Formula One Returns to Bahrain

By JohnIts here again! This weekend, the 25th and 26th of April, the desert of Bahrain will echo to the scream of engines as the Formula 1 cars, the elite of motor racing, race around the Sakhir Circuit in Bahrain.The event will be even more exciting and unpredictable than usual as the "old order" has been overturned by the new rules which came into force this year, designed to bring about more overtaking as well as reducing the costs of competing and make things a bit more even between the smaller teams and the big spending, car industry sponsored giants such as Ferrari and McLaren.In a previous post I wrote about the uncertain future of the Honda team. This was only resolved just before the start of the season when Ross Brawn bought the team. Who would have predicted that this team would now be leading both the driver's and constructors championships? Yet that is precisely the case.Last year, Bahrain brought about a change in the fortunes of Ferrari, who had made a poor start to the season. This year, they have had an even worse start with a car which is well off the pace. Will Bahrain prove to be the turning point or will it take until the teams return to Europe before their improvements start to take effect?Of course, the major controversy this year has been the subject of diffuser design. Three teams came up with a so-called double-decker (DD) design which has given them a major advantage over the other teams of up to a second a lap (which in F1 terms is huge). This has now been passed by the F1 governing body, the FIA, as legal, following a challenge from some of the teams. Thank goodness, because the season would have been a farce if the results of the first 2 races had been overturned and also because over the last few seasons there were only 2 teams likely to win every race.Now the whole thing has been thrown wide open. What's more, the claims that the controversial DD diffuser gave those teams an unassailable advantage was disproved last weekend in China when the Red Bull team, who do not have it, scored a one/two as well as securing pole position. This, together with the fact that the other teams are developing their own versions of the DD design and fitting it to their cars as quickly as possible (Renault already had a version fitted to Alonso's car in China and achieved second on the grid in qualifying) is what makes this year's Bahrain GP so unpredictable. As Mark Webber told the BBC, "All the teams have got new stuff coming and that is going to move the performance barrier from team to team".The other great thing about this season is that at last Jenson Button has a competetive car and is showing that he has got great talent, in spite of what the disgruntled, aging playboy, Flavio Briatore says about him. The same goes for Barrichello, who for so many years had to play second fiddle to Schumacher.While talking about the drivers, China gave the supremely talented young German driver, Sebastian Vettel the opportunity to score his second GP victory and for his team mate Mark Webber to score second - both for Red Bull. The Brawn's of Button and Barrichello were 3rd and 4th respectively and the next 2 places were filled by Kovalainen and Hamilton for the improving McLaren team.So, who will win in Bahrain this year? Even the most hardened of F1 experts would be foolish to hazard a guess. The competition is wide open. Will it be one of the double decker diffuser teams or can Red Bull be dominant again? Will Brawn continue their remarkable start to the season or will the rapidly improving McLaren team come to the forefront? How many other teams will have managed to develop their own DD diffusers and will they make them competitive? Will Ferrari make sufficient improvements to turn round the season as they did in Bahrain last year? There is only one way to find out - be there - or at least watch it on Bahrain TV!Qatar Visitor FriendsQatar JobsDoha HotelsTagsQatar Doha

cheap energy saving lightbulbs

Official MoneySavingExpert.com Forum Insert: There are plenty of energysaving lightbulbs deals around at the moment: Morrisons, 6 bulbs for 48p. Until 7 June, the supermarket's selling 6 own-brand bulbs for 48p, via a buy one get two free offer on packs of two. Both screw and bayonet cap bulbs are available, in 7 watt, 11 watt and 20 watt ratings, in stores nationwide. Somerfield, 5 bulbs for 40p. 11 watt energy bulbs, usually £1.99 each. If you've spotted a better deal do please add it below. Thanks to ianthefabricman for posting the Somerfield offer! Back to the original post _____________________________________ Somerfields are selling 5 11watt energy saving light bulbs for 40pence. Are priced £1.99 each or 5 for 40p. discount taken at till. Was in Wickford Essex store any elsewhere? Enter e-mail to get it: View Past Emails, FAQ

PEN Canada launches Freedom to Write in the Americas

Paul Auster, Yann Martel, Junot Diaz and Derek Walcott are among more than 50 eminent authors who have signed a declaration supporting International PEN's Freedom to Write in the Americas campaign. Launched on World Press Freedom Day, May 3, the campaign will highlight the violence and impunity which overshadows the working lives of writers and journalists throughout the region.Freedom to Write in the Americas will focus on Mexico, Cuba and Venezuela, but also monitor developments in Peru, Colombia and Nicaragua. It will promote free expression in each country and provide direct support to writers whose work is carried out under the threat of repression and censorship. The campaign is a joint undertaking of 29 regional PEN Centres and will be coordinated by International PEN.In recent years the Americas have become some of the most dangerous territory in the world for working journalists. Between January 2004 and December 2008, 37 writers and print journalists were murdered and four others forcibly disappeared. In 2008, according to International PEN's Writers in Prison Committee (WIPC) information, there were at least 191 attacks against writers and journalists in the Americas, all but seven of them occurring within Latin America. In Mexico alone there were seven killings and one forced disappearance; across the region there were 30 imprisonments (25 in Cuba), 44 physical attacks, 35 death threats and 35 other types of threat or harassment.In many cases it is clear that these writers were targeted for their work. Throughout the Americas there is evidence that reporters who are critical of the authorities or criminal gangs are frequently threatened and occasionally attacked and murdered for what they publish. All too often their attackers escape justice and official investigations of their cases lapse into silence and impunity.Although this situation may appear daunting, the WIPC draws hope from the fact that for decades it has successfully campaigned on behalf of Latin American writers such as Maria Elena Cruz Varela (Cuba), Myrna Mack Chang (Guatemala), Brigadier General José Gallardo Rodriguez (Mexico), Yehude Simon Munaro (Peru) and Lydia Cacho (Mexico).PEN provided direct support to Yehude Simon Munaro, a writer and politician who was imprisoned between 1992 and 2000 on false terrorism charges. After his release Munaro wrote to PEN: "The life of a prisoner is hard and desperate, even more so when the victim is innocent. I do not know what I would have done without your oceanic solidarity." In October 2008 Munaro became Prime Minister of Peru.In this same spirit of solidarity, PEN Canada launches Freedom to write in the Americas.Freedom to Write in the Americas will be primarily web- and email based, and will offer suggestions for actions and other materials in both Spanish and English. The website will be regularly updated with new information and campaigning tools.

Dorothy Arzner in the 20's 'n' 30's

4/26/1934 HCN Elizabeth Yeaman Although no contract has been signed, everybody at Universal seems to be quite confidant, unofficially, that Charles Laughton will be obtained for one of the starring roles in One More River. At least the studio is not even looking at any other actors for the part of the sadistic husband who brings such grief to his young wife and the young man whom she loves innocently. Diana Wynyard, you know, will be borrowed from MGM for the part of the wife. Laughton is now definitely scheduled to return to Hollywood on May 15, and he will be accompanied by his wife, Elsa Lanchester, who probably will have some film offers since she proved her ability as a comedienne so successfully in The Private Life of Henry VIII. Laughton, of course, will first go to MGM for the role of the sinister Father Barrett in The Barretts of Wimpole Street. The picture is now in production on scenes in which Laughton is not required. Laughton also has a contract to complete at Paramount, where stories are being planned for him. But Universal seems to have some assurance that this remarkable English actor can find the time to sandwich in a powerful portrayal for One More River. Since it is a Galsworthy story, he probably would like to do the role, and in his case the wish is likely to be the father of the deed. .... Also scheduled to return to Hollywood on May 15, from London, is Fred Astaire. Astaire is coming back to complete his contract with Radio Pictures, and his next picture will be the screen adaptation of his recent London stage hit, The Gay Divorcee. Thelma Todd this morning was selected for one of the feminine leads. She has been granted a vacation until she is needed for the picture. Ginger Rogers will be co-starred with Astaire as a follow up to their success in Flying Down to Rio. Ginger, at the moment, is on a six week's vacation. And The Gay Divorcee, which will be a musical, probably will get before the cameras the last of May. .... A story which I could not trace to its source is going about to the effect that Mae West will be the star of a picture titled Me and the King. Authors of this story are Marcel Ventura and Alexis Thurn-Taxis, and it is said that Me and the King will be made by Miss West following The Queen of Sheba. However, Paramount professes complete ignorance of these plans and denies knowledge of the existence or purchase of such a story. On the other hand, studio heads sometimes makes plans and forget to inform department heads of their plans. .... There's Always Tomorrow should have gone into production some days ago, but the picture is being delayed by some difficulties in casting. Frank Morgan has been borrowed for one of the leads, and Louise Latimer, a newcomer at Universal, is still scheduled to make her film debut in the picture. Maurice Murphy is also cast. But the two important feminine roles are still vacant. Lois Wilson is being tested for the part of the mother. And Esther Ralston and Genevieve Tobin are being tested for the romantic lead. A decision on these casting assignments probably will be made today. .... Myron Fagan, playwright and producer, declares that Henry Kolker gives a much finer performance in "Men In White" than the actor who portrays the same role in the New York production. Kolker's appearance in this play certainly should stimulate studio interest in him. He has now been engaged by Paramount for a featured role in She Loves Me Not costarring Miriam Hopkins and Bing Crosby. The picture will be at a standstill for about two weeks because Miss Hopkins is nursing a badly wrenched ankle. The ankle is an old offender, in fact it was responsible for Miriam's career as a dramatic actress. She had trained to become a dancer, and after weary weeks of job-seeking in New York, she won an engagement with a company that was leaving for South America. Just before the company sailed, Miriam sprained her ankle. She was so discouraged that she took up acting and forgot about dancing. .... Paul Kelly is to have an important role in Barbary Coast when Samuel Goldwyn finally gets around to making this picture. Anna Sten will be the feminine star instead of Gloria Swanson, but Gary Cooper remains scheduled for the male lead. Miss Sten will first make Resurrection with Fredric March under Rouben Mamoulian's direction. That picture will not start before June 1, so you may rest assured that Barbara Coast will not be started until fall. Alison Skipworth has been borrowed from Paramount for a role in the latter picture. .... Bryan Foy starts work today on High School Girl from the story by Crane Wilbur and with Wilbur directing. Cecilia Parker, Helen MacKellar, Noel Warwick, Carlyle Moore Jr., and Mahlon Hamilton have been engaged for the cast. .... Casting About: Halliwell Hobbes will portray a British ambassador in British Agent at Warners. Maude Eburne will have a comedy role in Hey, Sailor! at Warners. John Beal, Broadway actor in She Loves Me Not is coming to Radio Pictures for a role in A Hat, A Coat, A Glove. Treasure Hunt will be the title of the new Eddie Cantor musical in which the comedian will be seen as an African explorer.Dorothy Arzner in the 20's 'n' 30'sABBREVIATIONSDN – Los Angeles Daily NewsEH – Los Angeles Evening HeraldEHE – Los Angeles Evening Herald ExpressFD – Film DailyHCN – Hollywood Citizen NewsIDN – Illustrated Daily News (Los AngelesLAR – Los Angeles RecordLAPR – Los Angeles Post-RecordLAX – Los Angeles ExaminerLEE – Los Angeles Evening ExpressMPH – Motion Picture Herald**SFC – San Francisco Chronicle** The Motion Picture Herald, and Film Daily are not Los Angeles newspapers. They are trade publications3/30/1925 (Uniontown Morning Herald) PENN HAS FAST ACTION STORY PLAYING TODAY Breed of the Border, a rattling story of the Great American Desert, gold mining and how "Circus" Lacey, all dressed up like a horse and buggy, saved Esmerelda from the ravages of a bandit gang, contains many unusual and distinctive characters as well as a wealth of real action and comedy. It is an adaptation by Paul Gangelin and Dorothy Arzner of a magazine story by William Hoffman, and it gives Lefty Flynn his best starring vehicle under the F.B.O. banner. Harry Garson, producer and director of the story turned out a feature with tense drama and thrills, and in the famous "Death Valley" locations has caught with great realism the spirit as well as the backgrounds of the grim desert, taking its toll of the man who braves its hardships. Dorothy Dwan, Mr. Flynn's new leading lady, proves a charming heroine, while all of the cast, including Louise Carver, Milton Ross, Frank Hagney, Joe Bennett, Fred Burns and Bill Donovan are excellent. Breed of the Border comes to the Penn Theater today and tomorrow.10/18/1925 (Davenport Democrat and Leader-Post) POSTPONE FILMING LEW TYLER'S WIVES Dancing Days will be William Wellman's first directorial assignment for Preferred Pictures, B.P. Schulberg has announced. It was previously planned to give Wellman, Lew Tyler's Wives By Wallace Irwin as his initial production under his new contract but difficulties in securing a proper masculine lead for the title role at the present time have necessitated in filming this famous novel of marriage. Mr. Schulberg's casting department will continue its search for a letter-perfect Lew Tyler who, according to the book, is a combination hero and heavy. This is now scheduled as Wellman's second picture. Meanwhile, he has already begun the direction of Dancing Days, the story of which is by Dorothy Caros. Dorothy Arzner has just completed the adaptation and the cast is now being chosen. It is a society drama describing the exploits of a never-stay-home family.1/9/1927 (Galveston Daily News) WOMAN CHOSEN FILM DIRECTOR Hollywood has given the megaphone to a woman, Dorothy Arzner, the girl who single-handled ct and edited The Covered Wagon and Old Ironsides, two of the most important photoplays in screen history. Her initial directorial assignment will be Esther Ralston's first starring vehicle, Fashions For Women. Miss Arzner is said to be the only woman in the industry to be made a director in the last ten years. The selection of Miss Arzner, herself the product of Los Angeles, comes as a result of seven years of untiring labor as a script girl, film cutter, and scenario writer. To her, it fulfills a dream of twenty-one years ago, when she was a child at the old Hoffman Cafe in Los Angeles, the rendezvous of almost every motion picture pioneer on the west coast. Louis Arzner, her father, operated the cafe and scores of the present day film celebrities, almost unknown at that time, would take Dorothy on their knees and relate to her their fascinating film deeds. Late in 1919 she went to the Paramount studio asking for a chance to enter motion picture work at the bottom end at her own request began by typing scripts. From that lowly post she rose through script girl on the set to cutter, then writer, returning to editing, at the insistence of James Cruze, to do what is declared to be one of the most nearly perfect examples of film editing in screen history on Old Ironsides, then received her reward in the opportunity to become a director. 1/20/1927 (Oakland Tribune) 25-YEAR OLD OAKLAND GIRL IS ONLY WOMAN DIRECTOR In a rise of fortune as rapid and sensational as that of any heroine of the silver screen which has given her the reward, Dorothy Arzner, 25, a former resident of Oakland and pupil in the Lafayette school, has just signed a contract as Paramount's first woman director at a salary of $5,000 per month, and the second woman to hold such a position in the entire history of the film industry. Miss Arzner started work sometime ago as a humble script typist for William DeMille, widely known director, and served successively as a cutter, scenarist and assistant director, being the aid of James Cruze in the production of Old Ironsides. From humble script typist to Hollywood's only woman director at a salary of $5,000 per month is the story of Dorothy Arzner, 25-year-old Oakland girl. Miss Arzner was born in Oakland and until she was ten years of age lived at 5– Twenty-first street and attended the Lafayette school. The family moved to Los Angeles when her father, at that time holding of the dining concession on the Southern Pacific ferries, was given the management of the old Hoffman Cafe in the southern city. The cafe was, at that time, the rendezvous for most of the pioneers of the film industry, and it was here that the first ambition for a professional career was aroused in the girl. During the war Miss Arzner enlisted in the ambulance corps, of which William DeMille, director and producer, was one of the organizers, and upon her return from France obtained a "job" as script typist in his studios. From this position she went to that of film cutter in the Famous Players-Lasky studios and here encountered James Cruze, whom she had known at the old Hoffman cafe when he was an actor. Cruze, now a director, induced the girl to join Paramount as a cutter and she met with such success that she was put under contract. The girl's big opportunity came when Cruze starting filming Old Ironsides. The director engaged Miss Arzner as his assistant in making the Revolutionary war sea drama. During the filming of the sea scenes of this picture Miss Arzner was the only woman at sea with a company consisting of 3300 men. Upon the completion of Old Ironsides she was appointed a full-fledged director, the first in the history of the Famous Players-Lasky Corporation and the second in the history of the film industry. The $5,000-a-month Oakland miss is now at work on the production of Fashions For Women, the first starring vehicle of Esther Ralston and Miss Arzner's first picture.3/18/1927 (Southtown Economist) For the first time in 15 years, Hollywood reports a shortage of beautiful women. Dorothy Arzner, new woman director for Paramount, reports that she is having a difficult time filling the quota of 15 beautiful mannequins required for a style show in her first picture, Fashions For Women, starring Esther Ralston.4/10/1927 FD Fashions For WomenParamount Length: 6296 ft. Pictorial spectacle. Beautiful women, gorgeous clothes, lavish sets–they furnish a feast for the eyes. Story quite negligible. CAST......Esther Ralston quite a worthy distraction in the dual roles of a famous fashion beauty and the girl who doubles for her. Einar Hanson good looking but he has no part at all. Raymond Hatton the laugh maker. Others, Edward Martindel, Wm. Orlamond, Maude Wayne. Story and Production......Comedy romance. With such an array of finery, beauty and general elegance it probably isn't essential that the story should be anything more than framework upon which to hang the trimmings. The story is from the stage play, The Girl of the Hour, but it is quite possible that much of the original has been shelved to permit old dame fashion to have her fling. Raymond Hatton makes Esther Ralston the sensation of Paris when he arranges for her to double for the famous Celeste de Givray. Direction......Dorothy Arzner. Good. Authors......Paul Armont-Leopold Marchand. Scenario......Percy Heath. Photography......H. Kinley Martin. Very Good.5/10/1927 (Ogden Standard-Examiner) BEAUTIFUL GIRLS NOT ALWAYS DUMB Who said "beautiful but dumb?" "Don't kid yourself, says Dorothy Arzner, woman director for Paramount, "anyone who thinks obtuseness goes with beauty like ham with eggs is all moist." Miss Arzner should now. She recently send out a call for Hollywood's fifteen most beautiful girls to act mannequin parts in Esther Ralston's first starring vehicle, Fashions For Women, which reaches the Paramount Theater Wednesday. Two hundred tests were required before Miss Arzner finally selected fifteen. They were all beautiful and none of them were dumb. "In fact," said Paramount's new director, "I think beauty is a companion of mental cleverness. The fifteen girls finally selected are unusually bright. Several of them are college graduates. And one of the fifteen could come under the dumb classification. They're all mentally alert, well read, well bred and a type that might fit into any society group." The fifteen chosen were Beth Laemmle, Estelle Eterre, Bess Flowers, Jean Lorraine, Joyce Clark, Ethel Sykes, Lorraine Eddy, Muriel Finley, Constance Finley, Hazel Howell, Edwina Booth, Dixie Davis, Iris Ashton, Doris Hill and Marie Pergain.5/31/1927 (Modesto News-Herald) Fashions For Women From a bobbed-haired French cafe girl to the most famous woman in Paris and then back again to the restaurant–all in the brief space of seven days goes to make the "large" night's entertainment. Esther Ralston's first starring comedy Fashions For Women, the Paramount photoplay which had its premiere last evening at the Strand Theater, contains so much rare humor and such an orgy of beautiful gowns that the opening night audience was one of the noisiest of the year with its approving ovations. Embellished by beautiful blonde Esther Ralston, the picture itself has the four-fold attraction of humorous situations, fairy tale romance, the fascination of a dual role and styles enough to touch any woman's heart. Just because she resembles a famous mannequin, the most talked of woman in Paris, Esther Ralston, an impish devil-may-care cigarette girl, is selected to impersonate the noted model at a huge fashion show. The double role is particularly well filmed and the different personalities of the two women, the cigarette girl and model, is exceedingly convincing for, being the same person, only a careful differentiation of mannerisms–a stride or tilt of the head–can serve to distinguish them. Einar Hanson, as the aviator lover, looks to be the most European leading man importation thus far. Raymond Hatton, the modiste shop's press agent, lends much comedy through his bantamlike gestures. The story was made for Paramount by Dorothy Arzner, one of the few women directors in picturedom. Her knowledge of women's clothing and deftness of direction during the huge fashion show assisted much in the film's success. Rejuvenated Mabel Normand in a comedy, The Nickel Hopper, and a novelty, So This Is Europe, are also shown.7/17/1927 FD Ten Modern CommandmentsParamount Length: 6497 ft. Just what they like. Story of stage life with backstage atmosphere. Certain to please. Well directed. CAST......Esther Ralston the stunning blonde heroine who had the women in the audience gasping with her luxurious costumes. Neil Hamilton, the handsome young song writer. Arthur Hoyt first rate as the besieged play producer. Others Romaine Fielding, Joycelyn Lee, Roscoe Karns. Story and Production.....Comedy Romance. Dorothy Arzner has turned out a genuinely find entertainment in Ten Modern Commandments. It has box office elements of no means proportions and judging from the reception it got at the Paramount Theater the picture seems destined for a merry trip around the exchanges of the country. They roared continuously at the tragic plight of the poor little play producer, who hired a blonde "mama" to vamp him as a means of ridding himself of the star of his show. How she succeeds makes for good amusement. Direction......Dorothy Arzner. Splendid. Author......Jack Lait. Scenario......Doris Anderson-Paul Gangelon. Photography......Alfred Gilks. Excellent.11/20/1927 (Billings Gazette) MOVIE MEGASCOPE It has taken a woman to achieve the first striking improvement in megaphone design. She is Dorothy Arzner, one of the few women directors and one of the youngest. She found that by forming a rectangular opening in the large end of the horn she could look through the mouthpiece and "line up" her players as though they were on a screen, and this without detracting from the usefulness of the thing as a speech magnifier. If other directors adopt the idea the megaphone, which has been in danger of disappearing altogether from the movie sets, may yet be rescued from the cinema's ash-heap.12/25/1927 FD Get Your ManParamount Length: 5718 ft. Clever French skit with comedy highlights gives Clara Bow a fine chance to flash her vivid personality. CAST......Clara gets her man by methods highly original and amusing. Charles Rogers, the willing victim. Josef Swickard and Harvey Clarke two engaging French daddies. Others, Josephine Dunn and Frances Raymond. Story and Production......Comedy Romance. Adapted from Louis Vernuil's play. Clara Bow is placed in a French setting, and starts out to get for herself a young French gallant betrothed to another girl. The plot is by a French writer, and is witty, sprightly and full of clever comedy situations. It opens with an entertaining sequence with Clara and her "man" locked in the wax works museum in Paris. Clara, learning that her sweetie is betrothed to another against his will, starts out to bust up the marriage arranged by the daddies of the youthful pair. Parking herself in the French home, she pulls a line of artful scheming filled with comedy wows. Of course she gets her man. Delightful fun. Direction......Dorothy Arzner. Classy. Author......Louis Verneuil. Scenario......Hope Loring. Photography......Alfred Gilks. First-rate.3/11/1928 (Oakland Tribune) Hollywood By Dave Keene Hollywood, March 10.–Of the nineteen vocations open to women in the motion picture industry directing seems to be the inner shrine of the inner circle. Of the 336 recognized motion picture directors in Hollywood but two of them are women: Dorothy Arzner and Lois Weber. Between them they made four pictures last year; Miss Arzner three and Miss Weber one. Miss Arzner, who started her career as a studio stenographer, directed Fashions For Women and Ten Modern Commandments, starring Esther Ralston, and Get Your Man, starring Clara Bow. Miss Weber directed The Angel of Broadway for DeMille. But it is a fact that motion pictures offer a great opportunity to women. Here are the other eighteen vocations open to feminine talent in the studios: Acting, writing, accounting, stenography, publicity, script clerk, film cutter, casting, needlework, costume designing, set decorator, research work, hairdresser and beauty operator, portrait retoucher, wardrobe attendant, lady's maid, still photography, story reading. Of these, acting, writing and film cutting are the most desirable. Both Miss Arzner and Miss Weber spent some time as film cutters. Film cutting is film editing; splicing the scenes together in proper sequence, trimming the footage so that the action is smooth and brisk. Miss Arzner cut several of the Rudolph Valentino pictures. Her last being she became a director was Old Ironsides.4/19/1928 (Wisconsin Rapids Daily Tribune) Get Your Man IDEAL THEATER Get Your Man which opened Sunday at the Ideal Theatre, is a woman-made production.If that is a type of what women executives can do with a motion picture, then a new vogue is due to be established in the industry, for Get Your Man is a huge success. The women angle comes about in this manner; Clara Bow is the star, Dorothy Arzner directed. Hope Loring wrote the story, Agnes brand Leahy did the continuity. Henrietta Cohn served as unit business manager and Marion Morgan was a technical director. The picture is a personal victory for each of the women and a brilliant achievement for the feminine touch. Clara Bow has made even a greater hit in her fourth Paramount starring vehicle than in IT, Rough House Rosie and Hula if such be possible. Dorothy Arzner has certainly surpassed her own high mark established in Fashions For Women and Ten Modern Commandments. Miss Loring wrote a delightful screen story from this popular French play by Louis Verneuil and adds to her list of successes which already includes IT, Wings and Children of Divorce. Miss Leahy worked out the continuity to form an interesting, absorbing chain which make use of all the play's dramatic qualities. The business management has left little to be desired, for the picture is splendidly finished. The work of Miss Morgan in posing her dancers for the wax models produced astonishing effects. Miss Bow is surrounded by an excellent cast, including Charles Rogers, Josephine Dunn, Josef Swickard and Harvey Clarke. The story is of an American girl who is forced to manipulate the break of a traditional French betrothal between Rogers and Miss Dunn, who do not love each other, before Miss Bow and Rogers can marry. It is a comedy, chock full of laughs and dramatic thrills.8/1/1928 (Edwardsville Intelligencer) Dorothy Arzner, the only woman ever given a director's megaphone by Jesse L. Lasky, is soon to start work after a long rest. She will direct Nancy Carroll, of Abie's Irish Rose fame, and Richard Arlen, Clara Bow's leading man in Ladies of the Mob, in a story of a chorus girl and back stage life. Miss Arzner is young, slight, freckled and quiet-spoken. She walks with a rather deliberate swing and has a swell sense of humor. She learned picture making as a stenographer, script clerk and cutter. She is reputed to be one of the best cutters in the business.10/9/1928 (Edwardsville Intelligencer) Dorothy Arzner, the woman director, has completed camera work on Manhattan Cocktail and is now editing the film.11/17/1928 (Reno Evening Gazette) APOLLO LEAPS BACK FENCE TO PICTURE FAME George Bruggerman, twenty-two climbed the back fence to fame and landed a fat part in a motion picture the other day. Unable to crash the gates of a Hollywood studio, Bruggerman, winner of a dozen tests of physical perfection, went around to the back of the twenty-six-acre studio and scaled the fifteen-foot barbed wire crested fence. Then he went to Dorothy Arzner, the director of Manhattan Cocktail. She was impressed with his appearance and his manner of entering the studio. She arranged for a screen test and the part was his. Bruggerman is a Belgian and won fame as the world's youngest motorcycle rider, having begun his velodrome career at the age of three and a half years. He is six feet tall and weighs 185 pounds.12/2/1928 FD Manhattan CocktailParamount Length: 6051 ft. Technically perfect production with handsome mountings tied up to a kindergarten plot. Hick entertainment all about wicked New York. CAST......Nancy Carroll, demure and sexy, carries strong appeal. Richard Arlen scores decisively. Lilyan Tashman does an exotic characterization that is pretty nearly the best part of the production and should entitle her to featured prominence. Others, Danny O'Shea, Paul Lukas. Story and Production......Love Drama. They put everything into this filmograph but a grown up story. Modernistic settings, ideal cast, expert camera work, and the individualistic directorial treatment of Dorothy Arzner are all class. Then the kindergarten mush was passed out in steady doses through the infantile plot. Nancy comes through to New York to go on the stage. Richard, a budding playwright, follows. Nancy lands in a Broadway show, because the producer wants Nancy for immoral purposes. Then comes the meller plot–framing the boyfriend to get the gal, etc., etc. Cheap meller gorgeously gowned makes light entertainment. Synchronized with song sequence. Direction, Dorothy Arzner, classy; Author, Ernest Vajda; Scenario, Ethel Doherty; Editor, Doris Drought; Titles, George Marion Jr.; Photography, Harry Fischbeck, the best.12/13/1928 (Edwardsville Intelligencer) Dorothy Arzner, now the only woman director in Hollywood, will direct Clara Bow's all-talking picture, The Wild Party.1/20/1929 (Kingsport Times) Hollywood Sights and Sounds By Robbin Coons Hollywood–The testimony of the extras who work under them is a reasonably good criterion of the capabilities of the motion picture director, and put to that test, Dorothy Arzner, Hollywood's only woman director, measures up to any of them. One cannot remain in Hollywood long without hearing of the little woman who, in her own words, "pried the studio gates open with a typewriter," learned the picture game from the inside, and came at length to realize an ambition when she was entrusted with the direction of an Esther Ralston vehicle. She has been at a Paramount megaphone ever since. SHE'S THERE Clara Bow (you may have heard of her) has worked in several pictures under Miss Arzner, and the little redhead whoopee girl, resting between scenes on a Wild Party set, testifies from a star's viewpoint that Dorothy Arzner as a director is all "there." But four young extra girls of the picture, during the comparative leisure of the noon lunch period, amplify the star's beginning, and attest that Dorothy Arzner's sex, while it does not prevent her being as firm, as quick to make decisions, and as efficient as an man, gives her the advantages of "a woman's understanding." Too, they declare, she has the patience of Job, and sweetness, and a positive gift for getting things done, and quickly. NOT EASY Nor is this testimony biased by any consideration that the director, being a woman, is therefore "easy"–far from it. These girls tell of her zeal for work, and her ability to draw it from her players. It is a point of pride with Miss Arzner that her film product is measured as sternly as that of all directors, and she sees nothing unusual in the fact that she is doing a work monopolized, with two previous exceptions by men. Directing she chose for her career, and she trained herself for success in it, trained for eight years. 2/6/1929 (Olean Times) FILM BEAUTY IS ONLY HUNTED TO PLEASE PUBLIC By William Mountain Hollywood, Calif.—The dream of beauty for its own fair sake is not the ambition of this modern Baghdad where beauty is found in every laundry and at every lunch counter. Beauty here is sought for specific and strictly utilitarian purposes–that is, to serve the cinematic art. And that means amusing and releasing the public from its constricting complexes and swelling the box office. Pulchritude is plentiful in Hollywood. But often the casting director is handed a difficult problem. Here's one instance. Paramount is about to film The Wild Party with Clara Bow in her first all-talking picture. A drive is on in all the highways and byways of celluloid city for eight girls, all having "It," to take parts in this melange of modern night club revelry. Scores of willing candidates have been tested and the octette has not as yet been selected. Just how beautiful should a night club girl be? That's a new question in filmdom and Miss Dorothy Arzner, who will direct the Wild Party, is trying to find out. Every morning the entire cast for the picture gathered around a table with Miss Arzner and Robert Milton, New York stage director, as mentors. The dialogue of the picture is read by each character in turn. No actual rehearsal will be had until every player is letter perfect. Later reports that the search for eight Whoopee girls to support Clara Bow is still in progress. This may be true. From Paramount studio comes the report that in filming the all-talking Wild Party it was necessary to install a special "It proof" sound recording equipment. When the red-headed Clara spoke her first lines a whole lot of radio tubes burst in the recording room. Technicians explained there was too much "It" in the sound of the star's voice.4/14/1929 (Galveston Daily News) The Wild Party As an irrepressible, irresponsible college girl, idolized by her chums, Clara Bow is said to show unexpected dramatic and emotional ability while romping through the picture, The Wild Party showing at the Queen today and Monday and Tuesday. Starting Wednesday Willard Mack, famous David Belasco stage star and playwright, will present his first personally produced and directed "all-talking" picture, The Voice of the City, a MGM release. In The Wild Party, which marks Miss Bow's first entrance into the talking picture filed, she falls in love with one of her professors, gets him and herself into plenty of trouble, and finally sacrifices herself for her roommate's reputation. The story of The Wild Party, from one written by Warner Fabian, author of the originator of all the wild party stories, "Flaming Youth," calls for youth's maddest flaunting of the conventions, and the action reaches many a crescendo pitch as Clara and her mates have their wild, unbridled flings in night clubs and at weekend parties. There is an undercurrent of true romance throughout the play, which bubbles to the surface triumphantly in the last few scenes. Intelligent direction is said to be responsible for a great part of the picture's success. Dorothy Arzner, Hollywood's only woman director, has invested the production with a genuine boarding school atmosphere, breaking away from the threadbare methods of presenting such material in her dormitory and classroom scenes. Fredric March, a member of the Theater Guild Company that toured the country last season, and who many from here saw during their engagement in Houston last year, heads the supporting cast, and is said to show the value of his stage trained voice in the role of the professor, who considers his pupils a group of "half wits and mulish morons." He gives a very convincing performance. An excellent choice for president of the student body is Marceline Day, whose rich, well-modulated tones are said to be a real recorded surprise of the production. Joyce Compton, the college snoop, Shirley O'Hara, and Adrianne Dore are also well cast; important male members, in addition to Mr. March, are Jack Oakie, Phillips P. Holmes, Ben Hendricks Jr., Jack Luden and Jack Raymond. Spoken dialogue throughout the picture is said to add to its effectiveness. Clara Bow's voice, heard for the first time in this picture, is of an agreeable contralto quality. Her transformation to the talkies, while rapid, is said to be accompanied with ease, and assures her continued popularity as a speaking screen star. Again the Queen will introduce a new novelty in the Paramount short subject, Sidewalks of New York, which will be the highlight of the surrounding program. In these novelty arrangements of popular songs, with words and music on the screen, audiences are said to irresistably join in the singing. "The cleverest novelty in sound we have ever seen," was the report of the Howard Theater, Altoona, Pa. "It is recommended for every theater, regardless of size. Audiences not only sang loud and courageously, but applauded after every showing." Jan Rubini, "The Violin Virtuso," makes his Vitaphone debut on the program, assisted by Vernon Rickard, Irish tenor, and with Mona Content at the piano. Rubini known to the concert stages throughout the world, will offer "Zigeurnerweisen," "I Love You Truly" (sung by Mr. Rickard) and "I Hear You Calling Me." Fox Movietone News will again have the honor of presenting historical events of today's news in sound, talking scenes of the funeral of Marshal Foch, hero of France, as he is laid to rest as the world mourns. These shots show the body of the great soldier being taken down the Champ Elysses to the Arc de Tromphe and lies beside Unknown Soldier, while Paris pays homage.10/19/1929 LAR On the Dotted Line Dorothy Arzner, only woman director under contract to a motion picture studio, has signed a new contract as a Paramount director. She will start soon on the direction of Ruth Chatterton in Sarah and Son.

The Family of Humankind

Photo by D.R. Wagner, Elk GroveNIECE—George OppenThe streets of San Francisco,She said of herself, were myFather and mother, speaking to the quiet guestsIn the living room looking down the hillsTo the bay. And we imagined herWalking in the wooden pastOf the western city. . . her motherWas not that cityBut my elder sister. I rememberedThe watchman at the beachTelling us the war had ended—That was the first world warHalf a century ago—my sisterHad a ribbon in her hair.__________________MOTHERING MY SISTER(to Jenny)—Patricia Heinicke, SacramentoI remember a bassinet wovenfrom balsa the color of papyrusto cup, to gently rock, to drift—a bassinetwith you insideyour back as wideas the height of my small hand.That first of your summerssometimes I held you in my kindergarten arms.When you were lifted away, refusing all comfort,I lay awake, fearing spiders in your crib andwanting again that agreeable ache high on my bicepwhere your head lay.***Now, again, my fingers fathom your face,around your eyes, deep as matins,making ointment of your tears.Soon another bassinet will driftinto this flood and yet I rememberthat pale vessel, with you inside—who will always fit my hands,your disconsolate cries ever hauntingmy dreams.___________________WINNIE THE POOH—Mitz Sackman, MurphysI have dusty memoriesFinding Winnie the PoohVisiting a used book storeWith MomThat always hadA nose-tickling odorWe were living in San PabloWhere I lived from most ofAge threeThrough going to first gradeA quiet neighborhoodWith lots of other kidsOne SaturdayWe went to a bigger townWent to Berkeley to shopThrough an old book storeLooking throughSome one else’s former treasureFound one of our ownAn old red bookOf Winnie the Pooh storiesWritten by a fatherFor his sonNearly a half-century beforeMom read the stories to usSteve, Jackie, Tim and meAt bedtime__________________KITH, BUT PERHAPS NOT KIN—Kevin Jones, Fair OaksMy grandmotherWas an only child.My motherWas an only child.I amAn only child.At leastThat’s whatMy evil twin tells me._________________THE THREE LANGUAGES(after the Brothers Grimm) —Taylor Graham, PlacervilleIf all you learn in one year is Dog-talk,and all you learn in the next is Bird-song,and the third year is only Frog-lament,of course no one will understand you.You’ll be thrown out of the houseof Humankind; disinherited, wanderingamong wild creatures, forest-folkwho keep their own wordsfor the treasure of this green, ensorceledworld: fields before the fallof asphalt, snow-melt rivers unslickedby oil, air with no combusted stain.At last, can you come back to teachyour human brothers and sisters even oneof those three tongues?_________________Photo by D.R. Wagner_________________Today's LittleNip: The pages are still blank, but there is a miraculous feeling of the words being there, written in invisible ink and clamoring to become visible. —Vladimir Nabokov_________________—Medusa SnakeWatch: What's New from Rattlesnake Press:Rattlesnake Review: The latest Snake (RR21) is now available (free) at The Book Collector, or send me four bux and I'll mail you one. Next deadline is May 15 for RR22: send 3-5 poems, smallish art pieces and/or photos (no bio, no cover letter, no simultaneous submissions or previously-published poems) to kathykieth@hotmail.com or P.O. Box 762, Pollock Pines, CA 95726. E-mail attachments are preferred, but be sure to include all contact info, including snail address. Meanwhile, the snakes of Medusa are always hungry; let us know if your submission is for the Review or for Medusa, or for either one, and please—only one submission per issue.Also available (free): littlesnake broadside #46: Snake Secrets: Getting Your Poetry Published in Rattlesnake Press (and lots of other places, besides!): A compendium of ideas for brushing up on your submissions process so as to make editors everywhere more happy, thereby increasing the likelihood of getting your poetry published. Pick up a copy at The Book Collector or write to me and I'll send you one. Free!NEW FOR APRIL: A SpiralChap of poetry and photos from Laverne Frith (Celebrations: Images and Texts); a (free!) littlesnake broadside from Taylor Graham (Edge of Wildwood); and Musings3: An English Affair, a new blank journal of photos and writing prompts from Katy Brown. Now available from the authors, or The Book Collector, or (soon) rattlesnakepress.com/.April 15 was the deadline for the second issue of WTF, the free quarterly journal from Poetry Unplugged at Luna's Cafe that is edited by frank andrick. Submission guidelines are the same as for the Snake, but send your poems, photos, smallish art or prose pieces (500 words or less) to fandrickfabpub@hotmail.com (attachments preferred) or, if you’re snailing, to P.O. Box 762, Pollock Pines, CA 95726. And be forewarned: this publication is for adults only, so you must be over 18 years of age to submit. Copies of the first issue are at The Book Collector, or send me two bux and I'll mail you one. Next deadline, for issue #3, is July 15.COMING IN MAY: Join us Weds., May 13 for a new rattlechap, Sinfonietta, from Tom Goff; Vol. 5 of Conversations, the Rattlesnake Interview Series by B.L. Kennedy; and the inauguration of a new series, Rattlesnake LittleBooks, with Shorts: Quatrains and Epigrams by Iven Lourie. That’s at The Book Collector, 1008 24th St., Sacramento, 7:30 PM. Free!Medusa's Weekly Menu:(Contributors are welcome to cook up something for any and all of these!)Monday: Weekly NorCal poetry calendarTuesday: Seed of the Week: Tuesday is Medusa's day to post poetry triggers such as quotes, forms, photos, memories, jokes—whatever might tickle somebody's muse. Pick up the gauntlet and send in your poetic results; and don't be shy about sending in your own triggers, too! All poems will be posted and a few of them will go into Medusa's Corner of each Rattlesnake Review. Send your work to kathykieth@hotmail.com or P.O. Box 762, Pollock Pines, CA 95726. No deadline for SOWs; respond today, tomorrow, or whenever the muse arrives. (Print 'em out, maybe, save 'em for a dry spell?) When you send us work, though, just let us know which "seed" it was that inspired you.Wednesday (sometimes, or any other day!): HandyStuff Quickies: Resources for the poet, including whatever helps ease the pain of writing and/or publishing: favorite journals to read and/or submit to; books, etc., about writing; organizational tools—you know—HandyStuff! Tell us about your favorite tools.Thursday: B.L.'s Drive-Bys: Micro-reviews by our irreverent Reviewer-in-Residence, B.L. Kennedy. Send books, CDs, DVDs, etc. to him for possible review (either as a Drive-By or in future issues of Rattlesnake Review) at P.O. Box 160664, Sacramento, CA 95816.Friday: NorCal weekend poetry calendar Daily (except Sunday): LittleNips: SnakeFood for the Poetic Soul: Daily munchables for poetic thought, including short paragraphs, quotes, wonky words, silliness, little-known poetry/poet facts, and other inspiration—yet another way to feed our ravenous poetic souls.And poetry! Every day, poetry from writers near and far and in-between! The Snakes of Medusa are always hungry.......!_________________Medusa encourages poets of all ilk and ages to send their POETRY, PHOTOS and ART, as well as announcements of Northern California poetry events, to kathykieth@hotmail.com (or snail ‘em to P.O. Box 762, Pollock Pines, CA 95726) for posting on this daily Snake blog. Rights remain with the poets. Previously-published poems are okay for Medusa’s Kitchen, as long as you own the rights. (Please cite publication.) Medusa cannot vouch for the moral fiber of other publications, contests, etc. that she lists, however, so submit to them at your own risk. For more info about the Snake Empire, including guidelines for submitting to or obtaining our publications, click on the link to the right of this column: Rattlesnake Press (rattlesnakepress.com). And be sure to sign up for Snakebytes, our monthly e-newsletter that will keep you up-to-date on all our ophidian chicanery.

Cavalock Unleashes The Geek Within

Finally, I'm in the epi-centre, nexus, the ground zero of animeville and all things cool and electronic, Akihabara. Spent the early part of the day there. Well, I managed to find some missing Gashapon figures plus a bunch of other cool stuff, that I'll put up in a later post.Some shopping tips for anyone shopping for figures, gadgets, etc.. Shop around! Far as I know or can see, there is no fixed price on most of the stuff unless it's a brand new just-released-today thing. Spotted at least a thousand yen difference on the new PSP in different small shops. So shop around, don't buy it at the first place you see it. Enjoy the sights, explore the smaller shops and hidden corners. And there's always time for food even if it's just a snack. This here's from the Akihabara branch of the famous local donut chain Mister Donut. Unfortunately I think they ran out of their new moshi donuts. Got their signature lumpy one instead. Very light yet chewy, I like it! And you know how most donut places smell of all that oil and stuff? Well, there's hardly any of that here.

Montana Lesson Plans

Montana is going to be a very short lesson for us. Ellie has been sick for 4 days so we still need to finish up South Dakota plus we have plans for a picnic with friends and a scout meeting this week. So we will only be spending 3 days on Monday: 1 social studies day, 1 science day, and 1 general review/overview day.Social Studies (Tuesday)Intro to Glacier National Park: Glacier National Park is in northwestern Montana, along the border with Canada. You can see glaciers along the Going-to-the-Sun Highway, which runs through Glacier National Park. But what are glaciers?Read Icebergs, Ice Caps, and Glaciers (Rookie Read-About Science) by Allan Fowler.Prior to activity, freeze gravel and small rocks into ice blocks so they will have a rough bottom when they start to melt. Visit a sand box and have kids form mountains and river valleys in the sand. Have the kids draw a picture of the way the valley floor looks before a glacier comes through. Use the ice blocks with the gravel and rock side down to slowly bulldoze a path down the river valley. You should be able to see gouging and land changes taking place in the sand as the glacier moves. Have kids draw the the valley floor after the glacier went through. What changes took place?Explain that the same way our minutes glaciers changed their valley, real glaciers changed the land that we live in. The Appalachians are a prime example of rounded mountains from when ice scraped over them thousands of years ago. Sharp pointed peaks are a giveaway to where the ice level was; if a peak is still jagged then a portion of it always remained above ice line. Use map key to identify different land forms while completing Daily Geography lesson, week 5.Science: Group lesson with girl scouts following the Fossils and Dinosaurs Lesson Plan .

Happy Earth Day As Ina Picnics...Plus Salt In Batter And Obsessive Cookie Shaping

The Barefoot Contessa with Ina GartenPack And Go PartyPita Stuffed with Tabbouleh and Shards of FetaRoasted Shrimp SaladUltimate Ginger CookieWhat could be more fun than going on a picnic with Ina? AND in her own back yard. (Do you think she and Jeffrey might set up the tent later?)I can’t wait to see what she’s making. And I really hope TR is one of the guests. Just imagine him all stretched out on the picnic blanket…I like how she often counts things off at the beginning of an episode. This time it’s what picnic food should be:SimplePortableAlways DeliciousI LIKE the music. It’s jazzy.Ina asks if anyone REALLY likes fancy parties. SHE prefers casual get-togethers. She starts with her Ultimate Ginger Cookies. (I guess Tyler hasn’t gotten around to these yet.)She measure 2¼ cups flour into a sieve over a bowl. She stirs it lightly first. Ina tells us as not to tamp down the flour as we measure. Good point. If you pack the flour into the cup, you’re increasing the amount of flour - possibly even by spoonfuls. So handle the flour gently as you measure. As I think about it, the only ingredient you ever want to pack into a measuring cup is brown sugar. Oh, chocolate chips too, so you don’t have to feel bad about sampling them on their way to the mixing bowl.To the flour, Ina adds 1 teaspoon baking soda, 2 teaspoons “really good” cinnamon. 1½ teaspoons cloves, ½ teaspoon ground ginger, (this is going to be some spicy meatballs, I mean cookies) and ½ teaspoon ground nutmeg, WHICH SHE DOESN’T GRATE FRESH…which I will never understand.Ina says the balance of spices is important and you don’t want one spice to overwhelm the others. She adds ¼ teaspoon salt, which she says brings out the flavor in sweet things the same way that it does in savory. Ina sifts all the dry ingredients together.I KNOW that noone else on the planet agrees with me and that I’m the only one in the universe who doesn’t add salt to sweet things, but I don’t care. I can TASTE it and I don’t like it. Actually, now that I think about it, it is funny because I love sweet things with savory stuff. I could eat a prune in any stew or orange juice in any reduction. But I cannot abide salt in sweet baked goods. Yet when I taste others’, I’m not as bothered as when I add it to my own…Go Figure!In another bowl, Ina adds 1 cup of brown sugar to ¼ cup of flavorless oil. I would use safflower oil here, which I always keep in the fridge to prevent it going off. In fact, the only oil I DON’T keep in the fridge is my tasteless light-colored supermarket-quality olive oil that I use when I want to extend my beautiful Spanish olive oil.Ina adds 1/3 cup of unsulfured molasses and beats that together. She breaks an egg onto the counter (uck! egg all over the counter) and then into a separate little bowl. She pours that into the running mixer. Then, on low speed, she adds the flour and spices. Ooh, she’s adding a surprise in the middle – crystallized ginger. She chops it into a small dice. She’s using 1¼ cups of crystallized ginger! She beats it into the batter.Ina scoops out the dough with an ice cream scoop and rolls it into a ball and then into sugar. She places the balls on the cookie sheet and presses them flat. They will bake at 350°F for 12 minutes. I always use an ice cream scoop too. It ensures that each cookie is the same size. I have a lovely friend, who takes a much more casual approach than I do to cooking – and life. HER kids don’t run screaming from the room when asked if they want to help with the baking. She keeps cookie dough in the freezer and can’t be bothered to defrost it. I was present one time when her kids hacked off pieces of the frozen dough and threw them on a baking sheet. (And not a proper baking sheet either – it was the bottom of a broiler pan that comes with some ovens.) There were blobs of cookie dough; there were triangles and misshapen lumps! They were all different sizes and shapes. I had to put my fist in my mouth to keep from exclaiming over the haphazard nature of the baking that was going on! And when they came out, some were crisp, some were chewy, some were a bit burned and…the kids just loved them! I understand the need for freezing cookie dough, but I approach the whole thing a little differently. I would scoop the dough into identical balls, open-freeze them and then pack them into a plastic bag to be used as needed. Um, I better stop now, because I know I’m sounding more and more like Martha Stewart every minute. (The bad parts of Martha Stewart, not the good ones.)Back to Ina, she calls her friend Barbara (on her blackberry) and asks if she can pick up some peaches from the farm stand, which will go perfectly with her cookies. (Conveniently, there is a camera standing by Barbara when her phone rings.) Oh, she’s bringing individual bottles of champagne too.Ina takes out the cookies. Gorgeous. AND every one is perfect. She has a little taste. Hmmm.Ina grates orange zest on her microplaner for the shrimp. She adds that with 2 tablespoons of orange juice to a bowl. She adds a cup of “good” mayonnaise. It’s not necessary to make your own, Ina says. IF you are serving this outside, I would NEVER use a homemade mayonnaise. Few things are as perishable. You need something that has a few stabilizers and, yes, preservatives.Salt (I would add less) and pepper go in with a tablespoon of white wine vinegar. She stirs that all together. Next, she adds prepares a ¼ cup of chopped red onion and ¼ cup of chopped dill with 2 tablespoons drained capers and sets that aside.Barbara had found the peaches. They’re HUGE.Ina thought to roast shrimp for shrimp salad after they began roasting chicken for the chicken salad at the Barefoot Contessa shop. Good thinking!She peels and deveins the shrimp. (She has nice hands.) Ina puts 2½ pounds of 16/20 count shrimp on a baking sheet. (It’s just as well that she’s having a picnic in her backyard, because after buying all that shrimp, she won’t be able to afford a vacation.)She “drizzles” over olive oil and sprinkles over salt and pepper. She mixes that together well and spreads the shrimp out in a single layer and roasts them at 400°F for 6 to 8 minutes until pink and firm and barely cooked through.Ina puts the shrimp in a big bowl while still warm (not hot). She spoons over most of the sauce. She notes that she always adds the sauce to the shrimp not the other way around. That way she can moderate the amount of sauce she uses. And it’s good to have a bit of extra to add just before serving.Using an enormous spoon, she mixes the shrimp with the sauce and then adds most of the vegetables. She “holds a little bit of the vegetables back” to sprinkle over the top before serving. She tastes for seasoning - “The best shrimp salad I ever had.”For her tabouli, Ina chops an English cucumber, leaving on the skin. She calls them hothouse cucumbers. She chops one cup of scallions. She uses the white and green parts and adds that to the cukes. She halves 2 cups of cherry tomatoes. (Remember Rachael’s tip?)Ina says she likes the idea of each person having his own picnic bag. It’s the same as when kids prefer individual cupcakes at a birthday party. I get that, but I think it’s just because Ina doesn’t like to share.Ina loves that her friend is bringing individual little bottles of champagne, so each person has his or own. “Now that’s a party!” Barbara has no problem getting them. Those are HALF BOTTLES of Veuve? They’re big. That’s a lot of champers for each person. I really do hope they’re going to camp out after and not get behind the wheel.To finish the tabouli, Ina puts a cup of bulgur wheat into a bowl and pours over 1½ cups of boiling water. She stirs in 1/4 cup of lemon juice, ¼ cup of olive oil and salt and just lets it sit for an hour. She adds it to the chopped vegetables with 1 cup of fresh chopped mint and parsley. She adds more salt and pepper and stirs everything together. Yum!To package the tabouli, she cuts pitas in half. (White ones. I didn’t know anyone still eats the white ones.) She spoons the salad in with big pieces of feta cheese. Fantastic. Plus her nails look sensational.The shrimp salad looks luscious and AMAZING. She has a glossy orange mini-shopping bag for each person. She packages the shrimp salad in Chinese takeout containers. The tabouli pita goes into parchment paper and the cookies – THREE each - into glassine bags.This is such an UN-GREEN presentation that it’s striking. I have no doubt that everything would taste just as good from a single big platter. If she were traveling even a mile or two, I could understand all this. But she basically could throw the food out of her back door into her guests’ mouths, so the need for all this trash eludes me. That goes for the HALF bottles of bubbly as well.She adds a “good” napkin. I think they’re paper. Ina festoons each bag with a perfect piece of parchment paper, billowing from the top. It DOES look festive and grand, but, if it were me, I would grab those pieces of parchment paper 3 seconds after the guests removed them and run them back to the kitchen to be used again...and not as wrapping. (I don’t actually use parchment paper, but I would still try to rescue it.)We learn that she’s packing 6 bags total. Ina puts them all out as Barbara and the other guests arrive. Everyone unpacks his bag – at the table, not on a blanket…no TR in sight. Jeffrey tries to steal some of Ina’s shrimp and she fends him off. I KNEW she didn’t like to share. Then they click champagne bottles (with straws) and the feast begins.Adorable Jeffry says this is the greatest picnic he’s ever had and HE’S going to do the dishes. (Harhar).Maybe I’ll count off a few things I loved about this episode myself:Flawless food.Incomparable Ina.Great pals to share it with.But Leo needs to have a talk with the Contessa…or more likely her producers.

The Aches & Pains of Raising Children

"My friend Vivian's been out of school for two days.""There were 6 people out sick today, Mom!""...hmm...I have a headache. Maybe I have it."Me: stop saying that!"My friend Jessica's been been out of school for two days. She had a 103 fever.""There were TWELVE people out sick today Mom!""Hmm...wonder if I'll get it."Me: Stop saying that!Do they listen? No. Somewhere around 12:30 a.m. I woke up to find Sissy staring at me with huge eyeballs that weren't adjusted to our low lit room. Kinda creepy coming out of a deep sleep...If you're the mom of a kid over 2, you know what I mean.So I wake up to huge eyes staring at me and she says she needs to get to the bathroom STAT, which is never fun. It's pretty standard Mom stuff though; when you're under 15, you never throw up unaccompanied. So we head for the bathroom and - nothing. I coaxed her to bed (in my exhaustion, but she didn't want me to leave. She suggested I "stand there". Nice. Instead, I decided to lay down with her. Bad idea.Next thing I knew, I was in somebody else's house doing who knows what when my leg starts to hurt. It got worse & worse 'til it hurt like nobody's business. After a while I check it out and it's beet red with huge varicose type veins bulging out all up & down my leg! That was pretty scary right there and the pain? Horrific. So I did what any other 36 year old mom would do; called Mom! Too bad Mom & Dad were on vacation. I tried to tell her "But Mom, you don't understand!" in hopes that she'd come rescue me I guess.Then I woke up, relieved it was a dream, but in reality, my leg was trying to tell me that unless I moved, I might do some sort of permanent damage. Who knew that sleeping in your kid's bed and not moving for hours would cause such trauma to a limb? I must have lost all circulation to my left leg and it, was not happy. My hip aches just thinking about it.

Big mouth doll

American capitalism gone with a whimper

Stanislav Mishin
It must be said, that like the breaking of a great dam, the American decent into Marxism is happening with breath taking speed, against the back drop of a passive, hapless sheeple, excuse me dear reader, I meant people.
True, the situation has been well prepared on and off for the past century, especially the past twenty years. The initial testing grounds was conducted upon our Holy Russia and a bloody test it was. But we Russians would not just roll over and give up our freedoms and our souls, no matter how much money Wall Street poured into the fists of the Marxists.
Those lessons were taken and used to properly prepare the American populace for the surrender of their freedoms and souls, to the whims of their elites and betters.
First, the population was dumbed down through a politicized and substandard education system based on pop culture, rather then the classics. Americans know more about their favorite TV dramas then the drama in DC that directly affects their lives. They care more for their right to choke down a McDonalds burger or a BurgerKing burger than for their constitutional rights. Then they turn around and lecture us about our rights and about our democracy. Pride blind the foolish.
Then their faith in God was destroyed, until their churches, all tens of thousands of different branches and denominations were for the most part little more then Sunday circuses and their televangelists and top protestant mega preachers were more then happy to sell out their souls and flocks to be on the winning side of one pseudo Marxist politician or another. Their flocks may complain, but when explained that they would be on the winning side, their flocks were ever so quick to reject Christ in hopes for earthly power. Even our Holy Orthodox churches are scandalously liberalized in America.
The final collapse has come with the election of Barack Obama. His speed in the past three months has been truly impressive. His spending and money printing has been a record setting, not just in Americas short history but in the world. If this keeps up for more then another year, and there is no sign that it will not, America at best will resemble the Wiemar Republic and at worst Zimbabwe.
These past two weeks have been the most breath taking of all. First came the announcement of a planned redesign of the American Byzantine tax system, by the very thieves who used it to bankroll their thefts, loses and swindles of hundreds of billions of dollars. These make our Russian oligarchs look little more then ordinary street thugs, in comparison. Yes, the Americans have beat our own thieves in the shear volumes. Should we congratulate them?
These men, of course, are not an elected panel but made up of appointees picked from the very financial oligarchs and their henchmen who are now gorging themselves on trillions of American dollars, in one bailout after another. They are also usurping the rights, duties and powers of the American congress (parliament). Again, congress has put up little more then a whimper to their masters.
Then came Barack Obamas command that GMs (General Motor) president step down from leadership of his company. That is correct, dear reader, in the land of pure free markets, the American president now has the power, the self given power, to fire CEOs and we can assume other employees of private companies, at will. Come hither, go dither, the centurion commands his minions.
So it should be no surprise, that the American president has followed this up with a bold move of declaring that he and another group of unelected, chosen stooges will now redesign the entire automotive industry and will even be the guarantee of automobile policies. I am sure that if given the chance, they would happily try and redesign it for the whole of the world, too. Prime Minister Putin, less then two months ago, warned Obama and UKs Blair, not to follow the path to Marxism, it only leads to disaster. Apparently, even though we suffered 70 years of this Western sponsored horror show, we know nothing, as foolish, drunken Russians, so let our wise Anglo-Saxon fools find out the folly of their own pride.
Again, the American public has taken this with barely a whimper&but a freeman whimper.
So, should it be any surprise to discover that the Democratically controlled Congress of America is working on passing a new regulation that would give the American Treasury department the power to set fair maximum salaries, evaluate performance and control how private companies give out pay raises and bonuses? Senator Barney Franks, a social pervert basking in his homosexuality (of course, amongst the modern, enlightened American societal norm, as well as that of the general West, homosexuality is not only not a looked down upon life choice, but is often praised as a virtue) and his Marxist enlightenment, has led this effort. He stresses that this only affects companies that receive government monies, but it is retroactive and taken to a logical extreme, this would include any company or industry that has ever received a tax break or incentive.
The Russian owners of American companies and industries should look thoughtfully at this and the option of closing their facilities down and fleeing the land of the Red as fast as possible. In other words, divest while there is still value left.
The proud American will go down into his slavery with out a fight, beating his chest and proclaiming to the world, how free he really is. The world will only snicker.
Pravda.ru

New & Improved!

Shortly after I moved into my house, the remote to the garage door opener quit working. Cruising Sears' website, I found out the opener that came with the garage is at least 25-30 years old! I drove 90 miles (round trip) to the nearest Sears repair center (as recommended by the 800-Line) only to find out the repair center ceased existence "a long time ago". Hmmm... Maybe the 800-line needs to be informed? The friendly store clerk suggested I get a $40 universal remote. I can still hear his words now... "It'll work. This works with everything." Uh huh... I bet you can guess it didn't work! So another 90-mile trip to return it.Over the past year and a half, I've been using the wall-mounted control units to open and close the garage door. Yes, it involves getting out of the car to close the garage door... Kinda defeats the purpose of having a garage door opener, doesn't it? LOLLast fall, Farm & Fleet had a grand opening and one of the featured specials was garage door openers. I bought one and it's sat in my garage all winter. I finally opened the box and looked at the instruction manual. Thought to myself: "This doesn't look too hard!" (You know where this is going, right?)All the little parts came in a bag. I dumped them all out and set to work! Work in ProgressGetting ready to attach the chain Attaching the motorI was so proud of myself when I had the entire thing together! All I needed to do was disconnect the old one and install the new. I ran out to my Dad's to get a 2x4, which was supposed to be used to hold the motor up while I bolted it to the supports. While there, he offered to come into town and help me get it installed. Four hours later....A New Opener! A New Wall Control Unit! A New Remote for the Car! And even Safety “eyes” to prevent the door from closing on small children and animals (didn’t have that with the old unit).It shouldn't have taken us 4 hours to get the thing up there, but we had technical difficulties due to (what I think) an overheated motor (as mentioned in the instruction book). Men use some "colorful" language when things don't work they way they're supposed to... and my Dad is no exception. LOL!Revised: See the lightbulb in the first photo? My Dad was unscrewing it as he was doing so, I was saying "That's a new bulb. It's still...." My eyes went from looking above where the bulb was and traveled to the concrete where it shattered into a billion pieces. I then said, "Well, it *was* still good. Not anymore."Later, after we got the new opener up, Dad says to me, "Gotta bulb?" I said, "I *did* have a bulb. You broke it." LOL Then I went in the house to get another one.Amazing how many little pieces a bulb can create when it meets concrete!

Would you accept a job which is not your line but pays high?

I am being offered a job that is too challenging for me as it's totally out of my line. I have no experience and my course was not at all anything related to it. It's more of marketing and very complex. The offer was real good especially considering that I am not even experienced to do the task. But the employer believes so much in me so he insisted that I accept it. Basic salary is way above regular plus there's going to be bonus for each successful proposal. Indeed, an offer hard to resist. Problem is, I will need to learn a lot. My fear is, I might hurt their business if I take the offer. Like going back to school. If you were me, would you accept the challenge?

Biography: Milton Caniff- A Remembrance

This post is just the tip of the iceberg... see reason number 4 on our The Top Ten Reasons To Support The A-HAA for links to more great biographies of important artists.Milton Caniff with Jack BennyUNCLE MILTBy Harry Grant GuytonI would like to share some of my special memories about my uncle Milton Arthur Caniff.Bunny (My aunt Esther) and Milt never had children, so my older sister, brother and I were their kids for years. But they also adopted many, many other children. One is Hesper Anderson, the screenwriter of Children of a Lesser God. They put a number of young adults through school and college, so in this way they were parents to many. Unfortunately, none of us were artistic in the same sense he was, at least not to my knowledge.I recall that when I was twelve and living in Los Angeles in 1936, Milt gave my sister, brother and I yellow slicker raincoats that he painted large pictures of the characters from Terry And The Pirates on the back of. I believe my sister had a large black drawing of Pat Ryan on her slicker, my brother had Terry and I had Connie. I often wonder what happened to those raincoats.Milton Caniff with Joan Crawford,the inspiration for the "Dragon Lady"Milt had narcolepsy and could- and did- fall asleep anywhere and at any time. In the old days when he was smoking, drawing and watching TV, he would fall asleep, drop his cigarette, and burn his drawing. When he burnt a hole in the strip, he always hoped it was in a spot he could cover; if not, he had to redo the whole strip. Speaking of Milt's smoking, after Milt quit, he always used to light up women's cigarettes so he could get a few puffs.Milt had the habit of falling asleep while talking to you. We were in a chauffeured Limo in Panama. The chauffeur, Milt and I were in the front seat with the girls in the back. Milt, talking, fell asleep and awakened about five minutes later, still continuing the conversation. Needless to say, the chauffeur was amazed. Milt had bought Bun a 1959 Silver Cloud Rolls-Royce for her 1958 Christmas present. When Milt drove, he put the back part of the seat down so far, it appeared he was sleeping. Alas, one day en route to the Racquet Club in Palm Springs, he did fall asleep while driving like this. After that incident, Bunny would not let him drive unless he had just awakened from a nap.Milt and Bunny spent money like it was water. they enjoyed their life and lived it fully. When they lived in Palm Springs, Bun sent their dry cleaning to New York because no one in California could do it right. Bun always had Milt on a diet, such as eating celery and carrots and having just one drink before dinner. In Palm Springs they had a main house and three blocks away they had a duplex. One side of the duplex was Milt's studio with the other side for guests. Milt would spend half of a 24 hour day or more in the studio. The first time we stayed in the guest part, Bun always had "goodies" such as food and liquor in the kitchen. We had a favorite cookie, so she had four or five packages of these laid out on the kitchen counter. The next morning they were gone. While Milt was working, he wandered over, saw the cookies and devoured them. Needless to say, we always left some goodies out for Milt, and no one ever said "boo" about them.Caniff with Bob Crane of "Hogan's Heroes"Milt had the ability to talk to you and remember almost everything you said. He picked the brains of everyone he spoke with and was able to fit almost any conversation into his strip in one form or another. It mattered not if you were a general or a private. He could elicit information from either and use it. When he visited a base and found a military person he liked and wanted to have in the strip, he would use the person's first name as his last name, such as Sgt. Andy Trone became Sgt. Andy. The character Charlie Vanilla was Charles Russhon, a US Army photographer who was on the first US plane to land in Japan. To my knowledge Milton never put any idea down on paper that went into his files. It mostly came from his head and went into the strip as he drew it. I found no notes or other papers that would give a clue as to what Milt had in mind or what future strips would show.Of course Milton Caniff was a stickler for accuracy, but his fans were eagle-eyed. I was with him at Holloman Air Force Base in New Mexico. He climbed into the cockpit of a fighter plane (an F-104 I believe), and spent maybe five minutes in it. That evening, he used it in Steve Canyon. He had committed the control panel in that cockpit to memory, and months later when the strip was published, he received numerous letters saying that had Steve been flying as high as Milt implied in the strip, one of the gauge readings was wrong.He loved to get letters of criticism as well as praise because this meant people were reading the strip. One time an editor who was a friend of Milton's said he had sent back a letter of criticism to the writer. Milt asked him not to do that in the future. He wanted them forwarded to him because maybe he had made a mistake and he wanted to correct it if he had. When he was doing Terry and the Pirates, he had once put Terry's insignia on wrong, and got hundreds of letters pointing out the error. His eyes would twinkle as he said, "See! They're following the strip!"Japanese newspaper cartoonistYoshirou Kato with MiltonMilt told me when he was switching from Terry And The Pirates to Steve Canyon that he had to get William Randolph Hearst's OK on certain aspects of the strip. Milt said he flew to Los Angeles, took a plane to near San Simeon and was driven up to Hearst's "castle". He was shown into the dining room where Hearst sat at the opposite end of a long table drinking a cup of coffee. Hearst asked Milt questions such as what he had in mind for Steve and how much money he wanted. Milt said to himself, "You ungracious bastard!" and told Hearst what he had in mind for the strip, asking for double his present salary and all the fringes- plus ownership of the copyrights to his strip. He related how Hearst said, "You're a high-priced son of a bitch." and got up and left the room. Milt left and two weeks later was informed that Hearst had agreed to the terms.Milt told me that in the early 30s and 40s, he sent his original strips to the syndicates, instead of sending photostat copies. One day they cleared out the storeroom and sent him back what was left. A lot of Milt's original Terry art had been taken from that storeroom by a person or persons unknown. So Milton decided to bequeath his alma mater, Ohio State University, his files, art and memorabilia. Ohio State has a great many of Milt's original pieces that he drew from the beginning of his career. After Milt passed away, when I was going through the file cabinets and belongings in New York, I came across some things that I really wanted to keep but couldn't. I donated everything Milt had to Lucy Caswell and the Milton Caniff Reading Room at Ohio State University, including the #2 pop-up book of Terry And The Pirates which I loved so much.One time whoever took his weekly strips to the photo engravers had lost them and he had to do the whole week over. As I was taking the strips to be copied he jokingly told me, "Do not lose these." When I returned, I told him I was going to wash the Rolls Royce and found the lost strips under the passenger seat. He said, "Since you found them, they're yours." He always gave me strips and items he had done for various organizations, because of the Terry And The Pirates originals that had been taken. He instructed me to not give them away, because someday they may become valuable. So I kept them and forgot I had most of them. Earlier this year John Ellis and I were going through boxes of papers and files and we found them.Dean Fredericks (TV's Steve Canyon),Harry Truman and Milton CaniffDuring the 1954 National Cartoonist's Society convention in Washington, D.C., I had been invited to join the group and was to present the Silver T-Square Award to President Eisenhower and Secretary of the Treasury Humphries. However, there was a military officer who belonged to the NCS who said that since I was only a Master Sergeant, he should be the one to present it. In the end, Milton presented it himself. Walt Kelly was trying to fix me up with any and every girl we ran into. I heard that he and Al Capp got into it, but I was not present when they did and I don't recall what it was about.Here's an interesting side note to all of this... I was stationed at Fort Eustis, Virginia at the time and had been loaned a Major General's plane to get to the NCS convention in Washington D.C. When I reported to Bolling AFB for my flight home, a Lieutenant Colonel was waiting to fly me back to Fort Eustis. As we were walking down the ramp to the plane, a paratroop Major from Fort Bragg, NC with his combat boots bloused and his ribbons shining, asked the Colonel for a ride. The Colonel stated, "You'll have to ask the Sergeant- it's his plane." The Major finally swallowed his pride and asked me if it was OK, I said yes. The Major tried to get into the co-pilot's seat, but the Colonel said. "No way. That's the Sergeant's seat." As we arrived at Fort Eustis, the Major jumped out and ran into Flight Operations. As I entered they were all trying to figure out how a Master Sergeant in the Army could have a Lt. Colonel type fly him around! Milt tried for years to fit this incident into Steve Canyon but couldn't come up with a good story that would fit.Over the years Milton would use my name in the strips, usually on signs or on soldier's uniforms. I always got a big kick out of that. You can see the name "Guyton" clearly in the last panel of the December 24th, 1961 Steve Canyon Sunday page. My son, Terry Wayne Guyton was named after the comic strip Terry. My sister has two daughters who Milt used in Steve Canyon, Dianne was the model for "Doodly Bixenshoos", and Sandra was the model for "Orbs Corbs" in the mid 60s. I had a wonderful relationship with my uncle and saw him usually six times a year. On each visit he would talk to me for hours while drawing and watching sports on TV. He always said I took care of him. Bunny kept him on that diet and I always left treats in the kitchen. Often, I would find a thank you note on the table. Every day with him was a holiday, and I learned a lot. I miss him.If you enjoyed this post, see... Milton Caniff's Steve Canyon Sunday Pages, People On Paper, Byrnes' Complete Guide To Cartooning Part One- Meet The Men Behind the Comics and Part Two- Studying Comic Strips, Dan Gordon's Superkatt, Rube Goldberg's Side Show and Alex Toth Model SheetsSTEVE CANYON TV SHOWFor info on the Steve Canyon TV show DVD, see... www.stevecanyondvd.blogspot.comSTEVE CANYON AT AMAZONFantagraphics has a great book on Caniff's career, and Checker has released year by year reprints of the classic Steve Canyon strip. Caniff was a master storyteller, and the first few years of Steve Canyon are examples of his genius at the height of its powers. Click on the pictures for more info.ThanksStephen WorthDirectorASIFA-HollywoodAnimation Archive"Steve Canyon" is a Registered Trademark of the Milton Caniff Estate.

Flow and Freedom: Journey to the River Sea

Author: Eva Ibbotson (on JOMB) Published: 2002 Penguin (on JOMB) ISBN: 033039715X Chapters.ca Amazon.com Today, our 9 year old daughter, Lucy, tells us why she absolutely adores this beautifully written and inspiring Amazon adventure. Click here to listen to our chat with Eva Ibbotson on her 83rd birthday. Other beloved books by Eva Ibbotson: Which Witch? The Great Ghost Rescue The Secret of Platform 13 The Star of Kazan The Beasts of Clawstone Castle Dial-a-Ghost Island of the Aunts (a.k.a. Monster Mission) Click here for other Eva Ibbotson book reviews by Lucy and click here to see the postcard Eva sent to Lucy and Bayla earlier this year in response to their 84th birthday cards. LISTENER HOTLINE: Chuck Stanley enjoys sharing his childhood love of Fox in Socks (by Dr. Seuss) with his own children. We’d love to hear your thoughts on a favourite children’s book. Leave a voice message on our JOMB listener hotline, +1-206-350-6487.

Lover doll

Economic Reports 04/12/09

Wholesale Trade FebWholesale inventories fell 1.5%, the biggest percentage drop in 17 years and extending a string of declines as wholesalers scramble to reduce unwanted stocks.Autos showed the steepest draw in wholesale inventories at -7.9% in the month as the auto industry desperately tries to bring stocks in line with sales.Retail Chain Sales MarMany chains posted wide and deepening declines in March though some said the results, given the absence of Easter, were better than expected.Wal-Mart, which by itself makes up more than 10% of general merchandise sales, posted sales increases but the lowest increases in a year.Trade Deficit Feb -$26B vs -$36BThe U.S. trade deficit in February unexpectedly plunged on U.S. import demand falling over a cliff.Exports actually rebounded 1.6% while imports plummeted 5.1%. The improvement in the overall deficit was due primarily to a drop in nonoil imports.The drop in imports was widespread but led by declines in industrial supplies and capital goods excluding autos. Consumer goods and autos also fell.Year-on-year, overall exports slipped to down 16.9% in February while imports worsened to down 28.8%.Import & Export Prices MarThe rise underway in oil is making for higher import prices which rose 0.5% in March to end a very long string of declines. Yoy import prices down -14.9%.Prices for imported petroleum products jumped 10.5% in March following a 5.2% rise in February.But a key number in this report, one that offers indications on price pressures for imported finished goods, is ex-petroleum import prices which fell 0.7%.The third straight 0.7% monthly decline to extend a long streak of declines that have raised major concerns of disinflation/deflation among policy makers.Export prices are also showing contraction, down 0.6% and Yoy -6.7%. Prices for farm exports fell 3.5%, excluding which export prices were down 0.3%.Initial Jobless Claims Apr 4-20K at 654K; 4 week MA -750 at 657K. Continuing claims +95K to a record level of 5.840M; 4 week MA +146K at 5.647M.This serves as onfirmation that jobseekers are having a very hard time finding work.Over the last five weeks alone, 766,000 unemployed workers have been added to the continuing claims list.

Friendship's Garden and Out West

Today I have a simple but elegant card with Asela's new set "Friendship's Garden". A tall graceful plant like this called for a simple layout, and I kept it texture free to mimic the smooth leaves and lily. I love the classic yet modern combo of white, chocolate and green, just says "luxury" to me! Image is colored with Copics, on Gina K Pure Luxury White plus the new Pure Luxury Chocolate Kiss , it is most the beautiful bittersweet brown! The greeting is a peek of a peek, stop back tomorrow! ;) Now, I expect you'll also be seeing LOTS of classic cowboy imagery in our hop today, beautiful Western landscapes, gorgeous saddles and majestic steeds, .... so I thought I'd mix things up a bit... BWAHHHHHHHH!! I couldn't resist putting the horse in boots when I saw the sentiment "Wanna Horse Around?" in our new illustrator Theresa Momber's debut set for Gina K Designs: "Out West". (Can I get a hip hip hurray for my girl Theresa??! I know none of you are surprised she can draw after seeing all the amazing art on her blog) Anyway, Western sets lend themselves to a ton of fun techniques I love, although I've never had one before! and I'm a NATIVE TEXAN, too, go figure! Expect to see me using this set a LOT(most of them using leather paper from Paper Temptress, wait til you see!!) After coloring the images with Copics I did lots of sponging with Ranger Antique Linen ink on Gina K Pure Luxury Ivory to give it this warm patina, distressed the edges, added a woodgrained gate with the Cream White Pad on Chocolate Kiss card stock again and made ridges for the boards with my Scor-Pal (watch Gina's video on how to do this here!) I popped up the right side of the door to look like it's going to swing open and added some brads from the Floral Frenzy kit to the left to look like it was attached the stall. (Don't worry, I didn't have to mask out his hooves, you have just the horse head and separate boots image to play around with to your heart's content. :) Again, can I say how excited I am for Theresa and that we all get to play with her designs?! woo-hoo!) BONUS PEEKS: I had lots of people commenting and emailing hoping for "boy stuff" in the "Wee Tees" set: well, I can't wait til Thursday to let you know I've got it covered (I've got two boys , remember? LOL!), here are just a few more images to tide you over 'til the full reveal! :)Some simple cards with a little "one sheet wonder" action I stamped up to make my own custom little boy DP! How do like those tiny tees? it's the onesie cut in half! So this set can grow with you as the kids get older, I love that! PLUS...one more peek from one of my stamping idols Jen Del Muro, can't wait to see what magic she's worked up with this set! :)Please enjoy more sneak peek samples of "Out West" and "Friendship's Garden" from our team: Asela Hopkins, Carolyn King, Cindy Lawrence, Donna Baker, Emily Giovanni, Erika Martin, Gina Krupsky, Jessica Fick, Joanne Basile, Kurtis Amundson, Theresa Momberplus our "In the Spotlight" Designer Beverly Cole!

Is competition The Force or The Dark Side?

by Alistair BomphrayThere has been some upheaval at my school lately as we attempt to restructure into wall-to-wall academies for next year. As I mentioned in my post from a couple of weeks ago, “My Academy Can Beat Up Your Academy: The Danger of Small Schools,” much of this upheaval is rooted in competition. It’s no mystery. Whenever you create semi-autonomous entities on the same campus—and ask them to share resources, draw from the same student/teacher pool, prove their worth with test-driven data—there’s bound to be some in-fighting.A couple of weeks ago, I asked our readers what they thought about competition in schools. Here are the results:Do you think it’s okay for teachers to use competition in their classes as a motivational tool?Yes 69%No 31%Do you think it’s beneficial for schools to compete with each other for the highest graduation rate/standardized test scores?Yes 29%No 68%Other 3%Do you think it’s acceptable for academies (or small learning communities) within one school to be competitive with each other?Yes 55%No 45%Let me try to wrap my head around this. So it’s okay for me to use competition in my own classes. And it’s even okay for my academy to be competitive with the other academies on campus (although we seem to be a little more conflicted about this). But it’s not okay for schools to be competitive with each other. Doesn’t that seem a little contradictory?Maybe not. Maybe competition within a class or a school can be managed so that it doesn’t deteriorate into savagery. Maybe my use of the words “standardized testing” in question two scared people off. What does seem clear is that on some level we are confused about what role competition should have in our schools. I know I am.To read the rest, go here: http://teacherrevised.org/2009/05/11/reader-poll-results-is-competition-the-force-or-the-dark-side/

Could Wolfram|Alpha dethrone Google? More to the point, does it have verb potential?

And if so, will it make us even stupider? Only one more week until we find out! This could be the datahead's ideal engine: It'll tell you the family, genus, species, and caloric value of an apple, and it'll forecast Apple's stock price, but it won't give you apple pie recipes. It'll tell you the box office take of the first "Star Trek" movie, but it won't tell you the theater where you can see the newest "Star Trek" movie.But a technical audience is still big. This could unlock a lot of data that students, research assistants, lawyers, marketing managers, financial analysts, and scientists might not have readily available. And those folks are important, too--just the kind of influential folks people with Web sites like to reach. (CNET) On the other hand, I don't see "WolframAlpha" becoming a verb anytime soon. "I Wolframed the depth of the Grand Canyon"? "I WA'd the distance to the moon"? "I WAlphed my ex"? I think I make my point. WolframAlpha launches May 18. In the meantime, you can watch the really poor quality demo video after the fold. Read the rest of this post... Read the comments on this post...

Blizzard moves from #47 to #1 in studio rankings

Filed under: Blizzard, News itemsAccording to a recent list by Develop magazine, Blizzard has dethroned Nintendo to become the most bankable game studio in the world. I'm surprised they weren't there already, but I guess it's just this side of possible that Nintendo is hard to budge. Develop's top 100 is compiled by their editorial team and accounts for total sales, reputation within the industry, and a variety of other criteria. When all was said and done, the editors wrote, Warcraft "continues to do the sort of numbers previously reserved for crime syndicates and smaller members of the United Nations." Nicely put, but what I find most bizarre about the list is that Blizzard jumped from #47 to #1 within the space of a year (you'll find Blizzard's 2008 listing on page 82 of a highly annoying-to-navigate Issuu archive). While part of that's due to the merge with Activision, Develop claims that Wrath of the Lich King being the fastest-selling PC game in history was the greatest contributing factor. Hang on. WoW was doing just fine even before Wrath hit, so how did Blizzard manage to get itself ranked behind do-little studios with sales of around $1-2 million per game on the 2008 list?

Lovely Worms

After waiting for the cream worm farm to dry out a tad bit, it was now time to start up the other 2 farms again. No way I was going to be able to move the light coloured farm if the castings were heavy with water.Pat moved his car out of the way so I was able to play safely. The tarp was where the worm castings would be placed, so the working farm could be serviced.I had left the castings in the black farms as most of the worms had died in the water collection trays.Once all the farms had been moved, any weeds were removed and also the soil leveled again.With Pat's help we moved the whole working farm on to the tarp, then the top was removed.How the farm looked once the cream top was gone. Newspaper had dried and with not a lot of moisture in the castings that are full of worms.Once the top layer was removed, moisture was easy to feel and see. Oodles of worms and as I transferred them from the tray to the tarp, a bucket load of castings, worm eggs and worms were placed in the feeding trays of the 2 black farms.Back in April 2007 I set the light coloured farm up with worms, after being used as a compost bin. So I am just stoked with the amount of worms in the farm.Last of the castings on the tarp. I like to think this one survived to help me start the other two farms up again. The worms cost about $60 for a small bucket at the shops.Maybe its karma visiting me after helping wanna be worm farmers out. Lost count on how many people I have started up with worms from my farms.Even with fly wire and the bird wire, worms still managed to get underneath in the water tray. Even managed to fill the tray with castings.Just shy on 2 years worth of castings. This cream farm started with a handful of worms. I didn't have much of bedding in the farm when it was started up.It's compacted here too. When I put the casting back in, they were higher up the sides.Bird wire and 2 pieces of fly wire to try and keep the little buggers out of the water tray and also keep the worm castings out at the same time.Finished and I figured a change is as good as a holiday for them.This was the first serious play out in my garden since late last year after the Dr. told me to slow down with my painful leg/ankle. Really enjoyed the time outside and boy my back was sore after all the lifting. Also I was puffed and needed a sit down to recover. Who said gardening wasn't exercise.?? Not as fit as I once was.Tomorrow will tell me if my leg/ankle is really to get back into the garden...... as I have a family to feed.Until next time....hoo roo technorati tags: worms, worm castings

Dino-Mite!

Here's a quick and different card I created with "Wee Tees" and the little dino image(on of my faves in the set!) I pieced the onesie in some DCWV Spring Stack DP and then added some white spots to his body and spikes (and toes!) with my Inkssentials pen to match the polka dot paper. I also outlined the ribbing in white. Then I inked up the jumbo sponge dauber Gina sells in Certainly Celery and made a spotted pattern on my Pure Luxury White base. Love how perfectly round the sponging comes out with that! Then I framed it with some safety pins (cheap and cute "baby" embellishment!) adhered with glue dots and rounded the bottom of the base with my small corner rounder punch. That's it! Hope you like it! Have great day!

"Another Contender Emerges: Posterous Takes On TwitPic With New API"

via techcrunch.com Much love to the Posterous team (w00t Garry and Sachin!) for this TechCrunch article. Those of you in healthcare following me on Twitter (@jenmccabegorman, @polarwisdom) know I'm completely infatuated with the platform, which lets me post content via email and autopublish to Twitter, Facebook, my 'old school blog' Health Management Rx (via Blogger) and even Flickr. With the pic API Posterous is making another dream come true. I love Posterous because it lets me extend multiple 'tentacles' of communication without any extra time or effort. My sites, my content, should be extensions of my online 'self,' and this is exactly what Posterous enables - one me (or one 'meme') indivisible under www. At Kaiser's Garfield Innovation Center in Oakland, CA Thursday (via an invite for Tech 'Speed Dating' Day from Mike Kirkwood, @mikekirwood, Polka.com), we were asked to share our favorite innovation. Some folks mentioned fitness activities, like Pilates, running, and the treadmill (albeit as an excellent clothes hanger). Some folks mentioned relaxation tools like the hills of New Zealand (!), red wine, and chocolate. Four folks mentioned Blackberries, while two mentioned iPhones. My answer? Communication, enabled by Twitter and Posterous. Innovate away guys. Thanks for keeping it real. And simple. Posted via web from Jen's posterous