text:
THE Myth, Part IV -- The Awakening: The women, after.
And THE Myth, Part II: The women, before.
And THE Myth, Part III: In which I'm no Picasso grows a pair.
There was something strange in the air in the ROK come late summer, 2009. I was nearly the end of my first year, and I was doing a lot of reflection back to when I had first arrived, how things had been then, and how things were now. And there was something discernibly different.
It wasn't uncommon, suddenly, for me to be out and about in my local area and spot not just the occasional woman amongst a myriad of male companions, but even groups of women. And they didn't seem miserable at all. They were laughing and talking and interacting with the people around them -- they seemed happy. The men in the area had changed as well. Now, when I walked into the local foreigner bars, nearly everyone inside would turn around and smile, whether they knew me or not, the men included. There were also more women, both Korean and Western, mixed in with the groups of men.
Even stranger, I had begun to have very different first encounters with Western women. Standing outside a local university one day, smoking a cigarette, one made her way toward me. After a few minutes discussing all the usual details, she looked up at me out of the corner of her eyes, squinted and said, "So, have you got it?"
"Got what?"
"The fever."
"The I'm sorry?"
"Yellow fever. I don't mean that exactly, but you know what I mean. Are you into Korean guys?"
And then something earth-shattering happened: threads began to appear on Dave's ESL Cafe started by women who were planning to come to Korea. The subject of these threads were not what they would need to bring along with them, or how to sort out the details of their contracts -- they were what to expect of the dating situation with Korean men, and how the culture would be different. And for the first time I'd ever witnessed on Dave's, not only were there enough women with strong enough voices to shout down the occasional asshat who stumbled in and posted something along the lines of "UR ALLZ GONNA BE SAD AND LONELY RAAAAH!" and "SMALL PENISES! WAHEY!" and "FAT! FEMINIST!", but there were also a number of male posters contributing to the conversation in a respectful, non-threatened manner.
I had begun to spot my first Western female/Korean male couples holding hands around Seoul. Something was definitely up.
These were small, but noticeable changes. And if we had worked hard enough at it, eventually we would have made enough small, but noticeable changes for it to culminate into one big change. One big change that would mean that we no longer had to endure hysterical laughter at the prospect of us, as Western women, being involved with Asian men. That would mean we no longer had to protest in vain against a group of men who were so thoroughly entrenched in their own mythology about our situations here, that even our real life experience felt measly as an example against their continued insistence that they knew better than we did. That would mean we didn't have to deal with all kinds of side-eye and rude, childish, unacceptable behavior when we were seen out with Korean men.
But this is where the Korean dating bloggers came in and made one big change all at once. Gave a validating and public platform to not only their own experiences as Western women with Korean men, but also opened up dialogue and discussion without shame among a whole lot of Western women (and men) at once.
I cannot, no matter how hard I try, remember how I first came across them. I can't even remember which one I found first. But around this same time, somebody somewhere drew my attention to three blogs. These blogs were Dating in Korea, Hooking up in Hanguk and Hot Yellow Fellows.
Women were blogging in Korea. Women were blogging in Korea about dating. Women were blogging in Korea about dating Korean men. And other women around the world were eating it up.
These women weren't sad and lonely. They most certainly were not sexless. And, most importantly, anonymity for the sake of sexual content aside, they were not embarrassed. They had no reason to be. And the men they were with were attractive to them, and the men they were with were not sexually impotent.
For the first time ever, if a post came up on Dave's quoting that quickly-becoming-ancient-and-defunct myth about how Western women and Korean men just didn't happen, women didn't have to repeat that that wasn't true for them, over and over again, while being shouted down as liars or delusional: they could just post a few links and let the men see for themselves. Women all around me had started speaking up: Did you hear about? Did you see? Me too. I like them, too.
And for the first time ever, women back in the States or the UK or Australia or New Zealand or South Africa looking to come to the ROK could do a google search and find something other than male-dominated dialogue about the female experience. Or a complete lack of information entirely. They were no longer reliant on the male retelling of the myth -- the myth had finally been dealt an unequivocal and fatal blow.
Did they end world hunger? No. Neither did they solve the crisis in the Middle East. I'm not going to grandstand about the importance of what the dating bloggers did, but they did alter the perception of what foreign women in Korea could realistically expect of their time here. And they put an end to a hell of a lot of superiority women had been dealing with out of male foreigners for a long time. It is bigger than 'omg Nichkhun Oppah saranghaeyo~~!' It is bigger than just having a 'thing' for Korean guys, or even just the acceptance of Western female/Korean male couplings. It has had an impact on relations within the foreinger community, as well. Women are no longer to be thought of as straggling, desperate albatrosses hanging around the necks of their male counterparts -- they have options. They are on equal footing.
In a way, it's a shame that that's what it took. That being able to prove that Western women could have sex in Korea could have such a powerful effect on the expat community's collective psyche. And we're not all the way there yet -- not by a long shot. But you can trust that anytime you hear a comment or see a post online about the myth, it's coming from someone who is tragically out of date, and at least somewhat isolated in their own experience. Now, women are not the ones who are obviously left out in the cold -- it's the people who make these claims that are clearly 'sad and lonely'. On that, nearly everyone can now, finally, agree.
This is where this post originally ended. And then, something else happened. DIK and HYF got called out by an anonymous commenter, who one can only assume has not had her dainty little feet on Korean soil for too long, for creating a bad image of foreign women in Korea. This anonymous poster had been approached by "a few" Korean men whose end designs were sexual relations, and had decided that this was the fault of DIK, HYF and other women like them, who are open about the fact that yes, actually they can have relationships (of all kinds!) here in the ROK.
Something else happened before that, when another K dating blogger (again, a woman), who I won't link for diplomacy's sake, made a few different rather biting comments about having seen foreign women who were, in her eyes, less than attractive (again, stating things mildly) with Korean men.
And I just think.... one step forward, two steps back. And who's doing it this time? Western men in Korea? No. Other women.
We can't win, apparently, even with ourselves. We don't have sex in Korea, and it's because we can't, because nobody wants us. We do have sex in Korea, and it's somehow to blame for the long history of a very heavily documented and obvious stereotypes of Western women that have existed in Korea since the concept of Western woman has existed in Korea. We're the reason why men engage in repulsive assumptions and unacceptable behavior toward us. And when we do finally start having sex, it's not because we're deserving of it, but only because -- suddenly! -- Korean men aren't not attracted to Western women -- they are, in fact, attracted to all of us, regardless of whether or not we are actually attractive.
And when the comment section here on I'm no Picasso takes a hit from that old dinosaur of a nuisance, the bitter, out-of-touch-with-reality, nasty, entitled white male, what happens? Do women step in and get back in their faces? No. One did. Everyone else stayed out of it. But when women start attacking other women on DIK's blog? Women come out of the wood works to leave reams of comments echoing the same exact ideology. (To be fair, many also commented to back the dating bloggers up -- but it was about 50/50, all the way through.)
What the fuck?
I mean, I'm going to go a little liberal arts college 101 on you all here for a minute. Some of us come from a little thing called the working class. Some of us grew up in this world and processed it on first a literal level, only to go on to then study it excessively theoretically at university. Which changed things. The two identities I have which I have most closely examined have been that of being working class and that of being a woman. They are both identities that I was born into with no input or responsibility of my own. They're both identities that I have always felt fiercely defensive of, since a time before I was able to articulate that defense on anything other than a guttural level. And my articulation of that defense, to this day, remains somewhat guttural. That part of me wants to tell everyone to just get fucked and mind their own fucking business -- to fuck off out of my face, because I don't have to explain shit to anyone. It's not my job to educate you about myself, what I am and where I come from, so that you can "understand" why I have the same rights as you do. If you don't understand me, if you don't like the rights I claim for myself, then you don't have to keep engaging with me. In fact, I would prefer it if you wouldn't. In fact, I'm straight out telling you not to. I'm not asking you to understand me. I don't need your understanding. I'm going to take what's mine, and if you think I need to be stopped, then you're fucking welcome to try.
But when I see anyone else who falls into the category of these same identities attacking that identity, something in my heart just fails. Because the educated part of me knows where that's coming from. Knows that that is a result of carefully constructed systems of control that outside forces have put into place so that we will police ourselves. Like the racism that runs rampant through the working class, pitting the poor of this color against the poor of that color, so that they end up spending all their energy and hatred and blame on each other, instead of realizing that they're fighting over fucking scraps. And that they need to cut it the fuck out, and look up at who it is that has control over what's really worth fighting for.
So it is also with the women. Sex positive, sex negative. The marrying type and the whores. The lesbians and the straights. The uglies and the pretties. The fats and the thins. The blacks and the whites. The Westerners and the Koreans. The ones who date Westerners, and the ones who date Koreans.
Do you realize what you're doing? Do you know how far we've come? Is tearing down other women who choose to live their lives in a way that you don't really worth going back to being told that nobody wants us? Is there only room for one type of foreign woman in Korea? And are we the ones who are forcing that decision on ourselves? Where did we get that fucking idea from? Who is making your choices for you right now, while you're trying to control someone else's? Who made you feel like you have to hold another woman responsible for the sexual harassment you've gotten off of a man?
Just cut it the fuck out. It's too depressing to even cope with, honestly. That the second the vicious attacks from Western men start to move on the decline is the same second the women just start turning on each other is more than my poor heart can bear. That we are so quick to engage in vicious attacks and placing blame on each other, while we still hesitate so much to stand up for ourselves to men, still somehow needing their approval, is just evidence that it does go deeper for all of us than even we can understand at the moment. The fact that men can shut the fuck up and the same shit still goes down, and we're still damned if we do, damned if we don't, is unacceptable to me.
So. Foreigner Joy has issued a challenge to Western women in Korea to reevaluate the choices that they make in their personal sex lives and the effects those choices have on other foreign women. But sex lives are personal, and I'm not about to start getting into anyone else's personal business. What I will say is that, in the public world, I have a challenge for Western women as well, which is to think twice before you open your mouth to condemn another woman for being ______. Think about whether that woman is the secondary or primary cause of your discomfort or you objection. Think about why it is you feel the need to consantly compare yourself to other foreign women, and weigh their lifestyles or their looks or their sexuality against your own, especially when all of the end results that are offending you are coming out of the behavior of, or approval of, or lack of approval of men. Think about why you're making other women responsible.
Stop fighting over scraps. Get yours, in your own way. Live and be happy and correct the behavior of every person who tries to get in the way of that directly. Create your own image of the ideal foreign woman in Korea, and do your best to promote it right along side all the other images, so that someday we can hope to be recognized as something other than a category, by Western men, by Koreans and by other women. Because I refuse to settle for one myth, or one box that we all have to try to squeeze into. It's not enough. Demand more.
29 comments:
- Sidney said...
you are so cool
*cue nasally breathing and look of awe, because that's what i feel like when i leave all these sorts of comments on your blog
- 23:21
Right now I just want to give you a huge standing ovation concerning how you addressed the drama that has been going down on Tumblr. Were I more eloquent, I'd leave a better response, but yeah >.> Either way, excellent commentary on the situation.
- 23:28
- modest-goddess said...
It is really sad to see women policing the behavior of other women. Apparently only white men have the right to live their lives as they see fit and be treated as individuals. The rest of us are uppity for thinking otherwise.
- 03:07
- Diana said...
Love it.
Bloggers in Korea and your plethora of free time--oh how I envy you!
Thank you, Liz, for using yours for good when so many others have chosen to use it for stupid.
- 07:11
- JIW said...
I like that you talk about the history of our image in Korea. Certainly we shouldn't try to shame each other but rather coexist.
Really, great analysis.
- 07:58
- Gomushin Girl said...
- 09:37
- Gomushin Girl said...
- This comment has been removed by the author.
- 09:37
- Roboseyo said...
I put this at DIK, and now here:
This is a good place to start, in looking at the old stereotype of western women as hypersexed and easy: that image is WAY older than the Female Dating blogs.
it's petty and ignorant for people to foist those stereotypes on the dating blogs, and I salute all of you who've written about it. Expect a post about it sometime on Roboseyo, as well.
- 12:14
I just read this entire four-parter, and I want to applaud you for saying what needs to be said. My experience in Korea was similar to yours. I arrived in 2007 and even as recently as this year, I have run into Western men who have told me how awful my life must be in Korea because I'm a Western woman, which was just not true (the part about it being awful). I have also seen you posting on Dave's about this topic in the past, and I have been there too.
- 02:49
- Lola O. said...
I read all four parts, and I'm hoping this isn't the end, but if it is what a great call to action.
I've been reading the hate comments on DIK and it makes me sad for other women to be putting blame on other women. If they don't like it, then don't read it, and if you are going to disagree show some respect for the blogger and yourself by not resorting to playground immaturity.
Like you said, there is no reason for us to all fit into one defined box. We create our own images, and we should respect that other women do the same.
Great post, great blog!!!
- 22:20
- Unknown said...
I love your blog. You always have something rock-solid to say. Now I feel like I should get off my ass and start writing posts again.
- 00:30
- The Realistic Optimist said...
It is amazing how this is so parallel with how a good number of black men and women (read: boys and girls) treat each other, especially when the women want to date interracially. The whole 'men (not all cases, of course) telling them that no one wants them' and 'they're just doing it because they're too ugly/crazy/insert ignorant stereotype here for black men to be interested'thing. Then there are the insecure women who also start going after the ones that have decided to broaden their options in hopes of gaining approval of said men. It's completely ridiculous. There are two things things I completely loathe: selective ignorance and insecurity projection. Both present in these cases.
Also, I'm with fleursdelis on the standing ovation. Very well said.
One last comment, and I may be opening up an old can of worms, but, on the point about the not-to-be-named blogger that mentioned another foreign girl's unattractiveness: I happened to read said post - and said "discussion". I don't believe that was meant to be a diss on all other foreign girls in Korea. I myself, if I see a girl that is just like 'hmm...' with a very attractive guy I used to think: 'Why in the world is he with her?' or: 'There must be something wrong with him.' Then, as I got older, I made a point to think to myself:'She must be an awesome person/have an awesome personality!' Then I got to a point where I see what I think is a physical mismatch and just watch them interact for a few seconds (non-creepily) and think: 'That's nice. They seem happy.' Likewise, I did/do the exact same thing when I see a gorgeous/very pretty girl with a guy that is subpar at best. It's not always something meant to be catty or condescending. (Of course, I know that in some cases it clearly is - see aforementioned loathe for insecurity projection.) It's instinct to judge, and it's not right, but it's something one has to train themselves away from.
- 13:36
- The Realistic Optimist said...
This and the above post is Ashley. I created some kind of something stupid a long time ago apparently and when I signed in with my gmail, it brought that ID up. I've never commented on a blog so I don't know what the heck I'm doing
- 13:40
- I'm no Picasso said...
MPDG -- Do it! Blog it up!
WNT -- I was thinking when I was writing it, how many of the identifying descriptors you could remove and replace with others. It's a long, tired story unfortunately.
Regarding the blogger who shall not be named, I understand how people who only observed the one incident would be inclined to feel that way. Unfortunately, it wasn't a one time thing. It had been a common thread that I, and a few others, had carefully watched progress through several posts, which finally just culminated into something that I, and a few others, felt the need to just directly address. It's about an entire attitude -- not one snarky comment on one particular incident that just happened to involve those two categories in that particular way.
- 13:42
- The Realistic Optimist said...
Ahh. Point taken. Well fortunately - or unfortunately - for her, if she didn't pick up on the problem, then she'll just have to learn the hard way. Life is sweet like that.
- Ashley (this is the id I'm sticking with)
- 16:35
- Afghanistan Banana Stand said...
I've really enjoyed this series. I asked the question which you started to answer in part I. I will read part IV tomorrow and maybe give you feedback. ;) ;)
I guess I had something like this in mind when I asked the question. I've lived in the states for a long time now but I grew up in Seoul. I've had more trouble dating girls here than in the states because I would meet the attitude that you mention a lot. Maybe it was more out in the open or more prominent in Seoul back then (you made it sound as though Seoul is a bit different now). I remember that guys would tell me openly and in front of girls I liked that they were not interested in me. At first, I wondered how they *knew*. After all, I am one of the most handsome men in the whole wide world.
Maybe I'll have more to say about what you wrote tomorrow when it isn't really late. I really enjoy your blog too. It's one of the few I read.
- 03:30
- Afghanistan Banana Stand said...
Comment on Part I:
I was really surprised that your girl friends in the states had those sorts of umm prejudices. I didn't come up against that much, but that might be explained by where I lived. (There was some, "You think *she* would want to be with *you*?" stuff. But that was always from guys or ditzy girls.)
Comment on Part IV:
Nice post. I'm glad things are not so bad as the bad old days. I didn't expect thins to be different now. I didn't expect that. Well, I guess we'll see about that.
- 18:57
- I'm no Picasso said...
ABS -- I was surprised as well. I don't think it was so much like... Asian American men? As the idea of Korean Korean men. Like FOBiness, or whatever. I guess not realizing that *I* would be the one who was FOB. I don't really know.
But yeah. Looooooads of girls are wild for Korean guys these days. If you don't believe me, amble on over to Tumblr and see for yourself. They all live there. There are literally dozens of blogs dedicated to the subject, at this point.
- 19:02
- Unknown said...
There are so many things that I want to say about this post, so many exclamations of agreement that I want to make!
But, mostly, I want to thank you. Thank you for so articulately expressing and representing all of the very real feelings of living as an independent, free-willed and genuine female in Korea land.
Excellent job. I so often feel like you have taken whole ideas and conversations out of my head and the heads of my girl friends in Korea.
So, thanks. You're doing the whole female expat community in Korea a service.
- 10:58
- Kitty English said...
I lived in ROK in 2007/2008 and I've loved reading this series of blogs. Although I ended up with a GI and moving on out to Germany, I came across everything you talked about when I first came to Korea. I got laughed at for finding Korean men hot, told I would be lonely there (by both men and women), and that Korean men thought all Western women ugly (which is total shit lol). I also came across a lot of nastiness about Korean women and how they're all apparently pathetic. I am so happy the situation seems to be improving (even if there is the girl vs girl nastiness), so thank you for this series.
- 07:37
- I'm no Picasso said...
Kitty -- It has gotten even so much better since I wrote this blog post. On the rare occasion when I'm out in Bupyeong now, I see just as many foreign women out having a good time as foreign men, and better yet, they are all intermingling with each other as peers. Even though it's not really my scene anymore, as I'm old as hell in comparison, it's really nice to see.
- 17:55
- Unknown said...
The overarching theme is that most non asian women, and increasingly (and bizarrely asian women) initially have no idea about asian men. It doesn't help that asian men do not interact with them often (partly due to the racism that occurs when such interactions happen - see blacks and whites interacting decades ago). Thus, they resort to stereotypes, myths and rumours - the same stereotypes created by white men, for the benefit of white men. Ones that help them be with whoever they want, but restrict their women to predominantly only liking white men - after all none of them can be proven, until they associate with asian men - which they can't do because white society pushes them not to.
It's all one giant PR exercise. He who shouts the loudest is right and therefore gets all the girls.
- 21:49
loving the blog.
As a American who (and my friends as well)are what you might identify as douchebags, fratboys, etc. let me just say this:
The odd misogynistic comment that comes out of my social circle, which is often characterized as the most negative cliche of masculinity today, is rarely malicious. We are vulgar towards women because we are vulgar towards ourselves. It's just how we play.
In fact, males who come off as truly misogynistic are ostracized, or shit on all the time for being uncomfortable with their own sexuality.
It is in my experience, as a person who hangs around with terribly politically incorrect males, as well as self-styled feminists and well, girls who are just plain hungry for dick, that the majority of slut-shaming and sexual judging of women come from other American women.
- 19:45
loving the blog.
As someone you might identify as a douchebag, fratboy, etc. let me say this:
The odd misogynistic comment that comes out of my social circle (and we are often characterized as the most negative cliche of masculinity there is), is rarely malicious. We are vulgar towards women because we are vulgar towards ourselves. It's just how we play, and to treat women any different than we treat our peers of all races, religions, and sexual orientation, is an insidious form of condescension.
In fact, males who come off as truly misogynistic are ostracized, shit on all the time for being uncomfortable with their own sexuality.
It is in my experience, as a person who hangs around with politically incorrect males, as well as self-styled feminists and well, girls who are just plain hungry for dick, that the majority of slut-shaming and sexual judging of women come from other American women.
I really don't see a lot of negativity towards female sexuality, interracial dating etc. coming from guys. For the most part, the worst it gets is some lame joke.
- 19:50
loving the blog.
As someone you might identify as a douchebag, fratboy, etc. let me say this:
The odd misogynistic comment that comes out of my social circle (and we are often characterized as the most negative cliche of masculinity there is), is rarely malicious. We are vulgar towards women because we are vulgar towards ourselves. It's just how we play, and to treat women any different than we treat our peers of all races, religions, and sexual orientation, is an insidious form of condescension.
In fact, males who come off as truly misogynistic are ostracized, shit on all the time for being uncomfortable with their own sexuality.
It is in my experience, as a person who hangs around with politically incorrect males, as well as self-styled feminists and well, girls who are just plain hungry for dick, that the majority of slut-shaming and sexual judging of women come from other American women.
I really don't see a lot of negativity towards female sexuality, interracial dating etc. coming from guys. For the most part, the worst it gets is some lame joke.
- 19:50
loving the blog.
As someone you might identify as a douchebag, fratboy, etc. let me say this:
The odd misogynistic comment that comes out of my social circle (and we are often characterized as the most negative cliche of masculinity there is), is rarely malicious. We are vulgar towards women because we are vulgar towards ourselves. It's just how we play, and to treat women any different than we treat our peers of all races, religions, and sexual orientation, is an insidious form of condescension.
In fact, males who come off as truly misogynistic are ostracized, shit on all the time for being uncomfortable with their own sexuality.
It is in my experience, as a person who hangs around with politically incorrect males, as well as self-styled feminists and well, girls who are just plain hungry for dick, that the majority of slut-shaming and sexual judging of women come from other American women.
I really don't see a lot of negativity towards female sexuality, interracial dating etc. coming from guys. For the most part, the worst it gets is some lame joke.
- 19:51
holy shit, did not realize I was reposting. Sorry about that. If you could just delete the first few posts...
- 19:52
- Unknown said...
I love your stories and style! I'm a white american woman married to a Korean man from Korea, we met at university in the states while he was a foreign exchange student. At first, I did get a lot of disbelief from friends (american and koreans) that I was actually interested in dating this Korean guy. Even the Korean girls were surprised I was interested (this led to a whole chapter of drama/jealousy in itself!). I had white male friends say to me seriously "Be careful, you know asian men have a reputation for being abusive right?" (Lol like white men don't I always thought?). Anyway him and I just simply learned to ignore all ghe negativity and learn about each other. This was no easy process and took a good year of drama from whites and koreans that we knew. I actually had a terrible time with a korean woman that he was friends with before I met him. When I started dating him, she became very jealous and actively tried to cause damage in our relationship by calling him often, inviting him over, etc. Now before I started dating him, she had never expressed any romantic tendencies to him at all. She was sleeping with many other men at the time and only tended to use him for rides. Anyway when he stoped giving her attention and focused on me, she became very hateful towards me and one day flat out said, "You stole him from the Koreans!" So you see it isn't always white men making interracial relationships between korean men and white women difficult, other people too! Anyway my then fiancee finally got beyond annoyed and flatly told her in Korean "K is prettier then you by a long shot, you're fake and stupid and please never ever talk to me or her again, I don't want you, I never did." And that was the end of that.
Anyway, we were married nearly 3 years and 1 baby ago! I've lived in Korea and the states with him and now we are living in Korea with our gorgeoud korean/white baby girl. Koreans are generally very nice to our family, Korean men are very curious and ask my husband questions about how our relationship is and even sometimes sex, but he says he just loves me for me. His family has always been nice to me as well amd love their grandchild! As far as the expat men, well I guess my opinion is like yours, some are dicks, some are nice! I have seen western men poke fun at me for being with my husband (I had one man, some young arrogant jerk, laugh at me for being pregnant with my husband no joke). I really don't have anything to do with western men in Korea, I don't care for most. The western females are much cooler but even some of them can be very unfriendly, snotty, and cliqueish.
Anyway thank you for your great blog!
- 16:06
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- 15:27


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tags: philosophy, history, literature
Gatsby needs no introduction or praise from me. It's a contender for the elusive title of `Great American Novel' - though I don't think it is. It's a pretty great novel though and an unforgettable reading experience. I still remember the first time I read it, many years ago, when I knew nothing at a... more
tags: philosophy, history, literature
Alina Hansen said: One of the best books by Fitzgerald. The characters make the story, reflecting an attitude attributed to the 'party people' of the raging '20's, Zelda and Scott Fitzgerald, leaving disaster and destruction in their wake.
tags: I read
tags: I read
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Al Stone said: Love, love, loved this book.
tags: I recommend, I read
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subset: commoncrawl


text:
In case you haven't heard, Alex Ovechkin and tennis player Maria Kirilenko announced their split Monday. Goodbye, incredibly athletic Russian power couple. An SI report said that the breakup occurred over Ovechkin's Instagram photo with another girl, but according to Kirilenko, that's false.
Russian Machine Never Breaks translated part of this Sovetsky Sport interview, and Kirilenko scoffed at the idea that one photo of Ovechkin, with Russian gymnast Karolina Sevastyanova, ruined their relationship.
Here's an excerpt. "Sasha" refers to Ovechkin:
Maria, can you comment on the story about the pictures with Sasha and [gymnast Karolina Sevastyanova] on social networks, which are being so vigorously discussed in the media?
Maria Kirilenko: Believe me, over the years I have seen so many pictures of Sasha in the company of young ladies, that I have gotten used to it. That is normal. We are public figures, and people often want to take pictures with us. This is the first time I heard about this girl, and I made my decision to break up the engagement long before these pictures appeared on the social networks. It is laughable to point to them as the main reason behind the breakup – after three years together couples do not break up over a couple of pictures. There are much more significant reasons. I will not go into any more details about them. But let's just say it is not a secret for anybody that Sasha has certain habits and particulars of behavior that I did not consider worth tolerating anymore.
That last sentence is a solid passive-aggressive burn. So, why did the two separate? Kirilenko wouldn't elaborate beyond "a lot of reasons."
[Russian Machine Never Breaks]
Photo via Instagram


text: LinkedIn is rolling out an entirely redesigned privacy and security settings page aimed at helping users find important information quicker and navigate controls easier. The redesign, which is a change that many users have requested in the past, started rolling out this week, says Nico Posner, principal product manager at LinkedIn. While the interface is different, it's important to note that no member settings or defaults have been changed with this design update.\n5 LinkedIn Privacy Settings You Need to Know\nCIO.com's LinkedIn Bible\nLinkedIn Quick Tip: How to Discover the Hottest New Job Skills\nLinkedIn's former Account Settings page, which housed profile settings, privacy settings, personal information, account information and more, was a dense page organized in list form.The new design does away with the list and functions more as an interactive settings dashboard, logically grouping together preferences in an easy-to-navigate page.The top half of the page highlights information about you and your account. You can view how long you've been a LinkedIn member, change your primary e-mail or password and upgrade to a paid account. You'll also be able to see remaining InMails, introductions and the status of ad campaigns, if you manage one.Below that are the majority of your LinkedIn account and privacy settings, including ones associated with your profile; e-mail preferences; groups, companies and applications; and account. Toggling between these settings is made easier by grouping them into tabs, eliminating the need to scroll up and down the page like before.LinkedIn also added a new module to the right side of the page with links to the most frequently asked questions regarding your settings. This makes finding what you're looking for easier and with fewer clicks. Another change you'll notice: Rather than sending you to a new page when updating a privacy or security preference, you'll complete the change in a pop-up window, without leaving the Account Settings dashboard. "[Fewer] clicks let you change your settings faster," Posner says.Linkedin's Account Settings page was due for an overhaul. The new design makes better use of less space and is more intuitive, helping you find what you're looking for quicker .Kristin Burnham covers Consumer Technology, SaaS, Social Networking and Web 2.0 for CIO.com. Follow Kristin on Twitter @kmburnham. Follow everything from CIO.com on Twitter @CIOonline and on Facebook. E-mail Kristin at mailto:email@example.com.


text:
Rubio Silence: Waiting for His Maiden Speech
Among the 13 Senators sworn in last January, Sen. Marco Rubio is the only one who has yet to speak on the floor.
The Florida Republican says he's just waiting for the right moment for his maiden speech, which his staff suggested could be quite soon.
"It's the issues that will ultimately draw him out to speak," Rubio spokesman Alex Burgos said. "When he says something, it will be because he has something to say. It's not a matter of checking a box."
As a high-profile Republican Latino, Rubio has more to lose than some of his freshman classmates. He came to the Senate with high expectations from the 2010 campaign, when he was staunchly supported by conservative kingpin Sen. Jim DeMint (S.C.), and he has been recently mentioned in the mix of 2012 vice presidential picks.
Many of Rubio's colleagues gave their maiden speeches fairly quickly. Sens. Roy Blunt (R-Mo.) and Rand Paul (R-Ky.) spoke in early February, less than a month after they were sworn in. Seven other freshman Senators spoke in March, and three in April. Sen. Dean Heller (R-Nev.), who was sworn in earlier this week, has not yet spoken.
When Rubio does make his debut on the Senate floor, Burgos said the Senator's maiden speech will likely pertain to the debt ceiling. So far, much of the Senate debate has centered on government spending in the next six months and not the debt crisis over the next six years.
"Now as we reach a stage in this Senate term where the focus increasingly turns to the debt ceiling debate, that is a conversation that Sen. Rubio definitely wants to be a part of," Burgos said.
Political observers say the wait is in keeping with Rubio's overall political strategy of keeping his head down.
"The maiden speech is the speech that commands the most attention," GOP strategist Doug Heye said. "My sense is that he wants to make sure when he does so, it's on these important issues, so when he does weigh in, it carries more weight."
In a way, Rubio's five-month wait is a throwback to earlier times in the Senate.
A century ago, freshman lawmakers were expected to open their mouths only to vote or take a drink for their first three years in office, according to Senate Historian Don Ritchie.
Ritchie said freshman Members believed that by showing humility and remaining silent until they had learned the ropes of the chamber, they would earn the respect of senior Senators.
"It is not to address the nation or constituents but to address colleagues," Ritchie said. "It's to establish who they are, what they're interested in and how seriously they should be taken."
Senators use their maiden speech as an opportunity to set the tone for their term in office. Speeches are typically noncontroversial, and they address the issues Senators believe to be most important and pay homage to the lawmaker's predecessor and state.
But the decision of when to deliver a maiden speech was never governed by concrete rules, only by custom.
"It used to be a couple years, then a couple months, then a couple weeks, and now it seems like it's a couple days," Ritchie said.
In recent years, the practice of waiting to deliver a maiden speech has slowly withered away.
Then-Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton (D-N.Y.) gave her maiden speech on the topic of health care on Feb. 13, 2001, a little more than a month after she was sworn in. Then-Sen. Barack Obama (D-Ill.) gave a more impromptu speech on counting Ohio's electoral votes on Jan. 6, 2005, just two days after he was sworn in.
Heye said there's no reason for Rubio to give a speech until he's ready.
"He's not rushed," Heye said. "He's really learning how the Senate operates before doing so."
The delay has certainly heightened expectations for the speech.
"Of course, everybody's always interested in the first time that a new Member sits up to speak and what they're going to speak about," Ritchie said. "Not everybody is successful in their maiden speech, but it helps to take your measure and to see what issues are particularly important to you."
Freshmen Use Rite of Passage to Speak Their Minds
The maiden speech is a rite of passage in the halls of the Senate: It's the first time a freshman Member speaks on the Senate floor.
Although the tradition has changed, the Senate still takes it very seriously. In the past, Members have discussed domestic and foreign policy, retold family stories and given stemwinders on pet issues.
Below are excerpts of maiden speeches from 12 freshman Senators sworn in earlier this year. (Florida Republican Marco Rubio and Nevada Republican Dean Heller have not yet given maiden speeches.)
Sen. Roy Blunt (R-Mo.)
Feb. 1: Health care
"Americans deserve a country where the people are bigger than the government, and this health care bill opens the door to a future where the government is bigger than the people."
Sen. Rand Paul (R-Ky.)
Feb. 2: Government spending
"Henry Clay's great compromise was over slavery. One could argue that he rose above sectional strife to carve out compromise after compromise trying to ward off civil war. Or one could argue that his compromises were morally wrong and may have encouraged war, that his compromises meant the acceptance during his 50 years of public life of not only slavery, but the slave trade itself. … Today we have no issues that approach moral equivalency with the issue of slavery. Yet we do face a fiscal nightmare and potentially a debt crisis. Is the answer to compromise?"
Sen. Pat Toomey (R-Pa.)
March 1: Job creation and
fiscal discipline
"We are now rapidly closing in on the statutory limit to the amount of money that the federal government is permitted to borrow under law. … This brings to mind the case of a family that is routinely living beyond their means. When this family reaches the limit on all of the credit cards they've got, who really thinks it's a good idea to give them another credit card?"
Sen. Mike Lee (R-Utah)
March 1: Balanced budget amendment
"Benjamin Franklin used to say, 'He'll cheat without scruple, who can without fear.' I think the Congressional corollary to that might be that Congress, which can continue to engage in perpetual deficit spending, will continue to do so unless or until the people require that Congress put itself in a straitjacket."
Sen. Jerry Moran (R-Kan.)
March 10:
Fiscal discipline
"I am part of the first generation in our family to attend and graduate from college. Nothing in my background would suggest I would have the opportunity to serve as a Member of the Senate. That says something about our country and the opportunity we as Americans have to dream big and to pursue those dreams."
Sen. Dan Coats (R-Ind.)
March 15: The debt ceiling
"Returning to the Senate is, in many ways, like having a chance to re-live a part of your life, yet doing so with the benefit of experience. While I can discuss with colleagues many things that are familiar and remain the same the second time around, there is also much that has changed in our country that requires change within this institution. And it is what has changed that has brought me back to the Senate."
Sen. Richard Blumenthal (D-Conn.)
March 16: Economic growth and
job creation
"The people of Connecticut sent me here to fight for them — to fight for jobs and justice, to fight against a Capitol that caters to powerful special interests. The best moments of my career have been when we fought and won battles for ordinary people."
Sen. Rob Portman (R-Ohio)
March 16: Economic growth and
fiscal discipline
"I believe the twin challenges of our time are to revive the American economic miracle and to stop the reckless overspending by government that threatens to extinguish the American dream."
Sen. John Boozman (R-Ark.)
March 28: Job creation and
fiscal discipline
"When I was first elected to Congress as a Member of the House in 2001, former Congressman John Paul Hammerschmidt, who represented the third district of Arkansas for 26 years, gave me some excellent advice. He said, 'John, always remember, now that the election is over, there are no more Republicans, no more Democrats, only the people of Arkansas and you need to take good care of them.'"
Sen. Kelly Ayotte (R-N.H.)
April 6:
Balanced budget amendment
"When I think of what it will take to address the challenges before us, I am reminded of my 95-year-old grandfather, John Sullivan, who is a World War II veteran and what his generation went through and what he did."
Sen. John Hoeven (R-N.D.)
April 7: Job creation
"Today, while much of the nation is greatly challenged by recession and joblessness, North Dakota is strong, arguably the strongest we've been in our history. The reason is jobs. Last week we learned that North Dakota, at 3.7 percent, once again has the lowest unemployment rate in America,- a distinction we have held since June of 2008."
Sen. Ron Johnson (R-Wis.)
April 12: Government spending
"In 1902, the federal government spent 2 percent of the nation's gross domestic product. … This body played a key role in limiting federal government expansion. … All that changed in the 20th century's second decade. The Senate adopted the cloture vote, and America adopted the 16th Amendment. The federal government now had the power to tax income, and the Senate had made it easier for government to grow. And guess what, government grew."


text:
Collings 290
May 15, 2008
Collings'' 290 solidbody guitar releases P-90s from their usual fare
The Austin-based guitar company is known for their nearly-legendary build quality, and the 290's noticeably crisp edges and jewel-like fretwork are no exception. There is nothing flashy about this guitar – its see-through blond finish, black pickup covers and pickguard are all unremarkable on their own. But taken as a whole, the 290 retains a distinctive look without the need for binding or abalone. Tasteful is the word here, and subtle touches like ivoroid dot fingerboard inlays and tuner buttons, coupled with a mother of pearl Collings logo on the headstock, offer more than enough flash for a machine this focused on function. The East Indian rosewood fingerboard isn't afraid to show some grain either, adding to the guitar's classy, yet stripped down vibe.
Another aspect of the 290 that sets it apart from similar instruments is its unique, big-bottomed silhouette – the result of 3/4" more width than traditional LP-derived shapes. Other individualistic cues include an upper bout that curves back around to meet the lower cutaway section and comfortable rib/belly and lap contours on the back of the instrument. Our sample was sent with a nice, flat neck with relief measuring .006" at the eighth fret. Somewhat surprisingly, the 290 also sported "generous" action, measuring 4/64" at the 12th fret, which earned the guitar's sole criticism from a member of our staff, who declared it a little tough to play. This was no doubt due in part to Collings' use of .011 gauge strings, although I never caught on, thinking I was rocking .010s the whole time, grooving along quite nicely, thank you. I reckon the medium/high action is so dealers can set up the instruments for their specific clientele.
4/64" must be some sort of magic number, as it was also the distance from the tops of the pole pieces to the bottoms of the strings when depressed at the 22nd fret. What this "tough" setup offered was incredibly clean and detailed tones, more grown-up than we expected from what initially seemed like a stripped-down rock n' roll machine. The 290 brings depth to the table, replacing the expected snarl with an almost bell-like chime that seems to come from behind the note in the listening spectrum, made even more prominent when both pickups are active. This enables the 290 to consistently deliver some of the most beautiful clean tones I have ever experienced from a set-neck solidbody. The mix of Jason Lollar's custom pickups with Bill Collings' guitar is an almost divine pairing – at least as close as you're going to get on this mortal coil. The equally impressive dirt and raunch tones available when kicking in an OD or fuzz seem almost expected from a guitar like this, but the clean and in-between sounds are simply incredible. What's even more delightful is the 290's ability to clean up, no matter how much dirt you have stacked on, by simply rolling the volume knob back to six or so.
The dirty sounds produced by the Collings always retain definition, no matter how many electrons have been excited, although this guitar seems incapable of entering into metal territory, dutifully staying true to its roots-music heritage. The pickups are particularly lively and have that cool, just-on-the-verge-of-feedback thing going on. If you love them, they'll love you back, but quit paying attention for just a second and they will show the audience the holes in your technique faster than you can turn around and blame the drummer.
The neck, like the body shape and contours, capably displays its own personality. With a 1.7" nut width and a depth of .87" at the first fret, the neck feels wide and flat with a steady taper that provides a healthy 1" depth at the 12th fret. A slightly longer-than-average 24 7/8" scale length gives the Collings a little more snap than usual and is a nice compromise for players with both Fender and Gibson backgrounds. I don't know if it's the width, but the 290's neck is deceptively big. I initially thought it was too narrow from front to back for my liking, but I quickly became acclimated to it and was honestly shocked when I measured it, expecting it to be much thinner.
The Final Mojo
The 290 is a truly magical instrument that may be almost too much for recent P-90 converts – this guitar seems better suited to players already familiar with the ins-and-outs of what is achievable with the right mix of mahogany and P-90 pickups. But for those players, I can't think of too many other choices that can deliver this depth and variety of tone, as well as quality, for this price.
Buy if...
you''ve outgrown your current P-90 solidbody.
Skip if...
high gain is your thing.
MSRP $2600 - Collings Guitars - collingsguitars.com
Our expert has stated his case, now we want to hear yours. Share your comments and ratings below.


text:
A big thanks to Christian Cogan who was kind enough to take photos of his recently rediscovered stash of Marvel Press posters.
Thursday, September 5, 2013
1986 - Marvel Press Posters
Posted by Jason Shayer at 4:25 PM
Labels: Classic X-Men, Iron Man, Jim Lee, Marvel Press Posters, Mike Zeck, Spider-Man, The Avengers, The Punisher, Todd McFarlane, Uncanny X-Men
2 comments:
- AnonymousSeptember 6, 2013 at 3:18 PM
Those are great! Thanks a lot for posting Art Adams X-Men poster in good quality. I've been looking for it for months!ReplyDelete
The Avengers one is hanging in my "Man Cave"! I've also got the She Hulk jogging while holding an entire rock band as her Walkman!!ReplyDelete
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text:
Last night of class at Manchester Craftsmen's Guild and my weekly trip to the South Side. Just before the sky grew dark and the giant hail storm arrived. I scoped out The Cuckoo's Nest Magic Shop in a new location since June.
Juggling supplies,balls, clubs and rings, nests of boxes, a vase filled with wands, colorful balloons you can sculpt into animals- a carousel of Folkmanis and Melissa and Doug puppets, decks of cards and and everything a magician (or clown or bartender) needs to entertain an audience. Matt was nice enough to demonstrate the Magical Block trick for me after I asked what was a good trick for a beginner to learn. You can purchase it for 4 bucks! His masterful sleight of hand changed a penny into a dime, right before my eyes!
When Mark was in Kindergarten
he was a magician for the talent show
and poured a pitcher of plain water into two vessels
The water changed into blue and red.
It looked magical. I made his a black cape
and he had a a tall hat and a wand.


text:
Early Life and Work: Vinci and Florence
Leonardo was the illegitimate son of a Florentine notary and a peasant woman. Presumably he passed his childhood with his father's family in Vinci, where he developed an enduring interest in nature. Early sources describe his beauty, charm of manner, and precocious display of artistic talent. In 1466 Leonardo moved to Florence, where he entered the workshop of Verrocchio and came into contact with such artists as Botticelli, Ghirlandaio, and Lorenzo di Credi. Early in his apprenticeship he painted an angel, and perhaps portions of the landscape, in Verrocchio's Baptism of Christ (Uffizi). In 1472 he was registered in the painters' guild. The culmination of Leonardo's art during his first period in Florence is the magnificent unfinished Adoration of the Magi (Uffizi) commissioned in 1481 by the monks of San Donato a Scopeto. In this work is revealed the integration of dramatic movement and chiaroscuro that characterizes the master's mature style.
Middle Life and Mature Work: Milan and Florence
Leonardo went to Milan c.1482 and remained at the court of Ludovico Sforza for 16 years. In this time he composed the greater part of his Trattato della pittura and the extensive notebooks that demonstrate the marvelous versatility and penetration of his genius. As court artist he also organized elaborate festivals. Severe plagues in 1484 and 1485 drew his attention to problems of town planning, an interest which was revived during his last years in France. Many drawings of plans and elevations for domed churches reflect a concern with architectural problems that must have been stimulated by contact with Bramante during these years. He worked c.1488 on a model for the tambour and dome of the cathedral at Milan. In 1490 he was employed with Francesco di Giorgio as consulting engineer on the restoration of the cathedral at Pavia and later on the cathedral at Piacenza. In 1483, Leonardo, with his pupil Ambrogio de Predis, was commissioned to execute the famous Madonna of the Rocks. Two versions of the painting exist-one in the Louvre (1483-c.1486), another in the National Gallery, London (1483-1508). Leonardo's fresco of the Last Supper (Milan) was begun c.1495 and completed by 1498. This work is now badly damaged. Leonardo's own experiments with the fresco medium account in part for its disintegration, which was already noticed by 1517. Deterioration and repeated restorations have obliterated details and individual figures. Despite this, the composition and general disposition of the figures reveal a power of invention and a sublimity of spiritual content that mark the painting among the world's masterpieces.
While at Ludovico's court Leonardo also worked on an equestrian monument to the duke's father, Francesco Sforza. The work was never cast, and the model, admired by his contemporaries, perished during the French invasion of 1499. In 1511 he undertook a similar work with the commission of an equestrian monument for Gian Giacomo Trivulzio. This work was also never completed and known only through drawings related to the project. After the fall (1499) of Ludovico Sforza, Leonardo left Milan and, following brief sojourns in Mantua and Venice, returned to Florence in 1500.
Back in Florence Leonardo engaged in much theoretical work in mathematics and pursued his anatomical studies at the hospital of Santa Maria Nuova. In 1502 he entered the service of Cesare Borgia as a military engineer. His engagement took him to central Italy to study swamp reclamation projects in Piombino and to tour the cities of Romagna. At Urbino he met Niccolò Machiavelli, who later became a close friend. By 1503 he was back in Florence, where he was commissioned to execute the fresco of the battle of Anghiari. This work, like its companion piece assigned to Michelangelo, was never completed, and the cartoons were subsequently destroyed. The work exerted enormous influence on later artists, however,and some impression of the original may be had from anonymous copies in the Uffizi and Casa Horne (Florence), from an engraving of 1558 of Lorenzo Zacchia, and from a drawing by Rubens (Louvre). From about this time dates the celebrated Mona Lisa (Louvre), the portrait of the wife of a Florentine merchant.
In 1506, Leonardo returned to Milan, engaged by Charles d'Amboise in the name of the French king, Louis XII. Here he again served as architect and engineer. Gifted with a gargantuan curiosity concerning the physical world, he continued his scientific investigations, concerning himself with problems of geology, botany, hydraulics, and mechanics. In 1510-11 his interest in anatomy quickened considerably. At the same time he was active as painter and sculptor, had many pupils, and profoundly influenced the Milanese painters. A painting generally ascribed to this period is the St. Anne, Mary, and the Child (Louvre), a work that exemplifies Leonardo's handling of sfumato—misty, subtle transitions in tone.
Late Life and Work: Rome and France
In 1513 Leonardo went to Rome, attracted by the patronage of the newly elected Medici pope, Leo X, and his brother Giuliano. Here he found the field dominated by Michelangelo and Raphael. The aging master was assigned to various architectural and engineering projects at the Vatican and received commissions for several paintings. It was perhaps in this period that he executed the enigmatic painting of the young St. John the Baptist (Louvre). Giuliano de' Medici left Rome in 1515 and died at Fiesole in the following year.
It is conjectured that Leonardo left with him, attached to his household, and that soon afterward he accepted an invitation of Francis I of France to settle at the castle of Cloux, near Amboise. Here the old master was left entirely free to pursue his own researches until his death. Although there is no certain record of his last years, he seems to have been active with festival decoration and to have been interested in a canal project. Notes and drawings ascribed to this late period show his continued interest in natural philosophy and experimental science.
Used with permission.
The Columbia Encyclopedia, Sixth Edition.
Copyright © 2001 Columbia University Press


text:
The Sealyham Terrier is a rare Welsh breed of small to medium-sized terrier that originated in Wales as a working dog. It is principally a white-bodied, rough coated breed, developed in the mid to late 19th century by Captain John Edwardes at Sealyham House, Pembrokeshire.
Following the First World War, it surged in popularity and was associated with Hollywood stars and members of the British Royal Family. Its numbers have dropped significantly since then, with the breed listed as a Vulnerable Native Breed by the Kennel Club; an all-time low was recorded in 2008 when only 43 puppies were registered in the United Kingdom. This decline has been blamed on an influx of foreign and designer breeds, and the Sealyham's reduced usefulness as a working dog.
This breed is equally suitable as a family dog or a working terrier, given the right training. It is affected by few breed specific breed disorders, with the only two prevalent conditions being lens luxation and canine degenerative myelopathy.
This article uses material from the Wikipedia article "Sealyham Terrier", which is released under the Creative Commons Attribution-Share-Alike License 3.0.


text:
By David Crane defrev (at) gmail (dot) com April 7, 2010 Updated 4/09/10 Looks like nuclear weapons aren't the only thing the Iranian government is after. Apparently, they've also got a penchant for speedboats, specifically high-tech, very expensive speedboats. Multiple news sources are reporting that the Iranians have surreptitiously acquired a "James Bond-style" fast mover called the Bladerunner 51 / Bradstone …Read More »
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UCT Arms Introduces 1911 Pistol Upgrade Kit and Offers EXO Technology Coating Service for Personal Firearms
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Americanized/Modernized Polish wz. 88 Tantal AK-74 5.45x39mm Tactical Rifle/Carbine
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By David Crane defrev at gmail dot com April 13, 2009 Updated on 4/26/09. My good friend and professional contact, prolific infantry small arms/machine gun designer Jim Sullivan (a.k.a. L James Sullivan), has complained to me quite a bit about U.S. military infantry warfighters not having an American version of the Russian RPG-7 / RPG-7V shoulder-launched, anti-tank rocket-propelled grenade weapon …Read More »
JP LRP-07 Long Range Precision Rifle 7.62mm with Left-Side Charging System
By David Crane defrev at gmail dot com All photographic images contained in this article were taken by DefenseReview.com, and are the exclusive property of DefenseReview.com. DefenseReview.com owns the copyright on these photos. All photos were shot with an Olympus Stylus 790 SW 7.1-megapixel digital camera, which is advertised as "shock + waterproof". March 19, 2009 John Paul, owner of …Read More »


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The stock a good selection of traditional groceries and spices.
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The stock a good selection of traditional groceries and spices.
A Lebanese supermarket with a sizable deli counter, a fantastic bakery and an ample cake selection The store has a great selection of Turkish and Middle Eastern like foods, The sweet section is outstanding.
The focus is on middle eastern fare with breads, cheeses and halal meat. You can get most of your grocery basics here and any spices and herbs for more exotic cuisine. I like this place a lot. They have good fresh meat (there is always a queue) and the vegetables and fruit are much better than in other supermarkets, great price per value. You can find many Arabic products and have a few Spanish too!
Deepak specialises in Middle Eastern, Indian and Mediterranean foods and is it cheap! You'll find lots of interesting foodstuffs for around half the price you'll find them at the nearest high street grocery store. If you're looking for spices, grains, pulses, nuts or flours of any type then Deepaks has more than likely got you covered.
An Aladdin's cave of flavours, you'll find rose buds, spices, herbs and some unusual ingredients that you won't get anywhere else in the city. It's pricey, but that's what you have to pay to get this kind of selection. VISIT SITE
This little Japanese grocery store is very dear to me: it's always well-stocked, many of the products are actually cheaper than in the nearby Chinatown and most importantly...it's clean! This small Japanese supermarket with a small deli area serves bento boxes and snacks for takeaway or to eat in on the small wooden counter in the window.
This Cypriot shop is an icon of Harringay's Grand Parade, and a great value supermarket, bakery and butchers. This is a well loved bakery/supermarket and all Greek/Turkish people already know about it. This shop is great for anyone looking for anything turkish and mediterrean. The bakery is next door which has bread, koulourakia, cakes, lokoumathes and the turkish newspaper. everything is fresh and of good quality
Theyhave a large selection of vegetables and fruits outside (mostly bowls-full for £1) They also have a huge selection of spices, cans/jars full of interesting things, feta/ haloumi, baklava (although it is a little greasy) and a freezer stocked with wonders! It's also pretty cheap.
Middle East Mini Market is a small shop selling all things Middle Eastern, as well as loads of universal good such as one would expect to find in a convenience store. ts worth popping in though because they do have a large selection of Asian foodstuffs that are unavailable elsewhere. If you're looking to cook some authentic curries, stews or kebabs, then pay this place a visit.
Shopping at Worldwide Foods, Manchester's biggest Indo-Pak supermarket, has the potential to massively improve your homecooking. Be it spices, unusual breads or interesting fruit and veg - Worldwide stocks it all, and in vast quantities. There's a massive fresh produce fruit and veg stall at the back. There's also a Halal butchers, VISIT SITE


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NEW YORK – C.J. Garner scored 23 points, Jamal Olasewere posted a double-double, and four others scored in double figures to lead Long Island Brooklyn past Wagner 94-82 Saturday in the Northeastern Conference semifinals.
Olasewere finished with 12 points and 12 rebounds for his third double-double in four games and became the Blackbirds' all-time points leader with 1,836. Booker Hucks added 14 points, E.J. Reed 13 and Troy Joseph 12 for LIU Brooklyn, which shot 65.3 percent (32 of 49), its highest since shooting 72.4 percent on Nov. 25, 2006, against Old Westbury.
LIU Brooklyn (19-13) led 9-8 before Hucks hit back-to-back 3-pointers to launch a 23-3 run. Hucks converted three treys during the run, Olawsewere added another, and Garner tallied two steals and three-point play.
The Blackbirds led 49-29 at the break and made 16 of 22 second-half shots to seal the win.
Jonathon Williams scored 23 points for Wagner (19-12).


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Basket Liners10:20 AM
I found this basket for $1.50 at the thrift store. It was sturdy, but the fabric was used and gross looking.
22 comments
Excellent Job! I think the red panel makes it :0)ReplyDelete
Great job! Wish I sewed! I want to see the cute room you put that in! :) - KarenReplyDeleteReplies
you could always glue it with either the tape stuff you have to iron on or fabric glue just make sure its washable if you ever want to launder itDelete
Great tutorial! Thank you!ReplyDelete
I like it. Very cute. Can you tell us where you got the red dot fabric? Sooo pretty! Thanks, PamReplyDelete
Love the new liner! I linked to your tutorial on Craft Gossip Sewing:ReplyDelete
I made a new liner and then also made a "cushion" to fit inside. Used the same two fabrics so the cushion was reversable. Just filled the cushion with 1/2 inch padding. Then I filled the basket with sewing kit for my daughter's birthday! NancyReplyDelete
- AnonymousFebruary 15, 2011 at 1:20 PM
Thanks so much for the great tutorial! I've been meaning to make a new liner for our tv remove basket and this tutorial will definitely help!ReplyDelete
- AnonymousFebruary 15, 2011 at 1:20 PM
Thanks so much for the great tutorial! I've been meaning to make a new liner for our tv remove basket and this tutorial will definitely help!ReplyDelete
Great tutorial, your basket looks much nicer after it's update!ReplyDelete
love the cheerful new liner!ReplyDelete
this is great, I own lots of Longaberger baskets that need new liners, I will try making some!ReplyDelete
I have several baskets in need of new liners, thanks for sharing.ReplyDelete
Do like this step by step information. Can get the job done without all the mistakes of figuring my own. Thank you!ReplyDelete
Hello, great tutorial! My sister sent this link to me as she and I both enjoy a bit of sewing on the side :)ReplyDelete
Looks lovely in red too.
- AnonymousFebruary 11, 2012 at 12:02 AM
Hello there, I found your website by way of Google at the same time as looking for a comparable topic, your website came up, it appears good. I have bookmarked it in my google bookmarks.ReplyDelete
Logitech Touch Lapdesk N600 with Retractable Multi-Touch Touchpad (939-000356)
Hello Jessica,ReplyDelete
That's so cute! Thanks for sharing tutorial. I love your very well organized blog, I'm your follower now :).
Have a look at my blog I'll be glad.
Hugs from Portugal
Ana Love Craft.
Thanks to your pics I actually figured this out to line 4 baskets I made from cardboard boxes! I couldnt wrap my head around it until I saw your pieces laid out!!Thank you!!!ReplyDelete
- AnonymousJanuary 23, 2014 at 10:55 AM
Hi, what is the width top and bottom of the end pieces? They flair out but not sure how to proportion the lengths....ReplyDelete
Just picked up a huge "moses" basket that I want to store yarn in but I want the yarn more protected from dust and such, so I'm going to take this tutorial and adapt it into a drawstring liner. Thanks for the inspiration!ReplyDelete
What a fun basket liner! Love it. I was wondering if you could help me out with a basket liner project. I need to make 3 liners for 3 baskets shaped like 1/4 of a pie each. Any ideas how I could go about that?ReplyDelete
What a fun basket liner! Love it. I have a basket liner dilemma and wondered if you could help. I need to make 3 liners. Each one for baskets shaped like 1/4 of a pie -- so a 90 degree corner and then round. Any ideas?ReplyDelete


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Mamukelashvili breaks wrist as No. 16 Seton Hall loses to Iowa State
AMES, Iowa — No. 16 Seton Hall lost much more than a game in Ames, as starter Sandro Mamukelashvili broke his right wrist in the first half of a loss at Iowa State.
Tyrese Haliburton scored 17 points, George Conditt had a season-high 17 off the bench and the Cyclones knocked off Seton Hall 76-66 on Sunday for its second straight victory.
Rasir Bolton scored 15 of his 17 points in the second half to help the Cyclones avenge an 84-76 loss on Nov. 29 to the Pirates (6-3) in the Bahamas. The rematch was part of the Big East/Big 12 Alliance series.
Mamukelashvili, a 6-foot-11 forward and a facilitator who averaged 12.3 points and 5.3 rebounds a game entering play, went down hard with 15:14 to go in the first half and didn't return.
Coach Kevin Willard said after the game that it was too soon to know how long Mamukelashvili might be out.
"I don't know for sure. It's definitely broken. But we ... have to go get an MRI tomorrow and let our doctors and radiologists read it," Willard said. "There's definitely a break in there, it's just that we don't know where it is."
Conditt's free throws pushed Iowa State's lead to 59-53 with 2:56 left. Haliburton then drew an offensive foul and freed himself for a wide-open 3 at the top of the key. Haliburton drilled it, making it a nine-point game at the 2:23 mark.
Seton Hall fouled Prentiss Nixon from beyond the arc with 1:27 left. Nixon hit all three from the line to push Iowa State back up by nine, and Conditt's transition dunk sealed the win.
Iowa State won despite shooting just 4 of 19 on 3s.
"Every good team needs a signature win and this was the first one for us," Iowa State coach Steve Prohm said. "It felt really good beat a ranked team, but also a team that beat us before."
Myles Powell scored 19 points with eight rebounds for Seton Hall. But Powell was 7 of 20 shooting, had five turnovers and fouled out with 54.4 seconds to go on an offensive foul. The Pirates' previous defeats came against Michigan State and Oregon by just five combined points.
Seton Hall committed 20 turnovers and was outrebounded 43-40 despite having a major size advantage. The Pirates also gave Iowa State 33 tries from the line, and Cyclones made 26 of them.
"We turned the ball over too much and we fouled," Willard said. "You can't go on the road against a good team and turn the basketball over and foul."
Seton Hall: On losing Mamukelashvili, Willard said that "it changes things a lot. But the good thing is, we have some guys that need to get comfortable in that role and step up in that role...we're going to need everyone to step up."
Iowa State: The Cyclones have been strangely awful at times this season shooting jump shots — even though they supposedly have enough shooters. It's a problem that Iowa State will need to get sorted out before it threatens to sink their season. On the plus side, the Cyclones were active with their hands in forcing Seton Hall's bigs to turn it over, and Haliburton delivered yet another signature performance.
Losing on the road to a Big 12 team that had the opportunity to play them 10 days ago shouldn't cost the Pirates too much. Iowa State's Hilton Coliseum can be a brutal place for opponents — especially one that didn't necessarily know what it was walking into.
"It's a hell of a win for us." —- Prohm said.
Seton Hall: At Rutgers on Saturday.
Iowa State: Hosts Iowa on Thursday night.


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Traveling with Che Guevara - The Making of a Revolutionary
Lucia Alvarez de Toledo, Alberto Granado
Publisher: Newmarket Press
Published for the first time in the U.S.—one of the two diaries on which the movie The Motorcycle Diaries is based—the moving and at times hilarious account of Che Guevara and Alberto Granado's eight-month tour of South America in 1952. In 1952 Alberto Granado, a young doctor, and his friend Ernesto Guevara, a 23-year-old medical student from a distinguished Buenos Aires family, decided to explore their continent. They set off from Cordoba in Argentina on a Norton 500cc motorbike and traveled through Chile, Peru, Colombia, and Venezuela. The duo's adventures vary from the suspenseful (stowing away on a cargo ship, exploring Incan ruins) to the comedic (falling in love, drinking, fighting...) to the serious (volunteering as firemen and at a leper colony). They worked as day laborers along the way—as soccer coaches, medical assistants, and furniture movers. The poverty and exploitation of the native population started the process that was to turn Ernesto—the debonair, fun-loving student—into Che, the revolutionary who had a profound impact on the history of several nations. Originally published in Spanish in Cuba in 1978, the first English translation was published by Random House UK in 2003. The movie, based on Granado's and Che's diaries, directed by Walter Salles (Central Station, Behind the Sun), was produced by Robert Redford and others. Shown at the Sundance Film Festival, it generated great reviews and a frenzied auction for distribution rights, which was won by Focus Features. Granado, now 82, was a consultant to Salles during the production. 10 b/w photos.


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A MESSAGE FROM Dr. Andres CONCERNING COVID-19 View Update Virtual Consult
Our offices are open for urgent and post-op/non-symptomatic patients only. However, the staff is available per our usual hours for any email, telephone, or video inquiries. We have made virtual consultations available via Telemed for all elective procedures and routine care, which you can schedule at the link below. Elective surgery appointments will be scheduled beginning May 1st in Maricopa County.
We are open for all patient care and have in person as well as virtual/telemedicine visits available. However, we ask that any visitors remain outside the building, with only the patient allowed in the building at this time. A mask covering the mouth and nose is required at all times while in the building. Please call the office to reschedule your visit if you have any signs or symptoms of COVID such as, fever, shortness of breath, cough and/or loss of taste or smell. Staff is available during our usual business hours for any questions, concerns or inquiries. If you have an urgent need after hours please call the office at (480) 275-7800 and the provider on call will assist you.
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Dr. Joyce F. Brown is president of the Fashion Institute of Technology (FIT), a specialized college of art and design, business and technology of the State University of New York (SUNY). Appointed in 1998, she is the college's sixth president.
Dr. Brown, a highly regarded educator and academic administrator, has had over 30 years experience in public higher education. She held a number of senior administrative posts at the City University of New York (CUNY) before arriving at FIT, including acting president of Bernard Baruch College and vice chancellor of the university. Prior to her appointment at FIT, she was professor of clinical psychology at the Graduate School and University Center of CUNY, where she is currently professor emerita. Dr. Brown also served as a New York City deputy mayor for public and community affairs during the David Dinkins administration.
Throughout her career, Dr. Brown has been a strong advocate for public higher education and has demonstrated a sophisticated knowledge of the many communities that make up New York. She directed numerous special initiatives for CUNY, including the Urban Summit of Big City Mayors, as well as collaborations between the New York City Board of Education and the university which focused on improving academic preparation and retention in the secondary schools. In addition, she created and directed programs with the government of South Africa, including the Professional Development Program—an effort inspired by Nelson Mandela—designed to prepare black South Africans for key positions in business and industry.
Dr. Brown earned her doctorate and master's degree in counseling psychology from New York University and her bachelor's degree from Marymount College in Tarrytown, New York, where she served as a trustee from 1994 to 2000. She also received a certificate from the Institute for Educational Management at Harvard University.
Active in numerous community, civic and professional organizations, Dr. Brown also serves as president of The FIT Foundation, an advisory and support body to FIT. Her board memberships currently include the Ralph Lauren Corporation. In addition, she has served on state-wide commissions and task forces on the black family, child care and domestic violence. She has been honored by numerous educational, cultural and civic organizations including New York University, Marymount College, Clark Atlantic University, The Town Hall, Thurgood Marshall College Fund, Brooklyn Chamber of Commerce, New York County Supreme Court and the Staten Island Economic Development Corporation.
Under Dr. Brown's leadership, FIT instituted an unprecedented multi-year, multi-million dollar initiative coordinating strategic and investment planning to build faculty ranks, increase technology, expand the curriculum and improve student services. The college serves over 10,000 full and part-time students with a faculty and staff of more than 1,700. Dr. Brown is FIT's first woman and first African-American president.


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What's next? That is the big question facing this country after the election of Trump. And many people have been sharing their thoughts on that over social and traditional media, over dinner conversations, at the office and on the bus with complete strangers. And, as expected, people are all over the map with ideas and strategies.
One developing theme is that we need to escalate — utilize more militant tactics in our resistance movements. Hatred, division and ignorance has escalated, so it is only natural that our response to it has to escalate along with it to match its intensity.
At the same time, however, I have also seen people suggesting that we need to consider using violent methods to resist Trump and what he stands for — that in this day and age, nonviolence is "not enough."
While I certainly empathize with the emotions driving that idea, we also have to remember that it is violence that got us here. It is hatred, ignorance, division, intimidation — all manifestations of violence — that brought us Trump.
If we choose to be motivated by anger and hatred, if we choose to divide our communities even more, all we do is continue to feed the exact energy that got us Trump. Even if the anger is towards Trump and his supporters, we are empowering the forces that allowed him to rise to power. We need to be angry, but at the forces of injustice, not its human participants.
In the most thorough study on the subject to date, Maria Stephan and Erica Chenoweth, an academic and author who started as a critic of nonviolence, found that nonviolent movements — even under the most repressive regimes — were statistically twice as effective as violent movements all over the world. They also found (looking at cases where the objective was secession of land or revolution) that movements able to mobilize 3.5 percent of the general population never fail in meeting their stated objective.
Violence breeds patriarchy, which is at the root of so much of the violence in our society. Once you introduce violence to the equation, you limit those who can be on the front lines and those who can lead. Mostly, you limit it to young able-bodied men. And look where that has gotten us as a society. If we are not building a movement with leadership from the most disenfranchised — those who often can't take up arms — we are fighting a never-ending losing battle. Stephan and Chenoweth's work also shows that only nonviolent movements have been able to mobilize that magical 3.5 percent.
We also know, however, that simply getting millions of people out into the streets by itself is not enough. If people think that nonviolence is only about getting millions to hold flowers and sing "Kumbaya," they would be mistaken. Most people forget — or had no idea in the first place — how radical and militant Martin Luther King, Jr. was, and how aggressive a force nonviolence can be. King called for a movement that was just as attention-grabbing and disruptive as a riot.
As a society, we have studied violence for centuries. That's all we know. So, we assume that's the only thing that's going to work, or it's the most radical thing, or the most effective thing, as a last resort. And that's because that's what the state teaches us. We have not studied nonviolence. We do not know what it means or how to use it effectively. We have never given it a real chance, despite the evidence that is out there. We have not invested in it the same way we have with violence.
There is nothing radical about violence. There is nothing revolutionary about a force that has destroyed communities forever, a force that we are all too familiar with and a force that got us into this mess. What is radical and revolutionary is using a tool that is new. If you resist violence with violence, you're not resisting violence. You're resisting people, and empowering violence. You are not addressing the root cause.
Violence is the enemy. That idea that we can use force, fear and intimidation to get what we want, to force our will, is what needs to change, not the faces that are in power.
Voting was never going to give us the changes that we need in the first place. We need to organize harder than ever, not just in electoral politics, but in the spaces of social movements. And as we work in our movements, we need to keep in mind that it's not just systems that we are trying to change, but our culture, our worldview and the ways in which we treat each other.
If you've been to a political rally, chances are you've chanted something along the lines of "justice for all." But when we say "all," do we really it? Or do we mean "all of the people we agree with?" Because that's the mentality that gave us Trump. Building "beloved community" isn't about loving those who are easy to love.
So what does it mean to give justice to all people? To validate the real, legitimate fears that drove people to vote for Trump? Their legitimate fears and concerns aren't racism and sexism. Those are the scapegoats that Trump used to drum up fear. There is real concern about insecurity, of not being able to take care of their families, of an uncertain future, of our values being threatened. And if we can't find a way to validate those fears that over half of this country has, we will always be divided, and there will always be violence.
This is not about empathizing with the oppressor out of charity. It is about gathering information and understanding the dynamic of the conflict. As Sun Tzu in the "Art of War" taught, "If you know the enemy and know yourself, you need not fear the result of a hundred battles. If you know yourself but not the enemy, for every victory gained you will also suffer a defeat. If you know neither the enemy nor yourself, you will succumb in every battle."
In the wake of Trump's election, I am also recommitting myself to taking care of myself, of those around me, and of society at large. We need to take care of ourselves, physically, emotionally, and spiritually, because we have a tough road ahead. With all the forces trying to destroy us, staying healthy is an act of resistance. Honoring ourselves, fighting the internal violence that is so often self-inflicted, telling ourselves that we matter and treating ourselves accordingly is revolutionary.
Exactly a week after the election, in the prison where my organization facilitates nonviolence and restorative justice work, one of my teachers said during his check-in, "Today, I find myself in prison. I don't like being in prison. But I choose to be happy instead of miserable. Because I have that choice."
So today, I choose to be inspired. I choose to be motivated. I choose to be committed. I choose to cultivate joy. I choose love over hate.
The anger, fear and anxiety that we all feel is legitimate, and we can't ignore them. We actually need to feel them to the fullest degree. I have real fear for people I love who live in Trumpland. But the best way to protect those we love is to win over those who hate them.
We need to find safe places to feel and release the anger and the fear, so that we can uncover — underneath all of that — an undying yearning for love and connection. That's what needs to motivate us moving forward. Love can be sweet and sympathetic, but it can also be aggressive and assertive. It is that type of love that we need moving forward.
I will feel that anger, but I refuse to feel desperate, hopeless or apathetic. Those are acts of violence that we do to our own soul, and it is violence that got us to where we are today.
Instead, I will organize harder, protest harder, build harder, train harder, and love harder than I ever have before. And I will always keep in mind these words from King: "We must accept finite disappointment, but never lose infinite hope."
Kazu Haga is a Kingian Nonviolence trainer based in Oakland, California. Born in Japan, he has been involved in many social change movements since he was 17. He conducts regular trainings with youth, incarcerated populations and activists. He is the founder and coordinator of East Point Peace Academy, and is on the board of Communities United for Restorative Youth Justice, PeaceWorkers and the OneLife Institute.
Hi there.
I bet you've seen some great "films for action" that aren't in our library yet.
Why not add that documentary or video directly to our library? Half of our best content was added by members. Submissions just need to be non-fiction, embeddable (like from Youtube or Vimeo), and related to activism or changing the world in some way.
Here are some more tips on adding videos. We'd love you to become a regular contributor!
The Films For Action team


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