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Akira (UK - BD RB)
Our Marcus is about to E.X.P.L.O.D.E. as this Blu-ray is missing some things...
Neo Tokyo 2019: After a cyber punk gang battle between Kaneda's bikers and the Clowns ends with a bizarre accident involving gang member Tetsuo's bike exploding mere centimetres away from impacting a strange blue kid, events begin that may lead to this city's second nuclear explosion.
Now with Tetsuo returned from an army hospital with new powers that are ever increasing and the search to undercover the mysteries of Akira underway, Kaneda takes it upon himself to stop his friend before he becomes too powerful and wipes out the city all over again.
You know when Disney throw around slogans like "The one that started it all" for Snow White or how The Phantom Menace came loaded with "Every saga has a beginning" and it underlined the importance of those movies' releases. Well, however important a movie landmark that feels to its ever loving audience, is exactly how I feel about Akira. Y'see I loved movies long before I saw Akira, I grew up watching Return of the Jedi and E.T. on repeat, Arnie & Co got me into home videos, Burton's Batman made me fall in love with the cinema experience and there's a handful of other movies I can use as marker points to my movie watching evolution but Akira started something else - my love affair with anime.
From the moment I first saw the poster with Kaneda looming over Neo Tokyo, the slogan Neo-Tokyo is about to E.X.P.L.O.D.E. and the big bold text that read
AKIRAI knew I had to, no scrap that, NEEDED to see this movie and on the first day it was available to rent I was at "Star Video" (my local video rental shop at the time) ready to pick it up.
Now as a bit more backstory, I was very much aware of Japanese animation. Not in a the same way I am now (thanks largely to Akira's impact and the explosion of Manga titles) but for a thirteen year old with no internet, no access to pirate videos and really only TV shows to educate me, my understanding of the difference between US animation and Japanese animation and what I liked about the Eastern art was above average. Something about its look struck a chord in my young mind and Akira called to me like a siren. From the moment I put that video in and the movie started with the nuclear blast and the big bold AKIRA font and I saw that beautiful Katsuhiro Otomo artwork, I was in love. The colours, the streaking bike lights (still infinitely cool), the dark themes, the visuals for Tetsuo's powers; everything about this story had me. Kaneda was immediately and still is one of my all-time favourite fictional characters and obviously, like everyone who's seen the movie, I wanted that bike (hell who am I kidding, I still do). Some of the set pieces in the movie are etched in my brain forever. The screaming of " TETSUO!!!!" "KANEDA!!!" between the two friends/enemies alone is just classic stuff. Akira truly is a masterpiece and over the years the more I've learnt about it from books, magazines and online articles or just hearing other people's admiration for it has just made it even better.
Anyway, I think I watched that rented video at least five times that day. Got friends around to experience it, and even sat my Dad down to watch it with me (which started a bit of tradition with all the new Manga videos that followed, until we sat down to Urotsukidoji and I then censored what we watched together as that was just plain awkward). Akira pretty much consumed me and from there on in I was hooked. Reading the comics (which are comic books at their finest, especially the artwork), getting the 'Production Report' video, later picking up that awesome soundtrack and despite loving a good handful of the Manga releases that followed ( Wind of Amnesia, Battle Angle Alita and Genocyber, to name but a few) they never had the same impact. Akira was and still remains the jewel in the crown of anime for me and it wasn't until 2001 that the shiny perfection of Akira took a knock.
The US black tin box edition got announced. Akira on DVD!! It was a great looking boxset. The video remaster looked awesome, the features were pretty good and I finally got to hear the Japanese audio track. It was all good. This was what the DVD format had been made for. But wait... the new 5.1 English track was different. Pioneer Entertainment has redubbed the English track and not included the option of the original English dub. Honestly, I was shattered.
Now generally speaking, nowadays I always go with the original Japanese track with my anime watches. For example, I feel that Ghost in the Shell isn't Ghost in the Shell unless Motoko is Japanese, especially in the Stand Alone Complex series (she's has much more edge in Japanese). There's something lost in the English tracks for me. The only exception is Studio Ghibli titles because the English tracks are sort of adorable, but the more adult themed anime really only shines with the original Japanese dialogue. That is for everything except for Akira. I think it's the impact it had with me as a teen but Kaneda isn't Kaneda unless he's voiced by Cam Clarke (yeah that's right, the Turtles guy).
I don't care if the 2001 re-dub is closer to the Japanese dialogue (actually I do because most of the original dialogue is clunky, too descriptive and just not cool—even if you fans of it think it "makes the story clearer", which granted it sort of does, but not all of it for the right reasons). I don't care if the 2001 remaster looks and sounds technically better (again I do, but my preferred dub overrules my feelings on that) and I don't care that there's a legion of fans who fight for 2001's dub as the only way to go (yeah that one I really don't care about). It comes down to Kaneda not sounding like the Kaneda I connected to when I first saw Akira and nothing's going to shift me on this one. The attitude Cam Clarke gives him is great, he's way more cocky and bull headed, the animation seems to have been made for Clarke's voice and honestly I can't even make it through the "What you doing on my Bike Tetsuo?" scene in the 2001 dub, it just sounds wrong. The 2001 dub doesn't have the right feel to it and honestly if I was in that gang, I know which version of Kanada I'd want leading the bikes.
Anyway, thanks to Manga releasing a DVD boxset a while back with the 2001 dub as well a second disc with the film in 4:3 with the original dub in Stereo 2.0, I could still sit down and watch Akira on DVD (without having to dig out the old video) and yes, I'll admit, I have gone out of my way to sync up the audio of the original dub through one DVD player while watching the 2001 video remaster through another, once or twice (okay many more than that). I never opted for the Australian release which had new picture old dub as an option, so hearing that this release was coming and the US edition didn't have the original dub, I was hoping good ol' UK Manga would include the dub I wanted on the UK Blu-ray. I would even have settled for it in Stereo 2.0 again, but no, it didn't happen and even though this HD edition has its highlights (more on that later), I have to say I'm more than disappointed and it's more than just the lack of the original dub.
Akira is nearly a twenty-five year old movie now but that doesn't stop this HD presentation being anything short of amazing. That said this isn't a Disney style restoration by any means, so grain, bits of dirt and odd unavoidable defects like out of focus elements and cell animation limitations are all on show from time to time.
Colours are obviously the noticeable elements of the upgrade, Kaneda's clothes are now a different red to his bike (though I have to say my take on Kaneda's jacket is redder than what is presented here, at least the toys and artwork have gone that way anyway). Tetsou's powers have their fair share of show off elements, especially when he looks over his shoulder at the army from within the inferno and of course that small moment where he gets a red aura line around him really shines off the screen here.
Thankfully the overall colour palette hasn't been to tampered with, Akira retains its darkness and while, to a degree, it ages the movie I'm personally glad they didn't do a Transformers: The Animated Movie style restoration and make everything far too bright and cheerful for the sake of showing off on modern TVs all while losing the some of the original charm.
Another shining example of this HD presentation is the fantastic backgrounds that have really got a boost out of it. Honestly some of the work here is mesmerising and it's never looked this clear or vibrant and now they can truly be studied for all their magnificence which really is what makes this upgrade so worth it.
Rounding it up, I'm happy with the HD presentation here but I wouldn't say there's still not room for improvement. Really this is only because of what we've seen with the likes of the Disney catalogue presentations. While I was happy with Akira there was still a sense that some frame by frame cleaning could push the transfer further but then anime like this isn't and shouldn't be going all out to be flashy, right? For the risk of losing the feel of certain moments because of their dirtier look I'd probably just stick with what we have. Oh and maybe we should all keep a bit quiet on this subject, they'll only go and put some CGI scenes in there to bring it up to date URGH!
Well there's a ton of options here, TrueHD English and Japanese, Dolby Digital Japanese and LPCM Japanese (yet still not original dub—okay, okay rant over). Each track is packed with power but the TrueHD track is a powerhouse of awesome. The Akira score has never felt and sounded so good and despite having various versions of the film over the years there seemed to be elements I'd not heard before, or at least I didn't remember hearing them this crisp.
Small music elements in scenes really have a presence now, dialogue is fantastically clear and strong and while the larger moments (explosions, shows of power or gun shots) feel more like a wall of sound as opposed to strategically placed elements of the tracks, they are all still very effective and have never had the effect they do here.
Putting away my gripes for the sake of this review and being thorough (you lot owe me one) I checked out the English TrueHD track and it seemed a tiny bit less powerful than the Japanese option but there wasn't too much in it. Everything is firing on all cylinders across the board, with small sound effects really coming to life. Things like the security guy's hover bike things tonal sound as they pass really rocking the speakers, Kaneda's bike engine sounding glorious and the Akira aura visual sounding delightful and a much stronger presence than before. Really the audio is the element this Blu-ray shows off in spades and everything is treated with great respect here.
As I only got the review disc to look at, I missed checking out the steel book edition or the forty page book that comes with it or indeed the DVD version also included. So, on to the extras on the disc. Wait, what? There're just trailers? No retrospective look at the movie and its significance to a whole genre? Nothing about the comic books or the old US featurettes about the remaster? Not even the old Production Report? Nope, just trailers. Teaser 1 (00:32), Teaser 2 (00:31), TV Commercial (00:16), Trailer 1 (02:07), Trailer 2 (01:01) and 369 pages of non-zoom-able storyboards. Feeling let down much? I know I am.
Watching Akira on Blu-ray was a joy. Seeing the HD presentation of the visuals and hearing the audio handled so well was feel good central. Akira still sits high on my all-time favourites list and its importance to me has not reduced since the first time I saw it but that's just the positive side of the review.
The negative side is the extras. The lack of anything meaty here is honestly a huge disappointment. Akira should have been treated like royalty. There are enough fans out there and enough people in the film industry trying to get a live action version made that something of a retrospective could have been made for this. Not including the Production Report seems lazy and indeed odd as it's almost a part of the movie, they've been so closely associated over the years and really this along with the lack of the original English dub just plain annoys me. Of course this doesn't ruin the movie's presentation and what you're getting is a fine little package (especially in that pretty Steelbook), but I for one can't help feeling pretty disappointed about a release I have been waiting quite impatiently for.
* Note: The above images are taken from the Blu-ray release and resized for the page. Full-resolution captures are available by clicking individual images, but due to .jpg compression they are not necessarily representative of the quality of the transfer.
Review by Marcus Doidge
Suitable only for persons of 15 years and over
Disc Details
Release Date: 27th June 2011
Discs: 2
Disc Type: Blu-ray Disc
RCE: No
Video: 1080p
Aspect: 1.85:1
Anamorphic: No
Colour: Yes
Audio: Dolby TrueHD 5.1 English, Dolby TrueHD 5.1 Japanese, Dolby Digital 5.1 Japanese, LPCM 2.0 Japanese
Subtitles: English, Japanese
Extras: Trailers, Storyboards, DVD copy, 40 Page book.
Easter Egg: No
Feature Details
Director: Katsuhiro Otomo
Cast: Mitsuo Iwata, Nozomu Sasaki, Mami Koyama
Genre: Action, Animation and Sci-Fi
Length: 124 minutes
9Review Guide
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otiosely is a valid word in this word list. For a definition, see the external dictionary links below.
The word "otiosely" uses 8 letters: E I L O O S T Y.
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Alison & Kevin's Floor-to-Ceiling Kitchen Remodel in Seattle
Today's kitchen renovation story is a particularly satisfying one. This is a full-on, top-to-bottom remodel, a dramatic before and after for a young homeowner. While we love smaller remodels too, sometimes it is just really gratifying to watch someone completely transform a kitchen! Alison and her husband bought an inexpensive fixer-upper house and poured their money instead into making their kitchen a lovely place for them to entertain and cook.
Read on to see the before photos of this kitchen (yikes!) and to read Alison's renovation story.
Alison and her husband live in Seattle, where in addition to their day jobs they run a blog and Etsy shop specializing in mid-century vintage accessories and dinnerware.
Visit Alison's Blog & Shop
• Bit of Butter - The shop, at Etsy.
• A Bit of Butter: Mid Century and Danish Modern for Your Home - The blog.
Alison & Kevin's Kitchen Story
We bought a fixer three years ago knowing that we'd need to work on almost every aspect of the house in order for us to call it a home. The very first thing we did when we bought the house is tear down the wall between our living room and the dining room and kitchen. Before we did this, everything was very dark and rather dreary, so opening up the space created a warm and welcoming common area for family and friends. The kitchen has always been the center of our home — we love having friends over for impromptu dinners, brunches, and to try new recipes.
We wish we could have bought a house that had a lovely, well-kept vintage kitchen that we could have used without any problems, but ours was in desperate need of a floor-to-ceiling remodel. The original kitchen was a galley style with a sit-down bar around the outside. The galley-style was a cumbersome design for us since we both end up in the kitchen checking on various dishes during the course of an evening, so we knew that we wanted an open-style kitchen so we could entertain AND cook at the same time.
We lived in our home for our entire kitchen remodel, which took nearly 3 months. Our contractors took pity on us and kept the fridge plugged in for as long as they were able, but quite frankly, it was dire to be without a working kitchen for so long. Before the kitchen remodel, we didn't have a microwave, so we'd definitely recommend that folks get one so that they can at least pretend to cook while they're kitchen-less.
Cost & Budget Notes
• Budget Range: Under $30,000
We designed the layout of the new kitchen ourselves. We wanted it to be very functional, clean, and modern but with some retro touches that reflect our personal style. It ended up costing a pretty penny, for us at least. We knew that it would since we were adding a sliding glass door and drastically changing the layout of the space so we were prepared for the costs. It's still daunting though, to say the least. The most unexpected and annoying expense was moving the breaker box, which was in the kitchen (where our fridge now sits).
Resources & Upgrades
• We have a large collection of cookbooks that we wanted to incorporate into the kitchen, so an under-bar bookshelf seemed practical and added a nice splash of color to the kitchen. • We chose penny-round tiles for our backsplash because they were cheap and we loved the unexpected shape of the round tiled. • We wanted a single large, farmhouse-style sink and we found one (very unexpectedly) on Overstock.com. It's extra deep and it's perfect because it hides dirty dishes from view while we dine with friends! • We also found our pull-down faucet on Overstock.com as well and it's been a lovely addition as well. • We didn't like the fact that there would be wasted space above our cabinets so we decided to put a wine-rack above the cabinets. (We're both 6 feet tall, so we can reach them on our tip-toes!) Sadly, it's not a perfect idea since good bottles of wine shouldn't be stored in the heat (and since heat rises, you can do the math...). So we keep our everyday bottles of wine there and it works very nicely! • Our countertops are concrete and quartz composite with just a tiny bit of sparkle. So far, it has worn rather well and we've had no problems with it at all. • Our pendant lights are from Rejuvenation.com. They were on the spendy side (for us), but we've never regretted shelling out a little extra for them. • Our house doesn't have gas and the added expense of adding a gas line seemed prohibitive to us, even though we really wanted gas burners. We settled on a Kenmore Elite 40 inch stove with 5 burners. It's a *great* oven. • We ran our hardwood floors through the kitchen, mostly because we couldn't decide on tile. So far, it's been relatively easy under foot and we have no complaints. • Although we don't use our microwave very much, we wanted to have one, especially if we ended up moving in a few years (you never know!). We really hated the giant, built-in ones, especially since they were really expensive. We chose a small, counter-top model and got the built-in kit. And, we have to admit, sometimes it's nice to reheat things in the microwave!
Alison & Kevin's Renovation Favorites
What was your favorite improvement? Everything! But the island has become the social hub of the house since we often serve appetizers there as we work on cooking other food. It's also a great place to sip coffee in the mornings and look out at the garden.
Which one gave you the most "bang for your buck?"
This is a harder one, since we really do enjoy almost every single thing about our new kitchen. I think that the unexpected storage space we created with the cubbies and bookshelves has meant more to us than we realized, quite honestly. It's so nice to have all our cookbooks (well, most of them) in one place.
What's Next for Alison & Kevin's Kitchen?
As you can tell from the 'after' photos, things are constantly changing in our house. We started out with IKEA barstools, but the white plastic didn't fit in with our decor so we bought the Cherner barstools on Craigslist and love them. We tend to cook with vintage, enameled cast iron and use vintage stoneware and ceramics as much as possible for our dinnerware. Currently we're trying to put together place-setting of Heath dinnerware through thrifting.
Thank you so much for sharing, Alison!
We're always looking for real kitchens from real cooks.
Submit your kitchen here.
Related: Maria's Smart $6100 Kitchen Facelift
(Images: Alison & Kevin via Flickr)


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Guests who are visiting from out-of-town and arrived via airplane are likely to have landed at either Pearson International Airport or Billy Bishop Toronto City Airport. Varying rates to and from Rogers Centre can be obtained from airport taxi services at both facilities; additionally, Billy Bishop Toronto City Airport is connected to the mainland by modern ferries carrying passengers across a modest 121 metre (400 ft.) gap, often noted as the world's shortest scheduled ferry run. Guests are encouraged to check flight information, check-in online and seek further information from both torontopearson.com and torontoport.com.
Bicycle stands are available for use by guests outside Rogers Centre near Gates 2, 3, 6, 6A, 9A, 10, 13, 14 and 15. Gas powered vehicles (i.e. mopeds and scooters) are not permitted to be parked in these areas. Failure to comply could result in towing of the vehicle.
Bus parking is available in the lot directly across the street from Gate 8 of Rogers Centre. The cost is $45.00 per bus. The bus parking lot is patrolled regularly and vehicles will be tagged if their parking ticket has expired or one has not been purchased. If tagged, payment can be made to the address located on the back of the invoice/tag. Please call 416-341-3057 or email email@example.com to make a reservation.
Rogers Centre is conveniently located near Union Station as well as within easy walking distance of TTC streetcar stops on King St. (at Peter St. & John St.) and Spadina Ave. (Bremner Blvd.). Drivers coming to Rogers Centre, from either the east or west, can take the Gardiner Expressway to Spadina Ave. and head north to Bremner Blvd. Rogers Centre Parking Lots can be easily accessed off of Bremner Blvd.
The Skywalk is once again open and available for use to all Blue Jays fans! Follow the designated signage at Union Station and upon exiting the Skywalk, the path will steer guests between Ripley's Aquarium of Canada and the CN Tower. Guests should continue walking west and will see Gate 5/6 as they approach Rogers Centre.
GO Transit is a regional public transit service for the Greater Toronto and Hamilton Area. With an extensive network of train lines and bus routes, GO provides its passengers with safe, fast, reliable, comfortable service to downtown Toronto and other urban centres. Guests are invited to visit gotransit.com to use the online trip planner, view routes and check for the latest schedule information.
Greyhound Canada is the largest provider of intercity bus transportation in Canada, providing safe, enjoyable and affordable travel to its passengers. Guests are invited to visit greyhound.ca to use the online trip planner, view routes and check for the latest schedule information. Coach Canada provides safe and reliable scheduled bus service in Southeastern Ontario and Southern Quebec. Connections with third-party carriers extend service to New York City and other major North American locations. Guests are invited to visit coachcanada.com to use the online trip planner, view routes and check for the latest schedule information. The Toronto Coach Terminal, located at 610 Bay St., just north of Dundas St., serves as the central hub for all of Greyhound and Coach Canada's services.
There are a number of fine hotels within walking distance of Rogers Centre, including the Renaissance Toronto Downtown, located within the stadium itself. For further information on hotels and lodging, please call the Toronto Board of Trade at 416-366-6811 or Tourism Toronto at 416-203-2600 or 800-363-1990.
Guests are encouraged to try various modes of transportation to travel to Rogers Centre. Inline skating to the stadium can be a convenient, healthy alternative. However, guests must remove their inline skates prior to entering Rogers Centre. Guests will be expected to store their skates safely under their seats. Additionally, skating on "Heelies" is prohibited within Rogers Centre.
There is underground parking available at Rogers Centre with elevator access to the building. Rates vary depending on the event. The lot is divided into five zones:
A number of limited parking spaces for guests with mobility issues are available by reservation only. For further information and to make reservations, contact Rogers Centre Parking a t (416) 341-3004. P lease have your disability permit number handy for bookings. Bookings begin 3 weeks prior to the event day.
There are a number of parking lots within walking distance of Rogers Centre, but the stadium has no formal affiliation with any of those lots. The Toronto Parking Authority exists to provide safe, attractive, self-sustaining, conveniently located and competitively priced off-street and on-street public parking as an integral component of Toronto's transportation system. Guests can visit parking.greenp.com to locate additional municipal parking lots in the immediate vicinity of Rogers Centre.
Guests looking to find taxis near Rogers Centre are encouraged to visit the north side of the stadium on Front Street, or visit the south side on Bremner Blvd. near Rees Street.
The Toronto Transit Commission (TTC) is a quick, convenient and safe way to get around Toronto. The subway system is linked with buses and streetcars to get guests to Rogers Centre on game days. Guests are invited to visit ttc.ca to use the online trip planner, view routes and check for the latest schedule information.
Situated on Front St. between Bay and York, Union Station is the major inter-city transportation hub of the Greater Toronto and Hamilton Area (GTHA). Union Station facilitates rail service from Via Rail, Amtrak, Ontario Northland, and GO Transit. With the adjoining TTC station and GO Bus Terminal, Union Station earns the title of busiest passenger transportation facility in Canada.


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Boeing Co appeared to recapture bragging rights as the world's largest planemaker for the first time in a decade, after saying it delivered 601 jets in 2012, well ahead of a target set by rival Airbus .
Chicago-based Boeing's tally of 601 planes delivered to customers puts it ahead of Airbus' stated goal of 580 deliveries for the year.
Continue Reading Below
Airbus' final figures won't be announced until January 17, but a Reuters analysis suggests its deliveries won't surpass Boeing's.
"The production system performed really, really well," and helped drive deliveries up sharply from 477 in 2011, said Randy Tinseth, vice president for marketing at Boeing's commercial airplane division.
Boeing also beat its rival in sales, booking net orders for 1,203 aircraft in 2012, compared with about 900 for Airbus, based on the Reuters analysis.
Boeing's near-record sales, thanks largely to the success of its new 737 MAX, are topped only by its sales of 1,413 planes in 2007.
Boeing booked 1,124 net orders for 737s, more than any other model in a single year, many of them for the MAX, which is scheduled to enter service in 2016.
But Airbus, based in Toulouse, France, won the most new orders over the last two years, a period when both companies introduced new versions of their top-selling single-aisle planes, the A320neo and the Boeing 737 MAX.
Airbus' two-year gross sales are expected to total 2,580 planes. That tops Boeing's count of 2,260 for the two years.
Boeing officials downplayed Airbus' two-year win, noting it had done better in sales of larger, wide-body jets, which carry much higher price tags.
Boeing logged 155 gross orders for wide-body jets, which include the 767, 777, 787 and 747 jumbo. That compares with 103 for Airbus models through November, including the A330, A340, A350 and A380 superjumbo.
"All of a sudden, Airbus is talking about a two-year period," Tinseth said. "They like to talk about their success in 2011, we had a great year in 2012 and we've been doing really well on the wide-body side."
Boeing's newest jet, the 787, lost more orders than it received. New orders for the carbon-composite plane totaled 50 compared with 62 cancellations.
Still, overall, Boeing has 799 unfilled orders for 787s and is stepping up production to 10 a month this year.
Boeing is aiming to produce nearly 660 jets in 2013, easily topping the 601 jets it delivered in 2012.
(Reporting by Alwyn Scott; Editing by Bernadette Baum)


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This is a mini comic book about cosmic rays. Learners will construct the comic book and then read about cosmic rays, their effect, and how the Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter's Cosmic Ray Telescope for the Effects of Radiation (CRaTER) detects them.
Materials Cost: 1 cent - $1 per student
Learners read or listen to a cultural story describing a shape identified in the Moon's surface features. Then, they consider how the features formed over the Moon's 4.5-billion-year history and investigate Earth rocks that are similar. Children may... (View More) examine the types of Earth rocks (named anorthosite, basalt, and breccia) that are also found on the Moon and that would have been shaped by the processes explored here. Finally, they draw their own object or character that they see when they look at the Moon. This activity is part of Explore! Marvel Moon, a series of activities developed specifically for use in libraries. (View Less)
Learners use a Styrofoam ball, sunlight, and the motions of their bodies to model the Moon's phases outdoors. An extension is to have children predict future Moon phases. This activity is part of Explore! Marvel Moon, a series of activities... (View More) developed specifically for use in libraries. (View Less)
This is an activity about the way the moon interacts with sunlight. Learners consider a ball, wrapped in aluminum foil, and experiment with a flashlight to make it appear bright. The children compare the foil-wrapped ball to a Moon globe and... (View More) discover that the Moon reflects very little of the light the falls on it, but still appears bright. The children construct their own globe of the Moon to take home with them by gluing a map template onto a tennis-ball. This activity is most effective when conducted in a dark area, such as outdoors at night or in a darkened room. This activity is part of Explore! Marvel Moon, a series of activities developed specifically for use in libraries. (View Less)
This is an activity about the Moon's influence on Earth. Learners think like a scientist - with reasoning skills and a healthy amount of skepticism - to sort puzzle pieces containing statements about the Moon into two images. The "Far-out Far Side"... (View More) has incorrect statements about the Moon (urban myths), and "True-Blue Blue Moon" has true facts about the Moon's influence on Earth and life. This activity is part of Explore! Marvel Moon, a series of activities developed specifically for use in libraries. (View Less)
Using a color chart, students will make observations outside during each of the four seasons. During each session, they will try to find as many colors as possible and record what they see. As a class they will make charts describing the colors they... (View More) find in each season. At the end of the school year, students will compare their results and generate conclusions about variations in colors in nature both within a season and between different seasons. This is the 2nd of 3 sets of learning activities that are part of a unit on seasons that are companion activities to the Elementary GLOBE children's book, Mystery of the Missing Hummingbirds. Includes a teacher implementation guide. GLOBE (Global Learning and Observation to Benefit the Environment) is a worldwide, hands-on, K-12 school-based science education program. (View Less)
Materials Cost: 1 cent - $1 per group of students
In this activity, students engage in an ongoing investigation to find patterns of sunlight and shadow in a classroom (or any room that gets sunlight) at different times of the day and different times of the year. Students look for repeating... (View More) patterns, keep a log to describe and sketch observations of when and where certain easily recognized patters appear and turn the room into a solar calendar that may survive into the future for other classes to use. Part 1 of this activity requires occasional note-taking and casual observation over the course of a day. Part 2 requires 30-60 minutes to create the calendar record, then casual observation and note-taking throughout the school year. The lesson plan includes a math extension activity and background information about the Sun Dagger at Chaco Canyon. This activity is the third lesson in the Ancient Eyes Look to the Skies curriculum guide. (View Less)
This activity enables students to better understand the motion of the Sun and how we use it to measure time. Students create a "horizon calendar" at their school by carefully observing and recording the horizon and the Sun at sunset (or sunrise, for... (View More) early risers) over a period of weeks or months. Part 1 of this activity can be done as a whole group and involves selecting and drawing a detailed map of the site. Part 2 of this activity can be done as a whole group and involves determining the direction west and drawing the horizon line. Part 3 should be done by the teacher since it involves making weekly observations at sunset (or sunrise), which is outside of regular school hours. Part 4 can be done with the whole class and involves using the data from the observations to calculate the average rate of change in sunset time and respond to discussion questions. The activity is not time-consuming, but must be conducted over a period of at least a few weeks. It is best as a semester unit, or even a project for the entire school year. Also, the best time of year to run this activity is around the equinoxes: March and September. The lesson plan includes discussion questions, background information about desert horizons, and a math extension activity in which students calculate how the time of sunrise or sunset changes from day to day. This activity is the sixth lesson in the Ancient Eyes Look to the Skies curriculum guide. (View Less)
In this activity, students engage in long-term systematic observation to learn about the apparent annual motion of the Sun caused by the Earth's orbit around the Sun. Students put a dot on a window where sunlight enters the classroom (or any room... (View More) into which sunlight enters each day) and mark the position of the shadow cast by the dot day by day and throughout the school year. To make a personal connection to the activity, spots marked on a student's birthday can be labeled with the student's name. This activity can be done as a whole class or individual project. Part 1 of this activity involves establishing location, and casual observation over the course of a day. Part 2, involves "daily" (Monday, Wednesday, Friday is fine) marking of Sun-track at a specific time of day over the course of at least a month. This activity should be run for at least a month, but is best as a school-year-long project. The lesson includes a math extension activity to calculate the average daily motion at which the sunbeam shadow moves, as well as background information about the analemma. This activity is the fourth lesson in the Ancient Eyes Look to the Skies curriculum guide. (View Less)
In this activity, students learn about the motion of the Sun in relation to the Earth, and how geographic directions are defined. Students use a tetherball pole (or an alternative) as a gnomon and the shadow the Sun casts to determine the exact... (View More) directions of north, south, east and west. The best tetherball pole to use is one that is in full sunlight for most of the day, one that is vertical and unbent, and one that is built on asphalt or concrete. This activity can be done as a whole class or individual project. Part 1 of this activity involves the initial marking of the tetherball pole shadow using chalk (about 10 minutes) and subsequent markings by one or two students (less than 5 minutes) every half hour over a four-hour period. Students keep a record of the gnomon's shadow by recording a sketch in their logs. Part 2 of this activity involves using a piece of string to connect the dots after the final observation, then bisecting this arc to determine north and south. The lesson includes discussion questions, background information about gnomons, and a math extension activity making and graphing the tetherball's shadow length at different times. This activity is the fifth lesson in the Ancient Eyes Look to the Skies curriculum guide. (View Less)


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Jewish World Review May 15, 2013/ 6 Sivan 5773
Hillary Will Take Only so Much Guff
By Roger Simon
Recently, however, she delivered a major signal that she may not be a candidate for high office: When asked about a politically sensitive topic, she replied with complete candor.
While complete candor does not automatically disqualify one from running for president, neither does it help.
The sensitive topic was the tragic death of four Americans, including our ambassador to Libya, in Benghazi last September.
No, strike that. The sensitive topic was the lunkheaded and futile rehashing of the "talking points" made by members of the Obama administration following the attacks.
Was the attack in Benghazi triggered by demonstrations elsewhere in the Arab world or by local terrorism? And who changed what clauses in the talking points?
And who the hell cares?
On Jan. 23, Clinton appeared before the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, where Sen. Ron Johnson, R-Wis., a tea party darling, wanted to talk about the talking points.
"We were misled that there were supposedly protests and that something sprang out of that — an assault sprang out of that," Johnson said, "and that was easily ascertained that that was not the fact, and the American people could have known that within days, and they didn't know that."
Clinton, a former senator and former secretary of state, knows how to put up with guff. But she figured the American people had put up with enough guff when it came to Benghazi.
"With all due respect, the fact is we had four dead Americans," she replied. "Was it because of a protest or was it because of guys out for a walk one night who decided that they'd go kill some Americans? What difference at this point does it make? It is our job to figure out what happened and do everything we can to prevent it from ever happening again, Senator."
Exactly. Precisely. And, as I said, a fine example of candor in a place — Congress — where candor usually dies of loneliness.
So what happens? Here is John McCain this Sunday on ABC's "This Week," finding some way to blame Clinton for something to do with Benghazi.
"She had to have been in the loop some way, but we don't know for sure," McCain said. "What I do know is that her response before the Foreign Relations Committee — 'Who cares?' Remember when she said, 'Well, who cares how this happened?' in a rather emotional way?"
Keep in mind that John McCain has done more Sunday talk shows than you have had hot meals. He knows what he is going to say. He has an entire staff to prepare talking points for him.
But on Sunday, he seriously misquoted Clinton. She said, "What difference at this point does it make?" regarding the inciting incident for the killing of the four men. "It is our job to figure out what happened and do everything we can to prevent it from ever happening again."
But McCain change her response to: "Who cares? Remember when she said, 'Well, who cares how this happened?' in a rather emotional way?"
This is not only a falsehood and a smear, but a sexist falsehood and smear. McCain is attempting to lay the groundwork that Hillary is too "emotional" to be president because we all know women are often too emotional, aren't they?
Except for the coolly rational Sarah Palin, that is, who McCain still insists was ready from day one to become president of the United States and commander in chief.
On Monday, President Obama said at a press conference: "The whole issue of talking points, frankly, throughout this process has been a sideshow. There's no there there."
"We dishonor (the Benghazi dead) when we turn things like this into a political circus," he concluded.
If Hillary Clinton runs for president in 2016, everything she did or did not do during her career will be fair game, including sideshows, circuses and whether there is any there there.
But is that what she really wants? Or is she just a little tired of the whole, sad game? As I said, I am currently agnostic on the matter. And I think she is, too.
Every weekday JewishWorldReview.com publishes what many in Washington and in the media consider "must reading." Sign up for the daily JWR update. It's free. Just click here.
© 2009, Creators Syndicate


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Festive Fourth: 10 DIY Decorations for the 4th of July
Do you go all out for July 4th? Independence Day decorations can easily descend into cheese-dom, but you don't have to dig out all the stars, stripes and Uncle Sam decor in order to be festive. Mixing red, white and blue colors and patterns is equally fun, and you will be able to use your decorations throughout the rest of the summer, too. Here are ten decorative projects that are high on style and low on cheese:
1. Star Medallions from Martha Stewart
2. Candle holders from Shelterness
3. Striped Napkin Rings from Saucy Pants
4. (Above) Watercolor Striped Bunting from The Sweetest Occasion
5. Sparkle Skewers from the The Proper Pinwheel
6. 3D Star Garland from Get Creative Juice
7. Waterproof Coasters from Merriment Design
8. Pinwheels from The Long Thread
9. Containers from Better Homes & Gardens
10. Six Pack Caddy from Design*Sponge
Re-edited from a post originally published 7.2.2013 - cm


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Thursday, February 18, 2010
Lottie Jamison Coffey
I've thought so often about the tragedies this family endured and how that must have affected them in their young lives.
I recently 'found' the daughter of Lottie's son Bill Jr. and I wrote to her, asking if she had any family photos to share. TODAY I got these two beautiful photos by email.
Thank you, Nancy, for sharing these treasured family photos with us today. They are Priceless.
6 comments:
- GrannyPam said...
I especially like the one of Lottie and her two children; it is striking. How wonderful you were able to see them and have copies.
- February 19, 2010 at 6:43 AM
- Terri said...
The photo of Lottie and her children is stunning! The way Lottie is gazing at her baby you can just see the love for her child in this photo. Thank you for sharing something so touching.
- February 19, 2010 at 8:30 AM
- Amy Coffin, MLIS said...
She's a lovely woman. Thank you for sharing your photos of her. My great-grandmother died young of "surgical shock" as well. It just looks so sad seeing it spelled out on a death certificate.
- February 19, 2010 at 10:10 AM
- JHD said...
This is the first time I have visited your blog. I am enjoying the beautiful family photos. Thank you for sharing.
- February 22, 2010 at 9:19 PM
- Mary said...
What a beautiful photo of Lottie and her 2 children. Thank you for sharing.
- February 24, 2010 at 9:45 AM
- Anita said...
Paging through your blog is like watching PBS. :)
- February 24, 2010 at 4:07 PM


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QUEENS — It's a holiday gift for your mouth.
This Saturday, Queens residents will have a variety of edible presents to choose from, including coconut fudge and truffles and tamarind candies, during the holiday edition of Queens County Market, a monthly pop-up that supports local food entrepreneurs.
Some of the most unique products will come from Trini Treats, a Bayside-based vendor debuting at the market, who will be offering confections from Trinidad and Tobago, such as Tamarind Balls and Coconut Fudge, "all made without artificial flavorings or preservatives," according to Katrina Schultz Richter, the market's founder.
Chocolate lovers will also have a variety of treats to choose from, including Cake Pops, Truffles, Mini Cupcakes and Boxed Chocolates made by The Chocolate Swirl, an Astoria-based chocolate shop.
For those who love ice cream regardless of the season, Long Island City's shop, Malu, will be selling holiday-themed flavors, such as Candy Cane and Eggnog Chip.
Keenwa Krunch, also debuting at the market, will be offering healthy gluten-free and protein-packed snacks baked with fruit, nuts and quinoa, including Vanilla Almond Raisin, Cinnamon Cherry Pecan and Agave Walnut Date varieties.
There will be many other products available as well, including cheese spreads, eggplant curry, aromatic chai tea and spices.
The Buying Club of the Queens Harvest Food Co-op will also have its table at the market, offering winter salad greens, root vegetables, organic eggs, hearth breads and local honey. The co-op will be selling seasonal quiche and pumpkin pie by the slice and apple cider and eggnog by the glass. Profits will go towards forming Queens' first co-op, which the group has been working on for several years.
Queens County Market is holding its event this Saturday, Dec. 15, at Quaint Restaurant, at 46-10 Skillman Ave., in Sunnyside, from noon to 4 p.m.


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TRENTON — The New Jersey Motor Vehicle Commission (MVC) has launched an emergency next-of-kin registry to help law enforcement quickly track down the family members of non-responsive car crash victims.
"Sadly, and all-too-often, those involved in a car crash cannot communicate with emergency responders so there is a lag time between helping and transporting the victims to hospitals and finding and calling relatives," said MVC Chairman and Chief Administrator Raymond P. Martinez. "In some cases, even those few minutes could mean the difference between a family member being able to say goodbye to a loved one and a family member arriving at the hospital too late."
In April 2011, Gov. Chris Christie signed the legislation now known as "Sara's Law" in memory of Sara Elizabeth Dubinin from Sayreville. Dubinin became unresponsive following a motor vehicle crash in September 2007 and lapsed into a coma before her parents could be notified and eventually passed away.
"I cannot stress enough the importance of registering your emergency contacts with the MVC," said Elizabeth Dubinin, mother of Sara. "I lost my only, beautiful 19-year-old daughter to a horrific crash and was never notified before she succumbed to her injuries. This registry will go a long way in preventing others from having to find out the way I did."
The next-of-kin registry is an online resource that gives individuals with either a driver's license or a non-driver identification card the opportunity to voluntarily enter up to two emergency contacts and their phone numbers through a protected database. In the unfortunate event the individual is involved in a motor vehicle crash that renders him or her unable to communicate, law enforcement officials will be able to access the registry and notify designated emergency contacts in a timely manner.
To further broaden the usefulness of the registry, the MVC has lowered from 17 to 14 the age at which someone can obtain a non-driver identification card so that they may also utilize the registry for emergency contact information.
"This will increase the number of teens who can register their emergency contact information since a driver's license number is required to submit information through the online registry system," Martinez explained.
Non-driver identification cards may be obtained at any MVC agency at a cost of $24. Six points of identification (6 Pt ID) will still be required for every non-driver identification applicant. In addition, if the applicant is under 18 years-of-age, a parent/guardian must grant permission for the document to be issued.
The information entered into the registry is not public and will only be used by law enforcement. Participants can and should log back into the database any time information needs to be changed or updated.
Similar registries have been implemented in Florida, Ohio, Indiana, Colorado, Delaware and Illinois.
"Please take advantage of New Jersey's registry. It only takes a few moments," added Dubinin. "You will never know when you or your family might need it."
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text:
Provides usage information and examples for the Graph Template Language (GTL). The GTL is the underlying language for the default templates that are provided by SAS for procedures that use ODS Statistical Graphics. You can use the GTL either to modify these templates or to create your own highly customized graphs. Information covered includes how to combine language elements to build a custom graph, creating panels that contain multiple graphs, managing plot axes, using legends, modifying style elements to control appearance characteristics, and using functions, expressions, and conditional processing. New for SAS 9.2!New for SAS 9.2!
|SAS/GRAPH 9.2 Graph Template Language User's Guide
|SAS Institute
|SAS Institute - 2009-02-01
You must register with us as either a Registered User before you can Download this Book. You'll be greeted by a simple sign-up page.
Once you have finished the sign-up process, you will be redirected to your download Book page.How it works:


text:
General Practice, Solo & Small Firm DivisionMagazine
Table of Contents
Tax Treatment of Leisure Accoutrements
Keith Butcher is an associate in the Taxation and Employee Benefits Group of Moore & Van Allen, PLLC, in Charlotte, North Carolina.
Horses and Mercedes and Vacation Homes, Oh My! As individuals accumulate wealth and their businesses prosper, they expand their personal interests and activities.
Clients may call to ask whether they can deduct the expenses of their horse breeding, car racing, or yachting activities. Clients wonder if they can upgrade their company car from a Chevy Lumina to a Mercedes Benz. Your client may have just bought her dream vacation home in Jamaica and wants to know about the pros and cons of renting it for a portion of the year. But what kinds of tax issues arise from these activities?
Hobby v. Business Activity
Clients with a few extra dollars have a tendency to engage in luxury activities outside of their occupation. These activities can involve a substantial investment of time and money. At some point, individuals become so involved in their activities, or the economic circumstances become favorable enough, that they decide the activities have evolved from a personal hobby into a business. What are the tax implications?
For purposes of income tax treatment, the Internal Revenue Code (I.R.C.) makes a distinction between a hobby and a business.1 Expenses incurred engaging in hobby activities can only be deducted to the extent that the activity produces income.2 In contrast, business expenses are fully deductible regardless of whether the income earned during the year exceeds the losses.3
Take, for example, a taxpayer who raises aardvarks for sale and distribution. The taxpayer incurs $100,000 in expenses in 1998 and receives $1,000 from sales (income) in 1998. If the aardvark breeding activity is a hobby, the taxpayer would deduct $1,000 of expenses against the $1,000 income, resulting in no income or loss. The remaining $99,000 in expenses will be forever lost as a deduction.
However, if the aardvark breeding activity is a business, the taxpayer will deduct the $100,000 of expenses against the $1,000 of income, resulting in a $99,000 ordinary business loss, which can be used to shelter other income (perhaps salary). If the $99,000 "business loss" cannot be used in 1998, it can be carried back two years or carried forward 20 years and applied against any taxable income in those years. However, the $99,000 "hobby loss" produces no benefit and simply disappears.4
So, when does this hobby versus business issue arise? The more common situation involves a taxpayer who has a healthy salary or income from her regular occupation, but who also has an activity that she carries on outside the occupation. Many of the cases concerning this issue deal with doctors or other professionals engaged in activities ranging from horse breeding to mud racing.
For example, consider the case of Doctor X, who calls you on Monday morning ecstatic because he has had a revelation. In a dream the night before, it was revealed to him that his ultimate goal in life is to raise horses. He has called you for guidance in starting his horse ranch. Doctor X has a substantial income of several hundred thousand dollars a year and will carry on the horse breeding activity on the side. After a brief discussion, he discloses to you that he anticipates large losses in the initial years, but is fully confident that his horse ranch will be a huge success, and eventually he will be the business leader of a horse empire. Oh, and by the way, he wonders if he can deduct the initial loss against his salary from his medical practice.
The point to drive home to the client is that there is a line a taxpayer crosses when transitioning from a hobby to operating a business with a "profit motive." That line represents both a state of mind as well as a commitment to the success of the activity. If the question arises, the taxpayer will have to persuade the IRS that the taxpayer has crossed that line and is committed to operating a business for profit.
What determines whether Doctor X has a profit motive? Like most legal questions, there is no simple answer; it depends on the facts and circumstances. The regulations pertaining to the hobby versus business loss rules list several criteria that courts use to indicate an activity is a business:
• Professional manner in which the taxpayer carries out the activity. It certainly helps when taxpayers keep a separate bank account, maintain accurate and timely accounting books, and conduct their activities in a businesslike manner.5
• The expertise of the taxpayer or her advisors. The courts have found it persuasive when taxpayers are well-educated in the activity or contract/hire qualified experts.6
• Time and effort expended in the activity. Someone must spend time on the activity, either the taxpayer or qualified employees. The courts have found it persuasive where the activity is particularly unpleasant.7
• Expectation that assets used in the activity will appreciate. If the property used to carry on the activity can be expected to appreciate, the taxpayer may be able to persuade the court that, although his activities currently produce losses, the long-term appreciation will offset these initial losses.8
• The past success of the taxpayer in making a profit at similar activities. If the taxpayer has sold a similar profitable business and is starting a new venture, this fact would be persuasive.9
• The history of losses and income for the activity. If the taxpayer's activity had been profitable in prior years but is currently in a downturn cycle, a profit motive could be persuasively argued. However, courts sometimes use this criterion to fashion a feasibility requirement—not only must a taxpayer exhibit a profit motive, a reasonable probability of success is also required.10
• Degree of loss compared to investment. The courts have found it persuasive when a taxpayer's losses have been relatively small, the activity has produced income or has a substantial profit potential (albeit speculative at best), and the investor is subject to substantial economic risk.11
• Financial status of the taxpayer. If the taxpayer is receiving a substantial tax benefit from the activity, the IRS is certain to take notice. However, it logically follows that if the taxpayer did not receive a tax benefit, why would the IRS care? Basically, this criterion highlights those taxpayers who have a substantial salary and carry on the activity on the side (as in Doctor X's case).12
• Elements of personal pleasure or recreation. Although this criterion may be considered contrary to the "American Way," the courts find it persuasive (that an activity is a hobby) when a taxpayer enjoys the activity that produces the loss. Likewise, the courts find it persuasive (that an activity is a business) where the activity in question is particularly repulsive or physically arduous.13
As suggested above, no single criterion is dispositive. Instead, all facts and circumstances must be analyzed in light of the criteria to determine the decision.14
In practice, it is useful to bifurcate these criteria into controllable and noncontrollable categories. Certain criteria are within the total control of the taxpayer. The lawyer can assist the taxpayer who comes to her initially (e.g., Doctor X) by helping the client to organize the business and satisfy those criteria that are controllable. Prompt the taxpayer to open a separate bank account and to avoid mixing funds. Advise the taxpayer to keep timely books that are updated more regularly than every Decem-ber 31. Alert the client of the need to invest a substantial commitment of time and effort. Finally, urge the taxpayer to formally educate himself through clinics or similar types of schooling.
The remaining criteria (i.e., the noncontrollable criteria) cannot be so easily fulfilled, as they deal with either the results of the activity or the taxpayer's individual position regarding the activity. Although a lawyer can discuss the probability of success of the activity and the effect it has on the analysis, generally nullifying the client's enthusiasm is a difficult task. Likewise, it may be unwise and will seldom be successful to counsel the taxpayer to quit his primary occupation to create substantial economic risk. Finally, it is hard to persuade your client to find an activity that is unpleasant, as a client's personal interests influence these activities.
Evidently there is no simple answer to Doctor X's inquiry. However, I once heard it explained that these rules can be summarized into the "Duck" rule: If it walks like a duck, quacks like a duck and swims like a duck...it probably is a duck. Similarly, if the activity looks like a business, acts like a business, and is occasionally profitable like a business...it probably is a business.
Reasonable Expenses
Once the taxpayer has satisfied the profit motive requirements and is conducting the activity as a business, the next question is what she can deduct. Taxpayer-clients will amaze you with ideas that they find completely reasonable and, notwithstanding the I.R.C., make pretty good sense to you as their lawyer. I once had a frank discussion with a client over the deductibility of groceries. The client was firmly convinced his body was a "revenue producing" piece of equipment, and therefore the expense of keeping his body running should surely be deductible as a business expense. Regardless of the basic common sense underlying this argument, we decided that taking a business expense deduction for groceries was a little too aggressive. While few tax discussions lead to such a clear-cut answer, many can be addressed by some general guidelines or basic common sense.
The federal tax code allows a deduction for ordinary and necessary business expenses relating to the taxpayer's trade or business.15 It is imperative for the practitioner to keep in mind that what is ordinary and, more specifically, necessary to the taxpayer may not be ordinary and necessary to the IRS. Courts have found, encompassed within the ordinary and necessary rule, the requirement that the expense be reasonable.16 Reasonable is, again, a question of facts and circumstances. Courts have upheld chauffeur-driven limousines for investment advisors, but denied Rolls Royces for doctors.17 The central question is whether the expense in question directly relates to the ultimate goal of making a profit.
When Doctor X comes to you and wants to know whether he can deduct a $165,000 Rolls Royce because he firmly believes that the market for horse owners is among society's elite and the Rolls will aid in sales, you will have to supply some type of answer. However, do not be too quick to eliminate deductible expenses before completing a thorough analysis of how the expense aids the business. Due to the unique needs of each business, what is ordinary and necessary may surprise you.
The entertainment industry provides a good example of the broad spectrum of deductible expenses. The Journal of Taxation recently published some facts from a Tax Court petition filed by Stevie Nicks (of Fleetwood Mac fame).18 The IRS disallowed some $268,987 in business expenses that Ms. Nicks had reported on her 1991 individual tax return.19 The items in question consisted of: $60,160 for a home office, $12,495 for makeup and hairstyling, $43,291 for professional clothing and maintenance, $119,291 for a personal manager (as opposed to her business manager), and $33,750 in video costs.20
Although these amounts would be unusual for the average individual, they must be analyzed in the context of the business. If you were Ms. Nicks' advocate, could you not make a plausible argument that these items are ordinary and necessary for her to maintain her public persona, and therefore were paid in connection with attempting to make a profit in her chosen field? The appeal is still pending, but it will be interesting to see if Ms. Nicks prevails.
Vacation Homes
Inevitably, clients inquire into the tax ramifications of vacation homes. They hear about friends or acquaintances who are sheltering vast amounts of taxable income while enjoying a house on the beach. While vacation homes can be useful for both tax savings and personal leisure, they do not create a "tax holiday."
To start, it may be useful to outline the general advantages of rental property. Basically, the owner of rental property has four opportunities to gain an economic benefit from the property. First, over a period of time, hopefully, the property will appreciate in value. Second, if properly planned, the rent received can exceed the monthly expense and produce a positive cash flow. Third, when rented, a third party is paying off your mortgage and building your equity. Finally, through depreciation and other deductions, the property can generate losses that can produce tax benefits. This discussion will focus on the last of these economic benefits, the tax benefit.
The method of achieving a tax benefit is fairly simple. The goal is to offset other income, such as salary, by producing a tax loss. However, the mechanics underlying the tax treatment of vacation homes are complex and involve the interplay of several federal tax code sections.21 For our purposes, this discussion will simply touch upon the major tax characteristics of the vacation home.
The degree of personal use prompts the tax treatment of a vacation home.22 The treatment of a vacation home can be separated into four distinct classifications:
1. Free Ride—vacation homes that are rented less than 15 days of the year.
2. Primary Personal—vacation homes that are rented more than 15 days during the year, and the taxpayer's personal use exceeds 14 days or 10 percent of the rented days.
3. Primary Rental—vacation homes that are rented more than 15 days during the year, and the taxpayer's personal use does not exceed 14 days or 10 percent of the rented days, whichever is less.
4. Rental—vacation homes that are rented more than 15 days of the year, and the taxpayer does not enjoy any personal use of the residence.
For the taxpayer who simply wants to pick up a couple of extra dollars by renting her home for a couple of days, the Free Ride is perfect. The federal tax code allows a taxpayer to exclude the income derived from the rental of her home if rented 15 days or less during the tax year.23 Consistent with this, the federal tax code does not allow the taxpayer to take advantage of expenses incurred in the production of this rental income.24 However, the taxpayer does not lose any of her interest or tax expenses that she may personally take for the home.25
The Free Ride can be of great benefit to the taxpayer. During the Olympic games in Atlanta, an acquaintance rented his home to a team of gymnasts. The rental price was considerably above the market rent and the individual limited the team's stay to 14 days and thus enjoyed a healthy Free Ride. The team originally wanted to stay for 21 days; however, after a discussion with his tax advisor, this acquaintance spoke with a neighbor—they split the team's stay between their two homes and each of them took their families on a much-needed vacation. The moral of the story is that preplanning is essential to effective tax management. Many times the client calls after he gets the tax bill and there is little to nothing lawyers can do to aid him.
The Primary Personal classification deals with a vacation home rented more than 15 days of the year and used by the taxpayers more than the lesser of 14 days or 10 percent of the total rented days for the year.26 Transient retirees are good examples of owners of this type of vacation home. They generally reside in one area for half the year and then move south for the winter. If they were to rent their home/condo for six months of the year and then live in it for the other six months, they would fall into this category simply because they exceeded the 14 days of personal use.
The following example illustrates the 10 percent rule. Couple A rents their condo out for four months or roughly 120 days during the year. In addition, Couple A personally uses the condo for 13 days of the year. Their personal use is more than 10 percent of the total rented days for the year (120 x 10 percent = 12 days) and thus, notwithstanding the fact that they did not use it more than 14 days during the year, they did exceed the 10 percent rule.
Why is this so important? The simple answer is that if you are a Primary Personal vacation homeowner and your home/condo loses money for tax purposes, you do not get to offset your other income with the tax losses. Similar to the Hobby Loss rules above, the Primary Personal vacation homeowner can only use expenses up to the amount of rental income he has produced for the year.27 However, unlike the Hobby Loss rules, the excess expenses carry forward to future years in anticipation of a future profitable year.28
The final aspect of the Primary Personal taxpayer is that he must apportion his expenses.29 This means the taxpayer must divide his expenses during the year between his personal and rental use. Those expenses allocated to personal use are lost. A simple example may help digest this rule. If the Primary Personal taxpayer rents his condo six months of the year and uses it six months of the year, basically all of the assorted expenses (depreciation, utilities, fees, etc.) would be cut in half before being applied to the income produced by the condo. Although this is true for most expenses, those expenses allowed as an itemized deduction on his personal tax return (qualified personal residence interest, etc.) are not lost, but simply half is used against condo income and the other half is recorded as an itemized deduction.
The Primary Rental classification is essentially the opposite of the Primary Personal classification in that the taxpayer rents the vacation home more than 15 days of the year and her personal use does not exceed 14 days or 10 percent of the rented days of the year.30 The critical result of this classification is that, subject to certain passive activity rules, if the taxpayer reports a tax loss for the year, she can use the loss to offset other income such as salary.31 In addition, if the taxpayer does not have any income to offset, the loss can be carried over and used against other income in past or future years.32 Keep in mind that even one day of personal use will cause expense allocation as explained above.33
Finally, the Rental classification occurs when the taxpayer rents the vacation home more than 15 days of the year and has no personal use of the residence.34 This classification is identical to the Primary Rental; however, there is no allocation of expenses. CL
126 U.S.C. § 183(a).
226 U.S.C. § 183(b).
426 U.S.C. § 172(b).
5Treas. Reg. §1.183-2(b)(1).
6Treas. Reg. §1.183-2(b)(2).
7Treas. Reg. §1.183-2(b)(3).
8Treas. Reg. §1.183-2(b)(4).
9Treas. Reg. §1.183-2(b)(5).
10Treas. Reg. §1.183-2(b)(6).
11Treas. Reg. §1.183-2(b)(7).
12Treas. Reg. §1.183-2(b)(8).
13Treas. Reg. §1.183-2(b)(9).
14Treas. Reg. §1.183-2(b).
1526 U.S.C. § 162(a).
16Commr. v. Lincoln Electric Co., 176 F.2d 815 (6th Cir. 1949).
17Denison v. Commr., 36 TCM 1759 (1977); Connelly v. Commr., 68 TCM 614 (1994).
18Ordinary and Necessary Business Expenses for Entertainers: What's Reasonable?, 87 J. Tax'n 63 (July 1997).
19Ordinary and Necessary Business Expenses for Entertainers: What's Reasonable?, 87 J. Tax'n 63 (July 1997).
20Ordinary and Necessary Business Expenses for Entertainers: What's Reasonable?, 87 J. Tax'n 63 (July 1997).
2126 U.S.C. § 280A; 26 U.S.C. § 469; 26 U.S.C. § 212; 26 U.S.C. § 162; 26 U.S.C. § 61...to name a few.
2326 U.S.C. § 280A(g)(2).
2426 U.S.C. § 280A(g)(1).
2526 U.S.C. § 280A(b).
2626 U.S.C. § 280A(d)(1).
2726 U.S.C. § 280A(c)(5)(A).
2826 U.S.C. § 280A(c)(5)(B).
2926 U.S.C. § 280A(e).
3026 U.S.C. § 280A(d)(1).
3126 U.S.C. § 280A(c)(5).
3226 U.S.C. § 172(b).
3326 U.S.C. § 280A(e).


text:
|2008-07-28, 14:48
|Link #121
Warrior and Fluffy Pillow
Join Date: May 2008
Location: The Shadows
First things first, more Nanoha, YES! *pumps fist into the air*
anyway female voice for Bardiche, hell no. Its what gave him character, although if he said more than just "Yes Sir" i would be happy!
Re-design, yeah Nanoha's BJ looks more military buff, kinda loses a hint of mahou shoujo into a more fighting style. Couldn't really see the difference to Bardiche and RH designs, but i guess i'm not looking close enough, someone mentioned curves? i prefer the older one if thats the case. As for Fate, shes still got a belt for a skirt, whats the complaining?
As for storyline, Is this going to be an exact re-telling or maybe some slight changes? i imagine there will be some extra things put in.
One thing that's always bothered me but never really understood. Is Precia actually dead??????????
I get the impression from the end of 1st season, granted watched a long time ago, shes just trapped in Al Hazard? and could possibly come back at some point? can anyone clear that up for me?
Be awesome if they did change some stuff but i guess would screw over 1st 2nd 3rd movie etc lol.
Maybe three movies for each Nanoha season plus a fourth to take us into the fourth season? wishful thinking maybe????? ^^
EDIT Page Claim for more Nanoha Goodness!!!!
|2008-07-28, 14:58
|Link #122
Sword Wielding Penguin
Unless she managed to open the Stasis Tank and crawl into it until someone came across her. Master Chief style.
|2008-07-28, 15:09
|Link #124
disrespectful heckler
Join Date: May 2008
Location: eugene, oregon, U.S.A.
Age: 31
i don't know why everyone is so mad about the loli's turning into women. personally, i find it much easyer to connect to a character when you get to see them young and then see what they become when there older. it gives me alot more respect and admireation for the character when you can see them at different points in there life. although i am a little concerned about the changes for the movie. if it is going to be based off the first season they should keep it mostly the same.
also, does anyone know how long the seasons are in nanhoa. becuse it would be hard to make a movie about something that is around 20+ episodes.
|2008-07-28, 15:14
|Link #125
Version 3.0
Join Date: Aug 2006
Location: Hawaii
Age: 31
heh, I jumped the gun a little...I thought it was going to premiere winter 2009, which would be next year...but its actually going to premiere this year, so wouldn't that make it winter 2008 instead?
Bardiche's voice changed to female...that would be interesting, since this is a parallel universe to the Nanoha series...I mean how can they fit all 13 episodes into a movie?
As for the Hayate OVA, why don't they do what the first few Pokemon movies did...show a short story of one of the characters from the series before the movie starts.
|2008-07-28, 15:17
|Link #126
Adeptus Animus
Join Date: Jan 2007
Age: 30
Second season: 13 episodes
Third season: 26 episodes
The first season is relatively easy, a lot of things can be cut with only minimal effect, perhaps needing a bit of rewriting here and there, but nothing serious.
A's is somewhat more difficult, as every episode significantly expands the plot in one way or the other.
StrikerS is... surprisingly easy. Cut away the needless training. Cut away the needless NanoFate bait. Cut away the needless excess characters (and by that I mean characters such as Shari, Griffith, Alto and the like) and limit those with no little to no connection to the plot (of the forwards, that would leave only Subaru, which means Teana would tag along) and its very easy to turn StrikerS into a movie.
|2008-07-28, 15:17
|Link #127
Forever Fallen
At the very least this should be interesting, considering it won't be just cutting and pasting old footage. I'm expecting much less emphasis on the Jewel Seeds and much more NanoFate, if they want to fit the story into a couple hours. Not like that's ever a bad thing...
|2008-07-28, 15:32
|Link #128
[. . .]
Join Date: Mar 2008
Location: Imaginary World no. 856
Hayate deserves more.
Besides, if going by names, shouldn't they also try to make Raising Heart look more like a... well, Raising Heart? (maybe they'll have more luck with a Raging Heart )
|2008-07-28, 15:32
|Link #129
May Haru-ki Be With You
So, seeing as ten Directors worked on the first season alone, How many are gonna be in this new project? And if only one, which is most suited do you, to bring out the pure WIN of this movie?
Listen to me, already getting wormy LOL <- Why so serious?!
I haven't been this excited since that episode of TDK.
|2008-07-28, 15:42
|Link #130
Adeptus Animus
Join Date: Jan 2007
Age: 30
|2008-07-28, 15:45
|Link #131
NERV Personnel
|2008-07-28, 16:46
|Link #137
Adeptus Animus
Join Date: Jan 2007
Age: 30
Besides, concidering it an AU means that they can change things. It'd be boring to just watch what we've already seen yet another time, its what made the greater part of the Shakugan no Shana movie so boring. It wasn't untill the ending, where they seriously turned things around, that I leaned closer to the tip of my chair. I'd rather they spice things up a bit and twist things around, because it will leave you wondering "What will happen next?"
|2008-07-28, 16:46
|Link #138
Junior Member
Join Date: Mar 2008
Location: England
Age: 28
*girlish scream* ahem, I was kind of hoping that it would be based aftr the events of Strikers but I don't care, I'm still looking foreward to it. I'm wondering if Linith (sp?) and Alicia would make an apperance in this version as they didn't appear much or at all in the original series. I'm liking the redesigns despite there isn't much difference between minus Bardice and Nanoha's outfit, but I can't tell if Raising Heart and Fate have also had a redesign from the scans.
|2008-07-28, 16:48
|Link #140
He Who Smites Shippers
Join Date: Mar 2008
Age: 31
Personally I'd like to see NanoFate go the way of Negima's Kono/Secchan pairing, where it's not just canonically acknowledged but turned into a running gag. Fat chance of that happening, though. Status quo is god, after all.
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University of Minnesota, Morris
Office of the Vice Chancellor for Academic Affairs and
Internships and Field Experiences
What are Internships and Field Experiences?
An internship or field experience consists of a professionally
supervised activity in a professional setting. The kind of activity
that counts toward an internship must teach the student something
academically valuable about their major or minor. Interns
observe and assist with the professional activity that goes on around
them, and they may themselves engage in professional activities
under close supervision.
Each internship or field experience entails two supervisors. First,
there is the UMM faculty supervisor, who works out arrangements
for the experience, instructs the student on specific requirements,
and awards the grade. Second, there is at least one field
supervisor, a qualified professional in the field setting of the
internship who supervisors the student's on site activities and,
at the completion of the field activities, sends an evaluation of
the student's performance to the faculty supervisor.
Purposes of Internships and Field Experiences
Internships and field experiences serve a number of purposes. Their
chief liberal-education purpose is to enrich students' learning. They
do this by providing concrete experiences with applying knowledge
outside an academic context. This enables the student to knit
up their academic learning with quasiprofessional functioning. They
can try out principles they learned in the classroom, laboratory,
and readings while these are still fresh in their minds. The
hope here is that students will make firm connections between their
academic learning and their professional activity, that they will
draw on what they learned academically to improve and think critically
about their functioning as professionals, and that they draw on
what they learned in the field setting to illustrate, dramatize,
correct, and reorganize their academic learning.
Internships and field experiences do have other purposes.
One is to give students a realistic day-to-day experience with life
in a profession they are possibly thinking about entering. They
will have a chance to try it out with minimal cost to their careers
before committing themselves to a job in the field. If they
decide they would rather do something else, they have lost much
less than by quitting or, worse still, keeping a job they dislike.
Internships and field experiences also introduce students
into professional networks. They may find a future job in
their internship agency or in some other agency they contacted in
the course of their internship, or the contacts they developed may
help them find a job somewhere else.
Finally, interns' performance in the field setting provides
the basis of a competency evaluation. Interns and UMM can
see whether they have acquired the knowledge and skills they are
expected to acquire.
How to Arrange and Internship or Field Experience
There are two general ways to go about arranging an internship
or field experience. One is to locate a setting in which you
wish to work, make your own inquiries about the possibilities there,
and then enlist the help of a UMM faculty member to finalize the
arrangement with the field agency and to set up a suitable set of
course requirements for the student. A second, more common
route is to use UMM resources to locate a field setting and to work
with UMM faculty and staff to make the necessary arrangements. The
UMM Career Center maintains information on internship possibilities.
Whichever path you take, be sure to allow plenty of time,
generally about half a year, to make arrangements. This means, for
instance, that if you wish to take your internship during the summer
after your junior year, you should begin to make arrangements during
the early part of the previous fall semester.
Registering for an internship in the IS 3996 series requires
the following:
(1) an internship agreement form, which is available on
our website, signed by the student and faculty supervisor and approved
by the Vice Chancellor for Academic Affairs;
(2) an accompanying learning contract that spells out the
proposed internship in considerable detail including the goals and
objective, the types of activities to be undertaken during the field
experience, the number of hours allocated to these activities, the
total number of hours of learning activity in the internship, location
of the internship and organization name, city and state;
(3) the academic experience should included a daily journal
of his/her activities and a final paper, which will be required
based on the reading that he/she did and from knowledge of what
was gained from the internship experience. This paper will meet
all of the criteria of a regular research paper and will be turned
in by the dated required by the Faculty member. The student may
also be required to read the equivalent number of scholarly books
in the subject area and may be required to give an oral presentation
of what was gained from the internship experience;
(4) notification will be sent from the field supervisor
to the faculty supervisor indicating that the field supervisor approves
the student's internship plans and will take responsibility for
the student's supervision and evaluation in the field setting. Arrangements
should be made to have a letter of evaluation sent from the internship
supervisor to the faculty advisor upon conclusion of the internship.
Forms are available from the Career Center, and from the
office of the Vice Chancellor for Academic Affairs.
When to Take Your Internship
Since it is hard to take an internship and a full academic
course load at the same time if the field setting is located away
from Morris, most students take their internships during the summer
following their junior year or the summer following their senior
year. In the latter case, if the internship is the only requirement
left between you and graduation, you can generally arrange to take
part in the commencement exercises before completing the internship. The
actual degree will be awarded upon completion of all work.
How to Calculate Number of Credits
The rule laid down by the University Senate states that
each credit of course work should correspond to three hours of work
per week of the semester, including exam week, or 48 total hours
of effort per semester. In an average four-credit course,
for example, an average student is expected to devote about 192
hours to classes, labs, readings, papers, tests, and any other work
in that course. These are supposed to be hours of educational
Calculating credits for internship and field experiences
is more complicated than for on campus courses, because some time
spent in the field is likely to be non-educational -- for instance,
some routine admission procedures or clerical operations may cease
to teach an intern anything new after the first few times they are
performed. Other activities may never cease to be learning
experiences, no matter how often repeated.
Therefore, to calculate the number of credits an internship
deserves, it is necessary to estimate the number of hours of internship
activity that will be educational. You then divide that number
by 48 to arrive at the appropriate number of credits. Or,
conversely, to make sure that your internship is worth four credits,
it is necessary to structure the internship to provide the requisite
amount of learning time: 192 hours. Your time estimates should
include time spent on the required daily log, final paper and special
readings described next.
What Will You Be Required to Do?
The specific requirements for your internship or field
experience will depend on your faculty supervisor and on the kind
of internship setting in which you will be working. However, most
internships require the following:
specific plan for field supervision
2. A daily log in which you record your main activities
during that day and your thoughts about what you are doing
3. A paper about your internship (see below for details)
4. A satisfactory evaluation by your field supervisor
specific plan for field supervision
2. A daily log in which you record your main activities
during that day and your thoughts about what you are doing
3. A paper about your internship (see below for details)
4. A satisfactory evaluation by your field supervisor


text:
Since the job forums have been pretty inactive for awhile, I thought I'd start a new topic in each devoted to things you'd like or wish that Square Enix would do with each job. They can be legitimate things you'd like to see, or they could be absurd, and, while they can be, they don't have to be any serious or groundbreaking changes you think each job needs, just something you think would improve them a bit in some form. Just try to keep the topic clean and drama free (emphasis on try). Just have some fun with this and let your ideas soar.
Though it's probably take a bit for them to do since it'd mean reworking every song's effect, I'd like to see each type of song with its own actual music when it's being played. When in the casting animation, you couldn't actually tell what song is being played since Marches sound like Minuets and Madrigals sound like Mambos. The actual tunes played for each song isn't different whatsoever, and I think changing it so they did reflect the song cast would be interesting.


text:
As I chat with mother bear I ask many questions and apologize if I appear ignorant. I asks first off where exactly was I? What the name of this forest was? What were their names (if I hadn't learned already). Why was there a truce between humans and the citizens of the forest? if it wasn't out of line I ask; What was so important about the document I found? Who were the people we would be meeting with? Plus such things as; How they preferred to be referred to as? What should I say or do or how should I act?
I thank her every time she assists me over a rather difficult bit of terrain.


text:
Even a rebuilding team brings in the crowd
Vin Sylvia: Celtics are still a big draw locallyVIN SYLVIA
October 13. 2013 12:40AM
MANCHESTER -- First pitch in Game 1 of the American League Championship Series between the Red Sox and Tigers was approaching Saturday night, the Bruins had won for the third time in four regular-season games that afternoon, and around New England, Patriots fans were awaiting Sunday's game against the Saints while following the region's new favorite soap opera, "As the Gronk Turns."
Nevertheless, folks at Verizon Wireless Arena were anticipating a crowd of around 9,000 to see the team calling itself the Boston Celtics play the New York Knicks in the fourth game of a nine-game exhibition schedule.
And, sure enough, the place was nearly packed as the cobbled-collection of Celtics rewarded the local show of support by racing out to a 28-15 first-quarter advantage despite playing their third game in four days and doing so without the services of veterans Keith Bogans (thumb) and Gerald Wallace (rest).
As it turned out, the Knicks were even more depleted, sitting star Camelo Anthony and most of their other starters. When all was said and done, the Celtics had a 118-81 victory, their first under new head coach Brad Stevens.
I'll be damned.
This wasn't 2005, when the big draw was one of New Hampshire's own, Concord's Matt Bonner, making his first appearance as a professional in his home state as the Celtics hosted his Toronto Raptors. Attendance was 8,868 in the 11,140-seat Big V that night, and, yes, the player who drew the loudest cheers was the Red Rocket.
This wasn't 2008, when the Celtics were the reigning world champions. They drew 9,393 that night, and the fact that they were playing a whole collection of Rockets -- this time of the Houston variety -- had nothing to do with it. The NBA champs were draw enough.
But Matt Bonner wasn't coming here Saturday night, and the Celtics who were here were a far cry from the team preparing to hoist its championship banner in 2008. That team had the Big Three of Paul Pierce, Ray Allen and Kevin Garnett, along with rising star Rajon Rando. This one brought Rondo with it to Manchester, but he was in street clothes, out indefinitely while recovering from knee surgery, while the Big Three were long gone — Allen to Miami after the 2011-12 season, Pierce and Garnett to Brooklyn not long after these same Knicks eliminated the Celtics in last spring's playoffs.
So what was the draw? The Knicks, attracting the many transplanted New Yorkers who inhabit Conference Finals and one more to the NBA Finals? Well, there was some of that, but this was an overwhelmingly green-clad crowd.
Curiosity over who these Celtics are and what they are to become?
Probably a combination thereof — that and the fact that this was the Celtics' first trip here since 2010, their eighth overall since the Big V opened in 2001.
It wasn't the names on the back of the jerseys. Jeff Green is expected to be the Celtics' leading scorer, but he's been terrible this preseason, and it's not like he had a huge following to begin with. Jared Sullinger was having a good rookie season before he got hurt last year, but an offseason charge of domestic abuse certainly didn't do anything to help his image. First-round draft choice Kelly Olynyk (15 points, 6 rebounds) looks promising, but he's hardly a household name.
Nope. The fourth-most-popular professional sports team in New England was in Manchester Saturday night, and that, for those who nearly sold out the place, was enough.
Vin Sylvia is a New Hampshire Union Leader deputy managing editor. Email him at firstname.lastname@example.com.


text:
Imaginative, Eccentric, Genuine, Unique, Distinctive, Master
By definition, the art of engraving is "the practice of incising designs onto a hard surface by cutting grooves into it." These surfaces are usually comprised of two very unforgiving mediums; metal and glass. Most artisans who engrave do so by hand with a hardened steel tool, which is used to cut their designs onto the surface. The desired result is a uniquely detailed and decorated object, such as a knife or a gun, with the owner's initials or otherwise identifying markings carefully drawn on. In Lowriding, car owners have everything from suspension parts to their bumper guards engraved. Engraving is another form of artistic expression to make the owner's ride unique, just like a custom paint job.
Born in East Los Angeles and raised in South San Gabriel California, Master Engraver David Renteria began his Lowriding career in the 1980s behind the wheel of the widely popular mini truck. A lifelong artist, David was at a show in Pico Rivera, California when he was first exposed to the art of engraving.
It was at this show when a young David noticed a guy performing some engraving duties on a car window. Somewhat taken aback, he was surprised to see this kind of customization being given to a show car. David went up to the guy and said, "With all due respect, they're letting you do this on the car?" He turned to David and responded, "You think you can do better?" David replied, "Not now, but I'm going to go home and practice." While this may seem out of line, it wasn't that David was actually questioning the guy's artistic ability; he was simply surprised to see someone engraving on a show car! Nonetheless, David went home and stayed true to his word by practicing this new art form on a daily basis.
One thing that David noticed when observing the engraver at the Pico Rivera show was the fact that the engraving being performed was not as detailed as he imagined. He felt since the engraving was being displayed on such an eye catching vehicle, it should be detailed and eye catching as well, in order to truly add something and do justice to an otherwise incredible auto build. Keeping in line with this type of thinking, David set out to ensure that his style of engraving was unique and extremely detailed.
As his reputation grew, David began to receive calls from many of the top builders in Lowriding. David answered every call, and it is his work that can be seen on a number of top notch vehicles. C&L's 1978 Monte Carlo, "Orgullo Mexicano, two-time "Bomb Truck of the Year," "Green Aid," and three-time "Lowrider Bike of the Year," "Casino Dream" are just a few examples of the projects that David has been a part of. Cultural luminaries like The Tovars, Anthony Fuentes, and Southside Car Club have all had David's engraving on their rides. He has also worked on many custom motorcycles and other types of custom vehicles. As you can see from the accompanying photos, car owners are having David touch everything from battery tie downs to mirror posts.
Unlike many engravers in the Lowrider world, David's art is not only limited to vehicles. If it's made with metal, chances are that David has engraved it. He has worked on a little bit of everything; rings, handcuffs, guns, and marble headstones are just some of the unique items that have been blessed with David's rare talent. David also has a large customer base in the custom homes industry. David has engraved Italy's famous Trevi Fountain on a shower door. He's worked on a wine cellar in a 23 million dollar home, and also engraved a custom staircase. David's work also includes wedding accessories, custom gifts, and marble sculptures.
A couple of the more unique projects David has worked on include a 7×5 foot, three dimensional Virgin Mary, which he engraved on a mirror. This one of a kind creation has been featured in many museums. He also worked on a penitentiary toilet for the prison art-themed "Life Inside" Art Show in 2008. David's art has been featured in many art shows and was also part of the Peterson Automotive Museum's "Arte y Estilo" exhibit.
Over the years, David and his art work have been featured by many media outlets including Lowrider Magazine, Japan's Custom Lowriding, The Los Angeles Times, La Opinion, and on local Los Angeles television networks. David has also used his art for youth outreach as well. He is a strong believer in the youth of today, as it will be them who will likely continue the art of engraving, long after David has put down his engraving tools.
After almost 30 years of practicing his art, David has no plans on slowing down, despite the Carpal Tunnel Syndrome he has experienced and dealt with. He cautions anyone that is interested in engraving to make sure that they have the proper equipment and work in a well-ventilated area. He plans on producing engraving instructional videos and selling his own line of engraving tool kits. David also plans on continuing his youth outreach to ensure the art of engraving never dies.
David would like to thank God for blessing him with his artistic talent. He would also like to thank his wife for supporting him and his artistic career. David is also very grateful to his children and grandchildren for their support, and his customers for believing in him. We here at Lowrider Magazine would like to thank David for literally leaving his mark on the Lowrider Culture for so many years.