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Room in Center (Old Town)2-3 people
Size19 m²
Floor No.(with elevator)
- Internet/WiFi
- Kitchen
- Washer/dryer
- Disabled access
- Elevator in building
- Towels
- Balcony/terrace
Accommodation summary
|Benediktská, 110 00 Prague, Czech Republic
|Property type
|Private room
|Property ID
|Acceptance rate
|Response time
|A few hours
|Calendar updated
|2 days ago
The room contains 2 single beds on the floor; which could be pushed together if you are a couple, another single bed on the loft, two small night tables, another little table, a dresser, heater and its own balcony. The kitchen is fully-equipped, containing a stove, oven, sink, microwave, refrigerator, cooking supplies and utensils. The entire apartment is supplied with toilet paper, paper towel, dish washing soap, hand soap, and garbage bags. The bathroom is broken up in to two rooms - one with a shower and another with the toilet. There are two washing machines and a large washing sink located upstairs. The flat has high-speed WiFi internet access.
The location of the apartment is on Benediktska street, nestled quaintly between Old Town Square and Namesti Republiky. This particular area of town is filled with fun and interesting things to do and see. There are bike tours, walking tours, river boat rides, and other fun stuff located within walking distance. Letna Park, which has a beer garden overlooking the city, is just across the river and up the hill. The grocery store is a 30 second walk and there is a 24 hour non-stop convenience store located down the street. There are two large shopping malls located a minute away.
House rules-The people in the building range from international students to retired folks, so please keep the noise level to a moderate level when in the hallway and late at night. I ask that you don't smoke or bring pets in to the apartment. There is a balcony in this room which you can go on to smoke. I live upstairs and I am always happy to tell people about interested events and places to visit. If there are any issues, you can just knock on my door.
Please don't lose the keys. They are high-security special keys. I will ask for 20 Euro each if they are lost
|Weekly rate for up to 2 guests
|Monthly rate for up to 2 guests
|Price for > 2 guests
|R 121 ZAR per guest/night extra
|Check-in after
|Check-in before
|On arrangement
|Check-out before
|Cancellation Policy
Reviews of this property
This accommodation is in a super location and we were warmly welcomed by Vincent. However, all in all we felt that this place wasn't in the spirit of wimdu, and it was nothing like as good as we've come to expect of wimdu. We didn't mind sharing bathroom and kitchen, but these communal facilities were in a poor state. Dirty crockery, broken tiles in a toilet which was situated in the kitchen area and had no hand-washing facilities, a shower head that had to be hand-held... I could carry on. And there's little point in exhorting people to keep areas clean if there's no plug in the kitchen sink or even a washing-up bowl. We also missed any means of making coffee - not even a filter! So all in all a disappointment in spite of the potential of this accommodation.
Amazing accommodation! Central location and very friendly staff !! If I return to Prague I go here!
Alloggio fantastico! Posizione centralissima e staff gentilissimo!! Se dovessi tornare a Praga tornerei qui!
Reviews for this host's other properties
The host cancelled the booking, this review is automated.
The apartment is right in the heart of the city. You don't need train or tram. It takes about 20 minutes walk to Old Town Centre. It's very safe as there is a police station right opposite of the apartment. The bedroom is so big and clean but the only thing was the bed, the mattress was too soft and deep inside and I got backache when I woke up. Toilet and kitchen is so clean. The price i also very reasonable. Hope we could visit Prague again soon and will definitely come back to stay!.
We had a great time in Prague. Viola let us in and showed us our room and gave us a map. She pointed Some Nice things on the map which we did, and it Where fun things that were not Very touristic. The room was nice, only the light did not work, but there was a small lamp that worked. The kitchen was organised and sometimes Viola was there so we could have a Nice chat, and ask her anything. Thank you Vincent and Viola.
The apartment was good, the room spacious and very close to the old town (not even 5 minutes to walk). Lots of restaurants and bars around. Vincent's assistant is a very nice and friendly person, always willing to help and answer all our questions.
The Flat was clean and Vincent and his assistant Lindsey are very friendly! She told us everything we need to know about the flat, the house rules and Prague itself.
The flat is large enough for 9 people but you need a bit of time management to get all 9 people through one bathroom with the only toilet in that flat.
For the breakfast we need to carry all the tables and chairs in one room so that we can launch all together because there is no real kitchen. And if you like to drink coffee you should better bring a coffee machine or at least a filter holder! Using a coffee filter inside a sieve is funny but need a lot of time and intuition ;-)
However, for that price I think the flat is fair enough for 4 stars and I really liked the close location to the center of Prague!
Thanks for the nice time!
Very nice and helpful host; great location! well, value for money
The room was large and clean, everything worked properly. We received a friendly and uncomplicated. I was very pleased and would hire me again for my next stay in Prague dasZimmer.
das Zimmer war gross und sauber, alles Funktionierte einwandfrei. Wir wurden freundlich und unkompliziert empfangen. Ich war sehr zufrieden und werde mir bei meinen nächsten Pragaufenthalt dasZimmer erneut mieten.
Friendly, good communication.
The flat is next to the city, 10 minutes by walking.
Absolutely recommend.
- Quality assured accommodation
- Every host is verified by telephone
- Secure payment via SSL encryption


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May 25, 2017 Disclaimer: Please read.
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Obama's Faux Populism Sounds Like Bill Clinton
Posted on Jan 26, 2012
I'll admit it: Listening to Barack Obama, I am ready to enlist in his campaign against the feed-the-rich Republicans ... until I recall that I once responded in the same way to Bill Clinton's faux populism. And then I get angry because betrayal by the "good guys" for whom I have ended up voting has become the norm.
Yes, betrayal, because if Obama meant what he said in Tuesday's State of the Union address about holding the financial industry responsible for its scams, why did he appoint the old Clinton crowd that had legalized those scams to the top economic posts in his administration? Why did he hire Timothy Geithner, who has turned the Treasury Department into a concierge service for Wall Street tycoons?
Why hasn't he pushed for a restoration of the Glass-Steagall Act, which Clinton's deregulation reversed? Does the president really believe that the Dodd-Frank slap-on-the-wrist sellout represents "new rules to hold Wall Street accountable, so a crisis like this never happens again"? Can he name one single too-big-to-fail banking monstrosity that has been reduced in size on his watch instead of encouraged to grow ever larger by Treasury and Fed bailouts and interest-free money?
When Obama declared Tuesday evening "no American company should be able to avoid paying its fair share of taxes by moving jobs and profits overseas," wasn't he aware that Jeffrey Immelt, the man he appointed to head his jobs council, is the most egregious offender? Immelt, the CEO of GE, heads a company with most of its workers employed in foreign countries, a corporation that makes 82 percent of its profit abroad and has paid no U.S. taxes in the past three years.
It was also a bit bizarre for Obama to celebrate Steve Jobs as a model entrepreneur when the manufacturing jobs that the late Apple CEO created are in the same China that elsewhere in his speech the president sought to scapegoat for America's problems. Apple, in its latest report on the subject, takes pride in attempting to limit the company's overseas suppliers to a maximum workweek of 60 hours for their horribly exploited employees. Isn't it weird to be chauvinistically China baiting when that country carries much of our debt?
Square, Site wide
If he doesn't know that, he should check out the record of Lawrence Summers, the man he picked to guide his economic program and who had been rewarded with the presidency of Harvard after having engineered Clinton's deregulatory deal with Wall Street.
That is the real legacy of the Clinton years, and it is no surprise that GOP presidential contender Newt Gingrich has been campaigning on his rightful share of it. The international trade agreements that exported good U.S. jobs, the radical financial deregulation that unleashed Wall Street greed, and the free market zealotry of then-Fed Chairman Alan Greenspan, who was reappointed by Clinton, were all part of a deal Clinton made with Gingrich, House speaker at that time.
As Gingrich put it in the first Republican debate in South Carolina: "As speaker ... working with President Bill Clinton, we passed a very Reagan-like program, less regulation, lower taxes." Even the 15 percent tax break that Mitt Romney exploited for his carryover private equity income was a result of the unholy Clinton-Gingrich alliance. Both principals of that alliance were pimps for the financial industry, and that includes Freddie Mac, the for-profit stock-traded housing agency that Clinton coddled while it stoked the Ponzi scheme in housing and that rewarded the former speaker with $1.6 million to $1.8 million in consulting fees.
There were, finally, some bold words in Obama's speech about helping beleaguered homeowners, but they ring hollow given this administration's efforts to broker a sweetheart deal between the leading banks and the state attorneys general that would see the banks fined only a pittance for their responsibility in the mortgage meltdown. Obama could have had success demanding mortgage relief if he had made that a condition for bailing out the banks. Now the banksters know he's firing blanks, and they are placing their bets on their more reliable Republican allies to prevent any significant demand for helping homeowners with their underwater mortgages.
Of course, Romney, Obama's most likely opponent in the general election, will never challenge the Wall Street hold on Washington, since he is the personification of the vulture capitalism that is the true cause of America's decline. Obama should shine in comparison with his Republican challenger, but there is little in his State of the Union speech to suggest he will chart a much-needed new course in his second term.
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By JEA, January 30, 2012 at 6:53 am Link to this comment
I'm guessing that you trust Republicans MORE to fix this issue?
By Memory Stick, January 28, 2012 at 5:26 pm Link to this comment
Pound Sand.
Your hero Obomba is unmasked. And if you think he's doing a good job, you're a republican.
Check out the facts:
A few samples, links to every article at the page above—
Obama Administration: US Forces Can Assassinate Americans
NYT: Obama Administration Pressuring NY AG To Accept Bank Settlement Instead Of Prosecuting
Feds threaten crackdown if medical-pot makeover becomes law
White House visitor logs riddled with holes
Emails Show White House Promotes Genetically Engineered Crops in Wildlife Refuges
Obama Broke Pledge to Force Banks to Help Homeowners
Obama's tough budget cuts: money to help needy pay for heat… AND ON AND ON
If you can support those 49 things you deserve 4 more years of lying and drone bombing and being ripped off.
By allen, January 27, 2012 at 9:16 pm Link to this comment
Some questions: (1) How likely is it that legislators would agree to an increase in the minimum wage, especially if you accept the notion that businessmen and their lobbyists would probably strongly oppose anything that would cut into their profit margin or otherwise would represent a burden to their bottom line? (2) How high would the minimum wage have to rise in order to produce for the minimum-wage worker what is often referred to as "a living wage"? (3) If, against business opposition, the minimum wage were to be raised (to whatever level), would you not expect to see a further acceleration of the flight of US jobs to overseas locations where labor is cheap(er) and therefore less corrosive to corporate profits?
By that guy, January 27, 2012 at 5:33 pm Link to this comment
scheer seems to criticize oreobama…
but you will notice,
not one word about foreign policies or wars everywhere fought with goyim American blood for he sole benefit of israel.
Now let's see… let's connect the dots shall we?
is scheer a jew? A dual citizen with ambiguous allegiance?
a progressive poseur to better mislead into the "democrap is better rethug idiocy"?
Now is sheer alone? Hell no, the whole media, entertainment, finance, and politician industries (among others) are full of them at every level. (OK, i.e. name me one hollywood actor or one CNN anchor or one goldman sachs big boss who isn't a jew… see, not that EZ).
how many world wars for (because of) this vermin?
Thank goodness the pendulum of history is swinging and you'll see, the old tried and true methods will again become the accepted way to deal with this, but this time let's solve the problem once and for all.
start with scheer.
stop reading the fifth column vermin.
PS to truthdig sure to censor as usual… at least I'll have one reader, the one I'm talking about, the one who's gonna start looking over his shoulder.
By allen, January 27, 2012 at 10:05 am Link to this comment
Lafayette writes:
"Except perhaps one extraordinary man, called Ike, who purposefully warned us about the M-I-C in his parting speech to the nation."
I seem to remember reading somewhere that the original draft of Eisenhower's farewell address used the phrase "Military-Industrial-Congressional Complex." The President was persuaded by an aide to excise the "Congressional" element.
Not surprising that a man who had spent virtually his entire adult life as a military man would understand better than most how harmful for the nation's continued wellbeing these elements could prove to be if not carefully monitored and managed.
Ike wasn't the first to comment on this subject using similar terms. Marine General Smedley Butler, who served during the early years of the 20th century and whose book is still in print, famously described war as a racket.
And, as some unknown campus radical said during the height of the Vietnam War, in a phrase that decorated buttons and T-shirts, "War is good business; invest your sons."
By Rags, January 27, 2012 at 8:34 am Link to this comment
You make it sound like Greenspan and his cronies have been around only since Clinton. In fact they've been entrenched since Ford, and have been a part of every President's economic team since. It's been a fun ride, but now the nonsense has got to stop. Hopefully these kinds of appointments only means that change is a slow process and radical change means too many steps back, but I feel you. Obama was giving the first of his re-election speeches on Tuesday. Hopefully in time, the usefulness of the group that got us here in the first place will faze out and new appointments can come in. It's hardly as easy as changing a team's head coach, but every team that does has to understand that getting rid of the old regime may take a year or two, before new ideas can take a hold.
By john polifronio, January 27, 2012 at 7:17 am Link to this comment
Scheer is a fool, if he believes that the rich and powerful have ever not controlled the agenda in this country, as they do in every other country. The absurdity of blaming Clinton for everything wrong in this country, or worse yet, attempting to compare Obama to Clinton, are notions as ludicrous as they are depressing. Clinton is the most, or easily, one of the most honored politicians, by precisely those members of our society that all the Clinton haters here, claim, were hurt by Clinton, the middle and bottom classes. Why is this the case? It's what our politicians do, in spite of the control exercised over them by the economic elites, that should get our attention. As an example, Clinton is said to have created 22 or 23 million new jobs, during his tenure. No other president has done this. Clinton saw to it, that more Americans got job related health insurance, than any other president in history. During Clinton's presidency, we were essentially free of war. Clinton oversaw, not simply a debt free national budget, but a surplus. This and dozens of other achievements are attributable to his presidency. But his opponents, Scheer, many people sending posts here, but, primarily the right wing, such as Newt, continue to defile his name by mentioning the same half dozen mistakes of judgement he made, pretending that you can find a president in our history, that has not made an equal or greater number of mistakes. But, how many of them were mistakes? Remember who we all essentially agree, are "running our country?" Remember that, when we're not blaming Clinton, or our current sorry excuse for a president, Obama, we're busy assuring one another, that the rich own, run, control, this nation. Assuming the president did not intentionally seek the destruction of his country and it's people, much of what Clinton was perceived to have done wrong, aside from errors of judgement, is probably a consequence of having battles lost with those same people that we've all agreed, run this country. Unless, you're prepared to state that Clinton deliberately sought to tear our country down, what other conclusion can you draw? Why these constant, idiotic, deceitful attacks against one our best presidents? Another post here, mentioned that Clinton left office with a 71% approval rating and was tied with FDR as the most popular democratic president. How can you reconcile these vicious attacks on him, such as Nader's nonsensical attempt to suggest that Clinton was the "best republican president we ever had?" Nader is a kindly old scholar, but if this remark against Clinton is any indicator, he's a naive fool. If Clinton was the best republican president we've ever had, why on earth did the republicans impeach him? Why did Fallwell call him the most liberal politician in the country? Unlike Obama, Clinton's rhetoric was far more conservative than his "actions," whereas with Obama, precisely the opposite is true.
By SarcastiCanuck, January 26, 2012 at 4:34 pm Link to this comment
In Obamas defence,I think if he gave the unvarnished truth about things,he would have been tarred and feathered at the podium.At least he didn't promise a Holiday Inn on the moon by 2020 like Newt did.Now thats a freaking whopper boy,and his popularity is growing???So,who is the lesser of the 2 evils here…
By Greg, January 26, 2012 at 3:05 pm Link to this comment
`I accept Mr. Sheer's born again anti-Clintonism with some skepticism, but only
By Mary Ann Maikish, January 26, 2012 at 2:27 pm Link to this comment
Obama was never one of the good guys if you bothered to listen to what he was "not" saying during his campaign. The only commitment he made was to end contracting out and he has never even addressed this issue. Besides being a war monger during his presidency (antiwar was how he won the primary—so much for honesty) he has not put any brakes on the big corps and banks and has not put any penalties on them and those that created the crisis. He has put the heads of these corps and banks in his administration and put the head of GE (Immelt) as head of his jobs creating group—this head of GE who was responsible for its fiasco and its bail out—he has replaced the Daley Machine(whose man he is) chiefs of staff—the last one a Daley—with a corp head who was involved in the crisis. He idolizes Reagan who started this mess with the concept of "trickle down economics". He along with my senators signed the recent defense authorization act 2012 which allows the police and military to arrest anyone—including US citizens without due process. Does this sound like the behavior of a good guy?? Compared to him, Bill Clinton is a saint!!!
By doublestandards/glasshouses, January 26, 2012 at 2:11 pm Link to this comment
I listened to Bill Moyers talking about Obama's new best friend the day of the SOTU address so I knew everything he said Tuesday night was just election year rhetoric.
By ObamaisGof, January 26, 2012 at 2:01 pm Link to this comment
The vile Lafayette types are always here with Obama love and accusations of "repub trolls" for anyone who is against Obama. And then there is the even more despicable "If I don't vote for Obama then a repub will get in and then Armageddon!!!" types. As others have said, vote Nader, Green or go home or at least admit you are a coward, not a "pragmatist". Simple. Not easy but simple.
Otherwise, join the mainstream and stop bitching about the death of democracy.
And to the Einsteins who think mass democracy is paradise, Holy Athens destroyed itself because of its chaotic mass democracy, Republic Rome was never a true democracy and Julius Caesar brought more freedom to the lowest classes than any icon like Cicero (as did Napoleon in France). Point being that liberals are still clueless about long dead civilizations and even more clueless about our current one.
If Obama acted less democratically towards congress/the courts and more so to the electorate in pursuit of a populist agenda, a la Caesar and Napoleon then he would be my hero. Such a figure is the best we can try to get in a representative republic. As it stands he gives great speeches (like Cicero) and little more (like Cicero). Loved the SoftheU but fool me once shame on me, fool me twice . .
By Textynn, January 26, 2012 at 1:34 pm Link to this comment
Obama's first campaign was centered on saving people from the abusive Medical Health care industry. It had been well researched and proven that this industry is nothing but a middle man parasite that is driving up the cost of health care so high that millions go without and hundreds of thousands die,and millions seriously impoverished to bankruptcy and homelessness. All this while simultaneously seriously eroding the quality of care for anyone who was getting it.
Then, once elected, Obama just changed the law to mandate health care and essentially enslave Americans to the system that he was elected to get rid of or at least shove down off our throats. Instead he has held us down so they can permanently mount us.
This is the same man that played us like drunk prom dates once. Anyone believing a word he says is Officially among those "Fooled All the Time".
By Rafael Ravenet, January 26, 2012 at 1:25 pm Link to this comment
I choose to trust the word of our president- for if I do not and if the word is not kept, what hopes do we have for a just future? What hopes do we have when the highest office of the land- the office of a Jefferson, a Jackson and a Lincoln cannot speak truth to populace?
For this reason I choose to honor the Man's words and then watch.
In confirmation and verification perhaps a light of reliance on the truth will ignite throughout America. Americans must unite under a banner of choosing what is best for Americans and the planet. I can easily say what is best for America is likewise best for the planet. What is best for America is this:
We need to put the fast food and video games down and truly participate in our homes, our communities, our local economies, our nation and our state. Unification and true solidarity with one voice and one will is a good start.
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Saving the soul of Islam's ancient cities
Embedded within the walls of a 19th-century mansion in an ancient harbour town on the east African island of Zanzibar are bricks bearing an unlikely stamp: "Made in Glasgow." The bricks – once ballast in an empty ship returning from a trading voyage – reveal the long-standing global connections of the world's great Islamic cities, many of which have fallen into disrepair.
Rebuilding the vibrancy of some of these cities is the mission of an initiative called the "Historic Cities Programme". But while the programme falls under the auspices of the Aga Khan Trust for Culture, the cultural agency of the Aga Khan Development Network, its work extends far beyond architectural restoration.
"If you are just dealing with individual monuments, you may not be affecting the lives of the people living around them," says Luis Monreal, director-general of the trust. "And in Islamic cities, the highest monument concentration is always in the poorest areas."
The trust – which believes restoring historic monuments provides a catalyst for social and economic development – is not alone in putting architectural heritage at the heart of urban regeneration.
"Each city has its own personality, its strengths and weaknesses, failures and successes," says Anna Tibaijuka, executive director of UN-Habitat, the United Nations agency for human settlements. "The city's 'soul' is exhibited through its cultural heritage, its social fabric, its intellectual and creative assets, its vibrancy and its distinct identity."
Conservation of ancient districts preserves this individualism in the face of modernisation, argues Tibaijuka. "The emphasis on new things, clean lines and modern design is intense," she says. "The problem with this one-size-fits-all approach to urban design is that many cities are starting to look alike, which makes them less interesting."
However, there is another reason the Historic Cities Programme launches every project with the restoration of a monument. "One of the great obstacles to urban regeneration is the attitude of the inhabitants," says Monreal. "Normally they are very poor, nothing good has happened in their lives and they don't believe any promises."
The idea is to start with something that quickly demonstrates commitment to change and generates immediate local pride. "It's not enough to provide grants, social work and so on," he says. "You need to do something that is visible."
Others in the field of restoration acknowledge the truth in this. "Historic districts provide a connection with the past, which brings richness and depth to a city," says Jeff Morgan, founder of the Global Heritage Fund, a US-based non-profit organisation that works to save endangered cultural heritage sites in developing countries.
Morgan argues heritage conservation also sparks the creation of small businesses and jobs, often through tourism, and encourages human-scale development, with pedestrian areas and districts of lower density.
Like the Aga Khan trust, the Global Heritage Fund focuses narrowly before engaging in broader restoration work. "In general, we start with a single district or class of society – very poor – where our intervention can set a model for the rest of the historic city," Morgan explains. "By training the teams and providing vision and a plan, we can kick off a longer-term major transformation."
In Zanzibar, the trust chose the Old Dispensary for this purpose. Originally commissioned by Tharia Topan, a prominent Indian trader, the building was well known to locals. However, for many years, it lay in ruins, beams rotting, roofs leaking, balconies tipping at alarming angles and plaster walls crumbling to reveal the bricks beneath, with their Glaswegian stamps.
In 1996, the building was opened as a cultural centre and, since then, the project has expanded into Stone Town – Zanzibar's ancient city, a maze of narrow alleys and ornate Arab houses. Along the seafront, the trust has restored Forodhani Park, a once-derelict garden built by the British in the 1930s. During the day, it is a place for people to relax. At night, vendors set up stalls to sell snacks and meals.
"In this case, the relationship with economic development is very clear because we are optimising the opportunities generated for these food vendors and their families," says Monreal.
A historic cities project in northern Pakistan also demonstrates this link between cultural restoration and urban regeneration. Perched on a craggy rock overlooking the town of Karimabad, the 700-year-old Baltit Fort was once empty, its rooms covered in graffiti and walls leaning precariously.
New foundations were built and high-strength polymer mesh embedded within the walls. Steel tie bars were installed to stabilise the building against tremors in what is an earthquake zone. Meanwhile, work went on in the town nestling around the base of the fort to rebuild sanitation systems and restore traditional houses.
Morgan says such cultural restoration projects help locals build confidence in their ability to participate in urban regeneration. "Once they have training and see the potential for jobs over the long term, the community take the work very seriously," he says.
This was certainly the case in Pakistan. The Baltit Fort, another Aga Khan project, inspired the community to take action, for once locals had experienced the benefits of running water and clean drains, some decided to renovate family homes at their own expense.
More recently, the trust's restoration of the Humayun's Tomb gardens in 2004 has been the starting point for a broader urban renewal project. The two-year project involved replanting the gardens and rebuilding the ancient water channels representing the four rivers of the Qur'anic paradise. Engineers designed a subtle gradient – just a 1cm drop for every 30m-40m – to allow gravity to stimulate the water to flow around the channels again.
A larger-scale initiative is now under way in Nizamuddin Basti, a large green space nearby that will become an urban park, creating what Monreal calls a "magnet for socio-economic development".
In Delhi, the urban renewal project is being run as a public-private partnership with three government agencies. And the buy-in of local leaders is essential, says the Global Heritage Fund's Morgan, to establish historic districts, seek funding and develop a plan and creative incentives for locals to undertake preservation work. "In most cases, it's a question of leadership and will, not monies," he says.
When it comes to the broader regeneration elements of its work, the Historic Cities Programme can also tap into the resources of the Aga Khan Development Network, an umbrella organisation for agencies working in everything from health and education to rural development and disaster relief.
But while these agencies are often present to rebuild health and education systems, the principle of including culture remains critical to the organisation's philosophy, even in devastated cities, where some might argue that architectural conservation is less of a priority.
However, in Afghanistan, where war has destroyed much of Kabul's basic infrastructure, the Trust for Culture has restored the 16th-century Bagh-e Babur Gardens, the first Mughal emperor's burial place. Unexploded mortar shells have been removed and perimeter walls rebuilt, and more than 3,000 trees have replaced those torn down for use as fuel for cooking and heating.
Monreal believes this project has been as important for the city as other forms of redevelopment. "For the people, they have not only recovered a space for leisure and family gatherings," he says. "They have also recovered a very potent symbol of their identity."
Tibaijuka agrees. "Cities are not just bricks and mortar," she says. "They represent the dreams, aspirations and hopes of societies."
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Dreamy love story has eclectic mix of formsJill Sykes
Published: March 5 2013 - 3:00AM
Within a few weeks in Sydney we have had two versions of the Chinese classic The Peony Pavilion, first as an opera and now as a dance drama - with a bit of almost everything. No breakdance, but some acrobatics to add fireworks to the reconstructed Chinese court dance, western classical ballet, contemporary dance, old-fashioned musical comedy routines, stylised and realistic acting styles. And all this to a musical mix of East and West, predominantly Western strings with a jaunty cowboy movie sound.
But the story could only be Chinese. It's a tale from the Ming dynasty of forbidden love between a rich girl and a poor young man who encounter one another in a dream. Her lovesickness drives her death, and him to search valiantly for her after he has found her self-portrait for sale in a market. We see her fighting the spirits that want to condemn her to a life in hell, and him arriving at her home as the family mourns her death.
But no! As he holds her in his arms, life returns and there is joy all round. As one, they put their arms into the sleeves of the biggest, most colourful and highly embroidered wedding coat you could imagine and climb a flight of stairs to the cheers of a celebrating audience.
With a sophisticated filmic backdrop and giant props of a lily pad, couches, cupboards and market stalls that are expertly wheeled around the restricted space of this stage, the huge China Jinling Dance Company has a solid production base for dancing that is never less than good.
Our heroine has an amazingly flexible body that she uses with grace, especially in partnering that winds her around and above the torso of her beloved - you are reminded of the Russian influence on ballet in China. One could only wish the accompanying ensemble - in their array of elaborate costumes as flowers, willow shoots and a passing parade of people - had more to do with the polished skills that could only occasionally be glimpsed through limited choreography. But what they did, they did well, especially the quartets.
This story was found at: http://www.smh.com.au/content/adaptive/smh/entertainment/opera/dreamy-love-story-has-eclectic-mix-of-forms-20130304-2fgtf.html


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Visit Baja California, Coahuila or Queretaro, taste wines or buy mexican wines here.
Saturday, November 10, 2012
L.A. Cetto Cabernet Sauvignon 2009, Guadalupe Valley, Baja California
Mexico boasts the distinction of being the oldest wine-producing country in the Americas, with a history dating back to 1521, just one year after the arrival of the Spanish conquistadors. L.A. Cetto, Mexico's largest winery, was itself established in 1975, but its origins date to Don Angelo Cetto, who arrived from Italy in 1924. Their Cabernet Sauvignon is known for its complexity of fruit flavours, balance and structure. Dry and medium bodied, it is ideal for grilled meats or beef fajitas.
Details of the tasting here: http://www.winealign.com/wines/22534-L-A--Cetto-Cabernet-Sauvignon-2009#
Thursday, November 08, 2012
L.A. Cetto One of the Largest and Most Respected Wineries
Visitors to the verdant acres of grape vines which surround L.A. Cetto winery in Baja California's Valle de Guadalupe now experience the fruits of founder Don Angelo Cetto's hard work, sacrifice and dreams. Cetto left his native Italy in 1926 and made the long journey to Baja California with the goal of bringing Mediterranean wine production to Mexico's perfect wine growing climate - warm weather, cool nights, consistent marine layer and sandy soil. One could call his impulse the lure of the terrain.
Interested ? The article continues here: http://www.bajabound.com/destinations/bajawinecountry/lacetto.php
Can Mexican wine be shipped to the U.S.?
I had a great wine in Mexico a couple of months ago and I would like to order some from a Mexican retailer. Only I can't tell if they ship to the U.S. or not. Is this usually a problem with Mexican wine retailers? And does anyone know of a good reputable Mexican wine online retailer?
The answer here: http://answers.yahoo.com/question/index?qid=20110521103853AAjs8ko
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Edit: 1911srule makes a good point though.
I think you did well.
I ride too so I understand that the ear buds are to protect your hearing, I usually only wear them on the highway and not around town. It is good that you noticed the guy right away, like you just because someone is standing there does not mean they are after you. As soon as I detect someone loitering I make eye contact, holding it, telling them, ya I know what you are and you know what I am. I am not a small guy, but I am not 6'5" either.
Those of you that do not ride, it takes a minute or so to suit up, ear buds, helmet, gloves, zip the jacket etc. during this time you are usually standing by your bike. The only thing I would have done different would have been my approach as the alarm bells were sounding, because in a mainly empty parking lot, they parked next to your bike. Could they have followed you from the pool hall? That seems most likely. Where was the big guy when you entered the store? My guess is that the big guy is used to intimidating people with his size, their motives are unknown.
I guess my arm chair QB says you should have stayed in the store and called 911, They were being very brazen, thus dangerous. I am glad you were armed, indicating such to BG's ( yup, that is what going to a pocket/jacket usually means in these encounters). this is probably what diffused the situation.
You were slated to go down! No belt holster with leathers! You having a pocket big enough for a good sized pistol, a plus! You were going down, your GF was going with them.
You needed to note the tag, and call it in! Just you seeing the action, not so good. "Mary, behind me"
That is my wake up call to my Wife. No, Mary is not her name! If the SUV was stolen, using it to knock you off your bike is not so far fetched.
With no prior warning, you did good. And others have said it, never ignore that gut feeling, never!
I have known my Wife for near 35 years, we have been married for 20 years. She is aware of her surroundings, at 76 I am an old guy, but no physical problems, carry a Glock 19 all the time.
A couple of months ago, at a Publix Supermarket in Orlando, me in Jeep, reading! Wife in store, shopping. Call on Cell phone, "There are two young guys following me, no cart, or baskets" OK, head to check out, when you are done, call me, as you get to check out.
"I am in line" "When you come out, use right exit, walk quicker when you get close to the door, keep tight to the right wall, keep walking, I am under the overhang, with Jeep"
A few minutes, Wife comes out, bit of a scoot on! Behind her, two late teen? Black guys, pants below bum! The one closest to her, watching her, does not see me, standing, facing them, Florida shirt undone, Jeep over my left shoulder.
The buddy, dressed identical, sees me!! Grabs his Buddy's arm (the watcher of My Wife) both abrupt left wheel, across parking lot to Street! No car, reckon they had the Lady's Car in mind.
My Wife is of Indian decent, must have looked like an attractive 5'3" easy mark, the fit looking old guy? Eyes locked on them. Not so much.
Later on, I measured the distance, me to where I was, them to where they stopped, 7m. I saw no weapons, if I had seen any?
It would have got loud, so glad it did not turn into "Shots fired" My training is advance to contact, head shots! That really is a great big No/No here in Micky's Town.
Lived in the US for 8 years, first real almost! Became a Citizen last April. I bet I would have been a Brit in the media! If that had ended up as a shooting. RETIRED ENGLISHMAN MURDERS CHOIR BOYS!
The good news, my pulse was not wound up, decided what I might have to do to protect the love of my life, waited to see how it panned out. And all's well that ends well.
This is one thing I drill into my kids, especially my teenage daughter. Not just in parking lots, but ANYWHERE in public. In fact, as we drive around, I will sometimes point out several people walking alone and say "Who do you think the bad guy will pick out?" They always choose the one(s) wearing head phones and/or staring at the ground.
Thank you for this post. We need "mental" training like this to bring up scenarios that some of us (me) may have forgotten/never heard/never experienced. I am very happy everything turned out well.
I always see motorcyclist park their bikes near the building, on the sidewalk. If it were me, I would do this. I've never been to a walmart that didn't have a cop posted there all night
If you were riding a Ducati, more than likely they were after your bike. As you described it, it sounds like you may have put the key in the bike and that was when the bad guys thought they could strike. The big guy distracts you, while one of the others jumps on your bike and hauls butt out of there.
Here in my neck of the woods, we have a saying on how you did. "You did real gooder"!
Hind sight is always 20/20. Based on your description, I can see myself doing exactly what you did. Perhaps you and I both should trust our gut feelings more in the future? Knowing what I know NOW, I would have gone back into the store and possibly notified Wal-Mart security. They seem to do a fine job catching shop lifters but, absolutely zero on their parking lots.


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A lesson learnt the hard way in Egypt
In a class that can accommodate only 20 students, May Mustafa and 60 other students struggle to stay focused. With pale white walls, old wooden desks and a small blackboard topped with the Egyptian flag and President Hosni Mubarak's picture, real education seems a hard task.
May, 15, a student in the tenth grade at the Al Nahda public school in the old district of Ain Shams, prefers to stick to her white-and-navy-blue school uniform and demanding school schedule.
May confessed to Weekend Review that most of her friends started ignoring school rules and neglecting class teachers, as school no longer fulfils students' educational needs. As most take private education, the school's role is limited to just meeting friends.
"Studying seems to follow me everywhere — in mornings at school and at evenings in private lessons," May said, referring to the exploding phenomenon of private lessons that has become a characteristic of almost every household having a student in any of the educational stages from kindergarten to university.
Private tutoring takes place in the afternoons or evenings, on weekends and during the holidays. Most private lessons closely follow the school syllabus, which aims at improving students' performance in examinations.
They are provided for a fee that depends on the subject — science and mathematics cost more. Also, the price of sessions depends on the residential area where the student lives.
According to the Egyptian private-owned newspaper Almasry-alyoum, the cost of private tuitions in maths and the sciences has reached anywhere between 50 and 60 Egyptian pounds (Dh32 and Dh38) per hour. In lower-income residential areas, the prices are between 25 and 30 Egyptian pounds.
"Sending my children to school without having arranged for a tutor is like not getting them their books and clothes," May's dad, who owns a small shop, told Weekend Review, adding that tuitions "consume much of the students' and teachers' spare time and a large part of the average Egyptian family's budget."
Technically, private lessons are banned under Egyptian law. But a recent survey published in Egypt's official newspaper Al Ahram stated that about 66 per cent of schoolchildren get private tutoring, costing Egyptians about 16 billion Egyptian pounds (nearly $3 billion). To manipulate laws, private tuition centres set them up in residential buildings as charitable facilities or video-game venues.
The survey, which was conducted by the Social Research Centre in Egypt, revealed that 39 per cent of families that opt for private tuitions for their children spend more than half the family's income on it. This makes it difficult for families to cope with the burden, especially since nearly 44 per cent of families in Egypt live below poverty index level, according to UN reports.
Across the globe, education receives a great deal of attention, attracting large investments. It is also perceived as a public service that should be provided by the state. However, in Egypt, education is a major aspect of development and the only hope for a brighter future.
Egypt's education system is not only the largest in the Middle East and northern Africa but also one of the largest in the world. With approximately one third of the population under 15, it is regarded as a crucial task and an important investment in the future of the country.
Dr Saeed Esmail, a professor in the Faculty of Education, said Egypt's education system is complex, steered by a centralised system with the government having unlimited control over the decisions of the curriculum, programme development and deployment of staff.
"President Nasser's socialist reforms in the 1950s granted free and equal access to all educational facilities, mainly to increase the base of support for the new rulers. Since then, the government has been responsible for offering free education to all. Compulsory education, which consists of pre-primary, primary and preparatory levels, grants students the basic education-completion certificate," he said.
Education has witnessed several major transformations, though. Before the 19th century, it fell under the control of the religious clergy (Ulama), with most institutes teaching theology. However, village churches and mosques imparted young boys with basic education.
A modern European-style education system was first introduced by Mohammad Ali during the first half of the 19th century; the establishment of secular education, such as schools for accounting, engineering and administration, resulted in the emergence of an educated Egyptian middle class while the lower classes still relied on the traditional Quran schools, called katateeb.
"Education is a right for people as is their right for air and water." It was with these iconic words that Dr Taha Hussain, doyen of Arabic literature, adopted a new system of free education at all pre-university levels, upon his appointment in 1950 as the minister of education.
Although public education is still free in Egypt, former president Anwar Sadat's "Open Door Policy", which encouraged foreign investment, created two levels of education, the public and the private. But due to the steady increase in enrolment rates and lack of financial resources in the past decades, the public education system has been struggling to cope with the rising number of students.
According to the World Bank, the government's expenditure on education in 2007 was 20.4 billion Egyptian pounds, about 12.6 per cent of its budget. Investment in education as a percentage of GDP rose to 4.8 in 2005 but then fell to 3.7 in 2007.
Today, 80 per cent of students are enrolled in primary school and 68 per cent are enrolled in secondary schools. There are approximately 21 million school students in Egypt, of which 18 million are enrolled in government schools and three million in private schools.
Professor Dr Nadia Jamal Al Deen, director of the National Centre for Educational Research and Development, said the chronic problem with education lay in the gap between what students study at schools and universities and the requirements of the market.
A new report by the World Bank and the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development urged a reform in the nation's higher education system to ensure responsiveness to the labour-market requirements, as the heavy investments in expanding education did not provide graduates with the necessary skills to compete internationally.
There is further evidence to support this conclusion — it is reflected in the steady increase in the number of fresh graduates who add each year to the growing pool of unemployed youth.
According to the Arab Labour Organisation, Arab nations have among the highest unemployment rates in the world, averaging 14 per cent to 25 per cent. The same report stated that Egypt's announced official jobless rate was 8 per cent but actual unemployment was estimated to be from 15 per cent to 25 per cent.
Nabeel Girgis, a 25-year-old who graduated from the faculty of commerce of the prestigious Cairo University in 2007, said: "After graduation, I found out that most good jobs need additional courses, in computer and English language. I understood that I either had to enrol in such courses or settle for low-wage jobs."
Amira Ezzat found the situation more complicated for girls. Although she had graduated seven years ago, she admitted that private-sector jobs are not suitable for girls — sometimes because of the late-night working hours or the nature of the work itself — such as the job of a salesperson, where one is required one to go around cafes and gatherings to try and sell goods, or stand and present "time share" schemes to customers.
However, analysts believe the most important challenge is the difference in the quality of education received by the rich and the poor, which is also known as the "wealth gap".
While the poor now have to rely on the underfunded and deficient public system, the wealthier families can afford to educate their children in an increasing number of private and "language schools", which have become a prerequisite for getting well-paid jobs later in life.
Today, several types of private high-profile schools exist in Egypt, including international institutes that follow another country's curriculum. There is also the process of earning an official certification from the Ministry of Education to be eligible to enrol in Egyptian universities.
Quality, however, comes at a cost — as such schools charge as low as 5,000 Egyptian pounds and up to 60,000 Egyptian pounds a year.
Monira Salama, 42, mother of two young children enrolled at the American International School, told Weekend Review she is happy that her children have the chance to experience American education in Egypt even if it costs her a fortune.
"Education is the best investment to make in your children's future. Other children in public education are tied to the government's curriculum and that doesn't help develop creativity or scientific thinking. You have to memorise large amounts of information to only pass tests and forget it all after you finish," Salama said.
Many private schools offer additional educational programmes along with the national curriculum, such as American High School Diploma, the British IGCSE system, the French baccalauréat, the German Abitur and International Baccalaureate.
However, Hani Hilal, the Egyptian higher-education minister, denied the existence of such a gap, stating that private education's costs are announced but, unfortunately, that of public education is not.
"It sometimes looks to people like public education or public universities are free. They are not: The costs are completely covered by the government. The government bears all the costs of public education. This is the difference."
Hilal said: "People would unfortunately say: 'I'm only paying a few pounds at the beginning of the year and this is the cost of education.' This is not the cost of education; it's the concept of the culture of the people rather than the cost itself. No service comes for free."
The second major challenge that Egypt faces is the shortage of teachers. This problem is precarious in rural areas. There is a common conception that teaching is of low prestige. Young people choose this career only when there is no other option or when it serves as a stepping stone to the more lucrative career of private tuitions.
Although last year Mubarak implemented the new "Teachers Cadre's Law" to increase salaries, they remain comparatively low. Also, many Egyptian teachers have travelled to other Arab countries, where conditions may be considerably better. Through the 1980s, some 30,000 teachers left Egypt every year.
Low pay has always been a common complaint among the teaching staff. Ali Al Kady, a 36-year-old maths teacher, told Weekend Review that given the low wages they get, private lessons seem to be the only after-school activity suitable for teachers.
"After years of calling for a serious reassessment of our salaries, the ministry agreed to raise it by a few hundred pounds but with the condition of taking an assessment exam to determine whether or not we are eligible for the raise. Most teachers protested, boycotted the exam and considered it an insult," Al Kady said.
People are still optimistic that the political will in Egypt will envisage education as the cornerstone and the key for both the country and its citizens, believing what President Mubarak said: "Education and its progress is our path and gate to the New World map. Education is the cornerstone of our nation and our only way to local and international competition."
- Raghda El Halawany is a journalist based in Cairo.


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The House of Mirth (original 1905; edition 2004)
by Edith Wharton, Jeffrey Meyers (Introduction)
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The House of Mirth by Edith Wharton (1905)
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It's hard to think of a less apt title for a novel than Wharton's House of Mirth, which is one relentless descent in despair for its protagonist, Lily Bart. The novel is a wonderful portrait of the upper-class New York society around the turn of the twentieth century, with some searing insights into the Machiavellian scheming that made that society so much fun . The tableau vivant scene is amazing.
I really enjoyed reading Edith Wharton's "The House of Mirth." It's definitely a typical Wharton novel... but I've liked all that I've read by her, so this novel was certainly up my alley.
The novel is the story of Lily Bart, a poor girl who is pretty enough to hang around with the rich New York society people. She is dependent on the kindness of her friends, who are fickle, and really has to find a husband with money to keep up her expensive tastes, but can't seem to commit to spending her life with a bore who has a fat wallet.
Wharton does a great job painting Bart's character as a woman who struggles with what she wants and how to get that in the narrow corridor society has laid for her. I really enjoyed how the story progressed and peeling back the layers of Bart's character.
Two words: So. Depressing.
Edith Wharton's writing was excellent but the story got tenuously long towards the end.
Brilliant, heartbreaking and often hilarious. Just three adjectives that come to mind to describe this stunning piece of literature by the fabulous Edith Wharton. The density of language packed such a huge wollop but also delivered such a simple message. The beautiful turns of phrase illuminated both the certainty and confusion of Lily's life. While Lily seemed so sure of her path, she was indeed confused and battered by the circumstances in which she found herself. The crushing weight of her beauty and its attendant expectations along with the strictures of the society into which she was born placed Lily in a really untenable situation. Simply loved this book.
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Novels: The House of Mirth / The Reef / The Custom of the Country / The Age of Innocence by Edith Wharton
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The Age of Innocence | House of Mirth | Ethan Frome by Edith Wharton
Three Novels of Old New York: The House of Mirth; The Custom of the Country; The Age of Innocence by Edith Wharton
Edith Wharton: Three Complete Novels by Edith Wharton
The House of Mirth [Case Studies in Contemporary Criticism] by Edith Wharton
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Amazon.com Amazon.com Review (ISBN 0486420493, Paperback)"The heart of the wise is in the house of mourning; but the heart of fools is in the house of mirth," warns Ecclesiastes 7:4, and so does the novel by Edith Wharton that takes its title from this call to heed. New York at the turn of the century was a time of opulence and frivolity for those who could afford it. But for those who couldn't and yet wanted desperately to keep up with the whirlwind, like Wharton's charming Lily Bart, it was something else altogether: a gilded cage rather than the Gilded Age.
One of Wharton's earliest descriptions of her heroine, in the library of her bachelor friend and sometime suitor Lawrence Selden, indicates that she appears "as though she were a captured dryad subdued to the conventions of the drawing room." Indeed, herein lies Lily's problem. She has, we're told, "been brought up to be ornamental," and yet her spirit is larger than what this ancillary role requires. By today's standards she would be nothing more than a mild rebel, but in the era into which Wharton drops her unmercifully, this tiny spark of character, combined with numerous assaults by vicious society women and bad luck, ultimately renders Lily persona non grata. Her own ambivalence about her position serves to open the door to disaster: several times she is on the verge of "good" marriage and squanders it at the last moment, unwilling to play by the rules of a society that produces, as she calls them, "poor, miserable, marriageable girls.
Lily's rather violent tumble down the social ladder provides a thumbnail sketch of the general injustices of the upper classes (which, incidentally, Wharton never quite manages to condemn entirely, clearly believing that such life is cruel but without alternative). From her start as a beautiful woman at the height of her powers to her sad finale as a recently fired milliner's assistant addicted to sleeping drugs, Lily Bart is heroic, not least for her final admission of her own role in her downfall. "Once--twice--you gave me the chance to escape from my life and I refused it: refused it because I was a coward," she tells Selden as the book draws to a close. All manner of hideous socialite beasts--some of whose treatment by Wharton, such as the token social-climbing Jew, Simon Rosedale, date the book unfortunately--wander through the novel while Lily plummets. As her tale winds down to nothing more than the remnants of social grace and cold hard cash, it's hard not to agree with Lily's own assessment of herself: "I have tried hard--but life is difficult, and I am a very useless person. I can hardly be said to have an independent existence. I was just a screw or a cog in the great machine I called life, and when I dropped out of it I found I was of no use anywhere else." Nevertheless, it's even harder not to believe that she deserved better, which is why The House of Mirth remains so timely and so vital in spite of its crushing end and its unflattering portrait of what life offers up. --Melanie Rehak
(retrieved from Amazon Thu, 12 Mar 2015 18:23:03 -0400)
Lily Bart, beautiful, witty and sophisticated is accepted by 'old money' and courted by the growing tribe of nouveaux riches. But as she nears thirty, her foothold becomes precarious; a poor girl with expensive tastes, she needs a husband to preserve her social standing and to maintain her in the luxury she has come to expect. Whilst many have sought her, something - fastidiousness or integrity- prevents her from making a 'suitable' match.… (more)
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text:
The wife picked out the colors and helped me paint it. She's learning. A little bit more practice and she will be painting them herself.
Thrash It, Bash it, Break it, No Regrets!!!
Thats sick, I now have to do a body for my ol' lady since she was spectating while I was checkin this out lol
Everything overpowered...
My wife forbid me from using her rally without permission and I have to use my own body. So now I gotta paint another for me. May just buy a roller now. These bodies are addictive to paint. Thanks for the comment.
Thrash It, Bash it, Break it, No Regrets!!!
Anytime, should get some vids of you guys bashing them if you do go that route. If I could find a KB/Kawasaki VXL roller I would sell mine off. I have yet to jump into painting my own body. bud I will be getting the PL Camaro GS, and also a 69 Camaro SS off ebay (looks much like the WCC Camaro) And take a crack at that.
What paint do u use: FasKolor, Pactra, or Tamiya ?
Everything overpowered...
I'm using faskolor and the create lines together. I'm looking to get a bomber body and the Camaro body too. The wife thinks we should get another rally to bash with at the skate park. If we do you can bet we'll be making videos with them...
Thrash It, Bash it, Break it, No Regrets!!!
I have been steered towards Pactra, but Im starting to really like FasKolor colors(no pun)
All my Traxxas have a black/green theme so I am going to try and stick with that. Plus FasKolor has an awesome Candy Apple Green I would like to shoot.
Everything overpowered...
Faskolor is pretty good. They contain agents that help with the bonding process for lexan. But with createx I get over 300 plus color combinations using their wicked and auto air combinations. The faskolor colors are very close to createx.
Thrash It, Bash it, Break it, No Regrets!!!
Loven it! Get those decals on it though
Build, Bash, Clean, Repair, Repeat..
Oh yeah, the wife's gonna put them on for sure. If she wasn't I'd paint the details in. But she likes them decals lol...
Thrash It, Bash it, Break it, No Regrets!!!


text:
Belding Labor Day offers parades, car shows and much more (Schedule)
Labor Day parade theme is 'Who's Your Hero?'
Amy Pethers is more than proficient at planning parades.
She has been organizing Belding Labor Day parades for four years now.
Pethers and her husband reside in Sheridan, but Pethers grew up in Belding. Every year, the couple packs up and relocates about 20 miles southwest to stay with Pethers' parents during annual Labor Day festivities in Belding.
"I live in Sheridan, but my heart is in Belding," Pethers said.
Pethers is organizing the Twilight Parade (firemen's parade) at 9:30 p.m. Friday and the grand parade at 11 a.m. Monday (Labor Day).
Belding Fire Department firefighter Dennis Paulson is helping arrange fire trucks for the Twilight Parade, but Pethers will be in charge of making sure everyone is lined up correctly and on time Friday night. She said the Twilight Parade has about 30 entries so far.
The Twilight Parade and the grand parade will travel the same route as last year. The parade will begin on the Ashfield Street bridge, head west on Main Street, south on Bridge Street, east on Ann Street and will end on Alderman Street, although people are encouraged to continue toward Hall Street for easy exit access to M-44.
Monday's grand parade has abut 90 entries so far, according to Pethers.
"This year our theme is 'Who's Your Hero?' and we want people to think outside the box," Pethers said. "It can be anybody from a dog to a superhero to a firefighter to a police officer or moms and dads."
Pethers said a group of 10 dedicated volunteers help her organize both the parades. She said organization efforts are demanding and exhausting, but the rewards are worth it.
"I cry at the beginning of every parade," she said. "I don't know if it's stress release or just a matter of seeing everybody who enjoys it. The enjoyment is organizing it from the bottom to the end of it, seeing it all come together and hearing everybody talk about it.
"It's such an explosion at the end," she said of both parades. "It's pretty emotional at the end."
Belding business hosts inaugural Classic Car Cruise
Mark Rich is a classic car enthusiast.
He owns a burgundy 1973 Pontiac LeMans GT and tries to visit a handful of classic car shows each year.
During last year's Belding Labor Day festival, Rich noticed many people were setting up up camp early to wait for the Twilight Parade on Friday night. He thought, why not have a classic car show in the meantime?
"I just thought this would be a great opportunity for people to have something to do while they're waiting for the parade," Rich said.
Rich, the president of Gerref Industries Inc. in Belding, is sponsoring the inaugural Classic Car Show from 7 to 8:30 p.m. Friday. The car show will take place in the Ellis Elementary School parking lot and will continue out onto the Twilight Parade route.
The Twilight Parade will begin at 9:30 p.m. Friday on the Ashfield Street bridge, head west on Main Street, south on Bridge Street, east on Ann Street and will end on Alderman Street.
"These Labor Day festivities are kind of Belding's homecoming each year," Rich said. "We're just looking to have a fun event and get some people to come out and show off their cars and enjoy some free entertainment before the parade."
The Classic Car Cruise is free. Rich is hoping three to four dozen vehicles will participate.
"It sounds like a lot of people are interested," said Joanne Strobel, who works at Gerref Industries Inc.
Gerref Industries Inc. is located at 206 York St. in Belding. The manufacturing business has been creating industrial ovens, washers, paint-finishing equipment and other items since 1974.
Car show meets swap meet
John LaClear is organizing his first car and motorcycle show in Belding this Labor Day weekend.
However, he's hosted similar shows before.
LaClear began organizing car and motorcycle shows during the Sheridan Springfest in the early 1980s. He moved from the Edmore-Six Lakes area to Belding several years ago.
This year, he learned the Belding Labor Day Committee needed help with the car and motorcycle show, so he volunteered.
The annual car and motorcycle show will take place from noon to 4 p.m. Saturday on Main Street (relocated from its previous set-up in the park).
Registration is at 10 a.m. A piston toss will take place at 1 p.m. Trophies and plaques will be awarded at 3:30 p.m.
Cost is $10 to enter a motorcycle, car or truck and $10 to sell at the swap meet, which is a new event this year.
"If people have used car or motorcycle parts, they can bring them down, pay $10 for a spot and sell them," LaClear said.
LaClear is a retired corrections officer and a motorcycle enthusiast. He's been riding his bike for about 50 years now.
"I like 'em all," he said of vehicles in general.
"What I've been wishing for Saturday, I'd like to see a minimum of 150 cars and 40 to 50 motorcycles and a whole bunch of people at the swap meet," he said.
Door prizes and dash plaques will be given out at the show.
A local church youth group will be sponsoring a non-profit food booth at the show as well.
Arts and crafts show hopes to draw people to Belding mall
The Belding Labor Day arts and crafts show has traditionally been organized by the Belding Chamber of Commerce.
When the Chamber moved out of the Covered Village Mall, the future of the arts and crafts show was unknown.
Covered Village Mall Association members met to discuss the issue.
"Our president (Craig Gill) put his foot down and said we need people back in this mall, we need people back in this city," recalled Caity Ingraham, owner of Artistic Attitudes Salon in the mall.
The Covered Village Mall Association will be hosting an arts and crafts show as part of Belding Labor Day festivities this weekend.
The show will be free and open to the public from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Saturday, noon to 5 p.m. Sunday and 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Monday in the mall.
"We're expecting a pretty good turnout," Ingraham said. "I'm very excited."
About two dozen vendors have signed up to participate so far and Ingraham is still taking calls from additional last-minute vendors.
Displays will include baked goods, candles, soaps, handmade crafts, signs, woodworking and more.
Gill and Levi Herroon co-own Short Stop Motorcycle Parts & Accessories, which opened in July in the Belding mall.
"The mall's kind of had a black cloud over it for quite some time," Gill said. "I'd just like to invite the community to come back to the mall and get involved with different events that will take place here this weekend and throughout the rest of the year.
"We've opened up the fountain again," he added. "We've got a lot of space here for people to enjoy."
Belding fireworks show never disappoints
Melrose Pyrotechnics will once again put on a fabulous fireworks display for Belding Labor Day festivities.
Mike Van Loo is the Michigan representative for Melrose Pyrotechnics, located at 7441 Storey Road in Belding.
Van Loo said his family has been putting on Belding fireworks for the past four decades or so.
"It's in the family," he said.
Fireworks will be set off from Central Riverside Park in Belding at dusk Sunday night, around 10 p.m. The show will last for at least 20 minutes.
"Everybody can expect the same exciting, fantastic show they've had over past years," Van Loo said. "Belding is known for their fireworks. We've never disappointed our audience and we plan to give them another successful show this year."


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Forex: USD/CHF finds support at 1.0260, back to test 1.0290/1.0300 zone
FXstreet.com (Barcelona) - The Dollar is rising today against the Swiss Franc and after rejecting at 1.0295, pair has found support at 1.0260 to resume its advance and test again the MA55 hourly chart zone at 1.0290/1.0300. Currently the pair is trading around 1.0285/95, 0.25% above today's opening price action.
Peter Rosentreich, analyst at ACM, comments: USD/CHF USDCHF bounced off the below support between 1.0227/44 but was capped at 1.0300 as remaining longs looked to exit. Continue to expect strong resistance between 1.0284 and 1.0324; with the longer term downtrend still dominating, if we breach 1.0227/44 again look to target 1.0190.