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Thursday, May 17, 2007

Gecko or caveman? You decide!

So working more-or-less a second-shift job, I watch a lot of daytime television. And in between all the TV judges and "Little House on the Prairie" re-runs (hey, don't laugh ... that show rocks!), I watch just as many commercials, plugging everything from diabetes medication refills to whole-term life insurance, from electric scooters designed to "give you back your mobility" to Life-Alert. (Kinda tells you who advertisers think are watching daytime TV, huh?)

And then there's Geico.

Now in the interest of full disclosure, I'm a Geico customer; have been for several years. I've never had a problem with them — their insurance is priced right, you can do everything online — but I can only invest my time and energy into one corporate mascot. Geico, though, gives us two, and herein lies my dilemma: They've got two different ad campaigns — one I love, one I hate!

Their gecko here kinda annoys me. He's got a British accent — yes, I've gotten past that he's a talking gecko, it's the accent with which he speaks that drives me nuts! — and he's kinda condescending, telling us just how simple Geico really is. Plus, some of the analogies he uses, trying to convince us to switch to Geico, are really stupid. "If you ask them for an English muffin ... and they'll hand you a buttered muffin." Just drives me up the wall!

As annoying as I find the gecko, I can't get enough of the cavemen. Not since Phil Hartman's "Unfrozen Caveman Lawyer" skits on "Saturday Night Live" have I derived so much enjoyment from a Neanderthal!

It all began with Geico telling us that they were so easy to use, "a caveman can do it," and took off. Now, we see cavemen getting mad at TV hosts belittling their inability to adapt to the modern world, pleading to their therapists about how they feel when Geico and others question their intelligence, and even getting together at a party — one caveman questions the other about his dedication to the species 'cause he signed up with Geico, while another celebrates hooking up with his cavewoman. "Tina's here. We're getting back together!"

Great stuff! Pure genius, those cavemen! So much, that ABC is developing a sit-com based on the Geico cavemen. The working title, you ask? "Cavemen." (Swear to God!)

They used to also have these annoying commercials with the real customers and the "celebrity" spokespeople. In short, they'd have alleged real customers tell their story of how great Geico is and then have someone like Little Richard, Burt Bacharach and Peter Graves (I know, sounds like the next season of "Surreal Life") recount their stories, so as to give them star-power. Don't even get me started on how much I hated those! Those commercials, though, have mercilessly seemed to stop running.

So here's my question: Why can't Geico just pick one gimmick and stick with it?! Instead of splitting their marketing money on two campaigns, why not sink all the dough into just one and fully develop the characters?

Anyone got a fav???

1 comment:

Anonymous said...

my favorite commercial is where he talks about the english muffins, and i CAN NOT find this video anywhere on the internet!!!!


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Gantry::Docs::QuickStart - Getting your first Gantry app up and running

Off and running ^

The easiest way to build a Gantry app is with bigtop:

    bigtop -n AppName 'book(title,pages:int4)<->author(name)'

Choose a suitable application name and list the tables you've already thought of, including their columns. When you think of more tables and columns later, they will be easy to add. To learn more about this kickstart syntax see Bigtop::ScriptHelp::Style::Kickstart.

If you have sqlite in your path, bigtop will build a database for you. Then all you need to do is change to the directory it made for your app and start the stand alone server.

    cd AppName

If you don't use sqlite (or bigtop could not find it in your path), change to the directory bigtop built for you. Create a database called app.db with your database engine, populate the database, and start the app.server. With Postgres that looks like this:

    cd AppName
    createdb app.db -U postgres
    psql app.db -U regular_user < docs/schema.postgres
    ./app.server -d Pg -u regular_user -p password

For MySQL, try this instead:

    cd AppName
    msyqladmin create app_db -u root -p
    mysql -u root -p app_db < docs/schema.mysql
    ./app.server -d=mysql --u=regular_user -p='secret' -n=app_db

Then the app is running, you can view it by pointing your browser to any of the URLs app.server printed on startup.

A Simple Greeting ^

This section is for those who prefer a less magical experience.

All you need for a gantry app is a module which uses Gantry and has a method called do_something (usually do_main is a good first choice):

    package HiWorld;
    use strict; use warnings;

    use base 'Gantry';

    sub do_main {
        my $self = shift;

        return "Hello, Rob";

I'll store this module in /home/myhome/lib/ I'll need to set that lib path with a use lib below.

Stand Alone Server Deployment ^

If you have HTTP::Server::Simple installed, you may choose to deploy your application through it. This is useful for kick starting development. See below for more permanent means of deployment.

A stand alone Gantry application is an executable script which leverages Gantry::Server (which in turn uses HTTP::Server::Simple). This one is enough for our small demo:

    use strict;

    use Gantry::Server;

    use lib '/home/myhome/lib';

    use HiWorld qw{ -Engine=CGI -TemplateEngine=Default };

    my $cgi = Gantry::Engine::CGI->new();

    $cgi->add_location( '/', 'HiWorld' );

    my $port   = shift || 8080;
    my $server = Gantry::Server->new( $port );

    $server->set_engine_object( $cgi );

If you used Bigtop, as in the first section of this document, it made app.server which is similar to this one.

CGI Deployment ^

To deploy using CGI, create the following script in a servable cgi-bin directory (remember to make sure it is executable):

    use strict;

    use CGI::Carp qw( fatalsToBrowser);

    use lib '/home/myhome/lib';

    use HiWorld qw{ -Engine=CGI -TemplateEngine=Default };

    my $cgi = Gantry::Engine::CGI->new();

    $cgi->add_location( '/', 'HiWorld' );

Then point your browser to the script.

If you used Bigtop to generate the application, as shown in the first section above, it made app.cgi for you. You can deploy to CGI by copying that file into your web server's cgi-bin directory, if you also:

install the app

The module must be installed somewhere in the @INC path, or you must add a use lib statement in your CGI script which includes the directry where the module lives.

set permissions correctly

First, the web server must be able to read the build directory and its sub directories. (If you have an sqlite database, you must make both the database and the build directory writable by the web server.)

beware of selinux

Tools like selinux exist to keep people from accessing things. As such, they will probably block users from seeing things in your build directory via a web server. Either disable it, or move things to appropriate places it allows the web server to access.

See "What is Gantry::Conf" and "How do I use Gantry::Conf under CGI/FastCGI" in Gantry::Docs::FAQ for information on switching the CGI script to a different database.

mod_perl Deployment ^

To use mod_perl, you must have permission to modify the httpd.conf for your web server and to restart it. Here is the virtual host I created for the greeting application:

        DocumentRoot /home/myhome/html/play
        CustomLog    /home/myhome/logs/combined.log combined
        ErrorLog     /home/myhome/logs/hiworld.err

        Include /home/myhome/html/play/hiworld.conf

This throws the real config work to hiworld.conf. Mine assumes mod_perl 1.3. Here it is:

        use lib '/home/pcrow/srcgantry/play';

        use HiWorld qw{ -Engine=MP13 -TemplateEngine=Default };

    <Location /hello>
        SetHandler  perl-script
        PerlHandler HiWorld

After restarting the server, I can point my browser to

to see the greeting.

If you are using mod_perl 2, simply change the use statement to:

        use HiWorld qw{ -Engine=MP20 -TemplateEngine=Default };

(i.e. replace MP13 with MP20)

Note that if other Gantry apps are running in the same server instance, they may fight over which template engine to use. Generally, the first app to put in a use statement for its base module chooses the template engine. We don't mind this since we always use TT. Even after you have chosen TT, you can turn it off by adding statements like these to the top of your do_* method.

    $self->content_type( 'text/xml' );
    $self->template_disable( 1 );

What To Do Now ^

Once you have your first app running, as shown above, you are ready to move on in the following sequence of documents:

  1. Gantry::Docs::Tutorial
  2. Bigtop::Docs::Tutorial

After those, you probably want Gantry::Docs::FAQ, Gantry::Docs::Cookbook, or Bigtop::Docs::Cookbook.

Author ^

Phil Crow <>

Copyright and License ^

Copyright (c) 2006-7, Phil Crow.

This library is free software; you can redistribute it and/or modify it under the same terms as Perl itself, either Perl version 5.8.6 or, at your option, any later version of Perl 5 you may have available.

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Mathias Rosenthal - Fotolia

News Stay informed about the latest enterprise technology news and product updates.

Kubernetes multicloud orchestration pushes Docker portability forward

Kubernetes is more than ready for prime time at one New York firm; it's also realizing the potential for Docker portability in a multicloud environment.

Enterprises that watch from the sidelines have a new milestone to note, as Kubernetes and Docker reach production on the bleeding edge of IT.

A rare bird has been spotted, and more are likely to follow -- a Kubernetes and Docker environment that is federated across multiple service providers' clouds and automates the distribution of container workloads based on data gravity and processing requirements.

Such Docker portability between clouds has been the promise of the container technology and the orchestration environments that manage it, but until the arrival of Kubernetes 1.5.1 last month, this multicloud orchestration wasn't practical, said Michael Bishop, CTO at Alpha Vertex Inc., a financial technology startup in New York.

The federated cluster felt like islands in previous versions, Bishop said, but now, it's more fluid with global deployment that routes a user to the nearest network ingress point. "We wanted to use the federation for high availability, so having an ingress that could point to wherever the deployments were was an important factor," he said.

A note of caution: While cluster federation has matured in the most recent Kubernetes release, Alpha Vertex has activated the feature before it's fully generally available.

"Some APIs are in beta, and others are in alpha," read the Kubernetes blog at the launch of Kubernetes 1.5 last month. "Some features are missing; for instance, cross-cloud load balancing is not supported."

Nevertheless, the startup's environment is at least one real-world demonstration of Kubernetes multicloud orchestration and Docker portability that could be imminent in the mainstream.

The cluster federation in Kubernetes makes workload federation easier through tagging, Bishop said.

"Using tagging, you're able to target where you want your job to run ... to your wildest imagination," he said. "You're able to express yourself just in one manifest [for multiple clouds], and it ends up where it needs to go."

Kubernetes and Docker deployment details

The firm creates big data models and uses machine learning to track financial market trends, with the goal to build a global graph of financial entities and their relationships. This more accurately reveals what actually moves financial markets, as opposed to what Bishop called "the CNBC version" of events.

Using tagging, you're able to target where you want your job to run ... to your wildest imagination.
Michael BishopCTO, Alpha Vertex

Alpha Vertex's platform ingests and inspects about a million pieces of information per day on a mixed infrastructure of Google Cloud Platform and IBM SoftLayer tied together with Kubernetes and Docker.

"We have some bare-metal machines [in SoftLayer] with a massive amount of RAM in them that we'd have a hard time getting in a virtual setting," Bishop said. For example, a test of a financial systems model from the graph against 30,000 to 50,000 stocks can take up to 9.75 million CPU core minutes.

A small portion of these models can be processed in parallel with a GPU. So, wherever possible, the data is shipped to suitable bare-metal machines in SoftLayer. The rest is processed through the auto-scaling Kubernetes cluster on Google Cloud Platform.

Real-world Docker portability for Alpha Vertex probably won't involve the live machine migration that's been the vision for technologies such as VMware long-distance vMotion.

"We do launch 'wherever there's room' jobs, but haven't had the need to drain a SoftLayer node and have pods pushed over to Google," Bishop said. "Even though the networks are all interconnected, we'd want to be cognizant of pushing work away from the data."

Some workflows in Alpha Vertex's environment may begin in Google, hand off to IBM's Bluemix OpenWhisk serverless computing service and end their journey as a job in SoftLayer. But each stage is self-contained and isolated from the next -- when one step ends, it posts its status to a message queue, and the next step begins.

"The future is multicloud, and having this federation allows you to use the best of whichever cloud provider's resources you need, without having to worry about setting up a new VM or a completely isolated cluster," Bishop said. "Each of the cloud providers has something unique about them, and if there's a very easy and portable way to leverage the best of each, I think more people should do it."

This type of deployment will become viable for a wider audience in the enterprise as the technology matures, analysts said.

Containers themselves tend to complement existing infrastructure or platform-as-a-service approaches, but "the same cannot be said for container management and orchestration software, such as Kubernetes," said Jay Lyman, an analyst at 451 Research.

Instead, container orchestration options will increasingly disrupt existing cloud management models, Lyman said.

Beth Pariseau is senior news writer for TechTarget's Data Center and Virtualization Media Group. Write to her at or follow @PariseauTT on Twitter.

Next Steps

This guide helps clear the multicloud air

Multicloud environments have dynamic benefits

Plan and manage your multicloud computing carefully

Dig Deeper on Managing Virtual Containers

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Potential data security law causes concern

Experts say any attempt by Congress to prescribe data security procedures in legislation would be a disaster. But a standard for the disclosure of data breaches is sorely needed.

High-profile data security breaches make headlines. That means that in an election year you can expect to see plenty...

of politicians proposing data security legislation. The last time headlines spurred legislation aimed at regulating a business crisis, CIOs found themselves spending millions on Sarbanes-Oxley compliance.

Every day it seems the media reveals another new nightmare. A data tape is stolen from a truck. A hard drive is stolen from an office. In May, thieves stole a laptop from the Maryland home of an analyst with the Department of Veterans Affairs. Although officials claimed the laptop had been recovered and they were confident no data was compromised, the theft still put 26.5 million veterans and current military members at risk of identity theft.

Washington, we have a problem.

Data security breaches have exposed nearly 88.8 million records containing information that could be used for identity theft since February 2005, according to the Privacy Rights Clearinghouse, a San Diego-based nonprofit consumer rights organization.

Congress has proposed about a dozen bills to address the issue, including last week's announcement of the Data Security Act of 2006, sponsored by Sens. Robert Bennett (R-Utah) and Thomas Carper (D-Del.). All this rhetoric and gavel-pounding in the Capitol building should justifiably make midmarket CIOs and security executives nervous. Could a political response to this slew of data breaches lead to another compliance spending spree along the lines of Sarbanes-Oxley?

"Congress has a track record of passing laws that create an enormous amount of work and expense for companies," said Philip Marzullo, senior vice president and CIO at Folksamerica Reinsurance Co., based in New York.

Marzullo said that while he knows data security breaches are serious, he is concerned more legislation will result in increased IT spending and resources with little payback in terms of fixing the original problem.

"It seems that all conversations between CIOs today are dominated by discussion about security and compliance and very little about implementing applications and systems. It's a sad state of affairs."

Khalid Kark, senior analyst at Cambridge, Mass.-based Forrester Research Inc., agrees.

"If it is legislation or a mandate that every company has to strictly follow, I see it being a huge financial drain for companies," he said.

Large companies typically have strong data security investments already in place. Legislative mandates will probably not pose a serious financial hit for them.

"The companies that suffer are the medium-sized companies who don't have big security budgets," Kark said. "I've come across a couple medium-sized companies that have consciously decided not to do business in the U.S. because of the cost of compliance with federal mandates."

Kark said any legislation that is passed should provide guidelines on how to respond to data security breaches and should set rules for when and how to notify people who are put at risk by breaches.

But attempts by legislators to set requirements for the technical implementation of data security would be too onerous and complicated.

"If they were to pass legislation in response to high-profile data breaches it should be simple, much like the California Database Protection Act, which simply requires companies to notify affected customers in a timely manner when data is stolen or compromised," Marzullo said.

Avivah Litan, vice president and research director at Stamford, Conn.-based research firm Gartner Inc., recently testified about data security in front of the House Committee on Veterans' Affairs. With 33 states having their own laws on data security, Litan said it makes sense to have an overriding federal law that sets standards for disclosing data breaches.

"I think the disclosure laws need to be standardized," Litan said. "I don't think Congress should prescribe technology and procedural rules. If Congress gets involved in technology it's a recipe for disaster because technology changes so quickly."

Litan said legislation should empower an agency such as the Federal Trade Commission with the power to set thresholds on risk and disclosure.

"Legislation should prescribe how they disclose and when they disclose," she said. "It would be monitored by the FTC, so they [companies] know someone is watching. And if they do not disclose properly, they would be fined appropriately."

Standards for disclosure would help improve security, Litan said, since companies forced to disclose breaches would spend millions of dollars to make sure it doesn't happen again.

However, Litan doubts Congress will pass anything more than a diluted and ineffective bill.

"The financial services lobby has so much influence that the resulting law might be a step down from what we have right now," Litan said. "Otherwise, why wouldn't [Congress] have passed something already. If they took it seriously, they would have done something last year. They're really not doing their job to protect consumers and business interests by shirking on this issue."

Abe Kleinfield, CEO of San Francisco-based network security and risk management firm nCircle Security Inc., agreed that Congress should avoid prescribing data security methods. But he did say Congress needs to pass legislation that helps companies measure the effectiveness of their data security efforts.

"Security, there is no return on investment to it," Kleinfield said. "It doesn't increase revenue or decrease costs. It increases cost. Because you don't have a good way to consistently measure [security], most people don't know what to spend their money on. A lot of money gets spent on ineffective things."

Let us know what you think about the story; e-mail: Shamus McGillicuddy, News Writer

This article originally appeared on

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MiniFlame spyware extremely targeted, but could pose future threat

MiniFlame is highly specific espionage malware, but experts indicate that financially motivated cybercriminals could make the threat more widespread.

Security researchers investigating the Flame malware toolkit have uncovered a new malware component designed to...

be used for extremely targeted attacks.

Enterprises need to get ahead of the problem instead of being in the reactive mode.

Avivah Litan, vice president, Gartner Inc.

The newly discovered SPE malware, or miniFlame, connects Flame to another attack toolkit believed to be used in nation state-sponsored cyberespionage called Gauss.  Researchers at Russia-based Kaspersky Lab said the link is due to its ability to work with both toolkits.

The connection is not the first Kaspersky researchers have uncovered between Flame and other malware. The security vendor discovered in June that Flame had shared source code with Stuxnet.

"The SPE/miniFlame malware is unique in a sense that it can work either as a stand-alone program, as a Flame plugin or as a Gauss plugin. Essentially, it is a link connecting the Flame and Gauss projects tighter, while remaining independent of them," according to the technical paper about miniFlame, published by Kaspersky this week.

While the threat of being targeted by advanced malware such as Flame or Stuxnet is extremely low, experts say protection against targeted attacks is necessary. Avivah Litan, vice president of Gartner Inc. in Stamford, Conn. said the success of attacks like Flame and Stuxnet will lead to more strikes of a similar nature.  Firms in the financial industry or organizations with sensitive intellectual property such as government contractors, critical infrastructure owners and operators and manufacturers and suppliers connected to high value targets are at the greatest risk. Thus far, Litan said attacks coming out of the Middle East have been focused on disruption and espionage activities, but she believes financial gain will be a growing motivator. Financially motivated cybercriminals can copy the techniques used by advanced malware, making it a more widespread problem.

Flame and Stuxnet highlight the need for enterprises to further develop a layered security program and proactively maintain one.  Companies should take these attacks very seriously, but also stop letting the cybercriminals lead the way, Litan said.

"Enterprises need to get ahead of the problem instead of being in the reactive mode," Litan said.

MiniFlame used in isolated attacks

The scope of miniFlame is much smaller, as the name suggests. Gauss, detected by Kaspersky targeting thousands of individuals in the Middle East, steals passwords, banking credentials, browser cookies and configuration data of infected machines. While the total number of Flame and Gauss victims is believed to be more than 10,000 systems, miniFlame has been identified in 50-60 systems in Western Asia.

"[MiniFlame] is a small, fully functional espionage module designed for data theft and direct access to infected systems. If Flame and Gauss were massive spy operations, infecting thousands of users, miniFlame/SPE is a high precision, surgical attack tool," according to the paper.

MiniFlame also differs from Flame and Gauss in its targets. The espionage malware is not focused in one or two countries; rather, targets are based on the variant of malware.  Countries with recorded incidents include Lebanon, Palestine, Iran, Kuwait and Qatar. In many cases, researchers believe those infected with miniFlame may have already been attacked by Flame or Gauss.

Multiple wave attack

Kaspersky researchers believe miniFlame has been active for as long as Flame, which was traced back to 2007. The connection between Flame, Gauss, and miniFlame has led security researches to believe that each version was part of a multiple wave attack.

“First wave: infect as many potentially interesting victims as possible. Secondly, data is collected from the victims, allowing the attackers to profile them and find the most interesting targets. Finally, for these "select" targets, a specialized spy tool such as SPE/miniFlame is deployed to conduct surveillance/monitoring,” according to the paper.

While the specialization of Flame and miniFlame leaves a small percentage of enterprises as targets, there are steps companies can take to make sure they are protected. Nick Lewis, an information security architect at Saint Louis University, recommends businesses practice whitelisting and watch for suspicious network traffic. These steps may be useful in preventing future attacks that use similar methods to Flame.

There are still many questions surrounding this malware trio, including what the purpose of the attacks was and who the attackers and victims were.

“With Flame, Gauss and miniFlame, we have probably only scratched surface of the massive cyber-spy operations ongoing in the Middle East,” the paper read.

Dig Deeper on Malware, virus, Trojan and spyware protection and removal

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text:
Today is my last day serving as Editor and Content Director for SBM and I felt it fitting to let the SBM readers know, since you have been such a great source of enthusiasm, energy and support over the last three and a half years. In that time, we went from an idea and a bare URL to a team of over 100 contributors, several staff and a signifigant readership every month. I am amazed at what it’s become. Thank you for making my days exciting and fun, and for travelling this trail with us. I love that I have been climbing mountains, reading fireside stories and sleeping in tents as my work during this time. What a beautiful, fun challenge!

SBM is what it is today due in large part to the quality authors and photographers who give their time, knowledge and talents. I am honored to have worked with each of them and learned from them in a friendly, vivacious symbiosis. I’m proud to have provided a platform for so many grateful writers. I’ll miss working on this endeavor with all of them, but it is time for me to move on.

I wish SBM well as it continues down the path it is on. Cameron will oversee the magazine function for now. As for me, I’ll definitely still be out exploring the wild places around here, and still have my trusty backpack camera and journal along. Hopefully I’ll see you out there on a hike some time soon.

Happy trails,

EK bio1

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Awareness Materials

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Protect IT™

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This is the ideal solution for organizations that prefer to deliver printed materials as a primary training tool or for those wanting to help strengthen other training methods and the overall awareness program.

Customization helps maximize user acceptance of your awareness program. The back panel (see sample) provides ample room to present your contact information, where to find organization policies, important intranet addresses and even a message of commitment from management.

This series of pamphlets can be delivered individually for modular training or as a complete set.

Call SAI today to discuss how security awareness pamphlets can help teach your staff to protect your information resources.

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  • Introduction to Information Security
    • What are information resources?
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    • Your responsibilities
    • Consequences of poor security
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  • Passwords
    • The importance of passwords
    • Creating a better password
    • Password management
  • E-Mail & Internet Usage
    • Hazards of e-mail
    • Viruses and suspicious attachments
    • Spam, hoaxes & chain letters
    • Malicious code
    • Safer web surfing
    • Appropriate usage

  • PC Security
    • PC theft
    • The value of data
    • Securing your PC
    • On the road
    • Unauthorized access to data
  • Data Confidentiality
    • The information around us
    • Keeping it secure
    • Office security
    • Social engineering
    • Dumpster diving
    • Proper data destruction
    • Eavesdropping
    • Security during conversations

Benefits and Features
  • Customizable
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  • Modular by Topic
  • Professionally Printed
  • Perfect for handing out at employee orientation, awareness events or classroom training

Call Us Today!
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text:
Week 3 Menu

 photo da-mo-822_zpsb3e84834.jpg
Two weeks down. 25% there.

And to be honest, while some might be struggling, eating Whole30 food is kinda becoming second nature to me. Yes- it sometimes requires a call to a local restaurant to make sure their pulled pork rub doesn't include sugar (sorry Mission BBQ- I was that weirdo on the phone), but overall I feel like I've been doing pretty well. I haven't been going crazy with Twinkie cravings nor have I woken up from sleep walking with my face in a bag of chocolate chips. I consider that a win.

But for those that aren't having the easiest time, no worries. It hasn't been all rainbows and butterflies. I am a little concerned that while I feel a little better {still don't feel invincible, but better than I was pre-challenge), it's not really helping me look any better. I did a no-no and stepped on the scale this morning and I haven't lost a pound. Now, I realize that the scale only tells part of the story. I very easily could be gaining muscle {and probably am} while losing fat. But I was really hoping that this challenge would help my pants fit a bit better after some holiday feating. I just have to keep remembering that there's still 45 more days- I have a long ways to go. Here's hoping my body starts catching up :)

On the menu this week:
     Prosciutto Egg Cups with Roasted Sweet Potatoes
     Turkey Chili
     Porkchops and Applesauce w/ Brussels Sprouts
     Butternut Squash Lasagna
     Bacon-wrapped Meatballs with Sweet Potato Fries
     Clementines, Bananas, Olives, Pistachios, Coconut-Rolled Dates, & Homemade RxBars

Sunday's prep looked like this:
     Bake egg cups
     Roast sweet potatoes
     Cook chili
     Make RxBars

I'm in the middle of brewing my first batch of kombucha, so I'm hoping to get a how-to post about that up soon. And last week I clarified by own butter to make ghee so I'll make sure to write up how that went {in a word: awesomely}. However, not all kitchen adventures turn out well. Case in point: I attempts at homemade beef jerky tunred into a crumbly, charred mess. I think I'm better off just buying some.....Oh well, can't win 'em all.

{photo credit}

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Speech Therapy for Owen

Another reason Im so behind...

Life I tell ya...

So I've been bring up Owens lack of speech at EVERY SINGLE dr appoint since he was about 15 months. I realize at that age it was still considered normal to not be talking much, but he wasn't talking really at all. He had some words but refused to use them. It was a fight to get him to say anything ever. Hi was the most common word. I finally got him to start signing a little. Words he could say but wouldn't and words he had never even tried. He said several words then dropped them (like dog). The pediatrician told me that they won't even consider him till he is 2 years old unless he has another delay. After a hearing check that was completely normal there was nothing more to do but wait till he was 2.

Fast forward to his 2 year appointment. I stress again that he still is NOT talking, not even trying. He can hear just fine, follows directions, makes noises but doesn't babble really at all. Screams, points, grunts, and that it. So we get a referral. Owen turned 2 at the end of March, we don't get in for a speech eval until early June. In these couple months Owen is really showing an effort to try and talk. He's picked up a couple more words and phrases and actually using them. I am beyond excited to see him trying. His only delay he showed was in expressive speech. Through this private place he was approved for 2x a week. Awesome. It goes through insurance and seems to be covered. He did great at the evaluation and I really liked the lady. We decided to start for two weeks (4 sessions) before our 3 week trip to Michigan.

So day 1 (June 6) we go. I expect they will slightly ease him into it. Nope. I really liked the therapist at the evaluation but this day she comes to the waiting room, picks him up, and takes him back. Now had she even bothered to ask she would have quickly been told he doesn't let ANYONE even people he's used to pick him up. The kid is nervous. So of course he cried bloody murder the entire 30 minute session. I was in the waiting room crying myself. I wanted so bad to go back and sit with him. I couldn't believe this was the best way. He has no clue what is happening. When he came out he was hyperventilating and refused to look at her. We left with another appt two days later.

Day 2 I walk back with him. They decided to do his class with another child his age. This way he can see whats supposed to happen. The therapist said he did better but I could still hear he was crying. It wasn't the same clueless terrified cry from the first day. Since she saw how well he did in the evaluation she suggested letting Leiland come back with him the next week. So thats the plan.

Day 3 Leiland goes back. Owens still not thrilled and kept trying to leave the room. But he's not crying the whole time. Yes some but not nearly as bad. He wouldn't participate but was watching avoiding all eye contact with the therapist.

Day 4 - last one before our 3 week vacation. Leiland goes back again. Owen wasn't happy when I snuck out, but he didn't cry. He even participated in the interaction and activities. So its progress. Now we are going to be gone for 3 weeks and have to have a new therapist when we get back because she is going on maternity leave.

In the meantime I am torn. I was upset that the peditrician sent us to this place because it requires we drive into town 2x a week for a 30 minute appointment. Not going to be the easiest once this baby comes. Plus I can't go with him and learn how to help him. SO I call the Tennessee Early Intervention. I had already called back in April once he was 2 and never heard back. This time they got back the next day and scheduled an appointment. Now the issue was that it all had to be done in 45 days and my trip to Michigan was going to put a big delay on things. So we waited till back from Michigan and started again doing the paperwork with them.

I filled out the paperwork and scheduled the evaluation. I had Leiland go play his iPad upstairs while Owen did the eval. He was mostly cooperative and enjoyed playing the games with her. It was rather cute. He answered great too. I had heard from some others that went through them that their child was denied because they only had one delay - the worry they had referring him before 2. By the end she told me the bad news. His only area of delay was his speech and his adaptive and another section were good. She said she would input the numbers and make sure she didn't accidentally put it in wrong but most likely he wasn't qualified. Sad news for me. I was so hopeful. But he could continue at the one in town even if it was inconvenient for me.

So then on July 29th I got a great call. The woman called because she was looking over his scores again. He basically scored a 79 in one area and the cutoff is 78. So she reviewed her notes about how I described everything and adjusted scores just slightly to qualify him. He has to be showing a 25% deficit I believe she said in at least 2 area to qualify. His speech was more than a 25% deficit but this other section is where he was right on the border.

So in the next week someone else will call to schedule the next step. They will start by coming once a week and if after a few months if we aren't seeing improvement then they discuss doing more frequent. For me this is absolutely perfect. At least this way I can watch and learn how to help him. He will be in the comfort of his own home.

I really hope this is enough to help this boy talk. He gets so frustrated and you can tell he has SO much to say. He's at least trying now so I am hopeful he will respond. You can tell he loves saying a word you know because you understand what he's saying. I can't wait to hear all it is he has to say.

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Friday, July 17, 2009

Igniting Thought, Unleashing Youth

Igniting Thought, Unleashing Youth is a co-publication by Select Publishing and Young AMP, the youth wing of the Association of Muslim Professionals. It is a collection of essays by young Malay/Muslims on the state of various aspects of the Malay/Muslim community in Singapore.

The book will be officially launched on 15 August 2009. The book launch will be held at the Pod in the National Library, commencing at 10am.

From the backcover:

Despite enormous socio-economic progress in the Malay/Muslim community, there are deep uncertainties confronting Malay/Muslim youths: a growing sense of Islamic identity, the rise of Islamic fundamentalism in the region and the widening racial income gap among others. What do Malay/Muslim youths think about
the issues confronting them and their roles in the community? This collection of essays by young Malay/Muslims provides a refreshing, if somewhat provocative, alternative to views that currently permeate the local Malay/Muslim community.

The sometimes self-critical, yet always constructive, reflections sample the psyche and thought processes of young members of a minority group in a heterogeneous society. They straddle ideas on the effects of Islamic extremism and radicalism; the implications and utility of the Internet; the impact of the environment on Islamic thought and practices; the current state of Muslim women activism; the critical need for inter-racial interaction; the urgency to emphasise education and scientific understanding; and the future role of Malay/Muslim youth activism in Singapore. Crucially, the essays ask how young Malay/Muslims should develop a religious and cultural identity alongside a Singaporean urban identity.

For community leaders and institutions, it offers insights into the aspirations of young Malay/Muslims and their efforts to contribute to society. For non-Muslim or non-Malay readers, it offers implications and applications beyond the Malay/Muslim group.

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After the dispatch of its thing for Swiss budgetary masters, who expect a positive change in the cost of Bitcoin to trade clearly on the SIX Swiss Exchange shockingly, Swiss bank Vontobel has extended its statement on Bitcoin to Germany and Austria.
As showed by Heiko Geiger, its head of open assignment Europe, the tracker affirmation offers budgetary authorities a clear strategies for placing assets into the modernized cash and the probability to appreciate the headway of its cost in USD, without owning Bitcoins themselves.
He says to Cointelegraph:
"We see a huge excitement for Bitcoin as favorable position class. Thusly, we have impelled the thing for the German/Austrian market, too. Germany is one of the best and most present day sorted out things markets and it is one of Vontobel's focus markets."
The validation is a fundamental bankable asset that is particularly fitting for theorists who speculate a rising in the affirmation and significance of Bitcoin as a technique for portion and as an alternative money.
Vontobel, which regulates and screens a client's focal points invested to it and besides watches the cash related markets and interprets overall macroeconomic enhancements, is the essential Swiss supporter of a tracker underwriting on Bitcoins for participation.
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Extraordinary controls
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Author's Bio:

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Sunday, 04 March 2018 3:00 - 5:00pm
Seminole Theatre
18 N. Krome Avenue, Homestead, FL, US

The Jazz Ambassadors is the official touring big band of the United States Army. Formed in 1969, this 19-member ensemble has received great acclaim at home and abroad performing America's greatest original art form, jazz.

Concerts by the Jazz Ambassadors are programmed to entertain all types of audiences. The band’s diverse repertoire includes big band swing, bebop, Latin, contemporary jazz, standards, popular tunes, Dixieland, vocals, and patriotic selections, many of which are written or arranged by members of the Jazz Ambassadors.

The Jazz Ambassadors has appeared in all 50 states, Canada, Mexico, Japan, India, and throughout Europe. Recent notable performances include concerts at the Toronto Jazz Festival, the Richmond Jazz Festival at Maymont, the Kennedy Center Honors, the Jazz Education Network Conference, and an appearance on the Colbert Report. Gordon Goodwin, Bobby Shew, Ernie Watts, and the Dave Brubeck All-Star Quintet are just a few of the outstanding jazz artists who have shared the stage with the Jazz Ambassadors. The band has been featured in joint concerts with Marvin Hamlisch and the Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra, the San Diego Symphony Orchestra, the Seattle Symphony Pops, the Colorado Pops Orchestra, and the New York Pops at Carnegie Hall. The band’s rigorous touring schedule and reputation for excellence has earned it the title “America’s Big Band.”

These tickets are for Sunday, March 4th at 3:00 pm ONLY. To select the March 3rd performance, please go HERE

Become a member

Tickets and information are also available at the Seminole Theatre box office, 786-650-2073 or at 18 N Krome Ave, Homestead, FL. The box office is open Tuesday-Saturday 12:00-6:00 pm.

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10.23.2017 6:30 pm - 8:30 pm

10.28.2017 2:00 pm - 3:30 pm

7:00 pm 10.28.2017 - 12:00 am 10.29.2017

11.11.2017 8:00 pm - 10:00 pm

At The Theatre

Our History

The Theatre originally opened on November 26, 1921 as a cinema, primarily showing the then popular silent movies. The Seminole Theatre quickly became the place to go for entertainment and social gatherings in South Dade County and the upper Keys.

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18 N Krome Ave
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Sensulin Management Team

Mike Moradi

Co-Founder and CEO

Mr. Moradi is a successful entrepreneur, having founded or been a principal in several Nanotech and biopharma startups. Mike was a co-founder and CEO of an ocular pharmaceutical company and specialty Contract Research Organization (CRO), which was #264 fastest growing private company in the 2009 Inc. 500. He co-founded Southwest Nanotechnologies (“SWeNT”), a world-leading manufacturer of carbon nanotubes, and Nanopolaris (now Unidym), which was acquired in 2011 y a publicly traded South Korean company for $145MM.

Dr. Ananth Annapragada

Co-Founder and Chief Scientist

Dr. Ananth Annapragada is Professor of Radiology, and Director of Basic Research in the Edward B. Singleton Department of Pediatric Radiology, at Texas Children’s Hospital. Previously, he was the Robert Graham Professor of Entrepreneurial Biomedical Informatics and Bioengineering at the School of Biomedical Informatics at the University of Texas, Health Sciences Center at Houston. He holds additional positions at the Graduate School of Biomedical Sciences, the Keck Institute for Computational and Structural Biology, The University of Houston, Rice University and the University of Texas at Austin.

Dr. Chris A. Rhodes

Ph.D. Co-Founder and Chief Technology Officer

Dr. Rhodes is a pharmaceutical technologist with experience in combination product development including formulations and devices for pulmonary inhalation aerosol, nasal spray, transdermal patch, sustained release injection, and oral and ocular delivery systems for biopharmaceutical products and small molecules. He has played a key role in the development of the commercial products, Byetta (exenatide injection, FDA 2005), Lusedra (propofol prodrug, FDA 2008), Bydureon (exenatide extended-release for injectable suspension, FDA 2012), Myalept (metreleptin for severe lypodystrophy, FDA 2014), and Afrezza (insulin inhalation powder, FDA under review 2014).

Dr. Rhodes has been responsible for product development including drug delivery R&D, formulation and process development, clinical supply and manufacturing, analytical and bioanalytical chemistry in companies including SKS Ocular, Amylin Pharmaceuticals, Guilford Pharmaceuticals, and Mannkind Pharmaceuticals.

In addition to leading technical functions, he has also been drug development team leader for drug delivery system and molecule development programs translating them from research through clinical proof-of-concept and readying them for commercialization.

Dr. Rhodes earned his Doctorate degree in physical organic chemistry from UCLA and completed his training with a Post Doctoral position at Yale University. He has a Bachelors degree in chemistry from New York University.


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seo basics

Bellingham SEO Basics

by Tony McGarry

Be sure to use the words that people searching for your product or service in the webpage title tags. Using your city name in the title is important too.

Heading tags is what search engines look at to figure out what your webpage content is about. Use only one H1 tag per page and then H2 and H3 where appropriate. Also breaking up long pieces of content with these heading tags make it easier for viewers to read.

Url’s that have keywords in them rank easier, even in the root domain. WordPress blog software make this very easy and Search engines appear to give some extra weight to WordPress blogs.

Linking is a key ingredient to search engine ranking. In fact, it used to be the key ingredient. Now search engines are considering on page and other factors at least 50% in ranking results.

While the exact algorithms and formulas for the most popular search engines like Google and Bing remain a mystery, the basic components are understood. The quality of inbound links a website has is directly proportional to its search engine ranking.

So what are inbound links? Inbound links are any instance where a website on a different domain links to one of your webpages. Does your business or organization have a listing on Wikipedia or Yelp? If so, then there is probably a link from that listing to your website (probably to your homepage). This is an inbound link.

Quantity of Links –

The more inbound links a website has, the more important the search engines deem it to be. This is because, in the search engine’s point of view, links mean popularity. And popular websites are what the search engine assumes that people want to visit when performing a search. The more important or popular the search engine deems a website to be, the more likely the search engine will serve that website up as a result for related searches. The websites deemed most important will earn the highest page one search results.

What are Quality of Links ?

Of course, quantity is not everything with link building. Just as important as the number of inbound links your website has is the quality of these links. For example, earning a link from a large, well respected website like Wikipedia might have as big an impact on your search engine ranking as earning 100 links from small, relatively unknown blogs.

Earning links from these large websites is not particularly easy, which is why a diversified link building strategy is a key component to any search engine optimization efforts.

Targeting a large number of smaller linking opportunities and a few “heavy hitters” will typically produce the best results.

Is topic relevance important with Bellingham SEO?

Whether targeting a large, well known website or a niche industry blog, relevance is always important with link building. Having a link from a large, national retailer is great for a business selling products carried in that retailer’s stores, but it’s probably not a great fit for a company in the B2B information technology industry.

The term “link building” refers to the process of increasing the number of inbound links to a particular domain or website.

There are literally hundreds of different methods that can be used to increase the number of inbound links to a website. Some of these methods produce results relatively quickly while others can take months to develop. Additionally, some methods for link building are considered unethical and can lead to a search engine blacklisting a website.

Below are some of the link building methods that can be used to optimize a client’s search engine rankings. These are well established, ethical methods to earn inbound links that have been proven to have a dramatic effect on search engine rankings. Because every business and organization is different, the best link building strategy will always depend on a number of different circumstances. The methods listed below are just a sample of some of the more common link building methods.

Blog Submissions –

Blog submissions are one of the fastest and easiest ways to earn inbound links. There are millions of blogs on the Internet, most of which cater to a particular industry or topic. This is significant because earning relevant links is so important. This is particularly a good strategy for new or young websites.

Social Bookmarking –

Social bookmarking is the process by which people can bookmark, share and even vote on Internet content. Websites such as Digg and StumbleUpon allow users to browse countless press releases, news stories, blog posts and other pieces of content. Visitors to these social bookmarking sites can show their interest in a particular piece of content by voting on it. The most popular content is displayed on the front page of these social bookmarking sites, which can generate substantial web traffic. However, every piece of content that is “bookmarked” receives a link – regardless of popularity.

Directory Submissions: General and Niche –

General Directories

Directories are large websites which catalog and organize other webpages. For example, Yahoo! got its start as a general directory. Today, DMOZ is the most significant and respected general directory.

Niche Directories

These directories are much more specific than general directories, catering to a particular industry or topic. There are niche directories for almost any business or organization, from wholesale foodstuffs to non-profit healthcare.

Although directories have fallen slightly in popularity as more Internet users rely on search for content, the search engines themselves view these directories as valuable and important. Thus, a link from a directory is given a good deal of credibility by search engines.

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Onwards, to Germany!

Felt quite sad to be leaving The Netherlands but the expanse of Germany awaited and we had been looking forward to exploring this country.  Even so, we were unable to decide on a plan for the next few days. We thought we’d have had more free time for planning, but it hadn’t felt like we’d had much free time at all.  Last minute decision we chose to drive across to Bremen as it sounded lovely and was only a couple of hours drive away. The sat-nav journey time didn’t seem to be decreasing very much and the kids were really unhappy passengers, so we stopped (Lidl shop stop!), regrouped and changed our minds back to the previous days plan of heading more into central Germany.

Lidl have kids trolleys… absolutely the best thing that happened to them today!

Matt found a free overnight parking place by lake Dümmer  which mean’t only a short drive. Luckily we got to enjoy this and the lovely playground for an hour or so before it started to rain, and it didn’t really stop raining for the next few days. The next morning matt took the kids on a rain walk around the lake while I packed up the van. We had now ironed out our plan to start driving further south to the Harz mountains and then slowly back up North to the Baltic Coast. We won’t be able to have another chance to go into central Germany if we don’t do it now.

Very rainy morning. Waterproofs at the ready!

We made the most of the rainy day by travelling and we headed to an ACSI campsite that had a pool (we’d been promising a pool for our next stop!). A quick stop at our first German bakerai for some lovely bread. I’m going to enjoy the bread here!

This campsite was run by a very grumpy man who was almost annoyed that I was bothering him. Also the pool was closed due to bad weather… oh dear (how can a pool be closed for a bit of rain?!). We paid for 1 night and got all our washing done. We had lots of fun exploring the toilets and other facilities (in the rain) – this seems to keep the kids occupied for hours!
The next morning matt found a tick on his leg! This was quite scary as he was reading up on all the things that could go wrong. We packed up the van quickly and went to the local doctor while the kids and I wandered around the little town park. There always sees to be an interesting playground around every corner.  Matt got some good advice and was looking a lot happier after seeing the very nice doctor. (and also a quick chat with Dr Dr Paul!) We continued with our plan and spent the afternoon at Externsteine. This is a collection of unusual vertical rock stacks in a national park. Had such a lovely walk in the woods, the kids loved it. But after just commenting on how much better Anna is at not falling over so much she had a really big fall and smacked her forehead on the stony ground. Poor girl… she hurt herself pretty badly. I carried her all the way back to the van where I could check she was OK. She was fine but had a big bump on her forehead and some other cuts. Matt took Aidan back to the stones and they paid to climb up to the top. It’s nice for Aidan to do some stuff without Anna sometimes.

Externsteine rocks
Climbing to the top of the rocks selfie!

I made dinner in the van in the beautiful car park and we stayed there all evening until closing time. These simple things seem to be the most enjoyable – and feels kinda strange still that we can just make food and do everything wherever we are! Pyjamas and teeth, then a night drive over to the Harz mountains. We stopped at another Stellplatz in the mountains and this one was also brilliant. Only 1 other camper in this huge carpark at the bottom of the pretty German town – Launtenthal.

Great overnighter… Burstie is looking pretty happy!

Woke up to the sounds the river and had our breakfast on the grass and the kids rode their bikes all around. Discovered this village had some old mines and we went into the museum  just opposite the carpark. Ended up here for a few hours as it had an underground boat experience and mine tour! The kids had a great time. Off we went to the next village where there was more going on, but the kids slept straightaway. We parked up unable to do anything so decided to take our chance with the sleeping children and just go straight to another campsite where we could hopefully stay a couple of days. Pool still needed to happen! It was a lovely campsite in Hohegeiß, but the pool was an extra cost. Luckily the next day was the summer party and free swimming all day! Bit dreading that, but turned out to be really nice. Had party music playing all day. The massive pool was on the edge of the woods and wasn’t busy at all. Matt and I both had lovely swims.

We had pretty much run out of food so went for a walk up to the town only to find the shop closed. There was no-one around and it didn’t seem like anything else to do. We were missing a town or some other life. We had a few hours of time that evening and it was nice to get a plan together for the next few days. We both felt like we were not settling into our first week in Germany. Not sure why, but a bit like we were missing out on things near by or not able to make the most of where we were (obviously can’t do long walks\biking in the mountains etc with kids and that can be frustrating at times). Anyway, we had a plan – onwards!

On the little mining train ready to go in the mountain!
Anna loved this train thingy!
Me (jayne) in the distance!
Pool Party Erdingers! We even got to keep the plastic cups 🙂

We left the campsite after 2 nights for the town of Wernigerode via Thale where there was a cable car to the top of the mountain and a toboggan ride up there. Brilliant fun!! We even bought the posed photos of us zooming around the track!  Another Stellplatz stop in the town with views of the castle, window shopping, pizza in the main square, playground, bakery breakfast and a big supermarket shop. We were on our last rations!  Choco Leibniz fully stocked up… happy 🙂

About to take on the HarzBob! Hold on peeps…
Cable Car
Don’t look down… arrrrghhhhh!
Wernigerode Schloss
Mini Leibniz!

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Carnival-Laissez les bon temps rouler

My photo
The only thing you truly own is your own mind, body, and soul. So as you go through these 8 to 10 short decades don't hold back cause its your decades!

Thursday, August 8, 2013

30 Days out of a suitcase!

Tomorrow Jared and I grab our luggage...head for the airport...and embark on a 30 day journey all across the USA, the Atlantic, and Europe.

 Raleigh-->Chicago-->NYC-->Barcelona-->Paris-->London-->Amsterdam-->NYC-->Los Angeles-->Raleigh!

We are in for quite the adventure!  We spent all day today deciding what to pack for this multi city tour. Of course we needed about 6 jock straps each ;-)

I can't wait to see friends along the way, make new friends, and experience Europe!

I definitely plan to be posting pics on my facebook page and tumblr so keep checking :-).

I want to leave you with this fun's a great summation of how I think about life at this point!  Go out and do what you desire!

Tuesday, August 6, 2013

WE Party Airlines NYC August 31

The greatest party in the World is flying into the greatest city in the World!This Labor Day Weekend, the Greatest Party in the World is Coming to the Greatest City in the World.

WE Party Airlines is arriving to NYC’s newest mega-airport, the incredible Hammerstein Ballroom on Saturday August 31st for an extended transcontinental flight from 10 pm – 5 am.

WE Resident DJ Manuel de Diego will join another superstar DJ for the flight of your life.

We’ll transform the legendary Hammerstein Ballroom into the world’s greatest mega-club/airport with hourly departures and you’ll be served by the hottest flight attendants in the industry.

Don’t miss this opportunity to fly around the world on the world’s greatest airline, where service is our #1 priority: WE Party Airlines.

A limited # of discount tickets are on sale now before regular pricing begins.

Step in and out of the sound stage, ride the rides and return to WE Party as you like!

Saturday, August 31, 2013
Doors open: 10PM – 5AM

Seth Fornea by COLT Studio Group

The behind the scenes video interview and photoshoot are up and live on the COLT site.   Use promo code seth50 for a discount :-)

Monday, August 5, 2013

Chicago Market Days 2013

Every year it happens...when a crowd of more than 100,000 from across the country will converge on Halsted Street to celebrate Market Days. It's the largest two-day street fair in the Midwest and lives up to its reputation as one of the country's finest festivals!

All text in light green are linked to take you to appropriate websites :-)

Chicago Market Days!
In addition to the street festival there are numerous parties throughout the city.

Jared Bradford Leblanc and Seth Fornea  are attending/working the following events.  We would love to see all of you there!

Friday August 9th Neverland presents The Plastics Ball

Market Days kicks off FRIDAY NIGHT with "The Plastics Ball" ... this is NVRLND vs. Nip/Tuck. Barbies and ken dolls: this party is for you. Chicago's most popular costume party is starting your Market Days weekend with a fun, narcissistic theme for summer. DJ ALEX ACOSTA returns after his amazing debut at GayGlow, spinning 11:30pm to close!!! RuPaul's Drag Race star JUJUBEE will be hosting and performing. And Chicago's popular Concierge MedSpa ( will be in our ultra-exclusive VIP lounge performing live botox injections. Please see the form at the bottom of this page if you would like to sign up.

We're stepping up our arsenal of lights, lasers, costumes, and design, for the beginning of a long-ass weekend. Most people hate "the plastics." On August 9th, we're celebrating them.

"The Plastics Ball" SCHEDULE:
10-11:30pm: Show starring JuJubee, Gia Gunn, Eddie Couture, Kim Chi, Evah Envy, Shea Coulee, Sissy Spastik, Pearl, and Ruby Dee.
11:30pm-Close: DJ Alex Acosta spins a fierce Market Days set.

Saturday August 10th Circuit Mom Productions presents The Abyss Revolution

Revolution proudly presents our 3rd installment for Market Days Saturday night in Chicago. Following the great times we had with "Wild West" in '11 and "SuperHero" in '12, this year we go down deep with SuperStar International DJ ARON making his triumphant return to Chicago after his spectacular midwest debut this past February for "War Revolution". Get ready to join this packed house of energy filled with top notch set design, costuming, international go go boys and custom light show.

Limited $50 Advance Tickets now available at CRAM on Broadway and at (Facebook will not allow me to post the actual ticket link, but search "The Abyss Revolution"...sorry for the inconvenience).

Rest up now--Market Days has 5 night time dance events this year from Neverland, Circuit MOM and Alegria! Plus, the street fair is on track to be the largest Boystown party to date....Don't miss out!

Sunday August 11th Neverland presents Market Days Yacht Party

The team behind Neverland is providing you with the most luxurious event this Market Days with a yacht party (picture above is of actual yacht!) that will be the most talked-about event all weekend. We have rented a 350-passenger private yacht with surround-sound BOSE speakers on Sunday, Aug. 11th, from 5:30pm-10pm, for a dance party on the lake. If you're looking for THE place to party before Alegria, look no further. NVRLND resident DJ Jalil Z (Miami) will be spinning the fiercest t-dance Market Days has seen in years.

- COMPLIMENTARY water, juices, and soft drinks with admission
- 350-passenger private yacht at Navy Pier (boarding is directly across from Haagen Dasz on the pier)
- Boarding and music begin promptly at 5:30pm.
- At 6pm the yacht takes off into Lake Michigan to offer the best views of the Chicago skyline that you'll get during your Market Days weekend.
- THREE decks total // top observation deck is VIP-only.
- BOSE sound system throughout the entire yacht.
- The backdrop of the popular NVRLND Photobooth will be a real helicopter parked on the observation deck of the yacht.
- Snacks and light catering will be provided throughout the entire cruise.

TIX: (Prices increase Monday Evening Aug. 5th on any remaining tickets)
- $80 pre-sale
- (SOLD OUT) $90 VIP limited pre-sale (gains admission to the fabulous observation deck with the best views of the Chicago skyline and sunset)
- (Less than 50 passes left) $100 VIP yacht and VIP admission to NVRLND's Friday night party at EvilOlive Nightclub -- featuring DJ Alex Acosta (Mexico City), and hosted by RuPaul's Drag Race star JuJuBee. This package is the best deal for VIP access to Neverland's nightclub party on Friday and yacht party t-dance on Sunday.
- (SOLD OUT) $125 VIP OPEN BAR (Only 50 available!!) -- VIP access to observation deck, including exclusive open bar on top deck. Best deal for drinks and views!

So thats our Market Days Schedule!   Let's GO :-)

Sunday, August 4, 2013

A Gif by Jared from the COLT Video :-)

Below is a GIF that Jared made from the COLT Video I recently did!  Check the video out by clicking on this COLT SETH FORNEA

Check out the GIF that Jared Bradford Leblanc made here!

A Spring/Summer Update

Hi Friends,

A lot has been going on this spring and summer!  After Mardi Gras Jared and I got busy for the big MOVE!   Yep thats right....March 17th of this year Jared and I moved in together in Raleigh NC.  Moving weekend was a blast...we made it a weekend soiree!  We had his going away part in Ft. Lauderdale on a Friday, started the drive on Saturday morning, worked at a bar in Savannah Saturday night and finished the move on Sunday!  We had a blast...the road trip, seeing friends, working :-)  Here are some pics of the weekend.

After the big move we spent about 5 days settling in...then flew to NYC for my birthday (March 22nd).  We hung out with our friend Brett Henrichsen.  We saw Pink in concert, we worked the Black Party NYC.  It was the best 31st birthday party anyone could ask for!

That was honestly our last relaxing weekend.  From the end of March till now it has been non-stop working parties, photo shoots, fundraisers, and amazing networking across the USA!  Here are some photos from the adventures.

Dallas Purple Party

Chicago and Neverland Japanimation

Memorial Day Weekend in Los Angelos

Thursday, August 1, 2013

COLT Studios Interview-Seth Fornea

I hope you all enjoy a recent interview and photoshoot I did with COLT Studios!  The interview can be found from this link:

Use promo code seth50 for a discount!

Seth Fornea by COLT Studio Group

I have the pleasure of sharing some amazing images from COLT Studio Group with you!  These were shot on May 4th in NYC.


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There are few things more rewarding than raising a child. Many of us find a depth of love for another human being that we never knew was possible before becoming a mom or a dad.

And yet no matter how much we love being a parent or how much meaning we derive from it, it’s no easy task to raise a person. Even people with wildly different opinions about the best way to parent will agree on one thing: It’s hard work.

The work is even harder when we have a constant critic telling us we’re doing a bad job. I’m not talking about the endless supply of pundits who try to tell us how to raise our kids—I’m talking about an inside job.

As a therapist and a dad, I’m familiar with the things we say to ourselves as parents, especially the less friendly stuff. We may automatically believe the things we tell ourselves, not even entertaining the possibility that what we’re thinking is bogus.

In my practice I often provide cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT) to address the thoughts that drive depression and anxiety. We can use the same tools to identify and challenge the thoughts that can plague parents.

Some of the common self-critical thoughts include:

“Most parents are doing a better job than I am.”

If we care about being a good parent, we’re going to notice times we fail—and since we’re with ourselves all the time, we’ll know every time we let our kids down. In contrast, we tend to see a curated version of others’ parenting—what they choose to let others see.

The more I talk to parents, including the ones I admire, the more I realize we all face the same kinds of challenges. We tend to struggle to be patient at bedtime, we get frustrated more than we care to admit, and we feel guilty at the end of the day. We vow to do better the next day, and sometimes we do, but we never parent perfectly.

If you’re concerned about being the best parent you can, chances are you’re doing a better job than you think you are.

“I should always find my child interesting.”

Like most “should” statements, this one is worth questioning. Our own kids can provide an endless source of interest and delight (other people’s kids … maybe not so much). We can find their simplest acts entertaining: rolling over for the first time, smiling, starting to walk.

At the same time, it’s easy to get bored by kid activities. Maybe it’s hard to play Legos for more than a few minutes, or imaginative play doesn’t capture our imagination. Maybe we get tired of pretending to follow our child’s endless chatter. Perhaps we feel exhausted from listening to our teenager’s social problems.

Feeling bored doesn’t mean you don’t love your kids or that there’s something wrong with you. It probably just means you’re fully human.

“I should attend all of my child’s events.”

For many of us, being involved as parents is our number one priority. Maybe our own parents weren’t very present and we’ve vowed to do it differently—or they were always there and we want our kids to have the same thing.

We want to foster close connection with our children, let them know we value them, and understand what’s going on in their lives. These intentions could translate into thinking we have to attend every single event, from end-of-year picnics to high school graduation.

Like many intentions, these are good ones to have if we aren’t overly rigid about them. At times there may be conflicting commitments, or things we would just rather do instead.

We don’t have to criticize ourselves for being able to be in only one place at a time. We can let go of some of the all-or-nothing thinking that says we always have to go to everything.

“I should never lose patience with my child.”

Parenthood offers countless opportunities to practice patience. As I’ve written in a previous post, few things affect our autonomy as much as being a parent does, and it’s challenging to keep our cool when these little beings are not falling in step with what we need them to do.

Again we can come back to the intention of being patient while also practicing patience with ourselves. Whether we “should” or “shouldn’t” lose patience, we do. Obviously verbal or physical abuse is a different matter, but every parent I know of (including me) occasionally loses patience—and by “occasionally” I mean at least daily.

“I am doing irreparable harm to my relationship with my kids.”

When we’re lying in bed at night we might start regretting the day’s parental missteps: speaking harshly, missing an opportunity to empathize, not offering the support a child needed. In the process we might start to imagine we’ve forever altered the relationship we have with our child, for the worse.

Obviously the pattern of interactions we have with our kids is going to shape the relationships we have with them. It makes a difference whether if fear vs. criticism vs. love.

That said, parent-child relationships are surprisingly resilient. Some of the adults I know who have great relationships with their parents described major problems with their parents when they were younger, especially as teenagers. It’s amazing how those relationships can be restored with time and as both parents and kids mature.

“I should always sacrifice my interests for those of my child.”

Major sacrifices are an inevitable part of parenting. Your whole life changes and your time is often not your own anymore. You’ll have less time for hobbies, self-care, work, and other relationships.

Also inevitable are times when your needs and your child’s will conflict. Maybe your child wants to play with you and you’re in desperate need of a 15-minute nap. Or maybe you haven’t seen friends in ages and going out with them will mean missing dinner with the family.

If we’re not careful we can assume that we should always prioritize our kids’ needs over our own. In the process we risk not being our best as parents. Our emotional reserves can become overdrawn as our moods can head south. We might even become resentful that our own needs aren’t being met.

As with everything else, we can aim for balance. There are times when our needs have to take a back seat, and others when we have to be our own first priority.

“My kids would be better off without me.”

This thought is the most troubling of all, since it can be linked to thoughts of ending one’s own life. I can all but guarantee that your kids would not be better off without you, and certainly not through suicide.

If you find yourself thinking this kind of thought, and especially if you’re also experiencing depression, please tell someone right away. Talk with that person about whether it might be time to consider treatment to help you start feeling better.

Identifying Problematic Thoughts

Figuring out what we’re telling ourselves is the first step in examining our thoughts with CBT. Then we can challenge the ones that are bringing us down.

The next time you’re beating yourself up about your parenting, consider taking these steps:

  1. Write down the situation that provoked feeling upset with yourself. For example, Joan might say, “Raised my voice when my 2-year-old wouldn’t get in her car seat.”
  2. Write down what you’re telling yourself about your actions in that situation. In this example Joan tells herself, “I’m such a bad parent.”
  3. Write down how you feel about the situation. Joan noticed that she felt guilty, sad, and angry.

In summary this situation was:

Raised my voice → “I’m such a bad parent” → Felt guilty, sad, angry

Once we’ve outlined what happened—situation, feelings, emotions—we’re ready to start challenging these thoughts.

How to Challenge Problematic Thoughts

Keep in mind that the goal of CBT is not to tell ourselves “happy thoughts”—after all, if our parenting really does need a radical improvement, that is crucial information to know. We want to move toward more accurate thoughts, which most of the time will also be kinder to ourselves.

In order to figure out if what we’re telling ourselves is true, we simply examine the evidence. First ask yourself what evidence supports your thought, and then consider if there’s evidence that doesn’t support it—maybe something you’re ignoring or minimizing.

For Joan’s thought that “I’m such a bad parent,” expressing impatience at her child could be evidence of sub-optimal parenting (though not necessarily). Evidence against that thought might include, “I apologized afterward and we had a really nice time reading together.”

After you’ve fairly weighed both sides, ask yourself how accurate the original thought was. Would you change it in any way to better fit reality?

Joan concluded that “I’m such a bad parent” was a pretty black-or-white way of seeing herself. She decided a better perspective was:

“I’m not always the parent I want to be, and will keep working on ways to stay calm when I’m feeling frustrated.”

That thought was one she felt like she could live with. Rather than feeling upset she felt a sense of resolve, and a determination to keep growing and doing the best she could.

You can find a form for this exercise at; simply provide your email and then click on the form called “Challenging Your Thoughts (expanded form).”

Have you wrestled with self-critical thoughts of your own? Please feel free to share how you’ve dealt with them in the Comments section below.

Leave a Reply


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Thursday, April 9, 2009

Family Beck

Theodore Beck, born in [year?]

Carol (Schall) Beck, born in 1928, died in 2002 (obituary).

Carol [Beck] was born Dec. 20, 1928, in Buffalo, N.Y. The first of three daughters of Walter and Elfriede Schall, she grew up in South Euclid, Ohio, where her father taught at St. John Lutheran School.

Carol met Ted at Concordia High School in River Forest, Ill., when both enrolled as freshmen in 1942. They began dating as seniors in high school and continued to date through their years at Concordia Teachers College in River Forest, marrying on Aug. 5, 1950, at Zion Lutheran Church in Milwaukee, where Carol's father had taken a call to be a teacher and church organist.

Because of the need for teachers, Carol began teaching full-time at St. Paul's Lutheran School in Chicago in 1949 -- delaying completion of her bachelor's degree for 25 years. She completed the degree at Concordia College in Seward in 1974 after raising three children.

Carol opened the Humpty-Dumpty Nursery School in 1964, teaching 3- and 4-year-olds. She taught her last classes in 1984 and then retired from teaching.

Active in Republican politics beginning in the 1960s, she was elected to the Seward County Board of Commissioners as a commissioner representing Seward in 1980. She served on the board until 1995, including 10 years as chairwoman. She also served on the Nebraska State Jail Standards Board.

Toby Beck, born in [year?]

Toby Beck, seventh-grade student at St John Elementary School in Seward, Nebraska

Tedi Beck, born in [year?]

Kevin Beck, born in [year?]

Kevin Beck, second-grade student at St John Elementary School in Seward, Nebraska

The Beck family lived at 549 North Columbia Avenue from [year?] to 1956.

Then the Beck family lived in Faculty Lane House 4 from 1956 to 1960.

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Saturday, August 4, 2012

Sartorial Saturday - The Easy Tank Top

I realized earlier this week that I haven't sewn any clothes in a long time. I think it's been all summer. I've just been so busy with various quilting obligations, plus preparing all the Potter Patterns for release next week, that apparel has fallen by the wayside.

But despite the fact that I'm not too awesome at making clothes, I really enjoy it. So when I woke up this morning and saw that it was monsooning outside, I decided I'd spend a few hours making some clothes.

I have two projects, but figured I'd show you the tank top today and save the other [with lace! and more successful!] for another day.

I simple traced the shape of a tank top that I like:

Added in seam allowances:

Put right sides together and sew first at the shoulder seams, then along the side seams. The fabric I'm using is a knit, so it doesn't fray, but I'll still probably use pinking shears on the seams.

So here's where things get a little iffy...Both the fabric I'm using and the tank top I traced are knit fabrics. But the tank top is stretchier than the new fabric, which I knew. So I made sure to wear said tank top yesterday so it would stretch out, thus giving me a slightly bigger tank top to trace.

Based on me trying it on, I'd say that I actually need 1/4" more on each side. It's a little snug across the bosoms and around the hips. So now I don't know whether to finish the neckline and armholes or throw it in the trash and call it a day? I bought the fabric on clearance for like $5, so it wouldn't be a huge loss...

I never have these kinds of problems with quilting!

  1. It may feel snug, but in your pictures, it doesn't look unflatteringly snug, in my opinion. But if it's restricting movement, that's obviously a different issue!

    Do you have any favorite skirt patterns? I don't have a great desire to sew clothing. I like things to be quite fitted, and I'm curvy, and it just seems like way more work than I want to do. However, I adore skirts and am always dismayed by the selection/price, and know they'd be pretty easy to accomplish. I don't know if you use books for your skirt patterns, or pattern patterns, but if you're looking to do another post on clothing, at least one of your readers would enjoy one on skirts. ;)

  2. It doesn't look like it doesn't fit right in the picture, then again they can be deceiving considering you have it on and all!
    Don't throw the fabric re-cut it and use it for something else if you decide not to keep it =D

  3. I really like the fabric. If its a little to snug to wear in public, pair it a cute cardigan. No one will be the wiser

  4. finish it, it looks fabulous - it doesnt look snug/small or anything, so unless its uncomfortable, go for it!

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Posts Tagged with "PTSA"

Prison Transportation Service, PTS of America, is hell on wheels

April 26, 2017

I would like to bring to the cognizance of the people the atrocious treatment of prisoners by a company called Prison Transportation Services of America (PTSA). This is a private company based out of Tennessee that transports prisoners being extradited across the country. The conditions in which the prisoners are transported are most arduous and inhumane with no consideration for the safety or well-being of the prisoners.

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Friday, April 30, 2010

Nighthawks found goalie for rest of season

With the Nighthawks struggling to keep their team together, and their team not showing up every week it has been hard for this team to find ways to make it through the season. This week there was no Emily yet again, and back-up goalie Mike could not make it for personal reasons. To counter this the team decided to put their second round pick from last year, Luke Bahrou, back in goal. Luke lost his starting job in the first game of last season, and the team has yet to find a permanent goalie since, but it seems the team will go back to Luke, at least for the rest of the year. Behind the great goaltending of Bahrou and five points from Veronica the Nighthawks got their first win of the season, and still have a chance at .500. The final score of the game was 10-5 against Crossfire, a team they lost to earlier in the season. Other goal scorers were Carissa, Rachel, and Sherif (2). The defense of Saxon and Travis continued their dominance as they combined for a +10 in the game and had three points. The real story of the game was Luke Bahrou and his excellent goaltending. He made a number of great saves, and stepped in when the team needed him the most. With the team mainly focused on rebuilding for the next season it seems that having a set goalie for the last three games will allow them not to worry about that position from week to week. Captain Saxon Feravich said, "Now that we have our goalie set for the rest of the year I am hoping that we can get to .500 as a team, and use that momentum for the next season."

Wednesday, April 21, 2010

Nighthawks team falling apart

The Nighthawks continued their disappointing season with a loss to their arch rivals Los Hooligans. The 9-8 loss gives them four on the year, and a third by only one goal. This game featured lazy goaltending for some of the game, missing players (again), and stars missing on the stat sheet. Andrew Willis was quoted as saying this is the worst game he has had this year. Travis Feravich missed his second game this year because of injuries, and his presence could have helped the team. There were some positives in this game though. This game featured goals by Leanne and Carissa, and if the Nighthawks want to be an elite team, like they feel they are, then these are the secondary scorers that need to step up. Sherif added the other four goals, and lastly Luke Bahrou, who came to the team as their supposed starting goalie, has found a new position, defense. The team's main problem doesn't seem to be the play on the field, but instead it seems to be their off the field issues. Complainants about playing time have made the team worry more about that then winning, and injuries have plagued this team throughout the year. So much is uncertain for this team, and there are many people who wonder if they can salvage a .500 season. Also, with these problems many players are planning to leave the team. Of the 14 players on the team, seven players contracts expire at the end of the year, the most important of all is Travis Feravich. Captain Saxon Feravich had this to say about the situation, "It is no secret that our team is having problems with playing time. Our number one priority will be to re-sign Travis, and after it is up to the GM." There have been reports that at least five players will test free agency, and at least one player will be pulled up from the minors. The General Manager said that there is a chance this upcoming season will be forfeited if they can't figure things out. Although the team has yet to win, and personal problems threaten the future of this team, there are some positives. Some of the players are on pace to meet their preseason goals. Andrew Willis is second on the team in goals right now, but only has six points. Carissa Coon has kept up the physical play. Rachel Willis already has her six points and also a goal. Saxon Feravich has six points, and leads the team with a +10. Sherif Hassanien has 13 points with 10 goals. Travis Feravich has a point per game, but has only played two games, and he second on the team in plus/minus. Also, look for some season records to be broken, Sherif needs six goals in four games to set a season record in goals, and Saxon needs to be a +9 to beat his previous season record of plus/minus.

Wednesday, April 14, 2010

Finals Picks

So the Stanley Cup playoffs are right around the corner and everyone is anxiously waiting to see how far their team will go. Will there be a Cinderella story this year, or will we have the same finals we have had the past two seasons?

I feel that this year the Finals will be much different. In the West I see the Red Wings Central Division rivals, the Chicago Blackhawks, making it to the Finals this year. In 2009 the Blackhawks made it to the Western Conference Finals before being bounced by their rivals the Red Wings, but now, with the addition of Marian Hossa, I feel they have enough fire power to get over that final hump. The real question will be their goaltending. Can Antti Niemi be good enough to get them to the finals? I believe he can.

In the East, I believe that the Philadelphia Flyers will make it to the promised land. They have a mixture of youth and veterans on their team. The addition of Chris Pronger has made a huge impact, and when you have a top tier defenseman on your blur line you can go far in the postseason. The problem for them coming from the East is the finals go through Pittsburgh. Facing them will be no easy task. I feel that they have enough talent all around to give Pittsburgh fits and make their way into the Finals.

NHL playoff preview

The playoffs start today in the NHL and the match-ups are as follows:

Western Conference
#1 San Jose Sharks vs. #8 Colorado Avalanche
#2 Chicago Blackhawks vs. #7 Nashville Predators
#3 Vancouver Canucks vs. #6 Los Angeles Kings
#4 Phoenix Coyotes vs. #5 Detroit Red Wings

Eastern Conference
#1 Washington Capitals vs. #8 Montreal Canadians
#2 New Jersey Devils vs. #7 Philadelphia Flyers
#3 Buffalo Sabers vs. #6 Boston Bruins
#4 Pittsburgh Penguins vs. #5 Ottawa Senators

In the Western Conference there are only three starting goalies that have any playoff experience, and of those three Nabokov has more playoff wins than the other two goalies have participated in playoff games. The Blackhawks have Hossa this year so they could easily make it to the Finals just to lose. The Kings are my sleeper team in the West. Although they finished the year 2-0-3, with all five going to at least overtime, they beat the Canucks 8-3 on April 1st. The Wings may have the easiest trip to the Western Conference Finals, provided all the top seeds win. The Wings face a team in the first round with little playoff experience and a their second round opponent would be San Jose, a team they are 3-0-1 against this year. Also, let us not forget they are the hottest team in the league since the Olympic break, including 8-1-1 their last 10 games. If Howard can continue his Calder-like performance and the veteran players play like they should, then there is no reason to think that the road to the Stanley Cup won't go through Detroit.

In the East it is a different story. This is the second year in a row the Penguins have finished fourth in the East. That isn't a bad thing for them since they won the cup last year. They did not finish the season strong though. Their record was a 5-4-2 with four of those wins coming against teams that are not in the playoffs. A possible first round upset is the Flyers over the Devils. The season battle between these two was 5-1 in favor of Philadelphia. Emery and Leighton won both their games against the Devils, and Boucher went 1-1. The real question is: is this the year for Ovechkin? With Backstrom becoming a restricted free agent at the end of the year, it is unknown where he will end up. The main problem will be the goaltending, but with the number one scoring offense in the league the Capitals have a legitimate chance this year. One thing I do know is the playoffs should be great.

Monday, April 12, 2010

Nighthawks comeback falls short

The Nighthawks struggles continued this week as the team feel just short of an amazing comeback, 9-8. The team came into the game expecting to have their full roster, but in pre-game warm ups a blast from Mike Roos caught Emily in the ribs and she was taken back for x-rays. She missed the first half. Because of this Mike got his third start in a row. The game started off highly contested, and when Saxon came off the field the score was tied at zero. A penalty kick from Andrew Willis gave the Nighthawks the lead, but Stormin Normin came right back with a goal less than a minute later. They followed that up with five more and went into the half leading 6-1. Emily came back for the second half, and the Nighthawks, trying to get back in the game, put in Sherif, Willis, Veronica, and the Feravich brothers. After some bench complaining Saxon and Travis left for Billy and Rachel. The next time Saxon and Travis saw the field the score was 8-1 with 15 minutes left. It was right then that the comeback started. Travis was quoted as saying, "Give me the ball. I'm going to try to score." He got the ball took it down and came close to scoring his first career goal. Stormin Normin cleared it down and a pass from Saxon to Sherif led to a goal and an 8-2 deficit. Veronica added another goal before Stormin Normin stopped the bleeding with a goal after Travis slipped. Andrew added his second of the night, and Sherif had three more (all assisted by Veronica), but it was not enough to complete the comeback and therefore the Nighthawks, despite the six points from Veronica, have fallen to 0-3 on the year. Another thing to look for in the coming weeks is the team's ability to co-exist. There are rumors that some of the players are upset with playing time. Captain Saxon Feravich had this to say, "I am not concerned about my team. They can complain to me all they want, but the best players will play when we need them. If they don't like it they won't be on the team next year. I took Travis out when we were down by four to put Andrew in. Travis didn't want to leave, but he did because he knows Andrew is better offensively." This comment makes it sound like there will be some changes at the end of the year if the season isn't turned around.


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• 11/18/2017

 In 2004, The 60's rock group Vanilla Fudge sought a musical collaboration with the San Fernando Valley Symphony Orchestra. The resulting performance is available as both a CD and DVD from numerous sources. To order from amazon.com, go to www.sfvsymphony.com, click on the amazon icon, and search for "When Two Worlds Collide Vanilla Fudge".

Below are excerpts of the reviews of the both the CD and DVD:

CD: "...In 2004 Vanilla Fudge embarked on another ambitious and prestigious project; the live recording of their biggest hits, backed by a full-blown Symphony Orchestra. The San Fernando Valley Symphony Orchestra was approached because of its reputation for harboring the region’s most outstanding instrumentalists and for performing programs that feature not only the traditional symphonic repertoire, but also adventurous contemporary works. The Orchestra is piloted by Maestro James Domine, a conductor with a powerful drive who is known to both challenge and satisfy the intellect of his demanding audiences. The result; “When Two Worlds Collide”, is another milestone in Vanilla Fudge’s already prestigious list of achievements throughout the lengthy musical career of the band. ..."
(Taken from http://www.gonzomultimedia.co.uk/product_details/15314)

DVD: "...The performance takes place in what appears to be some type of large rehearsal studio, or perhaps an empty club, with full concert lighting and sound, and a professional camera crew. The band [Vanilla Fudge] is also backed by the San Fernando Valley Symphony Orchestra, which is what spurred the name of the DVD, When Two Worlds Collide.

This is not your standard concert DVD however, as there is no hint of an audience present, other than what appeared to be a few guests standing behind the orchestra. If there were more people, then they certainly were not shown or heard from. The orchestra is also positioned right in front of the stage, with conductor James Domine standing right in front of the band. An unceremonious fade-to-black occurs between each song performance, and this, along with the lack of any audience, gives the DVD a very strange kind of vibe. It almost feels like you are watching one of those old European music television shows from the 70s, where the band performed live in the TV studio. Maybe that is the vibe they were going for. ..."

(Taken from http://blogcritics.org/music/article/music-dvd-review-vanilla-fudge-when/)

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