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So it looks as though I am going to be going to New York again. My mother, who left Manhattan to be with my father over half a century ago, still feels the pull of the place and has decided that she had better go there one more time while she still can. And the reason I can afford to go there is because she's paying for my ticket. Well, you don't turn down a free trip to New York, do you? Not even with your mother. Who, in my case, will be keeping a beady eye on the number of brandy-and-sodas I drink as part of my copyrighted anti-jet-lag system on the way there and back.
She has friends there, although sadly Cousin Lee, who mesmerised me when I was a child not because he was obviously gay but because he shaved with lather and a blade, died in 2009. Going to see him was the true, classy New York experience: a place in the mid-50s, east side, a luxurious apartment with a kitchen the size of a tea-chest (in which, however, he could cook sumptuous meals); trips to Chinatown and the best Jewish delis in town.
My mother, who used to appear on Broadway, still has New York in her blood and she would always watch the latest New Yorkbased TV shows – Rhoda, Kojak – so she could see how her city was getting on. "The best Kojak episodes are the ones with drugs in them," she once confided in me and she was right – nothing else provided such a frisson, and a scene where the bald, lollipop sucking Telly Savalas shows his nephew a tenement stuffed with shivering junkies has probably done more than anything else to keep me off the skag for life.
The condition – New Yorkitis – is hereditary. I showed the kids The Odd Couple with Walter Matthau and Jack Lemmon the other weekend and despite there being no spies, spaceships or elves in it, just a lot of talk, they loved it. And what talk. The film may be a thinly disguised version of a play with a low proportion of exterior shots, but it is as muggy with the atmosphere of the place as an un-air-conditioned summer's day there. The natural heat of the place is, in its way, a character; think also of Rear Window. I first went to the city as a child, around the same time The Odd Couple was made, and to me that is how New York is meant to look: the cabs are that shape, policemen's caps are pointy around the circumference, like Officer Dibble's in Top Cat, and the men wear natty pork-pie hats. It's as archaic an image as that of a London wracked with pea-soupers but any deviation from it I am capable of blanking utterly. There are enough satisfactory relics.
That said, I tend to enjoy the full contemporary experience when I go to the City That Never Sleeps, which means I am more John Self in Money than the loquacious nebbish of a Woody Allen story. And after the last time, which ended up in a miserable, hopeless search round the Diamond District for a stolen gold watch, I was more than half glad that financial considerations would prevent me from making the trip there ever again. I need to be kept on a leash while I'm there. It starts with oysters at Grand Central and ends up trying to give the correct description to a policeman in Times Square at four o'clock in the morning.
I wonder whether the problem is that London isn't really anything, but New York really is New York. When T S Eliot called London the Unreal City, he was on to something. London is simply too sprawling for us to see it – we're out of scale with it, or in the wrong dimension.
I've lived here for about 98 per cent of my life and feel my grasp of the place actually slipping as I get older. Whereas New York's quiddity and immensity peers down at you the whole time. The place is an intramuscular injection of hard-core, uncut cityness which, after London's methadone, comes as quite a jolt and can cause some people to overdose. And you don't have to be a big, brash city to have this effect on the Londoner: pretty much anywhere else can do it.
Meanwhile, I flick through the pages of my stiff new US passport. Compared with its predecessor, this is a document so stuffed with patriotic bling that it makes you want to cringe. Each page has either an eagle or a cowboy or a steam train or a sailing ship or a Statue of Liberty and an inspiring quote to go with it. It's funny. Every time I think to myself that this is the time I will cast off my wimpy Englishness and move to the US, something happens to make me go "oh, deary me. Tut tut."


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Fayetteville Enduro - July 2021
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MAC Marcel Wanders Collection
MAC & Marcel Wanders Collection
MAC & Marcel Wanders Collection
"If I have a basic motivation, it's to inspire people to make their life a Masterpiece!" Is that not what we do every day at M·A·C? So it is that the Dutch industrial designer – known for everything from his "Happy Hour" Chandelier to his "futuresonic" way with old Delft porcelain, and for co-founding now-iconic design collective Droog AND the amusing, classicism-meets-futurism objects of his own group, Moooi (from the Dutch word for "beauty," but with an extra "o" for extra-beautiful!) – wandered HERE…It had to be! M·A·C partners with Marcel Wanders – his first foray into the world of cosmetics – and design sophisticates (and people with innate and irreverent tastes) will be bonkers for these limited-edition Lipstick, Lip Gloss, Sheer Mystery Powder, Air of Style Scent Concentrate and his signature brush and clutch creations, not least of all for their arresting packaging – fine collectors' items all! But also for the rich palette, inspired by 17th Century Flemish painting, and particularly Vermeer's – "Girl With a Pearl Earring" – and the idea of an artist painting a portrait, and falling in love. "Always, with a sense of love in the product…" he says. Marcel speaks our M·A·C language.
MAC & Marcel Wanders Lipstick ($22.00 US / $26.00 CDN)
- Martha Golden champagne with pearl/frost (Frost) (Limited Edition)
- Gesina Red with slight pinkish undertones (Cream) (Limited Edition)
- Catharina Fuchsia (Cream) (Limited Edition)
- Digna Blackened red (Cream) (Limited Edition)
MAC & Marcel Wanders Lip Gloss ($22.00 US / $26.00 CDN)
- Mary Light gold (Limited Edition)
- Beatrix Golden nude (Limited Edition)
- Aleydis Fuchsia (Limited Edition)
- Gertruyd Blackened red (Limited Edition)
MAC & Marcel Wanders Sheer Mystery Powder ($60.00 U.S. / $72.00 CDN)
- Light Medium Pale ivory (Limited Edition)
- Medium Plus Tan beige (Limited Edition)
False Lashes Mascara ($18.00 US / $21.50 CDN)
- False Black Black (Limited Edition; being repromoted later)
Air of Style Scent Concentrate ($30.00 US / $36.00 CDN)
Look what happens when a design darling and M∙A∙C scent get together. Our opulently sensual Air of Style scent goes solid and heads off to fashionable places, wafting on your skin – and, in its decidedly stylish Marcel Wanders-designed, faceted metal compact-style pendant. Too sexy! Limited edition.
MAC & Marcel Wanders Brush Clutch ($65.00 US / $78.00 CDN)
Classic tapestry meets the modern and exquisite flourishes of designer Marcel Wanders in this limited-edition evening clutch. The interior purse snaps shut to be enfolded by soft layers of fabric. Finishing touches include silk ribbon ties, a faceted metal closure and, to keep this collectible safe, a silky slipcover. Limited edition.
MAC & Marcel Wanders 187 Brush ($75.00 US / $90.00 CDN)
Indulgence or a perfectionist's finest tool? This Marcel Wanders-designed version of our 187 Duo Fibre Face Brush features a softly rounded duo fibre brush head for the luxurious application of powders, and an elegant hand-turned wooden handle. Limited edition.
Availability: North America November 24 2010 at all M·A·C locations, International December 2010 at all M·A·C locations, 1.800.588.0070 and www.maccosmetics.com.
Check out more photos, behind the collection, and Q&A with Marcel Wanders!
Behind the Collection
M·A·C Cosmetics is widely recognized for its stylish, artistic, quirky and edgy collaborations whose partners run the gamut from the world of fashion and art to Hollywood and pop culture. It is no wonder that the latest partnership is with none other than legendary Dutch designer, Marcel Wanders. The two powerhouse brands are teaming up on a 2010 holiday luxe makeup collection that is bound to catch the attention of makeup addicts and design aficionados around the globe.
From hotel suites to restaurants, beach accessories to bags and furniture to bathroom designs, Marcel Wanders has put his mind, and maverick sensibility, to them all. Marcel's design philosophy is to bring beauty to the things that we see all the time; to raise the aesthetic bar and elevate the normality of the everyday. "It's not just about function, it's about having something you really love and caring about the details that surround you," says Wanders. Little wonder, then, that his latest collaboration is with iconic cult brand M·A·C Cosmetics: For what could simultaneously be more everyday and utterly personal than makeup?
"As a company I feel we have to explore every avenue of design," explains James Gager, Senior Vice President and Creative Director, M·A·C Cosmetics, who has teamed up with many of the world's leading trendsetters on colour collections. "When choosing M·A·C partnerships it's important that there is an authentic synergy and similar philosophy shared between the brands. We are, after all, Make-up Art Cosmetics so there has to be a strong artistic association to feel it's the perfect match. I'm always asking the question 'Is it artful enough to be M·A·C?'" Well, you can't get more artful than Marcel Wanders. Not only is he an internationally acclaimed designer, but he's also at the pinnacle of the Dutch design movement characterized by irreverence, risk taking and innovative design solutions – all of which are aligned with M·A·C's DNA.
Wanders was ultimately given free reign when it came to working on the package design for M·A·C's Luxe 2010 collection. "We simply told him the products we wanted in the collection and asked him to come back to us with his vision," confirms Gager. "I didn't want to put restrictions on Marcel, it's important that our collaborators approach a project from a fresh perspective."
The results are stunningly beautiful and most certainly original. For a company whose signature packaging is all about monochrome and utilitarian cool, the M·A·C and Marcel Wanders collection retained that innate signature look with sleek black lines and tactile finish, while pushing the design boundaries as far from simple as possible. As Wanders quips, "We don't want minimal, we want optimal!"
This maximalist aesthetic works very well for the luxurious tone of M·A·C's limited edition luxe collection. "We wanted the collection to have a sophisticated feel and the products to have a 'dress up' moment," explains Gager.
It turns out that the idea of dressing up is exactly where Wanders is coming from. Marcel always felt naturally inclined to design for women "because they add a sense of elegance to the world that few men have, and I really wanted to explore the idea of how makeup enhances this quality." Wanders went back to his Dutch roots and the works of 17th Century Dutch Baroque painter Vermeer, famed for his iconic images of women such as "Girl With a Pearl Earring" (1665).
While the makeup itself wasn't Wanders' remit, the colours and textures of the collection are as decadent andsleek as the packaging. Take the smooth opaque Lipsticks and ultra light Lip Glosses – both come in shades including golden frosted champagne, hot fuchsia and vampy blackened red and the Sheer Mystery Powder, which gives skin exactly that gossamer light and flawless finish Vermeer himself was known for. Predict a stampede for the False Lashes Mascara for that untold oomph this party season.
The M·A·C and Marcel Wanders collection is more than a clever edit of what every woman desires come party season. Encased in wonderfully unique packaging with jewel-like compacts, the products reflect the edgy, high-style M·A·C aesthetic and fit perfectly within Wanders' design dream of creating art out of common everyday items.
Q&A with Marcel Wanders
How did this collaboration with M·A·C come about?
I was talking with a journalist friend of mine about how I felt it would be interesting to work on a project with cosmetics, and I thought of M·A·C. I like to work for women – men are boring but women are exciting!
The breadth of your collaborations is amazing, ranging from crystal (Baccarat), homewards (Target), interior accessories (B&B Italia), fragrance (Cacharel), lighting (Flos), bags (Mandarina Duck) beach wear (Puma) to, of course, contemporary interior design and furniture. What was exciting to you about designing makeup?
Makeup is such a wonderful invention. Women paint themselves to be beautiful, and have done so for thousands of years. This fundamental idea, and the way that it connects to art – first women paint themselves, then the painter takes his brushes to paint her – immediately interested me.
What was your inspiration for the collaboration?
Coming from the Netherlands, Vermeer is my culture and "Girl with a Pearl Earring" in particular inspired me. He is the most important painter in the world to me – to revisit his work was fascinating. It's such a contrast with the way we work now, which in the last few hundred years has become so mechanical. Vermeer is relevant to me because he represents the idea that there's an interesting story to tell if you look to your world in a more poetic and loving way. Designing beauty packaging immediately made me think of the painterly connection I mentioned before. We are creating striking tools for women to paint and make themselves beautiful.
Your philosophy is "Here to create an environment of Love…Live with Passion and make our most Exciting Dreams come True"; how does this apply to your collection with M·A·C?
That statement is about everything that we do here. For this collection, it's about how we've created a dream. Like a painter from the Golden Age and his passion, we today use the same tools as Vermeer did 400 years ago to create beauty. It's a very exciting and beautiful sentiment to me – I feel it's an elevating and uplifting idea to connect the past and the future in this way. Take the wonderfully intricate Luxe Brush; it was hand milled in Japan as a very classical way of giving lightness to objects. It gives common tools a beauty beyond their functionality.
What was your idea behind the Clutch Bag/Brush Roll?
This is the pièce de résistance and exemplifies how to take a simple and utilitarian object from the painters' past and translate it into a glamorous modern accessory. The shape derives from how a painter would store his brushes in a textile roll, but the ribbon and stone closure turns it into something beautiful to carry. It transforms into your own personal mobile vanity set.
It's interesting to me that there's a fragrance in the lineup. How do you feel about this?
Beauty to me only arrives once all the senses discover it at the same time. Fragrance is a great way to make it all work together, to complete a whole vision of beauty.
Is there a common design ethos throughout all your works?
In my studio we find many different ways to connect projects. I want my work to be a family. I love them to be connected, so I do use a lot of the same design metaphors between different projects. The idea of using current technology to make objects which are completely modern, but that look back in time to when things were handcrafted before the industrial revolution.
Were you involved in the specific shade names of these products?
Yes, the names of the products themselves are steeped in Vermeer, named after the women – lovers, sisters, wives, mother – in his life. It's important to me that every detail of the collection works together. I would love to make things that are meaningful and emotional, not just practical. To me it's not superficial, it's about having a deeper relationship with the things in your life other than just 'needing' them. The collection is based on the idea that your tools can be your jewels.
MAC & Marcel Wanders Collection
MAC & Marcel Wanders Collection
MAC & Marcel Wanders Collection
MAC & Marcel Wanders Collection
MAC & Marcel Wanders Collection
MAC & Marcel Wanders Collection
MAC & Marcel Wanders Collection
MAC & Marcel Wanders Collection
MAC & Marcel Wanders Collection


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Tornado IDS 44+61 German AF/WTD-61 May-08
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Reggie Middleton is an entrepreneurial investor who guides a small team of independent analysts, engineers & developers to usher in the era of peer-to-peer capital markets.
Five months ago I posted Moody's Actions Add Pressure To The Inevitable In France? Yesterday we see MOODY'S DOWNGRADES FRANCE'S GOVT BOND RATING TO Aa1 FROM Aaa as well as FRANCE MAINTAINS NEGATIVE OUTLOOK BY MOODY'S. As excerpted from the Moody's press release (emphasis supplied by ZeroHedge)...
Moody's decision to downgrade France's rating and maintain the negative outlook reflects the following key interrelated factors:
1.) France's long-term economic growth outlook is negatively affected by multiple structural challenges, including its gradual, sustained loss of competitiveness and the long-standing rigidities of its labour, goods and service markets.
2.) France's fiscal outlook is uncertain as a result of its deteriorating economic prospects, both in the short term due to subdued domestic and external demand, and in the longer term due to the structural rigidities noted above.
3.) The predictability of France's resilience to future euro area shocks is diminishing in view of the rising risks to economic growth, fiscal performance and cost of funding. France's exposure to peripheral Europe through its trade linkages and its banking system is disproportionately large, and its contingent obligations to support other euro area members have been increasing. Moreover, unlike other non-euro area sovereigns that carry similarly high ratings, France does not have access to a national central bank for the financing of its debt in the event of a market disruption.
Moreover, France's credit exposure to the euro area debt crisis has been growing due to the increased amount of euro area resources that may be made available to support troubled sovereigns and banks through the European Financial Stability Facility (EFSF), the European Stability Mechanism (ESM) and the facilities put in place by the European Central Bank (ECB). At the same time, in case of need, France -- like other large and highly rated euro area member states -- may not benefit from these support mechanisms to the same extent, given that these resources might have already been exhausted by then.
In light of the liquidity risks and banking sector risks in non-core countries, Moody's perceives an elevated risk that at least part of the contingent liabilities that relate to the support of non-core euro area countries may actually crystallise for France. The risk that greater collective support will be required for weaker euro area sovereigns has been rising, most for notably Spain, whose economy and government bond market are around twice the combined size of those of Greece, Portugal and Ireland. Highly rated member states like France are likely to bear a disproportionately large share of this burden given their greater ability to absorb the associated costs.
More generally, further shocks to sovereign and bank credit markets would further undermine financial and economic stability in France as well as in other euro area countries. The impact of such shocks would be expected to be felt disproportionately by more highly indebted governments such as France, and further accentuate the fiscal and structural economic pressures noted above. While the French government's debt service costs have been largely contained to date, Moody's would not expect this to remain the case in the event of a further shock. A rise in debt service costs would further increase the pressure on the finances of the French government, which, unlike other non-euro area sovereigns that carry similarly high ratings, does not have access to a national central bank that could assist with the financing of its debt in the event of a market disruption.
Excerpts from my warning 5 months ago, which has a slightly different, although potentially more realistic bent...
As a result Italian yields went up a few days ago - Italian Yields Forced Higher on Rating's Cut Ahead of Debt Sale, and went even higher today as Bund yields were actually issued with negative yields pushing that spread/gap ever wider... Bunds rise as Germany sells debt at negative yields
Italian 10-year yields were four basis points up at 6.07 percent, with two-year debt underperforming, yielding 8 bps more on the day at 3.96
Mish (Mike Shedlock) adds... Italy GDP expected to contract by 2% globaleconomicanalysis.blogspot.com/.../
So, when are the alarms going to be sounded by anybody other then BoomBustBlog for France??? I have made this quite clear in the past, namely in Watch The Pandemic Bank Flu Spread From Italy To France To ... where I simply quoted the arithmetical obvious, then in French Banks Can Set Off Contagion That Will ... where I basically did the same. The French banking problem is woefully unrecognized, although I'm sure the rating agencies will pick up on it this time next year, after the collapse and/or bank run. This is basically the gist behind that hard hitting European documentary on the US rating agencies...
Continuing my rant on the effectiveness (not) of the ratings agencies, I bring to you an interesting documentary on the rating agencies' effect on the sovereign debt crisis in Europe, produced by VPRO Tegenlicht out of Amsterdam. You can see the full video here, but only about half of it is in English. I appear in the following spots: 4:00, 22:30, 40:00...
Reggie Middleton Discussing the Rating Agencies effect on Sovereign Europe
Subscribers can reference French Bank Observations & Focus on...(519.21 kB 2012-06-28 08:36:37). Part and parcel to this common sense update is recognition of the fact that Italy will bust French banks, causing France to do the socialist bailout thingy. See this chart from the report...
French bank Italian Exposure: As Italy pops with outrageous funding yields (just like Greece), France will be forced to bailout its banks once again, leaving the socialist country facing the dilemma of potentially having to ask for a bailout itself. As you may know from my previous writings, the French banking system is bigger than France itself so a true bailout cannot practically come from within.
As excerpted from our professional series Bank Run Liquidity Candidate Forensic Opinion:
This is how that document started off. Even if we were to disregard BNP's most serious liquidity and ALM mismatch issues, we still need to address the topic above. Now, if you were to employ the free BNP bank run models that I made available in the post "The BoomBustBlog BNP Paribas "Run On The Bank" Model Available for Download"" (click the link to download your own copy of the bank run model, whether your a simple BoomBustBlog follower or a paid subscriber) you would know that the odds are that BNP's bond portfolio would probably take a much bigger hit than that conservatively quoted above. Here I demonstrated what more realistic numbers would look like in said model...
To note page 9 of that very same document addresses how this train of thought can not only be accelerated, but taken much further...
So, how bad could this faux accounting thing be? You know, there were two American banks that abused this FAS 157 cum Topic 820 loophole as well. There names were Bear Stearns and Lehman Brothers. I warned my readers well ahead of time with them as well - well before anybody else apparently had a clue (Is this the Breaking of the Bear? and Is Lehman really a lemming in disguise?). Well, at least in the case of BNP, it's a potential tangible equity wipe out, or is it? On to page 10 of said subscription document...
Yo, watch those level 2s! Of course there is more to BNP besides overpriced, over leveraged sovereign debt, liquidity issues and ALM mismatch, and lying about stretching Topic 820 rules, but I think that's enough for right now. Is all of this already priced into the free falling stock? Are these the ingredients for a European bank run? I'll let you decide, but BoomBustBloggers Saw this coming midsummer when this stock was at $50. Those who wish to subscribe to my research and services should click here. Those who don't subscribe can still benefit from the chronology that led up to the BIG BNP short (at least those who have come across my research for the first time)...
I identify specific bank run candidates and offer illustrative trade setups to capture alpha from such an event. The options quoted were unfortunately unavailable to American investors, and enjoyed a literal explosion in gamma and implied volatility. Not to fear, fruits of those juicy premiums were able to be tasted elsewhere as plain vanilla shorts and even single stock futures threw off insane profits.
In case the hint was strong enough, I explicitly state that although the sell side and the media are looking at Greece sparking Italy, it is France and french banks in particular that risk bringing the Franco-Italia make-believe capitalism session, aka the French leveraged Italian sector of the Euro ponzi scheme down, on its head.
I then provide a deep dive of the French bank we feel is most at risk. Let it be known that every banked remotely referenced by this research has been halved (at a mininal) in share price! Most are down ~10% of more today, alone!
Subscribers, see also
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Reggie Middleton is an entrepreneurial investor who guides a small team of independent analysts, engineers & developers to usher in the era of peer-to-peer capital markets.
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Phillies make plans for Brown
The Phillies intend to send Domonic Brown to instructional league upon the conclusion of the regular season, a team source said Monday.
Brown was recalled Friday from triple-A Lehigh Valley, and could still qualify for the Phillies' postseason roster. But the team is more concerned with Brown learning left field and beginning 2012 with a clean slate. That will be his focus for two weeks at instructional league in Clearwater, Fla.
When that ends Oct. 15, Brown's season will be over. He will not play winter ball.
Brown spent extra time early Monday afternoon in left field with third-base coach and outfield instructor Juan Samuel. He then sat and spoke with Ruben Amaro Jr. in Section 114 as the rest of the team prepared to stretch.
Amaro said he has talked to Brown numerous times this season.
"He understands how important he is to our organization," Amaro said.
Brown batted .246 with a .728 OPS in 209 major-league plate appearances. He hit just .227 with one home run at triple A after his July demotion. He did walk 21 times (with 22 hits).
Have a question? Send it to Matt Gelb's Mailbag.
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Wednesday, October 26, 2011
True confessions.
Ok. So I have a REAL confession to make. (and then I'm going to fix it.) Let me start at the beginning of the story.
As school was starting this year, a family crisis came to fruition. The kid's school has gone to a BYOD (Bring your own device) school. They are doing all sorts of wonderful things with computers/ipads/smart phones in the classrooms. They warned us that this was going to happen so both of my sons worked for our company this summer and earned the money for their own laptops. I was so proud of them and their hard work—until the laptops came. Then we had a problem. I could not surgically remove their faces from those computer screens. Throughout August we had several conflicts over wanting them to "get a life"
During this period, I remembered Tom Underhill's book *Hyperstimulation* and I went back to that book for help. Then—at the perfect time, Tom came out to the UGA conference and, bless his heart, he let me corner him for a counseling session. After talking to him quite a bit at the conference, it came very clear that my boys were only following their parent's examples. Yes, we were working 24/7 with our computers surgically attached to our faces—but we were earning a living. We love what we do and it's easy to be completely obsessed with it. Well, Tom helped me realize that the kids didn't really distinguish between us working and what they were doing on their computers. And he led me to the realization that I was expecting them to get a life off the computer, when I didn't have one. I had to walk the walk.
So we made some changes in the Hovorka household. Throughout September, we've reorganized and set limits. We had already done some more hiring at Family ChartMasters so I was able to step back a little more and try to have a life. It's been really good for all of us. You have to have some balance. I'm still obsessed with our company and genealogy, but I'm doing it in a more healthy way.
So here's the part that gets interesting:
A couple of weeks ago we decided we would work on a digitization family history present for my parents for Christmas. The kids were all on board because they love my parents and they knew that they would really love this gift. Last weekend we got them started. We loaded genealogy software on their computers and hooked my computer up to the projector and showed the kids how to proceed with this project. In just a short time they were dragging. Dragging, dragging, dragging.
And I started thinking:
I have lectured all over the country about how to involve your children in their family history. I have a great example of that in my mother—she eventually got me even though I wasn't interested to start with. And I've done lots of family history activities with my kids—when they were younger. I was a great genealogist when they were younger. But then I started a genealogy company. And as I've said many times, the worst thing you can do for your own genealogy is start a genealogy company. I have spent lots of time with other people's genealogy but a lot less time with my own in the last 8 years. And the kids have watched that. And followed our path.
So I had some great talks with my 15 year old son this last week—if I could get him interested in family history it would be so good for him. And I would probably let him have a lot more time on the computer. As I've talked about before, I honestly believe family history will save the world—it is so good to know where you are from. And it is so so good for children, and especially through those rough teenage years to know the inspiring examples of those who came before. (And as I've said time and time again, if you don't have someone inspiring in your family history, you just haven't done enough family history yet.) My 15 year old is perfect for genealogy. He is bright and curious and he's really good on the computer and the internet. He's a bit more scientifically minded than historically minded but I know he'd love it if I could get him started.
So I have to walk the walk. Kim and I have been talking about how to get them going. I've got several ideas in mind. I'm going to give him his own copy of my genealogy database and let him go at it, but walk along with him on that, we've got this digitization project for Christmas, and I might start taking them back to the library. Stay tuned. This might get to be quite the reality show.
6 comments:
- Greta Koehl said...
This is interesting - we went through the "cold turkey" thing with my daughters when they were in grade school and we realized that we had to get super-serious about limiting TV viewing. It worked pretty well, but I guess we never even considered having limited computer time. Maybe all of us are "too far gone" already! Good luck - I'm hoping to get one of my daughters hooked on genealogy eventually.
- October 26, 2011 at 5:06 PM
- Valerie Elkins said...
Good for you in being proactive. Turning our kids on to their family history is always a challenge. Love this post!
- October 28, 2011 at 8:39 AM
- Lisa Louise Cooke said...
I really appreciate how candid you were in this post. What a great reminder that when we want to "fix" our kids, we need to first look at ourselves. Thanks for the inspiration and for sharing your journey! Can't wait to read more.
- October 28, 2011 at 5:48 PM
- Kerry Scott said...
Oh wow...there's SO much I can identify with here.
Can't wait to read more!
- November 2, 2011 at 7:00 PM
- Anonymous said...
Could we share your experience with our stake Family History Consultants? We are focusing on getting youth involved, and you've found a great way to do this!
- November 7, 2011 at 10:22 AM
- Janet Hovorka said...
Sure Melanie. You are welcome to use this. I've got many more weeks of blogging lined up on the experimenting I've been doing--Keep watching. I think there is alot here we could learn.
Please send your consultants back here to comment so we can all figure it out together. k?
- November 7, 2011 at 12:15 PM


text:
This Man's Gaze Is Harmful to Pregnant Women
"My mom's cat was dying," a woman in a white blouse dotted with holographic silver sequins explains. ("I live in a community of healers," she told me earlier, in the same breezy, dismissive manner one might use to say in Queens.) "Couldn't eat. Had lost half her fur. And he saved her life."
"It works on animals?" I ask.
"Oh!" she replies. "Pets are very easy to heal!"
She and I are both here to stare at Braco, a man who performs miracles by staring at people.
Among the miracles I hear attributed to Braco either in direct conversation, group-sharing sessions, or the Braco-themed videos that play before each staring session for the three hours I attend Saturday's all-day Braco gazing event:
- A woman's adopted daughter reached out to her birth mother "and it went beautifully."
- A woman's brother recovered from a bone marrow transplant (also "beautifully").
- A woman's friend's father's subdural hematoma disappeared.
- A woman's granddaughter found her way home after becoming lost.
- A woman who "[doesn't] really breathe that much or that well" breathed deeply.
- A DVD of Braco played on a loop on a DVD player that previously did not have the technological capability to play DVDs on a loop.
- A woman woke up in the middle of the night and "knew" she had to follow Braco to Hawai'i. She ended up loving Hawai'i.
- The symptoms of a woman's Lyme disease temporarily abated, or a woman was diagnosed with Lyme disease (unclear).
- A man replicated a sensation he had previously felt during a near-death experience.
- A woman's ovaries exploded(?), which was necessary for them to heal.
- A woman did not scream even though there was a yellow jacket crawling up and down her legs.
- A woman's1 perennially single friend became wealthy.
Braco is a 46-year-old man from Zagreb, Croatia, which is just about the last thing that can be said about him with any certainty. Members of the inner circle that constitutes his publicity team (or vice versa) claim he has not spoken publicly in over nine years. He has a wife and a teenaged son, born some time in 2000. His third consonant is pronounced with a /ts/ sound, making his stage name (birth name: Josip Grbavac) sound a little like "Pretzel." Every year, according to his website, hundreds of thousands of people all over the world pay to watch him stare at them without speaking, in the hope it will improve their lives.
Braco's website, Braco.net, states that Braco "makes no claims of being a healer and does not promise a cure to anyone" but is quick to add that people "commonly report warm feelings and physical sensations during a gazing experience with Braco." A disclaimer written in gold and black text warns that women more than three months pregnant are forbidden from attending all gazing events (and are banned, also, from watching live streams) "due to the intensity of the experience for some."
I arrive at the New Yorker Hotel at about half-past two on Saturday afternoon, thirty minutes before my group gazing session is scheduled to begin. A friendly, white-clad woman draws a small, sloppy check at the top of my ticket in black pen, and points me toward the back of a line about 200 people strong, snaking around the curves of the room. To get there, I must march past more white-clad women selling tables of Braco merchandise, which includes—in addition to dozens of Braco DVDs and books—many pieces of not-available-online all-sales-final jewelry in the motif of Braco's signature 13-point golden sun symbol. (These range in price from $345 for "Sun Pendant with chain" to $7200 for "One Carat Sun Pendant, 14 kt chain.")
Almost immediately upon reaching the end of the line, I am joined by still another white-clad woman. She and I simultaneously start to ask one another if we've ever done this before (no, we haven't), and she tells me not to worry that I did not wear white2 (I am wearing a green and blue dress).
My companion first heard about Braco from a friend of hers who "flies all over the world" to see him, and who has attended gazing sessions "dozens" of times. Grasping an iPhone case bedecked with deep purple and amethyst plastic jewels, she tells me she has had "a hard year." I ask if her friend's life has improved since attending Braco's sessions. She nods. "Oh, absolutely!" Hearing this makes me excited, so I tell her I'm excited. She tells me she's excited too.
A disclaimer warns that women more than three months pregnant are forbidden from attending all gazing events "due to the intensity of the experience for some."
She adds that she only has time to stay for the 3 p.m. session because she has to get home to watch her son. When I run into her again, in line for the 4 o'clock session, she says his father agreed to stay on a little longer, as long as she could make it across town by 5.
"I really felt the energy in that room," she will tell me later.
The event is being held in the New Yorker's "Grand Ballroom," which is surely one of the grandest ballrooms inside this mid-priced hotel, if not all of New York. A small sign outside the entrance reading "Mobile Wallet Wars USA 2014," commemorates the bloody mobile wallet wars of 2014, which concluded with a conference held at the same event space the day prior. By the time those of us at the tail end of the line make it inside for the 3 p.m. session, a man in the front of the room—sporting a shirt that is the most blindingly white one I will see all day—is already deep into his introduction of a solitary flautist, who stands nearby holding two flutes. The man in the glaring shirt mumbles warmly: "mumble mumble angel" and "mumble mumble help you prepare for opening yourself up to receiving this angelic gift." I take this to mean the flute song we are about to hear will evoke the spirit of angels. About 30 seconds into the performance, during which the musician plays both flutes simultaneously, I realize I am right, because the song is "Angel" by Sarah McLachlan.
Gazing sessions are approximately 30 minutes, but actual gaze time lasts only "5 to 7 minutes," a nebulous timeframe referred to consistently across all Braco material. The time before and after is filled with a short musical performance (see above), a basic introduction to the idea of Braco (the tone and specifics of which vary wildly from session to session, but which is always general enough to orient newcomers), the airing of a brief video clip about Braco (again, similar but different each time), an "honored" introduction to Braco himself ("Braco."), a reflective post-Gaze silence (described as "a minute," but only in the sense that "a minute" is not a very long amount of time), and a short post-Braco sharing period during which a few audience members volunteer to tell the room what they experienced over the course of the previous 6 to 8 minutes ("I was just noticing how smoothly he moved...He was just standing there and it was like Mona Lisa…"). Each of this weekend's sessions costs $8 to attend. Based on conversations I have at the event, it seems that many (if not most) people purchase all-day passes, which run $72 for 9 sessions. I purchase tickets to four.
Among the miracles I hear attributed to Braco: A DVD of Braco played on a loop on a DVD player that previously did not have the technological capability to play DVDs on a loop.
Once the crowd is comfortably ensconced in the arms of the angel, the white shirted man takes to the stage with a question: "How many people are here who know nothing about Braco?"
The answer to that question is probably zero—it seems unlikely that anyone would have wandered into the New Yorker hotel, followed the signs for "Braco Event" to the second floor, and paid $8 for a ticket by accident—so I figure he means something along the lines of "How many people are here for the first time?" and raise my hand. In the room of about two hundred, I count only three other raised hands.
Braco, the man informs us, gazes at crowds of people not for personal gain in $8 increments, but because he loves to help them. He weaves us a late-'80s fairytale of a man for whom everything was going right—"He had a masters degree. His own company. Sports cars."—and implies that Braco gave it all up (presumably not the masters degree) to help us find peace. He leads us on a breathing exercise: "Breathe in—hold for one—breathe out," and a soft hiss fills the room as stale, air-conditioned air is expunged from four hundred nostrils simultaneously. He cues up a film clip, and the ballroom goes pitch black except for the red glow of exit signs and a shaft of light spilling from a door open on the balcony above us.
A woman's voice rings out over the room: "Suddenly, my ovaries just started burning and I just started hearing this pop! pop! pop!...I underwent a great healing."
It's time for Braco to take the stage.
In person, Braco resembles the coach of an Olympic basketball team from a country that will not medal. He sports a clean—if rumpled—button down shirt (white), sneakers (white), and a watch and ring that wink in the light (gold). His hair and his jeans both look stonewashed.
In person, Braco resembles the coach of an Olympic basketball team from a country that will not medal.
He walks to the center of the platform and turns to face us. His posture is passive, or even hesitant—like he's ready to begin unloading groceries on the conveyor belt but doesn't want to crowd the tomatoes of the person in front of him. His hands dangle near his pockets. Two spotlights angled from opposing directions cast giant versions of his shadow behind him, flanking him on both sides. A quiet New Age track of the type played at the conclusion of an affordable massage pipes into the room. As Braco stands, his eyes travel back and forth over the crowd. His expression alternates between between half-smile and neutral stare.
The people on the floor are told to stand too. Everyone tries to be completely still, so we all rock, slightly, in different directions and at different speeds, as if we are each attempting to stay level on our own floating chunk of ice.
A note on Braco.net encourages attendees to "bring a photo of your child or a person needing help who cannot attend, as this method has been proven to be equally effective and the most balanced way for some to receive help who cannot attend." In my purse, I carry a stack of computer print-outs bearing images of troubled faces: Taylor Swift, Solange Knowles, recently ousted American Apparel CEO Dov Charney, sexy felon Jeremy Meeks, the U.S. men's soccer team, a map of Iraq, and Gawker writer Taylor Berman.
A man in his 70s standing just to my left, so close we bump shoulders, hesitates before carefully pulling a folded picture out of his pocket and holding it to his chest. Watching him do this dampens my mood for mischief. I wonder if the people in the photo know he's here, holding their picture in front of his heart so that magic can happen when a Croatian man looks at it. I wonder if any of them are in the hospital.
I put the photo of the less famous Taylor, my coworker, whose picture will not be immediately recognizable as a joke, at the front of the stack and hold it up to my chest3.
After a couple minutes, the quiet music fades out, and Braco spends a few moments staring at the crowd in total silence. (This, I suspect, is the source of the "5 to 7 minutes" variability. During the four sessions I attend, he errs on the side of 5.) Then he turns and walks off stage.
I crane my neck to follow his path as he goes, in what probably looks like an unseemly display of devotion. In fact, I am trying to discern his height relative to one of the ballroom's more modest chandeliers, so that I might go up and measure myself against it after the room has cleared out. I stare hard as Braco approaches the light fixture—poised to burn the image of the top of his head into my brain—when he suddenly appears a foot shorter. Then another foot and another foot, and maybe one more. The rows of densely packed devotees stretching out in front of me have obscured the fact that the stage consists of a series of platforms and stairs, which throws off my calculations. Though from my perspective in the back of the room, Braco's height could conceivably be assessed at anything from three to 11 feet, he gives off the heavenly vibe of someone about 5'8".
A note on Braco.net encourages attendees to "bring a photo of your child or a person needing help." In my purse, I carry a stack of computer print-outs bearing images of troubled faces: Taylor Swift, Solange Knowles...
Later, on my way out of the ballroom, I ask a smiling auburn-haired volunteer in a purple shirt if it's possible to meet him. A blurb on Braco.net states that those attending sessions for the first time often report experiencing an "inviting feeling of familiarity, even friendship and trust" upon seeing Braco. She shakes her head pleasantly and says, "Even the volunteers were asked to give him space. If you see him out on the town you could, maybe, go up and say 'Hi.' But other than that…" she trails off. A section of the Volunteer Guidelines titled "Braco Etiquette" asks volunteers to "honor Braco's space" and instructs them to "politely" guide away any attendee who attempts to stop him or take a photo.
At the end of each session, after pausing to take sips of the water provided by volunteers, the crowd files out of the ballroom, back into the outer halls of the second floor, to line up again for the next session. I follow this routine—the line, the music,the introduction, the video, the second introduction, Taylor Berman's photograph, the gaze—three more times, finishing with the final session of the day, at 6 p.m.
Each of the four sessions I go to is attended by roughly 180 people total. Assuming those numbers held all day, the total haul from nine (largely volunteer-staffed) sessions would come to about $12,960, proceeds from merchandise not included. (For a total of 45 to 63 minutes of staring, that works out to a rate of roughly $200 and $300 per minute.) Attendees are encouraged—gently; always gently—to attend, and to tell friends about the nine Sunday sessions as well.
It's unclear exactly how Braco works—if his specific brand of magic functions more like that of a wishing well (granting specific wishes made explicitly), a four-leaf-clover (generally improving luck), or God. Attendees are exhorted to "be focused on the present moment," and concentrate on Braco's face, but also told not to worry about looking at his eyes; instead we should "dive into his gaze." (Some people, I notice, dive into his gaze with their eyes closed.) A speaker at one session instructs the room to "set your intentions for one, or maximum two, people before 'the gaze,'" and then to "let it go" once "the gaze" begins. It is emphasized that if we do not "receive the frequency that's being transmitted," it is not because there is no frequency being transmitted, but because our minds are not open enough to receive it.
Over the course of the afternoon, I tweak my technique numerous times in an attempt to force my stupid mind to become more open to receiving Braco's "beautiful gift." I think of happy memories. I focus on counting my breaths. I try to recreate the giddy, nervous stomach lurch I associate with exciting surprises. Finally, one speaker tells us to just "wish for the greatest good" for ourselves and for our loved ones, which I like because it is an easy-to-remember phrase I can repeat over and over in my head for 5 to 7 minutes. At the final session, I don't hold up any pictures, opting instead to receive the full brunt of Braco's gaze myself. I imagine this is like lying out in the sun without wearing sunscreen. I feel cold and sleepy.
At the final session, I don't hold up any pictures, opting instead to receive the full brunt of Braco's gaze myself.
The musical accompaniment for the 6 p.m. session is provided by a violinist who is presented to the crowd multiple times as "Larry Shapiro from Indianapolis." Larry Shapiro from Indianapolis plays a beautiful rendition of the theme from Ken Burns' Civil War miniseries, although I do not believe the song is introduced as such. A burly man wearing a Canadian tuxedo and black cowboy boots takes the seat next to me, and removes his boots immediately upon sitting. A woman one row in front of us has also slipped out of her sandals, and crosses her ankles under her chair, baring the dirty soles of her feet to us. A few seats away from her, a Native American man with a pronounced California accent offers a boisterous greeting to an attendee he recognizes from a previous Braco event. Another woman prepares to receive "the gaze" with her palms facing the stage, like she's trapped in a mime's invisible box.
About halfway through the final gazing session, the pocketbook of the blonde woman to my left begins to emit a loud, shrill ring of the kind particular to a rotary phone. Few in the room give any sign they can hear the ring (although surely they can) except me, who frowns disapprovingly at her several times because I feel she is making the young people look bad (there are maybe two dozen of us). She roots around in her purse, the compact red exterior of which apparently belies a labyrinthine inner arrangement of false pockets and fabric traps, for about 15 seconds, until she manages to switch it off.
Because it is the last of the day, this session features not just "the gaze," but also "the voice"—a recording of Braco speaking Croatian that, our introductory speaker informs us, "carries the same gift" or "core substance" as "the gaze." A few minutes into "the voice," my row mate's cell phone rings again. She exits the ballroom and does not return. (No one is permitted to enter the room while a gazing session is in progress.) Her life is probably bad now.
Taylor Berman, for his part, came to work on Monday with his foot in an orthopedic boot.
1 Though the crowd is mixed in terms of race, sex, and age, white women 50 and above are the population most heavily represented. What seems like a disproportionate number of these women have curly hair, which suggests either that the phenomenon of Braco's gaze manifests itself most strongly as a magnet for flat hair follicles, or that the women who attend Braco's sessions are willing to alter their lives through positive energy, but not their natural hair texture. There is a wide variety of hair clips on display.
2 The Braco people apparently encourage folks to dress in white. I would swear this directive was not included on any of the event literature, but the number of people wearing white is more than would ever happen by chance, even at an Easter-themed Labor Day wedding. When I retroactively pore over Braco.net for dress code information later that night, I find the following information tucked away on a page titled "Volunteer Guidelines":
We strongly encourage everyone to wear white or light colored items of clothing. In general, people associate white with purity, spirit and healing, and are soothed and uplifted by lighter colors. Volunteers should NOT wear all black or all dark colors to an event. Prints are OK with modest black or dark background coloration, and khaki and tan pants are an acceptable alternative for men & women (who may not have many white/light color choices in the wardrobe).
3 I leave the U.S. men's soccer team somewhere in the middle. The next day their match against Portugal ends in a draw.


text:
Supreme Court Ruling on Affordable Care Act Huge Victory for People with HIV/AIDS
28 Jun, 2012, 10:40 ET
SAN FRANCISCO, June 28, 2012 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- Today the United States Supreme Court delivered a huge victory to nationwide efforts to establish a health care system that works for everyone, including the 1.2 million people living with HIV/AIDS in the United States. By upholding the Affordable Care Act (ACA), today's decision delivers on the promise of health care for more than 30 million uninsured Americans. The historic ruling also upheld long-overdue protections for people with HIV and other chronic diseases, including safeguards against denial of coverage or exorbitant premiums for the especially sick, and annual and lifetime coverage limits for people with costly medical conditions.
"For the first time in the history of the epidemic, the ACA will dramatically expand health care access to people previously considered 'uninsurable,' including millions of Americans with HIV/AIDS and other serious illness," said Neil Giuliano, CEO of San Francisco AIDS Foundation. "Today, we move one step closer to having a health care system that supports access to care and treatment that prevent illness and disease progression, rather than a 'sick care system' that promotes disability and illness by limiting coverage options."
The Affordable Care Act will address the failings of the current health care system by expanding Medicaid to all low-income people, creating open, competitive, fair marketplaces for uninsured and underinsured individuals and families to purchase private insurance, and providing subsidies to lower-income individuals to make insurance affordable. An estimated 1.2 million people are living with HIV in the United States and need access to high-quality, uninterrupted medical care to stay healthy, reduce new HIV infections, and cut long-term health care costs.
"While today's ruling is a huge victory, there's no time for rest. We must continue our efforts to educate people affected by HIV about the key components of the ACA and how it will affect access to quality HIV prevention, care, and treatment," said Courtney Mulhern-Pearson, director of state and local affairs at San Francisco AIDS Foundation. "It is critically important that all Americans have accurate information about the law, how it will benefit them, and what it means for their health and the health of their communities."
With today's historic decision, San Francisco AIDS Foundation will redouble its efforts to ensure that health care reform implementation proceeds full steam ahead. The foundation urges Congress to acknowledge that the Affordable Care Act is the law of the land by fully funding health care reform and ending efforts to repeal it. Progress must not be held hostage by politics.
"Today's decision underscores the importance of continued funding of the Ryan White CARE Act during this time of transition to health care reform," said Ernest Hopkins, director of legislative affairs at San Francisco AIDS Foundation. "In order to effectively transition clients and fully realize the promise of health care reform, we must continue our work with elected officials, policy makers, and peer organizations to secure the future of the Ryan White CARE Act."
About San Francisco AIDS Foundation
No city experienced epidemic levels of HIV faster than San Francisco. At San Francisco AIDS Foundation, we work to end the epidemic where it first took hold, and eventually everywhere. Established in 1982, our mission is the radical reduction of new infections in San Francisco. Through education, advocacy, and direct services for prevention and care, we are confronting HIV in communities most vulnerable to the disease. We refuse to accept that HIV transmission is inevitable.
Contact: James Loduca
(415) 487-3029
[email protected]
SOURCE San Francisco AIDS Foundation


text:
As Washington evolved from territorial status toward statehood, a regular process of
redistricting became the accepted means of ensuring fair and equal representation for
residents. The framers of the Washington State Constitution set both a minimum and
maximum number of legislators and mandated that the Legislature redistrict based on "the
number of inhabitants" after each decennial census. At its first session, the Legislature
consisted of 70 members of the House of Representatives and 35 senators, and in 1890 and
again in 1901 members adjusted these numbers upward to match the state's population growth.
Few changes were made for the next thirty years, however, and by 1931 citizens
complained that representation was badly apportioned. Debate raged over whether the
voters could pass an initiative to remedy the situation if the Legislature did not act.
The Washington attorney general said, "No," but the courts overturned his opinion and held
that a popular initiative to shift district boundaries was constitutional. Twenty more
years passed with little legislative action, so that by the 1950s another group of
citizens, led by the League of Women Voters, proposed the use of the initiative process
for redistricting.


text:
Xiaomi creates new management jobs aimed at CEO succession planning
The firm would introduce two new departments in Xiaomi to advise Lei Jun on strategy and oversee hiring, promotion and pay.
Chinese smartphone maker Xiaomi Inc said on Friday it will rejig its businesses and create new leadership positions aimed at building a second tier to CEO Lei Jun, amid increased scrutiny of governance and successions at Chinese tech firms.
The firm would introduce two new departments to advise Lei on strategy and oversee hiring, promotion and pay, Lei said in a memo to staff dated September 13 and shared with the press on Friday.
It also would reshuffle its four main business units into 10 to promote younger managers, Lei said, adding that a majority of the newly-appointed leadership belonged to the post-1980s generation.
"Our senior management team has implemented several changes that will ... provide opportunities for young talent to rise up the ranks," said Lei, 48.
The changes come less than a week after Jack Ma, one of China's best-known businessmen, said he would step down as chairman of Alibaba in a year and hand the reins to CEO Daniel Zheng, and underlined the need for sustainable succession planning.
Another Chinese tech giant, JD.com Inc, has come under scrutiny recently after CEO Richard Liu - who controls 80% of the company's voting rights - was arrested in the United States on suspicion of rape before being released. JD's board is essentially unable to make decisions without Liu present, according to company rules.
Liu, through his lawyers has denied any wrongdoing, as the investigation is ongoing.
Xiaomi listed its shares in Hong Kong in June in an initial public offering that valued the company at around $52 billion.
The company underwent a strategic shift in 2016 after sales fell sharply, forcing it to pull out of several overseas markets. It has since focused on offline sales and reversed its fortunes, and currently draws roughly a third of its revenue from outside China.
Follow HT Tech for the latest tech news and reviews , also keep up with us on Whatsapp channel,Twitter, Facebook, Google News, and Instagram. For our latest videos, subscribe to our YouTube channel.


text: The incredibly skilled, silky sound of Kevin Burke's fiddling has graced two supergroups, The Bothy Band and Patrick Street. But fiddle aficionados prize his solo albums as golden opportunities to hear him front and center throughout. Open House brilliantly explores Kevin's strong Irish traditional influences while also tapping into his extraordinary store of American and world music, perfectly suited to his style. Paul Kotapish provides expert backing on cittern and Mark Graham is unsurpassed on harmonica. The American/Celtic tune medley, "The Bus Stop Reel/Miss McCloud's Reel/Lost Indian," features the fantastic foot percussion of Sandy Silva, who has danced in concert with Altan. A decidedly continental flavor surfaces in "Frailach" and "Bourrées," while the spice of swing music emerges in Mark Graham's clarinet flourishes on "Barn Dances." Produced by fellow Bothy Band alumnus Micheal O Domhnaill, Open House is another milestone in the career of an Irish fiddler many regard as the best alive.


text:
Small Works Again, our annual small works show, opened last night to the tune of a very fun Pie Party.
Guests and friends and participating artists enjoyed a potluck Pie fest alongside a wine and cheese. For the first time, we have featured a small craft/card table for participating artists to share some of their smaller small works.
Participating artists are: Anna Grigorian, Donna McGee, Elissa Baltzer, Emily Leong, Nadia Mytnik-Frantova, Natasha Henderson, Sarah Robinson, and Thaneah Krohn. All work may be purchased on the spot, or can be reserved with a 50% deposit. Visit us and the show each Saturday and Sunday until mid-January from 11am-3pm, with extended hours too (TBA). See our Facebook page for updates!
Our in-house herbalist, Tammy Schmidt, presented us with a delicious nutritive tea. She had some of her luscious skin serum available, as well as tasty lip balm, Vanilla Maple seasoning, and her infamous teas. Come by to see what other fresh herbal concoctions are a-brewin'.
An online gallery of the small works is available, works can be viewed and purchased here.
Happy Pieday!
Fleurbain is located in the heart of downtown Montreal, across the street from the picturesque St James United Church. 260 St Catherine Street West, Unit 917. Always ready for appointments, at most any time. Just email us at fleurbain(at)gmail(dot)com and we'll get the tea on for you!
Natasha Henderson, Montreal


text:
Carrier IQ, the mobile diagnostic company recently accused of installing rootkits on more than 140 million devices worldwide, says it's using its software for good, not evil. But some critics suggest CIQ's software may violate federal wiretap laws, a charge CIQ vehemently denies.
Meanwhile, the mobile industry including device makers and carriers are trying to put as much distance as possible between their products and Carrier IQ.
Congress is also getting on in the action with Senator Al Franken (D-Minnesota) demanding that CIQ explain its business practices within the next 12 days.
How We Got Here
In mid-November, security researcher Trevor Eckhart published a report accusing CIQ of installing malware on more than 140 million devices worldwide. Eckhart later published a video on YouTube showing CIQ's software secretly running in the background and monitoring a variety of handset activity on an HTC device including key presses, browsing history, SMS logs, and location data.
Carrier IQ said its software is merely a diagnostic tool to improve service quality.
Carrier IQ: We Obey the Carriers
Carrier IQ released a statement late Thursday to clarify what the company does. "We measure and summarize performance of the [your] device to assist Operators in delivering better service," the company says. CIQ says its software does not record, store, or transmit the contents of SMS messages, e-mail, photos, audio, or video recordings.
Nevertheless, the company's software can see a lot of activity on your phone, including whether an SMS was sent, phone call activity, location data, and browsing history. But CIQ says its software is tailored to capture only what the carrier asks it to.
Carrier IQ's statement leaves a lot of unanswered questions, such as why Eckhart's video shows the company's software tracking key presses on an HTC phone. CIQ has not responded to PC World's request for comment. But the company did admit to AllThingsD that its software monitors keystrokes, but does not record them.
Instead, the software is waiting for a specific set of key presses that would tell it to send a diagnostic report. This could happen, for example, if you had a problem with your phone and a technician asked you to press a series of buttons on your number pad. Then the technician could look at a diagnostic report coming from your device.
Carrier IQ also told AllThingsD that its software can monitor which URLs you visit on your device's web browser, but not the content of those web pages. This could help carriers monitor whether the device is having a problem connecting to a specific site
The bottom line appears to be that yes, Carrier IQ can monitor a lot of activity on your phone, but the company only captures what the carrier asks it to. Furthermore, this is all in the name of optimizing your quality of service. It's monitoring, but benevolent monitoring.
What CIQ's argument fails to recognize is that people don't take kindly to having their activity monitored, especially with a piece of software that runs secretly in the background and is difficult to stop from running.
Nope, Not Us
While Carrier IQ is trying to explain itself, numerous companies are trying to distance themselves from Carrier IQ.
AT&T, Sprint, and T-Mobile say they use CIQ software only to improve their wireless networks. Verizon denies that it uses CIQ software at all.
Apple has released a statement saying it stopped supporting Carrier IQ with iOS 5 in most of its products, and a future software update will remove Carrier IQ software completely from devices that still have the software.
HTC says it puts CIQ software on its devices only because U.S. carriers require it, according to Business Insider. HTC also says it does not partner with CIQ, but is investigating a way to allow users to opt-out of CIQ data collection. Eckhart's video showed that it was impossible to disable CIQ software on an HTC device without hacking your handset.
Nokia denies that CIQ software is on its handsets. "Carrier IQ does not ship products for any Nokia devices," the company says. Blackberry maker Research In Motion issued the following statement: "RIM does not preinstall the Carrier IQ app on BlackBerry smartphones or authorize its carrier partners to install the Carrier IQ app before sales or distribution. RIM also did not develop or commission the development of the Carrier IQ application, and has no involvement in the testing, promotion, or distribution of the app."
Meanwhile, Senator Franken's office on Thursday sent a letter to Carrier IQ demanding to know what information the software records, what is transmitted to CIQ or other companies, what kind of information is shared with third parties, and whether users can opt out of CIQ software tracking. Sen. Franken has asked CIQ to respond by Wednesday, December 14.
Connect with Ian Paul (@ianpaul) and Today@PCWorld on Twitter for the latest tech news and analysis.


text:
Thus endeth the The Tournémon! That is to say, with grim undertones. Also: overtones. We could, without error, suggest that it is a grim sandwich - malevolent breads flanking sinister meats.
Truly, a sandwich to avoid.
It was our great pleasure to host you at Booth 1237 over the last week, the historic booth where the United States Constitution was signed. By... androids. When people profess to be absolutely indebted to their readers, I disregard it instantly as ritualized prostrations devoid of authentic devotion. This said, I am absolutely indebted to you. You may do what you like with that statement.
We only had occasion to leave the booth twice during the entire convention - well, three times. The first time was on Saturday, as after four days of working the floor we were allowed to hold a panel upstairs to the (potential) delight of the gathered throng. The other time was early in the day on Thursday, where we walked over to Hasbro's booth and were startled to find that Eye of Judgement was there, ready to go on multiple kiosks. No-one was near it, I assume because they could not make sense of it. After playing it for forty minutes and then tearing ourselves away to return to the booth, we begged to be shown the game before the show on Sunday. I spent most of the week obsessed with it, modeling it in my mind, considering card combinations that would penetrate deep - sometimes startling myself with my own cleverness.
I would be startled again when Gabe beat me less than ten minutes. I took the second game, but only after a grueling, nearly hour long, mud-encrusted arena tractor pull. Eye of Judgement is going to sell me a Playstation 3 and a Playstation Eye - a card game - further evidence that I am batshit loco insane and you should stop reading immediately.
In an earlier "era" in webcomics, the thing of chief concern was "drama" - sometimes referred to as the drama. Internet Eras are currently equivalent to 46.7896 seconds, though the value shifts radically, having been at one time a mere five seconds in length. But to get back to it, there was an infrastructure devoted to these coursing dramatic energies, geared toward the active maintenance and endless mastication of Goddamned nanofeuds.
I've never found the case for enduring motherfuckers especially convincing. Even less compelling is the idea that, since I am connected to the same Internet, I must tolerate someone simply because they also create and upload .jpeg files. It's a deeply flawed idea and I actively strive against it. Luckily, I need not strive very hard these days. Based on this week's intense social payload, I could not want for better contemporaries.
(CW)TB out.


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Since Lorna Miller graduated from Glasgow School of Art in 1994, she has been producing illustrations and writing and drawing her own comic stories. Her eighty-page comic book 'Witch' was sold worldwide. Lorna has been published in a number of magazines, including Cheap Date, Girlfrenzy, Super State Funnies, Crisp and Variant. Her work has been exhibited in the UK, France, The Netherlands and Croatia. She is also a freelance hand and digital colorist for the popular children's comic 'Thomas the Tank Engine'. Lorna now lives in Brighton, England.
Comments by Peter Bagge on Lorna Miller's 'Witch':
"Lorna Miller is one of those rare cartoonists who isn't afraid to expose her seething psyche to the entire universe. In fact, she can't help it! Her work can easily be filed under the heading "so true it hurts, yet too funny NOT to laugh at." Plus she draws good. 'Witch' is a must have item!"


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Thursday, September 1, 2011
Brioche Hamburger Buns
I did say this was a three-day bread, but it really was very easy. It only took a few minutes to mix the sponge made from water, yeast, sourdough starter, milk, and bread flour. It was covered and left at room temperature for about twelve hours and then placed in the refrigerator for twelve hours. The next day, the brioche dough was made. First, five eggs were whisked in a small bowl. Then, in the bowl of a stand mixer, the sponge was combined with half the eggs, more bread flour, and sugar. After mixing with a dough hook, the remaining eggs were slowly added. Once the eggs were incorporated, the mixer was turned to high speed, and this gives it a workout, and the dough was mixed until smooth. The stand mixer will move around from the weight of the dough, so don't walk away. Next, the fun, decadent part of brioche happens in which nine ounces of butter is slowly added piece by piece as the mixer continues at a slower speed. When the butter has all been worked into the dough, you remove the dough from the bowl and knead for a few minutes, and that's it for day two. The dough was placed in an oiled bowl, covered tightly, and left in the refrigerator to slowly ferment for a day. On the third and final day, the dough was divided into twelve pieces which resulted in rather big buns, and next time I will divide it into fourteen, but those twelve pieces of dough were left to rest under a towel for a few minutes. After resting, each piece of dough was formed into a smooth bun and placed on a parchment-lined baking sheet. Six buns fit on each of two sheets. The baking sheets were covered with towels, and the buns were allowed to proof for three hours. Before baking, I brushed them with an egg wash and sprinkled on black and white sesame seeds. They baked for a total of about 25 minutes with some water spritzing for the first five minutes.
These might be worth baking for the brioche aroma from the oven alone. But, who am I kidding? They were easily the most delicious things to sandwich a burger I've encountered. They have some give without being squishy and are easy to bite into when filled with a patty and toppings, and the flavor is all it should be with the butter, eggs, sourdough, and long, slow fermenting of the dough. Now I know, there's no need for excuses, and this is the bun I'll want for all future burgers.
I'm submitting this to Yeastspotting where you'll find some seriously well-made bread.
Posted by lisa is cooking at Thursday, September 01, 2011
24 comments:
Mmmhhh, now I'm craving Hamburgers! Those buns look amazing.ReplyDelete
I have made brioche bread in loaf form and it is awesome. I am sure that it is complimentary as a hamburger bun as well-I may have to try this. Yum!ReplyDelete
Marvelous brioche Lia. Though I am not a burger person, I could still just this brioche alone. I love it!ReplyDelete
- AnonymousSeptember 1, 2011 at 2:29 PM
I loooove brioche bread, and wrapping it around a delicious burger can only make it better! Great idea!ReplyDelete
Oh Lisa, your brioche buns look delicious, I love the richness of it. Perfect for hamburgers!ReplyDelete
Hope you have a great Labor Day weekend :-)
You are really getting to be an expert here Lisa. When are you opening that bakery??ReplyDelete
Woww... for a good breakfast, I love absolutely exquisite and beautiful look,... Yumy Yumy,hugsReplyDelete
Stunning! I guess good things come to those who wait, huh? I haven't tried making brioche with starter yet. I'll have to give it a try. You reminded me I need to pull out my old copy of La Brea Bakery Breads. It's one of the first cookbooks I ever bought.ReplyDelete
Gorgeous! What did you sandwich between the buns?ReplyDelete
Bill: I'm so glad you asked! The answer to that is coming soon.ReplyDelete
Oh what beautiful buns, Lisa! They look awesome. I can just imagine that aroma!!!ReplyDelete
Thank you so much for sharing...
loving the glaze it got and such beautifully shaped.ReplyDelete
Very nice brioche buns Lisa - perfect golden colour and I love the combination of poppy and sesame seeds on top!ReplyDelete
Just beautiful. I think I can almost smell that incredible brioche aroma. I started making brioche loaves this year. It is one of my all time favorite foods. Thank you for these burger bun tips.ReplyDelete
AWESOME! I've been tempted by that recipe for the longest time, but I'm still sitting on the many excuses to leave it for "later"ReplyDelete
I look forward to your post on how you used them - I'm sure you made something very special!
happy Labor Day weekend, Lisa!
I won't be needing to rush for a holiday bun. I can have my own one customized to my taste.ReplyDelete
I could eat these buns just like that! Seriously.ReplyDelete
Truly a labor of love but look at the results! Worth every minute!ReplyDelete
they are soooo cute, I just want to pat them and press them against my face (was that creepy, I think it might have been creepy, sorry :D). And you don't even need the burger with a bun like this, you can just eat the buns.ReplyDelete
I am fairly certain that these are the most beautiful hamburger buns I've ever seen!ReplyDelete
Three days is a worthy investment for those beauties! I love your addition of black and white sesame seeds.ReplyDelete
OMG, stunning buns! Hey, did I just tell a stranger that she had stunning buns???!! LOL!ReplyDelete
Anywho, those look loverly; could you please post the recipe?
although i've only made brioche once, i say the word and eat the bread as often as i can. :)ReplyDelete
Your brioche buns look perfect! This is one of our favorite breads, but we can't have them too often since they are so rich. I will definitely have to make the recipe for times when splurging is in order!ReplyDelete


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Camouflaging an impotent AIDS virus in new clothes enables it to hunt down metastasized melanoma cells in living mice, reports a UCLA AIDS Institute study in the Feb. 13 online edition of Nature Medicine. The scientists added the protein that makes fireflies glow to the virus in order to track its journey from the bloodstream to new tumors in the animals' lungs.
"For the past 20 years, gene therapy has been hampered by the lack of a good carrier for therapeutic genes that can travel through the blood and aim itself at a precise location, thereby minimizing harmful side effects," explained Irvin S.Y. Chen, Ph.D., director of the UCLA AIDS Institute. "Our approach proves that it is possible to develop an effective carrier and reprogram it to target specific cells in the body."
The UCLA team employed a two-step approach to transform HIV into a cancer-seeking machine. First, the scientists used a version of HIV from which the viral pieces that cause AIDS had been removed. This allowed the virus to infect cells and spread throughout the body without provoking disease.
"The disarmed AIDS virus acts like a Trojan horse – transporting therapeutic agents to a targeted part of the body, such as the lungs, where tumors often spread," said Chen, a professor of medicine, microbiology, immunology and molecular genetics and a member of the Jonsson Comprehensive Cancer Center at the David Geffen School of Medicine at UCLA.
Second, the scientists stripped off HIV's viral coat and redressed it in the outer suit of the Sindbis virus, which normally infects insects and birds. By altering the Sindbis coat, they reprogrammed the AIDS virus, which ordinarily infects T-cells, to hunt down and attach to P-glycoproteins — molecules located on the surface of many cancer cells. The UCLA team is the first to prove that modified HIV will target and bind with P-glycoproteins.
"P-glycoproteins cause big problems by making the cell resistant to chemotherapy," said Chen. "They act like soccer goalies and punt therapeutic drugs out of the cancer cell. This prevents the drug from taking effect and allows the tumor to continue growing unchecked."
In order to track the carrier's journey, the scientists added luciferase – the protein that makes fireflies glow – to the AIDS virus. They injected the camouflaged HIV into a vein in the mouse's tail and used a special optical camera to watch the carrier's movement.
"The virus traveled through the animal's bloodstream and homed straight to the cancer cells in the lungs, where the melanoma had migrated," said Chen.
When the researchers held the mouse under the camera, the luciferase illuminated the cancer cells, which glowed through the animal's bones, muscles and fur. The method is non-invasive and does not cause pain or harm to the animal.
Though excited at proving that HIV can be used to target cancer cells, Chen emphasizes that the carrier must be further enhanced for safety and specificity before it can be tested as a gene-therapy method in humans.
"Our next step will be to test whether we can direct therapeutic genes to the precise location where cancer cells reside," Chen said. "This approach offers many potential applications for controlling cancer and other diseases."
"We may be able to boost immune-system surveillance at tumor sites, identify cancer cells' exact location and kill them before they cause damage," he added. "Beyond cancer, it may be possible to correct acquired and genetic diseases where the mutations exert their harmful effects on the body."
Melanoma is a serious form of skin cancer. According to the American Cancer Society, an estimated 59,580 Americans will be diagnosed with melanoma in 2005, and about 7,770 people will die of the disease.
From UCLA