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Wednesday, June 13, 2012

Epic Glory in my Mind

Monday morning Dave would call at about nine thirty to see if I was awake as he puts it.

Silly, I wake up normally by five and have already done the dishes, swept the floor, and rebuilt an engine by the time he even sniffs coffee.

"Where we going today?" he would ask

"Back side of Stucky sounds good, awesome ride and I haven't had a chance to downhill out on that end yet, looks like it would be a blast" Sipping my Coffee the mental Image of me absolutely stuffing him on the downhill would take over, knowing full well that a podium, champagne and hot trophy girls awaited.

"Isnt that private land?" he would ask in his usual less than confident voice in my Ideas

"yup but I think we have permission I will text and see"

After a couple of hasty texts to other Mtn biking friends it was determined that thru Association of the person who originally got permission, that the granted permission was all encompassing and we would be fine.

I would relay the information to Dave who I could hear doing his normal uncomfortable shuffle thru the Phone, and of course would belay his next excuse "So where are we going to park?"

This blew my mind, the absurdity of actually driving two miles ON ASPHALT to go riding was just beyond me "Dude, its all of two miles, before we hit the dirt"

That would seal the deal, off we would go and as it turns out it was exactly two miles to dirt, sometimes I am amazing like that.

Off we would go on the climb, the start of our uphill battle of just over three miles an hour was to begin.

The climb was nice although the air was not moving much and at about the halfway point we would stop and strap the helmets to our packs, we would also take this time to offer nutrients to the surrounding foliage via our Bladders.

We would then continue, with the speed of two turtles after a piece of lettuce we would jockey for position before the next nonofficial stop.

Near the top I would point to what I knew was a hike a bike hill "Go get em lets see what you got"

His eyes would widen a bit as he would ask "You guys made it up that?"

Now one of the most important things in life is to learn how to properly ask a question, yes we did make it up that, but no we did not peddle very far up it.

"Yup go for it"

Off Dave would go, eager to prove he still had enough energy to show me up.

He would not make it far at all, but as he dragged his bike to the side his foot would drag a clear line in the dirt.

"So I guess you dont think I can make it past you"

He was defiant as he leaned up on his bike "Nope"

I clipped in and headed forward, my short legs spinning as fast as they could, wind from my legs would part the grass on both sides of the trail, bending the stems mightily in my wake.

I would easily pass his mark, my legs spinning I doubled his distance up the hill and called it good.

I would lay down the bike and beat my chest like the superior being I truly was, for we all know, he who is king of the hill has bragging rights and should be fed free beer all night.

You might want to write that down its important stuff.

Deflated he would hunch his shoulders and look up the hill, not looking forward to the hike a bike he knew was coming, it was also at this point he realized I had led him on yet again and that there was no way in hell that hill could be peddled.

"Its ok, no point in going further" I would say to lift his spirits" the good downhill is the road we just came up, let us tear it up"

And down he would happily go, while I can climb the steep stuff better than him, he usually downhills faster than I, and he knew it, eager to redeem himself he would tear off before I even got clipped in.

But I was feeling it today, especially since Saturday I had cried like a school girl denied her Iphone on a climb because well It started to snow and my Tush got cold.

I took off, determined to catch and stuff him, the wind would tear at me and in my aging years all I could ask myself was why in the hell did i forget to put in ear plugs again damn it.

But I didnt, and more important matters were before me, corner after corner I would slowly gain on him, I would pick better lines and peddle where he coasted.

Finally my chance came, about a quarter of a mile from the bottom a sharp right hand corner was coming, I grabbed a fist full of rear brake so I could slide in under him and better position the bike, but it was mush and barely grabbed.

Now I was in the position of merely trying to save my ass from dropping off the other side, and I would shoot past him just missing his rear tire and hitting the corner wide.
I would manage to carry myself thru with my tires skidding along the 500 foot straight cliff drop (slight exaggeration on the cliff part) and I would still manage to press and pass him just before the bottom even with almost no back brake.

I stopped and looked around at the gate at the base, and to my surprise, there was no podium, and there were no Trophy girls, the only white bubbly I would drink would be my slightly foaming mineral water *sigh* only the ride home awaited.

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Negotiating With 'Yapping Dogs' Is Easy

The Center for Security Policy's Alex Alexiev suggests, To stop Iran, twist European arms.

President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad's UN rant against the Great Satan got banner headlines around the world last week. But two smaller news items out of Iran, largely unnoticed, tell us far more about where Iran is heading and how U.S. policies can nudge the belligerent regime in the right direction.

The first report: The Iranian public did not buy a single government bond in the five months prior. The second: The French banking group Societe Generale invested $2.7 billion in Iranian oil and gas development. Taken together, they reveal an Iran that is ripe for positive change - should the Bush administration meet the moment and change its hypocritical policies now.

You see, despite huge windfall oil profits, the Iranian economy is headed for the rocks. Take the oil (90% of exports) away, and Iran is a failed state. Even with it, 40% of the population lives in poverty - and unemployment among the young is 35%. Iran's own ministry reports indicate galloping inflation and severe financial problems that threaten to shut down scores of hospitals and bankrupt critical companies.

No wonder the Iranian people have no more confidence in regime bonds.

Instead, we watch from afar as Javier Solana meets and greets the Iranian 'negotiators,' desperate to emerge the diplomat who 'dicovered a solution,' one which Iran simply will not yield.

Alexiev provides a glimpse into the Iranian psyche beind their 'no compromise' approach to what - for some reason - continues to be called 'negotiations' under such conditions. Alexiev uses Ahmadinejad's own words for the construct.

"Europeans are like yapping dogs, kick them once and they run away," Ahmadinejad opined while also dismissing America as a "superpower made of straw." Discomforting as it is to admit, given the record of European and American policies in the intervening year, his tirades are not completely devoid of sense.

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We have been through this all before. The UN was feckless. The French and Russians were backstabbing. Terrorism exporters were adament and boastfull. Things dragged out longer and longer and then something military happened.

With the price of oil coming down, with the US elections almost out of the way, with disruption of gasoline imports into Iran being more devastating to that economy than loss of oil exports coming out will be to the world economy. We are coming up to crunch time.

Do not disregard the possibility that the US and whatever few allies it has left will blockade and strike Iran's missile and nuke sites.

Think of military invasion as a favor, only advanced if opponents of the mad mullas are willing to provide an alternative government.

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The Vince Camuto Perfume

I was invited to attend an event with Vince Camuto, a high end brand that has recently launched in Debenhams. I was left enchanted by what they as a brand had to offer…

'Vince Camuto' have a large collection of beautiful fragrances for both men and women. Vince Camuto has a sense of class about it, which reflects in its packaging.  The Perfume 'Bella' is a soothing tropical scent with notes of nectarine blossoms, jasmine water and amber which adds a bit of warmth to the fragrance. The scent is rich, fruity but not overpowering. The bottle is what makes this perfume special - It feels and smells expensive. It would definitely be a great Christmas present for those who love a good perfume.

* I was gifted this product, however all opinions are my own

Have you ever tried anything from Vince Camuto?
Leave me with your thoughts

  1. fantastic perfume:)

  2. This sounds lovely, the bottle is so pretty!

    Sara - She Who Is Short

Please feel free to comment! I love them! You guys are my muse!


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Wednesday, June 16, 2010

Genesis teaches that if everything was right in the world, then work wouldn't be toil. I don't work outside tilling the soil all that much; I'm paid to sit inside and press little buttons, and to think about which buttons I should press in what order. Work can be very enjoyable, when it is fulfilling. Physical labor can feel very fulfilling, I've found, but that is probably actually just my body telling me that I don't exercise like I should. Still, when I accomplish something I care about, that sense of accomplishment makes the labor worth it. Am I working for that feeling, or am I working because I care about whatever I'm working on? I know I don't care about pressing the little buttons all day; I just do it so I can get money so I can get other things that I care about, later.

When I work on things that I care about, even that isn't easy. I say that it's worth the work when I start, then later I don't believe it and I stop. Later still, I realize it is and I go back to it. I say that I care about doing something, then my actions show that I care more about watching someone play piano on youtube. It's not that I care more about that video than I do the task at hand, but instead that I care, in that moment, about doing what is easiest, and being entertained is nearly always easiest. Sometimes work is hard to do, not because the actual labor is difficult, but because it's hard to remember what's important.

Last summer, working at Ligonier Camp, near the end of the summer, I was assigned to work for a week with a new program involving staff from outside Camp and kids who were of an age with which I wasn't used to working. Working with the outside staff and the older campers was tiring, and, due to the nature of it all, I didn't get a day off all week. The actual day to day wasn't physically tiring, we spent half the day sitting around discussing theology, but I was exhausted by the end of it. The last night there, it looked like we needed an extension cord for a projector, so I ran off to go find one. By the time I got back, they had solved the problem and didn't need the cord, so I ran off to go put it back, ended up going all over the place, stopped for several minutes in the Dining Hall to talk with counselors who were doing normal Camp things (like watching Wall-E) because I really wished I was doing that stuff (like watching Wall-E) instead, and eventually ended up where I started, where I was supposed to be. I felt emotionally and physically exhausted, the most tired I can ever remember feeling, but when I finally had the chance to stop and think, it felt like all this work was good, like I was doing the right thing, except for maybe that part where I stopped to chat with cute girl counselors who were watching Wall-E. The fact that I felt so tired told me that I was doing something right. A day or two later, I spent hours throwing up, because I had the flu.

Wednesday, June 09, 2010

Urbana 2009, St. Louis, Missouri

Every three years, InterVarsity Christian Fellowship (along with their Canadian counterpart) holds a a conference called "Urbana", because it used to meet at the University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign. Those facilities, however, became too small, and so it has met in St. Louis Missouri since 2006. It takes place from December 27th to just after midnight on January 1st, and its attendance is somewhere around 18,000 people, I think. It's aimed at college students, but seniors in high school and post-college folks have been known to attend as well. It features a whole of speakers and is focused on what Christians call "missions", the preaching of the Gospel everywhere.

When I went to Urbana 06, I didn't have a reason to go, just that everyone said it was cool. People said I should probably have some reason, but I didn't ever figure that out, try though I did. All the promotional material about Urbana said "YOU HAVE A CALLING", like if we came to Urbana maybe God would reach down his mighty hand and give us some special revelation concerning his intentions for our future and what we should do. I was pretty cynical about it. I didn't go to very interesting seminars, but I did like some of the talks that people gave. Every morning included a sermon, more or less, which in tandem with Bible Studies (small groups of 2,000), worked through Ephesians, and I really liked those, but I can't remember what I learned. There are a few memories that stick out, like hearing an African pastor challenging our Western-centric views, making fun of Rick Warren and skipping Bible Study to see the St. Louis Arch, because Inductive Bible Study with 2,000 people really wasn't working. There was a big room full of representatives from "Missions Organizations", and it felt too much like a college-fair, like they were trying to sell their organization to you, and I was so sure that that wasn't how God works. After Urbana, Ryan and I got a reputation with the IV Staff in the area as being "the guys who didn't like Urbana", which is apparently a rare condition.

When people started talking about Urbana 09, I had mixed feelings. I wanted to give Urbana a second chance, because people who I trust think Urbana is really great. I had given my 2006 experience a lot of thought, but that's not the same as reaching a conclusion. Additionally, I wouldn't be a student anymore (having graduated in May 09) and, as December approached, it was looking more and more likely like I wouldn't be employed by then either, which was great for having the time for Urbana, but not great for having the money for it. One Thursday night, and I don't remember the reasons why, I found myself back at IV's Large Group meeting at UMBC, despite being an alum. Bethanie was speaking, and she told us about how her experiences doing the Baltimore Urban Program, a sort of missions trip experience thing during the Summer, had convinced her that cynicism is a sin. I'm not so sure it's a sin, but she got me thinking.

Eventually, I did decide to go. In order to save money, Mike German and I didn't get a hotel room, but instead found a host on We didn't pay for a seat on a bus, but instead, along with two others, drove. We didn't buy much food from restaurants while in St. Louis, but instead purchased our meals (excluding Urbana-provided dinners) from a local grocery store chain called Schnucks, a plan we ultimately turned into a UMBC-&-friends "Lunch Collective". We drove downtown from our host's house every day and parked for free at a casino near the convention center. Thanks to some help from my church and our money-saving efforts, the money worked out fine.

I have to at least mention the journey. Julian, as an IV Staff Intern, had to be in St. Louis by 2pm on December 26th, a day before the conference started. Thus, we left Baltimore at 11pm on Christmas Day, and drove all night long. The morning of the 26th, a Saturday, we found ourselves lost in the snowy streets of Indianapolis, trying, with the help of Mike Weber's family's GPS, to find a diner recommended by someone on Couchsurfing, a search which ultimately led to what seemed at the time to be the funniest breakfast ever. We listened to the entirety of Sufjan Stevens' "Illinois" while in Illinois. I am not sure I recommend the all-night-driving method, but it worked out. Because we got there a day early, we got to go to church on Sunday morning at New City Fellowship, which has a lot of connections with IV and felt a lot like Newsong in Baltimore.

Part of living and traveling with Mike was my desire to get a little bit of what I called "The Mike German Experience", which is how I found myself sitting in a parking lot in Mike's car in the cold of December, eating tuna fish out of a bag after having the free beer at the end of the free tour of the Anheuser-Busch brewery. I was consistently skeptical of Mike's plans, particularly when he invited a Canadian he had just met who had no where to stay, to come back to our host's place. I was right to insist we check with our host first, but even after that I was skeptical, yet Joe turned out to be a great friend that week. Thanks to my upbringing, I was never truly comfortable with our daily walks through the casino from the parking garage, but that free parking was a great thing. I was out of my comfort zone, and it was probably good for me.

Urbana opened with a dance performance, accompanied by a spoken-word piece based on John 1. Jesus, the Word, was portrayed as a dancer, calling the universe into being with tap, then forming humans who danced as he did, then sad as they turned to a new, uglier sort of march. John the Baptizer made an appearance as a hip-hop artist, loudly proclaiming Christ's arrival, and Jesus then got to work teaching those who would learn to dance with him. I had seen dance and various other arts used in worship before, but I hadn't seen them used so well before. It just worked.

The two biggest ideas I had for making Urbana 09 a potentially better experience were not being cynical and having a list of goals. One of the biggest goals on that list was to go into the big room of organizations, willing to hear out the people from the organizations, instead of just deciding the room was terrible. I went in, I walked around, I didn't really talk to anyone, and I left. This time though, I realized that that room is useful to some people. Some people really can find what they're going to do with their summer or even their lives by talking to people in booths. I am not one of those people, but I should not write off that whole method of communication as being a bad idea.

I tried hard to make sure I went to good seminars, this time. I heard someone talk about The Church and Homosexuality, and how Christians are doing a terrible job loving people who don't identify with heteronormative values. She didn't really have answers on what we should do, but it was good to hear and see other people who are concerned about this, maybe even ones who aren't Derek Webb fans. I heard a panel of members of various New Monasticism communities talk about their struggles and desires. During the Q&A time, someone asked about their style of ministry in non-urban contexts, and the panelists had nothing to say, no experience from which to comment, thus checking off another one of my goals. I heard a man talk about moving his wife and kids to Darfur, Sudan, while various Missions Organizations have policies that their workers can visit Darfur for a day maybe sometimes, but certainly not live there, much less bringing their families along. He talked about preaching to a gathering of village chiefs, and about confronting warlords. His talk scared me, because I thought "What if that is me, someday?", but he closed by saying "Please don't think there's anything special about me. I am just like you. It's God doing the work." I had two separate opportunities to hear John Perkins, one of the founders of the Christian Community Development Association, speak, and one of those was in tandem with Shane Claiborne. Perkins is 80 years old, and it was really good to hear his wisdom, even if he does ramble on and on sometimes. The second time I heard him, a lot of people showed up to hear Shane Claiborne, but Perkins did most of the talking. I think it was good for them.

The last night, sitting in the big stadium listening to Brenda Salter-McNeil preach, a guy three rows in front of us came back to his seat with a box of pizza. He took a little bit (It was cut into small squares), then passed it on. Soon, there were many of us eating pizza. Elise took out a cookie, Smitty took out Peanut Butter Crackers, and those were shared too. Kathy, who's IV Staff in Baltimore, said "I think we just had communion." and I agreed. A little while later, I took communion, bread and wine, offered by the aforementioned Brenda Salter-McNeil, a woman now wearing white vestments. The German missionary in Darfur told us to think of the darkest place we could, and then go there, because God is with you, so you have no reason not to. People talked about hard problems without presenting answers, and that was okay, because Jesus is in control. Native Americans danced in ways that made no sense to me, but they said they were worshiping the one, true God who made all things. Mike invited a man we'd just met to come live with us for a week, because he had nowhere else to go. All these surprised me and scared me, because I agreed with them.

The drive back from St. Louis was similar, but we had Kaylyn with us now, and it was daytime when we started. We bought donuts at a gas station in Illinois, even though we had breakfast already. We ate at Steak 'n' Shake, and it was just as good as Robert Ebert said it would be. We saw the great flat places on Indiana, where you can just see forever 'til the world curves away. Instead of going back to Baltimore, though, they dropped me off in Ligonier, at Camp, for the Staff Reunion. It was like leaving a giant family reunion and going to a different one, and while there I had a long talk with people about figuring out life and where we want to go and do. I still haven't figured out all the meaning, implications and applications of my experience at Urbana, but I'm glad I wasn't cynical.

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Complaint of the Week: But Where Are My Riots?

While I am well aware that, increasingly, I seem to be taking on the role of the white guy who explains to other white people why their Facebook memes—be they about “proving” the danger of the internet to their children by sending said children’s pictures around or the difference between All Lives Matter and Black Lives Matter—are inaccurate, prejudicial, or otherwise ill-advised, I shrug and press on.

This time out it is the text meme that follows this basic format: this white individual was the victim of a violent crime/murder (usually at the hands of a black man). Why are there no riots?

Such as this one.

Such as this one.

First, let’s break these down in general. You cannot claim that things are not about race (as people posting these often do) and then specifically seek out incidents of black on white crime. What that really says is, “Race isn’t a thing unless I need it to be.”

Second, riots are typically born of a group of frustrated disadvantaged people who are ignited by a specific incident that gains symbolic significance. White people as a group do not tend to fulfill those requirement, even when they are burning couches in the street to celebrate their sport teams’ championship victory.

To drill down to more specific posts, a pattern quickly emerges. For the sake of summary, I’ll note them here and then describe them in more detail below: the crimes described were committed not by police officers; the guilty party was charged or, in one example, killed at the scene; the murders described contain a number of factors that make them effective mirrors of other more well-known incidents implying that the poster should probably be incensed by, for instance, the murder of Michael Brown; or the incidents mentioned are largely unknown.

The earliest example I could find of this Facebook trend was, of course, from the Motor City Madman himself, Ted Nugent. About a year ago, he posted a series of dates followed by descriptions of murders that did not reach national attention or cause riots and involved white victims and black perpetrators. Of course.

Of course, these were also citizen on citizen murders. Tragedies to be sure, but 50 murders are committed every day in the United States and almost none of them make the national news. White on white, man on woman, straight on gay and so on. Even including white on black crimes that do not get coverage. No, in order for a crime to reach the national stage, sadly, it needs a hook that makes it different. An officer of the law killing an unarmed person? Well, that’s hard to ignore.

(Additionally, I’d argue, it should not be ignored. We entrust a sacred duty to police officers. If they violate that trust, we as a population owe it to ourselves and to the officers who have no violated that trust to bear witness to the crime and to see that the perpetrator is removed from that position of significant power and trust.)

This is also the case with the most recent such post, one that rings its hands about the death of a delivery boy at the hands of, allegedly, two black men. To reiterate: a tragedy for certain, but the two charged men are citizens and the crime appears to be a random act. This is not a comparable incident to, say, the choking death of Eric Garner. Also, it is important to note, the two alleged criminals were charged for the crime, unlike the officers who killed Garner or Brown or [and so on].

Sometimes, though, the post will involve a police officer as in one that cited the shooting death of Kerrie Orozco, a new mother, by Marcus Wheeler. It is a horrible heart breaking story. The thing is though, Orozco is the cop, not vice versa and while we, as a society, recognize that a police officer’s death is a horrible thing, we are also trained to believe it is a constant possibility given their line of work. And, again, Wheeler—the perpetrator—was shot at the scene of the crime and later died, being, theoretically at least, brought to justice in a way the perpetrators of the events that have prompted protests and riots were not.

Then there’s the case of Gilbert Collar, a white college student shot and killed by a police officer nearly 3 years ago in the midst of acting erratically due to substance use. This one would seem to be the best “where are the riots?” argument, but even it is not a perfect comparison. For one, to be a bit cynical, it happened a few years too early for this particular moment when deaths by cops are being more focused on. For another, no one disputes he was under the influence of a substance and acting unpredictably and erratically. There is no such consensus with any of the incidents that are receiving press attentions, demonstration’s, and riots. In fact, more often, the consensus tips towards the lack of such behavior. Lastly, and this is the important one for me, if Collar’s death is wrong and senseless to you, so should be Brown’s or Garner’s or Freddie Gray’s. Should we be campaigning for justice for Collar? That does not seem insensible. But if you think that, then why are you objecting to the anger about Brown?

Another example cited by these memes is the shooting death of Robert Lawrence by officers while he was, apparently, trying to drop off a stray cat at a Humane Society like organization in Alabama. Those who are upset about this are upset, in part, because early reports linked Lawrence to vague domestic terrorist groups and highlighted details of his violent past. Not unlike, say, reports on Michael Brown stressing his criminal past and displaying pictures of someone—not him though—smoking marijuana and implying it was him. Surely if Lawrence’s shooting upsets you, you are also advocating for Brown, yes?

It also must be noted that, after a flurry of articles between late December and early January, Lawrence’s story disappears almost entirely, with the exception of a late April post. Not from mainstream sources but conservative ones as well. So if conservatives are upset Lawrence is not getting the coverage he deserves, they need look no farther than their own media of choice who have chosen to ignore the story for nearly 6 months.

All of this is a long-winded way of getting to this fundamental point. Why do some crimes elicit different reactions: because some crimes are different. None of the other crimes highlighted in the various incarnations of this meme seem to grasp the specific set of circumstances that have given rise to the current focus, the current frustrations, and the series of protests, police responses, and escalations that have marked these situations. They fail to include elements of abuses of powers, ignore how disadvantaged populations are being vividly reminded how they disadvantages can cost them everything, including their lives, and/or choose examples that reveal the hypocrisies of their arguments, not vice versa. There’s the answers. Now you don’t need the meme.


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Tuesday, March 26, 2013

Iconic war photography hauntingly reduced to simple, empty lanscapes

'Czech photographer Pavel Maria Smejkal is responsible for this arresting series of images that are completely familiar yet strikingly alien. Taking iconic photographs of moments that have shaped the course of human history (think Iwo Jima, Tiananmen Square and The Grassy Knoll) Pavel removes the human elements from them, leaving nothing but empty, haunting landscapes behind. They offer an eerily prosaic look at the geographical plainness of sites that have been imbued with such enormous importance.'

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"Painters Row" @ Tipper Full Moon 2016 (courtesy of J Bild)

Once again we are grateful to both Jen from Tribe13 and Jake from Consolidated Productions helping us pull together a very talented group of Live Painters and Muralists for the Nocturnal Edition.  These artists all uniquely interconnect to offer a perspective in sharing what is inspiring them, and in turn all of us. Their contribution is colorful, fun, and appreciated. They will each have works of art available for purchase displayed in our free form gallery, and purchased from them or their assistants in the Painter HQ (next to Share Your Cloud donation point) across the street right behind ‘live painters row’ centered towards the rear of the Amphitheater.

Carlos Pons

Carlos Pons Paz is a painter and multimedia artist currently working in the Tampa Bay area. Born in Guatemala City, his family moved to America in the year 2000 in the pursuit of a safer life and better opportunities. From a young age Carlos found interest in the arts, spending his childhood drawing, shuffling through old art books and building figures out of fabric and clay. Neglecting participation in other activities, Carlos submerged himself completely into his art. Moving to America was a significant staple in his life. The culture shock was eye opening and it brought about feelings of displacement and lost identity. The contrast between his new home and the country he left behind started what he now recognizes as a state of awareness. Most of Carlos’ work now deals with reality outside of our personal circumstances and one point perspective. His art deals with the gloomy and unsettling aspect of the human condition. The scenery, although rich in color and whims, projects a tasteless vague reality through amorphous figures and incoherent spaces. Carlos currently teaches art to adults with developmental disabilities and draws a great amount of inspiration from the intuitive nature of their work. Carlos’ life philosophies regard the meaning of existence and the constant determination of one’s personal purpose.

As one of the top street artists that represent MIA, internationally renowned – KAZILLA is famous for creating true ‘performance art’. Painting live murals and works of art in the spotlight for a myriad of audiences, such as leading recording artists and their masses of onlookers, museums, exclusive events, major brands, print and TV.  To most it would be a bit unnerving, asked to make a masterpiece in front of hundreds, sometimes thousands of eyes, all watching your every move and mistake. Using the pressure and constant critique to her advantage, Kazilla has mastered the art of “free hand”, “working your mistakes, instead of your mistakes working you”, “speed painting” and the “minute masterpiece”. The best part of KAZILLA’s “work” is that 95% of her live work is indeed free handed.

KAZILLA’s style bounds between the street arts and fine arts. A native of New Mexico, she currently resides & works from her studio/gallery in Little Haiti, Miami. After moving to the east coast in 2007, her work transcended street art, and combined her two styles of fine art and graffiti to create an edgy, colorful clash of two very different worlds. Often using various mediums to create her distinctive style, there is always a level of experimentation in every piece, keeping the work fresh and dynamic. Organic themes infused with feminine figures, surreal landscapes, geometric patterns and vibrant colors create a daunting visual feast for all audiences.

Although Kazilla brightens the Miami landscape with murals and street art almost daily, she is also a regular globe trotter – hitting the streets the world over to leave her mark, and her art. In addition to creating cutting edge street art, Kazilla also paints live at events for performers such as Wu-Tang Clan, The Marleys, Chaka Khan and Timbaland, and for brands like Adidas, Converse, Guess, Choice Hotels, Oxygen Network, & Societe Perrier to name a few. Her fine art endeavors include establishments such as the Museum of Art, both in Ft. Lauderdale and Coral Gables, Miami MOMA, and galleries in NYC, LA, DC, & Dubai. In her off hours she also works as a performance artist, designer, muralist, photographer, producer, musician, philanthropist, and consultant.

Efren Rebugio

Everyday is the opportunity to learn; to progress. Research throughout the day. Ask questions. It's not about soul-searching, it's about searching with the soul. Seek for your truth. Don't let the control be remote.

Chaya Av

Chaya Av is a Miami-born, interdisciplinary artist, muralist, and first generation American currently living on the Space Coast of Florida. She relies on the chaotic stream of consciousness while also being heavily influenced by natural organic forms, music, human emotions, and decorative art. Improvising with just a plain surface, some drawing and painting materials, and a pair of headphones, Chaya creates colorful and spontaneous imaginative works that are free-flowing yet bizarre to the eye, and are experimented through fine art, street art, and digital design. Her large-scale murals have been featured in cities throughout Florida, including a pop-up mural she painted live for Samsung during Art Basel Miami 2016. She was also a guest muralist for Battle of Pho Hoa’s first annual mural competition in 2016 and was one of the seven muralists chosen to paint for Sam Flax of Orlando at their 2017 Wall Project. Chaya graduated Magna Cum Laude with a Bachelor of Fine Arts in Studio Art at Florida State University.

Daniele Sperandeo

Danielle Sperandeo is a human being, illustrator and painter from Savannah, GA. She aspires to create aesthetically pleasing images that center on the documentation of ideas, dreams, and emotions based on both reality and fabrication. Her work provides a visual commentary of violence, disquiet, chaos and collapse, but with the intent that it is not entirely absent of the suggestion of hope, and the presence of beauty.

The aesthetics of her artwork focus on the interconnection of fantasy and reality, finding the contrast of stylistic representations of lifelike imagery, when coupled with the fantastical, reveals an innate flaw in the way society views the imagination, a humor that echoes our own vulnerabilities

David Fratu

David Fratu, the creative mind behind the brand ILL.DES, was born in Chicago, IL in 1989. As the youngest of three children, he was always inspired by the many talents and creativity of his family members. With his father being a skilled craftsman and his uncle a talented artist, David was surrounded by a wealth of knowledge from which to learn. At a young age, he became passionate about creating his own new, inspiring works of art. His passion fueled a life-long dream to become an artist, and he continues to work zealously toward its fulfillment. Over the past five years, David has gradually expanded his artist career. From the hosting of his first gallery show, to live paintings and participating in local art fairs throughout the Atlanta area, he continues to develop his talents and create the unique brand that has become “ILL.DES”.

Drake Arnold

Drake Arnold is an artist working primarily in acrylic and aerosol paint. He makes work that falls loosely between the genres of psychedelic, fantasy, and visionary art. He resides in Fort Collins, Colorado and spends his time glassblowing by day and painting by night. Traveling the country live painting at music festivals and visiting the National Parks.

Elaine Alonzo

"Elaine Alonzo is a self-taught artist, born and raised in Austin, Texas; her often abstract work interweaves surreal realities, cultures and symbolism."

Elise Williams

I would hope my art could bring people to a higher place, as if they are viewing the world from a mountaintop, where it all starts to become more of one being, one giant puddle of existence.

When I draw, I find myself slowly escaping to this place, where I am everything and nothing at all. Emotions, faces, and memories are all flowing together, naturally growing from the roots.

J Bild

Jason Bild Smith is an Austin-based artist primarily focused on geometry and how it can be integrated with organic forms and surreal environments.

Jeremy Legge

Jeremy Legge, spent most of his artistic life surrounded by the culture of hip hop and graffiti. After experimenting with the different forms and styles that graffiti offered, his art took a psychedelic twist. Being inspired both artistically and metaphysically from the visionary art culture / sacred geometry, his style takes on a transcendental identity. With the exquisite celestial, dimensional, and geometrical properties, his art will surely make you question things a bit deeper.

Jake Amason

Jake Amason is an acrylic painter from Denver, Colorado. He studied computer graphics and 3D animation for several years before deciding to drop out because of a new addiction to paint arising from long render times that consumed his slow computer. Jake considers Photoshop to be his art teacher and taught him a visual language that prepared him for traditional media. Through sculpting in 3D programs such as Maya, Cinema 4D and ZBrush, he gained experience manipulating massive dimensional virtual worlds compressed into a two-dimensional plane before ever touching the canvas. These environmental textures and understanding of dramatic depth are used in rhythmic patterns to direct the eye through the space over time to animate a still image.

Johnathan Singer

Johnathan Singer’s entrepreneurial spirit was so focused that by 24 he’d begun publishing a socially conscious lifestyle magazine in Southern California called “West Side Life.” This exposed him to a wide range of artists, musicians, presenters and live performance experiences. His first inspirations were the music of the Grateful Dead, Pink Floyd, John McLaughlin, and the art of luminaries like M. C. Escher, Gustave Klimt, Alex Grey, and Salvador Dali. Those early influences combined to instill a deep need to connect with audiences by recreating the mystic journey.

Moved to become a visual artist in his own right, he began performing real-time multimedia light shows for the musicians he’d met while publishing the magazine. Pushing the boundaries of technology, his presentations led to a new art form incorporating CGI, texture maps, custom 3D animations and special effects to inspire his audience’s visual and auditory experience. He initially built his reputation in the transformational music scene working closely with Alex and Allyson Grey on performances themed around their art.

Johnathan has never stopped evolving and exploring new technologies which empower him to take the journey deeper, and in recent times has realized his dreams of working with some of the most highly regarded musicians in their field, adding his flair to enhance their iconic shows. His collaborations in 2015 are particularly noteworthy, as he provided imagery for the music on the Grateful Dead’s 50th Anniversary Fare Thee Well dates, The Dead & Company tour, and also Red Rocks, Thalia Hall, Camp Bisco, and more with Tipper.

Love Light Leslie (Caneda)

Leslie Caneda's artwork signifies vitality, positivity, and light as it is happening. The coasts of Hawaii and South Carolina and her love of live music influence her use of vibrant colors, charming designs, and a touch of whimsy. Each stroke is representative of all the unseen and tangible interconnectedness of our world, imagination, and the canvas.

Morgan Mandala

Morgan Mandala was born and raised outside of Chicago, Illinois,USA, but has called the front range of Colorado home for a decade.  She is most well-known for live painting, circular canvases, and imagery of fantastic naturalism combined with geometry. Morgan has toured throughout the United States and beyond the borders, teaching, painting, and constantly learning, often in collaboration with artist and partner, Randal Roberts.

Morgan earned a double BFA in painting and art History with a minor in philosophy at Colorado State University. Her studies sparked her interest in the relationship between art and spirituality, and how this relationship manifests itself throughout global cultures with special interest in shamanism and plant medicine.

Morgan's early history as an artist was characterized by naturalistic drawings, however this changed as she began to focus on painting in college as a meditative and healing practice.  This lead to studies in color vibrational theory, and ultimately, the creation of mandalas.

Many paintings are informed by her world travels, symbolic studies, and experiences with plant medicine.  With these influences, Morgan continues exploration of the relationship between art and spirituality through many facets. Ayahuasca Ceremonies in the Amazon Jungle, exploring the carved hallways of Angkor Wat in Cambodia, viewing the sculpted landscapes and carved deities of Bali, Indonesia, and living by the Rocky Mountains are all characteristic elements and themes that inspire Morgan's paintings.

Nicole Palapoli

I am a New York artist, who has spent most of my efforts on creating visual arts. I currently make a living as a tattoo artist and am working hard to push my painting career simultaneously... I do also enjoy experimenting with dance and musical arts as well.

Randal Roberts

I pledge to do my best work for the highest good, & to practice my art as a way of awakening myself and others.

I offer myself and my materials to divine influence.

To You; cherished friends and family; to the beautiful, absurd, creative flow and language of the universe; and to the global Love Tribe – gone, living, and to be:

Thank you.

I love you, and do my best for you.

Stephen Kruse

While it usually comes out as spacescapes infused with light-emitting geometry, or otherworldly organic forms meeting future machinery, my work is simply about finding balance between all. Imagination can be the same as experience on canvas, which is why music is one of my biggest inspirations. If you listen close enough, sound takes the most lovely shapes and colors. I’ll always enjoy the experience of painting at shows. The energy and interaction is what art is all about to me… So let’s talk sometime.

Zander Lampkin

I came to this planet in 1989. Still don't know exactly where from.. I am a self taught artist currently residing in Austin, TX. Through painting, i use many different mediums to create visual puzzles for the viewer to decipher with an in depth look into something more. not exactly sure what that means, but i hope you enjoy the journey.


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Wednesday, 9 June 2010 axis of ignorance

I keep hearing people saying "Afghanistan is like Vietnam". So I'm thinking... if that is the case, then where is this 'Vietnam' and should we attack it?

At 15 June 2010 at 14:55 , Blogger Kath Lockett said...

who ARE these people that you keep hearing saying things as monumentally dumb as that?

...have they holidayed in Afghanistan recently?

At 16 June 2010 at 17:34 , Blogger River said...

Nah, don't bother. Vietnam is old news, invaded and since discarded long ago. Lots of them (Vietnamese) are over here now, being "one of us, one of us" and cooking up a storm in food malls everywhere.

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August 23, 2008

I'm Baaaack!

Did you miss me? I've been without phone or internet service since Wednesday. I HATE my provider. Whenever my service goes down, I'm without it for days on end. And you know how I love my computer. I start experiencing withdrawal symptoms. I get irritable; restless; at loose ends. What is going on in the world? I have to share my news and views. Get the service started, will you?

Wednesday evening, right smack dab in the middle of the John McCain story on CNN, the whole town went dark--or at least this section. Power stayed out an hour. Wally sent people home, so I'm told. Let me tell you how BLACK this house is. Can't see your hand in front of your face. Couldn't find the super-duper weather radio, dear son of mine. It was too dark and I couldn't remember where I had stored it. Of course, when the lights came back on, it was right where I put it (in case of an emergency) in plain sight. If only I could have seen it.

So the lights are back on and I have no dial tone and no internet. Ditto for Thursday morning, afternoon, and evening. There was a recording at Newwave letting you know that the outage was in western Tennessee. So I chilled. But Friday? I was on the horn. "We'll have someone out this evening." N-O-T! No service this morning, Saturday, or this evening when I came in. But I guess the powers that be decided that I had rested enough. Got through to a nice tech who labored long and hard to get me back on line. That's all I really wanted, wasn't it? Seems that they hadn't upgraded my system when they changed over last winter. Then the router wasn't booting and preventing everything from functioning. See ya' router. Add that item to the list of things to be replaced.

The lawnmower had a very simple problem--needed a new air filter. Sheez! The young man who was to mow the lawn this evening has not showed. Can I break the curse?

I've got a lot to share with you; things have been storing up since Wednesday. Just wanted you to know that I'm okay. Later.

1 comment:

bandit said...

Dem Aliens are out knocking out the power plugging in all there fancy doo dads and whatcha ma call its (lol) Oh well love ya any how keep Jyd inside he probably dug up the power cable!!!


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June 1st in African American History – Davis Eli “David” Ruffin

Davis Eli “David” RuffinJune 1, 1991 Davis Eli “David” Ruffin, former lead singer of The Temptations, died.

Ruffin was born January 18, 1941 in Whynot, Mississippi. He began singing as a young child with his siblings, father, and stepmother in a family gospel group. In 1957, he moved to Detroit and recorded his first single, “You and I” (1958). Other early recordings include “I’m In Love” (1961) and “Knock You Out With Love” (1962).

In 1964, he joined The Temptations and over the four years he was with the group, he sang lead on a number of hits, including, “My Girl” (1964), “It’s Growing” (1965), “Beauty is Only Skin Deep” (1966), “I Wish It Would Rain” (1967), and “I Could Never Love Another” (1968). In 1968, he left the group and began a solo career. His first solo recording was “My Whole World Ended” (1969).

Other solo recordings include “I’m So Glad I Feel For You” (1970), “Common Man” (1973), and “Walk Away From Love” (1975). In 1989, Ruffin was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame with The Temptations.

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Streaming Vimeo into a Mag+ Vertical

About this tutorial

The purpose of this tutorial is show how a Vimeo video can be added to a Mag+ vertical. Using an HTML object the video will automatically fill whatever size the object is created at. The object is placed on the A layer and the video will be interactive and can be played, paused or even viewed in Fullscreen.

In the tutorial we will,

  • open a Vimeo video and create the embed code
  • add the embed code to an HTML page
  • add the HTML page to a Mag+ vertical
  • display the vertical on a testing device

Note: before you start copying and pasting code make sure that your text editor is set to use straight quotes like " rather than smart quotes like .

If you are using Pages you can define the Smart Quotes or turn them off completely by selecting Pages Menu/Edit/Substitutions/Show Substitutions and setting your preferences in the window.

Note: If you wish to deliver a video that doesn't have the “sharing” options on the top right the video will need to be managed by a Vimeo Pro account and the account owner will have to turn off those options on the video feed itself.

Create the Embed Video Code

Step 1

Open a browser and go to the video URL

For this example we are using a video called Roden Crater by James Turrell. For more information about James Turrell and his work visit his page on Artsy.

Step 2

Tap on the “Share” icon to launch the “Share This Video” window

Step 3.

Tap on the “+ Show options” button to reveal additional configuration options. Uncheck all boxes under the heading Special Stuff: If you don’t want to display the Portrait, Title and Byline uncheck all boxes under the heading Intro: If you want to change the rollover colours and icon colours you can use Vimeo’s basic colours, use a Hexadecimal colour or use the colour picker.

In this example I’m going to leave the colours at the default but uncheck everything else.

Note: don't set a size as we will be changing this in the embed code, but take note of it as we will be using it to set the ratio of the HTML object.

 Step 4.

Tap in the Embed text window to display the  complete embed code and select copy.  The text will automatically be highlighted.

Step 5.

Copy the generated embed code and copy and paste the bolded section it into a temporary text document.

Create the HTML Code

Step 1.

Using the HTML below, create a new .html document and paste the copied section of embed code into the bolded section.

<!DOCTYPE html PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD XHTML 1.0 Transitional//EN" "">

<meta http-equiv="Content-Type" content="text/html; charset=UTF-8" />
<title>Roden Crater</title>


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This Australian University Student Just Submitted A Research Paper On Priyanka Chopra

author image
8:00 pm 13 Sep, 2016

Guess its time we start taking the entertainment industry and its players seriously. Until some years, entertainment was a frivolous industry rarely mentioned in textbooks, leave alone the thought of doing an entire research paper on them.

However, times have changed- and for good. Artists are taken seriously as they make their place to voice themselves on platforms like Forbes, TIME, United Nations along with mentions on business pages in your dailies.

A Queensland University Student, Akansha Panday recently chose to do a research paper on Priyanka Chopra’s existence in the big Hollywood industry. Pursuing bachelor in arts with a major in communication and journalism, her topic was ‘celebrity culture and their public image’.

While every student chose an established Hollywood star like Will Smith or Leonardo Di Caprio, Akansha chose Hollywood newbie Priyanka Chopra for breaking stereotypes by not bowing down to conventional roles. She feels Priyanka strongly connects to her audience for being authentic enough to be seen as a ‘role model’ for the youth of today.

Here’s an excerpt from her paper:

“Celebrities make affiliations to the public and their fans in which they practice performing a bond making the process where they use language, words, cultural symbol, and conventions to make the audience feel what the celebrity is saying is their own view as well. In Priyanka’s interview video of Time magazine, she says ‘I had the worst self-esteem when I was young’. Being a celebrity Priyanka makes herself a role model for the youth which is a majority of her audience around the globe and the idea of making affiliation with the young audience provides a big ratio.

Creating intimacy with the audience by using the cultural background as a great way to portray an Indian woman standing strong in Hollywood and not playing roles that are cliché and changing the norms of an Indian role in Hollywood.”

And can we not agree more?

Before Priyanka, Indian actors starred in Hollywood flicks for not more than a brief cameo or a supporting role; be it Bollywood bigwigs like Amitabh Bachchan in The Great Gatsby, Irrfan Khan in Life of Pi or Aishwarya Rai in The Pink Panther. Priyanka’s lead role in ABC’s TV series Quantico has forced Hollywood to see Indian actors in a different light. Indeed, she has broken the norms of an Indian role in Hollywood.

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Blend Into A Pattern Of Defeat

All human thinking that every individual is different person, but i think if you see it in the very very big picture, you’ll see we’re just the same, we’re defeated by everything around us, we’re just a small fragments of a big cosmos.

The Painting depicts of 1 Person standing, and trapped in a crowded, start running, jump, and falling as the meaning of defeated. This painting series is a story.

This paintings were shown in Plaza Desain 2014: Impulse Thematic Exhibition in 19-21 September
2014 at Galeri 678, Kemang, Jakarta, Indonesia.

Pen and ink on paper, variety size, framed, 2014

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REMEMBER: DON'T CAVE IN TO ANY IDIOTS, ESPECIALLY THE religious farts such as the ISLAMO-FASCISTS and other fishheads from various denominations!!! Did you know, we are nothing but a spermatic, cosmic co-incident? This site is dedicated to the members of the GIANT group - Global Idiots Accelerated News Tips. PLEASE VISIT/CLICK ON THE ARCHIVES (on the right side) FOR MORE OUTRAGEOUS, LIFESAVING MATERIAL...

Thursday, December 30, 2010

The same old story Frankenstein, Fuckistan, etc.

Rights Groups Tie Pakistan to Militants’ Disappearances
Published: December 29, 2010

WASHINGTON — The Obama administration is expressing alarm over reports that thousands of political separatists and captured Taliban insurgents have disappeared into the hands of Pakistan’s police and security forces, and that some may have been tortured or killed.

The issue came up in a State Department report to Congress last month that urged Pakistan to address this and other human rights abuses. It threatens to become the latest source of friction in the often tense relationship between the wartime allies.

The concern is over a steady stream of accounts from human rights groups that Pakistan’s security services have rounded up thousands of people over the past decade, mainly in Baluchistan, a vast and restive province far from the fight with the Taliban, and are holding them incommunicado without charges. Some American officials think that the Pakistanis have used the pretext of war to imprison members of the Baluch nationalist opposition that has fought for generations to separate from Pakistan. Some of the so-called disappeared are guerrillas; others are civilians.

“Hundreds of cases are pending in the courts and remain unresolved,” said the Congressionally mandated report that the State Department sent to Capitol Hill on Nov. 23. A Congressional official provided a copy of the eight-page, unclassified document to The New York Times.

Separately, the report also described concerns that the Pakistani military had killed unarmed members of the Taliban, rather than put them on trial.

Two months ago, the United States took the unusual step of refusing to train or equip about a half-dozen Pakistani Army units that are believed to have killed unarmed prisoners and civilians during recent offensives against the Taliban. The most recent State Department report contains some of the administration’s most pointed language about accusations of such so-called extrajudicial killings. “The Pakistani government has made limited progress in advancing human rights and continues to face human rights challenges,” the State Department report concluded. “There continue to be gross violations of human rights by Pakistani security forces.”

The Obama administration has largely sought to confront Pakistan in private with evidence of human rights abuses by its intelligence and security forces, fearing that a public scolding could imperil the country’s cooperation in combating Al Qaeda, the Taliban and other extremist groups.

After the Sept. 11 attacks, the administration of President George W. Bush urged Pakistan to capture militants and Islamic extremists linked to the Taliban and Al Qaeda. Since then, human rights groups have said that Pakistan’s security forces used that campaign as a cover to round up hundreds, if not thousands, of political activists and guerrilla fighters in Baluchistan and hold them in secret detention.

Precise numbers of disappearances are difficult to pin down, human rights advocates say, partly because family members fear that reporting missing relatives could endanger the relatives or even themselves.

“It is very difficult to put numbers on disappearances as they are accompanied by intimidation of the next of kin of the disappeared,” said Ali Dayan Hasan, a senior researcher for Human Rights Watch in Lahore, Pakistan. “People are unable to speak publicly. But we can safely say that disappearances are the order of the day across Pakistan, particularly in relation with counterterrorism.”

In Islamabad on Wednesday, the interior minister, Rehman Malik, addressed the security issue in Baluchistan without mentioning the disappearances. “We are trying to ensure law and order in Baluchistan,” he told lawmakers in the National Assembly. “I will assure that we will do everything to improve the situation.” In August 2009, he acknowledged that 1,291 people were missing in the country. Husain Haqqani, Pakistan’s ambassador to Washington, said in an e-mail on Wednesday that “the courts and the government are investigating cases of disappearances with a view to establishing the whereabouts of the disappeared persons and the circumstances under which the alleged disappearances took place.”

Under pressure from Pakistan’s Supreme Court, which has held hearings on petitions filed by family members of missing Baluch men, as well as public rallies in supported of the disappeared, the government of President Asif Ali Zardari has been forced to respond to the outcry. A judicial commission established to investigate the disappearances is scheduled to present its report to the Supreme Court on Friday.

Pakistani intelligence officials say that human rights groups have exaggerated the number of people held incommunicado. The officials seemed to justify the extrajudicial detentions by citing the country’s weak judicial system and often poor police investigations that they say have led to dozens of terrorism suspects’ being acquitted by local courts.

American officials have dismissed these claims for years. “ ‘Disappeared’ Pakistanis — innocent and guilty alike — have fallen into a legal black hole,” the United States Embassy in Islamabad said in a cable, dated Feb. 8, 2007, that was obtained by WikiLeaks and made available to some news organizations, including The New York Times.

American officials are expanding programs to build up the judicial system in Pakistan. Officials also offer human-rights training to police officers and finance programs to reduce the backlogs of court cases that prevent family members of those who disappear from seeking relief through the Pakistani judicial system.

“This issue has been a persistent challenge for Pakistan,” said a senior American official who deals with South Asia and who spoke on condition of anonymity because of the delicacy of the matter. “We’re trying to help Pakistan build democratic institutions so they can be a more effective partner.”

But American officials concede that the programs may take years to produce enduring results. The State Department’s most recent report on human rights in Pakistan, issued in March, said that during 2009 “politically motivated disappearances continued, and police and security forces held prisoners incommunicado and refused to disclose their location.”

That report, citing a Pakistani human rights group, said that in August 2009, Pakistani Frontier Corps paramilitary troops arrested two members of the Baluchistan National Party in Khuzdar, Pakistan. Two days later, the men were turned over to the police. “Both men showed evidence of having been tortured,” the report said. “Authorities reportedly forced them to make false confessions before their release.”

Salman Masood contributed reporting from Islamabad, Pakistan.

Tuesday, December 14, 2010

Today Germany, tomorrow the whole world...

Raid on Islamic Groups in Germany
Published: December 14, 2010

BERLIN — The German Interior Ministry ordered simultaneous raids in three states on Tuesday against what it called Salafist networks suspected of seeking the imposition of an Islamic state. The action signaled growing concern over the radical messages of some Islamic groups.

The raids, in Bremen, Lower Saxony and North Rhine-Westphalia, were not linked to a recent terrorism alert reportedly inspired by phone calls from a man who said he wanted to quit working with terrorists and who warned of a pending Mumbai-style attack, the Interior Ministry said.

The ministry statement said the raids were directed at two groups: Invitation to Paradise in the cities of Brunswick and Mönchengladbach, and the Islamic Culture Center of Bremen, on the North Sea coast. The two groups work closely together and share the same ideology. The authorities are seeking to outlaw both groups.

The raids appeared to represent a departure for the German authorities in their dealings with radical Muslim groups. They were conducted under the authority of postwar laws enacted with an eye to the Nazis to prevent the overthrow of the state or Constitution by extremist groups. Before, those statutes had been invoked primarily against right-wing nationalist and neo-Nazi groups, and German intelligence had focused primarily on individual Muslim extremists rather than groups.

The ministry’s statement emphasized this shift in approach. “For a well-fortified democracy, it is necessary and demanded, without waiting for the jihad to occur in the form of armed struggle, to take action against anti-constitutional organizations.”

The statement said the groups were suspected of opposing constitutional order by seeking to “overthrow it in favor of an Islamic theocracy.” There was no indication that any arrests were made.

“The group is very influential and is especially active in converting people,” a senior German security official said, speaking on the condition of anonymity because the investigation was still under way. The best-known figure in the group is a German citizen, Pierre Vogel, a former boxer and convert to Islam. “They do have the aim to change Germany and make it Islamic, but there is no evidence that they were or are involved in any terrorism,” the official said.

The Interior Ministry statement, signed by the spokesman Stefan Paris, said one of the leaders of Invitation to Paradise had called for the imposition of Shariah law, the statement said, adding that the raids had been carried out under Germany’s laws of association. Shariah is the legal code of Islam based on the Koran.

However, the statement said it remained to be seen whether the raids would confirm suspicions about the groups’ intentions.

Dozens of private homes were searched Tuesday, as well as religious schools and a store belonging to Invitation to Paradise that sells face-covering veils for women and caftans for men, The Associated Press reported, quoting a security official. The police said they seized evidence during the raids, but would not comment further.

German intelligence authorities have said they regard Salafist institutions as a potential source of terrorism.

The term Salafist usually denotes an extreme form of Islamic fundamentalism. But Salafists are divided into several schools, including one that believes that Muslims should remain politically disengaged and take up arms only when called to duty in a Muslim-governed country; anything else represents rebellion against the government, which violates Islamic law.

At the same time, the Salafist movement also has its share of revolutionaries — the so-called Salafi jihadis — who contend that rebellion is permissible. Germany has become increasingly vigilant in recent months about potential threats amid deepening concerns that a small number of German citizens may be under the influence of terrorist groups determined to stage new attacks, either in Germany or elsewhere in Europe.

The recent terrorism alert was prompted by a caller who claimed to have been a jihadist working with terrorists in the Afghanistan-Pakistan region and provided what law enforcement officials called concrete information concerning a recent plot to rampage through the Reichstag, the seat of Germany’s Parliament and a popular tourist site. As a result of that alarm, the authorities deployed heavily armed police officers across the nation.

The Interior Ministry said that there was “no connection” with Germany’s current alert and that the raids had been “planned for a long time.”

The authorities’ actions recalled events last summer when officials in Hamburg closed a mosque where Mohamed Atta, one of the Sept. 11, 2001, hijackers, had prayed. It had become a destination for jihadi tourism.

Alan Cowell reported from Berlin, and Michael Slackman from Erlangen, Germany. Souad Mekhennet contributed reporting from Frankfurt.

A version of this article appeared in print on December 15, 2010, on page A8 of the New York edition.


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Saturday, April 02, 2011

Sage Undertaking

I didn't vote Green this time. I accepted that Janet Mays had the most active involvement in pursuing the course best for the Mountains and so I decided to be local.

I know there's an argument from the party to say you should give them all the support you can; that second preference won't keep the wolves at bay. But, since this is the same kind of line taken by the ALP to stop people voting Greens or independent, I doubt the Green party would want me to water down my conviction, even if it did cost them.

I like the Labor candidate too, and I accept that her old boss Koperberg was more true to his electorate than I may have proposed.

Sage may be an asset, being a member of the victorious party, but I do share some disquiet at the idea of having three tiers of conservative rule.

I like the fact that the incoming O'Farrell government have made a checklist of promises, and they understand what the priorities are through those specific undertakings.
There's reason to have some confidence when an Opposition leader promises more public service jobs, not less. Perhaps he has learnt from Peter Debnam's unpopular slash'n'burn policies, not to scare the horses. But I do get the feeling that Barry is a more temperate and moderate leader than his immediate predecessors in the Liberal Party.

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Do Your Own Thing Mondays!

July 24 @ 1:00 pm - 3:30 pm
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An event every week that begins at 1:00pm on Monday, repeating until December 31, 2017

Whitewater Valley Art Association, 249 West 27th Street
Connersville, IN 47331 United States

Just do your own thing Mondays! Come and join our work session for any medium and/or skill level. It's a do your own thing afternoon. We will share "advice” if asked.

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Trail Tech Voyager

What doesn't it do?

by Martin Hackworth

Photos: Martin Hackworth,  Trail Tech

Trail Tech Voyager

Trail Tech Voyager
Trail Tech provided us with a Voyager and a top mount kit for the 2013 Tour of Idaho. As we opined in our recent Tour of Idaho Tested feature, Rarely have we been so completely blown away by a product that was completely off our radar. It's the most useful instrument of it's type we've ever used on a motorcycle, and it will be a fixture on all future Tours. A few months down the road we are still kind of stuck on all of that. The TT Voyager is a pretty darned handy accessory.

As we wrote earlier, the sheer amount of information available through easy to access displays: speed (two ways), engine RPM, coolant temperature, ambient temperature, charging system voltage, GPS track and more is incredible. GPS-linked data logging capabilities are equally impressive and getting data in and out of the unit, via a field-swappable Micro SD card, could not be easier or more simple. The display automatically adjusts to a variety of lighting conditions and darkness.
The best visible feature of the Voyager is the incredibly easy to read 240 x 400 WQVGA LCD display. The slickest digital gauge in the world is useless if you can't read it. Note that in the lede photo above, in difficult lighting conditions, the Voyager remains easy to read (at any angle, btw) while the GPS unit is not - even when tilted to the optimum viewing angle. There have been exactly zero conditions, day or night, in which I have not been able to read the display. We've never quite seen anything quite like it.

Navigating the Voyager is easy as well.
Toggling between the screens and intuitive menus is a snap via a large joystick that is easy to operate - even with gloves. Once installed, the Voyager is very easy to use. One ride is enough to acquaint oneself with the unit's various screens, settings and menus - some of which are customizable. The amount of information that the Voyager keeps track of and displays is amazing. It's a little like having a HAL 9000 strapped to your handlebars.

Mounting options (especially with the optional top mount kit) are plentiful. Installation is straightforward with simple tools but does take a few hours that are mostly spent getting external power to the unit (though it will run off an internal battery) and various sensors in place. Calibrating the wheel speed sensor is probably the most time-consuming part of setup and even that is undemanding - even for someone like me who has to get my 11-year old to figure out the TV controller at home.

The exemplary feature of the TT Voyager, in our view, is the GPS. Even without deploying the external antenna, the Voyager is the most reliable and accurate GPS unit in our considerable arsenal (rivaled only by the Strava app in my smartphone). Not once during the 2013 Tour of Idaho did I lose a GPS signal. Sometimes when the Magellan and Garmin units would show me off the track (typically in the trees or deep down in a valley), the Voyager was spot on. Again, that's without deploying the external antenna. We were able to upload from our Voyager a hyper accurate track of the 2013 Tour that, in places, even indicated what side of the trail we stopped to take a break on. The RideLeader software supplied (via download from their website) by Trail Tech is actually pretty good, but I had no problem exporting the native gpx files into other platforms that I prefer.

The only knock on using the existing Voyager as a GPS unit is the inability to upload a basemap. When using the Voyager as a GPS unit you are simply following a track on the screen. For the time being we are still carrying basemap equipped GPS units for the Tour of Idaho and general exploring. That, however, is likely to change. Read on.

The single purchasing caveat with this unit is that we believe that you really need the optional top mount kit to keep the Voyager out of harm's way. Thusly equipped, our Voyager has survived and thrived amidst the usual assortment of catastrophes associated with our comical two-wheeled adventures in the wilds. Along those lines the Voyager happens to be, I can assure you, completely waterproof.

As you are, no doubt, able to ascertain by now, we think that the Voyager is really good. But, according to Trail Tech, it's about to get better. The next generation, which we hope to get our hands on soon, will have a bigger, color screen and a fully functioning GPS with the ability to upload base maps in addition to tracks. We'll bin our entire collection of existing dirt bike GPS units the day the package arrives from Trail Tech with the new Voyager. We can't wait.

2017 Update: I have actually seen a TT Voyager Pro and held it in my hands. I anticipate they'll be ready for the 2017 Tour.

Trail Tech Voyager Mount
Trail Tech Voyager

MSRP: Voyager - $279.95, top mount kit - $89.95

The Good: Lots of information, easily accessible.
The Rad: The most accurate GPS we own - and it's only half functional.
The Gnarly: "Open the pod bay doors HAL..." "I'm sorry Dave, I can't do that."

Our take on the TT Voyager in the 2013 Tour of Idaho.

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Check out our gallery of cool places to which our Trail Tech Voyager has taken us this year.

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Toyota Planet

Blog about Toyota new cars, prices, release dates

2017 Toyota Prius

2017 Toyota Prius

Many people are not happy with the slightly strange exterior design of the new Toyota Prius 2017. It’s just strange, many people reply. However, we ask you to consider the new 2017 Toyota Prius again. Why? This vehicle is one of the most effective models that will appear in the largest auto shows in 2017.

This is the fourth generation of a line that completely submerge many potential buyers, especially those who are environmentally friendly and open to new experiences. Toyota clearly made all their bets in this model.

2017 Toyota Prius Exterior

Although we mentioned that the design of the new Toyota Prius 2017 will be a bit strange, we do not think it should be considered as a negative feature. This model is very authentic, futuristic and unconventional, and these combined can certainly make some buyers suspicious. However, it will be very interesting and attract attention wherever it appears.

The 2017 Toyota Prius nose part will be lower and will include luxury LED headlights, a good bumper and an amazing grille with powerful air vents. The rear of the car is slightly lifted and will include new taillights and the exhaust system. This model will have a revolutionary design with new generation Toyota architecture, making it dynamic and powerful.

2017 Toyota Prius Interior

The interior of the new 2017 Toyota Prius will not be as innovative in style, but will equally be an attractive feature. It’s cabin is decorated with the most amazing materials such as leather, aluminum and plastic with chrome accents.

The 2017 Toyota Prius will have a capacity for five passengers. They will have comfortable and adjustable seats that are covered either in fabric or leather. The panel will suffer a large technological upgrade. It should have a 4.2 inch TFT screen with a huge number of applications and options for information and entertainment, cruise control, air conditioning, satellite navigation and full power accessories. All controls will be transparent and the controller will be managed effortlessly.

The 2017 Toyota Prius will then be an eco-friendly model that will use the hybrid variant of the engine. It will use a 1.8-liter inline-4 engine in conjunction with the Hybrid Synergy Drive system that will provide the vehicle with 121 horsepower. The battery used is a 1.2 kilowatt-hour pack that is super powerful. However, the biggest drawback is the fact that a single charge can go 22 miles, but it is likely to change until the end of production.

Release Date And Price

This charming futuristic model is about to have its grand launch at the New York International Motor Show, somewhere in November 2017. The price of the 2017 Toyota Prius models will reach $30,000, which is fully adequate and competitive, with competitors such as the Ford Fusion and Chevrolet Volt.

Make sure to read more about the new cars that are going to be launched in the market next year.

Robert • December 21, 2016

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Showing posts from December, 2013

Ten Best Gifts of a Lifetime

Classic Hometown Column (original published 2007)

Oh the pressure is on, to give the perfect gift, or at least something the recipient wants would be nice.

At the beginning of the shopping season, people are putting thought into each present, trying to please with a gift and by the end of the long days of mall hopping, parking miles away, fighting the stressed out crowds, the Christmas shopper just grabs something and grumbles under their breath that they don’t care at least they have something to wrap.

OH the joy of giving! Good intentions fade into obligation.
As on the Big Bang Theory, the overly intelligent Sheldon explains his reason for not wanting a gift, “...the foundation of gift giving is reciprocity. You haven't given me a gift. You've given me an obligation!”
I feel that way sometimes.
However, in my life I have had many wonderful gifts presented to me and their impact has remained one of the Christmas highlights that I will fondly recall, especially when I am sitting…


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Friday 28 July 2017
Hilton Hotel

Arabtec signs $136m Cairo building contract

Dubai-based Arabtec signed a 500 million dirham ($136 million) contract to build a 23-storey hotel and residential complex in Cairo, the major construction firm said on Sunday. The Nile Towers, to be built in the Maadi suburb of s

Hilton ‘most recognised hotel brand’

Hilton Hotels has been voted the most recognised hotel brand in both UAE and Saudi Arabia, according to an annual syndicated study on travel trends and preferences. The Maktoob Research Travel Monitor tracked performance of the major playe

Zenath launches new four-star hotel project

Zenath Real Estate has intensified its expansion programme in the region with a new four-star hotel development at the heart of Dubai's business and shopping district. The Dh200 million ($54 million) hotel located on Salahuddin Road in Dei

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Friday 28 July 2017

Qatar inflation eases to 1.8pc in 2012

Doha, January 14, 2013

The inflation in Qatar, the world's No.1 liquefied natural gas (LNG) exporter averaged 1.8 per cent in 2012, below forecasts and compared to 2 per cent in the previous year.

Rents and energy costs, which account for over 32 per cent of consumer expenses, rose 2.8 per cent year-on-year and 0.9 per cent month-on-month in December.

Food prices, which make up 13 per cent of the basket, increased 1.5 per cent on an annual basis but declined 0.3 percent from the previous month.

Analysts polled by Reuters in September expected the country to see average inflation of 2.4 per cent in 2012. -Reuters

Tags: Qatar | inflation |

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Friday 28 July 2017

Saudi food consumption to hit $113bn

Riyadh, August 5, 2014

Saudi Arabia’s food consumption is expected to grow by 53 per cent to reach $113 billion by 2016, said a report.

Per capita food consumption is also expected to grow by 40 per cent over the same period to reach $2,104, the report released ahead of a major agro-food trade show said.

Saudi Agro-Food, the 21st international trade show for food products, ingredients and technologies, will focus on the latest industry trends for the local and regional food markets.

Additionally, the trade show will focus on presentation, processing and packaging equipments for food items, a statement said.

The event will be held from September 7 to 10 at the Riyadh International Convention and Exhibition Centre.

The event will offer international, regional and local companies a platform to discuss key issues, discover new investment opportunities, facilitate business deals with major stakeholders, and network with the leading industry professionals, it said. - TradeArabia News Service

Tags: Saudi | Trade show | Food | agro-food |

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Carquinez, Crockett and a bridge

[imagebrowser id=71] 'Walking the buy levitra online bridge' around here generally means traversing the Golden Gate. It’s where the crowds are, but it also provides dramatic views, gale-force winds and a sense of history. There’s always something to see, whether in people-watching or out on the bay or toward the [...]


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Monday, August 26, 2013

Well, it's broken. My cuboid bone in my left foot is fractured and has put me out of the 2013 Wasatch 100. After last years issues at Wasatch this race has been circled on my calendar. I hit the lottery in February and endured some tough and fun training but it appears once again it is not meant to be.
After finding out about this last week I have been through a few different emotions. There was of course- anger, sadness, disappointment, anger, frustration, questioning, wondering, anger (did I say that) and pity. Trying to put things in perspective brought me to an all so cliche' thought. You have heard it and said it to yourself many times- "What if this is the last time?"
I remember back to my sub 30 finish at Wasatch and the last 18 miles. I was off pace to go sub 30 but I kept pushing myself. Since Wasatch is a lottery (although good odds to get in) I remember telling myself- "What if this is your last Wasatch?", "What if this is your last race?", "What if this is the closest you ever get to a sub 30?". Well it wasn't any of those but by thinking those things I believe I was able to push myself a bit more to get my sub 30 I trained for.
In reality, this is just a race, this is my "hobby", it isn't life or death and yes there are more important things in the world but right now it doesn't make things any easier. What it does it helps me put it in perspective just a little bit more. Do I run trails only to race? No, I have met some amazing people that I would have otherwise never met. I have experienced things I would have never had the pleasure of seeing/doing. The race is the celebration. It's the culmination of the work you have put in.
As I sit and work on my schedule for the next couple weeks of swimming and cycling, I am hoping to gain even more perspective of why I do this.
The plan as of Monday August 26th, 2013 at 2:08 pm is to toe the starting line of the Bear 100 in 5 short weeks. As a friend of mine (Phil Lowry) told me over the weekend on a phone call- "I think you can walk the entire Bear under 36 hours." I will wait a couple more weeks to get the next MRI to see how the foot is healing and if I get good news, I will get my drop bags ready for a long 30+ hours in the in the mountains. I will obviously not be in great running shape and will need to curb all expectations but I really do want to do this. I want to finish the year on a positive note and carry that over to next year.
I am not going out with anything to prove, I am not going out to show anything, I am going out there to celebrate another great year I got to spend doing something I enjoy......
So good luck you Wasatch runners and for all of you running the Bear- I really hope to share the start and finish with ya!

Anonymous said...

Truly sorry to hear this ! As this will be my 1st shot @ Wasatch ,I was hoping to share a mile or two with you . Your post does put things into a better perspective , I will keep you in my thoughts thru out the race and keep you in prayers also . I hope you can heal quickly and tackle The Bear . Take care Brother !
Danny Widerburg

Harry said...

Hopefully you'll be able to make it to the start line at the Bear. Heal up! In the meantime, fly fishing?


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What is a “Resilient” business? (LA Transition Enterprise Group event)

“Business in Transition” Discussion Series
When: Wednesday, May 16, 2012 7:00p-9:00p
Where: Holy Nativity Church, 6700 West 83rd, Los Angeles, CA
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What kinds of businesses are most needed in a time of peak oil + climate change + economic contraction? Where can your business enterprise fit in? We'll discuss which industries and sectors are most likely to thrive in the coming years (and which are most likely to die ...), and how you can best position your business or nonprofit to endure. For more information, visit


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Featured Post

The Declaration of White Independence: Fourth Political Theory

A unilateral assertion offered to and for consideration by the European Descended People of the fifty united States of America and all ...

05 September 2015

Austrian pro-White leader blames U.S., NATO for invasion

The leader of Austria's pro-White Freedom Party (FPO) has blamed the United States and the NATO Western military alliance for triggering the refugee crisis that has overwhelmed Europe.

"The USA and NATO have destroyed Iraq and Libya with their military intervention, bombs and missiles; provided financial, logistical and military support to the opposition against President Assad in Syria, and thus made possible the destruction, chaos, suffering and radical Islamism (IS) in the region," Heinz-Christian Strache said on his Facebook page.

Strache's opposition FPO party, which leads opinion polls ahead of the centrist Social Democrats and People's Party coalition partners, typically espouses pro-White and patriotic approaches to dealing with foreign policy.

Strache, who is running for mayor in Vienna elections next month, scoffed at what he called U.S. President Barack Obama's suggestions that Europe is primarily responsible for handling the wave of invaders flooding the continent from crisis spots in the Middle East, Africa and Asia.

"The USA for decades has started fires in the Middle East and then has then the chutzpah to claim that responsibility for the flood of refugees unleashed lies with Europe. That's geostrategic detribalization at its finest," he wrote.

In a separate interview with Austrian broadcaster ORF, he called for erecting an army-patrolled fence along neutral Austria's eastern border with Hungary.

"We don't want an Islamisation of Europe. We don't want our Western culture to perish," he said.