Yemen jet crashes in Indian Ocean

A Yemeni airliner with about 150 people on board crashes in the Indian Ocean near the Comoros, but a child is found alive.

Money cool design

Singer Michael Jackson dies in LA

Pop star Michael Jackson dies in Los Angeles at the age of 50, after suffering a suspected cardiac arrest.

Big copper wine cup

Atlanta Thrashers Team Report

Once again, there isn't a single member of the Thrashers competing in the NHL playoffs, unless you count former Atlanta players Marian Hossa (Detroit), Marc Savard (Boston) and several others. But the team is well represented in the International Ice Hockey Federation World Championships going on in Berne, Switzerland. When you play for Atlanta, you have to take what you can get when it comes to spring hockey games. A total of nine Thrashers, including captain Ilya Kovalchuk, and one Atlanta draftee are playing for six separate countries in the tournament. The world Championships hardly compare to the intensity of the NHL playoffs, but the fact that so many Atlanta players are competing has to bode well for the team's future. For Kovalchuk, it gives him a chance to continue to build on his leadership skills on the Russian team, traits which improved dramatically as the NHL season progressed. For World Championship rookies like Zach Bogosian and Colin Stuart, who are representing the U.S., it's simply another way for them gain more experience against high-level competition. Both Bogosian and Stuart are expected to be a big part of Atlanta's future, so the more they can play the better it will be for their careers. It hardly compares to the chance to lift Lord Stanley's Cup, but sometimes representing your country can be the highlight of an athlete's career. That's especially true if you aren't used to competing for an NHL title. Unfortunately, that's exactly the case for most Thrashers playing in the tournament.Some teams make huge improvements from one season to the next. The Thrashers aren't such a team. In fact, Atlanta has had a hard time even making baby steps over the last few seasons, a disturbing trend for an organization battling to keep itself from sinking into the financial and attendance abyss. The Thrashers went from being the NHL's third-worst team last season to being the fourth-worst in 2008-09. Minor improvements are not what this team needs. It needs giant leaps, home winning streaks, consistent goaltending, more scoring depth beyond Ilya Kovalchuk and Bryan Little, a couple more promising defenseman like Zach Bogosian and boisterous fan support. Oh, and it wouldn't hurt to have a stable ownership group that could spend less time in the court room, more time in the arena, and more money on free agents. Other than that, the Thrashers are in great shape. The team showed some promising signs over the final five weeks of the season, which included a franchise-best record of 11-3 over 14 games from March 3 through April 3. However, Atlanta took too long to figure out how to balance new coach John Anderson's offense-first style of play while still trying to limit the opposition's scoring chances. By the time the season ended, the Thrashers appeared to have finally figured it out and won 13 of their last 20 games. However, it was clearly too late. Going into next season, the Thrashers have some solid building blocks, starting with All-Star Ilya Kovalchuk, who will enter his first full season as the team's captain next October. Mix in the constantly improving play of rookie defenseman Zach Bogosian along with emerging forwards Bryan Little and Rich Peverley, and the Thrashers should only be a few players away from turning it around. Of course, that's exactly what the team has said for several years. One bright spot on the horizon is the potential addition of 20-year-old center Angelo Esposito next season. Esposito, acquired in last season's trade that sent Marian Hossa to Pittsburgh, has spent the last four seasons playing in the Quebec junior league. Other than adding players that they already have in the system, like Esposito, the Thrashers will continue to have trouble improving the team partly because it's hard to attract top free agents when they've been a non-playoff team for so long. Perhaps the best hope Atlanta has of turning things around lies with the 10.7 percent chance it has of winning the NHL's draft lottery. If the Thrashers do get the No. 1 pick, they probably would select highly touted John Tavares, who would quickly make the team's supporters forget about that little Patrik Stefan mistake. SEASON HIGHLIGHT: It took almost all season for the Thrashers to put together some memorable moments, but when the calendar hit March, Atlanta finally began to show signs of what the future might hold. The Thrasher played their best hockey by far from March 3 through April 3, posting a franchise-best 11-3 record. That stretch, which began with a season-best six-game winning streak, included three straight road wins over the Avalanche, Oilers and Sabres, two overtime wins and two shootout victories. Unfortunately, the Thrashers came crashing back to reality over the final week of the season, losing three of their final four contests. TURNING POINT: Atlanta's postseason hopes were dashed almost from the beginning of the season. For teams to be successful under a new coach they need to develop confidence in his system. And there's no better place to test that confidence than on the road. Unfortunately for the Thrashers, they lost their first six road games, including the first two of the season in overtime.NOTES, QUOTESPhilips Arena has been a dead zone during the NHL Playoffs as usual, but the venue hasn't been without its share of spring excitement with the Atlanta Hawks run through the NBA Playoffs. While the city's basketball team has little to do with its hockey club, hopefully some of the Thrashers' players who remained in town were able to get a feel for what it's like to play in the postseason. Atlanta might not be the most die-hard sports town (and that's putting it mildly) but crowd support had been better than average for the Hawks' playoff games. Hopefully, the same will soon be said about the Thrashers in the playoffs.The Thrashers, in a trend that permeated their season, didn't have any luck when it came to the NHL Draft lottery. Although they had a slight chance of moving up to the No. 1 spot, they remained in the fourth spot. From there, they would likely pick Canadian center Evander Kane out of the Western Hockey League. Kane, a smooth skater, with better-than average play making skills, would give Atlanta another legitimate center. Hopefully, he would be able to make the jump to the NHL quickly. Atlanta needs the help. QUOTE TO NOTE: "Quite honestly, it would be better to be in the playoffs, but it will be a good experience." Thrashers D Zach Bogosian, on playing for Team USA for the first time in the World Championships. ROSTER REPORT MOST VALUABLE PLAYER: Once again, Ilya Kovalchuk is Atlanta's runaway MVP after leading the team with 43 goals and 48 assists in 79 games. Along with his scoring prowess, Kovalchuk emerged this season as a locker room leader after Thrashers general manager Don Waddell rewarded him with the captain's "C" halfway through the season. Kovalchuk still takes the occasional shift off, but that sure beats a few years ago, when he would take the occasional game off. MOST DISAPPOINTING PLAYER: The title clearly goes to Mathieu Schneider. Signed as a free agent for $5.6 million during the offseason, Schneider spent most of the first half of the season injured. He was eventually traded to Montreal. The only good thing Schneider did during his time in Atlanta was mentor rookie defenseman Zach Bogosian. And based on Bogosian's play the second half of the season, Schneider is a good teacher. FREE AGENT FOCUS: There have been no contract talks between C Marty Reasoner and Thrashers general manager Don Waddell, but that doesn't mean Atlanta doesn't want to keep the veteran. After all, the deadline to re-sign Reasoner isn't until July 1. PLAYER NEWS:D Tobias Enstrom suffered a facial fracture below his orbital bone when he was hit from behind in Sweden's game against Latvia in the World Championships. Enstrom left the tournament and underwent surgery, but was expected to make a full recovery.LW Ilya Kovalchuk ranked second among all scorers through the first four games of the World Championships with three goals and six assists. Only Tampa Bay's Martin St. Louis, playing for Canada, had more with four goals and seven assists.G Johan Hedberg might be from Finland, but he seems to have a bit of "Jersey" in him. Hedberg and his wife, Pernilla, recently went to a Bruce Springsteen concert at Philips Arena. It was Hedberg's third time seeing the New Jersey rocker. Perhaps he just likes when the crowd cheers "Bruuuuuce" because it reminds him of the chants of "Mooooose" he is typically showered with. MEDICAL WATCH:G Kari Lehtonen sat out most of the final month of the season with an upper-body injury, the latest bump along the road for Lehtonen, who has battled injuries most of his short career.LW Ilya Kovalchuk missed a few games late in the season with an undisclosed left arm injury. While he was able to return to form, Kovalchuk and the team might want to consider surgery if there's any question that the problem could return.

Rupert Murdoch: “Internet Will Soon Be Over”

Corporate media forced to charged dwindling readership for news content as establishment propaganda organs wither and die while alternative media soars Paul Joseph Watson Thursday, May 7, 2009 Billionaire media mogul Rupert Murdoch gave a strange response when asked about plans for mainstream news websites to charge for content, declaring, “The current days of the internet will soon be over.” He was making reference to the fact that corporate media websites cannot continue to survive under their current failing business model. The establishment media is dying and advertising revenue has plummeted as people turn to blogs and the alternative media for their news in an environment of corporate lies and spin. This has forced sectors of the corporate media to charge the dwindling number of loyal readers they have left for news content, a practice which is set to become widespread according to Murdoch. This will only send more people over to the alternative media as the old organs of de facto state-controlled propaganda wither and die. “Asked whether he envisaged fees at his British papers such as the Times, the Sunday Times, the Sun and the News of the World, (Murdoch) replied: “We’re absolutely looking at that,” reports the Guardian. “Taking questions on a conference call with reporters and analysts, he said that moves could begin “within the next 12 months‚” adding: “The current days of the internet will soon be over.” Murdoch’s newspapers and TV networks, which include Fox News and the Asian Star Network, have seen profits plummet from $216m to just $7m year-on-year. MySpace.com is also floundering despite a recent move to replace the company’s entire management staff. It was all but over for the Boston Globe this week, following a threat to close the 137-year-old publication after net losses of $85 million this year alone. Only a last minute cost-cutting agreement on behalf of its owner, The New York Times Company, and The Boston Newspaper Guild, saved the newspaper. But it’s not just establishment newspapers that are struggling to survive - social networking websites like Twitter and corporate online video giant You Tube are also deep in the red. Apparently, paying out millions in server fees for half the population of the planet to watch clips of cute puppies isn’t a sustainable business model. This is why You Tube is being forced to pursue lucrative partnerships with giant production studios and broadcasters, at the expense of user generated content which has been relegated to a sub-section of its website, taking the “You” out of You Tube altogether. Content that may be deemed harmful to You Tube’s corporate agenda and its multi-million dollar partnership deals, like The Alex Jones Channel, is being systematically erased from You Tube’s website under the pretext of flimsy copyright infringement claims. The jig is up for the corporate media. If they continue to allow free access to their content they will go out of business because there’s not enough advertising revenue coming in, whereas if they charge for content they will lose a huge chunk of their audience and their influence in shaping the news agenda will wane completely. This is the price the corporate media has paid for lying, spinning and obfuscating on behalf of the virulently corrupt power elite and expecting the population to eat it up without question. The corporate media monopoly has terminal cancer and they are losing their power, which is why they are aggressively supporting moves to phase out the old Internet altogether and replace it with “Internet 2,” a highly regulated and controlled electronic Berlin wall, where alternative voices will be silenced and giant corporate propaganda organs will dominate once again. This what Murdoch is really getting at when he assures us that, “The Internet will soon be over” and it’s down to us to stop that agenda from being realized. PrisonPlanet.com

Monument.

Gold to Go machine.

Pete Cashmore: Social Media Marketing: Sears and Kmart Step It Up

The intersection of social media and longstanding brands is a fascinating phenomenon to study. How does a company that has been around for decades react to the fast-paced world of social media? Do they shun it or embrace it? Do they stumble or do they create a deeper connect with their customers? This week, Sears Holdings officially launched two social networks for their customers, MySears and MyKmart. Although these social communities do have a few quirks, the initiative that they represent, coupled with their well-designed social elements, is a sign of how more traditional companies are embracing social media technology to create a better customer experience and a better brand. A little on MySears and MyKmart& So what exactly are MySears and MyKmart? At their core, they are social networks for reviews. Products being sold by Sears are up for review by any community member, on a 1 to 5 star scale, with generally short one line descriptions or criticisms. MySears and MyKmart also incorporate several other useful social elements. They have their own message boards and active blogs. My favorite feature, though, is the Ideas section. This is an area for submitting product ideas to Kmart and Sears, with an up-or-down voting system similar to Reddit. Its a great way for Sears to solicit new ideas and to start a discussion around them. They could also submit their own ideas and get some feedback from loyal customers. Despite some great features, the two social networks do have a few quirks that raise questions. MySears and MyKmart are linked to social media accounts on Twitter, Facebook, and MySpace, but the Twitter links direct you to completely idle Kmart and Sears accounts, a no-no that projects laziness. Its even stranger when you account for the fact that theres an active account for MySears. One other strange issue: some reviews date as far back as 2006. MySears and MyKmart had their soft launches in 2008, so we wonder from where they are pulling these much older reviews. Yet despite these small issues, the overall implementation is great. Thats probably because Sears partnered with Viewpoints, a seasoned social media company with an emphasis on reviews, to build these community websites. Traditional brands and social media What Sears is doing is a more common phenomenon than people may think. Major brands like Ford and Comcast are using Twitter extensively, while other brands like Saturn have their own social networks for their customers. While many older companies have yet to embrace social media technology, others like Sears grasp the advantages presented by new forms of communication. Building community creates more loyal and caring customers. Twitter and Facebook facilitate a wider discussion and can help prevent PR nightmares. And the shareability of social media helps foster the exchange of ideas between brands and consumers. Sears now has two great platforms for collecting ideas from passionate shoppers with the Ideas section of MySears and MyKmart. These networks provide customers with useful product reviews. And finally, Sears now has people who will not only evangelize their brand, but keep them honest as well. This is how many older and more traditional companies are embracing social media, and we think its empowering the customer and improving the quality of major brands. Reviews: Facebook, MySpace, Twitter, reddit.com Tags: mykmart, mysears, social media

New protests over Iran elections

Supporters of Mir Hossein Mousavi plan a new demonstration in Tehran in protest at what they see as a fraudulent presidential election.

It's your earthday, it's your earthday, go shorty... it's your earthday...

Oh, the tens of people who will laugh at the headline. How I love thee, let me count the ways. On this Earth Day I am cleaning out my office because on Friday I am moving to another office in some other area of the building. It's the farthest my boss can move me away from him without putting me in the parking garage with a red stapler. O Banking, you are vast and mysterious. I started the real cleaning out of file drawers and dusty cabinets a few days ago and yesterday got through two entire filing cabinets and this was the state of the sitting spot when I left yesterday: I thought maybe overnight it would morph and change and the folders would breed with the binder clips all Transformers-style and by morning I would have an assistant made totally from office supplies. No such luck. It's still there. The mountain of file folders and remnant notebooks and reference books is all that remains of the seven years I have worked here. Yesterday I dumped and recycled all the memos and presentations and documents that used to collect dust inside those file folders so that one day they will be your post-consumer particulate in toilet paper and kleenex. I also cleaned out the little cabinet by my desk where I store (read: hoard) office supplies and discovered 32 semi-used post-it note pads. THIRTY-TWO. My entire life has been borne on the back of the post-it-note. It's my Borne Identity. hahaha. Cracked myself up. I also had a newspaper from 2002 (?) and at the bottom of the drawer I found two pictures of me and Mr. X from a vacation we took to Denmark and Poland. It was actually funny, and I showed them to Corey and Cindi and then I put them in the recycle bin, too. This kind of cleaning feels GREAT. I thought it would be stressful, especially because I have a lot of work to do this week and the office seemed like a mammoth endeavor but it's been really liberating to take a break, maybe an hour a day, and just focus entirely on getting rid of stuff. By the end of today I should be finished with the major purging and I'll only have a fraction of the stuff left to pack up in boxes. It's amazing how much less often I print stuff out these days -- going through my old files it's clear I used to print everything. The whole industry was paper-heavy, relying on documents printed out and stored in binders. The biggest change I can see is how everyone has slowly started to rely on saving and storing stuff electronically instead of on the printed page. It's the little changes that add up over time. Getting rid of stuff always feels like an accomplishment of greatness ... not necessarily because it's a noble cause in itself, but because your relationship with your stuff can define your whole life. It can drag you down, it can anchor you, it can make you feel secure, or it can just be a nagging to-do list item. The biggest change in my relationship with stuff is that I definitely do not acquire things at the rate I used to. Learning to discern wants from needs was a good first step. Then there's the money aspect -- you have more money when you spend less of it. Finding a way to get rid of things has also been a challenge -- first you have to learn how to just let go of stuff, emotionally, and then you have to find ways of getting rid of your stuff that make sense. Like recycling old papers, and donating usable things (or going with the ol' yard sale technique.) My collection of post-it-note pads tells me I'm still not free of my little packrat ways but I am at least happy when I see my file cabinet purged and the old file folders recycled in the supply cabinet. So I'm not exactly out there playing warrior of the environment today, but cleaning and recycling all this old stuff feels really good which must be good for the environment in a very roundabout way. After all, happy people don't flip you off as often in traffic and that makes the world a better place. Yes? Maybe I will even share my post-its with those less fortunate, like the guy down the hall who is always looking for something to write on. Or maybe I will just keep them all for myself. Baby steps!

Victory square

Martens takes BASS tourney at Guntersville

GUNTERSVILLE, Ala. – Despite nearly relinquishing a 6-pound plus margin, Aaron Martens of Leeds, Ala., held on Sunday to score his fifth BASS victory – his first outside of the state of the California – at the Marine Formula STA-BIL Southern Challenge on Lake Guntersville. The 36-year-old West Coast product, who totaled 107 pounds, 8 ounces, brought home the $100,000 top prize. Fayetteville, N.C.'s Marty Stone finished fifth with 99 pounds, 5 ounces and won $14,000. The day started inauspiciously enough for Martens as his first spot – roughly a 10-foot area – was filled by a local boat. The 2005 Toyota Tundra Bassmaster Angler of the Year ran to his next spot, only to encounter the same boat, which Martens said intentionally stirred up his area to make it virtually unfishable. To boot, Martens struggled through the morning and wasn’t connecting with the same class of fish he had the first three days of competition. But Martens had developed two distinctly different patterns. His best, a Lucky Craft RC 2.5 deep-diving crankbait, was paired with a worm and provided Martens the one-two punch necessary to win a Bassmaster Elite Series event. “I was tense all day. It was horrible,” said Martens, who has accumulated nearly $1.5 million in BASS career earnings. “I had to work really hard today. But this feels really good.” Fishing fans can watch the Southern Challenge on The Bassmasters, which airs Saturday, May 16, at 9 a.m. ET on ESPN2. The daily weigh-ins for all regular-season Elite events and the two postseason events will air live on ESPN360.com, ESPN’s broadband sports network, while a wealth of unique content will also be available at Bassmaster.com. With the victory, Martens climbed to fourth in the 2009 Toyota Tundra Bassmaster Angler of the Year standings and is within striking distance of points leader Kevin VanDam of Kalamazoo, Mich. VanDam, in a relative struggle, finished 20th at Guntersville and left the door open for Reese, Alton Jones and Martens. “You just had to keep moving and keep looking,” said Martens. “I have never seen anything like this lake this week. I have seen other lakes that have bigger fish but nowhere else can you find this many spots that hold that many quality fish. It was just amazing.” A relative afterthought after the first day, Skeet Reese moved up the leaderboard each day, eventually causing Martens to sweat. Like Martens, Reese worked a Lucky Craft RC 2.5 crankbait and capped off his week with an impressive 27-pound, 11 ounce, limit Sunday. While Reese felt he cost himself with a few missed fish early in the tournament, he wasn’t sure if those fish would have made the difference. Saturday was the turning point for Reese when he identified an ultra-productive stretch that he relied upon for the final two days. Sunday was frustrating for Reese in a different sense than most. He was landing 5-pounders galore but couldn’t find the bigger bite that would have put him over the top. Moving up nine spots to third was Kevin Wirth of Crestwood, Ky., with 102 pounds, 3 ounces. In fourth was Mike Iaconelli of Runnemede, N.J., with 101 pounds, 1 ounce. Slipping to fifth from second was Marty Stone of Fayetteville, N.C., with 99 pounds, 5 ounces. Stone is one of many anglers battling to qualify for the 2010 Bassmaster Classic via the Toyota Tundra Bassmaster Angler of the Year standings. The top 36 will earn berths in the Feb. 19-21 Classic on Lay Lake and Birmingham, Ala. Also determined at the end of the regular season will be the top 12 competitors, who will qualify for the inaugural Bassmaster Elite Series Postseason. This past week, BASS announced the details with the Postseason being played out on Lake Jordan (Sept. 12-13) and the Alabama River (Sept. 17-18). The real star of the tournament was by most accounts Guntersville. Anglers, in droves, praised the famed fishery and the final numbers were impressive. Elite anglers caught nearly 1,300 fish and more than 5,300 pounds over the course of four days. A BASS favorite, Guntersville has been the site of more than 20 previous BASS events, including the 1976 Bassmaster Classic, won by Elite Series pro Rick Clunn of Ava, Mo. Up next in the Elite Series is the June 3-6 SpongeTech Tennessee Triumph on Kentucky Lake out of Paris, Tenn. 2009 Marine Formula STA-BIL Southern Challenge 5/7-5/10 Lake Guntersville, Guntersville AL. (PROFESSIONAL) Standings Day 4 Angler Hometown No./lbs-oz Pts Total $$$ 1. Aaron Martens Leeds, AL 20 107-08 315 $100,000.00 Day 1: 5 29-02 Day 2: 5 29-12 Day 3: 5 28-11 Day 4: 5 19-15 2. Skeet Reese Auburn, CA 20 104-04 295 $25,000.00 Day 1: 5 25-09 Day 2: 5 24-14 Day 3: 5 26-02 Day 4: 5 27-11 3. Kevin Wirth Crestwood, KY 20 102-03 290 $20,000.00 Day 1: 5 24-06 Day 2: 5 27-04 Day 3: 5 21-06 Day 4: 5 29-03 4. Michael Iaconelli Runnemede, NJ 20 101-01 285 $15,000.00 Day 1: 5 27-05 Day 2: 5 27-05 Day 3: 5 25-08 Day 4: 5 20-15 5. Marty Stone Fayetteville, NC 20 99-05 280 $14,000.00 Day 1: 5 26-15 Day 2: 5 23-13 Day 3: 5 30-01 Day 4: 5 18-08 6. Mark Menendez Paducah, KY 20 96-01 276 $13,500.00 Day 1: 5 24-07 Day 2: 5 26-12 Day 3: 5 24-00 Day 4: 5 20-14 7. Mike McClelland Bella Vista, AR 20 94-04 272 $13,000.00 Day 1: 5 30-10 Day 2: 5 26-13 Day 3: 5 19-13 Day 4: 5 17-00 8. Byron Velvick Del Rio, TX 20 94-00 268 $12,500.00 Day 1: 5 29-04 Day 2: 5 25-14 Day 3: 5 20-13 Day 4: 5 18-01 9. Jami Fralick Martin, SD 20 93-13 264 $12,000.00 Day 1: 5 26-11 Day 2: 5 24-11 Day 3: 5 25-00 Day 4: 5 17-07 10. Matt Reed Madisonville, TX 20 92-09 260 $11,500.00 Day 1: 5 25-12 Day 2: 5 23-08 Day 3: 5 24-09 Day 4: 5 18-12 11. Todd Faircloth Jasper, TX 20 91-14 262 $11,000.00 Day 1: 5 31-00 Day 2: 5 24-15 Day 3: 5 18-15 Day 4: 5 17-00 12. Alton Jones Waco, TX 20 89-03 254 $10,500.00 Day 1: 5 28-12 Day 2: 5 22-15 Day 3: 5 24-13 Day 4: 5 12-11

If you could travel the entire world, where would you want to go first?

I love to travel and have seen many places in the US, but would love someday to do some foreign travel. The first place I would like to see would be Rome, Italy. I would love to eventually visit each country and its cities and country side. And since we're talking "world" travel, I might love to venture into outer space to see the moon and the planets!How about you? If you could travel the world, where would you want to go first?Karen

apm

Does weather influence your mood?

Some people have a thing called weather depression or weather excitement

where for example, during the cloudy days they are depressed throughout that

whole time because of the lack of sunshine but they get better when the light

comes again.
It's sort of raining outside and I like it so much. Some people told me they

confused a lot about my little hobby at this point.
Anyway, For I see,there is a beauty of changing scale as the rain drops each

time. However, I don't like the thunderstorm. haha
What about you?

Party Time!

Are you ready to party?! The Gina K Designs release party is about to start, which means the full reveals and stamps available for purchase in just a few short hours!!Here is a card I made for the StampTV sketch challenge (as well as Carolyn's STV color challenge this week! I had fun taking a few images from my other sets that coordinate so well with "Wee Tees": the little party hat on the onesie is from "Hip Hop Accessories"(I did a happy dance when my stamps arrived and I saw just how many images and words from that set will work with this new one!!!), and the balloons (which I masked and popped up) are from "Just So Hoppy". I colored everything with Copics, the onesie is pieced from Basic Grey Cupcake DP. I sponged a little blue ink onto the die cut Nestabilities oval to look like clouds. This little greeting (in the same font as the Wee Tees!) is from Gina's Stamp for a Cause "How Sweet it is", and I am so darned excited to be able to use all these greetings with it! To find out the winner of the "Wee Tees" giveaway, click here! See you in a bit at the party (7-10PM CST, but just pop in for as much as you can!! :)

Libby Hickson

Today Libby Hickson rocked out an "ALL Boy" "Wee Tees" Card, literally, and I love how she shows us a great example of how to show off images in this set without using the onesie! This fabulous sketch is from Jen del Muro. I am just lovin' this layout, the colors, the popped up pieces and the little beaded all boy strung like a baby bracelet, it's too cute!! Libby, where'd you get those letters?? must have!! LOL!A little more about Libby, in her own words :Favorite:Technique-- Is sewing on cards considered a technique? It's one of my favorite things to do these days! I also love the cracked glass technique, it's so gorgeous with flower images!Colors/color combo-- Lately I seem to pull out various shades of pink more than anything, I guess it's my daughter's influence on me! One of my all-time favorite color combos was one for SCS a while back - Brocade Blue, Bashful Blue & Real Red. In fact, I used it on one of my Wee Tees cards! (<---click that for another totally cute sample-eeek!) Gina K set by Melanie-- This is a tough one because I love so many of them - of course I love Little Tees and Wee Tees! But I also really love Cuddles and Hugs, the animals in this set are so sweet. Truly, everytime Melanie comes out with a new set (Have a Cookie, A Year of Flowers, A Charmed Life!!) I just marvel at how incredibly clever and talented she is!! (and I swear she's not even paying me to say this!) :-)Gina K sets (from any illustrator)-- Again, so hard to narrow down. I am so in love with the orchid image in Asela's Botanical Dreams set. And another of my all-time favorites is an older one from Gina - Whimsical Valentine! I adore the mice, and bugs are so cute, and I just LOVE that she included "You complete me" as a sentiment!!Craft supplies I can’t live without— My Copics!! What did I do before these came along? I'm also a wee bit of a polka dot fanatic, I am nearly always drawn to polka dot DP or feel the need to add some Cuttlebug Swiss Dots. It's really a bit of an addiction, I probably need to seek professional help...I've been stamping for (how long)— I started out a scrapbooker, but got invited to one of those in-home parties (I think you know which one I mean!!) and so began my obsession! I actually still have the order form from that first party!! So I know the exact date it began - March 24, 2001!!I get my inspiration from-- I'm also a challenge junkie, I love playing them!! Both the wonderful challenges on Splitcoast, and the various blog challenges. It definitely gets my creative juices flowing!The most important things I’ve learned about stamping/cardmaking/scrapbooking are— There are so many talented stampers out there, and it can get a little discouraging at times when you look at how talented they are, and start to think you just don't compare. But, you have to keep it all in perspective. As long as you enjoy what you do, who cares if you'll never be a Debbie Olson or Amy Sheffer (two of my idols, btw) :-) I have a quote at the top of my blog that pretty much sums it up best... "Use what talent you posess: The world would be very silent if no birds sang except those that sang best." - Henry Van DykeSome of my stamping/crafting goals are--. To get published in a magazine (but it would help immensely if I actually started SUBMITTING stuff!!!) and to be featured on some of my favorite blogs. I can check this one off the list, YAY!!!!Some of my stamping/crafting accomplishments are— I've been lucky enough to be on two design teams.Tell us a little about “Courtney’s Closet”! I started this challenge nearly a year ago, when my baby girl was three months old. I just kept looking at her clothes - baby clothes are THE CUTEST - and thinking "wow this would make such a cute card!!". So one day I went ahead and made a card inspired by her outfit, and invited others to play along. And much to my amazement, some wonderful ladies have played along! It's been so much fun this past year!! (and a little teaser - I think I'm going to have to throw a one year anniversary party for my challenge in a couple weeks - tune in for that!) :-)Be sure to go check out Libby's blog today for more "Wee Tees" inspiration! Have a great day!

Suicide attack on Pakistani hotel.

A suicide bomb attack on a luxury hotel in the north-west Pakistani city of Peshawar, has killed 11 people and injured at least 70.

Profit, Independence, & the Kill Switch

Independence day, profit margins, security -- this is important, don't skip it, pictures from the sky, 3D art, and cultural immersion in Europe. In random order.
The Margin Manifesto: 11 Tenets for Reaching (or Doubling) Profitability in 3 Months --
Remember, more customers isn't the goal; more profit is.
Perfect products delivered past deadline kill companies faster than decent products delivered on-time. Test someone's ability to deliver on a specific and tight deadline before hiring them based on a dazzling portfolio.
I've Seen the Future, and It Has a Kill Switch
Digital Manners Policies
Designing devices to be remotely overridden is a bad idea
10 of the World's Most Amazing 3D Street Artists: From Sidewalk Sketches to Awesome Wall Murals --
3D graffiti, whether it's in chalk or paint, on walls or the street, represents a new way of combining the mastery of Renaissance art techniques with the gritty, ephemeral qualities of amazing street art.
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No-Man's-Land and Knowing Man's Land

Obviously our minds exist in a kind of "space," although this space cannot be like physical space (at least Newtonian space; quantum space is a different matter -- pun both intended and unintended). As we have discussed in the past, the "space" of our conscious mind has some analogies with the Newtonian space of everyday life, whereas unconscious (or supraconscious) space is quite different (ultimately we are not just "in" this space but of it). However, we can only make an artificial distinction between conscious and unconscious minds, since each is always implicated in the other -- like the horizontal divide between right and left brain, or the vertical divide between neo-cortex and limbic system.You might say that we are three (or more!) beings in one person. Somehow we have this unproblematic experience of a unified self (at least in mental health), despite the fact that it is constituted of so many innumerable parts. In fact, as I outlined somewhere in my book, we can only have this unified sense of an individual self because we are intrinsically intersubjective -- just like the godhead. So either the early church fathers who worked out trinitarian theology were proto-psychoanalytic developmental theorists, or modern psychoanalysis has unwittingly confirmed the intersubjective godhead. I obviously vote for the latter. The extraordinary implications of this have yet to be fully outlined by anyone -- i.e., the deep analogy between our intersubjective life and God's intersubjective life. Might as well start today.What do we experience when we awaken to the world? For we never experience the world as such, only images of the world, like a multitude of snapshots. And yet, we again experience these images as a unity we call "the world." But we could never experience that unity unless we were first unified on an interior level.In a certain very real sense, psychopathology consists in any breakdown of this interior unity. In extreme cases -- e.g., schizophrenia or real autism -- there is no longer any exterior unity, just one experience after another, with no way to synthesize them. Ever had a panic attack? (You would remember.) Suddenly the world and/or the self are reduced to a blizzard of calamitous novelty. What happened to the unity? The containment? The coherence? The meaning? The future? The past? The depth? The surface? The other? For these are all aspects of one another. In panic, there is no longer anything to cling to, no center, no axis. That's when you find out what it would mean if human beings weren't actually the center of the universe, because the alternative is too horrifying to conceive and tolerate, at least for very long. Suicide would probably be preferable for most people, because in such a hellish condition, death remains the only merciful boundary in the cosmos. At least it is an end.Indeed, I recently evaluated a schizophrenic patient with just this problem. Although heavily medicated, he would nevertheless randomly cycle into periods of agitated depression for which the only solution was immediate suicide (he would have to be hospitalized on each occasion). You have to imagine yourself as utterly and irredeemably worthless, a complete burden on existence itself, an insult to the cosmos, a spit in the eye of God. Thus, you can also see that a primitive form of justice remains: you shall die for this sin of existing! But that is all that remains: the sadistically omnipotent judge and the perverse satisfaction of executing oneself, either symbolically or literally. As you can see, such a person is still "Three," but in an inside-out, upside-down manner, i.e., judge, criminal, and the unholy ghost of sadistic joy. You might think that this is an "extreme case," and it is. However, one thing I learned during my internship at a state mental hospital is that similar processes exist in the "normal" person, only in more subtle form. To take an example that is readily at hand, Perez Hilton took perverse joy in executing the bitch/c*nt from California because she does not share his peculiar ideas about redefining marriage. Burn her! Death to the witch! He says that if he could have, he would have made her "the 51st runner up," i.e., a non-person symbolically outside the psychological bounds of the fifty United States.Likewise, Obama and the insane left want to symbolically execute people who traded belly slaps and caterpillars for thousands of saved American lives. Madness. The secret psychotic madness of everyday life. Or "the left" for short.Back to the images that confront us, through which we somehow intuit a cosmos, i.e., a coherent totality. Obviously, this is a kind of magic that the "raw stuff" of experience cannot pull off on its own. For example, Coondog knows nothing about any "cosmos." While she can judge, after her own fashion, she cannot judge her judgment, and that makes all the difference. She does not think to herself, "Hmm, that was a bit of an over-the-top reaction when the UPS man came to the door, wasn't it? Must check this tendency to bark first and ask questions later. I look as stupid as freaking Perez Hilton."HvB writes that the image-world simulates "something that they themselves are not: a world. They suggest the idea of essence and existence, but they are neither. They have no essence, because they are nothing but surface with no depth. They are mere appearance and are thus incapable of displaying any interiority at all.... They are what they are, nothing more, this sweetness, this noisiness, this quickness, this colorfulness," etc.A moment's introspection will inform you that this is how we come into the world (remama?), for HvB has just described the world of the infant, the inner coherence of which will only become apparent through the adventure of bonding and attachment with a sensitive and empathic other. When you are consciously aware of this process, it makes parenting all the more fascinating, for you are not just watching a self come into being, but a -- the -- cosmos as well. No coherent interior self, no cosmos. Again, one cannot help thinking of the intersubjective Word through which God eternally creates the cosmos. This "loving bond" between the two is prior to any creation -- just as it is with the human being. Or, one might say that it is creation. The great psychoanalyst D.W. Winnicott wrote many papers on how the infant "creates" the world through the feedback loop of sensitive parenting.The discovery of the interior cosmos is also the discovery of law, both the laws of matter and the laws of the heart. Conversely, for the schizophrenic person referenced above, his is a lawless universe, with no consistency or coherence. He can "assemble" a cosmos, so to speak, but he cannot access its a priori interior unity. He will desperately search for patterns and regularities, and cling to them for survival, but it is as if he must live in exile from being.Here again, there is something eerily similar going on with the atheistic materialist, who clings to the surface at the expense of the real depth. Why does he do it? Is it some sort of genetic defect? Childhood trauma? Stupidity? Conformity? Pride? Resentment? Who knows. I don't think there's any general rule.Everything happens in the transitional space between subject and object, or what we might call the "intersubjective third." Without something like this, "the images float without fixity between being and nothingness, just as they float with no fixed residence in a no-man's land between subject and object" (HvB). But this is hardly a "no-man's land." Rather, it is "man's land" -- or knowing man's land -- precisely. Long day ahead. To be continued....

Chengdu Sichuan,firing bus

Died 25,more than 70 be wounded

7 escaped

Wi-Fi

Pushbike

Capital Gate

box of kittens

One of life's (well, my life's) great joys is a warm happy sleeping nest of rabbit kittens. (The domestic, treasured brands of rabbits of course..) I made this in another one of those shadow boxes and used more fur from Eva's lair. It's such a cosy piece. I love those little peaceful faces, in this case especially the brown and white one. Here is a picture of the rabbit box in my parent-in-law's lounge room. I didn't give it to them (don't think they'd like it that much and would have to pretend to!) just wanted to see it in a civilised setting. Couldn't find a civilised setting in my house. Some breathtaking flowers from a Vogue Living magazine:I haven't used twigs or dried flowers in any art yet and it interests me so that's something for the list. It's the start of the school holidays and the older kids are acting strange - half "What are we going to do? Where are we going today? But also full of wild schemes and plans that involve setting up all their toy in the playroom and beginning more long running Barbie sagas.I'll be going to the newsagent today to spend some of the Prime Minister's stimulus package on a pile of magazines. Magazines are good because I can read them while sitting where the kids are so thus spending time with them and listening to them and responding to them (this can get exhausting after days and days) and selfishly enjoying myself at the same time. Kevin said spend it so I'll try to do that locally. Good for the community right?

Ice drop

W building