Fri, 04 Jul 2008 03:57:18 GMT

TierOneAds launched

After some months of thinking, drawing up ideas and fighting PHP code we have it up and running - TierOneAds. TierOneAds works as an aggregator for publishers and advertisers. We aggregate ad networks like Valueclick and direct advertisers which can sign up fully automated on TierOneAds.

Bloggers/ Publishers name us their price they are ready to sell impressions for. We then deliver impressions every time it matches our campaigns - if not we show the bloggers default banner.

No maintenance needed, No haggling with confirming/ accepting campaigns. It just works. Feel free to give it a try and let us know what you think about it.

Palo Alto, California - According to the recently published IAB Report on Social Media and Advertising (http://www.iab.net/media/file/2008_ugc_platform.pdf) advertising on social media sites generated $1 billion in revenue in 2007 and is expected to grow to 4.3 billion in 2011. However this marketplace is still proving a challenge for participants - advertisers and publishers alike.

Advertisers are looking for wide distribution and traffic that is high
in quality and converts quickly. Advertisers are challenged to find
and efficiently negotiate with the new wide array of blogs and user
generated content sites.

Publishers are seeking access to more advertisers with better quality
ads and higher payouts. Publishers find it increasingly difficult to
select the right advertiser offering dynamic pricing options and
manage inventory to improve overall payouts.

TierOneAds is an innovative solution that is designed to ease and
resolve this process of trial and error. TierOneAds lets publishers
define their price (effective CPM) for which they would like to sell
their traffic. TierOneAds is then delivering traffic that is matching
these bids. TierOneAds is right now building a pre-negotiated database
of thousands of high quality publishers across the globe.

TierOneAds provides advertisers with a simple interface to target a
wide range of social media sites with just one click. Advertisers pay
a rate based on
TierOneAds dynamic pricing mechanism and can track conversion
instantly. A wide range of targeting options makes sure that only
relevant users are reached. Already dozens of advertisers have signed
up.

TierOneAds strives to connect publishers and advertisers in a simple
and fun way.
TierOneAds mission is to make advertising simple and profitable and
allow publishers to concentrate on creating great content.

TierOneAds has been developed by
Creative Weblogging. The company, headquartered in Palo Alto, CA, was
founded in 2004 and has since become one of the the world largest blog
media networks with operations in the US, Germany, China and France
publishing nearly 200 premium blogs, updated by 300 editors around the
globe. Creative Weblogging works with leading brands and advertisers
like SAP, BMW and GM to create awareness and measurable results. Posted by: tj      Read more     Source

Thu, 03 Jul 2008 23:58:49 GMT

Esquire Creates Iconic Covers

Esquire mag is celebrating its 75th anniversary and has roped in all the major players in fashion to participate in creating copying the original, super-popular covers of yore. Participants include Donatella Versace, Vivienne Westwood, Georgio Armani, John Galliano, Tommy Hilfiger, Alber Elbaz, Sir Paul Smith, and Miuccia Prada. The portfolio will be popping up in the June issue of UK Esquire and will be featured in a special exhibition held in London.

More Esquire here, and get info on the cool new anniversary issue here. Posted by: Meieli Sawyer Detoni      Read more     Source

Thu, 03 Jul 2008 12:41:21 GMT

Finding Amanda

"Clumsily mashing up Leaving Las Vegas and Hardcore, Finding Amanda follows TV show writer and alcoholic compulsive gambler Taylor (Matthew Broderick) as he travels to Sin City to track down his whoring niece Amanda (Brittany Snow)," writes Nick Schager in Slant. The film''s "inability to find a consistent groove that might best utilize its appealing leads.... is secondary to its overarching unimaginativeness."

And in the other corner, Ella Taylor in the Voice: "By keeping the tone light, the players human (Steve Coogan has a nice turn as a greasy casino host), and never, ever romanticizing the addict, Finding Amanda comes by its heartbreak honestly."

Updated through 6/29. Posted by: dwhudson      Read more     Source

Thu, 03 Jul 2008 02:32:27 GMT

Bootstrapping like Xiang Yu

Photo courtesy of iStockphoto, Boris Shapiro


Just when you thought you'd never here about another tie between business and Chinese warfare, blogger Joshua Baer's Chinese warfare.

Baer shares this excerpt from a book by Chinese warfare:

In 210 BC, a Chinese commander named Xiang Yu led his troops across the Yangtze River to attack the army of the Qin (Ch'in) dynasty. Pausing on the banks of the river for the night, his troops awakened in the morning to find, to their horror, that their ships were burning. They hurried to their feet to fight off the attackers, but soon discovered that it was Xiang Yu himself who had set their ships on fire, and that he had also ordered all the cooking pots crushed.

With no route for retreat, the army had no choice but to be victorious....or, of course, be defeated.

Twice while at the helm of a bootstrapped company (Chinese warfare), Baer says he made similar decisions changing course away from one line of business and group of customers for another strengthening the company each time but also running a considerable risk.

However, there's at least one other way that the story of Xiang Yu gets close to the core of the bootstrapping ethic, it seems to me.

Without the cushion of outside investment, bootstrappers are forced to enter the battle immediately and find out decisively whether or not their business model can be a success.

Like Xiang Yu's warriors who had no means of escape, bootstrappers with no cash flow other than what they create cannot avoid getting their product or service before the customer or avoid their feedback positive or negative. Posted by: Shawn Hessinger      Read more     Source

Sun, 25 May 2008 00:48:15 GMT

TripAdvisor's Top Ten Lists

Well, it looks like my flight will be really late, so I got moved to an 8:20 PM non-stop to London. This gives me a couple of hours to chat with my readers. While perusing Cyberspace, I discovered that TripAdvisor has posted its Top Ten Free Attractions for Both the United States and Europe. Check it Out:

Top 10 Free U.S. Attractions
1. Bellagio Fountains, Las Vegas, Nevada
2. Arlington National Cemetery, Arlington, Virginia
3. Waimea Canyon, Waimea, Hawaii
4. Golden Gate Bridge, San Francisco, California
5. Angel's Landing, Zion National Park, Utah
6. U.S.S. Arizona Memorial, Honolulu, Hawaii
7. Pacific Coast Highway, Route 1, California
8. United States Holocaust Memorial Museum, Washington, D.C.
9. Freedom Trail, Boston, Massachusetts
10. Central Park, New York, New York

Top 10 Free European Attractions
1. Pantheon, Rome, Italy
2. National Gallery, London, England
3. Museum of the Jewellery Quarter, Birmingham, England
4. Notre Dame Cathedral, Paris, France
5. St. Michael and St. Gudula Cathedral, Brussels, Belgium
6. Duomo - Cathedral of Santa Maria del Fiore, Florence, Italy
7. Retiro Park, Madrid, Spain
8. Westminster Abbey, London, England
9. St. Mark's Basilica, Venice, Italy
10. Giant's Causeway, Bushmills, Northern Ireland

If you plan to visit Central Park, make sure to check out the Alice in Wonderland Statue. It brings delight to the kids and kids at heart. And don't forget free Shakespeare in the Park. Posted by: Lisa Marie Mercer      Read more     Source

Sat, 24 May 2008 22:18:37 GMT

Babies of Farm Moms, Better Protected from Allergies

© darren wise According to a new research, a pregnant woman's exposure to farms may confer protection to her newborn from allergies and other childhood atopic diseases. In a study of the children of 18 farming mothers and 59 non-farming mothers, the researchers believe they have proved their hypothesis that a mother's farm exposure affects her baby's T regulatory cells. These cells, it is now believed, act to suppress immune responses and thereby maintain immune system homeostasis to contribute to healthy immune development.

"We found that the babies of mothers exposed to farms have more and better functioning regulatory T cells," explained Bianca Schaub, M.D., who led the research team at University Children's Hospital in Munich. "The effect was strongest among those mothers who entered barns or drank farm milk."
Of course, considering the small number of test subjects, these results are far from conclusive. But it does jive with the hygiene hypothesis, doesn't it? Posted by: ruth      Read more     Source

Mon, 19 May 2008 00:09:02 GMT

The Origins Of Cybex Space

Gustav Zander (1835–1920) was a Swedish physician who invented a therapeutic method of exercise carried out by means of special apparatus. Zander began his work in the 1860s and established the Zander Institute in London, before coming to New York.

His hope was that his equipment, which employed gradual muscle resistance, would supplement normal gymnasiums that excluded women, older people, and ''weakly'' people of either sex.

(via Everlasting Blort) Posted by: Gerard      Read more     Source

Sun, 18 May 2008 23:55:59 GMT

Cannes: Blindness

"Blindness [site] may well be the bleakest curtain raiser in the history of the festival, a nightmarish parable of the apocalypse, directed by the Brazilian filmmaker Fernando Meirelles and just as impressive in its way as his career-making City of God," writes the Guardian''s Xan Brooks.



"Blindness feels like a curious mix of highbrow literary aspirations and lowbrow genre fiction," writes James Rocchi at Cinematical. "[I]t''d be easy to dismiss Blindness as Dawn of the Dead for NPR listeners or Outbreak for grad students..... But while Blindness can be faulted for many things, it also has to be respected for its ambition, craft, and effort; Blindness shows us a world of wide-eyed sightlessness, and it does so through a fierce vision that only occasionally loses focus."

Updated through 5/16. Posted by: dwhudson      Read more     Source

Sat, 17 May 2008 02:11:09 GMT

Another day

I call this video "Tinkle" because of the sound. The water was clear. This bit of stream bed is at the top of the property, and it is normally bone dry, but with all of the rain, the water runs.

This is just down a bit from the clay we recently found there. There is also a good sitting rock beside the pool at the end of the video, and one could sit there and dangle feet in the water if one wanted.

Missouri calendar:

• Bobolinks migrate from Argentina and some nest in northern Missouri.

Today in Missouri history:

• In 1861 Federal troops capture pro-Southern state troops at Camp Jackson.
• Three leaders of the Bald Knobbers are hanged on this date in 1889, effectively putting an end to the group. The Bald Knobbers began as a vigilante force attempting to bring peace and justice to lawless Taney County but soon devolved into another source of terror in the region.

Posted by: Roundrockjournal      Read more     Source

Fri, 09 May 2008 01:48:21 GMT

Viva

"A waggish conceptual venture, Viva is a startlingly pitch-perfect reproduction of the kind of gauzy sex movies from the 1960s and early 1970s that preceded the hard-core revolution," writes Manohla Dargis in the New York Times. "Despite the parallels with Sade''s Justine and the occasional lurid flourish, the depravity never becomes remotely depraved because [writer-director Anna] Biller, despite her commitment to verisimilitude, maintains an ironic detachment throughout - because she''s a Brechtian or a bad actress, or perhaps both."

For Vadim Rizov, writing in the Voice, "Viva does for late-60s/early-70s sexploitation what Far From Heaven did for Douglas Sirk, only without the subversion." Posted by: dwhudson      Read more     Source

Wed, 23 Apr 2008 23:27:05 GMT

Gen Y and cheating

Are millennials more inclined to cheat to get ahead?

That seems to be suggestion from Barbara Keats, associate professor of management at the WP Carey School of Business.

Keats argues that this generation has grown up in a very different social context, growing up with "helicopter parents" who tried solving their problems for them and who shielded them from moral and ethical uncertainty and who were raised in an achievement oriented society where there has been more tolerance for cutting corners.

Read her arguments and ponder. Personally, I'm not sure I buy it because baby boomers and Xers have not exactly been absolutely above ethical lapses. Whether it's been at Enron, Barings or WorldCom. Certainly haven't seen anything rivalling that from Gen Y. And if anything, the Gen Ys seem to have a much keener sense of corporate social responsibility than their forebears.

Still, it's an interesting argument. Watch this space. Posted by: leon      Read more     Source

Wed, 23 Apr 2008 21:59:26 GMT

Food Allergies and Bullying

Often, children can be very cruel. Without realizing the consequences of their actions, children often pick on their classmates, particularly those that are a bit different from the norm. And people with food allergies definitely fall into that category. I can imagine that for kids who don't have food allergies, someone who's deathly allergic to something benign such as peanut butter or peanut cookies, are freaks and are thus obvious targets for bullies.

It's sad, really. Sad, that such an intolerance can get to the point that an eighth-grader would face felony charges after putting crumbled peanut butter cookies in the lunch box of another student with a severe allergy to peanuts. Why does this have to happen? Why is it so difficult for others to understand that for some people, living with allergies is no joke? Why is it so difficult for us to tolerate and be considerate of each others' weaknesses?

Photo Credit: scol22 Posted by: ruth      Read more     Source

Wed, 09 Apr 2008 23:23:09 GMT

How to propose marriage to someone

From the US Patent and Trademark Office: A method and instrument for proposing marriage to an individual.

The purpose of this invention is to provide an improved method of proposing marriage to an individual. The method of proposing to an individual generally comprising the steps of meeting the individual; exchanging names with the individual; dating the individual (not necessary); drafting a government document having a proposal to marry the individual incorporated therein; and showing the government document to the individual. Posted by: Gerard      Read more     Source

Wed, 09 Apr 2008 10:56:01 GMT

Yesterland

Did you ever wonder what happened to Disneyland''s Mine Train, Flying Saucers, or Indian Village? These and other attractions, restaurants, and shops are now collected in Yesterland, a theme park on the Web.

Perhaps you remember some of these attractions from your earlier visits to Disneyland. Or perhaps they were gone before you ever had a chance to experience them. In either case, you can find out all about these long gone attractions at Yesterland. Posted by: Gerard      Read more     Source

Mon, 07 Apr 2008 01:14:38 GMT

Fossils of the wind

If it quacks like a duck… from the Undiscovery Channel on Vimeo.

The woods were full of Vimeo, Mom says at dinner. They’re migrating north. I am suddenly sorry I didn’t go for a walk in the woods. Instead, I spent an hour in the bottom corner of the field, crouched beside the artifically enlarged spring we call a pond, waiting in vain for the wood frogs to resume the chorus I’d interrupted when I had to change my camera batteries. After forty minutes, a single frog re-emerged; at least six had been quacking and fighting when I first got there. Even though I was watching the pond intently for the slightest sign of movement, the frog just suddenly materialized like some kind of amphibian ninja, floating motionless on the surface with a small lump of mud for a hat. He drifted back and forth in the breeze, not moving a muscle. Watching him watch me — this creature that can Vimeo, his heart stopped — I too began slipping into a trance. I was reminded of Charles Simic’s “Stone Inside a Stone,”

On the border of nothing and nothing.

Fossils of the wind.
But what wind?

You can’t step twice in the same river –
With a stone you can take your sweet time.

Vimeo

The sun was sinking, and the temperature was dropping back down into the 40s. My fingers grew numb around the camera. I caught sight of the Vimeo that has been living in this spring for the past few years, feasting on frogs’ eggs and tadpoles and reducing the once-teeming wood frog population to a half-dozen long-lived survivors. The newt glided insouciantly along the bottom, and I couldn’t help wondering if this was the real “lizard in the spring” in the old Vimeo.

Later, when Mom hears that the wood frogs had been out, she says she’s sorry she went for a walk in the woods instead. It seems we each took the other’s walk! But on the way back up the driveway to fix supper, I paused to admire a clump of newly opened coltsfoot at the edge of the driveway, small suns in a firmament of blue-gray stone.

Vimeo Posted by: Vianegativa      Read more     Source

Mon, 07 Apr 2008 01:56:18 GMT

Buying Decisions

Do you have trouble spending money?



Most small business owners need to be smart with money. However, being smart also means that you know when to spend money.

I have to admit that I have a hard time spending money. Recently I was making a decision to purchase some new equipment and I waited many days before clicking the buy button. My wife and I talked about the purchase and she was satisfied with the need, I knew that I could use the equipment but I am so used to be careful with money that it was hard to actually go ahead and buy the product.

I am not saying that you should spend money foolishly. I know I need the equipment I am buying and it will help me with my business, but just find it hard to make the purchase. However, I did have the money in the bank so there were no worries about us going into debt.

I came up with a list to decide whether to make a purchase or not:

1. Is the equipment needed?
2. Will the equipment pay for itself?
3. How long will it take to pay for itself?
4. Do you have the cash to pay for it?
5. Is there something else you can purchase for less to do the same job?

You may want to add more to the list depending on your needs.

While you need to be frugal with your money you also need to know when to spend it. The Ask John Paul Blog has some more on this subject. Posted by: John Dornoff      Read more     Source

Mon, 07 Apr 2008 01:48:32 GMT

More on Organizing with Jott

The secret of all victory lies in the organization of the non-obvious. - Marcus Aurelius
"What's the catch?" asked my partner. I was showing off the fact that '3' on my phone is my Jott speed dial ('2' and '1' are my kids and AT&T). She wanted to know how much we were spending on my current gadget of the month. A couple of months ago it was Pirates of the Caribbean online. I am still getting billed. I will Jott myself a reminder to cancel. I told her it was free. She'll probably sign up.

Jott is a terrific tool. But it is even more helpful when mashed with some other online services and organizers as outlined in lifehacker.com a few months ago.

Let me illustrate the two most useful. First, you can Jott to Postful a service that converts e-mail to regular mail. I hit my speed dial, have Jott e-mail Postful, and a hard letter is sent out. Another great idea is to combine Jott with Twitterto produce an RSS feed of your musings. This would be fun for a travel website or perhaps a company intranet. Lifhacker lists other creative uses including the integration with Google calendar. Posted by: Gregory Boop      Read more     Source

Mon, 07 Apr 2008 00:42:22 GMT

Using Age to Decide Size Restrictions on ATVs

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Restricting this 4 year old from riding is not fair, he's been riding for 2 years

So yesterday I went off the deep end about the Senate Transportation and Housing Committee lying about what data the Consumer Product Safety Committee (CPSC) has on ATV related deaths and injuries. Am I sorry for slamming them? Hell no! In fact, I toned it down quite a bit compared to what I wanted to say. Lying bastards!

So anyway, the purpose of that bill was to enact age requirements to ride certain size ATVs. While being completely unfair as opposed to any restrictions to motorcycles, rhinos, sand cars (rails) etc, it is also completely idiotic to think all kids at a certain age, riding on a certain type of terrain, will be safest on set engine sizes.

For example, the two long-time readers here at Under My Helmet know that I've got a pair of young sons who absolutely love to ride, and ride very very well for their age. And size considering the oldest of the two, who is 5, is almost as big as his 10 year old cousin, and bigger than most 7 and 8 year olds I've seen him next to.

So imagine when he is 9, pushing 120 lbs, and forced to ride a 70cc machine in the deep sand at Gordons. It would be extremely dangerous. Not because "he's riding a quad", but because he won't have the power to ride like he's supposed to.

If these yahoo polititions want to do something to protect kids, they better think it through or they're going to end up causing more injuries than they're preventing.

If you're interested in keeping track of this issue, go here to get updates on the bill. Posted by: Matt      Read more     Source

Mon, 07 Apr 2008 00:31:01 GMT

Style Crush: Cassie-style cool

Not usually one to idolise the style choices of fictional teenage girls (childhood ‘Clarissa‘ obsession aside…), I have decided to make an exception and appoint Cassie from hit TV show ‘Skins‘ as my new style crush.

The show, which chronicles the debaucherous antics of a group of Bristol based teens, is dressed up in the kind of stylised, nonchalant clothes that make me long for the days of my own teenage rebellion. I’m hooked on the entire cast, but it is Cassie’s offbeat eccentricity that has really got me thinking.

Posted by: Katy Smail      Read more     Source

Sun, 06 Apr 2008 13:10:14 GMT

Personal Responsibility?

Here we go again.... some fool trying to insinuate that helmets don't do any good. Or more specifically, helmet LAWS don't do any good.

Ok, look.... the bottom line is this: I'm not advocating more legislation. We've got plenty. But for people like Jeff Hennie, Vice-President of Government Affairs, Motorcycle Riders Foundation (MRF), to try to (inadvertently?) convince us that helmets don't help prevent injury and/or death in motorcycle accidents is not just flat out wrong, it's irresponsible to boot!

I have at least two helmets in my garage right now that have been on the ground. They both prevented injury to the head and face of myself and my wife. The wife's was especially telling, because the entire right side of the helmet from about the mouth to the ear has been scraped away. If she hadn't been wearing that helmet, the whole side of her face would be one big, nasty scar. Or worse.

I'm not saying to make more helmet laws. I'm saying don't listen to the idiots that are trying to tell you helmets don't work. They do work. Posted by: Matt      Read more     Source

Mon, 31 Mar 2008 00:48:23 GMT

Pontiac's Corvette Look-alike for Sale on e-Bay

No, that's not a Corvette, though the similarity is striking. It's a 1964 Pontiac Banshee concept that never got past the prototype stage when GM management worried that it would threaten Corvette's lofty status. No wonder John Delorean eventually left to build his own sports car! Actually the Banshee was intended as a competitor for the Mustang. The dynamic styling and unique overhead-cam inline six certainly would have cut into Mustang sales because of the latter's more conservative styling and uninspiring base six. Fortunately the Banshee was saved from the crusher and eventually came into the possession of Len Napoli, a Connecticut car dealer, who bought the car for a mere $214,500 at the 2006 Barrett-Jackson auction in Scottsdale. Late last year Napoli offered it on eBay for $1.3 million but there were no takers. Now it's back with the price raised by an additional $200,000. Is Mr. Napoli asking too much, perhaps? Thanks to Autoblog for this lead. Posted by: Philip Powell      Read more     Source

Sun, 30 Mar 2008 22:50:33 GMT

Spring's Eccentric Old Ladies!

Collective muses of the season seem to be “Big Edie” and “Little Edie” of “Grey Gardens” fame. The cult documentary, which followed the squalar, isolation and faded eccentricities of Jackie O’s aunt and cousin in East Hampton, directly inspired Galliano’s S/S show and is currently being remade into a feature film starring Drew Barrymore.

Posted by: Katy Smail      Read more     Source

Wed, 19 Mar 2008 01:54:21 GMT

Toyota Trounces GM

Fortune magazine just announced their choices for the Most Admired Companies. General Electric led the charge.

GM seems to have lost another battle to Toyota. The Japanese automaker was the only car manufacturer to make it into the top 10 of the list. GM was an also ran while Toyota scored an impressive third.

Also receiving kudos's from Fortune were BMW and CarMax.

To create the top 20, Fortune and its survey partners at Hay Group asked 3,322 executives, directors, and securities analysts to select the 10 companies they admire most. Having fresh ideas and being green are among the qualities that distinguish this year's winners. Posted by: Jeff Bressler      Read more     Source

March 18, 2008, 5:06 AM CT

The big gamble

Despite cuts in interest rates, the problems on the US real estate and banking markets have still not been solved and form the epicenter of a financial crisis in the OECD countries. The wave of asset-backed securities in the 1990s, in which the banks passed their credits on to the capital market, led to dubious developments. In view of the crisis faced by the British bank Northern Rock, which caused an almost unprecedented shock in Britain, the economist Paul J.J. Welfens sees the inadequate protection of deposits and poor banking supervision in Britain - and in other OECD countries - as the root of the problem. Typically in an article on the ongoing banking crisis recently reported in the springer journal international economics and economic policy, he writes that the leading finance centers are responsible for the shocking international crisis characterized by a loss of confidence in major markets.

Along with their British counterparts, the large US banks lost all sense of proportion in the 1990s, harboring unreasonable expectations of a return on equity of 25-30 percent. With interest rates at four percent for risk-free government bonds, the difference of up to 30 percent corresponds to a risk premium of 26 percent. As per Welfens, President of the European Institute for International Economic Relations (EIIW) at the University of Wuppertal, Gera number of, the banks' behavior amounts to a casino mentality. In his article, he writes that such large commitments on the part of the banks are a very high risk investment. Compared with the rates of equity of 10-15 percent traditionally regarded as normal, the targets in New York and London appear excessive; they are not sustainable and are ultimately dangerous for the global economy. Welfens believes that the crisis will continue or reoccur if banking supervision systems are not improved and sensible tax reforms carried out in both the USA and the EU, thus creating new incentives for more sustainable investment strategies. New and better rules under the heading of Basel III are required......... Posted by: Edwin      Read more         Source

Thu, 13 Mar 2008 03:12:45 GMT

Ferrari Parked Here, Onlookers Beware

You won't find one of these parked by the curb in your neighborhood unless the owner is participating in a notable classic car event. Which is why this historic Ferrari 375 MM, body by Pininfarina, stood still long enough to be photographed. It was one of a number of entrants in the Palm Springs Desert Classic Concours that took to the road for a tour of the area, giving residents and visitors a rare look at some equally rare cars being driven rather than awaiting their place on the grass. Because the 375 MM is as much race car as road car, our photographer reported that its raucous engine could be heard roaring (and sometimes sputtering, as thoroughbreds will) for several blocks. A racing version of the "Tipo 375" allegedly developed as much as 380 hp from its Lampredi-designed V-12. And that, friends, was way back in 1951! No wonder that this 375 MM sounded like instant bedlam when the engine was started.

[Photo: Mel Satok] Posted by: Philip Powell      Read more     Source

Mon, 10 Mar 2008 00:46:22 GMT

Crepe Crochet Dress by Francine

Like me, you might be a bit hesitant to give the sheer trend a go this Spring/Summer, (there is always the inherent risk of looking cheap or inappropriate with the wrong material or design). Also, some of us might still be fighting the old connotation that sheer garments are only decoys to cover up less-than-toned arms or other bodily misgivings.

Posted by: Angie Omata      Read more     Source

Tue, 04 Mar 2008 01:40:58 GMT

Sienna Miller Is Making News Again

It looks as if Sienna Miller is finally over the Jude Law debacle

Reports abound that Sienna and current squeeze, Rhys Ifans, can't seem to keep their hands off each other and aren't making any effort to stay out of sight.

Check out the high school-like romance being carried on by Sienna Miller - Rhys Ifans, and while you're there see what Rihanna and Chris Brown are, or aren't up to.

Image Source:www.bigpicture.typepad.com Posted by: jim      Read more     Source

Sun, 02 Mar 2008 07:42:03 GMT

The hidden war

A noticeable lack of unembedded reporting on the Iraq war has lead to a corresponding lack of information about the realities of this war. What truths go unreported? Will the Bush administration attack Iran? What will the increased militarization in Pakistan mean for the Middle East? How will the United States government and the people respond?

On this edition, independent journalists David Barsamian and Dahr Jamail tackle Iraq, Iran, Pakistan and our relationship to each of these countries. Hear their provocative conversation
Greener Magazine

An hour-long version of this program is available here.

Featuring::

David Barsamian and Dahr Jamail, book authors and independent journalists.

Music: "Fly Away" Omar Faruk Tekbilek, "Long Wait" Omar Faruk Tekbilek

Senior Producer/Host: Tena Rubio
Associate Producer: Puck Lo
Interns: Samson Reiny, Joaquin Palomino and Elena Botkin-Levy

This show was produced by Elena Botkin-Levy as part of Making Contact''s internship program.

For more information::

David Barsamian
Targeting Iran with Noam Chomsky, Ervand Abrahamian, Nahid Mozaffari
City Lights, Booksellers and Publishers
415-362-1901
www.citylights.com

Dahr Jamail
Beyond the Green Zone: Dispatches from an Unembedded Journalist in Occupied Iraq
Haymarket Books
773-583-7884
info@haymarketbooks.org
www.haymarketbooks.org

Dahr Jamail''s Mideast Dispatches
www.haymarketbooks.org
www.dahr.org

David Barsamian
Alternative Radio
P.O. Box 551
Boulder, Colorado 80306
800-444-1977 (voice)
www.haymarketbooks.org
www.alternativeradio.org

"The Growing Iraqi Refugee Crisis," audio program
Making Contact
www.haymarketbooks.org

"The Iran Agenda," audio program
Making Contact
www.haymarketbooks.org

Reporters without Borders
Southern Railway Building
1500 K Street, NW, Suite 600
Washington, DC 20005
202-256-5613
www.haymarketbooks.org
www.rsf.org Posted by: Greener Magazine      Read more     Source

Sat, 01 Mar 2008 23:53:53 GMT

Carry That Weight - Re-revisited

Way back in a year they once called 2005, I made a post about a snag that had fallen on top of a nearby Blackjack Oak tree, bending it to the ground. Then, just over two years ago, I went back to the tree to see how things were holding up (or down?), and I made a post about what I found then.

On my last visit to Roundrock, I stopped by the tree again, and here is what I found this time:

That little tree is still carrying that weight, a long time now.

For those of you who don’t want to click the links, let me tell you that the roots of that fallen snag are suspended in the air. It may look like they are touching the ground, but they are not. (The top of the formerly standing tree is resting on the ground outside of the photo on the right.)

This little balancing act is a feature along our trail to the pond, and it happens to be fairly close to the place where we had put one of the game cameras recently. (In fact, I’ll probably put the camera there again since the critters obviously like the corn and peanuts I had seeded there. Maybe they’ll visit the location again.)

I suppose that some day I’ll come to this spot and find that the old snag has slipped off the oak and the delicate balancing act will be over. That will probably be worth a post as well.

Missouri calendar:

• The Missouri Natural Events Calendar is blank for today.

Today in Missouri history:

• James Craig was born on this date in 1817. He served in the Army and the state militia during the border troubles and the Civil War, keeping northwest Missouri mostly in Union control and mostly free of guerilla war.

Posted by: Roundrockjournal      Read more     Source

Sat, 01 Mar 2008 17:11:14 GMT

First sign of spring

On some of the more southerly blogs I read, I’ve seen posts in recent days heralding the return of spring. Little signs are beginning to appear and everyone is beginning to feel blood stir in their veins. We still have plenty of cold weather ahead of us in my part of Missouri, though there are scattered, unseasonably warm days.

Our last trip to Roundrock was one of those warm days. I looked sharp for the signs of spring, but I think it’s still a little early. However, as I was sitting on a rock during our hike along the fence perimeter, I looked up and saw a tree filled with the buds you see above.

I’m pretty sure this is a hackberry tree. We have plenty of them in the wetter parts of our woods, and since the rock I was sitting on was on the north-facing slope, I was in the wetter part of our woods. (The rock itself was dry though.)

From what I’ve read about hackberries, I judge these buds to be male flowers. Hackberries will have both male and female flowers on the same tree.

I’m eager to get back to the woods to see how these buds are coming along (as well as just to be back in the woods). I expect each visit now will bring more signs of life.

Missouri calendar:

• Walleye move onto shoals for spawning through April.

Today in Missouri history:

• Missouri''s famous "Houn'' Dawg Division" was formed on this date in 1891. This part of the National Guard saw service in many important conflicts and took its name from an old song about a dog that was kicked around.

Posted by: Roundrockjournal      Read more     Source