here. During that heat and time of day they barely move an inch.
We reach the place where just 20Y ago the big sign stood and where the monument for founders and builders stood.
This is what You now see on the side of the road.
Some "brigada" has of course used the other side (wich is white) to make their mark for being there some time ago.
And in the bush, on the other side of the road, is the older, "nothing to see here" type of thingy.
All the metal plates have been taken off of it and when looking from the road, its almost invisible already.
No more than 5 or 10 minutes later we reach the so-called gate.
Bunch of overheated guys with automatic rifles. You can´t argue that they don´t make an appearance there.
We park our bikes into shade of the old bus station and look around a little. Read the signs and consume astonishing amount of water in that heat. I walk up to the booth where the sweating guys sit in and knock on the window. A blond officer with he´s face all red and shirt totally soaked with sweat asks me what the hell do I want? I reply with my tired voice, that I´m looking for a way In to the region. He says - no WAY! There is something about 4 guys with AK47-s that makes You belive whatever they say - wonder why is that ?!?
He then sits down to his chair and tells me :" the Zone can only be visited by tour bus - no motorcycle allowed. The tour is organized from Kiev, by a company and normally once a week." He gave us the contact and closed the booth hatch.
This is us - coocking in the shade of that bus- station right in front of checkpoint-
And a little memorial place for the fallen komrads in Chernobol.
No more than 50m back from the checkpoint there is a road that points to a village.
The village is quite big - and probably once inhabited many, many people and might even have had a school and such.
But today - the roads are diminishing, more than half of the houses are empty and the people really skeptic and most of them of very old age. I don´t have pictures of the place because we rode most of the time there, but there is a video that I will post here.
AT that time, the KTM - or the "carrot racing team machine" finally gave up. It was just too hot and it overheated and threw up again. We stood in the shade and could see us getting into trouble with that bike overheating all the time. Remember - this was just the north Ukraine. Whilst sitting there and letting the KTM cool down a bit and ourselves heat up - a guy walkes out of the bushes. Young man - no more than 27-28, looking like he had been to a pretty nasty fight with bear.
He had cuts and bruises all over the place - the face was mutalized and his hands had many stitches on them and I believe one of them was badly swollen. He comes up to me and starts mumbling. I get a glimps at his mouth and all the bells and whistles start going off in my head! The mans jaw is broken. And I don´t mean like fracture but broken! His mouth is held together by clamps in it and his face is totally out of poportion on the left side. He offers to lead us a wat to a small beach and such and says how the life sucks there. Then - and I was actually waiting for that already in the beginning - he puts his hand on my jacket and asks for money. I can see from the corner of my eye that others have already put theyr helmets back on and Tarmo suddenly asks :" do we need to prep for a running start?" - I try to make meself as calm as possible and answer:" No, I don´t think it will be needed." Then MUNK all of a sudden starts the KTM and I see the guy getting nervous.
He takes a few steps back and waves - I see maybe 30 yards to my left another (kinda similar looking) guy walking towards us pretty fast - by now KTM already moves and so does Tarmo with the SV. For some reason - taking the situation out of context - it makes you feel as stupid as can be - but there - in the bush, with one limping KTM, us being in the middle of nowhere, feeling like intruders on the territory of Hunns - it got me all worked up for a second.
In a second i pull my helmet on and start the bike and make it roll in one movement - don´t even mind the gloves or the jacket or anything. For a second i see the new guy running - maybe 5 yards from me - and then just leaving the situation like that.
We ride off. We ride in quiet - we keep the distance and never mention the situation until the very evening.
But the Carrot racing team - well, thats another story all together.
We are on the bigger road now - we are about 80-90KM from Kiev. We hope that there will be some help on the way or at least some Internet.
This gas station is the best we can do.
To the right You see a red VW. This car belongs to the man operating in the tyre repair shop. He is going to be the only help we can get around these parts. There is actually a carparts shop in this godforsaken place - and it is the same place- yes - on the street, just you name the piece and behind the tall yard there are many cars with salvageable parts on them. Some of them are put out on the stand - with even some prices and such. You see to the left of our bikes there is a glass door and something that looks like your china cabinet - well thats the counter for carpartsshop.
Anyhow - we start taking the KTM apart. Since it is hot like hell - not only the bike but also outside, it takes time. The clock reaches 2000pm. The guy who ownes the place just gives us the tools and tells us to give them afterwards to the man in the cage. I know my russian is a bit rusty but CAGE????
He leads me around the corner - to the gas station clerk. The man is sitting inside a little house that has so small window, You can barely put in the money and that has a door - solely out of metal bars. AKA - he is in a cage.
We take the pieces of the KTM -
have to face the facts - there is nothing to repair - the blower is toast. And I mean toast. Take a look at this -
By then we hear a note of frustration in MUNK´s voice. Shit - is it really happening.
OK - quick phonecall to our friend back home - (he just so happens to work in a pretty damn good motorcycle shop) And we ask for advice and help - there is no internet around - so maybe he could check if there is any help for motorcycles in Kiev?!?!!? A few minutes later I get a SMS with the adress and the phone nr of KTM center in KIEV!!! ok - we start looking for it in the gps. Piece of cake - huh? Let me remind You, Kiev is big - like enormous big - and the adress - it refers to a part of the city. OK -so we´ll find it tomorrow. We need to gather our stuff - give the tools to the man in the "cage" and think whats next. Well - the CAFE part of the gas-station is still open till 2200pm. We step inside and there are more than willing ladies ready to serve us ---- alcohol. By the looks of it, they have been at it the whole day and are now quietly softening the blow of the evening. But - we try nontheless. We hungry bikers from estonia, so we want to eat! 10 minutes later we are having warm meal and cold drinks and salad and everything. that all cost us 10 EUR aprox. Not tooo cheap, but back home it would have been 3-4x that much. So what more can You want !? A place to stay for the night! And we headed back towards the place we spent the noon of the day, on the river shore.
This is us - floting out of the CAFE place -
And a local non-goodluck- charm.
The last thing I remember taking pictures of that night, was the sunset.
Not only is it breathtakingly beatiful over there - it is so short - compared to the north, where we come from.
Chernobyl sun...
We unpacked - we cleaned ourselves in the pond/river and off to bed...
The heat is still there and so were the bloody moskitos...
the end of day 4.
to be continued...
Snowhite808 screwed with this post 07-20-2012 at 05:49 AM
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Thanks, excellent trip with lots of nostalgia and more to come.
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REGION: Volunteers look beneath surface for homeless
Results due out in April for countywide, biennial population count
As volunteers fanned out across Riverside County on a frosty Monday morning to count people without homes to call their own, a team assigned to part of Temecula found only a few.
Counters Jude Donahue of Canyon Lake and Richard Knapp of Lake Elsinore, and guide Derrick Robinson, recognized right off the bat a camper parked on a city street that was believed to be the abode of a homeless man.
"Count this guy," Knapp said. "He's been there for years."
But the three, who were among 18 volunteers working the Temecula-Murrieta-Wildomar area and more than 200 countywide, came across almost no one else in the well-to-do neighborhoods and business districts of northern Temecula.
Riverside County officials sponsored the minicensus, something the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development requires the nation's counties to take every other year.
Ronald Stewart, deputy director of the county Department of Public Social Services, said results of Monday's count will be available in April.
It is important to be accurate, he said, because the federal government distributes money for homeless programs based on those numbers.
The last count, taken in January 2009, estimated the county's homeless population at 3,366.
The county contracted with Applied Survey Research of Santa Cruz for $60,000 to coordinate this year's exercise.
Just before sunrise, the Temecula volunteers drove slowly past a bus stop in the Harveston area.
No one on the bench looked to be homeless.
"Let's hit the Del Tacos and doughnut shops," Knapp said. "That's where a lot of the homeless are hiding."
But there weren't any in the shops along Winchester Road.
The team circled a grocery store.
Often, homeless people congregate behind such stores, said Knapp, who had helped out with Riverside County's last such homeless count in 2009, volunteering in Lake Elsinore.
But no one was behind this food store at that time.
The trio stopped at a gas station ---- no one there, either.
"They put us on the side of town where nobody's at," Robinson said. "We got a bad map."
Robinson, 42, who has been homeless since his brother's family lost their six-bedroom Murrieta home in the housing crash of 2007 and moved into a two-bedroom apartment, wasn't suggesting the map was inaccurate.
Rather, he told the volunteers they would be hard-pressed to find anyone who fit the description of a homeless person in the upscale neighborhoods near Chaparral High School.
"Out here, the rent's so high and the homes are so expensive that if someone sees anyone homeless, they're going to call the cops," he said.
They headed for the other side of the freeway, where they would survey the area around the industrial park.
On the way, Donahue spotted a bearded man wearing a beanie and heavy coat walking the Winchester Road bridge over Interstate 15.
"What about that guy?" she asked.
"No," said Robinson. "His shoes are too clean."
The team did find fresh evidence of homeless visitation in the form of a couple of blankets along Murrieta Creek, north of Winchester.

subset: commoncrawl


text:
COLUMBIA CITY — When it comes to budgeting for the multi-faceted functions necessary to operate, the Whitley County Highway Department has the responsibility of micro-managing every cent.
The department has been allocated more than $2 million in budget dollars for 2011.
To read the rest of this story, please order an e-subscription, found under the e-edition subscription link, or call The Post & Mail at 244-5153, ext. 207 and ask for a subscription.
[1] http://www.thepostandmail.com/sites/default/files/Downtown Columbia City 006.jpg


text:
History Detectives | Civil War Bridge | PBS
Duration: 15:41
Program: History Detectives #711
Broadcast Date: Sep. 7, 2009
Winter 1865: the final stages of General Sherman's bloody march through the south. In an effort to protect the vital railroad hub Confederate soldiers destroy the remaining bridge over Broad River. Our contributor believes the marker commemorating this history has missed the mark. History Detectives examines the evidence to see if this discovery will redraw the maps of the Civil War.Tags:
History Detectives | Season 7,... (#711)
Full Program: Duke Ellington Plates; "Scottsboro Boys" Stamp; Civil War Bridge 54:38
History Detectives | Civil War... (#711)
Watch an exclusive interview with curator Joe Long. 03:31
History Detectives |... (#711)
Did a penny stamp help save the Scottsboro Boys from the electric chair? 17:48
History Detectives | Web Extra:... (#711)
Did a South Carolina man discover evidence that could redraw Civil War maps? 16:06
History Detectives | Duke... (#711)
Tukufu Zuberi goes to Duke Ellington's 110th birthday celebrations. 03:11
History Detectives | Chandler... (#912)
Full Program: Slave in a Confederate Uniform, Hollywood Indian Payroll, Fighting for Harlem Land Rights. 55:10
History Detectives | Wearing the... (#912)
In this rare photo of a black man in a Confederate uniform, was he soldier or slave? 19:57
History Detectives | Preview:... (#912)
Premieres Tuesday, October 11, 2011, 8:00 p.m. ET/PT. Check your local listings. 00:31
History Detectives | Marion... (#908)
Full Program: A first in White House photography, a doll used to smuggle drugs, an early map of Florida. 55:10
History Detectives | The Civil... (#908)
A family legend says a child and this doll smuggled drugs behind the Northern blockade. 18:13
History Detectives | Top Secret... (#905)
Full Program: A WWII prototype drone, a war memento for Teddy Roosevelt and a letter from Clara Barton. 55:10
History Detectives | Civil War... (#904)
Why did the Civil War soldier who wrote this letter ask to lead an African American unit? 16:55
History Detectives | The... (#903)
Did abolitionist rebels use this weapon in John Brown's notorious raid on Harpers Ferry? 18:44
History Detectives | On the...
Wes Cowan goes on a tour of the Kennedy Farmhouse. 02:08
History Detectives | Preview:... (#904)
HISTORY DETECTIVES investigate a Civil War soldier's letter, fabric from an aircraft that could be linked to Charles... 00:31
History Detectives | Propaganda... (#901)
Full Program: Decoding a propaganda leaflet, the women behind Tiffany and a father's forgotten tribute. 55:10
History Detectives | Civil War... (#904)
Full Program: A story of two Civil War letters, mystery aviation autographs & a 1950s black comic book. 55:10
History Detectives | John Brown... (#903)
Full Program: A spear from John Brown's raid, America's Siberian war and Ronald McDonald's first suit. 55:10
History Detectives | First... (#901)
Elyse Luray tries to match metal shavings to the right Civil War cannon. 18:04
- Watch more video from this program
Post Date: May 16, 2011


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MAC Cosmetics – Purple 016
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Search the Collection
of objects
Recto: The muscles and nerves of the leg. Verso: The muscles of the leg
Pen and ink over black chalk | RCIN 919035
Recto: a drawing of the inner surface of a left leg showing vessels and nerves; schema of the right sciatic nerve and its branches; the outer surface of a left leg; notes on the drawings and on the principles of anatomical representation. Verso: two drawings of a left leg, one being a front view, the other of the inner surface, both drawn to show the superficial muscles of the thigh; notes on the drawings.
In his later years Leonardo dissected about thirty human corpses, recording his findings on the pages of his notebooks. This sheet studies the superficial muscles of the leg, with accompanying notes in Leonardo's habitual backwards 'mirror-writing'
ProvenanceBequeathed to Francesco Melzi; from whose heirs purchased by Pompeo Leoni, c.1582-90; Thomas Howard, 2nd Earl of Arundel, by 1630; Probably acquired by Charles II; Royal Collection by 1690
People involved
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Pen and ink over black chalk
Object categorie(s)
Recto: The muscles and nerves of the leg. Verso: The muscles of the leg


text:
Medea Benjamin, Helena Cobban, Ann Wright, and Marcy Wheeler Discuss Syria
Mary Glenney
From A Woman's Point of View | Listen to this entire show:
Tags: Medea Benjamin, Ann Wright, Helena Cobban, Marcy Wheeler
Today on From a Woman's Point of View, we hear from women who are writers and leaders in their fields. Medea Benjamin, Helena Cobban, Ann Wright, and Marcy Wheeler talk about the crisis in Syria.
Medea Benjamin talks about Syria during a demonstration n in The Capital Mall in Washington D.C.
Medea Benjamin, one of the founders of Code Pink, was reached during a demonstration of immigrant women and their supporters on the Capitol Mall in Washington D.C. The group conducting the demonstration was We Belong Together-Women for common sense and Immigration Change. It was the largest assemblage of immigrant women risking arrest at a protest. Pramila Jayapal relayed to Medea the group's issues. She pointed out that the majority of immigrants in this country are women, many with their children. Medea also updated the Syrian status and talked about Code Pink's joining with MADRE to get solar lanterns for the women in Syria who are facing increased violence and rape. The situation for women in Syria with the bombardments and attacks is very perilous.
Helena Cobban, the founder of Just World News talks about the Russia-Syria deal
Helena Cobban is a writer and researcher on Global affairs. She has specialized on the Middle East with a special interest in Syria for years. She had a regular column for The Christian Science Monitor and is a contributing editor of Boston Review. She writes weekly on Middle East affairs for the Press Service and is the founder of Just World News. She has a blog under the title of just world news. Helena gives her historical background of Syria and discusses the pros and cons of the Russian Syrian deal.
Ann Wright member of Code Pink and a retired Colonel talks about Syria
Ann Wright , a 29 year US Army/Army Reserves veteran who retired as a Colonel and a former US Diplomat who resigned in opposition to the war on Iraq in 2003, talks bout the present Syrian Crisis. In December 2001 Ann was on a small team that reopened the US Embassy in Kabul Afghanistan. Ann is the co-author of the book "Dissent: Voices of Conscience". Ann, a member of Code Pink, was helping to organize protests and meetings in Washington D.C. to President Obama 's seeking authorization for military strikes in Syria. For more information go to codepink and voices of conscience
Marcy Wheeler who writes on [EmptyWheel] (http://www.emptywheel.net) examines the legal issues for President Obama's seeking authorization for military strikes in Syria
Marcy Wheeler is a noted blogger on legal issues. She writes for many publications including The Nation. She examines the ramifications of President Obama's claims that he only "wants to engage in limited strikes". Using different sources, she points out the many questions and difficulties in this "limited approach". Marcy also questions the vague wording of the AUMF for the President to choose who is aiding the many combatants. Can these groups-perhaps even Nations- be attacked as well?comments powered by Disqus


text:
Where Does Michigan's Complicated History of Raw Milk Crackdowns and Romance Leave Us?
Sometimes, it's important not to lose sight of the forest for the trees.
One of those times is occurring in Michigan right now, where there seem to be a lot of trees—in the form of different people with different understandings about what is and isn't "legal" for the assorted raw-milk herdshares that have taken hold around the state. Overlaying the trees is a complex history, and different views of what it means, as is evident from some intense discussion following my previous post about what people think is and isn't allowed in Michigan for herdshares.
The history goes back to the late 1940s, when Michigan became the first state to require that all milk sold at retail be pasteurized, in effect banning the sale of raw milk. However, as in many states, there are no laws relating to private contractual arrangements covering raw milk, including herdshare arrangements.
Fast forward to October 2006, when the Michigan Department of Agriculture (as the agency was then known) executed a "sting" and confiscated some $8,000 worth of raw milk being delivered by farmer Richard Hebron to herdshare owners in Ann Arbor. The MDA then went to a county prosecutor, Victor Fitz, urging him to file charges against Hebron, in hopes hitting the farmer with a severe enough penalty that he, and others involved with raw milk, would see the error of their ways.
Instead, members of Hebron's herdshare mounted a campaign to persuade the prosecutor that not only were they doing nothing illegal, but that they were doing something very positive by drinking raw milk. They inundated the prosecutor with their personal stories of healing and good health from raw milk.
Fitz carried out an extensive investigation, in Indiana, where an Amish farmer provided the milk for Hebron's herdshare, and even in Pennsylvania, where another Amish farmer provided raw milk cheese.
Eventually, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration would become involved, and issue the Indiana farmer a warning letter for sending milk across state lines.
In the end, though, the case blew up on the MDA. Fitz concluded in 2007 that no crimes had been committed, and gave the case back to the MDA. To save face, the MDA worked out a deal with Hebron: he would pay a fine of $1,000, obtain a retail license, and the Michigan attorney general would sanction his (and other) herdshares.
But there was more. The MDA also agreed to sanction a working group of regulators, agriculture experts, farmers, and others to develop information and recommendations for dealing with raw milk going forward. The result was the Michigan Fresh Unprocessed Whole Milk Workgroup. Little did anyone realize that the workgroup would need six years to complete its mission. Two years after its launch, in 2009, it provided the first inklings that its orientation was entirely different than anything of an official or semi-official nature ever conceived on raw milk. "Milk fresh from the cow is a complete, living, functional food…the full benefits…are only realized when all of these components function as a complex interdependent and balanced process," the workgroup stated.
When the Michigan workgroup finally issued its full report last year, it included as an addendum the now-famous policy statement from the Michigan Department of Agriculture and Rural Development governing herdshares.
In the meantime, a number of herdshares took hold in Michigan besides the one run by Richard Hebron. One of those was operated by dairy farmer Kevin Hicks and his then-girlfriend, Jenny Samuelson. The Detroit News carried an article about the 350-member herdshare in 2009….when things were going well. (Samuelson says the two dated initially, but she "was never romantic with him.")
Things stopped going well between Hicks and Samuelson in 2012, however. Had their relationship simply ended, that would have been the end of the story as far as Michigan raw milk drinkers were concerned, but there was more to it. In a he-said-she-said falling out, Samuelson moved the herdshare to a different herd, at High Hill Dairy.
Herdshare members were left to figure out whether to stay with Hicks or move on with Samuelson. Most seem to have moved on with Samuelson, which left Hicks with lots of milk and not many raw milk drinkers.
Hicks, though, resolved to re-build the herdshare, and thanks to the growing demand for raw milk in Michigan, he says he has built up a new herdshare and recovered financially. But in a conversation a couple days ago, he told me he is upset with Samuelson's actions in running her current herdshare. He contends she was warned by the MDARD months before the raid on her truck last month, to discontinue producing cream and butter, per the MDARD policy statement.
"I'm not big on a lot of rules," Hicks told me. "But sometime you have to have a few rules." By defying the MDARD, Samuelson runs the risk of encouraging a further crackdown on raw dairies in Michigan and "of ruining this for everyone," Hicks argues.
Samuelson confirms that High Hill Dairy was warned some months ago about the cream and butter, but contends that the agency has no authority over whether members receive such products. After the warning, she says, "The members let the state know this was their milk and they have a legal contract that they gave the farm the right to make products with their milk….Remember they seized my items and ILLEGALLY searched my truck because of a food license issue, correct?"
Samuelson says she knows of other Michigan herdshares producing raw cream and butter, "yet we are the one being targeted because a POLICY IS NOT A LAW that (the Fresh Unprocessed Whole Milk Work Group) came up with! Cream is milk separated. It doesn't make any logical sense!! If (shareholders) want pay that farm to make butter, that is their right!!"
Samuelson adds that under regulators no longer with the MDARD, she was allowed to have both dairy and non-dairy products on the same truck; now, different regulators are saying raw milk can't be delivered in the same truck as other foods covered under a retail license.
"It seems every time we get new people in charge, I have something to deal with. This time, they really over stepped their authority. I been doing this for 6 yrs and 8 months, and nothing has changed besides growth."
There is obviously a lot of confusion about what Michigan allows and doesn't allow. And that is part of what the authorities want, especially if they can get farmers and other food producers fighting among each other, rather than fighting the authorities.
There were references in the comments following my previous post about Michigan's laws covering herdshares, but as Samuelson correctly points out, we are talking about herdshare policies, not laws, in Michigan. There are no laws governing herdshares, except as there are laws governing contracts of all goods and services. There is no raw milk permit process enacted into law, as there is in Pennsylvania, Vermont and Massachusetts, providing for safety inspections and testing.
The problem with policies is that they can be interpreted differently by different regulators. That is exactly what has happened in Michigan—some regulators turned the other way on the production of cream and butter, while some now want those restricted. Some regulators didn't object to delivery of herdshare milk together with licensed eggs and meat, while others now say such combinations are illegal.
I wish I could agree with Kevin Hicks, that if Michigan's raw milk producers just "behaved" themselves, everything would be okay. I am not sure it would be. I have little confidence that the current crop of MDARD regulators truly backs herdshares, and I fear that they may interpret everyone "behaving" themselves as weakness, requiring ever more regulation.
If you go back to the beginning, when Michigan enacted laws requiring pasteurized milk for retail sale, you will likely find nothing in the laws restricting the private contracting for food. It may be the state's dairy farmers need to go back to the beginning to find their way out from among all the trees blocking their view.
This is about standing up for our rights we have. We should be supporting each other to make positive change here in Michigan. If we let them do this to me who will be next? This shouldn't be about Mr. Hicks and myself but about raw milk and supporting local farms. We have Constitution Rights if we don't use them they will take them from us!! Stand up and make a change it starts with you!
I write this post with caution....but I just want to keep the raw milk community here in the USA and Canada in the inside loop about progress.
Yesterday our OPDC team responded to an invitation by one of the largest store chains that sell organic
Food in CA with more than 100 stores. It was not Wholefoods. We met for nearly two hours to discuss all matters related to raw dairy products. Food liability risk was a major topic. At the end of the very positive meeting, the offer was extended to OPDC to offer RawKefir for sale in their stores. One thing that really stood out in the discussion was the comment made by the buyer....that "conventional milk is dying at 5% per year". She shared with us that consumers are wanting organic and less processed food. She said she was not going to be caught ever again missing the trend. She saw raw organic raw dairy as a trend who's time has come....or is emerging now.
As we left the meeting, the team was totally impressed with the knowledge, consumer sensitivity and market awareness that this buyer clearly appreciated.
So more news will come soon. No names for now. We will have the official blessing in a couple of weeks.
So...take this as a market sign and watch this closely. As areas arround America and Canada resist this emerging market...out here in CA the broader markets are embracing change and looking forward.
LOVE it Mark! Thank you for all you do for raw milk in this free world!!
I second the sentiment: Thank you Mark, in the name of all who favor freedom of food choice regardless of if it involves raw milk or not.
Mark, you might want to reach out to Dr. Mercola who has a huge platform and following, to include even a small mention of the raw milk cause and benefits when he publishes articles like this about what real food is:
Yes, Canada is resisting this emerging market. Real Agriculture which is internet site would not allow my comment when I responded to article, "Who is Responsible to Educate Consumers". I told them who is teaching: Parents, Teachers, Weston A. Price Foundation, Joel Salatin (he was in Calgary), and on the internet www.rawmilkinstitute.org which gives the milk tests results of the farms that are Certified. Also www.rawmilkconsumer.ca with more information for consumers.
Mark, If you are ever in Calgary, we have a bed for you (Queen) and your wife is welcome too.
We are definitely going through a soul-searching time here in Michigan. It's pretty clear that the herdshare policy acknowledges the milk as being the property of the herdshare owners, as it states that "FUW [fresh, unprocessed, whole] milk is not for sale or resale." If herdshare owners then choose to have the farmer (or anyone else) turn their milk into cream and butter, paying for the labor involved, it is their private business.
When I think of what Richard Hebron, the most pleasant, mild-mannered man you could ever hope to meet, went through in 2006, I could just cry. He was pulled over on the side of I-94, patted down like a criminal, had his phone confiscated, and ordered to drive his truck to Lansing so state agents could confiscate shareholders' privately-obtained food. At the same time, agents came to his house where his wife was home alone, and took their computer and personal and shareholder records. I can only imagine how terrifying this must have been for them.
While perhaps slightly less traumatic, the "inspection" of My Family Co-Op that took place on July 15 and subsequent order to dump the food is equally as disturbing, because it represents unwarranted (in both senses of the word) intrusion of the state into the private distribution of food.
The workgroup report was a wonderful leap of progress - I hope we can get back to the same cooperative state of mind and work toward the ultimate goal - ensuring that Michigan citizens can freely and safely exercise their right to obtaining foods of their choice.
Dear Michigan Cow Share operators. If I were you...I would assure very close regulator relations. I would make sure that I was connected to principals inside the working group and act in lock step with policies and procedures. All legit....as they say. Then I would build and group....teaching and producing exceptional fantastic raw milk. Over time....I would go about to change the backward laws. But...this takes consumer votes and a track record of excellence. Being sneaky is counter productive to progress. I would invite regulator testing, inspections, build relationships...what ever it takes.
It is intolerable to think that one of our states can be so backward about raw milk!! Look at the big picture. Pasteurized fluid milk is dying off in they market. In 2013....a loss of 4.3 % nationally. DeansFoods closing 12 of its 80 fluid pasteurized milk plants. No wonder Michigan processors are scared that they are losing out to raw milk. What I do not get is why Michigan processors can not produce raw milk and Glab this market. It is not rocket science.
I am not a conspiracy theory kind of guy.....I really am not. But....Tonight I was on a live blog talk radio show all about moms and raw milk. When after 30 minutes of really great discussion the Internet radio systems all went dead. The technicians could not figure it out....it was something jamming their ability to access the Internet. Something they could not track down or understand.
We had 30 more minutes to go and we had just gotten started talking about the FDA, NIH, Human Genome project and the immune system when everything went quiet.
Makes you really wonder. I know my friends in the Canadian raw milk movement really believe they are being bugged with phones and emails being watched.
If the FDA spends $5 dollars of tax payers money on any phone taps or email bugging....I will be so pissed. There is not one single thing that I would not give them immediately. If the FDA wants something....why dont they just ask? I will send it via next day air or email it immediately. I would consider it an honor and an offer to communicate. I say this because I can not seem to get the attention of the FDA by any emails, phone calls or any other activity. I would seem that I do not exist. They just ignore me.
In this world of cloak and dagger...what ever happened to just plain old fashioned talking to find out what you need or want to know. I guess it isn't good or real information unless it is from some weird illicit channel.
There is nothing theoretical about a conspiracy; it's a fact of life in this "cloak and dagger" world where the powers that be work in camera or furtively in order to pervert the course of justice.
As a counterbalance, one has to do exactly as you stated. Be assertive and forthright!
Thank you David for keeping this movement on the straight and narrow.
You are not paranoid if someone actually *is* out to get you. And in Canada, we know they are, because the Big Dairy cartels pull a lot of weight. Financially and politically, these monopolies are very powerful - no government dare disband the milk marketing boards. Even our Conservative federal government dare not disband these communist monstrosities.
And lest anyone forget: "An employee of the Schmidts' surprised three men who were in the process of breaking into the cheese house. The employee was forced into a van and made to tell them where Michael Schmidt was at the time. Then they drove to that house, set up infrared cameras and listening devices, and stayed for half an hour. After this, employee was pushed out of the van and told not to tell anyone about the incident or "he would be sorry." The Schmidts called the OPP for investigation but without results. Local farmers told the Schmidts that they had been asked if they would house surveillance teams. For a period of several months, vehicles were parked on the road close to the farm both day and night. Whenever farm personnel approached these cars, they took off. License plate numbers were recorded and passed on to the police who said they were unable to trace them." - http://rawmilkconsumer.ca/farmers/michael-schmidt
And remember, the Harper government has already officially labelled environmentalist and green groups as officially being terrorists (along with white supremacists, socialist, and animal rights groups) - http://www.theguardian.com/environment/2013/feb/14/canada-environmental-... - Don't think for one second that libertarians and raw milk activists aren't on their list as well.
Administrative Law, nee absolute (or prerogative) power, is the topic of Scott Johnson's post "Gary Lawson: The Return Of The King" on August 17 at powerlineblog.com. This is his 7th posting on this topic starting on July 2, 2014. It follows the publication of Columbia University Law Professor Phillip Hamburger's book on the topic.
From Scott Johnson: "Professor Lawson has now posted his review of Philip Hamburger's Is Administrative Law Unawful?" And, "Profesor Gary Lawson is the Philip S. Beck Professor of Law at Boston University School of Law. He is one of the country's foremost scholars and critics of administrative law. He has written six editions of a textbook on administrative law and cowritten two books on aspects of constitutional history. When it comes to the serious issues that beset administrative law, Professor Lawson knows what he is talking about."
These posts can be found in the "Specials" search box at the bottom of the page, under "Books."
Administrative Law is clearly relevant to much of what concerns us here at TCP, in the long term. Obviously I don't think this is a "flip the switch" and everything will better sort of situation. The matters discussed at TCP are relevant to what we eat, so at the core they are a matter of life or starvation, a matter of good health or chronic less-than-good health. It begs the matter to say to someone "Well, just choose to eat something that has been declared (allowed) legal for you to eat (by corrupting legitimate governance into a commercial bludgeon)."
So time IS of the essence of this matter. There is no good faith shown in starving someone in order to allow the "wheels of justice" grind at their "normal" pace. It is only a short second step to point out the tyrannical economic consequence of what was done, for one example, to Morningland Dairy in Missouri under the administration of Governor Nixon.
This country was founded in such a way as to bring about the end of an existing evil- slavery, and constituted in such a way as to prevent absolute power from taking root, but it has taken root.
If I may add: the argument that we need to be ruled by an elite trained to rule doesn't cut it with me because (truth be told) the "elite" are cut from the same cloth as the rest of us and if allowed unaccountable power, then when evil takes root at the top, the effects are amplified. One person may lie their one life to ruin but a "ruler" can lie multitudes into unremitting misery. The opposite of evil is needed at every level and in every endeavor of society. Every day.
Mr. J. Ingvar Odegaard
Tuoli: China's Mysterious Milk Drinkers
"Let's take a close look at what he China Project data has to say about these Tuoli folks. In terms of macronutrients, the Tuoli consumed an average of 185.6 grams of fat, 172.5 grams of protein, and 322 grams of carbohydrates per day. Average energy intake was a whoppin' 3704 calories, and average fiber intake was 17.9 grams per day—only slightly more than your run-of-the-mill American."
"Tuoli isn't significantly worse off than the near-vegan counties in terms of chronic disease. Total mortality rate is lower, cancer rates are lower or similar, heart attacks aren't more common than usual, stroke rates are average. From this data alone, we'd have no basis for claiming that eating two pounds of dairy per day (and minimal vegetation, aside from wheat flour) is less healthful than consuming a mostly vegetarian diet. For sure, this data fails to support Campbell's claim that chronic disease rates climb when animal protein intake rises."
"We have plenty of evidence showing hormone-pumped dairy, grain-fed meat, pasteurized and homogenized milk, processed lunch meats, and other monstrosities are bad for the human body. No debate there. But we do have a woeful lack of research on the effects of "clean" animal products—meat from wild or pastured animals fed good diets, milk that hasn't been heat-zapped, antibiotic-free cheeses and yogurts, and so forth."
I just want to reiterate a huge and very compelling 2014 Cornell Study about increased risk of death from increases in pasteurization temps post 9-11 time period. See link.
\\opdsbs\RedirectedFolders\MarkM\My Documents\Responding to bioterror concerns by increasing milk pasteurization temperature would increase estimated annual deaths from listeriosis barfblog.mht
Right up front in the abstract ( I have the PDF study as well as the link )....it says that the researchers bench mark the risk presently at 18 deaths per year from pasteurized dairy products and that it is estimated that the death risk will increase to 670 deaths per year.
Now the biggest question of all....where the hell did Cornell PHD's get 18 deaths per year for there peer reviewed and published research study. It is a criminal activity to suppress data on death from pasteurized milk!!! Is it buried data? How did it pass peer review if this was not true or back by some data or evidence? Is the CDC that corrupt? Where are the bodies? Cornell University PhD's do not publish and become peer reviewed with out defensible data. They are no slackers.
What is happening here! lets keep our eye on the ball and not be distracted by media shiny object syndrome as other raw milk issues come up. Our raw milk issues do not come in 18 body bags per year!! We need to force some transparency on the assumed safety of pasteurized milk products. Cornell basically says....increased temperature pasteurized milk is darn dangerous!!! Where is the outcry?
The abstract gives an email address of email@example.com for Stasiewicz, Matthew J., the lead author. Why don't you write and ask him about the 18 deaths per year?
The link won't post. David has it from previous story.


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The government's move came during a High Court hearing held a day after Australia's immigration minister confirmed another boatload of asylum seekers had been intercepted by Australian border patrol and transferred to Sri Lankan authorities at sea.
Refugee advocates have criticised the move, saying the asylum seekers will face persecution in Sri Lanka.
Lawyers for asylum seekers on board a second boat that has been intercepted went to the High Court to stop the 153 people on that vessel from also being returned to Sri Lanka. They are currently on board an Australian customs vessel.
Government lawyers said no asylum seekers would be transferred without 72 hours' written notice.


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How many c-sections is too many?
I've had three c-sections. The third one took twice as long as the other two because of scar tissue. If I have another will that be too dangerous?
Posted: 08/25/2007 by a BabyCenter Member
Mom Answers
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my doctoron told me after my third c-section that the uterus gets thinner with every pregnancy and every c-section. the it becomes like a thin piece of notebook paper and that your uterus can burst with following pregnancys. with that being said i am on my fourth pegnancy. and more than likely going to have another c-section. so much for listening to my doctors advice. and to tell you the truth im a little nervous about it all. i guess now all i can do is pray for the best. but this is it im getting yanked burnd clipped whatever it takes to not get pregnant again.lolposted 04/19/2012 by Erin223
I have had 3 c-sections (2004, 2007, 2011). The first was an emergency after being in lbor for 24 hrs with not much dialation. The 2nd and third were secheduled- both about 3 yrs apart. My 3rd (Zoe) is now 11 mths old and I found out I am 6 wks. I am concerned that this will be number 4 with only 18 mths between surgery- but with reading other stories on here I feel better. We are going to stop after this one. I will be getting my tubes tied. This is because we feel 4 is a good number. If I could have vaginal births... I still think we would stop at 4. I am a little worried about the pain aspect of #4 also. The 3rd was much more painful than the 2nd. Hoping the 4th isn't any worse!posted 01/31/2012 by JenHaines1981
okae thanks .posted 01/21/2012 by dyannaa128
dyanna, I had an emergency c-section the 1st one too. My doctor told me I could go vaginal the 2nd, but would have to drive 1 hour a way to do that, just in case the anesthesiologist would be available.. to avoid complications. If you are in California, in a larger populated area, I don't see why you would not have an anesthesiologist standing by for emergencies. I would tell my doctor again that I want to try to go naturally, but if I do have to have a c-section, then to go ahead and do it. Usually, if you go into labor b4 or on the day of your c-section, they will let you try naturally.. as long as there is no harm to you or the baby..posted 01/21/2012 by marissahashem
what if I go into labor before the scheuld date of the c-section then what well I do ? & I wanted to have it natural but my dr told me since I had an emergency c-section I had to have another .posted 01/21/2012 by dyannaa128
This is to answer dyanna's submittal. If you can go natural, just go natural. That is the best, even though you are sick of being pregnant. That way, if you choose to continue having children, you don't put yourself in the situation where doctors are telling you to stop having children. You have had one c-section. I made the mistake of having a second one instead of waiting and going into labor, then after the 2nd, they would not let me go natural, I had a 3rd c-section, and this will be my 4th in about 2 weeks. If you have had no complications this pregnancy, and unless there is something that will harm your health if you don't have a 2nd c-section. Doctors cannot make you have a 2nd c-section. You have your rights as a mom to try to have your baby naturally, through vaginal birth. Just tell them you will wait until 40 weeks, then, ask to be induced, and then if you need a c-section, they can stand by. But that is just my advice.posted 01/21/2012 by marissahashem
I had to have an emergency c-section with my first child & now im 19 weeks pregnant & I have to have another csection close to my due date & my doctor me I can only have three c-sections & after that I was gone bee at risk ..posted 01/20/2012 by dyannaa128
having my 4th birth 5th ob op this August so happy not scared at all have a great dr who is very supportive it makes a big difference if you have an excited dr too not worried anymore when to 2 visits saw the baby and everything is going great and if any probs do come just like she said i will be scheduled a week earlier than my due date and we will be doing the op in a hospital soooo and she is a dr sooo & i have all faith in her thanks dr duffin!!!!! so so happy =-)) the 4th op the 3rd baby was the easiest one i had it was over quick i was home and living life =)posted 01/17/2012 by uandmeplusthem
I am just finishing up the first trimester of my 6th pregnancy. My other 5 births have been c-sections (due to complications such as transverse & breech presentations), so this will be my 6th c-section. I agree with previous answers: it is simply different for each woman. Our bodies, including our uterus, are all different. I have had no real complications in any of my pregnancies or c/s surgeries. My OB is not all that concerned about uterine rupture as she says things "look good down there". She *is* concerned about placenta placement and the risk of the placenta growing through my uterus. This could happen with ANY repeat c-section though. I would try your best to find an OB you trust, who understands your desire to have more children, and who you believe will be honest with you about the state of your uterus. Due to increased risks, and with the advice & thoughts of my OB, this will be our last biological child, as I will have my tubes tied during this c-section.posted 12/17/2011 by a BabyCenter Member
I'm pregnant with my 3rd child. I had an unplanned c-section with my first and when I was pregnant on my second I search all of LA county and surrounding counties in and out of my network to find a Dr that would allow a VBAC. I wanted a VBAC due to the recovery time. However, no Dr would allow it. It frustrated the heck out of me as all I've read in US literature is "rupturing of the uterus", so how come this does not occur in other developed countries? Why are Dr's so quick to cut you open??? my third child is due in 3 week and it's another section for me :(posted 12/15/2011 by louiseamandakelly
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Hold down Control (PC) or Command (Mac) key + mouseclick to select more than one option
|Avg. Dinner Entrée
|Greater than $25
|$18.01 - $25
|$12.01 - $18
|$7.01 - $12
|Less than $7
Posted by Anonymous on 12/16/2011
Just get a pizza from any other place around, and whether you pay more or less, it'll be a better deal than what this place offers.
Posted by Anonymous on 04/30/2011
Terrific pizza & crust. Made to order, but their standard menu recommendations are good too. Fresh taste, and really good cheese choices. The cheese quality matters. 10-15 mins to bake at home. Tastes terrific hot out the oven. Cooking times vary by oven --best not to overcook or cook too fast. Get a salad too. The cookies-- not so impressive. Great for parties bc it won't taste like cheap chain pizza. Wish they opened earlier. Sometimes slow during peak dinner times (I once waited over an hour) --even when you call ahead. They need to work on that.. Otherwise, great pizza.
Posted by Anonymous on 01/07/2008
Great Pizza, you just have to make it. I love stopping here while doing other shopping and picking up a pizza to make for dinner. They have tons of options and everything I've ordered has tasted great. The people are always nice, and it's so incredibly easy... they make your pizza in minutes.
Posted by Anonymous on 06/02/2007
This is the best pizza I've had in Hyde Park. They top pizzas well, and it cooks up easily. With the huge numbers of various toppings available, get creative (my favorite is half roasted garlic and red onion, half prosciutto).


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Melanie RR Edwards of RIFLE + RADFORD hand-selects every semi-precious stone used in her jewelry, and this dedication to her craft results in thoughtful, elegant pieces like these Izabelle Chandelier Earrings. Designed with cascading, black onyx stones, this chandelier pair just begs to be the center of attention.
Sterling silver. All 10 teardrop stones are .25" in length. Earrings L 2" W .75". Stones are bezel set. French ear hooks.
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Simple Beauty of Lois Dodd
There's an appealing empiricism and pragmatism to Dodd's vision — a solid and appreciative grasp of what passes before her eyes and through her hands to the canvas or, as often as not in her recent plein air paintings, small pieces of aluminum flashing.
Lois Dodd is among the purest painters in America. Her paintings are plain, frank, and humble, speaking quietly to the essential goodness of life in an age when much of contemporary art is obsessed with dysfunction and despair. Her vision is thus not only wonderfully sustained but also sustaining.
Lois Dodd: Landscapes and Structures, April 10-May 29, Alexandre Gallery, 41 East 57th St., New York NY. 212-755-2828; www.alexandregallery.com
Lois Dodd: Directly Considered, April 26-July 19, Center for Maine Contemporary Art, 162 Russell St., Rockport ME. 207-236-2875; www.artsmaine.org
Caldbeck Gallery show, June 18-July 12, 12 Elm St., Rockland ME. 207-594-5935; www.caldbeck.com


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Weapon of Choice
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Head: Clutch 2x
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What a Buet
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Software Freedom Day 2012
The 5th annual Software Freedom Day NYC will take place on Saturday September 15, 2012 from 6:30-10:00 pm.
The New York celebratory event will be held this year at ITP, NYU's school for the Interactive Telecommunications Program, located at 721 Broadway (between 8th Street & Washington Place.)
As in previous years this will be a celebration of the merits and successes of free software, with food & drinks ("free as in beer!") and a short program of speakers. This is also a "hack friendly" event; we will have 2 large breakout rooms so bring your laptop to demonstrate a project you're working on or engage in informal collaboration. And of course there will be free copies of just every major Linux distribution.
At 8:00 pm there will be a short program including presentations. Scheduled speakers include:
- James Vasile of the Software Freedom Law Center on "Free Software vs Censorship and Surveillance"
- "Wikipedia Takes Manhattan" -- presented by Wikimedia NYC (following up on this afternoon's photo-walk departing Bowling Green at 3pm, and arriving at ITP at 7pm)
- Jon Stanley on the Fedora project
- Occupy <3s Open Source -- presented by TechOps of the NYCGA (NYC General Assembly)
as well as short talks on other free software projects and distributions.
After this program there will be a reception, including a key signing.
Google event listing with snazzy subliminal animation: Software Freedom Day NYC
Event information on the official wiki page at: http://wiki.softwarefreedomday.org/2012/USA/NY/NYC
More information about Software Freedom Day see the Wikipedia entry:


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Earth Hour fails to celebrate the ways in which humankind can really save itself and nature.
'Organic Islands' is more than just the name of the largest and greenest outdoor festival in Canada—it...
A reader wants to know cost versus savings if he converts his school to greener policies.
Smart Cars are small, fuel-efficient, environmentally responsible, and easy to park.
Eco-friendly, non-toxic household cleaners are available from a wide variety of manufacturers.
Taxpayers should no longer give $10 billion a year in subsidies to the fossil fuel industry, NRMA.
The term "throw-away society" is often used to describe today's culture.
I've been hearing a lot about all the recycled materials being turned into handbags and purses. Are these bags actually fashionable?


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'daily stack' is time management tool created by designers sebastian rønde thielke and anders højmose. the simple design allows users to help track their work flow by creating physical representations of their tasks.
Get renowned Illy espresso in the comfort of your own home for less than the cost of a month's worth of trips to Starbucks with the Illy Y1 iperEspresso Machine
About 500 red ants are spread in the city of Drachten, The Netherlands. Most of them came together in front of the theatre De Lawei, to celebrate its 50th anniversary.
ABC chairs. Rotterdam designer Roeland Otten has designed a collection of 26 chairs, each spelling out one letter of the alphabet.
Tucked away on an anonymous street in Brooklyn's Bushwick neighborhood, the storefront and gallery The Index Ltd is almost as rare a find as the objects it harbors.
Melanie Brandman knocked out walls and raised the ceiling in her Catskills Fishing cabin to create a stunning open space.
Discover jumpology at an exhibition of nearly 50 jumps Philippe Halsman captured on film from the late 1940s through the '50s can be seen at the Laurence Miller Gallery at 20 West 57th Street in Manhattan, through Friday.
Another week of tasty drinks over at Liqurious.
What a colorful week it's been here at NOTCOT.org. This week's picks include fabulous furniture, creatures, installations and much more.
The Long-nosed tree frog is one of the new species discovered in Foja mountains rainforest on the Indonesian island of New Guinea.
Hipohyfrid use playful yet minimal packaging solution. The Wales-based vegan chocolate company uses the matte box and moody, deep colours to stop the design appearing childish in nature.
British designer Thomas Heatherwick has co-designed the replacement for London's iconic Routemaster bus, mayor Boris Johnson and Transport for London announced this morning.
Off the Leaf printed Solo cups from A|D Creative Group. Customers becomes part of the packaging experience by getting to choose their own combination of cup and sleeve design.
Gorgeous rings, sunglasses, blazers all make up part of this week's roundup over at Notcouture.
This adorable baby Baird's tapir calf at the Nashville Zoo was born during last week's torrential flooding.
What a stunning week it's been here on NOTCOT.org. This roundup is especially gorgeous. This week's picks include beautiful exteriors, interiors, artwork and more.
Jessica Banks and Andrew Laska, the co-founders of the design firm RockPaperRobot, are using science and technology to change the meaning of "furniture." Great interview and part of Seed Magazine on Design.
Australian studio b.e. Architecture created a house surrounded by a steel and timber timber grid in coastal Victoria, Australia. Meakins Road features a timber frame with horizontal beams that surround the building and create a veranda.
I just stumbled upon the work of Simon Page and was taken by some of his work, like this futurism poster series.
Taito and silverware maker Christofle have buddied up to offer the Space Invaders fan a chance to express their love of the 1978 shoot 'em up in style. Meet the multi-use silver Space Invader "fashion accessory".
This year at BRKLYN Designs, manufacturer and design house RAM Metals and its subsidiaries (Tides, Planter Worx and Raine Heidenberg Interior Design) put forth a strong selection of expertly crafted metal furniture and planters.
lovely packaging for Balthazar's gift set designed by Christine Celic Strohl at Mucca Design
Catherine Hamilton's illustration blog, Birdspot, features some incredible sketches of birds and other creatures.
Italian-Singaporean studio Lanzavecchia + Wai presented a collection of Scaffold Lights, lights made of fabric stretched over steel wire frames in the Ventura Lambrate district of Milan last month.
Japanese paper craft brand OEY has designed a new collection of tablewares. Mizuhiki is twined paper fused with a mixture of water and glue that dates back to the seventh century. The collection includes napkin rings, glass markers, and chopsticks.
The Ritmo Advanced Sound System by Nuvo is the most advanced and complete prenatal music player, delivering sound to the tiniest listeners.
We've posted about London's Elephant Parade before, but Benjamin Shine;s taxi elephant deserved another post. It is glossy black with chrome details. headlights for eyes and a taxi sign that are solar powered!
Joshua Foer launched Sukkah City, a design competition challenging architects and designers to re-imagine the ancient form of the sukkah in a contemporary context. 12 radically temporary structures will be built in Union Square Park.
Barcelona-based studio Pöko Design' new bulletin boards provide a place to pin up bits of inspiration and as a reminder of our endangered species. Produced by Kikkerland,
Marcel Wanders recently completed a collection of crystal glasses and vases for Baccarat entitled "United Crystal Wood" that was on display during Design Week in Zona Tortona.
Quench your thirst with this week's roundup of posts from Liqurious.
Wallpaper review their favourite invitations from Salone del Mobile 2010.
A ring as a sculpture which visualizes the love and connection of the 2 lovers for eternity. Made out of 3d printed Laser Sintered Polyamide. By Studio Mango for Freedom of creation.
CrankBrothers bike pedals are made from manly-sounding materials like stamped steel, forged chromoly and machined aluminum. They come in five variants: Eggbeater, Candy, Acid, Mallet and 5050.
Craig Colorusso's Sunbox installation uses, twenty solar powered speakers operating independently. Each contains a different guitar sample.
Special "no-threat" glasses for looking at gorillas. Health insurance company FBTO is distributing eye-contact disguising glasses that allow zoo visitors to stare all they like, a behavior that is threatening to most of the great apes.
multithump, a multi-player version of marek bereza's music sequencer iphone app thump. this special installation for seeper was installed at the v&a museum in london and executed in a tabletop format with graphics by david sweeney.
With 12183 images and around 531 different animal species, Life on White's objective is to create the largest collection by a single photographer, of animals photographed in front and on a white background. Eric Isselée.
Baxter Finley, Barber & Shop opens in Los Angeles. The traditional barber shop offers cuts and shaves and showcases Baxter grooming products as well as retaW (Japan), Dr. Bronners, D.R. Harris, and Marvis tooth paste.
Keith Poon from ToyQube gives us a peek at an unpainted prototype of his next character release, a 5" tall SHARKY!
Lord Vader commands you to turn to the Dark Side. Will you be able to resist as he guides you to your destination? Now you can get StarWars voices for your TomTom.
Alan Daly built his iPad directly into the side of a kitchen cabinet, and set it to work doling out Epicurious recipes, streaming Jamie Oliver, and surfing some of the world's best websites well out of the way of troublesome meat splatter.
It's been a particularly stunning week here ~ here's a roundup of some of our favorites here on NOTCOT.org!
Looking for a microcar? The Peel Trident and Peel P50 were made by Peel Engineering, on the Isle of Man, in the 1960s and still available!
Type and icons decorate tea boxes and coffee cups in this conceptual branding project by Sofie Platou.
The NYtimes captures art installations from the "Dead or Alive" exhibit at the Museum of Arts and Design in a slightly creepy slideshow.


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Videos from CineGrid Workshop San Diego 2011
Live from the CineGrid Workshop in San Diego, Jane de Almeida broadcasted many reports by mobile phone on her Bambuser channel. Interdisciplinary researcher, Jane de Almeida works in the arts, film and new media fields, investigating the intersection among media, subjectivity and perception. The separate items are not tagged or titled, so browse through to get an impression of the conference.


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Male , 36-40
I am a friendly, outgoing guy that is smiling and making others smile about 95% of the time. I am a very Liberal person and try to make my decisions based aside peace, love and happiness. Yet most people think I'm more of the Alpha male type when they first meet me from my demeanor....I'm tall at 6'8", 260lbs. But once they talk with me, they find I'm just a big gentle giant.
I work for myself as a Holistic Therapist specializing in Dating/Relationships/intimacy/sexuality.
And yes I was born with XXY/Klinefelters Syndrome and consider myself to be Bi-gender, bisexual and very open sexually as a result.
Feel free to ask me anything, I'm very open about myself...
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This Things Pretty Accurate! Since I scored 89% Even though I think the number should be higher, but I'll deal with it.... [more]
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