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Table of Contents
What the ancient Greeks found worthy of pity and why has long been of interest to scholars, whether they study Homer, Sophocles, the Athenian law courts, or the Poetics of Aristotle. Recently, scholars have sought a more comprehensive or theoretical account of pity, starting from Aristotle in the Ars Rhetorica or Homer's Iliad 24. The most prominent example is David Konstan's Pity Transformed (2001). In Tragedy Offstage, Professor Sternberg turns the focus onto expressions of pity in everyday life primarily in late fifth and fourth century Athens, using as source material oratory and historiography instead of philosophy and tragedy. Sternberg is to be commended for shifting the focus of the study of pity from theoretical questions like, "what was the emotion of pity like?" to the practical questions like, "what did Athenians actually do when confronted with the suffering of others?" and "what did they feel morally compelled to do?" Accordingly, Sternberg seeks to gauge the typical Athenian's response to the suffering of family, friends, neighbors, citizens, military comrades, and slaves in five areas of quotidian activity that make up her five chapters: Home Nursing, the Ransom of Captives, Bystander Intervention, the Transport of Sick and Wounded Soldiers, and the Judicial Torture of Slaves. Sternberg's examples are compiled and helpfully arranged in tables at the beginning of each chapter, along with a brief description of each response to the suffering of others. The individual chapters are broken down into background material and previous scholarship followed by close readings of particular works: Isocrates 19 (Aegineticus), Demosthenes 53 (Against Nicostratus), Lysias 3 (Against Simon), Demosthenes 54 (Against Conon), Thucydides' History (Book 7), Xenophon's Anabasis, Demosthenes 37 (Against Pantaenetus). Writing for critics of philosophy and literature as well as students of Roman society and the history of emotion, Sternberg's discussions have a structure and dramatic flow similar to Debra Hamel's Trying Neaira (2003), which retells a single court case with a lively and informative narration within the context of contemporary social life and law.
While Sternberg asks interesting questions and writes with extensive knowledge of many different areas of ancient daily life and social history (from domestic architecture to overseas piracy), it was difficult for me to discover anything that had not already been said about the rather limited source material, and I was left with the impression that Sternberg was thus forced either to state something obvious (or at least intuitively plausible) or to argue for something much more tenuous. Even though Sternberg aims her descriptive material at readers like myself (a critic of literature), I was not surprised by the work's main conclusions: that an extraordinarily close male friend might endure disgust and exhaustion to nurse his dying friend; that friends and neighbors might lend one another money to pay a ransom; that bystanders who witnessed street crime were not likely to intervene physically, but were expected to provide testimony in court; that soldiers were expected to save the lives of the sick and dying if possible; that Athenians did not generally feel much pity for slaves who were tortured for their testimony (18-19, 176-178). The non-obvious or non-derivative conclusions that Sternberg draws I found to be far more tenuous. To illustrate this point, I will focus on Sternberg's central claims in her first chapter (Home Nursing).
Sternberg begins the chapter with a survey of the evidence and previous scholarship on home nursing, especially of home nursing performed by men. Aspects of domestic architecture, city-planning, and Hippocratic medicine all contribute nicely to her discussion. Sternberg focuses her attention on Isocrates' Aegineticus, which recounts the tale of a man who tends to his life-long friend, Thrasylochus, in the last stages of tuberculosis and then contests an inheritance with Thrasylochus' half-sister. From this body of evidence Sternberg draws a conclusion that is either tenuous or not very surprising: that there was a "clear moral imperative" in ancient Athens or Siphnos (the speaker's place of birth) for male friends to provide "constant" nursing to their ailing or dying friends (40). To support this claim, Sternberg contends that the speaker addresses the jury in such a way as to assume that they "knew very well" what it was like to care for sick and dying relatives (29-30), even though the speaker himself confesses the difficulty (nay, near-impossibility) of relating his own horrible experience (19.28.1-6). For this reason, it is possible that the speaker was unable to win sympathy from the jury. In most instances we cannot know whether a speaker's appeal to sympathy actually worked (in this regard appeals to sympathy have a similar epistemic status as a tragic play); in Lysias 1, for example, how many Athenian jury members accepted Euphiletus' outrage as justification for his murder of the adulterer Eratosthenes? Not even a majority of Athenians sympathized with Socrates' unconventional pursuit of truth. In the case of the speaker of the Aegineticus, it is possible that the jury suspected him of nursing Thrasylochus with exceptional devotion to win his inheritance, as stipulated in a will that seems to have been made only when Thrasylochus was near death (19.12). They may have imagined that there was no other reason why a friend would attend another in such a way.
Even if it is granted that the speaker's appeal did win the sympathy of the jury, one example of a friend caring for a friend in such a way does not lend itself to generalization because the friendship between Thrasylochus and the speaker was so extraordinary: they were life-long friends with inherited friendship ties from their fathers (Thrasylochus' father had in fact been previously married to two of the speaker's relatives). The speaker had also been a close friend of Thrasylochus' brother, Sopolis; he was the adopted son of Thrasylochus and husband of his sister; Thrasylochus was bereft of all other caregivers, including family. Finally, the speaker's nursing care for Thrasylochus comprises only a part of his appeal to the jury's sympathy, and arguably not even the central part. Legal claims, the wishes and interests of Thrasylochus' surviving family members, the good deeds done for Thrasylochus and his family before the home nursing may all have been enough to win the verdict. Thus, we still cannot say how much of an impact the speaker's nursing care may have had on the jury. If I have misconstrued Sternberg's assertion and she means rather that there was a moral imperative for extensive nursing in the case of an extraordinary friendship (like the one between the speaker and Thrasylochus) in extraordinary circumstances (with no help from anywhere else), then her claim is much more plausible, but not a great surprise: in Sophocles' Philoctetes, Neoptolemus who is initially not even a friend comes to pity and care for Philoctetes in much the same way that the speaker cares for Thrasylochus. All in all, I see no compelling reason to assume that men in Athens who thought of themselves as philoi would be expected to provide "constant" nursing to each other in any other case than extraordinary friendships and extraordinary circumstances.
In sum, the strength of Tragedy Offstage does not lie in Sternberg's conclusions or argumentation but in the breadth of material surveyed and presented. Sternberg's approach might perhaps have produced fresher insights if she had compared the literary presentation of similar cases in greater depth with the evidence from every day life. How different, for example, is Theseus' pitying treatment of the "disgusting" Oedipus (Soph. OC), or Neoptolemus' of Philoctetes, or Patroclus' of Eurypylus (Il. 11.837-848) from the treatment that the speaker in the Aegineticus shows to Thrasylochus? Is there a different morality or rationale at work? Such an approach might have brought us closer to understanding what kinds of physical contact and nursing the feelings of pity elicited among men in ancient Greece. Nevertheless, I believe two groups of people can profit by reading Tragedy Offstage: (1) those seeking an introduction to the several kinds of suffering that ancient Athenians were faced with, if not on a daily basis then probably at least at some times in the course of their lives, and (2) those seeking a good survey of previous scholarship and a wide range of approaches to these areas.


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Your Cat 'Product I Can't Live Without' 2018/19 (fifth consecutive year)
GHP Best Domestic Animal Garden Fencing Specialists
Telegraph Christmas Pet Gift Guide 2018
Vicky Halls, Cat Confidential
International Cat Care Celebrates 60th Birthday At Its Annual Awards
Featured in Intelligent Cat Care, June 2018.
ProtectaPet hosted a 60th birthday event for the Vets4Pets charity.
Featured in 'Practical Feline Behaviour - Understanding Cat Behaviour and Improving Welfare' by Trudi Atkinson.
Telegraph vet Pete Wedderburn answers questions.
This episode of Supervet demonstrates a professional installation of ProtectaPet cat fencing in a London garden.
Cat fences and cat enclosures offer the optimum balance between your cats' safety and quality of life.
January's star letter from ProtectaPet customer Helen Krasner highlights the benefits of cat containment. January 2017.
For the third consecutive year, ProtectPet is highly commended as 'Cat Product I Can't Live Without' in 'Your Cat'.
Internationally renowned cat vloggers Chris & Eve review the ProtectaPet Fencetop System. October 2016.
Shortlisted for Exporter of the Year in recognition of the launch of Benelux and German distributors. November 2016.
Shortlisted for Supplier, Exporter, Marketing, and Product of the Year: Health and Technical. September 2016.
Chosen as Retailer of the Month this interview details how Simon and Eve developed ProtectaPet. August 2016.
Practical advice to keep your cats safe outdoors including a 'how to cat proof your garden' tutorial. June 2016.
ProtectaPet® expands to a bigger warehouse and offices in Tunstall as part of ongoing growth in sales and export. April 2016.
ProtectaPet extends cat containment range to include patented freestanding cat enclosure. March 2016.
For the second consecutive year, ProtectPet® is highly commended as 'Cat Product I Can't Live Without' in 'Your Cat'.
New Freestanding Cat Enclosure is a great deal for DIY enthusiasts looking to protect their cats. October 2015.
ProtectaPuss® rebrands to ProtectaPet® in a bid to expand range to include dog enclosures and chicken coups. July 2015.
ProtectaPet® is selected as a Finalist in the Category 'Science, Technology and Innovation Award'. July 2015.
ProtectaPuss®, 'Product Awards 2014' runner up, launches steel freestanding cat enclosure. June 2015.
European growth is the cat's whiskers for ProtectaPuss®, who've signed Machocat, a Benelux distributor. May 2015.
Operations Director of ProtectaPet, Simon Davies, is a finalist for 'Entrepreneur of the Year' Awards. March 2015.
Saving Cats One by One is the focus of Simon Davies, product designer at ProtectaPuss®. Spring 2014.
ProtectaPuss® launches online shop to distribute cat containment products to DIY enthusiasts. September 2014.
ProtectaPuss® expands into new warehouse in Burslem to accommodate stock for new online shop. September 2014.
ProtectaPuss® highly commended for 'Product I Can't Live Without' by Your Cat readers. 2014/15
Any Questions? Let Us Call You.
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subset: commoncrawl


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Housing and Development Board
From SgWiki
The Housing and Development Board (Abbreviation: HDB; Simplified Chinese: 建屋发展局; Malay: Lembaga Pembangunan dan Perumahan; Tamil: வீடமைப்பு வளர்ச்சிக் கழகம்) is the statutory board of the Ministry of National Development responsible for public housing in Singapore. It is generally credited with clearing up the squatters and slums of the 1960s and resettling residents into low-cost state-built housing. Today, as much as 82% of Singaporeans live in public housing provided by the HDB.


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New England dining >>> Fox's Lobster House, Nubble Point, York Beach, Maine
Lobster House epitomizes Maine seafood dining
Article and photo by Eric H.
dining cylinders: fresh Maine boiled lobster, seafood, Maine, wild blueberry pie and homemade ice cream from the legendary, local Brown's Ice Cream stand. Within clear view of the famous Nubble Lighthouse and the sea, Fox's has that classic roadside seafood shack look with a lobster sign in front, an ice cream stand to the right side and the smell of seafood mixing pleasantly with the salt sea air. Inside, Fox's is more than a seafood shack with a cozy, stylish but informal dining room with ocean views. On the left side of the restaurant are a gift shop and the "lobster pound" where the lobsters are just a stone's throw away from your dining table.
For many, the best menu item is the Fox's Famous Shore dinner with boiled Maine lobster with drawn butter, a delicious clam chowder, fish chowder, or lobster bisque, single portion steamers with clam broth and drawn butter, choice of baked potato or French fries, choice of garden salad or Caesar salad, and dinner rolls and butter. Another great selection is the Lobster Crumb Pie with succulent lobster meat baked in buttered crumb stuffing.
Fried and broiled seafood dinner highlights include the broiled maple salmon, fish and chips, seafood medley (with scallops, fresh haddock, and sweet salmon" and fried clams). Fox's also features filet mignon, fried chicken baskets, sandwiches, pastas and fresh salads, but the real draw is lobster and the authentic wild Maine blueberry pie. Fox's brings in ice cream from the famed nearby Brown's Ice Cream stand and features many of the best quality ice creams in all of New England. If you're lucky, one of the specials will be the thick, creamy wild Maine blueberry ice cream!
Summer cocktails, a beer and wine menu, and a children's menu round out an overall great coastal Maine seaside dining experience with amazing water views. Service is terrific -- attentive, intuitive, good with kids and with many staff returning year after year (a sign of good management). With its wonderful location, lobster, seafood, Maine blueberry pie and ice cream, Fox's is ultimately what you would expect from a Maine seafood restaurant. What makes them so special, however, is that few run this kind of restaurant better. Make sure it is a part of your coastal Maine dining experience.
Fox's Lobster House, Nubble Point, York Beach, Maine. Tel. (207) 363-2643
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Time for Me to Step Up to the Plate
Dear Friends:
While up to now a good and generous friend in California has been producing, duplicating, printing, and then shipping to us the CDs we offer here at Biblical Foundations International (BFI), recent events have led us to reluctantly conclude that the time has come for me to take over the recording and production of our CDs (both our existing titles as well as new titles), here "in house" (literally) in Scranton. (BFI's offices are located in the basement of my home.)
If I digitally record the talks myself, edit the recording, burn the master CD, and duplicate and print the CDs right here at home, this will take a load off my friend's shoulders while nevertheless maintaining a steady stream of new "Recusant Recordings for the 21st Century," which as you know are designed to equip you to understand and tackle some of the most challenging questions facing faithful Catholics today.
I am eager to begin production on my next several CD projects, as soon as we can obtain the needed equipment. First up: my long-overdue 25-CD apologetics course entitled "Riding the Train of Truth All the Way to the End of the Line" (hereafter abbreviated RTT, for "Riding the Train of Truth").
Riding the Train of Truth
This advanced course starts from absolute scratch and teaches you how to demonstrate to someone who doesn't believe in anything that there must be such a thing as objective truth and that it is knowable, and that all the current varieties of skepticism, agnosticism, relativism, etc., are not only refutable but actually refute themselves.
RTT then systematically proceeds to equip you to prove that each human being possesses an immortal, immaterial (spiritual) soul, and that such a soul could only have come from a personal, spiritual Supreme Being.
In addition, RTT teaches you how to make all the other classic theistic arguments -- cosmological, ontological, teleological. (If any of these terms are unfamiliar, fear not: everything is set forth in simple, straightforward, non-technical terms.) A thorough refutation of the so-called "new atheism" of Richard Dawkins, Christopher Hitchens, Sam Harris, Daniel Dennett, and others is included.
And all that's just "Day One," the first 5 CDs of this 25-CD, 5-day full-time course in apologetics!
On Day Two (discs 6-10) RTT coaches you how to make the case for Christianity being the only coherent theism, giving all the positive arguments for the historical reliability of the NT gospels, then proceeding to the evidence for Jesus's deity and resurrection. You'll also learn how to refute the alternatives to Christian theism: other theistic religions such as Talmudic Judaism and Islam, pseudo-Christian cults such as Mormonism and the Jehovah's Witnesses, as well as the skeptics at the Jesus Seminar and the New Age, neo-Gnostic devotees of other "gospels" such as the so-called "Gospel of Thomas," the "Gospel of Judas," and other contrived forgeries.
Having established the case for theism on Day One and proceeded to the case for Christianity as the only coherent theism on Day Two, on Day Three (discs 11-15) RTT then shows you how to make the case for Catholicism as the only complete and coherent Christianity. Positively you'll be able to demonstrate the solid scriptural support for every element of the Catholic Faith, and negatively you'll learn how to disarm all the standard Protestant objections. An entire CD also shows why "Eastern Orthodoxy" is in fact not orthodox Christianity, and therefore is no more a coherent alternative to Catholicism than is Protestantism.
Having now proven that Catholicism is true, on Day Four (discs 16-20) RTT trains you how to make the case that "Vatican II Catholicism" is not the real deal, due to its heretical doctrines, doubtful sacraments, and immoral morality and canonical legislation. (Day Four's 5 discs will also constitute a new, improved, third edition of my set on "Counterfeit Catholicism.")
Finally, on Day Five (discs 21-25) RTT enables you to make the case that the authentic alternative to Vatican II Catholicism is NOT the unauthorized, illicit, anarchic, and sacrilegious scene at the chapels served by the illicitly ordained (i.e., in the post-Vatican II era) "traditionalist" priests and bishops, whether of the SSPX, SSPV, CMRI, or independent variety.
The lack of the necessary mission and jurisdiction (and in some cases, even the lack of validity) characteristic of these pseudo-traditionalist sects (all of which ironically trample upon tradition in the very name of tradition!) -- and the dire spiritual consequences of this lack -- are fully explained from Sacred Scripture and Sacred Tradition, from the Fathers and Doctors of the Church, from magisterial teaching, and from canon law. And RTT enables you to positively set forth the true position for those wishing to be law-abiding, faithful Catholics during the current crisis.
(I don't question either the intelligence, the sincerity, or the spirituality of those who attend such chapels; I attended them myself, for years, before I researched this matter more carefully. I am quite sure that, for the most part, those who attend such chapels do so precisely because they want to be "law-abiding, faithful Catholics during the current crisis." Nevertheless, I believe that, objectively speaking, they ought not to be attending them, and that once they are shown the relevant information, those who are of good will -- not without an anguished struggle, I'm sure -- will realize they can no longer do so.)
I also have several other multi-CD sets that I've been researching and writing over recent months, such as chapter-by-chapter courses on various books of the Bible -- courses on Genesis, Daniel, the Book of Ruth, the Gospel of Mark, and the Apocalypse of St. John will be the first to be released -- as well as several single CDs on such hot topics as baptism of desire/baptism of blood -- that I'm also eager to release this year, along with Parts 5 and 6 of "The Plot Against the Church," completing that series.
Needed: a multi-CD duplicator/printer
But all this is dependent on my acquiring a multi-CD duplicator/printer similar to what my friend was using. (Thanks be to God, I already have all the digital recording equipment needed.) My friend's machine could take up to 200 CDs at a time and cost $5000 new. (He had acquired a used model and expertly tweaked and tinkered with it himself.) After consultation with my friend I have found that I can acquire a 100-CD-capacity duplicator/printer (more than sufficient: I don't need a 200-capacity unit) for $3300, saving nearly $2000. In addition, I will need to purchase several hundred blank CDs to start copying and printing on.
Can you help? As a result of my having doggedly persevered in the work of BFI without sufficient financial support, I now find myself absolutely broke, with no money in the bank and no space on my credit cards to purchase this needed equipment.
For years now our family has willingly scrimped and sacrificed, even to the point of selling off most of our possessions -- and we will continue to do so, in order to do our part to spread the truth of the authentic Catholic Faith to souls who cannot be saved without it. But we have now reached the absolute end of our own always-meagre resources. (Though we have always lived extremely frugally -- and with no savings account and no health insurance -- this Christmas was so sparse that my wife and I gave no presents at all to each other or to our nine children: the children put their names in a hat and each drew out a name and bought, with their own money, one small present for the sibling whose name they drew, and that was it.)
I am therefore hoping that you, my donors and customers, can help us acquire the equipment to begin in-house production of these vitally important CDs. I'm hoping that many of you reading this can donate at least $100. If you can, I'll send you $100 worth of new CDs as soon as the first ones start rolling off the presses.
I frankly don't know how long (if at all) it might take to accumulate enough $100 donations to secure the needed equipment and blank CDs, so I'm willing to make a special offer to anyone who might be in a position to offer more, so that I might reach my goal faster.
Therefore, if you can donate as much as $500, I will send a free copy of every single CD and multi-CD set that I produce this year of 2013, which I will guarantee will total more than $500's worth. And if you can sacrificially send as much as $1000, I will send you a free copy of every single CD and multi-CD set that I produce from this point forward, through the years to come. You'll never have to purchase any CD from the online store ever again: it will be sent to you automatically, as each one is produced.
I realize that some of you may be as poor as we are, and may not be able to afford to donate even $100 at this time. Whatever amount you can send will be deeply appreciated, and I will certainly send you an amount of CDs proportionate to what you do donate, to show my appreciation.
Three ways to extend a helping hand
A) The fastest and simplest way to donate is to click on the orange-colored "Make a Donation" button in the upper right area of any page right here on my website and use PayPal to electronically send me whatever you can afford to contribute to our acquiring the needed duplicator/printer so that we might resume production of cutting-edge CDs.
(If you still don't have a PayPal account -- which is positively the easiest, fastest, and most secure way to transfer funds via the Internet -- just go to www.paypal.com and click on the blue "Sign Up" button at the upper right hand corner of their website. It's fast -- takes two minutes! -- free, and super easy, and you'll never have to supply credit card information again when donating, or when purchasing items online, either from my online store or any other online store that accepts PayPal, as nearly all websites do.)
B) If for some reason you choose not to open up a free PayPal account, a second option is to call me at (570) 969-1724 and leave on my voicemail your MasterCard, Visa, or Discover Card's 16-digit number, expiration date, 3-digit security code from the back of the card, your name exactly as it appears on the card (including any middle initial), your credit card's billing address, and the amount you wish to donate (without all of which I cannot charge your card). Please leave a phone number where I can reach you if any part of your message is unclear or unintentionally incomplete.
C) A third option is to mail a check or money order to: Gerry Matatics, PO Box 569, Dunmore PA 18512. Please make the check payable to either "Gerry Matatics" or "Biblical Foundations International."
Thank you for whatever assistance you can offer. It will be our privilege as a family to offer up our daily rosaries and other prayers for the intentions of you and your loved ones, both living and deceased -- and to provide you with a steady stream of informative (and hopefully inspiring as well) CDs. And we pray that Almighty God has been granting you and yours a grace-filled new year.
Your servant in Christ our King and Mary our magnanimous Queen Mother,
Gerry Matatics


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The Electronic Industries Alliance on Thursday announced a pilot project for the collection and recycling of electronic devices. The one-year project, scheduled to begin in October, is intended to provide data to help guide the creation of a cost-effective, more permanent system.
"The pilot is going to test different models in different parts of the country, and we'll use information gained to develop a long-term recycling program," said Kerry Fennelly, a spokeswoman for the trade association.
Participants include Hewlett-Packard and Sony, both of which recently started recycling programs of their own. HP last month launched a fee-based service that lets consumers and businesses arrange for pick up of obsolete electronics goods. Sony's is a five-year program with the state of Minnesota that began last October.
Electronics recycling is a topic that got short shrift through the boom years of the high-tech industry. In recent months, however, it has been the object of increasing attention among local, state and national governments and environmental groups, as well as among manufacturers.
A central issue in discussions of recycling has been the cost of collecting, sorting, refurbishing and recycling obsolete electronic devices. The companies participating in this pilot will provide the bulk of the funding for the recycling plans under consideration, the EIA said.
Not exactly aluminum cans
Any recycling program that emerges from this study will have to contend with the many different types of materials that go into devices such as PCs and television sets, including several strains of plastic, metal and glass.
"Generally speaking, mixed-material take-back systems are tricky," said H. Scott Matthews, research director at Carnegie Mellon University's Green Design Initiative. "It's tough to turn a profit even if you have a subsidy."
In addition, some of those materials, such as lead, can be toxic when released into the environment. That consideration--along with the sheer volume of electronics entering the waste stream--has prompted the European Union to draft legislation that would mandate the take-back of electronic goods by manufacturers and the elimination of some of those substances.
Considering the options
The exact locations of the trial have yet to be set, but the plan is for it to take place in several states. The program will look at three models for collection and recycling: municipal, retail and consumer drop-off.
In the first model, municipalities collect used electronics and transport them to a designated recycler, which is reimbursed by participating companies. In the second, the industry provides funds to participating retail outlets based on the number of relevant products sold; retailers hold collection events and transport the materials to recyclers. In the third, industry funds pay for promotion, education, coupons and rebates; retailers charge consumers a drop-off fee for each product brought in.
"We really want to get more data to understand what models work and what our customers want," said Renee St. Denis, product recycling solutions manager at HP.
This program is likely to be the largest such recycling project in the United States so far, in terms of geography, manufacturers and business models. Earlier studies have tended to focus on a single state or manufacturer or on smaller-scale county and local efforts. IBM, though, began a nationwide recycling service for computers last fall, which, like HP's, charges consumers a fee for returning the systems.
The reach of the new project "is going to allow us to look at other things," St. Denis said. "There have been other pilots, but they've been point programs, doing it one way or another."
Also participating in the program are Canon, JVC, Eastman Kodak, Nokia, Panasonic, Phillips Electronics and Sharp, among others.
The more, the merrier
The success of the project will ride in large part on its ability to draw in a lot of people, according to recycling experts.
"The No. 1 issue with any sort of municipal-level recycling project of any kind...is scale and participation," said Carnegie Mellon's Matthews, adding that collection and recycling rates for electronic devices tend to be small. "The logistics are pretty expensive."
Companies such as IBM and HP have long had in-house recycling programs to handle computers and other electronic devices, but recycling of electronics by consumers and all but the largest businesses is a field still in its infancy. This pilot is likely to help manufacturers get a sense of what works.
"They should at the very least come up with a preferred method for the electronics industry--what's best for them," Matthews said. "They'll pick the one that loses the least money and go full force into doing that."
In Europe, meanwhile, the EU's legislation is making its way through the last stages of parliamentary debate and fine-tuning, and would go into effect 18 months after final approval, according to an EU representative. Several countries in Europe already have laws addressing electronics recycling, as does Japan. These directives have been seen as a key force behind moves by manufacturers to adopt electronics recycling programs.
"There's still debate on how we're going to handle this," said Mark Small, vice president of environmental affairs at Sony. "We (manufacturers) need to focus more on the recycling end and encourage government to get involved on the collection end."
11 TV shows to watch after Game of Thrones ends: Need to fill your Game of Thrones void? These shows might do the trick.
Devilish David Tennant is a hell of lot of fun in Good Omens: Apocalyptic new miniseries adapts Neil Gaiman and Terry Pratchett's book.


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Abacca: (Musa textilis) A plant grown in the Philippines that produces the fiber used in the production of sisal and sinamay.
Abraham Lincoln: Abraham Lincoln's hat was a silk stovepipe (top hat) which was made for him by George Hall of Springfield, Illinois. He wore it because of the President's lack of interest in his appearance!
Ammana: Large wound turban worn by Muslim's.
Bandeau: A headband of material, structured or unstructured.
Baseball cap: Cloth cap with brim. Originally worn by baseball players ,now worn as a general leisure hat.
Beaver: A expensive felt hat made from felted beaver fur.
Bearskin: A large furry high crowned hat, which is part of a uniform worn by the Coldstream Guards
Beret: Cap made from felt, felted jersey or fabric with soft, wide, circular crown.
Best stuff: 19th century term for rabbit fur, including the backs and the best parts of the sides mixed together.
Bicorne: Hat of the late 18th and early 19th century: wide brims were folded up to form two points.
Biretta: Square cap worn by clergy the crown has three or four projections.
Block: A wooden form used as a mould to shape, by hand a brim or crown.
Blocking: Is the term used to describe the action of molding a hat shape.
Boater: Flat-topped hat with small flat brim. traditionally, made of stiffened straw braid.
Bonnet: Women's or girl's head-dress, with deep brim and ribbons to tie under the chin.
Bonnet rouge: Red cap worn during the French Revolution as a symbol of liberty.
Bowler: Oval hat with round, rigid crown and a small, shaped, curved brim. Also known as a derby, because the style was made popular by the Earl of Derby in 19th century England.
Bridal veil: White or ivory veil worn during wedding ceremony.
Brim: Projecting edge of a hat.
Buckram: Stiff netting used to make hats. May be blocked or sewn. Once used by milliners to make blocks for limited use.
Bumping: Term used for the process of final felting of a hood, further compressing and felting of hoods done in a bumping machine.
Calotte: A close-fitting skull cap as worn by the Roman Catholic Clergy.
Canadian Mountie's Stetson: Official head-dress of the Royal Canadian Mounted Police.
Canotier: Boater (French).Cap: A hat with a small brim at the front.
Capeline: Roughly shaped crown and brim of felt or straw, to be blocked into hat shape.
Carroting: Preliminary treatment of wool or fur with acids, to curl the hairs. Produces a reddish-yellow colour which is the origin of the name.
Catherinette: French term for milliners. Named after St Catherine the patron saint of milliners. The 27th of November is St Catherine's Day.
Caul: Historical term for a a net or close-fitting indoor head-dress, or the plain back part of the same.
Cavalier hat: A wide-brimmed, plumed hat worn by cavaliers in the 17th century: the right side of the brim was pinned up to the crown so that the wearer's sword arm could move freely above the shoulder.
Chapeaugraphy: is a panhandling trick in which a ring-shaped piece of felt is manipulated to look like various types of hats. The act originated in 1618 with Parisianstreet performerTabarin, the most famous of the charlatans who combined a French version of commedia dell'arte with a quack medicine show.
Chef's hat White, starched bonnet with tall crown . French tradition states that a chef's hat should have 100 pleats to represent the number of different ways in which a great chef can prepare eggs.
Chira: Indian Turban
Cloche: Women's hat of the 1920's. Close-fitting round crown, with no brim or a small flare at the brim edge.
Coalman hat: A short visor cap with a protective flap at the back, derived from a hat worn by English coal deliverers to protect their backs from dust.
Cockade: Ornamental rosette of ribbon or cloth, worn on a hat as a badge of office or as a decoration.
Cocked hat: An old-fashioned three-cornered hat.
Cocktail hat: A small, often frivolous, hat for women, usually worn forward on the head.
Coif: Head-cover worn by nuns as part of their habit, often with long veils.
Cone: Conically shaped hood of felt or straw used as a base for blocking small hat shapes or crowns.
Coolie hat: A shallow conical straw hat with a large brim to protect wearer from the sun.
Coronet: Small crown worn by members of nobility as a symbol of rank.
Cowboy hat: (see ten gallon) Hat with high crown and wide brim, originally worn by cow hands. Usually made of felt or leather.
Crown: Head-dress usually made of gold and worn as a symbol of sovereignty by monarchs. Also see Rastafarian
Crown The top part of a hat.
Crush hat: A collapsible opera hat.
Danbury Shakes See Mercury Poisoning
Deer stalker: A hunting cap with visors at the front and back, and ear-flaps that can be tied up over the crown. Made famous by the fictional detective, Sherlock Holmes.
Derby: Another name for a Bowler hat.
Doff: The action of partially removing a hat by males as a sign of respect
Diadem: A jeweled headband.
Easter bonnet: Women's hat: A new spring style to be worn at Easter.
English driving cap: Low-profile cap, originally only for men, with small brim at the front. Crown may be tailored with side panels, or gored.
Esparterie: A flat sheet material used for the making of blocks and as a stiffening in the construction of hats.
Feather head-dress: Ceremonial and symbolic head-cover worn by chiefs of North American Indian tribes.
Fedora: A brimmed soft felt hat with a tapered crown that is dented lengthways. It comes originally from the Austrian Tyrol and is named after FEDORA a play by the French dramatist Victorien Sardou which was shown in Paris in 1882.
Felt: Cloth made from wool, fur or hair, compacted (felted) by rolling and pressing, in the presence of heat and moisture.
Fez: Brimless, conical, flat-topped cap with a tassel attached at the top center. Men's head-cover, made of red felt, worn in Islamic cultures.
Fillet: A band for the hair.
Fish tail: Ribbon with a decorative v-shape cut at the end.
Forage cap: Military cap with a small brim.
Fulling: Tumbling and pounding of cloth in hot water to induce felting.
Fur felt: Any hood or capeline of felt made from fur fibers.
Gainsborough Hat:A high crowned big brimmed hat decorated with feathers and ribbons became popular in the 1780's
Garbo hat: Slouch hat. (a soft, broad-brimmed hat)
Gaucho hat: A black felt hat with a wide flat brim and shallow flat-topped crown.
Gibus: Collapsible top hat. [French, from the maker's name.]
Glengarry: Highlander's cap of thick-milled woolen cloth, generally rising to a point in front, with ribbons hanging down behind
Hat: Item of dress worn on the head, from a word of Saxon origin meaning hood.
Helmet: Protective or ceremonial head-cover: for soldiers.
Hennin: A high conical hat with a veil attached at the top, worn by women during the 15th century.
Hijab: A covering for a Muslim woman's head and face, sometimes reaching the ground, often accompanied by the niqab (face veil).
Homburg: A man's hat, made of felt, with a narrow upturned brim, and a depression in the top.First worn at Homburg, town in western Germany usually trimmed with a band and bow.
Hood: Cone or capelin of felt or straw for making hats.
Horsehair: Hair from a horse's mane or tail; a mass of such hairs; a fabric woven from horsehair.
Jockey cap: Cloth cap with close-fitting 6-panel crown and wide brim at the front.
Juliet Cap: A round close-fitting skullcap worn by women. the style dates back to the Renaissance.
Jute Hood: Cone, capeline or sheet materiel made of jute fiber.
Kalpak: A triangular Turkish or Tatar felt cap.Kippa: Skull-cap worn by Jewish men. Also known as yarmulke.
Kufie: Islamic (Muslim) prayer cap.
Leuring lathe: Turntable with a block to support a felt hat. The hat is placed on the block and, as it turns, it is then polished or "leured" with a plush or velveteen pad, to impart a shine to the felt fibers, particularly on the crown.
Liberty cap: Phrygian cap.
Mad Hatter: Famous character of Lewis Carroll's "Alice in Wonderland" also see Mercury below.
Mercury Usage: Mercury Nitrate was used to soften the thicker and coarser fur (guard hair) from a rabbit or hare. This was to make the finished felt hood as soft and fine as possible, before it was made into a hat for the obvious reason that it would be of a higher quality and price.
Mandel: A turban woven with silk and gold.
Milliner: Artisan who makes and sells hats.
Millinery: The craft of making hats.
Mitre: A high, pointed headdress, cleft crosswise on top and with two ribbons hanging from the back. The right to wear the mitre belongs by law only to the pope, the cardinals, and the bishops. Others require for its use a special papal privilege. For a full description and history, click on this link: http://www.newadvent.org/cathen/10404a.htm
Mortarboard: Flat, square head-cover worn by professors and students for solemn academic occasions.
Nap: Short fibers extending above the surface of cloth, fabric or felt, creating a soft, downy effect such as on velvet.
Night cap: Men's cap worn informally indoors from the 16th to the 19th century. The cap had a deep crown made of four segments, with the edge turned up to form a close brim.
Niqab: Face veil worn by Islamic women, together with the hijab (head-cover).
Panama: The name given straw woven in Ecuador, as well as Peru and Colombia.
Panama hat: Straw hat made with panama straw .
Paper panama: Cone or capeline made of Japanese Toyo paper, woven to imitate natural Panama can be 1x1 or 2x2 weave.
Parasisal: A two over two weave of sisal fiber used to make cones and capelines. Available in 5 grades, depending on the fineness of the fiber, it is lightweight, resilient and takes dye well.
Peak: Visor.
Phrygian cap: Conical cap with the top bent forward, named for an ancient people of Asia Minor. Worn as a symbol during the French Revolution, it is now also known as the cap of liberty.
Picture hat: A hat with a very wide brim.
Pile: Nap.
Pillbox: A small brimless cap with a flat tip and cylindrical side. Polo players in the Bois de Boulogne wore pillboxes tied under their chins in the early 1900's. This hat became popular when Jackie Kennedy wore them. Clothes designer Halston reinvented the pillbox worn by Greta Garbo in the 1932 film As You Desire Me, especially for Mrs Kennedy. Pillboxes can be made in most types of fabric.
Pith helmet: Helmet of cork or pith (dried spongy tissue from the sola plant), covered with cloth.
Planking: Rolling and heating the hoods to complete the felting process.
Plug Hat: See Top Hat
Plush: (Hatters Plush) Cloth of silk or cotton, with a longer and softer nap than velvet.
Plush hats: Men's hat, usually Top Hats of plush, an imitation of napped beaver hats.
Pom-pom: Pompon a fluffy or woolly ball, tuft, or tassel.
Pompon: Pompon a fluffy or woolly ball, tuft, or tassel.
Pouncing: Rubbing down the outside of felt hats with pumice stone, sand paper or emery paper to produce a very smooth surface.
Puritan: Black felt hat with high conical crown and narrow straight brim, worn by the Puritans during the 17th century. It was usually trimmed with a buckle at the front.
Raffia: A natural straw from Madagascar, the Raffia palm or its leaf-bast. available in cones, capelines, braids and hanks.
Raising card: Small wired instrument to raise nap on felt.
Rastafarian Hat: The Rastafarian hat is called a "Crown" and has religious significance, the knitted version is usually colored red, yellow and green, the colour of the Ethiopian flag.
Royal Ascot: The world famous English horse race meeting at Ascot, dating from the early 18th century, is particularly renowned for Ladies' Day, a unique occasion and setting to flaunt the most spectacular hats.
Rush: Capeline made of a stiff thick straw, usually left its natural green colour.
Shako: A tall, nearly cylindrical military cap with a plume, flat-topped.
Sinamay:a plant grown in the Philippines the fibers are woven into sheet or hood forms.Sisal Comes from the fiber of the Abacca (Musa textilis) and is used to make cones, capelines and woven fabric.
Sisal hood: Cone or capeline of sisal fiber made with a one over one weave.
Skull-cap: Small, close-fitting cap of fabric.
Skimmer: (see Boater)
Slouch hat: A soft hat with a high crown and drooping flexible brim. Also called a Garbo hat, from the name of the actress who worn this style in many films.
Smoking cap: Men's pillbox shape cap, worn during the 19th century to prevent the hair from smelling of tobacco.
Snap brim: A brim that turns down sparingly.
Snood: A band for the hair, once worn by unmarried women in Scotland as the badge of virginity; an ornamental hairnet supporting the back of a woman's hair.
Sombrero: Mexican hat with high, conical crown and very wide brim. Usually of straw or felt.
Spartre: (see Esparterie )
St. Catherine of Alexandria: Patron saint of milliners in France, + c. 307 A.D., celebrated November 2th.
St. Clement I: 3rd Bishop of Rome, + c. 100 A.D. Patron saint of hatters in England, celebrated November 23. By tradition, the discoverer of felt.
Stiffening: Originally gum Arabic, mucilage, shellac or gelatin, now superseded by cellulose or pva based chemicals. It is applied by hand or dipped, to stiffen felt or straw.
Stocking cap: Knitted cap, usually conical, often finished with a pompon.
Stovepipe hat: A tall 19th century top hat, made popular by U.S. President Abraham Lincoln.
Suede felt: Fur felt hood or capeline with short nap: surface texture resembles suede.
Tam o'shanter: Beret with close-fitting headband, usually trimmed with a pompon.
Tip: The top part of the crown.
Top hat: Man's tall cylindrical hat with a narrow brim, made of silk plush. Also see: Abraham Lincoln. Very early top hats were made of beaver felt. Also called a "Plug Hat" in the USA.
Toque: French term for a chef's tall white hat.
Toque: Small hat for a woman, close-fitting brimless or nearly brimless hat.
Tricorne: Men's hat of the 18th century: wide brims were folded up to form three points.
Trilby:The Trilby is a soft felt hat, usually made of fur felt (rabbit) it has a dented crown and flexible brim, the shape originates from the Austrian Tyrol it usually had a small feather trimming. The hat became most popular between the 1930s-40s when Schiaparelly used it to compliment clothes design. The name come from the heroine of G.du Maurier's novel Trilby 1894 in which the heroine of the stage version, wore such a hat.
Tuque: A Canadian cap made by tucking in one tapered end of a long cylindrical bag, closed at both ends.
Turban: Typical head-dress for Muslim and Sikh men, constructed by winding a long scarf around the head.
Turban: Women's head-dress resembling men's turbans.
Vanities: 15th century British term for hats.
Veil: A covering of fine fabric or net, for the head, face, or both, for protection, concealment, adornment or ceremonial purpose, especially the white transparent one often worn by a bride
Velour felt: Fur felt hood or capeline with uniform nap and velvet-like surface texture.
Visca: Cone or capeline of rayon fiber, made to look like parrasisal with a 1x1 or 2x2 weave.
Visor: A partial brim, usually extending out at the front of a hat or cap. Also known as a peak used as a shade against the sun .
Wheat Straw single or double: A stiff coarse straw, usually left its natural golden brown colour. Single wheat is 1x1 weave double wheat is 2x2 weave.
Widow's peak: A close-fitting cap with a point extending down at the center of the forehead. Originally worn as a mourning bonnet by Caterina de Medici. Also a point of hair over the forehead, like the cusped front of the widow's cap formerly worn.
Willow: A woven and sized material made of esparto grass and cotton, used for making the base of fashion hats. Also known as esparterie and spartre.
Wimple: A veil folded so as to cover the head and neck and closely frame the cheeks, a fashion of the Middle Ages that remained part of a nun's dress
Xian: Capeline made of an oriental straw.
Yarmulke: The skullcap worn by Jewish males, especially during prayers or ceremonial occasions. Also known as kippah.
Zucchetto: Skull-cap worn by Roman Catholic clergy: black for priests, purple for bishops, red for cardinals, white for the pope.


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Archived versions
Job Posting
How to post an on campus student job:
- Sign into my.Biola with your Net ID and password
- Click the "Employee" tab
- Under "Employee Forms" search for "Student Job Posting Request" form
- Fill out the form and press "Submit Form" at the bottom of the form
- Allow 1-2 business days for job to post
To edit or close a job, please email email@example.com.
Non-Discrimination Statement
Biola University does not discriminate on the basis of race, color, national origin, ethnic group identification, sex, age, or physical or mental disability. All employees must demonstrate a spiritual attitude, in harmony with the methods and goals of the university. It is Biola's policy to recruit, hire, and promote, within all job classifications, on the basis of merit, qualification, competence, attitude, and spiritual commitment. This applies to all categories of employment.
Hiring Requirements
Once a student has been selected to fill a position, the supervisor completes their portion of a Student Hiring Authorization Form, which the student brings to Human Resources. The student will be required to complete the following:
- Student Hiring Authorization
- I-9 Form
- W-4 Form
The Student Hiring Authorization Form generates the payroll process and defines which students will be eligible to participate in Biola's Commuter Incentive Program. At the student's request (by checking the appropriate box), this form is also given to Financial Aid to determine whether or not the student qualifies for the Federal Work Study Program. Beyond this, the form provides a permanent record of work, which is useful for employment verifications.
An I-9 Form must be completed at the beginning of the employment period, if the student has not worked on campus before or if it has been more than three years since the time of initial hire at the university. It is the supervisor's responsibility to instruct the student to go to Human Resources to complete this mandatory federal form and to provide documentation that will show that the student is eligible to work in the United States. There are a number documents the student can use. Some of the most common are a U.S. passport; driver's license, and social security card; or driver's license and birth certificate. Human Resources is required, by law, to review original documents that show eligibility to work. No copies or faxes will be accepted. In addition to the above-mentioned documentation, F-1 Non-Immigrant students are required to bring their passports and I-20s.
A W-4 Form must be completed at the beginning of the employment period. If a student claims "exempt," a new W-4 Form must be completed with every new calendar year. All international students working on campus must complete the W-4 Form every new calendar year, as well.
Once these forms have been completed, On-Campus Student Employment will issue a golden ticket, signifying that the student is now approved to begin work. Student employees are instructed to show the golden ticket to their supervisors. After conducting the safety training on the employee's first day of work, the supervisor will return the Safety Agreement Form to the Occupational Safety Coordinator. Students may not work until these requirements are completed.
Employee Relationship
Students are temporary employees of Biola University. Employment is at will, for both the student employee and Biola. This means that a student may quit at any time, with or without notice, and Biola may terminate a student's employment at any time, with or without notice. There is no promise that employment will continue for a set period of time, nor is there any promise that a student's employment will be terminated only under particular circumstances. No employee or representative of Biola, other than the President of Biola, has authority to enter into any employment agreement for any specified period of time or to make any agreement contrary to the foregoing.
Maximum Hours & Breaks
Student employees are restricted to working a maximum of 25 hours per week during the Fall and Spring semesters (20 hours per week for international students). Student employees are restricted to working a maximum of 32 hours per week during Summer (20 hours per week for international students taking class(es) during Summer). If the department needs a student employee to work more than 32 hours per week during Summer, supervisors may submit a request to Human Resources. Contact Human Resources for more information if needed.
Any employee working a 4-hour shift is entitled to a 10 minute, paid break. Students are not permitted to work more than 5 hours per day without an unpaid meal break of at least 30 minutes. However, if the total work period for the day is not more than six hours, then the meal period may be waived by mutual consent between the student employee and the supervisor.
According to federal and state law, a record showing the time worked must be kept for all non-exempt employees. With this in mind, each hourly student employee is required to fill in a timecard each day. The timecard should reflect the exact hours at work, total number of hours worked each day, and a summary of total hours worked per week.
Student timecards are due bi-weekly via the web at timecard.biola.edu. Timecards must be completed online by the students and submitted to their supervisor(s) by 8:00 a.m. on the Monday after the pay period ends, unless otherwise noted. Students should clock in and out as they work and hours must reflect actual time worked. Timecards need to be approved by their supervisor(s) by the end of the day on Monday after the pay period ends, unless otherwise noted. All timecards received on Tuesday will be considered late and subject to a $25.00 late fee.
Supervisors are advised to carefully check that their students' timecards are accurately filled out before approving the timecards. If any corrections or edits need to be made, the supervisor should return the timecard to the student with a question or comment. Remember, if a student works more than 40 hours in a week or 8 hours in a day, the hours in excess are overtime. In addition, if a student employee works every day, Monday through Sunday, any time worked on that Sunday is paid as overtime. For more details about overtime definitions, see Handbook, Section 4.4. For more details about how to navigate the online timecard, visit https:confluence.biola.edu/display/TC/Timecard+101.
Safety Training
In order to comply with Senate Bill 198, as it applies to student employees, each department will be responsible for conducting the appropriate safety training for new student workers on their first day of employment. Training information for indoor and outdoor jobs, as well as the Student Employee Safety Agreement Form, are available in the Tools section of Inside Story. The Supervisor, or designated employee, instructs each new student in proper safety practices for his/her job. The form will be signed by both the instructor and the student and returned with the student's first timecard to Student Employment.
Resignation & Termination
When a student resigns, graduates, or when the supervisor terminates the employment of a student, the Student Hiring Authorization Form, terminating the student, must be completed and sent to the Student Employment Office. This form is used for hires, transfers, rate changes, and terminations. At the end of the spring semester, all student employees are automatically terminated. The supervisor must turn in a new Student Hiring Authorization Form to rehire a student who will work in the summer.
Graduation of Student Employee
To continue employment for a student who has graduated, both the Staff Job Requisition and the Hiring Authorization Forms must be submitted to the Human Resources department. The employee must also fill out a Staff Application Form. Completion of these forms will change the status of the employee from student employee to staff employee. International students may not work after they graduate.


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Sen. Mark Udall upset with Cory Gardner's new ad, believes it attacks his family
A new campaign ad from Republican Cory Gardner talking about Sen. Mark Udall's late father, who served in Congress, and his two cousins, who serve in Congress, has Democrats riled up.
Among those upset by the ad is Udall, who is running against Gardner for a second term.
"This race should be about who can better represent the great state of Colorado, not personal attacks on our families," Udall said.
Gardner's campaign manager Chris Hansen, was having none of it.
"This is rich," Hansen said. "For six months Sen. Udall has done nothing but wage the nastiest campaign in America and now he is upset that we are calling him a nice guy? Mark Udall has been in Washington for so long and is so partisan that he can't even take a compliment when it comes from the other party."
Here is Udall's full statement:


text: Breaking up is Hard to Do! How does one get beyond the loss & pain? Certified Life, Love & Relationship Coach, Riana Milne, talks to you from her Coaches chair – about how to handle the difficult changes and transition of a Break-up from a Love relationship. For more help in healing and moving on from a difficult partner, call Riana at (201) 281-7887, email her at email@example.com or go to her website, RianaMilne.com. #LifeCoach #LoveCoach #RelationshipCoach #SinglesCoach


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I saw this article from the Minneapolis/St Paul Business Journal stating that 49% of the risk managers at banks don't believe that housing prices would recover to 2007 levels before 2020.
The nation's housing prices are unlikely to recover before 2020, a plurality of bank risk managers said in a survey that was labeled as "decidedly pessimistic."
About 49 percent of the risk managers said housing prices would not climb back to 2007 levels before 2020, while 21 percent said they would, according to the survey, which was released Friday.
Let's keep in mind these are the same bankers that were lending money to anyone who could fog a mirror contributing to the housing bubble. (It is more complex than that statement, that statement is just for effect.)
I would also like to point out the "wild card" called inflation. Historically housing has been a nice inflation hedge. This morning the Monetary Base was updated, from the looks of it we have inflation coming up… So if inflation kicks in and housing prices pace inflation like they have historically, we could see housing prices increase to 2007 levels before 2020. Okay, maybe that is not fair to take inflation into account… and will it happen with the next 9 years? I don't have a crystal ball so it's anyone's guess at this point..
What are your thoughts?
Personally, I like the asset of real estate; land, "sticks & bricks". But then again I am in the real estate business…
The monetary base is defined as those liabilities of the monetary authorities that households and firms use as media of exchange and that depository institutions use to satisfy statutory reserve requirements and to settle interbank debts.10 In the United States, this includes currency (including coin) held outside the Treasury and the Federal Reserve Banks (referred to as currency in circulation) plus deposits held by depository institutions at the Federal Reserve Banks. The demand by the private sector for these liabilities gives the Federal Reserve leverage to affect money market interest rates.


text: It is 100 degrees daily here in SC and with long hair and being a mom, my hair goes up into a pony tail so fast, it isn't even funny! After about two months of constantly wearing a pony tail, I decided that I needed a new fun look that was quick and easy! I found Bebexo on youtube and she explains things so well! I fell in love with the bow hair do and thought I would share my look with you!


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United Arab Emirates has emerged as the favourite destination for wealthy Non Resident Indians (NRIs), as 14 out of the 40 richest reside there. UAE is followed by United Kingdom and United States of America, as 10 and eight wealthy NRIs live there respectively. This has been revealed in the year's Hurun Report.
Having INR882 billion, LN Mittal of ArcelorMittal is the wealthiest NRI in the world living in UK who topped the list. He is followed by Micky Jagtiani of the Landmark Group and MA Yusuf Ali of the Emke Group who are ranked the second and third wealthiest globally. Jagtiani and Ali are residents of the UAE, with assets worth INR347 billion and INR319 billion, respectively.
In addition to this, Sunny Varkey (Gems Education) having cumulative assets of INR179 billion and BR Shetty (NMC) having assets of INR173 billion are also included among billionaires in the top 10 list of Harun India Rich List. These NRIs migrated to UAE because of the country's excellent infrastructure, ease of doing business, peaceful environment and good quality of lifestyle.
Extremely rich NRIs living in UAE also include Adani Vinodbhai Shantilal (Adani Enterprises), Ravi Pillai (RP Group), Feroz Allana (IFFCO), Divyank Turakhia (Media.Net), Shamsheer Vayalil (VPS Healthcare), Tony Jashanmal (Jashanmal), Saket Burman (Dabur), Azad Moopen (Aster DM Healthcare) Rizwan Sajan (Danube) and Ramesh S Ramakrishnan (Transworld).
Rupert Hoogewerf, chairman and chief researcher, Hurun Report Global, said, "The total number of rich list entrants increased 6 times since we launched the list six years ago; a good indication that Indian entrepreneurs are coming of age with global ambitions."
Also read: Golden Indians of the Desert Kingdom: 5 living legends of the Emirates
The Hurun India Rich List named the richest people in India with cut off at INR10 billion and the methodology involved taking a snapshot of wealth as on 31 July, 2017. The exchange rate used for USD was INR64.1. The list relates to those with Indian origin on their passports
Mukesh Ambani of Reliance Industries was ranked first for the sixth consecutive years with net worth INR 2.579 trillion. Dilip Shanghvi of Sun Pharma took the second place, with net worth of INR 890 billion. Others among the top 10 are LN Mittal (ArcelorMittal), Shiv Nadar (HCL), Azim Premji (Wipro), Cyrus S Poonawalla (Serum Institute of India), Gautam Adani (Adani Enterprises), Acharya Balkrishna (Patanjali Ayurved), Uday Kotak (Kotak Mahind), and Sunil Mittal & Family (Bharti Airtel).


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Best Buy stores to begin subleasing retail space
By Shan Li and Roger Vincent, Los Angeles Times
"When it comes to retailing, big is not so beautiful anymore.
Weak sales, online competition and changing consumer habits have big-box chains looking to downsize. Best Buy Co. is the latest merchant shedding space, in an initiative that stands out in both size and scope. The giant retailer, with 1,300 stores nationwide, is launching plans to wall off parts of its cavernous stores and sublease the space to smaller retailers, such as grocers, beauty supply stores, home furnishing outlets and others."


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Fall 2019 for the following majors - Apply as soon as possible before all spaces in the following majors have been filled
Fall 2020 for all majors - Apply Oct. 1, 2019 through Nov. 30, 2019 at www.calstate.edu/apply.
Apply online at www.calstate.edu/apply There will also be a $55.00 application fee required as you submit the online application.
A completed online application, the $55.00 application fee that is paid as you submit the online application, a minimum TOEFL score (see below), Academic transcripts (translated and official) from all colleges attended, and an Affidavit of Financial Support indicating available funds totaling $42,000.00 U.S.D. which is the approximate cost for international students to attend Cal Maritime for one academic year.
The California State University Maritime Academy (Cal Maritime) is one of six state-sponsored maritime academies and one federal maritime academy in the United States of America. We are the only maritime academy located on the west coast of North America.
The Academy is part of the 23 state university campuses in the California State University (CSU) system. Within this group of 23 schools, we are the only focused academy and the smallest campus with 1,076 students - also known as cadets. As a four-year college, we offer six Bachelors Degree programs which are all described via the link in the left-hand column.
Please note that we do not accept transfer courses from international universities, so all international students must take our full four-year program in their selected major.
Three of our programs (International Business and Logistics, Global Studies and Maritime Affairs, and Facilities Engineering) have no restrictions for international students.
The remaining three majors (Marine Transportation, Marine Engineering, and Mechanical Engineering) do have a certain restriction for international students. While it is possible for an international student to receive any of these three degrees, the U.S. Coast Guard license required with these programs are not available to international students.
The U.S. Coast Guard requires that only those with U.S. Citizenship may receive a license to be an engineer or deck officer on a U.S. flagged vessel. This means international students may receive a degree from the California State University Maritime Academy but can NOT be an engineer or deck officer on a U.S. flagged vessel. In order to be an engineer or deck officer on an internationally flagged vessel, that person would need to leave the U.S. after attaining our degree and follow the procedures of other countries to receive a license to sail on their ships.
To be evaluated and possibly receive an offer of admission at the California State University Maritime Academy (Cal Maritime), international students must supply the following items:
Apply NOW for Fall 2019 Admission to
Two Open Majors via www.calstate.edu/apply
When you are asked which campus,
select "Maritime Academy"
All Majors Accepting Fall 2020 Applications Starting October 1, 2019
Cal Maritime, Office of Admission
200 Maritime Academy Dr.
Vallejo, CA 94590
(707) 654-1330 (Office)
Admission Office Hours
Monday - Friday, 8:00 AM - 5:00 PM
Scheduled Breaks/Holidays:
Apr 25-May 3: Final Exams - No Classes but Tours are Available
May 6*-Late Aug*: No Classes but Campus Tours are Available*
* Note that the Training Ship Golden Bear unavailable from May 1 to approximately September 1 and will not be available for tours during those dates.
Admission Office Resources
Admission Process Deadlines
Annual Security Report (Jeanne Cleary Act)
Cal Maritime New Price & Cost Calculator


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Whether it's a new project or an existing pond, visitors will find all the advice, equipment and after-care they need for the smallest garden pond or water-feature to reed beds and lakes.
Our knowledgeable staff will guide you from the first seeds of an idea through to the finishing touches.
• Wide choice of cold water fish
Claremont Aquatic Nurseries are specialists in ponds, liners, pond pumps, filters, aquatic plants and fish, and are located in Leyland, Lancashire
Tel: 01772 421 860


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February 9, 2017
Orange, CA - SKB is proud to introduce the 3i-1706-6 Waterproof Utility Case into its line of high quality, affordable, and ultra-versatile iSeries injection molded cases. The addition of the 3i-1706-6 confirms SKB's place among industry-leading manufacturers who are able to offer the largest selections of standalone injection molded case sizes for SKB, that's 47 sizes and counting!
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I'm in casual conversation with one of my guys, and it occurs to me: Hey, he's sharp. Not just sharp, I'd even go so far as to call him impressive. More importantly, he's a lot more competent than the rank he's wearing on his collar. Later, I pulled up his promotion exam scores. On the last test, he scored a bit low and missed promotion by just a few points. When I look at the categories he did poorly in, it didn't make sense. We were just discussing those exact subjects, and he knew his stuff.
So, confused, I dug a little deeper. Within two points, the last five exams were exactly the same, just below what would have gotten him promoted. I also knew he had a college degree not reflected in his record, which probably would have advanced him by now. Interesting…
And yes, the end point of the discussion is that he knew the information so well that he could make sure his score was just low enough to keep him from promoting, but not failing and getting my attention. When I brought him to sit in the office, he said, "Yeah, you got me." He had a plan, and it was to not promote while he focused his energy on other things. For some reason, he thought advancement would interfere with his goals. I've seen this once or twice before.
The first time, I was young and aggressive, and one subordinate had no drive to make the next rank. She made it just high enough to become retirement eligible, and that was fine for her. I couldn't get her to study, and she was so darned honest that she wouldn't even humor me. She wanted nothing of all my advancement programs, books, and general militant motivation. It drove me nuts.
What I didn't know at the time was that she was studying every night, during lunches, and every chance she could, just not what I wanted. She had goals, and she was working as hard as she possibly could towards them. They just weren't the goals I had for her. She was happy right there because she was working towards something else.
By the time she quietly retired, she had a Master's Degree in education and a new career waiting as a teacher. Good for her.
I didn't know what my subordinate's goals were, so I just kept pushing mine onto her. Had I just asked, I would have understood things better and definitely would have judged her a little less harshly.
Last year, a young man wanted to get out instead of take a position being offered to him. I thought to myself, since I was worldly in this sort of thing, maybe he had a plan and his own goals. Here's how it went:
Me: "So, you're convinced that you're ready to get out."
Him: "Yep, I sure am."
"Great, are you going to go to school?"
"Okay, then. The job you have here doesn't really translate well to the civilian world, so what are you going to do for work?"
"I'm not going to work."
"Excuse me? How are you going to eat?"
"Well, my family has some land, so I'm going to build a place and–"
"What are you going to do about money? What do your friends there do for work?"
"No one really works. We just hunt and fish and…"
"You want to be a mountain man and barter for food and goods?"
"Yeah. That's what we all do there."
All I could imagine was him growing some unkempt beard and going back in time. A great goal, I'm sure, but it just wasn't reasonable. He and I had a longer talk, and I'm proud to say that he took the job and still shaves every day.
Many people are happy right where they are, doing exactly what they're doing, because they have other goals and are working towards them on their own time. To some, what I see as a career with endless possibilities and growth is just a stepping-stone, and they're doing what they can to manage both. If you've ever held down the day job while taking college at night to finish a degree, you know exactly how hard it can be to balance both. I still struggle with it today while in unform and writing when I can.
On the other hand, sometimes a person really has no goals, or they aren't reasonable, like wanting to travel back in time and wear animal skins. There's only one way to know, and I suggest you find out.
The sooner you know, the sooner you can support your personnel in reaching their goals instead of forcing yours on them. Knowing also lets you use the time and effort you have to invest in them effectively, which is always a win. Talking to those whose goals seem a little unreasonable, that's good too.
– Have your people set their three goals and do you know what they are?
– Where does your immediate subordinate plan to be in five years? Is it in your seat or another profession?
– What are your people going to school for on their off hours?
– What opportunities can you create for your people to help them towards their goals?
Have a great week out there.


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NÜERA is a revolutionary swimwear brand that combines sexuality and functionality into one kickass neoprene swimsuit. Katelyn, the designer, model and creative behind NÜERA, made it her life's mission to create swimwear that can withstand anything the ocean has to offer all while flattering the female figure and exhibiting a contemporary design. NÜERA undoubtedly bridges the gap between high function and high fashion in the swimwear industry. Support the NÜERA kickstarter here!!!
Talking swimsuits and surfing over a cup of coffee in Northern San Diego, where Katelyn grew up, it was immediately possible to see the passion and creativity that drives NÜERA. Only blocks from the beach, an inspirational location for both NÜERA and Scrimshaw, Katelyn explained how NÜERA came about because her and her friends "spent afternoons surfing or diving for hours and literally went through hundreds of bikinis, and could never find the perfect one." NÜERA introduces neoprene (wetsuit material) suits that are comfortable, soft, durable, insulated, and WILL NOT COME OFF in the water. Ladies, let me say that again...WILL NOT COME OFF. NÜERA found that for the aquatic female, suits never stayed on, weren't comfortable, and provided zero support. Nothing is worse that charging down the face of a wave only to be distracted by your bikini. Fortunately, wearing NÜERA, you and your suit will be the distraction, rather than the other way around.
NÜERA swimwear is beautifully form fitting and chic. Katelyn talked about gathering inspiration from her surroundings and how for her next collection she is "looking into lush, tropical, hand painted textiles paired with rich color gradients." The creativity of NÜERA comes from the exploration of the ocean, so it was only fitting to ask about her favorite surf spots and where it all began for her. "I learned to surf at Swamis, in Encinitas, so that's my all time favorite beach and surf spot, but when the crowds get out of control and it turns into "swarmies", I branch out to other spots like Pipes or Terra Mar." We can all trust in NÜERA's style and design as it is inspired and tested by a local who learned to shred at one of the most iconic surf breaks in the states.
At Scrimshaw we are all about supporting creatives who make their passion, their livelihood. NÜERA is the best-kept swimwear secret that needs to be consumed. Katelyn, embodies the lifestyle and beauty of her brand, but unless you can really shred, don't bother fellas. Asking her what her ideal guy is, a surfer or skater, she promptly answered with, "Surfer boys all the way. Sorry skaters, but a bronzed, long-haired wave slider wins every time." Amazing. Now, it's time to go support a brand that matters. Go support NÜERA's kickstarter so that their swimwear is the future!


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Thursday, January 28, 2010
Bicycling and Walking in the U.S. 2010 Benchmark ReportJust out from Alliance for Biking and Walking is the 2010 Benchmarking Report (14MB pdf):
Government officials working to promote bicycling and walking need data to evaluate their efforts. In order to improve something, there must be a means to measure it. The Alliance for Biking & Walking's Benchmarking Project is an ongoing effort to collect and analyze data on bicycling and walking in all 50 states and at least the 50 largest cities. This is the second biennial Benchmarking Report. The first report was published in the fall of 2007, and the next report is scheduled to be published in January 2012.According to the report, Virginia has a long way to go in comparison with other states. We rank in the bottom third ranking for Mode Share, Funding, and Bike/Ped Policies. DC on the other hand is one of the only cities ranking in the top third in all categories.
Labels: alliance for biking and walking, benchmarking report


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Gallic Charm Triumphs in Montréal!
Place des Arts
Montréal, Quebec
September 29, 2011
A Nugget of Gold from Gounod
I must confess that I warm instantly to any conductor who programs either of Gounod's symphonies, beautiful and joyous pieces, rarely performed. I much prefer either one of them to Bizet's vastly overplayed Symphony in C major from the same period. In fact, Gounod was Bizet's teacher and Bizet very likely modeled his symphony on that of his mentor.
While one generally thinks of Gounod in terms of Grand Opera, his compositions do include some symphonies modeled after those of Haydn and early Beethoven. Apparently, he wasn't much influenced by the contributions of Berlioz to French music; there isn't much drama or angst in Gounod's symphonies – not much originality either. There are, however, plenty of perky tunes and playful rhythms. Plasson's reading of Symphony No. 1 would have benefitted from more energy and bravado – surely the trumpet fanfares in the last movement require more assertiveness than Plasson allowed – but happily, the music was well played.
Compelling Collaboration with Capuçon
Cellist Gautier Capuçon has been steadily building his reputation in Europe and recently scored a huge triumph when he performed with his brother Renaud (violin) and Gustavo Dudamel (conductor) in a concert broadcast to theatres around the world. With Plasson and the OSM, Capuçon gave a superb account of Saint-Saens' Cello Concerto No. 1. His technique is beyond reproach and his tone full and pleasing in every register. The piece is cleverly scored to allow the cello to be heard at its softest, and Plasson went a step further in getting the OSM musicians to follow suit as required.
Perplexing Ravel and Repressed Roussel
After intermission the orchestra practically doubled in size for the Ravel and Roussel. Ravel's Valses nobles et sentimentales is a strange work that usually leaves audiences perplexed. Most of the waltzes are so slow as to be unrecognizable as waltzes and the last section is melancholy to the point of depression. There is nothing in this composition approaching the colour and excitement of Ravel's more famous waltz piece,La Valse. On its own terms, however, Valses nobles et sentimentales is a marvel of intricate harmonic and timbral invention and Plasson and the OSM gave it its due.
Albert Roussel (1869-1937) has always been a maverick in Twentieth Century French music. As impressionistic as Debussy, he too was fascinated by the music and culture of other countries. He was also a classicist, writing four symphonies while Debussy and Ravel wrote none. His ballet score Bacchus et Ariane recalls the driving rhythms of Le sacre du printemps and the sensuality of Bartok's Miraculous Mandarin.
The Suite No. 2 from Bacchus et ariane is probably Roussel's most frequently played piece today and audiences generally respond positively to its colour and excitement. It is also hauntingly beautiful – the viola and violin solos in the opening bars against a meandering bassoon line are wonderfully eloquent - and hints at something dangerous in its Dionysian fervour. Plasson and the OSM played this music very well indeed but I came away with the impression that Plasson doesn't really do 'Dionysian.' Gallic charm and old world elegance are not enough here. The music surely requires more intensity - full-throated brass and pounding percussion - in the final section .
Exquisite Encore a Rare Treat
Plasson won me back by ending the concert with an encore. Neeme Järvi used to do encores in Detroit, but I am not aware of any other conductor doing them. For his encore on this occasion, Plasson chose the Adagietto from Bizet's L'Arlésienne and while it is a quiet piece, I have never heard it played as softly as it was on this night. What exquisite music and played with love and sensitivity! These "encore" pieces are rarely played at serious concerts anymore although one may run across them at Pops concerts. And what a great way to send an audience out into the night, with gems such as these ringing in their ears and warming their hearts. Vive Michel Plasson!
Clear and Present Sound but...
For the record, this was my second visit to the OSM's new hall and this time I sat in the third row of the Corbeille, or First Balcony. The sound was much warmer here than it was from my last seat in the Balcon or top Balcony. The quiet passages – of which there were many in this concert – sounded just right. I expected a better test of the loud passages than Plasson gave us, but once again everything was clear and had presence. So far, I am not impressed with the bass response; I don't hear that characteristic buzz on the low notes of the double basses nor does the sound of the bass drum have much depth. It is early yet and there is fine tuning to be done by the orchestra and the technicians.
Open Lobby Looking Good!
Regarding the lobby areas in the hall, I must note that I was very favorably impressed by the Parterre level space. Last time, much of this space was curtained off for VIP receptions. On this night, the lobby seemed much more spacious and the coloured lighting with furniture to match was very effective. In good weather, once the exteriors are finished, it will be possible to stroll on an outdoor terrace opening off the Parterre level at intermission.
Paul E. Robinson is the author of Herbert von Karajan: the Maestro as Superstar, and Sir Georg Solti: His Life and Music. For friends: The Art of the Conductor podcast, "Classical Airs."
Photo by: Marita
Labels: classical music blog, Concert_Review, Gautier Capuçon, La Maison symphonique, Michel Plasson, Orchestre symphonique de Montreal, OSM, Place des Arts, Ravel, Roussel, saint-saens


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Air duct efficiency depends on how airtight the system is. But the tighter the system, the longer it takes for fresh air to enter and replace older, stale air. You can help the situation by keeping your ducts clean and regularly checking the various seals and joints to make sure the system is working at peak effectiveness. Here are three key things to keep in mind with Diy air duct cleaning.
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So I managed to get a bit more assembly done on the Battlewagon and after a good shopping trip last weekend managed to get a couple of bits to get on with painting.
Heres a few blurry and not so blurry pics of the work in progress Battlewagon.
I started with a Black undercoat followed by a covering of Mithril Silver and then then Scab Red.
I went to our local game shop to pick up some greens for the Orks only to find out that the current paint Range is being canned and a new wave is coming and there wont be any new pots in for the shop until they do this. Dropper bottles? hopefully.
|Front, Blurry.
|Side, Blurry,
|Front plate
|Da Boyz go in 'ere
|Wagon with top
|With Turret and Big Shoota
All of the painting has kind of been cheated, I used this to apply my silver and my red.
|Sponge Roller
My pirate heads also turned up from MaxMini as well as my AoBR army, so I just mocked up a Boy and a Nob, waiting on my Krolmech Klaws still. The heads are beautiful sculpt, the detailing is amazing and the quality is insane, they are most certainly worth having.
|AoBR Boy with pirate head
|AoBR Nob Pirate
I went with 1 Puppets War Rolling Slaughter and 2 of the GW Sprues, they are en route now. Whilst I was on the PuppetsWar site I did see something that I thought I should pick up...
My next mob will be Mexicans! I'm trying to differentiate between boyz so if I run a Green tide or just multiple suqads of Boyz they will all have something a bit unique to them.


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Saturday, May 19, 2012
REVIEW - 2012 Bowman
Starting off with the base card design, the first thing you'll notice is the familiar black borders are gone. I'm a little torn on this one. For the last decade or so, Topps did a great job of branding Bowman with something as simple as having a consistent black border on the base design every year. Looking at these all-white borders, I'm kind of missing that Bowman feel. But on the bright side, the black borders are notorious for showing every little imperfection along the edges, so their absence here helps rectify that.
Another change of pace is the introduction of team-specific colors into the design. In years past, the only colors to go along with the black borders were a small bit of red for veterans or green for rookies. Now you'll find blue and purple and a whole host of other colors. The team logos return in full color after showing up in gold foil last year.
There are a few things I'm not crazy about. The names being in silver foil on top of black is just as hard to read here as the the gold on black was on the flagship design. I'm also not a big fan of all the unnecessary bevels around some of the frame elements. Those are, however, small quibbles. Something that's subtle but really helps the players shine here is the light drop shadow you'll see around the guys. It more noticeable on lighter backgrounds, like the Utley one up there, but helps to add focus to subject of the card. If it were any heavier, I'd probably be bitching about it forever, but they got it about perfect here.
The back side of the base cards continue the same feel as the front, only the border here is gray instead of white. Can't figure that one out. Only having stats from the 2011 season seems like a trade-off they had to make for the veteran cards since Bowman's primary focus is prospects. The 'RESUME' 'SKILLS' and 'EVOLUTION' things are fine, though I prefer the 'UP CLOSE' section on the backs of the prospect cards, which replaces 'EVOLUTION.' One thing they kind of messed up on is having the card number in the right corner instead of the left. BASEBALL CARD LAW: horizontal backs have to be numbered in the upper left corner to help for storage box sorting.
The design for the prospect "inserts" is really, really similar to the base design. In fact, it's almost problematically similar. For the 2011 set, the prospect cards had a white border to differentiate from the black bordered-base, so it didn't really matter if the designs were similar or not. This year, though, the made the designs almost identical on top of having the same colored borders. Not sure what the thinking was there unless they're really trying to test the MLB's patience with the whole Bowman prospect worship thing. Regardless, I think it was a dumb decision.
There are parts where the designs differ, though: prospect has a symmetrically convex border compared to trapezoidally-shaped base border with the little weird notches on each side; the cutout for the position on the bottom is wider and rounder for the prospect design; the base set doesn't have those weird wing things on each side of the logo. I think if the base design didn't have those notches or if the prospect set didn't have the wings, you'd have an all-around better design for one or the other. But holy hell, they shouldn't look this similar.
I'll give them credit regarding the autographs, though. They did away with the facsimile autos on the 'base' prospect cards, which really helps the make the actual auto cards more unique.
Just like every other Topps product, this one comes with lots of parallels. Gold, blue, red, orange, green, blue, international, blue, red ice, silver ice, Dentyne ice, blue. I think the flags on the international is kinda neat. The silver and red ice versions are basically just atomic refractors. Really, they have at least twice as many parallels as they should, if not more. But in honor of the Preakness today, I'll refrain from beating that dead horse.
Finishing up here is this year's edition of the Bowman's Best insert. Again, they have the red version for veterans and blue for prospects. There are also die-cut versions, which have all kinds of crazy refractor parallels themselves. Design-wise, I like the different textures on the swoosh and the background. Along with the type and name bar, I appreciate the simplicity of the design.
Overall, I think there's some pretty good, modern design here even if it's not completely "Bowman."
Base cards: 4.25/5
Parallels: 3.5/5
Prospects: 4.25/5
Inserts: 4/5
Posted by Ross at 5/19/2012 10:15:00 PM 0 comments
Labels: 2012, auto, base, bowman, die-cut, elvis andrus, insert, jesus montero, Matt Moore, parallel, prospect, review, utley, Yoennis
Friday, May 18, 2012
Pennant Throwbacks
So one of the things that really jumps out at me when thumbing through retro sets like Gypsy Queen is when you see a card like this next to a card like this. No matter how many filters you run on photos of current-day players, they'll never quite match that historic feeling you get from old photos of retired players. One way to help bridge the gap would be to feature today's guys wearing throwback uniforms.
Here's the first insert set for the Pennant brand. The design for Throwbacks isn't specific to a certain era, just a bit of an amalgamation of a handful of characteristics you'll find in various retro sets. It kind of follows the philosophy of the base set, combining a feel for the old and contemporary.
The hard part here is finding the right images in a somewhat shallow pool. There aren't a whole lot of throwback games on the schedule so the odds of finding an actual star wearing these duds in a good photo are a bit smaller than usual. The Lincecum image here is from a 2008 game while the Kemp one is from last season. The color boxes aren't the exact shades you'll find in the teams' styleguides, but they're in the right neighborhood to allow for the sometimes funky colors of the throwback unis.
Another wrinkle to add to the set is a relic parallel. With a round cutout just above the last name, it's a perfect place to house a sliver of these throwbacks. And, luckily, since the uniforms depicted are so singularly unique, you know that the swatch is from the actual uniform depicted. Even though it's the Dodgers, you have to love that baby blue relic.
Here's what the base and relic look like side by side.
On the backside, you'll see the write-up is specific to the game in each throwback uniform is involved. The base has a game recap along with a little bit of info regarding the throwback worn. For the relic version, it includes the fine print of the swatch being authentic and unique to the player and uniform depicted.
Posted by Ross at 5/18/2012 09:44:00 PM 0 comments
Labels: 2012, concept, design, halladay, insert, jersey, kemp, Lincecum, old, parallel, pennant, relic, retro, spirit, throwback
Monday, May 7, 2012
Spirit Deluxe Portraits
Trying to come up with 'new' or 'innovative' ideas for cards isn't as easy as I thought it was going to be. Even though there are plenty of complaints to levy at Topps for some of their product choices, they actually do quite a few things that are pretty successful and cool. At this point, most of their missteps come from constructing releases and not so much the actual cards themselves. People like autographs and minis and parallels and short prints and die-cuts and memorabilia and just about every other 'gimmick' out there to varying degrees. But all in all, these are basic elements that go into constructing a set.
This blog has basically been me just rearranging some or all of these elements into what I think would be fun to manufacture. If there were another licensee out there releasing product in 2012, these are things I could see fitting into the marketplace, acting as either a supplement or an alternative to Topps.
That brings us to the cards in this post. I was looking for another 'insert' or whatever you'd like to call it for the Deluxe set. I didn't feel like doing one of those triple swatch, nickname cutout sticker autos that you find in Triple Threads. Even though Deluxe is Spirit's 'high-end' product, it's probably more in tune with something like Finest (which is definitely the very top of my own personal price range.) I see that Topps plans on having some die-cuts in Finest this year, but hopefully this doesn't come across as copy-catting.
The second version is the die-cut parallel, here with David Price. The design is basically the same except the obvious die cut edges around the player. And finishing off the trio is the die-cut auto version, seen at the top with Brett Lawrie.
Even though parallels can sometimes be redundant and annoying, I feel like this insert captures the best aspects of paralleling a design. Each version offers something different other than just a different color border or refraction. The whole 'cut-out head' thing may seem a little hokey for a 'high-end' set, but I think it's fun. And if you ask me, fun is definitely something we could all use more of in card design these days.
Posted by Ross at 5/07/2012 10:35:00 AM 2 comments
Labels: 2012, auto, concept, david price, deluxe, design, die-cut, jaime garcia, lawrie, parallel, spirit
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