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Floating Twitter popout byReview Results
Wedding Venue Directory, for wedding venues and romantic getaways
Planning your wedding day is an extremely exciting time in your lives, and we understand how important finding the perfect venue for your special day is. At The Sheene Mill, creating the wedding day of your dreams is our priority and it is always our pleasure to assist you in building your unique wedding day from start to finish.
Steeped in history, The Sheene Mill, Hertfordshire is a magnificent 16th century Grade II listed water mill set on the River Mel. With beautiful views over the old mill pond and landscaped gardens, The Sheene Mill is an extremely popular wedding ceremony and reception venue.
Whether you are planning a lavish wedding for hundreds or an intimate affair for close friends and family, the original features and luxurious banqueting rooms provide everything you could need on your special day.
At The Sheene Mill we understand the importance of ensuring every aspect of your wedding day runs as you have always imagined it would be. Our dedicated Wedding Co-ordinator will ensure your wedding is everything you have wished for and that you have nothing to worry about, apart from simply enjoying yourselves.
We pride ourselves on the quality of our service and Rosette award winning food, creating every dish using locally sourced, fresh ingredients, personalised to suit your requirements.
We will be delighted to design a reception around your budget and specific tastes. There are no hidden extras, only our extra care, flair and flexibility.
Our aim is as important to us as it is to you, to make your wedding a wonderful day to remember for the rest of your lives together.
To view The Sheene Mill yourselves please contact our reception team, who will arrange a viewing with our Wedding Co-ordinator at a time that is suitable for you.
We know that choosing the venue for your big day is an important decision. With the English Lake District being voted one of the most romantic destinations in the UK, there could be no more perfect place to tie the knot. In the midst of this natural beauty you will find Merewood Country House Hotel, an oasis of luxury where you can celebrate your wedding in exactly the way you dreamed of.
Merewood is big enough to feel grand but still small enough to be intimate and relaxed too. Merewood's beautiful interiors and fabulous Lake District views make wonderful backdrops for your photographs and our award winning service and food ensures that your wedding day will be the best of your life.
Whether you want to get married at church and join us for your celebrations afterwards or would like to tie the knot in the elegant surroundings of Merewood, we can accommodate your every need. We can seat up to 120 guests for a traditional wedding reception.
For all enquiries about weddings at Merewood, please email firstname.lastname@example.com or call 015394 46484 and our dedicated wedding co-ordinator will be delighted to help.
We would like to invite you to visit Merewood where our wedding co-ordinator will show you round our hotel. Contact us via email at email@example.com or call 015394 46484 to book your no-obligation personal wedding showround and we'll include a free cream tea for two!
Superintendent Registrar, County Offices, Stricklandgate, Kendal, Cumbria, LA9 4RQ T: 01539 713567 or 01539 713566For those who wish to have a church wedding please contact our wedding coordinator who can advise of churches in the local area.
In the heart of rural Gloucestershire lies the Great Tythe Barn. A truly quintessential English gem tucked away down a tree-lined driveway amidst 200 acres of privately owned land, making it a secluded and picturesque venue for all occasions.
The stunning Grade II listed, C16th Cotswold stone barn is the focal point of the Estate which is surrounded by former farm buildings, now transformed into 10 self-catering cottages as well as Bed & Breakfast accommodation.
Sympathetically restored, this historic Tythe barn retains many of its original features such as exposed stone walls and wooden oak beams whilst incorporating 21st Century comforts such as under floor heating, tastefully decorated washrooms, wooden flooring, atmospheric lighting and tall glass entrance doors to allow plenty of natural light and views of the courtyard.
The walled garden and courtyard provides an outside drinks reception in the summer months as well as a beautiful place for photo opportunities.
There is a large, private car park for up to 100 cars providing easy access for all vehicles including coaches.
The Great Tythe Barn pride itself in taking a flexible approach to your wedding plans and catering ideas. Please contact a Wedding Co-ordinator on email@example.com if there are any ideas you would like to discuss.
We wouldn't wish to boast – after all, our gorgeous manor and grounds speak for themselves – but we freely admit the Best Western Hallmark Hotel Chester Llyndir Hall is one of North Wales' most beautiful wedding venues. The Grade 11 listed villa surrounded by immaculate lawns dotted with grazing sheep, guarantees memorable photographs of your big day. Add in our al fresco sculptures and pergola with classical figures – perhaps even more beautiful when illuminated at night – and it's a photographer's dream.
It's rather special inside as well. Our stunning new Llyndir Suite and conservatory, with its elegant interiors, chandeliers and state-of-the-art lighting and audio, spilling out onto an Italianate garden, can seat up to 150 for a magnificent wedding breakfast (120 for a dinner and dance). Of course we can also host smaller celebrations from a banquet for 80 in our restaurant to an intimate gathering in one of our lounges (even if it's just the two of you, it's not a problem). And if the weather plays ball – you'll appreciate North Wales doesn't offer a sunshine guarantee! – you could even have a BBQ reception, or ceremony in our Italianate terrace and garden.
We also have the suites to go with the teams. Our experienced and passionate wedding coordinator can lead you through the whole process from planning to recommending trusted local suppliers for everything from limos to flowers to photographs, while ensuring the tiniest personal details are taken care of. There's also our award-winning kitchen that transfer their magic from the Garden Restaurant to your reception, and serving a dazzling range of banquets, buffets and brilliant canapés.
Naturally the Best Western Hallmark Hotel Chester Llyndir Hall, which is licensed for civil ceremonies, goes the extra mile to make it the perfect big day. We can provide bagpipes and a piper – a good double act with those wedding kilts – and a medieval sword for cake cutting, and thrones for the bride and groom as modeled by Posh 'n Becs.
We understand no wedding is the same. We really do. It will always be a uniquely personal experience. But to take the hassle and intimidating workload out of your celebration we offer a range of great value flexible packages from spring, summer, sunset and winter – Llyndir Hall is simply dazzling under a quilt of snow. If you know almost exactly what you want and are happy with a lead time of just a few months you can take advantage of superb Whirlwind Deal.
Whatever your choice, your big day always benefits from our 48 stylish rooms if guests wish to stay and drain every last drop of enjoyment from the party. They include our bridal suite with period four poster and double Jacuzzi bath. Go one, you deserve it. And don't forget, our Secret Sanctuary Spa offers professional make up and hair for the bride and her party, along with, if required, recovery on the morning after!
To help your planning and start you on the path towards a dream wedding, the Best Western Hallmark Hotel Chester Llyndir Hall holds regular open evenings. Come and taste the canapés, sip some sparkling wine and meet a few of our most trusted local suppliers. You'll also see the Llyndir Suite set up – a glimpse of just how lovely your day could be. Contact us to check the date of the next function.
Whether you are looking for a venue to hold your wedding ceremony or a venue just to hold your wedding reception our comprehensive directory will help you find what you are looking for.
Wedding Venue Directory also features hundreds of wedding fayres around the UK which are a great help when planning the most important day of you life.
Get notified when a new post is published.


text: Hi, I have known Ramsgate all my life and as a child Pleasurama played a big part. Now as an architecture student I have found both the past, present and future of this site and the surrounding East Cliff and Thanet (as a whole) facinating. I have been following up on the most recent developments to as far back when it were the sands station. Unike Dreamland in Margate, I feel the coverage on Pleasurama has not been as strong. So it gives me great Pleasure to create this blog to commemorate the best Amusement Park in Ramsgate! Mighty Pleasurama!

subset: commoncrawl


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Relief/Part-Time Veterinarian
Does practicing veterinary medicine in a compassionate, fun environment, with a family friendly atmosphere sound like a welcome change? It's here for you along the Front Range of Colorado: world class recreation opportunities such as skiing, hiking, biking, and fishing too! Quebec Highlands Animal Clinic is a private practice seeking a compassionate, highly motivated, energetic, positive candidate who has excellent interpersonal communication skills to join our team. All Colorado licensed veterinarians will be considered, two years experience preferred, entry-level applicants will be offered a mentorship.
Quebec Highlands is a 2.5 doctor practice, with state-of-the-art equipment including; digital dental x-rays, HD digital radiology, cold laser therapy, surgical CO2 laser, Idexx lab diagnostics, CVT staffing, and after hour emergency coverage with local emergency specialty clinics. We have excellent support staff, who treat both clients and each other like family. We also practice Fear Free techniques to help reduce stress for our patients.
Job Requirements: Colorado State license, excellent communication skills, positive attitude, and a strong work ethic. The ideal candidate is proficient at medicine, diagnostics, comprehensive exams, wellness, and preventative medicine. Surgical experience is preferred but not necessary. The candidate will be working 2-3 days per week, including 2-3 Saturdays per month. Compensation is competitive and negotiable based on experience. Position can work into permanent part time or full time if candidate is a good fit. We are a Drug Free Environment. If this is a career opportunity for you, please send cover letter and resume to email@example.com.


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As the CFO of Aspiag Service – Despar Nordest (the Spar brand dealer in North Eastern Italy) I am delighted that our efforts towards Integrated Reporting have resulted in us winning two awards this year for our integrated report. Most recently we were awarded with the first Italian award for 'Best Integrated Report' by the Federazione Relazioni Pubbliche Italiana (FERPi), in collaboration with Borsa Italiana and Bocconi University.
The jury that reviewed our report stated, "Full compliance with IIRC Framework. Innovative aspects in the disclosure, like the trade-offs between capitals and a stakeholders' risks impacts analysis. A full and complete materiality analysis that follows the indications of GRI and IIRC. An advanced research on information connectivity, in particular on organization's performance and between strategic objectives and capitals. An elegant graphics and a clear and concise text".
Earlier in the year we were awarded the international Integrated Report Award for our report by the Institut de Capitalisme Responsible. This recognition reflects our belief that Integrated Reporting has become a way of thinking for us – it is an extraordinary communication tool. Integrated Reporting has enabled us to communicate on our strategy, performance and more broadly about our intangible resources.
We developed the report to ensure we are one step ahead of the European Commission's Non-Financial Reporting Directive which is now coming into effect. We are using it to guide the organization and our stakeholders, who support Integrated Reporting, to new objectives of growth in the future.
We really value the recognition we have received for this report and look forward to developing our journey towards Integrated Reporting further in years to come.


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Since I had to work last night, I decided to run a search for Milstar 2 I had tried to see it, the other night using this intergrated orbit Milstar 2 1 23712U 95060A 08192.56613728 .00000000 00000-0 00000-0 0 06 2 23712 7.4382 67.1645 0007880 194.9628 165.0258 0.99037047 08 But nothing was seen So I picked a bright star located at RA (J2000.0): 19 13 15.52 declination -12 16 57.0 As milstar 2 would pass near it And had the mount track, so that it would somewahat keep it in the feild of view. It worked ok, not the best. I then played back the video, and a bright unid satellite passed within 1 degree of the above star. It passed to the south of it, at around 6:44:20 UTC ( July 10 ) give are take. So far I don't get a match with anything. If I allow for some error's, milstar 2 might be a match. I expected milstar 2 to be bright, as it passed by the area, just as the unid was. So please double check, incase I missed something. I can try and measure positions, of the unid. Kevin 44.6062 N 75.6910 W __________________________________________________________________ Looking for the perfect gift? Give the gift of Flickr! http://www.flickr.com/gift/ ------------------------------------------------------------------------- Subscribe/Unsubscribe info, Frequently Asked Questions, SeeSat-L archive: http://www.satobs.org/seesat/seesatindex.html
This archive was generated by hypermail 2b29 : Thu Jul 10 2008 - 13:54:36 UTC


text: Ok, I just got a new server from servermatrix, I tried doing a pico command and it said not found, and im a total newbie at RHE, none of my commands work so what can I do?? where can I find pico and install it??? also how do I find out what RHE version I am using.??


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Gracorp is a growing developer backed by a dynamic team with a variety of complementary talents including land assembly, entitlement, design, construction, finance, property management, asset management and sales transactions. Employees of Gracorp receive the benefits of being associated with the Graham Group while working in a fast-paced entrepreneurial environment. Employees of Gracorp also have the option of being owners and investors in the Graham Group as well as in our project-specific limited partnerships.
The Graham Group is one of Canada's leading construction companies and has been recognized as one of Canada's Best Managed Companies and Top Employers. With locations across Canada and the northern United States, the Graham Group is an innovative construction solutions provider with annual revenues exceeding $2 billion. Founded in Saskatchewan in 1926, the Graham Group is proudly employee-owned.
General inquiries about joining our team may be directed to: email@example.com.
For Graham Group career opportunities, click here
Design Manager – Real EstateCalgary
The Design Manager, Real Estate will help lead and manage Gracorp's design management process for new and existing real estate development projects that leverage the capabilities and geographical presence of Graham… more
Legal Assistant – Real EstateCalgary
The Legal Assistant, Real Estate, reporting to the Director, Real Estate, will provide corporate secretarial and administrative support on a variety of matters in support of Gracorp's real estate development projects…more
Associate Director – Real EstateCalgary
The Associate Director, Real Estate, will help lead and manage Gracorp's real estate development projects that leverage the capabilities and geographical presence of Graham. Reporting to the Director, Real Estate, the Associate Director will help source, structure, finance and manage real estate investment opportunities on behalf of internal and third-party investors. As an Associate Director, Real Estate at Gracorp you will…more


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Earlier this year I wrote about PermaRec reader Charlene Dodds, who had found a bunch of old postcards sent to and from her great aunt, her grandmother, and their friends during their travels. She planned to visit some of the places shown in the postcards and photograph the sites, creating a series of before-and-after rephotography studies. (For the full story, read the blog entry I wrote about Charlene back in May.)
Charlene promised to let me know how her project was progressing, and she's now kept that promise. Here's the report she recently sent me:
Good stuff. Charlene tells me she eventually worked her way westward across Pennsylvania, then crossed into northeastern Ohio, came back across northern Pennsylvania, and then went through New York City and New Jersey before ending up back in D.C. I hope she'll share more of her photos with us soon.
I was staying with a friend in D.C. while I planned my journey and organized my route. I started by selecting a few dozen of the most interesting postcards, regardless of the date, and plotted them on a map. It turned out they were primarily from Pennsylvania, so that's where I headed. Several of the postcards were sent from the city of York, so I began there.
York, which was laid out in 1741, had an important role in American history. It was the site of the Continental Congress (1777-78) and birthplace of the Articles of Confederation -- our nation's first constitution. It was here that the words "The United States of America" were first spoken. Also of note, the York Peppermint Patty was first produced here in 1940 by Henry C. Kessler at his York Cone Company.
I started with a postcard showing a building at the center of town, at the intersection of Market and George Streets. My great aunt's childhood friend wanted to say hello and didn't have a telephone, so this is how she let my great aunt know she was in her thoughts [for all of these images, you can click to enlarge]:
More than a century later, this building still stands with minimal changes, although I had to contend with some trees and an information kiosk that blocked the view somewhat:
York also has a rich railroad history, part of which is reflected in this postcard of a train depot that was sent to my great aunt:
As I walked a few blocks along George Street, I came to the railway station shown in the postcard. It still awaits the stopping trains, although passengers are now rare:
In addition to the postcard locations, I was able to visit various homes my father had lived in as he grew up and easily imagined my aunt and him playing in the enclosed "yard" adjoining the back alley. All in all, a very satisfying visit.


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Is WikiLeaks a bane or a boon :Points to be known:-
- WikiLeaks is an international non-profit organisation that publishes submissions of private, secret, and classified media from anonymous news sources, news leaks and whistleblowers.
- The website of wikileaks launched in 2006 under The Sunshine Press organization.
- Wikileaks claimed a database of more than 1.2 million documents within a year of its launch.
- Wiki means user-editable software. In the starting, wikileaks allowed to edit its data by users. But later they changed as they will accept data, and it will be published only if they accept. Means they will finalize it.
- Wikileaks's director is Julian Assange, an Australian.
- WikiLeaks founders are of Chinese dissidents, journalists, mathematicians, and start-up company technologists from the United States, Taiwan, Europe, Australia, and South Africa.
- In April 2010, WikiLeaks published gunsight footage from the 12 July 2007 Baghdad airstrike in which Iraqi civilians and journalists were killed by an Apache helicopter, as the Collateral Murder video.
- In July 2010, WikiLeaks released Afghan War Diary, a compilation of more than 76,900 documents about the War in Afghanistan not previously available for public review.
- In October 2010, the group released a package of almost 400,000 documents called the Iraq War Logs in coordination with major commercial media organisations.
- In November 2010, WikiLeaks began releasing U.S. State department diplomatic cables.
In Favor:-
- WikiLeaks has won a number of awards, including The Economist's New Media Award in 2008 and Amnesty International's UK Media Award in 2009.
- Transparency of government is possible.
- freedom of speech.
In Against:-
- Leakage of sensitive government information.
- National security will be in danger.
- Criminals may take advantage of this.
- The leading newspaper of Jamaica, Jamaica Observer, writes in its Editorial: "It is unlikely that the world will remain the same, if WikiLeaks is allowed to prevail in its quest to expose government secrets."
By wikileaks common man knows about government. It's helping to create a better society. But it should not leak some confidential documents which is a threat for the country.


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In between house hunting, one of my priorities then was Baby K's birthday party. I was pinning ridiculously, trying to get ideas on what to do. I have been searching for an affordable yet classy venue. Actually, I wanted this house that had a really nice backyard and I thought, if we ever get that house, we'll just have the party there. I only wanted to invite close friends anyway. She didn't have a lot of baby friends so I thought to just invite family and god parents. Unfortunately, we didn't get the house but I did not have any hard feelings about it because it was a little over our budget anyway.
Her grandparents planned, booked and organised Kaelyn's birthday. Because it was still hot, her birthday was a simple garden party just like her christening and my baby shower. I wanted to do something else but I didn't have time and venue and money. It turned out good despite the last minute preparations that they did. We celebrated her birthday on a weekend since it's the most convenient for everyone. Her real birthday is on the 5th of March.
There were a lot of family and friends that came, some of them I don't even know. It was a simple party where in we eat and have a little entertainment. I wanted to have some games but it was a little late. The party was meant to start at 2:30 pm but people started arriving hours after that. A little disappointing but oh well.
Kaelyn had to eat ahead of everyone because she got hungry waiting for them. She was a little cranky from time to time because she isn't used to have being around so many people.
She did enjoy it though, socialising with everyone. She isn't clingy anymore and went with everyone who wanted to carry her.
After the celebration, some of our friends went to our new house. Kaelyn opened some of her gifts and was really excited with the new toys that she got.
It was a fun yet super tiring day. Kaelyn did not want to go to sleep because there were lots of people around. She wanted to play with them even though it's already past midnight and so obvious that she is tired. I will post more photos from her birthday later on as soon as I finish editing them. There are just too much, it's making me crazy. I love seeing them though because I can tell that my baby enjoyed it.


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Friday, May 14, 2010
by Dubby Riley (Article by David Korten)
The following article was written almost one year ago. In the article, the author, David Korten, mentions the 10th anniversary of the protest against the WTO in Seattle.
There is a video of David Korten in the building in Seattle where he is watching the protest unfold, live--which is used in the film THE CORPORATION. It was in the film THE CORPORATION which introduced me to David Korten. I pursued him relentlessly by reading everything of his I could find. Then it hit me like a massive seizure when reading WHEN CORPORATIONS RULE THE WORLD, his first in a series about how we've gotten in to this mess with corporations. I went on to Life After Capitalism, his next book, but it didn't matter any more after the first one. I realized he knew and he explained it so well, all we had to do was connect the dots. We simply couldn't let corporations operate the way we've allowed them to. The third in the series is The Great Turning which was about to be published just before I left for The Green Festival in Chicago about five or six years ago. I went and heard him speak and to meet him. A few years later the historic US Social Forum was announced to be coming to Atlanta and David Korten would conduct a very special mini-conference as part of that.
I called Rick and persuaded him to go on another road trip (our fourth or fifth since we were 17). I still hadn't been able to confirm that David and his wife would do on camera interviews with Rick and I but told Rick before we left, we'd have that done. Rick had just bought his first semi-professional video equipment. Armed with that and a little hutzpa, we headed out to Atlanta in July 2007, two years before the following article was written.
We have raw footage, though Rick and I haven't begun on the edit. This newest chapter that has been unfolding in Smiling Heart (to include Nancy's post as a comment to my last entry) has me convinced that Rick and I have important work to do with the video.
I pray you'll read Korten and then I ask you the personal favor to contact me to discuss our role in saving the planet.
SEATTLE+10: Time to Declare Our Independence From Wall Street
David Korten | Posted July 16 2009
"At this stage of history, one of two things is possible: Either the general population will take control of its own destiny and will concern itself with community interests guided by values of solidarity and sympathy and concern for others, or alternatively there will be no destiny to control.
—Noam Chomsky, Manufacturing Consent
November 30, 2009 will mark the tenth anniversary of the historic Seattle protest against the World Trade Organization that stalled the use of multilateral trade agreements to consolidate global corporate power. This anniversary presents an extraordinary opportunity for We the People of the United States to assert our democratic right to reclaim the political power that corporations have usurped.
We face economic, social, and environmental crises that pose potentially terminal threats to the United States and to the human future. We now have perhaps the most able and visionary president in U.S. history and Democratic majorities in the House and Senate with a strong electoral mandate for serious visionary leadership to address these crises. Yet on issues from climate change, peace, trade, and economic justice to health care and financial restructuring, government action is limited to cosmetic reforms that fall hopelessly short of what we need.
As Arianna Huffington observed, lobbyists working for the interests Wall Street CEOs, financiers and money managers who care only for personal financial gain have stripped away the most substantive provisions of every serious legislative reform initiative that has come out of the Obama administration often even before the beginning of committee hearings. Very little gets through the legislative process without their approval. The time has come for We the People to evoke the spirit of Seattle '99 and assert our democratic sovereignty or accept responsibility for the consequences of our failure.
In the late 1990s, We the People awoke to the threat to popular democratic sovereignty and the common good posed by the World Trade Organization (WTO). Transnational corporations were using multilateral trade agreements to consolidate their global power by rewriting the rules of commerce in secret negotiations that circumvented established democratic processes. The WTO had become their favored vehicle.
In 1999, the WTO announced it would hold a meeting of trade ministers in Seattle. Labor unions, churches, environmental organizations, artists, socially responsible business leaders and others gathered in Seattle at the time of the meeting to declare their independence from the WTO. Through disciplined nonviolent direct action, they disrupted the secret negotiations in the face of a violent police riot. The citizen victory in Seattle emboldened others the world over to stand up to corporate power and global civil society was born as a potent political force.
Now, the WTO has announced it will hold its Seventh Ministerial Conference in Geneva beginning on November 30, 2009, ten years to the day from the citizen lock down in Seattle that stalled the WTO juggernaut. Shortly after the WTO Geneva meeting, world leaders will be meeting in Copenhagen from December 7-18, 2009 to negotiate measures to mitigate the consequences of climate change. We can assume corporate interests will be well represented in both meetings by those who care more for securing corporate profits than for resolving the crises that threaten the human future.
It is a moment to reclaim the Spirit of Seattle '99 by creating a countervailing people's voice for the common good so strong that it cannot be ignored. Citizen groups across the United States and around the world are mobilizing for a host of actions in late November and early December to raise public awareness and hold political decision makers accountable to the common good. These groups will be addressing a variety of issues relating to human rights, environmental sustainability, and peace.
A common thread will bind them together. In most every instance Wall Street financial institutions and their global counterparts present the primary barrier to making the rule changes essential to corrective action.
In response to pressure from corporate interests, responsibility for strengthening financial regulation is being handed to the Federal Reserve, which is for all practical purposes run by the Wall Street banks it presumes to regulate. The Fed operates in secret beyond public accountability and served as a cheerleader for the excesses that brought down the global financial system. The single payer option on health care has been taken off the table. The cap and trade feature of the clean energy bill gives away eighty-five percent of carbon credits to polluters under terms that already have financial speculators salivating in anticipation of the potential for creating a new financial bubble and new derivatives scams.
So long as We the People submit to Wall Street rule, meaningful reduction of green house gases, a peace economy, economic and environmental justice, affordable health care for all, restoration of the middle class, restrictions on financial speculation, a prohibition on usury and debt slavery, food security, full-employment in family wage Green jobs, restructuring social security for long-term viability, and much else will remain ever out of reach. Economic instability, extreme inequality, financial fraud, social disintegration, and environmental collapse will define our national and global way of life.
Seattle+10 is an opportune moment for people everywhere to speak with a unified voice to declare their independence from Wall Street rule and their shared commitment to move forward a 21st century agenda of justice, peace, and environmental sustainability for all. Follow November-December 2009 days of action developments on the Seattle+10 Group page on Wiser Earth. Sign up and join in.
4 comments:
Here's the link to WiserEarth and we may want to start our own little group there with our own strategy to help our culture flourish for our grandchildren.ReplyDelete
What a powerful message. I'm in. I've joined. Let's get to work.ReplyDelete
Rick told me about your interview and how impressed he was that you somehow figured out how to make it happen, Dub.ReplyDelete
As for the original WTO, my favorite story came from my friends Deborah and Fern who were there. They went into Nordstrom before the demo, and told the saleslady they were looking for bandanas.
Saleslady: What kind of bandana?
Deborah and Fern: Well, we're going to participate in a demonstration and we might be tear-gassed, so we need a bandana that could be soaked in water beforehand.
Saleslady (without blinking): I think you might fare better with the children's all-cotton bandanas on the third floor.
Damn the service at Nordstrom's is awesome!!
I don't recall how much time we had with Mr. Korten. It may have been only an hour or so, but man, he said a lot. I remember thinking that I wished I had the ability to crystalize an issue the way that he did. In spite of some very frank, and at times disturbing, discussion of what our future very well could hold, I left there feeling hopeful, because I believe David is hopeful.ReplyDelete
I'm going to look for my bandana now... I know it's here somewhere.


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Last year I had all sorts of trouble with my fancy tomato trellises falling down on me. This year I kept it simple. Each plant has one center pole. Three poles are tied together into a tripod, and four tripods are joined together at the top. The result is very sturdy and uses only sticks and string.
16 Jun
This year's tomato trellises – 2010


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If setup to receive Jolt Scheduling Emails an email will be sent once the schedule is published. The email includes all employee shifts for the week. Shifts highlighted in blue are the assigned shifts for the employee receiving the email.
Refer to the article, Scheduling Notification Settings and Types.
Web Portal
Login to the Jolt Web Portal, go to Scheduling then Shifts.
1. Change the week to see past shifts or future weeks.
2. The Overlapping Arrow Icon is where you can trade shifts.
3. The Single Person Icon shows your shifts for the week.
a. Select the individual shift for more information and to release or swap shifts.
4. The Three Person Icon shows all shifts of those who share the same role as you.


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Extracts from this document...
TO WHAT EXTENT IS THERE A RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN GENDER AND VOTING? There are many issues to consider when analysing voting behaviour. One of these issues is gender. However, even though there is a significant gap it is important not too over-estimate it as many other issues come into force when voting, i.e. race, religion, region and ethnicity. Over the past 30 years the gender gap has remained constant; men have tended to vote republican and women have tended to vote for Democrat, an example of this was in the 2000 elections, only 36% of men voted for Gore (Democrats) but 48% of women voted for him. ...read more.
This is therefore a reversal of what we would expect in voting behaviour. There are reasons for this and they include but are not limited too; only the most committed and devout are influenced by religion when voting, others are influenced by modern matters too them, i.e. abortion and the rights of lesbians (which Republicans strictly oppose both). Another reason could be that men and women politicise their religious beliefs in different ways, and finally that gender differences on non-religious issues sustain the gap over and above the religious subject. This voting behaviour is seen by some political analysts too be forced upon voters. ...read more.
This could be because of the influences of other matters, including things like war, national disasters, political reputations, if any of these problems arise then there is normally a sizeable abandonment of the government and many voters switch too the opposition. Other gaps are much larger including the gap between urban and rural regions, higher and lower incomes (women generally earn a lower income) and the gap between different races. Therefore it can be seen that there is not a qualitative relationship between gender and voting, there are many other influences in modern society that dismiss the gap between genders when considering voting behaviours and it is these gaps that we see (i.e. lower and higher income) and that are wrongly labelled as a gender gap. ?? ?? ?? ?? ...read more.
This student written piece of work is one of many that can be found in our GCSE Sociology section.
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Westcon-Comstor Overview
Westcon-Comstor (WestconGroup Inc.) is a global technology distributor with worldwide capabilities in Cloud, Global Deployment and Services, and category-leading Security, Unified Communications and Collaboration, Networking and Data Center technology Practices. Combining expert technical and market knowledge with a uniquely collaborative engagement model, the company is transforming technology distribution through its digital and physical products and services delivery.
Corporate Profile
Westcon-Comstor has been an established operation since 1990. We adopt a channel focused philosophy that is tightly aligned with our vendors and reseller partners alike.More
Ecommerce Services
Westcon-Comstor Ecommerce facility is a customer transaction management service and knowledge centre.More
Vision & Values
We work on helping each reseller reach its maximum potential. For our vendors we actively participate in continually developing and executing channel strategy.More
Reseller Information
As a Westcon-Comstor Value Partner, we can advise, supply and help support both you and your customers Networking and Communications needs.More


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Time to stop comparing ourselves, ladies!Read More
A phrase that always holds true!Read More
I refuse to let the cooling temperatures get to me! Instead of welcoming Autumn, let's reminisce about Spring with this butterfly wallpaper! Yay!Read More
Pun-tastic ways to tell YOURSELF I love you!Read More
Time to pull that rabbit outta your hat.Read More
Phone not matching your level of Christmassy (yet still stylishly chic) enthusiasm? Let's change that.Read More
A wonderful reminder that good news does still exist, and that love freaking rocks!!Read More
We don't really celebrate Halloween, but it doesn't mean we can't get pump-ed about October. Geddit.Read More
We're well and truly into my favourite season, and it's time for your phone-robe to get a makeover!Read More
Subscribers will already have this sitting in their inbox!
Free Citrus Phone Wallpaper!
I talk to Jen from Bakedown Cakery about where she gets her chocolatey inspiration from.
And sweet! A tarty wallpaper for you! ;)
Lessons I learnt trying to draw this complicated botanical.
Plus, finally: a wallpaper to replace the Christmas one!
5 Tips for Aspiring Illustrators.
Plus in the spirit of giving: FREE CHRISTMAS PHONE WALLPAPER!


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Have you ever tried REVO sunglasses?
Do not miss the beauty of looking at the world through different eyes, without limits.
Thanks to the best polarized lenses on the market, each sunglasses REVO is designed to offer maximum visual comfort.
Not only for those who practice outdoor sports, Revo sunglasses are born not only as a sports glasses, but for anyone who wants only the best for his eyes.
Founded on 1985, REVO has soon become a brand for glasses with overall performance, known as leader in technology for polarized lenses.
Revo sunglasses have been designed using lenses technology developed by NASA as solar protection for satellites. REVO continues in being known for the rich tradition in pioneeristic technology and innovation .
The current expressive collection of sports sunglasses with lifestyle, combines tradition and technology to figure out the modern look that defines REVO brand.
Ottica Scauzillo for Revo Sunglasses


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Just Listed By The Riley Smith Group! Penthouse 3F In The Gables Club
Today I would like to introduce my newest listing located in the highly coveted Gables Club. As you step out of your private elevator into Penthouse 3F, you are greeted with spectacular views of Biscayne Bay, the Miami skyline and Key Biscayne. The living areas are open and spacious with volume ceilings and walls of glass. The expansive master suite has a luxurious master bath and its own private terrace perfect for taking in the views. The Gables Club offers five star amenities for its' residents including a lighted clay tennis court, fitness center, lap pool, marina, putting green, private club with restaurant and room service as well as 24 hour security.
Details of 60 Edgewater Drive, Penthouse 3F:
- 3,165 Square Feet Of Living Area
- Over 500 Square Feet Of Terraces
- 3 Bedrooms, 3 Full Baths, 1 Half Bath
- View more photos and information here.
- Offered at: $2,095,000
If you are interested in working with a Coral Gables Realtor who knows the numbers and tracks the market, please contact me at 305-342-1623 or send me a message here.
The Coral Gables Real Estate Vault is the most comprehensive source for real estate information in Coral Gables. Read the latest news, statistics and opinions on our market or browse the latest listings in our Coral Gables Gated Communities, Waterfront Homes, Land For Sale, Foreclosures, Short Sales and more.
Don't Miss Today's News From Our Other Real Estate Blogs:


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Good morning and welcome to the weekend! I am so excited to share a card featuring some of my favorite items from last month's release at Our Daily Bread Designs. In a few weeks, I will be traveling to the Gulf Coast and hope to sink my toes into some sand.... This card simply makes my heart sing!
Layer by Layer...
1. White card stock measuring 4.25 x 11 inches, scored and folded at 5.5 inches
2. Dusky Blue DP from ODBD's Old Glory Paper Pad
3. Navy Card Stock embossed with clear embossing powder using ODBD's Rope Background stamp
4. White Card Stock Panel and DP from ODBD's By the Shore Paper Collection die cut with
ODBD's Pierced Rectangles Die and Leafy Edged Borders Die
5. Sentiment from ODBD's You Anchor Me Stamp/Die Duo stamped with navy ink on DP from
ODBD's Pastel Paper Pack and die cut with ODBD's Circles Die
6. Silver Poster Board and Die (Anchor) from ODBD's You Anchor Me Stamp/Die Duo
So here are some of the items you see...
Thanks for stopping by! I hope you have a wonderful Saturday!


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House of Okinawa
In the 1960s and 1970s, the term "karate" was often used as a kind of generic term to refer to any striking martial art whether it be Japanese, Korean or even Chinese. But Karate was actually born on the island of the Kingdom of Okinawa. It probably owes its roots to Chinese travelers who brought versions of kung fu to the islands in the 17th century. The combat arts were originally known simply as "Okinawa Te," or "hand" but soon they became known as "China-hand" or "kara-te." Three geographical areas became known for their Karate practice, Shuri-Te, Tomari-Te, and Naha-Te. Most of the more modern Okinawan styles trace their roots back to one of these three. Some schools added use of farm implements as weapons since the government had outlawed use of swords and knives. So the sai, nunchaku and bo became part of the Okinawan curriculum (today often called "kobudo" or "old warrior way.")
Because Japan had occupied the islands for hundreds of years before finally annexing them in 1856, Karate had no doubt been taken to the Japanese mainland. However empty-hand and simple weapon fighting was considered lower-class by the highly-trained samurai with their elaborate sword skills. About 1916 an Okinawan Karate teacher named Gichin Funakoshi traveled to Japan to demonstrate his art. It is said that he is the one who changed the translation of kara-te to "empty hand" in order to make the art more acceptable to the Japanese. His school became known as Shotokan, and Funakoshi is often credited as being the "father" of modern Karate. Today there are many styles of both Japanese and Okinawan Karate.
Generally the Okinawan styles are softer and more traditional in their approach and the Japanese schools are more sport-oriented. However the individual teachers have much to do with the school's emphasis, much like Karate in the United States.
Okinawan Shorin-Ryu Matsubayashi-Ryu
While Matsubayashi-Ryu karate did not exist before Nagamine Sensei founded it, it's beginnings had existed for hundreds of years before. According to Patrick McCarthy of the International Ryukyu Karate Research Society, Matsubayashi-Ryu karate can trace it's lineage from Chinese Gung-Fu to the original Okinawan karate; Koryu Uchinadi-Ryu karate & Yamaneryu Kobudo. This "original" Okinawan karate then developed into Te. Te grew and divided into Naha-Te, Shuri-Te and Tomari-Te. Shuri-Te (Also generically known as shorin-ryu) then divided into Kobayashi-Ryu (Chosin Chibana), Matsubayashi-Ryu (Shoshin Nagamine), Shobayashi-Ryu (Chotoku Kyan) and Matsumura orthodox Hohan Soken). It was not until 1936 that the Okinawan masters met and adopted the term "karate" or "open-hand" to replace the earlier term of Tote (abbreviated to Te) which meant "Chinese Hand". They felt the new term, karate, better reflected the art's unique Okinawan development.
Following World War II Nagamine Sensei encountered a book by Ginchin Funakoshi, entitled "Introduction to Karate". He later stated it was this book that helped him make up his mind to pursue karate as a life's ambition. Although there is no documentation of it, one cannot help but wonder if Nagamine Sensei's service as an infantryman in China in 1928 may not also have influenced his subsequent development of the Matsubayashi-Ryu style.
1947 was the first time the public world heard of Matsubayashi-Ryu karate, this occurring when Nagamine Sensei opened his first dojo and named it the "Matsubayashi-Ryu Kododan Karate and Ancient Martial Arts Studies". Matsubayashi is the Okinawan pronunciation of the characters for "Pine Forest." "Matsu" means "pine" and "Hayashi" means "forest." When the two are placed together, the "H" of Hayashi is pronounced as "B," making it Matsubayashi. "Shorin" is the Chinese pronunciation of the same characters. The origin of the name "Shorin-Ryu" is the Shaolin Buddhist Temple in China. "Ryu", roughly translated, means style or system. More literally, it can mean "river," which Nagamine Sensei said reflected his thoughts that the art of karate, and specifically Matsubayashi-Ryu, is a living, flowing thing.
Nagamine Sensei created the name "Matsubayashi" out of respect for two great Karate-ka's who taught two of his most influential teachers (Chotoku Kyan and Choki Motobu). These two masters were Bushi Matsumura and Kosaku Matsumora. As a side note, the World Matsubayashi-Ryu Karate Association website reports Nagamine Sensei's nickname growing up was "Gaajuu Maachuu" sometimes pronounced "Chippai Matsu", which means "tenacious pine tree."
In the years that followed it's opening, his dojo grew in both fame and size. Soon selected nearby American servicemen began to train at his school. In 1960 the United States was introduced to Matsubayashi-Ryu karate when James Wax, an ex-American serviceman, became the first westerner to open a Matsubayashi-Ryu dojo in Dayton, Ohio. Later, in 1962, Nagamine Sensei dispatched a senior student, Ansei Ueshiro to the United States with the intent of firmly establishing Shorin-Ryu, Matsubayashi-Ryu karate in North America.
In the 1980's Ueshiro Sensei branched off from Nagamine and formed the Shorin-Ryu Karate USA (Matsubayashi-Ryu) branch.
With the untimely death of Ueshiro Sensei in May of 2002, Shorin-Ryu karate USA broke off into two divisions; that headed by Scaglione Sensei (Shorin-Ryu Karate USA) and a new organization headed by Sensei Maccarrone – Karate USA – Terry Maccarrone. After some time Scaglione Sensei has appeared to emerge as the heir "de-facto" of the Ueshiro Organization
Nagamine Sensei, in addition to being the founder of Matsubayashi-Ryu karate, was the unifying figure that kept it together, at least until his death in 1997. Following Nagamine Shoshin's death numerous factions and a number of senior karate-ka (western and Okinawan), unhappy (for whatever reasons) with the WMKA being led by Nagamine Takayoshi left the mother organization and formed their own schools. Many keep the traditions of Matsubayashi-Ryu while some single dojo schools have deviated from the original intent of Matsubayashi-Ryu. At the present time there are number of schools which teach Matsubayashi-Ryu Karate-Do in one form or another. Many of these schools remain independent and unaffiliated with the major American branches of Matsubayashi-Ryu. The prospective karate student must be aware of this and choose the school that best meets their needs.
After the death of Nagamine Soke in April 2012, Sensei Yoshitaka Taira (10th Dan) was selected to serve as the WMKA President. A tremendous responsibility rests heavily on his shoulders as the reunification of Matsubayashi-Ryu continues to move forward. With the death of Nagamine (father & son), Matsubayashi-Ryu separated into the many separate organizations seen today. Master Nagamine's original school remains open today in Naha, Okinawa.


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Showcase Lunch
Today on Friday July 22 SHNC hosted a showcase lunch presented by the participants of the Hospitality Training program that is run in partnership by Surry Hills Neighbourhood Centre, Mission Providence and TAFE.
Over 6 months the program provided training in hospitality skills, cooking, table service, communication and time management. Participants also got a chance to gain work-like experience at hospitality events such as today's Showcase Lunch.
We all are very proud of the participants, their hard work and dedication, and congratulate them on gaining a Certificate II in Hospitality.
"Taking part in this program has been very educational and worthwhile. It has increased my confidence, given me a new set of skills and pushed me to be the best I can.
I have made some great new friends, had a lot of fun and feel very optimistic about my future employment."
Nick, participant


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WORCESTER � Six people were arrested after police responded early Monday morning to a party inside a Shelby Place home where one man outside allegedly fired gunshots into the air.
Officers and eventually a SWAT team were called to the address sometime after 3:30 a.m. Loud music was coming from one apartment, police said.
Concerned about the alleged armed man, officers began to set up a perimeter around the home.
"At this time the officers at the scene heard approximately six to eight gunshots coming from the area of 4 Shelby Place," police said.
People began leaving the party and were removed from the area by police. Those people were also interviewed.
Five people were eventually arrested on charges of disturbing the peace. Police said the five people were yelling profanities and refusing to quiet down.
The five people arrested were identified as Frankie Villegas-Pizarro, 28, of 59 King St.; Rafael Lacen, 24, of 13 Pattison St.; Betzaida Kranwinkel, 37, of 44 Lakeside Ave.; Anyely Lopez, 31, of 40 Hitchcock Road, and Arelis Sanchez, 34, of 33 Wellington St.
SWAT team members entered the apartment as detectives arrived. A search warrant was obtained. Police said a revolver and a semiautomatic handgun were found in the apartment.
Police said Kenneth Perez, 22, of 11 Russell St. was the man who fired the gun outside. He was charged with discharging a firearm within 500 feet of a dwelling, possession of a large capacity firearm and two counts of carrying a loaded firearm without a license.
Contact Scott J. Croteau at email@example.com. Follow him on Twitter @ScottCroteauTG


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Focus on Customers
A conversation with Travis Martin, Derek Bailey, Sean Gibson, and David Brown
By Dr. Josephine Gross
In the fall of 2013, four young and dynamic businessmen got together in Utah to launch a new network marketing company. Familiar with the business model and having experienced different degrees of success in it, they also saw some flaws in how it was practiced and set out to tweak and optimize what wasn't working. Today they love what they have created and where they are going. Their message to network marketing professionals is, "If your motivation is to be of service, and you are armed with a good product and a company with integrity in management and ownership, you can make great money and build a sustainable business."—J.G.
Get million-dollar tips from our experts and success secrets from top earners.
Join below and receive our FREE "Network Marketing Is..." prospecting tool validating our business and profession in 28 powerful quotes!


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Ko Pirongia-te-aroaro-o-Kahu te Maunga
Ko Ōpārau, ko Mangauika, ko Waipā, ko Māngapiko ngā Awa
Ko Parangi, ko Mangakaware, ko Ngāroto ngā roto
Ko Kāwhia te Moana
Ko Ngāti Hikairo te Iwi
Ko Whakamarurangi te tangata
Welcome to the official website of Ngāti Hikairo ki Kawhia.
Tēnā koutou, tēnā koutou, tēnā koutou katoa.
Ko wai tātou? Who are we?
Ngāti Hikairo ki Kāwhia is an independent iwi of Tainui Waka origin. We maintain our mana motuhake and tino rangatiratanga in Kāwhia, Ōpārau and Waipā in the King Country and Waikato regions.
The iwi authority is Te Rūnanganui o Ngāti Hikairo.
Note: We are currently updating our website to provide iwi members with a more user-friendly experience. Please continue to browse the existing site for news, events, history and information about our current treaty claim.


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We are proud to work with the area's best contractors on these projects:
|Extreme Makeover Home Edition - Charitable Donation to the Anderson Family of Maple Hts. Marous Bros.Contruction
|Legacy Village
|Cleveland Metroparks Zoo
|Celebreeze Building Downtown Cleveland
|Cleveland Clinics
|University Hospitals - With North Coast Concrete
|Walton Hills Ford Plant
|Ben Venue Laboratories (LEED Project)
|Beachwood Municipal Center - City Hall - Municipal Pool - With Cleveland Cement
|Sea World
|Geauga Lake
|Acacia Country Club - With Marous Bros.
|Akron Wellness
|Whole Foods Market (University Hts.) - Floor by Marous Bros.
|Mittal Steel
|Decorative Concrete by Cutting Edge
|Waste Management
|DDR - With Infinity Paving
|Crown Center - With Seven Hills Cement
|City View
|Steelyard Commons
|Shoppes of Solon
|Decorative Concrete at Eton Collection
|Giant Eagle
|Sam's Club


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Style: Carine Roitfeld styling for Barney's New York
(c) Fashionologie
Here are some of my favorite images from Roitfeld's latest endeavor as a stylist-at-large for Barney's New York. Her signature style (all textures of black, the wet look and decade-inspired beauty) that covered the pages of french Vogue during her dynasty, really does shine through these images. I'm excited to see where she spins her magic next! Follow her here. And see all subsequent images here.
P.S. Love how she casts her kids, Julia & Vladimir, as her models.


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Per Lead Programs Affiliate Programs Webmaster Resources Authoring
For affiliate programs that pay on a pay per lead basis only.
Top: Computers: Internet: Web Design and Development: Authoring: Webmaster Resources: Affiliate Programs: Per Lead Programs
- QujoContest - Offers contest syndication. Includes program overview, program tour webmaster resources and application form.
- Quik Payday - Offers payday loan and cash advance. Includes program affiliate programs overview affiliate programs and signup form.
- LendingAffiliates - Offers mortgage loans at mortgagecreditproblems.com. Includes program overview, commission rates and signup form.
- ABCLead - Provides sales leads to financial and home improvement industries. Includes per lead programs program overview and payment schedule.
- AssociateLeads - Offers trivia and puzzles at puzz.com. Includes program affiliate programs overview, per lead programs signup and login form.
- NCBuy - Offers opt-in email program and content. Includes program per lead programs overview, commission rates and signup form.
MySQL - Cache Direct


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Q: does that mean no separate lib to start? Besides the archives to thist list, I'm thinking we have some work ahead getting Terry Teague's Tidy bug pages and Dave R.'s "pending" stuff into Perfect Tracker (bug tracker on SF). Terry Teague's Tidy Bugs: http://www.geocities.com/SiliconValley/1057/tidybugs.html http://www.geocities.com/SiliconValley/1057/tidybugs2.html Tidy "Pending" items: http://www.w3.org/People/Raggett/tidy/pending.html -----Original Message----- From: Tin Le [mailto:firstname.lastname@example.com] Sent: Monday, May 21, 2001 4:38 PM To: Randy Waki Cc: Reitzel, Charlie; email@example.com; 'Adrian Mugnolo'; 'Bjoern Hoehrmann'; 'Sebastian Lange'; Kevin Brannen; 'Dave Raggett'; '???'; firstname.lastname@example.com; 'Aaron Chan'; 'Richard A. O'Keefe'; email@example.com; email@example.com; email@example.com; email@example.com; email@example.com Subject: RE: SourceForge Project Approved On Mon, 21 May 2001, Randy Waki wrote: > What does everyone think about making an initial Tidy > release that just incorporates the outstanding bug fixes? > That would provide a chance to iron out kinks in the new > procedures and provide a more stable base from > which to launch the API changes. Yes. Agreed. Let's go through bug fixes first. Make sure it is stable before adding features. Tin Le ---- http://tin.le.org Tin Le - email@example.com Firewall and Security ConsultingReceived on Monday, 21 May 2001 16:52:34 UTC
This archive was generated by hypermail 2.3.1 : Tuesday, 6 January 2015 21:38:50 UTC


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At Pure Development, we create 100% tailored, client-centered build-to-suit solutions. For more than 25 years, our team has been executing commercial real estate projects for America's top companies, and through our extensive experience, we have honed a highly efficient, competitive and proven national delivery system.
We pride ourselves on never handing off our clients to junior account managers at any stage of the process. A knowledgeable, experienced principal of Pure Development with the power to make and execute decisions is deeply involved in each project from start to finish. This infusion of seasoned project development experience ensures speed, efficiency and scope continuity.
From the first meeting to the day the doors open, we are open, honest and transparent with our clients. Pure Development's unique approach and experienced team allow us to run lean as a firm, and we pass those savings on to our clients. Furthermore, being transparent allows us to be aggressive economically, putting forth the best package each time.


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Studies using Lyprinol® have shown positive results in relieving arthritic conditions by modulation of the principal human inflammatory pathway known as "the lipoxygenase pathway".
The lipoxygenase pathway has been long recognised by researchers as the major pathway of operation for many inflammatory diseases and subsequently scientists have been searching for a lipoxygenase pathway inhibitor for the past two decades. Several synthetic inhibitors have been developed but all have harmful side effects for humans.
Lyprinol® is derived from a food source and is the first effective naturally occuring lipoxygenase pathway modulator which is safe for human consumption.


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Everything delicious about living in Jerusalem, where Heaven and Earth come together and everyone wants a piece of the action!
Sunday, August 19, 2007
Tzfat Klezmerfest!
The annual Klezmer Festival is Tzfat's claim to musical fame, and this year was no exception to the rule. Three nights (Monday August 20th through Wednesday August 22nd), multiple stages, venues both public and private, publicized and secret, saw the best of the best of Klezmer (a.k.a. Jewish Soul Music), as well as jazz, blues, improv, old hippie stuff, original materials, "religious music" (isn't all music religious) all-enveloped in the perennial strains of the ubiquitous chant of: Na Na Nah Nachman m'Uman!
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Wednesday, October 21, 2009
My First Attempts...
I think after spending, what felt like, half the weekend watching tips & tricks videos on Copics I feel like I have a pretty good idea what to do and not with my markers. Or at least much better starting point than never having seen a video. Still, I know that it's "practice, practice, practice" when it comes to these markers... so if there are any Copic experts out there I'd really appreciate some constructive criticism on my first attempts.
In the meantime I'm going to try and "judge" my own images myself and (to the best of my limited Copic knowledge) point out good and bad points LOL! This should be fun... Anyway, I dug out some of my old Magnolia stamps to practice with and stamped 5 images...
1. In general I was very pleased with my VERY first attempt on colouring with the Copic markers as I know some people just can't get enough of them. So, not trying to judge this one too harshly, I was pretty happy with it.
2. Second image and playing with blues. I really enjoyed the shading and I think I got that pretty OK considering. But by now I discovered what I believe is my biggest problem. I'm normally very good with colouring in and never go outside lines. I was fine with this too, UNTIL I came to adding more colours for shading and I then noticed that I pushed the colour outside the lines a bit (check out the outline of the dog's legs).
3. My third image and again you can see how, once I started adding more shades, I pushed the colour over the lines a little on the legs and arms. I also ventured into reds, having read that this is the hardest colour to blend nicely, and they were not wrong! Unhappy with the result. It might partially be that red is a hard colour to blend, but also to do with that I only had a pale red and then two pretty dark ones...a mid tone might have helped a bit here I think.
4. A bit more advanced colouring. (Please ignore the white bits, beard and on the jacket, I'm awaiting some pale shades so I really couldn't blend this at all!) I'm much more happy with my reds here. I'm also paying more attention to the "bleeding outside the lines". The tree trunk was good practice for this and I think it's improved a lot. I also need my pale shades as I think Santa looks a bit like he's spent the last 3 weeks on a very sunny holiday :)
5. By now it was getting late at night and I did one final image. I was paying close attention to not bleed the colours over the lines. I'm pretty happy with the shading on green sweater and the shoes etc and if I'm going to be picky (and yes I am, being a perfectionist LOL!) I'm not so happy with the shading on the blue hat and trousers. Might be partially me and partially the fact that I was missing some blue mid tones, making it a little hard to blend nicely.
As I said, I would really welcome some constructive advice on my first coloured images please. Or any tips in general on what to avoid etc?
...also before I go I want to say a big THANK YOU to Jessica who left me some really helpful Copic advice the other day, thanks for taking the time to write :)
Now I'm off to finish this week's layout for Ali Edwards' class (hoping I can get it finished, photographed and on my blog tomorrow) and then I will play a little more with my pens.
8 comments:
- grungedandy said...
Hi sweetie,
So I'm more a promarker girl – I find the price of the Copic just a little too steep for me but this tip should work the same with them.
What you want to do to hide the over spill & also "pop" the image is very carefully with the lightest colour you have in a blue or grey is go around the image it's self so you have a little halo effect. It gives the image depth.
And if you have a white pen that will go over dark colours can't for the life of me remember which one I use (I'm not home to look, I have to work boooo) you can make high lights I mostly use it for eyes to give them the white dot that gives them life, if you know what I mean, but you can also use it sparingly on the image where the light who hit it.
Another trick is to take a photo of a similar object so you can actually see where the light hits it, which as most people have digital cameras is a quick solution and always start with your lightest colour 1st and build up the shading.
But you're doing great so far!
Oh another good trick as you build your stash is just get a page of the same paper you like to stamp on and make yourself a colour chart so you can see how the colours work & you don't buy doubles!
Anyhoo better get back to the grind stone Hope that helped a bit Seeya Hugya *G*
- 10/21/2009 2:46 pm
- Brodders said...
Fab Anso xxx
- 10/21/2009 6:00 pm
- pinky said...
Anso amazing colouring for your first go, way better than my last, think you are going to be a natural. Great tips from grungedandy though.
- 10/21/2009 6:11 pm
- Annelies said...
- This comment has been removed by the author.
- 10/21/2009 7:16 pm
- Annelies said...
Very nice for a first try!! I was wondering which ink you used to stamp the images? The wrong ink can also lead to 'bleeding' images...stazon for example is not a good one to use with copics. Most people use Memento ink.
- 10/21/2009 7:17 pm
- Jessica said...
I agree with grungedandy! Great idea for making a color chart.
Also the idea about shading around the image to give it depth. And it does hide the spill overs. With many colors you can use the clear marker to 'push' the color back into the lines. But it doesn't work with black and deep dark shades. They tend to leak out more. But if you find that you've gone out of the lines, wait until it dries and use the clear marker to push the color back in. It amazed me how well it works. But you have to be sure that your blending marker isn't over full if you do that. I tried it right after a refill and had a disaster! lol
You are quite welcome for the advice. I'm glad I could help. I think you are doing very well for your first try. You're doing way better than I did! I still follow the ilikemarkers blog and I learn something new every time she has a post.
Your little critters are very cute and well done. I think the floppy eared one was maybe a little too colorful, that may be why you had trouble with him. But he is still cute. And you've done a great job. Oh and you've got a great selection of markers too!
- 10/24/2009 1:35 pm
- kathj said...
very cute
- 10/29/2009 12:04 pm
- Amy said...
Wow really good first attempt. I love my copics!
- 10/30/2009 2:13 pm


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Let's Support Our Local Troops!
The RPAC trustees have joined forces with the local Blue Star Mothers Ohio Buckeye Chapter 26 to collect non-perishable items, toiletries, and other suggested items(see below) for local troops serving overseas in places like the Middle East, Africa, Korea, and other danger zones.
Attendees of the June 14 RPAC Auction that bring an item or items to send to the troops will be entered into a special drawing.
All donations will go to troops from the greater Cleveland area, and if you know of someone serving overseas, the Blue Star Mothers will add them to their distribution list. The Government Affairs Director, Jamie McMillen, has more information on how to have someone added.
We also will provide receipts for your tax-deductible donations to the Blue Star Mothers organizations.RPAC Auction Registration
Blue Star Mothers Suggested Donations:
*Food, snacks & entertainment items are always the #1 request from our soldiers.
- Beef jerky/sticks
- Powder drink mix (Gatorade, Kool-Aid, Crystal Light)
- Sunflower & pumpkin seeds
- Tuna & chicken salad (in foil pouches or ready-to-eat kits)
- Coffee (ground, instant or drip)
- Hot chocolate, herbal tea packets
- Pretzels, Cheetos, Fritos, Chex Mix, Wheat Thins, Ritz crackers
- Gum, hard candy
- Granola bars, power bars, cereal bars
- Fig Newtons, Oreos, Sandwich crackers (small packs)
- Trail mix, dried fruit, Fruit Roll-Ups
- Dry soup (Ramen noodles, etc.)
- Nuts (prefer salted)
- Microwavable foods (popcorn, spaghetti o's, mac & cheese)
- Cookies, Little Debbie/Hostess snacks
- Instant oatmeal packets, individual cereal boxes
- Condiments, spices, sugar, salad dressing packets
- Toiletries (no hotel samples)
- Body wash, liquid soap, facial cleanser
- Baby wipes
- Hand sanitizer
- Shampoo & conditioner
- Combs, brushes
- Chap stick, sun block (spf 45+), aloe vera gel
- Bug spray DEET, Skin So Soft (Avon)
- Cotton balls, Band-Aids, gauze pads, Icy Hot, Bengay
- Moleskin
- Tylenol, Motrin, Advil
- Eye drops
- Nasal spray
- Multi-vitamins
RPAC contributions are not deductible for income tax purposes. Contributions to RPAC are voluntary and are used for political purposes. The amount suggested is merely a guideline and you may contribute more or less than the suggested amount. You may refuse to contribute without reprisal and the National Association of REALTORS® or any of its state associations or local boards will not favor or disfavor any member because of the amount contributed. 70% of each contribution is used by your state PAC to support state and local political candidates. Until your state PAC reaches its RPAC goal 30% is sent to National RPAC to support federal candidates and is charged against your limits under 2 U.S.C. 441a; after the state PAC reaches its RPAC goal it may elect to retain your entire contribution for use in supporting state and local candidates.


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'Night at the Opera' Features Concert, Elegant Dinner
SOCORRO, N.M. April 23, 2013 – Enjoy a "Night at the Opera" with the Santa Fe Opera Apprentices at 7:30 p.m. Thursday, May 2, at New Mexico Tech's Macey Center – and celebrate the evening in style, with an elegant dinner and a social hour starting at 5:30 p.m.
The Santa Fe Opera Apprentices will perform Thursday, May 2, at Macey Center.
The Socorro performance is the next-to-last stop for the three-week spring tour, which began with a public concert in Tucumcari on April 14 and closes May 3 in Moriarty.
Soprano Sara Heaton and tenor Joshua Dennis, both former apprentices, along with Music Director Kirt Pavitt, will present Avastar, an original work written by Pavitt and Stage Director Kathleen Clawson especially for the tour.
Performing Arts Series Director Ronna Kalish said Avastar was written as an introduction to opera using contemporary themes. The 35-minute piece will cover the first half of the performance.
"The one-act operetta is staged as a singing competition which the apprentice singers have entered, and includes selections from opera, Broadway and current popular music," Kalish said, adding that the stop in Socorro includes a youth concert for local schools.
Study guides covering subjects such as musical terms, questions and answers, and discussion topics are provided by the Opera so that teachers and students can prepare for the visits.
The Spring Opera Tour was launched more than 20 years ago, performing in cities and towns in New Mexico (and Lubbock and El Paso) for students and families who may not have an opportunity to travel to Santa Fe.
"This is a wonderful opportunity to introduce opera to the community-at-large," Kalish said. "We also encourage people to join us for the social hour and dinner, to truly make it a 'Night at the Opera.'"
Meet the principals:
Sara Heaton, soprano, marks her third year with The Santa Fe Opera, having stepped in at the last minute this season to sing Serpina in Pergolesi's La Serva Padrona at Boston Baroque's New Year's Concerts. She has a Master of Music degree from Boston University, and a BAA in anthropology from the University of Pennsylvania.
Joshua Davis, tenor, returns to Santa Fe for his second apprenticeship following the spring tour, and will be joined by his identical twin brother, also a tenor, who begins his first apprenticeship with the company. Davis has a Bachelor of Music degree from Stephen F. Austin State University.
Pianist Kirt Pavitt has distinguished himself as both a soloist and collaborative artist. He accompanies many young singers and instrumentalists, and has performed at Avery Fisher and Alice Tully Halls in New York. This year marks Pavitt's 14th year as music director and pianist for the Opera's spring tour.
This year marks Director Kathleen Clawson's 10th in staging productions for The Santa Fe Opera, including the world premiere of Stephen Paulus's Shoes for the Santo Niño. Clawson is the principal voice teacher and co-director of the Young Voices of The Santa Fe Opera, and is on the faculty of the Department of Theatre and Dance at the University of New Mexico.
Cayley Carroll, stage manager, is a native of Washington, D.C. She has worked for a number of opera companies, including Florentine Opera, Seattle Opera, American Conservatory Theatre; and for a national tour with Aquila Theatre. Cayley is a graduate of Emerson College.
Sponsor for this evening of opera is SMPA Architects of Albuquerque.
Reservations Requested for 'Night at the Opera' Dinner
The Santa Fe Opera is bringing the entertainment, and Chartwells is bringing the tailgate party, indoor-style, to New Mexico Tech's Macey Center on Thursday, May 2.
Sponsored by Tech Club-Club Macey, a social hour begins at 5:30 p.m, followed by dinner at 6 p.m. Patrons are asked to purchase or reserve their tickets by Thursday, April 25.
One of the traditions at the Santa Fe Opera is an elegant form of tail-gating, where patrons dressed in their finest evening attire dine on gourmet fare and enjoy champagne or other beverages.
Diners may choose from two options – stuffed chicken breast with poblano, portabella, pine nuts and chipotle cream sauce served with cheddar-mashed potatoes, asparagus and baby carrots; or bowtie pasta with artichokes, portabella, roasted tomato sauce, fresh basil and goat cheese.
All meals include romaine lettuce wedges served with roasted red bell pepper Caesar dressing, herbed croutons, asiago cheese and fried capers; with apple blackberry strudel and orange vanilla cream.
For tickets, call the PAS at 575-835-5688; or New Mexico Tech's Auxiliary Services, 575-835-5050.


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It's always best to have work to do when you visit a new city or a new country. Being a tourist is too often an embarrassment; you look tentative, you don't know where you're going, you stick out. Being there to do a job lets you move with a different rhythm. You can slip yourself into the routine of things, you're part of the scenery. You get a different, perhaps more authentic perspective on the place. Access helps. The overlap between my coverage of the Royal Winnipeg Ballet tour and my research and interviews for my work on the biography of Vinogradov made the trip particularly opportune. It was through the access that these ballet connections gave me that I came closest to encountering the Russia of my expectations, the Russia I had dreamed of since my schooldays.
It wasn't always a Russia that the ordinary tourist would encounter. Doors were opened that might normally be closed. Sometimes history came unexpectedly alive. When I visited the Bolshoi Theatre in Moscow to conduct interviews about Vinogradov's connections with the Bolshoi company, for instance, I was invited by Sophia Golovkina, the director of the Bolshoi Theatre school, to return the following day to watch the rehearsal for the end-of-year recital by the cream of the school's students.
When I arrived for the recital I was ushered into the theatre building via the administration's side door. The atmosphere in the theatre was workaday. Draped white sheets protected the ornate gold decorations on the balconies. But it didn't matter. The young graduates filled the historic stage with a three-hour extravaganza of the technical brilliance, flair and panache that exemplified the Bolshoi heritage and had been so spectacularly personified to the world by one of the greatest of all legends of Russian ballet, Galina Ulanova.
As I was leaving I was astonished and delighted to encounter on the stairwell Ulanova herself. Like me, she had been casting an eye over the newcomers. Introductions were made; she was 80 by then, her mind quick, her smile bright. She touched my hand; she hoped my work would go well. As for herself, yes, she was still doing some coaching, passing along the torch. It was a brief encounter, but it stayed with me because her presence seemed to symbolize the process that had just been taking place inside the auditorium, the continuation of the line.
It didn't take long to realize that the freedom of which Gorbachev was so proud was a relative term.
On the surface it certainly seemed to apply. I moved freely about the cities we visited, using all forms of transport, meeting people of all ranks and social levels, often in their homes. Outside a government office in Kiev I became caught up in a demonstration on behalf of Ukrainian nationalism, one of the first to give on-the-street voice to the swelling movement for more representation and greater recognition of the Ukrainian language. Standing at first at the edge of the crowd, photographing the speakers and their colourful Ukrainian flags—only very recently allowed on public display—I was gradually pushed toward the front. Soon I was talking politics with the demonstration leaders, surrounded by a curious and smiling throng. Eventually we parted with much mutual admiration and shaking of hands. The men with their night-sticks and the plainclothes surveillance team that I'd earlier seen unload from a police van looked on but did nothing. No one appeared to follow me to my hotel. My film came safely home with me. My notebooks remained intact. Clearly, things were changing.
And in Moscow, in a masterstroke of image-rebuilding they had begun to offer tours of the Lubyanka, the grim headquarters of the KGB. On my visit I picked up a booklet called The KGB Must Abide by the Interests of the People in which the KGB chairman declared that his ambition was to create "a worldwide image of the KGB which would be in line with the noble aims which I believe we pursue."
Well, yes. But then there was—even now, in the age of glasnost and perestroika—the small matter of the bugging of hotel rooms. One member of the RWB group, tired of having a non-working TV in his hotel room, said loudly to the walls one morning: "Boy, I wish I had a TV set that worked." That evening he returned to find a technician repairing the malfunctioning set. Coincidence? Maybe. So that evening he asked for that rarity of rarities in Russia, soft toilet tissue. The following morning, there it was in his bathroom. And in Leningrad, where the hotel tap water was so bad they didn't even recommend if for showering, a Canadian phoning home told her boyfriend she wished she had some bottled water in her room so she could clean her teeth. The next day a case of it appeared beside her bed.
Surveillance aside, we quickly learned the principles on which hotel life depended. The principle, for instance, of the little gift. The sweetener. Nothing so coarse as a bribe. Merely a token of your appreciation of the improved likelihood of things being done—your laundry, for instance, or the booking, two days hence, of a telephone call home. Before I left Vancouver I visited the little shop by the harbour where all the Russian sailors bought their take-home souvenirs and stocked up on cheap things to give away—pens with calendar-clocks in them, credit-card calculators, bubblegum, cosmetics sets, queen-size pantyhose, soap, Marlboros. A dancer in the company took with him fifty condoms to use for barter (they were said to be scarcer than sugar). I also carried a bundle of single U.S. dollar bills. They worked wonders.
In Moscow I came back from breakfast one day to find my room already made up. Surprised and grateful (some members of the group didn't get their rooms made up all week) I gave the ancient chambermaid a dollar. She was so overjoyed she gave me a big, gap-toothed kiss and hurried back into my room to remake the bed, this time with fresh sheets. In Leningrad I gave the floor-lady a dollar when I handed in my laundry and in return I got back double—my own laundry plus six shirts I'd never seen before.
Inequalities extended to every facet of life. It was common for workers and their families to stand in line for hours for their daily milk and sausage. In Leningrad, where the ordinary citizen could expect to buy bananas for just two weeks each fall, shortages were so bad that people were giving blood in exchange for shopping privileges—one unit of blood earned you the right to line up for five or six hours to buy something really scarce, such as West German tights or Italian shoes.
In a watch shop within sight of the Hermitage museum there were so few timepieces for sale that a black marketeer had slipped inside the door and was offering watches from his wrist for hard currency. In a toyshop on Nevsky Prospekt, searching for souvenirs, I jostled the crowd to get a chance to examine the few sorry objects on display, then realized how basically unfair it would be to use Western money-muscle to deprive the locals of the chance to buy what few small pleasures they might be able to give to their kids. Yet diplomats, western journalists and those in high party favour had access to credit-card import stores that were stocked with overflowing displays of everything that was commonplace in the West—fresh fruit, vegetables, frozen pizza, all of it imported from Finland and Switzerland. Entering those stores was like going to another world. Like going home.
In the streets, people with ancient weighing machines told your weight for a few kopecks. Babushkas in headscarves sold unroasted peanuts and leafy cabbages at makeshift stands. Old men, in from the country, proffered bunches of lilac or lily-of-the-valley. Petty theft was rampant, and you could always tell when it was going to rain—drivers stopped their cars and installed their windshield wipers. When they were through driving for the day they removed the wipers and their wing-mirrors and took them indoors for safe keeping.
Everyone on the street wanted dollars. I was stopped frequently by people offering to exchange my American cash—usually politely, but not always. Strolling alone in Kiev late one night I wasn't able to convince one money-merchant that I really wasn't interested in unloading my dollars, and eventually passers-by had to warn him off.
The locals were prepared to pay high prices for the dollar for two reasons. With dollars they could get Western friends to go to the hard-currency stores and buy for them the consumer goods that never came on the open Soviet market—tape machines, sound systems, cameras, imported food. They could also save their dollars for when they went abroad. Tight restrictions on currency export and high rates of exchange meant that having a stock of extra foreign cash made sense. In Kiev Japanese cars bought second-hand in Japan after serving as taxis were highly desirable status symbols. For Westerners, however, it was illegal to spent hard currency anywhere except at the official government shops. You were expected to provide proof of purchase for anything you took out of the country, and the list of forbidden exports was long—including chocolate, underwear, umbrellas and spare umbrella parts.
When I asked a Russian friend how Soviet citizens spent their leisure time, she laughed. "We stand in line," she said. "That takes us hours every day, just to buy the necessities of life. Then we cook. Then we do our housework, which takes more hours, because we have no labour-saving devices like you in the West. By the time we've finished that it's time to go to sleep. Then we work. Then we stand in line again. So what do you mean exactly about leisure time?"
The lines she talked about were everywhere—for milk, vegetables, shoes, beer. If you heard about something suddenly becoming available you would rush out and get in line to buy it, because it almost certainly wouldn't be there the following day. You never left your apartment without a shopping bag in your pocket or your purse. Alla Savchenko, the ballet mistress of the RWB, had not been in Moscow, where she grew up, since emigrating to Canada with her husband almost a decade before. Much of her time during the visit was taken up caring for her sick mother, spending hours scouring the city for scarce medicines and lining up to buy food. "Everything seems devastated," she told me. "This used to be a very clean city. Now it is dirty, and no one does anything about it. I see no direction. It's like people playing at democracy. They don't know how to do it. I feel terrible pity."
Once you got inside the shops, the simplest of transactions took an age—line up to pick out what you want, line up again at the cashier to pay for it (the calculations almost invariably done on an abacus), line up again to collect it from the surly and uncooperative sales assistants. They were surly because they didn't need to be anything else. Under the state employment system it was virtually impossible to get fired or get promoted simply on the basis of work done; you were paid the same amount regardless. You were promoted according to your connections, not your skill, and once you were installed the only thing that could get you fired (and I saw it happen twice, both times to musicians in the ballet company's pick-up orchestra) was if your chronic alcoholism got in the way of the adequate performance of your work.
"We work without enthusiasm and without proper financial reward," said my friend Volodya. "Our work gives us only occupied time. When nobody needs what you do it destroys your will to work. So people sit, drink coffee, talk. Why bother?"
The day after authorities announced food prices were to triple—part of Gorbachev's push for a modified form of market economy—I sat with the brother of my Vancouver Russian coach in his dark, cluttered apartment overlooking Moscow University and watched Gorbachev make a live TV plea for calm. My friend, who had spent his life studying the history of the Soviet Union, listened intently for about 20 minutes, then shook his head sadly and turned off the set. "Just words," he said. "The people need more than words. Many feel they have been patient long enough. The programs are not working. After five years there is still nothing in the shops."
Children, though, seemed cherished everywhere. On a crowded bus on Nevsky Prospekt in Leningrad I saw a man stand to give his seat to a woman. She lifted her little boy onto the seat and remained standing herself. Many of the kids still wore Pioneer hats and neckerchiefs—Pioneer camp, where they were instilled with Party principles, took up a month of their annual vacation every year from the age of eight or so—and it was clear that they were seen as the country's future. But that wasn't much comfort to one young woman I talked to. "We don't know what we eat," she said. "We don't know what we breathe. Our children are dying without explanation. I want a child, but I can't have one here. What can I do?"
In a country supposedly founded on a basic belief in the rights and values of the proletariat, I found a cynical contempt for the workers and the lower classes among intellectuals and those with power and influence. At a party in Moscow I got into conversation with a cheery young auto mechanic. "I mend the metal on cars," he told me. "I get 180 roubles a month, though I can get the same amount in a single day on the side." He was a boisterous lad and soon challenged me to eat a head of pickled garlic. I did so and we toasted each other in a round of vodka. The people who had taken me to the party—nice, middle-class, hard-working Russians—were horrified. "He's nothing," said one of them, "He's just a worker."
At the same party, one of the men got drunk and began to pester me about setting up some kind of joint-venture computer import business, with me supplying the hardware and him selling it. The same friend who had bad-mouthed the car mechanic tore the man's address out of my notebook and told me to ignore him. "He's just a drunk," he said. "We apologize." Understandably, this incensed his plump, pretty wife. "He may be a drunk," she said tearfully, "but he's my man." It was the sort of thing you might hear toward the end of any party anywhere—except that this was the new Russia, where, even so long after Orwell, some people were still more equal than others.
Moscow was its own fascination. No one really knows how Moscow began, but the story people seem to like best is this: sometime in 1147 (and we must give or take several weeks, to make allowances for the Julian/Gregorian discrepancies) the Vladimir-Suzdal Prince Yuri Dolgoruky (his name means the Long-Armed: he was an adept tax-collector) was visiting the south-western borders of the segment of Kievan Rus that he controlled.
Perhaps he was in an expansive mood. Perhaps the tax returns had been good. Perhaps he wanted to impress his courtiers, or put stars in the eyes of a local maiden. Whatever the reason, he decided to hold a feast at a small village located on top of a convenient nearby hill. It was probably summer. Below the hill a winding river flowed. Before him, as far as he could see, undulated a green and wooded land. Here (perhaps the welcoming celebrations had been particularly hearty) he decided he would build a fortress: a Kievan Prince's realm could always use a little more fortification. The wooden stockade on Borovitsky Hill was completed within a decade; it was the kernel out of which Moscow grew. That's the story, anyway.
If the spirit of Yuri Dolgoruky were to be climbing Borovitsky Hill from the south today, up past the festive turbans of St. Basil's cathedral and into the vastness of Red Square (60,000 square metres of cobblestone, and couldn't that battered, trampled, tank-tracked expanse tell stories?), he would find the wooden walls of his fortress replaced by high, red-brick ramparts. The word impregnable suits them well; these steep, thick walls form a roughly triangular structure whose sides add up to almost a mile in length, punctuated by 19 towers, four of which crown imposing entrances to the grounds inside.
The Kremlin! Yuri Dolgoruky would not recognize the grounds inside nor any of their structures. It is the black hole of Russian history: into it have been sucked, in numbers beyond counting, the tangled strands of incident and accident that connect it to all the anguish and atrocity, all the intellect and inspiration, that have stained and marked this country's story. Its squares and churches ring with history's blare and shine. The strange electric immediacy of pomp and power, of tyranny and triumph, tingles the visitor's skin. You barely know where to look, hardly dare to lift your eye to so much majestic savagery. Despots, rulers, artists, priests … the air is crowded with damned, departed souls, and not just the air. The cathedrals (for this was also the headquarters of the Russian church) shelter the lead-shrouded mortal remains of centuries of Muscovy's rulers and archbishops. In those brick-clad ramparts are stored the ashes of Soviet heroes. In his own walk-in sarcophagus up against the wall (a granite block which would be the more imposing were it not dwarfed by the ramparts above it) lies the mummified Lenin, orange-peach his colouring, waxen his look, spotted his tie.
When I visited him in 1992 those charged with his preservation were doing a check-up twice a week. Every 18 months or so he was given a prolonged dip in a preservative bath of potassium, glycerine and alcohol. But despite everyone's best efforts the body had been shrinking slowly. Nor was he as revered as once he was. The budget for the preservation of his remains had recently been cut by 80 per cent (the embalmers had quickly found new clients among the bereaved associates of murdered mafiosi, who wanted to be sure their nearest and dearest looked their best in their open funeral caskets). Boris Yeltsin and others were said to have put forward proposals (later squelched by Putin) to send him off to earn his keep on a display trip around the world (Beyond The Finland Station: The Lenin Tour, as it might be) prior to burial beside his dear old mum in St. Petersburg. The corpse of the father of Soviet Russia, co-opted to raise capitalist dollars to shore up the post-Soviet economic collapse. Who'd have predicted that for irony when they first brought him down?
But then, who'd have predicted so much that has happened in this massive redoubt? Napoleon used icons from the Kremlin's Assumption Cathedral as firewood to steam off his boots in the dreadful winter of 1812. Not many yards away, in the Armoury, you can inspect the sleigh that brought Elizabeth here in 1741 from St. Petersburg for her coronation (800 horses drew it, in teams of 23: a cold coming they had of it, and who knows how many didn't survive, animals and drivers both). Here behold her bejewelled coronation dress (a woman of conspicuous assumption, clearly: this was only one of 15,000 dresses that she owned).
Cross the ancient square to the Annunciation Cathedral, a seductive agglomeration of small chambers encased in reassuringly thick walls of plaster and brick. Excommunicated Ivan the Terrible (whose sobriquet, in all linguistic accuracy, should be translated as Ivan the Awesome, but who among us is willing to defuse the force of history?), after he had more than used up his quota of permissible wives, regularly took shelter and solace in this church's shadowy and comforting embrace, watching the services through the iron bars of his own private chapel. Odd, indeed, how comforting this place feels, perhaps as welcoming and reassuring as any place of worship you've ever been in. Yet it's in the fearsome Kremlin. Yes, we know the word means castle or fortress, nothing more, and yes, many Russian cities have them. Yet this one, on the very site that legend says that Dolgoruky chose for his fateful feast day, even now, with the Soviets long gone and yet another new regime established, doesn't it still cause thrills and chills? Our Western conditioning allows nothing less. Of course it does.
I could have spent hours in the comforting embrace of those thick walls of the Cathedral of the Assumption, or inspecting the pilfered icons and church silverware at the haphazard antiques market in Gorki Park. But it was Leningrad I was waiting for. I wanted to discover the city that I had read so much about, the city that Vinogradov had spoken of so rhapsodically. Moscow was hard-nosed and frown-faced. But Leningrad … this was a different side of Russia. I fell in love with its austere and classical beauties from my first morning walking its streets, and the affair has never ended.
It had been tempting, going into Russia, to see Gorbachev as a hero and his insistence on change as the harbinger of a new era. But what I was left with, after getting a glimpse of the country from the inside, after probing an inch or two beneath the shell of prejudice and misinformation that had accreted over the years, was an overwhelming feeling of despair and hopelessness.
"For you in the West," one of my new Russian friends told me, "it all seems all right. But you are wearing pink spectacles." The woman who wondered how she could have a child in such a situation went further. "The psychology of the Russian people is ugly," she said. "They like to be similar. 'I'm poor so you should be poor—if you're rich I must kill you or burn your property.' Maybe our grandchildren will live in a new society. But for 70 years, everything was destroyed. It will take at least a hundred years to repair it."
The dismantling of a system that ruled their every moment had left these people aimless and uncertain. They looked on the promised reforms with great scepticism. Few of them were happy. None of them had a good word for The Party. Even those thoughtful enough to understand that massive social change was not going to happen overnight had serious doubts about Gorbachev's chances of success. And yet, despite all, you could still perceive—or at least I believed I could—what people persist in calling the soul of Russia, that dark, elemental Russianness we know from the great novelists and playwrights. While the human spirit might be damaged by all the years of oppression, it had never been entirely crushable.
And, looking for that elusive Russian soul, I thought I might finally have located it at the Hermitage Museum in St. Petersburg—not in the vast collection of paintings and sculptures and artwork but in the person of Academician Boris Piotrovsky, the museum's director. He was 82 when we met in the spring of 1990, just a few months before his death from a cerebral haemorrhage, and had been director for a quarter of a century.
It was Piotrovsky who masterminded the preservation of the Hermitage treasures during the Second World War. He sent many of them into storage in Siberia. During the 900-day siege of the city he lived in the museum's cellars, guarding the works that remained. From his cluttered desk (a desk once used by Peter the Great) he still kept a watchful eye on the collection's 3.2 million artworks, and one magic night when the museum was closed he took me on a tour of the classically elegant buildings that sprawl along the banks of the Neva to show me his own favourite pieces. "To live here, surrounded by these objects, and to be able to get to know them so well … it has been a wonderful way to spend a life," he said.