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Public Affairs
National, regional and city media coverage of the Museum's activities and exhibitions increased, building national ownership of and visitation to the Museum. The Museum's strategy was built around the growing number of exhibitions staged beyond Canberra namely To Mars and Beyond, I am Woman, Hear Me Draw and Rare Trades in Melbourne, Cartoons 2002 in Perth and Stories from Australia in China and the Museum's activities of interest to media beyond the national capital.
An independent survey of media coverage between October 2001 and September 2002 was commissioned from Media Measures Pty Ltd. An overview from Media Measures Director, Ed Grossman, reported that this developing strategy produced strong results:
In all, 1,540 media reports or stories covering the NMA were featured in Australian and international media. Using the number of stories as a measure, the Museum actually gained more media coverage than in the previous year. The NMA generated an average of more than four stories each day. Some days the media featured stories on three or four different events and issues, all running simultaneously. Notable was the markedly increased coverage this year of the Museum's temporary exhibitions and activities. Exhibitions like To Mars and Beyond and Hickory Dickory Dock and activities like the Tracking Kultja festival stand out in terms of the positive media attention they generated. There also was, as detailed in this report, a dramatic increase in the amount of regional press coverage, with news reports in a large number of different publications covering all parts of Australia. This demonstrates an enhanced and highly effective national media strategy. The Museum's architecture continued to gain recognition, especially for its architectural awards, and it has continued to be featured in respected architectural publications.
In all, over 93 per cent of the media coverage gained by the Museum was judged as being favourable, a marked increase from last year's figure of 83 per cent. The level of unfavourable coverage has dropped from eight per cent to just two per cent. Whether favourable or not, the Museum has continued to use its media coverage as a means to arouse public interest, discussion and debate on contemporary issues. In this regard, its media coverage has had a significantly positive impact and has successfully promoted the Museum as an innovative energetic institution for all Australians.
The wider spread of national publicity was built through significant newsworthy Museum book launches, public programs, debates and activities, most of them after the period covered in the above media report. The handover of Aboriginal remains from the Museum drew wide national and international media interest. The launches of the publications, Aussie English for Beginners Book Two, Frontier Conflict: The Australian Experience and the Our Voices series for Australian primary schools, were all similarly newsworthy. So too were the Museum's multimedia festival, Sky Lounge, and the national request for memorabilia from young Australians visiting Gallipoli.
Media collaborations continued to be built with all branches of the Australian Broadcasting Corporation and other media to broadcast and host debates. Museum forums also contributed to lively media debate on the subject of cultural heritage within Australia, Iraq and other countries. Partnerships were strengthened with communities and institutions keen to stage events in and dovetail their profile with the National Museum. Significant examples included the Science Festival, Children's Book Week and National Dementia Awareness Week. Ongoing collaboration with foreign missions, the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade and tourism bodies remain vital to the strategy of building on the strong international profile gained by the Museum when it opened. These partnerships especially with the Guangzhou Consulate were significant in the north Asian promotion of Stories from Australia, when the exhibition opened there in December 2002.
Separate promotional strategies were also applied to the Canberra openings of the exhibitions Paipa, Hickory Dickory Dock, Leunig Animated and Cartoons 2002, Rare Trades and the changeover of half the stories in Eternity, some involving promotional partnerships with regional media in New South Wales and Victoria. The Rare Trades opening in June produced strong media in and beyond Canberra, despite the successful profile gained in the Victorian media in February when the exhibition first opened at Melbourne's Scienceworks.
Collaboration between Public Affairs and Public Programs created a schedule of lively debates and events around each exhibition. This was vital for maintaining media interest in and visitor numbers to these exhibitions, especially in the last months of To Mars and Beyond in Canberra. The Museum also gained a powerful profile in the Canberra community by organising forums on topical subjects such as the impact and response to the drought and the bushfires, forums fronted by local media personalities and broadcast from the Museum's Studio.
An internal review of the Museum's external communication strategy was initiated to better define its key audience targets and stakeholders, and to better coordinate the means by which the Museum communicates its diverse activities.
Marketing the Museum
Brand awareness
After two years of operation, an important priority for the Museum has been an evaluation of the awareness of the Museum in the local, regional and metropolitan markets. National research revealed that there was limited recognition of the Museum outside Canberra, and most people beyond the capital had traditional perceptions about the Museum. Following analysis of this research, strategies were developed this year to raise the profile and understanding of the Museum and these will be implemented next year with concurrent evaluation to determine their effectiveness.
In April 2003 the National Museum launched a significant partnership with a public company, APN News and Media Ltd, to deliver the first stage of a brand awareness campaign on outdoor billboards and Buspak. The campaign's strategy focused initially on the metropolitan markets of Sydney, Melbourne and Canberra and the campaign will be evaluated on a regular basis to ensure its effectiveness.
Marketing campaigns
Successful campaigns were undertaken for Cartoons 2002: Life, Love and Politics (TV commercial) and Leunig Animated (TV commercial), Sky Lounge (TV commercial) and Rare Trades (TV commercial).
Market research indicated a very high awareness of the Cartoons 2002 and Leunig Animated campaign with 92 per cent of those who attended the exhibition aware of the marketing campaign before they attended. Of those who visited the Museum but did not attend the exhibition, around 41 percent were aware of the exhibition before they arrived at the Museum. Those who visited Cartoons 2002 and Leunig Animated were more likely to be repeat visitors to the Museum (61 per cent) compared to 29 per cent of visitors who did not visit these exhibitions.
Sky Lounge was a major success, achieving the aim of attracting young people who traditionally do not visit museums. It was fully booked, attracting new audiences, in particular the target audience of the youth market aged 18-30.
Other marketing activities included:
implementation of the Shop marketing strategy which was developed last year to position the Museum Shop as an essential part of any visit to the Museum, and to encourage destination shoppers
separate marketing campaigns for schools programs, Museum tours and school holiday programs
development of tour packages for inbound tour operators and international markets.
The Museum continued to strengthen its collaborative relationships with tourism industry associations such as the Tourism Task Force, the Canberra Convention Bureau, the Australian Tourist Commission and the Canberra Tourism and Events Corporation.
The Museum in print
As part of the Museum's objective to promote awareness and understanding of Australia's cultures, histories and environments, publishing priorities were focused on the production of books, catalogues and text and graphic panels for exhibitions and the development of a range of paper-based merchandise for sale through the Museum Shop.
Publications included:
- Stories from Australia: Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Peoples by Carol Cooper and Amanda Reynolds, released in December 2002. This bilingual publication, in English and Mandarin, accompanied the Museum's major exhibition to Guangzhou, China
- Cartoons 2002: Life, Love and Politics edited by Guy Hansen , released in December 2002 . The successor of the popular Bringing the House Down catalogues, Cartoons 2002 drew from the exhibition of the same name to present the best of Australian political cartooning for 2002. The publication has sold steadily since its release
- Aussie English for Beginners, Book Two, text by the National Dictionary Centre, illustrations by David Pope, released in January 2003. This humorous look at the Australian vernacular, based on a popular exhibition in the Nation gallery, continued the success of the first volume. The first book sold out within a year of release and has now been reprinted. The second book received widespread media attention on release and has enjoyed strong ongoing sales
- Frontier Conflict: The Australian Experience edited by Bain Attwood and Stephen Foster, released in February 2003. This book examines different views on the extent of Indigenous and European conflict in colonial Australia and is based on a conference held at the Museum in December 2001. The book's release attracted substantial national publicity and academic attention. It sold out within six months and has now been reprinted
- children's activity and colouring books based on the Museum's collections were part of a major production program of paper-based merchandise for sale in the Museum Shop. Other products included postcards, gift cards, bookmarks, wrapping paper, children's showbags and gift bags
- the reprint of I am Woman, Hear Me Draw: Cartoons from the Pen of Judy Horacek due to high sales.
New publications in development for publication in 2003-2004 include:
- It's Alive! an anthology of stories for 8-13 year olds based on the Museum's collections and themes
- National Museum of Australia Collection Series a collectable suite of books on significant items in the Museum's collections such as the PS Enterprise
- ABC an alphabetical journey through the Museum's collections for preschool children by Susan Hall. This publication is being developed with assistance from early childhood educators
- Outlawed! Bushrangers, Rebels and Revolutionaries this catalogue, edited by Associate Professor Graham Seal, will accompany the Outlawed! exhibition opening at the Museum in November 2003
- 23° South: The Archaeology and Environmental History of the Southern Deserts a book to accompany the forthcoming exhibition in 2004, comprising a selection of papers presented at the conference of the same name, held in January 2002.
Specific focus was given this year to the promotion of the Museum's publishing program. This included the engagement of national book trade distributor, Bookwise International Pty Ltd, to represent its publications to the bookselling industry and this has already proved successful, with more than half of the Frontier Conflict print run sold in bookshops throughout Australia.
The Museum also exhibited at the annual Australian Book Fair at Darling Harbour, Sydney which attracts booksellers, librarians, teachers and publishing industry professionals throughout the country. The Museum's exhibit promoted its books and catalogues, as well as major educational titles authored by the Museum and published by commercial publishers.
Library resources
The library continued to provide information services and access to its general and special collections for both staff and the public. Staff also provided valuable research assistance to support the the development of major temporary exhibitions as well as strategic projects. Access was provided to researchers, both from Australia and overseas, wishing to use the Library's resources.
The Library continued to develop its general collection through a modest acquisitions program of monographs and serials, with increasing emphasis given to the electronic delivery of documents and other resources.
The scientist and museologist, Dr WDL Ride, continued his generous donation of materials through the Commonwealth Government's Cultural Gifts Program.
Image Delivery and Intellectual Property
Strong, dynamic images are essential for the Museum to use in its exhibitions, publications, website, marketing and public affairs material. Throughout the year more than 1200 internal requests for sourcing, delivering and licensing images, and copyright clearances were processed. The year also saw a growing number of external requests and licences for the use of images owned by the Museum.
Images and appropriate copyright clearances were made for a number of major Museum exhibitions and publications including Outlawed!, Rare Trades, Aussie English, Our Voices, Frontier Conflict, educational newspaper supplements and a variety of paper-based products.
A major achievement was the compilation of an intellectual property manual for use by Museum staff to be published in early 2003-2004. This provides both a comprehensive outline of the legal requirements for the protection of intellectual property rights and a practical guide on their interpretation and application in a museum environment. The manual will be available to other cultural agencies on request and provides a 'best practice' model for cultural institutions to follow in the development and revision of their intellectual property management frameworks. Complementing the manual has been the compilation of fact sheets on a range of intellectual property issues which are also available to Museum staff through the Intranet. In 2003-2004 a series of workshops will be presented for staff on intellectual property.
The Museum has continued to coordinate an intellectual property, education and networking group across national cultural institutions in the Australian Capital Territory. Copyright in Cultural Institutions was initiated in 2001-2002. A major focus this year for the group has been training in the provisions of the Privacy Act 1988.
A major review was completed of the Museum's proforma goods and services contracts, such as deeds of gift, licences, museum theatre performance contracts, sponsorship agreements, and applications to access and reproduce the Museum's collection for research purposes. The aim of the review was to ensure that the proformas maintain their legal currency and accuracy and these documents will continue to be reviewed periodically. A handbook explaining the requirements, obligations and implications of the clauses of the proforma contracts will also be produced in 2003-2004 as part of this project.


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Visit msnbc.com for breaking news, world news, and news about the economy
Politico has suspended reporter Joe Williams following incendiary remarks he made about Mitt Romney on Thursday. He later said that he was "done" working for the organization.
Williams, Politico's White House correspondent, appeared on MSNBC with Martin Bashir to discuss Romney's stance on immigration. When asked why Romney has trouble connecting with Hispanic voters, Williams said that the candidate appears "very comfortable" around "white folks." Watch his remarks at the 9:13 mark in the clip above.
Politico editors Jim VandeHei and John Harris called the statement "unacceptable" in a memo to staff. It "fell short of our standards for fairness and judgment in an especially unfortunate way," they wrote.
Williams' pointed remarks about the candidate on Twitter played a part in his suspension, as well. He made jokes about the infamous Seamus the dog story and Ann Romney's "unzip him" remark. In one tweet, he wrote, "Jeeves knows my tastes" in response to Romney saying that there is nothing surprising he has had the occasion to eat.
Conservative websites flagged the MSNBC segment Thursday afternoon, and highlighted Williams' tweets shortly thereafter.
Fishbowl DC reported that the reporter tweeted Friday afternoon, "@JillEBond. I'm done @ politico. Dtails to come."
Below, read the full text of the memo announcing Williams' suspension (via New York Times).
Politico journalists have a clear and inflexible responsibility to cover politics fairly and free of partisan bias. This expectation extends to all of the public platforms in which we and our reporting and analysis appears, including cable TV and social media platforms like Twitter.
Regrettably, an unacceptable number of Joe Williams's public statements on cable and Twitter have called into question his commitment to this responsibility. His comment about Governor Romney earlier today on MSNBC fell short of our standards for fairness and judgment in an especially unfortunate way.
Joe has acknowledged that his appearance reflected a poor choice of words. This appearance came in the context of other remarks on Twitter that, cumulatively, require us to make clear that our standards are serious, and so are the consequences for disregarding them. This is true for all Politico journalists, including an experienced and well-respected voice like Joe Williams.
Following discussion of this matter with editors, Joe has been suspended while we review the matter.

subset: commoncrawl


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Saturday October 17, 2015
7:30 -$20
Rob Frayne tenor saxophone
Steve Boudreau piano
Martin Newman bass
Mike Essoudry drums
Tenor sax hits will be played: Satin Doll, When Lights are Low, Doxy. We'll tackle the rhumba, a waltz, and mostly try to swing and play like our musical heroes.
- PayPal $21 includes $1 credit card fee. Your receipt is your ticket plus we will have a record of your purchase at the front desk.
- It this option does not work for you just give us a call 613-729-0693 or drop in during Alcorn Music Studios open hours to buy a ticket.
- Tickets available at the door on concert night unless the concert is listed as sold out. Call and check! 613-729-0693


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Harlem Arts Alliance Visual Artist of the Month: Guess Who…
Yup, me! I'm proud to announce that the Harlem Arts Alliance (HAA) has made me their visual artist of the month for July. I am thrilled to have this honor because I am still a rookie at HAA and haven't even been a member for a full year.
This is part of my growth as an artist and it couldn't have come at a better time becuase I make my art debut this Thursday July 12 at 6PM at Strivers Gardens Gallery, click here for details.
If you're around come to the HAA Monthly Meeting Monday July 9th at 10AM at The Interchurch Center where I will accept my honor and have a work placed on display at Riverside Church. Click here for details on the meeting.
Special thanks to fellow artist and HAA visual artists leader, Aleathia Brown!


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Scores based on 25 reviews
Invoice history based on 15 reviews.
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Rent my lovely studio (June 15-July 9) (Tel Aviv)
Hello Internation'ers! I'm looking for a subletter between June 15 and July Protected content everything (internet, TV, hot water, electricity, and all other appliances) in a lovely, clean studio in Florentin, Tel Aviv.
I am looking for someone neat/careful to keep the place in good condition - and someone who will enjoy a large open room, with a couch and 2 arm chairs, to call their own for almost a month! It's a great location Protected content walk to Rothschild Boulevard, 1 minute walk to Neve Tzedek, and right near the heart of the lovely cafes and bars in Florentin -- everything at your fingertips!
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We're kicking off the first five weeks of 2005 by profiling five promising innovations on the verge of exploding into the mainstream in the New Year. Last week, we covered radio frequency identification tags, otherwise known as RFID. Today, we're tackling the commercialization of space travel. You might want to fasten your seat harness.
Star Trek hit the airwaves in 1965, but 2004 will go down as the year the real star trek began.
Nearly 40 years after that seminal TV series, and more than 35 years after humans landed on the moon, we've reached the dawn of a new space race. But instead of America battling the Soviets, it is Lockheed
And the stakes in this battle couldn't be higher: The winners will earn market supremacy in the final frontier. Talk about pricing power. More importantly, imagine the investment potential.
Typically, it takes decades for developments in space to have a real impact at sea level. Last year's full calendar of intergalactic events changed that. From President Bush lighting a fire under NASA to get to Mars, to SpaceShipOne earning the $10 million Ansari X prize for suborbital space flight, to Sir Richard Branson's new Virgin Galactic venture, the heavens suddenly became downright hip. And it's continued into 2005. Witness the cover of the most recent issue of Wired magazine for which Branson donned astronaut gear.
And though it doesn't feature Wired's textured stock cover and various other stylish colored bubbles, we at The Motley Fool have a remarkable new publication called Rule Breakers. This service, which I'll describe for you in more detail in a minute, is dedicated to ferreting out tomorrow's great growth stocks early in their disruptive stage.
What Is a Disruptive Innovation?
As the name implies, it's a breakthrough that rattles the walls of the conventional, technological advances, from the automobile to the microwave oven, that ultimately reshape our lives.
Being a certifiable science fiction geek, I get pretty excited by all these developments, but the investor in me wonders if this is all hype. Can those of us here on Earth really make money from humanity's newfound passion for the heavens?
In a word, yes. There are dozens of potential markets created by commercializing space flight, including the following two that I think are most promising.
Space tourism
Though SpaceShipOne's historic flights captured the headlines, it was the Feds who were responsible for potentially jumpstarting suborbital space tourism. The Commercial Space Launch Amendments Act (even less romantically known as H.R. 5382) ultimately allows average Americans to hitch a ride on a rocket at their own risk. The president signed the bill into law two days before Christmas.
Soon after, interest in the 70-mile-high club began to run high among celebrities. For example, William Shatner of Star Trek fame, and Sigourney Weaver, star of the Alien films, both said they'd enjoy traversing the final frontier. But what about average Janes and Joes? Virgin thinks they'll sign up in droves. In fact, a spokesman quoted in the Wired story says more than 12,000 people have registered at Virgin Galactic's website, each a potential future ticket holder. Says Virgin spokesman Will Whitehorn, "People are throwing checks at us." At $200,000 per ride, that's potentially $2.4billion in sales.
But space tourism has been hyped before. During Christmas of 1968, Pan Am chief Juan Trippe started taking reservations for trips to the moon. Some 90,000 people signed up. What's different this time around? For one, we're not talking about a trip to the moon. A suborbital trip not even 90 miles above the Earth is a breeze compared to a lunar expedition. Second, the cost of spaceflight has dropped considerably, in no small part due to the relatively low cost of computing equipment. And finally, space travel is safer now. Consider SpaceDev, which created a rocket engine that literally burned rubber to light SpaceShipOne's candle. That's far safer than the combustible components used to create classic rocket fuel.
So, how can the common investor get in on space tourism? Right now, SpaceDev is among the very few public companies in this mix, but there are plenty of private companies worth watching. Among them: the LiftPort Group, which is constructing a space elevator; Space Adventures, which has been dealing in space tourism since 1998; XCOR, which is competing with SpaceDev to create suborbital space engines; and the Zero Gravity Company, which offers weightless flights on a specially modified Boeing 727.
Galactic hitchhiking
Cargo is a huge industry -- just ask FedEx
Don't expect growth to slow anytime soon, especially now that more payloads are headed for the stars. Consider Space Services, which arranges orbital funerals. Next month, more than 100 of our dead from around the globe will lift off from SpaceX's Falcon I rocket, which is designed to reach orbit more affordably than the classic white and black behemoths of old. Combine that with new micro-satellites that will be easier to haul and you've got a burgeoning industry ready to dot outer space with more electronics than you can find at your local Best Buy. That's good news for companies that already do part of their business in space, such as Sirius
Where are the investing opportunities in space cargo? SpaceDev is helping construct micro-satellites, as are the big defense contractors. Other big players such as SpaceX and Space Services remain private, but both of them are absolutely worth watching.
Beam me up
That the Feds are asking the private sector to invest in space is good for everyone, especially investors. But it's also worth noting that NASA's mission to get back to the moon in 10 years and Mars afterward will require it to fund hundreds of innovations, many of which will be created in private labs. Fortunately, the space agency knows this and has unveiled Centennial Challenges. Modeled after the Ansari X prize that SpaceShipOne took home, the first awards will be modest, but could grow over time to as much as $50 million for far-flung adventures such as commercial moon shots.
No doubt, the combination of federal and private investment should grow the commercial space market dramatically over the next five years. Though many of the companies that will participate in this revolution remain private, not a few are public today, from ghoulish trickster Xybernaut to mega-contractor Ball
David Gardner described these opportunities best when he said, "The earth can shake when Rule Breakers are born on our public markets. They bring a disruptive technology, diabolically clever and effective marketing, or a totally new business model to this little backwater planet of ours. They rattle our capitalistic foundations. And in so doing, they create serious profits for the opportunistic investors who find them early on."
It's our job to keep our eyes peeled for these kinds of opportunities. We take a great deal of pride in finding worthwhile stocks, and making strategic bets where we may. In that sense, this revolution is no different than any other, and we can all profit together. If you choose to join us before Jan. 31, take 50% off. Now, would you mind beaming me up?
Motley Fool contributor Tim Beyers is a confessed Trekkie, and he got the Star Wars DVD collection for Christmas. He wishes he owned some of the stocks in this story but, alas, he doesn't. Fortunately, you don't need a telescope to see what stocks Tim owns. You can check his portfolio here , in his Fool profile. The Motley Fool, which has a disclosure policy, is investors writing for investors .


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Department of Defence Production (DDP) has issued a recruitment notification for the recruitment of Mazdoor & More Vacancies through recruitment notification. Candidates who have completed 10TH/12TH/ITI can apply for the new recruitment notification from Department of Defence Production (DDP)
Eligible candidates can apply offline for the Job Mazdoor & More Vacancies on or before 10/03/2015. Find more information about the vacancy like Age limit, Selection Process, Qualification, Application fee, How to apply etc can be found below.
|Company Name
|Department of Defence Production (DDP)
|Vacancy Name
|Mazdoor & More Vacancies
|Educational Qualification
|Total No of Vacancy
|44 Posts
|Job Location
|Across India
|Last Date to Apply for this job
|Address for the Job Vacancy
Detail of Department of Defence Production (DDP) Mazdoor & More Vacancies Recruitment:
Applications are invited from candidates of Indian Nationality by 71 Infantry Division Ordnance Unit, PIN – 909071, C/O 99 APO for the Post of Mazdoor (Ex-Servicemen) Gp 'C' in Pay Band of Rs (Pay band + Grade pay) plus other allowances as admissible to Central Government Employees.
- No of post : 35
- Qualification : Matriculate or equivalent
- Salary : PB- 1(5200- 20000), GP-1800
- Age Limit : 18 to 30 Years
- Probation Period: The selected candidates will be on probation for two years. The appointment of the selected candidate will be made on the satisfactory report from the concerned civil authority on verification of character and antecedent/Education certificate with date of birth/caste.
- No of post : 01
- Qualification : Matriculate and ITI Pass in the Trade
- Salary : Rs,.5200-20200 Grade Pay Rs 1900
Fire Man
- No of post : 08
- Qualification : Matriculate or equivalent
- Salary : Rs,.5200-20200 Grade Pay Rs 1900
Selection Procedure for Department of Defence Production (DDP) – Mazdoor & More Vacancies Post:
- Candidates can apply on or before 10/03/2015
- No Detailed information about the selection process is mentioned in the recruitment notification
How to apply for Mazdoor & More Vacancies in Department of Defence Production (DDP):
Last date for receipt of application is 21 days from the date of publication of the advertisement in the Employment News/Local News Paper. The crucial date for determining the age limit shall be the closing date for receipt of application. Photocopy of the following Documents/Certificate to be attached alongwith application should be duly attested by a Gazetted Officer : (a) Two passport size photographs duly attested by Gazetted Officer one on right corner of application and one on Acknowledgement Card. (b) Attested copies of following certificate will also be submitted with the application: (i) Education qualification certificate. (ii) Matric Certificate showing Date of Birth. (iii) Birth Certificate. (iv) Caste Certificate where applicable. (v) Discharge Certificate for Ex Serviceman where applicable. (vi) Sports certificate (for sportsman). (vii) Medical certificate (for PH candidates). (c) Self addressed envelope affixing postal stamps of Rs. 25/-. Central Government civilian employees must furnish No Objection Certificate from their employer/Office at the time of the tests else their candidature will be cancelled. Incomplete/ineligible applications will be deemed invalid and rejected without intimation to the candidate. Only eligible candidates will be called for the tests.
Important dates to remember :
Last Date to Apply for this job 10/03/2015
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"From Bauhaus to Our House," Mr. Wolfe attacked modern architecture and what he saw as its determination to put dogma before buildings. Published in 1981, it met with the same derisive response from critics. "The problem, I think," Paul Goldberger wrote in The Times Book Review, "is that Tom Wolfe has no eye." — The New York Times
Tom Wolfe, an innovative journalist and novelist, died on Monday in Manhattan at the age of 88. Wolf lived in New York since joining The New York Herald Tribune as a reporter in 1962, and went on to influence what is known as New Journalism. Inciting hostile reactions to some of his work, Wolf... View full entry
The slabs in front of me seemed at once the most and least architectural objects I'd ever seen. They were banal and startling, full and empty of meaning. Here were the techniques of Land Art, medieval construction, marketing and promotion, architectural exhibition and the new nativism rolled uncomfortably if somehow inevitably into one. — Los Angeles Times
LA Times architecture critic Christopher Hawthorne takes a trip down to the U.S.-Mexican border in San Diego to attempt the challenge of critiquing Trump's border wall prototypes, "alternating bands of substance and absence, aspiration and impossibility". Image: U.S. Customs and Border Protection. View full entry
This week we're joined by Inga Saffron, the Pulitzer Prize-winning architecture critic for the Philadelphia Inquirer. If you haven't read her latest piece on Henry Wilcots, the relatively unknown architect responsible for finishing Louis Kahn's masterpiece in Dhaka, go read it now. We talk with... View full entry
The imaginative possibilities of miniature things lie not in their being shrunken versions of a larger thing. The world of the miniature opens to reveal a secret life. — Places Journal
Sometimes you encounter a thing that is not "properly" architectural, but which yet has something profound to say about the discipline. In her latest article for Places, columnist Naomi Stead is drawn by a cartoon from The New Yorker to consider the relationships between the miniature, the... View full entry
Over the years, Trump has courted me, comforted me, criticized me and sent me a handful of sometimes-fawning letters and notes. I saved the correspondence. Wouldn't you? [...]
And the missives are telling. Combined with other things he's said and written, they show that Candidate Trump isn't all that different from Developer Trump. He remains a master media manipulator who can be charming, mercurial and vengeful. Only now he wants to be the most powerful man on earth. — Blair Kamin – Chicago Tribune
In this relatively personal piece for the Tribune, architecture critic Blair Kamin recounts his tumultuous personal and professional relationship with Trump over 10+ years, talking (as developers and architecture critics do) about buildings.Kamin explains that there were times when Trump was... View full entry
To understand how strange this pairing of client and architect is, you have to contemplate two things: the deeply embedded social progressivism that has become the standard worldview of international architectural firms such as BIG; and organizations such as the NFL, a private club for 1 percenters that bullies municipalities and treats its own players' health with indifference. Can this marriage last? Is BIG motivated by naivete or cynicism? — The Washington Post
WaPo's art and architecture critic Philip Kennicott discusses the oddities of BIG's recent commission to design a new stadium for the Washington Redskins — and the team's problematic name is just the tip of the iceberg.More on Archinect: Bjarke Ingels Group, BIG, tackles NFL stadium design for... View full entry
You may recall an entertaining Twitter spat that broke out between ... Donald Trump and Pulitzer-winning Tribune architecture critic Blair Kamin. [...]
Kamin got off easy compared to his predecessor, the late Paul Gapp, who was also a Pulitzer-winning architecture critic for the Chicago Tribune. [...]
But [Gapp's] achievements were overshadowed by his run-in with The Donald: a $500 million lawsuit over one column, about Trump's plan to build the tallest building in America in Manhattan. — chicagomag.com
More news from Trump and the Windy City:Pulitzer Prize-winning architecture critic Blair Kamin on why his profession isn't deadOld Guy Fight! Tribune's Blair Kamin vs. Donald TrumpBlair Kamin not impressed by Chicago's latest housing developmentsChicago Mayor blasts Trump sign as 'tasteless' View full entry
The published renderings that accompanied the announcement were not terribly reassuring, as they depicted a very long curved terminal with gangly tentacles raised over plane taxiways that hinted at torsos of praying mantises: an awkward rather than a graceful vault. — 6sqft.com
Related: A new LaGuardia is the "airport that New York deserves", says Gov. Cuomo View full entry
Hadid, who was born in Baghdad and is now a British citizen, claimed that Filler falsely implied she was indifferent to the alleged difficult working conditions of migrant workers on high-profile construction projects in the Middle East, including her own.
She also claimed Filler used large portions of his June 5 review of Rowan Moore's "Why We Build: Power and Desire in Architecture" to question her success and fault her personality, although she was not a prominent character in the book. — whtc.com
His writing has a patient, deliberate quality that is rare at a moment when the dominant medium of architectural discourse is Twitter. Perhaps this is why Mr. Rybczynski, despite himself, is suddenly all the rage. — nytimes.com
Inga Saffron, who writes the "Changing Skyline" column for the Philadelphia Inquirer, won the Pulitzer Prize for criticism this week.
She talks with Dave Heller about the state of criticism today, and the changing attitudes towards cities. — newsworks.org
Previously: Inquirer's architecture critic Inga Saffron wins Pulitzer Prize for criticism View full entry
Inquirer architecture critic Inga Saffron on Monday won the Pulitzer Prize for criticism.
In its citation, the Pulitzer Committee cited Saffron "for her criticism of architecture that blends expertise, civic passion and sheer readability into arguments that consistently stimulate and surprise." — philly.com
MAS is proud to announce that Michael Kimmelman, architecture critic of The New York Times, has been named the winner of the 2014 Brendan Gill Prize. [...]
The jury singled out Kimmelman's exceptional coverage of the challenges posed by an overstressed Penn Station, challenging New Yorkers and their regional neighbors to no longer settle for anything less than planning and design excellence that befits the busiest transportation hub in North America. — The Municipal Art Society of New York
Henry Hope Reed, an architecture critic and historian whose ardent opposition to modernism was purveyed in books, walking tours of New York City and a host of curmudgeonly barbs directed at advocates of the austere, the functional and unornamented in public buildings and spaces, died Wednesday at his home in Manhattan. He was 97. — nytimes.com
vado retro summed up the design "a box within a box and one box the one inside, the inside box is at an angle. oh and there are trees" but Alex Gomez added "Although the facade is superficial, I feel it will succeed in attracting 'qualitative and quantitative tourist flows in the area,'
News Over at Bustler.net, Bernard Tschumi Architects unveiled the schematic design for the firm's first work in Italy: ANIMA, a new cultural center in the city of Grottammare. The project has been commissioned by the Fondazione Cassa di Risparmio di Ascoli Piceno and the Municipality of... View full entry
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WINCORE Windows and Doors Long Island
Are you thinking of refurbishing your home? Are you looking to spruce up your house to put up on the market or simply looking to update your abode to better suit your preferences and add some style? Why not add some natural light to your home by installing skylights. Be able to watch the night sky from the comfort of your cozy couch or enjoy a bright, beautiful sunny day without having to leave the house. Here at Morningstar Doors and Windows, Inc. we can do just that, and much more. If you're looking to update your home and install new window fixtures, just visit us at our Long Island window store.
No matter what kind of home improvement you plan on undertaking, whether it is a contracted project or a do-it-yourself one, these sorts of projects need guidance. Not only that, but they need the best products in order to create the best quality, long-lasting results. Morningstar Doors and Windows, Inc. is staffed by knowledgeable experts with years of hands-on experience that can help you undertake any project. Our Long Island window store offers a wide range of products and services including the best quality door and window products, large showroom displays, unique products and services only found here at Morningstar Doors and Windows, Inc. Skylights are one of the many services we offer here that can help you achieve your dream home.
When you make your own adjustments to a home, it truly begins to feel like your own home. Here at Morningstar Doors and Windows, Inc. we understand just how important the idea of home is to you and will treat you like family throughout the entire process. Making any sorts of additions or changes to the place in which you live is extremely personal and we understand that these projects are near and dear to our customers' hearts. Pay us a visit at our Long Island window store to see what we offer that can help you achieve your dream home and our dedicated staff will do all we can to help you get it.


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Baked Yellow Squash With Butter & Brown Sugar
Despite the color of the outer skin, most varieties of winter squash have yellow or orange flesh. The colorful flesh provides vitamins and adds fiber to your diet. One traditional method of preparing winter squash is to bake it. Yellow-fleshed acorn squash are ideal for this method of cooking. Plan on two servings from each medium-sized acorn squash, because each squash half makes one serving right in its own little "bowl."
Video of the Day
Step 1
Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F.
Step 2
Wash the outside of the squash. Cut each squash in half on a cutting board using a large, sharp knife.
Step 3
Remove the seeds and stringy fibers from the squash cavity with a large metal spoon or an ice cream scoop. Trim the stem area of the squash to make it more appealing, if necessary. Each squash half should now be shaped like a small bowl.
Step 4
Place 1 tbsp. of brown sugar per acorn squash half into a small mixing bowl. Add 1 tsp. of butter per acorn squash half and cut the butter into the brown sugar until the mixture is crumbly. Add your desired additional ingredients, such as cinnamon, raisins, chopped nuts or diced apple pieces, and mix well with the butter and brown sugar. Depending on how many additional ingredients you add, use from 1 tsp. to 1 tbsp. of each additional ingredient per squash half.
Step 5
Place the squash in a baking dish. Fill the seed cavity of each squash half with the butter and brown sugar mixture. Cover with a loose lid or aluminum foil.
Step 6
Put the squash in the oven and bake for about 30 minutes. Remove the lid or foil and continue baking until the squash is fork-tender.
Step 7
Remove the squash from the oven and allow to stand for five minutes before serving.


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(This post is part of the 2014 TCG National Conference: Crossing Borders {Survive| Thrive} blog salon curated by Caridad Svich.)
UNeditions is a new platform for publishing play scripts on mobile devices, using light and sound design from the production to create a unique and immersive reading experience. The platform was created through a co-design process led by Unlimited Theatre in collaboration with technology partner Storythings, Professor Jon Rogers of the University of Dundee's Product Research Studio and a "Community Lab" of volunteers from West Yorkshire. It is funded by Nesta's Digital R&D Fund for the Arts.
Here, Unlimited's creative director Jon Spooner describes the process they went through to create the platform…
Unlimited has often worked with new technologies (mostly just out of a geeky interest inspired by being bought a Dragon 32 when I was 10), but increasingly because those new, digital technologies, also offer us other ways of telling our stories to a potentially much bigger audience than we ever could if we only made it for the theatre. We've always recognized that by choosing to make our work primarily for, with and in theatres we're working in a pretty niche environment. Most people don't go to the theatre. And most people who do don't come to see the type of theatre that we're making – it's far enough away from the mainstream to mean that we're often working in a niche of a niche. This isn't A Bad Thing – small is definitely beautiful. But it's worth recognizing that if we were making our work primarily for almost any other medium (TV, film, the internet, books) the types of stories we tell would (probably) find a much bigger niche.
So UNeditions is a sincere, rigorous exploration of how we – as theatre makers and as a wider arts community – can better transpose (as opposed to broadcast) the stories we're telling, to other mediums. And I'm massively excited by the potential this app/platform has to allow existing audiences to both deepen their understanding of the work we make and also, importantly, open both Unlimited's and our sector's work up to a much wider range of people.
Unlimited we co-write all our shows –Clare and Chris and I have spent the last 16 years working out how we create things together. So a collaborative approach to the process of (co)designing this new platform was at the heart of this project. I met Jon Rogers, our research partner on the project, at a NASA hack event in 2011. I was attempting to hack my way into space and he was pretty much the only person who didn't think I was "a total nut" – he's since taken up the role of the Unlimited Space Agency's Head of Hack. Jon is also a passionate advocate for designing products with audiences in the (proven) belief that if you do so, the end product will be of much greater use and interest to the people actually using it. And I've known Matt Locke the director of Storythings (our technology partner) since 2000 when he commissioned us to make an SMS project taking the story of one of our earliest shows out of the theatre and into people's phones.
These longstanding, work based friendships played a major part in the success of this project – particularly since we wanted to make something that simply hadn't been done before. We all started from a point of trust and faith in each others expertise and ability that allowed us to just get on with working together. our "Community Lab" – a committed group of volunteers who worked with us as co-designers meaning we had a large team of people with hugely varied skills and experience all working with a shared passion towards a shared goal.
And this is where The Process was key. We were always clear that the outcome of this project was less important than the process. I mean, we did have clear hopes and ambitions for what we wanted our "product" to achieve (a new way of reading play scripts on tablets incorporating sound and light that other writers/artists could self publish their own work on for free) but we had also agreed that we weren't going to make any assumptions about what that 'product' would be.
We've documented that process in a (printed) book that you can also read online here. As well as being a good story, it also (hopefully) includes some useful insights into how to run your own co-design process.
And you can try the prototype for free here, where we've published a version of our most recent show The Noise that also includes writers commentary, production photographs, cast and crew biographies and other "Bonus Features" that we and the Community Lab wanted to include in the app. We hope other artists, organizations and venues might be able to use this as a way of making digital programs for their events.
In the next few months we'll be publishing and testing versions of shows by Third Angel and the Royal Shakespeare Company before opening the platform up to anyone who wants to use it. By that stage we're hoping to have added a payment option with a range of business models (free, fixed price, pay what you choose) with any payments received going entirely to the artists. And by making the code for the platform freely available on GitHub, if there's a function you want to add, you can!
At Unlimited we're not only interested in developing creative processes for collaboration, but also the social and political processes that allow us to work together most productively. Over the last 16 years of working together Clare, Chris and I (who co-founded the company) have created many different stories, telling them in many different ways and in many different places. What all of those stories share in common is that they are co-authored and co-written, often in conversation with our audiences. So a collaborative approach to the process of (co)designing this new platform made perfect sense to us. And I'm positive that the end result is better for it – more relevant and more useful to the people who will use it. More beautiful too.
This essay is a development of a shorter piece Spooner originally wrote for The Guardian.
Jon Spooner is a writer, theatre director, performer and the artistic director of Unlimited Theatre www.unlimited.org.uk. Say hello to him on twitter @untheatre.


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The Innovative Facial also known as the Fire and Ice Facial is designed by the scientifically advanced luxury skincare line IS Clinical. This intensive clinical facial uses the highest grade ingredients available to rapidly and safely resurface the skin, reducing fine lines and wrinkles, smoothing, softening, and promoting cellular renewal. It is a revolutionary facial treatment that can deliver dramatic physiological improvements to any skin type.
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We all know that eating too much sugar can be detrimental to our waistline, but the negative effects of sugar are far nastier than that. Excessive sugar consumption actually disrup...Learn More


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This weekend was my mom's birthday. Of course I jumped on the opportunity to cook up a yummy vegan meal to treat my parents to. The menu I decided on was an Eggplant and Chickpea Stew, served up along side Quinoa Pilaf, and a couple of vegetables… Naturally, dessert had to be extra special, but I wasn't feeling the traditional birthday cake thing. After skimming through books, bookmarked webpages, and folded up newspaper clippings, it came to me. Chocolate Tart!… Fancy and elegant, perfect for a quiet birthday dinner. It could also be made ahead. What's not to love about that?
Chocolate Tart
1/2 cup Margarine
1/3 cup Granulated Sugar
3/4 cup Walnuts (finely chopped in food processor or blender)
1 cup All-Purpose Flour
1/2 cup Whole Wheat Pastry Flour
Pre-heat oven to 350°F.
Cream the margarine and sugar. Blend in walnuts. Mix in flour 1/2 a cup at a time, until dough sticks when pressed together.
Press dough into an 8 inch tart pan (I like the 2 piece one's, for easy removal). Bake for 20 minutes or until crust is just beginning to brown. Remove from oven and allow to cool completely before filling.
1/2 cup Bitter-sweet Chocolate Chips
1/2 cup Semi-sweet Chocolate Chips
1 cup + 2 tbsp Non-Dairy Coffee Creamer
2 tbsp Brandy
1 tbsp cornstarch
1/4 tsp salt
In a double-boiler, combine chocolate chips and creamer and stir until chocolate has melted and mixture is smooth. Add brandy, cornstarch, and salt, and stir until completely combined.
Allow filling to cool slightly, then pour into crust. Place tart in refrigerator to chill for 6 hours or overnight.
When ready to serve, decorate top as desired. Can be served room temperature or chilled… I prefer room temperature for optimal flavour.


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More awards won at the New Zealand Ice Cream Awards
At the 17th annual 2013 New Zealand Ice Cream Awards, Monte Gelato won the following major awards. This competition is organized annually by the New Zealand Ice Cream Manufacturers' Association.
- Gold for Strawberry Sorbett
In 2012 Monte Gelato also won these awards at the same competition:
- Silver for Wildberry Sorbet
- Silver for Blackberry & White Chocolate Gelato
- Silver for Mango Sorbet
In 2011 Monte Gelato also won these awards at the same competition:
- Low Fat Category - Yoghurt berry: Best in Category Award
- Low Fat Category - Yoghurt berry: Gold Medal
- Sorbets Category - Lemon: Gold Medal
- Sorbets Category - Limetta (Lime sorbet): Silver Medal
Monte Gelato won these awards using exclusively MEC3 ingredients, supplied by Premier Providores for the New Zealand market:
- Gelato is Premium Italian Ice cream it contains up to 50% less fat and sugar: therefore it is healthier, lighter, more enjoyable and tastier.
- Monte Gelato is made FRESH every day!
Made the artisan way (hand made) which provides a better taste sensation.
- Monte Gelato is made with PREMIUM ingredients: using fresh milk, fresh cream and fresh fruits daily, this guarantees better quality and flavour.
- Monte Gelato is only made with premium FLAVOURS supplied by the global market leader from Italy.


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You can get audiobooks or music for free with Ohio Digital Library and Freegal Music.
Note: Have an iPod Touch? See these instructions.
*If an error appears, you will need to enable the "Manually manage music" option on your device.
You can keep audiobooks for up to 3 weeks, 10 items at a time per account.
Need more help? Try these instructions.
You can download up to 5 songs per week or stream 3 hours of songs per day.
Your computer
Your iPod
USB cable
Internet connection
Library card
9 a.m. - 9 p.m.
9 a.m. - 6 p.m.
9 a.m. - 6 p.m.
1 p.m. - 6 p.m.


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Contestant on The Biggest Loser, Season 13
He's a big loser. And that makes him a winner in our book! Fans of NBC's The Biggest Loser will recognize Mark as a contestant on Season 13 - where he made it to the final five. A youth pastor for nearly 20 years, he now shares his message of what God did in and through him from the Biggest Loser experience and how it impacts his work in missions around the world.
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We really had the need to share this amazing movement with you.
In 2006, American traveler Blake Mycoskie befriended children in Argentina and found they had no shoes to protect their feet. Wanting to help, he created TOMS Shoes, a company that would match every pair of shoes purchased with a pair of new shoes given to a child in need. One for One. Blake returned to Argentina with a group of family, friends and staff later that year with 10,000 pairs of shoes made possible by TOMS customers.
Why Shoes?
Many children in developing countries grow up barefoot. Whether at play, doing chores or going to school, these children are at risk:
•A leading cause of disease in developing countries is soil-transmitted diseases, which can penetrate the skin through bare feet. Wearing shoes can help prevent these diseases, and the long-term physical and cognitive harm they cause.
•Wearing shoes also prevents feet from getting cuts and sores. Not only are these injuries painful, they also are dangerous when wounds become infected.
•Many times children can't attend school barefoot because shoes are a required part of their uniform. If they don't have shoes, they don't go to school. If they don't receive an education, they don't have the opportunity to realize their potential.
To learn more about TOMS, please visit: http://www.tomsshoes.com/
Also, spread the word and tell your friends and family about TOMS, and help raise awareness by participating in 'One Day Without Shoes':
Abbey & Chloe


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Bernardino Fungai's only signed and dated painting, the Madonna and Child Enthroned with Saints Sebastian, Jerome, Nicholas of Bari and Anthony of Padua of 1512 has formed the basis for attributing a significant body of work to the artist. Fungai is first recorded in 1482 as a pupil of Benvenuto di Giovanni (1436-after 1518), when he was working on the frescoes on the drum of the cupola of the Siena Cathedral. His paintings are characterized by a simple, direct narrative style derived from Pietro Orioli (1461-1496) fused with an accomplished decorative sensibility, certainly attributable to the contemporary Sienese taste for decorative richness. A recent study of his Madonna and Child with Cherubim (London, National Gallery, inv. 1331) has focused on this intriguing aspect of his work, evaluating the hypothesis that he may have had a reputation for his adept handling of expensive materials such as gold and lapis lazuli (see D. Bomford, A. Roy and L. Syson, 'Gilding and Illusion in the Paintings of Bernardino Fungai', National Gallery Technical Bulletin, XXVII, 2006, pp. 111-120).
The present painting, signed 'OPVS BENNADINI FVNGHARI DESENIS' can be compared to the predella panel that sold at Christie's, New York, on 11 January 1991, lot 5. Also depicting the Dead Christ supported by two angels, that work was recognized as the central element of a predella illustrating the life of Saint Clement of which four other panels are known (York City Art Gallery and Strasbourg, Musée des Beaux-Arts). According to Laurence Kanter, these latter panels were probably painted for the Coronation of the Virgin altarpiece for Santa Maria dei Servi in Siena (in situ), Fungai's acknowledged masterpiece (see K. Christiansen, L. Kanter and C. B. Strehlke, Painting in Renaissance Siena: 1420-1550, exhibition catalogue, New York, 1988, pp. 352-358, nos. 76 a-d).
The present painting, a characteristic example of Fungai's late work, was first recorded in 1909 by Bernard Berenson as in the right chapel of the monastery of Saint Eugenio in Siena. It is possible that it was originally painted for the monastery and remained in situ until the middle of the twentieth century.
Signature: signed 'OPVS.BENNADINI FVNGHARII.DESENIS' (lower edge)
B. Berenson, The Central Italian Painters of the Renaissance, London, 1909, p. 173, as in the Monistero di S. Eugenio, Siena.
J.A. Crowe and G.B. Cavalcaselle, A New History of Painting in Italy from the II to the XVI Century, London, 1909, p. 356, under no. 2, as in the Monistero di S. Eugenio, Siena.
B. Berenson, Italian pictures of the Renaissance: a list of the principal artists and their works with an index of places, Central Italian and North Italian Schools, London, 1968, I, p. 151; II, fig. 932, as ex-Monistero di S. Eugenio.
Monistero di S. Eugenio, Siena.
with Wildenstein Arte S.A., Florida and Buenos Aires, 1969, where acquired by the family of the present owner.
About Bernardino Fungai
Italian, 1460-1516, Siena, Italy, based in Siena, Italy


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VANCOUVER, Wash. (AP) — State troopers will be conducting emphasis patrols for the Thanksgiving holiday along the entire West Coast stretch of Interstate 5 from San Diego to Bellingham.
Officials from the California Highway Patrol, Oregon State Police and Washington State Patrol announced the "Arrive Alive on I-5" challenge Monday at the WSP district headquarters in Vancouver.
The goal for holiday period from Wednesday evening through Sunday is zero fatalities on the freeway.
Troopers will be looking for speeders, and aggressive, distracted or impaired drivers.
Drivers are advised to prepare for traffic conditions and be patient.
Copyright 2013 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.


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Clothing labels from organic clothing I have purchased in recent years - turning my intention into action. Putting my money where my mouth and my heart are.
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
Assuming you want to make more eco-friendly choices in your clothing, food and general household purchases, do you find that, despite your good intentions, your buying habits haven't really changed? Does your little voice tell you that it's okay this one time because you'll make an effort next time - but there never is a next time?
Why is that? Have you isolated the reason(s) why you keep buying the same old stuff that's not really good for you, the planet or the other human beings who made it? Even though you feel kinda guilty about it?
You have those good intentions for a reason. They're born out of your compassionate instincts that tell you something is amiss and needs your help. The same compassionate instincts that tell you your child doesn't look well, that you should assist an elderly person in a store or that it's a good idea to donate your time, money or stuff to those in need.
Trust your instincts. Figure out what your personal hiccups are that keep you from buying better - and figure out how to override, overcome or outsmart them. I know it's not always easy.... but it's always, always worth it! Let your good intentions turn into action that makes a difference.
More reading:
Environmental Justice Foundation / main website
Pure Citizen / main website


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For the best experience on the Abcam website please upgrade to a modern browser such as Google Chrome
Synthetic peptide derived from within residues: SDPADRLSPF LAARHFNLPS KTESMFMAGG SDCLIVGGGG GQALYIDGDL, corresponding to internal sequence amino acids 467-515 of Human TBC1D24 (NP_065756).
Our Abpromise guarantee covers the use of ab101933 in the following tested applications.
The application notes include recommended starting dilutions; optimal dilutions/concentrations should be determined by the end user.
|Use a concentration of 1 µg/ml. Predicted molecular weight: 63 kDa. Good results were obtained when blocked with 5% non-fat dry milk in 0.05% PBS-T.
Please note: All products are "FOR RESEARCH USE ONLY AND ARE NOT INTENDED FOR DIAGNOSTIC OR THERAPEUTIC USE"


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Brilliant Lighting Ariel E27 Fan Light Kit - Matt Opal Glass - Satin Chrome
The Ariel is a classically styled mushroom shaped clipper fan light to suit most Brilliant ceiling fans. Featuring a clip-on style glass diffuser in Matt Opal or Alabaster.
The Ariel is available in White or Satin Chrome finish.
This light kit is remote control compatible.
The Ariel Light Kit comes with a 12 month replacement warranty.
Delivery Information
JD Lighting offers FREE standard shipping for most online orders over $99* within Australia.
- Exclusions apply to WA, SA, NT & Tasmania. For these excluded areas, actual shipping charges will be calculated at checkout.
For more information about our Shipping Policy, please click here.
Returns Information
If you are not entirely satisfied with your online order, you may send it back to us for a refund or exchange within 30 days of purchase.
Our 3 simple rules of returns are:
- Item(s) must be returned within 30 days period with proof of purchase.
- Item(s) must be uninstalled and unused with the original tags still attached.
- Item(s) must be in the original packaging which must be in original salable condition.
Please note the following:
- We are unable to refund the initial shipping cost of your order. If the goods were shipped for free the actual amount would be deducted from the refund.
- Any cost associated with returning the goods would be at the consumers' expense.
For more information about our Returns Policy, please click here.


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While architecture based on tension has been used since ancient times, almost every permanent structure in the world, until about 50 years ago, was based on compression loading. Beginning in the 1950's, there was a renewed interest in tension structures led by the German architect Frei Otto. As a result of research performed by Otto and several of his contemporaries, the ideas that govern tension fabric structures were developed and implemented. Tension fabric has unique physical properties due to its basic structure that makes it an incredibly versatile building material. Its lightweight, translucent and reflective properties allow for energy and material conservation. It is therefore considered by many to be a form of sustainable architecture, architecture that meets the needs of today without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs.
Sometimes the most complex questions have the simplest answers. Consider the shape created by the soap film around a soap dish as it is quickly set down. While the soap bubble is incredibly fragile and will break almost immediately due to the nature of the material, the actual shape created is an example of a natural form using a minimum amount of materials very efficiently. This soap bubble shape was the missing link in the development of tension fabric structures. Prior to the discovery that shapes taken by soap bubbles, crystals, and microscopic plants can be utilized as possible forms for tension fabric architecture, it was impossible to create permanent large scale tension fabric structures able to withstand wind, snow, and gravity loads. However, due to this important discovery, not only could tension fabric be used as an effective roofing material for large spans, but its lightweight nature, translucent and reflective properties, and environmental adaptability could also be taken advantage of in building construction.
History of Tension Fabric Structures
The idea behind tension fabric structures has been around for as long as man has created structures for shelter. As the name suggests, tension fabric structures utilize fabric in complete tension, or the act of pulling apart, as a primary building material. The earliest and most frequently used example of this type of structure was tents. Historically tents have differed in building materials and methods of construction, depending on the climate in which they were constructed, ranging from the black tents of the Bedouins, Berbers, Moors, and Kurds to the highly evolved American tipi of the Native Americans [1].
On the whole however, most buildings prior to the twentieth century were based on compression loading, or the act of pushing together. Some notable examples of this compression architecture are the ancient Egyptian pyramids and the iconic Eiffel Tower of Paris. There were exceptions to this rule, such as the Golden Gate Bridge of San Francisco and other suspension bridges.
In the 1950s, architects and engineers began to take a renewed interest in using tension as the primary method of transferring loads in structures. Two main figures responsible for advancement in this investigation of tensile structures were Frei Otto and Horst Berger of Germany. Otto was a pioneer in tensile architecture who discovered natural forms such as soap bubbles and crystals created shapes that used a minimum amount of materials very efficiently. He then went on to make the connection that these forms could be used as possible shapes of perfect tension and therefore could be utilized in tensile architecture. However, without these shapes being defined mathematically, little further analysis and testing could be done without creating painstaking models out of soap. Berger was instrumental here. He discovered the mathematical relationship describing this soap bubble form. Since this discovery, tension fabric structures have begun to appear on the architectural landscape [1]. Some current well known structures utilizing tension fabric include the largest cable supported roof in the world of the Millennium Dome in London, England [2], and the Haj Terminal in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia, designed in part by Berger and currently one of the largest tensile structures in the world [1].
Tension Fabric Internal Structure
Currently, there are two main types of structural systems that involve tension fabric: air supported systems and tension membrane systems. Air supported systems utilize mechanical engineering to create a positive internal air pressure in order to support the fabric [3]. Tension membrane systems rely on cables or steel framing as a base support. Regardless of the base system, tension fabric roofs are able to provide durable protection over great distances with very little material. But how is this done? A look into the internal structure of the tension fabric and its associated properties will answer this question.
Fabrication of Base Fabric
There are three main types of tension fabric used in architectural applications today: PVC coated polyester, silicon coated fiberglass, and Teflon coated fiberglass. PVC coated polyester is the cheapest and easiest to manage of the three but also has the shortest life span. Teflon and silicon coated fiberglass are more durable, but are also more expensive [4]. However, the basic structure of the material is similar for all three. The bottom layer of the tension fabric is a base fabric, usually made out of polyester or fiberglass. This fabric is created with fibers that run perpendicular, or in the warp and welt directions, and are weaved in and out of each other. The base fabric is extremely important as it dictates a number of the final fabric properties including stress and strain properties (how much force the fabric can take and how long it can stretch before failure) [3]. The end result is an incredibly strong material: fiberglass fiber has a tensile strength of 3200 Mega-Pascal (MPa) [5]. To put this number in perspective, structural steel only has a tensile strength of roughly 250 MPa. In order to create a stronger final fabric, one could use a bigger denier (size) of fiber or create a fabric with more fibers per square inch [3]. In addition to the incredible strength of the base fabrics, they are also relatively translucent and reflective. For example, Teflon coated fiberglass has a reflectivity of seventy percent [5].
The Exterior Coating
Once the base fabric has been created all that is left to do is coat the fabric with an exterior coating. Generally, the exterior coating appears at the beginning of the name of a tension fabric: for example, Teflon coated fiberglass is coated with Teflon or Poly Tetra Fluoro Ethylene (PTFE) [5]. Teflon and silicon are durable coatings that guard against ultraviolet radiation, moisture, and microorganism infestation. They are 'self cleaning', meaning that dust, dirt, ash, and chemical pollutants all wash off in the presence of water [6]. The main difference between the two is that while Teflon is a better self cleaner, it is also more expensive to produce. PVC coating has many of the same properties as Teflon and silicon. However, it is susceptible to UV radiation and, consequently, has a shorter life span [4].
Important Application Criteria
But how is a fabric able to hold the wind, snow, and gravity loads associated with roofs? If the roof is only made out of fabric, why does the fabric not sink when weight is applied? The answer lies in the pre-stressing of the tension fabric and the final shape in which the tension fabric is placed.
Essential Pre-stressing
Pre-stressing refers to the process by which the fabric is loaded upon construction. To find the amount of pre-stressing necessary, the engineer must calculate the expected loads for the duration of the structure. The pre-stressing should account for the maximum possible load in both the X and Y directions throughout the course of the fabric. This amount of pre-stressing is very important. If the pre-stressing is too high, unnecessary building materials will be needed to counteract the large tension force created by the fabric. If it is too low, the structure will be vulnerable to vibrations caused by wind (Intents).
Form follows Function
While a two dimensional tension fabric membrane can take planar tensile forces, it can not take significant forces perpendicular to this plane. Therefore, in addition to being pre-stressed, tension fabric must take a certain three dimensional shape in order to remain stable. These shapes were discovered by Otto and Berger during their investigation of natural forms such as soap bubbles. There are two types of general shapes: anticlastic and synclastic shapes.
Anticlastic shapes are created by having the radii of the principal curvatures on opposite sides of the tension fabric surface. As a result, when loaded at a particular point, tension will increase on one curve of the membrane and leave the opposite curve, thereby preserving equilibrium and keeping the structure stable. In order to keep anticlastic shapes, some kind of structural frame or support is necessary in the form of cables or steel beams. Some examples of anticlastic shapes are saddle, cone, and wave forms [7] (Fig. 1)
On the other hand, synclastic shapes are characterized by having the radii of the principal curvatures on the same side of the fabric (Fig. 2). In order to counteract external forces, pressure from within is necessary. This is why synclastic shapes are associated with air inflated structures, as the difference of pressure created by air pumped into the building is able to counteract external forces in the form of wind or snow [7].
Implications of Fabric Tension Structures
The development of tension fabric, in connection with advancements in steel cable structural systems and mechanically induced air pressure, has led to its relatively recent incorporation into structures all over the world. Due to its internal structure, tension fabric has tremendous implications for the form, internal environment, and environmental adaptability for a particular structure.
Exterior Form and Aesthetics
As stated previously, the shape into which the tension fabric is placed is extremely important to its overall stability. The anticlastic and synclastic shapes needed for this stability pose exciting new possibilities for architects in the conceptual design phase and civil engineers in designing structural systems. In order to support the tension fabric in these fantastic shapes, a positive air pressure created by mechanical systems or a series of cables and structural steel must be utilized [3]. However, due to the extremely lightweight nature of the tension fabric, the cost of materials is greatly reduced from that of a conventional roof. For example, the Georgia Dome, which has a tension fabric roof spanning over 395,000 square feet, weighs only sixty-eight pounds [8]!
In addition, the actual color of a tension fabric roof adds an intriguing aesthetic to the exterior of the building. While fiberglass base fabrics are almost exclusively confined to a white color, polyester base fabrics can be a variety of colors [4]. Regardless, during the day a tension fabric roof is a solid color that can be seen from miles away. At night, the roof is transformed into a glowing beacon due to the interior lights of the building that shine through the translucent fiberglass or polyester [6].
The Interior
The translucency and reflectivity of the base fabric of tension fabric roofs have tremendous implications for the interior of their respective structures. The translucent tension fabric roof allows for very little necessary interior lighting during the day in order to illuminate the structure. It also lends itself to interior plant growth and greatly decreases the amount of glare generated from the sun. The reflective properties of these tension fabric roofs have similar positive effects on the interior. First of all, these roofs reflect much of the sun's direct rays, thereby creating a cooler interior to the building [6]. For example, the temperature inside of the Haj Terminal will rarely rise above eighty degrees, even though the exterior temperature can top 120 degrees [9]. In addition, the highly reflective surface of tension fabric allows for more efficient lighting at night. The overall result of all these effects is a marked decrease in the amount of energy needed for the lighting and HVAC (heating, ventilation, and air conditioning) systems of the structure [6].
Environmental Observations
One of the most amazing properties of tension fabric is that it can be used effectively in almost any environment, ranging from the extreme heat of Saudi Arabia to the frigid cold of St. Paul, Minnesota. While it is often necessary to add a thermal lining or double layer of the fabric in colder climates, the material is surprisingly versatile [4]. In addition, tension fabric is considered a 'limited combustible' material. While it will catch on fire in the presence of a flame, this flame will die out as soon as the source is removed [3]. Finally, maintenance of tension fabric roofs is incredibly simple due to tension fabric's self cleaning properties. All that is necessary to clean off any unwanted material is to rinse it off with water [6].
Despite its more extensive use over the past decade or so in architectural applications, tension fabric is still a relatively new building material. Discovering necessary forms and amount of pre-stressing can be extremely complex, sometimes only vaguely understood, and therefore much care is taken in designing structures involving this material. However, the advantages of tension fabric can not be disputed. It is an incredibly lightweight, material saving, energy conserving solution for roofing systems, especially over large areas. In short, it is an excellent option for architects and engineers looking to design sustainable structures.
- [1] Red Sky Shelters. "The History of Tensile Architecture." Red Sky Shelters. http://www.redskyshelters.com/tensilehistory.html.
- [2] "Millennium Dome." Midas User. http://www.midasuser.com/info/land/read.asp?index_id=4&pg=1&so=1&sk.
- [3] Seaman Corporation. "Utilization of Vinyl Coated Polyester Fabrics for Architectural Applications." Seaman Corporation. http://www.architecturalfabrics.com/whitepaper.html.
- [4] N. Browne. "CPD." Fabric Architecture and Signature Structures. http://www.fabricarchitecture.co.uk/cpd.htm.
- [5] U. Gandhi. Design and Construction of Tension Membrane Structures. [2003]. http://homepages.cae.wisc.edu/~ukgandhi/documents/tensile%20structures_paper.pdf.
- [6] Taiyo Birdair Corporation. "Custom Tension Structures." Taiyo Birdair Corporation. http://www.taiyobirdair.com/index.php?submenu=ProdStructures&src=gendocs&link=Custom&category=ProductsServices&FREEDOMSITE=dc5026d72c982a0934f3e397a9e447d.
- [7] Intents. "About Membranes" Technical. Intents. http://www.intents.be/default2.asp.
- [8] "Georgia Dome." Midas User. http://www.midasuser.com/info/land/read.asp?index_id=13.
- [9] L. Babetski, E.Karp. H. Terminal, K. A. Aziz International Airport Jeddah Saudi Arabia.http://darkwing.uoregon.edu/~struct/resources/case_studies/case_studies_suspension/haj_terminal/haj_terminal.html.


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Our corporate and community partners play a big role in our ability to provide to programs necessary to continue to build the sport.
Our partners provide us with much needed cash donations, product in kind, expertise and technical services that are essential to keeping a national non-profit vital and growing.
We applaud their efforts and thank them for their contribution.


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Happy Mexican Independence Day!
Here is a photograph of a Mexican Independence Day Celebration in Tucson before 1912. Original card print by Haynes, Tucson, A.T. Photo identifier #2907
As we prepared to have a tour for a class that is learning about Zoot Suit women or Pachucas in the 1940s, we were lucky enough to find this gem of an unidentified Zoot Suit Woman or Pachuca from the 1940s, in our vast collections of photographs.
Zoot Suiters (also known as Pachucos or Pachucas) were Mexican Americans located in various parts of the Southwest, including Tucson, Arizona in the WWII era. They dressed distinctively, and they rebelled against total assimilation in the the mainstream culture. Their Zoot Suits, (or something like it for women, although some women wore Zoot Suits) included long coats with padded shoulders or tacuches, dress pants with a wide leg and tight at the bottom, as shown in the photograph below of the unidentified Zoot Suiter. They also spoke in Pachuco slang or what they called Caló.
Zoot Suits were also popular in the African American and Italian American communities. If you want to see more photos like this, check out the Mexican Heritage Project online exhibit or come to the archives!


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The Real War in Ukraine: The Battle over Ukrainian Identity
"At its core, therefore, this conflict is about whether Ukraine should be a monocultural or pluricultural nation, and peace is unlikely until Ukrainian politics are brought into conformity with the country's cultural reality."
The following were remarks prepared for a panel on "Russia in the Global Context," held at New York University and jointly sponsored by the Jordan Center for Advanced Russian Studies at NYU and the Carnegie Council for Ethics in International Affairs, December 1, 2014.
I quite agree with Jack Matlock, our first ambassador to Russia, with Tony Brenton, Britain's former ambassador to Russia, with Chris Westdal, Canada's former ambassador to Russia and Ukraine, and former German chancellors Gerhard Schroeder and Helmut Schmidt, and Vaclav Klaus, former president of Czech republic.
The conflict in Ukraine is a conflict among indigenous communities that have very different ideas of what it means to be Ukrainian. It is a war over Ukrainian identity.
For the Westernmost regions (Galicia), being Ukrainian means suppressing Russian culture so that Ukrainian culture can thrive in its stead. Here, creating a Ukraine that is antithetical to Russia is commonly referred to as making a "civilizational choice" in favor of Europe.
For the eight Russophone regions of eastern and southern Ukraine (which I call the Other Ukraine), being Ukrainian means being a distinct nation that is still very close to Russia. These Ukrainians do not wish to join Russia, but neither do they wish to be forced to forsake Russian culture in order to be considered loyal Ukrainians. They do not accept the idea that there is any civilizational choice to make, but if forced to choose between a Ukraine in NATO or the EU and a Ukraine in alliance with Russia, they prefer Russia by a 2:1 margin.
At its core, therefore, this conflict is about whether Ukraine should be a monocultural or pluricultural nation, and peace is unlikely until Ukrainian politics are brought into conformity with the country's cultural reality.
Why Now?
For more than two decades, these two regionally based versions of national identity managed a tense co-existence, alternating the presidency between them and thwarting the functioning of parliament in order to prevent the other side from implementing its maximum political agenda.
This gridlock prevented reform, it is true, but it was also Ukraine's way of avoiding civil war, which many believed would erupt if one side were to dominate completely, and turn its definition of Ukrainian identity into a test of civic loyalty.
This is what many Ukrainians believe happened on February 22, 2014. Yanukovych's ouster was seen as a violation of the delicate political balance between Galicia and Donbass, and, therefore, a direct threat to the core interest of Russophone Ukrainians. Two-thirds of Donbass residents surveyed in early May said they regarded the Maidan as "an armed overthrow of the government, organized by the opposition with the assistance of the West."
The same day three thousand local officials from the eastern and southern regions gathered in Kharkov and voted to assume political control in their regions until "constitutional order" was restored in Kiev.
In Crimea, the regional parliament went even further and sought to redress an old grievance, the abrogation of its 1992 Constitution, by calling for a referendum on greater autonomy within Ukraine. Kiev responded by sacking Ukraine's defense minister and putting the military under the direct command of the new acting speaker/president, Oleksandr Turchynov, who tried to replace local military commanders and security forces in Crimea.
Crimean authorities request the assistance of the Russian Black Sea Fleet stationed in Crimea in maintaining security. Citing the threat to Russian citizens, military personnel and compatriots in Crimea, Putin is given authority to use Russian troops in Ukraine. A week later the Crimean referendum is moved up, the question changed from autonomy within Ukraine to secession with the intent of joining Russia, and the rest is history.
The same scenario begins to unfold in Donbass, but there, Russia responds very differently.
First, it distances itself from the rebels and opposes their referendum for greater autonomy within Ukraine (not secession)—which the rebels go ahead with anyway.
Second, after holding military exercises in February, Russia announces the return of troops to their barracks in late April, after the beginning of Kiev's military campaign in the east.
Finally, after Petro Poroshenko's election, and just as the Ukrainian military campaign in the east expands, Putin asks the Russian parliament to rescind his authority to use troops outside Russia.
I, therefore, do not believe that Russia's strategy aims at destabilizing Ukraine. It is already coping with half a million refugees. More instability will only produce economic collapse, a failed state and millions of refugees. What it wants, I believe, is a stable Ukraine that will be able to repay the 30 billion U.S. dollars it currently owes Russia in private, corporate and government debt.
But it disagrees strongly with the West about how stability can be achieved.
The West is not in the least bit concerned with cultural differences in Ukraine and how they affect politics. It assumes that if corruption is reduced, the economy will grow, and cultural divisions will simply fade away.


text: On Tue, 2010-11-02 at 08:09 +0100, Harald Jenny wrote: > On Mon, Nov 01, 2010 at 04:48:08PM -0700, Richard A Nelson wrote: > > On Mon, 1 Nov 2010, Harald Jenny wrote: > > >Could you give us a quick overview what the current state of > > >packaging sendmail and libmilter is? Do you need any help? Is there a chance to > > >get this new version still into Squeeze (release team?) or should we rather > > >focus on backporting the necessary changes to 8.14.3? As the libmilter problem > > >renders a class of applications unreliable this should IMHO really be > > >classified as RC bug. [...] > > sendmail_8.14.4-1_amd64.changes ACCEPTED into unstable [...] > > So, barring bugs, it should hit testing soon > > Thanks - and I hope the release team will allow this transition to take place. Which libmilter problem are you referring to? There don't appear to be any RC bugs closed by the upload. With a little massaging of the diff (tarball-in-tarball with versioned directory names sucks), I can get down to 146 files changed, 2092 insertions(+), 999 deletions(-) but that's still quite large for an update at this point. :-/ Regards, Adam


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DALLAS CENTER, IA. — Lawrence Myers is an Iowa corn and soybean farmer who remembers how carelessly he used the weed-killer 2,4-D in the last 30 years.
``I used to literally bathe in it and get it on my lips. I wasn`t aware of the dangers of chemicals,`` said Myers, who is having second thoughts about the safety of ``miracle`` pesticides and herbicides introduced after World War II.


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Chief Plenty Coups State Park [MT]
Situated within the Crow Reservation in south-central Montana, this park was the home of Plenty Coups, last chief of the Crow. This park preserves the log home, sacred spring, and farmstead of Chief Plenty Coups. The small visitor center that traces the story of Chief Plenty Coups's life, and of the chief's efforts to lead his people in adopting the lifestyle of the white man.
The site offers exhibits, tours, and occasional recreational and educational events.


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Red Hat Bugzilla – Bug 143336
[patch] missing desktop entry icons for 2 components.
Last modified: 2007-11-30 17:10:57 EST
Description of problem:
the menu entrys for oo draw and oo math point to the wrong icon.
ooo_draw.xpm doesent exist in /usr/share/pixmaps rather a png with the
same name exists. Would be nice to have that corrected. and the menu
entrys pointing to the right png icon.
Version-Release number of selected component (if applicable):
fc3 stock.
Created attachment 108883 [details]
change redhat-menus desktop.in files
caolanm->seth: Apply this trivial patch to redhat-menus and make a new
version available to us to push ?
it's fixed in 3.7.1-7. It will showup in rawhide


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Navigating stormy seas by day and night, hundreds of thousands of virtual skippers are sailing the Vendee Globe while safe and dry at home thanks to an online version of the round-the-world yacht race.
"Virtual Regatta" has signed up some 300,000 players from around the world since the 20 real-life skippers set off from Sables d'Olonne in western France on November 10, on a three-month solo quest for yachting's ultimate prize.
"I've been immersed in it from the word go thanks to the real-time weather simulator," Philippe Barrier, a cameraman and sailing enthusiast from the Paris area, told AFP.
"The day they left there were two possible routes: I headed due south before the wind dropped, and then I set a westerly course," said the 38-year-old, whose boat "Le_Filou", was ranked 10,047th on Thursday.
The game's virtual sea was dark with boats this week as the thick swarm of competitors set off. Latecomers are free to join at any point, tacking on to the end of the race.
With real-time weather reports, feeding them accurate wind speed and direction, the players set a course as if they were alongside the real-life competitors.
"You can't feel the spray, but you get a lot of the same sensations as at sea," said Barrier. "I'm competitive by nature, so it's amazing to be able to take part in a real race, in real time, with so many people."
And here of course, nobody gets hurt.
"It's fun — you can run adrift, turn around, grind almost to a halt — but unlike the real skippers you don't have to worry about colliding with a trawler," said Louis Andre of the French online game firm Many Player, which developed "Virtual Regatta" in 2006.
"Our goal was to bring yachting to a wider public — we've achieved that tenfold!" said Andre, whose firm has since developed versions for other major races — the Route du Rhum, or Jacques Vabres.
Afficionados include the two-time Vendee Globe winner Michel Desjoyeaux, but around half of all players have no experience of sailing.
Weather maps are updated twice a day, at 7:57 am and pm, for players to tweak their strategy.
"I try to spend as little time as possible at the computer — but to have good visibility over the coming seven days," said Barrier, who plays mostly after his baby son is tucked up in bed.
"If I plan things right, then I only have to log on to check my course." He estimates his daily play time at half a hour — racing as a "purist" without add-on options.
For David Houzelot — codenamed "Dadouteam_1", racing in around 6,000th position — the comfort of having satellite navigation, an automatic pilot for nighttime, and extra choice of sails was well worth paying 20 euros ($25).
"Without it's like navigating with a sextant," joked the 43-year-old businessman, himself a yachtsman.
"The game is about playing with the wind, about thinking ahead, racing hard but also making friends," he said.
"Lots of people play in a team, like a relay race. You can spend a minute or an hour on it."
But while safe from capsizing, the virtual skippers risk glitches of a modern kind, like one recent morning when a technical bug left the site off-limits for five hours, costing some players thousands of places in the ranking.
Twenty skippers began the real-life Vendee Globe race but 16 remain.
Kito de Pavant withdrew and one of the favourites, Marc Guillemot, quit when his keel suffered irreparable damage.
Samantha Davies dismasted in strong winds, while Louis Burton, whose boat was hit by a trawler, pulled out after wind conditions made it impossible for him to return to Les Sables d'Olonne to repair a damaged shroud.
[Image via Agence France-Presse]


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Headlight Restoration
Headlight Restoration. Improve appearance and night visibility. Starting at $69.99
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Call us today to have your headlights restored to factory like condition. The three main causes of headlight discoloration are Surface Damage, UV Damage and Oxidation. With our process your headlights are restored while undergoing UV Treatment to give you long lasting results. Make your car safer to drive and more appealing with Headlight Restoration by Paintless Dent Doctor.
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3. Improves the overall look of your vehicle
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College Connection is the leading field hockey showcase: fully focused on helping student-athletes achieve their dreams to play at the college level.
Elite Field Hockey Camps provide full pre-season preparation and tournament style competition for high school and club teams through teaching the field hockey basics, advanced skills, and tactics.
Shooting Star Tournament provides team competition opportunities for 300+ teams through four different national tournaments.


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|Deviant Art
Hi! This is my deviant page. I am mainly into making custom video game figures and statues. I really enjoy the toy making process, and I also get to flex my imagination. I love the iconic nature of video game characters, so I guess that I why I make toys out of them. I am very crafty, so who knows what I will work on next.
I live in El Paso, Texas. I am married have have three kids. I love being married and the kids keep me pretty busy. Luckily, I still find time to get some customs made. I have been a nerd all my life. I loved school and I want to go back to get a Masters Degree. I remember going to school with my Nintendo lunch box and eating my Nintendo fruit snacks. I even remember the Nintendo cereal. It may sound like I am a Nintendo fan-boy, but I am not. I appreciate all the systems. I think that they all have something that makes them great. I just happen to have more Nintendo stuff than anything else. I wish I could afford to buy all those other systems, but it gets a bit pricey... Other than that, not much to say.
I have been doing custom toys and figures for almost 5 years (Wow! Where did the time go) and I am finally satisfied with the quality. I am starting to sell select customs in my store on my website.