Art Asia Online

Valentine's Day

2009-02-13T18:33:00.000-08:00

วันนักบุญวาเลนไทน์ (Saint Valentine's Day) หรือที่เป็นที่รู้จักว่า วันวาเลนไทน์ (Valentine's Day) ตรงกับวันที่ 14 กุมภาพันธ์ ของทุกปี เป็นวันประเพณีที่คู่รักบอกให้กันและกันทราบเกี่ยวกับความรักของ พวกเขา โดยการส่งการ์ดวาเลนไทน์ ซึ่งโดยมากจะไม่ระบุชื่อ วันนี้เริ่มเกี่ยวข้องกับความรักแบบชู้สาวในช่วงยุค High Middle Ages เมื่อประเพณีความรักแบบช่างเอาใจ (courtly love) แผ่ขยาย

ประวัติ

วันวาเลนไทน์นั้นมีมาตั้งแต่สมัยจักรวรรดิโรมัน ในกรุงโรมสมัยก่อนนั้น วันที่ 14 กุมภาพันธ์ จะเป็นวันเฉลิมฉลองของจูโน่ซึ่งเป็นราชินีแห่งเหล่าเทพและเทพธิดาของโรมัน ชาวโรมันรู้จักเธอในนามของเทพธิดาแห่ง อิสตรีและการแต่งงาน และในวันถัดมาคือวันที่ 15 กุมภาพันธ์ ก็จะเป็นวันเริ่มต้นงานเลี้ยงของ Lupercalia การดำเนินชีวิตของเด็กหนุ่มและเด็กสาวในสมัยนั้นจะถูกแยกจากกันอย่างเด็ดขาด แต่อย่างไรก็ตาม ยังมีประเพณี อย่างนึง ซึ่งเด็กหนุ่มสาวยังสืบทอดต่อกันมา คือ คืนก่อนวันเฉลิมฉลอง Lupercalia นั้นชื่อของเด็กสาวทุกคนจะถูกเขียนลงในเศษกระดาษเล็ก ๆ และจะใส่เอาไว้ในเหยือก เด็กหนุ่มแต่ละคนจะดึงชื่อของเด็กสาวออกจากเหยือก แล้วหลังจากนั้นก็จะจับคู่กันในงานเฉลิมฉลอง บางครั้งการจับคู่นี้ ท้ายที่สุดก็จะจบลงด้วยการที่เด็กหนุ่มและเด็กสาวทั้งสองนั้นได้ตกหลุมรัก กันและแต่งงานกันในที่สุด

ภายใต้การปกครองของจักรพรรดิคลอดิอุสที่สอง (Claudius II) นั้น กรุงโรมได้เกิดสงครามหลาย ครั้ง และคลอดิอุสเองก็ประสบกับปัญหาในการที่จะหาทหารจำนวนมากมายมหาศาลมาเข้าร่วม ในศึกสงคราม และเขาเชื่อว่าเหตุผลสำคัญก็คือ ผู้ชายโรมันหลายคนไม่ต้องการจากครอบครัวและคนอันเป็นที่รักไป และด้วยเหตุผลนี้เอง ทำให้จักรพรรดิคลอดิอุสประกาศให้ยกเลิกงานแต่งงานและงานหมั้นทั้งหมดในกรุง โรม ถึงกระนั้นก็ตาม ยังมีนักบุญผู้ใจดีคนหนึ่งซึ่งชื่อว่า ท่านนักบุญวาเลนไทน์ ท่านเป็นพระที่กรุงโรมในสมัยของจักรพรรดิคลอดิอุสที่สอง ท่านนักบุญวาเลนไทน์และนักบุญมาริอุส ได้จัดตั้งกลุ่มองค์กรเล็ก ๆ เพื่อช่วยเหลือชาวคริสเตียนที่ตกทุกข์ได้ยากเหล่านี้ และได้จัดให้มีการแต่งงานของคู่รักอย่างลับ ๆ ด้วย

และจากการกระทำเหล่านี้เอง ทำให้นักบุญวาเลนไทน์ถูกจับและถูกตัดสินประหารโดยการตัดศีรษะ ในวันที่ 14 กุมภาพันธ์ ประมาณปีคริสต์ศักราชที่ 270 ซึ่งถือเป็นวันที่ท่านได้ทนทุกข์ทรมานและเสียสละเพื่อเพื่อนมนุษย์

นักบุญวาเลนไทน์

นักบุญวาเลนไทน์ ทำให้จักรพรรดิที่โรมเกิดความสำนึก และผู้พิพากษาได้กลับใจมาเป็นคาทอลิกเพราะท่านนักบุญทำให้บุตรสาวของเขาหาย จากตาบอด

วา เลนไทน์ บวชเป็นพระสงฆ์ที่กรุงโรมและได้เป็นพระสังฆราชในเวลาต่อมา ท่านได้ถูกจับโดยคำสั่งของจักรพรรดิโกลดิโอ ที่ 2 เพราะท่านขึ้นชื่อลือเด่นในทางบำเพ็ญฤทธิ์กุศลหลายประการ ขั้นแรกจักรพรรดิทรงซักถามวาเลนไทน์ด้วยความอยากรู้อยากเห็น แต่ต่อมาทรงรู้สึกสนพระทัยในคำสอนของคริสตัง ในที่สุดพระองค์ตรัสว่า :“คำสอนของบุรุษผู้นี้ฟังแล้วจับใจจริง ๆ “ แต่ในขณะที่พระองค์ทรงเริ่มมีความเชื่อ ท่านผู้ว่าราชการกรุงโรมก็จัดให้ผู้พิพากษานายหนึ่งเข้ามาซักถามท่านวาเลนไท น์ ผู้พิพากษาคนนี้เยาะเย้ยท่านในเรื่องที่คริสตังชอบกล่าวว่า “พระคริสต์ทรงเป็นองค์ความสว่างของโลก”

ลูกสาวของผู้พิพากษาคนนี้ตาบอด วาเลนไทน์ได้ทำอัศจรรย์ให้หายได้ อัสเตริอุส ผู้พิพากษาจึงกลับใจเชื่อถึงพระเยซูคริสตเจ้า เมื่อเห็นดังนั้น ท่านผู้ว่าราชการเกิดความอิจฉา และต้องการกำจัดท่านวาเลนไทน์ จึงจับท่านวาเลนไทน์ไปขังไว้ในคุกมืด แล้วใช้ไม้เป็นปุ่มเป็นตาเฆี่ยนท่านอย่างสาหัส ที่สุดก็นำท่านไปตัดศีรษะ นักบุญวาเลนไทน์เป็นองค์อุปถัมภ์ของชาวเมืองตารัสก็อง(ภาคใต้ของฝรั่งเศส)

การส่งดอกไม้วันวาเลนไทน์

มนุษย์ได้ใช้ดอกไม้เป็นสื่อในการแสดงความรักต่อกันมานานแล้ว เราอาจจะคิดว่าดอกไม้เป็นสิ่งที่สามารถใช้สื่อความหมายเฉพาะความรักของหนุ่ม สาวเท่านั้น แต่แท้จริงแล้วดอกไม้แต่ละชนิดสามารถสื่อความรักได้หลายรูปแบบ ทั้งยังไม่จำกัดอายุและเพศอีกด้วย

กุหลาบแดง (Red Rose) : จะใช้ในความหมายแทน ประโยคที่ว่า "ฉันรักเธอ"
กุหลาบขาว (White Rose) : กุหลาบขาวแทนความหมายแห่งความรักอันบริสุทธิ์
กุหลาบชมพู (Pink Rose) : มักถูกใช้แทนความรักแบบโรแมนติก และความเสน่หาต่อกัน
กุหลาบเหลือง (Yellow Rose) : สีเหลืองเป็นสีแห่งความสดใส แทนความรักแบบเพื่อน

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Valentine%27s_Day

New Year 2009

2009-01-03T08:15:00.000-08:00

New Year 2009

New Year is synonymous with fresh start, bright dreams and new aspirations. Every year on the New Years Eve, the whole world comes together, to kick start glittering celebrations and shout out loud 'Happy New Year'. From New York's Times Square to France's Eiffel Tower and Melbourne to London... New Year celebrations circumnavigate round the world and breeze of happiness and serenity touches every single soul. New year is the most suitable time of year to go somewhere with your near and dear ones. People now a days prefer to go on cruises on New Year.

Happy New Year 2009

2009-01-03T08:08:00.000-08:00

Happy New Year 2009. beg for commit bless new year give every you happy let's and have something in the life and education and Bless Give God Save protects you work all forever year 2009

สวัสดีปีใหม่ 2552 ครับขอมอบพร ปีใหม่ให้ ท่านจงมีความสุข และมีความ รุ่งโรจน์ ในชีวิต การเรียน และ การงาน และขออํานาจคุณพระศรีรัตนตรัยและสิ่งศักดิ์สิทธิในสากลโลก ทรงคุ้มครองท่าน ตลอดปี 2552

Obama sweeps to US presidency

2008-11-05T01:46:00.000-08:00

'Spirit of patriotism'

What began twenty-one months ago in the depths of winter must not end on this autumn night. This victory alone is not the change we seek – it is only the chance for us to make that change. And that cannot happen if we go back to the way things were. It cannot happen without you.

So let us summon a new spirit of patriotism; of service and responsibility where each of us resolves to pitch in and work harder and look after not only ourselves, but each other. Let us remember that if this financial crisis taught us anything, it’s that we cannot have a thriving Wall Street while Main Street suffers – in this country, we rise or fall as one nation, as one people.

Let us resist the temptation to fall back on the same partisanship and pettiness and immaturity that has poisoned our politics for so long. Let us remember that it was a man from this state who first carried the banner of the Republican Party to the White House – a party founded on the values of self-reliance, individual liberty, and national unity.

Those are values we all share, and while the Democratic Party has won a great victory tonight, we do so with a measure of humility and determination to heal the divides that have held back our progress. As Lincoln said to a nation far more divided than ours, "We are not enemies, but friends ... though passion may have strained it must not break our bonds of affection." And to those Americans whose support I have yet to earn – I may not have won your vote, but I hear your voices, I need your help, and I will be your President too.

And to all those watching tonight from beyond our shores, from parliaments and palaces to those who are huddled around radios in the forgotten corners of our world – our stories are singular, but our destiny is shared, and a new dawn of American leadership is at hand.

'Peace and security'

To those who would tear this world down – we will defeat you. To those who seek peace and security – we support you. And to all those who have wondered if America’s beacon still burns as bright – tonight we proved once more that the true strength of our nation comes not from our the might of our arms or the scale of our wealth, but from the enduring power of our ideals: democracy, liberty, opportunity, and unyielding hope.

For that is the true genius of America – that America can change. Our union can be perfected. And what we have already achieved gives us hope for what we can and must achieve tomorrow.

This election had many firsts and many stories that will be told for generations. But one that’s on my mind tonight is about a woman who cast her ballot in Atlanta. She’s a lot like the millions of others who stood in line to make their voice heard in this election except for one thing – Ann Nixon Cooper is 106 years old.

She was born just a generation past slavery; a time when there were no cars on the road or planes in the sky; when someone like her couldn’t vote for two reasons – because she was a woman and because of the color of her skin.

And tonight, I think about all that she's seen throughout her century in America – the heartache and the hope; the struggle and the progress; the times we were told that we can’t, and the people who pressed on with that American creed: Yes we can.

'Common purpose'

At a time when women’s voices were silenced and their hopes dismissed, she lived to see them stand up and speak out and reach for the ballot. Yes we can.

When there was despair in the dust bowl and depression across the land, she saw a nation conquer fear itself with a New Deal, new jobs and a new sense of common purpose. Yes we can.

When the bombs fell on our harbor and tyranny threatened the world, she was there to witness a generation rise to greatness and a democracy was saved. Yes we can.

She was there for the buses in Montgomery, the hoses in Birmingham, a bridge in Selma, and a preacher from Atlanta who told a people that “We Shall Overcome.” Yes we can.

'Fundamental truth'

A man touched down on the moon, a wall came down in Berlin, a world was connected by our own science and imagination.

And this year, in this election, she touched her finger to a screen, and cast her vote, because after 106 years in America, through the best of times and the darkest of hours, she knows how America can change. Yes we can.

America, we have come so far. We have seen so much. But there is so much more to do. So tonight, let us ask ourselves – if our children should live to see the next century; if my daughters should be so lucky to live as long as Ann Nixon Cooper, what change will they see? What progress will we have made?

This is our chance to answer that call. This is our moment. This is our time – to put our people back to work and open doors of opportunity for our kids; to restore prosperity and promote the cause of peace, to reclaim the American Dream and reaffirm that fundamental truth – that out of many, we are one, that while we breathe, we hope, and where we are met with cynicism, and doubt, and those who tell us that we can't, we will respond with that timeless creed that sums up the spirit of a people:

Yes We Can. Thank you, God bless you, and may God Bless the United States of America."

http://english.aljazeera.net/news/americas/2008/11/20081154282266589.html

Barack Obama's victory speech

2008-11-05T01:39:00.000-08:00

US president-elect Barack Obama waves to supporters at his election night rally after being declared the winner of the 2008 US presidential campaign [REUTERS]

"If there is anyone out there who still doubts that America is a place where all things are possible, who still wonders if the dream of our founders is alive in our time, who still questions the power of our democracy, tonight is your answer.

It's the answer told by lines that stretched around schools and churches in numbers this nation has never seen, by people who waited three hours and four hours, many for the very first time in their lives, because they believed that this time must be different, that their voice could be that difference.

It's the answer spoken by young and old, rich and poor, Democrat and Republican, black, white, Latino, Asian, Native American, gay, straight, disabled and not disabled - Americans who sent a message to the world that we have never been a collection of Red States and Blue States: we are, and always will be, the United States of America.

It's the answer that led those who have been told for so long by so many to be cynical, and fearful, and doubtful of what we can achieve to put their hands on the arc of history and bend it once more toward the hope of a better day.

It's been a long time coming, but tonight, because of what we did on this day, in this election, at this defining moment, change has come to America.

'Unyeilding support'

I just received a very gracious call from Senator McCain. He fought long and hard in this campaign, and he’s fought even longer and harder for the country he loves. He has endured sacrifices for America that most of us cannot begin to imagine, and we are better off for the service rendered by this brave and selfless leader. I congratulate him and Governor Palin for all they have achieved, and I look forward to working with them to renew this nation's promise in the months ahead.

I want to thank my partner in this journey, a man who campaigned from his heart and spoke for the men and women he grew up with on the streets of Scranton and rode with on that train home to Delaware, the vice president-elect of the United States, Joe Biden.

I would not be standing here tonight without the unyielding support of my best friend for the last sixteen years, the rock of our family and the love of my life, our nation’s next First Lady, Michelle Obama. Sasha and Malia, I love you both so much, and you have earned the new puppy that's coming with us to the White House. And while she's no longer with us, I know my grandmother is watching, along with the family that made me who I am. I miss them tonight, and know that my debt to them is beyond measure.

To my campaign manager David Plouffe, my chief strategist David Axelrod, and the best campaign team ever assembled in the history of politics - you made this happen, and I am forever grateful for what you’ve sacrificed to get it done.

But above all, I will never forget who this victory truly belongs to - it belongs to you.

I was never the likeliest candidate for this office. We didn’t start with much money or many endorsements. Our campaign was not hatched in the halls of Washington - it began in the backyards of Des Moines and the living rooms of Concord and the front porches of Charleston.

'Task ahead'

It was built by working men and women who dug into what little savings they had to give five dollars and ten dollars and twenty dollars to this cause. It grew strength from the young people who rejected the myth of their generation's apathy, who left their homes and their families for jobs that offered little pay and less sleep, from the not-so-young people who braved the bitter cold and scorching heat to knock on the doors of perfect strangers, from the millions of Americans who volunteered, and organized, and proved that more than two centuries later, a government of the people, by the people and for the people has not perished from this Earth. This is your victory.

I know you didn't do this just to win an election and I know you didn't do it for me. You did it because you understand the enormity of the task that lies ahead. For even as we celebrate tonight, we know the challenges that tomorrow will bring are the greatest of our lifetime - two wars, a planet in peril, the worst financial crisis in a century.

Even as we stand here tonight, we know there are brave Americans waking up in the deserts of Iraq and the mountains of Afghanistan to risk their lives for us. There are mothers and fathers who will lie awake after their children fall asleep and wonder how they'll make the mortgage, or pay their doctor's bills, or save enough for college. There is new energy to harness and new jobs to be created; new schools to build and threats to meet and alliances to repair.

The road ahead will be long. Our climb will be steep. We may not get there in one year or even one term, but America - I have never been more hopeful than I am tonight that we will get there. I promise you - we as a people will get there.

There will be setbacks and false starts. There are many who won’t agree with every decision or policy I make as President, and we know that government can’t solve every problem. But I will always be honest with you about the challenges we face. I will listen to you, especially when we disagree.

And above all, I will ask you join in the work of remaking this nation the only way it's been done in America for 221 years – block by block, brick by brick, calloused hand by calloused hand.

http://english.aljazeera.net/focus/uselections2008/2008/11/20081155744845501.html

Obama: 'This is your victory

2008-11-05T00:49:00.000-08:00

(CNN) -- Barack Obama told supporters that "change has come to America" as he claimed victory in a historic presidential election.

"The road ahead will be long. Our climb will be steep. We may not get there in one year or even one term, but America -- I have never been more hopeful than I am tonight that we will get there. I promise you -- we as a people will get there," Obama said in Chicago, Illinois, before an estimated crowd of up to 240,000 people.

With Obama's projected win, he will become the first African-American to win the White House.

Obama had an overwhelming victory over Sen. John McCain, who pledged Tuesday night to help Obama lead.

Watch Obama pay tribute to McCain »

"Today, I was a candidate for the highest office in the country I love so much, and tonight, I remain her servant," McCain said.

McCain called Obama to congratulate him, and Obama told the Arizona senator he was eager to sit down and talk about how the two of them can work together.

President Bush also called Obama to offer his congratulations.

Bush told Obama he was about to begin one of the great journeys of his life, and invited him to visit the White House as soon as it could be arranged, according to White House spokeswoman Dana Perino.

Obama will be working with a heavily Democratic Congress. Democrats picked up Senate seats in New Hampshire, New Jersey, North Carolina and Virginia, among others.

Read about the Senate races

"While the Democratic Party has won a great victory tonight, we do so with a measure of humility and determination to heal the divides that have held back our progress," Obama said.

Watch more on the balance of power »

Flanked by American flags, Obama told the roaring crowd, "This is your victory."

"To those Americans whose support I have yet to earn -- I may not have won your vote, but I hear your voices, I need your help, and I will be your president too," he said.

Watch Obama tell voters 'all things are possible' »

Supporters in Chicago cheering, "Yes, we can" were met with cries of "Yes, we did."

More than 1,000 people gathered outside of the White House, chanting "Obama, Obama!"

Sen. Hillary Clinton, Obama's former rival for the Democratic nomination, said in a statement that "we are celebrating an historic victory for the American people."

iReport.com: Share your Election Day reaction with CNN

"This was a long and hard fought campaign but the result was well worth the wait. Together, under the leadership of President Barack Obama, Vice President Joe Biden and a Democratic Congress, we will chart a better course to build a new economy and rebuild our leadership in the world."

Sen. Ted Kennedy said Americans "spoke loud and clear" in electing Obama.

"They understood his vision of a fairer and more just America and embraced it. They heard his call for a new generation of Americans to participate in government and were inspired. They believed that change is possible and voted to be part of America's future," the Massachusetts senator said in a statement.

As results came in Tuesday night, Obama picked up early wins in Pennsylvania and Ohio -- states considered must-wins for McCain.

Obama also won Virginia, a state that has not voted for a Democratic president since 1964.

Going into the election, national polls showed Obama with an 8-point lead.

Voters expressed excitement and pride in their country after casting their ballots in the historic election. Poll workers reported high turnout across many parts of th

http://edition.cnn.com/2008/POLITICS/11/04/election.president/index.html

Obama inspires historic victory

2008-11-04T21:40:00.000-08:00

(CNN) -- Barack Obama told supporters that "change has come to America," as he addressed the country for the first time as the president-elect.

Police estimated that 125,000 people gathered in Grant Park to hear Obama claim victory.

Obama said he was looking forward to working with Sen. John McCain and Gov. Sarah Palin "to renew this nation's promise in the months ahead."

Watch as Obama addresses the country »

McCain on Tuesday urged all Americans to join him in congratulating Sen. Barack Obama on his projected victory in the presidential election.

"I pledge to him tonight to do all in my power to help him lead us through the many challenges we face," McCain said before his supporters in Phoenix, Arizona.

"Today, I was a candidate for the highest office in the country I love so much, and tonight, I remain her servant," he said.

McCain called Obama to congratulate him, Obama's campaign said.

Watch McCain concede »

Obama thanked McCain for his graciousness and said he had waged a tough race.

President Bush also called Obama to congratulate him.

With his projected win, Obama will become the nation's 44th president and its first African-American leader.

Supporters in Chicago cheering, "Yes, we can" were met with cries of "Yes, we did."

More than 1,000 people gathered outside of the White House, chanting, "Obama, Obama!"

Obama's former rival for the Democratic nomination, Sen. Hillary Clinton said in a statement that "we are celebrating an historic victory for the American people."

iReport.com: Share your Election Day reaction with CNN

"This was a long and hard fought campaign but the result was well worth the wait. Together, under the leadership of President Barack Obama, Vice President Joe Biden, and a Democratic Congress, we will chart a better course to build a new economy and rebuild our leadership in the world."

The Illinois senator is projected to pick up a big win in Virginia, a state that hasn't voted for a Democratic president since 1964.

Watch how this election is history in the making »

Obama also is projected to beat McCain in Ohio, a battleground state that was considered a must-win for the Republican candidate.

Watch more on Obama's Ohio win »

Going into the election, national polls showed Obama with an 8-point lead.

Obama will be working with a heavily Democratic Congress. Democrats picked up Senate seats in New Hampshire, New Jersey, North Carolina and Virginia, among others.

Read about the Senate races

Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell held onto his seat in Kentucky.

CNN's Ed Henry said there were lots of long faces in the lobby of the McCain headquarters at the Arizona Biltmore hotel as McCain allies watched returns showing Senate Republicans losing their seats.

Watch what McCain says about the race »

Voters expressed excitement and pride in their country after casting their ballots Tuesday in what has proved to be a historic election.

Poll workers reported high turnout across many parts of the country, and some voters waited hours to cast their ballots. Read about election problems

Reports of minor problems and delays in opening polls began surfacing early Tuesday, shortly after polls opened on the East Coast.

The presidential candidates both voted early in the day before heading out to the campaign trail one last time.

Watch Obama family at polls »

Tuesday also marked the end of the longest presidential campaign season in U.S. history -- 21 months.

As McCain and Obama emerged from their parties' conventions, the race was essentially a toss-up, with McCain campaigning on his experience and Obama on the promise of change. But the race was altered by the financial crisis that hit Wall Street in September Go

http://edition.cnn.com/2008/POLITICS/11/04/election.president/index.html

Business & Society

2008-11-04T17:20:00.000-08:00

This course explains the role of business in a free competitive society. A discussion course emphasizing the major issues facing business today, such as business ethics, labor, equal employment opportunity, worker safety and health, environmental quality, financial disclosure, government and others.

http://www.euruni.edu/Scripts/Modules/FAQ/Tree.aspx?idn=343&l=3

EU Graduation Newsletter

2008-11-04T17:11:00.000-08:00

EU Graduation Newsletter

All you want to know about EU's 2008 Graduation Ceremonies in Barcelona, Munich and Yvorne is here, including photos of students, guest speakers and honoured guests.

Download in PDF

1968: The Creative Impulse of Conflict Seminar

2008-10-19T11:44:00.000-07:00

1968: The Creative Impulse of Conflict Seminar

Tuesdays, October 21 & 28 and November 4 & 11
5:30 - 7:00pm

The Fall Lecture Series will tackle the incredible impetus and influence of all that was 1968. It was the height of the rise of student movements and the year that great men were felled. It was the year of civil rights struggles and sexual revolution, of antiwar protests and pleas for the possibility of peace. Tracing the global events from which alternative art practices emerged illustrates how the roots of major examples of contemporary art in the last 40 years relate to their political contexts.

Lecture I (Oct 21) – 1968: Politics & Poetry in the Streets I
Lecture II (Oct 28) – 1968: 1968: Politics & Poetry in the Streets II
The politics of the streets ran concurrently with the artists' desire to break away from institutions and commercial galleries, as well as traditional modes of art production. This 2-part lecture will draw connections between landmark political events and the alternative modes of art production that have informed the conceptual lexicon of contemporary art practice.
Lecturer: Carina Evangelista, Gretchen Hupfel Curator of Contemporary Art, DCCA

Lecture III (Nov 4) – 1968: I was so much older then; I’m younger than that now.
This talk will focus on how the events of 1968 affected the older generation of “mainstream” artists and art forms and will conclude with a nostalgic look back to a time when youth trusted no one over 30 and thought that they could change the world through their lifestyles, their politics, and their creative output.
Lecturer: Maxine Gaiber, Executive Director, DCCA

Lecture IV (Nov 11) – PROTEST, the Turbulent Sixties
Renowned photographer Benedict J. Fernandez will give a talk about his photographic diary of the 60’s protest movement, including powerful photographs that chronicled the last year of Martin Luther King’s life.
Guest Speaker: Benedict J. Fernandez
DCCA Board Member Carole Marks will provide introduction.

	Individual Lectures	Entire Series
DCCA Members	$10	$30
Non Members	$15	$50
Teachers	$5	$15

All college students receive free admission with ID.
Teachers can receive credit for these lectures through the Delaware Teacher Center.

For more information or to reserve a place in this series, please call Holly Bennett Jackson at 302.656.6466, ext. 7101.

Sign up now!

http://www.thedcca.org/programsadult.html

Shanghai - China's financial centre

2008-09-30T10:50:00.000-07:00

Shanghai - China's financial centre

By Prasong Uthaisangchai
The Nation
Published on July 28, 2008

With just days to go before the cauldron is lit to mark the start of the Beijing 2008 Olympic Games, Thailand has a golden opportunity to position itself on the world stage as a premium agricultural producer.

One of the treats for Chinese and visiting athletes will be fresh Thai fruit, with Thailand's Agriculture and Cooperatives Ministry preparing to send a special 20-tonne supply of rambutans, mangosteens, pomelos, durians and longans for the Olympic Games.

The ministry expects this will stimulate Thailand's fruit exports by 10-15% this year, which will help to solve Thailand's problem of a fruit oversupply. It will also provide Thailand with an opportunity to further solidify its post-FTA agricultural trade relationship with its colossal northern neighbour.

The current joint agreement is due to expire in October of this year, with many people hoping for an expansion of terms to include not just agricultural products, but also trade opportunities in the manufacturing, technology and automotive sectors.

Thai fruit shipments to the region have grown strongly over the last year with a 72% increase in demand from China and a 30% increase in demand from Hong Kong. Agriculture Ministry figures predict that Thailand's fruit production in 2008 will increase slightly to 2.6 million tonnes.

There's no doubting the value of associating with the Olympic Games - companies are paying US$60-80 million for worldwide Olympic sponsorships. But as this example illustrates, it's not just sponsors who can cash in on increased exposure at the Olympics.

Some weeks ago, I wrote about how China is unlikely to suffer a post-Olympics economic lull due to its vast size, rising consumer spending and appetite for investment. The world's business community has recognised this and, like the Thailand Agriculture and Cooperatives Ministry, is using the Olympics as a conduit for post-Olympics business opportunities.

A successful, event-free Olympic Games will accelerate foreign interest and positive Chinese sentiment as well as increase the flow of ideas and internationalisation of China's production and trade systems. This means the post-Olympics China will be a melting pot of entrepreneurial dexterity, trade flows and foreign investment. Thai businesses must ensure they are in a strong position to take up their share of this increased commerce with China as the country moves beyond its Olympic fervour and settles back into business as usual.

Prasong Uthaisangchai

Senior Executive Vice President and Director of International Banking Group, Bangkok Bank

www.bangkokbank.com

The Human Barbecue

2008-09-30T10:46:00.000-07:00

Plenty of flesh will be skewered and roasted during the island's Vegetarian Festival -- but none of it animal

The Vegetarian Festival, or "Ngaan Kin Je", dates back to the early 19th century when the word "tourism" hadn't even entered locals' vocabulary. Tin mining was the main business then and it attracted hard-working Chinese miners.

Legend has it that sometime in 1825 a travelling Chinese opera troupe performing for the miners fell ill with a mysterious fever. The troupe embarked on a ritual purification of vegetarianism and rites honouring their emperor gods, and quickly made a full recovery.

Overawed, the islanders sent a mission to China to study the rites - it returned with the festival that has been celebrated ever since.

This year the vegetarian revelry runs in town from September 28 to October 7.

On the eve of the festival, a large pole is raised in each of Phuket's Chinese shrines, and the nine emperor gods are invited to descend from the heavens and take part in the ceremonies. At midnight, nine lanterns are hung on the poles to signify that the festival has begun.

The morning after, the town becomes a sea of yellow and white. Restaurants and stalls fly yellow banners to show they serve only vegan food - free of dairy products and strong flavours like garlic and chilli. Meanwhile people young and old don white to signify they are abstaining from sex and alcohol along with the killing or eating of animals.

The rituals then take on a festive form with hundreds of thousands turning up for the processions of maa song, the devotees possessed by the gods.

The maa song manifest supernatural powers and perform self-mutilation so they can absorb evil from other individuals and ensure good luck for the entire community. Aside from piercing their cheeks and other parts of their anatomy, they also bathe themselves with hot oil, lie on beds of nails and climb blade-rung ladders.

Each morning begins with processions through the town. At dawn, scores of young men throng the inner sanctums of the temples, preparing themselves for self-mutilation.

At the base of the shrines, they enter a trance state, start speaking in tongues and then don colourful aprons adorned with Taoist symbols. Doctors then make cuts on either side of their mouths.

Once the incisions have been made, various sharp objects - knives, skewers, even bicycle frames - are inserted into their cheeks. Many of the men try to outdo each other with other items such as rifles, fishing rods and parasols.

The shops and houses along the parade routes put tables out front covered with baskets of fruit, joss sticks and Buddha images. The entranced are then invited to come and bless each individual and their business as they pass by.

Spirit mediums walk through the streets, while young men carrying miniature shrines run alongside.

The shrines are filled with fireworks, which explode as spectators toss entire lit packs of firecrackers into them. The shrine carriers swathe themselves in towels for protection while photographers chasing the procession often compare the procession with a war zone.

One of most popular events of the festival is fire walking, which usually takes place in the Saphan Hin stadium near the sea. Coals are flamed, raked and turned for hours, in preparation for teams of entranced men, who gyrate and crack whips to the accompaniment of loud drums, preparing themselves for walking on the hot embers.

While most of the men show at least some sense of mortality, dashing across the coals as quickly as they can, others strut, without a care in the world. In either case, the participants show nary a burn or a blemish on their feet after the event.

As the week progresses, the street processions become crazier, the noise more thunderous and the devotees more outlandish.

Groups of men swing hatchets, machetes and spiked balls across their backs, whipping themselves in a mad frenzy. Women too jump in the fray as the festival draws to a close, performing the same facial shish kebab acts as the men.

On the final night, the fireworks are deafening and the entire town makes its way toward the sea. The shrines of the emperor gods are loaded into boats and launched adrift, while a monstrous bonfire is lit onshore.

The following morning, the debris of ash that engulfs the town is swept up, the restaurants start serving meat again, people put on colourful clothes and Phuket goes back to being a tourist resort.

At a glance

Check these Chinese shrines out for the jawdropping street processions.

October 1, Sapa Shrine

October 2, Samkong Shrine

October 3, Ban Tha Rue Shrine

October 4, Bang Neow Shrine and Cherng Thalay Shrine

October 5, Jui Tui Shrine

October 6, Chao Kathu Shrine and Yokkekeng Shrine

October 7, Sui Boon Tong Shrine

For more information, visit www.PhuketVegetarian.com.

http://www.nationmultimedia.com/2008/09/20/travel/travel_30084243.php

Athletic Day 2 Evening Session Review: Field of glory

2008-09-09T21:52:00.000-07:00

(BEIJING, September 9) -- A misty Bird's Nest housed a field of glory for the 13 athletes crowned gold medalists on Day 2 of Athletics action, on Tuesday evening, September 9.

The crowd was treated to a world record in the first track final of the evening, the Men's 100m T11. Lucas Prado of Brazil did what he has been doing all week, and broke his own world record (11.19 seconds), streaking away from the field for the gold medal in a time of 11.03s. Jose Armando of Angola stole the silver medal from bronze medalist Tresor Makunda of France in 11.35s.

Brazil's Lucas Prado (L) runs with his guide. (Photo credit: Xinhua)

In the Men's 5000m T11, Luis Zapien of Mexico took an early lead on the pack with Zhang Zhen of China close on his heels for the opening laps. But world and Paralympic record holder Henry Wanyoike of Kenya edged ahead midway through the race and, along with Francis Thuo Karanja of Kenya, these four competitors broke away from the pack. With 1000m remaining, Zapien fell off the pace and it became a three man race for the gold medal. As the bell signaled the final lap, Karanja had a slight lead over Zhang. But at the final turn, Zhang, and his guide, turned up the pace and the National Stadium erupted as the Chinese cheered home their newest Paralympic champion in 15:27.35. Karanja scored the silver medal (15:32.28) and Wanyoike secured the bronze medal (15:47.17).

Somaya Bousaid competes. (Photo credit: Xinhua)

In the Women's 800m - T13/12, Somaya Bousaid of Tunisia streaked ahead at the 250m mark. Assia El'hannouni of France narrowed the gap and stayed on Bousaid's shoulder for the middle 400 meters. But Bousaid had more left in the tank and she took the home straight comfortably, and the gold medal in 2:03.21. El'hannouni set a T12 world record (2:04.96) to secure the silver medal. The two Russian competitors looked to be having a mini-battle of their own for the bronze medal. But Elena Pautova of Russia was too strong for Rima Batalova, and secured the bronze medal (2:15.70).

Li Huzhao sprints. (Photo credit: Xinhua)

The Men's 4x100m -T53/54 saw the home team take the gold medal. The Chinese team of Zhong Kai, Zhao Ji, Zhang Lixin and Li Huzhao went out hard and came home strong, to win the gold comfortably in 49.90s, just shy of the world record (49.89) that they set in Monday evening's heats. The Athens gold medalists, Thailand, finished with a silver medal, in 51.93s, ahead of bronze medalists the Republic of Korea (53.52s).

In the Men's 100m - T44, Oscar Pistorius of South Africa had the crowd on their feet as he streaked home in 11.17 seconds to take the gold medal. Pistorius just missed his Paralympic record (11.16s) in a thrilling final. The United State's Jerome Singleton (11.20s) and Brian Frasure (11.50s) took home the silver and bronze medals respectively.

With less than 20 meters to run in the Women's 200m - T44, the Paralympic dreams of April Holmes of the United States and Marie-Amelie le Fur of France were crushed. Holmes stumbled and fell into Le Fur's lane, the pair falling to the track and out of medal contention. In lanes one and two, Green of Germany and Kate Horan of New Zealand snuck through to steal the gold and silver medals (in 28.02s and 28.36s respectively). Stefanie Reid of Canada was also clear from the collision in lane nine, and she secured the bronze medal (28.85s).

In the Men's 200m - T46 things were less traumatic. Heath Francis of Australia blitzed the field to win the gold medal in a world record (21.74s), ahead of silver medalist Antonis Aresti of Cyprus and bronze medalist Ettiam Calderon of Cuba.

In the Women's 100m - T38, Inna Dyachenko of Ukraine set a world record (13.43) to comfortably win the gold medal. Sonia Mansour of Tunisia and Margarita Koptilova of Russia took the silver and bronze medals, in times of 13.66s and 13.97s respectively.

The five field events on Tuesday evening were straight finals. Two men's finals were contested in the classes 37/38: the Men's Javelin - F37/38 and the Men's Long Jump - F37/38.

In the Men's Javelin - F37/38, Xia Dong of China had the home crowd cheering with an F37 world record (57.81m) for 1201 points on his first throw. This initial effort was his best of the evening, and enough to secure the gold medal. But the locals had even more to cheer about, when Zhang Xuelong of China gained the silver medal with his third throw (50.24m) for 1044 points. Javad Hardini of the Islamic Republic of Iran snared the bronze medal with his final effort (47.65m) for 972 points, ahead of Wade Mcmahon of Australia at 970 points.

Farhat Chida competes. (Photo credit: Xinhua)

In the Men's Long Jump - F37/38, the crowd was treated to plenty of excitement with a number of world record performances. Farhat Chida of Tunisia jumped an F38 world record (6.36m) on his second effort to take the lead in the competition (1090 points). Haider Ali of Pakistan equaled this distance on his third effort to secure a share of the lead. Ma Yuxi of China scored 1063 points for his F37 world record (6.12m) on his first jump, but was holding third position heading into the back end of the competition. Chida bettered the F38 world record, with a 6.44m (wind +0.9km/hr), on his second last jump to secure the gold, with 1104 points. Ali equaled this effort (wind +1.9), for the silver medal on his final leap. Ma bettered the F37 world record (6.19m) on his final jump, for the bronze medal ahead of Aristotellis Marinos of Greece in fourth position.

In the Women's Shot Put - F42-46, Zheng Baozhu of China led at the end of three throws with 1070 points, from an F42 world record (9.98m) on her second put. And she didn't look back. A 10.06 meter put (for 1078 points) secured the gold medal and an F42 world record on her final put. Compatriot Zhong Yongyuan of China scored 1051 points on her fourth put (9.80m) to secure the silver medal ahead of Michaela Floeth of Germany. Floeth set an F44 world record (12.58m) on her fifth put, for 1034 points, to pick up the bronze medal.

In the Women's Shot Put - F57/58, Stela Evena of Bulgaria set the pace with an F58 world record (10.23m) on her third put. But Nadia Medjemedj of Algeria set an F57 world record (10.93m) to steal the lead, with 1088 points. Angeles Ortiz of Mexico equaled Evena's mark, but then bettered it twice more with her second (10.35m) and third (10.94m) throws, to take the top position with 1126 points. But she didn't stay there long, Eucharia Njideka Iyiazi bested Ortiz's F58 world record with 10.96m for 1128 points and the gold medal. Ortiz finished with the silver medal and Medjemedj was awarded the bronze medal.

Pieter Gruijters competes. (Photo credit: Xinhua)

In the Men's Javelin Throw - F55/56, Pieter Gruijter of Netherlands set an F56 world record (42.27m) on his third throw to take the gold medal, with 1159 points. China secured another Paralympic medal, when Zhang Yingbin threw a 32.70m on his second throw, for 994 points and the silver medal. Yaser Abdelaziz Elsayed of Egypt picked up the bronze medal, with 929 points on his fifth throw (30.54m).

But the finals were not the only place that records were set on Tuesday evening. In the heats of the Men's 400m - T13, Luis Manuel Galano of Cuba clocked a Paralympic record (49.28s). In the Women's 400m - T53 heats, Jessica Galli of the United States of America set a Paralympic record (56.10s). The Republic of Korea's Hong Suk-man's 49.13s earned a Paralympic record in the heats of the Men's 400m - T53.

http://en.paralympic.beijing2008.cn/news/sports/athletics/n214594389.shtml

Marianne Buggenhagen always on the positive side of life

2008-09-09T21:49:00.000-07:00

Marianne Buggenhagen competes. (Photo credit: Xinhua)

(Beijing, September 9) -- Marianne Buggenhagen of Germany, a 55-year-old veteran Paralympian, won the gold medal with a record breaking throw of 27.80 meters in the Women's Discus Throw-F54-56 final on Tuesday morning, September 9.

It is her ninth Paralympic gold medal at her fifth Paralympic Games and she has gained respect from fellow athletes and spectators alike. ''She is the senior athlete that I really respect. Her style of competition impressed and encouraged me,'' said Wang Ting of China, the silver medalist. Another Chinese athlete Chen Liping declared, "She is so great that I have to respect and admire her."

Sports have been part of her life since childhood. Buggenhagen regards it as a way to travel and grow. However, in 1976 at the age of 23 she began to use a wheelchair after an illness. She is not a person who is easily discouraged. She was actively involved in Paralympic sports by 1977 to keep herself fit and to better deal with her new living situation.

''This gold is very special for me, for it will be my last,’’ said Buggenhagen after collecting her ninth gold medal and 11th medal overall. She also gained a bronze medal on September 8.

People wonder what forces motivate her at an age usually considered as quite old for athletes. Her answer is as simple as "I want to get the best from myself." She knew before she came to Beijing that she had to throw 27 meters to get a medal. Before the competition she felt everything would be good since she said "I love rain and I like to throw in the rain!” She also attributes her winning ways to the patience of her coach and the love and support of her husband and friends.

As one of the most experienced Paralympians, she also gives her support to younger athletes, saying that "Winning a medal is important, but the most important thing is to participate actively and to get the best from oneself."

After retiring from Paralympic competition, Buggenhagen plans to dedicate more time to helping disabled children in a special school established in her name, which already has more than 2,000 students. Her book, ‘Adapting Oneself to Life from Head to Tiptoe’, first published in 1999, tells people that life always has a positive side. Another of her books assures in the title that ‘If One Gives Up on Oneself, Everything Will End’.

http://en.paralympic.beijing2008.cn/news/sports/athletics/n214593580.shtml

Athletics Day 1 Evening Session Review: Ups and downs at the National Stadium

2008-09-08T11:22:00.001-07:00

Diane Roy celebrates. (Photo credit: Xinhua)

(BEIJING, September 8) -- Just like the morning session, the evening had 22 heats along with six finals which included the first track final of the Athletics competition. World and Paralympic records were set in the National Stadium and the Women's 5000m - T54 was marred by an accident.

Unfortunately for some participants of the Women's 5000m - T54 (wheelchair athletes with different levels of spinal cord injuries and amputations), a collision in the last lap, less than 100m from the finish line, caused six athletes to fall and abandon their race. The accident involved all three medalists from the Athens 2004 Paralympic Games, Wakako Tsuchida of Japan, Edith Hunkeler of Switzerland and Cheri Blauwet of the United States. Only five athletes finished the race and Diane Roy of Canada appeared to have taken the first Track gold medal in 11:54.03, setting a new Paralympic record. A close second was Shelly Woods of Great Britain with 11:54.29, while American Amanda McGrory came in third with 11:54.84. It was later announced that these results may not hold and the race is expected to be rescheduled on Tuesday.

Karim Betina of Algeria stole the show early in the Men's Shot Put - F32 (wheelchair athletes with different levels of cerebral palsy) when he broke the world record (9.92m) with just his second attempt (9.94m). It was just no stopping him after that as his throws kept improving and he landed the gold medal with a world record-breaking throw of 10.65m. Tunisia's Mourad Idoudi threw to a distance of 10.40m and picked up the silver, while third place went to Betina's teammate Mounir Bakiri with 9.37m.

China had to settle for fifth place in the Women's Long Jump - F42 (ambulant athletes with different levels of amputations and other disabilities including les autres) when Zhang Haiyuan, former world record holder, failed to repeat her winning performance of 2004 (Athens, Paralympics) and only managed a jump of 3.44m. Poland's Ewa Zielinska came in third with 3.62m, behind Annette Roozen of the Netherlands who secured the second spot with 3.63m. The gold medal went to Australian Christine Wolf who set a world record with her jump of 3.73m.

In the Men's Javelin - F35/36 (ambulant athletes with different levels of cerebral palsy), the clear favorite was China's Guo Wei. Cheered on by his home crowd, Guo Wei's first attempt at 54.92m broke his own world record in the F35 class and he did it again in his second throw with 56.07m which won him the top spot. Through the multi-classification event point system, Guo Wei was crowned gold medalist with 1283 points. In second place was Pawel Piotrowski of Poland who also got pass the old world record mark but his throw of 42.88m and 1158 point only earned him a Silver medal while Nicholas Newman of South Africa came in third with 42.48m and 1147 points.

Jackie Christiansen of Denmark won the gold and created a world record in the Men's Shot Put F44 (ambulant athletes with different levels of amputations and other disabilities including les autres). Christiansen blew away the competition with his throw of 17.89m and earned himself 1117 points. The second spot went to Australian Paul Raison with 15.83m and 988 points while Gerdan Fonseca of Cuba took bronze with 15.65m and 977 points.

Men's Discuss F33/34/52 (wheelchair athletes with different levels of cerebral palsy and different levels of spinal cord injuries and amputations) was the first final to begin and the last to end with a stellar display of strength and skill from all the athletes. In this multi-classification field event medals are awarded according to a point system. A new F52 world record (20.47m) ensured Aigars Apinis of Latvia the gold, with 1097 points. Chris Martin of Great Britain set the F33 Paralympic record with 28.37m (1074 points) and Roman Musil of the Czech Republic came in third with 27.11m (1026 points).

"Blade Runner" Oscar Pistorius competes at the Bird's Nest (Photo credit: Xinhua)

Records were broken in some of the heats as well. In the Men's 100m - T11 heats, Lucas Prado of Brazil bettered his own world record of 11.26s when he sprinted to the finish line in a quick 11.19s, while Kurt Fearnley of Australia qualified for the finals of the Men's 5000m - T54 setting a Paralympic record of 10:13.21. South African Oscar Pistorius, better known as the "Blade Runner" also set a Paralympic record in the Men's 100m - T44 heats in 11.16s.

http://en.paralympic.beijing2008.cn/news/sports/athletics/n214592880.shtml

A stylish opening for the Paralympic Games

2008-09-07T10:18:00.000-07:00

The cauldron is lit by Chinese Athletics athlete Hou Bin. (Photo credit: Xinhua)

Summary of the Opening Ceremony

(BEIJING, September 6) -- Beijing welcomed the world to the 2008 Paralympic Games on September 6 with an Opening Ceremony that began at 8:00 p.m. at the Bird's Nest. In front of a full house, performers gave heartwarming presentations, fully illustrating the Paralympic theme of "Transcendence, Equality and Integration."

420 actors with disabilities participated in the hour-long Opening Ceremony, titled "Flying with the Dream." The show, which focused on the "harmony between man and nature," included three chapters, or "journeys," through space, time, and life, respectively.

The sunbird in the "Journey of Space" (Photo credit: Xinhua)

Referring to the concept of "sky, earth and human beings," the first Opening Ceremony performance, launching the "Journey of Space," began quietly, with a sunbird descending on a solitary man sleeping in the meadow below, an image formed on the floor of the National Stadium. Awakened by the presence of the sunbird, a typical symbol of Chinese culture, the man, who is visually impaired, began to sing the tales of his heart.

Journey of Time (Photo credit: Xinhua)

This peaceful expression is emphasized by a trumpet solo and hundreds of girls who used sign language to give shape to their emotions.

Following that scene, to depict the "Journey of Time," ballerinas took the stage, with one young girl sitting in a wheelchair directly under the spotlight. This brave eleven-year-old had big dreams of becoming a ballet dancer before her life was shaken by the devastating earthquake that struck southwest China in May. She lost her left leg, but not her spirit, enduring much pain and suffering to continue to pursue her dancing dream.

Next came vivid images of natural scenery, accompanied by beautiful melodies played by a pianist who is visually impaired.

Of course, Fu Niu Lele, the 2008 Paralympic Games mascot, made an appearance, thanks to 2,000 youngsters who danced on stage to portray the "Journey of Life." The dancers also imitated the movements and sounds of frogs, seagulls and ducks.

The artistry didn't end there, as performers continued to express the importance of harmonious living, with abstract representations of Earth.

After Hu Jintao, the President of the People's Republic of China, declared the Beijing 2008 Paralympic Games open, torchbearers emerged to relay the flame. To reach and ignite the final torch in the National Stadium, Chinese Paralympian Hou Bin, sitting in a wheelchair, showcased strength and grace by pulling himself up through the air with a rope. Perhaps more than anything else, the determined look on his face exemplifies the spirit of the Paralympic Games.

http://en.paralympic.beijing2008.cn/index

Slovakia's Vadovicova wins first Beijing Paralympic gold

2008-09-06T22:13:00.000-07:00

Veronika Vadovicova competes in the final. (Photo credit: Xinhua)

(BEIJING, September 7) -- Veronika Vadovicova of Slovakia hit gold in the Women's R2-10m Air Rifle Standing Sh1, earning the first gold medal of the Beijing 2008 Paralympic Games.

Vadovicova finished first in the qualification with 392 and also topped the final, with 102.8. Anuela Schmermund of Germany came in second, with 490.2, to win the silver medal, and the bronze medal went to Puerto Rico's Nilda Gomez Lopez, who shot 489.2.

http://en.paralympic.beijing2008.cn/news/sports/shooting/n214590574.shtml

Friends forever?

2008-08-28T10:34:00.000-07:00

Are you struggling to make friends at a new school? Or are your friends suddenly leaving you out? Don't panic - there are things you can do to make new buddies.

Moving to a new school is scary enough without having to worry whether or not you'll make friends. Here are some simple tips on how to make the whole friend-making process a lot easier.

Try speaking to the people you're sitting next to in class. As they're close by it makes sense to chat to them first.
Pluck up the courage to speak to everyone in your form class. You tend to stay with that class through your five years at secondary school so it helps if you get on with them.
If you don't have many friends in your form class, try and make new friends in your subject lessons. You can also chat to them at lunchtimes and after school.
Join a lunchtime or after school club. You'll get to meet kids of all years that way.

Use your celebrity status!

"Remember to smile, be open and friendly"

If you're worried because you're going to a different school and you'll be the new person, you can always ask your form tutor to pair you with another pupil. Lots of schools run buddying systems. Don't put yourself under too much pressure; it can be hard to introduce yourself to people especially if they've already got their own friends.

However, since you are the new person, you will have acquired celebrity status, which you can use for a couple of weeks. Talk to people, remember to smile, be open and friendly, listen to what others have to say and make them feel important.

Growing apart

Do you feel like you're growing apart from some of your closest friends? As you grow older it's natural to make new friends and sometimes that means you grow apart from your old friends. Try and make time for all your friends - why not introduce your different sets of friends so you can all go to the cinema or bowling together.

But what if you're being the one pushed out of a friendship group? If this is happening to you then try and ask someone you are friendly with what is happening. If the whole group is leaving you out then try and find new people to hang around with at lunchtimes. Joining a lunchtime or after school club is a good way to make new friends.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/schools/studentlife/schoolissues/newschool/friends_forever.shtml

Beat the bullies! Student Life homepage

2008-08-28T10:28:00.000-07:00

Are you being bullied or is one of your friends getting picked on? Find out how to tackle the bullies and get help

So what is bullying?

Bullying can take on many forms:

Physical:: Pushing, kicking, violence, stealing
Verbal:: Name-calling, spreading rumours, teasing you in front of others, being sarcastic
Emotional:: Ignoring you or keeping you out of group conversations, tormenting, making fun of you
Racist:: Making racial comments about you and your family, rude gestures, jokes about your religion
Sexual:: Touching you when you don't want to be, pressuring you to do things that you don't want

How can you stop it?

"If you can't tell your parents then talk to a teacher"

If you are being bullied, or know someone who is, then tell your parents or another adult you trust. Sometimes children or young people feel ashamed about telling adults about bullying, but you shouldn't.

Usually your parents are the best people to tell because they will help you work out the best way to get the bullying to stop. Don't forget they were at school not so long ago, so they might know more than you think about your situation.

If you can't tell your parents then talk to a teacher or an older person you trust. The school can't do anything about the bullying if they don't know about it. Take a friend with you if you're nervous. And remember there are many ways a school can stop bullying without you having to confront the bully alone.

Where can I get help?

If you're very upset or distressed and need to talk to someone, you can call ChildLine at any time on 0800 1111 for free and confidential advice.

Kidscape can also offer help: Their phone number is 0207 730 3300 or look at the Kidscape website for more information, links to other helpful organisations and free leaflets.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/schools/studentlife/schoolissues/bullying/beat_the_bullies.shtml

Planning your way to an A grade

2008-08-28T10:23:00.000-07:00

It can be difficult to keep your cool in an exam, with so much to think about it's easy to forget the basics. So, check out this check list to help you write a great essay

8 steps to an A grade:

Read everything: It's worth reading the whole exam paper very quickly from start to finish. That way you can get a feel for the questions and know exactly how much you've got to get done in an allocated time.
Choose carefully: Once you've read through the exam paper you'll know how many questions you need to answer. It's worth taking a few more minutes to decide which questions you think you can answer the best. A wrong hasty decision could cost you marks.
Plan your answer: Examiners say that time given to planning is an important factor in successful writing. Your plan is your route to organised writing and higher marks. It might be worth highlighting the key words in the question you have chosen and noting how many marks you get for each question. That should give you a rough guide to how long to spend on it.
Facts and figures: If you're writing an answer that requires you to quote facts, figures and quotations then make sure you include them! It sounds obvious but often people get so caught up in getting their answer down they forget to include all the important stuff!
Write clearly: Make sure you use a blue or black pen to write your answers and try to make sure your handwriting is legible. Remember examiners will mark hundreds of papers - you don't want to give them any excuse to mark you down.
Clock watch: Make sure you keep an eye on the time as you're going through the exam paper. You should have a rough idea how long to spend on each section and try not to go over that or you may not finish it in time.
Answer all questions: Again it sounds simple but you'd be surprised how many students don't read the instructions or don't check the last page of the exam paper and end up missing valuable marks.
Remember what you've learned: You will do many practise questions and paper in the lead up to the exams. And, whilst you won't get the exact same questions in your real exams you will be able to apply some of the things you've learnt and try not to make the same mistakes again.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/schools/studentlife/revisionandskills/exams/planning_your_way_to_an_a_grade.shtml

Tom Barber, 17 - Archer

2008-08-28T10:00:00.000-07:00

I live in the small village of Denton in Norfolk. I am a student at Bungay High School, and will be a 12th year student there next year. I have been doing archery for 7 years now. I aim to share with you my experience of the holding camp over the next few weeks. See You!

Days in Beijing - 16/08/08

Last week, I was given the fantastic oppurtunity to visit Beijing during the first few days of the Olympic games as part of the BOAs London 2012 Ambition program for young athletes. I can safely say it was a fantastic experience that I will never forget.

I met the rest of my group on Thursday evening, who had just arrived in Macau earlier that day. The next morning, we flew out to Beijing and settled into our accommodation before watching the opening ceremony. Unfortunately we couldn't get tickets for the stadium, and so had to watch it on Chinese TV.

The next day included a visit to the Olympic village, in which we got to go in the accommodation blocks and eat in the huge dining hall.

The following day was our final in Beijing. It proved to be the most spectacular, as proceedings moved into the 5000 capacity stadium for the final rounds of the women's archery team matches. GBR women had shot well in the morning and had moved into the semi-finals, and we tried our very best to cheer them on and make ourselves heard amongst the huge Chinese crowd. Unfortunately, they lost the semi against China and were with 1 point of winning a bronze medal in the 3rd place match that ensued against France.

All in all, I hope I have learned a lot from the people I have spoken to in both Macau and Beijing and I hope I can also apply it to my own situations and it has given me a valuable insight into what to expect. I'm back home now and the training for 2012 has begun!

http://www.bbc.co.uk/schools/studentlife/careersandchoices/olympics/tom/

Education quality and literacy stressed at Tokyo Conference on African Development

2008-08-28T09:57:00.000-07:00

05-06-2008 - "Education is at the heart of the quest for human security", UNESCO's Director-General told delegates at the Fourth Tokyo International Conference on African Development (28 to 30 May 2008, Yokohama, Japan).

Citing the acute shortage of trained teachers in Africa, widespread low learning achievement, and the high proportion of adults – 4 out of 10, over 150 million in total –– who cannot read and write, the Director-General said that particular attention should be paid to education quality and literacy. He also stressed the need to address the full Education for All agenda in Africa, and not limit actions to the two education-related Millennium Development Goals.

Participants agreed on an action plan designed to support African growth and development in the next 5 years under the TICAD (Tokyo International Conference on African Development) process. The process will focus on: basic education; post basic education and higher education/research; multi-sectoral approaches and educational management.

Jointly organized by Japan, UNDP and the World Bank, the conference was attended by 51 African countries and 34 other countries.

Contact: edknowledge@unesco.org

http://portal.unesco.org/education/en/ev.php-URL_ID=56701&URL_DO=DO_TOPIC&URL_SECTION=201.html

2009 Global Action Week to Focus on Literacy and Lifelong Learning

2008-08-28T09:54:00.001-07:00

20-08-2008 - Ahead of International Literacy Day on 8 September, the Global Campaign for Education has chosen “Youth and Adult Literacy and Lifelong Learning” as the theme for the 7th Education for All (EFA) Global Action Week (GAW) 20-26 April 2009.

This week-long mobilization will be followed in May by one of UNESCO’s major global education events: the Sixth International Conference on Adult Education (CONFINTEA VI) in Brazil.

With the continued expansion of formal education, the global number of youth illiterates (ages 15 to 24) declined from 167 million in 1985-1994 to 130 million in 2000-06. The global youth literacy rate improved during this same period, from 83.5% to 89%, although rates under 80% are still found in sub-Saharan Africa and South and West Asia. The global adult literacy rate stands at 83.6%. Eighty percent of the world’s illiterates are concentrated in 20 countries.

UNESCO leads the global Education for All movement aiming to meet the learning needs of all children, youth and adults by 2015.

http://portal.unesco.org/education/en/ev.php-URL_ID=57546&URL_DO=DO_TOPIC&URL_SECTION=201.html

Education for All on the Global Stage

2008-08-28T09:54:00.000-07:00

UNESCO will put the spotlight on challenges facing Education for All during a number of high-level events coming up on the international agenda in the last quarter of 2008.

This begins with participation in the High Level Forum on Aid Effectiveness in Accra, Ghana (2-4 September) to be attended by ministers from over 100 countries, heads of bilateral and multilateral agencies and civil society organizations.

The objective is to help developing countries in their fight against poverty by making aid more transparent and results-oriented. During its participation in one of the forums eight round tables, UNESCO will highlight specific instances of improved aid effectiveness in the field of education.

By convening a High-Level Event on the Millennium Development Goals at UN Headquarters the same month (25 September), the UN Secretary-General aims to strengthen the global partnership for development more than halfway to the 2015 target date for achieving the goals. During the event UNESCO will participate in the thematic roundtable on health and education.

New evidence on progress towards EFA will be provided in the EFA Global Monitoring Report 2009 focusing on governance, financing and management of education to be launched during the International Conference on Education (25-28 November, Switzerland). This years conference, centered on the theme Inclusive Education: the Way of the Future, will explore how governments can develop and implement more inclusive policies to guarantee high quality learning opportunities for all.

These events pave the way for the High Level Group on EFA (16-18 December, Norway), an annual meeting to be attended by heads of state, education ministers, bilateral, multilateral and civil society organizations. This years meeting will urge development partners to scale up resources and commit to specific targets in order to advance progress towards EFA.

The next four months also count a series of regional preparatory conferences leading up to the May 2009 CONFINTEA VI conference on adult learning. These conferences are being held in Latin America and the Caribbean (10-13 September, Mexico); the Asia-Pacific (6 - 8 October, Republic of Korea); sub-Saharan Africa (57 November, Kenya); and for the Europe-North America region, in Hungary (3-5 December).

Events are also planned for International Literacy Day (8 September), World Teachers Day (5 October), World Aids Day (1 December) and Human Rights Day (10 December).

Contact: edknowledge@unesco.org

http://portal.unesco.org/education/en/ev.php-URL_ID=57607&URL_DO=DO_TOPIC&URL_SECTION=201.html

Joyous end to Beijing's Olympic debut

2008-08-24T22:05:00.000-07:00

(BEIJING, August 24) -- Heavenly drums, silver bell dancers, light wheels and flying men took center stage to greet guests at the National Stadium Sunday, August 24, for the closing celebration of the Beijing 2008 Olympic Games. The evening's performances featured an eclectic mix of China's ethnic minority cultures and various modern elements.

A pyrotechnic display of numbers for the countdown from 29 -- to indicate the 29th Olympiad -- ushered in the Closing Ceremony at 8:00 p.m. (UTC/GMT +8) with an audience of more than 90,000 present. Spectacular fireworks formed a circle -- the Chinese symbol of harmony and renewal -- above the stadium immediately afterwards to indicate the successful completion of the Games.

A touching moment during the evening celebration came when 12 representatives of Olympic volunteers received recognition for the work that they and over a million others like them had done to help athletes, officials, reporters, spectators and visitors during the Games in Beijing and the six co-host cities. The volunteers were presented with flowers by the newest elected members of the IOC's Athletes' Commission.

"You made the Games," said IOC President Jacques Rogge.

The Closing Ceremony also served to indicate the official start of London's role as host of the 2012 Olympics. The UK national flag was raised and the Olympic flag was handed over to London. A short performance followed to showcase Britain's enthusiasm for the Games, and famed footballer David Beckham was there to kick off a football to mark the start of London's Olympic journey.

At 9:25 p.m., the Beijing Olympic flame was slowly extinguished.

The evening's celebration culminated in an emotional duet performance of "The Flame of Love" by Spanish tenor Placido Domingo and Chinese singer Song Zuying.

"Come, come, please stay. Please stay, guests from afar," sang dozens of young singers as the grandest carnival of mankind concluded. Fireworks exploded, simultaneously from the top of the Bird's Nest and above Tian'anmen Square.

http://en.beijing2008.cn/ceremonies/headlines/n214584963.shtml

Full Coverage: The Closing Ceremony of the 2008 Olympic Games

2008-08-24T07:44:00.000-07:00

20. Chapter 2: Memory -- Extinguishing the Olympic Flame -- Prelude

Synopsis: An airport electronic flight screen appears on the large screen of the Stadium. An athlete about to leave walks up the boarding ladder and turns around affectionately.

1). In special-effect light, the boarding ladder truck with the logo of Beijing Olympic Games is slowly elevated. An airport electronic flight screen appears on the large screen.

2). An athlete about to leave walks up the boarding ladder and turns around affectionately. He slowly takes out an exquisite painting scroll and unfolds it…

In the dark, a huge mechanic device -- the "memory tower" at the center of the field-- rises slowly, with two "sports sculpture" performers standing on top of it and showing various athletic gestures.

21. Chapter 2: Memory -- Extinguishing the Olympic Flame – Memory

Synopsis: This eternal moment of 2008 in Beijing is unforgettable.

The rim of the bowl changes into a red track. Special lights cast precious and spectacular scenes of the 16 days from the lighting of the holy flame to now onto the track in the air.

At the center of the field, two "sports sculpture" performers rise gradually and show different athletic gestures slowly in the air, conveying the noble Olympic spirit to people.

22. Chapter 2: Memory – Extinguishing the Olympic Flame – Flame

Synopsis: The holy flame embodies man's noble spirit of trying to pursue and build friendship together.

1). The athlete on the boarding ladder looks at the burning holy flame in the distance, and slowly folds painting scroll. The holy flame of 2008 Beijing Olympic Games is slowly extinguished…

Sacred flame extinguished (Photo credit: Xinhua)

2). As the holy fame is extinguished, a huge "holy flame" is lighted at he center of the field (396 "memory tower" performers simulate the flame with their bodies).

The "holy flame" on the "memory tower" is flowing with ever-changing scenes, expressing man's Olympic spirit of "Citius, Altius, Fortius."

3). The torch lights in the hands of the marshals and over 90,000 audience are turned on at the same time, implying that the holy flame will be in our hearts forever.

4). In the passionate far-reaching music, 16 lucky cloud yarn strips slowly rise along the "memory tower" on the Main Stage.

5). The top ends of the lucky cloud yarn strips extend towards the sky and change into a lucky could tree symbolizing friendship and joy.

Acrobats perform on memory tower. (Photo credit: Michael Steele/Getty Images)

23. Chapter 3: Carnival – an Energetic and Passionate Song – Beijing, Beijing, I love Beijing

Synopsis: On the Main Stage, six Chinese and foreign singers sing together Beijing, Beijing, I Love Beijing, a song full of passion, vitality and energy.

On the Main Stage, six Chinese and foreign singers sing together Beijing, Beijing, I Love Beijing, a song full of passion, vitality and energy.

On the Main Stage and the steps, 8 percussion players and 64 female erhu players jointly perform along with the song.

When the singing performance reaches the climax, the "memory tower" performers on the tree of friendship descend rapidly.

24. Chapter 3: Carnival – a Sweet Love Song – The Moon is Bright Tonight

Synopsis: Seven singers walk onto the Main Stage from below the steps and sing The Moon is Bright Tonight.

In the prelude, seven singers walk from below the steps to the Main Stage and sing The Moon is Bright Tonight.

Four columns rise on the Main Stage and four acrobats perform spectacular actions on top of the four columns.

25. Chapter 3: Carnival – a Romantic and Emotional Song – The Flame of Love

Synopsis: Two Chinese and foreign singers on the mobile singing performance car go from Gate 1 to the front of the VIP corridor, and sing The Flame of Love emotionally.

26. Chapter 3: Carnival – a Joyous and Passionate Song – Surpass It

Synopsis: Two singers on the Main Stage and sing the joyous and passionate song Surpass It.

Two singers walk onto the Main Stage and sing the song passionately.

Behind them are 50 young singers singing together.

At the same time, 75 aerobatic performers wearing luminous flight clothes perform elevation and rotation in the air.

27. Chapter 3: Carnival –Spectacular Circle Dance– Please Stay, Guests from Afar

Synopsis: The passion is overwhelming in the song, and the friendship is extending in the circle dance. This is the grandest carnival of mankind.

1). Dozens of young singers and 112 performers in beautiful clothes of the 56 ethnic groups dance hand in hand and sing the song Please Stay, Guests from Afar on the Main Stage and the steps.

50 male dancers holding Fuwa lucky cloud yarn strips and paper flower launchers and 120 other dancers dance on the Main Stage in tune with the rhythm of the song.

600 female performers in festival clothes enter the stadium, flow around the athletes and dance with all athletes in the stadium and 1,046 marshals in tune with the rhythm of the song, forming a spectacular dance circle…

2). 600 female performers in festive clothes, 112 performers of minority ethnic groups, 50 male dancers, 70 collectors of launched red silk and 200 "memory tower" performers throw the Fuwa lucky cloud yarn strips into the stadium, interacting with the athletes.

3). At the same time, innumerable dazzling fireworks are launched from the top of the "bowl rim".

4). Above the Tian'anmen Square, numerous festival fireworks form a huge circle of fireworks, symbolizing the successful conclusion of 2008 Beijing Olympic Games.

28. Exit of VIP and Athletes

http://en.beijing2008.cn/ceremonies/headlines/n214582074_2.shtml

Full Coverage: The Closing Ceremony of the 2008 Olympic Games

2008-08-24T07:25:00.000-07:00

10. Marathon Victory Ceremony

Synopsis: Holding the marathon victory ceremony.

1). The music for marathon victory is played. The winning athletes and award presenters enter.

2). The marathon victory ceremony is held. The national anthem of the winner's country is played, and the marathon flag operators of the Guard of Honor of the Chinese People's Liberation Army raise the national flag of the winner's country.

Marathon Victory Ceremony

11. Entrance of the Representatives of Volunteers

Synopsis: Entry of the volunteer representatives.

Twelve children lead twelve representatives of volunteers to walk from Gate 2 to the Main Stage.

Representatives of volunteers

12. Entrance of the New Members of IOC Athletes' Commission

Synopsis: Entry of the newly elected members of the IOC Athletes' Commission.

Four children lead for new members of IOC Athletes' commission to walk together with four persons for the ceremony from Gate 1 to the Main Stage.

Newly-elected members of the Athletes' Commission of the IOC (Photo credit: Xinhua)

13. New Members of IOC Athletes' Commission Present Flowers to the Representatives of Volunteers

Synopsis: New members of the Athletes' Commission present flowers to the representatives of volunteers.

The new members of the Athletes' Commission present flowers to the representatives of volunteers.

14. The Present of IOC and the Present of BOCOG Take the Floor

Synopsis: Mr. Jacque Rogge, President of IOC, and Mr. Lu Qi, President of BOCOG, walk to the Main Stage from the VIP corridor.

Mr. Jacques Rogge, President of IOC, and Mr. Liu Qi, President of BOCOG, walk to the Main Stage from the VIP corridor.

IOC president delivers a speech. (Photo credit: Xinhua)

15. Address by the President of BOCOG and the President of IOC

Synopsis: Address by Mr. Rogge, President of IOC, and Mr. Liu Qi, President of BOCOG..

Mr. Liu Qi, President of BOCOG, gives an address.

Mr. Rogge, President of IOC, gives an address.

16. Raising the UK National Flag and Playing the UK National Anthem; Raising the Greek National Flag and Playing the Greek National Anthem

Synopsis: Raising the Greek National Flag and playing the Greek National Anthem; raising the UK National Flag and Playing the UK National Anthem

1). The flag operators of the Guard of Honor raise the Greek National Flag while the Greek National Anthem is played.

2). The flag operators of the Guard of Honor raise the UK National Flag while the UK Natinal Anthem is played.

National flag of Great Britain (Photo credit: Xinhua)

17. Lowering the Olympic Flag and singing the Olympic Hymn

Synopsis: Lowering the Olympic Flag and singing the Olympic Hymn.

1). The flag operators of the Guard of Honor slowly lower the Olympic Flag and hold it.

2). A chorus of 226 Chinese and foreign children sings the Olympic Hymn in Greek.

Jacques Rogge waves the Olympic flag watched by London Mayor Boris Johnson. (Photo credit: Clive Rose/Getty Images)

19. Handover Performance

Synopsis: London handover performance.

1). Destination London 2012

The 2012 Olympic Games and Paralympic Games reunites the world's greatest sporting event with one of the world's greatest sporting event with one of the world's great cities. In the year in which we mark the anniversaries of the 1908 and 1948 Olympic Games in London, we are enormously proud to receive the Olympic Flag tonight as we begin our journey tonight from Beijing to London, where the Games will be held in the heart of one of the world's most culturally vibrant, diverse and sports passionate cities.

2). Youth capital showcasing best of British talent

We invite the media to celebrate this moment with us. As the creative capital of the world, London leads its performance tonight with music and dance, showcasing the very best of British talent and diversity in performances that reflect key themes of the London 2012 Games- sport, culture, social change, urban transformation, and changing lives- all inspired by young people and our vision to use the power of the Games to inspire change. Tonight's performance highlights the artistic creativity, energy, and passion for sport, art and culture that London and UK will bring to the 2012 Games. The Olympic and Paralympic Games in London will rock the UK and the world in an Olympic celebration party of sport, culture and amazing human performances.

3). Special guest performers

The Handover segment is led by special guest performers from London whose achievements demonstrate the power of sport, music and art to cross barriers and divided in ways where talent and creativity can be celebrated and enjoyed the world over- from our Rock royalty to the current global star urban pop, to one of our greatest global sporting heroes. These include global football hero, David Beckham, new international singing sensation, Leona Lewis and legendary Led Zeppelin rock group guitarist Jimmy Page. We demonstrate why London remains the coolest place on the planet.

The special guests are joined by performers spanning the spectrum of diverse, creative, multi-cultural dance in London. Zoonation's athletic urban dance, Candoco's inspirational and contemporary dance along with dancers form the world renowned Royal Opera House perform as one company to music performed in part by the London Symphony Orchestra- a truly unique combination of talent for a unique occasion.

Tonight's Handover segment is indicative of our four-year, youth focused Cultural Olympiad, which starts in September and will reflect the interests of young people from all backgrounds, from music and video to disability and urban arts, which will help to spread the values of the Olympic Movement to young people more widely.

The London 2012 Cultural Olympiad provides a contemporary interpretation of the vision of the founder of the modern Olympic Movement Pierre de Coubertin for the Games as an international festival of sport and culture for the athletes and youth of the world.

4). Games for the new generation

I am, of course fiercely proud of London and the UK, proud of its passion for sport, proud for its creativity and diversity as a home to ethnic and faith groups from every part of the world; and very proud that London is seen as the youth capital of the world. We want to share this London with all of you and through you send a message to the youth of the world that the Olympic Games and Paralympic Games is for them. We want you to help us to use the power of the Games to inspire children and young people from all backgrounds to fulfill their potential- on and off the sporting field. Tonight's performance will be beamed to millions of UK residents, who will be celebrating back home and getting ready to welcome you in 2012.

We hope you enjoy tonight's special performance -- from London with a Wholelotta Love!

http://en.beijing2008.cn/ceremonies/headlines/n214582074_1.shtml

Full Coverage: The Closing Ceremony of the 2008 Olympic Games

2008-08-24T07:09:00.000-07:00

1. Pre-ceremony Performance

Synopsis: With Fuwa as the creative theme, relaxing and humorous performances interact with the audience and create a passionate, relaxed and joyous atmosphere for the Closing ceremony.

1). With Fuwa as the main focus, the best wishes from Beijing are presented to the audience by each Fuwa in their own unique style.

a. Best wishes brought by Beibei (humorous interactive performance)

b. Luck brought by Jingjing (awe-inspiring bicycle trick performance)

c. Happiness brought by Huanhuan (acrobatic plate-spinning performance)

d. Health brought by Yingying (springboard slam-dunk performance)

e. Peace brought by Nini (acrobatic stick-shaking performance)

2). The hosts arouse the passion of the audience for the Closing Ceremony and explain how to use the prop package.

Prop Package includes:

1. Torch-shaped fluorescent stick with cloud patterns: 30cm x 8cm

2. Shining handball: 22cm x 13.5cm

3. Lengthened Chinese fan: 30cm x 60cm

Artists perform (Photo credit: Xinhua)

2. Entrance of the President of PRC, the President of IOC and VIP

Synopsis: Greeted by solemn music and warm applause, the president of PRC, the President of IOC and VIP enter the stadium.

3. Prelude, Countdown and Fireworks Display

Synopsis: The countdown music is played. The countdown videos are played simultaneously on the screens in the south and north of the stadium. The countdown starts from "29", indicating the 29th Olympic Games.

1). The countdown starts from "29", indicating the 29th Olympic Games. From "29" to "11", highlights of this Olympic Games are shown with countdown numbers on the screen. Accompanied with sound effects, the atmosphere reaches its climax.

Guided by volunteers, all audience count down from 10 together. Both Arabic numerals and numbers written in Chinese characters appear on the screen with typical patterns of minority ethnic groups as the background.

2). Fireworks on top of the National Stadium (Bird's Nest) burst immediately when the countdown ends, forming a great circle in the sky which symbolizes the success of Beijing Olympic Games.

(Circle: In traditional Chinese culture, "circle" is a symbol of harmony and renewal, indicating the success of Beijing Olympic Games.)

Fireworks of the closing ceremony in the National Stadium (Photo credit: Xinhua)

Girls dancing in the Closing Ceremony (Photo credit: Xinhua)

4. Welcome the president of PRC, the President of IOC

Synopsis: Welcome the President of the People's Republic of China, Mr. Hu Jintao, and the President of the International Olympic Committee, Mr. Jacques Rogge.

5. Raising the PRC National Flag, Singing the PRC National Anthem

Synopsis: The National Flag of PRC is raised while the Military Band of the Chinese People's Liberation Army plays the National Anthem of PRC.

6. Chapter 1: Reunion - Prelude

Synopsis: All lights go out in the Stadium. A video is played on the large screen in the north and south to explain the theme of the Closing Ceremony. The video reviews the exciting and memorable moments during the 2008 Beijing Olympic Games. A grand celebration is about to begin.

1). Two hundered performers of drum formation line up in a circle on the steps of the Main Stage, dance and beat drums while looking up at the sky. Two large heavenly drums fly from the north and south, and the resonant sound of the drum comes from far away.

2). The performers beat the heavenly drums in a unique style in magical light. The two heavenly drums meet at the center above the stadium, slowly fall down to the Main Stage and are suspended about 5 meters above the stage. The heavenly drum and the drum on the ground complement each other.

3). Summoned by the drumbeat, 1,148 silver bell dancers wearing silver bells gather around the Main Stage, and sing and dance for the heavenly drums. A grand celebration is about to begin.

(Drum: The drum has the distinct symbolic meaning in traditional Chinese ceremonies; the drumbeat indicates the commencement of the ceremony. The drumbeat calls people to gather together, to express common dreams and passion through grand ceremonial performance.)

7. Chapter1: Reunion - Greeting the Guests

Synopsis: Silver bell performers dance in tune with the beat of the heavenly drums on the Mian Stage to greet the guests.

1). Eight drum carts in different shapes enter the stadium, carrying performers who beat drums in unique ways.

The sound of the song is mingled with the drumbeat, passionate and dynamic.

2). Eight rotating poles swing and go across.

3). With 60 light wheels shuttling, 200 bouncing and flying men run and roll over.

4). The silver bell dancers change into radiating wave lines coming through, and form four festive passages with the eight drum carts to great guests.

8. Entrance of the NOC Flags

Synopsis: Entry of the flags of all delegations.

1). Led by guides and placard holders, the flag bearers of all delegations enter the stadium, divided into two groups. One group (1-102), headed by Greece, enters from Gate 4 in the right order and stands along the Main Stage. The other group (103-204), headed by Saudi Arabia, enters from Gate 3 in the right order and stands along the Main Stage. The Chinese Flag bearer enters last and stands at the designated place.

2). After all flags are in position, 1,046 marshals run into the designated places.

9. Entrance of the Athletes

Synopsis: All athletes enter from four gates without differentiation of nationality.

1). A women's percussion band for welcoming performance and two children percussion players play cheerful music, and the whole stadium is in raptures.

2). Entry of the medal-winning athletes of the 29th Olympic Games.

3). Simultaneous entrance of the athletes from four gates without differentiation of nationality.

http://en.beijing2008.cn/ceremonies/headlines/n214582074.shtml

siphop@gmail.com beer_east@hotmail.com

Day 14 Review: Dibaba to the double ... but Bolt to the treble

2008-08-22T23:05:00.001-07:00

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(BEIJING, August 22) -- So much to talk about from Day Fourteen of Beijing 2008 -- The Unites States "Dream Team" redeeming itself by reaching the Men's Basketball final and China's triumphant trio of Women's Table Tennis medalists, is just one part.

But where else can we start than the National Stadium where the undisputed king and queen of the track have reigned supreme: middle distance runner Tirunesh Dibaba and the sprint-king man of the moment Usain Bolt, whose world record breaking, gold medal grabbing antics just keep on rolling.

Let's start with Bolt. Tonight was Jamaica's chance to seize their first 4 x 100 meters final -- a relative breeze with defending champions Great Britain and traditional powerhouse, the United States, both disqualified.

So did Bolt, Asafa Powell, Nesta Carter, and Michael Frater simply stroll around the Birds Nest -- not for a moment. Instead they set a new world record of 37.10. Bolt's third this week. Trinidad and Tobago captured silver, while Japan took the bronze.

Tirunesh Dibaba celebrates. (Photo credit: Xinhua)

However it wasn't quite the same Jamaican joy in the Women's 4 x 100m though, who joined in the baton-dropping mayhem that beset the United States Men's and Women's teams.

Guilty parties this time were 100m silver medalist Sherone Simpson and Kerron Stewart of Jamaica, who fumbled the baton, and knocked Great Britain off track with them.

The Russia quartet Evgeniya Polyakova, Aleksandra Fedoriva, Yulia Gushchina and Yuliya Chermoshanskaya seized their chance to win in a time of 42.31. The silver medal went to Belgium and bronze to Nigeria.

That overtook what was an equally enthralling performance of the night -- Tirunesh Dibaba of Ethiopia lapping the competition to win the gold medal in the Women's 5000m in a time of 15:41.40, and in the process grabbing a unique middle distance double after also winning the Women's 10000m gold medal earlier in the week.

The race was billed as a showdown between 23-year-old Dibaba, and defending champion, fellow Ethiopian Meseret Defar. However Dibaba proved too strong for her compatriot, and indeed Elvan Abeylegesse of Turkey, who once again trailed in behind Dibaba as she had in the 10,000 meters, claimed her second silver medal of the Beijing Games, to accompany the couplet of medals she collected from the 2007 World Championship over the same distances.

No doubt about the iron man of the last two days. American Bryan Clay of the United States led the Decathlon from start to finish with a gold medal total of 8791 points

Andrei Krauchanka of Belarus took the silver medal with 8551 points, and Leonel Suarez of Cuba, the bronze with 8527 points. Decathlon world record holder and defending Olympic champion, Roman Sebrle of the Czech Republic, came in sixth.

Elsewhere in the field events, Maurren Higa Maggi won Brazil's second gold medal of the Games when she leaped a season's best of 7.04m to win the Women's Long Jump to end Russian Tatyana Lebedeva's dominance in the event. The Athens 2004 champion, who won three of the last four world championships, took silver. The bronze medal went to Blessing Okagbare of Nigeria, who jumped a personal best 6.91m. Athens 2004 Heptathlon champion Carolina Kluft of Sweden, who decided to concentrate on the Long and Triple Jumps in Beijing 2008, finished a disappointing ninth.

Australia's Steve Hooker won the Men's Pole Vault in a new Olympic record height of 5.96 meters, which nudged the United States' Tim Mack's Athens 2004 effort of 5.95 meters off the record books.

World Indoor champion Evgeny Lukyanenko of Russia, couldn't better 5.85m, so had to settle for the silver medal. Denys Yurchenko of Ukraine claimed bronze.

Earlier in the day, Alex Schwarzer of Italy won the Men's 50km Walk in a new Olympic Games record time of three hours and 37.09 minutes. The silver medal went to Jared Tallent of Australia, who was bronze medalist in the Men's 20km Walk last Saturday (August 16), with Denis Nizhegorodov of Russia taking bronze.

Great Britain were top finishers in the Men's 4 x 400m Relay heats, with The Bahamas and the United States the second and third top-qualifying teams.

Defending Olympic champion the United States qualified fastest in the Women's 4 x 400m relay ahead of Jamaica and Russia.

Away from athletics, no doubt where the most domestic interest was -- the Peking University Gymnasium where China's Women's Singles Table Tennis players scoped gold, silver and bronze medals in line with their world ranking status.

World No. 1 Zhang Yining beat teammate Wang Nan 4-2 to win the Women's Singles gold medal, while Guo Yue downed Singapore's Li Jiawei to claim the bronze.

From trebling up to doubling up -- Philip Dalhausser and Todd Rogers made it a United States' Men's and Women's Beach Volleyball double gold by defeating Fabio Magalhaes and Marcio Araujo of Brazil in the Men's final. Athens 2004 gold medalists Ricardo Santos and Emanuel Rego also of Brazil, thumped Georgian duo Jorge Terceiro and Renato Gomes in straight sets today to take the bronze medal.

However, it was Europe's day among the six finals, with another six to come tomorrow (August 23) at the culmination of the Beijing 2008 Canoe/Kayak competition at Shunyi Olympic Rowing-Canoeing Park.

Germany won two of the day's gold medals: Fanny Fischer, Nicole Reinhardt, Katrin Wagner-Augustin and Conny Wassmuth retained their country's title from Athens 2004 in the Women's Flatwater Kayak Four (K4) 500m; while Martin Hollstein and Andreas Ihle edged out defending Olympic champion Swedish pair, Markus Oscarsson and Anders Gustafsson in the Men's K2 1000m final.

Belarus hadn't won an Olympic Canoe/Kayak gold medal before today -- then suddenly found itself with two in the space of 15 minutes.

First, Andrei Bahdanovich and Aliaksandr Bahdanovich claimed the Men's Flatwater C2 1000 meter title, beating defending Olympic champions Christian Gille and Tomasz Wylenzek of Germany into second spot -- then teammates Aliaksei Abalmasau and Artur Litvinchuk triumphed in the Kayak Four (K4) 1000 meter final.

(L-R) Wang Nan, Zhang Yining and Guo Yue pose with their medals. (Photo credit: Xinhua)

It was a case of just what the doctor ordered for Great Britain's Tim Brabant, winner of the Men's Kayak Single (K1) 1000m final. The 31-year-old Sydney bronze medalist ranked fifth in Athens and went into semi-retirement while concentrating on the completion of his medical studies and to begin work as a doctor. He returned to the water in 2006 and two years on has an Olympic medal to swing next to his stethoscope.

Hungary's Attila Sandor Vajda took the day's other gold medal in the Men's Flatwater C1 1000 meter class.

The first-ever Olympic BMX Cycling medals were awarded. World Champion Maris Strombergs of Latvia kept a cool head in the Men's race to carve a narrow victory ahead of Americans Mike Day and Donny Robinson.

Anne-Caroline Chausson of France won the Women's gold with pre-race favorite Shanaze Reade of Great Britain crashing out to finish last.

Lena Schoneborn of Germany took the Women's Modern Pentathlon title in with a total score of 5792 points. Heather Fell added to Great Britain's amazing Beijing medal tally by taking silver with 5752 points, with Ukraine's Victoria Tereshuk claiming the bronze with 5672 points. France's Amelie Caze, ranked world No.1 by the International Modern Pentathlon Union (UIPM) finished a disappointing ninth.

In the day two Taekwondo finals, Hwang Kyung-seon of the Republic of Korea defeated world champion Karine Sergerie of Canada 2-1 to win the Women's -67kg weight division, while Iranian veteran Hadi Saei won his second Olympic gold medal by defeating Italian Mauro Sarmiento in the final of the Men's -80kg division.

Elsewhere it was pretty much men's semifinals day except for one women's final -- with host China appearing in its first ever Women's Hockey final against the Netherlands.

Alas, China couldn't repeat their stunning semifinal victory over world champion Germany, with the Dutch team coming out on top 2-0 to claim their first Olympic Women's Hockey gold since Los Angeles 1984.

And so to that glut of men's semifinals, where else can we start than arguably the best known team at Beijing 2008 -- Team USA -- basketball's so-called "dream team" which some commentators have sneakily suggested are more a "redeem team" on a mission to rescue the United States wounded pride at losing the coveted Olympic Men's Basketball crown in Athens to ... yep, you guessed it ... their semifinal opponents Argentina.

So did the dream team get revenge? You bet -- wracking up another century of points to win 101-81. They will now face Spain in the final, which edged out Lithuania 91-86.

The United States are also through to the Men's Volleyball final after coming though a gritty 25-22, 25-21, 25-27, 22-25, 15-13 semifinal against Russia, and will face World No.1 Brazil, which defeated Italy 19-25, 25-18, 25-21, 25-22, in Sunday's (August 24) final.

And the US will contest the Men's Water Polo final, having easily disposed of Serbia 10-5, with Hungary coming from behind to beat Montenegro 11-9 to take the place in another final scheduled for Sunday.

However it didn't go the USA's way -- in the day's Baseball semifinal, Cuba's sluggers clobbered five pitchers with four homeruns to seize a berth in the final to defeat the United States, 10-2. The Republic of Korea beat Japan 6-2 in the all-Asia clash, to take its place in the final.

The Men's Handball semifinals saw France narrowly carve out 25-23 victory over defending champions Croatia and they will now meet Iceland in the final - 36-30 victors

It was also Boxing semifinals day with bouts in all 11 weight categories. Too many to list here but some of the highlights include light-flyweight Zou Shiming taking a step closer to winning China's first-ever Boxing gold medal when he comprehensively defeated Paddy Barnes of Ireland.

Zou's opponent in the final will be Serdamba Purevdorj of Mongolia, who has fought cleverly throughout the tournament.

Great Britain's James DeGale continues to be a breath of fresh air as he rampages through the tournament. The British middleweight easily beat Darren John Sutherland of Ireland 10-3. However, the British boxer may need to temper his natural exuberance in his gold medal bout against Cuban Emilio Correa Bayeaux – and world champion heavyweight Clemente Russo of Italy beat the United States' Deontay Wilder but made an unimpressive start to the bout.

Finally in the Men's Football bronze medal play off Brazil easily beat Belgium 3-0 thanks to two goals from Jo and one by Diego.

That is your round up of another busy day in Beijing -- just two more action-packed days to go.

http://en.beijing2008.cn/news/special/review/n214576745.shtml

Jamaica stumbles, Russia sprints to Women's 4 x 100m victory

2008-08-22T07:42:00.000-07:00

(BEIJING, August 22) -- Russia took the Women's 4x100m Relay gold medal at the Beijing 2008 Olympic Games in a time of 42.31 seconds.

The coveted gold medals will be worn by Evgeniya Polyakova, Aleksandra Fedoriva, Yulia Gushchina and Yuliya Chermoshanskaya.

The Athens 2004 silver medal team was comprised of Olga Fyodorova, Irina Khabarova, Larisa Kruglova and Yuliya Tabakova.

The silver went to reigning world championships bronze medalist Belgian team, this time made up of Olivia Borlee, Hanna Marien, Elodie Ouedraogo, and Kim Gevaert, in a time of 42.54s.

Barcelona 1992 bronze medalists Nigeria took bronze again, this time with Franca Idoko, Gloria Kemasuode, Halimat Ismaila, and Oludamola Osayomi running in a time of 43.04s.

The United States and Jamaica were expected to go head-to-head for the gold, but the United States was disqualified in the semifinal, while the Jamaicans stumbled in the second changeover, taking Great Britain with them.

Jamaica's Shelly-Ann Fraser was the fastest starter and team mate Sherone Simpson maintained the lead in the back straight.

However, a mix-up between 100m silver medalists Simpson and Kerron Stewart of Jamaica led to a dropped baton and Russia grabbed the opportunity to win their fourteenth Athletics medal of Beijing 2008.

Fedoriva had kept the four in contention on the back straight, whilst Gushchina put Russia into the lead on the final bend.

Defending champion Jamaica was anchored by world 100m champion Veronica Campbell-Brown, as they were at Athens 2004. Campbell-Brown was also backed up by the trio that swept the Women's 100m on Sunday: Shelly-Ann Fraser, Sherone Simpson and Kerron Stewart.

Fans of Team USA must be having a deja-vu experience of sorts after witnessing the same fault that disqualified the US women in Athens four years ago. After a shocking baton drop during the handoff between third leg runner Torri Edwards and anchor Lauryn Williams. The result came just moments after the US men were disqualified for the same reason in their 4x100m Relay semifinal.

"We're not sure what happened. We need to watch the video and see what happened. The stick was there, I really don't know what happened," said a confused Williams. "I guess I dropped the stick. It seemed like it was right there and it jumped right out [of my hand]."

Edwards was just as baffled by the bad pass, "I don't know what really happened; I'm obviously disappointed. It was my chance to be a gold medalist."

The United States has won this event nine times, but have seen their dominance slip in recent years. The 2005 and 2007 world champions were seeking their first Olympic title since Atlanta 1996.

The team was disqualified at Athens 2004 by a failed baton handover between Williams and Marion Jones. The US's pride took a serious hit on Sunday when Jamaica swept the Women's 100m medals.

The Great Britain team will also be devastated by this result after going into the final with confidence. "This is our time. It's the best British team since the '80s and we have a great chance, especially with the Americans out," said a positive Jeanette Kwakye after the semifinal.

With no medals coming to the US team through what is historically one of the country's strongest Athletics events, Williams is taking it in her stride. "It's definitely very humbling for Team USA and we're going to hold our head high and get through it."

http://en.beijing2008.cn/news/sports/headlines/athletics/n214575727.shtml

Day 12 Review: Bolt action rifles world record

2008-08-20T18:47:00.001-07:00

(BEIJING, August 20) -- "I am number one" screamed new 200 meter world record holder Usain Bolt into a TV camera lens after leaving the field for dead to complete an Olympic gold sprint double -- both in world record times.

You better believe it. Cool, calm and charismatic in his pre-race preparations, for once here is an athlete who can live up to the hype once the gun has been fired. One day short of his 22nd birthday, Bolt blasted out of his blocks and crossed the finish line 19.30 seconds later to slice two-hundredths of a second off the previous mark of 19.32. By comparison, the rest of the world class field left trailing in Bolt's wake looked like a bunch ungainly dads competing on school sports day.

For Bolt, it seems, is the real deal. The Jamaican hasn't so much re-written the record books in the past five days -- rather he has given athletics the boost it needs.

For the remainder of the summer, children across the world will attempt to emulate this new ebullient sprint king. With five days to go, it is safe to say that Beijing 2008 belongs to Usain Bolt. In terms of numerical superiority, swimmer Michael Phelps' awesome first week makes him an all-time Olympic great. And Bolt has some catching up to do to match the marvelous record of American sprinter Carl Lewis -- the last man to complete the Olympic 100m and 200m sprint double. Let's not forget that for good measure Lewis also won the Long Jump and the 4 x100 Relay in Los Angeles, and nine Olympic gold medals in total.

Yet like the greatest of sportsmen such as Muhammad Ali, Pele or Magic Johnson, Bolt adds something else -- theater. It isn't just what he does, it is the way that he does it. There is joyous confidence that somehow falls this side of arrogance -- enough to suggest he is capable of gouging lumps out of his own world records. It will be fun to watch. And athletics stadiums around the world are guaranteed to be packed to the rafters to see him try.

Frankly, it is up to other athletes to respond -- a hard ask for the night's other track and field athletes. For the record, Shawn Crawford and Walter Dix both of the United States took the silver and bronze medals. Churandy Martina and Wallace Spearmon were both disqualified.

So pity the poor, the Women's 400 meters hurdlers who were up next. Another Jamaican won gold - Melaine Walker in a new Olympic record time of 52.64 seconds. Sheena Tosta of the United States ran 53.70 to claim the silver, while Tasha Danvers of Great Britain took the bronze in 53.84.

Earlier, Aksana Miankova of Belarus won the Women's Hammer Throw gold medal in a new Olympic record of 76.34 meters to frustrate Athens 2004 silver medalist Yipsi Moreno of Cuba who, again, came second with 75.20m, while China's Wenxiu Zhang threw a season best of 74.32m to claim bronze.

In evening's other heats, unsurprisingly Dayron Robles of Cuba ran the fastest time in the Men's 110m Hurdles semifinals, while defending champion Veronica Campbell-Brown of Jamaica led home the first Women's 200m semifinal in 22.19 seconds to qualify for the final. Kenya's Wilfred Bungei qualified fastest for the Men's 800m semifinal by running a season best time of 1:44.90 minutes, while in the Men's 5000m preliminary round Matthew Tegenkamp of the United States ran the fastest time ahead of Kenya's Eliud Kipchoge and Ethiopian brothers, Tariku and Kenenisa Bekele, the latter going for the 5000m / 10,000m double, having won the longer race on August 17.

Off track and over the water – well 10 kilometers' worth to be precise -- the Women's Swimming Marathon made its Olympic bow with a predictable outcome, although hardly an easy race for overwhelming favorite Larisa Ilchenko of Russia, who touched home first in a time of 1:59:27.7. It was a close race throughout, and although Ilchenko broke away from the pack late on, she was pushed all the way by Great Britain's Keri-Anne Payne, whose GB compatriot, Cassandra Patten, finished third.

Much of the pre-race speculation centered around amazing leg amputee Natalie du Toit of South Africa, who finished a creditable 16th in a time of 2:00:49.9, a little over one minute behind winner, Ilchenko.

Also on water, there were sensational scenes at Qingdao, when Athens silver medalist Yin Jian won China's first ever Olympic Sailing gold medal by clinching the Women's RS:X (Windsurfer) title, ahead of Italy's Alessandra Sensini. The 2008 world champion, Tom Ashley of New Zealand, triumphed in the Men's race.

Gliding around in water rather more gracefully, Russian duo Anastasia Davydova and Anastasia Ermakova won the first Synchronized Swimming gold medal of Beijing 2008 in the Duet Free final. It was the four-time world champions' third Olympic gold, having won both the Duet and Team gold medals in Athens.

On sand, second-seed Phil Dalhausser and Todd Rogers of the United States easily defeated surprise semifinalists Jorge Terceiro and Renato Gomes of Georgia to advance to the final of the Men's Beach Volleyball. They will meet Brazil's Fabio Magalhaes and Marcio Araujo, the fourth-seeded pair who edged out fellow Brazilians and defending champions, Ricardo Santos and Emanuel Rego.

Back on terra firma, though barely on stable land, there was almost a shock on the first ever day of the Olympic BMX Cycling competition as three-time world champion Kyle Bennett dislocated his left shoulder in a crash during heat three of the quarterfinals at the Laoshan BMX Field. The 28-year-old had enough points, however, and is through to tomorrow's (August 21) final.

From teeth gritting to gripping and grappling, Buvaysa Saytiev claimed Russia's fifth Wrestling gold medal of the Games by beating Soslan Tigiev of Uzbekistan to take the Men's Freestyle 74 kilogram crown. By contrast, European champion Ramazan Shahin won Turkey's first gold medal of the Games by defeating Andriy Stadnik of Ukraine in the 66kg weight category.

China and Mexico were triumphant on the opening day of Taekwondo competition. World champion Wu Jingyu of China won the Women's -49kilogram crown by beating Buttree Puedpong of Thailand in the final, while Mexico's Guillermo Perez claimed the Men's -58kg gold by defeating Yulis Gabriel Mercedes of the Dominican Republic.

The highlights of other teams sports nearing a conclusion saw the Women's Hockey finalists decided with semifinal wins for the Netherlands, which crushed 2008 Champions Trophy winners Argentina 5-2, and China, which stunned reigning European and Olympic champions Germany to reach its first Olympic Women's Hockey final.

Tomorrow's (August 21) last-ever Olympic Women's Softball final will be contested between the United States and Japan, with Australia already having secured the bronze medal via the Page system, where the top two seeds (the United States and Japan) play each other in the semifinal, essentially guaranteeing the loser a best-chance finish of bronze.

Team USA advanced to the semifinals of the Men's Basketball tournament by knocking out Australia 116-85, and will meet Argentina which edged out Greece, 80-78, in the most close-fought game of the quarterfinals. Spain defeated Croatia 72-59, and will face Lithuania which comprehensively crushed China 94-68 in the other semifinal.

The Spanish are also through to the Men's Handball semifinals after beating the Republic of Korea 29-24 and now meet Iceland, 32-30 victors over Poland, while Croatia proved too strong for Denmark, winning 26-24, and will now meet France, 27-24 winners of their tie against Russia.

In Men's Water Polo quarterfinals there were wins for Italy, Greece, Montenegro and Serbia.

That was Day 12 of Bejing 2008 -- an evening lit up by a Bolt of lightening pace.

http://en.beijing2008.cn/news/special/review/n214569074.shtml

Gold for US gymnast, finally

2008-08-15T04:09:00.000-07:00

BEIJING, August) -- The US gymnastics team finished the first six days gold-less. It could only watch as China won gold in the Men and Women's Team event.

However, today was another day. Nastia Liukin and Shawn Johnson starred in the Women's All-Around final to win the gold and silver medals. The bronze medal went to China's Yang Yilin.

In the first rotation of four, Johnson was ranked first after a difficult move gave her 15.875 in the Vault. China's best gymnast, Jiang Yuyuan, was unable to land cleanly after dismounting from the Vault and scored a low 14.825. Once a gymnast's score dips below 15.000 on a single apparatus, their medal chances skydive. Liukin and Yang Yilin earned 15.025 and 15.175 in the Vault respectively.

Uneven Bars specialist Yang, who is the best-ranked qualifier in the Uneven Bars final, caught up to Johnson after she scored an outstanding 16.725 on the Uneven Bars in the second rotation. Liukin was the second-highest scorer on the apparatus with 16.650. Johnson, whose specialty lies with the Floor Exercise and the Vault, finished with 15.275.

Johnson competed first on the Beam in the third rotation. She scored 16.050, her first Beam score above 16.000 at Beijing 2008. Yang finished with a Beam score of 15.750. Liukin, who competed last in this rotation, needed 15.975 to replace Yang in first place, which she did with an outstanding 16.125.

Liukin held onto her lead with 15.525 in the Floor Exercise, taking her total score to 63.325. Johnson finished with a total score of 62.725 and Yang finished with a total score of 62.650.

http://en.beijing2008.cn/news/sports/headlines/artisticgymnastics/n214544520.shtml

Men's 200m Individual Medley: Phelps chalks up sixth gold

2008-08-15T04:04:00.000-07:00

(BEIJING, August 15) -- Michael Phelps continued his attack on winning a record eight gold medals on Friday pocketing his sixth at the National Aquatics Center, this time in the 200m Individual Medley.

He swam yet another world record, saving 0.57 seconds off the mark he set at the US trials in July this year.

Phelps was never in trouble and led comfortably throughout, touching the wall in 1:54.23.

The field stayed with Phelps during the Backstroke and Butterfly legs but the defending Olympic champion took the lead during the Breaststroke leg and pulled away in the final 50 meters of Freestyle.

Phelps has dominated every event he has entered, including the 400m Individual Medley.

Hungarian Laszlo Cseh put in another great performance, again edging out Phelps' teammate Ryan Lochte to win the silver medal in a European record time of 1:56.52.

Cseh now has a pair of silver medals from the Individual Medley events after finishing second to Phelps in Sunday's Men's 400m Individual Medley.

With only 10 minutes to recover after winning the gold in the 200m Backstroke, Lochte could only manage the bronze medal in a time of 1:56.53, just one hundredth of a second behind Cseh.

Lochte now has a pair of bronze medals in the Individual Medley events after finishing third in Sunday's 400m Individual Medley.

http://en.beijing2008.cn/news/sports/headlines/swimming/n214544202.shtml

12 years later, Martikán's comeback C1 gold

2008-08-12T16:37:00.000-07:00

(BEIJING, August 12) -- After winning the gold in 1996 but coming in second at the next two Olympics, Michal Martikán of Slovakia recaptured first place in the Men's Slalom Canoe Single competition on August 12, finishing first in both the semifinal and final races with a combined total time of 176.65 seconds.

Martikán got a two-second penalty in both of his races, but his finishing times of 86.92 seconds in the semifinal run and 85.73 in the final run were enough to clinch the gold, even after a total of four penalty seconds were added.

The medalists: David Florence (left), Michal Martikán (middle), Robin Bell (right) (Photo credit: Getty Images)

David Florence of Great Britain took the silver with a combined time of 178.61 seconds, 1.96 seconds behind Martikán's total time. He only had one two-second penalty, in his semifinal run where he finished fourth overall.

Robin Bell of Australia came in at 180.59 seconds for the bronze, also coming back from a lower ranking of fifth in the semifinal where he got a two-second penalty.

French paddler Tony Estanguet, who was on a quest for his third consecutive gold medal, finished ninth in the semifinal with a time of 93.92 seconds, 5.00 full seconds behind first place Martikán. After taking the gold over Martikán in two consecutive Olympics, Estanguet did not even advance to the final in Beijing.

In the semifinal run, the Czech Republic's Stanislav Ježek passed the finish line 0.93 seconds behind Martikán for a time of 89.85 seconds and second place, while the semifinal's third place slot went to Krzysztof Bieryt of Poland with 90.08 seconds. Both of these paddlers had no penalties added to their semifinal times, but Ježek got four penalty seconds in the final, and Bieryt had two penalty seconds. Czech paddler Ježek ended up with 92.44 seconds in his final run, moving him to sixth place, and Poland's Bieryt with 110.13 seconds came in eighth in the final and last in the total ranking.

Meanwhile, Great Britain's Florence finished the final run in 88.15 seconds and Australian Bell behind him with 89.43 seconds, moving them up to the medal spots. Both incurred no penalty seconds in the final.

While all the other paddlers' rankings switched between the semifinal and final races, only Martikán retained his first place spot in both runs, definitively taking the gold.

http://en.beijing2008.cn/news/sports/headlines/slalom/n214533803.shtml

Prapawadee Jaroenrattanatarakoon, pride of Thailand

2008-08-10T05:23:00.000-07:00

(BEIJING, August 10) -- Prapawadee Jaroenrattanatarakoon of Thailand became the new Olympic champion in the 53kg category of Women's Weightlifting on Sunday, thanks to her total lift of 221kg.

Yoon Jin-hee of the Republic of Korea had the best start of the day, lifting 94kg with her first Snatch attempt. However, she failed at 97kg with her last two attempts. Nastassia Novikava of Belarus and Jaroenrattanatarakoon followed the same route as they both succeeded at lifting 92kg and 95kg, but stopped short of lifting 97kg. With no lifters passing the 100kg mark, the possibility of a new Olympic record for total weight was small.

In the Clean and Jerk round, all eyes were on 24-year-old Jaroenrattanatarakoon, who lifted 120kg with her first attempt. She then went on with a stunning attempt of 126kg, which was easily completed and made her an Olympic record holder in the Clean and Jerk. Although she failed to raise her record with her third attempt, her stellar performance won a standing ovation from all spectators in the stadium.

In the quest for second, Yoon turned on the heat with a successful first attempt of 116kg. Novikava failed to answer immediately but lifted the same weight with her second attempt. Yoon's response was to continue on, lifting 118kg and 119kg with little trouble, finishing with a total weight of 213kg. Although Novikava completed her match with a successful 118kg attempt and tied with Yoon in total weight lifted, she was 0.15kg heavier than Yoon at the pre-Games weigh-in. Thus, Yoon took the silver and Novikava the bronze.

Thailand's Udomporn Polsak was the champion of this weight class four years ago. Jaroenrattanatarakoon not only retained this title, but also claimed the first gold medal for her country in this year's Olympics.

http://en.beijing2008.cn/news/sports/headlines/weightlifting/n214525678.shtml

Emmons wins first gold medal of the Games

2008-08-09T01:16:00.000-07:00

(BEIJING, August 9) -- Katerina Emmons of the Czech Republic won the first gold of the Beijing Olympic Games today when she won the Women's 10m Air Rifle.

Emmons, 24, was in scintillating form, breaking Olympic records in both the qualification and final rounds.

In the qualification round, Emmons shot a perfect 400, which equaled the World Record and set a new Olympic Record. The previous Olympic Record was 399.

In the final round, Emmons shot 103.5, giving her a final score of 503.5, which eclipsed the previous record of 502.0 set by China's Du Li at Athens 2004.

The gold medal is Emmons' second Olympic medal, following her bronze at Athens 2004 in the same event.

Emmons never looked threatened throughout the event, despite solid shooting performances by silver medalist Lioubov Galkina of Russia and bronze medalist Snjezana Pejcic of Croatia, who shot final scores of 502.1 and 500.9 respectively.

The day was full of disappointment for Athens 2004 gold medalist Du Li of China and World No. 1 Sonja Pfeilschifter of Germany. Du finished fifth after shooting poorly in the final, finishing with a total score of 499.6. Pfeilschifter just missed out on making the final round.

The United States' Jamie Beyerle finished fourth after performing well in the final, shooting a total score of 499.8.

http://en.beijing2008.cn/news/sports/headlines/shooting/n214520230.shtml

Champion Chen of China with 48kg Olympic Record

2008-08-09T01:14:00.000-07:00

(BEIJING, August 9) -- Chen Xiexia of China performed with the confidence of a champion throughout the Women's 48 kilogram Weightlifting competition on August 9, successfully completing all her attempts for a gold medal finish with 95kg in the Snatch and 117kg in the Clean and Jerk for a total of 212kg, a new Olympic Record.

Chen also set an Olympic record in the Clean and Jerk with 117kg.

China's Chen adds this Olympic gold medal to her collection of golds from the 2007 World Championships and 2007 Asian championships.

Turkey's Sibel Ozkan won the silver medal with 88kg in the Snatch and a successful 111kg in the Clean and Jerk for a 199kg total.

Chen Wei-Ling of Chinese Taipei is the bronze winner, with 84kg in the Snatch and 112kg in the Clean and Jerk for a 196kg total finish.

Defending gold medalist Nurcan Taylan of Turkey, the previous Olympic Record-holder who lifted a total 210kg in Athens, bombed-out in the Snatch and was subsequently knocked out of competition. She kissed the left side weight discs on her barbell before waving to the crowd on the way out.

Taylan wasn't the only competitor to bomb-out in the Snatch. Italy's Genny Caterina Pagliaro, the youngest competitor in this weight class at 19-years old, didn't finish, nor did Pramsiri Bunphithak of Thailand, the 2004 Athens silver medalist.

The Snatch bomb-out streak didn't last too long. The eventual fourth place finished, Republic of Korea's Im Jyounghwa, couldn't complete her final attempt of 88kg but finished the Snatch with 86kg. Thailand's Pensiri Laosirikul, who came in fifth, just barely avoided a Snatch bomb-out herself, finally lifting 85kg on her final attempt.

Turkey's Ozkan managed 86kg on her first Snatch attempt, and hit her 88kg lift on the third try. Chen Wei-Ling achieved her 84kg lift in the Snatch on her first attempt, but failed the next two times.

China's Chen made her first attempt in the Snatch of 90kg with barely a struggle, and followed it up with two more seemingly effortless lifts at 93kg and then 95kg, punctuating each success with a quick bow. Her performance ignited the crowd, and with each lift their cheers of "Let's go China!" grew louder. Finishing 7kg above Ozkan in the Snatch made Chen almost a lock for the gold, since she is the current World Record-holder for the Clean and Jerk.

As for some of the other competitors, Nicaragua's Carla Moreno finished 85kg in Clean and Jerk for a last place total of 150kg. Marilou Dozois-Prevost of Canada successfully lifted 90kg in the Clean and Jerk for a 166kg total. Misaki Oshiro of Japan and Marzena Karpinska of Poland both lifted 92kg in the Clean and Jerk, but Oshiro finished with a 172kg total while Karpinska's total was 171kg.

Melanie Noel of France lifted 97kg but failed twice to complete 100kg, finishing at a 177kg total.

Japan's Hiromi Miyake came out full speed with the first triple-digit successful lift of the competition, 105kg on her first Clean and Jerk attempt, although she stumbled a bit causing only two of the three judges to call it a successful attempt. She finished with 185kg for her total.

Thai lifter Laosirikul celebrated her first Clean and Jerk attempt, a successful 110kg,but ultimately missed the podium by one kilogram with a 195kg total.

ROK's Im was able to complete her 106kg Clean and Jerk first attempt in good form, and finished the Clean and Jerk with 110kg successfully lifted. Im's total of 196kg was even with bronze medalist Chen Wei-Ling of Chinese Taipei, but she fell short of the podium because Chen had a lower body weight at the pre-competition weigh-in.

Chinese Taipei's Chen easily hit 108kg in her first Clean and Jerk attempt, and 112kg on her second attempt. Junior World Champion Ozkan finished the Clean and Jerk with 111kg in her third attempt, less than Chen Wei-Ling, but with a total of 199kg Ozkan knew she was likely to reach the podium. She ran off to hug her coach, who also erupted in a display of excitement.

When Chen Wei-Ling collapsed at the last second in her final attempt of 115kg and ended with a 196kg total, Ozkan began to tear up backstage over the exciting realization that she would be the silver medalist.

The crowd was alive again for China's Chen Xiexia, who started her Clean and Jerk attempt at 113kg, one kilogram above the last successful attempt of her competitors. Her completion of this first attempt made it beyond a doubt that she would be the gold medalist. She followed with 115kg and 117kg in her next two attempts, and clinched the gold with a 212kg total.

While Chen Xiexia set a new Olympic Record, she did not break her own personal best of 214kg in the total, nor any World Records. She still holds the Clean and Jerk World Record of 120kg, and her compatriot Yang Lian has the World Record in the Snatch with 98kg and the total with 217kg.

China now holds 14 of 20 Olympic records in Women's Weightlifting.

Chen Xiexia's gold was the first medal of the 2008 Olympic Weightlifting competition. All Weightlifting events are held in the Beijing University of Aeronautics & Astronautics Gymnasium.

http://en.beijing2008.cn/news/sports/headlines/weightlifting/n214520710.shtml

Beijing welcomes world to 2008 Olympic Games No.2

2008-08-09T01:10:00.000-07:00

Before the audience was able to digest the artistic presentation of China's ancient past, the second section of the performance, entitled 'Beautiful Olympics,' which underlined aspects of modern China, began.

A thousand illuminated dancers formed a dove of peace that then broke up, regrouping to form of human-web that replicated the lattice structure of the 'Bird's Nest.'

The processional section of the ceremony began with a shattering display of shadow boxing martial arts and magnificent images of man and nature.

By tradition, the Greek Athletes led the 204 competing National Olympic Committees (NOC) teams into the stadium in a marching order dictated by the order of strokes in each country's Chinese name.

The Chinese delegation was the last to enter the stadium. Chinese flag bearer Yao Ming, accompanied by Ling Hao, a 9-year-old survivor from the Sichuan earthquake, led the Chinese delegation into the stadium.

Each athlete walked over a paper scroll on the floor of the stadium, leaving their footprints on what then became the Protocol Platform for the Olympic speeches. Clapping dancers and cheering athletes greeted the entry of the five-ringed Olympic Flag, as children sang the Olympic anthem and fireworks sparkled in the sky.

Liu Qi, President of the Beijing Organizing Committee for the Games of the XXIX Olympiad (BOCOG), welcomed the athletes. "Hosting an Olympic Games has been a century-old dream for the Chinese nation," he said. Adding, "A prime mission of the Beijing Olympic Games is to enhance cultural exchanges between peoples throughout the world."

IOC President Jacques Rogge added his welcome, telling China that the world was grieving with China and the millions who lost family members or were displaced in the tragic earthquake in China's Sichuan province. "We were moved by the great courage and solidarity of the Chinese people," he said. "As one dream, may these Olympic Games bring you joy, hope, and pride."

Then China's President Hu Jintao formally declared the opening of the Games.

Eight flag bearers - Zhang Xielin, Pan Duo, Zheng Fengrong, Yang Yang, Yang Ling, Mu Xiangxiong, Xiong Ni and Li Lingwei then circled the stadium with the Olympic flag, which was raised as 80 children sang the Olympic Anthem in Greek.

Women's table tennis player Zhang Yining then read the Athletes' Oath on behalf of all competitors.

Then, the moment that more than 91,000 audience members and billions more around the world had been waiting for arrived - the Olympic Torch appeared-- carried around the arena by eight torchbearers.

The 7th bearer, champion Volleyball player Sun Jinfang, passed the flame to legendary Chinese gymnast Li Ning, who was hoisted high into the air to "run" along the roof's edge. When he reached the cauldron that had unfurled during the athlete's march through the stadium, a burst of flame lit up the sky.

The Ceremony ended with another magnificent fireworks display staged by a total of 600 engineers from hundreds of locations around the city, some as far away as the Great Wall of China.

Opening on 8th day of the 8th month of 2008, the 18-day-long Olympic Games will take place in 37 different venues, and will award a grand total of 302 Olympic medals to the winning athletes.

http://en.beijing2008.cn/ceremonies/headlines/n214519367.shtml

Beijing welcomes world to 2008 Olympic Games

2008-08-09T01:06:00.000-07:00

A general view is seen while Sarah Brightman and Liu Huan sing on top of a large globe during the Opening Ceremony for the Beijing 2008 Olympic Games at the National Stadium on August 8, 2008 in Beijing, China.

(BEIJING, 8 August) -- China welcomed the world to the Beijing 2008 Olympic Games on Friday with the roll of thunder from two thousand fou drums and a battering of fireworks across the Chinese capital -- from the Forbidden City and Tiananmen Square to the National Stadium.

Fourteen thousand performers offered the 91,000 people in the National Stadium, popularly known as the 'Bird's Nest,' a history lesson in China's contribution to world civilization. The spectators that packed the stadium held the first of some seven million tickets to the 2008 Beijing Games, in which nearly 11,000 athletes will jump, run, cycle, fight, swim, sail, ride and shoot their way to Olympic glory.

The Opening Ceremony began with a 9,8,7,6,5,4,3,2,1 countdown in the Beijing dusk. Then a roar of thunder came from the floor of the National Stadium where 2,008 drummers beat line after line of fou, an ancient Chinese percussion instrument. The drummers chanted as they struck the fou, "Friends have come from afar, how happy we are." This phrase comes from the work of Confucius (551 BC-479 BC), one China's most important educators and thinkers.

Then came the fireworks.

A general view of drummers performing during the Opening Ceremony for the 2008 Beijing Summer Olympics at the National Stadium on August 8, 2008 in Beijing, China. (Photo credit: Adam Pretty/Getty Images)

To begin, 29 huge firework displays were shot up into the air across the four axis of the ancient capital: the Forbidden City, Tiananmen Square, the Temple of Heaven, and just above the National Stadium. The impressive firework display was intended to remind viewers of China's legacy as the civilization that invented gunpowder, first used in China during the Song Dynasty (960-1276 AD).

As the firework footprints reached the Bird's Nest they illuminated the Olympic Rings in the stadium bringing a resounding round of applause from the audience.

Few could see the steel wires and pulleys that carried fairies across the sky above the Olympic rings.

In the second act, children representing each of China's 56 minority groups carried the five-starred national flag across the stadium to soldiers who were waiting to hoist it onto one of two flagpoles nearby. After the flag was raised, all joined in the singing of the Chinese national anthem, 'The March of the Volunteers

Fireworks go off after the torch is lit during the Opening Ceremony for the 2008 Beijing Summer Olympics at the National Stadium on August 8, 2008 in Beijing, China. (Photo credit: Alexander Hassenstein/Bongarts/Getty Images)

The second flagpole awaited the Olympic flag.

The next section of the Opening Ceremony paid homage to China's contribution to the world's writing heritage. Almost 900 performers came together to create characters with their bodies.

In one act, the performers danced across a stadium-length scroll of paper, creating an ink painting in their path. Next, 100s of men inside boxes bobbed up and down to create the Chinese character 'he,' which in Chinese means both harmony and peace.

The next section mingled celebrated forms of Chinese Opera with themes brought from China's ancient Silk Road traditions in a performance of music and color.

IOC president looks forward to competitions in Beijing

2008-08-09T00:58:00.000-07:00

Updated: 2008-08-09 13:33:41

(BEIJING, August 9) -- IOC President Jacques Rogge called the Opening Ceremony of the Beijing Olympics "spectacular" and "unforgettable," and looked forward to exiting competitions in the next 16 days.

The 204 delegations marched into "the beautiful new National Stadium in the age-old tradition of the Games" and they would "carry this memory with them forever," commented Rogge after the ceremony was over.

"This iconic stadium is one of the world's new wonders. It was a fitting setting for an amazing Opening Ceremony, I look forward to an equally exciting and unforgettable 16 days," he added.

Welcome to Beijing 2008 Olympic

2008-08-09T00:49:00.000-07:00

Welcome to Beijing Beijing is both a tribute to China's proud history and a gateway to China's future. The capital city during the Liao, Yuan, Ming and Qing Dynasties, Beijing has long been the political, cultural, and diplomatic center of China. It is now an international metropolis, home to 11 million people from all walks of life

http://en.beijing2008.cn/spectators/beijing/

China Opens Its Long-Sought Olympics Spectacularly

2008-08-09T00:42:00.001-07:00

China Opens Its Long-Sought Olympics Spectacularly

The games begin: China grabs global spotlight with spectacular Olympic opening

China didn't just walk onto the world stage. It soared over it. At last playing its long-sought role as Olympic host, China opened the Summer Games in spectacular fashion Friday with an extravaganza of fireworks and pageantry dramatizing its ascendance as a global power.

Disasters, environmental problems and human-rights disputes preceded the games, and questions abound about how they will unfold. But for an evening, at least for the 91,000 people packed into the new National Stadium, it was an interlude of fervor and magic — capped by the spellbinding sight of a skywalking, torchbearing gymnast floating around the stadium's top rim before sending a torrent of fire upward to light the Olympic flame.

Scores of world leaders were on hand, and the potential TV audience was 4 billion worldwide for what was certainly the costliest and probably the largest opening ceremony in Olympic history.

The centerpiece was the parade of athletes, climaxing with the entry of the 639-strong Chinese team. Its flag-bearer was basketball idol Yao Ming, accompanied by 9-year-old schoolboy Lin Hao, a survivor of May's devastating earthquake in Sichuan province.

A chanting, flag-waving crowd gave a thunderous welcome, and erupted again a few moments later when President Hu Jintao declared the games open.

President Bush and Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin were among the glittering roster of notables who endured heat and humidity to watch China make this bold declaration that it had arrived. Bush, rebuked by China after he raised human-rights concerns this week, is the first U.S. president to attend an Olympics on foreign soil.

Already an economic powerhouse, China is given a good chance of overtaking the U.S. atop the gold-medal standings with its legions of athletes trained intensely since childhood. One dramatic showdown will be in women's gymnastics, where the U.S. and Chinese teams are co-favorites; in the pool, Chinese divers and U.S. swimmers are expected to dominate.

The run-up to the games had powerful story lines — China investing $40 billion to build Olympic infrastructure, reeling from the Sichuan earthquake, struggling right through Friday to diminish the stubborn smog that enveloped the stadium, known as the Bird's Nest. China's detentions of political activists, its crackdown on uprisings in Tibet and its economic ties to Sudan — home of the war-torn Darfur region — fueled persistent criticisms from human rights groups and calls for an Olympic boycott.

http://abcnews.go.com/sports

Gina Stepp: Bouncing Back To School

2008-08-03T18:59:00.000-07:00

Gina Stepp: Bouncing Back by Gina Stepp

The ability to bounce back from misfortune, change, trauma or loss rather than succumbing to depression is referred to by psychologists as "resilience." Though, it's true that parent-infant attachment is crucial to the physical development of the areas of the brain that foster resilience and the success of future relationships, there are other considerations that may be encouraging to those who have difficult childhoods to overcome. One of these is the fact that the human brain has amazing plasticity and can grow and change well into adulthood. The other factor is that adults have attachment needs just as children do. Therefore, the adult brain can be reshaped by key relationships, long after childhood has passed. Louis Cozolino says there are all sorts of ways to help people with attachment difficulties and help change their outcomes. He pointed out one of them in a recent Vision.org interview. "If someone with an insecure attachment manages somehow to marry someone with secure attachment, then after about five years or so, research shows that there?€?s a shift in their attachment pattern to a more secure profile." This underscores how important healthy family relationships are throughout our lives, not just in childhood. But successful relationships are not only important to individual and family well-being. Sociologist Peter Marris, whose studies in loss and life change drew on John Bowlby's attachment theory to explain the differences in the way different people handle uncertainty, believed that most of society's problems can be traced to breakdowns in human relationships. In 1991, he wrote, "Our theories of human behavior split into largely independent systems of thought: psychology and social science. . . . We rarely explore the interaction between each unique human actor and the social systems of which she or he is part. Yet, surely this interaction ought to be at the foundation of any theory of human behavior. How can we begin to understand ourselves except as creatures of the societies from which we learned the language itself to think about ourselves? And how can we understand society except as a network of patterns of relationship which each of us is constantly engaged in creating, reproducing, and changing? We need a way of thinking about the interaction between unique human beings and the social relationships they form, not only because our theories are crippled without it, but because without it we cannot articulate clearly many of the gravest causes of social distress." Government and social institutions, which have sometimes sought to solve human problems by financial means alone, are now showing signs of realizing this. One human security study prepared by the Harvard School of Public Health for the United States Agency for International Development recently argued that "a narrow focus on material resources has prevented analysts from identifying the true sources of vulnerability or resilience in a population, . . .these complex situations are best explained by a composite model of human security. For a society to be resilient, we find that it need not necessarily be rich." Instead, the report says, "individuals and communities have greater resilience when their core attachments to home, community and the future remain intact."
About the Author

Gina Stepp is a writer and editor with a strong interest in education and the science that underpins family and relationship studies. She began working toward a Journalism major and Psychology minor at the University of Central Florida before moving to California where she completed her BA in Theology in 1985. To contact Gina Stepp, please email at ginastepp@earthlink.net.

No credit check loans for lap top: Procure money for lap top

2008-08-03T18:57:00.000-07:00

No credit check loans for lap top: Procure money for lap top by Jonesh Taylor

If you are a student or business man and wish to buy a lap top but you are out of pocket. At that situation you will apply for loan, at that place your plane of availing loan is vain, due to having bad credit history. In this condition No credit check loans for lap top can assist you out and out because availing No credit check loans for lap top you don't need to demonstrate your credit history or no assembling the documents to fax No credit check loans for lap top. As a result availing No credit check loans for lap top is very straightforward for you, now apply for No credit check loans for lap top to execute your desire. Lots of lenders are linked with No credit check loans for lap top to provide you full facilities of No credit check loans for lap top over internet. If you are supposed to avail No credit check loans for lap top through internet, it's effortless, first of all you are to search over internet for selecting a lender who provide you an online No credit check loans for lap top application form to fill up major details about your self, the stubs work will be completed by the lender and after verification No credit check loans for lap top will be wired in your account within few hours on the same day you can purchase lap top or computer without any hassle. No credit check loans for lap top is one of no credit check payday loans. No credit check payday loans are the short-term loans that's why No credit check loans for lap top is also short-term loans. Due to short loans the rate of interest is somewhat more to compare other loans, you can appropriate No credit check loans for lap top for fourteen days or thirty one days. The interest rate can be curtail, if you repay the No credit check loans for lap top within date of repayment maturity otherwise the interest rate can be extended on your No credit check loans for lap top when you don't repay No credit check loans for lap top within date of repayment maturity. You can experiment No credit check loans for lap top for other reasons like small home put right, car fix up, revisit the last arrears, pay the college fee or hostel rent, treatment bill etc. you can set apart your self from the hassles when No credit check loans for lap top will with you.

About the Author

Jonesh Taylor has done his master in finance and now he is expert in finance and insurance. No credit check loans online com to find no credit check loans online, No Credit Check Business Loans, No credit check loans for lap top, No Faxing No Credit Check Payday Loans, visit http://www.nocreditcheckloansonline.com

William D Ford Federal Student Loan: Directly Benefit from It

2008-08-03T18:54:00.000-07:00

William D Ford Federal Student Loan: Directly Benefit from It by Ernesto Maitim

Federal direct student loans, also known as the William D. Ford Direct Student Loan program is intended to provide direct funding to the students borrowers and parents. So basically with this student loan program, government loans can be had without going through commercial banks, private lending companies and other financial institutions. As will other loan programs, the federal direct student loan program has its own criteria and requirements in order for a student to avail of its funding one of which is the credit rating criteria especially for those non-need based loan programs. What?€?s great about the William D Ford Direct Student Loan program is that they have professional customer service agents that are ready to enlighten any prospective borrowers about any matter that might be unclear to them. This is perhaps one of the best ways to know more about the federal direct student loans as you are already talking to someone who belongs to the organization itself. Of course, you can also make some research online, but the sources are incredibly aplenty and you are left to yourself on discerning which facts are truthful and which are not. The government Stafford student loans via William D. Ford Federal Direct Loan Program are offered to a lot of college students. And since the federal direct student loans are given by a US agency, student need not go through a middle man such as a bank or private lender. Likewise, as with the case of other federal loans, one important requirement of direct federal student loans is the completion of FAFSA by the prospective student borrower. Accomplishing the FAFSA will help in determining the eligibility of the student borrower for either subsidized or unsubsidized student loans. And with federal direct student loans, the repayment starts in six months after the borrower ceases his half time status which is normally 6 credit hours, the minimum that the student must be enrolled in. If you are greatly interested in reading more articles and discussions about student loans, do visit our http://fussaboutloans.com/ blog.

About the Author

Writer, blogger and abstractor.
http://winner-car.blogspot.com

Signature Student Loans

2008-07-26T10:38:00.000-07:00

Signature Student Loans: by kevin dsilwa

Signature Student Loans are helpful to make the study continue. Only your signature can make your study progressive. For this Signature Student Loans are the right option for you. The advantage of Signature Student Loans is that Signature Student Loans are provided online over internet. Another advantage of the Signature Student Loans is that the process of Signature Student Loans is Easy, secure online applications with fast credit decision and electronic signature. Signature Student Loans are Available for U.S. students in study abroad programs. Signature Student Loans are also available to international students with an eligible cosigner. Signature Student Loans are convenience of having all your student loans in one place and receiving one monthly bill serviced by different credit agencies or lenders. Applying for the Signature Student Loans is very easy you are to search over internet and you will find many lenders who are ready to provide you Signature Student Loans with easy and affordable process of the Signature Student Loans. There is little official procedure before applying for the Signature Student Loans. You must attend an eligible community college or a four- or five-year college at least half time and be working toward your degree. You must meet current credit criteria. You must be making progress toward a degree. You will find many benefits with Signature Student Loans as no income requirement with Signature Student Loans. Cosigner release available after the first 24 on-time payments of principal and interest. No payments required while in school. You can borrow as much as you need to pay for the cost of your education as certified by your school. Loan amount depend on the education program as for four and five year colleges you can avail $50,000. If you are undergraduate then you can apply for $100,000. $150,000 for graduate students and $225,000 for graduate health disciplines. Interest rate of Signature Student Loans depends on the loan amount as well as your credit history. If you can manage your credit well then you can get a lower interest rate. If you can make interest payments of Signature Student Loans during the school then you have a lower amount to pay. Repayment process of Signature Student Loans begins after complete of the education.
About the Author

Kevin Dsilwa has done his master in finance and now he is an expert in finance and insurance at signature loans no credit .com. he is also a consultant and known as an expert to solve the financial problems. To find any type of signature loans, Signature Student Loans, Fast Bad Credit Signature Loans visit http://www.signatureloansnocreditcheck.com .

Student Loans Consolidation Service - an Easier Way to Get Through College

2008-07-26T10:37:00.000-07:00

Student Loans Consolidation Service - an Easier Way to Get Through College by Peter Barlow

Are you dreaming of pursuing college to have a better career in the future but your means are not enough to assist you get through it? No need to worry and keep up with that dream of yours. There is a student loans consolidation service that would help you make those dreams come true. Student loan consolidation is a practical way of bundling all your school loans into just one monthly payment. If you consider combining your student loans you can choose from these options: the federal student loans consolidation and the private loan consolidation. To help you decide which one suits you best, a brief explanation will be presented to you. The federal student loan consolidation is a fixed-rate refinancing existing federal loans into just one new loan. If you want to cut your monthly payment by as much as fifty percent, or maybe you wanted to simplify your finances with just one monthly payment. Another good thing about this is that it would tend to reduce your interest rate through consolidation during your grace period and no credit checks, application charges or fees when you apply. When you combine all your student loans into one consolidated loan would lengthen your repayment term from the standard ten years to thirty years depending on the amount of the loan. Since you have a lower monthly payment, you can have spare money to meet your other living expenses like house rents, car payments and other necessities. There are no overpayment penalties so you can make larger payments to reduce the repayment term. When you've finally decided to consolidate all your existing student loans into just one, loan counselors will educate you about the benefits you can get and will help you figure out what repayment option would be best for you. A borrower may choose from equal payment, select 2/graduated payments, select 5/graduated payments, extended equal payment, extended select 2 payment, extended select 5 payment and income-sensitive payment, each would be briefly discussed shortly. The equal payment provides an equal monthly payment over the terms of the loan. Select2/graduated payment will allow you to pay for the interest only for the first two years of the repayment and there would be an increase in the level of installment of the principal and interest on the third year. On the other select 5/graduated payment will allow you to pay the interest only for the first two years of the repayment period but on the third to fifth years, your payment increases which includes a part of the principal. A borrower is allowed to repay for the loan up to thirty years with the same terms of the equal repayment scheme. You may choose from either option under this plan: the extended select 2 payment and the extended select 5 payment. The first option allows one to repay the loan for up to thirty years, having the same terms with the select 2/graduated payment plan. While the second option will allow one to repay for up to thirty years with the same conditions as the select5/graduated plan. In addition, the last option is the income-sensitive payment plan. This option provides for payments to be annually adjusted based on your expected total monthly income from your job and any other resources.
About the Author

PART 2 - For part two of this article, head on to Student Loans Consolidation Service where you can also find the best places to Borrow Money.

Easy to Find a Student Loan - No Credit History Or Co Signer

2008-07-26T10:35:00.000-07:00

Easy to Find a Student Loan - No Credit History Or Co Signer by Bryan Burbank

Most students today have issues with there credit and this is why there is a need to get a student loan with no credit history or a co signer. It is safe to say that most of these students are young and have not had enough time to establish any kind of credit history and in order for them to get a student loan they need to know were to go to get one. More Information on getting : Debt Relief Today While attending school most students stay in debt and in most cases acquire more debt so they can pay for there schooling. This makes it difficult for them to get any kind of loan without getting a co signer. Learn How to Get a : Government Grant Now When searching for a no credit loan you want to start with looking at local, state and government options because such as the Stafford Loan Program there can be some great options for you that won't cost you an arm and a leg. These type of loans work well because there do not require you to have your credit checked before you are approved. You want to also check out the student aid office because there is a chance that you can qualify for financial aid and not even know it. Next you can apply for a Perkins Loans which will offer you a low percentage rate of about 5% and one of the best parts of this type of loan is that you can take longer to pay it back. Remember that when you are searching for a Student Loan you need to know all of your options so that you have the best chance of getting the best loan for you.

About the Author

Bryan Burbank is an expert in the field of Finance. For more information go to: http://www.bigloanguide.com
http://winner-car.blogspot.com

Dad Daad aiming century by xnepali

2008-07-23T05:01:00.000-07:00

How many kids do you want to have? 1... 2 or 5 or 10? Not 100 I guess! But this dad who became father of 78 children about a month back wants to have 100 children by the end of 2015.

In US, it was a big news when a couple managed to have 17 children. But this guy married 15 brides to produce 78 children. I don't know if he remembers names and birthdates of all his wives, let alone the children. Poor guy, he has to divorce previous wives to make way for new ones in order to stay within the legal limit of four. Now he has 3 wives with him and he is looking for a new wife to make it four.

UAE national Daad Mohammed Murad Abdul Rahman, 60, is one-legged as he lost a leg in a road accident. His youngest child, Tariq, is about a month old and his oldest son, Ayoob, is 36. Two out of his current three wives are pregnent now and he is expecting two more addition in his family within a month.

One more interesting thing, his wives are multinational, who hail from UAE, India, Pakistan, Bangladesh, Iran and Oman. I can't imagine how he can manage with such a diversity!

Dad daad

They (his wives) live in Ajman, Umm Al Quwain, Sharjah, Abu Dhabi and Al Ain. Daad Mohammed, whose home is in Al Bustan, Ajman, spends time with each of them and has a family gettogether every Friday.

He is head of possibly the largest single UAE dynasty with 127 members, including 49 grandchildren, and has 15 houses. Two of his wives have died. Now he is going to have the same type of artificial limb - known as the Jaipur foot - that Indian dancer Sudha Chandran uses.

"After Ramadan, I will go to Jaipur to get an artificial leg and marry a beautiful Rajasthani girl," he told Emirates Today. "I have had seven Indian brides.

Daad daddy looking forward to 100 kids"My life is dedicated to my children. I gave birth to them, feed and educate them properly and take care of their needs. Once they grow I help them find a job, arrange their marriage and build new houses for them," says Daad, his four years old son Badar sitting on his lap. "My eldest son, Ayoob Daad is in Abu Dhabi working for the air force. All the young children are going to school. Every day they take their pocket money," he added. "A good father treats all his children equally," he added. "Whenever they get leave, they come and talk to me. Otherwise we talk over the phone," he added. There are fourteen houses for the Daad family and the father goes rotating to each house. "You become a bad father when you don't meet the children's requirements. Even if I have 70 children, I take care of their requirements without any difference," he says. "Every hour the small kids need pocket money. So I keep lot of changes in my pocket," Daad said showing the bulk Dhs.5 and Dhs.10 notes from his pocket.

"Occasionally I take them to Dubai, Abu Dhabi or Ajman for shopping and buy new clothes. I cannot take out everyone for outing together because it may require two buses to carry all the 68 children (That was some time back when he had only 68 children). A normal bus has only 55 seats," he says, with a naughty smile. "Whenever possible we celebrate each child's birthday. Whoever is possible comes and attends. We cut special goats to celebrate birthdays," he added. "Baaba (father) is good. He never beats us. I help him to walk and get his stretcher. He has only one leg and needs help," says Sultan, one of the young sons of Daad. His mother left for India when Sultan was just four months old and it has been the father and elder brothers who took care of the four month old son. Sultan who has never enjoyed a mother's love says his father's love is enough for him. "I don't know about my mother, but I love my father. He too loves me and we all respect him," says Sultan. "We are all given mobile phones too and the bill is footed by Babaaji," he added. "Only two of my sons smoke. When I learned that they smoke, a habit developed from peer groups in school, I told them not to worry about smoking in front of me. If they want to smoke there is no problem," he said. "Only one son has married twice," he adds.

About the Author

Working in http://blog.xnepali.com

German Artist Alice Könitz's Art work and Piantings at the saatchi-Gallery

2008-07-23T04:54:00.000-07:00

The video calls attention to its "magical" ability to transform masked actors into bitchy models, costumes into couture, and props into works of art as, despite the idyllic setting, a cast of self-involved "beautiful people" perform a dystopian fable of social inaction. Situated in an adjacent gallery, Circle Sculpture, 2003, is a mod painted partition of open circles with reflective foil surrounding each void. It appears in the video as a prop and as a transition/partition between shots.

Education

1999 MFA, California Institute of the Arts, Valencia, California

1996 Akademiebrief at the Kunstakademie in D?sseldorf

1994 Master Student, Kunstakademie in D?sseldorf (MFA)

Awards

1997 DAAD (German Academic Exchange Service)/ Fulbright, Yearlong Fellowship to study in the US F?rderpreis des Ruhrpreises f?r Kunst und Wissenschaft der Stadt M?lheim an der Ruhr (prize for emerging artists)

1998 Resident at the Center for Land Use Interpretation in Wendover, Utah

2000 Tirana Biennale 1, interview with Paul Qui?ones Bruce Hainley, Artforum, April

Julie Deamer, Flashart, March/April I-D Magazine, The Gallery Issue Malik Gaines, Art and Text, May Malik Gaines, essay about the show at the Guggenheim Gallery of the Chapman University

Doug Harvey, LA Weekly, November 26 - December 2 David Pagel, Los Angeles Times, July 30 Great God Pan, number thirteen, publication of drawings Christopher Smith, The Salt Lake Tribune, July

2001 Matthew Coolidge, CLUI Newsletter

2002 Martin Pesch, Frieze, November

The frankly decorative masks are on display too, but they're in the same room as the video, where they serve to heighten the tension between sculpture and prop. (Is a mask supposed to be looked at or through?) Constructed from earthy green and rust orange paper, as well as cardboard, foil, felt, and a few sets of eyeballs lifted from fashion magazines, the masks are kooky yet uncannily familiar, suggesting the ambitions of rainy day craft projects.

Read Entire Article about Alice K?nitz and source of thios article is from The saatchi-Gallery http://www.saatchi-gallery.co.uk/artists/alice_konitz.htm

View Alice K?nitz paintings, biography, solo exhibitions, group exhibitions and resource of Alice K?nitz artist. View art online at The Saatchi Gallery - London contemporary art gallery. Alice K?nitz

by saatchi-gallery

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View Alice K?nitz paintings, biography, solo exhibitions, group exhibitions and resource of Alice K?nitz artist. View art online at The Saatchi Gallery - London contemporary art gallery. Alice K?nitz

A Look At Some Of The Benefits Of Best Buy Gift Card

2008-06-26T21:07:00.000-07:00

A Look At Some Of The Benefits Of Best Buy Gift Card by Peter Gitundu
Best buy is the largest retailer of consumer electronic in North America and it is also known as the big blue box. It has very many subsidiaries including in Europe, Asia and South America. The headquarters of the company are in Richfield Minnesota. The company has huge plans to operate around 1,800 stores worldwide and 1,400 best buy stores in the United States. In 2000 the company received a lawsuit against them for misrepresenting warranties in an aim to sell more. The company settled with the 2 Florida consumers and never admitted to any fault. The business has been in existence since 1966 and, they have come a long way. They engage in many marketing tools and one of them is the use of best buy gift card. Some of the benefits of best buy gift cards are that you will get to choose from a variety of different styles and therefore there is no monotony. The second benefit is that the cards can be redeemed in U.S stores or online. Your card can be reloaded at the stores in the U.S. Checking the balance of your gift card is easy and convenient because you can check this information online. When you buy online you can enjoy free shipping of your purchases and this is very helpful to a consumer who has a best buy gift card. You do not have to worry about safety because your product is protected from theft. Another thing you do not have to worry about is the expiry date or the maintenance fee making the best buy gift card is very convenient to have. There are various categories of best buy gift cards and they include dad's day and any occasion, grads and congratulations, thank you, birthdays and many more. You will view every gift card on the best buy site and make a decision on what card is suitable for you. You will also see the new cards and get an opportunity to check your balance as well as redeem your gift card. You will enjoy great products from best buy and at an affordable and convenient way. Some people have expressed their dissatisfaction accusing the retail for giving in one hand and taking in the other. You can find the products they offer on their site and choose which deal is best for you. you do not have to worry about a card not suiting your specific occasion because the cards will make it simple for you to choose for any occasion. For example, if you have a birthday, the cards are there to meet your need. Best buy gift cars have a similarity with gift certificates and they perform the same role. There are many cards and certificates to choose from on their website and you therefore need to know what you want in a best buy card then purchase it. Making online purchases will help you save the cost of shipping and you need to consider such offers. However, make sure you have information on the product you are about to purchase because you might be tempted to purchase in so much haste. The certificates will go a long way to make your shopping experience easy and convenient.

About the Author

Peter Gitundu Is A Web Administrator And Has Been Researching And Reporting On Gifts For Years. You Can Post Your Views On this Article On My Blog Here Best Buy Gift Card Feel Free To Read My Other Articles On Best Buy Gift Card Best Buy Gift Card

The property market in China maintains

2008-06-22T03:27:00.000-07:00

The property market in China maintains its growth momentum throughout 2007. Both its major first-tier cities and some second-tier cities continued to substantial development and growth. BEIJING - Each sector of Beijing's property market expanded in the fourth quarter, average rentals rose. In the fourth quarter of 2007, massive completion of prime office projects added 460,000 sm to the existing stock, and the vacancy rate increased by 2.8 percentage points to 14.1%. High quality projects completed this quarter pushed rents up by 3.8% q-o-q, reaching RMB 193.1 psm per month. The Beijing serviced apartment market has benefited most from the upcoming Olympic Games among luxury residential leasing market sectors. Serviced apartment rents rose by 5.6% q-o-q to RMB 228.5 psm per month. The average rentals of luxury apartments and villas also rose. Because of the great demand caused by the upcoming Olympic Games, rents for ground and first floor retail space increased by 1.2% and 3.4% q-o-q, respectively. Some shopping centres and department stores adjusted brands or altered layouts this quarter. The vacancy rate climbed by 0.6 percentage points q-o-q to 7.1%. Average rental of industrial property this quarter was RMB 53.1 psm per month, a 0.2% rise q-o-q and an increase of 5.3% y-o-y. The price of industrial land was RMB 1,222 psm, a 0.8% rise q-o-q and up 7.2% y-o-y. SHANGHAI - Every sector of the Shanghai property market maintained the positive growth seen throughout 2007. The Shanghai prime office market continued its positive growth during the fourth quarter, maintaining the trend seen throughout the year. Two projects were completed: Plaza 336 and the Chong Hing Finance Centre in Huangpu District, adding some 54,000 sm to the market. Strong pre-commitment continued, resulting in a further drop in the overall vacancy rate by 0.2 percentage points q-o-q. Strong demand and tightening vacancy saw average office rentals rise in Puxi and Pudong by 5.9% and 5% q-o-q, respectively. Impacted by the macroeconomic measures, the transaction volume of luxury residential properties slipped in the last quarter. During October and November, the average monthly transaction of first-hand luxury residential properties was recorded at 836 units, a q-o-q drop of 27%. Nevertheless, average prices for luxury apartments and villas still witnessed a hike within the quarter. Luxury residential leasing activities slowed as usual during the holiday lull. Average rentals for all three types of luxury residential properties were flat. Both prime ground and prime first floor rents witnessed strong growth of 4.9% and 4.7% q-o-q, respectively. The ongoing tenant mix restructuring in Cloud Nine and the renovation of some other retail properties led to an increase of 3.3 percentage points qo- q in the overall prime retail vacancy rate in Shanghai to 8.7% at the end of 2007. The 42 industrial land plots released in the No. 13 and No. 14 Land Bulletins have to some extent eased the tightening industrial land supply in Shanghai and there has been a slight rise of 3.1% q-o-q in the average industrial land price to RMB 1,072 psm. The average rent of industrial properties rose by 2.1% q-o-q to RMB 34.3 psm per month in the fourth quarter. GUANGZHOU - The residential sales market in Guangzhou was slowed by the People's Bank of China (PBOC)'s new fiscal measures on real estate bank loans and mortgages promulgated at the end of the third quarter. However, other sectors of the property market continued on a steady growth path in the fourth quarter. Prime office rents climbed to RMB 106.5 psm per month, up 2.5% from three months ago. Prime office space completed within the quarter totalled 252,259 sm, pushing the overall vacancy rate up to 18.4%. The average price of luxury apartments hovered at a high level of RMB 16,956 psm, yet growth was subdued substantially by tightened lending policies. A number of residential schemes were completed and handed over in Tianhe District in the fourth quarter. The leasing market remained stable across all sectors. Prime retail rents registered slight rises over the period under review. Rents for ground and first floor space grew by 1.2% and 0.6% q-o-q to RMB 47.8 psm per month and 24.9 psm per month, respectively. No new completion was reported in the quarter, and the vacancy rate declined to 8.4%. The industrial sector continued to perform stably during the quarter. The average land price was driven up slightly by 1.5% q-o-q to RMB 452 psm. Rents for industrial facilities remained broadly unchanged across the market.

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Did you find this article useful? For more useful tips & hints, Points to ponder and keep in mind, techniques & insights pertaining to Google Adsense, Do please browse for more information at our website :-http://www.greatindustrialguide.com

How To Put Your Chiropractic Marketing Plan On Auto Pilot tv news online

2008-06-17T23:41:00.000-07:00

How To Put Your Chiropractic Marketing Plan On Auto Pilot tv news online by Dr. Michael Beck
Most doctors want to setup their marketing plan and just let it run on auto pilot. Until recently, this was not attainable, unless a staff member was running it for the practice. But with technology, 95% of it can be set on auto pilot. Here's how: Set up a website that collects prospective new patient's email address. tv news online This can be done by setting up a traditional web page or setting up a blog. Either way, you want a form on that website that asks for the interested persons name and email in exchange for some free information. You might give them a free newsletter, free report on back pain, or a free audio of a recent talk you did. When they submitted their email, it should go into an autoresponder email sequence. This is a program that allows you to set up multiple emails in a sequence. So you could have 7-10 different emails, each going out every 2-3 days educating the patient on why they should receive care from you. You could give them facts and figures, studies, testimonials, links to videos, audios, and more. This will greatly increase the number of people who call and schedule an appointment. Once you have your website and autoresponder set up, tv news online you will need to get some people to your site. Some free methods are by submitting articles to the numerous article directories online. Make sure you mention your town, chiropractic or chiropractor and your name in the article. Leave a link to your website at the bottom in your resource box letting people know how to find more information about you. You can also submit press releases online to the online news agencies. Again, mention your area you practice in, what services your provide, and your name. With a press release, it's possible a local newspaper or TV station will pick it up and ask you for an interview. tv news online Optimizing your site for search engines like Google is another free method of advertising your website. If you are not knowledgeable in Search Engine Optimization (SEO), it will cost you to have someone else do it. But once it's setup, it rarely needs to be changed. Start off by submitting your website address to the three major search engines (Google, Yahoo, and MSN). It can take weeks or even months to start seeing traffic from some of the search engines, but once it arrives, you will see it continue to grow. Blogs work well for this. Because blogs are constantly updated, search engines will to rank them higher than static web pages. tv news online Of course there are many paid ways to generate traffic. One of the more popular is Google Adwords. tv news online These are the small ads that come up when you search on Google. They show up on the right side and when clicked will lead to your website. Because they are paid ads, you must be careful to set them up and run them correctly, or it could cost you quite a bit of money. Yahoo and MSN also have similar, less costly ad campaigns you can use to generate traffic to your site. Make sure you only select your ad to run in a radius close to your practice, as you don't want to pay for someone to click on them across the country. tv news online If you follow these free and paid methods of driving local traffic to your website, you will be able to automate 95% of your online marketing. Getting your chiropractic marketing plan on auto pilot is a goal every successful chiropractor should strive for. tv news online

About the Author tv news online

Dr. Michael Beck invites chiropractors to discover freedom, profits and success in their practice. Receive his special free e-course on "The 7 Biggest Chiropractic Marketing Mistakes" along with having access to his blog where he post 2 to 3 times a week.

Express your thoughts through Art

2008-06-17T11:43:00.000-07:00

Express your thoughts through Art by Saatchi Gallery

Gallery is defined as a building or a series of rooms devoted to the exhibition and often the sale of work of arts. Among the innumerable art: sculpture, photographs, illustrations, installation art and applied arts are exhibited in art gallery; and painting is commonly displayed medium. It is a way of promoting the unexhibited art and fresh artist. The art galleries let artists to display and promote their work in these venues with zeal.

Contemporary art is in vogue. The term contemporary art gallery refers to a commercial gallery intended for private-profit-motive. These galleries are usually spotted agglomerate in large urban areas. For instance: the Saatchi gallery of London is a well known hub of contemporary art world. Contemporary art gallery are also open to the general public without any cost where they can purchase art. Non-for-profit galleries and art-collective galleries are also to be found that directly create opportunities to put on show regularly. Moreover, the artist-run-centre gallery exists on government funds. Art gallery can also be interpreted as the springboard for launching careers for fresh and young artist.

Here is a short list of notable contemporary galleries: * Mumbai: The Arts Trust - Institute Of Contemporary Indian Art * London : Saatchi Gallery, Victoria Miro Gallery * Los Angeles : Paragon Fine Art * Madrid : Museo De Arte Contemporaneo * Mexico city : Galleria OMR

Umpteen well-known art galleries exhibit art from all over the continents. Selected and matchless works of African art, American art, Indian art, European are preserved in the art galleries for the coming generations. To promote Art, many art galleries adopt the online mechanism letting people to view their work by sitting at home. Such innovative steps provide opportunities for art aficionados to purchase outstanding the works.

About the Author

Find the contemporary art gallery refers to a commercial gallery intended for private-profit-motive. These galleries are usually spotted agglomerate in large urban areas.

http://winner-car.blogspot.com

CONTEMPORARY ABSTRACT PAINTINGS

2008-06-17T11:40:00.000-07:00

Welcome!
I hope you enjoy your visit to my art site.

In my abstract paintings I try to communicate the beauty I see in simple things – color, textures, patterns and forms. I found the texture of objects especially fascinating. To me, it is very appealing to see how a myriad of forms are created inside the texture, and how these forms, which are created between the volumes of the peaks and valleys on the surface, play together to build patterns that unify all the different forms. Take a minute to browse the available paintings as well as those that are already sold. My abstract paintings are in public and private collections in USA, Mexico and Venezuela and represented by Galleries and art consultants.

Enjoy!
Monica Araoz.
Contemporary abstract artist

http://www.gallery-worldwide.com/cmItem.jsp?id=15985

Abstract art in oil and other media

2008-06-17T11:37:00.000-07:00

Abstract art in oil and other media

Most of my works are oil paintings, but for quick experimental work I also enjoy the free, floating, abstract qualities of thin washes of acrylics and watercolour. I also like mixing oils with encaustic. Non-representational, non-objective abstract art The works of many contemporary abstract artists are abstractions of a physical motif. Many people prefer this kind of abstract painting because they want to be able to recognize physical objects in an artwork. My own paintings are seldom abstracted from anything specific in the material world. Instead I use emotive colour, abstract shapes and surface texture to create visual metaphors for contemporary life. Even if most of my recent paintings are essentially abstract and can probably best be classified as non-representational, non-objective mindscapes, they also contain elements that balance just on the border between representation and abstraction. Expressionist paintings As an expressionist artist I'm interested in exxpressing emotions and inner states of mind rather than describing impressions of the material world. Artists that inspire me I am particularly interested in the works of a variety of expressionist artists, from Van Gogh and the Scandinavian artists Edvard Munch and August Strindberg to the completely abstract paintings of the American Abstract Expressionist artists Rothko and Richard Diebenkorn. I am also a great admirer of the German contemporary abstract expressionist artist (neo-expressionist) Anselm Kiefer, whose art rekindled my interest in the ancient Nordic mythology. Abstract art Exhibitions I exhibit my paintings regularly, mainly in London, Stockholm, and elsewhere in England and Sweden, but also in other European countries. I'm a member of Bucks21 Contemporary Art and Buckinghamshire Art Society, both based in Buckinghamshire, England and Pintura Fresca, an international group of abstract painters. Current and upcoming exhibitions: Huntenkunst annual international art festival (juried), NL, 23 - 25 May 2008 Galerie De Gruitport, Doetinchem, the Netherlands, 9 May - 8 June 2008 Galerie Bij de Boeken, Ulft, the Netherlands, 9 May - 22 June 2008
Other upcoming exhibitions

http://www.evaryn.com

How to Make it As an Actor in TV and Film Part II2

2008-06-17T11:30:00.000-07:00

How to Make it As an Actor in TV and Film Part II2

The conventional wisdom used to be that black and white was the way to go, but color really is the best indicator of what you really look like. Dress simply for the shoot and simplify your look (make-up) for the purpose of giving the "audience" a good, clear picture of who you truly are. That brings me back to the point of being comfortable with the photographer. The person, the environment, even the music playing in the background are all going to impact how you feel and therefore how you come across on film. One shot where you are looking directly into our eyes and communicating the essence of who you are is all you need. Models need "zed cards" with multiple poses and wardrobes, they are selling their bodies as well as their faces. Actors are communicating through their souls, and as the eyes are their windows, look very carefully at your eyes in the photo you ultimately choose. Those eyes will be speaking volumes to the person gazing into them, looking for their next potential star. Finally, remember that, as an actor, what you have to offer is - YOU. Love, nurture, develop and protect YOU. Find what works for you, find people to align yourself with who believe in you and are dedicated to protecting that essence. I truly love the craft of acting and have incredible respect for those who are willing to put themselves out there in pursuit of their dream. I wish you all the best and will publish further article in future if I come up with more tips that I feel will be valuable. Feel free to respond with comments and/or questions. "Break a leg!" Scott Thompson Baker

About the Author

A full list of the author's credits can be found on

http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0048913
http://winner-car.blogspot.com

How to Make it As an Actor in TV and Film Part II1

2008-06-17T07:42:00.000-07:00

How to Make it As an Actor in TV and Film Part II
websites designed to show you exactly how to be a working actor, find auditions without an agent, help to get you discovered, ad infinitum, ad nauseum. My feeling is that anyone who asks you for money up front for any of the above is not worth the money. You can find publications that will have ads for actors and models for their upcoming film/project, but these will not be career making opportunities and, worse yet, may be exploitative or even dangerous. Legitimate agents will never ask for anything besides 10% of whatever you make (this is the law). Managers are not bound by the same law that regulates agents that are "bonded by the State." Managers can take whatever you give them and typically will ask for 20%. On the topic of managers; I had one for the 17 years that I worked in the industry and he remains my friend to this day. He helped me get my first agent and was always a close advocate for me and someone with whom I could talk on a daily basis. I cannot recommend whole-heartedly the acquisition of a manager - that is a personal decision. I can only say that in my mind, especially in the beginning, the extra 20% was not a risk because I wasn't making anything yet and the manager increased my chances working. Again, with 10-20 clients rather than 100-200, the personal manager is a lot more attentive to your needs and has a greater vested interest in your success. 5. Photos Great photos are KEY to you getting in the door - any door. There are many very talented photographers in every city in the country. Finding the one with whom you feel comfortable is very important. Do your research, make the phone calls and actually meet these people. Take the time to look at their books and see what kind of work they do. Don't necessarily go for the biggest and most expensive photographer around, there are plenty of talented newcomers that may even be willing to work with you for free, or a great discount, in order to expand their portfolio.
About the Author

A full list of the author's credits can be found on

http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0048913
http://winner-car.blogspot.com

How to Make it As an Actor in TV and Film Part II

2008-06-17T07:28:00.000-07:00

How to Make it As an Actor in TV and Film Part II Yes, you will need an agent to work in T.V. or film, or most paying theater gigs. 99% of all

legitimate paying roles in the industry are cast through casting directors who are contacting credible agents for submissions. Your photo will not be seen by a casting director, regardless of the color, size or shape of the envelope in which it is sent. Save your money for food and rent. Getting an agent is not simple and they are no more likely to open your photo and resume. If you're planning to "market" into the wind, I would suggest postcards are better than 8x10 photos and mailing to managers is a more receptive audience. Also, having a showcase or play to invite them to see is a good thing to do. Don't expend, again, a lot of capital to produce a showcase or play and mailings. These folks are busy and inundated with invitations. Again, the smart money is on working a job from inside the industry, getting to know the players and over the long haul, giving them the chance to know you. They ain't kiddin' when they say, "It's not what you know, it's who you know" that makes the difference in the end. There are published lists of agents and managers that can be purchased through the Hollywood Creative Directory at www.hcdonline.com and clicking on the "Hollywood Representation Directory icon. This directory is not cheap but includes talent agencies, management companies, TV and film casting directors and publicity companies nationwide. They also have a subscription service that is updated twice a year and have a mailing list label service as well. You will find a plethora of

About the Author

A full list of the author's credits can be found on

http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0048913
http://winner-car.blogspot.com

Diego Velázquez

2008-06-05T17:50:00.000-07:00

Diego Rodríguez de Silva y Velázquez (June 6, 1599 – August 6, 1660)

commonly referred to as Diego Velázquez, was a Spanish painter who was the leading artist in the court of King Philip IV. He was an individualistic artist of the contemporary baroque period, important as a portrait artist. In addition to numerous renditions of scenes of historical and cultural significance, he painted scores of portraits of the Spanish royal family, other notable European figures, and commoners, culminating in the production of his masterpiece Las Meninas (1656).

From the first quarter of the nineteenth century, Velázquez's artwork was a model for the realist and impressionist painters, in particular Édouard Manet. Since that time, more modern artists, including Spain's Pablo Picasso and Salvador Dalí, as well as the Anglo-Irish painter Francis Bacon, have paid tribute to Velázquez by recreating several of his most famous works.

Born in Seville, Andalusia, Spain early on June 6, 1599, and baptized on June 6, Velázquez was the son of Juan Rodríguez de Silva (born João Rodrigues da Silva), a lawyer of Portuguese Jewish descent (son of Diogo da Silva and wife Maria Rodrigues, Portuguese Jews), and Jerónima Velázquez, a member of the hidalgo class, an order of minor aristocracy (it was a Spanish custom, in order to maintain a legacy of maternal inheritance, for the eldest male to adopt the name of his mother). Recent archival investigations carried out by Mendez, Ingram and others not only reject his aristocratic origins, but have brought to light that he belonged to the Jewish converso lineage.^[1] He was educated by his parents to fear God and, intended for a learned profession, received good training in languages and philosophy. But he showed an early gift for art; consequently, he began to study under Francisco de Herrera, a vigorous painter who disregarded the Italian influence of the early Seville school. Velázquez remained with him for one year. It was probably from Herrera that he learned to use brushes with long bristles.

After leaving Herrera's studio when he was 12 years old, Velázquez began to serve as an apprentice under Francisco Pacheco, an artist and teacher in Seville. Though considered a generally dull, undistinguished painter, Pacheco sometimes expressed a simple, direct realism in contradiction to the style of Raphael that he was taught. Velázquez remained in Pacheco's school for five years, studying proportion and perspective and witnessing the trends in the literary and artistic circles of Seville.

Go To - - - http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Diego_Vel%C3%A1zquez

Scuba Diving In Phuket - The Pearl of the Andaman

2008-05-12T20:04:00.000-07:00

Located on the western coast of the Thailand Peninsula, with its shores on the warm waters of the Andaman Sea lies the beautiful island of Phuket. The largest island off the coast of Thailand, the island of Phuket covers an area of just over 300 square miles, and is connected to mainland Thailand via a bridge at the north of the island.

For the past 25 years, the island of Phuket has catered for a large number of tourists from all over the world, a large percentage of whom are scuba divers looking to dive on some Asia's finest dive sites. Today, scuba diving in Phuket is big business, and the island has a large number of excellent dive centres offering a number of diving services ranging from leisure dives through to the most advanced courses.

The Racha Islands, located off the Southern tip of Thailand are one of Phuket's best dive sites, and the two islands offer excellent diving in crystal clear waters as well as the opportunity for big animal encounters. In particular, the smaller island, Racha Noi, offers some breathtaking underwater scenery, and is renowned for both whale shark and manta ray encounters.

The dive sites off Ao Phang-Nga, including the famous Shark Point and King Cruiser Wrecks, are widely acknowledged as being the best dive sites in the Phuket region. The waters around in and around Ao Phang-Nga are notable for the profusion of marine life, offering divers access to a range of marine life and coral which is unrivalled elsewhere in Phuket.

Phuket is also home to one of the worlds most developed liveaboard industries, with a large number of liveaboards offering diving in destinations such as the Similan Islands, the Mergui Archipelago and the Burma Banks. For scuba divers wishing to dive these more remote destinations, a Phuket liveaboard is the only realistic option for access. As such, the liveaboard industry in Phuket is a thriving and competitive business, with an increasing number of liveaboards operating from Phuket.

Further east lie the islands of Ko Phi Phi Don, and Ko Phi Phi Lae, a region characterised by the stunning topography of the amazing limestone cliffs. These islands are fringed with a number of hard coral gardens, as well as some excellent examples of soft corals, orange sea fans, sea whips and black coral.

Phuket is well deserving of its title as the 'Pearl of the Andaman,' and undoubtedly the region boasts some of Thailand's best dive sites. As environmental issues such as marine conservation slowly work their way up Thailand's political agenda, the future for scuba diving in Phuket looks a healthy one.

About the Author

Mark Burns is Director of Scubaworld.tv, a large scuba diving site specialising in scuba diving in Thailand and a leading provider of information on Scuba diving in Phuket.

http://bbc-asia.blogspot.com

New year traditions Songkran

2008-04-12T18:54:00.000-07:00

New year traditions

The Thai New Year (Thai: สงกรานต์ Songkran) is celebrated every year on 13 April to 15 April. It is also celebrated in Laos (called pi mai lao or 'Lao New Year' in Lao), Cambodia, Myanmar (where it is called Thingyan), and by the Dai people in Yunnan, China. Sri Lanka also celebrates a similar festival called Sinhalese and Tamil New Year on the same dates. The same date is celebrated widely throughout the Indian subcontinent, albeit based on the astrological event of the sun beginning its northward journey.
The date of the festival was originally set by astrological calculation, but it is now fixed. If these days fall on a weekend, the missed days off are taken on the weekdays immediately following. Songkran falls in the hottest time of the year in Thailand, at the end of the dry season. Until 1888 the Thai New Year was the beginning of the year in Thailand; thereafter 1 April was used until 1940. 1 January is now the beginning of the year. The traditional Thai New Year has been a national holiday since then.

The Brand market place in China Olympic Games 2008

2008-03-08T01:57:00.000-08:00

The Brand market place in China Olympic Games by Tim Lyons
Global marketing brand strategies show effective results, but in most of cases, they cannot be applied on local markets...Especially when Olympic Games focusing on the Chinese environment. China is widely viewed as being one of the world's fastest growing markets. In pursuing this rapid economic expansion, Chinese companies have now begun to recognize the importance of brands, and their development. Brand capital is one of the key drivers of growth and wealth in the business world. Creating and managing brands in China has become a crucial component to success in the China market. We will try, focusing on example of different nature, to reach a recipe that both limits the level of risks that can occur when setting up a brand in China, and that actually adds value to any kind of business. In industries going from food retailers to luxury emerging products such as wine, China's "brand war" is on. We all are Olympic Games consumers, and as consumers living in cities such as Shanghai, Beijing, Hangzhou, Hong Kong, Guangzhou... try to count the amount of brand communication you are confronted to, in your daily routine. Bus, subways, taxis, boats, trains, construction sites, roads... every mean is good to catch the eye of a potential customer for a glimpse of a second. May it be global brands or small to medium enterprises, all have a good card to play in this advertising game. Why does localization matter? The answer lies in a unique combination of market characterists; the product, the competition, and a few other factors. The rapid and dynamic pace of the market environment in China since 1978 is well known. So one could understand the need of topicality when working on brand management in China. Let's take the KFC example. In 2007, KFC had just over 1,800 restaurants serving in China. KFC's overwhelming and unexpected success was the result of combining the right timing and location plan, while leveraging their brand's position. We could also mention their strong organizational implementation capabilities, and a couple of well planned strategic "hits". This to point out that, KFC's entry in 1987 was a success because they did not attract Chinese people with a custom made American product, but they opted for a more flexible market approach. If we now focus on another example, the Henry Wine Estate based in the U.S, has had trouble launching itself at first when wanting to export their red wine in China. However after having requested local expertise, he found that he hadn't developed his brand in the most "Chinese" effective way. Wine, as one of China's new luxury products in vogue, had to be marketed, packaged and branded in a very specific manner. After having properly invested in that sense ($250,000 efforts with local partners), and having repositioned its brand to a much higher profile of customers, they finally managed to build solid foundations, and quality partnerships. Implementing a comprehensive, flexible, and localized business strategy seems to be one answer to Brand relevancy in China. The right mix is a big question in all big consumer goods companies (i.e. the balance between what parts should be global and what parts should be local). For Kodak in China, new products, quality of products and services, brand, value propositions and Kodak values are global while retail concept, advertising, promotion and packaging are localized. Knowing that when a brand owner seeks to appeal a new local environment, he creates the risk of losing previous brand consistency. As western brands, Chinese brands are amazingly competitive. Li-Ning's "Anything is possible"(sport brand), has learned all about large-scale advertising, now recognized by million of consumers. Lenovo (computer technology) is one of the top Beijing Olympic sponsors. Throughout all this excitement around brands in the market place, we could ask ourselves, which brands will they stay in the front seat, how long will they stay there, and what will be the costs of them staying in power?

About the Author

Tim Lyons is Executive Director of Manage China. Manage China is a company that helps foreign firms who are interested in doing business in China. http://www.managechina.com

China Gift Market Trends beijing2008

2008-03-08T01:50:00.000-08:00

China Gift Market Trends beijing2008 by Janey Yang

Potential Opportunities Catalyzing the Alluring Markets beijing2008. Olympic Games In recent years, a great number of overseas orders of craftwork and gifts have been transferred to China, mainly from the European and USA general merchandise industry, multinational chain supermarkets, and professional distributors, etc. Meanwhile, Beijing 2008 Olympic Games and the World Expo Shanghai 2010 will also bring great business opportunities to the craftwork and gifts industry. Facing such a large market potential, the most urgent issue for enterprises to tackle at present is how to make full use of two major resources and markets at home and abroad and complete technology innovations and promote the upgrading of enterprises. Popular Gift Ideas (Buying Trends) Beijing2008. Olympic Games Gifts for Family Decoration Craftwork is an important composition of family interior soft-environment design, reflecting peoples' temperament and interests. Practicality and nice design are two important factors people considered when choosing home gifts. Promotion Gifts - Complement Traditional Marketing Methods The value of promotional gifts in today's competitive marketplace can't be underestimated. Many businesses nowadays turn to promotional gifts to help them enhance their brand awareness, improve customer loyalty and increase sales. Holiday Gift: Nurture Your Relationship Despite traditional holiday seasons (Spring Holiday, Christmas, Valentines Day, Mothers Day, Fathers Day...), we obviously can't forget to mention other important occasions such as Wedding, Anniversary, Birthday, or Graduation day. These special occasions bring us together, creating a chance for our relationships to grow. Gift giving in this case is indispensable to enhance the feelings or atmosphere. Personalized and engraved unique gifts especially make distinguished and memorable presents. Fashion Jewelry Gifts - a Timeless Favorite In times of rapid change, constants lend comfort to our lives. Since ancient times, jewelry has been one of the most popular gifts to give and to receive, and it still ranks among the top gifts as a universal, particularly pearls and birthstones. Jewelry ranks just beneath flowers as the gift that says "I love you," and it ranks just above flowers as a gift to convey that the recipient is someone special. A gift of jewelry delights the recipient and evokes a genuine smile. Birthstones, among various choices, are very popular with Its Culture-added Value. Almost everyone appreciates a birthstone, and it shows that you actually put some thought into the gift. Many people believe that wearing their birthstone protects them and brings them good luck. Yiwu City: a Terrific Destination for Your Gift-purchasing Plan in China beijing2008. Olympic Games China Yiwu is the largest mart for petty commodities. Currently, Yiwu has the largest wholesaling market around the world. The business area of the market covers 1,500,000 square meters, gathering 320,000 kinds of commodities from all over the country with a daily customer flow of more than 200,000 person-times, and the daily output of commodities up to nearly ten thousand tons. Up to now, more than 300 overseas trading offices and 10,000 foreign purchasers have resided in Yiwu. Notable Domestic and International Gift Fairs beijing2008 . Olympic Games International Gifts & Home Decor Trade Fair The largest fair of its kind in East China, was held in Shanghai every year, which can both serve the industry and add luster to life, creating a real buzz in Shanghai Mart. Shenzhen International Toys & Gifts Fair This event is an ideal platform for sourcing from China. Its exhibitors include top ranking suppliers of products from their respective categories, as well as leading brand names who are looking for distributors. Many of these exhibitors are already leading suppliers in the China market, and they have expressed keen interest in developing business overseas. Sands Expo Center -- The ASD/AMD Las Vegas Gift Expo ASD/AMD Trade Shows have been at the top of the gift, jewelry, variety and discount industries'' annual market calendar since 1961. Dollar for dollar ASD/AMD Trade Shows are the most cost-effective and convenient way to get buyers and sellers together in a sales and profits-oriented marketplace. E-business Web Choice - Finding Authentic Suppliers in China If you happen to be a buyer, looking for appropriate China Supplier partners. Would you like to get comprehensive information, such as company business registration condition, actual production, trade, R & D abilities and quality management system, of potential partners quickly? Do you hope that this information is from an impartial authoritative organization like SGS? If you are looking for such suppliers and need such important business information, please choose www.Made-in-China.com. Made-in-China.com has already become a leading B2B portal especially in assisting global buyers and Chinese manufacturers to make contact and conduct international trade. Challenges Facing the China GiftIndustry and What's On Trend beijing2008. Olympic Games Design Capability and Awareness as the Core: beijing2008. Olympic Games China gift industry desires for professional and creative designers. Competition enhances design capability in a positive way. To upgrade their design capability, many companies employ experienced designers. Some suppliers even recruit skilled artists from Japan and the US. They then form teams who will work closely with clients in new product development. Brilliant designer teams stay abreast of trends and always scout for new ideas or options when going to some relevant events or shows. Gift magazines and Internet sites are used as references as well. Aside from these, some suppliers hire fresh graduates from design schools. This allows them to go beyond the conventional and develop innovative designs for niche markets. Brand Name Promotion beijing2008 . Olympic Games Some experts pointed out that many Chinese gift enterprises are small in size and are not competitive on the market due to lack of awareness of intellectual property rights and independently-developed brand name. Companies that do not have any awareness in promoting their brands cannot survive. Companies are now getting to that awareness. Brand stands for everything - low price, convenience of purchase, emotional attachment, and for performance and quality. As far as allocation of funds (for brand promotion) is concerned, it should be carried out on a sustainable basis. It has to be part of the overall budgetary allocation of the company. Creating Value, Adding Value and Maintaining Value Whether it is Culture Value added or Technology Value added, they would undoubtedly make your gifts more competitive. Many traditional Chinese gifts maker should strive for new technology to bring novelty to their products and maintain freshness. Meanwhile, we can't ignore the culture value of the gifts or even an enterprise. For instance, "Swarovski" Crystal are paying much attention and funds in its culture value promotion (crystal history, magic function etc.), it's the culture connotation that contributes much to its overall success, attracting people to buy it and enjoy it. Know the Psychologic Profile of The Target Market Olympic Games The psychologic profile of gift consumers reveals their different drives and motivations in purchasing gifts. How can gifts marketers and retailers better understand the hearts and minds of their consumers and use that insight to capture a greater share of the consumers' gifting budget? These are questions every gift enterprise should investigate into seriously. For the foreign gift trade business in china, it would be favorable for the profits and markets to grow, for example, if the manufacturers could produce gifts that taking in more western flavor, religious imply, personalized demand, or of high quality level. Environmental Friendly - Go Green beijing2008. Olympic Games The environment is increasingly on consumers' radar screens, according to many surveys. "Eco-friendly" products are more popular in holiday season than in the past. Wrapping stuff like plastic bags are not so welcome. This shopping intention was consistent across gender, age and income groups based on many survey statistics.

About the Author

A lady keen on the market infomation concerning products made in china. To find better china suppliers, please take a look at www.Made-in-China.com

Get Organized for Business Success

2008-02-24T00:41:00.000-08:00

Get Organized for Business Success by Laurie Bornstein

Get Organized for Business Success! Ever wonder why some businesses are more successful than others? There are several reasons, some are; focus, dedication, talent, marketing and organization. Why organization? Without organization you cannot stay focused, implement marketing strategies, have time to work on your business-not just in it and without organizational strategies you are quickly overwhelmed. When you get overwhelmed all you have time to do is to put out fires, you don't have time to develop or grow your business. And if you don't have time to develop and grow your business, you will never experience the level of success you desire. OK, that's the bad news. Ready for the good news? Getting organized isn't as hard as you think. The first place to start is in how you organize your day, your use of time. Step 1- Master Your Time Take an hour and in that time review how you spend a typical workday. ?€? What's the first thing you do when you get into work? ?€? How much time does that take? ?€? What's the second thing you do? ?€? How much time does that take and so on, until you've accounted for a typical day. Now that you know how you spend your day, what part of the day is your most energetic? Your most creative? For me, my most creative, energetic time of day is in the morning. Once you know what time of day you are most energetic, schedule your day so that your energetic time is spent on your big projects-development, client proposals, customer service and those items that directly are in your first category. (See step 2 below for category information). DO NOT spend this time answering email, doing small projects or running errands. In fact, I recommend reducing the time you spend answering and writing email to 1 to 2 times a day. For me, this means that I do not answer or read email until after I've worked for about 1 1/2 hours. I check email twice a day, the first after my productive 1 1/2 hours and the second before I leave the office. I spend 30-60 minutes on email each time. If this is the only organizational step you incorporate, I guarantee you'll save several hours each day. Imagine how much you can accomplish with an extra 2-3 hours everyday? Step 2- Build a Team Begin by separating your daily tasks into a series of 3 categories. ?€? Category 1-This category consists of tasks that generate revenue. Some examples are: customer service, follow-up, product development ?€? Category 2- This category consists of tasks that directly support the generation of revenue. Some examples are: networking, client proposals, and education/training that support your ability and skills. ?€? Category 3- This category consists of tasks that do not generate revenue, they support the business but they do not add to the bottom line. Some examples are: bookkeeping, paperwork, responding to every email message you receive throughout the day and the creation of your marketing materials. Once you've separated your daily tasks into these 3 categories, review which of the items you can release to someone else, an assistant, a virtual assistant, a bookkeeper, etc. The items you should consider outsourcing are those items that are in the 3rd category, these items do not generate revenue. To spend your time on these tasks will not improve or grow your business. Almost all of your time should be spent on those items that generate revenue. The mistake many entrepreneurs make is trying to do everything themselves. Why? Because they don't think they can afford help. As long as you spend time doing tasks that don't generate revenue, you take money away from your business. When you hire someone else to do those items, you have gained time, and this is time that should be spent generating revenue. When you spend the majority of your time generating revenue, you make more money. And when you make more money, you can afford to hire help! See how easy that is? Step 3- Update Your Office ?€? Update your computer programs for the New Year. To grow your business you need the best tools available. Not necessarily all the tools available, but the tools you use should be up-to-date and as effective as possible. ?€? Purchase and use office organizing tools, but before you buy any new organizing items, spend sometime thinking about how you work, what areas are most natural for you to use for files, for projects, etc. Once you know how you use your space it's easier to purchase the right organizing items. ?€? Clear all clutter from your desktop ?€? Clear all clutter from your computer desktop (this means old email messages, files on your desktop, old files, old programs, etc.) ?€? Clean any windows in your office ?€? Consider a fresh coat of paint in a new and inspiring color ?€? Purchase or improve your task lighting ?€? Position your desk so that you have a solid wall behind and have a full view of your entire office when seated ?€? Outsource those aspects of your business that do not require you When determining your organizational strategy, you'll need to know who you are, what you do, why you do it, and where you can utilize help. While each of these steps seems simple enough, spending time evaluating each step and laying it out in relationship to each of the other steps ensures that you'll have an organizational strategy that supports growth and opportunity.

About the Author

Feng Shui Teacher and Entrepreneur Laurie Bornstein, "The Feng Shui Marketing Queen" is the author and creator of ?€?Simple Feng Shui Series?€?, her FREE monthly ezine filled with articles and tips on how to live and work in balance, visit http://www.fengshuimarketingqueen.com to learn more.

Sex and Luther College

2008-02-24T00:38:00.000-08:00

Sex and Luther College by raja sangwan

Last Wednesday I received an email from my editor.

"Jasmine," she wrote, "Your column is great, save one thing. There is not enough sex. Where is the sex?"

I was surprised until I actually looked back on the year's columns to-date, and saw that they reflected my own sex life just a bit too accurately. Namely, they lacked it.

Unlike co-ed naked soccer, the campus sex column is not unique to Luther College. A wave of (almost entirely female) voices on sex has flooded the college media; almost every campus has someone willing to express their opinions on copulation. After some online research, I realized that my own "Sex and Luther College" is not only mildly Lutheran, it is angelic.

Miss Kate McDowell of Cornell University in Ithaca, N.Y. was kind enough to share her anal sex experience; Yale's Miss Natalie Krinskey writes a weekly "Sex and the Elm City," in which she describes, among other things, the proper ways to give and receive; at UC Berkley, Teresa Chin's "Sex on Tuesdays" seems to be just a poorly written advice column. "I will kiss my partner after oral sex" is her number one New Year's resolution.

I began to panic. When I agreed to write "Sex and Luther College," had I signed myself up to be some sort of sexual maneuvers expert, here to lead all of campus into orgasmic victory with my own personal tricks of the trade? Not only did I feel unqualified, my Lutheran propriety and the voice of my Grandpa Johnson began to work their way up from the crevices of my subconscious.

Does my nervousness mean that I think talk of sex should be tabooed? Absolutely not. Sex should be talked about. I think we would all admit that it is by far one of the most interesting things to analyze. I see my "Sex and Luther College" as a way to spur cafeteria discussions and late-night conversations. But, if anyone is expecting a "how-to guide" or a gutting out of my own sexual history, forget it. Glamour and Maxim in all of their gendered discourse will give students something along those lines.

I guess I have always thought that people can look at sex in three ways, given the nature of our language and what we are taught about sex. Couples are either having sex, making love, or just plain screwing.

You as the Chips reader, and I as the writer, are in a type of relationship. And so I will use an appropriate metaphor. I would say that Miss Kate McDowell and Miss Natalie Krinskey are screwing their audiences. They have reduced themselves to writing about an act that is strictly focused on pleasure. And while I am sure a good screw is great or even more than great, it is also one-dimensional.

I look at our relationship as something slightly different. Not only do I want to seduce my readers with my humor and insight, I want us to have the type of experience that reminds us of making love. Something that approaches sex and sexual activities as the multi-dimensional expressions that they are. In my opinion, analyzing how we seek sex and how it affects and influences us, is more amusing than analyzing the sex itself. Besides, as a campus, I think Luther students tend to prefer the art of making love to the act of screwing.

There is more to sex than 'insert A in B and feel C.' In his article, "Talking about Sex," Robert Rivera discusses the rise of the campus sex column and notes: "They strip sex of nearly all of its mystery, emotion, and spirituality, and turn it into little more than fluid dynamic." Sex carries with it, not only the ability to continue our species, but also a tremendous amount of social and cultural baggage. We are defined by our sex and our sex roles; we are held to particular cultural sex standards; we are pulled in directions by our sexual hormones; sex is an act, a script, a game, a pleasure, a gift, a relationship, an expression in which we all, by our whole-hearted participation, or by our abstinence, partake.

And so, for those of you fiends looking for places to find sex (besides my column) or to have sex (besides your loft), here are some ideas:

The library is territory that evidently has already been explored by some. Mary noted a dark and sparsely traversed corner in the basement, while Amy confessed to getting naked in the group study rooms on the second floor the evening of a grueling Reading Day. The single study rooms in the basement are small, but don't have windows. This is more motivation to hit the books with a significant other and cram. The CFL has plenty of nooks, and if you can make it up to the roof, everything is more enjoyable in the starlight. The Union has a quiet second floor, the SAC Office (if you can get your hands on a key), the cafeteria... let's not go there. Athletes, the fifty-yard line is calling your name. Olin is close to empty after midnight, and your presence there is completely legal. Last year Kim confessed to having sex in Valders. We always knew the bio kids couldn't be spending that much time studying the reproductive system without some ulterior motive. And I am sure I don't even need to mention Jenson to those passionate music majors. The practice rooms have coat hooks above the windows for a reason. Think Julia Roberts and Richard Gere in the piano scene. Main has always seemed to me to be a phallic symbol or at least a phallic reference. At lunch last week, a fellow English major appeared excited about the prospect of conquering the Tower. "Each floor has its own single bathroom and they all lock." He grinned.

Just try to refrain from that oh-so-dirty-ever-so-unoriginal John Deere tractor outside the back of Roscoe's. That's screwing at its most vulgar.

About the Author

have written some good articels.

Top 10 Reasons to Move Abroad

2008-02-24T00:36:00.000-08:00

Top 10 Reasons to Move Abroad by Quick Move Now

It's about this time of year, as the dark, cold nights start to close in, that many Brits' thoughts start to turn to an alternative life in the sun, in Europe or beyond. Many people are involved in broken house sale chains and are looking to complete a house purchase abroad; Quick Move Now, being the foremost house buying company in the UK, is in a great position to help.

1. The weather - Pretty obvious this one. The average summer temperature in Southern Spain is 25 degrees C, compared to 15 degrees for the UK. Balmy summer nights with cool drinks on the veranda are a big pull factor for people looking to move abroad. 2. The food - dodgy kebabs, brown sauce, greasy fry ups - while some Brits love traditional British fare, others yearn for a diet of fresh fish, olive oil and Mediterranean vegetables which makes places like Italy among the healthiest places to live in Europe. 3. The culture - The art galleries, churches and caf? culture of Paris have proved irresistible for many "Rosbifs" looking to find a new life abroad. Many look for somewhere close enough that they can get the chunnel to visit relatives in the U.K. 4. The standard of living - Places like Switzerland are becoming increasingly attractive to Brits - being the richest country in the world, it is a haven for those looking for excellent healthcare, education and transport. 5. The people - People regularly contrast the outgoing and friendly nature of Americans with the cold, reserved character that many Brits exhibit, and cite it as a reason for moving stateside. 6. The scenery - From the lush fields of Holland to the rugged coastline of Greece, continental Europe has some remarkable scenery not found in the UK. 7. The lower property prices - Many Brits are looking to Eastern Europe as a place to invest in property and move permanently. In Bulgaria you can pick up a habitable property from as little as ?20k. Compare this with the average UK house price of ?200k 8. The lower crime levels - Many countries around the world are perceived as being safer than the UK. This is backed up by facts in some cases - In Japan, the murder rate is a quarter of that in the UK. Many expat Brits have found places like Japan to be a safe haven away from the dangerous streets of places like London or Liverpool. 9. To have a fresh start - Everyone needs a fresh start once in a while; moving abroad allows you to do just that. 10. To meet new people - Moving abroad allows you to meet new friends, colleagues, neighbours which can greatly enrich your life.

About the Author

Quick Move Now are one of the leading house buying companies in the UK. They specialise in providing a quick house sale and will buy my house quickly. They will buy your house for 90% of its value and can turn around in 7 days.

Aspen Vacation Rentals: Powder-Covered Slopes

2008-02-24T00:34:00.000-08:00

Aspen Vacation Rentals: Powder-Covered Slopes by Cedric Agravante

Anyone who thinks of Aspen, Colorado is immediately reminded of powder covered mountains, high dollar ski lodges and a winter vacation getaway. This is one reason to visit Aspen - however there are three other seasons in which Aspen offers many other incredible things to do and see. For a one-time visit, a hotel may be your preferred lodging. However, once you see that Aspen is a hot-spot year round, you may be more interested in an Aspen vacation rental such as a townhome or a time share. Fortunately you are not the only one to think of this, so the resources are abundant.

The most popular winter activities in Aspen, CO include skiing, snowboarding, snowmobiling and snowshoeing. The powder-white snow will entice any ski enthusiast to test their skills on any one of the different experience levels. If you are not much of a skier, you can simply take in the amazing winter air and scenery as you ride the ski lift to the top of the mountain. Once you arrive, enjoy a meal at one of the mountain-top restaurants as you look out onto the snow-covered mountains. When you're through dining and enjoying the view, you can take the ski lift back down to the bottom of the mountain and enjoy hot chocolate and a warm fire in your choice of ski lodges.

Popular Summer Outdoor Activities

In the summer, popular outdoor activities that Aspen has to offer include a myriad of outdoor activities. Bicycling, hiking, skateboarding and many other activities will keep even the most fanatical outdoorsman busy at any time of the day. If it is culture you desire, Aspen will not disappoint you. The Aspen Music Festival and School is a summer-long celebration in which the world's most talented, skillful and promising musicians, young and old, convene to perform, listen, learn, teach, and enjoy the art of Music. If you are a food and wine enthusiast, you may enjoy the Chili Pepper Fest, Vintner Dinners and the Food & Wine Classic. Aspen is also home to several art and film festivals all year round.

Vacation rentals in Aspen are available in a wide variety of prices, and accommodation types. Whether you are looking for a hotel room, a quaint cabin, townhome, condo or even a house, they're available if you know where to look. To find the best deals, you may want to use a travel agency or a company specializing in this particular region. Any vacation destination that is as popular as this town will have travel agency and rental services that specialize in that particular area, and will often have the best insight to help you find what you need.

Prices of Aspen Vacation Rentals

The price of a vacation rental varies greatly depending upon the size, location and amenities you need or want. A simple hotel room with limited features can be found for less than a hundred dollars per night. If you are on a budget, traveling alone or with a friend and don't plan to spend much time in your room, this is a good option. For a more luxurious stay and especially if you need accommodations for more than one or two guests, you may be more interested in renting a townhome or condo.

Condos and townhomes range in size and features just as much as hotels do. The difference between these and hotel rooms are that they are more like an actual home. They will usually have a kitchen, living room, dining room and more than one bathroom depending on how many bedrooms there are. You can get a 2 bedroom, 2 bathroom condo or townhome for anywhere from three hundred per night to seven hundred.

For large groups, you can even rent a seven bedroom home for a little under $3000 per night that will sleep up to sixteen people. This is actually a very affordable option for groups, as it equals out to about $190 per night per person. The bottom line is that, just like any vacation destination, you will want to do your research. You may find that you have so much fun in Aspen that you want to make it an annual trip or even more.

About the Author

Visit Vacation-Fun.com for useful information and resources about Sandals vacations, Breckenridge vacation rentals and vacation condos in Orlando.

Hop a HO Train and start collecting

2008-02-24T00:32:00.000-08:00

Hop a HO Train and start collecting... by Diane Palmer

Interested in Train Collecting?.. Or are you wanting to add to your childhood collection?

Train collecting goes back more that 150 years, and whether you collected the vintage metal trains or the plastic model trains, or you are into the, modern state of the art remote control trains, it is great fun scouring the countryside and small shops for your find.

Sometimes the search is just as much fun as the find, and when you finally get the layout you want and all your cars lined up, it is the perfect moment!

Some people prefer to create very imaginative layouts, some are super realistic and some are not. Some people like to keep the toy look of their childhood years, and others want the most modern and to scale setup they can possibly get. Some like to have them in full operation and play with them everyday, and others secure them in pristine cases for display... What do you like?..

Train collecting is a very satisfying hobby, and now with the advances of the internet, you can search the world from the comfort of your own home for that perfect train. This is a very active hobby for all ages, and there are forums and internet sites just for the train collecting enthusiasts.

There are models out there that were made over 50 years ago, or there are ones made just last year, and yet they are all in high demand In fact, the interest in current models made by such companies as K-Line, Lionel, MTH Electric Trains, and Williams is booming. That's because this current line of locomotives, stock, and accessories are very detailed, and perform to perfection.

What other hobby do you know that is of interest to a 10 year old all the way up to 100 years old?.. Go ahead and find that perfect train... hop on it, and let it take you to that dream destination... collect model trains

About the Author

find your perfect model train now is by Diane Palme

Best Home Business For Women

2008-02-22T04:47:00.000-08:00

Best Home Business For Women by Anderson Josiah

Depending on your education and work experience there can be many opportunities available for you to start up your new home business, it simple comes down to putting previous job duties and responsibilities to work for you. Many times individuals find themselves suddenly unemployed due to mergers, downsizing or the company closing down and sometimes even retired persons want to do something to get out of the house and earn a little extra money but are hesitant to look for a job with another employer.

Some of the quickest growing online home opportunities are Affiliate programs, an affiliate marketing program is where you promote and sell goods and services for big companies, basically how it works is you find a product that you can sell then find a company that have that type of product and sign up with them. What make affiliate marketing so popular and successful is that most affiliates help you set up your website and offer support and training to help you make money. You are not bombarded collecting payments, delivering of goods, keeping stock and all these business related activities. All you do is sell and collect commission checks.

Former Female executives and managers are discovering that having there own consulting business can pay a nice part-time income while tapping into the experience learned thought there years of working in that field. Marketing, finance and labor negotiating are some fields that can offer fantastic opportunities. Management training on specialized areas of management can be used to start classes for new businesses that are just getting started.

The medical area is totally open for allot of non-patient procedures, like transport services, accounting and billing. With these backgrounds it would be very easy to have your very own business offering a contract to contract basis to health clinics, doctors and hospitals. If you have experience in transcription many legal offices need this service frequently and most can't afford to pay a full-time person to do this so they hire people part-time.

A job opportunity that needs no specialized training or education is a personal shopper. Most business executives don't have the time to go to the store or supermarket for necessary supplies and are very eager to hire someone else to do there shopping for them. The biggest challenge with this kind of service is that you need to be available all the time and to be objective about there product preferences. You can end up purchasing everything from personal items to clothing as well as food, even birthday cards for the kids but always remember they are paying you for a service so you have to remain objective and not criticize.

If you find yourself constantly helping friends and family with there computer issues, you could consider a home business as an IT consultant. If somebody want some additional memory to there computer or upgrade software you can become an expert at this, if you would like to know more on this topic check out Dotcomology the art of making money with your home business.

About the Author

Andy The Home Biz Wiz recommends for more information subscribe to my FREE Internet Home Business tips newsletter and get hundreds of money making tips and tricks along with FREE Software delivered to your inbox. A $147 value, yours FREE:http://www.MakingMoneyFromHomeOnTheInternet.com

History Of Mascots

2008-02-22T04:37:00.000-08:00

History Of Mascots by Amy Nutt

Background of Mascots

The history of mascots dates back to cavemen and early societies who hunted for their livelihood. Early accounts of masked creatures, often resembling animals were drawn or etched on cave walls and depicted in ancient art. Totem poles were filled with likenesses of animals in ancient cultures. These likenesses are much like the concept of the team mascots evident on football fields and basketball courts. Usually in ancient times the history of mascots' shows that these likenesses were often worshiped. This was especially true during times of hunting and harvest. Ancient tribal people would dress up in the likeness of animals or those on totem poles to incite goodwill from them. They believed this would help with successful hunts and bountiful harvests. Also, ancient cultures would dress up in masks or animal like figures for purposes of fertility. Many would dance in the "mascot" like costume to bring about fertility for people in their tribe or village.

Evolution of Mascots

Society has come a long way in its current version of mascots. Mascots as we know them today have been in the same style and incarnation since the 1800's. They began to spring up on high school and college playing fields during that era. Often live animals were used as the official mascots of teams, and athletes were proudly wearing a patch with the mascot on their uniform. The maintenance and upkeep of live animals became costly and cumbersome, so they were largely eliminated. They evolved to resemble the puppet-like versions we see today.

They've got Personality Mascots are now seen as artists and entertainers with traits that now make it an art form. They have come to be an embodiment of what the team is and may correlate to the location of the team, or some other overriding characteristic that makes the team unique. Effective mascots do not learn their stage presence from a classroom. Having the ability to become one with the character and reflect this through physical action is crucial to being a believable mascot. The person must be able to put their individuality aside and really get into character. Mascots are especially popular with children. They need to act in a way that is child-friendly and not intimidating. The more personable a mascot is, the more approachable they will be. Plus they will be well-received by fans of all ages. The position of mascot wields a lot of power over crowds at games. They have the ability to either really involve the crowd in the game, or make a poor attempt and cause the crowd to turn on them.

Mascots as Symbols Throughout the history of mascots, symbology is a major component that keeps rising to the surface. Mascots are often tagged with names that indicate gender and/or certain attributes. For example, a mascot called Robbie the Rabbit would indicate a male rabbit that is fast on its feet. This does a lot to create an image in the mind of fans and anyone thinking about the particular team the mascot represents. Fans will also come to expect the mascot to react in consistent and specific ways to them on a continual basis. If a mascot has a habit of doing a certain dance, fans may be disappointed if the mascot decides not to do the famous dance on game day. It is a unique job and the rich history of mascots continues to unfold as time goes by. It is a position that requires creativity, consistency, individuality, and strong symbology. Mascots may not be worshiped like they were in ancient societies, but they are powerful images etched upon the minds of fans everywhere. Many times the team is synonymous with the mascot itself.

About the Author

Loonie Times manufactures the World's Most lovable Mascots, Custom designed Mascots, Costumes and Characters. Enjoy our Mascot Gallery.

Snow for Christmas

2007-12-28T18:53:00.000-08:00

Snow for Christmas by Ron Henne

Well we had a great Christmas. It snowed giving us the first white Christmas that I can remember in many years. I've lived here over fifty years and I believe it's only the third one that I can remember. People think that just because their's snow on the ground that that counts. It doesn't. People also think that since we live in the Denver area we have snow all the time. That's not true either, the mountains get alot but we don't here in town. Denver only sits about 40 miles from the base of the mountains so unless everything is perfect we seldom get snow. I will admit that when we get snow, it can be in the amounts that we got for Christmas. About 10 inches at our house. The snow has come at a good time for me. I'm trying to get off of the road and start a business on the internet where I can work from home.
About the Author
I work from home. For more information about what I do visit my website. http://rahen60.blogspot.com

Energize Your Kitchen With Color

2007-12-28T18:51:00.000-08:00

Energize Your Kitchen With Color by Eric Badgley
Somehow, once the rush of Christmas is over, we have time on our hands. But usually at this time of the year, it has to be indoor time, so how about a low-key face lift for your place, specifically to 'brighten' your kitchen?
Even if you are on a limited budget (like most of us after Christmas!) there are still ways to improve and really brighten up your kitchen. The biggest way to change the look of a kitchen (and give yourself an instant psychological lift) is to change the color scheme. Certain colors are known to give a cheery boost, particularly yellows, oranges, turquoises and pinks.
Now this need not mean change all your kitchen cabinets and appliances. You will have to work around the expensive items if you are on a budget. These days, most of us have replaced the avocado green stoves and mustard yellow fridges with white or almond appliances, and these neutral colors are easy to incorporate into most color schemes.
Before we get started, a word about kitchen cabinets, the two most popular choices are wood doors or laminate doors - usually white or cream. Ideally, for the sake of your wallet, you will want to stick with what you have got. Ensure that your choice of paintwork will complement the specific color of your wooden cabinet doors.
Kitchen cupboards are a very expensive outlay which can be cleverly avoided in most cases. They can be painted or revamped using an intense color stain gel. Also, many companies advertise that they will replace your cabinet doors (ONLY doors) for a very modest fee.
If you feel you have to have new doors, this is the most reasonable option. These new kitchen cabinet door fronts can be as reasonable a $20.00, although an oak door can start nearer to $30.00. This idea will considerably lower the cost of a new look for your kitchen.
However, this is about brightening up, not renovating, so back to the prime mood changer of your kitchen - the color. If you paint all the walls in one color, be sure that the color is not too intense. Four walls that are intensely or darkly colored will appear to reduce the size of your room.
If you want intense color, try to put it on one wall, preferably the wall that houses the window. This is because that wall will not reflect any light coming into the kitchen from that window.
As white walls or very pale walls will reflect the most incoming daylight, the direction of the sunlight should be taken into account if you are a 'natural light' buff!
If you have no sunlight coming into your kitchen, then be sure that your artificial lighting picks up on pale areas. Small under-the-cabinet fluorescent lights can be bought very cheaply, and are also extremely easy to install.
Another way to brighten your kitchen if you have no natural light is to hang a string of colored lights, perhaps along the top of your kitchen cabinets. These will not give light but will give an atmospheric glow.
Strings of little lights can be found these days in red or green chili peppers, or baby yellow pumpkins, of course, you can only add these if they go with your color scheme, or otherwise you are stuck with the cream-colored baby garlic bulb lights!
It is probably under $100.00. to treat yourself to a quick coat or two of paint, some inexpensive lighting and perhaps new drapes or blinds. If you feel really extravagant you can buy a new set of kitchen canisters, or paint the spice rack to match and feel cheery in your kitchen, even on a gray day!
About the Author
Eric specializes in Bellingham WA real estate. If you're looking for Bellingham condos for sale, visit Eric at www.bellingham-realestate.net