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Thursday's Child: Retiro Park, Madrid
47 comments:
- Mary Anne MacCrone said...
Gorgeous gardens - taking pictures there would be a dream! You are a lucky girl, Beth!
- March 8, 2012 at 8:15 AM
- Belinda said...
That tree looks like a giant broccoli! I (sort of) want to eat it.
- March 8, 2012 at 9:38 AM
- Justine L said...
Oh! This brings back such memories for me ... my father was born in Spain, and I traveled there a few times as a child and young adult ... I've only been back once as an adult, but it was with my husband, and we went rowing on the lake in Retiro Park, too. :) Thank you!!
- March 8, 2012 at 10:00 AM
- Aarthi said...
nice post
- March 8, 2012 at 10:05 AM
- Angela said...
Retiro park is impressive. I especially like how they shape the bushes.
- March 8, 2012 at 10:31 AM
- Valerie Gamine said...
The topiary trees are lovely, they remind me of Alice in Wonderland. And like Belinda mentioned in her comment, that first one is making me crave a salad! :D
- March 8, 2012 at 10:32 AM
- Yummy said...
Gorgeous photos!
- March 8, 2012 at 11:13 AM
- Cindy said...
Thank you for taking me to Spain--it's the only way I'll get there!
Beautiful photos.
- March 8, 2012 at 11:52 AM
- Barbara said...
Haven't been to Madrid since the 90's, but I love the story of planting the trees in remembrance.
The art in that city is divine. Let alone the food.
- March 8, 2012 at 11:52 AM
- Angie's Recipes said...
wow I really love these photos. The first one looks so fun.
- March 8, 2012 at 2:42 PM
- Miriam said...
What a beautiful place! I like that they planted the trees for the victims. It doesn't replace the lost lives but it does send a beautiful message of healing and life.
Miriam@Meatless Meals For Meat Eaters
- March 8, 2012 at 4:45 PM
- Carol said...
What a gorgeous place! Your pictures are beautiful.
- March 8, 2012 at 5:49 PM
- Julie said...
What an interesting tree. I love seeing the landscapes in different places.
- March 8, 2012 at 7:29 PM
- julie said...
That is such a beautiful park. Those trees are amazing! Thank you for sharing the pictures and the story behind it. :)
- March 8, 2012 at 8:47 PM
- Neesie said...
What a beautiful park Beth.
I adore trees and your first photo produced a huge smile :D
I didn't realise I was going to Spain today...isn't life full of surprises!
Thank you for inviting me.
Have a great weekend :)
- March 8, 2012 at 9:28 PM
- Unknown said...
We were right there but didn't have a chance to walk in the park! Your pictures are great and remind me of the fun time we had with or family in Madrid a few Summers ago;-)
- March 8, 2012 at 10:11 PM
- Elaine said...
I really love that first photo of the trees. It looks like such a beautiful place to visit.
- March 9, 2012 at 12:59 AM
I love all kinds of gardens, and this one looks fantastic. I love the tree in the first photo!
- March 9, 2012 at 7:58 AM
- Katerina said...
This is a gorgeous place Beth! I've never been to Spain but I know it is a beautiful country!
- March 9, 2012 at 8:47 AM
- Rita said...
What a beautiful post and pictures. Spain is lovely at this time of the year.We were there in March a few years ago.
- March 9, 2012 at 10:20 AM
I want to learn how to sculpt my trees like that! Lovely park, sad story.
- March 9, 2012 at 10:46 AM
- Pam said...
Those trees in the top picture are awesome!
- March 9, 2012 at 4:22 PM
- Unknown said...
Oh, man, Calgary is sooooo boring after seeing those photos (not that I was surprised at that).
I love the trees in the first photo.
- March 9, 2012 at 6:40 PM
- Golden Eagle said...
I love the fountain--it's so irregular, opposed to the usual perfect symmetry/sculpture.
Sounds like a beautiful park!
- March 9, 2012 at 8:47 PM
- Liz That Skinny Chick Can Bake said...
What an amazing park and gardens! I'd definitely love to visit...but I'll only get to the Madrid airport this summer. Some day....
Have a wonderful weekend, Beth!
- March 9, 2012 at 8:52 PM
- Becki's Whole Life said...
One of my work friends is going to Barcelona soon and I was telling him about the Park Guell and he was going to check it out. one of the girls had been there and said it was amazing. This would actually be more my cup of tea with the gardens. They are both treasures, for sure!
- March 9, 2012 at 10:43 PM
- lisa is cooking said...
What a beautiful park! Those sculpted trees are like living art. Sounds like a fantastic way to begin a visit to Spain.
- March 10, 2012 at 10:02 AM
- Lori said...
Those trees in that first photo are amazing. At first I thought it was some kind of food. So perfectly manicured.
- March 10, 2012 at 5:21 PM
- Anna said...
What interesting trees! Gorgeous photos and lovely writing, as always!
- March 11, 2012 at 12:39 AM
- Lorraine said...
Just spectacular! I have always wanted to visit Madrid. The trees and shrubs are incredibly beautiful. They almost look fake.
- March 11, 2012 at 10:22 AM
What a beautiful park. Thanks for sharing the photos.
- March 11, 2012 at 11:25 AM
- Joanne said...
Ugh I remember those bombings. I love the idea of planting olive trees to remember...the trees of peace and friendship.
- March 12, 2012 at 7:45 AM
- Kathy said...
I would love rowing around that lake! Such gorgeous photos! Love the first photo of the tree!
- March 12, 2012 at 4:28 PM
- Unknown said...
beautiful pictures! would love to go sometime soon. that tree in your first photo is mind boggling
- March 12, 2012 at 9:19 PM
- shaz said...
When I first scrolled into the post, I thought the topiary was some sort of interesting green dessert you'd made. Oops. Beautiful park, and post, and a little bit sad too.
- March 13, 2012 at 3:52 AM
- Claudia said...
I have yet to visit Spain and desperately want to - the history - the art - the food! I remember the Madrid bombing well - it was indeed a sad day.
- March 13, 2012 at 10:12 AM
- Kitchen Riffs said...
Lovely park. I visited Spain years (decades) ago, but mainly stayed on the southern coast. I need to make a prolonged visit. So much to see in the world! Thanks for the inspiration.
- March 14, 2012 at 12:21 PM
- Cucina49 said...
It's been forever since I've been in Madrid, and I don't remember seeing public space that looked quite like this. Great photos!
- March 14, 2012 at 3:34 PM
I thought that was broccoli at first, lol.
What a beautiful park. I'd love to go there. I haven't seen anything like that before.
- March 15, 2012 at 6:38 AM
- Monet said...
We were able to visit this park, and it is truly lovely. This post brought back so many good memories! Thank you for sharing. I hope you are having a blessed Thursday!
- March 15, 2012 at 5:11 PM
- Sharon K. Mayhew said...
What a beautiful park! I love the trees in the first shot. Thanks so much for sharing your trips with us. I really do enjoy seeing them. :)
- March 18, 2012 at 4:38 PM
I would think I had jumped into a fairy tale if I were there. The photos ethereal and breathtaking. So glad you shared these!
- March 20, 2012 at 9:02 AM
- Amie Kaufman said...
Oh, I adored Il Retiro! I was SO ill in Madrid -- razorblade sore throat, fever, weak as a kitten, the works. And on top of that, I was trying to answer my agent's offer of rep from my sick bed! Once I was able to move around, my husband took me to the park for the day, and parked me on a rug with a series of icecreams. I read I AM LEGEND (quite a morbid book for such a lovely setting), and we listened to music floating across the water, watched ducklings and other picknickers, and had a lovely time! Such a beautiful, communal space.
- March 21, 2012 at 7:36 AM
- beti said...
I've never seen a tree like that one! it is really pretty and different, the place looks lovely!
- March 22, 2012 at 9:17 AM
- Barbara Jean said...
I'd really like to go to Madrid someday. I didn't feel that Barcelona was very "Spanish", and have heard Madrid is much better for that vibe.
- March 22, 2012 at 7:50 PM
- Beth said...
We loved both Barcelona and Madrid, but you're right - they're very different cities. I hope you get to Madrid someday too!
- March 22, 2012 at 8:00 PM
- sally said...
It has been a while since I visited Retiro Park in Madrid--I'll have to get out my pictures. Thanks for reminding me!
- March 25, 2012 at 1:34 PM


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Please set the period.BCE 70th century AD 21st century
Searching the Virtual collection of Asian Masterpieces can be done in four steps.
Of course if you're happy with the results after the first step, you don't have to follow the other ones. But if your query results are not satisfactory, or if you want to know how to do specific searches or generic browsing, this help section may be of interest to you.
STEP 1.Just search: using the search fields
The VCM Search facility offers five search fields to search the collection of masterpieces. These five fields, immediately to the left of this text, help you to zoom in on parts of the collection that you want to explore, or to find a specific masterpiece by making your query as explicit as possible.
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subset: commoncrawl


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Hospitals redefine the meaning of 'weekend getaway'
As the government continues looking for ways to reduce expenses in the face of the world's biggest debt burden, every ministry is expected to pitch in. The Health, Welfare and Labor Ministry has probably the biggest job in this regard since it is responsible for the primary drain on future fiscal resources, namely all those old people on the horizon. We've already talked about the ministry's attempt to make elderly patients pay a little bit more for their care, a scheme that was shot down by doctors who say such a move would discourage older people from seeking the help they need, though critics suggest the doctors are worried more about their own bottom lines.
Now the ministry has come up with another money-saving plan that will likely irk the medical profession. Starting in April, the ministry will start withholding reimbursements for basic hospitalization fees if the hospitalization is deemed to be "unnecessary." At issue is weekend hospital stays, which the ministry believes are wasteful. When the length of a hospital stay was measured against the day that the hospitalization began, the longest ones were found to start on Fridays, with an average of 18.14 days. In contrast, hospitalizations that begin on Wednesday average three days less. The ministry concludes that Friday-start hospitalizations are longest because nothing is really done over the weekend, and that whatever treatment is involved begins in earnest on Monday. However, the patient has to pay for the weekend hospitalization and national insurance will reimburse him or her for much of that payment. Hospitals can charge the full amount for the stay even though their personnel and overhead costs over the weekend are less than they are during the week.
The health ministry's plan is to pay less for weekend hospital care. The point is to dissuade hospitals from starting patient stays on Fridays, but the ministry also wants to persuade them to discharge patients before weekends as well. The basic hospitalization fee (nyuin kihon ryokin) that the ministry now pays is between ¥9,340 and ¥15,550 per day, and no matter what time of day the patient is discharged, the hospital seeks payment for the full day, so theoretically a hospital can discharge a patient early on Monday morning and receive three extra days of fees without doing much of anything except feed the patient. Hospitalizations that end on Monday last for an average of 17.9 days, while those that end on Saturdays last three days less. Consequently, the ministry will not reimburse payments for a full day when the patient is discharged before lunch.
Japan is famous for its long hospital stays, which critics say have more to do with Japan's national health insurance system than it does with quality of care. Hospitals want to make as much money as possible from patients and so are believed to "recommend" long hospitalizations. It's why old people in Japan invariably die in hospitals rather than at home or in hospices and nursing homes.
So far, private insurers haven't commented on the ministry plan. Since private medical insurance is mostly supplemental in that it provides subscribers with cash depending on how many days one is hospitalized, these private insurers should also be concerned if hospitals are keeping patients for unnecssarily long stays, but then again the whole idea of long hospitalizations is what makes their insurance policies attractive. If hospital stays were significantly shorter, most people wouldn't see the need for supplemental insurance in the first place.
Tags: hospitalization, long-term care, Ministry of Health Labor and Welfare, national health insurance


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Cosmos™ clip, Mystery Set™ rubies, Van Cleef & Arpels Collection
Happiness medal, 1973, Van Cleef & Arpels Collection
Horseshoe clip, 1938, Van Cleef & Arpels Collection
Licorne clip, 1948, Van Cleef & Arpels Collection
Gamblers hand, 1949, Van Cleef & Arpels Collection
Dragon clip, 1969, Van Cleef & Arpels Collection
"To be lucky, you must believe in luck," as Jacques Arpels liked to say, nephew of Estelle Arpels, founder of the Maison with her husband Alfred Van Cleef.
Van Cleef & Arpels' luck is an opportunity, an occasion to be taken, a chance given by the world, by Nature. Stamped with a positive, poetic vision of the world, the Maison's creations have been paying homage to luck for almost 100 years. Ladybirds, four-leaf clovers, fairies and unicorns inhabit its gentle world, who thus delivers a poetic and harmonious vision of the world.
Through its journey to the four corners of the world in search of stones and its curiosity about these distant lands, the Maison reinterprets symbols of luck in its creations.
This luck must be earned, that rare clover comes as a trophy for he or she who pays careful attention to the signs of luck and is able to grasp them. For the Maison, to be lucky is to take action, as for René Char: "Impose your luck, hold tight to your good fortune, and step forward to face your risks. From having watched you, they will get used to it".


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We took the trail to the Three Sisters where you can stand right at the base of the first rock (closest to the cliffs). As soon as I was coming down the stairs, I knew this was the place I wanted to do a 360 where you could get a real sense of the view on all sides. You can see the blue haze cast on the distant mountains - which is how the Blue Mountains got their name.
The shooting for this photo was particularly challenging because of the huge variance in lighting with the sun shining on one side, and darker shadow areas on the stairs. Instead of the usual 8 photos (6 around, one up, and one down), I took 24 photos. Each of the usual 8 with exposure bracketing at 1.5 stops. This allowed me to use HDR processing and tone mapping to get a better range of exposures to meld into one cohesive panorama. This photo is more like what your eyes would see as a result - adapting for the bright and dark areas.
There are no kangaroos in Austria. We're talking about Australia, the world's smallest continent. That being cleared up, let's dive right in! Australia is a sovereign state under the Commonwealth of Nations, which is in turn overseen by Queen Elizabeth the Second, by the Grace of God, Queen of Australia and Her other Realms and Territories, Head of the Commonwealth. The continent was first sighted and charted by the Dutch in 1606. Captain James Cook of Britain came along in the next century to claim it for Britain and name it "New South Wales." Shortly thereafter it was declared to be a penal colony full of nothing but criminals and convicts, giving it the crap reputation you may have heard at your last cocktail party. This rumor ignores 40,000 years of pre-European human history, especially the Aboriginal concept of Dreamtime, an interesting explanation of physical and spiritual reality. The two biggest cities in Australia are Sydney and Melbourne. Sydney is more for business, Melbourne for arts. But that's painting in very broad strokes. Take a whirl around the panoramas to see for yourself! Text by Steve Smith.


text:
Our vision is a world where every cat is treated with kindness and an understanding of its needs
It is no longer the case that you have to wait for a cat to be six months old before it is neutered. Cats Protection promotes kitten neutering ideally at around four months of age in order to help reduce the amount of unwanted litters. This is why we have developed the Kitten Neutering Vet Register.
If you currently don't have a vet, you can find a practice in your area by using the Royal College of Veterinary Surgeons Find a vet online database. Simply click on the link below, this will open another browser window containing the RCVS website.
You can search by practice name, town or by your own postcode.


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While scientists increasingly understand the genetics of cancer, they've never been able to track how single cancerous cells form tumors in the body, or work out how tumors grow back seemingly from nowhere. New research, however, sheds some light on that problem—and suggests that tumors are fueled by cancer stem cells.
The research, which is in fact work from three independent studies, suggests that just a small subset of cells drives tumor growth—and that, as a result, curing cancer once and for all may require those cells to be eliminated.
The work has focussed on tumors of the brain, the gut and the skin, using genetic techniques to track stem cells in animal models. The researchers have found that tumors seem to arise from single stem cells, and that their presence within a tumor is responsible for fueling its growth. For a detailed analysis of the three studies and how their findings fit together, this Nature news article is well worth a read.
While in the past the theory of cancer stem cells has been a controversial one, these three studies provide some overwhelming evidence that support its accuracy. But while the basic idea of stem cells driving cancer might be correct, their modes of operation remain mysterious—and no doubt extremely complex.
Still, despite the fact that this is cutting-edge science and has so far only been evidenced in three tumor types, it's difficult to deny the potential impact the findings could have. The presence of cancer stem cells is probably responsible for the regrowth of tumors form nowhere—so if further studies confirm the existence of cancer stem cells in other types of the disease, it could represent a paradigm shift in treatment.
Instead of focussing on the tumor as a whole—doctors currently view controlling or reducing tumor size as a measure of success—the focus could shift instead to merely targeting the correct types of cancer stem cells. While such techniques remain some way off, it's an incredibly exciting turning point in the future of cancer research. [Nature]
Image by G. Driessens


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Long Term Verdict: 2011 Jeep Grand Cherokee Limited
Saying, so long to a dependable road warrior
In the 13 months we had our Jeep Grand Cherokee those on the staff who took it out for a weekend spin, either camping or on a long roadie, almost all came back with some variation of what video producer Duane Sempson said upon return from his holiday to Idaho, "Its #@!*#! awesome!"
Who can blame him for being so enthusiastic? With its bold front and solid angles, the Jeep is a beauty to behold. Not overly styled or wind-tunneled to resemble a rounded elephant, the Jeep has a classic, simple look that echoes a time when SUVs earned their Western-themed names. You get the feeling this Grand Cherokee will age well.
Inside, the Jeep combines comfort with plenty of space. Leather seats with lumbar support kept fatigue at bay. In back, there is plenty of space for three average-size adults to sit comfortably with satisfactory legroom. The entertainment system offers at least a half-dozen ways to listen to music, from CD, Sirius satellite, AM/FM radio, USB, media hard drive, iPod connection, or via an auxiliary input. Overkill, maybe, but I never met a music delivery system I didn't try out.
While other vehicles in the Motor Trend fleet were usually drafted for moving duty, I can report the Jeep handles an epic laundry run with no problem at all.
Admiration was not limited to those on staff, either. On one occasion, I gave a full-blown test drive. The prospective buyer wanted to be sure there was enough acceleration to get out of trouble on the freeway, so we took the Jeep for a spin on the 405. The SUV easily made all the passes, and it remained in the running as a future purchase. I wasn't able to close the deal, though, so no coffee for me.
With the Jeep's 24.6-gallon tank size, its observed average 17.0 mpg often allowed me to go 400 miles before I needed to fill up. Considering my 250-mile weekly work commute, I was glad to have at least a week before hitting empty. Big tanks may hurt at the pump, but at least you're not there as often, and when you buy a large vehicle, this comes with the territory.
We experienced no maintenance problems, dealing with just your normal wear and basic upkeep. The one hardware failure was a burned-out left-rear turn signal. We knew immediately because LEFT REAR TURN SIGNAL OUT flashed on the dash info display as soon as the bulb failed. Much better to find out that way than having one of California's finest point it out.
The failure occurred when Truck Trend online editor Melissa Spiering was at the helm. Being a handy young woman, she decided to change the bulb herself. She found a video on line and made the swap with ease.
"It took about five minutes to pop out the set screws, unplug the socket, replace the bulb, set the socket back in place, do a blinker test, set the taillight back into place, and replace the set screws. Easy-peasy." Spiering explains.
And that's been the extent of our troubles. I'd say we'd take that every time.
Of course, no vehicle is perfect, and the Jeep garnered its share of minor gripes. The rearview mirror is very large (it houses multiple sensors), and it's impossible to hang a parking or handicap placard on it, resulting in a staffer getting a ticket for an improperly displayed sign. The navigation system, while in my experience was dependable, is rather artful and looks "like the palette chosen was from a Crayola box," according to a logbook comment. The center dial for the HVAC's fan control has almost no heft and feels flimsy -- something that struck me every time I used it, which was everyday. A little more weight to the dial would make a world of difference. As I said, minor gripes.
During the Grand Cherokee's stay with us, we barely scratched the surface of its off-road capabilities, and the mild winter provided very little snow for us to play on. We tried! We took the Jeep all the way to Idaho in December. But highway driving? Oh, yeah, we did plenty of that. And that's where the Jeep felt really at home. Many staffers noted the smooth ride, quiet cabin, and comfortable seating -- essential for any road-trip.
As of this writing, I'm preparing to drive to Phoenix for spring training, and I wish I were making that drive in the Jeep.
|Our Car
|Service life
|12 mo/22,460 mi
|Base price
|Luxury Group II ($1495: Heated power tilt/telescope steering wheel with audio controls, cooled leather seats, power tailgate), Off-Road Adventure Package ($550: skidplates, 265/60R18 on/off road tires, full-size spare, tow hooks, Trail Rated badge)
|Price as tested
|Avg econ/CO2
|17.0 mpg/ 1.12 lb/mi
|Problem areas
|Maintenance cost
|Normal-wear cost
|3-year residual value*
|2011 Jeep Grand Cherokee Limited
|Drivetrain layout
|Front engine, 4WD
|Engine type
|60-deg V-6, aluminum block/heads
|DOHC, 4 valves/cyl
|219.9 cu in/3604 cc
|Compression ratio
|Power (SAE net)
|290 hp @ 6400 rpm
|Torque (SAE net)
|260 lb-ft @ 4800 rpm
|6400 rpm
|Weight to power
|17.3 lb/hp
|5-speed automatic
|Axle/final-drive ratios
|Suspension, front; rear
|Control arms, coil springs, anti-roll bar; multilink, coil springs, anti-roll bar
|Steering ratio
|Turns lock-to-lock
|Brakes, f;r
|12.9-in vented disc; 12.6-in disc, ABS
|Wheels, f;r
|8.0 x 18-in, cast aluminum
|Tires, f;r
|P265/60R18 109T M+S Michelin Latitude Tour
|114.8 in
|Track, f/r
|63.9/64.1 in
|Length x width x height
|189.8 x 76.5 x 69.3 in
|Ground clearance
|8.6 in
|Apprch/depart angle
|26.3/26.5 deg
|Turning circle
|37.1 ft
|Curb weight
|5016 lb
|Weight dist, f/r
|Towing capacity
|5000 lb
|Seating capacity
|Headroom, f/r
|39.9/39.2 in
|Legroom, f/r
|40.3/38.6 ib
|Shoulder room, f/r
|58.7/58.0 in
|Cargo volume (beh f/r)
|68.7/35.1 cu ft
|Acceleration to mph
|3.3 sec
|Passing, 45-65 mph
|Quarter mile
|16.6 sec @ 86.5 mph
|Braking, 60-0 mph
|129 ft
|Lateral acceleration
|0.76 g (avg)
|MT figure eight
|28.6 sec @ 0.57 g (avg)
|Top-gear revs @ 60 mph
|1750 rpm
|Stability/traction control
|Dual front, front side, f/r curtain
|Basic warranty
|3 yrs/36,000 mi
|Powertrain warranty
|5 yrs/100,000 mi
|Roadside assistance
|3 yrs/36,000 mi
|Fuel capacity
|24.6 gal
|EPA city/hwy econ
|16/22 mpg
|Energy cons, city/hwy
|211/153 kW-hrs/100 mi
|CO2 emissions
|1.06 lb/mi
|Recommended fuel
|Unleaded regular


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News from the world of Maths
Is there a perfect voting system? In the 1950s the economist Kenneth Arrow asked himself this question and found that the answer is no, at least in the setting he imagined.
Ben Allanach is a theoretical physicist who has worked at CERN and is interested in something called supersymmetry, which predicts particles that could be dark matter and might be produced in the collisions at CERN. Watch Ben explain it all in this TEDx lecture.
From the makers of Dimensions comes a great free online movie exploring dynamical systems, the butterfly effect and chaos theory by means of stunning visuals accompanied by a beautiful musical score.
Every year the London Mathematical Society puts on a pair of popular lectures that are well worth seeing. This year's topics are maths in the court room and the mysteries of additive number theory. Find out more here.
Cosmologists gathered in the Netherlands last week to discuss a new view of the Universe. The Universe as seen by Planck was an international conference to discuss the recently released scientific results from the Planck satellite, including two particularly striking snapshots of the early Universe.
Find out why physicists believe that they might be in a lecture by John D. Barrow at the Bath Royal Literary and Scientific Institution on April 13th.
Here's a fitting tribute to the legendary mathematician Paul Erdős, who would have turned 100 today.


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Thankful Grateful Car Coaster Set
We love taking our coffee on the go… but hate the spills! These Set of 2 Car Coasters are made from absorbant stoneware to soak up leaks and spills... while adding a little fun to your car! They're a perfect gift for new drivers, too!
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- To remove stains, soak coaster in 1 part household bleach and 3 parts water until stain disappears. Rinse and air dry
Shipping & Returns
Visit our shipping policy and returns policy for more details!
Hover over image with your mouse to zoom
Reviews & answers to your questions


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On 19 October 2004, the Control Centre for the Columbus Laboratory is being inaugurated. Columbus is Europe's module for the ISS, due for launch in 2006. Its Control Centre, located near Munich (Germany), is operated by the German Aerospace Centre DLR, and is now ready to look after ESA's manned missions to the ISS. This includes all missions to ESA astronauts to the ISS, starting in April 2005. This exchange includes footage of the Centre, and sound bites by ESA and DLR officials on its role and functions.
00:26 Thomas Reiter will soon begin the first long term stay on the International Space Station. He has been part of ESA's astronaut corps since 1992. He will travel to ISS on the Space Shuttle, and will become the European record holder for man in space.
01:17 Thomas Reiter, ESA Astronaut, speaks about the coming 6 months in space.
01:30 Space Shuttle Discovery will bring Reiter to ISS, together with equipment, as well as bring equipment back to Earth.
02:30 Thomas Reiter, ESA Astronaut, tells that he together with the other astronauts will be very busy with experiments, maintaining the station as well get it ready to expand it capability.
02:56 Thomas Reiter will perform a serious of medical experiments during his station on ISS, paving the way for European Columbus Laboratory.
03:18 Reinhold Ewald, ESA's ISS Operations Manager, explains that the Russian segments, the US Segment, the Japanese segment, the Canadian Arm, and ESA's Columbus module all form separate parts of the International Space Station. The operations Centre for Columbus is located in Oberpfaffenhofen near Munich. The monitoring of Reiter will be done from this centre.
04:10 The Astrolab mission will mark a new achievement for European.
04:30 The End


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Season 2 of "The Walking Dead" finally hits the little screen this Sunday and to celebrate we've got a boat load of new stills from the show. There's all kinds of zombie bloody goodness and what looks like a dead lamb... or dog... or something. I'm 100% sure it's an animal of some sort. Might be a fox. Remember Samantha Fox? Man I had a crush on her when I was a kid. Good talk.
If you don't know who Brooke Lewis is then you should check out this interview our very own Tor conducted with her a few months back because she is delightful. She's also half naked a lot which is pretty wonderful. She also hands out 100 dollar bills at horror conventions to random people. Alright that last one is a lie but she is in a new horror/comedy with Kane Hodder called "Room and Board" which focuses on a hotel where the guests end up on the menu. Did I mention the half naked thing?
We're just a little over a week from when "Paranormal Activity 3" hits theaters and I continue to be optimistic about the flick. Face it, there's really nothing more frightening than small children. Now think about how frightening they are when you add in demons. Hey I just made a number 2 also. While I clean myself take a look at this new teaser. Maybe put on a some adult dippers first.
Well kids it looks like Leslie Vernon might get to give the fame thing another go after all. "Before The Mask: The Return of Leslie Vernon" is finally getting some funding and all signs point to the green light flashing on production sometime in the near future. Little tip, maybe try changing your name. No one is going to respect a killer named Leslie. It's too feminine. Maybe try Butch or something more beefy.
Not for nothing, but If you fall for the "door to door breast examination" trick then you probably deserve to have a creepy old guy in Florida grabbing your rack.
Pot brownies can be a lot of fun. But when they're served at a funeral and a bunch of elderly people eat them and have to be rushed to the hospital that's not fun. Well not fun for the elderly people. I bet it was fun for a few people at the funeral though. Old people getting all whacked out. Kind of sounds like a hoot.


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Four days after Greek elections that left five anti-bailout parties seated in Parliament, a ruling coalition still has not emerged. As first one, then another of the party leaders has abandoned the mandate to come up with a group that will work together, Evangelos Venizelos, head of the Pasok party, has now inherited the challenge.
Venizelos, who worked to bring about Greece's second bailout, is now faced with a task that looks increasingly unlikely as the possibility rises that Greece will instead depart the euro zone.
Bloomberg reported Thursday that after the sequential failure first of Antonis Samaras and then of Alexis Tsipras to make any headway, the job fell to Venizelos—leader of one of the only two parties that back the bailout. Pasok, which finished third in the election, had partnered with Samaras' New Democracy party to preside over the terms of the second rescue.
However, even though New Democracy finished first on Sunday, between them the two parties fall two seats short of a majority, making it necessary to seek support from another party in order to get anything done. Since Greek voters soundly rejected the bailout in voting in an assortment of groups opposed to it, that has proved to be thus far impossible.
While Greece is set to receive another 5.2 billion-euro ($6.7 billion) tranche of rescue funding at the end of June, confirmed Wednesday by the European Financial Stability Facility (EFSF), and 4.2 billion euros were provided on Thursday, the last billion is set to be provided depending on the country's needs.
The terms of its bailout require it to come up with another 11 billion euros in cuts in June, and Deputy Foreign Minister Michael Link of Germany said Wednesday that Greece will not need further funding till July.
Although Germany is talking tough on Greece adhering to the original terms of the bailout, with Chancellor Angela Merkel quoted speaking out against funding economic growth through anything other than "structural reform," talk is building of a Greek exit from the joint currency.
Merkel said Thursday, according to Bloomberg, "To say this unequivocally: growth through structural reform is sensible, important and necessary. Growth funded by debt—that will just lead us back to the beginning of the crisis. We can't do that and we won't do that."
Finance Minister Wolfgang Schaeuble of Germany said on Tuesday, "If Greece decides not to stay in the euro zone, we cannot force Greece. They will decide whether to stay in the euro zone or not."
In a statement, Nicholas Spiro, managing director of Spiro Sovereign Strategy in London, said of the situation, "Politically speaking, Greece is already out of the euro zone. The only question is about the timing and disorderliness of its exit."
Joerg Asmussen, who in 2011 left the German finance ministry to take a seat on the European Central Bank (ECB) board, said that changing the terms of the bailout would result in "catastrophic uncertainty." He was quoted saying, "Greece has to be aware that there is no alternative to the agreed consolidation program if it wants to remain a member of the euro zone." Foreign Minister Jean Asselborn of Luxembourg also spoke out about a possible Greek exit and displayed an unwillingness to consider changing the terms of the bailout. ''If 80% of Greeks want to stay in the euro, then I think they have to support parties that are in favor of this policy of staying in the euro,'' he said. Otherwise ''comes the point where Greece unfortunately has squandered the opportunity and that will be very, very painful for the people.''
Even though European treaties have called the euro ''irrevocable'' and do not offer any legal procedure for a country to depart, either voluntarily or by expulsion, and a December 2009 study by the ECB's legal department deemed an ouster or departure ''so challenging, conceptually, legally and practically, that its likelihood is close to zero,'' the likelihood seems to be growing that that will be tested.
When former Prime Minister George Papandreou of Greece called for a referendum on the terms of the second bailout, he found himself booted from government and was replaced by former ECB Vice President Lucas Papademos.
But now that the Greek people have actually expressed displeasure with the bailout in their votes, John Stopford, co-head of fixed income and currency in London at Investec Asset Management, which oversees about $90 billion, said in the report that the next Greek ballot "will be a referendum on continued euro membership. As last week's election shows, it's going to be a close-run thing."
Should that happen, financial markets anticipate the worst. Gillian Edgeworth, a London-based economist at UniCredit, was quoted saying that the repercussions of a Greek euro exit are "potentially huge. The chances of Spain needing official aid would increase, with implications for spillover to others."
And everyone has an opinion. A Bloomberg global poll found that more than 50% of investors anticipate the departure of a country from the euro zone in 2012.
Jan du Plessis, chairman of the London-based mining company Rio Tinto, said that if Greece left the euro the result would be destabilization of the region's economy and a blow to global confidence. "Clearly if Greece would leave the euro it would destabilize the European economy to a significant extent," he said. "It's one of the things we keep an eye out on all the time."
Still, Greece has ace in the hole in its quest to renegotiate its bailout terms: some $517 billion in debt. Money owed to private creditors as well as such bodies as the ECB and International Monetary Fund (IMF) will cause more than financial losses if Greece departs.
John Whittaker, an economist at Lancaster University Management School in England, pointed out that "Greece has got some strong cards to persuade them to go easy on austerity." He added, "Everyone fears a Greek departure from the euro because they'll lose money and lose political capital."


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Ban Lung, CambodiaKirsty Turner
Known by the local people as 'dey krahorm', which means red earth in Khmer, Ban Lung is a modest town where you will find genuine people and friendly faces. This is a great place to use as a base while you explore the surrounding countryside and there are a number interesting attractions nearby.
Most people travel to Ban Lung to visit the nearly Boeng Yeak Lom. Also known as Yak Lom Lake, this is an impressive volcanic crater filled with freshwater. There is a well worn train leading from the town to the volcano and the trek takes about an hour each way. Take the time to fully explore the volcano and have a swim in the cool waters. Watch out for the legendary Yak Lom monster as you swim and visit the nearby culture centre, which contains some interesting information about the volcano and items made by the tribes people who live in the area.
This is a great place for trekking and you can wander through the countryside, with its rich red earth and pretty villages. The scenery here is simply spectacular and there is plenty to hold the attention.
Scattered around Ban Lung are a number of small villagers where tribes people live, following the same cultural styles and general life styles that they have practiced for hundreds of years. Most of the tribes people gather at Ban Lung market to buy and sell goods, and this is a great place for people watching and to also pick up a bargain or two.
The market is also a good place to pick up a cheap, tasty meal. There are a number of food stalls scattered around the town as well as restaurants and hotels, making this a good place to stay for a day or two.
Around the market place you will find a large number of small shops selling colourful precious stone. The gems come from the surrounding hills and also more distant places such as Sri Lanka. Although you should be careful about buying, browsing through the multi-hued stones can be a good way to spend an hour two.


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Back at the turn of the year, Andrew Bird's seventh studio longplayer Break It Yourself was released to the usual clamour of praise. By resisting the urge to execute his usual repertoire of musical back-flips, pirouettes and double rolls, the Illinois-born songsmith landed an album with mass-appeal. Add to this his whistle-lipped mentorship of Kermit in the Muppets' latest box-office smash, and you could say it's been a pretty good year for Mr Bird.
So his decision to close out 2012 with a collection of covers, outtakes and reinterpretations is, frankly, a little peculiar. Not that Hands of Glory represents anything to be alarmed about. But there's something rather limp - half-hearted, even - about the way these eight cuts have been compiled, composed and executed. Instead of being a dimension-adding companion to Break it Yourself, all this mini-album does is close a loop that had already concluded.
Despite its failings, Hands of Glory is not without charm. The curtain opens with the delicious 'Three White Horses', a lolloping, warbling lament that finds Bird in reflective mode, commanding - "Tell me what's so easy about coming in to say goodbye". Musically it's more rustic than the polished Break It Yourself, and there's enough here lyrically to deduce this particular songsmith isn't as comfortable toying with spotlight as he appears.
Such depth, however, never lasts. From here we trundle into a country-slash-blues melee that blends the dark, steel guitar lines of The Handsome Family's 'When The Helicopter Comes' with Railroad Bill's hay-bailing, dungaree-donning, fiddle-fest. If Mark Lanegan was scraping his ragged baritone it may make some semblance of sense. But this is Andrew Bird – a man of subtle and noble intonation - and he labours under the strain of this glorified barn dance.
Moments of quality do intersperse these drags. 'Spirograph' showcases Bird's ability to compel through word play and nuanced guitar; while the minimalist styling of 'Orpheo' is a spacious refrain that bests its full-album sibling, 'Orpheo Looks Back'. Yet, as if to purposefully undo this good work, 'Beyond the Valley of the Three White Horse's nine-minute re-interpretation of the record's opener crashes somewhere between artistic overindulgence and cutting-room indiscipline.
As ways to close the year go, there're probably better ways to see out 2012. But in this season of goodwill and retrospect, Andrew Bird has acquired enough credit over the last 12 months to deserve the benefit of the doubt.
6Billy Hamilton's Score


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Grouplove @ The Varsity
Grouplove and Reptar @ The Varsity Theater
May 16th, 2012
Tuesday night's Grouplove show at the Varsity was an indicator of a band rapidly gaining steam. Their last appearance here, also at the Varsity, was only 8 months ago and had, as frontman Christian Zucconi remarked during the show, "probably 100 people" at it. Their debut full-length, Never Trust a Happy Song, had only been released a month earlier. The track "Tongue Tied" went to be featured in an iPod commercial and gained heavy rotation on various radio stations. The group was more than happy to let other members take the spotlight at various points during the set, playing the raucous "Spun" sung by guitarist Andrew Wessen (who was playing a 10-string ukelele), and "Chloe" sung by bassist Sean Gadd. The set closed with "Slow" which saw the band flex their upgraded budget that has come along with their increased popularity, utilizing colorful glowing microphone stands for each member and pulsing strobe lights. It was no surprise that the encore featured the aforementioned song that many came to see, "Tongue Tied", which sparked a substantial response from this new fanbase. It was during this encore that Zucconi hastily splashed his mug with some dark blue facepaint before appropriately launching in to what has become the group's signature song, "Colours". After now having seen them twice I can say with confidence that there aren't many bands around that display the enthusiasm and infectious positive energy that Grouplove are overflowing with. Catch them next time you can, but beware, I predict it'll be at a larger venue with a steeper price because they show no signs of slowing down.
Written by Tom Steffes, Radio K Volunteer
Tags: grouplove reptar the varsity varsity theater radio k show review


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Well, I've got the Labyrinth Zone theme stuck in my head again
As promised, Sonic the Hedgehog ($2.99/£1.99/€2.69) is out now for Android devices via Google Play. Widescreen support at 60 frames per second, a remastered soundtrack, leaderboards, achievements, Time Attack mode, and playable Knuckles and Tails are in for this port. iPhone and iPad owners will be able to access to these features through a free update to the iOS version of Sonic, so there's no need to feel neglected.
Will I download this for a mobile device? Not likely. I'm too accustomed to playing with a gamepad. That said, someone's going to -- someone who might be familiar with the iconic character but not the classic games -- and that's, in its own way, neat to think about. Kids these days.


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For Immediate Release
Patricia Kiernan Johnson;
June 2, 2006
OPERA America presents a Composer/Librettist Workshop June 10, 2006
New York, NY--OPERA America announces the next program in the San Francisco Bay Initiative—the Composer/Librettist Workshop to be held June 10, 2006 at the War Memorial Opera House in San Francisco, CA. The Composer/Librettist Workshop is presented in partnership with San Francisco Opera and made possible with generous support from The William and Flora Hewlett Foundation. Registration is as low as $40 for OPERA America members. For information on how to register, contact Anne Choe at 212-796-8620 extension 202 or via email at email@example.com.
The Composer/Librettist Workshop will immerse artists in the business of opera and teach them skills that prepare them for the future. A number of high caliber panelists will address topics that are essential to the career development of creative artists in opera. The discussions will include:
Finding creative partners & ideal projects
Self-publishing and the role of the publisher
Self-producing and marketing your opera
Getting the first and second production
The Workshop will put composers and librettists in direct contact with the leaders of the opera field and acclaimed artists. These include: David Gockley, General Director, San Francisco Opera, Norman D. Ryan, Head of Contemporary Music, Schott Music & European American Music Dist. LLC, Michael Morgan, Music Director, Oakland East Bay Symphony, librettist Gene Scheer, and composers Paul Dresher, Jake Heggie, Joan La Barbara, and Conrad Susa. Registrants will have the chance to meet panelists during sessions, breaks, and a networking lunch at the opera house.
The San Francisco Bay Initiative is a series of programs designed to build capacity for the creation, presentation, and enjoyment of opera in Northern California. The San Francisco Bay Area's vibrant opera community, anchored by San Francisco Opera, is home to a number of other opera companies, several educational institutions that train singers, and a strong cadre of creative artists — including composers, librettists, singers, and technical personnel, making it an ideal location for OPERA America's varied programs. The Bay Area Initiative allows OPERA America to present core programs and develop new events to meet the needs of different constituent groups.
For information on other OPERA America programs, visit www.operaamerica.org, call 212-796-8620, or e-mail firstname.lastname@example.com.
OPERA America leads and serves the entire opera community, supporting the creation, presentation and enjoyment of opera.
Artistic services help opera companies and creative and performing artists to improve the quality of productions and increase the creation and presentation of North American works.
Information, technical, and administrative services to opera companies reflect the need for strengthened leadership among staff, trustees and volunteers.
Education, audience development and community services are designed to enhance all forms of opera appreciation.
Founded in 1970, OPERA America's worldwide membership network includes nearly 200 Company Members, 300 Associate and Business Members, 2,000 Individual Members and more than 16,000 subscribers to the association's electronic news service. In 2005, OPERA America relocated from Washington, D.C. to New York as the first step in creating the first-ever National Opera Center. With a wide range of artistic and administrative services in a purpose-built facility, the Opera Center is dedicated to increasing the level of excellence, creativity and effectiveness across the field.
OPERA America's long tradition of supporting and nurturing the creation and development of new works led to the formation of
The Opera Fund
, a growing endowment which allows OPERA America to make a direct impact on the ongoing creation and presentation of new opera and music-theater works. Since its inception, OPERA America has made grants of nearly $11 million to assist companies with the expenses associated with the creation and development of new works.


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As the Los Angeles Kings and New Jersey Devils prepare to face off in the first game of the Stanley Cup Finals on Wednesday, Toronto sports media has gone into overdrive doing what it does best: using real sports news as an easy segue into endless, circular arguments about what moves the Maple Leafs will make during their (yet again) extended off-season.
Being the moronically loyal Leafs fan that I am, I listen in vain for some murmur of optimism on which to pin my soon-to-be-dashed hopes and dreams. The latest unending debate concerns which veteran goalie the Leafs will go after. Three names reoccur: Roberto Luongo, Thomas Vokoun, and Tim Thomas.
One of those names, Tim Thomas, kicks down the mental door that separates two of my unwavering, and usually frustrating, passions; hockey and politics.
Now, less than a year ago the thought of Tim Thomas donning the blue and white would have implanted a CN Tower-sized grin across my face. He'd just won the Stanley Cup with the Boston Bruins, picked up the Conn Smythe Trophy (playoff MVP), and the Vezina Trophy (NHL's top goaltender). He was emperor of the hockey universe. But then January rolled around and a different Tim Thomas was revealed. Tim Thomas, Hockey God, was supplanted with Tim Thomas, Tea Partier. As has been well documented, Thomas, an American, snubbed President Obama, refusing to attend the traditional White House visit that every championship team makes. He then released this grammatically poor, caps lock-happy statement:
"I believe the Federal government has grown out of control, threatening the Rights, Liberties, and Property of the People. This is being done at the Executive, Legislative, and Judicial level. This is in direct opposition to the Constitution and the Founding Fathers' vision for the Federal government. Because I believe this, today I exercised my right as a Free Citizen, and did not visit the White House. This was not about politics or party, as in my opinion both parties are responsible for the situation we are in as a country. This was about a choice I had to make as an INDIVIDUAL."
With this, Tea Party Tim -- who also sported a "don't tread on me" motif on the back of his helmet -- went from object-of-my-sports fantasies to object-of-my-unfunny-political-jokes. But now that it's an actual possibility that Thomas could play for "my" Maple Leafs (yes, I'm one of those irritating fans who refers to their favourite team as "we", as in, "wow, we're so consistently awful I can't remember that last time we played a game that mattered"), Thomas is threatening to bring together two worlds I prefer to keep separate.
Hockey-loving, liberal-leaning Canadians like to forget that hockey is an inherently conservative game. Competing groups of upper-middle class, rich (mostly) white guys go to "war" in order to bring glory and cash to corporations like Maple Leafs Sports & Entertainment. These corporations then use that money to sap even more money out of poor folks who have been duped into cheering along through a manufactured, us-versus-them sense of regional and national pride. It's like Wal-Mart selling Chinese sneakers to unemployed rednecks heading for the latest "let's blame Obama for sending my job overseas" rally. If professional hockey was a person, it'd be Mitt Romney. That's why I prefer to keep political reality and hockey separate.
On the other hand, sports have soothed political divisions in the past. Nelson Mandela used rugby to unify to a fractured nation; a shared love of football inspired a literary near-miracle when Hunter S. Thompson came perilously close to admitting Richard Nixon was a human being; and Saturday morning movie watchers know Rocky Balboa ended the Cold War through boxing.
So what if Thomas becomes a Maple Leaf? Could/will I cheer for him? Of course, provided he plays well. I'd nominate Dick Cheney for pope if he produced a .930 save percentage while wearing a Leafs jersey. That's the brilliant thing about sports, it's all about escapism, suspended rationality, and communal loathing of the other team. And if Philadelphia Eagles fans can cheer for a convicted dog killer like Michael Vick, surely I can forgive Thomas for not understanding his own country's history, political system, constitution, and tax code.
I would be a hypocrite if cheered against Thomas for political reasons. Sport's ability to transcend politics and cultural differences is one of the things I love most about it. And really, if Thomas came to Toronto it would be a win-win situation. If he played well, I could let my Leaf fandom run wild. If he played badly, he's then ground zero for more unfunny jokes ("Thomas let in five goals because that socialist Obama wanted to redistribute the scoring.") See, not that funny.
Still, I worry that after the jubilation of a big win wore off, I'd have nightmares of Michele Bachmann and Wisconsin Governor Scott Walker clinking cans of Busch beer and toasting a win for "real American patriots." But I think I could live with that vision as long as it's accompanied by another: the sight of thousands of Leafs fans celebrating in Yonge-Dundas Square after a playoff victory.


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Welcome to Watch List, where we identify five things on TV to watch while you stay at home and raise your own personal debt ceiling. I could easily raise mine to $500,000. It's like magic. LET'S GO!
MAJOR LEAGUE BASEBALL ALL STAR GAME – 8:00PM (FOX) It's the midsummer classic, which is always a signal to me that we are in the absolute deadest portion of the sports calendar, particularly with two leagues currently in lockout mode. So take it all in tonight, because this is pretty much all the major sports you're going to get for a while. A great number of players have already pulled out of this game (Derek Jeter being the most prominent), but you'll still see the likes of Roy Halladay and a few more. Former All Star John Kruk said on the radio yesterday that after going the first time to an All Star game, most major leaguers view the game as a chore and prefer to skip it any subsequent time they go. And frankly, I can't argue with them. Traveling? Being on TV? Having kids adore you? Seems like a hassle. ANTICIPATION: MCCARVER!
ENEMIES OF THE PEOPLE – 10:00PM (PBS) In the late 1970's, Cambodian dictator Pol Pot orchestrated a mass murder campaign that left over 2 million of his own citizens dead, and many of Pol Pot's conspirators still remain alive and flourishing in the nation decades later. Now, documentary filmmaker Thet Sambath, who lost family members to the Khmer Rouge, sits down with one of Pol Pot's right hand men to talk about the massacre. Do not expect a happy ending. ANTICIPATION: DEVASTATION!
CHOPPED – 10:00PM (Food Network) Tonight's showdown features four British chefs, who will no doubt be given all sorts of traditional British ingredient for their dishes, like sheep teeth and candied livers and black beef. The hallmarks of UK cuisine. ANTICIPATION: EW!
GORDON RAMSAY'S GREAT ESCAPE – 9:00PM (BBC America) Gordon jets off to Vietnam to learn master Vietnamese cuisine. And between him and Anthony Bourdain and Jamie Oliver, there's basically an entire subset now of cooking shows in which the chef gets to travel the world on a production company's dime and eat all sorts of good stuff. I kind of hate them all. ANTICIPATION: PHO!
CUPCAKE WARS – 10:00PM (Food Network) The bakers have to make Broadway-themed cupcakes in honor of the Tony Awards. Wait till they taste mine based on Glengarry Glen Ross. How often do you get a cupcake with a steak knife inside of it? ANTICIPATION: CAKEY!
Tuesday Watch List: Hey Now, You're An All Star…
Welcome to Watch List, where we identify five things on TV to watch while you stay at home and raise your own personal debt ceiling. I could easily raise mine to $500,000. It's like magic. LET'S GO!


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ZoomCall Multi-Party Videoconferencing 4.0
This program provides business-quality video-conferencing without the need for headphones.
You get full-screen video with high frame speeds and clear synchronous audio, even at bandwidths below 128Kbps. Include up to 6 people in one conference, with fully mixed group audio for no annoying push-to-talk. ZoomCall also features the only software-based echo-suppression technology available in an Internet video-conferencing application. It also offers online presence notification and dial-by e-mail capabilities.
User authentication, authorization and security is managed by the Visicron server. The Visicron server also allows ZoomCall to pass all firewalls, network address translations and proxies without the need for any network re-configuration.


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Although 72% of workers say saving for retirement is their top financial goal, a survey by T. Rowe Price found they may not be saving enough to adequately prepare for their needs.
The survey, conducted in August by Harris Interactive and released Wednesday, found that 92% of workers with access to a 401(k) plan through their employer are contributing to it. But 68% are contributing 10% or less of their salary to the plan.
"Employees should be saving at least 15%, including their employer match," Christine Fahlund, senior financial planner for T. Rowe Price, told AdvisorOne on Thursday.
In addition to low deferral rates, 29% of workers aren't even sure how much they're saving in the plan.
Advisors can help their clients increase savings rates by helping them sign up for automatic escalation if their employer offers it, Fahlund said. "They can probably pick, depending on the company, an increase of one percentage point or two percentage points a year," she said. "It won't provide a severe shock, so by the time it gets to 15%, they're used to it."
For those workers who are saving well, Fahlund says their success is based on a combination of factors. "Advisors are one of our key assets in getting the word out and guiding people," she said, adding that the press is "not far behind" in the same goal.
Another factor in employees' success is their plan sponsor. "Sponsors are eager to educate employees. They provide a lot of education with written materials and meetings," she said. She also stressed the value of the various online tools that are available. "It makes sense for individuals to use them and get a sense of, generally, are you on track or not?"
Fahlund was surprised to find saving for retirement was employees' No. 1 financial goal. "We've done a good job if we've got retirement to No. 1."
She was disappointed to find that more workers weren't saving at least 15%, though. "Obviously, we have to work harder."


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Which rabbi do the majority of sefardim follow? Or, do a majority of them not follow a single rabbi?
As of May 3, 2010
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Which rabbi do the majority of sefardim follow? Or, do a majority of them not follow a single rabbi?
As of May 3, 2010
There is no one simple answer for this; however, if you had to pick the one biggest name among Sefardi rabbis living today, that would be Rabbi Ovadia Yosef, shlit'a.
While not all Sefardim follow him all the time, his word is definitely given a great deal of weight. Is that who you had in mind?
The Shulchan Aruch (written about 450 years ago) is usually used as a framework for Halacha today. Within it, Ashkenazim usually follow the notes of R' Moshe Issreles, but Sefardim follow its primary author, R' Yosef Karo.
As mentioned by Shalom, Rav Ovadia would probably be called the "Sefardi rav." Other Sefardi rabbis that people also follow such as:
talmid chacham
– mevaqesh
Aug 12 '16 at 18:26


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Chancellor George Osborne has raised the prospect of Britain leaving the EU if the 28-nation bloc fails to undertake fundamental reforms.
In a keynote speech, the Chancellor said the treaties underpinning the European Union were no longer "fit for purpose" and failure to reform will condemn the continent to a future of economic crisis and decline, warning: "We can't go on like this."
The Chancellor wants improved competitiveness, more jobs created and protection of rights of countries which are not in the single currency.
And he suggested if the UK was unable to secure support for reform from all EU states, it was ready to press ahead with a smaller group of like-minded countries under what he termed "enhanced co-operation".
Mr Osborne also stressed the Government's determination to renegotiate the terms of British membership in order that the UK can remain in the EU following a referendum in 2017.
But he said growing integration of the eurozone had posed threats to the position of Britain's financial services industry and the City of London and said it was "absolutely necessary" to introduce proper legal protection of the rights of EU states which are not in the eurozone. He warned Brussels not to put the UK in a position where it has to choose between joining the single currency to protect its interests or leaving it.
Speaking to a conference hosted by the thinktank Open Europe and the Fresh Start Project in London, Mr Osborne said: "Europe urgently needs economic reform. Eurozone integration is necessary if the euro is to survive. But proper legal protection for the rights of non-euro members is absolutely necessary to preserve the single market and make it possible for Britain to remain in the EU.
"I believe it is in no-one's interests for Britain to come to face a choice between joining the euro or leaving the European Union. We don't want to join the euro, but also our withdrawal from a Europe which succeeded in reforming would be bad for Britain. And a country of the size and global reach of Britain leaving would be very bad for the European Union."
Mr Osborne added: "It is time to change the European Union and to change Britain's relationship with it and then to place the decision in the hands of the British people. Do we want to stay in a reformed Europe or would we prefer to leave?
"That is our policy and that is our commitment to the British people."
He said: "Now we have the chance to give the British people a real choice. The biggest economic risk facing Europe doesn't come from those who want reform and renegotiation, it comes from the failure to reform and renegotiate. It is the status quo that condemns the people of Europe to ongoing economic crisis and continuing decline.
"There is a simple choice for the European Union - reform or decline.
"Our determination is clear - to deliver the reform and then let the people decide, and that is exactly what we will do."
Mr Osborne's intervention came after Euro-sceptic backbenchers shattered the Tory truce on Europe with a call for Parliament to be given a veto over EU legislation.
Ministers were quick to dismiss the plan - set out in a letter signed by 95 Conservative MPs - as "unworkable", warning it would undermine the single market.
However, Mr Osborne made clear that ministers recognise a need for reform of the EU, at a time when Europe is falling behind the rising economic powers of Asia, while its welfare spending outstrips the rest of the world.
The financial crisis of 2008 had dramatically exposed the underlying weakness of the European economy, he said.
"We knew there was a competitiveness problem in Europe before the crisis. But the crisis has dramatically accelerated the shifts in the tectonic economic plates that see power moving eastwards and southwards on our planet," said the Chancellor.
"Over the last six years, the European economy has stalled. In the same period, the Indian economy has grown by a third.
The Chinese economy by 50%. Over the next 15 years Europe's share of global output is forecast to halve.
"Make no mistake, our continent is falling behind. Look at innovation, where Europe's share of world patent applications nearly halved in the last decade. Look at unemployment, where a quarter of young people looking for work can't find it. Look at welfare.
"As (German chancellor) Angela Merkel has pointed out, Europe accounts for just over 7% of the world's population, 25% of its economy, and 50% global social welfare spending."


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We offer some of the best food in Western North Carolina. Our menu features a mix of Southern Fried Chicken, Ribs, tender steaks and hand breaded seafood.
Our pizza is home to the best pizza. We only use the freshest ingredients plus our dough and sauce is made daily!
April through October Rendezvous is home to the pool side tiki bar.
Get to know us before you come and check what we have to offer. Underneath this successful business is a rich history!
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Hours of Operation:


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How to Become A Professional Makeup Artist or Makeup Artist Prices?
Before considering a career as a makeup artist, you must do field research. That's the primary way to avoid pitfalls. Is there room in your geographical area for another makeup artist? What is the competition like? Are you willing to travel for, say, a wedding? How far? Is your car dependable? If you don't want to travel, is your city big enough for you to get the client base you need? Also get the scoop on pay in your area. It will vary, Makeup Artist Prices in Northcliff even in one town, depending on your clientele. Working for a wedding planner, you will make more than working for a mall photography shop. Find out what the highest and lowest income opportunities are.
Freelance or Corporate: Perks and Pitfalls if your research gives you a green light, the next step is to decide between the freelance life and the employee life.
Working for a company, perhaps being a sales rep for your favorite cosmetics brand, or being the on-call makeup artist for a film production company, you can count on a regular paycheck and perhaps even benefits.
Joining the growing group of freelancers, you'll need to spend at least 50% of your work day on marketing yourself.
LicensingIn either case – freelance or corporate – the next step is to become accredited.
Get the information on the legal, health, and educational certification required by your state, county, or town. Take classes from an accredited beauty school (many have generous scholarship programs).
How to Get WorkNow you're ready for the most critical part of becoming a professional makeup artist: marketing yourself.If you want to work for a company, you can send resumes to spas, beauty salons, and specific cosmetic companies. Once you get a job, you are on your way to a career. You can make contacts, work your way up in the organization, acquire mentors, and get that most magical benefit of all – experience. If you get a job with a specific cosmetic company, they may require you to take additional classes focusing on their products. Usually they will pay for that.
The other requirement of being a freelancer is that you'll have to stock your own makeup kit. This is an investment, and if you make money, chances are you'll be able to deduct the costs of your cosmetics.Many women are going "green" these days, so be sure your makeup kit is filled with earth-friendly, skin-friendly, and non-animal tested products. If you want to specialize and use only vegan products, you could use that as a compelling marketing tool.
Being "known" for a unique niche is also a great way to catch business. You could specialize in makeovers, anti-aging looks, head shots for actors (although many actors prefer to do their own makeup), or runway and catalog makeup for models.
Whether you apply to work for a company or go freelance, remember: there is no guarantee that you will immediately earn enough money to live on. Go into the process with enough money saved up to keep you in the black for at least six to twelve months. And decide ahead of time how long you're willing to go without clients. Market your services with an organized plan, and be persistent.
Going into the makeup artist business can be an awesome life change – financially and emotionally. Do it with care, do it with intelligence, do it with a plan – and you could be living your dream.
Interesting Facts About Makeup Artist Prices in Centurion:
About Makeup Artist Prices in Centurion:
Makeup Artist Prices in Centurion
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text: At the beginning of every year, we're promised the world from the tech industry's preeminent players. Like that infamous ring of Mordor, each new device will supposedly be the "one to rule them all." But, no, not every piece of a hardware can be a category-leading smash hit. The pure Darwinism of consumer demand shows us that for every hardware winner, there must also be a hardware loser. More often than not, products launch with middling sales before falling off the aisle shelves and into the annals of gadget obscurity. And those are just the pieces of gear that don't outright suck. For at the bottom of the tech gear food chain, we will find the complete and utter fails. These are the products that make us scratch our heads and wonder, "What were they thinking?" They are the Newtons, the Waves, the MiniDiscs -- the Edsels of technology history. If anything, 2011 proved manufacturers are as committed as ever to delivering gear that no one wants. These six product debuts from the last 12 months give credence to a new adage: The bigger they're hyped, the harder they fall -- just like Duke Nukem, our gallery cover boy.Motorola Xoom In a relatively accurate jab at Apple's near-hegemonic dominance of the tablet market, Motorola compared Apple's widespread success to an Orwellian dystopia in an highly contentious Superbowl ad that portrayed iOS device users as mindless sheep (or iSheep) unable to think different(ly). For anyone old enough to remember TV coverage in 1984, it was a great potshot at Apple's own famous Superbowl ad of the same vein. I wanted the Xoom to kick ass. I really did. Motorola's self-proclaimed iPad killer promised us the world back in February when the commercial first aired. The tablet included a brand new Google-fashioned operating system -- Android 3.0, aka Honeycomb -- as well as an industrial look and feel. The Xoom also boasted a secret weapon Apple doesn't have: 4G LTE connectivity. But, alas, the Xoom was all but D.O.A. before hitting retail shelves. The device was to ship with a beta version of Adobe Flash, the performance of which was spotty at best (hence Apple's decision to eschew mobile Flash entirely). Furthermore, 4G LTE connectivity was also lacking, as users were required to mail their Xoom tablets back to the manufacturer for a hardware upgrade. Ridiculous. If those weren't deterrents enough, Motorola priced the Xoom well above what consumers expected: $600 with a two-year Verizon wireless contract, $800 without. Ouch. Needless to say, customers weren't feeling it. Motorola managed to ship fewer than one million Xoom tablets to retailers over the first three fiscal quarters of 2011 (and note that to "ship" does not necessarily mean to "sell"). Compare that to quarterly iPad sales of close to 10 million each quarter, and Moto's numbers look even sadder. Photo: Jon Snyder/WiredNintendo 3DS Lots of anticipation surrounded Nintendo's next-gen handheld before its global March release -- but did the world really want a glasses-free, portable, 3-D gaming system? And then there was the cost. At its initial $250 price tag, the 3DS was Nintendo's most expensive handheld release to date. Not all gamers were convinced they needed to have one. Nintendo sold only 3 million 3DS units worldwide from the first Japanese release in February to the wider global release in April. These are disappointing numbers for a Nintendo launch. Critics blamed the device's initial high asking price -- which makes sense, considering sales surged after Nintendo cut the price by $80 in September. Another major point of contention, however, had nothing to do with price. The 3DS wasn't supported by a catalog of blockbuster games, and a conspicuous lack of content hobbled hardware sales, to be sure. Photo: Jim Merithew/WiredUP Wristband This one was a real bummer. Jawbone made itself famous by creating non-hideous Bluetooth earpieces that cellphone users actually wanted to wear. So when the company said it was venturing into the greater "wearable" tech sector -- specifically focusing on a health-monitoring device -- we were stoked to see what they would come up with. By most measures, Jawbone did a great job. The "UP" wristband launched in November, and despite being somewhat pricey ($100), initial sales were strong. The band itself was sleek, unobtrusive and comfortable to wear. There was one problem: It didn't work. Customer reports flooded in, complaining about "bricked" devices, as many bands just up and died with no rhyme or reason. (We went through three different test devices before throwing in the towel.) Jawbone did right by its customers earlier this month, offering full refunds to customers whether they returned the devices or not. Still, first impressions are always the most important, and the UP's terrible first impression is one that will be tough to forget. Photo: Ariel Zambelich/WiredRIM BlackBerry PlayBook Since the rise of the iPhone and Android, RIM's decline has been well documented. Button-centric smartphones have been on the way out, and RIM has failed to capitalize on the consumer market as well as it has the enterprise space. The PlayBook, of course, was supposed to be the company's solution to both arenas. Consumer-oriented features like HDMI output and app store access were coupled to enterprise-grade security -- supposedly to the appeal of both camps. Alas, we know what happened. The device launched with a serious lack of major apps (including the important ones like Facebook, Twitter and, yes, even without Angry Birds). To boot, the PlayBook didn't come with native e-mail, calendar and contacts applications -- basically the most essential apps that a device must offer. Despite the promise of device updates, RIM continues to push back the timeline for delivering crucial features to consumers. And that, my friends, a successful product does not make. Photo: Jon Snyder/WiredHP TouchPad Ne'er a sadder tale than that of the TouchPad. With an operating system that critics loved, and a vertically integrated hardware/software strategy that mirrored the likes of Apple and RIM, HP's TouchPad promised to be a worthy participant in the mobile device wars. Unfortunately, the hardware and the software didn't play together as well as we would have hoped. WebOS ran sluggish on the TouchPad, with laggy load times that interrupted task-switching and opening programs. When held up to the iPad and even all the flawed Android Honeycomb devices, the TouchPad didn't look so hot. Like RIM, HP initially promised the tablet would get better with time. Over-the-air device updates were promised as the weeks passed after launch. Sadly, we'll never know if all those improvements were actually going to happen. HP killed the TouchPad a mere six weeks after its launch, discontinuing mobile hardware production in its entirety and eventually (after months of keeping it in limbo) open-sourcing the WebOS operating system. Photo: Jon Snyder/WiredDuke Nukem Forever Finally, the tech flop that was 14 years in the making. It's unfortunate, really. I loved Duke Nukem when it first came out on the PC so many years ago. Something of a hybrid between Doom, Lethal Weapon, and American Pie, it delivered hours of fun when I was an adolescent boy, shooting space pigs and throwing dollar bills at digital strippers (which, in retrospect, was probably not the most wholesome narrative). When news hit that a revamped, high-budget version of Duke was in the works, my 13-year-old self was ecstatic. And then, for years, nothing. After years of pushing back the timeline of its release, Duke Nukem Forever became something of a joke in tech and gaming circles, like the Loch Ness monster, or Bigfoot. Rumors of Duke, but never Duke himself. Then alas! We're told that we'd get a shipped version of the game come 2011. Maybe it was that we matured, grew up and developed a more refined sense of humor, but the new Duke was ... a bit much. It was as if the developers felt they had to make up for the years' of absence by turning the volume up on Duke's personality. No longer is he just consumer-grade sexist -- he's a rampant, disgusting misogynist. Gone were the days of mere potty humor. Now we were given the the ability to actually pick up human feces and smear it across walls, objects, even other people. More than that, gameplay was just ... bad. Clunky, awkward movements, unreliable interactive environments, and boring, repetitive combat. Take away the horrible filth that is Duke's personality, and you're left with a pretty bland shooter. Duke deserved better.


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Siegel 1234 Reserva Red
|Red Blend
|Chile, Colchagua
A wine with a deep ruby color, intense aromas of black fruits, white pepper, spices and a hint of clove. The blend of four varieties gives a complex, deep wine with juicy tannins, good volume and very balanced.
50% Syrah, 30% Carmenere, 10% Cabernet Franc and 10% Petit Verdot.
Red Dot Specials
Gordon & MacPhail Miltonduff 10 year oldNose without Water: Soft esters with fruity aromas - red apples - followed by sweet fudge notes. Palate without Water: Cereal flavours with spicy and treacle notes. Nose with Water: Fruity aromas - raisins - with fragrant heather and cereal notes. Palate with Water: Sweet, fruity cereal flavours with a spicy edge accompanied by floral/freshly cut grass notes. Body: Light and delicate. Finish: Balanced; sweet and round.
Maipe Malbec
2 Gingers Irish WhiskeyThis award-winning spirit is smooth, malty and slightly sweet to start, with a tingle of honey and citrus. A blended Irish whiskey, distilled twice and aged four years in the mild climate, the woody essence suggests caramel and vanilla to the finish.
- we94
Plantation Rum Three Stars White RumA large majority of rum producers offer a white rum variety. Maison Ferrand wanted to produce a white rum that would stand out from the others using rums aged and unaged and taking advantage of the exceptional talent of the House for blending cognacs. Plantation 3 Stars is a blend of rums from three islands: Trinidad (rum aged two or three years), Barbados (young rum), and Jamaica (old rum). This final blend was carefully thought out by our cellar master and each island brings its own aromatic characteristics.
- we94
Bower Hill Reserve Rye
Bevan Bench Vineyard Cabernet SauvignonWe got the opportunity to work with new vineyard in 2014. The Bench Vineyard, in Stags Leap, is half a mile from the Wildfoote Vineyard, but it shows more of the traditional Stags Leap flavors and textures. It has a great density to it. The weight gives it a serious quality and the fruit flavors back that up. There is a power to this wine that makes it different, almost as if we let the wine sit on the skins after fermentation had completed. This wine will improve for a decade, so you can age it while you drink its siblings.
Tussock Jumper Moscato Rose
Starward Solera WhiskyOn the nose, bright tropical and orchard fruits, caramel and vanilla. On the palate, toasty caramel and creme brûlée, banana, figs and sweet spice. The finish is juicy and full with a lingering dry spice.
Winzer Krems Gruner VeltlinerBright yellow with delicate green parts ; unobtrusive spicy nose. The "Pfefferl" is also noticeable in the background and remains beautifully in the finish; classic Lössboden-Veltliner. Universally applicable, goes well with many fish and meat dishes as well as with numerous Heuriger dishes.
Wimmer Zweiglt 1L
Tesoro Della Regina Rose
Thievery Zinfandel


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Not everybody living and working along Main Street understands how a seven-foot aluminum-cast poodle might represent the character of their neighbourhood.
But Mary Frances Hill totally gets it.
Hill, a writer who lives in Mount Pleasant, was delighted when she first spotted the public art installation sitting atop a 25-foot steel pole in a new city park under development at the corner of Main and 18th Ave.
It was unexpected and weird, even a little grotesque in its size and scope. Yet, somehow, she immediately felt the piece had managed to capture the essence of the community.
"What I love about it is that on Main Street nothing is out of place. The out-of-place is in place. You are supposed to be surprised," she said.
The untitled work, informally called "Poodle," is the creation of Montreal artist, and part-time Gulf Island resident, Gisele Amantea.
Unveiled last month, Poodle cost an estimated $62,000 and is the centrepiece in a larger project by Amantea in response to her own experience travelling by bus along Main Street and the people who live along the transit route.
A series of temporary works by the artist can also be seen on and inside three articulated buses servicing the #3 bus route, including Memento — Pink, which entirely wraps a bus in the image of a knit cozy of a pink poodle. A second piece, Memento — Envy, depicts a group of poodle cozies looking with longing and jealousy at a porcelain poodle figurine — "suggesting the class and cultural differences that historically have marked Main Street," according to an overview of the project distributed by the City of Vancouver.
Inside a third bus, Memento – Multo is a set of 22 cards that show examples of the "modest but culturally and aesthetically interesting objects" that can be found in shops along Main Street, the overview states.
Bryan Newson, Vancouver's public art program manager, said Amantea's work has been widely embraced by those who have seen it.
"People I think see that it's entirely appropriate for Main Street with all those very interesting shops which sell used goods, which sell antiques, which sell funky stuff. People think it comes right out of the material culture that is just so evident right up and down Main Street," he said.
He called Amantea, whose 2005 installation, Red Horizontal, can be seen in Yaletown's David Lam Park, "a very significant artist."
Her art contributes to the city's reputation in North America as "a place where people can come to have a very broad and diverse experience of art," he said.
The Poodle has its critics. Some people question the cost of the project, which totalled $97,600 and was paid for by the federal government, TransLink and City of Vancouver. Others are confused about the meaning of the work and its relevance to Main Street and its residents.
Nigel Prince, executive director of Vancouver's Contemporary Art Gallery, said public art inevitably stirs up controversy because it invites everyone's opinion and interpretation.
"It is such a big debate — the value of art and the meaning of art," he said.
He maintains public art is an important part of the fabric of the city. In many cases, public art celebrates important figures and events. Other pieces are designed to be more provocative.
"They can cause us maybe to reflect on, or view things in a slightly different way than we have done in the past. It is a positive thing, I think, if there is something that prompts one to be more expansive and more open in one's views and opinions and thoughts," Prince said.
Hill's own take on The Poodle is a mixture of awe and sadness. She sees the perfectly coiffed canine as a reminder of how much impact humans have had on other animals on the planet, how we've tried to control their behaviours and damaged their habitats.
"The domestic dog, you know, we are always the masters and commanders, and he is on the leash. Now he is on the big podium, lording over us, and, you know, 'F--- you.'
"That is why I love art so much. It is supposed to make you a little tiny bit uncomfortable, but you really love it because it is so beautiful," she said.
Heather Baker of A Baker's Dozen Antiques on Main Street said poodles were an extremely popular breed of dog across various cultures in the mid-1950s and '60s and believes Amantea was referencing that mid-modern art movement in her work.
Baker said that works well for Main Street, which is rich in antique shops and stores selling quirky items that hearken back to older eras.
Amantea was one of three artists selected to participate in a public art program on Main Street called 88 Blocks — Art on Main. The first project for 88 Blocks was A Bright Future by Instant Coffee. Another installation project by artist Germaine Koh is expected to be unveiled on Main Street later this year.
Vancouver has approximately 300 pieces of public art on display around the city.
According to a database compiled by The Sun in 2009 from municipal dog license data, poodles are the tenth most popular breed in Metro Vancouver. Charlie is the most popular name for poodles, followed by Max, Teddy, Coco and Molly.