text:
On the Road Again – a special Boy's Quilt
10 Comments
JodiJuly 19, 2010 at 7:05 am
In my humble opinion, and not that you asked for it, but it sounds like your priorities are in the right place! Love it, and keep having fun with your kiddos! They'll be grown and having babies of their own before you know it, like mine! Yikes! Love the quilt, too!
tracy_aJuly 19, 2010 at 7:49 am
Love these fabrics – I definitely have a vehicle-obsessed boy on my hands – and I also like some of the other prints out there (Robots and Oh Boy from David Walker studios – yay!) I've only been on the lookout for 'boy" prints for a year – sad to hear that these aren't all that common!

Enjoy your summer!
Denise :)July 19, 2010 at 11:08 am
Very sweet, very boy! I'm sure it will be well-loved! 🙂
Jaime, Curt& JosieJuly 19, 2010 at 11:17 am
Do you have any of these left in a kit to buy from your etsy shop? I am a new "follower" and love this quilt with the traditional blue.
Thank you, Jaime email@example.com
beckyJuly 19, 2010 at 9:17 pm
How beautiful! I'm sure it will be loved and treasured for a long time to come!
JandiJuly 19, 2010 at 10:53 pm
Gorgeous! I am going to have to get my butt over to Ikea and take a look at their fabric.
patchworkdelightsJuly 20, 2010 at 6:40 am
What a beautiful gift and a happy cheerful quilt! Love it. (Fiona – new follower)
CamilleJuly 20, 2010 at 10:44 am
I just found your blog and I'm excited to follow you. I love the little boy quilt. I love the choice of fabric and the simple squares to let the fabric be the special part about it. I love your pictures. I can't wait to check out your etsy shop. I live in Utah and I love fabric too. Thanks for sharing.
JennJuly 22, 2010 at 9:48 pm
Amy…you know how much I ADORE this quilt! And guess what…we just received our referral for our baby boy…SO EXCITED to bring him home and wrap him up this beautiful treasure!!

Jenn
MariaJuly 27, 2010 at 6:18 pm
I love your pattern combo.


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subset: commoncrawl


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This post is inspired by wonderful photographs of dragonflies at Susan Beckhardt's blog:
Behaviour of dragonflies involves some non-trivial mathematics, and my post is about how dragonflies manage to win over us, humans, in highly mathematical mental games.
I cannibalise here a section from my book Mathematics under the Microscope. In the subsequent text, I will frequently quote papers by my colleague Paul Glendinning [1,2].
Dragonflies, elegant creatures much beloved by poets and children, are consummate predators. As so frequently happens with beautiful predators, their real sophistication is reached not in delightful air acrobatics but in the ways they hunt and fight.
In their fights for territory, dragonflies, when they pursue the enemy with the aim of a sudden attack, use a remarkable and inventive concealment strategy. A dragonfly camouflages its approach so that the foe believes it to be stationary. This conclusion is the result of the reconstruction of stereo camera images carried out by Mizutani, Chahl and Srinivasen [3]. There are already several studies suggesting possible guidance mechanisms used by dragonflies [4,5]; however, the underlying mathematical problem is not that sophisticated. Indeed, I quote Paul Glendinning:
This is not as hard as it sounds. Even when moving, most animals have a good sense of the direction to a given fixed object at any time, and expect to see it on that line. If the aggressor
moves so that at each moment it is on the line between the target and a given fixed point, which could be its initial position, then its relative motion in the eyes of the target is the same as that of the stationary reference point. The only way that the target can know that it is not stationary is to notice the change in size of the aggressor as it approaches. Mizutani, Chahl and Srinivasen [3] extrapolate the lines between the aggressor and the target at several different times and show that to a good approximation these all meet at a point, the fixed reference point or initial condition of the aggressor.
In a development highly offensive to humans' pride, it seems that we too can be duped by dragonflies and hoverflies: this is confirmed by experimental studies [6] and resolves the mystery of dragonfly flight which puzzled me when I was a child. When you see a dragonfly over a river or meadow, it frequently appears to be hanging in the air motionless, as if it were glued to the sky, and then suddenly jumps at you, whizzing by a few inches from your face — you feel on your skin the air stream from its wings. Only upon reading Glendinning's paper did I realize that the dragonfly was not motionless — it was approaching me on a reconnaissance flight. If you consider for a second how such an astonishing defeat in a mathematical game against insects could ever happen, it becomes apparent that, although human vision is exceptionally good at detecting even the tiniest relative changes in the position of an object, we are not good at detecting gradual increases in the relative size of an object. You would probably agree with me if you have ever looked at a distant approaching train, seen as a spot of light at the vanishing point of the rail tracks. It is very hard to judge whether the train is stationary or is approaching the platform. It is even harder in modern Britain, where it has become a non-trivial proposition.
Humans use similar strategies, sometimes developed individually, using trial and error at a semi-conscious level, or perhaps learned as part of professional training. For example, baseball players apparently catch high balls by running along such paths on the field — and with varying speed — that the ball (which they keep permanently in view) is perceived as hanging motionless in the sky.
Another example comes from seafaring practice, as a criterion used in sailing to detect boats on a collision course. I again quote Glendinning:
If a boat appears to be stationary with respect to some distant reference point or has the same compass bearing from your boat over a period of time then it is on a collision course with you [7].
This is equivalent to active motion camouflage with the reference point at infinity.
Notice: geometric infinity appeared on the scene. Of course, from a geometric perspective, the reference point at infinity is the same as the vanishing point. Unlike the verbal infinity of counting, it requires much longer and more arduous training.
A classical problem on collisions from Littlewood's Miscellany [8]:
ships , , , are sailing in fog with constant and different speeds and constant and different courses. The five pairs and , and , and , and , and have each had near collisions; call them 'collisions'. Most people find unexpected the mathematical consequence that and necessarily 'collide'.
Prove that! The problem can be classified as belonging to projective geometry, a mathematical discipline (and the class of mathematical structures) with historic origins in the study of geometric perspective (and vanishing points at infinity).
[1] P. Glendinning, , View from the Pennines: Non-trivial pursuits, Mathematics Today, 43 no. 4 (August 2003) 118-120.
[2] P. Glendinning, The mathematics of motion camouflage, Proc. Roy. Soc. (London) Series B 271 (2004) 477-481.
[3] A. Mizutani, J. S. Chahl and M. V. Srinivasan, Motion camouflage in dragonflies, Nature 423 (2003) 604.
[4] A. J. Anderson and P. W. McOwan, Model of a predatory stealth behaviour camouflaging motion, Proc.
Roy. Soc. (London) B 270 (2003) 189–195.
[5] M. V. Srinivasan and M. Davey, Strategies for active camouflage of motion. Proc. Roy. Soc. (London) B 259 (1995) 19–25.
[6] A. J. Anderson and P. W. McOwan, Humans deceived by predatory stealth strategy camouflaging motion. Proc. Roy. Soc. (London) B (Suppl.) Biology Letters 03b10042.S1–03b10042.S3.
[7] Cal Sailing Club, Introductory Handbook for Sailing Boats.
[8] J. E. Littlewood, A Mathematician's Miscellany, Methuen & Co. Ltd., London, 1953.


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SOUTH SYDNEY may be the "Pride of the League" but the NRL club is worth next to nothing, according to an independent valuation.
Russell Crowe has flagged his intention to offload his 37.5 per cent share of the Rabbitohs but it is likely to be a tough sell based on recent financial performances.
Fairfax Media commissioned former fund manager Matthew Kidman, a Herald business writer, to scrutinise their books. Based on information available up until October 2011 – the latest financial report hasn't been released – Kidman described the foundation club as a "horrible investment" for prospective buyers.
The club's latest annual report states it recorded an $864,225 loss, has liabilities of $10,643,118 and assets of just $4,652,784. "If it was traded on the share market, the equity would be worth zero and possibly negative because of the debt problem," Kidman said.
However, the greatest put-off for prospective owners is likely to be outstanding loans of $6.15 million – $1.65 million owed to Crowe and the rest owed to co-owner Peter Holmes a Court. The club has been unable to meet the repayments and the loan was renegotiated, with repayments to begin on October 31, 2015, and "scheduled to be repaid evenly over a 10-year period".
As yet, Holmes a Court has not indicated whether he also wants to part with his 37.5 per cent stake.
The pair bought 75 per cent of the club for $3 million in 2005. Souths have posted one operating profit in the past five years. "From what I can see, the club has just been appallingly run," Kidman said. "They've overspent, sold their assets and they are still not making money. Even if they make a profit next [financial] year, it won't change things significantly unless it's an enormous profit."
Kidman believed the best chance of finding a buyer would be if the seller was prepared to forgive the debt or perhaps sell it off at favourable rates in exchange for equity.
"There are only two types of buyers – one who is emotional and happy to take over the debt and who will burn money doing it; or there is a buyer who does a debt deal with them," he said.
On the field, the Rabbitohs' stocks are soaring. They fell just one win short of the 2012 grand final and boast a roster which includes Greg Inglis, Sam Burgess, Issac Luke and Adam Reynolds. They are well on their way to meeting their target of 25,000 members for this season, with 19,662 already signed up at the time of writing. They also can boast strong crowd and sponsorship figures after improved on-field fortunes in recent years.
Making the sell harder for Souths is the fact that Melbourne and, reportedly, Brisbane are other NRL clubs looking for cashed-up buyers. The Broncos are one of the only NRL clubs to regularly make a profit.
Max Delmege, who famously saved Manly from the brink of financial collapse, believes it is possible for private owners to make money from rugby league.
"With the new grants from the Independent Commission, and with a strong marketing team, there's no reason why you can't," Delmege said.
"You've got great brands with enormous following. Looking back, if I had my time again I would have listed Manly because the supporters would love to buy shares in something like that. It can definitely work in private form."
South Sydney's latest annual report is expected to be released in the coming weeks.
NRL clubs are not the only teams struggling financially in the tough economy. A BBC Inside Out investigation found that Super League clubs faced a combined debt of £68.5 million.
The original release of this article first appeared on the website of Hangzhou Night Net.


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It's hard to get students these days to pay attention in class, so the Rev. William Brooks decided the best way to get their eyes focused on the teacher is to replace them with big-breasted ones.
Brooks, the headmaster at St. Mark's Episcopal School in Fort Lauderdale, is accused of trying to fire all of his old female teachers and replacing them with "buxom ones," according to a letter to the school from U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission.
The letter will likely be included in a lawsuit from some of the teachers who feel left out in the cold because they didn't have the right looks to keep their jobs, reports the Sun-Sentinel. The whistle-blower complaint also alleges age discrimination.
U.S. & World
The EEOC claims the good reverend had intentions to replace "all the older women with young women with big boobs."
While that might have been good for the male student body (in more ways than one), it's a no-no by federal standards.
The school claims the firings were part of a layoff strategy and partly based on job performance.
The teachers who were fired, all in their 50s and 60s, just want their jobs back. The women haven't found new jobs yet and with Broward County slashing its budget for teachers, it's not likely opportunities will open up anytime soon. No court dates have been set in the case.
At a tuition of $14,000 per year, maybe Rev. Brooks was just trying to make sure student's got their money's worth. We think he should focus on making sure students remember their second grade teacher for something other than her cup size.


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There's a buzz building in California over a state move to create a retirement savings plan for private employees with no workplace 401k. It might seem that everyone has plenty of access to a retirement savings plan, but at least a third of U.S. households get to retirement with just Social Security to back them up, reports MarketWatch.
The "pioneering" part of such a retirement savings plan would be the opt-out clause. Under the California plan, which has to get past some federal rules and IRS hurdles, eligible workers would be automatically registered with the plan at a deduction rate of 3% of pay. They would have to choose to quit the plan, although of course they could instead choose to increase the takeout.
The enforced deductions requirement of a good retirement savings plan is backed by research from Harvard and the University of Copenhagen. According to the research, giving people a tax break encourages them to save, but not much. Using data from Denmark, which is similar to the U.S. system but offers more detail, academics found that tax subsidies worth $1 raised the national savings rate by a penny.
That's not much bang for a buck. Meanwhile, previous research found that an automatic retirement savings plan, such as the proposed California "opt-out" model, is very effective at raising savings rates.
The reason, the researchers conclude, is that only about 15% of people in the system are active savers, that is, people who think about retirement and how much money it will take to achieve that goal. The remainder, a whopping 85%, are totally passive savers. They will save if obligated but make no concrete plan regarding their life after work.
All of this would be quite the revelation, except that private pensions have a long and quite well-documented history, starting back in 1980 in Chile. Under reforms instituted by the military regime of the time, anyone with a formal job in the South American country is required to pay 10% beyond a minimum monthly income level. There is an income tax break, too, on retirement savings plan contributions, which can be up to 20%.
The Chilean system was reformed in 2008 to create a bigger safety net for the poor, essentially granting public pensions to those who did not earn enough to participate in the private system. Currently, 13 countries have either private or quasi-mandatory pension systems, reports the OECD.
All pension plans fall into two categories, defined benefit or defined contribution (DC). A defined benefit plan puts the burden on future taxpayers to meet a minimum payout, which is essentially how Social Security works in the United States. A defined contribution retirement savings plan, the basis for private pension systems such as a 401k, means it's up to savers to put enough away and to invest and manage their savings carefully over decades.
As the OECD notes, "the starting point for a successful DC plan is a sufficiently high contribution rate." Put another way, depending on the market to deliver miracles is a mistake, but a similarly large (and common) mistake is believing that setting aside pennies in a retirement savings plan will add up to big dollars down the line.
The agency concludes:
In DC pension systems, one clear goal for policymakers should be to improve the design of default investment strategies so that investment risk is reduced as the worker approaches retirement. Such lifecycle investment strategies may need to be carefully regulated to ensure that workers are offered sufficient diversification and protection from market shocks in old age.
Amen and hallelujah, we say. Whatever the outcome in California, two points about a proper retirement savings plan by now should be impressively clear to everyone: You need to save more, sooner, and you absolutely must have a serious, long-term investment plan to protect and grow that nest egg over time.


text:
|Your Brain is Orange
Of all the brain types, yours is the quickest.
You are usually thinking a mile a minute, and you could be thinking about anything at all.
Your thoughts are often scattered and random - but they're also a lot of fun!
You tend to spend a lot of time thinking about esoteric subjects, the meaning of life, and pop culture.
Hmmm. . . that's kind of accurate.


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Giant oarfish carcass recovered
A marine science instructor snorkelling off the southern California coast spotted something out of a fantasy novel: the silvery carcass of an 18ft serpent-like oarfish.
Jasmine Santana, of the Catalina Island Marine Institute (CIMI), needed more than 15 helpers to drag the giant sea creature to shore.
Staff at the institute have called it the discovery of a lifetime.
"We've never seen a fish this big," said Mark Waddington, senior captain of the Tole Mour, CIMI's sail training ship. "The last oarfish we saw was 3ft long."
Because oarfish dive more than 3,000ft deep, sightings of the creatures are rare and they are largely unstudied, according to CIMI.
The obscure fish apparently died of natural causes. Tissue samples and video footage were sent to be studied by biologists at the University of California, Santa Barbara.
Ms Santana spotted something shimmering about 30ft deep while snorkelling during a staff trip in Toyon Bay at Santa Catalina Island.
"She said, 'I have to drag this thing out of here or nobody will believe me,'" Mr Waddington said.
After she dragged the carcass by the tail for more than 75ft, CIMI staff waded in and helped her bring it to shore.
The carcass was on display yesterday for students studying at CIMI. It will be buried in the sand until it decomposes and then its skeleton will be reconstituted for display, Mr Waddington said.
The oarfish, which can grow to more than 50ft, is a deep-water pelagic fish - the longest bony fish in the world, according to CIMI.
They are thought to be responsible for sea serpent legends throughout history.


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Talk it up: Your holiday job: dinner conversation
Beware of Thanksgiving– the holiday of disaster.
It's the only holiday when everyone in the whole country gets in a car or plane at the same time. It's the only holiday where family members meet from far away places and do not mollify each other with presents. And it's the only holiday that makes people a wreck at the workplace.
All other work holidays are a treat because order starts to disintegrate a little before the holiday, providing a sort of bonus reprieve. For example, when Fourth of July is on a Wednesday, forget Monday and Tuesday. Those are beach days. And you can't expect U.S. workers to show up the week before Labor Day when all of Europe got the whole month of August off.
But Thanksgiving is something else. Unless you're in customer service, your job takes a hiatus between Thanksgiving and Christmas. This is not an official hiatus– everyone still shows up for work as if they care.
And in fact, some people do care– but not enough to accomplish anything. This makes for a completely frantic three days before Thanksgiving. The real cause of Thanksgiving disaster is a short fuse from a tough week.
You can avoid a lot of that disaster by not bringing work stress to the turkey table. This is not something you can will. You must take action. Do yoga. Get a massage. Read a book.
Use Wednesday night to create a break between work time and vacation time. Thanksgiving is short, so if you're a person who takes four days to unwind, you'll miss the whole thing. Which is lame because when you have to answer, "Why do I work?" surely part of the answer is so that you can enjoy your family and friends.
So here you are. If you can't calm down from the stress of your job to enjoy this workweek break, then what's the point of working?
As your contribution to the Thanksgiving improvement plan, the only thing you have to do well is participate in good dinner table conversation.
That involves listening as well as talking. Fortunately, you have practiced being a good listener at work. You can't talk over your boss without getting fired, so somewhere, somehow, you have trained yourself not to interrupt people.
Use that skill at the dinner table. Surprise your little brother by letting him finish a sentence. He might be so touched that he'll say something nice about you. Besides, if you don't practice good listening in all aspects of your life, then you're likely to be lazy about it at work, too.
And one more thing about conversation: Don't ask the unemployed people at the table how their job-hunt is going. Because here's the answer: It's dreadful. If you have to talk jobs, don't make suggestions about how to get one. Really, the unemployed person has tried everything.
And even if he hasn't tried everything, he doesn't want to talk about it at Thanksgiving in front of aunts and uncles who lived through the Depression and say, "Why can't you just be a tailor?"
So do your best, but don't despair when things go poorly. Everyone needs a good "My Thanksgiving was so bad that ..." story to tell at work Monday. After all, that's the day work stops and the month-long conversation-at-the-cooler begins.


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Hey everybody.
If you have any of the free match downloads that DGUSA/Evolve has offered in their email express, can you please shoot an email to firstname.lastname@example.com?
Specifically, I'm looking for:
Jimmy Jacobs vs. Brodie Lee
Jimmy Rave vs. Johnny Gargano
Masato Yoshino vs. Sami Callihan
Masato Yoshino vs. Ricochet
Rich Swann vs. Jon Davis
Rich Swann vs. AR Fox
Rich Swann vs. AR Fox vs. Tony Nese vs. Scott Reed
Any help would be greatly appreciated!


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$ 8.00 per yard
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This is a 44″ wide medium weight blend of 45% cotton and 55% linen in Dusty Pink. Great for outer wear or as a lining.
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Anyone else involved in a fantasy football league or want to be? I'll run one if there enough interested parties, but you guys need to come out of the woodwork soon, like within the next few days.
I'm doing one through Yahoo Sports right now, and that's what I'd likely do this one through.
Otherwise, use this thread to post your teams, predictions, and news.
Here's my team:
McNabb, Donovan (QB-Phi)
Brooks, Aaron (QB-NO)
James, Edgerrin (RB-Ind)
Martin, Curtis (RB-NYJ)
Lewis, Jamal (RB-Bal)
Johnson, Keyshawn (WR-TB)
Boston, David (WR-SD)
Bradford, Corey (WR-Hou)
Price, Peerless (WR-Atl)
Brown, Troy (WR-NE)
Sharpe, Shannon (TE-Den)
McMichael, Randy (TE-Mia)
Vinatieri, Adam (K-NE)
Lindell, Rian (K-Buf)
Green Bay (DEF-GB)


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Excellent service. Once I had my V5c for old registration (which took 3mth) I rang National numbers and it was transferred in less than 24 hrs. Thank you very much.
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Great customer service from start to finish. Very happy with new registration plate. Would highly recommend.
Brilliant! Received my plates within a few days!
Excellent and with no fuss - just straight forward. 5 stars from me.
I absolutely can not fault National Numbers. They always responded quickly and answered all the questions (and there were many) until I was completely satisfied. Would recommend them to anyone!
Brilliant! They rang me and sorted all out over the phone. Plate was on within a day.
Very good service. Helpful, friendly and also very quick.
Very understanding and easy to deal with. I spoke to Adam, who was very helpful and patient, so definitely recommend them to anyone who is interested in a cherished number plate.
Very simple to do and good after sales help if needed. Thank you.
Absolutely fantastic - great team and exceptional advice and service.
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Sometimes you just need a gripping page turner. I read much of this one on the train and because it is about women being stalked on trains, it did creep me out a little, but it also held my attention so well, I almost missed my stop! The scariest stories are usually the most ordinary, where the sinister suspect is actually someone very close to you. I See You is the second psychological thriller from this British former policewoman, and both this book and her first one called I Let You Go have met with great success. It's the perfect beach read, even if you're not on vacation!
One day when Zoe Walker is looking at a newspaper on the train, she is surprised to find her own photo in the classified section in an ad she did not place. The next day there is another woman in the advert, and everyday after that; a different woman each day. And some of these women have been brutally murdered or assaulted. Is this a mistake? A coincidence? A case of internet fraud? Or is someone keeping track of every move they make…? Halfway through I had three or four possible suspects identified, of course that's the trick used in all thrillers–make many of the characters look guilty to keep you guessing till the end. The ending was surprising but the final twist was best of all!


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Writers are brought on to perform rewrites on projects all the time, but it's not every day that a scribe is hired to rewrite a film's script after the film has already been shot. Such is the case with director Marc Forster's (Quantum of Solace) zombie apocalypse pic World War Z. The film is based on Max Brooks' novel of the same name and stars Brad Pitt as a United Nations employee "who traverses the world in a race against time to stop the Zombie pandemic that is toppling armies and governments and threatening to decimate humanity itself." Production took place last year in various European locales, with Paramount even considering a potential trilogy based off of the dailies they were seeing.
Back in March, it was announced that the film was vacating its December 2012 release date for the summer date of June 21st, 2013. The move didn't turn many heads, as most assumed that Paramount thought the zombie pic would do better business in the heart of the summer rather than in the midst of the crowded holiday season of 2012. Heads did turn, however, when rumblings began that the film was set to undergo some massive 6-7 week reshoots later this year. Hit the jump for more.
Word that World War Z would be needing reshoots lasting up to six or seven weeks came as quite a shock; whole movies are filmed and wrapped in six or seven weeks. Now it's clear that there are some serious problems with the film, as Heat Vision reports that Lost and Star Trek scribe Damon Lindelof is being brought on to rewrite the script. Apparently he'll be focusing mainly on the film's third act, which is said to be in need of significant work. Matthew Michael Carnahan (State of Play) wrote the initial adaptation of Brooks' novel, but Lindelof is coming off the much buzzed-about Prometheus and worked on the Star Trek sequel for Paramount, so he's not exactly coming out of left field.
While this major tweaking for the in-the-can World War Z is quite shocking, it brings to mind another film that was recently scheduled for major reshoots; from the same studio no less. A month away from release, Paramount recently pushed G.I. Joe: Retaliation all the way back to March of 2013 to accommodate for a 3D conversion and reshoots. We talked about this strange move—as well as World War Z's reshoots—in the latest episode of our podcast The Collision, and it's troubling to see stuff like this become commonplace.
With such a long reshoot schedule planned, hopefully the issues troubling World War Z can be worked out. We've heard that the film differs significantly from the book in that it focuses mainly on Pitt's character, but the subject material is ripe for larger themes and bigger ideas than "zombies are scary." It's hard to believe that Pitt would sign on for such a film in the first place, and I wouldn't be surprised if the reshoots are being done to add more action or zombies to what is hopefully a more contemplative film.
Though it's unclear exactly what the issues are with the film, as a fan of Lindelof I'm hoping he can fix whatever problems have arisen while maintaining a character-centric and thematically important throughline. The reshoots are scheduled to get underway this September or October, but depending on how significant the reshoots are I'm unsure if World War Z will maintain its June 2013 release date.


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Listings in Audio/Video Content, Tablecloths, Architects, Interior Design and Safety and Security in New York and New York City
LMI Designs
in Architecture, Construction Documents, Interior Design, Lighting Design, Store Design, Store Planning, Visual Merchandising
130 Seventh Avenue
New York, New York 10011
United States
Is this your company? Claim it here.
Kenneth Park Architects
in Architecture, Construction Documents, Environmental/Graphic Design, Interior Design, Project Management, Store Design
Founded in 1989, Kenneth Park Architects (KPA) is a full service architecture firm that specializes in retail, mixed-use & corporate interiors. With over 25 years of experience, we create places, spaces & experience that are worth revisiting.
360 Lexington Avenue
Floor 7
New York City, New York 10017
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(212) 599-0044
Fax: (212) 599-0066
Kostow Greenwood Architects
in Architecture, Interior Design, Store Design
Kostow Greenwood Architects is a New York City based firm who specializes in performing arts, broadcast and media facility design. KGA has extensive experience in interiors, workplace design, as well as preservation and adaptive reuse.
594 Broadway
Suite 300
New York City, New York 10012
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LMi Designs
in Cladding, Columns/Moldings/Trims, Audio/Video Content, Audio/Video Equipment, Systems, Space Frames/Trusses/Grids, Antiques/Reproductions, Artwork/Graphics, Backdrops/Curtains, Baskets/Barrels/Boxes/Pots/Planters/Vases/Urns, Foliage, Panels/Partitions/Screens, Ribbon/Cord, Seasonal, Tablecloths, CAD/Store Planning, Contract Store Planners, Contractors/Construction Services, Lighting Design, Carpet/Rug, Cashwrap/Checkout, Custom Wood Fixtures, Showcases, Carpet/Rugs/Mats, Concrete, Cork/Rubber, Laminate, Linoleum, Marble, Poured Aggregate/Terrazzo, Stone, Tile, Vinyl, Wood, Chairs/Sofas/Seating, Tables, Case/Under-cabinet lighting, Controls/Switchers/Dimmers, Exterior, LED Lighting, Light Fixtures/Luminaires, Lightboxes, Pendant/Decorative, Safety/Emergency/Exit Lights, Track Lighting, Realistic, Aluminum Composite Material, Bamboo/Rattan/Wicker, Fabrics, Foamboard, Glass, Glass & Decorative Film, Hardboards (poster, particle, corrugated), Laminates (high-pressure/low-pressure/metal), Metal Mesh, Plastic Sheets and Panels, Resin, Solid Surface, Stone, Faux, Stone, Natural, Veneer, Wood, Security Cameras/Mirrors, ADA, Architectural/Exterior, Banners and Flags, Fiberoptic, Floor Graphics, In-Store Digital Media, Large-Format, Lenticular, Letters, Lightboxes, Menuboards, Murals/Wall Graphics, Neon, Plaques and Tablets, Vinyl Graphics, Architectural Coatings, Leather, Magnetic/Metal, Paint, Vinyl, Wallpaper, Wall art, Architects, Interior Design, Visual Merchandising, Male/Female, Fabric, Stamped Tin/Metal, Retail Technology
LMI Designs architecture and construction services help retail and restaurants drive sales through evocative, immersive customer experiences and technology.
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Laguarda.Low Architects
in Architecture, Interior Design, Program Management, Project Management, Store Design, Store Planning
For over twenty years, Laguarda.Low has realized projects in every retail category, from boutique shops to department stores to retail parks to outlet centers to regional shopping centers and everything in between.
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in Architecture, Environmental/Graphic Design, Exhibit Design, Fixture Design, Interior Design, Store Design, Store Planning
Mapos is an integrated team of architects, designers, and hard-to-label creative instigators that works with clients and colleagues to design creative concepts, architectural environments, and experiential branding.
2 E. Broadway, 7th Floor
New York, New York 10038
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in Architecture, Construction Documents, Fixture Design, Interior Design, Store Design, Store Planning
For MNA, design is a collaborative process that is responsive without being dogmatic, resulting in fresh spaces that reflect the distinct character of each program and client.
127 W 24th Street
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New York, New York 10011
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Christian Lahoude Studio
in Architecture, Fixture Design, Interior Design, Lighting Design, Project Management, Store Design, Store Planning, Visual Merchandising
Christian Lahoude Studio is an architecture and design services firm based in New York City. The studio embeds luxury and establishes brand identity in high-end retail environments worldwide.
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Design Republic
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We are a team of architects and designers with a shared passion for exceptional design and quality.
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Kevin Kennon Architects
in Architects
Kevin Kennon Architects is dedicated to erasing the boundaries of what is possible through pragmatic innovation, theoretical ambition and design collaboration. KKA creates architecture today for the way we will work, live and play tomorrow.
180 Varick St Suite 410
New York City, New York 10014
United States
Fax: 212-219-1458


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Department of Justice
For Immediate Release
Man Who Conspired with Female Friend to Solicit 'Hit Man' to Kill Her Daughter's Boyfriend Sentenced to 7 Years in Federal Prison
SANTA ANA, California – A Hawthorne man who pleaded guilty in a murder-for-hire scheme targeting a man who was dating the daughter of his co-conspirator was sentenced today to seven years in federal prison.
Antonio Quevedo, 35, was sentenced by United States District Judge Josephine L. Staton.
The second defendant in the case – Adelina Cristobal, 56, of Lawndale, who also pleaded guilty last year to conspiracy to use interstate commerce facilities in the commission of murder-for-hire – is scheduled to be sentenced by Judge Staton on January 31.
The murder-for-hire scheme was uncovered during an investigation by the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF) and the Los Angeles Police Department. Investigators initiated the investigation after receiving information that the two defendants were attempting to solicit someone to commit a murder on their behalf. An undercover officer posing as the hired "hit man" met with the defendants, who offered the undercover officer $6,500 to kill the intended victim. Cristobal was to pay Quevedo an additional $500 for arranging the meeting with the "hit man."
Quevedo conspired with Cristobal to hire someone to murder the boyfriend of Cristobal's daughter, prosecutors wrote in a sentencing memorandum that noted "Had the government not been able to infiltrate the conspiracy, [Quevedo] may well have found a willing assassin to murder the victim and successfully collected his broker's fee."


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Handling the administrative tasks after a death can seem overwhelming, but the following checklist and list of questions can help.
Print this page and use it as a checklist to make sure that you have all of the documents that you need:
|Death certificates (10 - 15 certified copies)
|Social insurance number, driver's license, medical coverage card
|Marriage certificate
|Birth certificate of person, if applicable
|Insurance policies
|Deed and titles to property
|Will, if available
|Stock certificates
|Bank books
|Honourable discharge papers for a veteran and/or Veteran Affairs claim number
|Recent income tax forms
|Automobile title and registration papers
|Loan documents or contracts
|List of contacts of family and friends
|List of health, home, and community services used (such as dentist, family doctor and/or specialists, meal-on-wheels, home care services, utility companies, telecommunication services, wandering registries, and social services – such as the local Alzheimer Society)
Also consider the following important questions:
- Were the funeral arrangements already made? If so, where is the documentation? If not, contact your local funeral home to discuss the next steps.
- Did the person express any specific wishes about their funeral? If not, think about how the person would want their death marked and their life celebrated.
- Do I need a burial permit in my province? Is there a specific process for this? Consult the Canadian Consumer Handbook to find funeral service regulators for your province.
- Did the person have a will? Where is this document? If the person does not have a will or substitute decision-maker, you may need to speak to a lawyer or consult the Public Guardian and Trustee about next steps.
- Has the person been receiving government pension and benefits? Be sure to notify the Canada Revenue Agency (CRA) of the death by phone at 1-800-959-8281 or online.
- Do I quality for government benefits? For more information about government benefits after a death, please see our pages on Compassionate care benefits and Government benefits after death.
- Do I need to file a tax return for someone who has died? Consult the Canada Revenue Agency page: What to do when someone has died.
- Is there anyone else I need to notify about the death outside of friends and family? Was the person a member of a social club, faith group, or organization such as the Alzheimer Society? Were they receiving community services such as Meals on Wheels? If so, contact these organizations.
- What should I do with the person's belongings and other items not covered in the will? Consider giving them away to close friends and family who will appreciate the items, or donate them to local charities.
Next section: Local information


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Picasso was born in Spain and a co-founder of the Cubist movement in the early 1900s. In his youth, he experimented with photo-realism, but Picasso's most memorable work are abstract and surreal in nature.
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Book Bag Program for Schools, Governmental Units, Non-Profit Organizations, and Businesses
The book bag program is an outreach service available for schools, preschools, governmental units, non-profit organizations, and businesses in the Barrington Public Library District. Library staff provides supplementary materials for classrooms or groups and arranges for delivery and pickup of the materials. A librarian will contact you after your request is received to set up your delivery schedule. Please allow one week's notice.
Request an Elementary or Middle School Loan
Please contact us with any additional requests.


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Buy an Axon, Axon II, or Axon Mote and build a great robot, while helping to support SoR.
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Simulation is neither slow or inaccurate, it is much faster and cheaper than physical build, hence people do them to save time, money and to detect mistakes/errors while still in design phase. Separate simulations are done for separate disciplines involved in robot building (simulations of signal acquisition and processing, simulations of closed/open loop response and control, simulations of parts' rigidity/flexibility, simulations of manufacturing processes, etc.), as opposed to one-off all-in-one simulation covering every aspect of the robot.For control simulations You probably want to get something like MATLAB, as for mechanics simulation - something like Inventor, SolidWorks or CATIA.Main drawback of simulations is that they are perfectly precise and never-changing.
It would be a lot easier to answer Your questions if You told us what exactly You want to simulate, as simulation of mechanics is quite broad.
What do You consider functional? What are the problems You foresee and want to check in simulation? Do You have preliminary design of a system in question to start Your simulation on? Which part of mechanical system do You want to simulate, is it damper response time, is it motor heat dissipation, is it traction with surface, is it chassis flex, etc.? I'll repeat myself - there is no software that would give You "perfect" overall design from nothing. You have to create something first, then test it, then refine it, test it again, refine it again, etc., etc.
I have nothing designed currently, but I'll be studying existing designs as soon as I have some kind of a prototyping platform (i.e. a mechanics/physics simulator) to test out ideas.My first task for the robot would be about the structure, dimensions and method of movement (e.g. what type of wheeling, how many wheels and what kind of suspension) to assess a simple structure that can function (move, does not get stuck and can move in a relatively balanced manner) in a rough terrain.
If I were You, I'd start with modeling robot using Inventor (free for students) and using its kinematics simulator to visualize how suspension moves. Also, Inventor offers stress simulation for You to see if part is going to flex under load and how much.As for environment/physics simulator - the one that I know is Microsoft Robotics Developer Studio. I've never used it and don't really know how difficult or easy it is to use, or how realistic simulations are.
Any examples of software or toolsets (involving many different software) that enable very high level of flexibility for a robot's design phase? What are the drawbacks of simulation (is it slow? inaccurate?)?


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Having had the good fortune of studying in Rome as an undergrad, I recall with sweet fondness standing in the shadow of Bernini's great colonnade many a time to see Pope John Paul II bless the crowds from his window overlooking St. Peter's square. Now, I wait with eagerness along with billions of Catholics and other interested observers worldwide to see the white smoke emerge and a new pope step out to greet the world. As we wait, I have been reflecting on events from recent papacies that speak to leading organizations of all sizes.
The Unexpected
When the former Angelo Roncalli became Pope John 23rd at the age of 77 in 1958, few expected the portly unknown cardinal to be anything more than a "caretaker," keeping the papal seat warm for a few years and not doing much else. No one foresaw the seismic shift he was soon to usher in with the simple but dramatic calling of the conference (known as Vatican II) which more than any other single event brought the Church into the modern age.
- Lesson: Sometimes one simple but profound, singular leadership decision can change everything – shaping and re-setting all prior agendas.
Bestriding the World Stage
If no one anticipated John 23rd's actions as pope, even fewer predicted Karol Wojtyla's election as the first non-Italian pope in more than 450 years. From the very first moment of his introduction in 1978, though, the then 58-year old Continue reading


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Can you believe we only have a few more days of gifts? I know it's pretty crazy! :) Whatever will I post about after the gifts are all given away?
This weekend was a great weekend for a run and I got in a 6.5 miler and it really felt great. Well let me rephrase that one. The first mile and a half felt like CRAP. My shoes are so shot and my feet just felt so flat. I need to get new ones ASAP, but I just keep putting it off. The first mile I felt like I was only wearing socks, and my whole body ached. I thought my entire run was going to feel like that, and thought about buying new shoes the whole way. I still have yet to get them, I'm going to go this week for sure, hopefully tonight or sometime tomorrow night. Once I hit two miles though I was on cruise control and just knocked the rest of the miles off. Other than the shoe issue, it was a great run, and I felt really, really good and somehow pulled out a 6:45 last mile, which I don't know where that came from. I even ran in shorts and a short-sleeved shirt, and got almost a little bit to warm! Sorry all you snowbirds! Alas, I was planning a nice long run the afternoon of Christmas eve if I get off work early enough down at the beach, and now in CA we are projected for rain all through Thursday. I do not run in the rain so I'll be putting in a few miles at the gym for the rest of the week.
Also, as for running my 500 miles this year, I am at 493 now! I am really excited because I get a certificate from Nike+ once I hit 500. Hooray! Those 6.5 miles really helped me out, and I'm feeling a bit more confident about the 1/2 coming up. I was starting to get nervous so we'll have to talk about goals for that, and the four weeks of hardcore training I'll be doing in January. Pray for no more rain, because putting in more than three miles on the treadmill is awful for me.
So the gift of the day? Well, A runner makes a statement with every shirt worn. Many drivers can see what your shirt says, and I've been caught reading other gym-goers shirts often as well. Maybe it's just me though. :) Especially at races, shirts can have important meanings and even become inspirational tools. Anyways, the gift of the day today is a custom running shirt from Running Banana.
You can pick out the type of shirt you want from a singlet to a long sleeve or short sleeve. You can pick from a variety of sizes and then can upload whatever picture you want, along with your own special text. This would be great if you planned on running any given race for a specific person. They also work great for teams as well.
You can be creative and inspirational just by wearing a shirt by Running Banana. They also have pre-made options that you can choose as well if you aren't very creative that include marathon graphics, girl power graphics, animal graphics and in your face graphics. Their shirts range from $31-$37 dollars. Check out Running Banana to get your runner a special shirt for Christmas or for their next race!
Here are some creations in their gallery.


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The San Jose Earthquakes will host two viewing parties for the 2014 FIFA World Cup semifinals this week ahead of the July 13 final.
- TICKETS: Quakes World Cup Final Viewing Party at Gordon Biersch on July 13 - all you can eat & drink for just $30!
The first viewing party will be held at San Pedro Square in downtown San Jose on Tuesday at 1:00 p.m. PT as the host nation Brazil takes on Germany.
The Quakes will host the second viewing party at Casino M8trix on Wednesday at 1:00 p.m. PT to watch Lionel Messi and Argentina square off against 2010 World Cup runners-up Netherlands. All ages are welcome to check out San Jose's premier entertainment destination.
Both viewing parties are Passport Locations. Fans should join us to receive stamps and redeem prizes.


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Columbia City Council Rescinds Original Plan to Fix Providence Road Issues
COLUMBIA - By a vote of five to two, the Columbia City Council voted to rescind a popular plan to solve congestion and safety issues on Providence Road.
Option 9 as it's known would have put in a light at Turner Avenue and Burnam Road and removed one at Providence Road and Rollins Road, but also would have demolished 8 homes along Providence Road. It would have cost $3.2 million.
Option 9 was approved by the council as a plan of action back in November of last year. The plan was also approved by 53 percent of Columbia residents who sent in comments on the plan.
The council chamber was so full of people waiting to speak on the Providence Road issue that many spilled out into the City Hall lobby.
A new option that could be up for consideration is known as option 8A. This option is cheaper, only $2.1 million compared to option 9. It would also include a sidewalk along Burnam Road, which is heavily traveled by pedestrians.
The council will decide on a new plan at a later date.


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Oak Creek man, dog reunited after Rottweiler went missing for week
Hooch ran away on New Year's Eve
An Oak Creek man is reunited with his dog one week after it went missing in the frigid temperatures.
"It is a miracle he survived," owner Joe Bellehumeur said.
Bellehumeur is elated to have his 6-year-old Rottweiler, Hooch, back in his life after the dog went missing on New Year's Eve.
VIDEO: Dog reunited with owner after week in bitter cold
"I was starting to write him off. Come on, it was the worst days money could buy," Bellehumeur said.
The dog took off from his brother's house in South Milwaukee.
"This little guy can run, and he couldn't catch him," Bellehumeur said.
Hooch was out in the cold for seven days before he was spotted under a bridge over a creek Tuesday morning by Oak Creek utility service worker Ryan Maughan.
"As I came down, it barked at me, and it was very startling because you don't come across that," Maughan said.
Maughan said he went back to his truck to call his office and let them know what he had discovered.
His co-workers found a post on Lost Dogs of Wisconsin.
"They had it on Facebook, and they found the dog's name was Hooch, and so I'm calling it and trying to coax it out, and it wouldn't come anywhere near me," Maughan said.
Maughan said it was when Bellehumeur showed up and walked down to the edge that Hooch recognized his owner and walked across the ice, but only halfway. Bellehumeur actually had to walk down there and grab him.
"I couldn't help it, I just started busting out crying, you know?" Bellehumeur said.
Hooch did suffer minor frostbite on his paws and upper lip and went from weighing 150 pounds to 115 pounds.
"He couldn't get up because the snow was so deep, so I actually had to pick him up and carry him, and that's when I noticed, 'Hey, you're getting lighter here puppy,'" Bellehumeur said.
But with a little love and a lot of sleep, Hooch is expected to completely recover.
"Life is complete again," Bellehumeur said.
Hooch's owner said the dog now has a microchip in case he gets the urge to take off again.


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After reading The Orenda, I promised myself I would read some other First Nations authors and the two I picked were Thomas King and Richard Wagamese. Recently, hearing a CBC The Next Chapter podcast about Richard Wagamese's new novel 'Medicine Walk', I decided to start with it because I was so touched by Wagamese's personal story.
In a candid interview with Shelagh Rogers, Wagamese is very open about the fact that because he is an alcoholic, he became alienated from his sons. Those years are lost and he is trying to find healing in his personal life. Part of how he does this is through his writing. Medicine Walk is a beautifully written and moving story about a father and son. It is as lyrically and respectfully written as Boyden's epic work, just as powerful, but simpler and gentler.
Franklin accepts his dying father's last request to take him to the BC interior where he wants to be buried "in the warrior way". It sets both of them on a journey of discovery – an encounter with the past and with the nature of their relationship. Franklin is the most self-contained mature sixteen year old I have ever come across in a novel. It was such a pleasure getting to know this remarkable character. Written in sure, clear prose, much of this novel is so real and down to earth, yet so eloquent. A redemptive, masterful story. "It's all we are in the end. Our stories."
Wagamese's earlier novel Indian Horse, winner of the Canada Reads People's Choice poll in 2013, is now definitely on my to-read list as well. It's about residential schools and how one boy finds hope through playing ice hockey.


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You Can Create An Exceptional Life is the new book by Hay House authors Louise Hay and Cheryl Richardson. You Can Create An Exceptional Life can be ordered on Hay House and ordered on Amazon. In celebration of the release of You Can Create an Exceptional Life, Hay House is offering you the chance to win one of many great prizes including a Miraval Retreat, a coaching session with Cheryl, and a Kindle! View prizes & enter to win. More information about the draw can be found at the end of this post.
If you were inspired by the work of Louise Hay, with her "You Can Heal Your Life" and her latest "You Can Create an Exceptional Life", you will be inspired by the Kindle book (of yours truly :): Louise Hay: You can heal your life and You Can Create An Exceptional Life vision – Louise L. Hay the AmAre Way which is puts her work under a new prospective, and offers approaches to live a joyful life based on Louise's and other personal development writers.
Louise Hay is the author of the international bestseller You Can Heal Your Life, a metaphysical lecturer and teacher with more than 50 million books sold worldwide. Louise Hay has appeared on The Oprah Winfrey Show and many other TV and radio programs both in the U.S. and abroad. You Can Create An Exceptional Life has already been a success on pre-sale.
You Can Create An Exceptional Life: Louise Hay and Cheryl Richardson free video
Cheryl Richardson is the New York Times best-selling author of numerous books, and is dedicated to helping people around the world improve their quality of life.
The words of Louise Hay have served as a beacon, leading many people out of the darkness of despair and into the light of a better life. Cheryl Richardson is one of the many individuals whom Louise has greatly influenced, before going on to become a best-selling author herself.
So what happens when these two combine their collective wisdom into one book: You Can Create An Exceptional Life?
As Louise and Cheryl engage in a series of empowering and intimate conversations, you'll feel as if you're simultaneously having lunch with your best friends and also attending a master class put on by two leaders of the self-empowerment movement.
You Can Create An Exceptional Life is the fruit of their travels across North America and Europe, where Louise and Cheryl discuss a wide range of topics, including the importance of loving ourselves and our bodies; aging consciously; bringing true prosperity and abundance to the world; manifesting positive relationships—both with family and friends and in the workplace; and facing death in a dignified and peaceful way.
These two amazing women are living proof that the spiritual principles they discuss in these pages really work. As you read, you'll discover that you, too, have the ability to create an exceptional life!
(Review courtesy of Amazon.com)
You Can Create An Exceptional Life
Hardcover: 192 pages
Publisher: Hay House (September 20, 2011)
Language: English
You Can Create An Exceptional Life Penguin Australia
You Can Create An Exceptional Life at Walmart
Travel with Louise and Cheryl throughout North America and Europe as they engage in a series of intimate conversations about their lives and how they've dealt with a variety of topics including loving themselves and their bodies; conscious aging; and a dignified, peaceful approach to death. This book is filled with the combined experience of two women who have lived their lives using trusted spiritual principles that really work. Reading and applying their wisdom will radically change your life, too!
Cheryl Richardson is the author of The New York Times bestselling books Take Time for Your Life, Life Makeovers (Broadway Books) and Stand Up for Your Life (Free Press) and the new book The Unmistakable Touch of Grace (Free Press, 2005). Cheryl was the first president of the International Coach Federation and holds one of their first Master Certified Coach credentials.
Cheryl Richardson is the author of The New York Times bestselling books Take Time for Your Life, Life Makeovers (Broadway Books) and Stand Up for Your Life (Free Press) and the new book The Unmistakable Touch of Grace (Free Press, 2005). Cheryl was the first president of the International Coach Federation and holds one of their first Master Certified Coach credentials.
Join Louise & Cheryl for an Online Course on Hayhouseradio.com
You Can Create an Exceptional Life: Online Course
There is a Universal energy that creates us; sustains us; connects us to one another; and works in cooperation with our thoughts, words, and actions to generate our life experiences.
When you recognize and learn to work in partnership with this benevolent power, you become the master of your own destiny.
The formula is simple: Think thoughts that make you feel good, make choices that make you feel good, and take actions that make you feel good. Then surrender the outcome, trusting that Life will bring you what you need to grow and be happy.
This simple formula has radically improved the quality of both Louise and Cheryl's lives, and it can improve yours, too. When you use it and learn to trust it, life unfolds in the most miraculous ways. You'll be presented with extraordinary opportunities to make your life whole and to make a difference in the world.
In this unprecedented three-lesson online course, Louise Hay and Cheryl Richardson show you exactly how to use this formula in your own life. In particular, you'll learn:
• How to infuse each day with positive intentions and pleasure.
• Little-known tools for creating new, life-enhancing mental habits.
• Powerful techniques for living with the kind of attitude that generates more and more positive experiences.
• Ways to make peace with your body once and for all so you can fall in love with YOU.
• How to put yourself in the state of mind that encourages Life to bring you more of what you need to stay healthy and strong.
• And much, much more!
YOU really can create an EXCEPTIONAL life! Don't miss this opportunity to join these two pioneers for this uplifting one-of-a-kind online course!
If you can't make the live air dates, you can still join Louise and Cheryl!
For your convenience, all participants automatically receive downloadable mp3s of all three lessons. Each lesson will be uploaded into your account within a few days of its live air date and then be available for you to download anytime within seven days. Hay House will send you a notification email when each lesson is available to download from your account. So, you can still take the course no matter your schedule!
Lesson Details:
October 11, 2011, 12:00-1:00pm PT, 3:00-4:00pm ET
Lesson 1: How You Start Your Day Is How You Live Your Day
The first hour of the morning is crucial. How you spend it will determine your experience for the rest of your day. During this first lesson, Louise and Cheryl talk about the importance of starting your day with intention and pleasure. You'll learn specific strategies for starting the day off in a comfortable and joyful way. In particular, they'll teach you:
• How to become aware of the thoughts associated with your morning routine.
• How to use powerful affirmations in the right way at the right time.
• How to link good thoughts to morning events as a way to create new, life-enhancing mental habits.
• And much more!
November 8, 2011, 12:00-1:00pm PT, 3:00-4:00pm ET
Lesson 2: How You Live Your Day Is How You Live Your Life
Continuing on from lesson 1, which was all about you how to start your day in a whole new way, Louise and Cheryl now discuss the importance of how you choose to live your life. Over this empowering hour, you'll discover:
• How to leave your house with the kind of attitude that makes the day special.
• How to bring affirmations and positive intentions into your work day.
• How to successfully deal with life's daily challenges in a new, more effective way.
• And much more!
December 6, 2011, 12:00-1:00pm PT, 3:00-4:00pm ET
Lesson 3: The Beauty of Wisdom: Aging with Joy and Gratitude
In this final lesson, Louise and Cheryl teach you how to unleash the power of joy and gratitude in your day-to-day life. In particular, you'll learn:
• How to make peace with your body so you fall in love with you!
• How to implement the habits that support healthy and joyful aging.
• How to put yourself in the state of mind that encourages Life to bring you what you need to stay healthy and strong.
• And much more!
You Can Create An Exceptional Life
Preview of You Can Create An Exceptional Life: Louise Hay and Cheryl Richardson
Have a look to this free You Can Create An Exceptional Life: Louise Hay and Cheryl Richardson excerpt titled "The End of the Movie".
As I step out of the shower, I can feel the weight of melancholy pulling at my chest. There's a sadness I can't explain. I sit down on the edge of the tub and give presence to it-allow it to live and breathe within me, and wait for it to deliver its wisdom. With each slow, deep breath, the answer begins to surface. Spring is in the ethers, and my winter of writing is coming to an end. It's almost time to say goodbye to this book.
I know the routine. As the ending of a book creeps up on me, I tend to simultaneously rush to finish it and slow down to savor the process one last time. This is my final chapter, and finishing is always bittersweet. But there's something more. . . .
I realize that I'm also anxious about a dear friend who is seriously ill. I'm afraid for him, for me, for us. I towel-dry my hair, brush on a bit of mascara, and glide some gloss across my lips. I need to get dressed. Louise and I are in downtown Vancouver for an event, and we're meeting for breakfast in half an hour (and she's always early). This time, I have an agenda.
We sit at a quiet table in the back of the restaurant at our hotel. The ritual has now become second nature: I sit down, immediately take out my iPhone and press Record, and I unpack my notes. Sitting in front of Louise, I feel a bit wobbly, vulnerable. I'm doing my best to hold back the tears, but I can't help but feel transparent in her presence. She can see that something is wrong but doesn't say anything. Instead, she just stares into my eyes and waits for me to speak.
I have a dear friend who is seriously ill, I tell her, and I'm afraid he might be dying. While I want to be positive, I can't help but worry about whether or not he'll make it, and I don't know how to talk to him about it. I know you've had plenty of experience with illness and death, and I just need to know what to do.
"You love him," she responds immediately. "And you make it a good experience. When people are in trouble, I always concentrate on a few things. First, I focus on who they are as a person, not on their disease. I like to remind them of how wonderful they are- how funny, thoughtful, wise, or kind. And I often bring up favorite memories from our time together. Most important, I allow them to lead the process. We need to respect where people are. I simply ask how they feel in any given situation, and let their answer direct where our conversation will go from there."
As I listen to Louise speak, reluctant tears spill from my eyes, and she reaches into her bag for a tissue. "You never know where we're going on these trips, do you?" she notes with a smile, tucking the tissue into my hand. "It's hard when this happens."
I know we must think positive, but-
"But wait," she interrupts, "death is not negative. Death is a positive step in life. We're all going to do it. You're upset because you just don't want your friend to do it at this time."
Or in a way that's painful, I admit.
"Yes, it's important to be sure that our loved ones are pain free. I remember when my mother was ready to go. She was 91 and became very sick, and they wanted to perform a monumental operation on her. I said, 'no way! You're not going to put this woman through something like that at her age. Just keep her out of pain.' That was the top priority-keep her out of pain and let her drift off. And that's what happened. Over the next several days, she drifted in and out of consciousness. She would drift out and come back talking about relatives, and then drift off again and come back with another story. She didn't have pain, which was so important to me.
"We're all going to leave this life at some point, Cheryl, and I don't think there's anything to be afraid of. You see, I wasn't raised with hell and damnation. I mean, I lived it . . . but since I wasn't raised with that concept, I'm not afraid of death. I don't think I'm going to hell. I've done that already."
This last statement was said in such a matter-of-fact way that it could only be recited by someone who had transcended a painful past. I nod, smile, and wipe my cheeks.
"We need to address the vast array of stuff we're taught about death," Louise continues. "If your parents went to a church filled with messages of hellfire and damnation, you could be very frightened of death. You'll wonder, Have I been good enough, and if not, am I going to burn forever? And if you think you're going to burn forever, then you'll be scared shitless of dying.
So, you're not afraid of death at this point in your life? I ask Louise.
"No. I don't want to go right now because there are things I want to do, but I'm going to say that throughout my entire life. We all will. There's always one more thing to do-a child's wedding to attend, a baby ready to be born, or a book to write.
I also have this very strong feeling that we arrive in the middle of the movie, and we leave in the middle of the movie. The movie is continuous. We enter and we exit. All of us do that. There's no wrong time or right time, there's just our time-it was our time to be born and our time to go."
I think about the idea of leaving in the middle of the movie and agree that it is the hard part of death- never having a "buttoned-up time" to go.
Louise explains, "I believe that long before we arrive, the soul makes the choice to experience certain lessons-lessons about loving each other and ourselves. When we learn the lesson of love, we may leave with joy. There is no need for pain or suffering. We know that next time, wherever we choose to incarnate, we will take all of the love with us."
So the question is, then, how to make peace with leaving in the middle of the movie. The problem, as I see it, is that we are so uncomfortable with death. We don't talk about it. We don't prepare for it. We don't even allow ourselves to think about our fears and concerns. We live in a culture that avoids the topic altogether. Instead, we wait until we're up against a serious illness and forced to make important decisions under pressure-for loved ones or ourselves-and then wonder why it's so frightening and painful.
To make peace with leaving, we first need to be willing to address the issue. We need to face the awkwardness and uncomfortable feelings associated with death by looking fear in the eye. When we do, we discover what that fear has to teach us.
I certainly ignored anything having to do with death until my early 30s, when I had the privilege of going through the process of dying in a conscious way with someone I cared about. Her name was Lucy, and she was in her 80s. Lucy had a house filled with lifelong treasures, a wise mind, and a big heart . . . but no family. During a hospital visit for a bad chest cold, she was told that she was dying of cancer, and she promptly asked me to help her get her affairs in order. My first reaction was, No way! I have no interest whatsoever in stepping into that minefield. However, after further discussion, my compassion (and guilt) got the better of me, and I reluctantly agreed.
What unfolded over the next three months was nothing short of a miracle. One by one, Lucy and I reviewed the treasures in her home and made plans to give them to specific people. I became intimately familiar with her life, her loves, and her desires for how to end her life. I made her a promise that I would follow through on her wishes, both while she was dying and once she was gone.
On the night of Lucy's death, I had given a speech and was home tucked in bed when something told me to get up and drive the hour-long trip to see her. Knowing enough to trust my gut, I did what it instructed and went to the hospital. Once there, I found my friend unconscious, in a private room, stationed with a loving and compassionate nurse who assured me that she could hear everything I said.
For almost an hour I sat by Lucy's side, reviewing the instructions she had given me about her end-of-life planning. I talked them through, out loud, as she lay before me. I assured her that all was in order and that it was okay to make the transition to a more peaceful place. Was I frightened? You bet. But I was also prepared.
While I was looking at her beautiful face, she suddenly woke up, looked directly into my eyes, gave me a big smile, and took her last breath. In that moment, something significant shifted. Death and I had become intimate friends.
I sat by Lucy's side that night for quite a while after she passed, staring at her face, her hands, and her lifeless body, contemplating this scary thing we call death. But I wasn't scared. Instead, I felt safe, touched in a tender and profound way, and surprised by how natural the actual process turned out to be. Yes, I would miss my friend, but from this new perspective, death wasn't the silent monster I had made it out to be-a bogeyman who needed to be locked away, only to be let out at the last possible moment. It was a gentle state of release and surrender, the completion of a promise.
The Beauty of Wisdom – Excerpt from "You Can Create an Exceptional Life"
This excerpt has been taken from the book You Can Create an Exceptional Life by Louise Hay & Cheryl Richardson. Courtesy of Wisdom-magazine.com
It's a warm November day in Tampa, and Louise has just delivered the welcome address to more than 3,000 attendees of Hay House's "I Can Do It" conference. Standing at the side of the room, I watch as the sold-out crowd erupts in affectionate applause when she announces that she's in her ninth decade, and it's the best one of her life so far. It's such an inspiring moment.
On the way to our hotel, I study Louise as she walks purposefully toward the front door. A unique blend of funky and elegant, she's dressed in a flowery crinkled shirt draped over tight-fitting leggings. She radiates the energy of youth and the beauty of aged wisdom.
We arrive at the hotel and head up to Louise's room. She immediately opens the balcony doors, and I feel a comfortable breeze graze my skin while I scope out a place to sit. I flop down, cross-legged, on a wingback chair near a stunning arrangement of flowers—lilies, tulips, sunflowers, and raspberry-colored roses—resting on the center of a coffee table in the middle of the room. "The flowers are a gift from someone who needed my help last week," she tells me. "They make me so happy."
She makes her way to the kitchenette and proceeds to make us each a cup of tea. While she removes the tea bags from their wrapping, she shares her excitement at having found a new black velvet cover for her iPad—the latest technology tool she's been enjoying with gusto. I realize that even at age 84, Louise is the eternal student. I so admire her curiosity and hunger for learning.
I set my tools around me and wonder what she knows at 84 about feeling comfortable in her skin that I could learn at 51. I ask her how she looks and feels so good at her age—what's her secret?
"Well, to me it comes down to loving yourself, loving your body, and making peace with the aging process," she replies. "You can't do anything well or for the long term without loving yourself first. When you love yourself, you care about your body, and you care about what you put into it. You also care about the thoughts you choose to think."
So if we're diligent about practicing what we've already talked about in this book, we'll have a much easier time as we age?
"Yes. Life has gotten much easier for me because I've learned how to plan my experiences. My positive affirmations go before me, smoothing the way. I make a point to anticipate what I would like to experience in the future. For instance, today I needed to do three errands, so I affirmed: This is a glorious day, and every experience is a joyous adventure.
"As I entered each of the three different stores, I found lovely salespeople who made friendly conversation with me. One clerk and I even laughed and laughed over something silly. Each of these experiences was a small yet joyous adventure. Part of the wisdom of aging is to find joy in even the simplest situations. When we live our lives to the fullest, we're going to make the little things in life wonderful and good and important."
I note that as we get older and lose friends or family members, it seems that we value our connection to others more, even the kind of connection Louise is talking about in these everyday situations.
"We could, or it could make us bitter. We can choose to be bitter about losing loved ones, or we can choose to reach out to new people and fill the emptiness."
The more I get to know Louise, the more I appreciate, on a deep level, the value of putting good thought habits in place early in life. When she talks about her approach to living, it's clear that she's invested a lot of time and energy in managing her mind. As a result, this investment has given her a far more positive view of aging. Her vigilance about living with purpose and intention keeps paying great dividends year after year. As I witness her response to life, I keep being reminded to deepen this habit myself.
"Don't get me wrong," Louise admits. "I've faced the same challenges most people do as they age—wrinkles, weight gain, stiffness, and noticing that young men no longer look longingly at me. But there's no use making myself miserable about things I cannot change. We're all going to age. I've just made a decision to take care of myself and love myself no matter what.
"I eat well. I consume foods that are very good for my body, foods that support me. I eat very little that drains my body or that doesn't support me. I also do things like acupuncture and craniosacral sessions once a month as a general tune-up. And I do my best to choose thoughts that make me feel good as much as possible. This is the big lesson that I'll keep repeating: Our thinking either makes us feel good or it makes us feel bad. It's not the events nearly as much as it's the thoughts."
So it's not the wrinkle, it's the thoughts you have about the wrinkle?
"Absolutely. The wrinkle is just there. And it's there for everybody. You haven't been singled out to be the one person who has that wrinkle. It's foolish to make yourself unhappy about something like that. We want to enjoy every phase of life as much as possible."
Speaking of wrinkles, I mention, let's talk about the body. You said that the secret to your success at 84 has to do with loving yourself and your body, but what if you're a woman who's 50 pounds overweight and hates what she sees in the mirror? How do you look at yourself and say "I love you" when you don't like what you see?
"Well, that's the point of what we're doing," Louise replies. "As I said before, I no longer believe in working on a single issue. In the early days, I worked with individual problems like weight loss. Then one day I discovered that if I could get clients to love themselves, we didn't have to work on problems anymore. Self-love was the core issue for everybody and everything. And that's a difficult realization for a lot of people to accept or acknowledge—that it could be that simple.
"This woman you're talking about might think her issue is weight, but it isn't her issue at all; it's self-hatred. If we can get to the bottom of that or get her to start consistently practicing affirmations that will support her in building a good relationship with her body, it will begin the process of self-love."
After pausing for a moment, she goes on. "It's true that sometimes you need to adjust your diet in order to stick with this new practice. By now, most of us know that sugar is addictive and just isn't good for the body. Wheat and dairy products cause problems for many people, too. We need to eat foods that nourish and fuel our body and our mind. While it's wonderful to say the right affirmations, if you're loading yourself up on caffeine, sugar, junk food, and the like, you're going to have a hard time focusing your mind on anything at all, let alone positive affirmations. And if you've grown up on junk food, then you might need some guidance on what it means to eat a healthy diet. I didn't know anything about good nutrition until my cancer diagnosis invited me to find out what my body needed. Even now I still keep up with the latest info when it comes to health and healing."
I can certainly appreciate the importance of taking good care of the body as we age. Like so many of us, I've read my share of books, websites, and studies trying to learn as much as I can about diet, exercise, or supplements. There is a maze of information out there, and it's easy to get confused. Our society spends billions of dollars on anti-aging books and products, health-club memberships, and diet programs, searching for the right formula for creating optimal health . . . yet obesity rates continue to climb, and our overall health continues to decline.
In the last several months, I'd been focusing on exactly what Louise is talking about: loving myself and my body first, and allowing this love to lead me in the direction of wise choices that support my emotional and physical health. I am learning, firsthand, that it works. As I've built a strong connection to my body, I've naturally become drawn to the right foods, types of exercise, forms of self-care, and even health-care practitioners. Yes, I now know that it all starts with love.
Louise Hay, the author of the international bestseller You Can Heal Your Life, is a metaphysical lecturer and teacher with more than 50 million books sold worldwide. For more than 25 years, she has helped people throughout the world discover and implement the full potential of their own creative powers for personal growth and self-healing. She has appeared on The Oprah Winfrey Show and many other TV and radio programs both in the U.S. and abroad.
You Can Create An Exceptional Life: Louise Hay and Cheryl Richardson – Book and Hay House prizes draw
You Can Create An Exceptional Life Retreat at Miraval
One (1) winner will receive registration for the You Can Create an Exceptional Life Retreat with Louise Hay and Cheryl Richardson at the Miraval Arizona Resort & Spa, Mar 25-29, 2012.
Trip to I Can Do It! Tampa
One (1) winner will receive a weekend trip for two to the I Can Do It! Tampa Conference, Nov 11-13, 2011. This prize includes two full conference passes, hotel accommodations for two nights, and round-trip domestic coach airfare within the continental United States.
You Can Heal Your Life Conference in Las Vegas
One (1) winner will receive a trip to the You Can Heal Your Life Conference with Louise Hay and Cheryl Richardson in Las Vegas, NV, Jan 21, 2012. This prize includes two conference passes, hotel accommodations for one night, and round-trip domestic coach airfare within the continental United States.
Coaching Session with Cheryl Richardson
One (1) winner will receive a 1-hour telephone coaching session with Cheryl Richardson. This is an extremely rare opportunity to receive a private coaching session from Cheryl!
The Art of Extreme Self-Care On Demand Course
Two (2) winners will receive The Art of Extreme Self-Care 12-Lesson On Demand Course by Cheryl Richardson.
Amazon Kindle
One (1) winner will receive an Amazon Kindle 3G (Free 3G + Wi-Fi, 3G Works Globally, Graphite, 6″ Display with New E-Ink Pearl Technology).
You Can Create an Exceptional Life Prize Bundle
Three (3) winners will receive a You Can Create an Exceptional Life Prize Bundle which includes: (a) You Can Create an Exceptional Life by Louise Hay and Cheryl Richardson, (b) The Art of Extreme Self-Care by Cheryl Richardson, (c) You Can Heal Your Life Box Set by Louise Hay, (d) Embracing Change CD by Louise Hay, (e) My Daily Affirmation Cards by Cheryl Richardson, (f) Power Thought Cards by Louise Hay, (g) I Can Do It 2012 Calendar by Louise Hay, (h) Turning Inward Journal by Cheryl Richardson.
The following sponsors are also offering you the chance to win even more prizes! Alex Ong [Coaching Session], John Holland [Reading], Lynn Zavaro [Private Session], Susan Kammerhoff [Angel Reading], and Susan Smith Jones [Consulation].


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Pepper cress, cress, garden cress, pepperwort, peppergrass
Lepidium sativum
Fruits and Vegetables
Sow shallowly every 2 weeks from early spring to early fall, 10 seeds per inch; dark may aid germination. May also be grown indoors throughout the year. Protect from full sun in warm summers, as this salad vegetable fares best in cool conditions
See Also
False rock cress (Aubrieta species)
Related Topics
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