text:
6 Ways My Brain Stops Me From Creating – And How I'm Fighting Back
Former Director of People @ Buffer
I have a lot of ideas in my head. And for the most part, that's where they used to stay.
In my head. Where other people couldn't see them, interact with them or build upon them. Where they were safe and untested and uncriticized. All mine.
Sure, I've created some. Some might say I've created plenty. But that's only because they can't see what I'm not creating. For example, this very post sat dormant for at least a month while I pondered, waited and nitpicked at it.
Because the riskiest, most dangerous and potentially most interesting ideas are the easiest to hold back. I would pin them down like butterflies on a mat, like art at a museum. They were in spreadsheets, in notebooks, on scrap paper around my desk.
And while it might feel creative to think of these ideas, they were dying a lonely death when I wasn't doing anything with them. They didn't get their chance to add anything to the world. To affect someone. To spark something.
I lost out, too, with this arrangement. I didn't push myself to think deeper and harder. I lost out on the feedback or insight or even criticism of others. I missed the chance to discover uncharted territory within myself. I stopped before I could start.
It wasn't the best life I could give my ideas—or myself.
So I decided to change. To find a way forward, I cataloged all the things that had ever stopped me from creating so I could shoot them down, one-by-one. It turned out to be a helpful exercise, so I thought I'd share. Do any of these reasons for not creating something sound familiar to you?
1. Because the ideas aren't finished
The No. 1 thing that keeps me from creating is that the idea doesn't feel complete yet. It lacks something, or I need more examples, or I'm not sure if it's clear.
A former editor of mine called these "glimmers"—a little spark of an idea, not fully formed but on the cusp of being something. Sometimes you need to let a glimmer sit for a while before it becomes a fully formed idea. Sometimes you can smush it together with a few other glimmers to make something.
The main thing is that idea glimmers need nurturing, which can be hard to do. When ideas are still developing, they can feel embarrassingly incomplete or tough to explain to others. What if my little glimmer is misunderstood or turns out to be nothing at all?
How to fix it:
It may seem counterintuitive, but I've learned that this is the time to talk about ideas most, so they can grow from a glimmer to a real idea. You can even post it on social media to give it a quick test. So what if the idea might fail? I'll be able to get feedback right away and know whether to keep thinking on my glimmer or let it go.
2. Because it's too hard
Although I've been writing most of my life, it never exactly comes easy to me. Occasionally the words flow, but more often it feels like a struggle to pull them out of me.
And sometimes I don't want a struggle. Sometimes I want to lay around and watch Orange Is The New Black.
As the incomparable wit Dorothy Parker put it, "I hate writing. I love having written."
How to fix it:
The best fix I've discovered here is simply to start. Start somewhere, anywhere. As soon as I put down an outline, a headline, or even one sentence of the piece, the rest begins to flow much more easily. You can also do this with a timing structure. Close down all the distractions and force yourself to focus on just 20 minutes (or whatever time period feels right to you) of writing and no more. The bite-sized task can jumpstart your focus for the bigger project.
3. Because I'm focusing too much on other people's stuff
I've always loved reading. And there's really never been a better time to be a passionate reader. I get great stuff all day every day from my Twitter stream, my gazillion RSS feeds and the newsletters in my inbox, plus there's the Sunday Times (yup, I still get a printed paper), everything I haven't quite gotten to yet on Pocket and the many books on my Kindle.
Nothing makes me happier than spending time reading great stuff.
But if I'm not careful, it can also paralyze me into thinking all the good ideas are taken and all that needs to be said already has been. It's kind of like a specific,writerly version of Imposter Syndrome.
How to fix it:
There's always going to be space for reading, curating and cheering on others' work. But there should also be a space for building on it and creating stuff of one's own. Each of us has something to say, and we have the responsibility and privilege of adding to the discourse. It's up to us to find and nurture the right balance and feel inspired by—not intimidated by–the work that others do. After all, everything is a remix.
4. Because I'm too busy with other work
Even as I type those words I realize what a flimsy excuse they are. Sure, I have lots to do at work and at home. We all do. But you always make time for what's important to you, one way or another. I could wake up earlier or stay up later. I could cut out all TV. We all have the same number of hours in the day—it's up to us to use them the best way we can to achieve our goals.
How to fix it:
What I discovered about feeling too busy for writing is that this is generally a symptom of needing to readjust my priorities to make sure creating doesn't fall too far down the list. The things that have worked the best for me so far are to block out time in my schedule for creative work. I can write on the weekends, or in the morning before I check my email. If it turns out I'm really and truly too busy to execute an idea, I can always give it away to someone who has time to take it on. Because in the end, it's more about the idea than it is about me.
5. Because I get distracted
From the time I decided to write this until the time I finished it, I did the following: Walked the dog, ate breakfast, thought about searching Amazon for a new rug, checked Twitter, read two articles. And that's me on a really focused day. Distractions are always going to be present—that's the world we live in.
How to fix it:
I've been experimenting with a lot of different ideas to help me here. The best solutions so far keep me focused by creating artificial pressure: setting a timer that goes off every 30 minutes, creating a deadline (either real or self-imposed), working until the power runs out on my laptop. I also try to realize the difference between productive distraction (walking the dog often leads to new ideas or "writing in my head") and non-productive distraction, like idly checking Facebook and Twitter.
6. Because I'm afraid
Now we get to the big one—the real reason that underlies all these others. The biggest reason my ideas used to live only in my mind instead of out in the world is that I was afraid they might not be good enough, unique enough or novel enough.
In essence: I'd rather abandon an idea, bury it forever, than have it potentially fail on me.
Possibly an understandable instinct, but a misguided one for sure–especially when you think of it like this:
Execution is what makes things happen–not pristine, flawless ideas.
Not to mention, if I thought about everything in my life the way I used to think about ideas, I'd be missing out on some pretty amazing experiences. Risk is what makes life interesting.
Luckily, Buffer's culture creates an incredibly safe space for ideas and thoughts from every team member. Here, I've learned to share early and often and to offer and receive feedback with a positive spirit. It has made all the difference. You can do the same by finding a group of peers or a mentor with whom you can practice growing more comfortable sharing around.
How to fix it:
I still haven't entirely cracked the code on this one, but writing this post is a beginning. Here's what I'm trying right now:
- Doing other creative things: My house, at the moment, is littered with construction paper from an art experiment gone awry. That's OK! Part of my new strategy is spending more creative time, even if there's no direct result to it just yet.
- Sharing more with others: In the past I would have been petrified to push publish on this post. This time around, I let my husband (himself a seemingly fearless creator) look at it right away. Feels much better!
- Creating more meditative time: On bike rides, dog walks and quiet moments alone, I'm letting my mind wander more freely. No headphones, no logistical work thinking. Just wandering. A habit of meditation has made this possible, I think.
- Allowing myself to be vulnerable: I'll probably be working on this one the rest of my life—it doesn't come easy to me. But sharing more with others, asking for help when I need it and being more open to feedback from others are the skills I'm working on right now to become more vulnerable.
Getting comfortable with sharing ideas—both my good and not-so-good ones—isn't something that happened overnight. It's a daily practice that I'm still working on and probably will be for some time. I've learned that the comfort zone is a nice place to visit, but being uncomfortable is where things really get exciting.
I wonder, are there more former or current "idea hoarders" like me out there?
If so, I hope this post might help you, too. Do any of these "reasons why not" resonate with you? How do you fight back against them? I'd love to hear your thoughts in the comments.
Image Credits: Ajith (അജിത്ത്), Crew, Art of Manliness, Forbes
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text: Obama's divide the GOP and conquer strategy By Rachel Alexander Obama has figured out how to force his left wing agenda through even though he was reelected with a divided country. He cherry picks issues which divide the Republican Party. The Republican Party ends up fighting within itself, diverting the public's attention to its chaos rather than Obama's agenda. The Republican Party is left looking unprincipled, confused and hypocritical. Look at the most recent high-profile political battles. With the help of the complicit liberal media, Obama made extending the payroll tax cut to avoid the "fiscal cliff" one of the biggest issues. It is not a clear-cut Republican versus Democrat issue, because while Republicans are generally in favor of lower taxes, government spending is out of control. Every time the extension has come up for a vote, Republicans are split. If they vote to extend it, they look fiscally irresponsible. If they vote to end it, they look like they support a tax increase. Either way they will be skewered by both the left and the right for deserting their principles, and Obama skates away free to pursue his agenda with little scrutiny. The Democrats escape scrutiny on the payroll tax cut extension votes because they don't claim to be the party of fiscal responsibility or friend of the taxpayers. They merely claim to stand for murky concepts like "caring about Americans." Republicans attempted to add deep spending cuts and a requirement to pass a budget to the bill, in order to get something they would never be able to get passed otherwise. The most recent bill to increase the debt ceiling limit included a provision that would freeze the salaries of members of Congress until they passed a budget. The Senate has not passed a budget since 2009, forcing Congress to pass temporary resolutions every six months. Called No Budget, No Pay, it divided the GOP. 199 Republicans voted for it, and 33 voted against it. Slightly more Democrats voted against it than for it, objecting to the No Pay provision as a "budget gimmick." There was virtually no criticism of the Democrats by the liberal media for opposing this common sense corrective provision. Instead, the media portrayed the legislation in the worst possible light for Republicans. Rather than characterizing it as a "forced budget" bill, the media focused instead on the part that makes Republicans look bad, increasing debt spending, calling it a bill to raise the debt ceiling. The Republicans' "budget gimmick" appears to have worked, since Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-NV) has said the Senate will pass the No Budget, No Pay bill and finally settle on a real budget. Don't expect the liberal media to identify this as a significant victory for Republicans. Nor will the liberal media remind anyone that this isn't the first time Republicans achieved a victory over the Democrats by forcing a stand down vote. Republicans forced President Clinton into signing a balanced budget amendment to curtail spending by following through on a threat to shutdown the government in 1995-96. A real budget is going to require deep spending cuts. It is easy to predict how Obama will use the budget bill to divide the GOP. He will find an area to cut that conservatives do not want to cut, like the defense budget, and make that the most important issue. Obama's plan is to put conservatives in a catch-22 and make those who oppose the budget look like big spenders, and those who support the budget look like they don't care about our military. Instead of falling into his trap, conservatives have a way out. The Pentagon has a history of wasteful spending. Conservatives should figure out how to cut some of the Pentagon's budget as well as foreign aid, which studies have shown too often finds its way into the pockets of dictators and does little to improve the economies of poor countries. Senator Tom Coburn (R-OK) exposes wasteful spending each year in his annual government waste reports. He should take the lead on negotiating spending cuts for the budget bill. This will help shift the focus back to where it belongs, on the Democrats who want to continue wasting our money on outrageous pork projects like the Alabama Watermelon Queen Tour, advertising for caviar, and a robotic squirrel. Republicans need to go on the offensive and quit letting Obama dictate which issues receive the most attention and how they are characterized. Instead of "fiscal cliff" and "raising the debt ceiling," Republicans need to use language like "going bankrupt" and "financial ruin." Why not turn the tables on the Democrats and use their own emotional rhetoric against them? If deep spending cuts aren't made, we won't be able to pay teachers and law enforcement. Rachel Alexander and her brother Andrew are co-Editors of Intellectual Conservative. Rachel practices law and social media political consulting in Phoenix, Arizona. She has been published in the American Spectator, Townhall.com, Fox News, NewsMax, Accuracy in Media, The Americano, ParcBench, and other publications.

subset: commoncrawl


text:
Publication of GRANDMA BELLINO 'S ITALIAN COOKBOOK
Available on Amazon Kindle .. Available in paperback July 31, 2015
Ladies and Gentlemen, Hello! I am pleased to announce the publication of my latest book, Grandma Bellino's Italian Cookbook - Recipes From My Sicilian Grandmother .. It is now out and available on Amazon Kindle, and will be available next week in Paperback , publication Friday July 31, 2015 .. It's been a labor of love to get this one out. Well, they're (my books) all a labor of love, and this one is no exception. The book is comprised of recipes from my Sicilian Grandmother Giuseppina Bellino who left Lercara Friddi Sicily with her husband Philipo (my maternal Grandfather) in 1904 for the shores of New York and a new a better life in America .. My maternal grandparents Philipo and Giuseppina settled in in the Yorkville section of Manhattan and lived and worked there for a few years before moving to the Italian enclave of Lodi, New Jersey where my grandfather Philipo set up a shoemaker shop on Main Street in Lodi .. My grandfather worked hard and he and his wife Giuseppina had five children; my mother Lucia, her sister Lilly, and their three brothers Frank, Tony, and James .. My grandfather worked hard, but never made much money .. Often times their low earnings reflected in the family meals which where heavy on Soups and Pasta, and not all that much meat or fish on its own, never-the-less the Bellino's had a good healthy life .. My grandmother had wonderful recipes from back in Lercara Friddi, and she made friends in Lodi with women who came from Abruzzo, Napoli, Lazio, and Calabria and had regional recipes of their own. The ladies became friends and talked about and swapped the local recipes, so although this book is made mostly of Sicilian recipes from Giuseppina, there are Neapolitan recipes and one from Calabria, and Abruzzo as well. There are also recipes from Giuseppina's offspring and grandchildren like myself, my cousin Tony and my sister Barbara. The dishes and recipes in this book are filled and come from love, and do hope that people will cook and enjoy this eclectic collection of Sicilian and other italian recipes, some that are popular and well known, along with others that are rarer and less well know, yet wonderful never-the-less. I sincerely hope you all enjoy Grandma Bellino's Italian (Sicilian) Cookbook, the stories and recipes within.
The BELLINO 'S
Phillipo, Lucia, Tony, Giuseppina
Lodi, New Jersey
by Daniel Bellino - Zwicke


text:
(Psalms 73-89)
A melody of Aʹsaph.+
73 God is truly good to Israel, to those pure in heart.+
8 They scoff and say evil things.+
They arrogantly threaten oppression.+
9 They speak as if they were as high as heaven,
And their tongues swagger about in the earth.
10 So his people turn aside to them,
And they drink from their abundant water.
11 They say: "How does God know?+
Does the Most High really have knowledge?"
12 Yes, these are the wicked, who always have it easy.+
They keep increasing their wealth.+
16 When I tried to understand it,
It was troubling to me
17 Until I entered the grand sanctuary of God,
And I discerned their future.
18 Surely you place them on slippery ground.+
You make them fall to their ruin.+
19 How suddenly they are devastated!+
How sudden is their finish as they come to a terrible end!
20 Like a dream when one wakes up, O Jehovah,
When you rouse yourself, you will dismiss* their image.
22 I was unreasoning and lacked understanding;
I was like a senseless beast before you.
25 Whom do I have in the heavens?
And besides you I desire nothing on earth.+
27 Truly, those keeping far from you will perish.
You will put an end to* everyone who immorally* leaves you.+
28 But as for me, drawing near to God is good for me.+
I have made the Sovereign Lord Jehovah my refuge,
To declare all your works.+


text:
The global liquid soap market size is projected to be worth USD 28.79 billion by the end of 2027 on account of the increasing awareness and serious adoption of health and hygiene protocols. The current pandemic of COVID-19 is also propelling the demand for hygiene maintenance among people. The increasing population and prevalence of infectious diseases have led to a rising need to maintain sanitation both on a personal level as well in surroundings, thereby fueling the demand for innovative home cleaning products such as the liquid soap. According to a recent report by Fortune Business Insights titled, "Liquid Soap Market Size, Share & Industry Analysis, and Regional Forecast, 2020-2027," the value of the market stood at USD 17.48 billion in 2019 and is likely to rise at a CAGR of 5.9% between 2020 and 2027.
The emergence of COVID-19 has brought the world to a standstill. We understand that this health crisis has brought an unprecedented impact on businesses across industries. However, this, too, shall pass. Rising support from governments and several companies can help in the fight against this highly contagious disease. Some industries are struggling, and some are thriving. Overall, almost every sector is anticipated to be impacted by the pandemic.
We are making continuous efforts to help your business sustain and grow during COVID-19 pandemics. Based on our experience and expertise, we will offer you an impact analysis of coronavirus outbreak across industries to help you prepare for the future.
Fortune Business Insights™ lists out all the liquid soap market companies that are presently striving to reduce the impact of Covid-19 pandemic on the market:
- The 3M Company (U.S.)
- Johnson & Johnson Services, Inc. (U.S.)
- Colgate-Palmolive Co.(U.S.)
- Reckitt Benckiser Group plc (U.K.)
- Lion Corporation (Japan)
- Procter & Gamble Co. (U.S.)
- Kao Corporation (Japan)
- Kimberly-Clark Worldwide, Inc. (U.S.)
- Unilever (U.K.)
- Henkel AG & Co. KGaA (Germany)
- Other vendors
Drivers & Restraints-
Advent of Innovative Soap Dispenser to Bolster Growth
Liquid soaps have emerged as a strong competition to the conventional bathing and laundry bars ever since their launch about a decade ago. The most important feature increasing its sales across the world is its easy-to-squeeze nature that guarantees zero-germ contact with the previous user. This, coupled with the fact that they come in refillable packs and are an easy way to control the spread of bacterial and viral disease. Besides this, the increasing technological advancements in soap packaging and the advent of innovative dispenser units are likely to aid in the expansion of the market in the coming years.
On the contrary, the presence of toxin ingredients such as triclosan and parabens in the soap formula may sometimes have adverse effects on the human skin, thereby challenging the market. Besides this, these products packed in plastic to avoid leakage and the excessive use of plastic increases the carbon footprint of the industries, thereby causing hindrance to the overall market in the coming years. Nevertheless, the prevalence of COVID19 is further propelling the demand for liquid soaps and other sanitary products in all parts of the world, thereby creating lucrative growth opportunities for the market in the long run.
Bath & Body Soaps Segment to Dominate Market on Account of Increasing Inclination Towards Good Hygiene Practices
Based on product type, the bath & body soaps segment earned 58.74% liquid soap market share in 2019 on account of the increasing preference for following good hygiene standards and maintaining the cleanliness of the body. Besides this, the advent of various flavored bath and body soaps further propelled its demand in the market.
Regional Analysis-
Asia Pacific Earned Dominant Shares Owing to Increasing Sensitivity Towards Cleanliness
North America holds significant share in global market. This is since the U.S. launched the first liquid soap, the popularity of which later spread to other parts of the world. Therefore, this region has the significant number of consumers. In addition to this, North America holds the record for the highest number of coronavirus patients as per the John Hopkins University report by April 2020. As per the Healthy Handwashing Study 2020 conducted by Bradley Corporation in January 2020, an average American washes hands more than 6 times in a day comprising of 78% of the total American population. Additionally, this study further reveals that 88% of this population wishes to continue following strict hygiene habits even after the pandemic is over.
In 2019, Asia Pacific earned a revenue of USD 6.12 billion and emerged dominant. Asia Pacific market is likely to continue its dominance in the forecast period on account of the presence of the highest population, evolving hotel management industry, and rise in awareness about the importance of hygiene.
Competitive Landscape-
Players Investing Massively on Product Expansion to maintain Foothold in the Market
The nature of this market is highly fragmented owing to the presence of many companies. On the contrary, major players such as Unilever, Colgate, and Henkel are focusing on the expansion of the portfolio to maintain the named of their brand in the top list. Besides this, players are adopting other plans such as new product launches and are massively investing in the same to stay put in the competition.
The Report Discusses the following Questions
- What is the competitive landscape?
- How will favorable population dynamics impact the liquid soap market?
- Which strategies are adopted by players to gain impetus in the market?
- What are the current developments in the market?
Some of the Key Industry Developments of the Liquid Soap Market include:
January 2020 – A new dish soap in the form of spray was introduced by the brand of Procter & Gamble called Dawn for cleaning utensils.
October 2018 – A new online channel called 'drbronners./tmall.hk' was launched as an expanded store of Dr. Bronner's Magic Soaps Company in China via the global platform called 'Alibaba'. This store offers peppermint-scented liquid soap manufactured by the company to its Chinese consumers.
Browse Detailed Summary of Research Report:


text:
Less chronic disease in store for fit 50-year-olds
URL of this page: http://www.nlm.nih.gov/medlineplus/news/fullstory_128680.html
(*this news item will not be available after 11/25/2012)
Monday, August 27, 2012
NEW YORK (Reuters Health) - Fit 50-year-olds are less likely to get chronic diseases as they age than are couch potatoes, according to a new U.S. study.
It may seem like a no-brainer, but the study helps fine-tune our understanding of the link between fitness and healthy aging, researchers say.
"It has been known for decades that if you are more fit, you live longer," Dr. Jarett Berry at the University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center, Dallas, told Reuters Health. "But it has not been clear that you have a higher quality of life, that you age better."
It's possible that fit people just delay the onset of chronic illness, for instance, and end up being sick just as long as their weaker peers. But that doesn't appear to be the case, according to the new research, published in the Archives of Internal Medicine.
"We see truly reduced chronic disease, rather than just delaying the inevitable," said Berry, who led the work.
He and his colleagues studied more than 18,600 healthy men and women, who had done a treadmill test sometime around age 50 to measure their cardiorespiratory fitness.
Using Medicare claims data spanning an average of 26 years, the researchers then linked the treadmill results to the rate of eight chronic conditions, including heart disease, diabetes, Alzheimer's disease and colon cancer.
Among men in the lowest fifth of fitness scores, the rate of chronic disease was 28 percent per year. By contrast, the rate was only 16 percent per year among the top fifth.
For women, the numbers were 20 percent per year versus 11 percent, respectively.
The findings don't prove that exercising more cuts the risk of chronic disease, because it could be that people with a lot of physical activity also eat healthier foods - something the researchers didn't take into account (they did account for smoking, alcohol use, obesity, blood pressure and cholesterol levels).
In a commentary, Dr. Diane Bild of the National Heart, Lung and Blood Institute in Bethesda notes that there could also be genetic factors that predispose people to both fitness and health.
But she adds that, "Physical activity has a host of well-proven benefits, including effects on weight, cardiovascular disease risk factors, bone health and mental health."
Berry said even if genetics are at work, it doesn't mean exercise can't make a difference. He said national guidelines recommend 150 minutes of moderate-intensity exercise or 75 minutes of high-intensity exercise every week.
The new study would seem to argue for more-vigorous activities such as jogging, cycling or playing basketball, he said.
"We know from prior literature that higher-intensity exercise tends to translate into more fitness," Berry explained. "Walking is clearly better than doing nothing, but if you can make the choice between walking and jogging, then jogging is probably better for you."
SOURCE: http://bit.ly/Ny7r8O and http://bit.ly/RSNO2Q Archives of Internal Medicine, online August 27, 2012.
Reuters Health
(c) Copyright Thomson Reuters 2012. Check for restrictions at: http://about.reuters.com/fulllegal.asp
- More Health News on:
- Exercise and Physical Fitness
- Healthy Aging


text:
Vintage placemat - Scandinavian Folkart - Vintage linens - Table Center mat - 1960s 1970s - Mid Century Modern
Vintage placemat - Scandinavian Folkart - Vintage linens - Table Center mat - 1960s 1970s - Mid Century Modern
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Lovely large Scandinavian placemat, would also make a lovely center piece to a table, created in quality red cotton with matching edging.
In great condition, there are a few very light marks, I tried to photograph them but they are hard to see on the blazing red fabric, nothing at all noticeable really. (see photos )
44.5cm x 40cm
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If you reside in certain territories, including the EU, you have a number of rights in relation to your personal information. While some of these rights apply generally, certain rights apply only in certain limited cases. I describe these rights below:
Access. You may have the right to access and receive a copy of the personal information I hold about you by contacting me using the contact information below.
Change, restrict, delete. You may also have rights to change, restrict my use of, or delete your personal information. Absent exceptional circumstances (like where I am required to store data for legal reasons) I will generally delete your personal information upon request.
Object. You can object to (i) my processing of some of your information based on my legitimate interests and (ii) receiving marketing messages from me after providing your express consent to receive them. In such cases, I will delete your personal information unless I have compelling and legitimate grounds to continue using that information or if it is needed for legal reasons.
Complain. If you reside in the EU and wish to raise a concern about my use of your information (and without prejudice to any other rights you may have), you have the right to do so with your local data protection authority.
How to Contact Me
For purposes of EU data protection law,
I Janette Kaye am the data controller of your personal information. If you have any questions or concerns, you may contact me at jay [!at] planetutopia.co.uk Alternately, you may mail me at:
Planet Utopia, East Wheal Music, Skate Park Lane, Mount Hawke, Cornwall, TR4 8BQ
Etsy may hold information of your order with Planet Utopia, to access, correct or delete personal information held by Etsy, you may contact Etsy at Etsy.com/help for assistance.


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Happy New Year! If you are reading this, the Mayans were wrong and the calendar keeps on going! Which is a good thing, because it might take you a while to read this post! I don't know what's wrong with me, but at the end of each year I think back and feel like I didn't accomplish much. I certainly didn't accomplish everything I wanted to, at least. But as I sat down to make a list of things to include on this blog, I was surprise to find how much we did here at the BarnYard in 2012. The days go by fast, but not so fast that there isn't time to load them up with great projects. I narrowed it down a bit, but I still feel compelled to apologize for my rambling. It was a busy year. But hopefully you enjoyed a few of the things we did...
Photo 1: The year started off pretty strong with me and my friends winning a ton of categories at the IAWTV Awards. I was the Academy's first multi-catagory winner, honored with best Best Production Design and Best Make-up FX awards for Dragon Age: Redemption. Of course, being the first is the ONLY thing that kept me in step with this amazing group, as all of us ended up winning multiple awards, and naturally the amazing Felicia Day needed help carrying her 4 trophies home!
Photo 2: I'm thrilled to have been nominated for the 2013 IAWTV Awards, this time for Best Costume Design for my work on Save The Supers. I designed the entire show, including the sets and props. Sandeep Parikh wrote and directed this "Super Friends!" parody, and it was awesome to collaborate with him again this year. The show also gave me another opportunity to costume Felicia, this time as a 60's style comic book villain.
Photo 3: As in the past 4 years, 2012 was filled with Felicia Day driven projects. Some were direct calls from her where we worked together on something, other times one of us would show up on set and be surprised the other was there. But either way, looking back on the year, it seems like so many cool things have come from us working together. Which is good, since Felicia is always fun to work with! Above, you can see the soap mold I made in the form of the logo for her show, THE FLOG.
Photo 4: Teal Shear's show, My Gimpy Life, featured Felicia as an actress who liked to read romance novels while in casting agent's waiting rooms. So, pretty much, she was playing herself. The script called for a sci-fi/romance hybrid called Blind Desire, with a dust jacket that featured a blind goddess being seduced by a cat man. Teal called and asked if I would do the cover, much in the style I did The Guild's Highland Sextasy painting. I asked Milynn Sarley of Team Unicorn to be my model, as she is as close to a goddess as you can get. It's acrylic on canvas, with as many innuendos as I could fit in a 24x36 inch space!
Photo 5: This year also brought us the launch of Felicia's YouTube channel, Geek & Sundry. I weaved in and out of almost every project, designing logos, providing props, whatever I could do to help. G&S partner and producer Kim Evey developed the WRITTEN BY A KID series, and I was lucky enough to be picked to helm an episode. I designed, directed, and puppeteered Ginger Potato, about a gingerbread man who can't catch a break, and I believe it is my favorite project of 2012.
Photo 6: And I cannot forget to mention The Guild. Season 6 had some of the biggest design challenges yet, with an underwater world, and giant props like this bronze dragon statue that Jeff Lewis had to camp out on for days of filming!
Photo 7: One of my favorite things about the web world is all of the cross-pollination of cast and crew. We all end up working together on all of these different ventures, so it really starts to feel like family. Jeff Lewis has his own show, the award winning Jeff Lewis 5-minute comedy hour, directed by The Guild's Sean Becker. Those guys asked me is I would design some of the more daring episodes, involving sci-fi and fantasy themes. I even built them a hospital room when finding a location was problematic. That was the same episode I on which I worked with Doug Jones again. He may not look very happy here, but he was actually thrilled that this one project we did together in 2012 only required some minor face painting, as opposed to the intense full body prosthetics I had to put him in for the 5 projects we did together in 2011!
Photo 8: There are actually too many web shows to mention if I want to finish this blog before 2014, but I will definitely include a few more of the key ones. The Fine Bro's My Music is making a lot of waves on the internet, including a whopping 9 Streamy nominations! I'm glad one of those is mine for Best Design, since we worked hard to build what I am pretty sure is the largest set ever build from the ground up for a web series.
Photo 9: The show centers around the crazy characters in an A&R company, each representing a different genre of music. But in a way, the office where they work is almost a central character in and of itself. An empty sound stage was converted into a 6000 square foot, 2 story set to accommodate the web series even the major networks would consider ambitious!
Photo 11: Machinima was on the rise this year, giving all of their shows a make-over. And I got to do most of the making-over! I designed 6 sets for them in all, including the mail room for Respawn: Inbox and this talk show set for Inside Gaming Daily.
Photo 12: The internet and "main stream media" are still considered worlds apart, but it is becoming more common to see huge movies and television shows have splinter versions on the web. There are also occasions when original web content makes its way to other media such as DVD. Just in time for Christmas,The Legend of Neil did just that! I had a blast designing season 3 of this break-out series, and it was a privilege to do the art for the dvd cover. And don't forget to watch the special features. I'm sure I'm in there showing you how to make something!
Photo 13: I didn't get to design any video games like I did in 2011, but I did work on a bunch of commercials for them! Probably the most popular of all was the live action spot for Borderlands 2. My team stayed up for 72 hours straight to deliver 12 masks, 4 helmets, and a loot crate! But it was worth it. I don't think any other project has gotten as much response! It seems everybody wants a bandit mask. Do you?
Photo 14: Thinking back on the year, I recall many of the all-nighters being for video game commercials. After months of bidding and designing, I ended up with only a weekend to create the 7 trophies featured in the Wii Sports commercials.
Photo 15: In hind sight, a weekend seems like a luxury compared to the handful of hours I was given to build this robot costume. It was for a smokeless cigarette commercial in India, and it happened so fast we didn't even have time to cast an actor. So I just made it to fit me! I put it together from stuff laying around the shop, and didn't worry about making it comfortable since I would only have to wear it for a few hours. Or so I thought. The client loved the spot and order a whole series, so I ended up becoming a robot multiple times over the year, each shoot longer and more complicated than the next! But, hey, they brought me flowers!
Photo 16: I did a lot of television work this year, too. One of my favorites was Happy Endings, starring Damon Wayans. Jr. Every time the writers dream up a crazy prop, I get a phone call. And with each call, the props get crazier and more challenging. Which is awesome! I feel like I did something for almost every episode this season, but I can only show you the ones that have aired so far! You may recognize Sinbrad here, but keep watching the show for more!
Photo 17: The script for the episode "Sabado Free-Gante" called for "indestructible piniatas", so although they look fragile on the outside, these donkey actually have welded steel skeletons and super dense polyurethane skin!
Photo 18: I love being part of Christmas episodes! Red5 and I built this gingerbread version of London for Elisha Cuthbert's shop. Anthony Thompson even made the candy eggs on the Ferris wheel light up!
Photo 19: I heard the producers where thrilled that some of the props got so much feedback from the fans, like my Hip Hop Santa. I had to make multiple versions of him, including a stunt version for Damon to throw off the balcony, and the terminator version you can see on the right. This prop was ultimately cut from the episode.
Photo 20: Sometime my presence on a television show is very subtle. Like this bus stop poster that was featured on Justified. My buddy Dave Blass put it there. 2012 brought him an Emmy Nomination for his design work on Justified. Dave and I have worked together for decades, since the Corman years, so I could not be more proud of him. Next stop: Oscar!
Photo 21: Of course, there are other times when it's pretty obvious I'm working on a TV show. Like, when I'm working ON a TV show! I took the plunge this year and stepped IN FRONT of the camera, for real this time, not a cameo or anything. Luckily, it was a reality show, so you didn't have to suffer through me acting! Syfy Channel's HOT SET exposes what goes into creating movie sets, much in the way that it's producers showed you the wonder of make-up fx through Face Off. Myself and a competitor had 3 days to design and complete a film set based on a specific theme. We were each allowed to bring 2 team members. I had my art director, Red5, and Amish, my concept illustrator. The winners got $10,000. I won't spoil the rest. You should just watch it!
Photo 22: Wil Wheaton had a milestone birthday, 20 or 30 or something, and there was a huge party. Kim Evey came up with the perfect gift, combining Wil's 2 favorite things: Doctor Who and beer! She was searching the internet for an idea, and found art of a Dalek stein, accompanied by an endless forum of fans who wished it was a real thing. So she asked me is I cold make it a real thing. And I did. That's Wil's seal of approval face.
Photo 23: My birthday was much more low key. I spent it with Tenacious D. We filmed some stuff.
Photo 24: 2012 was the year I achieved many life long goals, too. Growing up as a kid in Jersey, I used to paint heavy metal album covers on the backs of jean jackets to earn extra cash for Star Wars figures and stuff. I dreamed of the day I would be the one painting an actual album cover. I've painted a bunch over the years, but never for a major, classic metal band. Well, I almost got my shot this year. The German band Accept asked me to paint them a cover, and they had a really great concept. I did a ton of comps, but unfortunately, the label rejected everything, including the concept. They ended up just using their logo. The band, however, loved the art, and gave me a special thanks inside the CD and LP covers. All those years of studying the album covers, wondering who those people were in "The Band wishes to thank" section, and now I'm finally one of them!
Photo 25: I also had my first museum exhibition year. I designed and sculpted a series of armor for endangered marine life to help the Surfrider Foundation promote environmental awareness. The life-sized sculptures will be traveling around the country, where you will be able to see them at both museums and aquariums. The exhibit is entitled, "They cannot protect themselves", and through this art I wanted to express that we as humans always find a way to shield ourselves from the harm we create, but there are so many other creatures on this Earth that cannot create a barrier against our actions.
Photo 26: I've actually been spending a lot of time thinking about the environment and our impact on it. I'm not going to turn into some preach activist or start chaining myself to trees, but you have to be blind to not see how our progressive society is impacting the planet. And I'm just as guilty of it as anyone else. The amount of chemicals and raw materials the entertainment industry burns through is ridiculous. There are lots of things we can do to minimize, but it would be delusional to think it will ever be completely eliminated. I decided that I need to do as much positive effect as possible to help counter the negative results I have caused through the years. I feel, as always, that I am most effective when using my art, so my beast shot was using it to try to spread the word and help educate people about the environment.
My good friend Rod Roddenberry agreed, and he was very impressed with the Surfrider sculptures. He asked me to create a piece for the Roddenberry Dive Team, an organization that promotes environmental awareness through the exploration of the oceans. Rod hosts the Trashy Diver contests, which encourages divers to clean the waterways they frequent, and rewards them for the effort. Categories include "most trash", "most unique trash", and "most likely to be found on the USS Enterprise Starship." There are tons of great prizes, like a Hawaiian vacation!
Photo 27: I participated in a multitude of the cleanups, collecting trash on the beaches, off the shore, and through the river ways all along the coast of California. With the help of an army of volunteers, we amassed truckloads of debris that I could use to create the art piece. On some of the more remote trips, like Catalina Island, I was limited to the amount of trash I could use by what I could carry on my back. Soon there was a huge pile at the BarnYard, which we sorted through and categorized. The big question was, what was I going to build?
Photo 28: Rod and I spent a lot of time talking about it, and conceptually we were of two minds. I felt strongly that because so many artists were doing recycled/found object nature sculptures, we should do something Star Trek themed, since Rod is the only one who could truly represent that aspect of the sci-fi phenomenon's view of the future. Rod really wanted to do a marine animal, going for the juxtaposition of creating a beautiful image out of the materials that are destine to destroy it. In the end, we compromised, and I used the trash we pulled from the California water ways to build George and Gracie, the humpback whales from Star Trek IV: The Voyage Home. The piece premiered at the Ocean Blue Film Festival in Monterey, alongside the submersible James Cameron used to go to the deepest depths of the ocean that any man ever has. With such serious technology as that, I wasn't sure how my trash sculpture would be received. But all my fears where put to rest when explorer Jean Michel Cousteau became George and Gracie's biggest fan.
Photo 29: I've known Rod for years, but we are both always so busy that we never get to spend much time together. The whale project allowed us to hang out more often in 2012, even if most of that time was spent waist deep in trash! We had a good time though. thinking back, I realized that I spent almost every major holiday this year with the Roddenberrys, which is awesome. I attended an Easter brunch at their house, and couldn't resist making these cookies...
Photo 30: In 2011, I directed and designed White Room: 02B3, the first original Roddenberry Production in years. We filmed the project in 360 degrees, using state of the art technology for an audience immersive experience. This year, we showed sneak peeks of that technology at the various conventions and trade shows we attended.
Photo 31: The 360 version for dome theaters and your hand held devices is still being worked on, fine tuning the technology to give you the best viewing experience possible. But the "director's cut", which I filmed in a traditional single camera format, made its world premier at the Sci-Fi London Film Festival. It was great to see it up on the big screen. I got to meet so many creative forces in the sci-fi community, and I was invited to speak about special effects and film making at The British Academy of Film and Television.
Photo 32: My trips to Europe, or anywhere for that matter, are usually for work and my schedule is always too full for extensive sight seeing. This trip was no exception, as we had a packed line up of screenings and panels. But I did finally find time to make the half day trip out to Stonehenge. It was definitely on my bucket list, but actually being there was so much more than that. It is one of those places where you can actually feel the mystery, and know that there are things in this world we will never understand.
Photo 33: Then there are mystical forces that are much easier to wrap your mind around. Like the Beatles! White Room: 02B3 writer Tory Mell and I walked across London to find Abbey Road, and I was pleased to see that so little has changed since the famous photo for their 1969 album cover. When we got there, it was relatively quite. But apparently tons of people have the same idea we did, because it was soon teaming with people from all over the world. We offered to help a couple take a recreation of the Beatle's photo in exchange for one of our own, and when they screamed with joy over how perfect the one we took matched their Googled image of the original, our services became in high demand.
I attempted to hold back traffic as Tory directed people to strike the pose while he snapped away. Not wanting to deny anyone, we had to wait till a lull to make our escape. We estimate we took over a hundred photos in that 45 minutes! We joked about getting a permit to set up a booth and charge $20 a pop. Surprised noone has done that yet!!!
Photo 34: Hang on, I'm not done with Roddenberry yet! With Rod's help, my collectible company Floppets took a big leap forward into the licensing game when we created Star Trek Floppets! There are 9 designs available currently at Roddenberry.com, with 9 more for series 2 in production now!
Photo 35: Floppets made leaps and bounds in 2012, which was officially its first year in business. But we came out of the gate strong, premiering at the New York Toy Fair in February, where we were called, "The next big trend in kids' toys!" It was quite the honor, considering we were on the floor with the biggest and best toy companies in the world. We wanted to make sure people didn't forget about us, so I designed these commemorative edition Floppets to hand out at our booth. They were a huge hit, so be sure to look for a new design at every show we attend next year. And there will be a lot of them! As a matter of fact, the most travel I did this past year was for Floppets.
Photo 36: I attended C2E2 in Chicago, and we did a big promotion for the Guild Floppets. Amy Okuda was kind enough to join me for the trip, and the fans were thrilled to see her. She had a non-stop line all weekend long, and we ran out of the limited edition Think Tink prints I made by the end of the first day!
Photo 37: Soon after Chicago, I ended up in Vegas again, this time for the Licensing Show. This is kind of a behind-the-scenes version of the comic conventions, because everything we know and love is represented there, but nothing is for sale and the big ticket franchises have showrooms that are invitation only. I tried to talk to Saban about some doing Power Ranger Floppets, and they wouldn't even let me in! I was relieved to meet some friendly faces at SeaWorld, though.
Photo 38: I ended up making a lot of great deals over the week despite my Power Rangers rejection. But I have to say that the highlight of the whole trip was running into the Gotcha booth, which was plastered with standees and larger than life photos of Marissa Cuevas! I knew she had modeled their clothing line last year, but it blew my mind to see her image representing the entire company at the show. This was just one of many achievements for Marissa in 2012, a list which also includes a starring role on Nickelodeon's Super Ninjas! I can hardly wait to see what she will accomplish in 2013!
Photo 39: Floppets also had a huge presence at San Diego Comicon. We premiered Star Trek series 1, along with original designs for Witchblade, Darkness, and Fathom. We also had a ton of signings, including the entire cast of The Guild, Legend of Neil, Save the Supers, Brent Spiner's Fresh Hell, and Team Unicorn. But comicon started way early for me this year, since I helped Chris Hardwick and The Nerdist Channel usher in the event with the Course of the Force. This charity run started in Santa Monica, and celebrity runners carried a lightsaber all the way to San Diego. The whole thing started with an online video of Chris getting the prop from Lucasfilm in San Fransico. I production designed the spot, and even got to cut off The Walking Dead creator Robert Kirkman's hand.
Photo 40: It was nice to not have to travel far from home for Stan Lee's Comikaze. It was so close, actually, that I didn't mind packing up my studio and converting the Floppet's booth into a Web Series Museum. I put all the props I've made from shows I've worked on so everyone can see them live. If you dropped by at the right times, you also would have met Felicia and Team Unicorn live!
Photo 41: This was the first year I got to attend PAX. Naturally, I drifted through the floor like a zombie, since it took another string of all-nighters and insane last minute building to create The Museum of Mojang. This booth housed relics and works of art from the creation of MineCraft, as well as Scrolls, and Cobalt. Everything turned out great, though, and I had a good time hanging out with the geniuses from Sweden. My "anatomy of a creeper" was a big hit, as iJustine will testify!
Photo 42: I had to sneak away from filming the Guild season 6 to make an appearance at PowerMorphicon, but it was well worth it. It's always good to be reunited with my SPD rangers. Monica May, Brandon Jay McLaren, and I did a panel, had a few laughs, signed a few autographs, and then I had to bail. I can't wait until I can work with all of those guys again.
Photo 43: If you got to roam around E3 this year, you were sure to run into some of my work. My favorite piece was the Live Feed set for the Machinima booth. They wanted something that was generic, yet embodied sic-fi and gaming. I went with this Aliens inspired structure, and we tricked it out with aluminum pipes and red under lighting.
Photo 44: I carved out a little time to actually explore E3 myself, and to make sure I didn't miss anything, I joined my favorite video game expert for the tour. Milynn was ecstatic to find Pac Man carpet that matched her dress, and was sure she would blend in...
Photo 45: The guys over at Sypher Art Studios jumped in to help me build the Steampunk booth for Guild season 5, so in trade I sculpted them a full size dragon head for the Labyrinth of Jareth Masquerade Ball. On Guild season 6, I needed to borrow said dragon back for the game designer's office, so I returned that favor with a series of goblin sculpts. I did 5 characters in all, and created 30 appliances for the 2 night event.
Photo 46: I took a break in between making things to TALK about making things! I did multiple lectures and panels this year, including this fun interactive one for the Bui Brothers.
Photo 47: And late at night, when I couldn't sleep, I would draw strange things to put on Apple computers! I have multiple designs available for sale on Etsy, but the most popular by far is the Ood.
Photo 48: The last convention of the year was the biggest of them all. Mojang brought me back to design Minecon 2012, and this time it was in Paris. I had to travel over there several time to scout out the venues, find crew and facilities, and work out all the details since the show was so involved.
Photo 49: There definitely ended up being some downtime between scouts and meetings, and there is so much to see in Paris. I was over there with Milynn, so naturally the priority was discovering French comic book shops!
Photo 50: We also went to Stockholm, Sweden to visit the Mojang offices. There Junkboy and I plotted and schemed about what Minecon Paris would look like. If you are wondering why this photo looks like it's from the 1920s, it's because the guys threw a big, themed office warming party the week we where there. It was an adventure finding vintage clothing in the malls of Stockholm, but I think we did alright!
Photo 51: Not all my trips to Europe were as much fun, though. With Minecon only 5 weeks away, I packed up all my gear, and the crew and I headed over to Paris for the final build. We were only there 4 days when we were mugged outside a RER train station. 6 guys came out of nowhere as we were getting into our rental car in the parking lot, and started beating me with a steel police baton. We were able to fight them off, and they didn't get any of our belongings, but I ended up with a dislocated shoulder, disarticulated collar bone, fractured elbow, and extensive nerve and tissue damage. I'm healing up now, but the pain has greatly effected my work flow. I'm told the aching and tingling is going to take months to years to go away, so, there's that...
Photo 52: Everyone on the crew took a some damage from the incident, but here at the BarnYard, we truly believe the show must go on! We made an oath to avoid train stations, and stayed in Paris to finish building Minecon. I have to admit that three dimensional 8-bit pixels are very surreal on morphine! I kept my distance from the power tools for a bit, and focused as much as I could on the big picture. It was a struggle for us all to get to the finish line, but I feel like at some point over that weekend, practically every one of the 7,000 attendees came up to personally thank us. That is the best medicine ever.
Photo 54: This past year has been filled with many wonderful things, but the most wonderful of them all was the introduction of Nikko Ransom Byrnes. His mom is my best friend, and producing partner for over a decade, Sheri Bryant. I don't know if he will grow up to think of me as an uncle, or a brother, or that weird dude that has a house full of scary heads, but holding him in my arms, I do know that no film or work of art could ever be as wonderful as he is. I am so inspired by him. He is only a few months old, but seeing him smile and laugh every time he sees his dad, John Byrnes, is the most amazing thing ever. I know that he will never be without, that his parents are the kindest and most caring people I know, but I promise that if he ever needs anything, I will be there. Everything I possess is his, and every ability I have will be used to make his dreams come true. I am so excited to share 2013 with Nikko. It is the beginning of his journey, and I'm certain it will be the best adventure yet!


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State authorities have banned the sale of a toxic rat poison after deeming it a significant danger to animals.
The California Department of Pesticide Regulation imposed the ban Monday, restricting second generation anticoagulant rodenticides – commonly referred to as "super-toxic" rat poisons – from being sold to California consumers.
The products were sold under names such as d-CON Mouse Prufe II, d-CON Bait Pellets and Just One Bite, the agency said.
"They had to be removed from store shelves – only people who are trained and certified to handle them will be allowed to use them in California," said DPR spokesperson Charlotte Fadipe.Fadipe said that the now-banned rodenticide contained the chemicals brodifacoum, bromadiolone, difenacoum or difethialone, which DPR classified as "restrictive materials."
"If a rat comes along and eats these poisons on a Monday, it will still be running around on a Tuesday or Wednesday – during that time if a barn owl or a coyote eats the rat, the poison ends up in their bodies," Fadipe said. "That's why it's so dangerous."
Sometimes even pets may eat the rodents, Fadipe said.
A study conducted by DPR and the California Department of Fish and Wildlife from 1995 to 2010 found residues of the poison in 75 percent of the dead animals studied.
Animals adversely affected by the poison include barn owls, bobcats, coyotes, raccoons and the endangered San Joaquin kit fox.
"There's a whole range of methods to tackle pests, including non-chemical ones, like getting a cat or an owl, or using other products that are not a threat to wildlife," Fadipe said.
Reckitt Benckiser, one of the 17 manufacturers of the poison, initially tried to delay the consumer ban, taking DPR to court.
But a Superior Court judge agreed with the ban and the company has agreed to phase out production nationally by next year.


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You are here
Irish Origenes Presentation at Family Tree DNA Conference
I was invited by the world's largest commercial ancestral DNA testing Company 'Family Tree DNA' to give a talk entitled 'Pinpointing a Geographical Origin' at their 8th Annual Genetic Genealogy Conference in Houston, Texas (Nov. 2012). I may be biased in my opinion but I think that the talk was well received. The general impression I got was that many people simply overlook the surnames of the people with whom one shares a common male ancestor as revealed by the Y-DNA 37 test. Those surnames can pinpoint a geographical origin as they (the surnames) will have arisen among a related group of individuals living in a specific location. Given that surnames still concentrate in the area where they first appear one merely has to plot where one's surname matches occur (based on census data) and reveal a common area of association; that will be the area where one's ancestors originated. The method works remarkably well for those with Irish ancestry, Scottish ancestry, but can be that little bit trickier for those with English and Welsh ancestry. In fact in Ireland one can pinpoint an ancestral origin to within a specific Townland (these are very small areas consisting of a few acres).
I hope to have a link to the actual presentation shortly. In the meantime one can download and view the slides from the presentation (click here) which feature background information and most importantly Case Studies for those with Irish, Scottish, Welsh, and English ancestry. Since then Family Tree DNA have invited me to give a number of talks at the 'Who Do You Think You Are LIVE' event in February, in London. This event is the largest genealogical event in the World! I have some exciting new Case Studies to detail, so I hope to see you there. If you have had a Y-DNA test, and want to pinpoint your ancestral origin, and would like a FREE CONSULTATION then you can contact me here.


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major macro economic indicators
2020 | 2021 | 2022 (e) | 2023 (f) | |
GDP growth (%) | -0.9 | 7.5 | 2.3 | 2.2 |
Inflation (yearly average, %) | 1.6 | 4.1 | 11.7 | 11.0 |
Budget balance (% GDP) | -8.0 | -4.1 | -3.8 | -2.7 |
Current account balance (% GDP) | -4.1 | -4.3 | -9.0 | -8.3 |
Public debt (% GDP) | 57.0 | 56.5 | 54.5 | 53.4 |
(e): Estimate (f): Forecast
- Stabilisation and Association Agreement with the EU allowing 93% of Serbian products to enter without customs duties
- Public sector reform in coordination with the IMF
- Natural resources (coal, copper, zinc, lead, bauxite, gold, silver, lithium), but under-explored; significant cereal, vegetable and fruit production
- Rising automotive industry
- Energy-dependent on Russia, Serbia does not impose EU sanctions on Russia
- The EU accession progress is hampered by EU concerns over the rule of law, the Kosovo status and ties with Russia
- Slow judicial proceedings, customs harassment, corruption, lack of transparency in government
- Large informal sector: 20% of GDP in 2021 and 14% of employment in Q3 2022
Serbian economy will continue to slow in 2023
The Serbian economy is set to continue to slow in 2023 due to persistently high inflation, lower demand from its main European trading partners, and increased borrowing costs which will weigh on consumption, exports and private investment. The Russia-Ukraine war has a modest direct impact on the Serbian economy as Russia accounts for around 4% of country's goods trade exports and 5.3% of its imports. Serbia has condemned the violation of Ukraine's territorial sovereignty and voted in favour of a UN resolution demanding Russian forces to withdraw, but remains the only country in Europe to refrain from imposing sanctions on Russia. Nevertheless, the indirect effect of the war, which has materialised in globally higher energy prices in the European market, has spread to food and other goods prices owing to increased production and transportation costs. This pushed the yearly inflation rate in Serbia up to an average of around 12% in 2022, i.e., the highest inflation rate since 2008-2009 when the financial crisis hit Serbia. Price tensions are eroding households' purchasing power and their consumption should therefore further decelerate over the 2022-2023 winter and spring months. It is expected that consumer prices will increase further throughout 2023, albeit at a slower pace than in 2022. To stabilise inflation expectations, the National Bank of Serbia (NBS) raised its policy rate on eight occasions by a cumulative 350 basis points to 4.5% by late 2022. Further interest rate hikes are expected in 2023. Rising interest rates have already and will further weigh on private investment as borrowing costs have increased. Modest support is likely to come from government spending in the form of aid for households and companies to cope with higher energy prices. Additionally, the minimum wage is likely to increase in 2023 as the labour market remains relatively robust. Net exports' contribution to GDP growth should remain positive but moderate as imports increase at a faster pace than exports.
Slight decrease in the twin deficit in 2023
Late in 2022, the government agreed to a 24-month stand-by arrangement (SBA) with the IMF, giving Serbia access to financing support of EUR 2.4 billion. The arrangement will ease Serbia's funding pressures and counter potential investor concerns over external and fiscal financing risks amid weaker economic activity. In return for financing support, Serbia has agreed to reforms monitored by the IMF. The public deficit is consequently likely to narrow in 2023 as the government curbs spending, but no tax increases are planned. Public debt should therefore continue to decrease gradually.
The current account deficit is expected to decline in 2023, but remains at a high level compared to that of the previous 7 years. The significant trade-in-goods deficit should narrow only marginally due to the country's import dependence. The small primary income deficit is likely to be totally offset by modest surpluses in services and secondary income (especially remittances) accounts. The current account deficit is likely to be financed by foreign direct investment inflows and a two-year stand-by arrangement with the IMF.
Conservative-nationalist Serbian Progressive Party remains the dominant political force
The Progressive Party (SNS) of the President Aleksandar Vučić won the snap parliamentary elections in April 2022 with 44% of the vote, giving it only 120 seats in Serbia's 250‑seat parliament (-68 seats compared to the 2020 election). This is the first time since 2014 that the party has not carried an absolute majority, which implies some leverage for its coalition partners. Mr Vucic benefited from the snap election and was re-elected in the presidential election held simultaneously, garnering 60% of the vote in the first round. In late October, after several months of discussions, a new coalition was formed between the SNS and the Social Party for Serbia (SPS) that included a number of independents and representatives of smaller regional parties (155 seats out of 250), and a new 28-member cabinet and prime minister were appointed. It will face formal parliamentary opposition for the first time in two years comprising the main opposition United Serbia coalition (38 seats), Moramo (13 seats), a new green party and a new right-wing tripartite bloc (35 seats). The pro-EU opposition will push issues such as SNS corruption, the environment and European integration, while the right-wing bloc will demand a tough stance on Kosovo and good relations with Russia and China. Serbia's de facto leader is still Mr. Vucic, who continues to wield enormous influence over all aspects of domestic and foreign policy. At international level, the country wants to keep its strategic focus on the EU, but also maintain good relations with China and Russia at the same time, which will be challenging. Serbia's refusal to apply EU sanctions against Russia brought strong criticism from the EU and the US. Viewed largely, the incumbent coalition is likely to remain in place until the next parliamentary elections in 2026, but Mr. Vucic could call another snap election with a view to bolstering the government's position. Meanwhile, the presidential election is scheduled for 2027, at which time Mr Vucic will be ineligible to stand for a third term.
Last updated: April 2023


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March 11, 2011
• It's no surprise that "the best there is, the best there was, and the best there ever will be" also has the best family photo of all time.
• At a gymnastics meet Saturday a 60-year-old St. Thomas math professor punched a person wearing the Goldy Gopher mascot outfit and I'm having a hard time choosing who to side with in the story. Incidentally, my cousin once punched Mickey Mouse in the face while eating dinner at Epcot Center and 20 years later I still consider the moment one of the highlights of my life.
• Jack Dickey recapping the Sloan Sports Analytics Conference is a must-read, if only for the analogy comparing Malcolm Gladwell to Delmon Young.
• Doesn't she know that dropouts never amount to anything?
• Felicia Pearson, who played Snoop on The Wire, is among 63 people arrested in a Baltimore drug raid. David Simon chimed in regarding the incident, which probably doesn't qualify as "life imitating art" considering that Pearson's character on the show already imitated her actual life. "How my hair look, Mike?"
• Tim McCarver will be calling games on FOX through at least 2013. I'm going to need a new mute button by then.
• Ozzie Guillen quote of the week: "I'm the Charlie Sheen of baseball, but without drugs and a prostitute."
• For someone who grew up playing video games and marveling at the Chicago Bulls this video is just about perfect:
Whoever put that together and spliced in the old audio clips is a genius. Seriously.
• J.C. Romero drove his Porsche Panamera from his offseason home in Alabama to the Phillies' spring training complex in Florida. And then someone stole it.
• I'm proud to say that three different people e-mailed me this link, which is a testament to my consistent perviness and the AG.com readers' continued support of said perviness.
• Some people may see an awful lot of tattoos, but I see an awful lot of teeth.
• I'm seeking recommendations for the best baseball writers who extensively cover prospects across MLB, rather than a team-specific focus, and also aren't affiliated with a prominent site already. Feel free to leave your suggestions in the comments section or e-mail them to me.
• Everyone has been spelling Kendry Morales' name wrong since 2004.
• Kelly Oxford is one of my favorite non-baseball people to follow on Twitter and now she has television and book deals based on her great tweets.
• In case you missed this public service announcement earlier in the week: LaVelle E. Neal III would like everyone to stop confusing him with Al Newman.
• This is obviously very sad, but how long should I wait to inquire about the job opening?
• Mike Pelfrey learned the hard way that you never assume a woman is pregnant.
• As part of the Minneapolis Jewish Film Festival there's a screening of "Jews and Baseball: An American Love Story" on March 30 at the Mall of America. Here's a trailer for the film:
Howard Sinker of the Minneapolis Star Tribune is introducing the film at MoA, Dustin Hoffman is the movie's narrator, and there are interviews with everyone from Sandy Koufax and Kevin Youkilis to Ron Howard and Larry King. Recommended for members of the tribe and goyim.
• Last week Howard Stern, who lives in New York, appeared on Jimmy Kimmel Live, which is in Los Angeles. And instead of the usual satellite setup, they green-screened him into the chair.
• On a related note, Jimmy Kimmel's ex-girlfriend, Sarah Silverman, had a great appearance on Stern's show yesterday.
• Andy Dick's appearance on Joe Rogan's podcast was pretty great too.
• My uncle and cousin are both available for scouting jobs.
• Rotoworld's annual fantasy baseball draft guide is now available online. I'm "editor-in-chief" and it's a big part of my job, so I'd be grateful if AG.com readers checked it out. You get 1,000 player profiles and projections, a couple dozen strategy articles, customizable cheat sheets, and a whole bunch of other good stuff that adds up to 150,000-plus words of content updated all spring. Buy it, so I don't have to move back to the proverbial parents' basement.
• I'm still loving Netlix streaming. Some recent documentary recommendations: The September Issue, The Parking Lot Movie, Eternal Enemies: Lions and Hyenas, The Wild and Wonderful Whites, Gonzo, Rolling Stones: Stones in Exile.
• Here are some highlights from my NBCSports.com blogging this week:
- Chase Utley's status for Opening Day in doubt due to on knee injury
- Someone should tell Nyjer Morgan to stop trying to steal bases
- Coco Crisp was being followed by "secret service" at time of DUI arrest
- Domonic Brown set for surgery tomorrow; out 4-6 weeks
- Jake Peavy throwing well and aiming "to break camp with the team"
- Charlie Manuel close to two-year extension with Phillies
- Adam Dunn should visit Baseball-Reference.com some time
- Ryan Madson hopes to stay with the Phillies, but wants to be a closer
- For some reason the Royals want Billy Butler stealing bases
• Finally, this week's AG.com-approved music video is Mark Schottinger performing "Black and White" from the aforementioned The Parking Lot Movie:


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At each of your child's checkups, your pediatrician's office should plot your child's weight and measurements. In general, you should see a continuous upward trend, although there will be times when she gains very slowly and perhaps some weeks when she actually loses a little weight due to illness. It is not normal for her to stop growing or to lose weight except for the small amount she loses during the first few days of life. If she does lose weight, it is a clear sign either that she is not getting enough to eat or that she is ill. The medical term for this condition is failure to thrive. Although it can happen in older children who are seriously ill or undernourished, it is most common and most dangerous during the active growth period of the first three years.
If allowed to continue for a prolonged period, this condition can become serious. Steady weight gain is especially important for infants and toddlers because it means that they are receiving adequate nutrition and care for normal physical, mental, and emotional development.
Usually when a child stops growing, it is due to a feeding problem that prevents her from getting as many calories as she needs. As a newborn, she may be too fussy to eat as much as she needs, or, if breastfed, she may not be getting enough milk while nursing. Some children may require more food than their parents are able to provide. These problems must be detected and treated early in order to avoid long-term or permanent damage.
Sometimes failure to thrive signals a medical problem. The newborn may have an infection passed on from her mother during pregnancy, or she may have a hormonal difficulty, an allergy, or a digestive problem that prevents nutrients from being absorbed into the body properly. Diseases such as cystic fibrosis, diabetes, or heart disease also can interfere with normal growth. If one of these is present, the child may need a special diet as well as medical treatment.
Regularly charting your child's growth, and comparing her general development with others her age, are the best ways to make sure she is thriving. If she does not gain weight, grow in length, or otherwise develop normally, consult your pediatrician. He will measure and examine your child, ask about her diet and eating patterns, and review her medical history for signs of illness that may be contributing to her failure to thrive. The physician will try to establish exactly when the growth or weight gain stopped, and ask about anything that may have contributed to this. The pediatrician also may watch your child eating or nursing to see how much she consumes and how she responds to food. Sometimes a short period of in-hospital observation may be necessary.
If the doctor discovers a physical cause for the decrease in growth rate, he will recommend the appropriate treatment. If there is no physical reason, however, the pediatrician will look for emotional or social problems, particularly within the family. Such disturbances can decrease a child's appetite or alter her normal food intake and digestion. Once discovered, these difficulties can be treated with individual or family counseling.


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Weekly newspapers and freelance journalists might soon get more time to produce stories gleaned from freedom of information requests to the B.C. government.
Citizens Services Minister Jinny Sims isn't making any promises, but a review of freedom of information (FOI) requests to the B.C. government and its agencies is underway, and the policy of releasing all results on a public website 72 hours after they are given to the applicant is part of that.
B.C. Ferries was the first provincial agency to start public release of all FOI requests, and the rest of the government followed suit under the previous B.C. Liberal administration.
"It has been brought to my attention that this is still happening, and we're doing a review, and we're looking at making some changes," Sims said in an interview with Black Press.
"One of the things that I've also heard is that when you publish a name on a website of who has put in a request, that also has a chilling factor for some people. So we're looking at the whole issue around this, and we are planning to make changes."
The NDP promised in the spring election campaign to change the public release policy.
After former finance minister Mike de Jong began posting FOI responses to a public website, researchers and reporters objected. Media lawyer David Sutherland noted that when law firms use FOI for civil cases, they try to keep them secret from the other side. He predicted public release would result in lawyers using agents to file requests, adding more complexity to cases.
Sims said the on-time performance of response to FOI requests has also improved, up from 80 per cent last year to 91 per cent. She attributed the improvement to her new direction for staff, who she said have been "unleashed to do their job."
Sheer volume of FOI requests is an issue for the B.C. government, including everything from political staff combing through ministers' calendars to provincial prison inmates demanding menus of correctional institutions.
"We do have a small number of high-volume users, the frequent flyers on our FOI system, and they do generate significant workload pressures," Sims said. "In 2016-17 alone, two requesters were responsible for 29 per cent of all general requests, and one of these two requesters generated 65 per cent of all media-related FOI requests."


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All this week, NPR is taking a look at the demographic changes that could reshape the political landscape in Texas over the next decade — and what that could mean for the rest of the country.
Few know Texas' population as well as its official demographer, Lloyd Potter, a professor at the University of Texas, San Antonio. He talked with NPR this week about his research.
Describe in broad terms what's happening in Texas, in terms of growth and demographics.
"We have these major urban areas that are growing — both in terms of numbers and in terms of speed — faster than anywhere else in the country. So that's the Dallas-Fort Worth area and the Houston area. And if you look at the Austin metro area, it's also growing rapidly.
"People are moving to Texas because we have job opportunities while other places are losing opportunities. The cost of living is lower here. We've been fairly effective in recruiting industry and businesses to locate here and create jobs.
"We also have a number of other things that are related to the fracking and oil and gas extraction. If you look at Midland and Odessa, those were the fastest-growing areas in the country last year. ... All of the counties where there is drilling activity are seeing explosive growth.
"The other interesting thing that gets a fair amount of attention is the shift the state has been experiencing in terms of its racial and ethnic composition. In the last decade, a significant proportion of our population growth can be attributed to the Hispanic population. It's around 65 percent of the growth. We also have the Asian population in Texas. Even though it's a relatively small group, it grew by over 50 percent in the last decade.
"The African-American population is holding its own, growing at the pace of the state. And then the non-Hispanic white population isn't growing as quickly as the other groups. We're not seeing a decline in white population yet, but as the baby boom generation ages into mortality, they don't have cohorts coming in to replace them. So we'll start seeing in the next decade some decline in the non-Hispanic white population at the same time we're seeing these other groups continue to grow dramatically."
On the question of the demographics, what is driving the growth, particularly in the Hispanic population?
"Illegal immigration is a small percentage of it. It really is largely being driven by natural increase. That's births minus deaths. From a population perspective, we would describe it as a young population. There are more people who are younger in that population.
"That also is then enhanced by the fact that we have a significant amount of net in-migration of people who are of Hispanic descent. Many of those persons of Hispanic descent are moving into Texas from other states because we have job opportunities. If you look at Arizona and other states that have enacted immigration laws that seem to be difficult for Hispanic people, or make them feel like they're in a hostile environment, some of their residents are moving to Texas, again because we have opportunities."
You've studied the "youth" of the Hispanic population. As those Texans come into voting age, they could have a significant influence in the conversation in Texas, I presume.
"Well, the young Hispanic population already is a significant influence on the conversation in Texas, and that's become more so nationwide.
"Obviously [youth] has some implications for the voting-age population. In each age group going younger, there are more and more kids. So as those kids age into the labor force and voting age ... there's potential for them to have a very significant influence on the outcomes of elections.
"The way that they vote when they go to the polls will also have influence on that. That's been a big part of the discussion in the press, about turning Texas blue [Democratic]. People are anticipating that if they can mobilize the Hispanic population, which typically votes more for Democrats, then there's potential for a shift."
When you're at a cocktail party, what two or three facts about the state will capture someone's attention?
"The major things are that we're growing faster than any other state [4.2 million new residents from 2000 to 2010]. Some people are generally aware of that, but they aren't specifically aware that we added more people than California in the last decade, and even post-census we're estimating that Texas continues to grow faster than other states.
"And then there's the significant growth in the Hispanic population as opposed to the non-Hispanic white population. That's a very significant historic shift in a state that has traditionally been dominated by the non-Hispanic white population. That has implications across the country. As Texas goes, we're likely to see the rest of the country going in the coming decades."
Can you imagine doing your work in a state where there isn't major demographic change or growth, like in New Hampshire* or somewhere?
"It would probably be a little more boring. I frequently say ... that Texas is the most interesting state to do demographic work out of all 50. The characteristics of our population are very dynamic, and there's always something happening that's of interest. I know some of the demographers in other states, and their jobs are interesting. But I have no doubt that mine is much more interesting."
How does one become the "state demographer" of Texas? What was your trajectory to that job?
"Well, first you have to be a demographer. I trained at the University of Texas at Austin in sociology and demography, so I have a Ph.D. in demography. I've worked in demography-related activities and fields for most of my career.
"You need to be interviewed by the lieutenant governor's office and the [Texas House of Representatives] speaker's office, and then both the speaker and the lieutenant governor make nominations to the governor. The governor actually makes the appointment, so you have to go through the process of being vetted by the governor's office as well."
*New Hampshire grew more slowly than the country as a whole from 2000-2010, though at a higher rate than a few other states. Forgive me, Granite State residents.
Matt Stiles is data editor on NPR's news applications team. Follow him on Twitter at @stiles.
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