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Our holdings include hundreds of glass and film negatives/transparencies that we've scanned ourselves; in addition, many other photos on this site were extracted from reference images (high-resolution tiffs) in the Library of Congress research archive. (To query the database click here.) They are adjusted, restored and reworked by your webmaster in accordance with his aesthetic sensibilities before being downsized and turned into the jpegs you see here. All of these images (including "derivative works") are protected by copyright laws of the United States and other jurisdictions and may not be sold, reproduced or otherwise used for commercial purposes without permission.
Vintage photos of:
October 1935. The Trische family, tenant farmers in Plaquemines Parish, Louisiana. View full size. 35mm nitrate negative by Ben Shahn for the FSA.
I think that's lace trim on the chair arm, like a furniture protector. He seems to be reading or holding a very small book. He sort of resembles Gregory Peck from this angle, reading to Scout.
When everyone was dressed up in their best for church, or..it could be for a funeral after noticing the somber looks of the children and the man with the handkerchief in the rocking chair. I'm sure there is a story here of happiness or woe--excellent photo Dave, it leaves a lot for contemplation.


text: Hey, ladies! If you have big feet, asymmetrical features and little or no "hip sway," you're unattractive. (Yes, that means you, Paris Hilton). At least, according to science. In a clip from the Today show this morning, researchers claim small feet, symmetrical faces and swishy asses are what the guys really want. Question: Are we living in a Looney Tunes short? Seriously, this sounds like someone we know. Also, Paris should totes move to Tanzania.

subset: commoncrawl


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Lip stains are great for summer for a number of reasons ! They are light, give lots of color, no sticky mess, no feathering, not too shiny or sparkly ...no doubt they are becoming exceedingly popular !
The latest in lip stains are from Josie Maran - The Josie Maran Magic Marker Lip & Cheek Stain ($19).
What is better than a regular lip stain ? One that is made with natural products and is free of parabens, sulfates & artificial fragrances. The Josie Maran lip stain is one of these better ones. It has no taste or smell. The formula didnot dry out my lips the next day like most other lip stains do.
The shade I tried Flamenco is a bright cherry red. Oh its red alright ! The stain almost sticks to your lips the moment you lay it on. So its not the best idea for cheeks. No point having two red dots that you cant blend out.
These lip stains have an amazing stay time. The color lasted without fading like this for almost five to six hours ! And that includes a lunch of some delicious pho. After about five hours it slowly began fading.
The stage after this is not so sexy. That's the deal with lip stains - they don't fade evenly. Cant blame em - we don't eat or drink with the food touching out entire lips. When it reaches this stage , I take a couple of drops of water and try to even out the stain. It works very well. Or you could use some lip balm.
The best part though is the next day when you still have a faint red tinge on your lips. I love that red tinge ! Just add some light clear gloss and you're set !
Overall I love lip stains. But its not like I can whip them out eveyday. In this dry TX summer, it is hard to find a day when my lips are soft and not broken. I still like the idea of them. This one especially is very long lasting and the formula is amazing. I need to look out for more summer friendly, less red colors though. I am all over pinks...so may be I'll go for it !
Indian Girl
This article contains a sample product sent for consideration by PR. For more details on the disclosure policy please refer to it at the bottom of the page.
Lip stains are great for summer for a number of reasons ! They are light, give lots of color, no sticky mess, no feathering, not too shiny or sparkly ...no doubt they are becoming exceedingly popular !
2 comments
- Mukho said... @ May 12, 2010 at 10:33 PM
Hi :)
I've been thinking a lot about getting a lipstain marker. Was considering in fact, forking out the moolah for MAC Pro's lipstain markers. What's your take on those?
- musical said... @ May 14, 2010 at 1:11 AM
I can not read past "delicious pho"! Ah, the hunger pangs :P.
I quite like the Cover Girl lipstain i got.


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by Becca Wolford, Contributing Writer
For thousands of years industrial hemp was a common staple. It fed us, clothed us, housed us, sailed our ships with hemp rope and sails, it was part of our livelihood.Then, in the early 1900s, it was banned and pushed aside.
Why did this wonderful, useful plant get labeled with a criminal stamp?
Around the turn of the 20th century companies like DuPont created chemicals that were used in processing of paper; DuPont also created chemicals used for pesticides, herbicides and fertilizers, which were used extensively by the cotton industry (cotton is MUCH more chemical and water intensive compared to hemp). While this was going on, William Randolph Hearst invested in timber and mills to produce the paper for his newspaper, which was the largest chain in the U.S. at the time. His investments in the timber industry were backed by Mellon Bank.The U.S. Secretary of the Treasury at that time was Andrew Mellon, who happened to own Mellon Bank (and was one of the backers for DuPont as well). Mellon's niece was married to Harry Anslinger who, incidentally, was connected to the alcohol prohibition campaign. He was out of a job (as were everyone else in that sector of the federal government) after the alcohol prohibition ended. To keep his family employed, Mellon created a new division of the federal government, the Bureau of Narcotics, and made Harry Anslinger the new head of that program.Also during this time machinery was being developed to make hemp processing easier and more efficient. This was a threat to the paper, chemical, timber, and petroleum industries. Pharmaceutical companies were creating new medicines and drugs and were also threatened by the natural healing properties of the plant we know as hemp.Harry Anslinger began looking into rumors of the Mexican population smoking the flowers of the hemp plant. Because racism was quite rampant at that time, Anslinger played on that and used the Mexican slang, marijuana, in place of the word 'hemp'. He spread lies and rumors about blacks and Mexicans becoming violent while smoking it and also labeled it as a narcotic.Hearst's newspapers spread the slander and propogated stories about the 'evil marijuana' and of people committing rapes and murder while 'under the influence' of marijuana. This, of course, had the papers selling like wildfire, but they failed to mention the everyday uses of the hemp (rope, fuel, textiles, food).After the 1937 Marijuana Tax Act was passed, Harry Anslinger ordered the hemp prohibition, using the excuse that his agents wouldn't be able to tell the difference between hemp and marijuana, and that the farming of hemp made it too difficult to enforce the marijuana prohibition.In 1942 the hemp prohibition was put on hold to allow farmers to grow hemp to provide the needed fibers to aid in the war effort. After the war, when the hemp was no longer needed, the Air Force and Marines were ordered to destroy all remaining hemp crops.To this day, the 'war on hemp' is still in full force. However, more people are learning about the vast benefits of hemp – for food, medicinal purposes, textiles, fuel, and tens of thousands of other uses.It's time to let nature's perfect plant flourish again. No more dependence on foreign oil; a return to natural, plant-based remedies for illnesses and diseases; no more petroleum based plastics; less dependency on chemicals that are harming our environment and health.NOW is the time for HEMP to return.
Cannabis & Hemp
'This drug......IMPEDES mind control.'--Fritz Springmeier
Making hemp illegal:
1. Provides make-work for a vast army of "law enforcers" who then are available to be used for other social control work, and is the prime supplier (50%) of Prison Inc with 850,000 arrests in the USA..2. Protects the market share of numerous well organized lobbies: alcohol makers, plastics and chemical manufacturers, pharmaceutical companies, and cotton growers (still a powerful economic force in America 200 + years after the Civil War.)3. Gives fascist minded politicians yet another way to control the population 14. Keeps the money in Dope Inc.5. Makes it easier to suppress a good medicine (see: Suppress alternatives), that would seriously damage Allopathy Inc and6: cannabis renders mind control useless. 1
Cannabis as a psychedelic should be treated like a true plant ally, and respect for it can give you great insight, feelings of beauty and love, connect you to Nature, animals and people deeply, as well as hugely enhancing your sexual feelings (especially if you have suppressed them), as well as giving you visions of your True Way. The downside is it can get you addicted to tobacco, stimulate negative emotions and drama games, be a huge de-motivator, and most frequent users are Pyjama people.
U.S. Government Owns The Patent On Cannabis Cures How can they possibly say that cannabis has no medicinal qualities while at the same time they hold a patent that describes in great detail so many of the proven medicinal qualities that actually DO exist in cannabis?
AdvocatesSimpson, Rick Quotes and testimonialsBilly McKeeDennis HillMelamede, Dr Bob Lynnice WedewerAdvocacy groupsPatients for Medical CannabisThegreencross.org
Greencross (NZ) is a patient orientated organisation committed to making cannabis legally available for medicinal purposes.
Freedom Growers Of America http://www.cashhydefoundation.com/Law Enforcement Against Prohibition is an international organization of criminal justice professionals who bear personal witness to the wasteful futility and harms of our current drug policies. Our experience on the front lines of the "war on drugs" has led us to call for a repeal of prohibition and its replacement with a tight system of legalized regulation, which will effectively cripple the violent cartels and street dealers who control the current illegal market.
- JackHerer.com
- Cancer Awareness: Cannabis or Chemo?
- There is a cure for Cancer, but it is not FDA approved. Phoenix Tears work!
- www.youtube.com/user/chrychek Does cannabis cure cancer video?, and how to make oil yourself!
- www.medicalmarijuanapatient.com/ For milk
- http://freedomgrowers.blogspot.com/ Cannabis Medicinal Information Site with Links
- http://www.hempplastic.com/index.html
- Sex, Drugs & Magick: A Journey Beyond Limits by Robert Anton Wilson
SLEEP-WALKING AND HYPNOTISM by Robert Anton Wilson Buddhists, semanticists and hypnotists know that we not only use words but are also easily mesmerized by them. Hypnotists in real life seldom have to use glittering jewels or shining mirrors as they do in films; the ordinary domesticated primate can be hypnotized quite quickly and easily with words alone, spoken in proper cadence and with abundant repetition. Advertisers try to hypnotize us all the time, and judging by the fees they collect from satisfied clients, they are doing very well at it. Having used hypnosis in my psychological seminars for nearly 20 years now, I am-quite prepared to agree with G.I. Gurdjieff and Colin Wilson that most people can be said to be hypnotized most of the time, and that the professional hypnotist only switches them from their habitual trance to a different trance.In fact, when I first started using hypnotism I was astounded that so many people went into deep trance quickly when I was only attempting to induce light trance. It was many years before I understood fully Gurdjieff's insistence that most people are sleep-walking in a deep trance state most of their lives. Now I am only astounded that many people actually come out of their trance often enough to remember, occasionally, what they intended to buy at the supermarket......I have always dreaded both Ideology and Theology, because they make people cruel. It now appears to me that ordinary men — and occasionally ordinary women — do monstrous things for their Ideologies and Theologies only because politics and religion function largely, like advertising, through hypnotism and self-hypnotism......Every Theology and every Ideology, it seems to me, is an endeavor in hypnotism and self-hypnotism. If there is one thing that everybody knows in common sense — when they are in "their right minds" and not hypnotized — it is that "all generalizations are hazardous" and that individual cases are each unique. The function of Theological and Ideological hypnosis is to forget this common sense and follow a robot-program that evades the responsibility of thinking and feeling anew in each unique situation. It is not just the other gang's Theology or Ideology that is nefarious: all Theology and Ideology is nefarious. It is a form of sleep-walking in which we can do monstrous things because we are not alive, awake and aware of who we are, where we are and what is going on around us.Christianity is alone in thinking that sex is entirely the Devil's business and an offence to God, This is a strange doctrine and almost implies that God and the devil must have collaborated on the creation of humanity, God working above the belly button and the Devil below(166).The average American male reaches orgasm in one and a half minutes, and usually performed in a dark room, so that it ca be finished furtively before the sex-hating Christian God has time to notice what is going on(167).Much of the alchemical literature of Europe now appears to be a coded tradition of drug-and-sex programming.....This code is especially notable in The Chemical Marriage of Christian Rosycross (1615), which forms the visible link between traditional alchemy and modern Rosicrucianism. The mystical rose and cross from which the Rosicrurians take their name are, in fact, no more or less than the vagina and the penis, respectively...(For the curious, here is the rest of the traditional symbolism, as given by Louis T. Culling in his Manual of Sex Magich Cucurbit—the vagina; retort—the same, during copulation; eagle—the vagina, or the female mouth, depending on the context; lion—the penis; transmutation—the sexual "peak experience"; elixer of life—the semen; quintessence—the semen as transmuted by ritual and ecstasy.) ----Sex and Drugs by Robert Anton Wilson p66Every war results from the struggle for markets and spheres of influence, and every war is sold to the public by professional liars and totally sincere religious maniacs, as a Holy Crusade to save God and Goodness from Satan and Evil.-- Robert Anton Wilson (1932-2007)"The only way to stave off boredom, in a complex domesticated primate like humankind, is to increase one's intelligence. This is not appealing to the average primate, who instead invents emotional games (soap opera and grand opera dramatics)."--Robert Anton Wilson"It only takes 20 years for a liberal to become a conservative without changing a single idea."--Robert Anton Wilson"We're living on the Planet of the Apes. Is that funny or serious?"--Robert Anton WilsonAccording to the latest [wobbly] figures, since Gush and Bore each got the vote of [roughly] 25% of the eligible voters, and Nobody got the vote of [roughly] 50%, then Nobody won. Adding the "protest votes" for Nader, Browne etc., Nobody won even bigger, around 55%. since in this carefully rigged system, third party votes are, in effect, votes for Nobody. The people who voted for those "minority" candidates certainly didn't expect them to win; they just expressed their contempt for the 2 Lying Bastards more actively than those of us who just stayed home, got stoned and looked at Three Stooges videos.I celebrate the majority with Whitmanesque rhapsody. The so-called Elite-- specifically, the 1/2 of 1% who own damn near everything, especially the politicians and the media -- spent THREE BILLION DOLLARS on this malign fiesta and still couldn't convince most of us that a choice between two over-rouged old whores like Gush and Bore matters a damn. http://www.rawilson.com/prethought.shtml"The major open functions of Mystical Tsarism now are the Drug Enforcement Administration [DEA] and the Food and Drug Administration [FDA.] You all know about the DEA and its vast army of snoops and informers -- a vision to gladden the heart of Pobedonostsev himself. The FDA operates similarly but with less publicity; it was described in these terms by Saul Kent of the Life Extension Foundation: "The FDA's strong-arm tactics are used to intimidate and terrorize Americans into toeing their police-state line on health care and medicine." In 1957, the FDA burned all the books of dissident physician Wilhelm Reich, M.D., smashed his laboratory equipment with axes, and threw him in jail, where he died."--Robert Anton WilsonHow, how, how did we ever get ourselves in a predicament where an Oriental-style despot controls American medicine and most doctors fear to prescribe what they think best for their patients?Faith and docility are the bulwarks of Tsarism; any hint of scientific knowledge, rationality or even plain "horse sense" among the serfs are its major worries, and it blocks them every way it can. No Tsar will ever lavish such praise on scientists or other professional skeptics as McCaffery lavishes on the faithful and the sheep-herders who lead and fleece them.Whoever speaks a sentence to another human may pronounce a blessing or a curse without even intending this. Remember this the next time you get angry.My perennial candidate, Nobody, scored another stunning victory. The majority of citizens simply ignored the Gush/Bore/TSOG Control Machine, and "voted for Nobody," i.e. didn't vote at all. Unlike alienated artists of the past, I belong to the majority party -- the millions who looked over the candidates and decided they trusted Nobody.Robert Anton Wilson:I regard "ideology" and "morality" as the two most dangerous forces on this planet. About "ideology" I have expressed my suspicions elsewhere; here I will only mention John Adams's verdict that shortening "ideology" to "idiocy" would save some space and add a great deal to clarity. He had the French Revolution in mind, but "ideologists" haven't changed much since then, have they?As for "morality" -- or "moralic acid" as Nietzsche called it -- I consider it the major cause of almost all the major atrocities not caused by "ideology." This wonderful invention, "morality," allows people -- normal, ordinary people -- to do things so cruel and violent that they could never bring themselves to do them for selfish reasons. What the sociopath and sadist do for fun, the "moralist" does on behalf of "duty" or "justice." "Morality," today, allows Moslems to stone women to death, as it once fuelled the Christian witch-hunts. "Morality" has excused every war, and glorified some of them. "Morality" constantly plots to subvert the Constitutional guarantee of free speech. "Morality" inspires gay-bashing and the bombing of women's clinics. Why, without "morality" we might all suddenly go stark staring sane.My vision of Utopia would include a hell of a lot more kindness and mercy than we have now, and a hell of a lot less "morality.' http://www.rawilson.com/prethought.shtml
- [2010] Cannabinomics: The Marijuana Policy Tipping Point by Christopher Glenn Fichtner, M.D.
- Marijuana Medicine: A World Tour of the Healing and Visionary Powers of Cannabis by Christian Ratsch, John Baker
- Women and Cannabis: Medicine, Science, and Sociology (Journal of Cannabis Therapeutics) by Ethan, Md. Russo, et al
- Marijuana, The Forbidden Medicine by Lester Grinspoon, James B. Bakalar
A revolutionary new book that reframes the marijuana debate in a new conversation on the public policy task of cannabis management. From medical renaissance to revolution, from drug war prohibition to public health, from economic reefer madness to recovery--trajectories in public policy are converging toward regulation and economic integration of the herbal cannabis trade. "Americans are by and large ready for this change now but haven't had the vocabulary to articulate it," writes Cannabinomics author Christopher Glenn Fichtner, M.D., a psychiatrist and former state mental health director. Cannabinomics is not a medical handbook, a drug war treatise, or an economic model but rather a work of patient and public policy advocacy. It looks at real-world medical cases, recent trends in successful policy reform, drug war costs, and the potential economic benefits of cannabis change. Cannabinomics calls for a stakeholder-inclusive regulatory process to help America take ownership of this homegrown commodity and facilitate system learning that could help solve larger global drug war problems.
Smoking marijuana has numerous health benefits and they are:
A lot of people say cannabis has no medicinal value when it is smoked. Let's finally put this myth to bed. Is smoking weed good for you? Well…. It depends…1. CancerThere are a lot of people that say smoking pot can cause lung cancer because your inhaling smoke, like cigarettes. This simply isn't true. Cigarette smoke causes cancer because the tobacco is radiated whereas marijuana isn't. In fact, the American Association for Cancer Research has found the marijuana actually works to slow down tumor growth in the lungs, breasts, and brain considerably.12. SeizuresMarijuana is a muscle relaxant and has "antispasmodic" qualities which have proven to be a very effective treatment of seizures. There are actually countless cases of people suffering from seizures that have only been able to function better through the use of marijuana.3. MigrainesSince medicinal marijuana was legalized in California, doctors have reported that they have been able to treat more than 300,000 cases of migraines that conventional medicine could not do. 34. GlaucomaMarijuana's treatment of glaucoma has been one of the best documented. There aren't any valid study that disprove marijuana's powerful effects on glaucoma patients. 45. Multiple SclerosisMarijuana's effects on multiple sclerosis patients became better documented when former talk-show host, Montel Williams began to use pot to treat his MS. Marijuana works to stop the neurological effects and muscle spasms that come from the fatal disease.56. Tourette's and OCDJust like marijuana can treat seizures and multiple sclerosis, marijuana's effects slow down the tics in those suffering from Tourette's, and the obsessive neurological symptoms in people with OCD 67. ADD and ADHDA documented USC study showes that marijuana is not only a perfect alternative for Ritalin but treats the disorder without any of the negative side effects of the pharmaceutical. 78. IBS and Crohn'sMarijuana has shown that it can help with symptoms of the chronic diseases as it stops nausea, abdominal pain, and diarrhea.89. Alzheimer'sThe Scripps Institute, in 2006, proved that the THC found in marijuana works to prevent Alzheimer's by blocking the deposits in the brain that cause the disease. 910. Premenstrual SyndromeJust like marijuana is used to treat IBS, it can be used to treat the cramps and discomfort. Using marijuana for PMS actually goes back to the days of Queen Victoria. 10


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Observations on cashing in or cashing out, by L.E. Taylor
Every accomplished writer knows the principle of re-writing. No work of art is born whole. Classical painters were, first of all, draftsmen; all the greats are admired as much for their notebooks and folios of sketches that preceded their grand-scale works as they are for the murals and canvases that adorn, centuries later, the walls of time.
Refinements come with each iteration of an idea. So do fresh insights buried dormant in the preliminary noodling that passes for first drafts. Early in life, we are impatient with the notion that our first attempt at anything is nowhere near its potential. Only as the brain matures, and we continue to work, are our skills honed to mastery.
Practice, man, practice.
Today, it seems that anyone who can make an angry mess on a cheap canvas board or spout puerile obscenities on a stage or movie screen is an "artist." (For reference please consider recording artists, then go to your Webster's and look up "travesty".) Generations ago, artists devoted themselves to apprenticeship for years of their often short, sometimes hungry, lives. Mentored by master practitioners, they learned their craft. Talent is God's gift for each of us to develop. It cannot be taught. Craft is the language of talent, without craft talent is stillborn. However, un-accompanied by talent, the mastered craft is still a craft, a valuable set of skills and acquired taste that can carry a person far.
As a mentor to novice writers, both young and old, one encounters as many diversions of personality and aptitude as there are pupils. Varying degrees of student talent and readiness to work frame the teacher's challenge. And lure the teacher's hope.
In my own experience as a self-taught artist, as an athlete, and as an ever-maturing writer, all of this has been borne out. So my view of the process is neither a selfish bias nor an observation worth arguing about with tyros. In recent years, I've also seen the model played out among people who've enrolled in my workshops.
Some students, with meager writing in their past, or brief attempts abandoned for want of craft, have made remarkable gains in both fluency and content. They arrived eager to learn and with an appetite for enjoyment. In a matter of one or two sessions these diverse women and men began to take charge of their gifts and use them to enrich their own minds.
Others, with the same potential – in some cases, even more in the way of life-adventures and searing experience – arrived doubting. Not doubting the instructor or the drill, but doubting themselves. Pity. I am reminded of an old quote: If you think you can, or if you think you can't, either way, you're right.
Does it come down to an unwillingness to edit and refine one's writing? Hardly ever. Yes, it's work, but the fuel for all toil is the belief in a worthy goal, and the rejection of doubts about yourself.
Have you ever said, "Oh, I've read Huckleberry Finn – in high school," and used that as reason never to go back to it? Think about it; you were a kid. Go read it again. After decades of maturing, you may appreciate Mark Twain's insights as an adult writer and commenter on America. The same is true of beloved music or drama. How many times can you enjoy My Fair Lady, or La Boheme, or Macbeth, or your Frank Sinatra collection? Just once?
Consider your Bible. After long respites of time and troubles of the flesh, many adults return to Scripture. One may discover a depth and a new spiritual banquet un-savored years before by the fidgety teen you were in catechism or in Sunday school.
"Review" is a good, solid English word that factors into the intellectual growth equation. When we re-view (that is, "see again"), we change. Our perceptions gradually modify with experience. But a youth of any era cannot grasp the notion that it may be in our very nature to evolve into another person.
A few years ago the drug-stoned Hollywood actor and notorious sixties rebel Dennis Hopper was interviewed by Rolling Stone (or Mother Jones or somebody). The interviewer mused that Hopper was once the epitome of drop-out anti-establishment anarchy. He asked the middle aged actor how he'd emerged now, in the 1980s, from years of wild excesses as its opposite: a TV spokesman for American Express, and a registered Republican. Hair neatly slicked back, clad in a trim dark suit, with white shirt and striped silk tie, Mr. Hopper replied, "Hey, man, I grew up."
LETs Blog


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US Fire Administration Reports: 91 Fire Fatalities from December 31, 2017 to January 6th, 2018!
US Fire Administration gathers home fire fatality information from U.S. news media reports published within 24-48 hours after a fatal fire. These early reports provide only basic information about what happened, such as how many fatalities, when and where the fire happened, and the type of home, for example, a house, apartment or mobile home. Most fires require investigations that can take weeks or months to complete. For this reason, the information found on this page should be viewed only as preliminary, especially as it relates to the cause of the fire and the presence or absence of working smoke alarms.


text: After installing Tiger my 12in PB seemed to run hot, with the fan on all the time. Looked at Activity monitor and in the top where the process are listed there was nothing out of the ordinary, but in the little graph on the bottom my CPU was always 100% utilized. Did a little web research and found a command to be typed in the terminal "top -u" doing that I found a process associated with Virex (which I learned doesn't like Panther) using a constant 80% of the cpu all the time. That process didn't show up in Activity Monitor Deleted Virex my PB is much more happy. The question, why would I get a different list of processes in Activity Monitor and using top -u Thanks in advance


text: FEIBA photoshoot image from Andy Batt Licensed to: Baxter Scientific. The selected images created on this assignment may be used for a period of 5 years for below the line use in trade publications, pr, trade show and online at http://www.baxter.com only. region: Global. Any additional usage must be negotiated with the copyright holder, Andy Batt. This license may not be transferred to a third party without the written consent of Andy Batt. All other rights reserved


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Those "intelligent" glasses detect when you are tired and you falling asleep on your notebook. But how the glasses will know when you are tired? It is simple (for an engineer): if your head drops below a certain level, glasses' electric motor (yes, are glasses with motor!) will start to shake your ears. The price are pretty high: $370.
No tag for this post.
Source: nikkei.co.jp
VIA: Gizmodo


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Wired What?
Although conceived in 2009, Wired Wombat Media is actually not a new thing; it started ten years previous in 1999 under the guise of Virtual Illusion Graphics. VI GFX was actually part of a larger group called the Highland Group, a team of people dedicated to many things including but not limited to game production, 3D graphics, scripting, and technical support. In time, these sub-projects got split up into several groups or companies -- for instance, Stage ONE Productions were in charge of all video media projects, and all 3D and 2D work was under the care of Virtual Illusion Graphics.
Over time however, these "companies" were too cumbersome to manage all together and since the Highland Group had all but disbanded, it became clear that these project headings had to come together under one umbrella -- Wired Wombat Media.
With Wired Wombat Media, I also wanted to branch out into other areas, other than 3D and 2D graphics, so with my keen albeit casual interest in photography, I purchased a Digital SLR camera, something I had wanted to do for a while, and will hopefully be putting it to good use. I also want to get more involved with the movie making process, and digital media creation, such as DVD's which will hopefully come in handy down the road as well-- but I think that's for another page...
Who Am I?
My name is Matthew Disbrey, and I am a geek... seriously. I first got into doing 3D graphics when I first watched Star Trek II and the Genesis Project informational video. This animation, although crude by today's standards, still instills that amazed feeling when I watch it to consider the film was released in 1982. Visual Effects have moved on considerably both on and off the big screen over the past years, and creating these effects have become a lot more manageable and affordable by not only large graphics houses such as Industrial Light and Magic (ILM), but the individual as well.
I started using Imagine 4.0 that I obtained from a coverdisk on the Commodore Amiga, then went on to Cinema 4D and finally Lightwave 3.5 still on the Amiga, upgrading to 5.2 (the last one on the Amiga platform), before going on to version 6 on the Intel platform, upgrading to each major version since then.


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Reports from a Palestinian refugee camp in Lebanon indicate sporadic fighting continues there, one day after Lebanese authorities declared they had defeated militants in the camp.
Witnesses Friday report hearing gunfire and artillery blasts and seeing smoke rising over the Nahr al-Bared camp near Tripoli.
On Thursday, Lebanese Defense Minister Elias al-Murr said the al-Qaida-inspired Fatah al-Islam militants in the camp had been defeated after a month-long operation.
But he added the army would maintain a siege around the camp until all Fatah al-Islam militants surrender.
A Palestinian mediator says Fatah al-Islam had declared a ceasefire and welcomed Lebanon's announcement that the fighting is over.
Lebanese troops have battled militants at the camp since May 20. More than 140 people have died in the fighting. About half of those killed were soldiers.
Palestinian negotiators met with senior Lebanese officials Wednesday to discuss a possible truce. The government said it wanted a complete surrender of all leaders and key members of the militant group.
Syria closed one of its border crossings into northern Lebanon Wednesday. This is the third border crossing that Syria has closed since the start of the fighting.
Some information for this report was provided by AFP, AP and Reuters.


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Board Members
Meet the people who lead today's Mint
Through their collective experience and vision, the Board of Directors contributes to the continuing success of the Royal Canadian Mint. We invite you to consult their biographies, to learn more about the backgrounds and profiles of the individuals who lead this Crown Corporation: today's Royal Canadian Mint.
Phyllis Clark
Edmonton, Alberta
Chair of the Board of Directors
Phyllis Clark graduated from the University of Toronto in 1970 with a Bachelor of Arts degree in Political Science and Economics and completed her Doctorial Candidacy and Master of Arts in Economics at the University of Michigan in 1973.
From 2002 to 2016, Ms. Clark served as the Vice-President (Finance and Administration) and Chief Financial Officer at the University of Alberta, following five years as Vice-President (Finance and Administration) at York University. Previously, she was Assistant Deputy Minister of Ontario's Management Board Secretariat and, between 1991 and 1992, was the province's Chief Economist and Assistant Deputy Minister of Finance.
Ms. Clark is currently serving on the Board of TEC Edmonton, the Alberta Investment Management Corporation, the Inuvialuit Investment Corporation, and the Edmonton Symphony and Concert Hall Foundation.Ms. Clark was appointed as Chair of the Mint's Board of Directors on May 11, 2018.
Deborah Shannon Trudeau
Montréal, Quebec
Board Member
Deborah Shannon Trudeau has worked at Trudeau Corporation for over 30 years where she is Vice-President of International Business and Licensing. Ms. Trudeau is the Vice President of the Board of the Foundation of Greater Montreal, and sits on the board of Governors of St. Mary's Hospital, the board of Les Grands Ballets Canadiens de Montréal, and the International Women's Forum where she is the Chair of the Development Committee.
Fiona L. MacDonald, ICD.D.
Vancouver, British-Columbia
Board Member
Ms. Fiona L. Macdonald serves as Independent Director on the Board of GMP Capital, and is Chair of the Management Resources and Compensation Committee, as well as member of both its Audit, and Governance and Nominating Committees. She is also a Director at the BC Ferry Authority and the Chair of the BC Chapter of the Institute of Corporate Directors and is an accredited director with the ICD.D designation.
Ms. Macdonald holds a BA in International Relations and an MBA from the University of British Columbia, and is a member of the Institute of Corporate Directors.Ms. Macdonald was appointed to the Mint's Board of Directors on June 11, 2018. She is the Chair of the Human Resources and Workplace Health and Safety Committee.
Victor L. Young
St. John's, Newfoundland and Labrador
Board Member
Victor L. Young has an extensive career in both government and the private sector, including as Director of several public and privately owned corporations. Mr. Young has an honourary degree from Memorial University, is an Officer of the Order of Canada, member of the Newfoundland and Labrador Business Hall of Fame, a recipient of the Paul Harris (Rotary) Lifetime Achievement Award, as well as of other honours.
Mr. Young was appointed to the Mint's Board of Directors on October 18, 2017. He is the Chair of the Audit Committee.
Serge Falardeau, ASC, CPA, CA
Sainte-Marie de Beauce, Quebec
Board Member
Serge Falardeau has several years of experience as Chief Executive Officer for various manufacturing and service companies with national and international business operations. Mr. Falardeau is a Certified Corporate Director and also holds a Bachelor's degree in Business Administration from Laval University and is a Chartered Professional Accountant (CPA, CA). Mr. Falardeau has also been a board member of PH Tech Inc., Texel Inc., ADS Composite Materials Group and Bocenor BF Group Inc.
Mr. Falardeau was appointed to the Mint's Board of Directors on October 18, 2017. He is a member of the Audit Committee and of the Human Resources and Workplace Health and Safety Committee.
Sandip K. Lalli, FCPA, ICD.D
Heritage Pointe, Alberta
Board Member
Dr. Sandip Lalli serves as the President and Chief Executive Officer of the Calgary Chamber of Commerce. She is a veteran business strategist and senior executive professional with multifaceted experience as both an independent entrepreneur and an executive in international corporations in the agriculture, financial markets, and oil and gas industries.
Dr. Lalli holds an Institute of Corporate Directors (ICD.D) designation, a Doctorate in Business Administration and a Master's degree, and is a Fellow Chartered Professional Accountant.Dr Lalli was appointed to the Mint's Board of Directors on June 6, 2018. She is a member of the Governance and Nominating Committee and of the Human Resources and Workplace Health and Safety Committee.
Cybele Negris
Vancouver, British-Columbia
Board Member
Cybele Negris is CEO and Co-Founder of Webnames.ca Inc., an Internet solutions company. Ms. Negris serves on the BC Premier's Technology Council, is vice-chair of the Small Business Roundtable of BC, and on the Chair's council for Science World. She has been the recipient of Canada's Top 100 Most Powerful Women 2011, 2012, 2014, and in 2015 was inducted into its Hall of Fame.
Ms. Negris was appointed to the Mint's Board of Directors on October 18, 2017. She is a member of the Audit Committee and of the Human Resources and Workplace Health and Safety Committee.
Gilles Patry, C.M.M O.Ont
Ottawa, Ontario
Board Member
Dr. Patry is the Executive Director of the U15 Group of Canadian Research Universities and the former President and Chief Executive Officer of the Canada Foundation for Innovation. Dr. Patry also served as President and Vice-Chancellor of the University of Ottawa.
Dr. Patry holds a B.A.Sc. and M.A.Sc. in civil engineering from the University of Ottawa, and a Ph.D. from the University of California, Davis. He has received honorary doctorates from the University of Waterloo, McMaster University, the University of Lyon (INSA-Lyon), Western University and Carleton University.
Dr. Patry is a Member of the Order of Canada, a recipient of the Order of Ontario and a Fellow of the Canadian Academy of Engineering.Dr. Patry was appointed to the Mint's Board of Director on June 11, 2018. He is a member of the Audit Committee and of the Governance and Nominating Committee.
N. William C. Ross
Toronto, Ontario
Board Member
N. William C. Ross is Senior Counsel with the Toronto law firm WeirFoulds LLP, where he has a diverse practice in corporate, commercial and not-for-profit law.
Mr. Ross served on the Boards of Directors of several Canadian corporations, including public, private charitable and Crown corporations. His directorships have included Canada Development Investment Corporation (Chair), Canada Hibernia Holding Corporation (Chair), National Ballet of Canada, National Ballet Foundation (Secretary), Providence Centre, Chapters Inc., Keg Restaurants Inc. and Clean Environment Mutual Funds Ltd. Mr. Ross holds a B.A. (Honours) from McGill University. He is a law graduate of the University of Toronto and has been a member of the Ontario Bar since 1969. Mr. Ross also holds an LL.M. from Osgoode Hall Law School.Mr. Ross was appointed to the Mint's Board of Directors on July 1, 2015. He is a member of the Governance and Nominating Committee and of the Human Resources and Workplace Health and Safety Committee.
The Honourable Carol Skelton
Harris, Saskatchewan
Board Member
Carol Skelton is the former Member of Parliament for Saskatoon-Rosetown-Biggar. She was first elected in 2000, serving until 2008. While in office, she held various cabinet portfolios including Minister of National Revenue and Minister of Western Economic Diversification.
Mrs. Skelton has served on the Boards of Directors of a number of organizations, including Information Services Corporation, Saskatchewan Opportunities Corporation and the Security Intelligence Review Committee as board member, chair and acting chair. She has also donated her time by volunteering in the community as a board member for the Saskatchewan Red Cross Executive, the Saskatchewan Child Welfare Review Panel and the Canadian 4-H Council.The Honourable Carol Skelton was appointed to the Mint's Board of Directors on March 26, 2015. She is a member of the Governance and Nominating Committee and of the Human Resources and Workplace Health and Safety Committee.
Senior Officers
Meet the people who lead today's Mint
Through their collective experience and vision, the Senior Officers and Executive Team contribute to the continuing success of the Royal Canadian Mint. We invite you to consult their biographies, to learn more about the backgrounds and profiles of the individuals who lead this Crown Corporation: today's Royal Canadian Mint.
Jennifer Camelon
Interim President and CEO
First appointed to the Royal Canadian Mint in January 2015 as the Royal Canadian Mint's Chief Financial Officer and Vice-President of Finance and Administration, Jennifer Camelon is now serving as interim President and CEO.
Prior to joining the Mint, Ms. Camelon was the Chief Financial Officer for QNX Software Systems, a company known for its innovative, market-leading technology in the embedded systems software space. In addition to the finance portfolio, Ms. Camelon led the IT, operations and quality functions. Ms. Camelon was the primary corporate representative to QNX's parent companies: Harman International (2004) and Research in Motion (BlackBerry, 2010). In addition to her responsibilities at QNX, she regularly undertook special projects and additional responsibilities in support of BlackBerry's transformation efforts. Prior to QNX, Ms. Camelon worked for Delta Hotels and Resorts as well as Price Waterhouse in both Toronto and Ottawa.Ms. Camelon is a Chartered Professional Accountant (CPA, CA) and holds a Bachelor of Commerce (Honours) from Queen's University. In 2005 the Ottawa Business Journal recognized Ms. Camelon as one of the Top 40 under 40.
Bob Zintel
Chief Financial Officer & Vice-President of Finance and Administration
Bob Zintel was appointed Acting Chief Financial Officer and Vice-President of Finance and Administration in July 2018. He is responsible for all aspects of the Mint's financial and IT operations.
Mr. Zintel started his career at the Mint in 2005 as Corporate Controller and subsequently held progressively senior positions in finance, procurement and R&D.
With over 30 years of experience in senior finance positions prior to joining the Mint, Mr. Zintel has worked with a diverse group of companies to develop strategies, drive key initiatives and promote profitable growth.
Mr. Zintel is a Chartered Professional Accountant (CPA, CMA) and holds a Bachelor of Administration Degree (Honours) from Brock University.
Michel Boucher
Vice-President, Human Resources
Michel Boucher is Vice-President, Human Resources. He joined the Mint in 2011 with 18 years comprehensive experience in a multi-plant environment and with substantial knowledge of labour relations, health and safety and organizational development. He has previously worked for Cascades Inc., at both their Head Office in Kingsey Falls and in a Toronto-based paper facility. He held various positions during his time at Cascades, including the role of Corporate Director Human Resources for one of the four divisions of Cascades Inc. Prior to joining the Mint, Mr. Boucher worked in Montreal as Vice President, Human Resources of Induspac, which is a privately held business with 30 plants across Canada, the United-States and Mexico.
Mr. Boucher holds a Bachelor's Degree in Industrial Relations from McGill University and an EMBA from McGill-HEC.
Sean Byrne
Vice-President, Operations
Sean Byrne is Vice-President of Operations and is responsible for the Mint's manufacturing facilities producing over two billion coins annually. He leads the Mint's Research and Development with a focus on innovative and technological breakthrough solutions and manages all aspects of the Canadian circulation distribution system ensuring cost effective delivery to the Government of Canada. Since joining the Mint in 2005, Sean has held senior roles in Sales, Marketing and Operations across each of the Mint's diversified businesses. Mr. Byrne holds an MBA and Law degree from Dalhousie University.
Chris Carkner
Vice-President, Sales
Chris Carkner was appointed Vice President of Sales in July 2017 and has global sales responsibility for Bullion (including Refinery, Storage and ETR), Numismatics and the Foreign Circulation businesses at the Royal Canadian Mint. Mr. Carkner started his career at the Mint in 1996 as an IT consultant and subsequently held progressively senior positions in IT, Marketing and Sales. He was instrumental in driving growth in the Numismatic B2C business through the development and successful execution of E-Commerce, Outbound & Inbound sales channel strategies. Chris transitioned to a B2B sales leadership role in 2011 as Director of Sales, Bullion and Refinery and was promoted to Executive Managing Director, Sales for Bullion and Numismatics in 2015.
Mr. Carkner holds a Masters of Business (MBA) Degree from the University of Ottawa.
Francine Hochereau
Vice-President, Marketing and Communications
Francine Hochereau was appointed as the Mint's Vice-President of Marketing and Communications in July 2016. She is responsible for the Mint's marketing strategy, product development and management, loyalty, CRM and customer lifecycle, corporate and marketing communications as well as business intelligence, analytics and market research. With over 25 years of experience and proven track in the telecommunications, banking services, retail, tourism and gaming industries, her expertise spans from strategic planning, multi-channel marketing, market research and program development. Prior to joining the Mint, Francine was the Executive Director at Protégez-Vous Editions, which is a consumer affairs organization based in Québec.
Ms. Hochereau holds a Diploma of Advanced Specialized Studies in Marketing from the University of Lille (France).
Simon Kamel
Vice-President, General Counsel and Corporate Secretary, Corporate and Legal Affairs
Simon Kamel is currently the Mint's Vice-President, Corporate and Legal Affairs and Corporate Secretary. Prior to joining the Mint in 2011, Mr. Kamel worked as Special Advisor and Senior Counsel to the Associate Deputy Minister of Justice Canada where he worked on an array of legal and sensitive matters. As a litigator, he appeared on behalf of the Crown before several federal administrative tribunals, the Federal Courts, Superior and Provincial Courts. He also provided legal advisory services to a number of departments, namely the Treasury Board Secretariat, the Department of National Defence and Environment Canada on a broad range of legal issues, including labour and employment law, legislative drafting, official languages and enforcement issues.
Mr. Kamel is a graduate of the University of Ottawa, having obtained a Bachelor's degree in Social Science (Political Science) as well as his Law Degree. He was called to the Quebec Bar in 1999.
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A public hearing has been scheduled for August 7, 2006, for Introductory Local Law No. 3 that would require any person who sells, possesses or transports any air pistol or air rifle to obtain a license and pay an annual fee in the City of White Plains. Any violation of this local law will be a misdemeanor and may require payment of a fine or even result in imprisonment!
Mayor Joseph Delfino (R) and the Common Council of the City of White Plains have proposed this anti-gun local law that would effect both businesses and owners of air pistols and air rifles, also known as BB or pellet guns.
To stop this proposed anti-gun legislation, attendance at this public hearing is needed!
According to the agenda, the public hearing for Local Law No. 3, will be the first item addressed at the Common Council meeting. The public hearing is August 7, 2006, at 7:30 p.m. to be held at the Council Chambers on 255 Main Street.
Please contact Mayor Delfino and the Common Council members immediately at (914) 422-1411 and ask them to oppose Introductory Local Law No. 3. To find contact information on your Common Council member, please use the following link www.ci.white-plains.ny.us/council/council.htm.


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Pretoria-Government and labour unions have agreed on a three year settlement for the period 2012 to 2015. The 2012 salary increase effective on May 1, is 7%. For 2013 to 2015 the increase is Consumer Price Index (CPI) plus 1%.
The employer is relieved that after six months of difficult negotiations parties have finally come to this conclusion. "The Agreement indicates what is possible when parties join hands to solve challenges" Sisulu said.
"This three year agreement allows for the employer and labour to implement all elements of the agreement, the three years are also in line with Government planning cycle and ensure stability and proper planning for both parties" She added.
As part of the agreement, the employer and labour have committed themselves to a working relationship towards a service delivery accord that will ensure high productivity, efficiency and professionalism in the public service.
The State also committed to invest in public servants through skilling and empowerment to ensure higher productivity in the public service. The Minister believes this is a fair settlement that covers all parties concerned.
The agreement also covers the following areas:-
"We recognise the commitment to an effective public service shown by labour unions throughout this negotiations process. This agreement lays a foundation for further processes of development of a service charter aimed at higher productivity in the public sector", said Minister for Public Service and Administration, Ms Sisulu.
Issued by the Ministry for Public Service and Administration
Ndivhuwo Mabaya
Head of Media Services
Cell: 0836457838
Date: July 31 , 2012


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In the last months of 1942, only a few yards of bitterly contested ground stood between Hitler and the prize which he valued above all others - Stalingrad. The fighting for Stalingrad was intense, protracted and took place under the worst imaginable conditions, including the iron grip of a Russian Winter. After the battle the wretched survivors of a beaten German army surrendered to the Red Army. They had once been 350,000 strong but only 90,000 of these frost bitten, starving scarecrows remained to make the painful forced march into Russian captivity.
In the weeks to come 85,000 of these pathetic prisoners would die from disease, starvation, brutality, neglect and despair. Only 5000 survivors from the doomed 6th Army endured the long years of captivity in slave labor camps and lived to see Germany again. This is their story.


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Changing Culture One Individual at a Time
April 23, 2012 Leave a comment
by Donna Tomie Jolliffe
Guest Contributor
"Be the change you want to see in the world" Mahatma Gandhi
That quote resonates for me within all circumstances be it family, community or the workplace. I have, in my work, watched organizations "clean house", bring in a new leader and hire key talent only to discover that the basic fabric of the organization remained, by and large, unchanged. Why is that?
What is it in us that intentionally or unintentionally blocks change even when we recognize the change as great? I believe it comes down to habits of thought, language and behaviour. Even when we don't like something we learn how to respond to it or mentally frame it so we can survive. Our goal in change is to move beyond surviving to thriving, in work and in life. To do this we need to create awareness of the thoughts and behaviours that will block the new from taking hold.
A friend of mine who is grounded in Eastern Tradition taught me that thoughts are merely habits of the mind. If you think the same thought often enough the recording in your mind is well entrenched and may need to be replaced. When our core beliefs (thoughts) don't match our actions or language we show up, over time, as incongruent, inconsistent or disingenuous. It is only a matter of time before the new falls away and the old resurfaces. Talk to anyone who is trying to lose weight. I guarantee those who are successful over both the short and long term first changed a core belief about self.
For me, we first change our thoughts and our language to create the energy for new behaviours to follow. This is work that must be done with intention and attention. We need to clearly articulate the outcome we desire, and then align our thoughts, words and actions to manifest that outcome.
Culture change programs are great for creating expectations of a future state and, if properly constructed, create awareness of the gap between the future and current state, at the organizational level. Truly great programs will then give individuals an opportunity to assess their inner landscape and determine what, if any, barriers may exist in their internal programs that need to change if they are going to be positive contributors to the new creation.
Individuals create sustainable change only when thoughts, words and behaviours align. If you are not sure of what your deepest beliefs may be I invite you to be attentive to your language as it will reveal your true inner frame of reference. It is from here that energy and behaviour flow.
Believe first and you will see……
Written by our guest blogger – Donna Tomie Jolliffe. Donna is a Human Resources Leader and Executive Coach who focuses on individual and organizational transformation and effectiveness. She is a trusted advisor to senior executives and various stakeholders throughout organizations.


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Filed under: EV/Plug-in, SMART
A carsharing company has started up a new service designed to take some of the hassles out of air travel. Daimler subsidiary Car2go has added a partnership in Austin, TX, with The Parking Spot, a leading near-airport parking company.
The new partnership allows Car2go members to park their Smart Fortwo vehicles at The Parking Sport, located next to Austin-Bergstrom International Airport. There are eight designated parking spaces reserved for Car2go at The Parking Spot. An additional $5 charge is billed to the member's account for each trip taken to or from The Parking Spot. If the "Lot Full" sign is displayed or the Car2go spots are occupied, members are directed to end their trip in Car2go-designated overflow parking spaces.
More than 32,000 members in the Austin area have used Car2go since the company opened to the public three years ago. The Austin network of 318 Car2go edition Smart Fortwo vehicles, comprised of 300 gasoline-powered and 18 electric-drive versions, travel an average distance of three to five miles per trip within the 46-square-mile Car2go Home Area in Austin.
Continue reading Car2go adds airport parking to carsharing deal in Austin
Car2go adds airport parking to carsharing deal in Austin originally appeared on Autoblog Green on Wed, 10 Apr 2013 10:01:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.


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I made this video just for fun!
Also welcome to my new followers from OWOH...thanks so much for coming on board!!!
And to the NAVY WIFE, thanks for the info on the shrink plastic I will be sure to check it out:)
For those of you who are on the OWOH blog hop, check out Gale Varland on the list, she has a wonderful card giveaway you won't want to miss out on:)
Anyway here's the video.....Enjoy :)
here's a picture of the Framed flowers that I took a while back . In the video, you may notice that some of the flowers have been chipped..that happened when I moved house :(


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Look those colorful animal figurine! Children would be pleased to have them around the room corner.
Some in white porcelain, others especially with electroplated effect, look so shiny and apparent
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*Model Number:KS141-
*Color:As photo or customized
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Kinsheng distinctive designs can make your shop stand out from the crowd. Each year we design hundreds of unique, new products to add that point of difference that will make customers spend with you instead of your competitors.
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(Freecall other international): +800 3260 5466
Phone (Local): 07 3265 9200
Australia: 1800 777 779
Denmark: 036 95 99 91
England: 020 7193 2066
New Zealand: 0800 113 131
Sweden: 08 559 22 610
Adelaide: 08 8262 6892
Brisbane: 07 3265 9260
Geelong: 03 5248 0138
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Perth: 08 9454 4086
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Sorry, the online booking system is currently undergoing maintenance and will be back shortly. Please call us on one of the following numbers to make a booking:
Who wouldn't want to go to the Land Down Under and see Sydney? One of the country's most recognisable icons could be found here; the Sydney Opera House is worldrenowned and is considered to be one of the most photographed buildings in Australia. Still, visiting the city could be quite expensive and if you're looking to save on your trip to Sydney, then a campervan hire with Hippie Camper is not only the sure way to go, it's the only way to go!
Australia's largest city, which is also almost always thought to be its capital, is a great place to start your Hippie Camper adventure. Before heading out to explore the rest of the beautiful state of New South Wales, visit Sydney's famous landmarks. The Bondi Beach, for starters, may seem crowded and tired, but tourists, travellers and even the locals can't get enough of its magnetic beauty. The Darling Harbour, meanwhile, ticks all the boxes with exquisite harbourside dining options, wine bars and clubs. Sydney is a hub for activity and will satisfy all your desires for wanders day and night.
Hippie Camper prides itself with providing you with quality yet affordable campervan and motorhomes in Australia. If you wanna go large on your Sydney tour without having to spend a fortune, book a vehicle today and save more! Our vehicles may be cheap, but they are reliable and worth every penny you invest! Plus, there's no need rushing around because you can drive them at your own pace. Be even more amazed with the fact that by hiring a campervan, you don't have to worry about booking a hotel too because your accommodation drives along with you!
Getting a campervan hire or motorhome rental has never been this easy. A quick call to our friendly and competent team will give you the vehicle you need. We can also help you with your enquiries about our fleet by dialing 1800 777 779. You can also visit our branch located at Taren Point in Sydney if you want to see the campervans for yourself before you move along to the road!
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Cnr Robey & O'Riordan Streets, Mascot
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+61 2 9518 2000
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Plassey Road, North Ryde
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Everything was as promised, staff were friendly and pick up and return process was well informed and relatively painless.
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Everything was totally professional!


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Last night, I had the pleasure to go see a talk by Will Potter of Green is the New Red at a local vegan coffee shop. Potter is an investigative journalist who has made a name for himself by tirelessly exposing the post-9/11 erosion of civil liberties in this country. After the talk, we schmoozed for a little bit and I picked up a copy of his excellent new book in which he tells the stories of non-violent animal liberationists and environmentalists whom the FBI has aggressively targeted as "the number one domestic terrorist threat." Using legislation quite literally written by pharmaceutical and agribusiness corporations, the federal government has applied "terrorism enhancements" to the prosecution of activists who are pushing the envelope of the green movement.
If you know much about the history of the FBI, you are already aware that they have existed more or less as a social movement busting organization since their inception as the General Intelligence Division in 1919. At that time, Attorney General A. Mitchell Palmer handed over half a million dollars to a young J. Edgar Hoover and told him to "fight radicalism." We all know where that went. Historically, the U.S. government has debuted repressive techniques first on easy to marginalize minorities before casting a wider net. The Palmer Raids occurred in an era when hardworking Americans, many of them immigrants, were attempting to reorganize society in a way that they felt was more just and equitable. While we should avoid making direct equivalencies, there is a clear parallel between that historical moment and this one.
As Will Potter will tell you, the issue here is not whether you agree with the politics of vegan abolitionism or earth liberation. In the past few years, we have seen the slow emergence of a national conversation on what it means to be a sustainable society. The world is overwhelmed by war, violence, ecological degradation, alienation and indignity. Things cannot continue as they are if the human race is going to make it out of the 21st century. We need real systemic change, not the rebranding of the same ignominious policies that have impoverished the world.
As this consciousness shift coalesces into action, we find ourselves running up against the inflexibility of a system where the pursuit of profit has killed the drive for innovation. It's species-wide maladaptivity and we're borrowing to pay for the privilege. As humanity struggles to evolve in a rapidly changing landscape, entrenched corporate and political interests push back against us with everything they have. Why? Because if we grow into something greater than mere consumers, then the primitively accumulated wealth and privilege of the upper class will wither into irrelevance.
It's great to argue over visions of a peaceful new world sprouting from the ashes of the empire. These are discussions that need to happen and I find it incredibly encouraging how much they abound these days, even in completely mainstream locales. But there's something we need to push out of the way before any of us can begin laying cornerstones. If we approach this monumental task through the framework of consumerism, then we have already lost. We can't afford to let a vested interest in stagnation sell our ideas back to us, de-fanged and castrated. Don't let them tell you that spending a few more dollars a pound for "humane meat" is the answer to that sinking feeling in your gut when you first saw raw footage of a steer bleeding out on the kill floor of an Iowa abbatoir. You can't buy revolution at the supermarket. You can't vote it into office. You won't read about it in articles from the vanguard party's newspaper. There will be no hyperlinks to it on this blog. Revolution starts with taking responsibility for changing yourself from the inside out, not giving it up to someone else in the hopes that they'll change the world to suit you. Real change isn't safe but you're not the only one who wants it. Look around. Talk to people. Find something you can lock arms over. And if you're the last one out of the era of corporatist militarism, please make sure you turn out the lights. After all, we're going green.


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Fire up Safari on your iPhone or iPad today and you'll most likely find Google as the default search engine — but if Yahoo has their way that might change. Users have the option to change from Google to other search providers such as Bing or Yahoo, but Google's had the default spot locked down for some time thanks to the handsome sum they've been paying Apple for the privilege. But Microsoft's Bing is the default search used in Siri, so count that as a win for Redmond. Yahoo isn't too happy that Google holds the crown jewel default search in Safari, and they're apparently aiming to convince Apple to change that.
Re/code has learned from sources at Yahoo that the company has plans to aggressively change their mobile strategy. At Yahoo there is project aimed at building a viable mobile search engine and monetization platform. Yahoo hopes to use this platform to convince Apple to change the default search on iOS to their offering.
No deals or announcements are expected soon, instead this is just an internal goal for Yahoo. Considering the likely exorbitant amount that Google is paying for the privilege of being the default in Safari, it'd likely be an expensive one for Yahoo to achieve as well. But we're curious nonetheless: do you, or would you, use any other search engine in Safari besides Google?
Source: Re/code
Maybe the plan was hatched something like this? - Rene


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Jeff Schear/WireImage
StyleWatch rule #121: Just like you can get away with wearing a bikini top as a bra during the summer (we're not the only ones who do that sometimes, right?), it's totally appropriate to get decked out in a glittery mini during the holiday season.
And that's why there's no better time than this Saturday night to try out a look like Jennifer Hudson's dazzling dress.
While we've seen our fair share of sequin dresses, Hudson's emerald number feels fresh thanks to the silver and white panels. (And lucky for you, we found a similar version by Ali Ro.)
We recommend taking a cue from the star and going for opaque tights and black platforms (like this $75 pair) to stay out of bachelorette-party-in-Vegas territory.
And though Hudson goes for a bombshell look by finishing the outfit off with some crazy curls, the outfit could also go in a more downtown direction if you swap the waves for a sleek topknot and throw on a leather bomber jacket — your call! Tell us: What are you doing this weekend?
–Jennifer Cress


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HE may often be the oldest man on the court these days, but Sheffield's Nick Matthew is showing no signs of slowing down just yet.
The 36-year-old from Sheffield was denied a fourth British Open title at the Airco Arena in Hull yesterday.
But such a near miss has just given him a taste for more.
Matthew was a winner in 2006, 2009 and 2012, but a sweet victory in his home county proved elusive for Matthew thanks to another veteran of the men's game, Gregory Gaultier.
The 34-year-old Frenchman came from a game down to win 8-11 11-7 11-3 11-3 in 67 minutes in the final.
"A year ago I lost in the second round here and my body was just giving in on me," said world No 4 Matthew.
Hopefully, me and Greg are showing everyone that we're not going away yet. We're loving that rivalry and long may it continue.Nick Matthew
"I didn't know how long I was going to be on the Tour for, there was a lot of soul searching. I had to figure out a new way of training, which translated into a new way of preparing and playing.
"My life changed after injury, but I came through it.
"This year, I feel like I'm in there every tournament and I genuinely think I've got a few more of these in me. Hopefully, me and Greg are showing everyone that we're not going away yet. We're loving that rivalry and long may it continue."
Gaultier, for whom the win ensures his return to the top of the PSA world rankings, added: "I had a great week and a great feeling on court, I was moving well and to be No 1 as well again at my age is an amazing feeling – it's pure pleasure."
In an all-English final in the women's draw, Laura Massaro repeated her 2013 triumph when seeing off Sarah-Jane Perry 11-8 11-8 6-11 11-6 in just under an hour.


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Doors Open: Walton
JOHN HEWITT NAMED the village Walton after his native village in Buckinghamshire, England. Hewitt had sailed for Canada in 1843, settling first in York County for four years. Land Registry records show that Hewitt purchased Lot 1 Concession 18 Grey Township in 1856. He had his corner section surveyed into townsite lots in 1862. A post office was opened that same year and also named Walton. In the 1850s, however, many settlers had come to this area which was then called Biggar's Corners after the local tavern owner, George Biggar.
Kenneth McLeod operated a public house in Walton called the Rob Roy House, but it had disappeared by the time taverns were licensed in the 1850s-or perhaps was then known under another name. In 1854 Nesbit Biggar bought Lot 1 Hewitt Survey, which indicates that those who had kept a hotel before this date did not own the land. From that date to 1880 there were many names associated with the hotel either as bartenders or tenants. In February 1857, George Biggar applied for a tavern license for the Biggar Hotel. It was also known at one time as the Exchange Hotel, the Victoria Hotel and the Royal Hotel. During the 1880s, many oyster suppers were served at what was then the Royal Hotel operated by William Biernes. Opposite this hotel was a tavern called the Walton Hotel, owned in 1862 by John Swallow. Travellers to the area were provided board, bed and bar at these two hotels.
The old Biggar Hotel was converted to apartments in the 1920s. The three Driscoll sisters, Margaret, Susan, and Ida, operated a dressmaking shop in the hotel. A barbershop in the same building was operated by Peter McTaggart and a Dr. Robinson had an office and rooms here for a time. In 1928, J.S. Lawrence Cummings bought the building and converted it into a garage while living in upstairs. In 1930, he tore down the large brick building that had for so long served as a hotel and erected a new steel garage.
The first log schoolhouse was built in 1860 and residents could attend Methodist, United Presbyterian or Presbyterian Church. St George's Anglican Church arrived in 1880.
Mary A. and William Henry Humphries bought Lots 4 and 5 in 1885. He set up a blacksmith shop on Lot 5, but event-ually moved it northeastward and built a store on the site, a 2-storey brick building. Almost everything necessary in those days could be purchased over its counters while hanging outside just as you came in were boots, halters, strings of bells, etc. The inside walls were lined with calicoes, soft cashmere, Paisley shawls, sewing notions and thread, cake tobacco, dishes, crockery, molasses, raw sugar, pewter mugs, rock candy and gum, bins of flour, medicines and liniments.
Walton had many of the usual trades of the time: wagon and carriage makers, blacksmiths, harness, and cooperage shops; livery stables; flax, grist, saw and chopping mills; a brickyard and a cheese factory; a number of shoemakers, weavers, dressmakers, tailors and milliners; and, a medical as well as a veterinary doctor.
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You are here: Home News Community News Wall project is under way
Work has begun on a project which will see the restoration of the final section of boundary wall on the approach to Gatehouse. When it is finished this wall will stand out on the approach to Gatehouse behind Enrick farm.
Over the last seven years the Gatehouse Development Initiative has been raising funds to restore the Cally boundary walls and other significant walls within the Designed Landscape of Cally. Restoration of the Cally walls has helped to enhance the Cally Woods in general and the approach to Gatehouse and the Temple in particular. Clearing the walls has provided many hours of work for the volunteers and all have had the chance of participating in dry stone walling training days.
Thanks to the generous support of the Postcode Community Trust, supported by players of the peoples postcode lottery and with the backing of the Forestry Commission, the Gatehouse Development Initiative and the Dumfries and Galloway Council National Scenic Area project, work is now getting underway to restore the section of wall between Enrick Farm and the A75. Thanks also to in-kind support from the Forestry Commission all the branches overhanging the walls and a number of dead trees have been removed and the Fleet Valley volunteers have begun the task of clearing up the cut timber and creating environmentally friendly habitats. All the fallen timber has been removed from the horse track which runs along the back of the wall and next spring the volunteers will again have the opportunity of taking part in a dyke building training day.


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I recently found myself in an interesting e-mail discussion with a friend of mine (who happens to run a very nice hotel here in
Heres an excerpt of from my side of the conversation:
Basically, I am of the mindset that if youre good enough, youll get attention and editorials. A PR persons value is not in their ability to sell the idea, but in the relationships they have with key media types, especially ones that trust them. If they can pick-up the phone and get the editor in chief of Travel and Leisure to come to lunch and listen to a story, that has value. If they are just going to write press releases and send them to their mailing list, thats BS.
The days of mass mailing news releases are gone. So, if thats a big part of the PR plan (or even a small one), you need help. PR, like most other relationships, is about trust and the ability to get heard not so much about salesmanship. Your PR firm should not be focused on how to spin and pitch the story. Again, if your experience is truly good enough, thats not necessary (if its not, well, thats another story). More importantly, they should be offering you a list of people who they know will listen to your story. If the list doesnt include the media youre looking for, find a new firm or an alternate way of reaching those contacts.


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Where you will work?
Longfield Manor - Billingshurst
What we need from you?
We require you to be of a warm and friendly disposition with a caring nature.
Due to the nature of the business we need you to be reliable and punctual to ensure that the needs of the people we support are met, always.
What will the role entail?
*The full job description will be discussed with you at interview stage
What benefits are there for you?
Why work with us?
Sussex Healthcare has 23 homes across the South East of England and we are continually striving to deliver great quality care. We cover the following types of care within our homes:
Apply and join Sussex Healthcare!


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What can I say about Tijuana? Thanks to the American movies everybody has heard of Tijuana, Mexico!
Tijuana is a border town, located in the Mexican state of Baja California, next to the US border. This Mexican city makes a good one-day excursion from San Diego, which lies less than 20 miles from the border.
If you accompany me, in the following pages I will give you a sneak preview of this unique town.
♥ Visit Main Games Trust ♥


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My mom has made these thin, crispy cut-outs at Christmas for as long as I can remember. The same treats could be found at both Grandma Sara and Grandma Losch's homes in December each year. When I married, I discovered that my mother-in-law also makes the same recipe each year! Must be a Pennsylvania thing.
Make the dough ahead of time, and you might as well go ahead and make two batches because once you bake them, these cookies go fast. In fact, the trick with these is really in the hiding: The earlier in December you bake them, the better you have to hide them from the children and men (mostly, the men).
These are a lot of work, what with all the rolling, cutting, decorating (and hiding), and they bake fast, so once you start putting them in the oven, you're going to get a good workout. This must be why my mom only made them once a year, and recently threatens each year not to make them at all. (I think this year she's going to make good on that threat.) Even so, with non-Christmas cookie cutters, you could turn these into a Valentine's Day treat for your sweetie, or whatever other seasonal reason you can use to rationalize making them.
MEG'S MOM'S SAND TARTS (modified just a wee bit by Meg)
2 cups granulated sugar
1 cup (2 sticks) butter, softened
3 eggs
1 Tbsp milk
1 tsp baking soda
4 – 4½ cups flour
An extra egg white for eggwash
Colored sugar sprinkles and cinnamon/sugar for decorating cookies
Tools you'll need: That giant electric mixer that's collecting dust in your cupboard, cool Christmas cookie cutters (why not treat yourself to some new ones?), baking parchment to cover your baking sheets (or buy some new airbake sheets if yours are as crusty as mine), a pastry brush, measuring spoons and cups, a thin metal turner/spatula, rolling pin, cooling racks, a timer, and lots and lots of patience. Also, it'll be much easier if a friend helps.
In a large mixing bowl, using electric mixer (just the excuse you need to bust out your KitchenAid!), cream sugar and butter well. Add eggs and milk and mix well.
In a separate bowl, combine flour and baking soda. Using a wooden spoon (you can put the mixer away again until next year), add flour mixture gradually to sugar/butter mixture until dough is somewhat firm. Don't allow it to become crumbly. Divide the sugary, buttery goodness into 3 or 4 pieces and form each into a nice, tidy disc. Tightly wrap each disc in plastic wrap and refrigerate for at least several hours, ideally overnight. This dough can be stored in refrigerator for several days.
You're done for the night; uncork the cabernet. Clear your schedule for tomorrow night or Saturday afternoon.
Bring your dough to room temperature by allowing it to sit on the countertop for as long as it takes you to finish last night's leftover wine a couple/few hours. Clear all the other stuff off of your countertop. Flour your rolling pin and surface well, and keep the flour handy – you don't want the dough to stick!
Using your grandmother's rolling pin for good luck (yes, I do), roll the dough very thin and cut into shapes with cookie cutters. Depending on the dough's texture, you may be able to re-roll scraps one or two more times, but each time you re-roll, the finished product will be less tender, so don't get too crazy with the rerolling.
(About the thin-ness: Listen to me here. If they're too thick, they won't be flaky-crispy and I won't allow you to call them Sand Tarts. Trust me – these cookies taste best when they're almost paper-thin, and crispy.)
Using the metal turner, carefully transfer cut-outs to ungreased cookie sheets lined with baking parchment. Mix that extra egg white with a Tbsp water in a small bowl, and very lightly brush each cookie with the eggwash. No puddles! It's only there to make the sugar stick.
Now, the fun part. Find the kids, because this is the only part they'll want to help with anyway. Bust out the colored sprinkles and go crazy! Also, try using a cinnamon/sugar mixture, paired with a sliced almond or some chopped walnuts, which will enable you to rationalize eating serving these for breakfast.
Bake at 350 degrees (you did preheat your oven, didn't you?) for 5 to 8 minutes or until they just start to turn golden – watch carefully and often to make sure they don't burn. USE A TIMER – don't lose track! Adjust baking time as needed. DO NOT WALK AWAY BECAUSE I PROMISE YOU WILL GET DISTRACTED AND BURN THEM. Yelling on purpose here. I speak from experience.
Using a potholder (I make no assumptions), remove cookie sheet from the oven and allow to cool for a minute or two. Shoo onlookers away and tell them to come back later, after they're all baked. (The cookies, I mean.) Transfer cookies to wire racks to cool completely. Store in airtight container. These cookies will last for weeks in your freezer, assuming your husband doesn't know that the freezer is your hiding place.


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Nov 29, 2007
Good Stuff Discounted
It's "unofficial".
Diane is now my scout for, as she says: "Good Stuff Discounted"
You may remember Diane. She wants to find the really good stuff for less.
Well, she found something: beautiful hand-blown glass by Sam Stang at deep discounts. Some are hand-signed pieces.
Stang's Augusta Glass Studio is based in Augusta, Missouri, but his pieces are sold across the country.
If you live in St. Louis, you have the opportunity to participate in Stang's annual holiday sale this Saturday, 10 a.m. to 2 p.m., at Mad Art Gallery.
Diane has these tips:
1. Go about 45 minutes early to wait in line.
2. Bring a laundry basket with a towel to stow items until purchase.
Here is what happens: The doors open and there is a mad dash to snatch up pieces displayed on tables. Since some items are one of a kind, the impulse is to grab it or you won't see it again. You'll see them go fast, but not to worry, little by little pieces work their way back to the tables as people narrow down their choices.
Looking for something truly beautiful for your home or a unique gift?
Head over to Mad Art Gallery this Saturday.
Nov 27, 2007
Ask Me Anything
When I tell people I am a designer I often get two responses. First they say, "oh I just love you" or "I need you."
It is wonderful to feel loved and needed. I wonder if I would get the same reaction if I were a dentist!
Next I am asked for design advice. It happened last week as I shopped for cosmetics. The clerk asked, "What can I put over my mantel that is not like the typical mirror or painting?"
I told her that the possibilities are endless, and that to find her inspiration she should make a special note of what others are doing that is uncommon or unique.
On a recent trip I found inspiration for mantels in a hotel lobby. I always have my camera handy to capture the unique things I see being done in design. Below is the photo I took of the mantel with vases displayed in a line. While this is a contemporary look, you can change the look by using traditional vases.
Most people have glass vases; how about using a collection of glass or clear vases as seen in St. Louis At Home Magazine (pictured below). For the budget-minded, these can easily be found at garage sales.
You also can be inspired by the things you already own. Special collections offer something that is unique. I had a client who has a collection of cameras. She made an artful display with her cameras placed along the mantel and in shadow boxes hung above on the wall.
Ask me your burning design question! And if you love me, tell me that too!
Nov 23, 2007
My Black Friday List - found it at the Big Box
Are you ready for Black Friday?
Target has caught my attention with their 1,000, count them, 1,000 thread count bed sheets!
They'll be sold for half off at $19 per sheet (regular $39.99), their lowest price ever.
Wayne, area manager for Target in Brentwood, Missouri, told me he thinks it is the best deal going on. He knows his linens; he used to work for Bed Bath and Beyond.
While the Target sheets are not made of fine Egyptian cotton, Wayne thinks the higher thread count more than makes up for it.
"These will wear like iron", Wayne says. "And feel them, they are so soft!"
They are every bit as soft as the 600 thread count sheets I have bought for $50 a sheet, and I thought that was a deal!
Wayne wanted me to notice the difference by feeling the weight of the sheets. He had me hold one 1,000 thread count sheet in one hand and a whole set of 250 thread count in the other. The 1,000 thread count sheet was much heavier, just for the one sheet!
The 1,000 count sheets were Wayne's top choice for best deals waiting. Second, says Wayne, is the fuzzy bed blanket made of micro fiber. He has one on his bed.
"They keep you warm in the winter and cool in the summer," says Wayne. They'll be on sale for $25 (regular $49.99).
I am always on the hunt for the best deal in luxury sheets. My hunt may end right at Target. I don't know what could beat it.
Nov 22, 2007
Happy Turkey Day!
Where did I find it? At one of my favorite blogs that shares everything related to the home.
Check out Shelterrific: "where people who love their homes click".
Nov 21, 2007
Julie's Bedroom - a dotted rug
Julie (she's in the photo) and I went shopping for her area rug yesterday. We brought fabric samples from her bed quilt and other furnishings, for reference.
We could not find any ready-made rugs that felt right, so we created our own with the help of Alysia at Rug Décor in Manchester, Missouri.
Their slogan, "your style…our specialty", fits.
Julie found "her style" in her favorite "dots". She chose a unique design that links the dots to look almost like strings of pearls.
We selected the colors and Alysia provide a computer-generated picture (see in photo below) for us to view. We've requested two strike-offs (samples), with different backgrounds, one white and one periwinkle.
We'll have these in a month so we can view them in the room to help make our decision. Perhaps you can weigh-in with your opinion!
Julie expected a wool custom rug to be twice the price, but she was surprised to learn that custom rugs, while typically costing more than those off the rack, can still be affordable.
This is especially true at Rug Décor where they offer highly competitive pricing. They will match or beat competitors' prices, including online prices. This growing company is headquartered in Earth City, Missouri.
Looking for a rug? Try Rug Décor and tell Alysia that I sent you.
And by the way, rugs are not the only place Julie is seeing dots. Stay tuned, there may be more dots in the hallway!
Nov 15, 2007
Falling for Fall
I expect I am not the only one who believes the fall season is too short. Can't that beautiful yellow tree outside my home just stay that way for a few more weeks?
We can enjoy the harvest hues of the season just a bit longer thanks to C2B and Apartment Therapy. They offer us inspiration for interiors inspired by fall. Check out the finalists from across the nation in their third annual Fall Colors contest.
They announce the winners today!
Hey, maybe I should enter my orange sherbert inspired room next year!
Nov 14, 2007
My Home - Inspired by the Freezer
He wants our living room's focal wall to be, you guessed it, orange sherbet.
Love that man!
Dan and I are soul mates when it comes to decorating our home.
I hesitate to divulge our style, because I don't want you to think that "my" style will end up in "your" home, if you hire me to help you decorate. I just won't do that, it's your home.
We like any style that is well done. But we are drawn to contemporary styles that sing with clean-lines and vibrant colors. That is how we like to live: simple, clean and vibrant.
However, we also are purists. Our last home was a colonial style home. Well, what I call fake colonial, really. The façade, at least, was colonial, but the bones of the house were not. Regardless, it had a traditional feel, so the purists in us didn't feel we could go as wild and modern as we would like.
We were driven by the desire to preserve the integrity of our home. And we felt the potential resale value would be greater if we kept our palette more subdued. So we leaned on the side of being practical.
But now we live in space with modern bones. And we are eager to follow our inner desires to go wild.
Orange, olive, brown and chartreuse wild!
We have lived with white walls for a year now, and I hope to paint at least one wall orange -- inspired by Dan -- before Thanksgiving. And more after that.
Dan found his inspiration in the freezer. Where have you found inspiration for your color palette?
Nov 12, 2007
Really Good Stuff for Less
Like Diane, you would probably love to have access to the savings provided designers at trade-only showrooms without having to hire a designer.
Most people don't know this, but you can!
This is how it works:
Through my accounts, and for a small fee, you can buy at trade-only showrooms. You don't have to hire me, if you are being your own designer. Or if you want to try me out, this is a painless way to see how we work together.
For some showrooms, like KDR, I need to be with you to place the order. And while I am with you, you are free to ask my advice to guide you to furnishings that meet your needs.
Other showrooms, like Pro-source, an excellent showroom for flooring, don't require that I be with you.
Why buy at trade-only showrooms?
The savings can be significant, often saving you 30 to 40 percent off retail. While most furnishings offered at trade-only showrooms are mid to high-end, what you save may actually equal what you would pay for low-end furnishings at a traditional retailer. In short, you get more for your money.
Selection, service and quality at trade-only showrooms are unmatched by many traditional retail outlets. There will be items you just won't see elsewhere. Sales associates at trade-only showrooms don't turn over as much as traditional retailers and so their knowledge about the products is extensive.
If you live in the St. Louis, Missouri area, call me to learn more: 314-652-1759.
If you live in other parts of the country, call local trade-only showrooms and ask for their recommended designers or contractors. Negotiate with the designer or contractor to pass significant savings on to you.
Let's go shopping!
How about it, Diane?
Nov 8, 2007
Julie's Bedroom - Embracing White
I love color – it's my passion and probably my specialty. For that reason, I am surprised I am learning to appreciate "white" more and more.
White is technically the absence of color, but it consists of all the colors on the visible spectrum. Ok, that blows my mind and I won't even try to understand it.
I just know I like white, especially in combination with color.
I generally prefer to use it as an accent or in small amounts, unless we are going for a very contemporary style or some other deliberate style in which white in mass makes sense.
Typically, though, white, especially in mass on walls, is stark, cold and does little to warm up woods in furniture and flooring.
White can be depressing, particularly in winter or in a room with northern light that reads cool. I often say that paint companies need to give you a bottle of Prozac with each can of white paint.
White can, however, read fresh and clean and reflect light to make the room appear brighter. In the hot months of summer it can make you feel cool.
When white is combined with other colors, it can be grounding. It has the ability to set-off colors and make them pop. For this reason it is a popular choice for moldings.
How much white you use depends on the tone you want to set for the room.
Our goal in Julie's bedroom is to use white to give the room a cottage-feel and to highlight the other colors in the room, especially her favorite periwinkle walls.
White samples from Behr and Valspar
I plowed through some 50 samples of white to consider for Julie's room. Notice all the variations (above photo). It may be counterintuitive, but white is not straight forward. It needs to be selected as carefully as other colors for the room.
We quickly selected two that closely match Julie's fabrics. Next we held the two choices up to her periwinkle walls. A winter white, appropriately named Polar Bear (Behr Paints at Home Depot) won-out over the other choice because it made the periwinkle sing.
Remember: strong color combinations should drive our choices rather than strong color preferences.
In other words, we make the best selections when we think in terms of how a particular color can complement other colors.
Designers think: "What is this color doing?" NOT: "what is my favorite color?"
In the case of Julie's bedroom, holding the Polar Bear paint chip up to the wall broke the tie.
So hold those paint samples up to the other elements in your room, next to the floor, furnishings, fabrics and walls. You may love the sample in the store, but think less or more of it when you see it next to the other elements in the room.
And I am beginning to think more of white. Even considering painting "some" walls white in my home. We'll see if it passes the Prozac-test!
Nov 7, 2007
Deck the Halls, Walls, Windows...
Photo by Scot Proctor of Meridian Magazine
Remember that wreaths are not just for the door. Your windows, tables and chandeliers can all be adorned with wreaths. Wreaths can be thrown over a newel post for a casual and unexpected placement. I put three wreaths clustered on the wall over my dining room buffet.
But what size should your wreath be? That is up to you. For a more dramatic look, go bigger.
Consider the tips given by Ballard Designs to determine the right size wreath for your space.
Nov 2, 2007
Throws 101
Throws are usually smaller and more decorative than your regular blanket. They are typically 3X5 feet, but they can vary in size. Unlike your typical blanket, they are often edged with fringe.
Throws can provide interest to your room. They are a perfect way to add more color to a sofa or chair. They can be displayed decoratively as wall hangings.
They have a sculptural quality: you can mold throws to the back of a sofa, tucked behind the back and under the seat; form them to make a Christmas tree skirt; shape them around potted plants to disguise an ugly pot; or drape them above a window to create a valance...the possibilities are endless.
Typically I see throws across the end of a bed. Or consider this interesting twist: placing the throw on the diagonal (see above photo).
In addition to their aesthetic qualities, throws are functional. Besides the obvious use for warming your toes, throws are a great way to cover that chair or sofa that needs to be cleaned or that you want to keep clean.
When kids or grandkids eat at the dining table for the holidays, a throw used over the dining chair can keep the seat free from messes, not to mention how the kids love the soft feel.You can tell the children they get to sit in the special seat – the "throw throne"!
What can you do with a throw this winter and holiday season?


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Click Here to See the "Original CrackBerry Concept" Full Size Mockup!
The team is up late tonight, working hard to prep the The New CrackBerry. We'll be rolling out our awesome new website later this week and we'll be doing so during a meaningful time in CrackBerry history. As the clock struck midnight tonight, CrackBerry turned six years old!
Every year on our birthday I go back and read the Hello World Press Release we fired off on February 26, 2007. Reading it again today, I'm proud to say we achieved our objective - to establish CrackBerry as the premier resource for anything and everything BlackBerry. It's always a fun trip down memory lane to think about those early days - when I really did not know what the heck I was doing or what the future would hold. I just knew I loved my BlackBerry and that the world needed a place to go called CrackBerry!
While working on our next generation site on CB's birthday, I started thinking about the original concept for CrackBerry.com. Digging into the archives a few minutes ago, I stumbled upon something I have never shared with the world before... THE ORIGINAL CRACKBERRY WIREFRAME MOCKUPS. Be sure to click on the link under the image above to get a close-up look at it. I hacked this rough mockup together back in November, 2006. This is before James Falconer came up with the CB logo and polished up the site graphics, or Tom Kaminski coded it all up (you can read the CB story here). Ultimately we went live in 2007 with a more traditional blog format on the homepage, but my original vision was more portal-like and all-encompassing of the different BlackBerry-related services we set out to provide. One thing you'll notice from the original mockup that didn't change is our cracky and fun-loving attitudes... just read those fake headlines! :)
It's been a crazy six years and my passion for BlackBerry and CrackBerry is greater than ever as is my excitement for Mobile Nations. It's been a great success story. With over 13 million readers and 60 million page views per month, we have the broadest and deepest footprint in mobile. I consider myself blessed to work with such an amazing team of people every day. The individuals on our editorial, design, tech, e-commerce and forums teams are simply the BEST and I can't wait to see just how much more we'll accomplish over the next six years.
Of course, the real success of CrackBerry lies in the strength of our community. Our loyal and passionate member base has and always will make CrackBerry the go to resource for BlackBerry users that it is. And in true CrackBerry fashion, we'll be doing up a CrackBerry Birthday contest soon as a thank you to our members. Stay tuned for that!! It's coming up later in the day!