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Eswein Collects Another Race of Champions Crown at Marshfield
Posted under Race Reports by Chris Budzban on September 22nd, 2002
September 22, 2002; Marshfield, WI: – Fans and cars were plentiful at the season ending Fall Spectacular at Marshfield Super Speedway. Many fans braved the very chilly evening of racing action. The pits were overloaded and many cars had to pit outside the pit gates, as over 100 cars were here Saturday night to compete, for the Second Annual Fall Spectacular.
In the Super Late Model 75-lap Race of Champions, Jeff Weinfurter darted out from his pole position to take the early lead, followed by John Frazier and Jim Sauter, Jr. Weinfurter continued to hold the lead and started getting early pressure from Frazier, who had passed Sauter, Jr. for the second position. By the fourth lap Jeremy Lepak took over the third position and had his sights set on Frazier for the second spot. Two laps later Lepak made the inside move on Frazier going into turn three. With Weinfurter leading by three car lengths, Lepak now had his sights set on Weinfurter for the race lead. Weinfurter, however, was able to hold off the challenges that Lepak made.
On the race's 25th lap, after Weinfurter, Lepak and Frazier had pulled away from the pack, Gary Back caught Frazier and took over the third position. On lap 32, Mark Eswein had caught Gary Back and took the third position away with an outside pass in turn three. With Weinfurter and Lepak continuing to hold the front two positions, Eswein was starting to reel in the race leaders. Three laps later Eswein completed the pass on Lepak to take over the runner-up position.
On lap 37 of the 75-lap Race of Champions, Eswein made the pass on Weinfurter and started stretching his lead out. Two laps later, Eswein enjoyed a five car length lead over Weinfurter. With Eswein leading the field of 25 cars, Keith Bohmsach had moved into the third position, taking it away from Lepak. Two laps later, Bohmsach passed Weinfurter for the runner-up position and was looking to close in on Eswein. The race stayed that way with Eswein, Bohmsach, and Weinfurter holding down the top three positions.
On lap 59, Rocky Breezer spun backwards off the back stretch bringing out the race's first caution. Once the race resumed, Eswein continued to stretch his lead out while Bohmsach and Weinfurter continued to battle for the runner-up position. Caution flew for a second and final time, with six laps to go, as Greg Back got turned around in turn four. Jay VanDerGeest was unable to avoid the spinning car of Back, and was collected by another car.
VanDerGeest was unable to continue as he sustained heavy front-end damage. Once the race restarted, Eswein pulled out to another comfortable lead and went on to score another impressive victory. Keith Bohmsach fended off the challenges of Weinfurter to take home the second position. Rounding out the top five in the very competitive Race of Champions race were, Jeff Weinfurter, Jeremy Lepak and Gary Back.
In the Super Late Model Race of Champions last chance feature, Chris Bires darted out to the early lead with Ken Reiser hot on his heels. As Bires brought the field out of turn two, caution flew as John Meidam got into the back end of Pete Kempf entering turn one. On the restart, Bires continued to hold the lead followed by Reiser and Clint Sillars. Reiser continually looked low on Bires and was able to make the pass in turn two as Bires pushed up the track. Sillers followed Reiser past Bires to take over the second position.
Once the field settled in, it appeared to be a four-way battle for the lead as Ben Pettis joined the lead group. Caution would fly for a second and final time as Chris Bires was penalized two positions for using too much of the track. Once the race resumed, it was all Ken Reiser as he went on to win the 25-lap qualifying feature. Finishing second was Clint Sillars with John Meidam, Pettis, and Bires rounding out the top five.
In other qualifying races, M. G. Gajewski was able to fend off the challenges of Clint Sillars to advance to the 75-lap Race of Champions, winning heat #1. In heat #2, Monte Gress of Neillsville also advanced to the Race of Champions, as he won the qualifying event. Finishing second in the quailfying event was Ken Reiser. The other driver that qualified into the Race of Champions through a preliminary event was Judd Brandl, who earlier in the evening set fast time.
In the 30-lap Limited Late Model feature, Rocky Carlson set the early pace, followed by Mike Schneider and Darin Seubert. On lap three, Dan Friske took over the third position passing Seubert going into turn three.
With Carlson continuing to lead, caution flew for the first time as Steve Gress broke a shock mount sending his car spinning in turns three and four. Gress' car was collected by several cars. However, Gress was the only one unable to continue. On the restart, Friske made the pass on Carlson to take over the race lead. With Friske holding a two-car advantage over Bo Bennish, Neil Knoblock moved into the third position with an outside pass of Seubert. Four laps later, Knoblock made the pass on Friske to take over the runner-up position. Bennish continued to hold a three-car length lead over Knoblock, with Jeremy Switlick moving into the third position.
Bennish, who enjoyed a three-car length lead throughout the second half of the race, went on to win the 30-lap late model feature event. Knoblock wound up second, with Switlick coming home third. Rounding out the top five were Dan Friske and Darin Seubert.
In a very exciting CARQUEST super stock feature, heat winner Marv Flick pulled out to a three-car length lead, early in the 20-lap feature event. On lap four, Don Tieman, Jr. was looking to take the second spot away from Brian Schmutzer.
With Flick enjoying a five-car length lead, caution flew as three lead lap cars got caught up in lap traffic entering turn one. Tieman, Chris Brooks, and track champion Tim Hintz, all were involved in the turn one crash.
Once the race resumed with 12 laps to go, Flick was still your race leader, with Larry Schultz running a strong second. Two laps later, Schultz made the pass on Flick going into turn three. DuWayne Davis followed suit and took the second position away from Flick.
Caution flew for a second time, with eight laps remaining, as Tristan Huebsch spun in turn two. Once the race resumed, Schultz was still your race leader, followed by Davis and Cale Laessig, who moved into the third position. As Davis was looking to take over the race lead, he made contact with race leader Larry Schultz sending him spinning off the back stretch. Davis took the blame for the incident; thus, giving Schultz his position back.
On the restart with four laps to go, Laessig made the inside pass work going down the back stretch, as he passed Schultz to take over the race lead. At the same time Laessig made his move, Andy Simonis made the pass on Flick to move into the third position. Laessig stretched his lead out to two car lengths to earn the feature win. Schultz wound up an impressive second, with Simonis, Matt Raykowski, and Marv Flick rounding out the top five.
In the 15-lap four cylinder feature event, 22 cars took the green in hopes of bringing home the feature win.
Kyle Davis darted out to the early lead with Jason Bell and Paul Berg running second and third. Three laps later, Jason Bell took the lead away from Davis with an outside pass going down the back stretch. At the same time Bell made his pass for the race lead, Paul Berg moved into second, with Johnny Bell taking over the third position. The race stayed that way until lap eight; that was when Paul Berg made the inside pass of Bell to take over the race lead. Berg stretched his lead to three car lengths, and went on to earn a hard fought feature event. Jason Bell fought off a late challenge by Johnny Bell to earn the runner-up spot. Rounding out the top five were Johnny Bell, Robert Dalsky and heat winner, Scotty Hoeft.
Adding excitement to the Fall Spectacular evening, were the Mini Cups.
Taking the early lead in the eight-lap feature event was Mark Krueger, followed by Joel Schultz and Floyd Firkus. Krueger stretched his lead to three car lengths after the completion of the third lap. By lap five, Schultz had cut into Krueger's lead significantly, and made the inside pass one lap later entering turn three. Schultz went on to win by an impressive eight car lengths. Heat winner Firkus, made a last lap pass on Krueger to earn the runner-up spot. Krueger came home third with Chet Olds winding up fourth.
The Bumper-To-Bumper Cruisers topped off what was a very exciting day of racing here at the Marshfield Super Speedway. Being consistent all season, Travis Zvolena stayed that way tonight as he grabbed the early lead from his 10th starting position. Zvolena led the first four laps, being closely followed by Mike Dodson and Rodney Feltz.
With eight laps to go in the 14-lap feature event, Feltz made his move on Zvolena as he made the pass for the race lead going in to turn three. Feltz, who has been very strong all season, stretched his lead to four car lengths with four laps remaining. Zvolena closed the gap slightly as the race leader took the white flag. However, Feltz proved to be too strong for the field of 15 cars, as he went on to score the feature win. Travis Zvolena finished a strong second with Brendan Klueckman coming home in the third position. Rounding out the top five were Darrell Paschel and Sam Sudduth.


text: So I'm driving home and in the back window of the car infront of me i see a big fake sub sandwich. So I fallow the car because I have to get a picture of this. So the car pulls into a Mcdonalds parking lot and this huge 300 some pound lady gets out. I ask

subset: commoncrawl


text:
In small towns they say this is what you do for entertainment, sit around and watch the traffic light turn from green to red. Well, Jackson being far from a small town, we can now also watch the control boxes that make the lights turn thanks to a joint project between the City of Jackson and the Jackson Arts Council to decorate some of those control boxes.
You know, those lights don't just do all this changing by themselves. There are large aluminum boxes full of computerized stuff at the side of the intersection that mixes all the signals and spits them out to the various fixtures on the polls. And up until now, those traffic signal boxes have had all of the personality of a traffic signal box. But not at 18 of downtown Jackson's boxes on Pearl Street and Pascagoula Street.
As a result of a pilot program that is finishing up here at the end of May, those boxes have taken on lives of their own as over 40 artist submitted themes, and 18 were chosen in phase one and these formerly bland boxes are now even more colorful than the signals they control. And you have to think out of the box to come up with a clever design to paint on a box.
"Very first idea that struck me was let's make a bookcase out of this thing," said Tom Harmon.
Artist Tom Harmon spent his younger years in Jackson and then moved back home to the old family place in recent years. Not only is the idea of a book case clever and automatically lends itself to being colorful, but you'd have no problem picking plenty of Mississippi writers to fill it.
"I went on the Internet and I said tell me, give me a list of all of the Mississippi authors and their books. And this, hundreds and hundreds of books, so I've gone through and tried to pick out some of the more memorable ones," said Harmon.
Nathan Robertson has what he considers to be the plum box of them all, this is the first control box you come to at State Street as you take the Pearl Street exit off the interstate. You know at the, the signal that is always red. So you will get a good look at his work. And this is just the first set of boxes to be painted. The next phase takes in Capitol Street and maybe a block or so north and starts in September.
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text:
Housing wealth or economic climate: Why do house prices matter for well-being?
AbstractThis study investigates whether and why house prices matter for well-being. House prices may influence well-being via a wealth/access-to-credit mechanism, as a rise in prices increases housing wealth and the collateral value of a house, and via a relative concerns mechanism, if renters compare themselves to homeowners and vice versa. Alternatively, any correlation between house prices and well-being may simply reflect broader economic conditions rather than a causal effect. Using local area house price data, this study distinguishes between these alternative explanations by comparing the correlation between local house prices and well-being for homeowners and renters. A small positive correlation between house prices and well-being exists for both homeowners and renters, indicating the absence of a wealth/credit mechanism or relative concerns mechanism. This correlation cannot be explained by economic variables such as local unemployment, earnings or earnings expectations, hinting at a purely psychological phenomenon.
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Bibliographic InfoPaper provided by Department of Economics, University of Bristol, UK in its series The Centre for Market and Public Organisation with number 10/234.
Length: 32 pages
Date of creation: Apr 2010
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Handle: RePEc:bri:cmpowp:10/234
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Related researchKeywords: Well-being; House prices; Wealth; Economic climate;
Find related papers by JEL classification:
- I1 - Health, Education, and Welfare - - Health
- D12 - Microeconomics - - Household Behavior - - - Consumer Economics: Empirical Analysis
This paper has been announced in the following NEP Reports:
- NEP-ALL-2010-04-24 (All new papers)
- NEP-HAP-2010-04-24 (Economics of Happiness)
- NEP-NEU-2010-04-24 (Neuroeconomics)
- NEP-URE-2010-04-24 (Urban & Real Estate Economics)
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text: Comments on: Once-influential Blue Dog moderates hoping for comeback in polarized Congress Back to the article » By Rebecca Berg | January 7, 2014 | 12:00 am In 2009, they had more than 50 members. One wave election later, half their members were gone. And now, in a Congress marked by its uncompromising partisanship, just 15 of the so-called "Blue Dog" Democrats remain. The Blue Dog coalition, mostly Democrats from Republican-leaning or swing districts, were a one-time moderating force within the House Democratic Caucus, and their influence was felt... Web URL: http://washingtonexaminer.com/article/2541662 Share this article on Facebook or Twitter Print this article


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Falling Groundwater Levels Raise Concerns
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March 7, 2013 Irish dignitaryDeputy Marcella Corcoran-Kennedy, TD, is coming to Iowa next week to celebrate St. Patrick's Day. more »»
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March 7, 2013 With a minor change, the fiscal year 2013-2014 budget for the Palo Alto County Assessor's Office was given approval by the county's Conference Board during a meeting 26. more »»
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March 5, 2013 In seven years, the amount of money presented in grants has grown by a million dollars. more »»
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March 5, 2013 Senator David Johnson, Representative Megan Hess and Congressman Steve King were all in attendance at the Town Hall Meeting in Emmetsburg on Saturday. more »»
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February 21, 2013 If cabin fever is taking its toll, there's a perfect opportunity to break out this Friday night. more »»
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Gulezian feels a special attachment to the college. "I never take [this artsy college] for granted," he said.
Gulezian commented that playing at a college year after year is not assured for any artist, since the quick turnover of the student body can lead to shifts in musical tastes on campus.
Nearly half of the audience members on Saturday were new listeners, according to Gulezians polling. He also discovered that a large chunk of the listeners were fellow guitarists. Gulezian singled out Bobby Klein 04, who he met at the guitar workshop, as a particularly gifted artist.
Gulezian is apt to sound nearly gushy when talking about St. Olaf, both one-on-one and onstage. He cited the schools emphasis on character development and its musical focus as reasons for the rapport he has with students. "So many people have become really dear friends," he said. Before the concert, Gulezian even mentioned that he and his wife Dianne incorporated music from a St. Olaf student into their wedding.
Gulezian said he appreciates the high level of musicality among the student body, which allows many of his listeners to appreciate the artistry it requires for him to compose and perform. Many students can appreciate his complex meters and key changes. Others, unencumbered by music theory knowledge, can simply revel in the experience.
Gulezian inquired about several students during the concert, and was dismayed to hear that many of them had graduated. However, there were still enough returning audience members left for him to do a recreation of last years "Lutefisk Song" with Shenandoah Sowash 04, Rachel Winter 04 and Jill Zaspel 04 humming in the background.
Gulezian tried to include those audience interactions on his live CD, deliberately incorporating "very goofy" video footage. He explained that because he plays serious music, it is difficult to picture him as a "bundle of twisted humor" just by listening.
Gulezian's music, humor and complete comfort onstage drew the audience in. When preparing to play "Mile High Country," Gulezian demonstrated his mastery of the "talk and tune" interlude that every guitarist faces. His candor, both in his music and conversation, was refreshing.
Gulezian performed an intense set that lasted nearly three hours without a break. He played some familiar tunes "Little Meggie," "Im No Seismologist, Chortled the Metronome" and the infamous "Room of Doom." He also gave the audience a break from his passionate playing to spoof Bruce Springsteens "Im on Fire."
Gulezian's music was complex, requiring more from the listeners than any three-chord pop song. By the end of the night, Gulezian was not the only exhausted one in the room. However, his outpouring of music, energy and praise of St. Olaf and its students, as well as the audiences enthusiastic response, foretell a warm welcome for Gulezian the next time he chooses to venture on campus.


text:
Szilagyi claims sabre gold
Aron Szilagyi claimed Hungary's first gold at London 2012
Hungary's incredible Olympic record in men's sabre fencing was continued at the ExCeL as 22-year-old Aron Szilagyi grabbed their first gold of the London Games.
It was the 13th time a Hungarian had triumphed in the event - and that includes an amazing run of 11 out of 12 victories between 1908 and 1964.
Szilagyi is their only fencer in the world's top 50 - he is ranked sixth - was their only representative in the 36-strong field and was also one of the youngest taking part, but after four earlier wins he easily beat Italian Diego Occhiuzzi 15-8 in the final.
Bronze went to Russian Nikolay Kovalev, who had beaten German world number one Nicolas Limbach in the quarter-finals and then Romanian Rares Dumitrescu to claim third place.
Occhiuzzi found himself 7-0 behind in no time at all, fought back to 9-5 and 12-7, but Szilagyi was simply in unstoppable mood as he became his country's first winner of the title since Bence Szabo in Barcelona 20 years ago.
The competition was full of shocks, none of the world's top five or the last two winners of the title reaching the semi-finals. Athens champion Aldo Montano, with "God Save The Queen" shaved into the back of his head, lost to compatriot Occhiuzzi 15-13.
Also in the last 16 China's Zhong Man, the surprise gold medallist in Beijing four years ago, was beaten 15-10 by Szilagyi, Russian world number two Alexey Yakimenko went down 15-14 to American Daryl Homer and third-ranked Korean Gu Bongil lost by the same score to German Max Hartung.
A day after Italy's women took a clean sweep of the medals in the foil, Occhiuzzi became their sole survivor in the last eight following the early defeat of Luigi Tarantino.
He was shown a red card and suffered the loss of the deciding point at 14-14 for launching an attack too soon at a restart, having already incurred one infringement against Hartung.
Tarantino, banned for two months for a head butt during a World Cup competition in Madrid earlier this year, was reported to have smashed a barrier in frustration on his way out.
100 Olympic Moments
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Love reading analysis of famous paintings? Discover more about 250 of the best paintings in the history of art with the Famous Paintings ebook. It names names (and titles, art museums, and dates), with links to in-depth commentary about the works. Explore must-see masterpieces in US and European art museums!
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Anguissola, Three Sisters Playing Chess and Phillip II of Spain
Beckmann, Departure; Self-Portrait in Tuxedo; Sinking of Titanic
Bingham, Fur Traders Descending the Missouri
Bonheur, Plowing in the Nivernais
Bonheur, The Horse Fair
Book of Kells
Bosch, Garden of Earthly Delights
Botticelli Primavera
Caravaggio, Fashion and Art History
Caravaggio, Conversion of St. Paul
Caravaggio, Young, Sick Bacchus and Basket of Fruit
Caravaggio, Cardsharps and Fortune Teller
Caravaggio, St. Francis of Assisi in Ecstasy
Caravaggio, Taking of Christ (Kiss of Judas)
Caravaggio Paintings at the Villa Borghese
Cave Paintings
Cezanne, Bathers.
Cezanne, Card Players
Cezanne, Most Famous Paintings
Copley, Paul Revere
David, Death of Marat
David, Death of Socrates
David, Napoleon Crossing the Alps
de Kooning, Retrospective at MoMA (Part I)
de Kooning,Excavation and Painting, 1948
de Kooning, Woman I
Delacroix, Liberty Leading the People
Diebenkorn, The Ocean Park Series
Duccio, Maesta
Duncanson, Robert Seldon. Art History Welcomes Duncanson
Durer, The Four Apostles
Dutch Painters at the Frick Collection, 2013-2014 Show
El Greco, Burial of Count Orgaz
Fontana, Portrait of a Noblewoman
Frankenthaler, Color Field Painting and Mountains and Sea
Gainsborough, The Blue Boy
Gentileschi, Artemisia. Judith Beheading Holofernes
Gentileschi, Artemisia. Self-Portrait as an Allegory of Painting
Ghent Altarpiece.
Ghent Altarpiece via zoom
Giorgione, Three Philosophers
Goya, Family of Charles IV
Goya, The Third of May 1808
Goya, Duchess of Alba; Saturn Devouring his Son; Two Old Men; Half-Submerged Dog; Black Paintings
Grunewald, Isenheim Altarpiece
Hals, Banquet of the Officers of the St. George Civic Guard
Hals, The Laughing Cavalier
Hals, Regents of St. Elizabeth's Hospital
Hopper, Nighthawks
Ingres, Grande Odalisque and Portrait of Madame Moissetier
Isenheim Altarpiece
Kahlo, Renowned Frida Kahlo Paintings.
Angelica Kauffmann. Self-Portrait Torn Between Music and Painting and David Garrick.
Klimt, The Kiss and Adele Bloch-Bauer
Leonardo, Painter at the Court of Milan, National Gallery, London
Leonardo, La Bella Principessa
Leonardo, New Mona Lisa?
Leonardo, Benois Madonna and Madonna Litta
Leonardo, Savior of the World(Salvator Mundi)
Leonardo, The Virgin and Child with St. Anne
Leyster, Famous Female Painters
Manet, A Bar at the Folies-Bergere
Manet, Luncheon in the Studio
Manet, The Old Musician
Manet, Street Singer
Mantegna, Dead Christ
Matisse Paintings, In Search of True Painting
Matisse, The Dance, The Music
Matisse, The Cone Collection
Matisse, The Red Studio
Matisse, The Yellow Dress
Michelangelo, Crucifixion with the Madonna
Michelangelo, Famous Paintings
Michelangelo, La Pieta with Two Angels (latest attribution?)
Michelangelo, St. John the Baptist Bearing Witness
Modersohn-Becker, Famous Female Painters
Monet, Waterlilies
Morisot, Famous Paintings
Morisot, More Famous Paintings
Munch, The Scream
O'Keeffe, Jack in the Pulpit
Picasso, Girl Before a Mirror
Picasso, Nude, Green Leaves and Bust
Picasso, Portrait of Gertrude Stein
Picasso, Las Meninas
Piero della Francesca, The Baptism of Christ
Horace Pippin. Life and Work
Poussin, Assumption of the Virgin
Raphael, Sistine Madonna
Rembrandt, Aristotle with a Bust of Homer
Rembrandt, Night Watch
Rembrandt paintings at Frick Show
Rembrandt, Self-Portrait at an Early Age, Jeremiah Lamenting the Destruction of Jerusalem, The Jewish Bride
Rembrandt, The Syndics of the Amsterdam Drapers' Guild
Rubens, Venus and Adonis
Sanchez Cotan, Spanish Still-life
Sargent, El Jaleo
Sargent, Madame X
Sargent, Smoke of Ambergris
Steen, The Christening Feast
Steen paintings at Frick Show
Tanner, The Banjo Lesson and The Thankful Poor
Titian, Assumption of the Virgin
Titian, Bacchus and Ariadne
Titian, Man with a Glove
Titian, Nymph and Shepherd, Allegory of Prudence, Jacopa Strada, St. Jerome, Slaying of Marysas
Titian, Rape of Europa
Turner, J. M. W, The Fighting Temeraire
Uccello, Battle of San Romano
van der Weyden, St. Luke Drawing the Virgin
van Eyck, Arnolfini Portrait
van Eyck, Adoration of the Lamb
van Eyck, Ghent Altarpiece
van Gogh, Patience Escalier
van Gogh, The Potato Eaters
van Gogh, Memory of Garden at Etten; Tatched Cottages; White House
van Gogh, Portrait of Madam Trabuc; Morning: Going Out
van Gogh, Starry Night
Vincent van Gogh paintings up to 1889
Vincent van Gogh paintings, 1888-1890
Overview of works and life of Diego Velazquez
Velazquez, Pope Innocent X
Velazquez, Juan de Pareja
Vermeer, Girl with a Pearl Earring
Vermeer, Saint Praxedis
Vermeer, The Kitchen Maid
Vermeer, The Allegory of Painting.
Vermeer, Girl with the Red Hat
Warhol, Campbell's Soup Cans
Warhol, Marilyn Diptych and Gold Marilyn
Warhol, Mao
Anders Zorn
Learn about famous paintings to see in these art museums:
Albright-Knox Art Gallery (Buffalo, NY). One of those intimate, small art museums with a stellar collection. Famous Paintings at Albright-Knox.
Art Institute of Chicago: Plan to see these famous paintings at the Art Institute -- and download an ebook about them.
Louvre Museum, (Paris): one of the largest art museums in the world! Know which Louvre paintings not to miss in this sortable ebook.
Mauritshuis Museum: explore works by renowned Dutch painters
Metropolitan Museum of Art (New York City): download the ebook, Famous-Paintings-Metropolitan-Museum, to learn its must-see masterpieces.
National Gallery (London): with 2300 famous paintings alone in its European painting section, discover highlights to see! Art Paintings to See at the National Gallery.
Rijksmuseum (Amsterdam): 10 famous paintings not to miss
Washington, D.C. Art Museums: Explore forty famous paintings in Washington, DC in this article.
Michelangelo Paintings: The Torment of Saint Anthony; The Manchester Madonna;Holy Family (Doni Tondo); and Entombment
Cave Paintings: explore this prehistoric art in Spain and France.
Picasso's Las Meninas: 58 Picasso paintings inspired by Velazquez's Las Meninas.
Ghent Altarpiece: the van Eyck masterpiece, one of the most famous artworks ever made.
Survey of Renaissance Paintings: want to know what Renaissance paintings were all about? Start with 20 of its most famous painters in this sweeping survey!
Discover more of readers' favorite art history blog posts.
While we long for the time when artists are artists and genderless, that time isn't yet here.
These are a few of the female artists who've left lasting legacies in the history of painting:
Sofonisba Anguissola. Three Sisters Playing Chess. Phillip II of Spain
Rosa Bonheur. Plowing in the Nivernais. Horse Fair.
Lavinia Fontana. Portrait of a Noblewoman.
Helen Frankenthaler. Color Field Painting and Mountains and Sea.
Artemisia Gentileschi. Judith Beheading Holofernes. Self-Portrait as an Allegory of Painting.
Frida Kahlo. Frida and Diego Rivera. The Two Fridas. The Love Embrace of the Universe.
Angelica Kauffmann. Self-Portrait Torn Between Music and Painting. David Garrick.
Judith Leyster. Self-Portrait. The Proposition.
Paula Modersohn-Becker. Self-Portrait with an Amber Necklace. Still Life with Goldfish.
Berthe Morisot. Refuge in Normandy. The Cradle.
Georgia O'Keeffe. Jack in the Pulpit Series.
Survey of Female Artists
Art History Reading List: 50+ great reads in fiction and non-fiction
Art History Videos on YouTube
Most Controversial Paintings
Google Art Project, Art Museums Up Close
Survey of Renaissance Paintings.
ArtDaily: daily breaking news about art museums and art history.
Art Blog by Bob: this brilliant art history blogger of Picture This on Big Think.
Art History Resources. Unwieldly but informative.
Marisol Roman. A Spanish art history blog.
Mother of all Art & Art History Links: extensive list of online art history resources (including images, research resources, and art history depts.)
smARThistory. Think online art history textbook. Brilliant.
A few forays into art outside Europe:
African Art and Bocio
African Mask of Idia
Japanese Woodblock Prints: The Great Wave
The Terracotta Warriors
This free ebook has a wealth of facts and articles about the 250 influential paintings in Masterpiece Cards.
Did we mention it's free?
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An art history blog post from Famous Paintings Reviewed.
Of the 36 known Johannes Vermeer paintings, none is more spellbinding than The Girl with the Red Hat. In pure art history terms, it stands out in two ways:
its subject gazes directly at the viewer - in most Vermeer paintings, his figure or figures are isolated; and
it's the only Vermeer painting on panel that survives.
I'll add a third: The Girl with the Red Hat is one of the most famous works of art... in an art museum overflowing with famous art, the National Gallery of Art.
Johann Vermeer. The Girl with The Red Hat, ca. 1665-1666. Oil on panel. Painted surface 9 by 7 1/16"; framed 15 7/8 x 14 x 1 3/4". Andrew W. Mellon Collection. National Gallery of Art, Washington, DC
At first glance, The Girl looks like a portrait. Most likely, though, it is a tronie, a type of painting study that explored imaginary costume and expression and flourished in the Dutch Golden Age.
Tronie or portrait, this Vermeer painting is, inch per inch, one of the most dazzling in European art history.
At 9 by 7 1/8 inches, The Girl with the Red Hat is curiously small; its size reflects the response of Dutch painters to decorating trends in 17th century middle-class Flemish and Dutch homes. These families often had specific rooms for exhibiting small paintings, called kabinetstukken (or cabinet pieces). Dutch painters like Vermeer (and Pieter de Hooch) were commissioned to create small scale paintings for these spaces, so that these citizens significantly shaped the development of painting and collecting in 17th century Netherlands, especially in Amsterdam and Antwerp.
Art historians generally concur that Vermeer used a camera obscura, a pre-photography device used to project images. This device turns small reflections of light into tiny pinpoints or highlights; these are seen on the girl's earrings, the tip of her nose, in her eyes, and on the chair's lion-head finials (as well as in numerous other Vermeer paintings like Woman Holding a Balance, right).
The Girl looks momentarily startled, as if she'd just turned toward the viewer and gasped. Her surprise leaves you with questions of her. And conjecture.
As in most Vermeer paintings, the viewer isn't allowed beyond the immediacy of the scene presented. Frederick Hartt makes a marvelous generalization about Vermeer paintings:
No matter what Vermeer may suggest or summarize of the outer world or invite the spectator to imagine, wisdom begins and ends in the room, conceived as a cube of shining space in which the figures and their transitory actions seem forever suspended in light. (1)
Imagine what you will, but wisdom begins and ends in any rooms painted by Vermeer, now accepted, along with Rembrandt, as one of the most influential Dutch painters. It's hard to fathom that when Vermeer died in 1675, his wife declared bankruptcy to support herself and their (gulp) eleven children, and sold many Vermeer paintings for a song.
Oh, to time travel!
Johann Vermeer. Woman Holding a Balance, ca. 1664. Oil on canvas, painted surface 15 5/8 x 14"; framed 24 3/4 x 23 x 3. Widener Collection. National Gallery of Art, Washington, D.C.
1. Frederick Hartt, Art: A History of Paintings, Sculpture, Architecture, 4th ed., 2 vols. (New Jersey: Prentice Hall, 1993), p. 829.
Interested in reading about more Vermeer paintings? Explore The Allegory of Painting.
Like what you read here? Consider joining this art history blog, which primarily discusses famous paintings from the Western history of art... but also checks in on current art history exhibits, discoveries in art history, and other goodies to keep it fascinating. Sign in on the right.
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Day 11: The Break
Winter in Pittsburgh means the frigid cold, icy winds and tumbling snow. I said TUMBLing, haha!
Anyways, it started snowing like heck today. It looked really pretty on our campus but it wasn't fun to walk in. I actually had trouble walking because the snow kept attacking my face, haha.
But yes, this is a picture of the hot dog stand I work at: Joe's Dog House. And those are my lovely bosses, Chris and Joe! When I got to the hotdog stand, ready to work, they just asked me what I wanted to eat and said that I didn't have to work today.
I was really happy because I didn't want to serve in the snow and plus I wanted to get some work done and talk to a certain someone! :3
By the way, it's 1/11/11! :D SO COOL!
Posted on 11 January, 2011, 9:06pm. This post has 11 notes.
- koincidents likes this
- theycallmehanny said: you make my day:]
- blkbirdfly likes this
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- sulfurargonaluminiumiodine said: how the hayl you make yo font so tiny
- loueezay said: Talk to a certain person? ooh la la!
- thebestdunphy said: Kind people are awesome :)
- davidbabs posted this


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Self-Published Review: Azure by Grant PalmquistNovember 2nd, 2013
Azure by author Grant Palmquist follows the story of Asher Cain, a government employee and pilot of police drone aircraft, until his own government spies on him and finds that his thoughts are no longer 100% in line with theirs, and they instead turn on him, forcing Asher to run from the government to whom he was so loyal. Still reeling from the loss of his wife and child, he comes to understand how tyrannical the government actually is and seeks to find a way to live outside the nation.
This novel was problematic for me, and to tell you the truth I've been trying to write an effective review of it for the past week but haven't gotten very far. While I see several other reviewers really enjoyed it on some sites I frequent, for me it left out a lot, or pushed too hard at my boundary for suspension of disbelief. I also had issue with some philosophies expounded upon in the work, but I will get to that a bit further down. There was nothing particularly wrong with the technical writing aspects itself, I just didn't find the story overly engaging.
While the idea is a good one, and right up my alley, the execution was what got me. The biggest problem I had was the lack of motivation for almost every character in the book – from our main charachter, Asher Cain's, 180° philosophical change, to the motivation of the government, to the romance that develops between Asher and Autumn. Asher is shown in the beginning as a naive, and rather weak person, and I felt more connection with him as a character then, than I did when he all of a sudden turned into a brutal warrior, fighting against the system. I felt like Palmquist didn't do an overly effective job of showing that change to the reader, or why that change takes place, and the reasons he did offer up fell flat. In fact, most of the notes I made about this book while reading it were about various characters and the lack of motivation for any the actions they were taking. There is one time in particular that sticks out in my mind where Asher is grappling with the best way to save as many innocent people as he can, but in the same breath, he has no problem shooting those very same innocent people. It just doesn't add up, and not purposefully so.
The romance that develops between Asher and Autumn very much didn't ring true either – Palmquist offered me nothing to show why or how they connected, besides a few long stares between the two. Within the span of weeks the characters are deeply in love, but there's no simpatico of their personalities or wants or desires that the reader is privy to. In fact, Autumn is basically a non-character, she has absolutely no personality, strength, or personal philosophy, so the fact that Asher falls madly in love with her is either indicative of a deep character flaw in him (which is not what the author was trying to do), or just lazy writing.
I also felt that Palmquist skipped over too many parts in the book – we come in after Asher's wife and child have left him, when it felt like we should have come into the story right as they were leaving. Likewise, when Asher has to run from his old life because of persecution by the big-bad government, he finds refuge with a band of other people who are living beneath the streets, but we skip over weeks and weeks where we should be making the journey with him while he finds his footing in this new world that is so vastly different than the one he has lived in his whole life.
There are also some laughable good guy/bad guy aim and abilities moments that really shook me out of the story; Asher learns to fly a hovering vehicle for the first time and is able to outrun trained police on those very same craft, as well as his stellar aim with a gun that makes him able to kill at will, despite the fact he's never held a gun before. Likewise, the police are absolutely incapable of shooting him whenever they try.
I also took issue with the author directly (or almost directly) lifting quotations from Star Wars and Psycho and incorporating them into his dialogue. I'm not sure if Palmquist even realized he had done it – but both quotations are pretty famous ones, and that irked me.
Now for the philosophies that really didn't jive with me: all the women in the book are extremely passive and meek, except for Asher's wife, who we never get to meet, so she effectively doesn't exist for the reader. At several different points, male characters, who are supposed to be the good guys, refer to "their women", and refuse to let them go up above street level because it's "too dangerous" for women. In fact, the only woman who was strong – Asher's wife – ends up dead because of her beliefs and the fact she wants to make a better life for herself. What the hell kind of message is that?
Technically speaking, Palmquist is a great writer – sentence structure, grammar, and the technical aspects of language are used correctly. But there's almost no flow or beauty to the words, and the story suffers greatly from it. To me, it read like somebody who has spent a long time writing in academia, rather than writing creatively.
So, all in all, 2 stars for the idea which really could have worked, and the technical use of language. It's an OK book, but the philosophies towards female characters, and the lack of character development and motivations really make this work fall flat.


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Maranda Nichols, 28, was shot and killed two days after Thanksgiving outside her mother's North Circle Drive home in Vidalia.
Maranda's mother, Gloria Nichols, said, "There was a bullet hole right here in her jaw."
Maranda's mother says her daughter was outside having a casual conversation with her boyfriend of about six months, 28-year-old Samuel Tellu, when all of a sudden there was a gunshot. Mrs. Nichols says Tellu then went to the door and had a strange look on his face.
"I don't know what kind of a look it was. I just don't know. I ain't ever seen him look like that before. He just gave me a look and then got in the truck and just drove off," said, Nichols.
Vidalia Police Sergeant Gerick Palmer said, "We started a search for a 2005 Mercury Mountaineer, white in color."
Just before 7:30 a.m. Sunday, officers found the white SUV in neighboring Montgomery County.
"The offender, identified as 28-year-old Samuel Tellu, was found inside the vehicle also suffered from a fatal gunshot wound," said Sgt. Palmer.
Nichols said, "Thank God for some closure. And they said he had a gunshot wound to the head. He was dead in the truck."
But for Maranda Nichols' family, closure doesn't erase the pain of losing someone they all say had the biggest heart and who was loved by so many.
"Everybody around here loved her, from here to Savannah to Atlanta. Everybody loved her. She just never met a stranger. You couldn't ask for another better daughter," said Nichols.
Tellu was a petroleum specialist assigned to the Third Combat Aviation Brigade, Third ID. He had two and a half years of service and had one deployment to Afghanistan from fall 2009 to fall 2010.
Miranda Nichols served in the Georgia National Guard and the Third ID.
The U.S. Army's Criminal Investigation Command are assisting with the investigation.
The Third ID has released the following statement:
"Our thoughts and prayers are with everyone who has been touched by this incident. We are cooperating with civilian law enforcement."
Copyright 2012 WTOC. All rights reserved.
PO Box 8086
Savannah, GA 31412
FCC Public File
EEO Public File
Closed Captioning


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Today, I was stepping out of the shower while home alone. I heard voices coming from the living room. I grabbed a bat to defend my self and ran into the living room. I slipped on my tile floor and smashed my TV with the bat. No one was in my house but I left my radio turned on. FML
-bahaha i did th same thing alone at my dads… but i didnt break the t.v, just sprained my ankle.


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Start Bat tattoo! Deigned by Hood Bats- Mark Breed. Finally fixed! I never come on here any more but this is just too exiting.
Closer photo of my lovely tattoo!
My Ghetto Blaster tattoo!
YYYEEYYY! New tattoooo Ghetto Blaster
Im not sure whether to add surrounding to this…
You'll regret them, how do you think you'll look when your older?
Like a badman.
Tattoo idea…
New shhoessss!!! frikken love them!
Maria Jose Cristerna. Friken extreme!
Checkered lips INIT!
Gorilla Biscuits and Black Flag tattoo on le Ike.
Just got this redone woopers!
My 1st tattoo! got it 1 day before I turned 18, Distillers!


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writing and making music. acting and causing a scene. impromptu road trips to far away lands. no,…
So you wanna hear my stupid arse sing?
i always change my mind about everything except the password i have been using since i was 10
(via utasan)
Idfk she has issues and since that night we have actually ~stopped talking 5ever~ she doesn't understand the power of Darren or the Internet or anything but herself tbh
Oh, thank you so much! 'Twas magical. <3
First and foremost, I have never looked more like a troll in my life, so this picture really makes me want to cry for ten years, but we'll get to that in a minute. Just take a note to look at that smile okay because I've seen a lot of pictures with fans and that's one of the most genuine smiles ever because okay I'm starting too fast.
(via quentarantino)
"This is Darren Criss [from] BBC London reminding you that if you like it then you should put a ring on it."
12 days of Darren - Day 10: Favorite Darren Quirk
Height complex, being a "short little hobbit".
(via quentarantino)
please do not post opinions on your own personal blog. that makes me very mad because it is your blog and i am obviously the owner of your blog. stop.
(via utasan)


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Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
@ Sai - I reallyreallyreally hope so!
snarkygoldfish said...
@ Sai - I reallyreallyreally hope so!
@Evo - Oh totally. I'll be rolling one regardless (and part of me is so tempted to race-change my main, a draenei, into one. I'll know for sure once I see more of them animations and such in action..and whether or not I like monks enough to allow my main / RP character to transition into being a monk) but the more options, the better!
With different MMOs offering SO MANY choices now to allow people to make their characters their own...it seems weird that Blizz would continue taking a step backward in this regard.


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So I've been finding myself seriously interested in Tarot cards recently. i've always had a fascination for them, and in the past have had a fear of them, but not until recently have i been seriously studying them, or at least dealing with them everyday.
i have a card-a-day ritual, where i pull a card every morning, right when i wake up while i'm still almost half asleep. that way i'm still not quite in this world yet and not fully conscious. doing this everyday actually helps me to see what each card i pull is really actually about, because i'm able to learn by living the moments, seeing with my own eyes, and feeling the meaning of the cards. i also had done an entire 2014, monthly card draw (back in Jan), and for the month of march, i'd pulled the 10 of Pentacles.
so what does this card mean, and has the happenings of this month turned out to be reflective of it?
well, since i'm still a novice in card reading, i had looked to some books for some insight. 10 Pentacles means massive abundance & wealth. a cycle has come to an end and a turn to the more spiritual side of life. a happy home card. mundane but magic. success, culmination, financial stability. the card shows a gateway in the picture, a doorway into a city. an entrance to the magical space between desire for abundance and its physical manifestation. completion, an applause at the end of the show. which of course means, you're back to the beginning, of a new cycle. coolio.
well, both joseph and i's birthdays happen to lie in march. so that in itself signified a 10 of Pentacles kind of march one of my gifts to him was to take him to a wine and food dinner pairing at Le Jardin Du Roi. we'd been there once before, and i'd ordered one of my favorites, salad nicoise, and it was absolutely delish, not to forget to mention the wine anyway, this dinner happened to be on a tuesday, which we would normally not have gone to had it not been joseph's birthday. we were a bit tired, and it being a work night and all, i was wondering what to expect in terms of me being up for it. but we went because i'd already reserved our spots. and it happened to be the loveliest evening ever! (although the wine flowed a little toooo freely, heh heh!) i happened to be seated next to the nicest woman, and our personalities just totally clicked! it's like one of those situations where you meet someone and there's an instant spark, and a knowing that your souls are of the same kind
anyway, we'd planned an impromptu getaway to California a few days before that dinner, and it happened that this woman always goes there, and i was able to take a handful of notes on where to go and what to do. it was like she was planted there so she could help us have a lovely time in cali, since we'd literally booked the trip a little over a week before we were to go, and had no plans whatsoever besides a place to stay. and somehow i don't feel like this is the only reason we met that night but that's for time to reveal.
and of course, our trip to LA and Santa Barbara! i'd just had it up to my head with the nonstop snow and cold weather, so i said, "i'd love to go to CA". so we went, it was as simple as that. but really, i figure, life is short, why not just do the things you want to do? not to mention, it's on the list of my to do's, and has been for a couple years already! and really, yes there's always, "we need to save money for this and that", but i think that paying for memories, is an amazing investment. also, it was our birthdays!! annnd, we had already decided to go no matter what, but a little after the decision was made, joseph got a bonus from work, so i felt like it was a beautiful gift and a push from the Universe to go
and a wonderful time we had there. we stayed in the most beautiful, artistic, funkadelic b&b ever, owned by the artists who made it that way. i especially loved the bathroom window, there was a huge cactus right outside it! we hiked and hiked, one of our loves. we drank a million green juices and ate a ton of exotic foods. we found my most perfect ever, dusty rose colored heart ring, also on my to do list. (my word of the year is "love", and i'd been looking for a heart ring to symbolize that). i read the most beautiful book by Cheryl Strayed, "Wild". and of course, we visited the southern cali wine country and stayed in the town of Solvang, the area where the wine movie i love, "Sideways" was filmed. it was magical…and of course the weather was delicious!!
the majority of my family happens to have our birthdays in march, yes, weird!, so we also had a few family birthday lunches out this month. my family is the best! and my friend Amber had a ceremony for her 6 month old, which happened in March as well. definitely the family card energy here.
so yes, i'd say it was a wonderful month, full of the 10 of Pentacles energy. and i do think i've entered a gateway of some sort, that happened this month. i can't really put it into words just yet, as it's still just a feeling. but again, time will tell.
and lastly by the way, today's card of the day happens to be the Knight of Cups. i pulled this the last time Joseph came home from NC, leading me to believe that he represents this particular knight, especially when coming home. but i feel i also pull it when i'm supposed to do something besides waiting for my life to become even more resemblant of my dreams, when i need to take action of some sort. i pulled it the day before yesterday when i felt the need to write, but that didn't happen. so of course it appeared again today, telling me to take action yet again, and this time i did! by writing this blog today. woohoo!!
A 10 of Pentacles Kind of March :D
So I've been finding myself seriously interested in Tarot cards recently. i've always had a fascination for them, and in the past have had a fear of them, but not until recently have i been seriously studying them, or at least dealing with them everyday.
My Valentine's Day 2014 <3
i'm not so big on commercial holidays really, but i wanted to share about my Valentine's Day this year i just realize that i'm so very grateful for the life and love i have today, and i don't want to ever take it for granted although i know i sometimes may. i also want to keep it in mind even more so, because i realize this day can be a difficult one for many people, both single and coupled. single, because you can feel lonely especially if you don't have a date, and for everyone, because there can be so much expectation involved. so i just wanted to acknowledge my gratitude that i have the kindest guy by my side, and we enjoyed the day, just like it was any other day, no matter what came our way
last year joseph surprised me with flowers before Valentine's day, and it really did surprise me this year, however, it snow stormed and we were stuck in the house, and everything was closed! luckily i had bought some bacon chocolate (yes, i said bacon and it's delish!) earlier for joseph, and had written my card for him during the snowstorm. and i had woken up to a beautiful hand made card, with the soundtrack to "Natasha, Pierre, and the Great Comet of 1812", a show that we had just watched and enjoyed in NYC, on my iPhone!
we had agreed on no presents and just dinner, but on the day of, it was pretty icky out and joseph left the house saying he was going to get some fresh air and listen to some music. hmmm, now he never does this ever, so i knew something was up, heh heh and he came back with some beautiful roses for me, and they smelled DIVINE! and i pressed some of the petals like i usually do for my journal, and dried some whole roses as well. and they made me happy cuz flowers always make me happy!
later we ventured out because we had made reservations to a wonderful restaurant, Mint, and oh my goodness was it worth it!! i was even able to check off one of my "to do"'s (i have many, and will hopefully get around to writing about them soon!) for 2014, which was to try foie gras! it was so amazing and seared and melty on my tongue-y, and the caramelized pears under it was so perfect with it, oh my goshhh!! they also gave us some complimentary salami, my favorite kind, some truffled brie, and some amaaaazing smoked paprika aged cheddar.
although we try to eat vegetarian at least half the time, special occasions call for something separate from the norm, so i ordered a lobster tail that came with a roasted acorn squash stuffed with parmesan & lobster risotto, and i was in absolute heaven. joseph ordered a ribeye steak that ended up being bigger than his head, and he literally looked like he was on some planet in heaven when he tasted it
for dessert we often times like to get creme brûlée, but decided on a strawberry shortcake, and it came out and was heart shaped! the whole dinner, paired with some prosecco made the evening special and we had such a lovely time! and i must say, one thing i particularly love about good food and wine is that when you are enjoying it, you can honestly say that you are truly in the moment.
i guess another way we were able to truly enjoy ourselves was that we didn't try so hard to make it perfect. and it ended up being so because of that we knew that no matter what happened, it would be good because we just WERE!
to end i wanted to leave you with a quote, because this quote came to me twice within a few days, from two different sources and i found that slightly eerie, but in a good way. and i took it to mean that i should pay attention to it somehow, or maybe get it out there somehow. so here it is,
"The thing that is really hard, and really amazing, is giving up on being perfect and beginning the work of becoming yourself" ~Anna Quindlen
Love, Roses, & Prosecco,
How I Got Rid of My Blah Blah Blah Bluuuuuuues ;)
Groggy, with a gray cloud encompassing my head, is what i felt when i opened my eyes today. It was one of those mornings that could ruin an entire day easily, where the goal would be to just get through it, go to sleep, and hopefully wake up to something better. I'm sure part of it had to do with my loss of my beloved FREEDOM, after my delightful 2 week holiday-relaxing-plenty-of-free-time vacation, and i also am a creative spirit, and we creatures like our boundaries to dissipate sometimes so we can fly anywhere we please at anytime we want
i, however, did not want to squander away a whole, potentially glorious day, so i pulled out my list of "Things To Do When Everything Sucks"!!
- take a bath
- go outside on a walk
- drink a raw juice
- yoga or work out
- meditate
- hang with boys (my nephews!!)
- write in journal
i contemplated what moves i'd try as i sipped my morning herbal tea, checked my emails, and read the blogs i follow. well, taking a bath was out, because that would entail scrubbing the tub, which was definitely NOT something i was in the mood to do. go outside for a walk…well it is the dead of winter so that didn't feel very inspiring either. drink a raw juice - i had just made and drank a huge batch yesterday, so was raw juiced out. yoga or work out - i literally yoga-ed last night before bed (quite a vigorous DVD, actually, and also a great one by Sadie Nardini), and i didn't feel like dragging my ass to the gym. meditate, yes i could do that. hang with the boys - well, they are at school now, so of course, no. and finally, write in my journal - i could do that.
SO, the first thing i did was pull out my journal. and of course everything that first came out were complaints, blah blah blah, about how i feel depressed and blue. but of course at the end of it, i knew that this is a very helpful process in trying to turn things around for the brighter. writing it all out helps you to literally empty it all out of you onto pages through your pen, and it somehow ends up making you feel better. and in the process, you come to realizations, or insights to helping you out with whatever you need at the moment. so on a "crappy day journal entry", it usually starts out complainy and whiny, but by the end it ends up being more hopeful.
by now i felt a little better, so decided to try meditating for 10 mins. i chose an uplifting one, closed my eyes, and was soon in another zone that left a smile on my face. while journaling for me, releases energies and sometimes gets all the junk out while bringing me some calm - kind of like talking to a really good friend, meditating often times helps me with inspirations to do things, and gets me to listen & receive somehow. well during today's, i was particularly inspired to write this blog, and found myself jotting stuff down in my notebook, points i wanted to cover
and as for the rest of my list i "couldn't" do today, i decided to think outside of the box. well, no bath? long hot shower! and scrub myself with my new moisturizing honeysuckle bath gel! (i usually favor fruity, or sweet, warm scents like chocolate or ginger, but i thought i'd try something new!) And then slather myself with my current favorite - Josie Maran body butter in the apricot vanilla scent, which is so light and creamy it's like covering yourself in whipped cream!! (i have an absolute obsession with body creams if you haven't noticed, and already have my eye on a couple more i want to try after this runs out )
after my shower, i was starving so i nourished my body with a bean & kale minestra i made yesterday, a recipe i got from a Moosewood cookbook. Moosewood is an amazing vegetarian restaurant Joseph and i ate at while we were vacationing at the Fingerlakes in NY. highly recommended. this dish is one of our favorites and a staple meal now in our house. the broth is thickened with pureed beans to make it thicker and heartier, and is flavored with sage and is oh so good!
and as for the exercise? i decided to get my hand weights and do sets of 6 different arm workouts, then my crunches, then my butt lifts. yes, i said butt lifts. there's nothing like working out to immediately make you feel better
i then lit my green Aloha Bay tapers (made with palm wax which dissolves instead of dripping!) which i LOVE, sprayed my entire work space with an essential oil blend spray i made, consisting of: water, chamomile oil and lavender oil for calm, clary sage oil for clarifying, and lime oil for brightening. and now i'm sitting in this lovely cloud of magical scents, typing away
blogging always lifts my mood no matter what, so now i'm truly and officially in a good mood, and can more easily notice the things that make me happy right now, like all the continual traffic i'm getting on my website (thank you soooo much!!!), and the ornament my cutie pie nephews made for me for christmas!! (i couldn't visit the boys, but i could look at something they gave me - think outside of the box, wink wink, nudge nudge) It's a heart, which i thought was perfect since my theme for this year is LOVE, and to make it more sweet, it says "I Love you Kiki!" on it, awww, how special is that??
am i a lucky girl (lady??), or what? and a happy one too, thank you very much!


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Jean Paul Gaultier launched Le Male fragrance for men in 1995 and this iconic scent has become a true classic in every sense of the word. This fragrance is world famous and is acknowledged as one of the most distinctive, unique and instantly recognisable fragrances ever made. This is coupled with an even more iconic and recognisable bottle and tin can pack. Intensive and sensible, modern and comfortably warm, masculine and gentle, Le Male is a magnetically attractive fragrance which seduces with its uniqueness. It is built on contrasts--traditional and bold, fresh and mild, strong and sensual, and absolutely irresistible to women. Fresh mint is a symbol of strength and the tradition is represented by lavender and bergamot, with vanilla notes giving warmth and tenderness. Cumin and cinnamon are present creating spicy heart notes. The virile torso bottle is clad in the JPG emblematic Sailor's Jersey.
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Hi. Imy. Male. 19. Maldivian.
Into photography, gaming (Halo being my favorite <3), anime, good American/British TV, food, all things Japanese, music, movies, art, nature and a lot more good things in life!
Just say hi and talk me up! I'm not that bad to get to know. :)
Catching Elephant is a theme by Andy Taylor


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JACK'S 9TH SHOW: Complete Details | Buy Tickets | Win Tickets | Set Times | More
Why Was Tom Petty At The VMAs?
The pop music spectacle known as the MTV Video Music Awards took place last night, and it was chock-full of – surprise – pop stars! However, there was one music superstar attendee who inspired a bit of head-scratching: Tom Petty.


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Next, you'll be asked to connect with Twitter. Rest assured, we will never send a tweet from your account without your permission.
RT @MooreChrisPlz: Saw @ochocinco at Starbucks yesterday...wanted his name to be written as "The Black Guy" on his cup lol😂 #realaf
Listening Joe Bonamassa relaxing at Starbucks now waiting on my daughters recital to start at 8...
Buy me Starbucks RT @JusYummy: Great night diamondsofatl thanks Tizzle and all my Haitian friends
It's easy to find me...Davids Cafe/Starbucks/Jazz Club (broward) RT @San_Andreabitch: @ochocinco yo I need to meet you
Well my 1st dates are usually Starbucks which don't warrant sex RT @farrah2241: would u really want a lady to gv it up on the first date?
Perhaps we should date, a speed date covering as many issues as possible in Starbucks RT @FeministaJones: @ochocinco Perhaps you told me?
Just leaving Starbucks, been there all day and I'm ready to engage in unfiltered banter with anyone willing to participate... Ok cool
Still at Starbucks what's good RT @Mr_CalvinStrain: What's good @ochocinco
I'm almost at Starbucks in Cooper City, i'll be here for 4 hours or so RT @MsEthnicity: @ochocinco where u at?
Just finished training headed to Starbucks to listen to @glennbeck podcast, heard he dropped some gems RT @J___Ross: Yoooo waddup boss
Geesh thanks, i'll listen at Starbucks RT @SaraFeed: don't worry, you can listen to the podcast after the show:
Whenever you're done with him im here RT @ajK1mmy: @ochocinco LOL I do need some Starbucks and McDonalds right about NOW.
But we kissed at Starbucks in LA you can't be catfish RT @LakeShOwQueen: Unfollow me if you think I'm catfish fuck faces.
Straight to the point? Offer me Starbucks or McDonalds 1st shit, serenade a brother RT @JustALadyFriend: Hi, fuck you.
Trust me you don't hate me, i need 5 minutes in person at a local Starbucks u'll love me RT @MMroue2: @1AlaaZ @ochocinco because I hate him
Miami, please be open to jazz, starbucks, mani/pedi, working out and David's Cafe... RT @KoolKelsey: @ochocinco you know it. Where to?
Starbucks/conversing/listening are my strengths RT @ACarolineGibson: wish I could casually run into chad. He seems like such a nice fella 😍
No particular order 💯 RT @klacee1: @ochocinco @__nuke Chad does the following: cigars/Fifa/McDonald's/Starbucks/Jazz/women/smart car!
Lmao 😂😂R T @D_Gonzo69: @iamdeelishis i would do an interview with u at Starbucks Follow me so we can DM the particulars. #jobsearching 🌹
See what's Trending Now for @ochocinco


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Child Crossing Street Without Adult
When Can a Child Let Go of Mom's Hand While Crossing the Street?
by Heather Maddan 5 Reactions 14 Shares Print
Source: Thinkstock
amber512 3 years
I agree, I think it has less to do with a child's age and more to do with their maturity level.
3 years
It really depends on so many things! The child's age I find has little to do with the decision, but how they behave and how well they understand and follow rules, what road we're on and what their mood is, and how many kids you have with you at the time! When I'm on my way to the school bus every morning with my 3 kids, they don't hold hands very often, nor in the afternoons on the way home, but if I get lucky and only have 1 or 2 kids with me at a time, we often hold hands because it's just nice and fun. There are also the times when holding hands is a method to keep the child moving at a proper place for whatever is going on. It's mucha easier and nicer than constantly telling a child to hurry up because we're running a bit late for the bus and don't want to miss it! Of course my 2 year old has to hold hands when she walks almost anywhere except to the park as it's only 8 houses down the street from us. There are even times when any of the kids will ask to hold our hand because they want to.
3 years
It really depends on the street for me. On our quiet side street I will let me 4 year old walk (and sometimes run ahead a bit) by himself. The street is very flat and easy to see if a car is coming. But I would never let him walk along on a busier/main street without holding my hand.
Rebecca-M-Gruber 3 years
Great timing! On the walk to school this morning, my now 5-year-old told me that he is old enough to walk next to me and not hold my hand. He thought we should try it. Little did he know that I was holding the hood of his jacket the whole time!
miss-leanne 3 years
Pretty sure at 23 years old, my parents still hang onto my arm if we're together. I usually grab into anyone with me out of habit too. haha
Link Love
- Mom forced to stop feeding baby homemade formula — BabyCenter Blog
- The easiest ways to save on organic food — The Stir
- A look inside Fergie's second baby shower — Celebrity Baby Scoop
- Danielle Jonas debuts her baby bump — People Moms & Babies
- 7 light and fresh recipes to take you through Summer — FitPregnancy
- Does where you live affect your risk for PPD? — The Bump
- Where to find the best deals on school supplies — Real Simple
- Now this is how you announce a pregnancy! — HuffPost Parents


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Help is coming to West from all over the nation and Saturday more than a hundred college students drove in excess of 100 miles to join in.
The "Aggies for West" trip was organized by student leaders along with the Department of Student Activities and the Division of Student Affairs.
The students woke up early and took a break from studying for finals to come help residents in West.
Aggie student Tyler Stewart is one of the trip organizers. He says, "A&M [will] responded in whatever way West needs."
Students traveled nearly two hours to help residents pick up the pieces. Aggies walked along the streets in Zone 3 picking up wreckage left in resident's front yards. Garbage trucks that can hold up to 16 tons were filled with debris from the ravaged homes.
"We saw a community in need, a community that was short on people and short on resources and so we wanted to help out that's part of who we are," said Stewart.
For the student volunteers, coming out to help pick up trash was a continuation of their schools "Big Event" where students come out by the masses for cleanup projects around college station.
Students were geared up and ready to help. They put on gloves, grabbed trash bags and started clearing a park of rocks and rubble.
A&M also collected 113 tons of supplies in one day and donated them to West immediately after the deadly explosion.
Sandy Pechacek, Manager of West's Long Term Recovery Efforts says residents appreciate the help.
"We have had a huge outpouring of resources in the community. It gives the community that kind of light at the end of the tunnel, knowing that we have neighbors that are here waiting to help them," said Pechacek.
Cleaning up the city is just the first phase in West's long road to recovery.
"We are here in the community to ensure that the community takes those few steps forward and then continues taking those steps. This may be a three year project it may be a five year project but either way the long term recovery team is committed to be here from here on out," said Pechacek.
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Book cheap hotels in Andorra from various booking service providers
Andorra is officially called the Principality of the Valleys of Andorra. It is a small country in the southwest of Europe, located in the Pyrenees Mountains. Andorra is the sixth smallest country on the continent with the population of only 84,000 people. Its capital is Andorra la Vella which is famous for being the highest European capital city with many Romanesque churches, fashionable hotels and restaurants. Andorra's most widely spoken languages are Catalan, Spanish, French, and Portuguese. Andorra is a well-to-do country due to a big number of tourists, reaching 10 million annually. The country is believed to be Europe's tax paradise and develops modern venues for winter sports. View more information about Andorra at Andorra Travel Agents, Accommodation, and Tours
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— Linda Holmes, "The Only One: A Talk With Shonda Rhimes"
— Helen DeWitt, The Last Samurai
— James Baldwin, Tell Me How Long The Train's Been Gone
Transcript of the #WNDB BookCon panel
We're excited to provide a transcript of the team and author portions of our panel (due to time constraints, the Q&A session will need to wait until a later time due to the audio quality). Here you go:
Transcript of The World Agrees: #WeNeedDiverseBooks Panel
The BookCon
May 31, 2014
Jacob Javits Center, New York, NY
NB: transcript is edited slightly for clarity
I.W. Gregorio: I'd like to start off by doing a virtual mic drop for everyone who Tweeted and submitted photos.
My name is I.W. Gregorio, and on behalf of the whole #WeNeedDiverseBooks team I'd like to thank you for being here. As you know, #WeNeedDiverseBooks is a grassroots campaign, and by definition it owes its success to you. So please accept our sincerest gratitude for your Tweets, your retweets, your love and your support. We've got a lot of ground to cover, so without further ado, I'd like to introduce some key members of the #WeNeedDiverseBooks team.


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Remember Avatar, the giant space adventure about how to hair-rape wild animals? Well, hopefully you want more of it, because that's what James Cameron has just agreed to direct, Avatars 2 & 3. Sadly, this means no Cameron-directed Cleopatra.
Two Avatar Sequels to Hit In 2014, 2015
Pending approval Richard Lawson


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I love Mike, but this whole alternative history riff falls flat. It seemed very pointless, meandering and not as amusing as I've come to expect from Mark Tufo. And the ending is a hokey device.
Sean Runnette is Mike Talbot. He does the best he can with this material.
It would have been better as a short story. Way too much superfluous stuff.
I love Zombie Fallout series, but I'd skip this little diversion, if I were you.
"Agent Franks is the Man. Well, mostly a man."
I will probably revisit the whole series again before the next book comes out, just to refresh my memory.
Agent Franks has always been a high point in the series, so it was nice to "flesh" out his backstory (see what I did there?).
Just as great as always. Very. Consistent reader and the voices never change from one story to the next.
I have no idea.
Another winning installment in a fun series.
Dunno. I've only experienced the audio version.
Ha! Nice try. My lips are sealed.
Kalladin and Pattern.
No. There is a lot going on and it's nice to take a break and process it all.
Love this series. I cannot wait for the 3rd installment.
"I Will Not Whine This Winter"
Compelling, succinct, and evocative.
The tenacity and adaptability of the men in extremely adverse conditions. There wasn't anything uninteresting about the story. In fact, I wish there had been more info on the men before and after the voyage. I wanted to know more.
Very good with all the voices and excellent pacing.
We are all wussies now.....these were REAL men.
"Why are you wasting your time reading this review?"
Yes. Because it was magnificent. Stop reading this review right now and download the book.
You're still here? What's wrong with you?
Sigh. You need more convincing? The narrators knocked this one out of the park both were amazing.
I couldn't stop listening. All the characters, the world they inhabited, their social customs, how everything worked...just amazing.
Ok, you're done. Now go get the book. You might as well get the second one tool it's even better.
Walt Longmire Rules.
True confession time. The mysteries always take a backseat to the characters and their interactions for me. I would enjoy a story where Walt, Henry, Lonny,and Lucian and went camping and did nothing bust fish and talk just as much as the most mysterious mystery.
Well, he IS Walt Longmire and even more so, he IS Henry Standing Bear. He completely ruined the television series for me.
Walt, at the end.
You won't go wrong with this series, but you'll get so much more out of it if you listen to it in order.
"I Wanted to Love This"
I don't think so. The story isn't bad. The characters are well done and we are given enough of their backstory to really feel like we know them. My problem is twofold: are all the other people in this world seriously STUPID?? They never thought of the rather simple solution that the Warden Man comes up with? REALLY?? I found myself asking "why don't they just do ***" almost immediately. It was a long wait for someone in the story to think of it.
My other problem is with the character *****SPOILER****** who is savagely raped. I get how it "made sense" in the story but I cannot believe that a few days after that attack she would be throwing herself at a man she isn't even sure she likes. I thought it was callous and out of character for me.
Absolutely not.
Yes. All those. I saw a pathway where this could have been an amazing book.
Maybe I'm just getting old. I dunno.I love character development, but the main characters can't be the only smart people on the whole planet.
"WOW Just WOW"
The narration was superb. I felt like each of the main characters was a real and separate individual. The pacing of the story and the way to jumped from present day to "The Day" was wonderful.
I was fully prepared to dislike both of the Wicked Girls. But I found myself caring about their fates very much. I don't think I could choose between them.
All. The girls were so different and she voiced them both wonderfully.
Well, I obviously wouldn't want to take them both......but maybe I could take them each on different nights? I'd love to hear more of their stories.
For me, this novel surpasses a mere "thriller" or "mystery", and takes us deep into the meat of what it is to be human, to make mistakes, and to live with the consequences of seemingly insignificant choices. How life is not "fair", the road to Hell really can be paved with good intentions, and sometimes chance/luck/fate makes all the difference. A very powerful and moving performance of an unsettling and profound story.
"You Won't Be Sorry!"
Oh, somewhere in the top 50. I listen to A LOT of audio books.
I liked Piper. She was an ordinary extraordinary girl.
I liked Piper. Through her journal entries, I felt like I really knew her. She was a very realistic teenaged girl.
Trust No One.
"The Series is Faltering"
I'm not sure. I've enjoyed the previous entries, but I had some issues with this one. Credibility was strained to the breaking point and beyond, in my opinion. Joe is less real in this installment. I think he really needs the backdrop of his family to be a fully fleshed out character.
The mystery wasn't bad, but it was fairly predictable. These series novels work when each book gives us more insight into the detectives. I felt like I learned nothing new about Joe or Vincent.
The very, very end.
I'd like to see a return to a more realistic storyline. I'd also like to see Joe clear up the mess in his personal life. More about his relationship with Vincent and how Mr. Parkinson is affecting his life.
Yes. His insights into an Asperger's adult are fascinating and ring true to my ears. Several times I caught myself smiling at things Edward says or does because I've seen the Aspie in my life behave the same. Luke Daniels did a stellar job.
It's truth. It's heart. It's compassion for all the characters, while not making them pitiable.
He's a wonderful narrator. I always ipenjoy his performances.
Can't wait to listen to the sequel.
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Loraine Lawson spoke with Gartner analyst Frank Kenney, who co-authored Gartner's Magic Quadrant for Integrated SOA Governance Technology Sets, released in December 2007.
Lawson: It's integrated SOA governance technology-are there non-integrated SOA governance technologies?
Kenney: Absolutely. If you decide to buy a governance solution from a company like AmberPoint, and you buy a registry solution that is open source from a company like MuleSource, and if you buy, let's say, validation technologies from a company like PowerSoft, well those technologies aren't integrated. You have to integrate them yourself.
But if you buy SOA governance technology from IBM, those technologies will be pre-integrated. And that could be integrated from IBM's side, where they have their developers integrating tools, or it could be integrated from the standpoint of OEM relationships.
So, it's important to understand that we still see a very best-of-breed world, where people are taking various vendors' technologies and putting them together, but the fact that they don't have to be ripped apart and adapters built, etc., that there is some interoperability or there is some integration that has been done by the vendors - that's what gives you the connotation of an integrated SOA governance technology set. And we call it a set because it really isn't a suite of products, and it really isn't a platform, it is a set of products.
Lawson: So there's a separate magic quadrant for stand-alone governance?
Kenney: An organization can create a governance strategy, and then you have tools that are used to enact that strategy. And there are certain sets of tools. There are registry tools, there are registry repository tools, their policy enforcement tools, their validation tools, and so on. We don't have the individual pieces, because what we're finding is any of the platform vendors are just offering one tool that has multiple features, so you really don't get a clear apples-to-apples comparison.
For example, AmberPoint is a tool that enforces policy. They are generally known for enforcing policy around performance, and enforcing policy around availability, and enforcing policy around service level agreements. However, AmberPoint also has the capability to enforce policy around security - they're not looked at as a security vendor, but if you buy them in a management perspective, you can deploy their security solutions and get where you need to get to. So would they show up in two magic quadrants or one, and what's their core discipline?
We decided not to walk down that road, and you know, I have some other colleagues in both the analyst community and in the media that did walk down that road, and as a result, you ended up having non-apples-to-apples type of comparisons. And it's much more interesting, I think, and much more important to talk about the bigger picture and the fact that you use these tools to try to gain some type of control over the enforcement and deployment of your SOA governance strategy. It's a much more interesting story, and, I think, a necessary story to talk about from that level.
Lawson: Let's say governance tools are classified by feature, like cars. What would be an economy-level tool, what would be a standard tool, and what is a luxury-class when it comes to functionality? In other words, what should people expect, and what can they expect?
Kenney: Remember that the number-one registry repository tool today is probably spreadsheet technology - I dare say Microsoft Excel, all right? It's everywhere; it's ubiquitous in terms of companies and organizations. Many development teams are passing around Excel documents and just logging, OK, this service does this, and it's located here.
Remember visibility is one of the key attributes of governance. Being able to see the resources, or having the resources visible, is the first step in being able to change things. So, when you start to talk about entry-level, having visibility and being able to see what's going on, I think is absolutely critically important.
Then it obviously starts to scale up. There are management capabilities that are inherent in most platforms, and platforms meaning application servers, application platform suites, operating systems and enterprise service buses, or integration middleware. There's the management capability that comes functionally standard with every integration broker you buy. And in many cases, in the absence of a true governance tool, a true tool to enforce policy, those tools are going to be incredibly sufficient.
What we see happening is it's an issue of maturity. It's not how many services you have, it's how important, how critical those services are. We'd like to think that it's the criticality of services that will dictate a tool.
In other words, if you have one service that faces all of your customers, and you're relying on that service to have maximum uptime, well, that small set of services to have maximum uptime, and to be absolutely secure because you're taking credit card numbers, then you're going to want to probably bring in that Cadillac or Rolls Royce-class of governance technology, or at least security and management technology.
If you have a thousand services that are facing internally, that aren't mission critical, that are some test services, that are doing low-level computations and aren't being invoked but every couple of days, then having some type of a spread sheet technology, or having some type of a management capability that says, "This didn't execute," or "We never received an answer to this request," that may be enough.
I like to think all the vendors have different levels of technology for different cost structures of people. For instance, Software AG and the CentraSite product, you can get that in an evaluation version that is fully functional-and you can use it, and you can give it to your developers, and developers can experiment with it, but then you can pay tens of thousands, if not hundreds of thousands, of dollars to take that same product and give it an enterprise deployment across your entire enterprise, across the world.
So, it really depends on what you're doing, and all the vendors have some type of solution to get you started. And that's one of the good things about the vendors in this space.
Lawson: And how can companies determine which solution is right for them? Is there a way of choosing among the vendors?
Kenney: Certainly, they can subscribe to Gartner Services, and we can help them through that.
But on the other side, there are a couple of things that you can be aware of. Start to think about the relationship that you have with your infrastructure vendor. If you've bought everything from IBM, then it probably makes sense that at least one of your early stops should be to look at IBM's governance technologies. Now, by all means, understand that IBM has a very sophisticated ecosystem of partners, which will include SOA software, it will include AmberPoint, and some other folks, so the technology that you get from an IBM environment-even from IBM-may not be IBM technology. So, understand that there is an ecosystem there.
Certainly the charts and things that we offer from Gartner are a very, very big help, as well as really starting to look at who your installed vendors are, taking a look at which technologies come embedded in the products that you already have. For instance, SAP will give you instances of their enterprise service registry repository for free, or at low cost, as part of the deployment of their next generation of business applications. Why? Because if you're going to deploy their business applications, you need to have visibility into what you are deploying, and so they leverage their Enterprise Service Repository for that capability.
In many cases we're finding customers already have some governance in place in the form of registry repositories for visibility that were deployed when the applications were deployed. So, you start to look at your portfolio, understand what you have, understand what your relationships are, and then also understand the criticality of what you're trying to govern, and that's going to help you make good decisions about what technology to buy.
Lawson: Are there any "gotcha" issues when people go to buy a SOA governance solution-things they don't anticipate, or, I don't know, just sort of things they might overlook that could get them in trouble?
Kenney: Absolutely. The big thing I would say is, one, they're not cheap. So this whole SOA phenomenon is about agility, and flexibility, and in some cases, cost-cutting, and becoming more agile, and becoming more lean and reusing to get those benefits. To get that access to innovation and access to agility, you're going to have to spend money to do so. So, the first thing, I think, is sticker shock. That's the first thing that many of our clients see that they go, "Wow, we didn't realize that." Sometimes the technology to govern the solution is more expensive than the solution itself.
Secondly, there is a learning curve. There is a learning curve because the solutions-the idea of governance is not a design time, or a run-time aspect, it's a kind of all-the-time aspect. So, some of the folks in an organization that may be more design-centric work with developers, and that's really all they do, and they're not concentrating (or they're not bothered with) the execution time, or the execution environment will have to come up to speed with some attributes of the runtime, and vice versa. They have to understand some of the issues that happen during development and design time. And that's the tricky thing: Working with a vendor who only looks at their technology as being runtime or design time is probably going to get you in trouble because they're not telling the entire story. And if a vendor says to me, "We really deal with the design-time aspects," what they are basically saying to me is they don't understand truly what governance is.
Governance has to do with both times, a governance is all the time. Generally, when I talk to vendors that way, I mention that and they say, "Well, yes, but the customers understand one thing." And so, those are the big "gotcha's," those are the big things that when we talk to our customers, they seem very, very surprised to get back.
In our run time SOA governance implementation we used JaxView a cost effective yet comprehensive SOA Runtime Governance tool. Going with Gartner recommendation is not always the best option as they usually recommend the vendor that is their client. Not always the best toolReply
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Business performance information for strategic and operational decision-making
SOA uses interoperable services grouped around business processes to ease data integration
Data warehousing helps companies make sense of their operational data