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The Emarketing Blog’s Digital Marketing Trends, Fake News and Social Media Disruptions Digest – Summer 2018

Posted on | August 22, 2018 | No Comments

Digital Marketing Trends and Social Media Disruptions

Welcome to the late summer edition of The Emarketing Blog’s Digital Marketing Trends and Social Media Disruptions digest. Here’s a collection of interesting tech news, digital marketing trends, social media happenings and fake news, censorship and free-speech issues that are buzzing across the global wires.

China Social Credit Score

China Assigns Every Citizen A ‘Social Credit Score’ To Identify Who Is And Isn’t Trustworthy (CBS New York): China is rolling out a high-tech plan to give all of its 1.4 billion citizens a personal score, based on how they behave. Learn more.

Who needs democracy when you have data? (MIT Technology Review): How China rules using data, AI, and internet surveillance. Learn more.

Facebook Trust Ratings

Facebook has TRUST ratings for users – but it won’t tell you your score (The Sun UK): The social network is predicting your trustworthiness in a bid to fight fake news. Users receive a score on a scale from zero to one that determines if they have a good or bad reputation – but it’s completely hidden. Learn more.

Facebook Shuts 652 Iran-Backed Accounts Linked In Global Disinformation Campaign (NPR): Facebook has taken down 652 accounts, pages and groups that originated in Iran. The accounts were used for political disinformation and targeted at users in the Middle East, Latin America, the UK and the U.S., according to Facebook. This is the first announcement of this magnitude from Facebook about a coordinated influence campaign from Iran. Learn more.

Whats App to clamp down on ‘sinister’ messages in India: IT minister (Reuters): India’s IT minister Ravi Shankar Prasad had asked the company to work out ways to trace the origin of “sinister” messages, like those that led to a series of mob beatings across the country this year. Learn more.

Google Privacy

Man sues over Google’s “Location History” fiasco, case could affect millions (Arstehnica): Attorneys representing a man named Napoleon Patacsil argued that Google is violating the California Invasion of Privacy Act and the state’s constitutional right to privacy. The lawsuit seeks class-action status, and it would include both an “Android Class” and “iPhone Class” for the potential millions of people in the United States with such phones who turned off their Location History and nonetheless had it recorded by Google.  Learn more.

Google will now filter out negative news and tell you ‘something good’ instead (Metro UK): Google has launched a brand new feature for its artificially intelligent Google Assistant that’s designed to cheer people up by filtering negative news. Learn more.

‘These days we’re consuming more news than ever, and sometimes, it can feel like there are only problems out there,’ explained Ryan Burke, a creative producer at Google’s Creative Lab.

‘But the fact is, there is a plethora of ‘good news’ happening, and we’re not talking about unlikely animal friendships or random acts of kindness.

Microsoft Security

Microsoft’s anti-hacking efforts make it an internet cop (AP): The company’s announcement Tuesday that it had identified and forced the removal of fake internet domains mimicking conservative U.S. political institutions triggered alarm on Capitol Hill and led Russian officials to accuse the company of participating in an anti-Russian “witch hunt.” Learn more.

Alex Jones Infor Wars ACLU

ACLU: Alex Jones ban could set dangerous social media precedent (The Hill): Ben Wizner, the director of the American Civil Liberties Union’s (ACLU) speech, privacy and technology project, warned Monday that bans against Alex Jones and Infowars could set a dangerous precedent. Wizner told HuffPost that the hate speech policies many social media companies cited when they banned Jones can be “misused and abused.” Learn more.

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Offering the best of products and services or even content for that matter, isn’t really going to help you increase the number of people who opt-in to your email list.

As disheartening as it may sound, this is the truth. Since all other actions are driven using call-to-actions, your always know what to do next after landing on your website. But when it comes to subscribing your newsletter, a call-to-action at the top and bottom of your page isn’t going to be enough.

You will need to direct your visitors towards subscribing. And one of the most effective ways of doing so, is using action triggered overlays on your website apart from the CTAs.

Overlays, also known as ‘pop-ups’, have a bad name in the digital industry. While there are many who accuse them of interrupting the visitors browsing experience, there are those who swear by the conversions they are able to bring in.

We fall in both the categories – we don’t like interrupting people when they’re browsing, but we don’t want them to go either without making some sort of interaction with us.

Having experimented a bit on our blog site, we decided to list the top 5 strategies or tips that you need to keep in mind while using overlays for them to be highly effective:

1. Make it consumable and fun

No matter how loudly the grammar nazi in you screams out, your marketing copy on an overlay needs to be consumable and fun! The idea is to enhance the reader’s experience and not bore him with yet another subtle sales attempt.

Experiment with your marketing copy by introducing a bit of wit, sarcasm or fun. But remember, the reader needs to be able to understand the takeaway from it within seconds.

For example, here’s one from The Chive. They wanted their visitors to sign up for their newsletter, so instead of a usual message, they added a sense of humour to their overlay copy and highlighted the main takeaways.

chive popup

2. Make it authentic for your brand

If you’re using an overlay on your website, you might as well make some more efforts to make the overall design resonate with your core brand message. The design should be able to keep up with your brand’s rapport in the market and should be able to enhance the user interaction with the content you offer.

A safer approach would be to give the overlay the same look and feel as the website, so that it doesn’t seem too intrusive in nature. No one wants to feel that the brand is bombarding them vague looking popups!

For example, J.Crew uses an overlay for their newsletter subscription – the design of which, is as minimalistic as the overall theme of the website. Neither does the overlay come across as an eyesore, nor does it feel out of place and completely out-of-context.

j crew popup

3. Time it right at the start

An overlay can be timed to display right when the visitor lands on your website. It could act as a host to the party, welcome the visitor, let them know what to expect and nudge them to stay in touch – all without it seeming like a gatecrash!

For example, Baublebar uses this welcome overlay to quickly say a hello to their visitors and let them know what they would get if they signed up for their newsletter. Considering it is an ecommerce website, the incentive adds to the reasons why a visitor would instant connect with them.

baublebar popup

4. Or time it right at the end

Sometimes letting the visitor browse through all your pages and content before asking him to sign up or optin to your email list, is the smartest thing to do! And that’s where exit intent overlays come in.

Using an exit intent overlay by Exit Bee, is the most non-intrusive overlay strategy. It shows up only when the visitor tries to close the tab or navigate away from the website, hence not even slightly interrupting the user experience.

These kind of overlays give you another chance to convert these visitors by reinforcing your marketing message or a variation of the same to hold them back a little longer. Thereby, increasing the chances of converting them.

For instance, this campaign here recommends more reads to a visitor when he is leaving the blog site. This keeps him on the blog for a longer time, reduces the bounce rates and increases the chances of conversions.

recommend content

5. Don’t overdo the frequency

Yes, you want them to sign up for your newsletter or opt in to your email list, but all you can do is ask them to. And when something is asked for too often, it only results in annoying the website visitor.

While we suggest asking them once, the maximum that you should test out on your website is twice – that is spaced out at a time interval that is enough for the visitor to browse through what you have to offer.

To be honest, there is no ‘one size fits all’ overlay strategy. While asking once might work for a brand, sometimes it takes a few reminders to encourage interaction with the visitor.

The best thing to do is, test your overlay strategy frequently. Here are a few things you should test on your overlay:

  • the design of the overlay
  • the marketing message
  • the call-to-action
  • the frequency (also test action triggered overlays)

Have you tried using personalized popups on your website?

Well, now you could try the exit intent technology for free!
Sign up for a FREE TRIAL on Exit Bee today

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Vanhishikha Bhargava

Content Marketer at Exit Bee. Most of the times found trying to create compelling copies for blogs and digital campaigns, keeping a watch on what's happening on social media or ranting on Twitter. At all other times, not found.

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St-Jean Baptiste Day/National Holiday, a public holiday in Quebec

In Quebec, June 24 is “la Fête nationale”, the province’s official holiday and celebration of French Canadian culture. The festivities occur on June 23 and 24, and since 1978 are publicly financed and organized by the National Holiday Organizing Committee.

All employees in Quebec are entitled to the holiday on June 24. Public holiday pay for the day is equivalent to 1/20th of the wages earned during the four complete weeks of pay preceding the week of the holiday, excluding overtime.

This year, June 24 falls on a Friday.

According to the guidelines of the Commission des normes, de l’équité, de la santé et de la sécurité du travail (CNESST) (Quebec’s Ministry of Labour), employees in a workplace that cannot close on the 24th due to the nature of the work must be given a paid holiday on either the working day immediately before or after June 24, or be paid statutory holiday pay for the day, plus their regular rate for the hours worked that day.

According to Wikipedia, the feast day of Saint John the Baptist or Midsummer was a very popular event in the Ancien régime (Old Regime) of France, and it is still celebrated as a religious feast day in several countries, like Denmark, Norway, Sweden, Finland, Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania.

The tradition landed in Canada with the first French colonists. According to the Jesuits, the first celebration occurred on the banks of the Saint Lawrence River on the evening of June 23, 1636, with a bonfire and five cannon shots. The celebrations were supported by the Catholic Church and were primarily religious for many years. The lighting of bonfires, which was a traditional custom on the Nativity of Saint John, and ultimately reached back to pre-Christian Midsummer celebrations, remained part of the tradition. In addition, the first Saint-Jean-Baptiste parades were organized and became an important tradition over time. The procession of allegorical floats was introduced in 1874.

On June 24, 1880, the Saint-Jean-Baptiste Society organized the gathering of all francophone communities across North America. The event was the first National Congress of French Canadians (Congrès national des Canadiens français). On this occasion, the citizens of Quebec City were the first ones to hear the “Ô Canada” of Calixa Lavallée, based on a poem by a Quebec Superior Court judge, Adolphe-Basile Routhier. The song was commissioned by the Saint-Jean-Baptiste Society. It was well received but did not become a widely known song for many years. English words were later written for a royal tour in 1901. In 1980, “O Canada” became the official national anthem of Canada. Ironic that it all happened on June 24!

In 1908, Pope Pius X designated St. John the Baptist as the patron saint of French Canadians. From 1914 to 1923 the processions were not held. In 1925, June 24 became a legal holiday in Quebec. In 1977, an order-in-council by Lieutenant-Governor Hugues Lapointe, on the advice of Premier René Lévesque, declared June 24 the national holiday in Quebec. The use of national in this context is controversial, because of the different usages of the word nation.

While the religious significance of the celebration is mainly gone, the day remains popularly called la St-Jean-Baptiste or simply la St-Jean and is still observed in churches.

Bonne St-Jean!

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Yosie Saint-Cyr, LL.B. Managing Editor

Managing Editor at First Reference Inc.
Yosie Saint-Cyr, LL.B., is a trained lawyer called to the Quebec bar in 1988 and is still a member in good standing. She practiced business, employment and labour law until 1999. For over 18 years, Yosie has been the Managing Editor of the following publications, Human Resources Advisor, Human Resources PolicyPro, HRinfodesk and Accessibility Standards PolicyPro from First Reference. Yosie is one of Canada’s best known and most respected HR authors, with an extensive background in employment and labour across the country. Read more
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How to prepare your car for the February half-term skiing holiday

February half-term skiing

There’s plenty to think about before you even get to the slopes

February half-term skiing is a popular pursuit for many British families seeking more than a sun lounger and swimming pool from their holiday. France, Italy and Austria are popular winter sports destinations for Brits, and their relative proximity combined with the hassle of navigating airports while heavily laden with all the luggage a skiing holiday requires means driving to the slopes is becoming an increasingly popular option.

However, it’s not all plain sailing. In the run up to Christmas 2014, 15,000 cars were stranded in the Alps when a sudden heavy fall of snow caught local authorities and police napping. Those thinking about driving to their skiing or snowboarding holiday need to prepare in advance. That way they’ll have a greater chance of enjoying a trouble-free journey, in addition to time on the slopes. Continue reading


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Tuesday, November 6, 2012

Furniture Market Highlights

Stunning and sensational, the 2012 Fall Furniture Market notably exceeded expectations.  Strolling through the showrooms, you would have seen exciting and dazzling new trends.  Bright, bold, and daring, the fabrics which were used paved new avenues for the design world.  The ongoing trend of geometrics was prevalent in all of the top showrooms as well as fabrics in jewel tones of emerald, sapphire, and amethyst.  Statement pieces inspired by exotic animals, watercolor paintings, and the shimmer of metallics called to onlookers in proud exhibition.

Skins and fabrics originating from tribal inspiration lead the way.  Found on throw pillows, footstools, and even body cloths at market, this upcoming exotic mania is sure to show up in celebrity and fashion forward homes in the near future.  The growing color palette and textures available in the latest outdoor fabrics has made them prime candidates for chic and durable indoor use.  This young trend as well as the juxtaposition of fabrics, leather, and other atypical materials on casegoods will soon be seen in the spotlight on a virtual red carpet.

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Weighing You Down (In the Best Way Possible)

[fa icon="calendar'] Thu, Jul 27, '17 / by Heather Neff posted in weight lifting, gym tips

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Now that you've mastered bodyweight exercises such as squats and push-ups, what comes next? How do you keep progressing with them? By adding weight, of course! No, I'm not talking about putting on 20lbs so you can be heavier when you do your squats, I'm saying that you should be adding some sort of prop to your exercise. I'll explain everything in this article.

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• Texas set to remove Confederate plaque from state Capitol

    “Why shouldn’t we be able to talk about the monuments on the Capitol grounds or anything else,” Johnson said. “I don’t think it’s a conversation we should be afraid to have, not in 2019 in America, in Texas.”

  • America’s Original Sin

    by Annette Gordon-Reed

    Slavery and the Legacy of White Supremacy

  • Memory and the Lost Cause

    by Danielle A. Jackson

    An incomplete nostalgia still undergirds parts of American life.

  • Silent Sam Survives

    The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill has announced its recommendation that the school build a new, $5.3 million building to house the Confederate monument.

  • The Costs of the Confederacy

    In the last decade alone, American taxpayers have spent at least $40 million on Confederate monuments and groups that perpetuate racist ideology.


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Research knowledge is crucial to national and global development

Julie Brittain has recently become the Executive Director of INASP after four years as Deputy Executive Director and Director of Programmes. She shares why INASP’s work contributes to global development

As we begin a new year, the eyes of the international development community are on the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). The vision of the SDGs of all countries and stakeholders working in collaborative partnership to ensure that nobody is left behind aligns closely with the approach that INASP has taken over many years.

Research and knowledge can play a powerful role in development. Local research expertise based on a deep experience of local context – and the ability to translate knowledge into policy and practice – are crucial to help developing countries cope with development challenges such as rapid urbanization and the increasing effects of climate change. Emergency situations like the recent Ebola outbreak in West Africa and the major earthquake in Nepal last year highlight the need for research knowledge that is deeply informed by local context.

INASP strengthens the ability of individuals and institutions to negotiate the global landscape of research and policy making. A recent example is an initiative from ACTS (the African Centre for Technology Studies) who, with INASP support, brought together climate scientists, policymakers and other relevant stakeholders so that the country’s new climate-change bill could be informed by research evidence. Not only did the project help to inform how the challenge of climate change is dealt with in Kenya; it also helped contribute to international debates when ACTS was invited to participate at COP21 in Paris.

Climate-change roundtable, Kenya One of ACTS’ climate-change roundtables in Kenya

This is not an isolated example. We recently shared the story of a mental-health researcher in Somalia who has been supported to publish his research concerning improvements to the treatment of mental health patients in the country. Up to one in three people in Somalia have been affected by mental illness in some form according to estimates from the World Health Organization, a problem that was discussed in this recent Guardian article.

Dijibril Handuleh and colleagues in Somalia

We have seen many inspiring examples over the years from our southern partners of local research making a difference to local development. However, there continue to be huge disparities between the north and the south in terms of research and knowledge. Northern funders hold the power and often set the research agenda in both north and south – and this can serve to exclude southern research and publications.

It is an exciting time for INASP and our partners and I am delighted to have taken on the role of Executive Director. I look forward to leading the organization as we continue to support people to develop the professional skills needed to negotiate the global research and knowledge system. We will also continue to work in partnership with organizations to advocate for a system that better enables southern researchers and others to participate in global conversations on a more equal footing.

One Response to “Research knowledge is crucial to national and global development

  • Excellent points here. Doing what we can to encourage research and give researchers more resources is incredibly important.


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March Mania 2015: Round of 32 Predictions

Will Cukierski|

There's no rest for the data-driven weary! The NCAA tournament starts quickly and does not slow down in its first week. We've logged 32 of the tournament's 63 total games, including the usual expected-but-unexpected upsets (by seed standards, at least). With just hours since the round of 64 completed and hours until the round of 32 starts, here are the official Kaggle predictions for the next two days. As a reminder, these predictions were made before any tourney games occurred.

What's notable here? The upsets in the first round passed through a cohort of lower seeded teams, most of whom Kagglers believe will not survive the next round. In the #1 seeds, Kentucky and Wisconsin are forecasted to face the least resistance, while Villanova and Duke are given smaller (but still good) odds of moving on.

A cadre of Kagglers have made the big bet, probability = 1, that Duke wins (shown by the abnormal spike at the tail of the distribution). We also see this "gambling" strategy in the prediction for #11 UCLA to beat #14 UAB, and, to a lesser extent, in the #2 Kansas and #2 Arizona predicted wins. The UCLA predictions have an interesting plateau; people expect them to win but there's not great consensus on how confident to be there. Contrast this with the Virginia vs. Michigan distribution, which has a more customary bell shape.

As expected, the most balanced predictions are the #5 vs #4 seed matchups. #5 West Virginia vs. #4 Maryland and #5 Northern Iowa vs. #4 Louisville are forecasted to be close, with the former being extremely hard to call. Kagglers give an edge to #5 Utah over #4 Georgetown (the only seed upset in the 16 games) and #4 North Carolina over #5 Arkansas.

How did our predictions do in the perennially mad round of 64? We'll have more analysis after the action settles down, but early reports are that some teams (Kaggle teams, not NCAA teams) called in the ballpark of 27 to 28 of the first 32 games correctly.

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Summer has flown by and believe it or not, it’s back to school time already! As you prep and plan for the new year ahead, you’re no doubt loading up on fun new goodies for your kiddos and classroom. Check out these teacher tried and student favorite products to kick your year off on the right foot!

Botley the Coding Robot

Botley Classroom

If you’re an educator who either loves coding or is even just a tiny bit curious…meet your NEW coding bestie: Botley, the code to classroom fun!  Botley is a 77-Piece screen-free coding robot set – the only full robot activity set on the market for ages 5+.

Botley Toy Classroom

Sure he’s cute and coding is a major buzzword, but what value does Botley bring to your classroom coding experience? Below are my top 5 reasons Botley is a MUST for your back to school list, and you can read more HERE in my post all about this adorable little bot!

  • Ready to go
  • No coding experience needed
  • 100% screen-free coding
  • Challenge & grow
  • Advance coding features

Code & Go Robot Mouse

Coding Classroom

 Your students will love this adorable little mouse-bot named Colby that gives students both open-ended and guided challenge cards for creating different mazes with obstacles and the end reward of catching the cheese! I love this set because it has all of the benefits of screen-free coding in a fun and exciting way.

Coding Classroom Mouse

Watch the videos below to see how Code & Go Robot Mouse works and see it in use in a classroom setting. Your students will love it so much…they’ll SQUEAL (just like Colby does when he captures the cheese)! See this cute coding robot in action HERE.

Pretend & Play Calculator Cash Register

Calculator Cash Register

Set your students up with opportunities to experience and explore money play. We all remember playing with fake cash registers, imagining we were working at a store or restaurant. Those experiences are important for so many reasons, so make sure they are hands-on money opportunities for your littles, as well.

Cash Register

The Learning Resources Pretend & Play Calculator Cash Register is always a hit because it fits perfectly in both money math centers and dramatic play stations for PreK through second grade. To learn more about money math play for engaged learning in the classroom, check out my previous post HERE.

New Sprouts Classroom Play Food Set

Play Food

We know as teachers how important play is for developing so many skills in our young learners. From teamwork, to oral language development, and from problem-solving to math skills, the ripple effects of dramatic play in early elementary classrooms cannot be underestimated. I absolutely love this Classroom Play Food Set by Learning Resources!

Play food Classroom

In this super handy, portable tote, you receive all the yummy food (100 pc) you need for dramatic play centers and early nutrition lessons. Invite early imaginative play, build vocabulary, and reinforce healthy eating. Partner this kit with the Pretend & Play Calculator Cash Register above to blend pretend play with nutrition and money math skills!

Jumbo Magnifier Set of 12

Magnifier Classroom Set

Bring out the budding scientists and explorers in your classroom with these awesome jumbo magnifiers.

Classroom Toys

Your students can experience observations in a BIG way with these oversized magnifying lenses. With both hand-held and hands-free (flip-out stand feature) options, these magnifiers are perfect to let your students look more closely at items from nature, fabric, and any of the goodies you typically feature in your sensory tubs, bins, and tubes!

Makerspaces are all the rage, but how and where do you get started? Kick off maker magic this school year with these favorites from Learning Resources!

Mathlink Cubes

Mathlink Cubes

Start simple by stocking your makerspace with familiar math manipulatives to design and build with.

Mathlink Cubes Toys School

These Mathlink Cubes are perfect for your students to use their imaginations to build imaginative creations using a familiar material/tool. Using something simple combined with genius ideas from your students means the possibilities are endless!

Gears Super Set

Gears Super Set Classroom

Challenge your budding engineers to build more with this 150-piece gears super set. The giant storage tub of colorful, spinning gears will put creativity, motor skills, and hands-on construction play to the test. I love this for my students because unlike typical building materials for makerspaces, these work together and create movement.

This gives your kiddos a new experience with STEM concepts and potential creations. Check out these gears in action by watching this video!

Tumble Trax Magnetic Marble Run

Tumble Trax Classroom

Get critical thinking skills rolling with your students during makerspace time! Turn your magnetic whiteboards into a world of marble run wonders. Students create their own unique marble run with long, short, and curved magnetic pieces—then, drop the marble from the highest point to see your design come to life!

Tumble Trax Classroom School

Encourage your students to take the challenge to the next level by building the designs pictured on the activity cards. Endless combinations of designs provide open-ended exploration and multiple levels of learning for all students, making problem-solving and engineering engaging and fun! See Tumble Trax in action in this video!

Classroom management tools are an absolute must each year at back to school time. Teachers know that in order to kick off a great school year, you need excellent classroom management. We are always up for new, exciting, teacher-tested-and-approved tools to help us get off on the right foot. Check out two of my top picks for back to school management miracles.

Magnetic Ten Frame Boards

Ten Frame

Whether you use these Magnetic Ten Frame Boards during whole group math carpet time or small group instruction, these hand-held boards increase participation, make learning/reviewing hands-on, and give you as the teacher instant formative assessment on how well your students are understanding number sense skills.

Classroom School Toys

Students feel confidence in showing what they know using magnetic foam counters on these write-on-wipe-off tools that feature both ten frames and twenty frames for differentiated use.

Answer Buzzers

Classroom Toys

Get students actively engaged as they practice skills or you assess them! These “game show buzzers” turn any lesson into a game. Four different colors with fun sounds spice up daily routines, participation, and quick assessment. You’ll find endless ways to utilize these tools throughout your day, in whole group, small group, and times of transition.

Answer Buzzers School Set

Hip, hip, hooray for back to school! I hope these top ten picks of my classroom favorites give you some new ideas for your new year! We’d love for you to share your favorite classroom ways to use these materials in the comments or on social media!

Classroom School Toys


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Sunday, February 24, 2008

We are moving to a new flat

Finally, we are moving to our new flat. After several months of demolition, reconstruction and renovation we are looking forward to a bigger flat with better view. I have also moved my paintings and easel today as well. I am sure neighbours cannot wait until they hear me practicing my trombone...

1 comment:

Tomáš Hubálek said...

I wish you good luck.


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Showing posts from December, 2016

Alcatel Lucent Omnivista or: How I learned GIOP and gained Unauthenticated Remote Code Execution (CVE-2016-9796)

It is time for another advisory or better a blog post about Alcatel Lucent Omnivista and its vulnerabilities. Omnivista is a central management network tool and it is typically used in medium/large organisation with a complex VoIP/SIP infrastructure.

Interestingly enough, this software belongs to the niche of "undownloadable" software and it requires a license to work as well. My "luck" came during an engagement where it was already installed and this post documents one of the many 0days discovered during such audit.

The reasons why I wanted to dedicate a single blog post on this vulnerability are several.

First, remote code execution (RCE) is always a sweet bug to show. Second, I strongly believe that documenting vulnerabilities in applications using old protocols and standards, respectively GIOP and CORBA, can be beneficial for the infosec community, since no many examples of vulnerabilities in such applications are available or published on the Internet.


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Posts Tagged: "Pleasuredome"

Insights into Pleasuredome at Sensation Hyderabad

- - 1 Comment

How this superstructure changes music festival experience The world’s leading dance event is coming to India and the homecoming has been long overdue. The First ever Sensation event had Lord Shiva as its deity and after leaving its tracks in different countries and continents for 16 years, they would be...


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Pencil Forms Midget Radio Set (Sep, 1934)

Pencil Forms Midget Radio Set
A MIDGET crystal set, built into a common lead pencil, is the technician’s answer to demands for a personalized radio receiver. The crystal and cat’s whisker are built into eraser end of pencil. Headphones complete the outfit. Construction plans for a similar device were carried in the May issue of this magazine.

1 comment
  1. Stannous says: April 11, 200711:28 am

    Dibs on “The iPencil” name
    Â© StanFlouride 2007

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*News obtained from ThisDay Newspaper*

The Faculty of Management Sciences, Rivers State University, has unveiled a 500-capacity library built in honour of Augustina Alaere Alaibe, the late wife of prominent Bayelsa State politician and former Managing Director of the Niger Delta Development Commission (NDDC), Timi Alaibe.

The facility located inside the newly built faculty building, was unveiled exactly on the ninth anniversary of the death Mrs. Alaibe, an alumnus of the faculty, who graduated from the Department of Banking and Finance.

The Dean, Faculty of Management Sciences, Prof. Donald Hamilton said the project was in recognition of the legacies of Mrs. Alaibe, demonstrated through “her selfless efforts to touch lives through her non-governmental organisation, the Family Reorientation, Education and Empowerment (FREE) programme.”

In his remarks, Timi said he was humbled by the decision of the university to honour his late wife, adding that touching humanity and the society is what man was made for.

“I believe that if we can all impact on our own part in minimal ways, the society will be better for it. The honour is something we never expected for if this honour was bestowed on me or a politician or somebody in corporate service, people would have said, oh they bought it. But this is somebody who is late. So when I got the letter, to be honest I was quite humbled and I pray that those who thought it wise to do this would also be celebrated at their own times.”

He said he and his late wife consider the university, particularly the Faculty of Management Sciences, a home of sorts, adding that it was the institution that brought both of them together.

“I am eternally grateful to this university and particularly the faculty for letting my path and that of the phenomenal Alaere Augustina Alaibe cross”, he stated adding that her brief stay on earth was eventful and truly unforgettable.

He said he, the children and thousands of other people, especially of the Niger Delta region whom she touched miss her sorely but are consoled by the fact that her legacy lives on.

“I speak of a legacy that continues to inspire positive change in series of life-long pursuit especially helping women in the Niger Delta resolve some of the developmental dilemma through the double-edged weapon of literacy and empowerment.”

He thanked the management of the university and dean of the faculty for their kindness and thoughtfulness in electing to name the library after her, describing it as a huge surprise and one for which he is deeply touched.

For the rest of the story, please visit: https://www.thisdaylive.com/index.php/2018/02/07/rivers-varsity-unveils-library-in-honour-of-late-alaere-alaibe/

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Attending State of the Map US 2015

I'll be attending the annual State of the Map conference in New York City from June 6th to 8th. Venue is going to be United Nations Head Quarters with some chance to enter the General Assembly Hall. You know that room (as seen on TV).

Attending is not exactly the thing, I'll be also giving a talk there on June 6th. I'm very proud my application got accepted and I got a spot on that great schedule.

There will be an intro to OSM Buildings and its current state. Preparations are not finished yet as there is so much to say. One of my best talks about the project happened with surprisingly little preparation. It's perhaps a good aproach to have a talk with you rather that to you. On the other hand considering about 650 registrations as of today, it's a bold idea. But we are a community.

I'd love to meet many Followers from abroad there. There is only little chance to visit U.S. soon again. Until now I've never crossed oceans and I'm also funding every aspect myself.

Now it's time to meet in person. I expect a lot of inspiration for OSM Buildings future, I'll fight for more joint forces on OSM in 3D and I'm asking for support to make that happen.

I'm in NYC for 3 more days so there's time for sight seeing. Any locals, get in touch please.

When starting OSM Buildings Summer 2012 I never ever expected to get that far.

See you in a few days!

OSM Buildings mission patch (prototype)

1 comment:

  1. I wish you success in this conference. OSM Buildings is great. I am sure that your talk in conference will be impressive and inspiring for everyone.


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Author: | Posted in Book Reviews No comments

Kim Thúy (translated by Sheila Fischman)
Bloomsbury USA, November 2012
160 pages

Nguyễn An Tinh was born into a wealthy Saigon family during the Tet Offensive, “when the long chains of firecrackers draped in front of houses exploded polyphonically along with the sound of machine guns.” She has a beautiful mansion, servants, and is mostly sheltered from the war that has enveloped Vietnam. But her mother, prepared for potential upheaval, still makes Tinh learn how to clean sprouted beans and how to wash tiles.

“She was right to do so,” Tinh narrates, “because very soon we no longer had a floor beneath our feet.”Along with others who could afford the passage, Tinh’s family evacuates the country by boat, only to be waylaid at a Malaysian refugee camp filled with maggots “in the hundreds of thousands, as if summoned by a messiah.” Eventually, the family is allowed passage into Canada.

Much of Ru, Kim Thúy’s first novel, is autobiographical. An émigré from Vietnam who now lives in Montreal, Thúy writes in French, translated here by Sheila Fischman. Composed of short, dreamlike vignettes—each verges on a prose poem—the novel is Thúy’s life story, which unfolds with past and present battling line by line. Throughout, Thúy’s eye for detail is keen: a woman who perishes after she falls into her family’s septic tank is “surrounded by smooth-skinned, yellow-fleshed bullheads, without scales, without memory.”

Later, in Canada, Tinh is so quiet her best friend thinks she is a deaf mute. Tinh eventually builds a life, holds a variety of jobs, and starts a family. She writes to make sense of her past. But when she has a son with autism, Tinh faces a transmogrified version of her own life’s struggles. Henri is “a prisoner in his own world” and is one of the children “we must love from a distance…because every one of their senses would be assaulted by the odor of our skin, by the intensity of our voices, the texture of our hair, the throbbing of our hearts.” Tragically, he “can pronounce poire but not maman.” Tinh’s and Henri’s silence form quite the contrast with the cacophony of Vietnam’s firecrackers and machine guns.

In French, “ru” is an anachronistic term for a brook or stream; in Vietnamese, it’s a kind of lullaby. And appropriately, as Thúy’s novel flows rapidly, vignette by vignette, it does often sing—both for her and for us.


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Hyundai Updates Feature List of Xcent and Eon

Xcent gets additions; Eon misses out on certain features.

Hyundai equipmentHyundai has updated the feature lists of its compact sedan the Xcent and its entry hatchback the Eon. The Xcent gets the addition of features to nearly its entire line-up while the two lower trims of the Eon lose out on certain features.

On the Xcent, ABS is now offered on all trims, previously the base two trims lacked this feature. The Xcent SX trim has been discontinued, while the S(O) trim gets the addition of a rear parking camera with the display incorporated into the rear view mirror, as well as dual front airbags.

The Eon’s D-Lite+ trim level now makes do without the body coloured bumpers and chrome grille. The bumpers are stripped of the paint, whereas the grille is now a body coloured unit. The higher-spec Era+ trim loses out on central locking. The remaining trims and equipment levels remain unchanged.

Source: Autocars India

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The Munchies Manual: Why Do You Get Them, and Why Do You Secretly Love Them?

Ask a group of average adults what comes to mind when they think of marijuana, and we’d wager you’ll get “the munchies” as one of the top responses. It’s a classic, nearly iconic part of the stoner stereotype, and one that we think is ripe for reinvention.

Before thinking about how to modernize munchies, let’s start with the foundations of this phenomenon. If you don’t know what the munchies are, they’re the urge to eat that many people feel after consuming cannabis, and typically that urge is to eat the kinds of foods that break your everyday rules of self-control. Think deep-fried, crunchy, salty or sugar-coated, maybe even all of the above at once.

It’s probably not a surprise that, like much of cannabis culture, the munchies haven’t been rigorously studied by academics. Even the term “munchies” is of ambiguous origin, but we do recommend reading a debate about it that you can find here on Wikipedia, just for entertainment value.

In 2015, Tamas Horvath of the Yale School of Medicine published in a study in the journal Nature whose findings suggested that THC interacts with receptors in the brain that control satiety, thereby increasing your appetite. A separate study reported that THC consumption can pique your sense of smell, making foods more tempting and increasing your pleasure from eating. The combination of feeling less satiated and getting more pleasure from the foods you eat are the dangerous combination that often result in eating excessive volume and consuming foods you might normally turn down.

It’s worth noting that this is different than the boost in metabolism that cigarette smokers can experience. The munchies are an experience driven by your brain; they’re an increase in desire rather than faster digestion, which also means that they’re dangerous for those watching their waistlines. On the other hand, these same characteristics make the munchies a useful tool for those who need to stimulate their urge to eat. This is where cannabis is often incorporated into the lives of cancer patients, who lose their appetites during chemotherapy.

For the casual cannabis consumer, the munchies don’t have to be a Doritos-filled bonanza of diet-breaking regret. As the cultured adult you are, you can use them to your advantage. Take them as a tool to enhance the pleasure you get from what you eat, and make sure that your munchies are the kinds of foods that get you excited no matter what your state of mind. Poke bowl, anyone?

What are your go-to munchies? Don’t be embarrassed to share. Let us know by posting comments on our Facebook. And sign up for our newsletter to get more stories like this delivered to your inbox once a week.


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Tuesday, 11 August 2009

Send a Message to ET

From today until August 24th 2009, you can send a message (up to 160 characters) to the nearest known Earth-like planet outside our own solar system. Gliese 581 d is a potentially habitable planet in the "goldilocks zone" (not too hot, not too cold) about 20 light years from Earth. Naturally this means that any reply will be at least 40 years away but that's a very short time compared to most interstellar conversations. To participate visit www.hellofromearth.net.

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Typography for Lawyers

Matthew-Butterick-Typography“I’m not here to tell you that typography is at the core of a lawyer’s work. It’s not. But typography can optimize that work…If you ignore typography, you are ignoring an opportunity to improve both your writing and your advocacy.” Matthew Butterick

Long before he became a lawyer, Matthew Butterick steeped himself in the worlds of typography and visual design. After graduating magna-cum-laude from a visual design curriculum at Harvard, he worked with leading type designers and then created a successful web-design company. Looking for a new challenge, he undertook legal studies — where he soon became aware of the glaring shortcomings in the presentation quality of documents produced by the legal profession. Butterick set out to improve the legibility, readability and — consequently — the persuasive ability of legal documents and correspondence.

Core Principles Of Legal Typography

Typography For Lawyers” — the website and book he designed — offers hands-on instruction for legal professionals to improve the appearance and effectiveness of their documents. As the author explains, his book is based on three core principles:

  1. “Good typography is part of good lawyering.
  2. Typography in legal documents should be held to the same standards as any professionally published material.
  3. Any lawyer can master the essentials of good typography.”

Butterick’s efforts have met with widespread and enthusiastic acclaim. Legal writing guru (and editor-in-chief of Black’s Law Dictionary) Bryan Garner describes Butterick’s advice as “infallible.” And in 2012, Butterick’s work earned him the Legal Writing Institute’s Golden Pen Award — along with this comment from the Institute’s President, Kenneth D. Chestek:

“Butterick’s clear, easy-to-follow website and reference book take the fear and mystery out of document design for legal texts, giving lawyers of all kinds the tools they need to let their polished prose truly shine.”

Butterick urges lawyers to prepare legal documents that put their client’s best foot forward. “Or you can submit motions that look like they just rolled out of bed.” (Here’s a before-and-after sample.) The author also provides examples of numerous other documents — including caption pages, research memos, letterhead and resumes.

“Practical Typography”

More recently, Butterick launched “Practical Typography,” an online manual. While not designed exclusively for legal professionals, this site is an excellent way to become familiar with Butterick’s approach. Start with the “Typography in ten minutes” section. You’ll quickly see how these lessons can improve your documents — and you’ll likely want to see more of the legal-industry-specific material that’s only available in “Typography for Lawyers.”

(Nota Bene: Access to the “Practical Typography” content is provided on the honor system. If you choose to take advantage of the site’s lessons, be sure to read-and-heed: “How to pay for this book.”)

Hey, Why Do Your Documents Look Better?

If your firm or department is preparing its goals for 2014, shouldn’t improving your documents be on that list? Practice the typography recommendations of Matthew Butterick, Esq. — and it’s only a matter of time before people are asking: “Hey, why do your documents look better?”

“Typography For Lawyers” is available from Amazon.com —both in a paperback edition($25.00) and a Kindle edition ($9.99). Sample pages and table-of-contents also are available via PDF download.

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Anglocentrism broke my tests – ignore localisation at your peril!

An issue was recently raised on the ConTabs project that sent me down a bit of a localisation rabbit hole. You see, I’d written a load of conformance tests that included example output. What I hadn’t factored in was how many of these were dependent on my locale. These would potentially fail on computers with different locales. In today’s post, I’d like to explore exactly what went wrong and how we put it right.

Continue reading

Mega mash-up: API testing with Postman, Azure DevOps and

Put on your aprons people – it’s recipe time. Today we’ll be cooking up a delicious batch of automated API tests. For this recipe, you’ll need a buttery Postman base, a squeeze from a random user data API, and a CI system to bake it all in (I used Azure Devops). The result is a set of golden-brown integration tests that use realistic fake data and run in the cloud on a schedule of your choosing. Sound like the sort of recipe you’d like to master? Read on… Continue reading

Postman vs Insomnia – why not both?

Just over a year ago I was emphatically singing the praises of Postman. Before that, I’d been using Fiddler to make calls to REST APIs and man, was that a drag! Recently I’ve had a similar experience when I discovered an alternative REST client called Insomnia. Unlike last time, however, I won’t be ditching the previous flavour of the month… Read on to discover why (for the time being at least) they both get a spot on my desktop.

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Testing without compromise using InternalsVisibleTo

Have you ever wanted to test the behaviour of a method, without making it part of your public API? Have you ever been forced to choose between compromising on the encapsulation of your business logic, and ensuring that it behaves as expected? Allow me to introduce the InternalsVisibleTo attribute! In this post, we’ll look at what this lets you do, but we’ll also touch briefly on the debate surrounding its use.

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Larry Bradley’s Ezine #397 Why Is Gerrymandering Wrong?

Weekly Ezine Number 397

What Is Happening with Election Reform?
Why Is Gerrymandering Wrong?

What Is Happening with Election Reform?

In our last Ezine we were pleased to report progress in Election Reform. Maine’s approval of Ranked Choice Voting blazed a clear path for the other 49 states to follow.

As pleased as we were with the actions of Maine, we were equally displeased with recent Supreme Court decisions on Gerrymandering. The Court punted its decision on two gerrymandering cases. A third case from North Carolina is still under consideration. That case has evidence of blatant partisan intent. There is an actual in session statement by lawmakers that the reason something like 11 of 13 districts favor Republicans under the North Carolina plan is that they could not find a way to make 12 of 13 districts favor Republicans.

As someone commented on the NY Times article I’m about to link to, “ . . . We cannot have a republic if the politicians choose their voters. We cannot have any sort of democracy if only the well-heeled have their voices heard. And we cannot have a constitution that actually preserves a right to vote, the privileges and immunities of all citizens, and equal protection of the law if the courts refuse to apply those provisions to such anti-democratic abominations as partisan gerrymandering and plutocratic domination of our elections.”

Also of note is a lawsuit brought in the state of Michigan by the Michigan League of Women Voters. A recent decision by the Michigan Supreme Court is allowing the case to proceed.

We were contacted by The Center for School, College and Career Resources. Their students are asking them lots of questions about voting. In response, they developed two on line resources which we want to share here. We recommend you forward them to young people you know.

The first one––called College Voter Prep Guide––takes first-time voters through how to register, the rules, and what to expect at the polls. I love that it highlights how their vote matters, and encourages them to use it:
The second provides a step-by-step breakdown to help new voters navigate the election process, and includes information about different political parties, different types of elections, and also has a helpful expert FAQs section:
Navigating the Election Process for Students & First Time Voters: A Beginners Guide to Election Rights, Rules and Regulations
Why Is Gerrymandering Wrong?

What’s wrong with the practice of Gerrymandering? Gerrymandering is cheating, plain and simple. It’s rigging the rules of the election game to ensure you win, no matter what.

It’s playing a football game with a referee who is not impartial and will not call a certain rules violation (like holding, for example) if your side has the ball. But holding is called often on the other team when they have the ball.

It reminds us that one of the key words we called attention to in our book was “consistency”. Consistency means the referees enforce the same rules the same way for both teams and their players. Consistency is what we’re looking for as voters. What we want to get rid of is the only thing being consistent politically is inconsistency.

For example, what’s this about a certain elected official arguing that no vote should be held on a Supreme Court nominee because it’s an election year and then two years later having the same elected official argue for having the vote for another nominee before the election?

Let’s use another organized team sports metaphor. (Sorry if you don’t like sports, but here’s why I do it. First, it provides a common grounding people understand. Second, I am therefore providing you with a non-partisan, common denominator explanation you can use with others and have them better understand what you’re talking about.)

When the end of a season comes for a sport at any level and a Champion is named, we expect that Champion to have earned the title. That team earned the title by competing with the best their opponents had to offer and emerging victorious. A team who earned their title by keeping other teams’ best players off the field through dubious means, by bribing the referees or other under-handed schemes does not deserve the title of Champion.

Elections are contests about ideas for policy and governing. If political candidates and parties’ ideas are not favored by the majority of voters without restricting who votes (or our electoral process does not allow a majority winner to be determined), then their ideas are weak. Those ideas are not the ones that should be driving our policies.

We contend that we as Americans should demand the same level playing field for our elections as we do for our sports. We’re not getting that level playing field. That’s why we advocate the forms of Election Reform we do.

See you next time.

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One comment on “Larry Bradley’s Ezine #397 Why Is Gerrymandering Wrong?
  1. George J Lippert says:

    Larry — Thanks for the comprehensive update on the Sup Court decision. We were out of the country when the decision was released. I had strong hopes that the SCOTUS would act rather than punt. Negating gerrymandering is urgently needed. George

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Thursday, October 2, 2008

Marriage License Laws To Change In Southern California

The Clergy Network - Southern California - Whether wanting a religious or civil wedding ceremony, marriage license requirements are changing in 2009. One major change provides additional opportunity to a bride and groom marrying in California. A new name change related law may be of interest to some marrying couples. If marrying in 2009, and a wedding clergy has not explained the new name change option, please contact The Clergy Network.

Did You Know - That The Clergy Network is the only Southern California wedding clergy or wedding officiator experts on bride name change, and provide the name change forms and instructions to our bride and groom clients as a part of our wedding packages. No other wedding clergy, officiator or civil wedding celebrant can claim this education. To book a Clergy Network Wedding Clergy or Civil Wedding Officiator- contact us at 714 970 8839 or see our web site at Los Angeles wedding ceremony, Orange County wedding ceremony, Riverside county wedding Ceremony, San Bernardino wedding ceremony, San Diego wedding ceremony.

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Wednesday, November 18, 2009

A Colorful Challenge

All new here at The Rubber Café, a fun challenge for anybody to participate. Once a month we'll post a new challenge. For this month we're making fun cards and projects using non-traditional holiday colors and we would like you to play along. All you have to do is make a card/project using non-traditional holiday colors and upload it to your blog or online gallery, then leave a link to your project in the comments so that we may see what fun creations you've come up with. There is no limit to how many projects you can make, just have fun and make sure you let us know where to find you. If you upload to an online gallery, please use keyword/tag TRCC1 and The Rubber Cafe

Here are some samples from our design team to get you started…

1 comment:

~Michelle~ said...

love every one of these projects....they *almost* make me wish for snow!! LOL! :)
Fun color challenge!!!


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Saturday, February 27, 2010

Spring is Happiness

It's an exciting day over at spiltcoaststampers because there are hourly stamping challenges for VSN (Virtual Stamp Night)...Woo Who! I love these because it keeps me motivated and gives me an excuse to stamp all day long :)

The first challenge of the day was to make a free standing pop up card. This was my first attempt but won't be my last, it's so fun to make! The card is flat for mailing but by pulling the top of the tag you transform it into a free standing display. The way the picture emerges reminds me of flowers coming up for spring so I wanted to use this beautiful iris image as the focal point. I added a "spring is happiness" rub on for my sentiment and the iris clearly shows why spring is such a joy!

Now break out your Rubber Cafe images and join me for virtual stamp night. I'll be scouting the galleries to see your creations!

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Friday, January 2, 2015

Hanging Matters

Ron writes:

Every serious collector eventually considers framing a flat collectible. It's a rite of passage!

But framing is often complicated and expensive, especially where larger items are concerned. Many are the collectors who've been defeated by the expense of framing their prized possessions. Also, professional framers will sometimes frame collectibles in ways that hurt their values. Ever heard the one about the poster collector who got one of his pieces framed, hung it on the wall for ten years, then discovered upon de-framing it that it had been dry-mounted to a piece of board?

So I thought I'd share some frame sources that have served me well over the years. Both will make you a custom frame that you can put together yourself, thereby ensuring that you know exactly what went into your framing project.

Warning: This post features no framed Star Wars collectibles!

Hollywood Poster Frames' Deluxe Frame is a great solution for pieces the size of a standard movie poster.

If you want to frame an item that is around the size of a theatrical-release movie poster (41" x 27"), give Hollywood Poster Frames a try. Proprietor Sue Heim has been selling frames to poster collectors for years, and she's always very helpful when it comes to finding the most advantageous set-up for your piece. I'm a big fan of her Deluxe Frame, which features UV-filtered plexiglass, archival foamcore backing, and a slick-looking rounded profile. The UV-filtering and archival backing are essential for conservation: they'll help ward off fading due to light exposure, and minimize the deteriorating effects of acid.

Hollywood Poster Frames can do larger sizes, but they tend to be tough to ship. So unless you have the ability to pick up the frames in person (HPF is in Chatsworth, CA), you'll need to find a different framing option for large items.

A Spotlight Displays frame. The poster in this photo is about five feet tall.

A source for large frames that I've found very helpful: Robert Perry's Spotlight Displays. Robert's frames are comprised of two plastic overlays; these are used to sandwich the piece and hold it in place. The overlays fit into the outer frame portion, which snaps shut around them, holding them to tight in one rectangular package. Because the overlays can be rolled, and the frame comes apart in sections, larger frames can be shipped without too much trouble -- a real godsend when dealing with items of this size. Though these frames aren't "archival" in the same sense as the ones made by Hollywood Poster Frames, the plastic overlays do have UV-filtering properties, which should limit light damage to some degree. I've used my Spotlight frames in areas removed from direct sunlight, and I haven't noticed any fading.

A Spotlight Displays frame used for an unusually sized Japanese poster.

The last hanging option I'm going to mention doesn't involve frames at all. Rather, it's an aluminum bar device that allows posters to be hung using nothing more than a few plastic clips and gravity. Designed by Jorgen Moller, the minimalistic Poster Hanger is great for larger items that have been linen-backed. It's inexpensive and attractive, and it allows for easy swapping of posters. Obviously, this system has its drawbacks. For instance, it offers no protection from either light or abrasions. But I've gotten a lot of use out of the several I own, and I wouldn't hesitate to buy more -- if only I had the wall space!

I've used Poster Hanger to hang linen-backed posters, such as this large French example.

If you've been struggling with hanging, I hope this post has suggested a few solutions. If you get anything framed, stop by the blog and share some photos.

Two Hollywood Poster Frames flanking a Spotlight Displays frame.

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You never know what you might find

Last week I was on a video shoot with B.J. We arrived at our destination about 20 minutes early, so rather than surprise our hosts before they were expecting us, I turned the car around and headed to a little roadside rest I remembered passing just a few miles back. It was one of those little areas alongside a state route, just a patch of gravel and a picnic table. I pulled in and parked the car, ready to check email and go over my notes for the shoot once more.

But then I saw a little marker off to the side of the parking area. It looked like a memorial marker and I could see from the car that it had some sort of inscription. My historical curiosity had to know what was on the marker, so I got out of the car to check it out. In well-worn letters, it read:

Tip Top
St. Louis

Well now I was very curious. This sounded like some sort of livestock-related marker, but I didn’t know what would have been in St. Louis in 1904.

Enter Google.

Tip Top Notcher was the name of the champion boar at the 1904 World’s Fair in St. Louis. A gentleman named George Seckman of Brown County, Illinois, exhibited the boar. (Our video shoot that day was in Brown County, Illinois.) Before winning the World’s Fair in 1904, the boar had won classes at the Illinois State Fair and the American Royal. Tip Top Notcher also sired Helen Blazes III, who went on to become the first Duroc sow to command a price of $1,000.

Later, the United Duroc Swine Association erected the memorial in honor of Tip Top Notcher on a small plot of land, which was eventually given to the State of Illinois, hence the current use of a roadside rest area. (Check out for many more facts!)

What a cool little piece of history we had found! And to think that it was just as likely that we would have stayed in the car, checked emails, returned voicemails, and scrolled Instagram.

So often we get entirely too focused on the task at hand or sucked into mindless Facebook scrolling that we fail to see what’s around us. It’s critical to get our work done, but it’s OK to look up and enjoy the moment.

When you’re walking out to the barn in the early morning, pause a few seconds to take in the sunrise. When you’re working with your sister in the barn, appreciate that time together even if the blowers are too loud for talking. When you’re riding in the truck to the next show, look up from your phone long enough to notice the countryside or have a conversation with your mom. When you’re picking up the next batch of feed, ask your feed dealer how their week has been going and sincerely care about the answer. When you’re walking with your little brother up to the ring, make sure to include an encouraging and sincere pat on the back.

Trust me, you don’t want to miss those things, so look around, keep your eyes open, and take advantage of those little moments. You never know what you might find.

Marlene Eick is a storyteller and coach. As co-owner of Herdmark Media, she helps brands in agriculture tell their story. As a success coach, she helps people discover the stories within themselves.

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