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Thursday, 25 June 2009
Amazing 'Think Family' Day! Including pets!
The venue at St. George's suite, Twickenham stadium was impressive to start with and I have never seen an event fill up so early! There were around 100 health professionals and students from across the area.
Dr Alice Parshall, the Clinical Director for Hounslow Service Delivery Unit (SDU), very impressively chaired the day, keeping us to time schedule almost to the second, with some of the best summing up after presentations I have ever heard! Her passion for getting services to work together and being aware that a person with a mental health problem has a family that is crucial to their care and recovery is an approach I would love to see nationally.
First speaker was the wonderful Dr Ian Banks who is a part-time GP, A & E doctor in Belfast but also the president of the European Men's Health forum http://www.emhf.org/ and medical journalist amongst other things. He effectively delivered a range of statistics showing the vast differences in gender differences around life expectancy and illnesses. There are 3,000 male suicides a year in the UK - a bigger killer than testicular cancer. Dr Banks suggested one theory of the reluctance by some men to go to the GPs was the female 'barrier's, e.g. receptionist, pharmacy staff.
He also quoted research by Madsen and Juhl (2007) which showed from a study of 607 new fathers 6.5% suffered from 'postnatal' depression but the feeling is that many more go undetected. His belief is that men need health issues presented in a more mechanical, lateral format rather than 'holistic'. Consequently he has written some great books for men in the car manual format! Have a look at the excellent site http://www.menshealthforum.org.uk
I gave my presentation but with the focus today on the effects of my illness on my family and gave some suggestions on how we can make services better for others.
After lunch was a very powerful presentation by Louise Wardale from Barnardo's in Liverpool. I have admired Louise and the work she has done for several years and today was no exception. She showed a stunning DVD called 'Telling it like it is' which conveys what it feels like to be a young carer for a parent with mental health needs. Then the Splinter group of amazing youngsters from Liverpool who are all members of the Barnardo's Action with Young Carers, gave a drama presentation of the issues affecting them. Stimulating stuff showing how we all need to feel safe, wanted and loved! I cannot recommend the work Louise and her team have done enough – especially their 'Keeping the Family in Mind' resource pack. See http://www.barnardos.org.uk/research_and_publications
I loved Louise's message from the youngsters that
'By listening you may be able to understand.
By understanding you may be able to help'.
Next we heard from Sarah Ghani, a Consultant Psychologist and Clinical Lead for Older people's Services – she spoke about 'Too old to help? Involving Older family members'. She effectively reminded us of the powerful resource they can be yet are often undervalued for their skills, knowledge and experience. It reminded me that we had done this with my grandparents when I was so poorly. The tendency is to want to protect the older family members yet they can offer great support. I had felt I did not want to upset my Grandma and I know I put an act on when I was with her! Maybe I should have been much more open with her? Mum and I miss her terribly these days, especially when we have a crisis – Mum always says her mother worried over incidental issues but had words of wisdom for big issues.
Very often the last session of a conference is thin on the ground for attendance as people slope off after coffee – not today. The final presentation was given by Graham Crennell (Head of Governance and Risk at Hounslow SDU) and Donna Sloss (Senior Nurse Clinical Lead for Treatment and Emergency Psychiatry). The subject – Home, Pets, the Family and Mental Well-being'. Fabulous!
They showed how important pets are to us humans showing us affection, giving us a purpose to get up, to exercise, etc. Research from America demonstrates how using pets with people with mental health problems can have a significant effect on recovery. A powereful and cheap way to help people – bring it on I say!
The only problem I had was making the assumption that Travelodge would have a hairdryer and an ironing board – oops! Arriving very late due to trains, road works, etc. meant they had all gone! My learning point for my travels in future!!
Other than that the whole event was a joy to be part of and I had one of the most informative and useful days I have had in a long while.
Dr Parshall and her team have a great deal to be proud of and I shall be pointing other areas to them as an example of good practice.
Thank you Suzanne and Jane for asking me to be part of such a wonderful event!
Wednesday, 24 June 2009
Are you FINE? NW LSA supervisors
It was held at the Holiday Inn at Haydock.
The day was chaired by Lisa Bacon who is the Head of Maternal , Child and Social Care Division at the University of Manchester and NW LSA Link Supervisor of Midwives. I was stunned at how she knew all almost 100 delegates by name, as evidenced at question times! Very impressive!
The day began with Professor Maggie Pearson, from the University of Lancashire who reported her findings on current data and the plans for perinatal mental health networks in the NW. We are still grossly under-funded on these services, e.g. at least 16 specialist beds short in the NW and a huge shortage of specialist staff across the region. On the positive side there is shortly going to be a seconded placement available to develop services and little by little progress is being made – although not as fast as we might like!
Next was me! I was delighted when one midwife reminded me after my presentation that I had missed out my tip about people who say they are 'Fine' – she had heard me speak last year. I believe we use this as a standard reply in our society to the basic greeting of 'hello, how are you'. Saying 'fine' is quick and easy and generally we don't want to know how someone's bunions are! However, when it comes to asking a postnatal lady how she is 'fine' can be an avoidance retort. One Mum told me it stands for 'I'm f***** up, insecure, neurotic and emotional'! My suggestion to professionals is if they get the reply of 'fine' but they instinctively feel they are not, to push a little further by maybe placing a hand gently on theirs, give them eye contact and ask 'but are you really?' Often this is all Mums need to open the flood gates to their true status. The midwife who reminded of it has used this technique many times effectively she told me. Thank you Ann! We got it fitted in during the question section to tell everyone else! I find feedback like this so powerful and drives me on!
Carla Mobear and Michelle Greenwood then gave us all an insight into the work they do at the Andersen Ward at Wythenshawe hospital – our NW mother and baby unit. They used two case studies to show some of the severe illnesses they have to deal with and the complex issues involving many other agencies across the region.
After lunch Professor Margaret Oates delivered her presentation in her usual impressive manner with plenty of information (and humour) around the CEMACH reports on Saving Mothers Lives/Why Mothers die.
Following this Kim Gibbon showed how the Wirral have developed their perinatal networks and services over the last few years.
Finally Deborah Forrest, a midwife with special interest in mental health talked about 'The History Girls – how a mental health history helps'.
A well-planned and useful day! Well done to Marian Drazek and her team.
Thank you for asking me to participate!
Friday, 19 June 2009
Liverpool Chamber of Commerce - 60 Really useful Minutes
Today I presented '60 really useful minutes' to members of Liverpool Chamber of Commerce.
The invitation read
With all the doom and gloom around us in the current economic climate do you need a boost to your outlook? Are you feeling like a hamster in a wheel that daren't or can't get out of it?
1 in 4 of us are likely to suffer a mental health problem which requires treatment at some point in our adult life. Look around at your friends and colleagues – if they appear okay then could it be you?!
Do you know what to look out for and what to do to help yourself or others?
I will share some really useful tips to identify the dangers of ignoring symptoms of stress and
give members a tool-kit to encourage positive mental health and well-being.
Happy and healthy businesses will be the ones to go from strength to strength, so come along and spend 60 Really Useful Minutes to increase your chances of being one!
I learnt something really useful - not all PC's are compatible with Windows Vista and just before I was due to start had to do a dash back to my car for my laptop! After what my son Dominic would call a 'run like a woman' in high heels on cobbles, I got started a few minutes later than anticipated. I learnt early on in my speaking career not to assume that IT works and always have a back-up, but today's learning point for me was not to leave it in the car!
Feedback after the session was that I related my mental illness well to parallels with business - having a baby was the catalyst to my mental illness and I asked the audience 'What is yours?'
From the nodding of heads I touched nerves when I outlined some of the signs and symptoms to look out for!
Chamber staff feel my message needs to be heard by many in business as the warnings to look after our mental health are very relevant today.
It was an new angle for me to relate my story and lessons to be learnt from it for the purpose of a business audience - I hope those present left realising the need to be kind to themselves!
Thursday, 18 June 2009
Mums in Lincoln! You have a PND support group!
Have a look at their details here
I wish them every success with it and am sure it will help many!
Are you interested in PROMS?
Patient Reported Outcome Measures (PROMs)
Date: Wednesday 8th July 2009
Venue: Manchester Conference Centre, Manchester
This one day conference provides a practical guide to measuring and monitoring clinical outcomes using PROMs. You will hear how practitioners are leading the way in using PROMs from involving patients and service users in outcome measurement, using generic and disease specific PROMs in practice to support decision making and improve the outcomes information given to patients and integrating clinical and patient reported outcomes in clinical practice.
Contact: For more information please call Hanisha on 020 8541 1399, email email@example.com or visit http://www.healthcare-events.co.uk
Download Brochure:
Patient Reported Outcome Measures (PROMs)
Date: Wednesday 14th October 2009
Venue: 4 Hamilton Place, London
This one day conference provides a practical guide to measuring and monitoring clinical outcomes using PROMs. You will hear how practitioners are leading the way in using PROMs including involving patients and service users in outcome measurement, commissioning and rewarding on the basis of PROMs results and using generic and disease specific PROMs in practice to support decision making and improve the outcomes information given to patients.
Contact: For more information please call Hanisha on 020 8541 1399, email firstname.lastname@example.com or visit http://www.healthcare-events.co.uk
Download Brochure:
News from Centre of Excellence in Interdisciplinary Mental Health
The Centre of Excellence in Interdisciplinary Mental Health (CEIMH) is one of 74 Centres selected for funding by the Higher Education Funding Council for England.
Its overall aim is to promote excellence, innovation and creativity in the delivery of interdisciplinary mental health teaching and learning. Central to the CEIMH's philosophy is the promotion of service user and carer involvement, together with an emphasis on collaboratively creating multimedia teaching and learning resources to enhance interdisciplinary mental health education and training.
Have a look around their website at http://www.ceimh.bham.ac.uk
Join their mailing list for useful additions to your work, especially if you are involved in teaching about mental health.
Friday, 12 June 2009
Mothers Apart from Their Children (MATCH) AGM
Today I felt honoured to be in a room full of amazing women at MATCH (mothers apart from their children) 30th anniversary AGM. www.matchmothers.org
It is a volunteer support network of mothers who have been separated from their children by a variety of circumstances. On their website you will find contact information, aims and links.
I first was made aware of MATCH by a lady whose children had been taken from her due to a mental illness in the postnatal period. It seems she is not alone! I offered MATCH my support with ideas of improving mental health. Little did I know that I too would become a mother apart from my child due to my separation from my husband. My new career as a speaker takes me travelling and it is easier for my son to stay with his father and it is me who has to come to terms with not seeing him on a daily basis. It was good today to be with other women who also are the receiving end of judgement by some members of society who may consider us as being 'unnatural, wicked, selfish, unfeeling, must-have-abused them' and other such stigmas!
Every single mother there has been parted from their child, whether 12 months old or 54 years old, for some sad reason. Often marriage breakdown or due to decisions made by others. Many describe it as a 'living bereavement'. Many stories are truly heartbreaking.
I know the pain of standing at the check-out of a supermarket and seeing something that you would normally get for your child – but there is no point as you will not be seeing them.
Today we shared stories; low points; experiences but best of all was the general warmth, love and support that filled the room. Tears and laughter were shared along with hints and tips of ways to cope. It is obvious that MATCH has quite simply been a life saver for many. When I discovered other ladies had been through the hell of puerperal psychosis I found strength and support through them – in the same way this is why I keep up with this blog and my website. Likewise when ladies find MATCH the strength from not feeling alone or a freak is huge.
Penny Cross as the outgoing Chair did an excellent job in keeping us quiet when needed! She made us laugh telling us that first thing this morning she had been hanging around outside the building to welcome any nervous-looking ladies for the meeting. As one walked closer Penny seemed to recognise her so politely asked if she was looking for MATCH. It seemed not – it was Carol Thatcher!
One of the new co-chairs is Sarah Hart, author of A Mother Apart.
Have a look at her website and blog too – a lovely lady! www.sarahhart.co.uk/
I must also mention the venue – we met at the Diana Memorial Fund www.theworkcontinues.org/ premises in County Hall, right by the Houses of Parliament and the London Eye. Great location and it was free of charge – if you are in the voluntary sector see here if you meet their criteria. http://www.theworkcontinues.org/page.asp%3Fid%3D180&ei=an4ySvTAOdiQjAe7-4GcCg&sa=X&oi=smap&resnum=1&ct=result&cd=3&usg=AFQjCNEUGKQhY645c3GhuX6RzqV8i6kQtQ
At the end of the afternoon we had a raffle for which we had all taken a small item. Also a lucky dip of cards/letter/poems/ideas of things which had helped us a members. Lovely ideas!
Listening to other stories today I felt very humbled and extremely lucky in comparison to many there. Yet no-one told their story to out-do another and all offered mutual support.
The overall feeling was positive; that things change and that you can learn to move on with a different life apart from your child – but the love for them and the pain of separation is one that doesn't go. Grandparents, parental alienation (when one parents 'poisons' the child against the other) and the need for the group were all stressed.
Long may MATCH continue and I for one shall offer my continued support.
Wednesday, 10 June 2009
Postnatal depression in Dads?
I believe that there is such a thing as postnatal illness for men - it happens to be mental health problems in the postnatal period. For the new father even attending the birth can be traumatic. I know Nick felt totally powerless and out of control when I gave birth to our son. I know our experience could be described as a 'traumatic birth' due to complications but for any guy who doesn't even like going to a doctor's surgery to be flung in the midst of a surgical theatre and expected to smile, it is verging on the ridiculous! Mothers are lucky if they get debriefed after the birth so there is no chance for the fathers! Within hours the mother is back home and Dad is expected to be the perfect father, husband/partner, host, secretary, cook, cleaner, laundryman. Oh yes - and be ecstatic and fit in a pint or two with the lads down the pub and go back to work in a day or two. Did I mention being woken every few hours too?
I have every sympathy for the dads but my plea is the same as mums - DO NOT SUFFER IN SILENCE. Read the articles and books suggested above. Talk to them or other people in your support network. Time, patience, support and a baby who will start to 'give back' will all improve the situation.
When I spoke in Australia last year at the Marce conference I listened to Timothy O'Leary from Frances Perry House, Melbourne, talking about his 'Father's Time Program'.
Fathers in these groups are encouraged to be positively anchored during times of stress - a frank, open discussion about these issues leaves pre-natal fathers feeling much more purposeful about their transition to parenthood than simply encouraging fathers to 'get involved'.
We need more of this education in the UK. let me know if you have come across any!
Thank you to my colleague from Professional Speakers Association, Ali Turnbull for telling me about these articles. See her website at www.fit-to-print.co.uk
Monday, 8 June 2009
Sunday, 7 June 2009
Let me know what you think!
Friday, 5 June 2009
Making Love Work: Mental Health and Relationships
Subject: Making Love Work: Mental Health and Relationships featuring Terry Real
Date: June 8, 2009
Time: 1:00-2:00 PM, EST
This FREE webinar featuring Terry Real, best-selling author and family therapist helps you build successful relationships, especially when caring for a partner who has depression. Terry will discuss how to recognize why you don't get what you want in a relationship and provide strategies for how to turn the challenge of depression into an opportunity to strengthen your relationship.
Terry Real is the bestselling author of I Don't Want to Talk About It: Overcoming the Secret Legacy of Male Depression; How Can I Get Through to You: Reconnecting Men and Women; and most recently The New Rules of Marriage: a Breakthrough Program for 21st Century Relationships. He has been a practicing family therapist for more than twenty years and has lectured and given workshops across the country.
Terry has been featured most recently on NBC Nightly News, Today, Good Morning America, the CBS Early Show and Oprah, as well as in The New York Times, Psychology Today, Esquire, and numerous academic publications.
Thursday, 4 June 2009
Don't leave things in your car overnight!
My fellow guests were Maxine Muzzlewhite who is director of a woman's online magazine at www.womenseverything.com and Andy Kelly, known to his friends as 'Andy on the telly' due his appearance on 34 different TV quiz shows! Look out for him on 'Who wants to be a millionaire' on 20th June.
Some of the topics from the daily newspapers we chatted about included being sent to jail for being a litter lout; getting married in space; drink driving and being burgled.
The latter topic reminded me of when Nick, Dominic and I drove down to Cornwall for a holiday. Enroute we stayed overnight at the Travelodge at Bristol. Foolishly we left everything in the back of our estate car apart from overnight things in the lit car park under the hotel. Next morning we discovered the back window smashed, many of our possessions thrown all over the floor and several bags missing. Dominic was distraught to see his toys scattered all over. Then we realised that in one of the missing bags was a totally irreplaceable item. 'Mum! The diary!' Dom howled. Every night since he had been born part of bedtime routine was 'to do the diary'. 'Eyes without Sparkle' could not have been written without it.
When Dom was 5 we bought a second 5 year diary and the nightly routine continued. We had thought one day it would be useful for book 2. But four years of our family history had just gone. Clothes can be replaced but that diary was so very special. We put pleas out on radio and in the local press but the diary was never returned. The police said that it was all probably stolen to be sold to fund drug habits. But to a very sad 9 year old that meant nothing. He has never written a diary since. He lost heart - who can blame him? Since then I never leave anything in my car!
All of us then sponsored Heather who is doing the Race for Life run on Sunday for cancer research. Go girl!
Sent from my BlackBerry wireless device
Wednesday, 3 June 2009
Booktrust is an independent charity dedicated to encouraging people of all ages and cultures to engage with books. The written word underpins all our activity and enables us to fulfill our vision of inspiring a lifelong love of books for all.
Booktrust provides the gift of free books and guidance materials; our Bookstart programme reaches directly into the homes of babies, toddlers and young children up to the age of three. This is followed by Booktime as they start primary school and by Booked Up which is aimed at eleven year olds just as they begin secondary school. The free book programmes are funded by the Dept of Children Schools and Families, the devolved administrations and are generously sponsored by children's publishers
Booktrust free book programmes give every family the opportunity to enjoy the pleasure of sharing stories songs and rhymes and also help to develop parental bonding, family cohesion, and positive attitudes to school.
We are at the early stages of developing a special maternity pack to be used with vulnerable mums and would like to invite your input: the aim of the new maternity pack will be to support mothers and fathers to bond with their baby whilst in utero. I am particularly keen for any midwifes to contact me with examples of current activity in promoting bonding antenatally and any props you may be using for example rhymes, or books.
Please contact me Elaine Bielby Booktrust National Development Manager - Health Partnerships Tel: 01522 804584 or Mobile 07826937473 or email email@example.com.
Many thanks!
PSA, LinkedIn and Passion!!
It was great to have some familiar faces but also some brand new guests who seemed very keen to join us.
Our first speaker was the excellent Will Kintish. I met Will a few years ago as a naive and dreadful 'networker' at a seminar he was giving at The Heath in Runcorn. He used me as his stooge on the stage and a friendship was formed which has grown over the years. It was Will who introduced me to the PSA, which in turn has been a huge part in changing my life! http://www.professionalspeakersassociation.co.uk
As a former accountant who has become the guru of networking he has now used his skills for 'online' purposes and is now delivering training on using LinkedIn.
As soon as Will began we were all amazed by some of the 'obvious but we missed them' features of LinkedIn. Did you know you can link it to your Outlook for example, and a button will appear on emails so you can see if the sender is on LinkedIn?
For this and more great uses get in touch with Will and I highly recommend any course he does!
Incidentally he is the very proud Dad of his soon to be famous popstar son Mike who is a member of the Yeah Yous. http://www.myspace.com/theyeahyous
Get them booked for the PSA convention Will!
Next we had the unforgettable style of presenting from Chris Davidson. I love the way he speaks and could listen to him for hours! I would love him to read a story to me as he would make it so alive! I asked Chris to share some of his skills on presenting. These included adding value, being persuasion and adding passion so your audience take action. Chris gave me some mentoring to help my presentational skills and encouraged me to braver than I ever dreamed I could be. If you are serious about speaking have a look at
The evening was another one with PSA where I left feeling I had been patted on the head for things I am doing right as a speaker but kicked up the bottom for what I can improve on!
Thank you so much guys!
Next meeting is on 7th July where current PSA national President Roger Harrop will be speaking.
Got to go and get busy on LinkedIn now!
Tuesday, 2 June 2009
Hindsight is a wonderful thing!
I have just justified being out in the sunshine all morning by reading 'When Baby Brings the Blues' by Dr Ariel Dalfen.
This book is aimed at sufferers and their families affected by postpartum depression - yes, it is American, but readily is applicable to the UK, apart from some of the health professional systems.
It aims to give sufferers a treatment plan to follow. I was very impressed with the evidence-based content but I feel it may be 'too heavy' for those who are severely ill. However for those maybe facing a second pregnancy or just starting to become poorly or in recovery I would recommend it.
I also think health professionals would find it useful too and shall be recommending it.
I discovered a condition know as the baby pinks! As opposed to the baby blues this is postpartum mania when mothers can seem euphoric. I associated with this.
In hindsight I recognised 'me' in there and got quiet angry at times, scaring the birds in the garden with shouts of 'why did no-one tell me?'.
It seems I had many of the risk factors - a poorly pregnancy, a perfectionist nature, complicated birth, stressful events, a colicky baby.
All these were stacked up against me and then with sleep deprivation thrown in on top - I can see now where my signs and symptoms of postnatal illness began to take hold.
I wish I had been given this book then to read - especially Chapter 4 which gives some excellent points on self-help, ranging from how to think more positively, combating anxiety, managing expectations, stop trying to please and ways to get more sleep.
There are chapters on professional help, a good guide to medication, weaving a web of support (emotional, practical, information and advice) plus specific pointers on the relationship with the partner/husband. No-one ever gave Nick and I advice and in hindsight perhaps if we had been shown how to communicate with each other properly then maybe we would still be together. Wallpapering over the cracks doesn't work and just getting on practically is important but doesn't help the deeper issues.
There is a great resource list (mainly USA and Canada) but a very wide bibliography for all the evidence based research. I know the book is aimed at sufferers but from a professional point of view I would have found it useful if this excellent list could have been referenced within the text. But for students looking for a data base of research articles - go for it!
One of Dr Dalfen's suggestions is also to make time for yourself and not to feel guilty - so I am off back out in the garden with a diet coke after I have posted this!!


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Osaka city, where Servcorp Edobori Center Building is located used to be called "the lagoon city". In recent years, Osaka has been trying to revitalize that lagoon city back as one of its urban redevelopment projects. So, they started "Osaka Aquapolises Festival" in 2009. Luckily this year it was held from the 11th of September to the 18th of October around Nakanoshima area, Nishi-ku.
This festival spreads from the symbol of Osaka Aquapolises Nakanoshima Park, the western Nakanoshima area to the eastern area then, Higobashi / Yodoyabashi area, also Osaka Dotonbori, in Chuo-ku. This is one festival you can enjoy from all directions.
What will entertain you there is..
A Classic concert featuring with Osaka Symphony Orchestra
http://www.osaka-classic.com/ (In Japanese )
A Craft beer picnic (Enjoy the beer and green on the grass)
A Cruise event (have enough view of the lagoon city thorough out Osaka on the ship)
Aka-Marche (Art pieces market)
Kuusou no Shima (manufacturing workshop for kids)
Other than the above, there are programs for you to enjoy the waterfront.
This is a great place to exercise and have some savory foods afterward.
**the dates will change depending on the events and situation**
(c) Osaka Convention & Tourism Bureau
Can you imagine how it feels like to have this much green in a concrete jungle, Osaka city, Nishi-ku? Moreover it is the city of water while it is also a greenery city. How extravagant this Nishi-ku area is!
You work very hard every day, why don't you take some refresh time?
It entertains adult to kids. It will be great to take your family there if you have.
It is walking distance from Servcorp Edobori Center Building, also it has a great access from each of Nakanoshima station, Kitahama station and Yodoyabashi station in Keihan Line.
I'd love to recommend this event for our clients as well.
It is less hot these days which means you finally are able to enjoy the weather outside of the office. What a perfect season to treat yourself with lush green and good food in a waterfront city!
Edobori Center Building
Level 9, Edobori Center Building
2-1-1 Edobori Nishi-ku
Osaka 550-0002 Japan
+81 6 6225 1000

subset: commoncrawl


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"Every street, every stone, seemed to be only for us. We were alone on earth, in Paris in August ", Charles Aznavour, French singers in the song and film "Paris in August,".
Umbert wants you to enjoy Paris and the charm of the "City of Lights."
Not everything is closed, and above all everything is accessible!Umbert enjoys terraces, gardens, a boat on the Seine and a motorcycle adventure.
Day 1
- Check-in
Do you know why 1,900 red geraniums decorate the front of the hotel ? This is the testimony of the love story between Jean Gabin and Marlène Dietrich. The Plaza is a haute couture hotel where luxury is in the details, and not in extravagance. The hotel is a flower paradise in spring and summer.
Hôtel Plaza Athénée 25 avenue Montaigne 75008 Paris
Etiquette: if you have already stayed at a hotel, you can ask by booking the room number that you like so much.
- Brunch 14:00-16:00
Umbert enjoys the terrace and beautiful people on the famous Avenue Montaigne. An ideal moment to let time slip between friends, and sharing an excellent bottle of fresh rosé wine.
L' Avenue 41 avenue Montaigne 75008 Paris
Etiquette: a man always asks his female guest if the choice of wine suits her.
- Shopping 16:00-18:00
A little tipsy, Umbert wanders along Avenue Montaigne, looking for a unique piece in haute couture boutiques.
Dior: the famous haute-couture shop presents a men's collection with a sleek and young design. Christian Dior said: "Real elegance is everywhere, especially in what is not visible." Dior Homme 24 rue Francois 1er 75008 Paris
Yves Saint Laurent: The Saint Laurent look remains timeless from costume to shoes. Umbert admires the decoration of the shop reminiscent of the "Art Deco" style. Yves Saint Laurent 53 avenue Montaigne 75008 Paris
Etiquette: if you drop an article of clothing, it should be picked up unless the seller is near you and does.
St Dupont: Umbert chooses Marilyn Monroe's favorite lighter, Jackie Kennedy, Humphrey Bogart, and a fountain pen to rediscover the taste and chic of writing. St Dupont 58 avenue Montaigne 75008 Paris
Vuarnet: Umbert has tried Mick Jagger's 02 mounts, the 06 worn by Alain Delon, and Daniel Craig's "Glacier" model in "Specter." He chose the 03 models created in 1960 and dressed by Jeff Bridges in the movie The Big Lebowski. Vuarnet 28 rue Boissy d'Anglas 75008 Paris
Caron: Umbert now enters the sacred world of Caron perfumes. The perfume flows from crystal fountains. In 1934 was born the mythical "For a Man" and the choice is difficult: it will be "The 3rd Man" racier. Caron 23 rue François 1er 75008 Paris
Etiquette: knowing how to perfume is an art. A perfume is put on the wrists and in the hollow of the elbows, to keep all of its aromas.
- Hairdresser 18:00-19:00
Cercle Marc Delacre: Umbert goes to his fetish care center for a moment of relaxation that includes cutting, shaving, and facials.
Cercle Marc Delacre 17 avenue George V 75008 Paris
Etiquette: let the hairdresser create for you, or be precise on your desires, he will accept your choice.
- Dinner 21:00 – 23:00
The garden and the terrace of the Hotel Bristol are very green, with excellent French cuisine. Umbert follows the men's dress code recommended by the management: smart and casual outfit, mandatory jacket, tie not mandatory but preferable. For a gift: a tea set for two from the unique "Histoire Naturelle" collection of birds and butterflies hand painted on Limoges porcelain.
L'Epicure, Hôtel Le Bristol 112 rue du Faubourg Saint Honoré 75008 Paris
Etiquette: a linen jacket is ideal for this restaurant in the summer. To be even chicer, choose a printed suit pocket, be careful pocket and tie must be different.
- Cocktail 23:00
A splendid view, the calm of the Kleber Avenue in August, Umbert joins friends on the rooftop of the Peninsula Hotel, for a tasting of the cocktail menu and lots of laughs.
The Península 19 avenue Kleber 75116 Paris
Etiquette: if the choice of the cocktail is confusing, ask the waiter or tell the bartender to compose it according to what you like.
Day 2
- Coffee & Croissants 10:00 – 11:00
The freshness of the interior garden of the Plaza Athenee hotel is so pleasant in the summer. Umbert decides to have a quiet breakfast while browsing through the latest fashion magazines.
Hôtel Plaza Athénée 25 avenue Montaigne 75008 Paris
Etiquette: you can cut the croissants in half, spread a portion of butter, jam, honey as and from the tip.
- Exhibition 12:00 – 14:00
The exhibition "In the Tune with the World" follows two complementary paths: "Man in the universe of life" (Humans in the universal living) & the second plunges the viewer into the world of Japanese artist: Takashi Murakami.
Au diapason du monde, Fondation Louis Vuitton 8 avenue du Mahatma Gandhi 75116 Paris (until august 27th 2018)
Etiquette: when entering the different rooms, say hello to the guards, but do not ask them to explain the works, it's not their job.
- Brunch 14:00-16:00
Umbert chooses to have a quick lunch on the spot, admiring the greenery of the Jardin D'Acclimatation.
Fondation Louis Vuitton 8 avenue du Mahatma Gandhi 75116 Paris
Etiquette: The bread is not eaten before the first course is served, even if you are starving!
- City boat tour 16:00-19:00
An unexpected moment, Umbert joins his friends Diane and Emma for a tour on the mythical Riva boat of the 1960s, to discover Paris from the Seine: champagne on board.
Paris Luxury Boat, contact Laurence [email protected] ( 06 60 16 00 79)
Etiquette: there is an aperitif on the boat: do not throw anything in the Seine, it's good to preserve our planet.
- Dinner 21:00 until late …
Tonight will be a festive dinner with all Umbert friends remained in Paris. To continue the evening, they will enjoy cocktails at the bar L'Herbarium on the roof-top. All the charm of the roofs of Paris.
Hôtel National des Arts et Métiers 243 rue Saint Martin 75003 Paris
Day 3
- Coffee & Croissants 11:00 – 12:00
The party continued late into the night, as often in Paris. Umbert decides to have a quick breakfast at the hotel.
Hôtel Plaza Athénée 25 avenue Montaigne 75008 Paris
Etiquette: when you go to the buffet, take each time a clean plate, the staff will get rid of the one who served.
- City moto tour 13:00-16:00
Umbert wants to enjoy the summer and chooses a very original experience to visit Paris, its history and its secrets. How? Equipped with a vintage helmet, it takes place on board in an authentic sidecar driven by a Gentleman Sider, after choosing the formula that suits him.
Etiquette: know how to listen to the explanations of the guide, do not cut the word especially by saying "me I …"
- High tea 17:00
The weekend ends in his favorite place in Paris. The ideal time before taking the plane, the Ritz Hotel terrace. "The Ritz is the ultimate step before paradise," said E. Hemingway. French Tea Time, in the luxurious setting of this amazing place. Madeleines, a typical French pastry, served before the Melba Peach, and the tray of 3 floors filled with traditional biscuits. Not to mention the "exceptional tea." Reservations required.
Hôtel Ritz 15 place Vendôme 75001 Paris
Etiquette: do not cut a hot toast yourself. Ask the server to cut it in half.
Summer is ending, and already the images and emotions are jostling. September will be rich in discoveries and events, Umbert will make you love the beginning of autumn in Paris.
How to become irresistible? Download now the free eBook available on this blog.
Enjoy the journey !
Umbert de Paris


text: It is highly recommended to consider aftermarket parts too when interested in "renewing" your vehicle. After all, car body parts do not influence your safety standards. Make sure that you understand the principles of aftermarket parts though, since plenty of people avoid them without knowing how they are created. The process is simple. They are developed according to the manufacturer's specifications and measurements, so they are identical to OEM parts. They are produced in an unofficial facility, so you do not have to pay for the brand too. Therefore, they are very inexpensive. This is why you should visit Amatos Auto Body website.


text:
This is happening in your country and a country near you.......
We live in a country called Austland
The Australia we knew is no more
Where sensible people do ludicrous things
Or risk breaking some law.
In Austland we've police dogs with muzzles
Less the villain has cause to complain
And to steal from a shop and say 'sorry'
Means your free with no stain to your name.
You had better leave lights on in buildings
When you lock up and go home at night
'cause the burglars might hurt themselves entering
And there's no way you'll be in the right.
When speaking be wary in Austland
As some terms that you've used all your life
Now have connotations unintended
And you'll end up in all sorts of strife.
We elect politicians in Austland
To give us the laws of the land
Yet so many laws care for those from abroad
The whole thing has got out of hand.
The borders are open in Austland
And of migrants there's no keeping track
Just a few of the thousands illegally here
Will ever be caught and sent back.
The exception to this is the hero
Who fought for this land in the war
He's old and he's sick, he might cost us a bit
So he's not welcome here anymore.
When the history is written of Austland
Historians may just recall
That the craziest people in what was Australia
Were the public who put up with it all.!!!!!!!!!
Let's scrap Political Correctness and these so called 'Human Rights'


text:
The Federal Reserve's decision to raise interest rates was long overdue. The US economy is in a good state and more solid than the European one. I expect at least two more raises this year.
There is a significant risk that the US central bank will lift rates at too slow a pace, which would increase the risks to financial stability.
The prospect of higher interest rates in the US puts the Europan Central Bank under pressure not to prematurely … [continue reading]Read more


text:
The Kitchen Games with Yummy x Kitchen Aid Cooking Demo | iMunchJuly 30, 2015
Yeah, I do believe that I had a pretty awesome food week the past few days, and who wouldn't be hyped when you can finally get to meet one of your idol chefs work in the kitchen live, and help you create yumminess in the kitchen with real easy recipes?!
Don't get me wrong, being a mom I do know how to create the basic dishes and I can make magic with left overs in the kitchen, but when it comes to actually making edible food from scratch, the only things that I can make are: Adobo, Sinaing na Tulingan and Pork Bistek. I can't even master the art of Kapampangan Asado which my Husband is so fond of.
So I was pretty ecstatic last July 25, as Yummy Magazine, the number 1 food magazine in the Philippines, and Kitchenaid premium kitchen appliances teamed up for the 2nd wave of their mouthwatering Cooking Demo. And the chef to be our teacher that day? Chef Gino Gonzalez, the country's most sought-after chefs and the COO and Head Instructor at the Centre for Asian Culinary Studies.
Before the cooking demo by Chef Gino started, avid Yummy magazine readers and food fanatics such as myself were able to make 3 delicious recipes using Kitchenaid appliances. The Kitchenaid 13-Cup Food Processor was perfect for making Tinapa Paté, which by the way is my favorite! As in pinapak ko na siya cause I can't get enough of the stuff hehehe.. Just throw in some stuff like cream cheese, tinapa, garlic and parsley, Pulse and spread on your pandesal or favorite sandwich!
[caption id="" align="aligncenter" width="640"] a yummy reader using the Kitchenaid Hand Mixer[/caption]
There was also Kitchenaid's Hand Mixer that made it really easy to make a creamy layered dessert called Ube Keso Trifle. I wasn't able to try it though just because I wasn't feeling "ube" at the moment, but I asked fellow moms and Yummy magazine readers and they said it was pretty delish!
To down it all, we got to make Mango Lychee Smoothie with the help of the 5 speed hand blender, which by the way is also the perfect tool to make the delectable Salted Panna Cotta that Chef Gino had made.
At the Filipino-themed cooking demo held at the Enderun Amphitheatre in Taguig City, Chef Gino shared 3 of his favorite recipes:
Asadong Vaca, and YUP, it's pronounced that way in Pampanga as per Chef Gino. Instead of just having to put everything in a slow cooker and let it simmer, he first browned the chicken bones with atsuete oil extract, for the asado sauce before he used the Kitchenaid Slow Cooker for the beef itself. Said slow cooker is very convinent cause the dish takes up 7 hours just cooking. But the result is a mouth watering almost melt in your mouth cuts of beef that's full of flavor. YUM!
Henyo's Lumpia,which I believe is quite the awesome thing as my home buddies are loving their lumpia here. This is actually made with 15 ingredients put in a food processor until it looked like ground meat. The wet sotanghon that chef had put in the dish reminded me of the vietnamese wraps that my husband is always raving about.
And my favorite of the bunch, Salted Caramel Panna Cotta. This baby is done in 4 easy steps which you can find too in the Yummy PH website. Really, for someone who has a sweet tooth such as myself, I was pretty much in heaven when this arrived in my seat, The Blue Fernate flower petal and mint leaf made it all the more sophisticated. :D
He also cooked Homemade Fishballs as a bonus, an original Yummy recipe that can be found in the official Yummy website.
The Kitchen Games (total opposite of The Hunger Games? hahaha) was also one of the best parts of the cooking demo as 3 pairs of Yummy Readers and fellow bloggers were selected, and had themselves make and assemble their own version of Banoffee Pie.
Here's the winning dish:
Kitchenaid items were given away to all but only 1 lucky guest was able to bring home the grand raffle prize: a Kitchenaid Hand Mixer.
For your daily dose of the delicious and scrumptious recipes and cooking hacks, visit www.yummy.ph/. Follow Yummy Philippines on Facebook and @yummyph on Twitter and Instagram.
Thanks to Summit Media, Yummy and Kitchenaid for giving me this opportunity to learn more about cooking from one of the best chefs here in the Philippines! :)
11 comments
It was nice meeting you in the GH event at Galle last time :) I've heard of KitchenAid mixers many times over but haven't actually used one. That hand mixer looks so nice and handy! I like! :)ReplyDelete
KitchenAid is the stuff of legend lol.ReplyDelete
Seems like you really had a great time. I love learning cooking the most so every opportunity I get I grab it. :)ReplyDelete
The one who got to bring home the Kitchenaid mixer is so lucky! Kitchenaid is love!ReplyDelete
The plating looks so enticing! Got to try one of the kitchenaids too.ReplyDelete
I'd love to have that hand blender. I'm not a kitchen person pero pagdating sa desserts, nagiging matyaga ako, haha.ReplyDelete
Reading your post reminded me that I haven't used my oven for baking since we bought it last January! Anyare? Owning a Kitchenaid mixer / appliance will happen but first I have to start baking before my husband posts a photo of our oven in OLX! :-)ReplyDelete
I think that winning dessert would be great in a mason jar too. I'm gonna try that. :)ReplyDelete
It seems like you really had a great time! It shows on your pics :)ReplyDelete
Oh and the Salted Caramel Panna Cotta looks yummy! :)
- mrsmartinezsweetie5 August 2015 at 14:10
Haven't tried the brand ;(ReplyDelete
I really love attending cooking demonstrations so as to learn new recipe ideas!ReplyDelete
let me know what you think! If you have any questions, suggestions or violent reactions just comment below ;)


text:
1) Facebook celebrated its 10th birthday: Facebook — with more than 1.2 billion users worldwide — celebrated its 10th birthday amidst challenges of keeping its original base of young users with new innovative social networks coming to the fore. The company was launched by Mark Zuckerberg on February 4, 2004, from Harvard University. The site was conceived as a way to connect students, and let them build an online identity for themselves, 'Computer World' reported.
2) Delhi govt cleared Jan Lokpal Bill: Delhi Cabinet on Monday cleared the draft of the much talked-about Jan Lokpal bill which provides for covering all public servants — from chief minister to Group D employees — and seeks life term as maximum punishment for those found guilty of corruption. The bill provides for a legal right of protection to "honest" officials, whistleblowers and witnesses besides having provisions for time-bound investigation and trial of corruption cases.
3) Railways to implement indigenous technology to prevent mishap: With anti-collision systems installed earlier achieving partial success, Railways on Monday announced installation of an indigenous and efficient technology to prevent train mishaps. The Train Collision Avoidance System (TCAS) has shown positive results during its run as a pilot project in South Central zone, a Railways official said.
4) German President on six-day visit from Tuesday: German President Joachim Guack will arrive in New Delhi on Tuesday on a six-day state visit to India during which he will hold talks with the top leadership and discuss ways to enhance bilateral ties. Briefing reporters on the visit, German Ambassador to India Michael Steiner said Guack will be accompanied by a 80-member delegation, including 15 business leaders, during his India stay which was "the highest ceremonial gesture between the two sides".
5) Sundar Pichai now front-runner for Microsoft CEO job: Executive Satya Nadella appears most likely to be named Microsoft's new CEO but the name of another India-born technology executive is doing the rounds as a candidate for the top job. Sundar Pichai, the 42-year-old head executive for Google Chrome and Apps, is the "top choice" for the the position of Microsoft CEO and negotiations with him are on in full swing, SiliconANGLE, a media Web site that focuses on the technology industry, said.
6) Gulam Nabi Azad laid foundation stone for new facilities in AIIMS: Union Health Minister Ghulam Nabi Azad on Monday laid the foundation stone of two blocks at the AIIMS that will add facilities of 600 beds and 24 operating theatres at a total cost of Rs 255 crores.
7) Serena Williams continues to dominate WTA tennis rankings: Serena Williams retained her commanding advantage at the top of the WTA women's tennis rankings issued on Monday. Williams remains on 13,000 points, well clear of next challengers Victoria Azarenka (Belarus) on 6,581 and Australian Open winner Li Na on 6,570.
8) Teresa Kho is ADB's new Country Director for India: The Asian Development Bank has a new Country Director for India in Teresa Kho. Kho, who assumed charge as Country Director for India on Monday, was previously heading the Bangladesh Resident Mission of ADB.
9) Oscar-winning actor Philip Seymour died: Oscar-winning actor Philip Seymour Hoffman was found dead in his New York apartment yesterday, a law enforcement official said. He was 46. Hoffman won an Oscar for best actor in 2006 for "Capote" and was seen as one of the pre-eminent actors of his generation. He was a character actor with over 60 film credits to his name, including Magnolia, The Master, Boogie Nights, the Big Lebowski, Mission Impossible.
10) Azad Given Additional Charge of Water Resources Ministry: Health Minister Ghulam Nabi Azad will hold additional charge of Water Resources Ministry following the resignation of Harish Rawat, who has become Chief Minister of Uttarakhand.
11) Rafa retained No.1 ranking: Rafael Nadal remains top of the men's ATP tennis rankings released on Monday. The Spaniard tops the standings ahead of Serbia's Novak Djokavic and Australian Open winner Statislas Wawrinka of Switzerland.


text:
The Alphabet
How Pine Cone and Pepper Pot (with the Help of Tiptoes Lightly and Farmer John) Learned Tom Nutcracker and June Berry their Letters
Reg Down
$24.95Add a review
* * * Temporarily out of stock. More on the way!! * * *
If you order this item it will be shipped in 1-2 weeks.
Lavishly illustrated with every page in full color, this alphabet story from Reg Down is a delight to read for both children and adults alike. Filled with the humorous adventures of the gnomes Tom Nutcracker and June Berry as they learn their letters with the help of Tiptoes Lightly and friends.
Whether your child knows their alphabet or not Pine Cone and Pepper Pot guarantee that they will see the letters and their shapes with new and creative eyes. The Alphabet is filled with stories, songs, pictures, plays and adventures silly and bold. Highly recommended!!
Summer is almost over and Tom Nutcracker is soon to go to school. But deep in the forest on his father's farm two gnomes called Pine Cone and Pepper Pot are worried. What if the school does not teach Tom his letters properly? What if the teacher messes the alphabet up? Then Tom might spell the Pine Cone as NEPI NOEC, or Pepper Pot as PREPREP TOP. He might even spell the famous Tiptoes Lightly as TOESPIT THIGLLY. That would be a disaster. A huge disaster! So the two gnomes, with the help of Tiptoes Lightly and Farmer John, set out to teach Tom his letters. Tom's younger sister, June Berry, insists on being taught too, and never will they, or anyone else who reads this tale, forget their ABC's – or their LMNOP's or QRST's either.
8 1/2" x 11", 90pp., 2016.
Adam's Alphabet
Reg Down
Evocative line drawings of each letter of the alphabet
$15.95Add a review
A fascinating tale of discovery and of the richness of language, written and spoken!
Adam and Sophia are twins. Sophia has wings and Adam doesn't. One day their parents leave. "Don't go into the forest," they said, but Adam did - he gave his word and broke it. Now he is lost and alone, and his voice is gone. Sophia flies overhead and drops a piece of paper. It flutters into the forest. Except for a lock of hair the paper is blank. Immediately, adventures and experiences unfold for Adam, some common, some extraordinary, some unearthly and beautiful. Letters appear on the paper as Adam wakes up to his 'alphabet'. Slowly, painfully, joyously Adam wins his word back.
Adam's Alphabet is an alphabet tale unlike any written before. Multilayered and broad, it reads as a children's book, but underneath run deeper waters that adults can plumb for profit and pleasure if they take delight in the spoken word.
Adam's Alphabet is suitable for children aged 7 to 12. Paperback, 140 pages, 6 x 9 format, $15.95
The Little Gnome Tenderroot
Jakob Streit
Translated by Nina Kuettel
Illustrations by George Feldmann
$8.00Add a review
Dear Little Gnome Tenderroot just loves the plants and soil he cares for. Each season he looks to see what he can do that will most especially help the roots and branches to spring to life or, in winter, fade into a deep, good sleep. He lets the stars and the angels help in all he does, and is just such a happy little fellow it's hard not to want to run outside in the hopes of catching a glimpse of him sending star milk from heaven down into the deep earth so that the plant leaves will flutter brightly.
These little nature stories are wonderful for children in first or second grade - and for all the adults lucky enough to get to read them, too.
The Wonderful Adventures of Nils
Selma Lagerlöf
$11.95Add a review
* * * Temporarily out of stock. More on the way!! * * *
If you order this item it will be shipped in 1-2 weeks.
A short note about this edition: Many of you know that we used to carry the large-format, illustrated edition of The Wonderful Adventures of Nils. Recently, we discovered a very inexpensive, domestically produced edition and decided to take a look, thinking that a choice in cost would be a happy thing for many. I reviewed that book with trepidation, wondering if it was abridged from what I thought was the original. What a surprise -- it was the expensive copy that had excised much of Selma Lagerlöf's prose!! We have decided to discontinue the large volume in favor of this unpretentous edition that preserves every bit of the author's magic. It is the identical translation as our previous edition - but every word is intact. You and your children won't need large, color pictures, Selma Lagerlöf's words will transport you on clouds of imagination.
Now, on to the review:
Wonderful is just the right word for remarkable story. Selma Lagerlöf was already one of Sweden's most renowned authors when she was asked to create a new reader for Swedish schools. What she fashioned broke all the rules - no more disconnected little stories, no more reading for the sake of learning to read! No, she brought her full talent as an outstanding storyteller to bear on the project and created a 17 chapter book that told children a tale from beginning to end. The Wonderful Adventures of Nils is that book, and it is just as delightful today as it was at the turn of the century when it was written.
Nils is a boy who can think of no one but himself. This so annoys a dwarf that he shrinks Nils as punishment for his selfishness. Tiny Nils finds himself carried off by a flock of geese on their way to the far north. Through his long adventures to get back home, Nils learns to know and respect both humans and the life of nature. As they fly over the countryside with Nils, children will discover an abundance of information about nature, geography, folklore, animal life and more. Ages 7 to 11
The Adventures of Jayne
The Cat Who Was a Dog
Reg Down
Delightful line drawings by the author
$15.95Add a review
Jayne is a cat, raised as a dog. Found as a new-born she is brought up with a litter of puppies. Jayne does not turn out to be just any kind of dog, she is the top dog, the main-man dog, the king-of-the-castle dog. She holds her tail up straight when she walks and brooks no nonsense. When they go for a stroll everyone has to stay behind her: her brothers and sisters, her doggy-daddy and doggy-mommy, even the human she keeps as chief back scratcher and can opener. Jayne is a tough cookie—as tough as nails and as cool as cucumbers come—as she proves in (almost) all her adventures: with Big-Bad and Bengal Bob, flying and skydiving, as lifesaver extraordinaire and later as mayor of the great city of New Philawashingyork.
The Adventures of Jayne is a fun tale for family reading or for children to read themselves. Suitable for ages 5 to 10.
The Tales of Tiptoes Lightly
"The Bee Who Lost His Buzz," "Pumpkin Crow," "Lucy Goose and the Half-Egg"
Reg Down
$14.95Add a review
Whether you plan to read these sprightly stories to young children, use them as class stories for first grade, or offer them to an intermediate reader as a first chapter book, you and the children in your care are going to love these tales and the gentle characters who people them.
Tiptoes Lightly is a gentle and wise fairy who lives in an acorn high up in the branches of a Great Oak Tree. One morning she finds a note lying on her floor. It says: "Please help! Bee has lost his Buzz!" Thus begins the adventure that takes Tiptoes through the world of nature and into your heart.
The Tales of Tiptoes Lightly comprises three adventures: "The Bee Who Lost His Buzz," "Pumpkin Crow," and "Lucy Goose and the Half-Egg." Sweet and lively illustrations by the author are just one more thing to love about these charming stories.
I read these stories to the children of my class every week for a whole year - they loved them! Their faces shone with obvious delight - I recommend them highly.
- M. Higashine, grades teacher
The Festival of Stones
Autumn and Winter Tales of Tiptoes Lightly
Reg Down
$14.95Add a review
More adventures of Tiptoes Lightly -- this time with an eye to the festivals of autumn and winter. Tiptoes and her friends journey the realms of nature and spirit, encountering the heart and soul of the festivals along the way. These are just such dear stories -- I can't imagine any young child failing to love them as much as I do.
The festivals Tiptoes illuminates are:
- Michaelmas
- Martinmas
- The Festival of Stones
- The Festival of Plants
- The Festival of Animals
- The Festival of Light
- Christmas
Big-Stamp Two-Toes the Barefoot Giant
Spring Tales of Tiptoes Lightly
Reg Down
$14.95Add a review
Reg Down weaves more Tiptoes magic, this time with a spring theme. In this third book filled with stories that are so lyrical and lovely they practically dance themselves off the page, we join Tiptoes and her friends in Farmer John's garden where bees and plants are awakening in gay abandon. As the book and the season progresses, babies of all sorts are born, kites are flown, more tales are told, sacrifices and rescues are made, and love is called into it all.
These stories are so wonderful for kindergartners and first graders (and their teachers and parents!). Thanks, Reg!
The Magic Knot and Other Tangles
A Comedy Starring Pine Cone and Pepper Pot
Reg Down
$14.95Add a review
Tiptoes Lightly lives in a lovely little house with just one problem -- there is no furniture! But, that's about to change. Tiptoes will be having a birthday soon, and her dear friends Pine Cone and Pepper Pot the gnomes have determined to make her a table and three chairs, and to find a way to get them to the tippy top of the Great Oak Tree where Tiptoes makes her home. Along the way,they get help from a host of friends and adventures and misadventures abound. In the end, we join Tiptoes at her birthday party where she tells the story of how she came to live in the Great Oak Tree as a daughter of Father Sun and Mother Wind.
Wonderful! Thanks to Reg Down for adding another delightful window into the world of Tiptoes Lightly and her friends.
The Lost Lagoon
Adventures of Tiptoes Lightly and Greenleaf the Sailor
Reg Down
Softbound, filled with delightful black and white drawings
$16.50Add a review
Another delightful addition to Reg Down's Tiptoes Lightly series! The Lost Lagoon will keep your children rapt with attention as Tiptoes Lightly and Greenleaf the Sailor make their way through new wonder-filled adventures.
It is spring and Running River is in full flood. Tiptoes Lightly and Jeremy Mouse visit Greenleaf the Sailor and venture forth in Greenleaf's newly made boat. Soon they are joined by Pine Cone and Pepper Pot the Gnomes and together they search for the Lost Lagoon the frogs have been so beautifully singing about.
Meanwhile, back home, Farmer John reads The Adam Tales to Tom Nutcracker and June Berry. Later, Tom rides off in the night until he, too, comes to the Lost Lagoon. What Happens on this night, with its majestic, rising moon, is filled with a wonder and magic that won't soon be forgotten.
Highly recommended for ages 4 and up!
A Tangle of Tales
short stories and poems for children
Reg Down
$14.95Add a review
From one of our favorite children's authors comes another collection sure to delight. A Tangle of Tales is packed cover to cover with 42 stories for children. Inside you'll find nature tales, riddle tales, fables, fairy tales, poems, and creation myths both serious and sanguine.
A joy for children from kindergarten through grade 4.
The Midsummer Mouse
Midsummer Tales of Tiptoes Lightly and the Summer Queen
Reg Down
$16.50Add a review
The Midsummer Mouse is a summer tale, full of midsummer mirth, misadventure, mystery and delight. It will bring sparkles to children's eyes, and laughter to adults, too. Suitable, as always, with Tiptoes Lightly tales, for family readying from kindergarten through age 10 or so.
The sun is rising higher into the sky every day. Summer has come and Farmer John builds a great pile of wood for the Midsummer's Eve festival taking place on his land. Tom Nutcracker and June Berry's whole school is coming to celebrate. june Berry forgets a basket (with a cookie inside) by the oak tree when she is helping her dad build the wood pile. A small detail to us, perhaps, but one which leads Jeremy Mouse on a merry dance as Jemima mouse tries to preserve the cookie for the festival. meanwhile, Pine Cone and Pepper Pot are not opening their door to anyone other than Tiptoes (and even then reluctantly). Their beards, it seems, are entangled. Hopelessly entangled. This sends Tiptoes all over the forest to find a way to get pine resin out of beards. Then there is the problem of Ompliant the Elephant. What are Tom and June to do with him? How will they keep him out of sight? But the clever kids come up with a wonderful idea to hide a pachyderm in plain sight. Finally, the Summer Queen begins to appear here and there, and in the end joins the festival and tells The Tale of Turana before mysteriously vanishing before the crowd.
The Treasure Cave
Sea Tales of Tiptoes Lightly
Reg Down
$16.75Add a review
Tiptoes Lightly loves the sea, and when Farmer John and his children, Tom Nutcracker and June Berry, drive to the seaside for Thanksgiving, she goes along with them. Tom and June discover a freshly uncovered cave in the bluffs that run along the shore. Thay call it their Treasure Cave just for fun, but thn find seven beautiful pearls and a finely wrought golden chain buried in the sand. Tiptoes sets out to discover the story behind the pearls, and soon a delicate web of tales begins to unfold. Stretching back to the creation of hte world, they weave together until Tiptoes and the children are caught up in the ongoing drama between the Sea King and his lovely daughter.
Just right for children 6-10 (and their adults!)
Eggs for the Hunting
starring Pine Cone and Pepper Pot and the illimitable Tiptoes Lightly
Reg Down
$14.95Add a review
Spring is full of life and life is full of eggs, all sorts of eggs: great cosmic eggs and tiny butterfly eggs, salmon eggs and bird eggs, rabbit eggs and special eggs being gilded and painted by two gnomes called Pine Cone and Pepper Pot. They have been told (gossiped, to be correct) that Farmer John's children, Tom and June, are going to give them special eggs for Easter, and they decide to reciprocate. However, if you are a gnome, a small gnome—even if you are two small gnomes—then the simplest of tasks (such as finding a bird who does not mind giving you a couple of their eggs) can be a problem ... !!!
Woven into the fabric of the book are many tales, myths and legends: Pepper Pot reads the history of King Karnac and the Turning of Time, Madam Two-Pecks tells her chicks how the universe was created from the World Egg, and the Wise Salmon in Running River tells the fingerlings about the great cycle, the Egg of Life. 'Eggs for the Hunting' is a spring tale, a wonder tale, affirming the joy, humor and mystery of life.
Another joyous, delicious story by Reg Down for children of all ages! Very highly recommended.
Sir Gillygad and the Gruesome Egg
Reg Down
$16.50Add a review
Sir Gillygad is a knight, a doughty knight who rides about on his trusty frog called Gorf. They sally forth on adventures bold and exciting: to the Twinkle, to Holey Hill, to the Plain of Dreams - even as far as World's End. The rumors are heard, rumors of an egg, a Gruesome Egg with two leggs, a left leg and a right leg, and the leggs are bird's leggs - which makes sense in an eggy sort of way. The egg is haunting the Daark Foreset, close to teh Mumbly Mews and the gerwine Greneff. So off Sir Gillygad gallops (well, hoppedy-hops), there to meet and confront this unique and remarkable beast.
Sir Gillygad and the Gruesome Egg is an adventuresome tale, suitable for children aged 9 to 12 or thereabouts - and adults, too, if they are still young at heart and open to the wonders that speak of the mystery of becoming.
The Bee Who Lost His Buzz
And other adventures of Tiptoes Lightly and Jeremy Mouse
Reg Down
Softbound, beautiful watercolor illustrations by the author
$11.95Add a review
Those of you who have read The Tale of Tiptoes Lightly no doubt remember the story of "The Bee Who Lost His Buzz" very well. It is, in fact, the first of Tiptoes Lightly's many delightful adventures. In it, Tiptoes and Jeremy Mouse help the Bee whose buzz has been snagged by grumpy Mr. Cactus, the Worm who'slost his squirm and cannot wiggle back into the safety of his home. They go on to sail down to the sea to untangle little Octopus who is too young to count properly (he can only count to seven), and gets his legs hopelessly mixed up whenever he tries.
Now, Reg Down has created a sumptuously illustrated storybook that brings Tiptoes' first adventure to life in ways glorious to behold. I can't imagine a child who wouldn't revel in the images and characters of this storybook. A perfect gift any time of the year. I just love it.
Ages 3-6 and onward.
The Cricket and the Shepherd Boy
A Christmas Tale
Reg Down
Illustrated with beautiful watercolor paintings by the author
$11.95Add a review
Who but Reg Down could bring us a new Christmas story that glows with such warmth and beauty? The Cricket and the Shepherd Boy is a gift for the Season of Love. The author's paintings filling each page evoke a wholesome joy that resonnates in wonderful ways with the story itself. I can tell as I hold this book that it will carry its message and its warmth far - families throughout the world will mark the Christmas season by taking it off the shelf and reading it each year. And then it will live on in the hearts of the children and adults who hear it. The Cricket and the Shepherd Boy is a treasure.
The story:
A young shepherd hears a cricket singing at his feet. The cricket speaks to him and foretells that the coming winter will be both special and especially cold. Then he disappears back into the grass.
The winter is indeed especially harsh, but on a star-studded night the cricket and the shepherd boy make their way to a manger huddled low between two hills. There they find a mother and father with a child who radiates light and warmth into the world.
This innocent and warmhearted nativity tale is intended for parents to read to their children at Christmas time. While the story itself is timeless, this tale is most suitable for children from preschool to grade four or five.
Poems for Younger Children
David Donaldson
$9.95Add a review
The poems in this collection were written originally as birthday verses for children between the ages of seven and eleven. The children, each having been given a verse, would learn it by heart and recite it to the class on their birthdays.
After more than sixteen years of teaching children at the Hereford Steiner Academy, the author reviewed the verses he had written, and it seemed many could be enjoyed as poems in their own right, though they also made a satisfying collection, as they often follow the seasonal cycle.
Teachers and parents may find continuing use for them in recitation and storytelling, to accompany movement, or as inspiration for their own verses. These poems will evoke smiles and fond memories for all those who take them to heart.
Nature Stories
Margaret Peckham
Stapled booklet
$6.00Add a review
Margaret Peckham originally created these dear stories for her first graders at the Rudolf Steiner School in NYC. They are a lively, imaginative introduction to nature and its ways -- sure to captivate any child who hears them.
- The Littlest Gnome
- The Second Gnome
- The Discontented Brook
- First Signs of Spring
- The Little Girl in the Woods
- The Butterfly
- Treasure Chests
The Wise Enchanter
A Journey through the Alphabet
Shelley Davidow
Illustrated by Krystyna Emilia Kurzyca
$15.00Add a review
I can't begin to describe how much I love this story and the fact that Shelley Davidow has so much insight and such an understanding of children that she created it. The Wise Enchanter actually makes me wish that I could go back to the time before I learned to read and enter the magic world of words through this rich and wonderful door. I especially love that the story is so very like the worlds I created for myself in those pre-written-word days, yet carries with it the assurance that there are depths of goodness in the world and that searching for them is a worthy, yea, necessary thing to do. What could be a better way to introduce our written language to a child? This book is a beautiful creation and a gift to treasure.
Here's a small sample, from the Prologue:
[The Wise Enchanter is on his magical island, and is troubled. He has called his daughter, Gadrun, to him.]
Gadrun ran to her father. A frown creased her brow. "Dear father," she said, "I see that you are worried."
"I am getting old," he replied. "Without Wisdom, there can be no new Enchanters after I am gone. No children have come to my island for many years. It is happening just as I feared. Wisdom is fading in the world. Words are disappearing. The brightness in the sky is vanishing and the dark Cloud of Ignorance has grown suddenly dense. A new darkness is looming. Someone is being created in the deep. He is growing stronger every minute. If he is not stopped, he will grow immense. If he grows strong enough, he will rise up and devour every word and sound. The earth will become a cold, silent place, too terrible to imagine."
"Who are you talking about?" Gadrun whispered.
"I do not like to utter his name," her father whispered. "But I will say it for you. His name is the Master of Ignorance and Shadows. His name is Urckl!"
Gadrun grew pale and silent at the mention of Urckl. Once, some time ago, Urckl had found enough strength to send one of his messengers to the end of the world. Something terrible had happened then in the Enchanted Islands and Gadrun's heart had been broken.
And thus, the adventure begins.
I should add that The Wise Enchanter is filled with soft black-and-white drawings that you can easily transform into main lesson drawings for the child(ren) you are teaching to recreate as each letter is rescued from darkness.
This is a wonderful, vibrant, masterful book -- may your journey through it be rich and rewarding!
Seven-Year-Old Wonder Book
* * * Temporarily out of stock. More on the way!! * * *
If you order this item it will be shipped in 1-2 weeks.
Every one of our children followed the adventures and discoveries of Sylvia throughout their entire first grade year. Their eyes were always wide open at story time, and they wove these stories into their play for the entire year. I know of one family who gave each child a blank "Wonder Book" when they entered school and, no matter how tired the grown-ups were, whenever the children put their Wonder Books out for the fairies, there was always a picture and a story the next day. This is a book for seven-year-olds of all ages!
The Eight-Year-Old Legend Book
Isabel Wyatt created these stories from the tales told by the Buddha over 2500 years ago. I see them as the perfect bridge between the fables and saints and heroes as taught in Grade 2 within the Waldorf curriculum. Here you'll find both animals and humans peopling the world as kings and wise men, clever monkeys and faithful elephants. There are great adventures which tell of danger and courage, and show so well how it is that wisdom and thoughtfulness always triumph over selfishness and greed.
Wonderful for ages 8 and up - truly heartwarming tales!
King Beetle-Tamer
The tales of Orfeo, friend of all small creatures, are written with the second grader in mind. Orfeo must free the princess from the Rose Tower but cannot find a way to do so until the beetles and mice and birds come to his aid. This is another beloved book in our home - we're sure your children will love King Beetle-tamer, too.
Saint Odelia
Through Darkness and into the Light
Jakob Streit
Translated by Nina Kuettel
Illustrated by Martina Müller
$8.00Add a review
The story of Saint Odelia, patron saint of the Alsace region in France, is one of the most beautiful legends from the middle ages. It is about the destiny of a child, born blind and turned out by her father, who gains her sight through a miracle at her baptism. The young girl goes her way unerringly and against all odds, to establish the convent later named for her: Odilienberg.
A beautiful retelling, lacking any trace of sentimentalism and filled with wonder. Ideal for the Saints and Heroes block in the Waldorf 2nd grade.
Book of Fairy Princes
With the wise counsel of the Golden Fish, the Fisher Boy sets out to win the heart of a beautiful princess. But first he must travel far and wide to find a golden eagle, a leaf-green bull, and a lion with a snow-white heart. Written for third-graders, this is another treasure from Isabel Wyatt.
Thorkill of Iceland
Viking Hero-Tales
Isabel Wyatt
$16.95Add a review
* * * Temporarily out of stock. More on the way!! * * *
If you order this item it will be shipped in 1-2 weeks.
King Gorm of Denmark sends the hero Thorkill of Iceland on a mission to the land of the Giants. Thorkill's enemies plan for him never to return from this journey. Thorkill's adventurous success is told with Isabel Wyatt's characteristic touch of drama and beauty. Included also in Thorkill of Iceland is the story of The Dream of King Alfdan, in which Prince Guthorm loses his inheritance after his father Sigurd is Banished from the Norwegian court and endures many adventures before fulfilling his destiny. Perfect for your adventurous 4th grader!
Stories of the Saints
Retold by Siegwart Knijpenga
$25.00Add a review
The thirty-seven stories of Christian saints are told in a way that will captivate and inspire children from 7-12. (In fact, they captivate and inspire me!) Saints, like the rest of us, are very different one from another; but the thread that unites all the stories gathered in this book is that through an unswerving union with Love (Christ), tragedy is always transformed into victory and rejoicing. These stories can be learned and retold by adults or read to younger children. The vocabulary is such that older children can enjoy reading the stories themselves.
The King of Ireland's Son
Padraic Colum
Illustrated by Willy Pogány
$12.95Add a review
This edition contains the identical text as the Floris edition, but is graced with the original illustrations by Willy Pogány. It is a reproduction of the 1916 first edition and is printed in the United States - hence, the lower price. I find the older style of the illustrations very in keeping with the story, serving to carry the reader into the realm of Old Ireland. I am also delighted to be able to offer our customers a less expensive, worthy alternative.
Padraic Colum, an award-winning Irish storyteller whose children's stories always ring with the music of the spoken voice, weaves a tale of long ago, when the King of Ireland's son set out to find the Enchanter of the Black Back-Lands. He meets the Enchanter's daughter, Fedelma, falls in love and is betrothed to her. Then, he loses her. His adventures to find her again lead him to the Land of the Mist, the Town of the Red Castle and the worlds of Gilly of the Goatskin, the Hags of the Long Teeth, Princess Flame-of-Wine and a meeting with the Giant, Crom Duv. Our children had a wonderful time with this story when they were in 2nd and 3rd grades. Ages 8-11.
Eugene Schwartz
Illustrated by Kris Carlson
$14.95Add a review
In olden times, the dragon appeared at the village gate every evening and demanded his due. Frightened villagers one after another brought him a prize sheep, or cow, or goat and the dragon then went away . . . for another night.
Then came a drought and there were no more animals to feed to the hungry dragon. Threatening to burn down the village if they refused him, the dragon told them to bring him their children instead. The children had been planning a long time for this day and surprised both the dragon and their parents by rising to fight and defeat the dragon.
But the dragon promised to return, and dragons always keep their promises . . .
Ages 8 through 10 or so (approximately grades 2 through 5).


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The globalart Programme in India caters to children in the age group of 4 -15 years. globalart has a carefully designed curriculum that allows children to participate and learn progressively, introducing them to various themes, composition techniques and media. The programme sets creative challenges and encourages children to think 'out-of-the-box'.
In an increasingly competitive world, strong creative ability is what will differentiate the winners in all walks of life. Our emphasis on unique creations by every child helps build and develop strong creative thinking skills, which will help them succeed in their future. globalart also lays the foundation for a wide variety of professions such as advertising, animation, architecture, computer graphics, innovation and product packaging, interior and fashion designing, etc.
The programme has 13 levels spread across 5 courses.
Globalart Junior : 4 - 5 years
Comprises of 3 levels
Uses various interactive methods to ensure learning in a fun filled environment.
|Junior 1 ,2 & 3
Foundation Course: 5 - 7 years
Comprises of 4 levels
Focuses on elementary concepts of drawing & colouring
|Level 1 & 2
|Level 3 & 4
Basic Course: above 8 years
Comprises of 3 levels
Focuses on the development of ideas, basic composition,
drawing through shapes and references.
|Level 1
|Level 2
|Level 3
Intermediate Course: Post Basic Course
Comprises of 3 levels
Increases the complexity of ideas & their development,
and focuses on varied & detailed composition.
|Level 4
|Level 5 & 6
Advanced Levels: Post Intermediate Course
Comprises of 3 levels
|Drawing & Sketching


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'Learn to Invest in Stocks' By Trade Brains
Your pocket guide for stock market Investment! Learn to Invest in Stocks by Trade Brains is our FREE learning app that guides you through the world of investing.
Browse through our jargon-free investing lessons and build your foundation to invest successfully in the Indian stock market.


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Buy your tickets today PayPal Payments Pro
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How to make Butter at Home
Prep Time : 20 mins
Recipe Category: Cooking Basics
Ingredients needed
Milk or Milk Cream
Ice cold water
Curd/plain yogurt -1 tsp
How to collect Cream from Milk
How to make butter at Home – Homemade Butter
Once you have collected enough cream, you can make butter from it. Take the cream from the freezer, add a tsp of curd/plain yogurt and keep it out overnight or for 5-6 hours.
After 6 hours- Place the cream in the blender/mixie/food processor and add 2-3 cups of chilled water.
Run the blender for 2-3 minutes. Then leave a gap for a few seconds and then run again.
Wash the butter 2-3 times in chilled water until the water is clear. Drain the water completely. Press and remove as much water as as you can from the butter and then store it in a container.
How to store butter
The collected butter can be stored in a container or box in the refrigerator for a week. It can be stored in the freezer for a month.
You can make homemade ghee from the butter. Learn How to make Ghee at Home
If you found this post useful, I would really love it, if you pin it or share it with your Facebook fans or Twitter followers or Google+ circles today. All it takes is a simple click on the "pin it" "like," "share," "tweet," or Google+ buttons below the post. It will keep me motivated. Thank you!


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Jumpy's Fun Zone Arcade features over 30 of the newest redemption and video games available today! Grab a game card and try your skill at Skee-Ball, the Big Bass Wheel or Deal or No Deal! The arcade also has the latest Terminator game for the older kids and side by side driving simulators to test your skills on the race track.
Jumpy's huge redemption center has awesome prizes for kids of all ages. Redeem all your tickets now, or save them up for the big prize!


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A Great Day Out
Step aboard this famous ship and follow in the footsteps of Royalty. Explore Britannia's five decks with our free audio guide, available in 30 languages, as well as a children's tour and British Sign Language tablet.
From the elegant State Apartments to the gleaming Engine Room. See where Prince William and Prince Harry spent their summer holidays. Discover where kings and queens, world leaders and celebrities were wined and dined; from Frank Sinatra and Liz Taylor to Nelson Mandela and Sir Winston Churchill.
Group visit discount for groups of 15 or more, click here for more information.
Discover the splendour of this iconic floating palace with a private tour, click here for more information.
Audio tour
While visiting Britannia, you can take advantage of our excellent FREE audio tour, available in 30 languages and included in the admission price. Click here to see which languages are available.
Admission Times
|2019 Admission Times
|First Admission
|Last Admission
|January - March
|April - October
|November - December*
Please note our tours are self guided by our complimentary audio handset. We are delighted to welcome you any time between our admission times.
*Last admission on 24 December is 2:30pm and 31 December is 3:00pm. The Royal Yacht Britannia is closed on 25 December and 1 January.
Annual Pass
After you purchase your ticket to visit Britannia, you are entitled to apply for a free Annual Pass to come back and visit for the following 12 months, click here for more information.


text: Previous Post | Next Post Harris County DIVERT DWI Program Posted By The Law Offices of Jed Silverman || 3-Dec-2010 There is currently a program in Harris County that allows first time DWI offenders to avoid a final conviction for DWI. It is known as the DIVERT Program and it allows defendants to participate in the program and in return avoid a conviction for DWI. Judge Bill Harmon is currently the only judge that does not allow defendants to participate in the program. He says that the program is illegal because it is the same as allowing a DWI defendant to take deferred adjudication for a DWI, which is prohibited in the state of Texas. Categories: DWI Defense Share Post


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Richmond Barn Owl Banding MVCU from Metro Vancouver on Vimeo.
href="http://metrovancouverblog.org/wp-content/uploads/2014/04/mvconnecthover2.png"> Barn owls are making the most of the Terra Nova Lands. See how nest boxes help to encourage breeding, while a banding program gives researchers a valuable tool to track and monitor the health of the owls, as the birds benefit from land use decisions. Barn Owls in Richmond are thriving in the open spaces of Terra Nova Rural Park. The park's long grasses create habitat for small mammals… and that means lunch for owls.
Terra Nova Rural Park in Richmond is popular with gardeners and joggers during the day, but did you know that after dark, the night shift begins?
"Terra Nova is actually a destination resort for barn owls," says Rich Kenny of the City of Richmond Parks Department. "So we have a lot of new barn owls coming in as well as the barn owls that are staying here. They have been living here for 100 or so years. They really utilized the grass fields that were created when the first settlers started doing agriculture in the area"
Richmond's growing population brings changes to the barn owl habitat. "We are lucky that it is a species that had been able to learn to co-exist with us, explains Sofi Hindmarch, Environment Canada Wildlife Biologist consultant. "As long as we are able to give it a little bit of space, a little bit of green space, (it has) a place to live."
"So, the barn owl nest box program was set up about 5 years ago in the city," says Kenny. "The idea was just to offer barn owls an alternative nesting habitat. They naturally nest in holes in trees. And also in old buildings."
With barn owls now breeding in the park, the City of Richmond is working with Environment Canada to monitor the owls.
"We plug the hole with a towel that's got a rope wrapped around it,' says Hindmarch. "Then I go up and I take one down at a time. We put a bag on their head, just to calm them down a bit, 'cause they are slightly surprised. Put a little band on it, .. a unique identifier, and then we carefully put them back up again. One by one."
The banding is a way to keep track of the population.
"Now we have three pairs breeding in the park," adds Rich Kenny. "So its definitely a success story and we are looking to expand the programme. (We are) really just trying to spark that initial interest in nature. A lot of people have no idea of the different wildlife animals that live in their neighborhood. Terra Nova park is a great place to engage people and teach them that the animals that live around them are amazing cool and should be protected."


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In these days of jaded dolor and constipated responses, the extravant enthusiasm of Swan Lake Samba Girl brings a welcome fizz to the fountains of Lincoln Center. Here we find her bewitched, bothered, bewildered, and beleagured by a certain critic's dry, flaky reponse to ABT's Cinderella, which she went whoopie for. It's a long, rolling boxcar of a post that makes for a bumpy fun ride, and it's a pleasant change to see male thigh-masters such as Marcelo Gomes and David Hallberg get their sexy due instead of the same old fawning over the latest favorite set of chicken bones in the ballerina division. The salvational burden that's been placed on Ashley Bouder's shoulders by some of these banjo pickers!--...but that's a topic for another time.
Another new favorite bloggerita of ours, the author of Broadway and Me, offers a summer reading list for theater buffs, a syllabus that includes two books I've read--William Goldman's The Season and the interviews with Kander and Ebb that make up Colored Lights--and a whole bunch I haven't. Missing from the list is Seth Rudetsky's invaluable primer The Q Guide to Broadway, with tips on the top Broadway CDs you must have and CDs you should own but have never heard of (I concur with his top pick in this category: Andrew Lippa's The Wild Party, which is a raucous romp), and a classic telling of Ethel Merman's legendary response to Lauren Bacall's opening number in Woman of the Year, which I won't ruin by repeating here.
I've only recently discovered Daniel Bye's Pessimism of the Intellect, Optimism of the Will blog, but it's already provided one of my favorite blogpost titles of the year, which again I won't spoil by repeating here. Never step on somebody else's punchline, that's my clown credo. But keeping with our theatrical theme, I want to direct your flimsy attention to his post on theater and plays--the starving of one and the overfeeding of the other:
The [Royal] Court's peak in the sixties and seventies saw a series of plays of breathtaking theatricality. Bond, Brenton: they even used to let Barker in. Many of these plays and more sprang from the writers' group run by Bill Gaskill, in which he had them participating in mask workshops and movement sessions, experimenting with puppets and doing chorus work. Writers' groups today are all story, inciting incident and character arc, tools borrowed wholesale from film. Those tools are important, for sure, but there's a whole world out there that they don't touch. Why are we afraid to show new playwrights the tools of their own trade? Fin Kennedy's How to Disappear Completely and Never Be Found was one of few, of very few plays I've seen recently of any real formal innovation. It took years and a John Whiting Award for it to find a home. "These aren't rules, they're guidelines", I keep hear writers being told. "They're there to be broken." Yet when writers do break them, we very rarely know what to do with the results.
We're lucky to have a tradition in which writing is accorded respect. As Sarah Kane said about the Germanic tradition of mad productions, "it's all very well doing that with Shakespeare: you can't ruin his chances of a second commission." Writers can create theatre with directors and actors, rather than providing material for those people to either fuck about with crazedly, or do the same old thing they always do. But writers are hemmed in at the moment: they're being developed left, right and centre, and the result is the same three plays over and over again. They should go to the theatre more often, rather than just going to see plays.
Casting a critical eye over the spectacle that was Live Earth, Thers at Whiskey Fire lays down some pretty heavy strictures:
I personally would not go to a stadium or arena to see any musical act, even if they were performing in the Blowjobs for Thers Global Blowjob Benefit. In the first place, this would annoy my wife and I would end up with a sum total of zero blowjobs and probably a punch in the chitlins. In the second place, seeing a band in a sports stadium sucks ass. Hell, seeing sports in a sports stadium sucks ass.
I hear thee, brother. Watching at home isn't much of a peach, either. I watched about ten minutes of Live Earth and what struck was how dated, how last century, all the titanic rigamarole and mob rituals of arena rock are: the Jumbotron screens, the banks of Borg-cube amplifiers, the stage choreography and lip syncing, the muscular drummer pounding away in the back, the cilia of audience arms and hands waving in unison, the inane calls and responses ("Everybody say heh-oh"--"HEH...OH!"), all those boring microphone-stand Ahab maneuvers...it all looks so encumbered. And what was Madonna doing, auditioning for The Lion King? I'm happy she can lever her leg at a high angle and hold it straight, but I'm not sure it's of the utmost compelling theatrical interest.


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So sorry about the lame ending! It's summer, I'm jet-lagged, and couldn't face technology for one more second on this gorgeous day. I'm going to take a nap now.
Welcome to [heidiinthehills] (person) and [whimsicalmeerkat] (person)!
Summer of S til 8/30!
FO: the blocked Ecken and kanten
Sock in Phildar folk comete colorway
hitofude in louet sport linen
viajante in handspun
mitered square blanket
design swatches
Blue gradient Gourmet Stash
Muse madness (GS)
MD mermaid (GS)
broken trindle :(
2 skeins of Loft in Old World and Snowbound
bobbin lace


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A 25 foot Power Extension Cable with three 15 amp AC outputs, The Fender Power Extension Cord offers a reliable power line for stage, studio and any other application where you need to bring in power on multiple outlets from a distant power source. Perfect for touring musicians, the Fender Power Extension Cord will help ensure you don't get left without power nearly any venue.
Fender Power Extension Cord Features
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What started as a simple string and pedal sales catalog has grown exponentially over the past thirty years. The early days were a time where catalogs didn't have much of a presence in the industry, but what began as a college dorm room operation grew rapidly. In 1986 we moved to a full product offering and 64-page catalog, which over the years has grown to 162 pages. Join the AMS family and get your free catalog now!
Copyright © 1996-2019 American Musical Supply, Inc. All rights reserved. American Musical Supply reserves the right to correct pricing and/or product specifications in the event of typographical errors found in our print catalog or on our website. If a product is listed at an incorrect price due to such errors or because of inaccurate information received from a supplier, American Musical Supply shall have the right to refuse or cancel any orders placed, whether or not the order has been confirmed and your credit card charged. If your credit card has already been charged for the purchase and your order is canceled, American Musical Supply will issue a credit to your credit card account in the amount of the charge.


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Annamarie Tendler
Annamarie Tendler is a makeup artist and creator of The Daily Face, a project she started on her Tumblr to bring totally wearable, easy-to-replicate makeup looks to her readers. She has worked in fashion, television and film, and contributed to MTV Style, Glamour, HelloGiggles, and more. She is currently the host of a makeup/ghost story hybrid series called "The Other Side" on Amy Poehler's Smart Girls. Anna lives with her husband, John, in Los Angeles and is very obsessed with her French Bulldog, Petunia.
Follow Annamarie on Twitter and Instagram for a million more photos of Petunia.


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On January 31st, I was asked to give a talk at MaterialFest, and awesome event organised by GDG Cádiz (Spain), where developers and designers were all together in the same place talking about Material design and how to work better together.
My talk was just an extension of the latest article from this blog, Material Design Everywhere. I talked a little more about all the tools we have available in Android to put Material Design into practice.
I talked a little bit about what´s Material Design as an introduction. Then you can see how to use AppCompat and its new Toolbar, an explanation about a couple of new features in Lollipop such as Transitions and Ripples. Then some simple ideas about RecyclerView, and finally and explanation of CardView and Palette.
The last part of the talk is devoted to some tips and ideas to boost the Material experience. I explain for instance how to create some different animations and effects related to scroll, or how to improve activity transitions.
The slides
These are the slides from that event:
The code
I also created an example app, and uploaded the code to Github:
> Go to Materialize Your app on Github
Want to learn Kotlin?
Check my free guide to create your first project in 15 minutes!
This is what you can expect from it. It´s at the Play Store too, if you just want to try it before downloading and deploying the whole code.
The video
Talks were recoded, so I hope to be able to link to the video soon. It will be in Spanish anyway.
So if you want me to develop one of these ideas more deeply, please use comments and I will create new articles related to that.
Author: Antonio Leiva
I'm in love with Kotlin. I've been learning about it for a couple of years, applying it to Android and digesting all this knowledge so that you can learn it with no effort.


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Today's advice comes from Hiroshi Mikitani, CEO of Rakuten Inc., via LinkedIn:
"How well do you know yourself? You may think that you of all people would be the one to know yourself best, but human beings are often quite mistaken at this assumption ... the key to success is knowing the areas in which you are strong and the areas in which you are weaker. When you know your strengths and weaknesses, you can position yourself to be as successful as possible in any given situation."
Mikitan says first, you need to develop metrics to test your ideas and find ways to measure your progress. Second, you should seek feedback from others. Finally, reflect on your past successes and failures and see if there is a recurring mistake. This is an exercise that will expose the successes you've already had and the areas in which you need to improve.
"If you fail to know yourself well, you miss opportunities for self-improvement. That may leave you stalled while others who are more self-aware fill in their skill gaps, improve their own performance efforts, and pass you by."
Want your business advice featured in Instant MBA? Submit your tips to email@example.com. Be sure to include your name, your job title, and a photo of yourself in your email.