text:
33 User Reviews of Sun Princess Cruise Ship
My partner and I decided back in June of 2014 we would bite the bullet and take a cruise.
My first time for a holiday out of Australia at the age of 53 I was ramped up like a kid with a new toy, about having a holiday and leading up to it, we went all out, bought all new clothes, suits, fancy dress wear for the themed nights and seeing we were allowed to take come wine on board we took a bottle each even though my partner doesn't drink. We boarded at White Bay Terminal, and the 1st impressions were OMG, what a beautiful vessel the SUN PRINCESS IS.
We unpacked as we still had 2 hours before departure, got everything organised and went for a meander around the ship, totally impressed, went to roll call and safety call, then headed for the front top deck, everyone was there, it was a fantastic departure, approached the coat hanger (the Harbour Bridge), and the horns blasted it was fantastic, the is was time for the seas, nothing to high and it was smooth sailing all the way to our first of7 ports of call.
All we can say, if you want a fun Adult ship and or cruising company, PRINCESS LINES will always be up there for us, we have never heard anyone bad mouth princess against here sister company ships like P&O and some people say Carnival are good, but not one has ever discussed cruising with us and never said a bad word about PRINCESS. Cant wait for our 2nd cruise once again out of Port Jackson (aka Sydney Harbour) Feb 16th 2016 15 days New Zealand bound, then two weeks in fabulous N.Z'd and so looking forward to meeting all the our fellow cruisers and all the locals.
Sun Princess Cruise Southern Caribbean Medley-10 nights November 20-November 30, 2006 Captain Roger Bilton, Sussex, England Cruise Director John Cleford, England
DH and I are in our mid fifties. We've cruised four times before on Carnival Inspiration, Carnival Elation, Grand Princess and NCL Sun. Our favorite of these was the Grand Princess. This was a rest and relaxation cruise for us.
The flights to Ft. Lauderdale were uneventful, unlike the flights home.
We stayed the night before our cruise at the LaQuinta Inn, Hollywood, FL. It's a nice hotel with friendly people and a shuttle from the airport to the hotel and from the hotel to the port. The shuttle left the hotel at 11:00 AM on Monday and we were at the port terminal before 11:15. As soon as we got off the shuttle a porter took our checked luggage and, while there are signs saying tipping is not required, we tipped him $6.00 (3 bags).
Embarkation went very smoothly. We waited just a few minutes outside. When we entered we were given a piece of paper with a number on it. We found seats and they immediately began calling numbers. After aboutfive minutes our number was called and we went to check in. The lines are divided by deck. We were in the Caribe line and it took about ten minutes to check in. Onward to the embarkation photo, then onto the ship! This was the only photo that was taken of us the entire cruise and it was awful, so we didn't buy it.
Since this was a longer cruise, there were very few children on board. We overheard someone say there were forty, but we never saw more than four or five at a time. Most people were our age or older, which was fine with us.
We went to our cabin, C417, a balcony cabin on the starboard side. It was ready for us and we unpacked our carry-on's and checked out the cabin. It was smaller than some cabins we've had, but very well laid out. We met our wonderful cabin steward, Imran, who asked what he could do for us and was very efficient and friendly throughout the cruise. We told him the closet doors squeaked (like fingernails on a blackboard!) and by the time we returned to the cabin they'd been fixed.
About the Cabin: To the right of the entrance is the bathroom. There were three shelves to the left of the mirror and a shelf underneath the sink. The shower was the largest I've ever seen on a ship! There was a small shelf in the shower for travel sized shampoo, etc., and a small shelf for the soap. The shower controls were different from what we've seen before. There's an on/off control and a temperature control. We left the temperature control set and always had the right temperature without any adjusting. The water temperature didn't fluctuate, as it does on some ships. The shower curtain (cloth) had weights at the bottom and didn't "chase" us! The toilet is between the sink and the shower and makes the usual "whoosh!".
Across from the bathroom is the closet. The left side had a shelf at the top and room for hanging longer clothes (great for me, as I mostly wear sundresses). There's also a full length mirror on the inside of the door. The right side had two poles for shorter clothes. There's also a tie rack on the door. Next to the closet is an area with shelves, the safe (you put in your own combination), and two shallow sliding wire drawers. The top shelf is taken up by the life jackets.
There's a small shelf with a mirror next to the bathroom door. This was perfect for me to put on makeup. Under this shelf is an outlet! Unless you looked for it you might never see it! It was a perfect place for a nightlight and for recharging the cell phone. There's one nightstand with a drawer and two open shelves.
Next to the TV is a small shelf. Under the TV area are three small open shelves and the refrigerator. The refrigerator kept our soft drinks quite cool.
There's a small, but fairly comfortable club chair and a small stool/table between the TV area and the desk. The desk has three drawers on each side, an outlet, a mirror and the hair dryer is mounted on the wall next to the mirror. DH found the hair dryer to work fine for him. My hair is very short and curly and "air-dries".
The balconies on this ship have been cut out of the hull and are very small, but fine for two people. There were two chairs and a small table on the balcony. Being cut out of the hull, the balcony was covered. Remember not to open the balcony door and the cabin door at the same time. You'll create a "tornado" and anything not held down will go flying!
The Ship: As the Sun Princess is a relatively small ship it was quite easy to find our way around. I enjoyed the décor, which is wood and earth tones. There are two main entertainment areas. Forward is the Princess Theater and aft is the Vista Lounge. We didn't go to any of the production shows, but we did see a comedian, Carey Long, in the Vista Lounge. We didn't see much of the Cruise Director, but he seemed okay on the Morning Show.
We never had trouble finding a place to sit anywhere on the ship. (We don't sit in the sun, so we didn't have the "chair hog" problem.) Our favorite place to have a drink and "people watch" was the La Patisserie bar on the port side of the Atrium. There were two wonderful bartenders there, Ted and Girlee, both from the Philippines. They were very friendly and remembered what we liked to drink. The Wheelhouse bar was very nice, but too crowded and noisy for our tastes. We never made it to the Shooting Stars nightclub, but heard that it was a lot of fun.
We chose Personal Choice Dining in the Marquis dining room since we don't like to eat at a set time and we enjoy being seated with different people. We found the food in the dining room to be very good. On Thanksgiving evening they served twin lobster tails which were the best I've ever had on a ship. The service was good and we were happy with everything we ordered. We also ate in Verdi's Trattoria a few times and at the Horizon Court buffet once. The pizza at Verdi's was very good. The buffet was, well, a buffet… Edible, but not very good. We do like the setup of different stations but, as usual, some people tried to line up like they were in a cafeteria.
I don't enjoy the casino, but DH enjoyed it and "donated" enough for the both of us!
Ports and Excursions: After two sea days just relaxing, on Thursday we ported in Willemstad, Curacao, Netherland Antilles. We had an early excursion, Jewish Heritage in Curacao, planned with an independent operator after Princess canceled this same tour. We enjoyed this tour very much. We also enjoyed watching the QueenEmma pontoon bridge. The ship docked across the bay from Punda and you could either take a free ferry across or walk the floating bridge (if it's not open to let ships through!).
Our next port, on Friday, was Isla Margarita, Venezuela. We didn't plan a tour here so we just got off and shopped at the small market on the pier. We met a woman here who posts on the cruise boards and I bought a very pretty blue cat's-eye bracelet from her.
On Saturday we ported in Bridgetown, Barbados. Here we took the ship's tour, Island Highlights and Sudbury Plantation. We enjoyed this tour with stops at St. John's Church, Gun Hill Signal Station, and the Plantation. All three stops were interesting and offered great views for photos.
Sunday was Roseau, Dominica. We shopped a little at the pier in the morning and then took the Whale and Dolphin Watching tour. This was the only tour we had pre-booked. We enjoyed the boat ride, but the only things we saw were some flying fish!
On Monday we ported at Crown Bay in St. Thomas, USVI. We had to get up early to go through immigration since we were back in the US. It went very quickly and we took an early tour, St. Thomas Island Tour. We went along Skyline Drive, stopping occasionally for photos. We also visited Mountain Top and St. Peter Greathouse. After the tour we decided to stay in town and shop a little. We took a taxi back to Crown Bay for $4.50 each. The shops there are not open yet, but we did see people working on the inside.
Tuesday was another sea day, and we really needed a break! Five ports in five days is a lot!
Wednesday we tendered into Princess Cays. Princess Cays is actually on Eleutherea Island, Bahamas. That's why you have to fill out a Bahamas Landing form early in the cruise for any cruise going to Princess Cays. The tender ride to and from the island was a tour in itself! We're not "beach people" so we just walked around, had a Bloody Mary, checked out the shopping and went back to the ship.
That evening after dinner we packed our large suitcases and put them outside the cabin door. We left the automatic tipping on and tipped extra to our wonderful cabin steward, Imran, and to our great bartenders at La Patisserie, Ted and Girlee.
Thursday was disembarkation day. Earlier in the week they had sent a form for us to fill out with our flight information. We were scheduled to fly out of Ft. Lauderdale at 12:20 PM, so we were called in the third group to leave the ship. We went to breakfast at Horizon Court, and then went to La Patisserie to wait for our number to be called. We were off the ship and on the Princess transfer bus by 8:30 AM and at the airport before 9:00 AM. There we learned that our flight had been canceled because of snow and sleet at DFW, but we were able to get an earlier flight. We also got an earlier flight from DFW, but spent over 3 hours on the tarmac waiting to get de-iced! By pure luck we were assigned seats next to the emergency exit and were at least able to stretch out. We got home (finally!) at 9:00 PM.
This was our best cruise, ever! The only problems I can think of were the closet doors, which were fixed almost immediately, and one time we got the wrong tour tickets. I took them back to the shore excursion office and that was also taken care of quickly and with a smile. Apparently no one else had many problems, either. Until the last day when people were settling their accounts, there was never a line at the Purser's Desk. I've never seen a less busy Purser's Desk! The few times we went there to get a printout of our account or get change we walked right up to the desk.
We enjoyed this cruise so much that we were ready to cancel our cruise next year on Caribbean Princess and book the Sun Princess again, but found out that it will be going to P & O Australia in 2007. We hope to sail the Sun Princess again in 2008!
This was my first cruise so I had high expectations. The Sun Princess met my expectations. The crew was great. I did not meet one member of the crew who was less than 100% customer service oriented. The food in the buffet was good. The food in the dining rooms was great. The drinks were reasonable. The ship was in very good shape. Clean, bright and comfortable. Everywhere you looked someone was cleaning or painting or oiling the teak. We had a really good time. I never felt crowded nor bored.
Service personnel in all dining areas are not at all personable; neither are the ship's crew chiefs and officers.
Ship not good for Alaska cruising because it lacks a forward or stern glassed lounge for sightseeing. Passengers have to view from own cabin balcony or hang over the rails, even in cold weather.
The Sun Princess is in great shape for a vessel her age. I was expecting to see much more wear and tear on her but for most purposes she is in excellent shape. The carpets show no wear or tear in them and none of the walls or decor aboard ship show any dents, dings or cracks that one would expect to find on a ship almost 10 years old.
The food was plentiful and while not as good as the fare I received on some other lines was still appealing and beautifully presented. Verdi's pizza was awesome and goes highly recommended.
The buffets were good but the only complaint is that we found that the food served on both lines of the buffet was often diffent so one would have to check both sides to get everything offered. Entertainment was standard cruise fare but they did have a wonderful comedian/ventriloquist who worked with puppets and did a great comedy routine.
All the ports and excursions I did met my expectations and would not hesitate to recommend this ship to anyone. The only other negative aspect in terms of this cruise which Ido not think has anything to do with the ship itself is that the automatic tipping policy I feel has led to a drop in the service levels. My previous cruise was on a line that did not do the automatic tipping and I found the waiters at your table went out of the way to get to know you as did the cabin stewards.
The Princess staff was courtesy and fullfilled their duties but found that they did not attempt to interact with you at all and all the little extra's that the cabin stewards often did for you in your cabin was not present in this situation. They did their jobs but offered nothing more which I feel was due to lack of incentive on their part. In all though I had an enjoyable time and any concerns one might have travelling on a older ship should be dismissed. THe Sun Princess is graceful, elegant, in great shape, and I would definately travel on her again in the future. Happy cruising to all.
Princess Cruises Sun Princess by George S Southern Caribbean November 18, 2005 Embarked at Ft Lauderdale, Fl, after arriving at the pier via Cruise Connection bus. Embarkation was quick and we were eating lunch in the Lido about 1/2 hour later. Our room was ready and we were able to drop off our carry on luggage. Having cruised with HAL (6 times), we were dissappointed at the small size of our cabin. HAL's inside cabin was much larger. The ship was in nice shape for being 10 years old. It appeared that new carpeting had been installed through-out. There were no foul odors that we detected. Since this was our first Princess cruise we took a tour of the ship and then settled in. We were impressed by the Atrium area, spacious and comfortable. Both Theaters seemed over-crowded (too small). And u had to hurry from dinner to get a seat. At the horizon court, the lines did not seem right, as they did'nt flow smoothly.
Also, Princess does not provide trays and you are constantly juggling the plates. The food at the Regency Dining Room was average, but the service wasgood and the staff were friendly. We also ate at Verdi's, one time, and the pizza was excellent. We did not eat at the premium dining room. The activities, on board, were the usual, and i liked the golf simulater. There were plenty of casual rooms around, where one could order a drink or just lounge. The Promenade was great, except that there were never enough deck chairs to go around. And therefore, sometimes u had to wait for one. We enjoyed most of the islands and expecially liked their Island, Princess Cay. Upon returning, Disembarkation was extremely slow. Summary: Nice ship, but we liked HAL better OH well, you can't have everything!
Beautiful Ship. No complaints in this department. Everything very clean and in top shape.
Food. Buffet was good to excellent. Fruit was always fresh and items were plentiful. Pizzaria we ate at three times. Once I ordered a calzone, it was watery on the inside (something frozen when cooked?), the pizza's and salads were good. Service was not great, the manager (Angelo) was grumpy when he came to our table and it was evident by his smug attitude and answers to us when we questioned an item on the menu. Language skills could have been better, on the second night my son ordered a calzone with pepperoni and ended up with a calzone and a pepperoni pizza. The boy is only 9 years old, how the waiter thought he could eat two pizzas is beyond me. Anyways, if the attitude would have been gone, it would have made a more pleasant meal. We chose personal choice dining and it was very good. All meals and appetizers during lunch and dinner were very good. I had a seafood gumbo, which was very good and the crab legs were delicious. My only complaintin the food and drink department was, I wish more ice tea and water stations were put in on different levels. The only place I could get tea and water was the buffet or restaurant, and the pizza parlor didn't serve iced tea at all only water. Why, who knows, I survived.
Entertainment: Music Shows were okay. Not my favorite part. The male singer would have been rejected by Simon on American Idol and the female's voice drove my last nerve. They had about 10 people on stage and only one male and female sang solo's, all the others just danced and hummed. I would have liked to had another voice. The comedians and magician were great.
Rooms were perfect. We had three in our room. My husband, son, and I. They made a bunk for our son. The beds were comfy. It was an inside cabin B624 and Ana, our maid, was great. No complaints in this department. Fruit in our room was fresh, Robes were delivered upon request. Lots of storage space for all our clothes and suitcases fit under the bed fine. TV choices were good, CNN, Cartoon network, travel, and Alaska Excursions. My only complaint, no clock in the room. My husband and I forgot watches, so we had no clue what time it was. We had to turn on the television to find out the time.
Weather was absolutely beautiful. A little cool in the glacier bay and college fjord, but jackets took care of this area. Lots of whales, sea lines, otters, and dolphins to view from the deck. Seen a grizzly bear from glacier bay. Karen, the alaskan expert, was very informative. The wildlife people that came on board were very interesting too.
Childcare program: I had a 9 year old, he didn't care too much for the children's program. They had a interesting program set up, but he didn't give it much of a chance. They had a few video games, but it took his money with no play, had to go to concierge desk for a refund. They made T-shirts and a lego contest that he was interested in. They allow you to let your child check themselves in or out. We allowed him to check himself in, and we checked him out. Finally on the last couple days, we gave him the video recorder and had him walk around and tape the ship for our enjoyment. It was silly.
Drinks: Mudslide's were yummy. The Almond Martini was great. I had the mint choc chip martini, didn't care too much for it. Pina Coladas were good too. I like that Princess sells small, medium and large.
Spa and Fitness: Lots of equipment. I went in the afternoons a couple times and equpment was always available. Didn't try the morning. Didn't try any spa services.
Shopping: T-shirts with Alaska and Princess logo went on sale the last day. Three for $24. so save your buying till the last day. Gold bracelets and watches available in the sidewalk sale. No big sale in this area.
Art Auction: They had a few, but I didn't attend.
Wine Tasting: My friends went to two sessions, they enjoyed both. Cost was around $8. for one sitting and around $20 for another, but it included foods.
Ports were great. Ketchican we went on jet ski boat adventure. Nothing exciting to write about. Wouldn't do again, got to touch a jelly fish and see lots of bald eagles. Not much time in this port. Juneua we went gold panning and whale watching. Both were good and I recommend. Skagway we did the dog mushing, it was fun and on the way back we seen a black bear on the side of the road. T-Shirt and Fleece available in all locations. I read a sign in Ketchican that prices go up from that port on, but it was not true, prices were stable throughout the area.
If you do a land portion, I recommend fishing with June's B&B Charters in Whittier, we caught 125# of fish and it was a blast. We went on a safari adventure near Denali, it was fun, but only seen one moose and an owl. Lot's of mosquitos. Be sure to bring your deet. Spent last two days in Anchorage where we shopped downtown and went around the area. My son met the Tundra Comic artist at the swap meet downtown, and this made his trip the best. Book, autograph, and pic with the cartoonist. He was in seventh heaven. The tundra is the comedic t-shirts you'll see around the areas.
I have just returned from a cruise on the Sun Princess. You can find my detailed review here.
Photos of the ship can be viewed here.
You can email me at [email protected] if you have any queries and I'll try to answer them for you!
This ship is truly awesome! From the first formal night (where the staff really makes the passengers feel like glitterati) to the on-board shows (the tribute to Broadway was so fun) to the housekeeping and wait staff (be sure to chat with the Maitre D' Luigi ... he's great), everything was marvelous.
Our steward was Francisco, and he made our stay quite confortable. He straightened the cabin twice a day, leaving yummy treats on the pillows when turning down our bed at night.
Lucin and Odiban were our waiter and junior waiter, and we couldn't have asked for better. Lucian kindly shared with us pictures of his wife and son, so he wasn't just a person delivering the food, he's a kind person who treats us like family.
The second formal night, the maitre d' built a 645 glass tall champagne waterfall. It was lovely. And not only that, but he stood there for hours allowing passengers to take pictures with him and smiled the whole time.
The Captain, Ian McNaught, was friendly and approachable. It's clear from meeting him that the warm and welcoming attitude starts with the top officers.
The ports ofcall were the reason we took this cruise, but honestly became secondary to the ship in importance to us. I can't say enough good things about the Sun Princess. If you want a relaxing vacation desgined to re-charge your batteries and make you feel great, this is the ship to choose.
My wife and I just came back from an Alaska Inside Passage trip on the Sun Princess out of Seattle, June 4-11, 2006. Here's the short version for those trying to decide whether this would be a good vacation: TAKE THIS CRUISE. BOOK IT NOW. The Sun Princess is great, but more importantly, you need to see Alaska. It's beautiful.
For a more specific rundown on the Sun Princess experience, plus insight into some excellent yet rarely-taken shore excursions, read on.
Background I've never cruised before; my wife has cruised three times exclusively with Royal Caribbean (Alaska, Western & Eastern Caribbean). So everything I know about cruise ships is from her stories, and she's never been on a Princess ship before. We have, however, been to an all-inclusive resort (Sandals) before, so some of the cruising concepts that normally blow first-timers away were not entirely foreign to me.
To start off, I must mention the weather: We were ridiculously lucky. We expected it to be 55 and rainy every day. But it was in the upper 60s and sunny every day, and it was 70 in Skagway. I even got a sunburn. For thefirst week of June, it was amazing, and to see no rain in Ketchikan, that's just weird. At every stop, even in Victoria, the locals told us it rained all day the day prior to our arrival. Admittedly, it was overcast for our first hour in Ketchikan and the first two hours of Tracy Arm, but that just added to the mystique of the beautiful scenery.
With a day of low clouds, you'd really miss some fine details such as the snow-capped mountains, but I don't think it would detract from your trip. It was rather cold on Tracy Arm morning, as the entry started at 6 a.m., so I would recommend packing a winter coat for at least that day, and a light jacket for the remaining trip. Bring ponchos and umbrellas too. We had a bunch of disposable ponchos on hand, but never used them.
The Food As for the ship, my most dire warning about Princess would be food. It's really not all that good. It's more hit-and-miss -- with more misses than hits. For example, you can write off most of the hot food at the Horizon Court Buffet as being awful. Some breakfast foods, like sausage, bacon, and pancakes (note I did not say eggs) were tasty, but all other hot food was just plain bad.
Dinner was hit-and-miss, but we had more luck there. We chose the fixed seating, and were lucky enough to get a table for two. On Princess you can get any-time dining (but that absolutely requires a reservation, I learned from other passengers) or you can get fixed seating at varying sizes of tables. They had tables for two, four, six, eight, 10 and 12. I didn't see more than two two-person tables in the entire room (there may have been more, but they are extremely infrequent and we just got super lucky), but there is definitely a reasonable number of four-person tables.
Food quality at dinner was mostly good, but there were issues with selection. My wife doesn't care for seafood, and the menu was seafood-heavy most nights. The beef wasn't good at all. The beef tenderloin and strip steaks were both bland, with the former tasting like roast beef and the latter screaming for steak sauce. The seafood, I must admit, was quite pleasant. The salmon was very good, for example.
The menu seemed to improve throughout the cruise. On the fifth night they offered Alaskan King Crab legs. I asked for seconds, and got it! They were on par with the best crab I've ever had, and far superior to the dungeness crab I had at an upscale restaurant in Seattle before departure. The following night, the twin lobster tails were absolutely delicious. The waiter watched me finish two, and without asking, brought me two more!
Desserts were good throughout the cruise; even their ice cream is great. But the best was Day 6 (same day as the lobster), when they served baked Alaska. My wife said the baked Alaska on Royal Caribbean was little more than Neapolitan ice cream, but this was mind-blowingly delicious -- and a huge portion. I still finished it, and without asking the waiter brought me another. What a great guy!
I must mention the alternative food besides buffets and the fixed-seating dinner. They had a fish barbecue on Ketchikan day, with grilled shrimp, barbecued fish and crab cakes. You can have as much as you want and it was phenomenal -- surprising, since it was served poolside and you would expect less. On another day they served reindeer chili, which was decent. And one day the Horizon Court had an Asian theme buffet -- again bad hot food, and a sushi buffet on par with most grocery store sushi, but it was fine for me. Poolside burgers, fries and hot dogs were all passable - better than I expected. We did not try the $15-per-person Sterling Steakhouse (a roped-off section of the buffet).
This leaves one thing: Verdi's Pizza. I read bad reviews of this, but I found the pizza to be quite good. The service is terrible -- you'll wait 20 minutes to an hour for your food -- but the pizza and calzones are great. Since the ship is docked in Juneau and Victoria during dinnertime, you're likely to miss the sit-down dinner at least twice. I heartily recommend Verdi's as an alternative.
The Ship I enjoyed the Sun Princess. I thought the Vista Lounge was the ideal place to spend an evening. The layout is really nice, a great show lounge. The bars are all really cool, and the Shooting Stars disco is stylish. The dining room is nice, as one would expect. The Horizon Court Buffet, though lacking in food quality, is a really nice place to eat - visually - as it is on the top deck surrounded by glass, giving excellent views.
There are two small pools, plus a circular pool by the spa that's only good for soaking, and five hot tubs. None of these are covered. I will repeat: no indoor pool. That may upset some people. Since we had great weather, we did go to the pool twice. The pools are heated; they claim it's 70 degrees, but I am pretty sure it was warmer than that. So swimming is not out of the question, just be forewarned that it is not enclosed.
For entertainment... well... it's a cruise ship. They had a great comic one night, a guy who really deserves his own Comedy Central special. Another night, we saw a surprisingly funny juggler, then a rather unexciting guitarist, and a cheesy but still amusing magician. All of these were in the Vista Lounge, a really cool venue. You'll want to avoid the Princess Theater like the plague. We stopped going after the first production show. Perhaps somebody actually likes this sort of thing, but we thought it was just plain awful.
Alaska And finally, Alaska: It's beautiful. Not just in the ports, or on excursions, but just when the ship is sailing through all the islands -- it's a sight to behold. Be sure to pick excursions that get you out of town. The port towns are tiny and of little value, except for walking down Creek Street in Ketchikan. In general, these small towns just have crappy jewelry stores and junky gift shops. If you really want to see Alaska, take an excursion. We took some atypical ones, and one very prominent excursion that everyone should (and usually does) do.
Ketchikan - Rainforest Ropes and Zip Line Challenge: Not to be confused with the similar Rainforest Canopy and Zip Line tour. That one is a series of zip lines that takes you through the trees and over a 400-foot drop. Though it sounds like fun, we did the ropes course. It included various forms of rope bridges, swinging logs, and tightrope walks both with and without a second rope above you, plus three zip line runs. I believe you hit a maximum height of 170 feet on those zip lines and the tightropes, whereas the rope bridges don't go much higher than 20-30 feet. Still, it was really fun. You get to enjoy an old growth forest, with 500-year-old redwood trees, and have a blast on amazingly fun zip lines and admittedly freaky tightrope walks. We finished our tour on a climbing wall.
Juneau - Glacier View Sea Kayaking: This was hands-down the best part of our vacation. You take two-person kayaks into Auke Bay, facing the Mendenhall Glacier. They say on a foggy day you can't see the glacier, but we had pure sun and had an amazing view. We also passed by several flocks of bald eagles (they don't group together normally, but here they did) and were followed and approached by several harbor seals. Going eye to eye with a harbor seal 15 feet away is nothing like going to an aquarium. It was incredible, and a lot of fun.
Skagway - White Pass Yukon Route Scenic Railroad: This is the biggie. Everyone should do this, and they usually go, because what else are you going to do in Skagway? If you have researched an Alaska cruise, you probably already know about this. The train runs along the Klondike trail, with stunning views and a trip into the mountains. This is your northernmost stop on the trip; you owe it to yourself to go 30 miles into the interior to see what Southeast Alaska is really like.
Skagway - Klondike Rock Climbing and Rappelling: Yes, we took two excursions in Skagway. We just had to go rock climbing on real rock (we're used to the indoor gyms) and where else to do it but on a glacier-carved granite cliff overlooking the Klondike trail? It overlooks the valley the train goes through, but for those views you're better off on the train. This is all about rock climbing, though to be fair, each person only got to climb twice and rappel once. A die-hard rock climber probably wouldn't be too impressed, though they do have routes for all difficulty levels. But for me, I loved it, and now I can say I've rock climbed the Klondike trail.
Victoria - Enchanting Butchart Gardens. Unless you do whale watching or nothing at all, this is the prime spot at this port. Butchart Gardens is on the Travel Channel's list of top 10 gardens in the world and it deserves the recognition for the Sunken Garden and Rose Garden alone. Be sure to stay in Victoria at nightfall to see the Parliament building lit up at night.
Besides all the ports, there is the trip through Tracy Arm Fjord. Yes, get up at 6 a.m. to watch it. Yes, bring binoculars. Yes, bring a winter coat. And no, Tracy Arm is not Glacier Bay -- it is not a fjord through pure ice. It's a fjord through glacier-carved rock that has progressively younger and younger vegetation until there is none at all, and you get to see the Sawyer Glaciers at the end. A place like Tracy Arm is precisely why you go to Alaska.
Balcony or Not? Unfortunately, it is also why people mistakenly think they need a balcony cabin on Alaska cruises. Everyone always says, "splurge on a balcony; if you're going to do it anywhere, do it on an Alaska cruise!" Baloney. You don't need it. The last thing I would have wanted on this cruise was a tiny square of space with limited visibility on one side of the boat. You are only hurting yourself by spending your cruise there. You need to go up on deck, frequently, during Tracy Arm, whale watching, or any other time when you have a free moment. It is simply not the same without the near-360 degree view available on the deck. Instead of booking a balcony cabin, spend that money on some fantastic excursions instead. Also know that the sun rises early and sets late. Curtains or not, I don't want light in my room at 3:45 a.m. Having a pitch-black interior room was great for sleeping. If you need a window, try channel 35, it's the best channel on TV - the view-from-the-bow channel!
Wildlife I had no expectations of great wildlife viewing, but we saw one to two humpback whales PER DAY. At Skagway, one was feeding right in front of the ship. We saw harbor seals while kayaking, on the icebergs in Tracy Arm, on buoys in the water, etc. We saw sea lions playing. We saw dolphins pass our ship close by. We saw porpoises jumping in and out of our wake. And we saw more bald eagles daily than we see regular birds at home. The wildlife is abundant, and incredible. It's all the better because a ship's naturalist announces when whales are passing by, and gives a lot of great information on them as you watch. Take in his talks in the Princess Theater.
Disembarking I should mention the end of the cruise. They allow express disembarkation for those willing to carry their own luggage. You disembark at 7:30, which is fine because everybody has to be out of their rooms by then anyway. We did this, and it would have been excellent except for two things. Number one, people with no bags kept the elevators tied up because they were too lazy to take the stairs, even if people with six bags were waiting forever. We had to take our heavy bags down four flights of stairs.
Number two, we had to get in line to disembark, then wait and wait. Finally someone says, "is this the line for express disembarkation?" and a bunch of confused people turned around and said, "no, we're waiting to be called. The express people already left." So please, if you aren't in the process of walking off the ship, don't stand in the vicinity of the exits and block the people who are trying to leave.
It may seem like I had a lot of complaints here, but that's because it's easier to post nitpicking complaints about minor things than to write about how wonderful it was. Trust me, this ship is great. I would do the same vacation again in a minute, no changes. Avoid the hot food at the buffet, eat Verdi's pizza, get out of the ports, watch the wildlife, and carry a baseball bat during disembarkation. You will love the Sun Princess.


text:
You Ask, I Answer: Whole Grain Mustard
I feel silly asking this question, but since I can remain anonymous, I'll ask it anyway.
Is whole grain mustard an actual whole grain?
In other words, does one serving of it (two tablespoons) count as a whole grain?
— (Name Withheld)
New York, NY
Whole grain mustard is not an actual whole grain.
The term is used to differentiate between mustard varieties made from ground-up seeds of the mustard plant (which, by the way, is in the same family of plants as broccoli and cauliflower) and those that contain the seeds in their whole, unadulterated form.
That said, mustard seeds can add a pinch of nutrition to a meal.
Two teaspoons, for instance, pack in 12 percent of the Daily Value of selenium and 6 percent of the manganese and phosphorus you need each day.
One easy way to enjoy mustard seeds in a dish is by crusting your protein of choice (tofu, tempeh, tuna steaks, etc.) with them.

subset: commoncrawl


text:
Object #1009445 from MS-Papers-0032-0728A
3 pages written by Sir Donald McLean
From: Outward drafts and fragments, Reference Number MS-Papers-0032-0728A (122 digitised items). Names of identifiable correspondents entered in Name Field. Papers also include letter to Susan Strang [?]; List of books headed `Mechanics Institute'; List of Maori who signed deed of conveyance; Richmond letter; letter re Basil [Taylor?]; List of people sent invitations to ball at Police Barracks [New Plymouth]; letter re capture of Te Kooti; list of politicians and where they resided when in Wellington (undated); memo relating to Ngati Maru & Ngati Paoa.
Download alow-resolution PDF or high-resolution PDF
Part of:
Outward drafts and fragments, Reference Number MS-Papers-0032-0728A (122 digitised items)
Series 4 Drafts and fragments of outwards letters, Reference Number Series 4 Drafts and fragments of outwards letters (889 digitised items)
McLean Papers, Reference Number MS-Group-1551 (30238 digitised items)
Usage: You can search, browse, print and download items from this website for research and personal study. You are welcome to reproduce the above image(s) on your blog or another website, but please maintain the integrity of the image (i.e. don't crop, recolour or overprint it), reproduce the image's caption information and link back to here (http://mp.natlib.govt.nz/detail/?id=1009445). If you would like to use the above image(s) in a different way (e.g. in a print publication), or use the transcription or translation, permission must be obtained. More information about copyright and usage can be found on the Copyright and Usage page of the NLNZ web site.
External Links:
View Full Descriptive Record in TAPUHI


text:
MOVIE REVIEW- Witless: Some 'Holidays' never seem to end
Extolling the virtues of classic films without exhibiting them, The Holiday is as artificially inflated as a Vegas showgirl's breasts. It's a potentially cute 90-minute romantic comedy stretched to 132 minutes because December releases are supposed to be of epic length to be taken seriously. The padding adds only length, not depth.
Iris (Kate Winslet) and Amanda (Cameron Diaz) are both coming out of bad relationships, and with the holidays coming up, they want to get away from their lives. In California, Amanda's Internet search for vacation ideas turns up a home exchange website where Iris has listed her "fairy tale cottage...40 minutes from exciting London."
Although most scenes of the movie last about twice their optimal length, making the same point over and over again, some things happen extremely fast. The next day, both women are on planes to each other's countries, and the trailer Amanda finished editing in L.A. the day before is on the telly in England when she arrives.
Both women have had enough of men for the time being, but this is a movie, so they have to find new loves. It happens quickly for Amanda when Iris' brother Graham (Jude Law), not knowing Iris is gone, knocks on her door, too drunk to drive home from the local pub.
Iris opens the door to Miles (Jack Black), a film score composer who works with Amanda's ex (Edward Burns). While Amanda and Graham jump into bed immediately, Iris and Miles become friends. Miles is dating an actress who's away on location.
Graham has a secret he doesn't feel the need to share with Amanda while they're just having casual, no-strings-attached sex, and they have trouble deciding when they've moved past that point.
Iris' life in L.A. is idyllic, but there's a serpent in her Eden. Jasper (Rufus Sewell), the guy she can't get over, keeps calling on her for help, even though he's engaged to another woman.
Iris makes another new friend, Amanda's next-door neighbor, Arthur Abbott (Eli Wallach), a retired screenwriter. The Writers Guild will put together a tribute to him and draw a packed house during Christmas week with a few days' notice.
Writer-director Nancy Meyers, whose last movie, Something's Gotta Give, was her best by far, here takes the obvious way out whenever possible. When it's established early on that Amanda has never cried, no one would take a bet, even at 1000-1 odds, that you won't see her first tear before the credits roll.
Meyers sets up a joke that was probably cut for being too edgy. Miles joins Iris at a Hanukah party she hosts for Arthur and his contemporaries. After a few drinks, Miles says, "I've had too much of the Manischiewitz. I've got to be cut off." You know one of those old Jewish guys would offer to give him a bris.
Each woman has her own narration. Amanda's cleverly mocks her by describing her life in the style of the movie trailers she edits. Iris', in her own voice, sounds rather like Sex & the City– but without the wit. For a romantic comedy, The Holiday isn't very funny. Most of the gags are in the trailer.
Some "chick flicks" can be enjoyed equally by both genders, but they should hang a "No boys allowed" sign on theaters showing The Holiday.
1 comment
Did you go to review this and bring along the wrong set of criteria? It's Nancy Meyers and I
don't think anything she did ever touched serious
issues so why should this be different? The
sudience at the sneak preview I saw seemed to
understand this perfectly and went out trading
flowing recommending remarks with each other and
choosing Jude Law's Graham to get the most excited
about. They understood the point of the picture -
it was all about love and fantasy and what women


text:
"Life isn't about finding yourself. Life is about creating yourself." George Bernard Shaw
Hi and welcome to Families with Purpose. My name is Polly and I am the founder. You can learn more about me here. If you are reading this you are probably wondering, what Families with Purpose is all about and whether or not it is a good fit for you. I get that. As parents, we are constantly bombarded with messages, requests, and philosophies, so I wanted to make it easy for you by telling you exactly what I believe and what you can expect from me. If after reading this you don't think Families with Purpose is right for you, that's okay. There are A LOT of resources out there on family and parenting, so be sure to keep looking until you find the one that is right for you.
Here is my philosophy and the focus of my content
- It is our primary responsibility as parents to raise children who will make a difference in the world. That's the only way we will find solutions to the big issues like hunger, hate, war, and poverty.
- Parents need to be intentional about the family they are building. This means you know exactly who you are and what you want to be. You just don't let life happen to you, you make life happen. Don't let fear stop you. Don't be lazy.
- Work life balance is possible. It is about knowing where you are going, being excited about life, being very clear on your priorities, being willing to make hard choices, and knowing how to manage your time.
- Everyone has a reason for being. We were all put here in this world for a reason. There is no such thing as a coincidence.
- Everything starts with family. The best thing you can do for yourself and kids is give yourselves a loving secure place to be, grow, and thrive.
- Belonging is a really big deal. Everyone needs it and everyone wants it. Start early by giving your kids a safe place to belong and be who they were meant to be and the chances they will look for it later outside the family are much less.
- Your life of being a parent isn't just about the kids. You are important too. You can't be a good parent if you don't take care of you.
- Life is wonderful. Make it count. At the end of your life make sure you know why you existed not that you just simply existed.
- Families with Purpose is for families of all kinds and faiths. If you have a strong interest or desire in creating an authentic purposeful life for yourself and family, then this is the place for you. There is no judgement here.


text:
The Smoking Kingston/
When Tao -- short for Taoufike Zrafi, bartender extraordinaire at Piano Rouge in Old Montreal -- came out from behind the bar after his turn up at bat competing in Montreal Bar vs Chef, I beelined over to him, pat him on the back and bellowed, "Looks like someone really wants to go to Jamaica!" (Because the top prize at our little Appleton-sponsored cocktail competition was a trip to, um, Jamaica.)
What Tao invented ("concocted" is too culinarily namby-pamby a word) sent my lower jaw slamming into the floorboards. When you're at home futzing around with your shaker and your bottles, do you ever play-act mad-scientist-going-MWAH-HA-HA fantasies in your head? Tao's Smoking Kingston is actually that.
As if that is not enough, Tao's presentation included a laminated copy of this flow chart (Tao calls it a "polygramme"; adorbs!):
And now, since you are absolutely as confused/titillated/stunned/feeling stupid as I originally was, I'll let Tao explain (in cutely imperfect English) what's up.
My goal and main way to create the cocktail was to peel out every information from every word in "Appleton Estate Reserve."
I noticed that Appleton didn't have a spiced rhum which I'm fan of so I decided to create one! [Ed. Note: Infusions of the mandatory Appleton Reserve rum or any other liquors you chose to include were highly encouraged.]
I've already made before a rhum recipe with hickory smoked sauce, for the competition I wanted to push the idea further and make it smoky and flowery!
The dry ice was to complement the idea. It's the same smoke that comes out when I smoked my pisco with apple wood and orange peel -- white, intense and heavy -- and since my cocktail was short, without any actual fruit addition, the dry ice seemed well as a garnish.
The lab tube expresses the work behind the recipe, I have infused a lot of rhum samples with multiple spices, some of my infusions took a month some of them took 24 hours just to be able to blend them and get the perfect spiceness! I had to mix them in lab tube which is something that made my friends call me the alchemist cause I have tendancy to mix stuff even outside the regular cocktail form or just to create something new !
Now let's get around to what the Smoking Kingston tastes like. Guess what? It actually tastes like two drinks in one!
For the taste, the first nose will be very smoky in the mouth. You'll find spicy notes with sugary flower hint. After a while [Ed. Note: I think at the competition Tao said three or four minutes] holding the tube in your hands, the liquids get warmer which gets you to a different level: a smoky taste with citrus hints and a flowery odor mixed with vanilla, and at the end, spicy tanginess in the back of your tongue. Which explains more the use of dry ice. Once it's warm you can put the tube back in the ellen meyer [Final Ed. Note: He means Erlenmeyer, as in flask, but srsly, is that not a swoon-worthy malapropism??] to retry the first taste !
The Smoking Kingston
1 ounce Appleton Reserve, infused with pink peppercorn, green cardamom and slices of Kaffir lime
1/2 ounce Pisco, infused with rose petals, smoked apple and dried orange peel
1/2 ounce St-Germain
1/2 ounce orgeat syrup infused with bourbon vanilla beans marinated in Appleton-mace
Juice of a quarter lime
2 drops liquid hickory sauce
Dry ice
Here's how Tao says you do it: "For the making you just put all the ingredients with four cubes of ice [Ed. Note: Into a mixing glass, I'm assuming] and stir them and then double strain them [Ed. Note: Into your test tube, natch]." [Absolutely last Ed. Note: And then of course, you've got to put some dry ice in an Erlenmeyer flask. Consider this my official disclaimer stating that I don't know how the fuck to do that.]
Tasting Notes:
I'm sure you're dying to know more about these in-sane-fusions, so here goes.
The infused Appleton rum: "Simple infusion of these three ingredients in 8 ounces of Appleton Reserve rum, then re-diluted with non-infused rum to achieve the desired taste. (For best results, a maximum of two pieces of cardamom for each 8 ounces.)
The Pisco infusion: "Simple infusion with rose petals..." I'm going to translate the smoke-infusion part, and speaking of, let's do some on the blog soon, ay? So anyway, you would smoke an apple like you would smoke meat or whatever, but in a relatively small smoker, one where you can run a piece of tube off the top of the smoker, aka the stack (smoke rises!) and submerge the other end, which must be outfitted with an aerator, directly into your liquid. Next... "Repeat the operation at least 8 times. Strain the liquid following the smoking process and infusion to achieve the desired result."
The orgeat whozit-whatzit: "Bourbon vanilla beans submerged in a mixture of Appleton Reserve and ground mace, put in the oven at a low temperature. (122 degrees F)" Yeah, I converted that shit for you, reader!


text:
President Obama Announces Jeffrey Crowley, M.P.H. as Director of the Office of National AIDS Policy (ONAP), Increases Funding for HIV Prevention and Treatment for FY10
New York, N.Y. -- Today President Obama announced the appointment of Jeffrey S. Crowley, M.P.H. to Director of the Office of National AIDS Policy (ONAP). Crowley, an openly gay man, will help lead the Administration's response to HIV/AIDS and disability policies. Most recently, he was a Senior Research Scholar at Georgetown University's Health Policy Institute and a Senior Scholar at the O'Neill Institute for National and Global Health Law, Georgetown University Law Center. Crowley also served as Deputy Executive Director of Programs at the National Association of People with AIDS (NAPWA).
"We are so encouraged that President Obama has selected a leader from within the HIV/AIDS advocacy and service delivery field," said Marjorie J. Hill, PhD, Chief Executive Officer at Gay Men's Health Crisis. "We look forward to working with Mr. Crowley and the White House in the coming years, particularly as we have been anxiously awaiting this appointment to begin development of a national AIDS strategy," added Hill.
The news of the ONAP appointment comes just days after announcement that the fiscal year 2009 omnibus bill contains financial support for ONAP, specifically for the development of a national AIDS strategy. GMHC and other national partners were instrumental in the successful advocacy for the $1.4 million. This critical support has been secured so that ONAP can immediately begin work on the strategy.
President Obama today also unveiled plans for his proposed fiscal year 2010 budget , which would fund the federal government from October 2009 - September 2010. The budget outline (full budget details to be released in April) includes enhanced resources for HIV prevention and treatment "to detect, prevent, and treat HIV/AIDS domestically, especially in underserved populations."
"We applaud President Obama for recognizing the increased HIV prevention and treatment demands our society faces," said Hill. "For too long the HIV prevention community attempted to lower HIV infection rates with severely limited resources. Finally the new leadership in Washington indicates support for slowing the HIV epidemic in the United States," concluded Hill.


text:
It got me thinking, though: did anybody ever have a toy back in the G1 days that was actually a "spy" (i.e. an Autobot character with a Decepticon rubsign, or vice versa)? I vaguely remember a TV commercial where it implied that some toys did, indeed, have the "wrong" faction logo, but I never had one that fell into this category, nor did I know anyone else who did. Autobots were always Autobots and Decepticons were always Decepticons.
Punch/Counterpunch There were also minibot toy "spys" packed in with the small guys like Seaspray/Powerglide, but they weren't in the show.
Page created in 0.071 seconds with 18 queries.


text:
- A Minute to Learn It - Financial Aid Offer
- What does the term EFC stand for?
- Will financial aid pay for all of my expenses?
- What is Cost of Attendance?
- What is a Pell Grant?
- What is an FSEOG?
- What is a Federal Work-Study job?
- What is a Federal Direct Subsidized loan?
- What is the difference between a subsidized and an unsubsidized loan?


text:
Call Us Today! (425) 343-6181 email@example.com
Proudly serving Lake Stevens, WA and the surrounding area since 1989
Perfect Docks is a premier, professional, contracting company, offering a wide variety of residential dock services to our clients in Snohomish County. We pay close attention to detail, while making your satisfaction our number one priority.
Please call us today to schedule your appointment with Washington's true professionals at work for you!


text:
Advanced Search
Availability: On order usually ships within 24-72hrsStock Level: LowPlatforms: PS4Publisher: U & I EntertainmentGenre: Action AdventureUPC: 819338020341Region Free: YesMenus & Interface : EnglishProduct was added to our catalog on Wednesday 10 January, 2018.
Ahoy! The Land of Ooo is underwater, and it's up to Finn and Jake to find out why. Join our heroes as they explore dangerous waters, search for clues, interrogate pirates and fight bad guys to solve this wet, wet mystery and save the day!


text:
Sun Microsystems has announced the release of OpenSolaris 2008.11(a little late, but that's alright). I spoke with Timothy Cramer, a senior director of OpenSolaris engineering at Sun, about this release of OpenSolaris, and he told me that it's part of the six-month binary release cycle that Sun has committed to for OpenSolaris. The first one -- OpenSolaris 2008.5 -- was released in May 2008, at CommunityOne/JavaOne; OpenSolaris 2008.11 has been released today, and the next one will be in April 2009. This release is a combination of new features, updates to bundled applications, and new community support offerings (which is the big news with this release). For more information on OpenSolaris, see this Dr. Dobb's interview with Timothy Cramer.
New Features and Updates
Among the new and updated features in OpenSolaris 2008.11 are:
- Gnome Desktop updated to version 2.24. With the latest Gnome comes desktop search, collaborative group editing, and the Transmission project.
- Timeslider. This is a new feature built on top of ZFS, which makes backups and file restores easier. It's similar to Apple's TimeMachine, but quite a bit more flexible. You can choose a directory and fly back in time to see earlier versions of files, and contents of folders, to restore from. Everything is customizable, including the backup snapshot times and frequency, and the percentage of disk space to set aside for the backups. Backups are done using file deltas, and are compressed, therefore it's efficient in terms of disk space usage. Because it uses ZFS, you don't need to use an external drive for backup storage, but you can if you want to (and you probably should as it can be safer).
- OpenOffice updated to version 3.
- FireFox updated to version 3. However, Sun has modified it to include additional DTrace probes. The browser and the probes work with NetBeans plug-ins to help you observe performance, as well as aid with Ajax app dev/debugging. This is all part of Sun's Project D-Light.
- NetBeans 6.5, recently announced, is included.
- The Eclipse IDE is now included. (Yes, that's correct, I said Eclipse is included with OpenSolaris.) Sun has decided to embrace the development community completely, in an attempt to unite them under OpenSolaris whether they use Eclipse or NetBeans. With Eclipse comes Azureus support also. In fact, expect to see more Eclipse platform-based applications bundled with OpenSolaris in the future.
- Songbird is included for online music access, and possible iPod updating from OpenSolaris.
- Suspend/Resume. By far, this was one of the most requested features from developers. It currently works only for a subset of laptops, such as some from Toshiba, some from Dell, and some from Lenovo. Check the release notes for actual models supported from each vendor. However, suspend/resume does work for all Sun desktop computers.
- Packaging system update. Sun has added repository mirrors, with lots of mirror sites being rolled out around the world. This includes a better search engine for finding packages, a new package GUI, and better package classification to make it easier to organize and work with packages.
- New Update Manager. This feature now works like Microsoft Windows' or Apple OS X's software update facility, where it looks for updates and notifies you when they're ready to be downloaded and installed.
- Operational improvements to Network Auto Magic.
- Graphical boot. A more visually appealing startup of OpenSolaris, instead of text-based output.
- The PrintManager has been updated to provide better support for plug-and-print functionality.
- Updates to the web application stack. Now includes Drupals, MediaWiki, Django, and many more.
OpenSolaris Community Support
Sun has done a lot of work to help build the community around OpenSolaris. To start, they've added new software repositories. In the past, there was one repository where updates to any portion of OpenSolaris were added about every two weeks under a "buyer beware" policy. With this model, early adopters of these updates ran the risk of getting code that may have broken previously working features, or that impacted overall stability. To avoid this, Sun now offers five different OpenSolaris repositories:
- The Release Repository: a more stable version of the latest OpenSolaris updates. This includes fewer kernel changes. Mainly, this repository will contain new and updated applications around the OpenSolaris core.
- The Developer Repository: similar to the previous model, with two-week updates to the entire code base including the kernel. This is the "bleeding edge" repository for OpenSolaris.
- The Extras Repository: contains encumbered software packages; requires customer to accept third-party licensing. The components placed here are out of the hands of Sun from a legal point. Examples are Flash, RealPlayer, some drivers and fonts, and so on.
- The Support Repository: for paid support, this is where patches and updates go (similar to Solaris 10 updates) for supported deployments.
- The Contributor Repository: for community contributions. Software posted here does not go through Sun's current process (which in the past included legal due-diligence, quality control, the insertion of DTrace probe points, and so on.) This removes legal and procedural choke-points for software/application contributions to OpenSolaris. To be fair and open, the community policy includes key, non-Sun, contributors who will vote on changes and software additions.
Also new is Package Factory which works like a web crawler or robot, where it automatically crawls and compiles application source code for OpenSolaris. There are about 2000 packages already created by this robot which will be made available with this release.
In addition, Automated Installer is a new application that works with the OpenSolaris Distribution Constructor to create an OS image, and then deploy en-masse to large numbers of servers. This will also aid in creating OpenSolaris-based appliances for embedded use.
The Next Release
After this release, OpenSolaris development will continue to move onward. The April release will include:
- Crossbow (Sun's updated network stack for application-dedicated network bandwidth)
- A 100% complete Distribution Constructor
- A 100% complete Automated Installer application
- Sparc support for OpenSolaris (although this will be available in pre-release form in January)


text:
True-blue Cosmo girls know this sassy quote was emblazoned on a pillow in the office of our magazine's late, legendary editor-in-chief, Helen Gurley Brown. (It was just one of her many classic quotes.)
Now it's a bitchin' custom cross-stitch crafted exclusively for Cosmo readers by Katie Kutthroat, the delightfully prickly needlepointer behind multiple designs in Lena Dunham's fictional apartment on Girls (like the "Best F****** Friends Forever" piece hanging in Hannah and Elijah's bathroom) AND YOU CAN ENTER TO WIN IT JUST BY COMMENTING ON THIS POST!
You too can sass up your apartment with this custom design by Katie, whose pieces featured on Girls also include the tongue-in-cheek "You're a hooker," and "Just Sayin.'" One of our faves in her Etsy shop? "Freaky Deakies Need Love Too."
"I come from a very conservative, Southern Baptist, Republican, straight-laced family, but I'm not like that at all," Katie (real last name: Weeks) told Cosmopolitan.com. "There's always that one rebellious child... I guess that was me."
To be automatically entered to win Katie's custom Cosmo cross-stitch, (which will come with a hot pink ceramic frame, retail value $55), just leave a comment below any time before Feb. 18 at 11:59pm. Come back on Feb. 19 to see if you won! And check out the official sweepstakes rules here.
Update: We've selected a winner. Congratulations to Elizabeth Jean Santiago! Thanks to all for entering. Check out Katie's Etsy shop for more amazing sassy needlepoint designs.
Photo Credit: Katie Kutthroat
Follow Michelle on Twitter.


text:
Cart is empty
The healthisleep range from Shire has been specifically designed with your health requirements in mind. The duo temp is available with a combination of both a warm and cool sides to help keep you warm on those cold winder nights with layers of pure new lambs wool and cashmere and when summer comes along you can flip the mattress for a cooler more comfortable nights sleep.
1500 pocket springs
Warm Side fillings include: Cashmere fabric cover, Polyester, Pure new wool with cashmere, pure lambswool, polyester
Cool side fillings include: Cool plus fabric cover, polyester, cotton and microbond layer
|Mattress Depth
|Manufacturer Warranty
|1 Year(s)
|Spring Type
Pocket Springs
|Spring Count
|Filling Type
|Comfort Level
|Shire Beds
|2 (2 reviews) (2)
|5 stars:
|2 review(s)
|4 stars:
|0 review(s)
|3 stars:
|0 review(s)
|2 stars:
|0 review(s)
|1 stars:
|0 review(s)
Circumstances when prices cannot be matched
1) The product is displayed on an Auction website
2) The website does not have a direct trading account with the supplier
3) The full and final delivered price is not available on the competitors website
4) The item is not an identical product
5) Pricing error: Outdated, discontinued prices on competitor website
6) The product is shown on an affiliate / Comparison website. (The product must be compared on a UK trading website and able to accept payment).
7) Price matches will not be made retrospectively, i.e once an order has already been placed or delivered.
8) Price matches will be made on the same delivery basis as the competitor unless agreed otherwise.
9) To receive the free gift the item must first be delivered into our warehouse.


text:
Carbonic maceration: sure, I know what that is…
Carbonic maceration has been part of my wine vocabulary for years now. I have been able to tell you that it's commonly used for Beaujolais, lends to fresh and fruity red wines, and involves fermenting whole grapes. I thought that I had a reasonable grasp of the concept. I wasn't afraid to choose it as my variable in the experimental red wine making we're doing in class this fall.
Last Thursday evening, I came home from a grape harvesting trip, looking forward to a Friday spent processing the merlot we had just unloaded into the student winery. I thought it would be interesting to do a little internet research on the carbonic maceration (CM) technique. Anticipating a simple afternoon of gently tossing whole grape clusters into our fermenting tanks, I hoped to find a tip or two to differentiate our group's wine from the rest.
Within about ten minutes, the scales fell off my eyes and I realized that I had blithely tossed "carbonic maceration" into conversations for years while remaining almost totally ignorant of its implications. And what might those be? That depends.
The Oxford Companion to Wine, Jancis Robinson:
" Carbonic maceration is a red wine-making process which transforms a small amount of sugar in grapes which are uncrushed into ethanol, without the intervention of yeasts. It is used typically to produce light-bodied, brightly coloured, fruity red wines for early consumption, most famously but by no means exclusively in the Beaujolais region of France."
Concepts in Wine Chemistry, Yair Margalit (2nd ed):
"This is a special kind of fermentation which utilizes the ability of enzymes present naturally in grapes, to transform some small amount of sugar into ethanol. The process is eventually stopped by the accumulating alcohol which poisons the berry cells at about 2% ethanol."
Some references make no mention of adding CO2, some insist that some of the grapes involved must be crushed by the weight of the grapes above, and some make a point of grapes remaining attached to the stems in whole clusters. Some say that, following some period (1-2 weeks) of CM, the juice is pressed off and final fermentation occurs without the skins, but not all make this point, either. Wikipedia seems to think that any wine that undergoes conventional yeast-driven fermentation following CM is properly only "semi-carbonic maceration." Technically true, perhaps, but I don't find the semantic distinction helpful.
In terms of practical commercial winemaking, removing grapes from the stems inevitably involves some degree of crushing, and any tank is big enough that grapes at the bottom will be crushed by grapes at the top. Then, of course, there is our little experimental wine making lab, the peculiar conditions of which may be the source of some of my confusion. Our "carbonic maceration" ferments are entirely whole berry – even the grapes at the bottom – and perhaps only 50% remain attached to the stems. Then again, I doubt you will ever see a commercial winemaker spend three hours carefully shoving whole Merlot grapes into a 5-gallon glass carboy on a Friday afternoon.
Why bother?
Tannins: Ignoring the references for a moment, I can infer some likely consequences of CM on tannins. Tannins are found principally in grape skins, and different tannins are found in different layers of the skin. It is common, if mostly empirical and anecdotal knowledge, that tearing up red grape skins results in harsher tannins. This is a major motivating factor for gentler processing via gravity-flow rather than mechanical pump transfer, punch-downs versus pump-overs, and gentle crushing to release juice without pulverizing skins. If fermentation begins inside a whole grape, therefore:
1. Less total tannin will be transferred from the skin to the juice contained inside the grape per unit time. On the other hand, CM usually allows for a longer total contact time betwixt juice and skin. Since the kinetics of tannin-transfer are different, the type and feel of tannins should be different, too.
2. The tannins present in the inner layers of the grape skin will preferentially migrate into the fermenting grape interior, while minimal tannins will be extracted from the outer skin layers.
Aromatics: Chemical analyses have shown that the "characteristic bouquet" of CM wines is related to higher levels of volatiles like vinylbenzene, benzaldehyde, ethyl cinnamate, and ethyl phenylacetate, to name just a few. A paper published in 1992 in the American Journal of Enology and Viticulture showed that a whole slew of free and bound monoterpenes increased in grapes treated to carbonic maceration for nine days. In this case, "carbonic maceration" meant storing whole grapes (Muscat canelli) in CO2 gas at 32°C (about 90°F.) Monoterpenes are a class of hydrocarbons related to floral-fruity aromas in grapes (and other fruits.) An overall higher concentration of monoterpenes, and a higher ratio of monoterpenes to other aromatic compounds, explains the "fresh and fruity" nose of wines processed by CM.
Acid: Simultaneous with fermentation of glucose, grape enzymes ferment malic acid – as much as 50% of the total concentration – to ethanol. Malic acid, a sharp-tasting acid found at high concentrations in grapes, is converted to lactic acid by bacteria during malolactic fermentation in most red wines. This "maloalcoholic fermentation" means that CM wines can forgo malolactic fermentation, avoid buttery-soft lactic flavors while decreasing sharp malic flavors, and maintain the perception of high acidity with lower actual acidity.
Start looking, and it seems as though CM is much more widespread than the classic Beaujolais example would lead one to believe. In Rioja (particularly the Alavesa sub-region), Spanish winemakers use CM to foster fruitier flavors in temperanillo wines intended for blending. A similar concept to Beajoulais nouveau; "temperanillo" literally means "young red wine" in Spanish. New world winemakers from California to Australia making "Nouveau"-style wines have taken up the technique with Gamay as well as other varietals.
Unanswered questions
1. Fermentation – the conversion of sugar into alcohol with release of CO2 – is usually catalyzed by microorganisms like the yeast Saccharomyces cerivisiae in winemaking. In CM, fermentation is catalyzed by native grape enzymes. (Side note: because the grapes retain active enzymatic activity, some folks classify the grapes involved in CM as still alive. "Help! I'm being fermented alive!") There must be a difference in the products of non-microbial versus microbial fermentation. Yeast (and fermenting bacteria) produce all sorts of other, often flavorful and/or aromatic compounds as part of fermentative metabolism. Are the non-microbial enzymes so specific that they yield nothing but ethanol and CO2? Or do these enzymes yield their own unique set of fermentative byproducts? "An overview" of CM from 1989 says that succinic acid, shikimic acid, and glycerol are also formed, but methinks this is a gross oversimplification.
2. Wikipedia, amongst other sources, says that CM ferments "most of the juice while it is still inside the grape." My handy wine chemistry textbook suggests that grape-derived fermentative enzymes are inhibited by ethanol concentrations above 2%. Does this mean that the inevitable juice spontanously released in a tank of whole grapes, in collusion with the virtually inevitable native yeasts that will find and ferment such juice, can and do raise CM ethanol levels substantially higher?
And what about those 5-gallon carboys shoved full of whole merlot grapes and topped off with nitrogen gas (since I couldn't find a CO2 tank but had N2 readily at hand)? Two days later, no visible change. I'll take pictures and keep you posted.


text:
Ryonn Dale Vealey Clute and Christopher Allan Drobney exchanged their wedding vows Oct. 5, 2013 in Pentwater.
The bride is the daughter of Rogill Clute of Alpena, and Richard Clute of Alpena and Ann Arbor. The groom is the son of Cory Davis of Okemos, and Roger and Ning Nong Drobney of Williamston.
Following the beach ceremony, a cocktail hour and dinner took place in Pentwater.
Ryonn is a graduate of Interlochen Arts Academy and the University of Michigan. She is currently the senior marketing manager for the Wharton Center for Performing Arts in East Lansing. Chris is a graduate of Lansing Catholic Central High School and received his undergraduate degree from the University of Michigan, followed by a dual MBA and Master's Degree in Real Estate Development from the University of Southern California. He is the owner of HDI Builders, LLC in Okemos.
The couple reside in Lansing.


text:
BATON ROUGE — A Terrebonne Parish prosecutor running for a judgeship in the 1st Circuit Court of Appeal said a pagination error on mail ballots could potentially endanger his campaign.
BATON ROUGE — A Terrebonne Parish prosecutor running for a judgeship in the 1st Circuit Court of Appeal said a pagination error on mail ballots could potentially endanger his campaign.
Republican Chris Erny of Houma said mail ballots sent to those who requested them shows his last name as "Emy."
In all, 3,887 absentee ballots were mailed out using a font that squeezes together the "r" and "n" in his last name, making it appear as if a "J. Christopher Emy" is running.
Of that count, state official say 692 were mailed out to voters in Terrebonne Parish and another 441 to those in Lafourche.
The candidate said some voters have already contacted him to report that his name was "excluded," since many know him simply as "Chris" and didn't know to look for "J. Christopher," which is how it's listed on the ballot.
It adds a new twist to what is the only competitive race in the 1st Circuit Court of Appeal.
The court's 1st District, Division B spans eight parishes and includes all of Ascension, Assumption, Iberville, Lafourche, Pointe Coupee, St. Mary, Terrebonne and West Baton Rouge.
As a result of the mishap, a legal challenge is not out of the question, Erny said.
"If it's very close or we don't make the runoff, that's something we'll have to consider," he said.
Erny added he asked the Secretary of State's Office to print and mail new ballots, but it was too late in the process.
Secretary of State Tom Schedler said he was aware of what happened and blamed it on the limited space of mail ballots, an issue he said his office has asked the Legislature to address in the past.
"Ballot spacing for presidential elections has been problematic before, and I have offered legislation that would result in additional printing space, but to date we have not been completely successful," Schedler said. "We will continue our efforts during the upcoming legislative session and hopefully convince the Legislature to assist in this matter for future elections."
Municipal judge and former state Rep. Mitch Theriot, a Republican from Mathews, is also running, as is fellow Republican Mark Plaisance, a resident of Thibodaux who served as city judge for Baker for six years.
From the northern end of the division, District Judge William DuPont, a Democrat from Plaquemine, is on the ballot, too.
Jeremy Alford can be reached at email@example.com.


text: You guys, we made it! Another week has come and gone, and we survived hurricanes, storms and the election! Wowzers. Let's celebrate with a wall of cute. Like this lil guy, seen on Bunny Food. Below, feel free to post cute puppy gifs, baby hedgehog videos, your own pet pix, or whatever you've got that makes you squee. Yay Friday!


text:
A very old definition of prayer described it as "the raising of the heart and mind to God." What is the "mind"? What is the "heart?"
The mind is what thinks – it question, plans, worries, fantasizes. The heart is what knows – it loves. The mind is the organ of knowledge, the heart the organ of love.
Mental consciousness must eventually give way and open up to the fuller way of knowing which is heart consciousness. Love is complete knowledge.
Most of our training in prayer, however, is limited to the mind. We were taught as children to say our prayers, to ask God for what we or others need. But this is only half of the mystery of prayer.
The other half is the prayer of the heart where we are not thinking of God or talking to him or asking for anything. We are simply being with God who is in us in the Holy Spirit whom Jesus has given us.
The Holy Spirit is the love, the relationship of love that flows between Father and Son. It is this Spirit Jesus has breathed into every human heart. Meditation then, is the prayer of the heart uniting us with the human consciousness of Jesus in the Spirit.
"We do not even know how to pray but the Spirit himself prays within us." (Romans 8:26)
For mental prayer-praying in words or using thoughts about God – we can make rules. There are many 'methods of mental prayer", but for the prayer of the heart there is no technique, no rules. "Where the Spirit is, there is liberty" (2 Corinthians 3:17)
Contemplative prayer is not the privilege of monks and nuns or special mystical types. It is a dimension of prayer to which we are called.
It is not about extraordinary experiences or altered states of consciousness. It is what Thomas Aquinas called "the simple enjoyment of the truth."
William Blake spoke of the need to "cleanse the doors of perception"' so that we can see everything as it truly is: infinite."
This is call about the contemplative consciousness as lived in ordinary life. Meditation leads us to this and it is part of the whole mystery of prayer in the life of any person who is seeking fullness of being.
Christian Meditation
"Your Daily Practice"
Fr. Laurence Freeman, OSB
We invite you to reflect on the reading from 'Your Daily Practice' and how it may resonate with the spiritual principles of the 12 steps of recovery; in particular the 11th Step – "Sought through prayer and meditation to improve our conscious contact with God, as we understood him, praying only for knowledge of his will for us and the power to carry that out."
PRAYER - Step 11, 12x12 p 102
Now what of prayer?? Prayer is the raising of the heart and mind to God – and in this sense it includes meditation. How can we go about it? And how does it fit in with meditation? Prayer is commonly understood as a petition to God.
MEDITATION - Step 11, 12x12 p 101
Meditation is something which can always be further developed. It has no boundaries, either of width or height. Aided by such instruction and example as we can find, it is essentially an individual adventure, something which each one of us works out in his own way. But its object is always the same; to improve our conscious contact with God, with His grace, wisdom and love. And let's always remember that meditation is in reality intensely practical. One of its first fruits is emotional balance. With it we can broaden and deepen the channel between ourselves and God as we understand Him.
Passages from the Big Book Alcoholics Anonymous and the Twelve Steps and Twelve Traditions are reprinted with permission of A.A. World Services, Inc. The A.A. Preamble, copyright © The A.A. Grapevine, Inc., is reprinted with permission. Permission to reprint does not in any way imply affiliation with or endorsement by Alcoholics Anonymous or The A.A. Grapevine, Inc.


text:
Saturday, November 28, 2009
A Question for Book Lovers
I have a lot of vintage books- some in better shape than others- and I'm curious about what folks do with their older dust jackets. Like do you keep brittle, less-than-mint jackets on the books, or store them separately? I was reticent to ask, since I don't want the news that I know how to read to get out. So shh.
ps - Har har har! Tweed book jacket, he says! What an hilarious intellectual joke. I just so happen to be tossing around some interesting concepts for foldable school textbook covers, actually. And when they come out, we're all going back to school, just for fun!
5 comments:
- paminabox said...
I tend to scan them, both sides actually. You have the wonderful image for however long you want. If they're water damaged or a little weird they kind of make amazing textures when you're working on things in photoshop.
- November 28, 2009 1:28 AM
- drono said...
go back to the libary, nerd.
- November 28, 2009 3:19 PM
- we're having a moment said...
Yo Spacesick, doing some College Thesis Research:
were you influenced by The Face or i-D magazine growning up?
thanks big fan
- November 29, 2009 1:31 PM
- Christina Huther said...
Seconding paminabox: scan it. I chuck my old cruddy dust jackets, so I could really use some dapper tweed ones for my naked books.
- November 29, 2009 4:17 PM
- DonsSword said...
If the book is going to get some regular use, I have some cool oversized Ikea filing boxes I throw my dust jackets into. I generally do that with all my kid's book, anything I am reading, or anything that I know is going to get handled a lot. Its great for old worn and torn up jackets, as you can minimize their wear, but still have them in the even u choose to sell the book or want to re-jacket it onto a less trafficed bookshelf
- December 05, 2009 3:57 PM


text:
Perfect for winter walks in the city or snowball fights while braving the cold. These cute gloves with a nappa leather palm and fleece lining are made in high quality wool to guarantee warmth and function to withstand the most bitter temperatures.
- Product details
Product details
- Two-way stretch nylon gloves with nappa leather palm and fleece lining
- Elastic cuffs
- Embroidered Moncler lettering on tab of left hand
- Unisex accessory
- Composition & Care
Item Composition & Care
CompositionLINING: 100% Polyester; Embroidery: 100% Polyester; BASE FABRIC: 87% Polyamide / Nylon, 13% Elastane / Spandex;LEATHER OUTER APPLICATION: LAMB
Do not wash; Do not bleach; Do not tumble dry; Do not iron; Do not dry clean; Do not professionally wet clean; Dry flat; Wash separately; Wash in professional laundry for leather
- Shipping & Returns
Shipping & Returns
We provide free pick up for your returns: you have 15 days from delivery to follow our quick and easy return procedure. For further information visit the Returns and Refunds section.


text:
Falcons 23, Cardinals 19: Michael Turner scored the go-ahead touchdown from a yard out with 6:40 left and Atlanta survived quarterback Matt Ryan's worst game of the season to rally past visiting Arizona and preserve the NFC's best record.
Turner's run capped a seven-play, 70-yard drive that resulted in the only offensive touchdown of the day for Atlanta (9-1), which remarkably won despite six turnovers.
The Cardinals benched quarterback John Skelton in the first half after he completed 2 of 7 passes for six yards, and turned over the reins to rookie sixth-round draft pick Ryan Lindley, who finished 9-of-20 for 64 yards.
Ryan had thrown just seven interceptions through nine games, but he threw three in the first quarter and another late in the third to set up a Jay Feely 27-yard field goal that gave Arizona a 19-16 lead. His fifth of the day set up the Cardinals at the Atlanta 32 with an opportunity to win it, but Lindley threw incomplete on fourth-and-2 and the Falcons ran out the clock.
Arizona led 13-0 when it benched Skelton, but three Matt Bryant field goals and a 15-yard fumble return by Jonathan Babineaux - on a fumble by Lindley - helped the Falcons pull even at 16 at halftime.
GAME NOTEBOOK: Turner's go-ahead touchdown was his 56th as a Falcon, tying him with Andre Rison for the second-most in franchise history. ⦠Atlanta improved to 28-11 under coach Mike Smith in games decided by one score. ⦠Cardinals CB/PR Patrick Peterson left with a hamstring injury in the fourth quarter.


text:
See a larger version
Candelaria Suazo, Santa Clara, Miniature black jar with sienna spot and sgraffito hummingbird, avanyu and geometric design
Pueblo: Santa Clara
Dimensions: 1 1/2 in H by 2 in Dia
Item Number: xxscc9192m1
Price: $ 125
Description: Miniature black jar with sienna spot and sgraffito hummingbird, avanyu and geometric design
Condition: Excellent
Signature: Candelaria Suazo Santa Clara Pueblo
Date Created: 2019
Candelaria Suazo
Santa Clara/
San Juan
Candelaria Suazo was born to Joe and Santanita Suazo of Santa Clara and San Juan Pueblos. She has been making pottery since she was 20 years old. Among her teachers and those who still inspire her are her mother and her sisters: Margie Naranjo, Martha Haungooah, Mae Tapia and Shirley Duran. Relatives Dolores Curran and Geri Naranjo also had a great influence on her work over the years.
Making pueblo pottery is a complex and time consuming occupation. The most critical moments are mixing the clay at the beginning preparations and in the last step, which is firing the finished pot outdoors. Candelaria digs and mixes her own clay. She uses a series of screens to sift and remove the impurities. Each pot is coiled and shaped by hand, not thrown on a wheel. No glazes are used, only a stone to polish the piece. The pot is fired outdoors in a traditional firing pit using "cow patties" and dry horse manure. To obtain a black finish, a reduction process is employed where the pots are smothered with a mix of ashes and pulverized manure.
Candelaria tells us her favorite shapes to work with include miniature bowls and vases. The sgraffito (etched) style that she specializes in is accomplished after the "smothering" process that turns the pottery black. A figure such as a finely etched "avanyu" (water serpent) will surround the entire pot. Often kiva steps and cloud designs will complete the work. Other favored designs are butterflies and/or hummingbirds that are intricately carved on opposite sides of a piece. She also uses a special technique that highlights part of a pot by reheating a section of the pot and changing its color.
Candelaria says, "I enjoy making pottery because I want to keep up the traditional art of pottery making that the pueblo of Santa Clara is known for." She exhibits at the Eight Northern Pueblos Arts and Crafts Show and has won several ribbons for 1st, 2nd and 3rd Places. She signs her work: "Candelaria Suazo, Santa Clara Pueblo."
Print this biography (.pdf)
Santa Clara Pueblo
Ruins at Puye Cliffs, Santa Clara Pueblo
Santa Clara Pueblo straddles the Rio Grande about 25 miles north of Santa Fe. Of all the pueblos, Santa Clara has the largest number of potters.
The ancestral roots of the Santa Clara people have been traced to the pueblos in the Mesa Verde region in southwestern Colorado. When that area began to get dry between about 1100 and 1300, some of the people migrated to the Chama River Valley and constructed Poshuouinge (about 3 miles south of what is now Abiquiu on the edge of the mesa above the Chama River). Eventually reaching two and three stories high with up to 700 rooms on the ground floor, Poshuouinge was inhabited from about 1375 to about 1475. Drought then again forced the people to move, some of them going to the area of Puye (on the eastern slopes of the Pajarito Plateau of the Jemez Mountains) and others to Ohkay Owingeh (San Juan Pueblo, along the Rio Grande). Beginning around 1580, drought forced the residents of the Puye area to relocate closer to the Rio Grande and they founded what we now know as Santa Clara Pueblo on the west bank of the river, between San Juan and San Ildefonso Pueblos.
In 1598 Spanish colonists from nearby Yunque (the seat of Spanish government near San Juan Pueblo) brought the first missionaries to Santa Clara. That led to the first mission church being built around 1622. However, the Santa Clarans chafed under the weight of Spanish rule like the other pueblos did and were in the forefront of the Pueblo Revolt of 1680. One pueblo resident, a mixed black and Tewa man named Domingo Naranjo, was one of the rebellion's ringleaders. When Don Diego de Vargas came back to the area in 1694, he found most of the Santa Clarans on top of nearby Black Mesa (with the people of San Ildefonso). An extended siege didn't subdue them so eventually, the two sides negotiated a treaty and the people returned to their pueblo. However, successive invasions and occupations by northern Europeans took their toll on the tribe over the next 250 years. The Spanish flu pandemic in 1918 almost wiped them out.
Today, Santa Clara Pueblo is home to as many as 2,600 people and they comprise probably the largest per capita number of artists of any North American tribe (estimates of the number of potters run as high as 1-in-4 residents).
Today's pottery from Santa Clara is typically either black or red. It is usually highly polished and designs might be deeply carved or etched ("sgraffito") into the pot's surface. The water serpent, ("avanyu"), is a traditional design motif of Santa Clara pottery. Another motif comes from the legend that a bear helped the people find water during a drought. The bear paw has appeared on their pottery ever since.
One of the reasons for the distinction this pueblo has received is because of the evolving artistry the potters have brought to the craft. Not only did this pueblo produce excellent black and redware, several notable innovations helped move pottery from the realm of utilitarian vessels into the domain of art. Different styles of polychrome redware emerged in the 1920's-1930's. In the early 1960's experiments with stone inlay, incising and double firing began. Modern potters have also extended the tradition with unusual shapes, slips and designs, illustrating what one Santa Clara potter said: "At Santa Clara, being non-traditional is the tradition." (This refers strictly to artistic expression; the method of creating pottery remains traditional).
Santa Clara Pueblo is home to a number of famous pottery families: Tafoya, Baca, Gutierrez, Naranjo, Suazo, Chavarria, Garcia, Vigil, Tapia - to name a few.
Santa Clara Pueblo at Wikipedia
Pueblos of the Rio Grande, Daniel Gibson, ISBN-13:978-1-887896-26-9, Rio Nuevo Publishers, 2001
Upper photo courtesy of Einar Kvaran, Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 3.0 Unported License
Print this Pueblo History(.pdf)
Pottery Care & Consideration
- The most obvious tip: Yes, the pots will break if you drop them!
- Do not expose pottery to water (Inside or outside). Do not wipe with a damp cloth.
- Dust pottery only with a soft, smooth cloth (no terry cloth or textured fabric). A very soft paintbrush (sable or camel) can be used.
- Always use two hands to carry your pot: one on top and one on the bottom, or one hand on each side. Be careful with handles, they can be fragile. Do not grip or lift pots by the rim. Take care when wearing jewelry, rings can scratch the finish.
- Place a piece of felt or cloth between the pot and the shelf to protect the signature.
- Avoid exposing pottery to extreme temperature changes.
For those who live in "earthquake country" (also good for mischievous pets):
- Weigh pots down with a small zip lock bag containing sand, glass marbles, rice, etc. Do not fill the pot more than one third full as you want them bottom heavy. Remember to remove the weight before moving.
- Secure your shelves; make sure they are well attached to the walls. Shelf brackets should be of sufficient length and strength to support the weight of your pottery.
- Prevent pots from sliding. Consider attaching a small wooden molding to the front of shelves. Line shelves with non-slip material (a thin sheet of rubber foam, Styrofoam sheeting, etc.)
- If you need assistance with special problems, major cleaning (your grandchild spills ice cream on your pot), restoration or repair (the cat breaks a pot), or replacement (irreparable damage), please feel free to call us.
We hope these ideas help you maintain the beauty and value of your pottery for years of enjoyment.
100 West San Francisco Street, Santa Fe, New Mexico 87501 (505) 986-1234
Santa Fe, NM 87501


text:
Peking Opera Mask Lesson Plan
1. Lesson Overview
A Lesson for Prospect Open Room, Students Ages 7 to 10, Grades 3 & 4
Designed by Loren Fawcett, Education Assistant, Allen Memorial Art Museum
Peking opera
(also known as Beijing Opera) has a history of over 200 years. The music originated from Xipi and Erhuang, in Anhui and Hubei, respectively, and over time techniques from many other local operas were incorporated.
Peking opera began when the famous four Anhui opera troupes came to Beijing after 1790. Peking opera developed quickly during the reign of Emperor Qianlong and the Empress Dowager Cixi under the imperial patron, and eventually became more accessible to the common people.
Long ago, Beijing Opera was performed on open-air stages in markets, streets, teahouses, or temple courtyards. In order to be heard over the crowds, the orchestra was forced to play loudly while the performers had to develop a piercing style of singing. The stages were lit by oil lamps and were so dim that the costumes were intentionally designed to be gawdy and made from harsh, contrasting colors.
Peking Opera is a harmonious combination of Grand Opera, Ballet and acrobatic display, In each performance, there is dancing, dialogue, monologue, acrobatic combat and mime. This type of opera is thus more physically demanding, requiring an actor or actress to be more diversely qualified than those in other forms of performing art. He or she has to be a performing artist, a singer, and a dancer at the same time. It usually takes the student more than ten years of training to learn singing and acrobatic skills. Therefore, it is often extremely difficult and challenging to become an able performer in Peking Opera.
Students will become familiar with Peking Opera.
Students will recognize symbolism in peking opera such as colors in make-up and costumery.
students will recognize and overcome stereotypes of Asians and Asian Americans in performing arts and media.
Students will design and create their own masks using the symbolism evident in peking opera masks.
Students will gain experience handling art materials such as paint and paintbrushes.
Academic Content Standards
Visual Arts
NA-VA K-4.1: Students use different media, techniques, and processes to communicate ideas, experiences, and stories.
NA-VA K-4.2: Students use visual structures and functions of art to communicate ideas.
NA-VA K-4.3: Students know the visual arts have both a history and specific relationships to various cultures.
NA-VA K-4.4: Students identify connections between the visual arts and other disciplines in the curriculum.
Ohio State Standards
Social Studies
Describe the cultural practices and products of people on different continents.
Describe ways in which language, stories, folktales, music and artistic creations serve as expressions of culture and influence the behavior of people living in a particular culture.
Demonstrate skills and explain the benefits of cooperation when working in group settings
Demonstrate self-direction in tasks within the school community
Obtain information from oral, visual and print sources.
Use mathematical strategies to solve problems that relate to other curriculum areas and the real world; e.g., use symmetry in artwork.
Visual Arts
Benchmark 1A: Recognize and describe visual art forms and artworks from various times and places.
Benchmark 1B: Use historical artworks such as paintings, photographs and drawings to answer questions about daily life in the past
Benchmark 2B: Establish and communicate a purpose for creating artworks. Identify, select and use art elements and principles to express emotions and produce a variety of visual effects.
Benchmark1C: Identify and describe the different purposes people have for creating works of art
Benchmark 2A:
Demonstrate knowledge of visual art materials, tools, techniques and processes by using them expressively and skillfully.
Benchmark 2B: Identify, select and use art elements and principles to express emotions and produce a variety of visual effects.
Benchmark 2D: Begin to revise artwork to a level of personal satisfaction.
Benchmark 3B: Use context clues to identify and describe the cultural symbols and images in artwork.
Benchmark 4A: Apply basic reasoning skills to understand why works of art are made and valued.
Benchmark 4C: Talk about their thoughts and feelings when looking at works of art.
Benchmark 5A: Demonstrate the relationship the visual arts share with other arts disciplines as meaningful forms of nonverbal communication. (Use visual art materials to express an idea from a song, poem, play, or story.)
Benchmark 5B: Use the visual arts as a means to understand concepts and topics studied in disciplines outside the arts.
Peking opera melody derived from Anhui and Hubei
A performing art consisting of a dramatic stage performance set to music
acting using gestures and body movements without spoken language
Peking Opera
Chinese musical drama using pantomime, symbolism, and
a form of clapper opera
Continue to:
2. Lesson Materials
Two 2nd grade students show off their completed 2-dimensional masks.
After transferring their designs with dry-erase markers from their sketchbooks to three-dimensional masks, students begin to add color with acrylic paint.
3-D Project example