text:
A fast and easily configurable operating system for your personal computer.
Meet Revenge OS, a Gnu Linux operating system based on Arch Linux. Revenge OS features a light and fast Arch Linux base, with the cutting edge software that Arch is known for, and a quick and easy installation process. The goal of Revenge OS is to provide an easily installed desktop operating system with all of the power and customization of an Arch Linux base. Revenge OS is light on system resources, making it perfect for lower spec hardware, older machines, or those who simply want to save precious system resources for the work that they are doing. You don't have to choose to have either a nice looking and customizable system or a light and fast system, Revenge OS has got you covered with both!
Ready for all of your needs
Surfing the web
OBRevenge OS is ready to get you online and posting/chatting in minutes. There is support for video, audio, and anything else you need!
Documents and Spreadsheets
With several office suites to choose from, getting your work done will be no problem.
No matter what your programming, see why Linux is the OS of choice for programmers.


text:
29th January, 2016
9 Empowering TED Talks That Will Zoom You Towards Success
Want to find out how successful people become successful? Actually, they share common qualities that have allowed them to do well in their particular field.
Health psychologist, Kelly McGonigal, tells about a study that changed how she viewed stress.
Do you believe that stress is bad for your health? McConigal discovered that by changing how you feel about stress, you can change your body's response in a positive way. When you think positively about stress, you make your stress response healthier.
Find out why the way you think about stress matters, particularly when you convince yourself that "This is my body helping me rise to this challenge."
4. You'll zoom towards success if you possess true grit.
Psychologist Angela Duckworth, a seventh grade teacher, learned from student work and observation that IQ was not the only factor separating her most and least academically gifted students.
What she found as the most important element for success was unexpected. Grit was the surprise element. She discusses why grit is so important and why it is an essential ingredient to build up in yourself if you want to be successful.
5. You'll zoom towards success if you understand that when you're happy you work better.
Positive psychologist, Shawn Achor, discusses his view of happiness as it relates to work results. Instead of seeing happiness as something we receive when we reach a goal, he aims to encourage us to start out with happiness.
Do you believe you should work hard to be successful so that you can be happier? Or does positivity in the present produce happiness which then inspires you to become more productive?
Achor suggests techniques that help us rewire the brain so we can change our understanding of being happy. "When we're happy and positive, our brains work more optimistically and more successfully."
6. You'll zoom towards success if you expand your creativity.
Writer and radio producer, Julie Burstein, uses her favorite forms of art to show how to be creative.
Burstein shares 4 lessons in creativity. She explains that "experience, challenge and limitations are all things we need to embrace for creativity to flourish."
She vividly illustrates the life cycle that we all live – the cycle of creation and destruction, of control and letting go, of picking up the pieces and making something new.
According to Burstein, creativity allows you to see things in a new way. It is an essential part of being successful in your own area of expertise.
7. You'll zoom towards success if you deal with procrastination as it arises.
Vik Nithy was founder of 3 companies by the age of 20. In this video, he explains why people procrastinate and how it becomes a battle between two different parts of our brains.
Vik recommends that to overcome procrastination, we need to plan the process by visualizing it. When you see the task in your mind, the brain is convinced that you've done it before. This means that visualization can help you eliminate procrastination.
This talk provides a few effective ideas for you to deal with procrastination, in order to expand your productivity and level of success.
8. You'll zoom towards success if you make videos that go viral.
YouTube's Trends Manager, Kevin Allocca, shows various videos and explains exactly why they went viral.
Another string to your success bow could be the creation of your own viral videos. Allocca shares the three key ingredients he has discovered to help you become famous on YouTube.
Watch this video for ways that you can also reach the masses in creative ways, thereby building your success.
9. You'll zoom towards success if you schedule time off for yourself.
Graphic designer, Stefan Sagmeister talks about the importance of taking time off work for rest and recovery. However, his idea of "time off" is out of the ordinary.
Instead of waiting for retirement so you can relax, he inserts his holidays into his yearly routine, and takes one year off in every seven. While this might not be the type of holiday you'd be planning on taking, his reasons for doing so should motivate you to ar least take "time out" for yourself on a regular basis.
That is his road to success. You might be surprised at the benefits he finds from taking regular "time out".
The above TED Talks contain many actionable ideas. I hope you've been inspired and motivated to take action on some of them, and move you forward on your success journey.
Source: http://www.lifehack.org/343813/9-empowering-ted-talks-that-will-zoom-you-towards-success

subset: commoncrawl


text:
Large family Bungalow with a Sidi Kaouki beach view, with an area of 90 m² which has a large bedroom with a double bed, a bedroom with two single beds, a large living room, a fully equipped kitchen with dining area, a bathroom with shower and a terrace.
150 Dhs / day
300 Dhs / day
250 Dhs / day
90 m²
1 Large Double Bed & 2 single beds.
Restoration on request
Free WIFI access
Capacity of 6 people: 4 Adults + 2 Childs
Sea View
Fully Equipped Kitchen, TV, Refrigerator, Safe.
24h Room service.
Bungalow Garden & Pool View
Discover our splendid family bungalow, relaxation and refreshing guaranteed between a beautiful beach and a wild nature.


text:
Earlier this month I stumbled on this story in the NYT about a South Asian noodle dish called Laksa. Of course I had to try it. Sadly, I'd have to travel to New York (or at the very least Chicago, maybe) to order up a bowl. I thought I would forgo the plane fare and make some myself.
I felt braced about my chances of success since I am fortunate to live near the amazing Global Foods Market, which I stop by at least three times a week. If they ever went away I might have to move. Seriously, it wouldn't be good.
My first step was tracking down a recipe. For that I headed to the web. What I found was a lot of sites with endless variations on laksa. Even the name isn't really standardized. There's also curry mee, which is similar.
What I found was that there are two components to the dish: the laksa paste and the soup. I found a workable paste recipe and then combined that with a relatively simple soup recipe from another site.
Even in my well equipped Global Foods store, I couldn't find a couple of things like coriander root and lime leaves. I didn't ask, though, since I'm a guy.
Here's my version of the laksa paste recipe:
Laksa Paste (the list is long but it can be vanquished pretty easily)
½ cup of dried shrimps soaked in warm water until soft
1 red chili (these come in big packages so I substituted a couple drops of chili oil)
1 tsp turmeric
6cm/2½in piece of *galangal or root ginger, peeled
(I used root ginger)
3 coriander roots or 1 packet coriander
(couldn't find this so I used around a tsp. of coriander seeds)
4-5 hearts of lemon grass (tough outer leaves removed)
(lots of cutting to get at the soft hearts, but worth it)
6 shallots, peeled
3 cloves garlic, peeled
6 candle nuts or macadamia nuts
(I used macadamia nuts–no problem)
10 mint leaves
10 lime leaves, rib removed
(couldn't find so I left them out–maybe they'll get
some in at some point)
1½ tsp ground coriander
1 tsp blachan (dried shrimp paste)
(this they had in their small Indonesian section)
Put all of the ingredients in a food processor and grind away. (I tried using the blender but found the food processor works just as well.) You get a sort of thick paste that works for several doses of soup. I put it in the fridge with plastic wrap pressed down on it. It should last a couple of weeks.
Here's my recipe for the soup:
The cooking portion of the recipe uses the following ingredients:
1 14 oz. can lite coconut milk
2 cups chicken stock
1.75 oz. medium rice noodles (I bought a lot and just used
a good handful per bowl)
2-3 tbsp laksa paste (see above)
The following ingredients are put into each bowl to await the broth:
.25 lb. cooked large prawns, from a sustainable source
(You can also you faux crab, dumplings, frozen shrimp or anything else that you might have around)
¼ cucumber, seeds removed and cut into strips
I've also added half of a hard boiled egg
These go in at the very end, after the broth is done.
juice of half a lime
a small bunch cilantro
a handful bean sprouts
Putting it all together:
Pour hot water over the rice stick noodles and let them soften.
(Mine never really got soft like this so I boiled 'em like pasta. Worked great.)
In a good sized sauce pan, combine 2-3 tbs. of the laksa paste
with a couple of tablespoons of the coconut milk over medium high heat. After a few minutes, add the chicken broth and the rest of the coconut milk. Let this simmer while you load up a couple of bowls with the list above, leaving the bean sprouts, cilantro and lime for the final flourish. After 15 minutes or so, the broth will have thickened a bit. I strained mine into the bowls but it's up to you.
Add your final garnishes and enjoy.
Here's what my first bowl looked like:


text:
What's in My Fridge
When it comes to beer, Thanksgiving can be a challenging day. There is so much delicious goodness and so many incredible, wide-ranging flavors. But therein lies the problem: How do you pair a beer with turkey, gravy, buttery mashed potatoes, sweet and savory squash and tart cranberry sauce?


text:
"Basket Case," Kiran said. "That song is my life right now."
"Am I the the shrink or the whore?" I opened iTunes and typed in Green Day. No results. My harddrive crashed recently, amputating my music library.
"I dunno," he answered. "Before you asked that, I would have said the shrink."
I asked, "And now?" I left the room to rifle through my CD collection, grabbed two Green Day CDs: INTERNATIONAL SUPERHITS! and American Idiot.
"I dunno."
Rip "Boulevard of Broken Dreams."
I walk a lonely road, the only one that I have ever known. I don't know where it goes.
I walk this empty street on the boulevard of broken dreams. The whole city sleeps and I'm the only one, I walk alone.
My song for while I was working the overnight shift for Allied Barton. Not that I listened to it while working there–I don't even think I had it at the time–but I can't listen to it now without thinking about that time.
In those hours boston was my city, those dark, starless hours of night, all the lights of Mass General were on and all the roads unused. I owned the city for a few lonely but potent moments. A civilization's infrastructure at my disposal for no particular purpose: I did not have the wheels the concrete was placed down for; I had no use for the buildings around me.
Near 11pm, I would leave my rowhouse on Cambridge Street, and then I felt like Prufrock, awkward in my stiff short-sleeve Oxford and uncomfortable blackish uniform pants. One night some girls stopped to flirt with me, drunk enough to think a collared man in a hurry would make fair sport. Another night, an SUV drove by and a man leaned out the window and yelled URKLE at me. My hope is that he was drunk, too.
Left onto Blossom, and the Holiday Inn attendants always looked at me funny. I was the wrong color and income bracket to work an overnight security shift, and they all knew it. It took me a few years to realize it, but at its core Boston is a racist town, and I was taking a good job away from a black man who was likely in more need of regular money than me.
Do I need to defend these statements? All but two of my coworkers were black, one an overweight white man and one a Latina. My manager was black, as were his bosses. The only healthy whites I saw worked in corporate, where the color ratio was again established in a way I had seen before, white majority. Everyone at Hawthorne had worked the job for years, the young ones only four but the oldest among them for fifteen and twenty. I only stayed for four months, and I could see it in the Holiday Inn workers' eyes that even they knew I wasn't cut out for the work.
Hours alone in my little office. Close both windows and turn on the space heater; it's the only way to get by in those Boston nights. The winter chill settled into Boston around one each night, though none of the daydwellers would ever know because the more comfortable fall weather came back with the morning sun. Do some homework. Get restless. Wonder why you don't write, and then don't. Wonder why you don't, ad infinitum.
On my break at three o'clock, the city held a different story. Ashley liked me to come home on these breaks even though she had to wake up in the morning, so I would walk home. I lingered in the streets, daring cars to round the bend and give me a thrill of fear, but none ever did. Brick rose up as high as my limited perspective could see, and fluorescent lights flooded into the streets, and no one ever disturbed the windows.
I liked to walk through the hospital's campus instead of around the corner with the gas station–the homeless didn't go into those streets because of the private security patrol–but either way I had to pass the oxygen tanks, which for some reason reeked of death and fungus every night. Fog fell off them like a cheap movie stunt, which always put me in the mood for an adventure with a building caddycorner:
At one point a rowhouse, MGH had snatched it up and turned it into some research facility, the windows boarded up so no one could look in and yet things definitely went on in there. Someone had also posted a Biohazard sign near the door, RFID'd and coded rather than just locked. Now the building stood isolated on the corner of two small streets, surrounded on one side by a parking lot and the other by a parking structure. What exactly went on in that dilapidated building that they hadn't just torn it down like the others for more parking space? Were there people in there now, as I passed by? Was the zombie apocalypse going to begin across the street from my home? Could this be the exact scenario by which writers come to write scary movies and zombie apocalypses? And then, because every night I would forget, a blast of warm and humid air smacked me in the face, and it smelled almost like exhaust against the cold and crisp night air. Every night with that fucking vent. And then I'd be at Cambridge Street and then home.
Only once did I disturb a man sleeping in my building's entryspace. I opened the open door and reach my key out towards the lock on the closed door, and there underneath me was an apologetic man: I'm so sorry, he said as he scrambled to get something together on the floor, perhaps the never-attended-to and always-accumulating stack of Beacon Hill Times. Flustered, I told him, "It's no problem," but I had to wait for him to leave before I could move into the building. It made me sad when I came back down that night and he wasn't there; I would not have begrudged him a night's sleep.
Kalli would always hear me climbing up the four flights of stairs, and she would hop out of bed with a thunderous clomp as her long nails hit the wood floor. Then she would skitter in front of the door until I opened it like a young child capable of waiting with excitement at any time of day. Clip clip clip her nails would click, waking Ashley just enough so that when I came in she could say, "Hi, honey," before turning over and falling back asleep. I would kiss her before going into the kitchen to reheat my dinner, and out of sympathy I would sit with my laptop in the living room and do something silent. Always during the day she would say she liked it better when I sat in the bedroom to eat.
When did I start playing World of Warcraft again? That job, that Allied Barton job, played a direct hand in it, as did Ashley wanting me to be awake on the weekends to spend time with her. At least twice per week I had to change my sleep schedule, and for a while TV was enough to stay up for thirty-six hours, but always after watching enough TV I'll start playing video games: one is a much more engaging format than the other. And though Ashley knew the role WoW had played in the dissolution of my relationship with Sarah, her fight against it was minimal. Sometimes then, after scarfing dinner, I would watch quietly a TV show; later I would log into WoW and do part of the leveling to 80. On occasion I would jot notes that had filled my head while walking home.
Whew, that's about as much as I can get down this morning. I hope it's worth something to someone other than me, even if it's not finished.


text:
Register now to Crestfall Gaming. Once registered and logged in, you will be able to contribute to this site by submitting your own content or replying to existing content. You'll be able to customize your profile, receive reputation points as a reward for submitting content, while also communicating with other members via your own private inbox, plus much more! This message will be removed once you have signed in.
Content count16
Last visited
Community Reputation30 Excellent
About Cephei
Cephei replied to Darkrasp's topic in Developer's CornerIf stacking world buffs wasn't possible, I'd propably not even want to play the game, it's a huge part of fun raids for many people.
Cephei replied to Darkrasp's topic in Developer's CornerI wanna chime in here and mention that this isn't a Horde nerf, on the contrary. Most servers that you played on didn't even have cross-proccs (ie. a hoj procc triggering windfury) working at all. This fix is a net improvement to Horde dps overall, by merit of it not working on pretty much most servers. The big factor here is the windfury totem itself, as it has by far the highest procc chance out of any extra-swing procc abilities, ergo it chains easily off of other effects. Ie. the 2% hoj procc has a 1/5 chance of ending in a windfury, which practically is a 0-100 on the rage meter for a warrior. Sword spec is the same story. It's a good compromise overall.
Cephei replied to Darkrasp's topic in Developer's CornerAccurate representation of the bug tracker right now:
Cephei replied to Warpath's topic in Feedback & SuggestionsMy personal theory
Cephei replied to Warpath's topic in Feedback & SuggestionsReally hope this doesn't happen
Cephei replied to Lilaina's topic in General DiscussionWhat could it possibly mean?
Cephei replied to Crogge's topic in Off-TopicFirst, also gratz!
Cephei replied to Darkrasp's topic in News & AnnouncementsOh boy here we go
Cephei replied to Asura's topic in News & AnnouncementsOh shit it's happening.
Cephei replied to Odysseu's topic in General DiscussionWarrior, like always.
Cephei replied to Whitepanda's topic in General DiscussionAll I hope is that the server has all the proper mechanics in place (read the Ragnaros post, it's a very good read on just how little other servers actually care). The actual number scaling matters very little afterwards and can infact be inflated to provide a more enjoyable experience with the higher average skill level compared to vanilla. But people weren't stupid back in vanilla, not to this degree. Ragnaros cannot be taken down with 0 FR on anyone but the tank. The mechanics don't allow it. Not even with double FR pot. The more I read about it on wayback machine the more I realize is that the "nobody knew how to do bosses" arguments is simply funded on bad private server scripts and none of those people have ever actually played real retail vanilla. Once the proper mechanics are in place and the numbers are tuned right and you still manage to pull off the quick kill without FR, then I concede to your point, but before then, if you take your experience from any private server as an argument, you simply don't know what you're talking about. This includes Nostalrius, Kronos and especially Feenix, because people somehow still believe that anything on that server works the way it should. I commend the devs on this server to not accept the status quo as a fact and actually dive into the material and challenge pre-existing notions about how hard a boss should be.
Cephei replied to Old_Beardo's topic in General DiscussionThank god
Cephei replied to Sakritan's topic in General DiscussionPrebuff PvP items is a huge deal for me, as this changes the way many classes gear up and makes gearing harder (this is a good thing). Nostalrius' attempt at having progressive items was really bad, because they didn't bother to put the PvP items in their proper patch-state and this ended with AQ40 equivalent loot being available to solo players when BWL was fresh released. I'm very much looking forward to progressive items done right for once.
Cephei replied to Neuf's topic in General DiscussionI'm currently maintanking as a troll warrior on a different server and we got server first Ragnaros. Don't listen to people who think racials mean everything.


text: Sarah McQuaid will be the special guest of the world-renowned Mousehole Male Voice Choir at their Midsummer Concert in Paul Parish Church, Cornwall, on Sunday June 25th. Formed in 1909, the choir has featured on numerous radio and television programmes and has performed at venues from the Royal Albert Hall in London to the Cornish Cousins festival in Grass Valley/Nevada City, California. Past guest artists at their summer concerts have included Bryn Terfel and Dame Felicity Lott amongst others. "It's a huge honour to be invited to sing alongside them," says Sarah. "I'll be sticking to a cappella material as I feel that's more in keeping with the event, so it'll be a nice warm-up to my full-scale concert at the Penlee Park Open Air Theatre in Penzance the following Friday!" See http://www.sarahmcquaid.com/tour for details of all Sarah's forthcoming appearances.


text:
*Postponed until further notice
$25+HST JCCC members (per day)
$30+HST General (per day)
Learn how to play taiko for the first time or continue developing that taiko spirit!
This workshop will be conducted in two parts. The first part will focus on the fundamentals of what taiko is all about; how to play it and building a solid base. The second part will be on applying the fundamentals and developing taiko skills.
Please see our website for other dates and registration information.


text:
GOP response: Vote to continue just middle class tax cuts = tax hike
Michael Steel, a spokesman for John Boehner, emails a response to the news that House Dems are planning to hold a vote just on extending the middle class tax cuts:
"The last thing our economy needs right now is a massive tax hike on families and small businesses -- and that's what this plan would mean."
This is not the first time a vote just on extending the middle class tax cuts has been cast as a "tax hike." Orrin Hatch made the same argument the other day. The idea appears to be that any move towards separating the middle class and high-end cuts is automatically a tax hike because it increases the possibility that the high end ones won't be extended permanently.
Meanwhile, Dem Rep. Mary Jo Kilroy of Ohio is the first House Dem out with a statement applauding the move:
"This is a great first step towards putting our economic house back in order. Our colleagues in the Senate and the incoming Republican house leadership need to do the right thing right now. If they don't, and we continue to subsidize millionaires and billionaires with a tax cut they don't need, it will prove to everyone that they are not serious about our nation's long term financial health."
Looks like we've now got ourselves a debate underway.
UPDATE, 4:14 p.m.: Okay, in fairness, the GOP argument is that if voting on just the middle class tax cuts is the entire plan, then this amounts to a tax hike because the high-end cuts will all go up on January 1st. Of course, we don't know whether a vote just on the middle class cuts is the entire plan. There could also be a vote on the high end ones. Or the middle class vote could lose and a compromise might be reached under which they're all extended temporarily.
Greg Sargent
| November 18, 2010; 4:02 PM ET
Categories: House Dems, House GOPers, taxes
Save & Share: Previous: Dems will vote on just middle class tax cuts, Hoyer says
Next: Happy Hour Roundup
Michael Steel, hmm, bad timing. Maybe he should change his name to Stahl, or Stihl.
Posted by: shrink2 | November 18, 2010 4:14 PM | Report abuse
Please dont be so obtuse. If no action is taken, the Bush tax cuts expire. Only opting to continue cuts for the middle class amounts to a tax hike on those not extended through the willful inaction of congress.
Progressive taxation is evil. 47% of Americans pay no federal tax, yet you find Democrats out there passing more and more massive, unsustainable federal programs like Obamacare to give those very people who pay no tax more benefits. Those who pay nothing and receive show no moral character in insisting upon their own independence from the Nanny state. They yammer for more and more without end because it costs them nothing, and the old values of the WWII generation in which receiving charity was shameful died with that generation.
Until ALL Americans pay the same percentage of tax, there will be no incentive for this clammoring by amoral freeloaders for more and more free stuff stolen from other hard working Americans in the form of progressive taxation.
The proper course would be for this congress to extend the tax cuts for those paying taxes, and impose new taxes on those who pay nothing to bring them up to the percentage of those who do. Democrats will never do this because they do not care about the fiscal health of this nation, they only want to get re-elected by any means possible, no matter what the consequence.
Posted by: Wiggan | November 18, 2010 4:24 PM | Report abuse
Why aren't the Democrats worried that all those jobs that the tax cuts for the wealthy created will go away if said tax cuts go away?
Because they didn't create any jobs!
We are not talking about a policy with a proven record of job creation, we are talking about a policy that was an epic fail from inception.
The tax cuts had a decade to produce jobs. They didn't, all they created were record deficits. Why does the GOP keep expecting a different outcome from the same actions? Are they insane?
Posted by: HansSolo | November 18, 2010 4:25 PM | Report abuse
A debate? Hell with that, it's time to pick a side.
"At this moment in American history, after large swathes of the middle class have been wiped out, the last thing we need is another elite-driven assault on the living standards of working people.
Even though it was Wall Street that fostered the conditions that produced our current economic state, we're told from pundits across the political spectrum that we mustn't tax the rich because it will stymie job-creating investments. But I'm sure Lloyd Blankfein, Hank Paulson, Angelo Mozilo, and their ilk can afford to kick in a little more in taxes to save the country they claim (when under oath at least) to love so much.
In the 2010 midterm elections, the super-rich and their business associations threw around hundreds of millions of dollars in campaign cash like it was so much chump change. And they're gearing up to set new spending records in 2012. They appear to be very civic-minded plutocrats. Yet where is their "pain" and "sacrifice" when it comes to reducing the federal deficit? What "tough decisions" that affect their bottom lines are they being asked to make? And what happened to the quaint notion that those who have so greatly benefited from the opportunities American society has bestowed upon them having a special obligation to pay a little more when their country is in crisis? We're all in this together, right?
Politicians, pundits, commentators, and citizens must choose a side now. You're either on the oligarchy's side or on the people's side. It's D-Day in the class war."
Posted by: lmsinca | November 18, 2010 4:26 PM | Report abuse
Calling tax cuts for the middle class "tax hikes", brilliant strategy. How stupid does the GOP think Americans are?
Posted by: swsnt | November 18, 2010 4:26 PM | Report abuse
As of today, 75% of Americans DON'T want the tax cuts for the highest earners extended. The GOP is picking the wrong side on this one. On the same day they refuse to extend unemployment benefits, they declare that millionaires must get their tax cut. Beautiful
Posted by: maurban | November 18, 2010 4:27 PM | Report abuse
If Dems force a vote on just the middle class tax cuts it will be defeated. Republicans will say they defeated a tax hike. In the next session of congress they will extend both the high and middle class tax cuts. Dems will come out the losers.
Posted by: johnyt1977 | November 18, 2010 4:27 PM | Report abuse
Will somebody please smack the democrats? Where is the smack-down of this silliness? Are they capable of a smack-down?
Posted by: mkris1 | November 18, 2010 4:31 PM | Report abuse
"Progressive taxation is evil."
No it isn't. It is as American as apple pie.
"47% of Americans pay no federal tax"
No federal income tax, sure. But they pay a much higher percentage of their income in payroll tax, state income tax, sales tax, etc than those poor people unlucky enough to be rich.
"old values of the WWII generation in which receiving charity was shameful died with that generation."
Look in the mirror. The top marginal tax rate during and in the two decades after WWII was above 80%. Which, according to you, makes the Greatest Generation evil. Nice.
"and impose new taxes on those who pay nothing to bring them up to the percentage of those who do"
Yeah, because poor people starving is funny!
Posted by: HansSolo | November 18, 2010 4:38 PM | Report abuse
There's no "in fairness" here.
The tax cuts are all set to expire. The Democrats cannot literally vote for a "tax hike" in any way, unless they present a new bill that raises taxes in some way.
Don't buy into this spin-framing. It's total bullsh*t and you shouldn't allow white-lies like this dupe you into thinking - much less publishing - otherwise.
It's this kind of default Republican framing that the rest of the media happily goes along with, totally un-f*cking-able to say to themselves, "Hey, that's a giant heaping load of bullsh*t political spin. Maybe, just maybe, I shouldn't carry their water for them like a circus monkey?"
Don't be that guy.
It's not a tax hike. The Bush cuts will expire - just like Bush and the GOP scheduled them too. I wouldn't even call it "The Bush/GOP Tax Hike", even though that would be MORE accurate than what the GOP is saying now. It's all just spin.
It's a vote to extend tax cuts for the middle class. That's it.
Posted by: TheBBQChickenMadness | November 18, 2010 4:43 PM | Report abuse
"Progressive taxation is evil."
Um, no. Progressive taxation is sensible. Adam Smith, who literally wrote the book on capitalism, supported progressive taxation.
"Until ALL Americans pay the same percentage of tax"
Here's a thought experiment for you. Let's set your magic flat tax rate to 20%. Now let's take two people, Alice, making $25,000 a year and CEO Bob making $2 million. After taxes Alice takes home $20,000 while Bob takes home $1.6 million.
Who's going to feel the pinch more? Flat taxes aren't fair. They're regressive.
"The proper course would be for this congress to extend the tax cuts for those paying taxes, and impose new taxes on those who pay nothing to bring them up to the percentage of those who do."
What a great idea. The solution is to force the people who already can't afford to pay taxes... to pay taxes. You know, because they don't pay property taxes or sales taxes.
"Democrats will never do this because they do not care about the fiscal health of this nation, they only want to get re-elected by any means possible, no matter what the consequence."
Ahaha How cute. You think the GOP is any different.
Posted by: presto668 | November 18, 2010 4:43 PM | Report abuse
Why do Democrats always say higher taxes is the "first step towards putting our economic house back in order"?
Posted by: kitchendragon50 | November 18, 2010 4:51 PM | Report abuse
YES, we want to raise taxes on the rich.
Obama campaigned on it and now he's the President.
Get over it.
Posted by: Ethan2010 | November 18, 2010 4:58 PM | Report abuse
Why do Democrats always say higher taxes is the "first step towards putting our economic house back in order"?
Because Republicans do everything in their power to lower taxes on billionaires and it leads to huge debt. See Reagan and W. Bush for examples.
Why do Republicans always say we can cut the deficit by giving billionaires tax cuts? Tax cuts don't pay for themselves, that is a wingnut fantasy. Even Alan Greenspan admits as much.
Posted by: HansSolo | November 18, 2010 5:02 PM | Report abuse
Mr Sargent's inclusion of a quote from Mary Jo Killjobs is just hilarious. She got trounced in her re election bid.
so she's in a political consequence free mode right now. And she's never met a tax incease she didn't like.
Perhaps that explains the 55 to 41 trashing she just took. the sooner she's put out to pasture the safer our wallets will be.
I love the "reasoning" being offered here in defense of the steeply progressive nature of America's income tax code.
The question I've asked is "what is the moral support for progressive taxes?"
Basically what we're told here is that the tax rates MUST be progressive because the poor can't afford taxes so we have to make up the difference elsewhere.
Really? is that the best you've got? The point made wiggan remains unanswered: why would the "poor" ever vote for anyone who would raise their taxes? Right now they get something for nothing because the system punishes successful people and rewards failures.
It is a variation on Hanssolo's "wille sutton" defense. America must tax the rich because, well, that's where the money is.
And presto's nonsense isn't much better. Basically we're told that "fairness" dictates that we take more from one than from another because the people with less income will "feel the pinch" more. How about this:
(1) What do the feelings of anybody have to do with the morality of confiscating the private property Americans? It is morally bankrupt to say that the CEO must give up more of his hard earned money because others have earned less.
(2) If others don't want to "feel the pinch" why don't they work as hard as the CEO did to earn more? In essence Presto enables mediocrity by assuring that the only people feeling the pinch are the folks Presto doesn't find to be a fitting object for concern.
And wiggan also raises an important moral question: what is the morality of demanding more and more from others and using the coercive power of the government to obtain it.
In the current economic down turn many Americans took pay cuts or wound up taking jobs paying far less than the job they lost due to layoff.
I haven't heard of a reduction in transfer payments anywhere in America. Financial shortfalls in Medicaid, for example, aren't confronted via a reduction in benefits. Typically the states simply reduce the amount paid to providers. Did TANF funding suffer? How about section 8? How about all the other schemes that confiscate money from one group to another?
What is the morality of demanding more from "the rich" while demanding nothing from the folks who ultimately spend the money taken from the rich?
It appears that, to Hans and Presto, progressive taxes are moral because Adam Smith thought they were a good idea. Adam smith never imagined food stamps, I'm sure.
Posted by: skipsailing28 | November 18, 2010 5:08 PM | Report abuse
Democrats just voted on Obama's health care bill which caused health care premiums to take $500 Billion out of the economy
This is the SECOND drag on the economy just this year - this time it is a $700 Billion DOLLAR tax increase
That means the democrats want to take $1.2 TRILLION DOLLARS out of the economy in the middle of an Economic Crisis.
Clearly Obama and the democrats have no idea what they are doing - or how they are supposed to do anything.
Posted by: RedTeaRevolution | November 18, 2010 5:10 PM | Report abuse
in response to:
Why do Democrats always say higher taxes is the "first step towards putting our economic house back in order"?
There is an easy answer: Democrats say this because they simply cannot imagine ever spending less on anything except defense. And with America's warriors on the field of battle hammering away at the pentagon is an unattractive visual for them.
Therefore they must raise taxes because they have no intention of reducing spending. I've been asked repeatedly for details about spending cuts. I wonder what the Democrats/liberals would cut (if anything)
So there you have it. In the minds of the left, spending is a foregone conclusion. They MUST always spend at least as much as they spent yesterday, if not more. since they cannot spend less their only choice for fundage is to confiscate more money from the citizens. Or debase the currency which amounts to the same thing.
Posted by: skipsailing28 | November 18, 2010 5:17 PM | Report abuse
To those opposed to progressive taxation maybe you should move to a country without it.
Of course, ALL free market economies have progressive taxation, so you will most likely be moving to a theocracy or some third world pit. Have fun!
Posted by: HansSolo | November 18, 2010 5:23 PM | Report abuse
If it looks like a tax hike and sounds like a tax hike, it is a tax hike
Posted by: RedTeaRevolution | November 18, 2010 5:24 PM | Report abuse
What is this
Are you simply trying to convince yourself that you are not lying?
But you know you are lying - so you are coming up with some set of ideas which you would say if you were trying to convince someone you weren't lying.
But everyone knows you are lying
Posted by: RedTeaRevolution | November 18, 2010 5:28 PM | Report abuse
No, sorry, the Republican line is hogwash.
The baseline is the "do nothing option." the baseline allows taxes to raise, per the Republican plan years ago when these tax cuts were passed.
Doing "something" will cut taxes for everyone, including the rich. The cuts for the rich just will not be as huge as under the Bush plan.
And these Bush tax cuts FAILED. These tax cuts were a part of the failed policies that produced the worst economic downturn since the Great Depression. Very nearly, a Great Depression II.
Posted by: ANDYO1 | November 18, 2010 5:30 PM | Report abuse
Not much talk on GM's incredible IPO here... But here is some additional economic news that might interest ya'll:
"""Stocks got a boost from a surprisingly strong reading on manufacturing from the Federal Reserve Bank of Philadelphia. The report said factory orders in the mid-Atlantic region expanded at the fastest rate since December.
All ten industry groups within the S&P index rose, with industrial and materials stocks posting the largest gains."""
The economy IS coming back. It's indisputable now. I'll try to post a good IPO article in the Happy Hour round-up.
Posted by: Ethan2010 | November 18, 2010 5:30 PM | Report abuse
The Plutocrats bankrupted the country and stole our money to bail themselves out. Now the SuperRich are outraged that their income tax rates may return to the historically low levels they were at before Bush took office. Does their greed have no limits? Have they, at long last, lost all sense of modesty? Great American Patriots, each and every one of the selfish b*stards.
Go get 'em, Democrats! This is a battle to win!
Posted by: wbgonne | November 18, 2010 5:33 PM | Report abuse
"Over the last 40 years, the U.S. federal tax system has undergone three striking changes, each of which seems to move the federal tax system in the direction of less progressivity. First, there has been a dramatic decline in top marginal individual income tax rates. In the early 1960s, the statutory individual income tax rate applied to the marginal dollar of the highest incomes was 91 percent. This marginal tax rate on the highest incomes declined to 28 percent by 1988, increased significantly to 39.6 percent in 1993, and fell to 35 percent as of 2003. Second, corporate income taxes as a fraction of gross domestic product have fallen by half, from around 3.5– 4.0 percent of GDP in the early 1960s to less than 2 percent of GDP in the early 2000s (for example, Auerbach, 2006). Meanwhile, corporate profits as a share of GDP have not declined over the period, suggesting that capital owners—who are disproportionately of above-average incomes—earn relatively more net of taxes today than in the 1960s. Third, there has been a substantial increase in payroll tax rates financing Social Security retirement benefits and Medicare. The combined employee–employer payroll tax rate on labor income has increased from 6 percent in the early 1960s to over 15 percent in the 1990s and 2000s. Moreover, the Social Security payroll tax applies only up to a cap—equal to $90,000 of annual earnings in 2005—and is therefore a relatively smaller tax burden as incomes rise above the cap."
Posted by: HansSolo | November 18, 2010 5:36 PM | Report abuse
You know when they put this sunset clause in, there was a calculation that Bush would hold onto the White House for 8 years and this issue would come up around this year's midterms.
I never imagined that the democrats would bungle and mismanage their message to such an extent.
To this day, the democrats STILL are damaging themselves with this issue.
The democrats just don't get it.
The Republicans are laughing
Posted by: RedTeaRevolution | November 18, 2010 5:42 PM | Report abuse
I would make a comment but this is all too boring.
Posted by: battleground51 | November 18, 2010 5:48 PM | Report abuse
This issue is ridiculous
Look at this - it might get your minds off of the election you apparently all find so painful
Posted by: RedTeaRevolution | November 18, 2010 5:49 PM | Report abuse
Ethan, a long, long time ago (more than a year at least!) most agreed the Ds were betting their careers on printing enough money to make all the social classes happy so that retail sales would come back before 2012.
Maybe they will, maybe we have one more credit bubble to go, but if we don't, it won't matter to politics. Neither party is capable of figuring out what it would take to generate and sustain real economic growth.
Posted by: shrink2 | November 18, 2010 5:53 PM | Report abuse
All, Happy Hour Roundup posted:
Posted by: Greg Sargent | November 18, 2010 6:08 PM | Report abuse
The Republicans set this tax hike up with the end of 2010 death of the cuts. The Democrats are giving back tax cuts to most of us, and the one percent that will not get a tax cut won't feel it anyway. Get a life, GOP.
Posted by: ronjeske | November 18, 2010 6:20 PM | Report abuse
@ Hansolo: get your facts straight.
The "payroll tax" goes to Social Security and Medicare (until LBJ raided it to pay for Great Society--sound familiar?). Low income earners get much, much more out of these programs than they put in. It is only regressive in terms of payout.
I am glad you want to bring back the 1950s, which sure were a great time for all Americans, but consider that the high marginal rates you are talking about back then kicked in at about $7 million of income a year in today's dollars, not $250,000. And tax evasion at all levels was rampant back then.
You talk a great game about raising tax rates on people with a lot of earned income--who may or may not be rich but are trying to be, no thanks to your ilk--yet you are strangely silent on the 15% tax rate that actual rich people, who live off of capital gains and qualified dividend income, pay in tax.
Is that because you too are bankrolled by George Soros?
Posted by: HT12 | November 18, 2010 6:46 PM | Report abuse
OH yes another tax cut for the 50 Percent of families that dont pay a dime in taxes
Posted by: mont9744 | November 18, 2010 7:54 PM | Report abuse
Wasn't it Boner and his fellow republicans who voted for the bill that has the tax cuts expiring in 2010, and Bush signed the bill into law.
By voting for this law back then it is they, the republicans who "voted for" a tax increase for everyone.
Only a moron, or Mitch McConnel would now try and blame the democrats for their mess.
They voted for crazy bill - time for them to "nut-up", or shut up...
Posted by: gooch733 | November 18, 2010 8:08 PM | Report abuse
" Michael Steel, a spokesman for John Boehner, emails a response to the news that House Dems are planning to hold a vote just on extending the middle class tax cuts:
"The last thing our economy needs right now is a massive tax hike on families and small businesses -- and that's what this plan would mean.""
Nice conflation. Vote to hold the taxes of families and small business, (The below $250,000 per year incomes) and raise the taxes on the top brackets, and that equates to a massive tax hike on the middle class.
Let's just go do something else. Like pass a military budget with DADT, pass START,and, if there is enough time before Christmas, pass a nice thank you resolution for Store Santas.
Still, if the Dems bring a vote on extending the tax breaks on incomes or parts of incomes below $250,000, with no other provisions, the R's have to do something, even if it is just stay home and hope a quorum doesn't materialize.
They WON'T vote FOR the bill, and everything else puts them voting for, in THEIR definition, a tax hike on the middle class.
Heads the Dems win and every other way the coin can drop, including rolling down a storm drain the R's lose.
Have the R's proposed a bill that does what THEY want, yet?
Posted by: ceflynline | November 18, 2010 8:46 PM | Report abuse
Democrats New Math: Keeping tax cuts on a family of four with an income of ,say, $300,000 a year is "subsidizing millionaires and billionaires" ???
Exactly how that works neither Nancy,Harry,or Barry can tell us.
Posted by: beecheery | November 18, 2010 9:13 PM | Report abuse
Aren't journalists supposed to cut through flagrant partisan spin and political propaganda?
Bush and the Republicans enacted these temporary tax cuts to expire at the end of 2010. Temporary tax cuts with an expiration date was their deliberate choice, their plan.
It's great news that President Obama and Democratic leaders are going to vote on new tax cuts for all Americans' first $250K of income.
Hopefully the predatory speculators, uber-rich parasites and Corporate Welfare Queens will now begin to pay their fair share.
Posted by: frankcam | November 18, 2010 11:21 PM | Report abuse
Any small business that has to meet a payroll and earns more than $250K/annum will not hire because of Demonrat stupidity in pushing their class warfare agenda forward. Obama is a stupid fool and the Pelosi/Reid morons are playing Russian roulette with six loaded chambers----I can't wait until 2012 when 22 Demonrat senators come up for reelection and the redistricting in 30+ state legislatures controlled by the Republicans gives the GOP 15-20 seats. Remember that California & NY state are LOSING population because of the zany New Age economics of Paul Krugboy and now Gov. Moonbeam. Look for more demographic hemorrhaging out of the Left Coasts down to Texas and FL.
Businesses are being choked by Demonrat economic policy. The GOP should shut down these lame ducks--period.
Posted by: djman1141 | November 19, 2010 12:07 AM | Report abuse
The funny thing about the bleats from the teatardlicans on here is that NOT ONE of them is CLOSE to being affected by the change in the upper-income tax rates.
You people are freaking stupid.
Posted by: Observer691 | November 19, 2010 9:31 AM | Report abuse
Any small business that would be hurt by returning the higher bracket rates of the personal income tax to sensible levels needs a better accountant.
The moral basis of progressive taxation, and especially of the estate tax, is that many of the founding fathers meant the USA to be governed in a democratic way. They laid out in the Federalist Papers that they didn't want a hereditary aristocracy.
Posted by: ChuckKarish | November 20, 2010 11:48 AM | Report abuse
George Carlin's take on how the US works (with the strong language we expect from him):
The owners won the American class war in 1983, and they've been consolidating the spoils from that victory ever since. Ordinary Americans who support their continued plundering are fools. Ordinary Americans who think they have upward mobility to join the owners are, with very few exceptions, kidding themselves.
Posted by: ChuckKarish | November 20, 2010 2:17 PM | Report abuse
We encourage users to analyze, comment on and even challenge washingtonpost.com's articles, blogs, reviews and multimedia features.
User reviews and comments that include profanity or personal attacks or other inappropriate comments or material will be removed from the site. Additionally, entries that are unsigned or contain "signatures" by someone other than the actual author will be removed. Finally, we will take steps to block users who violate any of our posting standards, terms of use or privacy policies or any other policies governing this site. Please review the full rules governing commentaries and discussions.


text:
I'm tempted to keep this a wordless post, so you can guess which one of us MNS'ers stitched this…because I certainly wouldn't guess ME.
In fact, I agonized over this fabric choice for about 45 minutes, on Mood NY's magical top floor. Eric and Kway both assured me this was a beautiful fabric. I was sure they were right, but I absolutely could not convince my technicolor brain. In the end I had to take their word for it!
Luckily, they were right, and it's not for me anyway! So really what I had to do was remind myself, repeatedly, that NOT EVERYONE DRESSES LIKE A NEON RAINBOW. Example: my mom-in-law. Although she dons gorgeous, patterned caftans at home, out in public, she's neutral toned and chic. Those were my keywords for this fabric hunt.
I was actually worried that the "swirls" would be too much for her, but they were met with approval! And the fun details of this pattern were also a bonus…
This is a Katherine Tilton pattern, B6491. The pleats and high collar kept my hands happy, even if my eyes were a little bored from the hue!
After reading several reviews on the pattern, I decided to adjust the collar. As you can see, it sits fairly high even with the reduced height.
But, I mean. That collar is delicious!
And bonus: MIL decided she didn't want any kind of closure…she plans on layering this with something simple in silk! Something she already has, that is. I think I need to take a break from neutrals ;). If you're of the same mind, might I suggest trying this pattern in something like this?


text:
Great monday news
Monday | September 27th, 2010
Why do you have to move?
Did you do something bad in the old place? :-)
Did he do something not bad in the old place?
Ahh, not everything shows up on Google ^^
Id love to be the landlord of the guy who invented Bukkakemon LOL
And this is why Google says "Don't Be Evil" becouse they will show it to the world if you are :)
43.800 hits, all connected to LG. Must try harder.


text:
by Alex Garland
Set to be re-released by Penguin on July 7 to celebrate the 20-year anniversary of its publishing, The Beach by Alex Garland was hailed as being the quintessential Southeast Asian backpacking novel.
Garland used novels Lord of the Flies and Heart of Darkness as well as various Vietnam war movies as inspiration for his novel, which sees protagonist Richard search for that most mythical of all things travel: a perfect, pristine beach, known to next to nobody. Richard is left a hand-drawn map to the beach by a traveller who commits suicide in a Bangkok flophouse; the story sees him and two French travellers hunt down and find the titular beach. In the process Garland seeks to explore the question of whether Western travellers effectively ruin the very thing they set out to find — you can pretty easily guess the answer, but the book is a page-turner while it teases the analysis out.
Having read the book while backpacking in Southeast Asia in 1997, it would be interesting to give it a re-read to see how it's stood the test of time. Of course it's hard to imagine a similar beach staying off the radar today, thanks to the internet and the power of social media. Are the backpackers of today looking for the same escape as those of 20 years ago anyway? Whether they are or not, the story remains a page-turner.
Buy online: Amazon | Book Depository | Barnes & Noble |
Sent every Monday, our newsletter is full of travel advice, news & special deals. Read past issues.


text:
T1 & E1 to Fiber Optic Modems
Featured Product from S.I. Tech, Inc.
S.I. Tech Wide Area Network Bit-Drivers® extend the distances of T1/E1 networks through the use of fiber optics. T1 is a digital transmission link that runs at 1.544 Mbps and provides for 24 data channels. The term "T1" is used interchangeably with "DS1." S.I. Tech T1/E1 modems can be configured to support either multimode or single mode fiber. The ST connector is standard and other options are available.
Part Saved
Save Part
More Featured Products


text:
Jason Crosby, a beloved local bartender, father and husband passed away Sunday night after a long fight with pancreatic cancer. Known for a passion for cocktails surpassed only by his love for his family, Crosby leaves behind his wife Ashley and daughters Giana and Salem. The 44-year-old had battled the disease for nearly nine months, receiving treatment from the VA Medical Center before his body began rejecting the medication. (2012 photo by Max Cooper)
The Crosbys began seeking alternative treatments but experienced a severe lack of funding. Cynthia Turner of Imperial Life and the Asheville Bartenders Guild rallied behind the cause, organizing "Painkillers for a Pancreas," a fundraiser that accrued more than $16,000 for the struggling family. Some local bartenders donated tips from entire shifts to the Crosbys, knowing full well the fear of falling ill in an industry where hardly anyone has health insurance. "That was truly an incredible experience," Says Turner. "Such love poured out of Asheville and our Industry family… I feel blessed to have been a part of it."
Turner and the Bartenders Guild were just the beginning of the outpouring. The following months saw Asheville building a pillar of support behind Crosby. Through a dinner at his workplace, the Junction, hosted by Oskar Blues Brewery, the community raised more than $15,000 for the ailing family. "Its really amazing," said Crosby in an April 2013 interview. "We have really been very private, we don't get out much. So to see people we've never met giving so much is really amazing. It says a lot about this town."
"I was at M.G. Road on a night when they were donating tips" says Dan Collier of Collier Consulting, "I talked about it with my buddy Chris and we said 'why don't we do something for this guy?'" Collier teamed up with Chris Parham, a golf pro at Mountain Air Country Club, to put together a benefit golf tournament with more than 30 participants, plus a dinner and silent auction at the Bywater. Combined, the two fundraisers brought in more than $13,000.
It is common to see cities brought together by earthquakes, hurricanes or floods, but seeing a community rally behind a single fallen soldier is truly remarkable. "I didn't know him before he was sick," said Collier, "but he ended up becoming a good friend." And that seemed to be a common theme among those the always-grateful and always-humble Crosby touched on his way out of this world. "For Jason, I'm grateful his sweet soul can rest," Said Turner. "His perseverance and love are an inspiration. He was a great man with amazing talent who helped raise the mixology bar here in Asheville. His presence in our community will be deeply missed."
A Memorial Service will be held at 2 p.m. Nov. 2 at New Life Community Church, 1417 Riverside Drive. A benefit concert featuring Matt Lane and David Earl will be held on Dec. 7 at Lexington Avenue Brewery. To make a donation to support Crosby's family, visit http://www.gofundme.com/28mh6c.


text:
Tuesday, September 26, 2017 at 6:00:00 PM VinSolutions 5700 Broadmoor Street, Mission, KS
A Primer on Neural Networks
I'm sure you've at least heard about neural networks, but maybe you wonder what exactly is a Neural Network. This talk will take you gently into the machine learning branch of statistics with neural networks. With examples and simple breakdowns about the math involved that anyone can follow.
Topics and Demos Include:
• What is a Neural Network?
• What makes them so powerful?
• How are Neural Networks being used in the field?
• What is an activation function?
• What is Gradient Descent? ^ An Intro To Tensorflow
• Demo: XOR Gate
• Demo: Image Recognition
To follow along with the talk the only math you will need to know are the basics: Add, Subtract, Multiply, Divide, Average, and Sum. Everything else very easy to follow.
Chase Aucoin (@ChaseAucoin)
As a passionate technologist it is my greatest joy to build solutions that bring organizations value not for 1-5 years, but that are built to flex and grow over the demands of the next 50+ years. I have been fortunate to work with some of the best minds in enterprise-scale data, services, dev-ops, BI, and people management. My knowledge is the culmination of aprox 20 of the best professionals in these fields spanning more than 100 years of expertise. I am in a unique position for a developer to be as business savvy as I am technically gifted.
My goal is to continue to work with the best, and to continue striving to be the best technologist I can.
while( !success ) { Try(); }
LRS Consulting Services http://lrs.com (@LRS_Consulting)
Dan Barraco email@example.com9th floor Click here for event


text:
Triple Spinner – Navy
100% UV resistant fabric
Easy to assemble
Support pole & ground stake included
$32.95 (as of December 17, 2018, 9:13 am)
- Description
- Amazon Customer Reviews
Made with fade-resistant SunTex(TM) fabric, our garden spinners will dazzle your yard. Unlike other ordinary spinners made with nylon or polyester, ours can withstand daily UV rays, rain and snow. Each spinner comes with two heavy-duty fiberglass poles and a ground stake.
100% UV resistant fabric
Easy to assemble
Size: 33 x 27 in. diameter: 17 in.


text:
Lagos: Economic nerve centre still struggling to fix challenges
The Special Adviser to the Lagos State Governor on Overseas Affairs and Investment, Professor Ademola Abass, spoke with GBENGA SALAU on steps to improving ease of doing business in the state.
• We Will Get Better, Says Abass
As the economic nerve centre of the country, what steps is Lagos taking to boost ease of doing business?
Lagos takes up 73 per cent of how the World Bank ranks Nigeria on ease of doing business. In terms of effort, the governor created this office when he assumed office May last year, in realisation to the fact that he needed to do things differently. The office was brought in to enhance ease of doing business and create a friendlier environment for investors.
That translates to our mandate, which is to streamline investment processes in the state. Before we came into existence, if you had to invest in Lagos, you had to go through different MDAs, the land bureau, physical planning office, and different bodies.
One way we have dealt with that is streamline everything. As investors come to our office, from here, we make all the applications on their behalf. They do not have to go to all the offices for approval. With that, we have made remarkable improvement in the turn around period.
It was a very notorious fact that in the past, investment proposals took between six months and three years. But today, it is under one month, from start to finish, which is tremendous improvement. That way, we have been able to get some investments through, very quickly. Apart from that, we have better coordination with the Nigerian Investment Promotion Commission, the federal agency with mandate for the entire country. We are collaborating with them much more effectively. And with that, we are able to do things more efficiently.
Also, one thing that was very critical to investors was information about opportunities in Lagos State. We have made a lot of improvement on how we handle and push out information. We have a very functional website and have done many road shows. Very soon, we would be going on air for advocacy programmes every week, for 26 weeks. We are going to be dealing with various aspects of investment opportunities in the state.
The whole idea is to inform and bring the citizens into what we are doing, so that they have clarity on kinds of investments in the state. With this, we hope to make a lot of improvement on the ease of doing business.
What kinds of investors enjoy this centralisation?
When we talk about investment, people tend to think only of Foreign Direct Investment. This office is about providing support to both internal and foreign investments. If you look at the name – Office of Overseas Affairs and Investment – investment is investment whether it is within or outside the country. As you know, we have great Nigerian investors. One of them is Aliko Dangote, and so many other people within the country. Nigerians and non-Nigerians are investing.
And what level of investment are we looking for? It could be $1 million or $1, because any dollar or any major currency is good for Lagos State.
What is important to us, whether you are within Nigeria or outside Nigeria, is that you are adding value to Lagos State, bringing investment that will generate jobs for citizens of the state. It is not about whether you bring in $500 billion or $1 or even N500 billion. Whatever you bring in, in terms of money, is appreciated; in as much as it creates jobs, food, shelter, and increases internally generated revenue.
People invest in property, but the burden of getting approval for buildings is often cumbersome. Are you doing anything about this?
When we talk about investment, it is broad; it is not only when you are bringing in money to start industries. It could be in property, energy, infrastructure, education, transport or ICT. Investment is open-ended. So, by no means are we sidetracking investment in property.
I agree with you entirely that people in the past experienced frustration getting permit for land, even at individual level. It used to be very daunting, for so many reasons that people know. But the most important thing is: what is our government doing to end that kind of regime and alleviate the suffering of the people?
Since this government came in last year, it has taken a lot of measures to revamp and revitalise the land bureau. Gone were the day's when people waited four, five years to get a C of O for a property. One of the things done was commissioning the Geographical Information System, which will remarkably improve our land registration process.
Everything will now be done electronically. From applying to getting a C of O, you do not need to push a file from one office to the other. This is important because nobody can run a mega city economy by relying on such old model and inadequate process. It will not work well. Our government understands this challenge, which is why we decided to go the way of technology.
But much more important is the department of physical planning. This government is taking many steps to make sure the era of illegality is over, where people get approval for one-storey buildings but construct five, 10 storeys in violation of government policies. We want to make that era history.
Government has not been living up to its task of ensuring physical regulations are obeyed. That is what we are trying to correct by making sure the physical planning department is revamped and empowered to do its work, as it ought.
If the citizens do not comply with the laws, the danger is that you have houses collapsing and substandard buildings that cannot stand integrity test. We do not want to endanger lives. So, the government has become more proactive, ensuring buildings in violation of regulations are not allowed.
One complaint by investors is multiple taxations.
There is no gainsaying the fact that we have had some challenge in the tax regime. When we came in, we acknowledged that. And the most important thing was how to fix the problem.
This administration has taken a lot of measures to fix the problem within the Lagos Internal Revenue Service. I am aware they are making a lot of efforts to streamline various taxes in the state. Nobody is happy to face something 20 times over when it can be met once.
So, a lot of efforts are being put in that direction. At our office, we are working with LIRS and other agencies, to make sure complaints of multiple taxes become a thing of the past.
A word to potential investors
Nigeria is going through a recession. There's no doubt about that, but we are going to come out of it strongly. Investors need to understand that Nigeria is a safe economy to invest in and that Lagos is a robust economy to invest in. Lagos is a self-sustaining economy. If Lagos were to be a country, it would be the fifth largest economy in Africa.
We have challenges but investors should also look at the opportunities those challenges present. This period presents credible opportunities for investors to get into the country. We have an economy that is opening up to the world. We have invested massively in security in Lagos State, with about N5 billion December, last year, and even much more later. We have embarked on the Light Up Lagos Project and constructed many roads.
So, Lagos is a safe place to live and work, and a great economy to investment in. We are telling investors to come in to partner with us. Come, invest in Lagos, and get remarkable reward.


text:
Enter to win a $100 credit
Public Power Week October 7-13, 2018
PWC joins with other Public Power utilities around the nation to celebrate National Public Power Week each October. This week is devoted to celebrating the benefits of Public Power.
During this week you can enter to win a $100 credit on your PWC bill! Enter your information below and click submit to be entered. Winner will be notified.


text:
Immersive Telepresence
The Highest Quality Experience Available
Immersive telepresence is an integrated set of visual, audio and network conferencing technologies and services that deliver a life-like communications experience. They are truely high end systems for organizations that want to take traditional video conferencing to another level and deliver to their virtual teams and work groups collaboration experiences that are truly realistic.
Explore VSGi Immersive Telepresence Solutions
With Cisco immersive video collaboration systems, you can conduct meetings with colleagues worldwide as if everyone were in the same location. With true-to-life quality and exacting details to enhance in-person collaboration, you won't miss visual nuances.
Polycom immersive theaters create shared virtual spaces where users forget they are on video and interact with one another as if they really are in the same room.


text:
Olivia Wilde and Jason Sudeikis Welcome a Baby Boy
Congratulations are in order for Olivia Wilde and her funnyman fiancé Jason Sudeikis. The actress announced via Twitter last night that she has given birth to her first son. "Ladies and gentlemen, Otis Alexander Sudeikis has LEFT the building! (I'm the building)," Wilde tweeted from her personal account, sharing an adorable photo of herself with her new pride and joy.
Ever since last fall when we learned that Wilde was expecting, we haven't been able to take our eyes off Wilde's maternity style. From body-hugging dresses to slim-fit separates throughout her pregnancy, the glowing star always looked flawless throughout her pregnancy. Take a look at Wilde's most stylish maternity looks through these past 9 months–both on the red carpet and off.


text:
The short and long of it
You got to believe when you play your first 3 chords on the guitar that something good is going to happen. If something resonates, you're in. How far in depends on your temperment and volatility. I started with a japanese copy of an SG when I was 9 years old, learning Deep Purple songs, Rolling Stones songs, Aerosmith toys in the Attic. Mike McCready lived 7 houses down the street and we used to jam after school and watch tv and listen to music, take turns soloing. It sounded like it does when you go into one of those big chain music stores and the kids are trying out the amps.......
I met Rick and Chris Friel in 7th grade on the school bus, and we started a band, warrior, and wrote original songs and later Mike Joined us too and we were called Shadow and we rehearsed everyday after school and got bigger and bigger amps so much so that the neighbors would threaten to call the police, and we started playing shows at birthday parties, a dance at a church -- we were 12 or 13, so it wasn't like there was anyplace to play really other than that. But outside of our families, this was our family. I used to play 4 hours a day.
I played in Shadow until I was nineteen, but begged out of their move to LA and studied creative writing at Evergreen, but always played. Always wrote songs. Nirvana played my buddies birthday party in Olympia. I came back to Seattle and started a band with the awesome vocalist, Carrie Akre, and she called it Goodness. We co-wrote and released our first record through an independent label and sold 16,000 copies. We toured with Elliot Smith, signed with Atlantic records, played madison square gardens with Oasis, played with Cheap Trick, played in Vladivostock, Russia and toured some more. Chris Friel drummed for that band. Mike was in Pearl Jam at this point, and we talked about doing a record project together -- we recorded the Rockfords for Epic records. (This was the tv show we used to watch while we played guitar at his house.) That is still one of my favorite records that I have played on.
I took a break from performing and playing, still making it out for the odd show, but built a house on an island outside of Seattle and have a farm out there with sheep and chickens and geese and sometimes pigs. That was in 2007. In 2014 I started writing with Rick Friel and gradually put songs on top of songs until we had a record's worth of material. We started recording with Ian Moore, an amazing musician who also lives down the road from me. We recorded several of the tracks for our first record, Masterwish, in his studio on his property.
This year, we're releasing our second full length record. It's a little darker than our first, and I recorded a lot of it myself and produced. We're playing record store shows, playing bigger shows in Seattle and looking forward to a trip down to Los Angeles this winter. Playing with Rick on bass and Faith Stankevich on drums is awesome and All the Way is the best record I've made.
Writing songs is my favorite thing. I try and do it every morning, and get just a little beginning of an idea to coax. Usually it involves a bit of time, some sitting, some changes and changing again, but then you get there -- the heart of it. The center of the circle, and all the other layers, harmonies, and even the words are complimentary.
Thanks, Danny


text:
New Release Round-Up 05-22-20
Steve Earle & The Dukes - Ghosts of West Virginia - New West Records
Ghosts of West Virginia centers on the Upper Big Branch coal mine explosion that killed twenty-nine men in that state in 2010, making it one of the worst mining disasters in American history. In ten deftly drawn sonic portraits, Steve Earle and his band The Dukes explore the historical role of coal in rural communities. More than merely a question of jobs and income, mining has provided a sense of unity and meaning, patriotic pride and purpose.
The 1975 - Notes On A Conditional Form�- Interscope Records
Notes On A Conditional Form is The 1975's highly anticipated fourth studio album. Available this week (LP coming 6/12), the 22-track epic includes hit singles "People" and "Me & You Together Song". The band worked to use as little plastic as possible in the manufacturing of the product.�
King Gizzard & The Lizard Wizard - Chunky Shrapnel�- ATO Records
King Gizzard & The Lizard Wizard�release Chunky Shrapnel, a new music documentary film and accompanying double-LP live album. The new album features 13 live performances hand-picked from the band�s 2019 UK and European tour, and includes three new musical scores written by Stu Mackenzie that add a magical touch of an alien melancholy throughout the record. Chunky Shrapnel is an experience geared towards not only recreating the energy of a live concert, but creating something tailored and unique to the King Gizzard & The Lizard Wizard.
The Teskey Brothers - Live At The Forum - Glassnote
Following up the Grammy nominated album "Run Home Slow", Australian soul band The Teskey Brothers are back with their new live album "Live At The Forum". The album was recorded on tape during their two day residency at the iconic Forum Melbourne in Australia this past November. Opaque Blue Vinyl.
Blake Mills - Mutable Set - Verve
Los Angeles-based guitarist, composer, and producer Blake Mills�releases his new album Mutable Set. Much of the material was co-written with acclaimed singer-songwriter Cass McCombs, and this is Mills' first album of solo music with lyrics since 2014's "Heigh Ho" and second release under New Deal Records / Verve Label Group.
Jaime Wyatt - Neon Cross - New West Records
If there�s one lesson to be gleaned from Jaime Wyatt's latest album, Neon Cross, it�s that life goes on. And through it all�good times and bad, dreaming and desperation, there is truth. When it came to capturing that truth on tape, Wyatt had some assistance from Shooter Jennings, who produced Neon Cross. Together, she and Jennings boldly color outside the country lines, taking a wide-lens sonic and stylistic approach to the songs on Neon Cross.
Kip Moore - Wild World - MCA Nashville
Multi-PLATINUM singer/songwriter Kip Moore�s highly anticipated fourth studio album Wild World will be available May 29. Co-writing 12 of the album�s 13 insightful tracks, he navigates the search to find a place and purpose. Throughout the album, that search is revealed in deeply personal terms, with Kip even co-producing the set. The weathered heartland-rock sound Moore has embraced gets its emotional volume pumped up, recorded live with a full band. CD includes a free poster offer, valid thru 12/31/20.
The White Buffalo - On The Widow's Walk - Spinefarm
The White Buffalo is Jake Smith: singer, song-writer, guitarist, teller of stories; an artist whose voice � an emotive timber-shakin� baritone � seems directly linked to a greater truth; an artist who will not be swayed by fashion or restricted by genre.� And now, The White Buffalo releases the new studio album, �On The Widow's Walk� � an 11 song, loosely linked collection of dark thrills produced by Shooter Jennings, who also plays piano and keys.
Christian Lee Hutson - Beginners - Anti
The buzz around Christian Lee Hutson started in earnest in 2018 after he began his collaborative friendship with singer Phoebe Bridgers. Hutson co-wrote songs with Bridgers for both the EP of supergroup boygenius (ft. Julien Baker, Phoebe Bridgers, and Lucy Dacus) and her 2019 release with Conor Oberst, Better Oblivion Community Center. The emerging folk artist received further critical attention after Bridgers invited him to Eaux Claires Festival last July, where he performed a solo set and earned praise from festival host Bon Iver. Eventually, Bridgers asked if she could produce an album for him. Engineered and mixed by Joseph Lorge (Blake Mills, Perfume Genius), the forthcoming release also features contributions from Bright Eyes pianist Nathaniel Walcott. To merely call Christian Lee Hutson an old soul would be to deny the vibrancy of his sound. Hutson writes songs that the SF Bay Guardian describes as, "... Foreboding, bluesy love ballads laden with longing nostalgia." For Fans of Phoebe Bridgers, Elliott Smith and Bright Eyes.
Rush - Permanent Waves: 40th Anniversary - Mercury
Celebrating 40 years of Rush's Permanent Waves, deemed the poignant moment the band reinvented themselves and their sound. The 3LP Deluxe Edition features original vinyl packaging with a newly designed gatefold jacket for the two discs of live bonus tracks (from the 1980 World Tour). With a 20-page booklet of reimagined artwork by original designer Hugh Syme & unreleased band archive photos. Housed in a slipcase. Features hits like "The Spirit Of Radio" and the cinematic "Jacob's Ladder". Also Available 2CD, Super Deluxe Box Set.
Read more...
For more information on these and other releases out this week, check out our�New Releases�charts by week section.
New Release Round-Up 05-15-20
Sleaford Mods - All That Glue�- Rough Trade
Sleaford Mods are set to continue their onslaught into 2020 with the release of All That Glue, a collection of songs spanning the last seven years of the bands career; an array of crowd pleasers, B sides, unheard tracks and rarities for fans and the curious, released via Rough Trade.
Moby - All Visible Objects�-�Mute U.S.
The 17th studio album by iconic electronica musician Moby. Includes the single "Power is Taken", featuring Dead Kennedys drummer D. H. Peligro and rapper Boogie.
Jess Williamson - Sorceress�- Mexican Summer
Offering a deep-hued kaleidoscope of dusty �70s cinema, �90s country music and breezy West Coast psychedelia, Jess Williamson�s �Sorceress� weaves a woman�s wild love letters to a confusing present and uncertain future�with reflections on femininity and the pursuit of perfection, New Age beliefs and practices, critiques of capitalism and social media and more. An album about loss of innocence and acquired wisdom that�s self-critical, self-assured and soul-searching.
Chatham County Line - Strange Fascination (First Edition)�- Yep Roc
North Carolina's cherished Americana band is back with a new look and feel! Chatham County Line's 12th studio album, Strange Fascination features newly added drums and modern effects that drive a revamped sound. From the dreamy shuffle of 'Oh Me Oh My' to the bold acceptance of 'Leave this World,' the group demonstrates their sharp self-awareness with a good dose of humor. A beautifully crafted album, Strange Fascination highlights the band's exceptional songcraft and musicianship, as well as their continual innovation.
Thao & The Get Down Stay Down - Temple�- Domino
Thao & The Get Down Stay Down, the San Francisco-based band fronted by singer and songwriter Thao Nguyen, release their fifth studio album Temple. The album is among Thao's most open and honest work yet, finding her coming out in her public life after a long career in which she kept her queer identity quiet in an effort to avoid turmoil with and alienation from a family and culture she deeply loves. Temple follows Thao & the Get Down Stay Down's 2016 album A Man Alive which was released to widespread critical praise. NPR Music called it a 'brilliant, jarring new album'[Nguyen's] most rewarding work yet,' while Pitchfork raved that it is 'Nguyen's most rhythmically robust, gleefully discordant release to date' and Stereogum called it 'explosive and melodically dense.' Over the past year Thao served as guest host of the acclaimed podcast Song Exploder.
Jamie xx - Idontknow [Indie Exclusive Limited Edition 12in Single]�-�Young Turks
Following 2015�s In Colour and global touring with The xx, Idontknow is Jamie�s return to the club. It lived through late 2019 - everywhere from Jamie�s own low-key parties In London and LA to OIL Club in Shenzhen, Caribou�s BBC Essential Mix to Ben UFO on The Lot. Now in uncertain times, it remains a release of energy - to move to, let loose to and to look forward to parties again.
Support Monster Music & Movies�by pre-ordering a copy of the Ghosts of West Virginia on CD, LP or Limited Edition Indie Only Vinyl (***While supplies last). Each pre-order guarantees you a record on your purchased format that will be shipped to your door to arrive on or before May 22, 2020. Each order also includes a ticket to a virtual in-store that will go live on May 15th.
Visit this link to pre-order and get a ticket to the in-store.
Read more...
A link and password to the in-store will be sent to you on May 14th from New West Records.
Due to the current circumstances RSD 2020 has once again had to adapt and here is the latest information from Record Store Day:
Since 2008, Record Store Day has grown into the world�s largest single-day music event, shining a light on the culture of the indie record store across the globe. In 2020, that world is different, so Record Store Day will be too. RSD is now scheduled to be celebrated with special, properly distanced release dates on Saturdays in August, September and October.
Record Store Day will look very different this year, but supporting indie record stores may be more important than ever. We�don't know what sort of rules will be in place, or what sort of gatherings people will be in the mood for this year, so we're focusing on the music and getting the really great titles on the RSD Official List this year into the stores and into your hands, in the most financially and socially responsible way.
The titles on the RSD 2020 Official List, launched on March 5th, will be released at participating record stores on one of these three RSD Drops: August 29th, September 26th, and October 24th.� �The new version of The List, with newly assigned RSD Drops dates will launch on June 1 so check back here for a look at when you'll be able to pick up the titles on your RSD 2020 wishlist at your local record store.�


text:
My Happy Retirement
More than 20 years ago, I founded Canopus. I wanted to sell the inventions I loved creating single, smart technologies and devices that could support multiple applications and I needed a business to do that! One thing led to another, and soon that inspiration and innovation (made much stronger by a small team of very good engineers) led to the evolution of Canopus and our hallmark approach: offer the utmost in application, format, and media support in easy-to-use, simple, and affordable products.
My biggest hope for Canopus was that our innovation would lead to your success and prosperity. Over the years, Ive really enjoyed talking with all of you on the Forum, and seeing you at events, parties, and other industry activities. Your feedback has been critical to the success of Canopus; youve shared lots of it and, in turn, Ive brought all of it back to our engineering teams.
I want to say a particular thanks to those in the WEVA community. Youve made our companys products much stronger. I really hope that you guys in the small event and wedding community and all of our customers are enjoying good business and will continue to do so.
In 2006, I sold Canopus to Thomson. I am very pleased with the integration of my team within an equally talented and hard-working team in Thomsons Broadcast & Professional Solutions (BPS) business unit.
As this business enters a new phase of growth I feel its time for a new generation of leaders. I feel confident that these fine people can drive the business forward and deliver superior products and solutionsand I can move onto my retirement.
I will consult with Thomson and the BPS business over the next several months. But before I do that, I want to share with you two of the many insights Ill share with Thomson.
First: dont be afraid to move quickly to transition your operation to HD. With standards such as Blu-Ray and HD-DVD making HD even more accessible to consumers, the sooner you make the move, the better.
Second: there are more and more media-delivery forms and everyones going to have to manage more assets. So, now even the smallest operations need to think about entire workflows instead of just point products. A digital media asset management solution needs to be simple, easy to install, and easy to use. Get a basic package now and then add applications as you need them.
The team at Thomsons BPS can help you do both these things. Please work with them. And, please accept my best wishes to you for your continued success, innovation, and prosperity.
|All times are GMT +1. The time now is 12:14 AM.
Copyright © 2014 Belden Inc. All rights reserved.


text:
Thanks for trying to motivate me guys (re: the comments) but I did actually say I was going to turn the TV on and get on my bike anyway, so there was no need to worry. But it's nice that you tried anyhow.
Clicking through my news links on my Google Reader I found this article about a company that is encouraging it's workers to be healthier by providing better food and, more importantly, making people aware of what they're eating through clearly presented information. I really like their attitude.
I've just had my Oral Communication class and they were really good. I always spaz out about it because it's first thing Monday morning, so I'm always stressing because if I forget anything or anything goes wrong there is no time to correct it, but then I get there and the kids are always super-genki and try really hard. It's a good thing too, if it was a really difficult class to work with I think I'd never be able to face coming to school at the beginning of the week. I'm wearing my Friday the 12th t-shirt to school today (I cut out the neck because crew necks, ugh, unflattering, so it looks more like a regular top) and they all loved it for some reason, which was nice. It's good to have something to catch there attention with. I was thinking that my lesson was going to be too easy for them, but then it turned out to be the perfect level (easy enough that they knew some so were confident, hard enough that they needed some things explaining and hopefully came away with a better understanding). The lessons was themed on instructions (both giving and following) which tends to be good near the beginning of term. Usually they have Japanese instructions on how to do English questions, but as I'm setting their homework this year and will probably also be writing their exams, I want them to understand what I'm asking them to do in English. We ran out of time so we didn't get to the positioning game, but it will be nice to have something fun to start next lesson with as a review. The kids always find the game hilarious so I'm looking forward to it.
With that out of the way I'm feeling far less lethargic now. It may just of been the thought of class today, but yesterday was weird. I had to force myself to eat dinner, I just wasn't hungry most the day (err.. that's rare). In the end I ate half of the dinner I had planned just so I wouldn't be on my bike on an empty stomach, but only ended up doing 10km. I thought for a while I might be coming down with something, but I feel OK now so I guess I'll have to just put it down to being one of those days and forget about it.
I woke up and my weight hadn't gone back up (marginally down from yesterday actually, but only by a very tiny amount - it would seem the secret of successfully losing weight is to eat more Mars Bars? Further research needed), and I remembered my packed lunch (another reason I forced myself to make it last night, so I would have something ready for today), so I'm feeling quite good.
Monday, April 27, 2009
Bouncing back
Thanks for trying to motivate me guys (re: the comments) but I did actually say I was going to turn the TV on and get on my bike anyway, so there was no need to worry. But it's nice that you tried anyhow.
Posted by The Fat Foreigner at 10:14 AM
Labels: The Workhouse
1 comments:
- ani pesto said...
So lethargic you don't want dinner? Well now that's something I've never suffered from before. I'm liking the sound of the mars bar diet though ;-)
- April 27, 2009 at 6:20 PM


text:
Multicoloured opal in 18K Yellow Gold
The pendant features a natural crystal opal showing various colours and fire patterns. The main colours are metallic green, orange, blue and yellow, with red, purple and other colours appearing at differing angles of view. The opal also displays striated chaff colour patterns as the pendant is turned.
A top quality opal from the mines of Coober Pedy.
The 18K yellow gold setting has an open backed bezel and was handmade in the UK and hallmarked at the Edinburgh Assay Office.
Delivered in a very presentable natural wood jewellery box,
mounted on a 45 cm (18 inch) gold plated display chain.
Solid gold chains are available as an option (please see below).
The chain shown in the images is a Diamond Cut Belcher.
Free 'Secure Delivery' to all UK destinations.
Key Features
Royal Mail Special Delivery
Free to UK Destinations


text:
Saturday, May 4, 2013
Dream Girl
I have been taking Christy Tomlinson's She Art Workshop #3 online class so I decided today was the perfect opportunity to apply what I'm learning. This is my first collaged canvas where I filled the entire background with torn sections of designer paper and the first time I have painted a face that I drew with my own little hand :) The substrate is an 8 x 10" canvas which I covered with papers from DCWV's Garden Tea Party stack using gel medium to adhere the pieces.
Next I added some colour using Rum Punch Glimmer Mist sprayed through plastic needlework canvas. Very Berry Fresco Finish paint was spread here and there, heavier around the outer edges. White gesso was applied to the canvas using the sole of a flip flop and crisscrossing the lines. Two different washi tapes were adhered in a few places with gel medium and were then embedded into the background by spreading Vintage Lace Fresco Finish over top with my finger. Vintage Photo Distress ink was applied over TCW's Mini Punchinella stencil. I also added some colour with Neocolor II crayons and a wet finger. Oh, I could have played forever...so much fun. However, it was time to block in the face...yikes!!
I sketched the shape of the face, neck, and shoulders and filled them in with craft paint (Fleshtone). I shaded around the face, under the neck, and down the shoulders and then sketched in her eyes and middle lip line. After that, I just painted and played. I did use a White Faber-Castell Big Brush pen (love these!) to highlight, blotting the wet ink with my finger to spread and soften it. I will be ordering some more Big Brush pens from the eP store since they are so awesome for shading and highlighting.
I used my Mini Mister to water down some hair colours (Dark Chocolate, Raw Sienna, Burnt Sienna, and Haystack Fresco paint) and lined in her hair with a round brush. Extra shading was added with a brown Big Brush pen, softening with my finger. Again, I could have played and played :)
Next came her necklace and dress straps. I used a butterfly embellie from my stash which is an acrylic dome with an image behind it. To finish Lucy's necklace, I used Glossy Accents to adhere lengths of bead chain to either side of the butterfly piece. The straps were created from pieces of wedding type stickers which I scuffed up with Very Berry paint on...you guessed it... my finger. Shading was done above and below the necklace, next to the straps, and dry brushed onto the neck..
Hmmm... finishing touches. The butterfly was fussy cut from the same paper as the background, glued in the middle only, and given an Idea=ology trinket pin which was scuffed with gesso to blend it in with the canvas. More gesso was applied through the Christy Tomlinson vintage doily mask to add more texture and break up the background. Christy Tomlinson rub ons (doodle art stitches) were placed here and there as was the Christy Tomlinson stamp Cooped Up Notes. The lettering is my go-to Idea-ology Alpha Parts. To emphasize it but also tie it in to the background, four lengths of jute were adhered, two to each side. Finally some pinkpaislee zigzag fabric trim was adhered to the top and left side of the canvas. It was scuffed with Vintage Photo and faux stitched.
Whew, I did it! A totally paper collaged canvas with a hand drawn and painted face. I even got to use my new Christy Tomlinson goodies that I just got from the eP store. Thanks for making this journey with me today. It might have been my first of these but it won't be my last :) To check out some of the products I used click on the thumbnails below and you will land in exactly the right place in the eclectic Paperie store.
Now I need to go and scrub my hands, especially that one finger :) Enjoy the weekend.
14 comments:
- Redanne said...
I reckon Christy Tomlinson would be very impressed to see this Bonnie! The background is fabulous - I do love paper blocking but your way is very appealing. Your lady's hair is amazing and those lips are to die for! A wonderful canvas and it really shows that you enjoyed doing it too. Hugs, Anne x
- May 4, 2013 at 4:38:00 AM EDT
- toni said...
This is lovely Bonnie, beautifully done she has a very serene expression. I really must check out Christy Tomlinson's blog I'd love to have a go at some 'she art' i
- May 4, 2013 at 6:36:00 AM EDT
- Tracy said...
Wow oh wow! Bonnie you have really shined on this project. The background process taught me so many cool things and your drawing is magnificent. She's so full of life and character. Truly amazing project!
- May 4, 2013 at 8:29:00 AM EDT
- Kim said...
Bonnie...this is amazing!! Love, love, love it! I'm just sketching my first face too...hoping to finish it this weekend! It's so much fun! Great job on this project, it's beautiful!
- May 4, 2013 at 8:32:00 AM EDT
- Colleen said...
Amazing work of art! So brave of you to take this one on. Love the paper blocking and the hair is amazing.
- May 4, 2013 at 10:01:00 AM EDT
- Donna-Marie said...
WoW!! So many beautiful techniques, color and creativity :-)
Kudos a real work of art!!
- May 4, 2013 at 5:06:00 PM EDT
- Clare Lloyd said...
she is really lovely. x
- May 5, 2013 at 7:18:00 AM EDT
- butterfly said...
Oh, Bonnie - this is wonderful! Can't believe it's your first face - she's so beautiful... as is that amazing background. Fabulous detailing in the necklace and lips... a real delight! Thanks for the tip on the brush pens too...
Alison x
- May 5, 2013 at 4:37:00 PM EDT
- Tracy said...
OMG Bonnie...fabulous...wow..love every little detail along the way..I am in awe here!!
- May 5, 2013 at 6:11:00 PM EDT
- Micki said...
She's awesome! Love your shading!!!!! I so need to practice..... :-)
- May 5, 2013 at 9:44:00 PM EDT
- Katyoparty said...
Wow--are you sure that was your first time???? She looks gorgeous!
- May 5, 2013 at 11:31:00 PM EDT
- suzieq23 said...
I am taking Christy's She Art 3 as well and hope I can be creative as you. your canvas is great. Love the face, the colors, everything. Cannot believe this Is your first. Just think what the 2nd and 3rd will be.
- May 6, 2013 at 12:17:00 AM EDT
- Erin Smetak said...
Oh my gosh, Bonnie! I am amazed! Your portrait is FABULOUS!!!!!!!!!!!!
- May 8, 2013 at 1:56:00 PM EDT
- Teresa Jaye said...
wow Bonnie, she is absolutely beautiful.
- May 10, 2013 at 8:42:00 PM EDT


text:
KUALA LUMPUR: October 05, 2018. MABKargo, the air cargo arm of Malaysia Airlines, and subsidiary of the Malaysia Aviation Group, delivered an outsize consignment of oil well parts on an A330-200 freighter from Kuala Lumpur to Bandar Seri Begawan, Brunei Darussalam today.
"The oil & gas industry's charters have always been very challenging and more often than not present logistical intricacies. In this case, we have re-routed the scheduled flight planned for Kuala Lumpur–Labuan–Hanoi into BWN to meet a special request for immediate delivery," explained Amiroel Shazrie Yussof, MABkargo general manager Sales & Marketing.
"Charter flights are ideal for the oil & gas industry as they allow our customers to work on their own schedule utilizing the most convenient airports," he continued. "Over the years, MABkargo has gained immense experience from coordinating and successfully delivering oil and gas equipment to a number of destinations worldwide. Our experience in handling charters created a niche strength for us [and are] are a key revenue generator."
According to a September economic forecast from the Asia Development Bank (ADB), overall Southeast Asian growth is expected to be 5.1 percent this year due to moderation in export growth, softer domestic demand, subdued agriculture, higher inflation, net capital outflow and a worsening balance of payments in Indonesia, the Lao People's Democratic Republic (Lao PDR), Malaysia, Myanmar, the Philippines, and Viet Nam.
Brunei Darussalam and Thailand, by contrast, look set to outperform earlier forecasts, while Cambodia and Singapore will likely meet April projections. Growth is still forecast to return in 2019 to the 2017 rate of 5.2 percent says the ADB.