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News and Events

2017 / 04 / 12

As a tribute to its founder, the International Organization for the Transition of Professional Dancers (IOTPD) has created the annual Philippe Braunschweig Grant for retraining. This grant is meant for professional dancers who have had an international career and who don't qualify for transition support from any one of the countries where they have danced.

#DanceCanada150 - The Pitblado Challenge.

2017 / 03 / 6

In celebration of dance, dancers and Canada's 150th Birthday, the Dancer Transition Centre is thrilled to launch #DanceCanada150 - The Pitblado Challenge. For each contribution, $15, $150 or an amount of your choice, the Pitblado family will match your gift dollar for dollar up to a maximum of $15,000.

Tax Information Session for Professional Artists

2017 / 01 / 26

Bring your tax-related questions and concerns to our Tax Information Session for Professional Artists with Brian Borts on Wednesday, March 1st. With thirty years of experience in meeting the accounting and financial needs of arts and entertainment professionals, Brian will help you navigate through this perplexing time of year!

IOTPD Awards Three Dancers With A Philippe Braunschweig Grant

2016 / 07 / 22

The International Organization for the Transition of Professional Dancers (IOTPD) is pleased to announce the 2016 IOTPD Philippe Braunschweig Grant recipients. The annual competitive grant is awarded to a dancer or dancers, at or near the end of their performance careers, to help defray the costs associated with retraining for a second profession. This year the IOTPD was able to provide Marc Biocca, Tom de Jager and Naiara Mendioroz with retraining assistance from the IOTPD Philippe Braunschweig Grant.

Vancouver! Join Executive Director Amanda Hancox for a DTRC Drop In

2016 / 03 / 30

Are you a Vancouver-based dancer?  Amanda Hancox, the DTRC's Executive Director, is coming to your city and would love to get to know you!  Come talk with us on Friday, April 1st, 3:30-5:30pm.

News Archive

Helping dancers make necessary transitions into, within, and from professional performing careers since 1985.


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Thursday, January 23, 2014

Figures Toy Company's Dukes figures are almost here!

The highly anticipated Dukes of Hazzard action figures from Figures Toy Company are almost here.  They sent word to me that the 12 inch figures will be shipping in about two weeks and the 8 inch figures in about four weeks.  They also sent me a whole heck of a lot of great looking pictures to share with you, the loyal Dukes Collector readers.  These things are going to be a lot of fun.  These pictures really show the detail in the figures.  My favorite part is the attention to detail in the belt buckles of Bo and Luke.  They really nailed those.  I'll hold my commentary on each figure until I actually have them in hand.  This isn't my review, this is just a sneak peak.  Here is a mess load of pictures.

What are your thoughts?  Have you preordered yet?  You can do that here.  Go ahead, leave a comment, why not?

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I received E-Mail that said:

I was informed several years ago about this "castle" in Topeka, and I do know of it's location, but unfortuantely it isn't a sterio-typical castle. This "castle" is the size of a house, no bigger. The story goes that a frenchman, I believe, married and brought his young bride to Kansas. Well, his bride soon grew very home-sick and he made this "castle", which really just looks like a tower, for her. I can't remember what happened to the couple, but the "castle" still bears the coat of arms on it's outer wall. It's on the westside of topeka.

Later, I received a letter that said:

My father bought the Matrot Castle, 6424 SW Huntoon Road, Topeka, KS, in 1972; did extensive renovation to the house and lived there until 1975. Some of the legends connected with the house are based in fact. From published newspaper reports, we believe that Mr. Seraphin P. Matrot, along with his wife Antoinette and their three children, fled from France to the U.S. as political refugees, to escape a (real or imagined?) political threat to his life. In his efforts to be safe, he traveled to the very center of North America and built this tiny castle in 1883, hidden in a valley between two hills and miles away fiom the (then) small city of Topeka. We believe he hoped to develop the region into a wine growing area, as in France, and we know he planted many grapes on the property, had a beautiful vaulted brick wine cellar built under the house and made his own wine. In his fear of French assassins (or possibly the Native Americans in the area?) he built an escape tunnel from the wine cellar, running west, underground, ending at a creek some distance from the house. The tunnel is gone now, but its entrance in the wine cellar still exists, but leads now into the later dug basement under a large addition added to the back of the house sometime after his death.

When my father owned the house, he added a pipe organ in that newer basement/family room, but the last time I saw the inside of the house (maybe ten years ago, when it was for sale again) the organ had not been maintained and was totally unplayable. We know that Mr. Matrot died in the house in 1898 and his funeral (such as it was, since he was known to be an atheist) was held in his upstairs bedroom. The story we heard and believe to be true is that after he was placed in his coffin, it was impossible to bring it back down the narrow spiral staircase which is the only access to the upstairs, so they had to take out an upstairs window and lower him and the casket to the ground with ropes.

As I mentioned, during my family's ownership of the house we were absolutely convinced that there was a ghost (we were also pretty sure it was Matrot, himself) also in residence. We have many stories of furniture moving, doors opening and closing, pounding noises coming from the living room floor, the sound of phantom footsteps when no one else was present, and other poltergeist type events. I had a couple of experiences myself which were very frightening, but which would take too long to narrate here. I've always intended to contact any of the later owners to see if they had any similar experiences, but have just never had the opportunity to follow up that pursuit.

Later, I received E-Mail that said:

Of recent years the "house" west of town where a frenchman lived and died had a tragedy happen / The house was lived in at that time by a banker named BRAD MILLER / His wife was found dead in the hot tub / Cause of death was an overdose of barbiturates / He later married a widow of a construction magnet named DOUGLAS who committed suicide.

Back to Home Page

Information and photo courtesy of Steve Clark.


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Sunday, February 26, 2006

From My Contemporary Shelves

By Sue Monk Kidd

I recently read this book for the first time. It was good, used a lot of symbolism, and had some very likeable characters. It was also the type of book that makes you want to take the main character and shake her really hard or slap her around. I mean, she has a great guy at home, so why risk it all for...........well, I don't want to give away the plot. It had a very satisfying ending, though. I recommend it!

Saturday, February 25, 2006

February's Georgette Heyer

From my Heyer shelves.........

The book we are reading in The Heyer List is SIMON THE COLDHEART.

Georgette Heyer published Simon in 1925. It is set during Medieval times, and is a very good Heyer read. If you are used to just reading her Regencies you will still enjoy Simon; Heyer's humor and wit are prevalent throughout. My paper back has a forword written by Heyer's daughter.

I have a paperback copy and a hardcover with dust jacket on my shelves. The hard cover copy is in excellent shape, as near perfect as if it were brand new.


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Monday, August 27, 2012

Pure Story-Telling Art

by Dylan Williams

Manuel Auad
Auad Publishing
240 pages, $24.95
ISBN: 0966938127

Will Eisner introduces this thorough monograph on Jordi Bernet with the observation: "Here was a man who was producing pure story-telling art." The only problem for English-speaking readers has always been that Bernet's work was rarely translated. As with comics of Attilo Micheluzzi, Sergio Toppi or Alberto Breccia, English speakers are always left wondering what the words mean that are coming out of the mouths of these deft drawings.

When Bernet's work was previously translated into English it was marketed as simple genre fiction or porn. The publishers never appeared to care about the masterful storytelling that Will Eisner recognized at first sight, and is underneath these classically-styled drawings. Bernet has never gotten the American reception that Moebius, Hugo Pratt, Jacques Tardi or Jose Muñoz received though he has come closer than many.

Auad's publishing of Bernet allows us to now see a fully-rounded picture of this artist. The over-230-page book offers all the different sides of Jordi Bernet the comic book artist, or at least far more than I'd ever seen in English. This well-designed hardcover book begins with two introductions, one by Eisner and the other by Joe Kubert. Both classic American comic artists refer to themselves as fans of Bernet's work. Following the introductions is an insightful, yet brief biography. I only mention that it is brief because, while it does cover all of Bernet's career, by the end I'm hoping for a full-length interview with the guy. The only one I've been able to find in English comes from the pages of Glamor, an Italian pin-up magazine about comics. At the end of Bernet is the first complete bibliography of the artist's career available in English. The biography and bibliography together bring to light a gold mine of little-known information about the artist. I don't get the feeling that, even in Europe where he is a well-known comic artist, there have been too many collections of this kind.

The importance of this influential cartoonist is undeniable, even here an ocean away from him in the United States. That point is driven home throughout the book in a series of appreciations by Bernet's peers and fans, like Sergio Aragonés, Carlos Trillo, Juan Gimenez, Eduardo Risso and Luca Biagini, all of who offer their own insight into the artist.

Bernet was born to the Spanish cartoonist Jorge Bernet. He was pushed to reach an early level of facility with his craft when his father died at the age of 38, leaving him the breadwinner of the family. Bernet convinced the editors that only he could serve as artist for the regular strip his father drew, Dona Urraca. The 15-year-old Jordi, who had already began his cartooning career two years earlier, continued his father's humor strip for two years, from 1961 to 1962. Auad's book makes it clear, by examples of early work and in bits of an interview with Bernet, that the artist had always wanted to do adventure strips in the style of his idols, Harold Foster, Alex Raymond and Milton Caniff.

The roots of Bernet's artwork are deep in the history of comics, especially North American ones. The first section of the book is laid out to illustrate the inspirations that drive Bernet artistically. His early work shows the mark of Foster, Raymond and Caniff but then you can see comic-book artists popping up in his style. Frank Robbins (creator of Johnny Hazard) and Bernet were good friends, as indicated in the biography by a great photo of the two with Mrs. Robbins from 1970. Auad's book gives us a sample of an early strip Dan Lancombe from 1968, which really shows the Robbins influence. Another strip (Paul Foran) shows the mark of both Stan Drake and Joe Kubert. While Kubert would be Bernet's most apparent influence,showing up over and over again in his work, it is Alex Toth who seems to hold one of the dearest places in Bernet's heart, as is clear from a great Western story called "Duel at the KO. Coral," written by Enrique Sánchez Abuli in 1998. It is a hilarious account of bear wrestling in the Old West and it is one long tribute to Toth. Throughout the story you see reworkings of an old Toth Roy Rogers story from the 1950s, and the bear's trainer looks straight out of a Toth comic. It's all done with an obvious affection, and you never really get the sense that Bernet is cheating. since it becomes clear during the course of Bernet that this artist loves to draw.

Bernet is often referred to as the most American of Europe's comic artists even by some of the people writing about him in this book. With each of these stories, and the previously published U.S. work, I'm struck by how European his art is. There is a quality in his work similar to the best of Sergio Leone's westerns. In almost all of Bernet's work the approach to sex and violence never looks as rooted in Puritanism as an American would portray it - a complex, adult version of genre fiction that rarely makes it into print in the U.S. but shares a lot with its American pulp forefathers. Strangely though, it never quite feels like the stories set in America are taking place in America. Or maybe it's an immigrant's America. Admittedly, it is more than all that. Bernet makes his characters feel and read like real characters and not just vehicles for ideas.

The best example of this is Bernet's most well known work in the U.S., Torpedo 1936, written by Enrique Sánchez Abuli, previously published in seven graphic albums in English. Auad's book delves well into the history of the series (which ran from 1982 to 2001) with an introduction to the section by Josep Toutain, the original series editor and publisher. Toutain retells the process by which Bernet ended up drawing the series he would become most associated with, and this book also explains in full the beginning of the series as drawn by Alex Toth, who was the one to name it.

The main character of Torpedo 1936 is an Italian American hit-man (Torpedo) named Luca Torelli. When originally drawn by Alex Toth in two stories in 1982. Torelli comes off as a gangster as played by George Raft. After Bernet takes over the art. Torelli becomes a real-life criminal associate of George Raft's: a ruthless killer with a lot of flair, who is also capable of small moments of conscience. Bernet is also interviewed a bit about Torpedo earlier in the book. "From early on I decided to 'lighten up' the characters. They were so mean-spirited, contemptible, almost evil, that I couldn't draw them very realistically. I decided to have elements of caricatures and thus making them look ridiculous." The Torpedo section of the book also includes a number of great pinup drawings, as well as some beautiful sketches and production drawings that really let the reader in on the process Bernet goes through drawing the character.

Interestingly, the Torpedo 1936 section of Bernet is followed by a collection of ads done in Spain for a whiskey company named Long John. But for this book, these ads would never have made it across the ocean into the hands of American comic art aficionados. The ads are drawn in the same style as the Torpedo series and this is intentional on the part of the advertiser. To an American, these ads really clue you into the different world for which Jordi Bernet draws his comics. It is hard to imagine a cartoonist ending up working for a major advertising company in the United States and being allowed and encouraged - and maybe even selected - for his ability to draw his own personal subject matter. Especially when his main character (a Torpedo) commits heinous crimes in story after story. Manuel Auad does explain that there was a negative connotation to the Luca Torelli character and that Bernet softened and toned down his artwork somewhat for the campaign.

For me, the most interesting series of stories drawn by Bernet is Clara de Noche, begun in 1992 and still being done. These stories represent a more complex side of Bernet and the writing team of Carlos Trillo and Eduardo Maicas (a well-known Argentine radio personality). The stories were marketed as a Bettie-Page style "adult" book when previously released in the U.S. under the title Betty By the Hour. The problem is that there isn't really anything pornographic about Clara, except for the way she is drawn. The stories are a mixture of light comedy with tragedy as told by men (Trillo, Maicas and Bernet) and from a uniquely Southern European point of view. The subject matter is adult but it becomes clear, as with the four two-page stories in Bernet, that there is more to these stories than the pinup-model-looking qualities of its star. Auad's introduction to the Clara section of the book begins "The highly-appreciated Clara de Noche has a job which has to be defined without beating around the bush: she is a hooker." Auad continues to point out the contradiction in making a comedy based on such a profession, "... an uninhibited series, imbued with humor which is redeeming although it is sometimes cynical, yet always playing it fair with the reader, with no corny double meanings." This section of Bernet serves notice that the U.S. market is in need of a complete and well-published collection of Clara de Noche.

Bernet had previously teamed up with the popular Argentine comics writer Carlos Trillo, to create a semi-science-fiction story called Custer in the mid-1980s. As Auad points out in the biography, Custer is an early predecessor to the reality-show genre, albeit a more salacious version. Custer is the main character, a sexy lady whose life the reader follows as if it were filmed by all-seeing TV cameras. Though it is light fare, Bernet brings a touch of his unique caricature to the work. In the story, Custer is followed by a funny little man hired by the network to keep an eye on the star. The character is genuinely funny and lovable in spite of the crass world around him, though even that may be a trick of the camera.

The last 50 or so pages in Bernet are perplexing for me as a reader. They include sections on two older series drawn by Bernet: Sarvan and Kraken as well as pinup good girl art by the artist. Sarvan, done from 1982 to 1984, is a beautifully drawn Frank Thorne style strip, full of wizards, dragons and sexy women - all done, as Auad notes, with more than a tip of the hat to Barberella. Most of my problems with the story only come from a personal distaste for this subject matter, but at the same time I realize that there is a complex artist at work drawing these stories. He does it quite well, but in the end it seems like he is capable of more.

Kraken (1983-86) is, as Auad puts it, ''A long-lived series, [which] tells about the adventures of Lt. Dante, who is at the head of a special paramilitary group in charge of watching over the 13,000 kilometer-long Metropol sewer system." Auad continues to point out that Kraken is "...a pretext for a kind of social and sociological comedy." Kraken is a great follow-up to Sarvan and Custer, in that it demonstrates the full range of Bernet's ability to tell a story. The art, as always, is polished and effective, but more than anything the panels glide along, leading you through a weird sewer world where a monster, the Kraken, is always ready to pounce on the main characters. There is a sense of fear and action, tempered with a psychological subtext of strange machismo that Bernet manages to capture more effectively than almost anyone in comics, something like Richard Corben's most recent work. It is a self-aware genre story that only comes off in the hands of a skilled craftsman. In the hands of most, it would descend into simple minded escapIsm.

Escapism is what most pinup artists depend on: the fantasy of the "perfect woman." Bernet has done his share of pinup art for magazines like the Spanish version of Penthouse. He likes to draw pretty women and he is good at it. There is an escapist quality to the pinup drawings collected in the last section of the book, entitled "Bernet's Beauties." The truth, though, is that the escapism is more innocent and childlike than the drawings done for Penthouse, which are presented earlier in the book. You get the impression that this is a guy who surrounds himself with images of the past and bygone days, and that this extends into his view of pretty women. There is even a photo earlier in the book's biography that illustrates the point. The artist described in this book draws a fine line between porn and eroticism. In the interview from Glamor magazine, Bernet says, "Pornography needs eroticism, otherwise it's junk. Something like that happens, in another field, with violence. If treated with ability, it may thrill you and be exciting. Without that element, it is boring and disgusting." The characters are more like "broads" and "dames" from the old movies Bernet loves, rather than dirty little drawings. This lightheartedness is represented by a little touch of the book's English language hand letterer Hobbie MacGuire. The "I" in "Bernet's Beautie's" has a little heart at the top of it.

Throughout Bernet, we readers are treated to short stories, in the classic O. Henry style. Not just in the sections on Torpedo 1936 or Clara de Noche, but in between them. One-off stories that give you a laugh or creep you out. In each, Bernet is able to make you want to just find out what is going to happen, the mark of a real storyteller. In addition, he is able to draw almost anything, not just pretty women or grotesque men. His illustrations for "Number One Joe," a simple war story written by Abuli, put the reader squarely on the wing of a fighter plane coming back from a mission. We are never allowed to see the pilot or navigator - instead, Bernet uses the plane itself as if it were alive.

The thoroughness of the book is illustrated by an amazing collection of varied work. From beginning to end we are treated with pages of artwork unseen in the United States. From Bernet's early humor attempts in the 1950s, to Frank-Robbins-style adventure strips in the 1960s and much more, the book provides you with just enough, not too much or too little. It makes me want to go out and hunt down the untranslated, 224-page graphic novel of Tex that Bernet did in 1996, as mentioned in the biography, and demand that a U.S. publisher put it out here. Bernet the book also effectively gives the impression of an artist who is constantly working and changing.

All of the work collected in this book is written by others. I wish that Bernet could be coaxed into doing more of his own writing, not that Enrique Sánchez Abuli, Carlos Trillo or others don't fill the job adequately - they do much more so than their mainstream U.S. counterparts. It is simply that Bernet's knack for straightforward storytelling makes me think of the straightforward stories he might tell.

Recent news has it that Bernet is working on books for the U.S. market, that may be published by DC comics as well as a collection of Clara de Noche and more. The Bernet collection comes at the perfect time to introduce us to the full scope of his history in Europe and offer other American publishers a glimpse of what they could be publishing by one of a number of European greats.

[Originally published in The Comics Journal 262, Aug/Sept. 2004.]

Tuesday, August 21, 2012

All That Could Have Been: Jorge Zaffino

By Dylan Williams

Argentine comic-book artist Jorge Zaffino died of a heart attack on July 12 at the age of 43. "There are few artists working in comics to whom the word 'genius' applies," said comic writer Chuck Dixon. "Jorge Zaffino was one of those guys. He was a true artist's artist." Comic artist Steve Lieber said of Zaffino's skill at solving storytelling problems: "Any one of these problems requires real work and skill to resolve satisfactorily. Zaffino at his best could handle them all and make the effort invisible, freeing the reader to get lost in the story. His technique changed over time, growing more impressionistic, but he always seemed particularly interested in creating brooding moods and capturing remarkable subtleties of light and shadow. He'd create dense lattices of cross-hatching out of the most apparently casual lines, slapped down across his forms, lighting his figures in a way I'd never seen in comics before. The technique looked maniacal in flat reproduction. God only knows what the originals must have looked like."

Studying Light

Zaffino was born June 13,1957, the son of Lia Moschini and Jose Zaffino, an art instructor at the Pitman Academy in Buenos Aires. At Zaffino's request, his father enrolled him in private group art classes taught by renowned Argentine art instructor Julio Juaregui. He never went to college. Through the pages of Creepy and Eerie, young Jorge fell under the influence of American comic artists Alex Toth, Gene Colan and Frank Frazetta. Famed Italian comic master Sergio Toppi was an important influence as well. But the influences that would most shape Zaffino's unique drawing style came from outside of comics: Howard Pyle, Rembrandt, Vermeer, Caravaggio and Velazquez. "From fine art, he was almost obsessed by the way light interacts with the objects. He would copy hundreds of Rembrandts in order to figure out how it works," reports his son Gerardo, also an artist.

At 16, Jorge's father took him to the Villagran comic-art studios, run by brothers Enrique and Ricardo Villagran, where he initially worked as an unpaid assistant. "Jauregui was mostly an art teacher; you could say the Villagrans were his comic-art teachers," explained Gerardo. Jorge began at the studio washing brushes, emptying the trash and running errands. Within a year, he was drawing for the studio, doing pencils and background art. Zaffino's work for the Villagrans quickly earned the appreciation of his fellow studio artists. He was making a living at the studio by the age of 19, producing work for Argentina's comics publishers (or "Editorials"). Zaffino worked on the series Nippur de Lagash and Tierra de Elfos, but his most famous series was Wolf, a heroic fantasy written by Robin Wood for Columba Editorial. Wolf would become his most famous work; it is still reprinted in Argentina. He would return to the character throughout the '80s.

Coming to America

Zaffino's work first made it to the U.S. with Ricardo Villagran, who was then working with writer Chuck Dixon. Dixon saw Zaffino's art among samples Villagran had brought, and he wrote a story specifically with Zaffino in mind. Zaffino visited Dixon in America, using money he had saved from his studio work and from a series of children's book illustrations done for friends. Dixon said of meeting Zaffino, "On a personal level, he was a charming guy with a great sense of humor. He spoke no English and I no Spanish. But I always enjoyed his range of facial expressions as things I said to him were translated. Particularly if what I or another were saying was an attempt at humor. That dawning of realization and then his smile and laughter as he got the joke would crack everyone up all over again.”

The story they produced together was the three-issue series Winterworld, published by Eclipse in 1987. Zaffino worked from English scripts translated into Spanish by Ariel Maudet, who accompanied him on his U.S. trip. Gerardo Zaffino said of the guns drawn in Winterworld, "He asked me to give him my G.J. Joe cards to do the Winterworld saga. Of course, he made some changes.”

Later, Marvel editor Carl Potts helped introduce Zaffino to the mainstream U.S. market: "During this period, I was working to turn the Punisher into a major leading character. One of the Punisher projects I had in the works was a graphic novel written by Jo Duffy. The Punisher character and Jo's script seemed like good matches for Jorge's dramatic and moody style. Jorge teamed up with Jo and the result was the very successful Assassins Guild graphic novel (1988). Jorge's work was brilliant. I remember being blown away whenever Jorge mailed in a new batch of pages. Other editors and artists would sometimes visit my office and dig into the flat files to get a look at Jorge's latest work." Zaffino's detailed depictions of New York in Guild were aided by reference photos he took of the city during a second visit to the U.S. Marvel artist Walter Simonson said, "I was intrigued by his Winterworld work, the first of his art I saw. And I was blown away by [Guild]. That particularly graphic novel still remains a favorite of mine and, to this day, I keep it on the bookshelf below my taboret for easy access and reference. It isn't that I ever find myself drawing the Punisher but, as with all the material that captures my imagination, I find it refreshes my own work to go back occasionally and reacquaint and re-inspire myself with another look."

Zaffino and Dixon teamed up on a second Punisher graphic novel, Kingdom Gone, in 1990. "This was another great project for Jorge," Potts said. "Again, it was just the right project for him and the graphic novel was very successful. Jorge and Chuck made a great team. As with the first Punisher graphic novel, Jorge gave all of his players distinct looks, body language and personalities. The tropical island setting in Kingdom Gone was very different from the urban landscape in Assassin's Guild. Jorge excelled in portraying both environments."

Darker Material

Zaffino and writer Dan Chichester began a series of collaborations with Critical Mass, an edgy Marvel series written by Chichester and divided into chapters drawn by different artists. Here, Zaffino shook off the detailed realism of his earlier work, developing a calligraphic economy of line that accentuated his emerging expressionistic style. "I think Toth always fed his simplicity," said Zaffino's son Gerardo. "Although he covered the pages with lines, the composition was very simple. I remember watching his pencils and saying, 'Hey, when are you going to finish them?”

Other projects of note during this period were Hoover (a two-part science-fiction detective story written by Carlos Trillo and one of Zaffino's occasional returns to the international market), two Hellraiser stories ("The Vault" written by Marc McLaurin in Hellraiser 2, and "The Devil's Absolution" written by R.J.M. LOfficier in the Hellraiser Summer Special), a Conan story ("The Horned God," written by Dixon for the black-and-white magazine Savage Sword of Conan), and Seven Block (a one-shot written by Dixon in 1990 for Marvel's Epic imprint). With these books he moved from more escapist adventure material toward a darkly expressionistic and personal style.

Comic artist Bill Reinhold summed up the impact Zaffino's work was beginning to have on his peers in the U.S. "I first saw Jorge's work in the Winterworld series for Eclipse. I thought that was nice art, but it was his Punisher, Conan, Hellraiser and, Seven Block work (they should re-color that story and use his original painted cover) that blew me away. I was fortunate years ago to trade art with him through Chuck, Dixon. Chuck said that Jorge wanted to collect American comic-book art. So I have a page from Punisher: Assassin's Guild and from his Conan story. I'm sorry that we don't have more Zaffino jobs to look forward to.”

Zaffino was well suited to drawing serious, brutal, emotional subject matter.A personal favorite. of his was a series of covers he did for Marvel's The 'Nam. Chuck Dixon says, "His work displayed a raw power that is unmatched. He was like Joe Kubert in that you can see his 'hand' in the work. What seems like delicate and deliberate line work in reproduction would, on close inspection of the pages, be revealed as brutal and varied ink lines that looked as though they were thrown down casually. But they weren't. Jorge worked hard to achieve that look of spontaneity. Often he would finish an entire sequence only to tear it up and start over again."

Declining Output

Continuing with Chichester, Zaffino drew a dark, ongoing series called Terror Inc. for Marvel, reviving the Schreck character from Critical Mass. Zaffino began the series at the height of his ability. Though his skills never wavered, his work had changed by the seventh issue. As Dixon explains, "He had a few admirers on editing staffs but they tried to use him on monthly schedules and Jorge wasn't built for that." Gerardo adds, "By the time he was doing Terror Inc. he wasn't doing too well personally. If it wasn't for the personal issues he was facing, he wouldn't have had any trouble with the deadlines."

Zaffino's goodbye to the U.S. comic market was a Batman story called "The Devil's Children," written by Dixon, which appeared in Batman Black and White #2. Though it's a simple detective story, his stark visuals carry great emotional impact. As his son said, "He wanted to create a mood, a climax. You can almost walk among the characters in his comics."

After leaving work in the States, he spent time reflecting on his art and his personal life. "Jorge had not been well for many years, as he suffered from a persistent depression which is the reason for his producing so very little work these last years," said fellow Argentine comic artist Quique Alcatena to's Splash. "This perhaps excessive professionalism brought him into conflict with deadline-minded editors, and Jorge got fewer and fewer jobs. Moreover, he was in a search for utter simplicity and synthesis in his line - he reneged from the more elaborate work he produced in the late '80s as being too cross-hatched, a fact which did not fail to earn his peers' applause, but which did not make him reader-friendly." According to Dixon: "He preferred special projects that allowed him to delve into the story and fully explore it. He was no prima donna or temperamental soul. An easier guy to work with I cannot imagine. He just wanted the best work from himsef. Many of the projects that I and others presented are probably still gathering dust on shelves somewhere."

There is still English-language material by Zaffino which has yet to see print. "Chuck then approached me about publishing Wintersea" says Carl Potts, "the follow up to the Winterworld miniseries. I was all for that! Unfortunately, the project did not get published before Marvel hit hard times and the company abandoned publishing creator-owned titles." There is also a host of foreign work that has never been translated. In addition to Wolf and Hoover, a 24-page sketchbook of his work, titled Illustraciones, was published in Argentina in the '90s by Abel Saidman and Carlos Devizia. In recent years, Zaffino had focused on his painting, of which the U.S. market has only seen glimpses, and continued to illustrate books published in Argentina.

Zaffino's work had a powerful impact on artists whom he would never meet, like artist Tommy Lee Edwards: "I was struggling with how to turn my thinking into strictly black and white. How to create depth? How to render the form on an object or figure? Studying Zaffino's work aided me in ways I will always appreciate. He answered many of my questions, and started me on asking new ones. He helped me gain the courage to draw with a brush." John Paul Leon told the Journal, "Jorge Zaffino is a special artist to me. Unfortunately; I never met the man, but his work is so vigorous and audacious that I can only guess he must have been very passionate. His work does not instruct, it questions."

(For more information, visit [currently abandoned, but available via]. Special thanks to Gerardo Zaffino, Lia Moshcini, Victoria Guerrero, Jesse Hamm, Gabriel Greif, Mike Manley and Chuck Dixon for their help with this piece.)

[Originally published in The Comics Journal #248, November 2002. Images, from the 1998 reprinting of Hoover, from Illustrationes, from an unfinished comic page, cover of The 'Nam Feb. 92, an unused Batman drawing from Illustrationes, and an uncredited photo of Jorge Zaffino]

Wednesday, August 15, 2012

To What End Will I Go

To What End Will I Go
A Comedy In 32 Pages And Three Years by Dylan Williams

Mid-1990's minicomic.


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Monday, May 3, 2010

Love & War

I am so excited I signed up yesterday to blog about a new book by Jon & Stasi Eldredge. We have already been reading this book and so far WOW! So watch for more once I finish reading it :)

Monday, November 30, 2009

Those pesky resolutions

It is that time of year again and as I look back at my post I may have accomplished one of my new years resolutions! Why do we do this to ourselves anyway, is it some sort of sadomasochistic desire to hurt ourselves or a desire to truly better ourselves? For me I believe it does come from that desire to get better year after year but I fail after the third or fourth month, sometimes the third or fourth day. Its as if I can't pick motivating themes that will keep me going the full year, maybe they are just too hard. Having said all of that I am starting early this year, by the time January 1st hits I plan to have it all mapped out. My theme this year is "Heritage and Legacy" and I plan to revolve most of my resolutions around my kids. Chrissy and I discussed some of them on the way home the other night and we both feel that we need to pour more into our children this year than ever before. This pouring is not only of our time but spiritually as well. In this day where the family is made to be less important we want to lift it up as the most important unit in this country. I will list my resolutions out in a few weeks but until then help me out,have you thought about your resolutions for 2010? If so what do you think they might be?

Thursday, September 17, 2009

What if God texted the 10 Commandments

LOL just saw this and thought someone else might get a kick out of it

1. no1 b4 me. srsly.

. dnt wrshp pix/idols

3. no omg's

4. no wrk on w/end ...(sat .........4 now; sun l8r)

5. pos ok - ur m&d r cool

6. dnt kill ppl

7. :-X only w/ m8

8. ...dnt steal

9. dnt lie re: bf

10. dnt ogle ur bf's m8. or ox. or dnkey.

Thursday, September 10, 2009

Now this is an awesome revenge lol

Subject: Ad Posted to Craig's List Personals:

To the Guy Who Tried to Mug Me in Downtown Savannah night before last. Date: 05-27-09, 1:43 A M EST.

I was the guy wearing the black Burberry jacket that you demanded that I hand over, shortly after you pulled the knife on my girlfriend, threatening our lives and me.

You also asked for my girlfriend's purse and earrings.

I can only hope that you somehow come across this rather important message.

First, I'd like to apologize for your embarrassment when I drew my pistol after you took my Jacket. The evening was not that cold, and I was wearing the jacket for a reason.

My girlfriend had just bought me that Kimber Model 1911 .45 A CP pistol for my birthday, and we had picked up a shoulder holster for it that very evening.

Obviously you agree that it is a very Intimidating weapon when pointed at your head wasn't it?

I know it probably wasn't fun walking back to wherever you'd come from bare footed since I made you leave your shoes, cell phone, and wallet with me.. [That prevented you from calling or running to your buddies to come help mug us again].

After I called your mother, or "Momma" as you had her listed in your cell, I explained the entire episode of what you'd done. Then I Went and filled up my gas tank as well as four other people's in the gas station on your credit card. The guy with the big motor home took 150 gallons and was extremely grateful!

I gave your shoes to a homeless guy outside Vinnie Van Go Go's, along with all the cash in your wallet. [That made his day!]

I then threw your wallet into the big pink "pimp mobile" that was parked at the curb ... after I broke the windshield and side window and keyed the entire driver's side of the car.

Later, I called a bunch of phone 900 numbers from your cell phone.
Ma Bell just now shut down the line, although I only used the phone for a little over a day now, so what's going on with that?

Earlier, I managed to get in two threatening phone calls to the DA's office and one to the FBI, while mentioning President Obama as my possible target. The FBI guy seemed really intense and we had a nice long chat (I guess while he traced your number etc.).

In a way, perhaps I should apologize for not killing you .... but I feel this type of retribution is a far more appropriate punishment for your threatened crime.. I wish you well as you try to sort through some of these rather immediate pressing issues, and can only hope that you have the opportunity to reflect upon, and perhaps reconsider the career path you've chosen to pursue in life.

Remember, next time you might not be so lucky.

Have a good day!

Thoughtfully yours,

P.S. Remember this motto.
An armed society makes for a more civil society!

Tuesday, August 11, 2009

Defying the Diagnosis

Stephen Hawking was just twenty-one years old in 1962 when he received the awful news that would change his life—he had amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS), also known as Lou Gehrig's Disease.It's a devastating diagnosis: the disease is progressive, incurable and fatal. His doctors told him he had just a few years to live.

At the time, Hawking was a doctoral student at Cambridge, having already earned a degree from Oxford. But his research hadn't been going well; he was unmotivated in his work and bored with his life. His diagnosis was a turning point: he could either give up his studies and wait to die, or he could make the most of what time he had left. At first, he chose the road of despair and resignation. He wanted to give up because he didn't see any point in finishing his degree if he was going to die soon.

But he didn't give up for long. Through the encouragement and love of his girlfriend, Jane, he pulled out of his despair and found the fire and determination that had been missing before his diagnosis. He married Jane in 1965, finished his studies, and got a job at a university. True, he was afraid of dying, but even more, he was afraid that he would die without achieving anything in his life.

Hawking and Jane had three children together, and she devotedly cared for him year after year as his disease progressed. While his body was deteriorating, his career was blossoming. He was elected as one of the youngest Fellows of the Royal Society in 1974, became a Commander of the Order of the British Empire in 1982, and became a Companion of Honor in 1989. These acknowledgements and public honors were bestowed on Hawking for his contri- butions to the fields of theoretical cosmology and quantum gravity, especially in the context of black holes. He has published hundreds of research papers, as well as six books. His runaway bestseller was A Brief History of Time, which stayed on the Sunday Times best-seller list for a record-breaking 237 weeks -- unheard of for a science book.

It's been over forty years since Hawking got his diagnosis from the doctors. He defied their prediction of an early death, as well as his early impulse to give up. Now completely paralyzed, wheelchair-bound and compelled to use a computer voice synthesizer, he is a respected scientist, a world-renowned celebrity and an inspiration to millions.

In a 2005 interview, Hawking said, "It is a waste of time to be angry about my disability. One has to get on with life and I haven't done badly. People won't have time for you if you are always angry or complaining." That's not a bad credo to live by. Excerpted from The Best Way Out Is Always Through, by B. J. Gallagher

Thursday, July 30, 2009

The Link

Well Saturday is just two more days and we are still so excited to finally be there. For all of those who can't make it, or lets face it would prefer to not sit in the main auditorium, this is the link that the University streams too.
Thanks for all of your support and prayers

Wade & Chrissy

Monday, July 27, 2009

Greetings Everyone,

Christina and I are sitting about 5 days from graduation and have sent the last of the announcements out. There were so many people we wanted to send them to, yet as many of you know Lee only gives us so many. We had the option of asking for more but decided it wasn't feasible. So please don't worry that we didn't like you if you don't get one just think more along the lines that we knew you wouldn't freak if you didn't get one lol ;)

Seriously though you are more than welcome to come to the ceremonies or watch them on the web for those who are too far away to make it. I will post that on here once I get the information to the link. We are so thankful to you all for your prayers through all of this and would love to see or hear from each of you on that day. God has brought us through so much over the last two years, yet here we stand ready to complete this leg of the race set before us.

Onto the information that I am sure you all are wondering about! Yes we will be having a sorta party Saturday Evening starting around 5pm. There will be a $20 cover charge but it covers you all night until we lock the doors at 9pm. Early Bird special gets you a discount bringing your total down to $19.95! We are not offering a group discount at this time just in case there are people in your group that I don't like! If you take any of this information away please take away the times as that is really the only thing that is true about all of this paragraph lol ;)

I was selected to carry the banner for the School of Arts and Science which is an awesome honor IMHO


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September 10, 2007

Reno 911

After yesterday's nightmare on special teams, the Eagles are bringing in former Eagles Reno Mahe for a tryout today according to NBC10 Sports Anchor Vai Sikahema.
Mahe may never break a big one, but at least is reliable enough to field the ball without any issues. Vai also says the Eagles will bring in several other candidates for the job.
Expect a roster move to be done within the next few days. Greg Lewis, and J.R. Reed are prime suspects to be released.
UPDATE: Jeremy Bloom is also coming in for a workout.

No comments:


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{What I'm Reading}: January

What I'm Reading: January 2013

Mom's On Call - Toddler Book

Desperate for some advice on discipline, I chose to read Mom's On Call. Overall, I have to say this book was harsh, and that the opinions & advice are not for the faint of heart. There are certainly some suggestions that C & I appreciated, and embrace wholeheartedly. I mentioned it here, but Mom's On Call suggests positive reinforcement before bed (just as they are closing their eyes), as a way to convince your toddler to stay in their bed all night. I'm not sure if this was the one thing that changed A's sleep habits, but, we're still doing it every night. I thought the suggestions on 'confident face' were spot-on, and

The harshest part of the book for me, was their directive on your 'one and only job' at night... to never, under any circumstance, open the door to your child's room. EVER (OK, except for sickness... but how do you know your child has a fever in the middle of the night if you don't go in the room?) In fact, they suggest reversing the handle so that you can lock it from the outside, and go on to tell you how this is safe, especially in case of a fire (so that your child can't escape and roam the house in fear). Um... I don't really know where to start, but all I can say is that I'm not that mom. Maybe this works for some people, but it is not for us. Never responding to A's cries in the middle of the night? Ignoring that he is calling for me? I couldn't. It actually makes me a little sad to think there are other toddlers out there, who wake up in the middle of the night calling for their momma's, only to cry themselves back to sleep.

( and now this review is already much longer than I thought it would be... )

Gone Girl

Of course, I had to read Gone Girl. I was maybe the only person on earth who hadn't read it. Gone Girl lived up to every expectation I had for it, and more. Gillian Flynn is a gifted writer, and always kept you guessing with every page. The thought that she put into her characters, and their development throughout the book, was very impressive. I have to admit, I was a little confused by the ending. However, once I thought about it some more, it made sense, but still seemed abrupt to me. I would definitely read any of Flynn's other books, after reading this one.

Sweet Tooth

I am only 20% through Sweet Tooth, so I can't give a complete review. I will say, if you are reading and are at the very beginning... it gets better. Just be patient!

I would love to know: what are you reading?

On (not) Quitting

Sometimes I dream of what it would be like to just close my Etsy shop and stop writing this blog.

What would life be like if I didn’t read any home decorating blogs? Would I still love it just as much? {Probably}. Would I miss designing if I closed my Etsy shop, and just ordered my Christmas Cards through Minted like a normal person? Some days I'm really not sure.

Wednesday was one of those days where I wanted to quit it all.

I absolutely LOVE working with clients through Etsy, and designing something that they adore. What I don’t love? Working with my printers on the final product. On Wednesday, I was reminded why I ever hesitated opening my shop in the first place… because ultimately, I have little control over the finished product. One of my vendors completely took advantage of me, and it made me disgusted. She backed me into a corner, and I almost gave up because I was out of options. Thankfully, I found a commercial printer who is doing me a huge favor by running a small job on their large press, just to help me out. And do you know what the old printer said when I told her I was pulling the project from her? She wanted me to pay her for her time. That’s when I wanted to quit, and forget that there was ever a time I loved doing this.

And then, Cori posted Ava’s baby announcements.
And showed her readers how she framed them in Ava’s nursery.

And told all of her readers (there are A LOT of them) how much she loved what I designed for her. And I was, once again, reminded why I love doing this.

Cori’s post was exactly what I needed to hear read.

If you don't already read La Vie Petite, you should. Cori is maybe the cutest mom I've ever seen, and runs her own small business on top of being a mom to her 4 littles. She inspires me time and time again to get out of my leggings & sweatshirt and look presentable. Oh, and I'm very excited that we may be meeting for lunch in the next few weeks!

Happy Monday, friends!

Miscellany Monday

Hope you all had a wonderful weekend! Our weekend was kind of all over the place... in a good way!

• C and I spent this last week looking at preschool programs for A. After visiting 4, making many pro-con lists, and an hour long discussion, I think we've finally come to a decision. I know that this program will be great for our little guy, but thinking about saying goodbye to him during that first drop-off... my heart hurts just thinking about it.

• We spent a lot of this weekend baby-proofing. I'm amazed at what needs to be baby-proofed after 21 months. There's so much more that A can get into, and now that he's out of his crib, we had to re-proof his room. His dresser is now secured to the wall, and we also installed a gate in the playroom. Of course, A helped with both. He used his toy drill on the gate, and then helped find a stud with dad's stud-finder.

• I've been ready for some changes in our wall decor, and yesterday, C was able to move everything around. I was so proud of myself for "shopping the house", rather than going out and buying something new. I'll be sharing those changes soon!

• A few of you have asked how A is doing now that we've moved him onto a mattress. Honestly, he's doing great! He loves his new big boy bed, and sleeping has been getting better and better. I know that not every night & nap will be perfect, but we have made so much progress in the last 2 months. In fact, on Saturday night, he slept 10.5 straight hours. I took this picture not long after he woke up - happy baby!

• So happy that Kourtney & Kim Take Miami is back on. I had been missing my trashy reality T.V., and the Kardashians never disappoint.

Have a wonderful week!

Happy Wednesday! Here's what I'm loving these days.

1) After reading Reichel’s post about her juice cleanse, I’m tempted to try one. My hubby seems to remember that I tried this once and got sick, but I truly have no memory of ever doing that. For lent one year, I tried to give up dairy & refined sugar, which I’m pretty sure I didn’t stick to…. I wonder if I have the willpower to try this for 3 days? Here's the one I've been thinking about.

2)  Our baby monitor died last weekend – boo! I was certainly disappointed, since we had only been using it for 18 months... and of course, the warranty is only for 1 year. I knew we would need to invest in a new one when we decided to grow our family, because Summer Infant no longer makes the monitor we originally had, and we wouldn’t be able to add an additional camera. We ordered this monitor last week, and while I won't yet say I love it, having a working monitor is wonderful.

3)  One of my 2012 resolutions was to get my pictures off my computer, and into an album. I was able to finish both 2009 & 2010, and they now happily reside in our bedroom. I’m in the process of working on our 2011 album, and I’m loving seeing all of these pictures again. Such wonderful memories. I still can't believe this little guy will be 2 in the spring.

4)      It’s the little things that make me happy. I finally ordered a new makeup bag, and it fits all of my makeup perfectly. Plus, it's cute.

5)  In keeping with my 2013 resolution to be more green, I ordered myself a waterbottle small enough to keep in my purse during my commute! Its so cute, and I love not having a plastic bottle to recycle every night.

6)  I shared A's big boy room inspiration yesterday, just in time for his big boy bedding to arrive in the mail... and I LOVE it.

7) And I'm always loving these two boys. They make my heart so full.

Linking up with Jaime for WILW!

{Big Boy Room} Mood Board

Hi friends! Hope you all had a wonderful weekend - we definitely did! Having an extra day off was glorious.

Our little guy had a big weekend: his crib came down, and he's now sleeping on a mattress on the floor. He has done great the last two days, which makes me feel so much better about the decision. I will admit that I cried a little bit as we disassembled the crib, but I know this move was for the best.

Just wanted to share A's big boy room inspiration. Because we're planning to move A into his twin bed next month, I've already bought the quilt & sham below, but still need to buy sheets. The move into a new room will most likely be a summer project, but I've already started to search out things on sale & that we can refinish or DIY. I am SO excited!

{Project Playroom} Part III: The Rug

A small update to the playroom - our new rug!

LOVE it!

I ordered this rug from Target, but unfortunately, it was a little too big for the space. I couldn't bear to return it, so I brought it to a local rug shop, and they were able to cut it down to size and re-serge it for me. You'd never know by looking at it, and now, it fits perfectly!

If you look closely in the first picture, you will also see a new white filing cabinet. We now have 2 of them, and they will become the base of our new desk. We're making lots of progress in here, and I'm so excited to see the room coming together the way I had envisioned.

Hope to have more updates soon! In the meantime, we'll be playing in the new space!

Gallery Wall Project Update #3

It's been 5 months, but I am finally back with an update to my parents' gallery wall!

As a reminder, this is the wall we were looking to fill.

Back in August, we had purchased frames to fill the wall, and had figured out an arrangement that could potentially work in the hallway.

The big delay was because we were waiting on a few back-ordered mats. They still aren't in (and we're about to admit defeat and find new ones...), so on New Year's Day we decided to move forward and hang the frames anyway.

Here they are, ready for new mats and some amazing family pictures!

Can't wait to share the finished wall, hopefully soon!
(No pressure, Mom!)

My Baby Sleeps on a Dog Bed

It sounds worse than it is…
But my baby sleeps on the dog’s bed.

Let me start from the beginning: as you might remember (from here, here and here), our little guy is the world’s worst sleeper. Has been since his very first night in the hospital, and continues to be to this day. I won’t go into a whole dissertation on sleep, but believe me when I say we’ve tried it all. A just wants his mommy. I work full time (which means I have enough mommy guilt to fill a room), and I usually give into him in the middle of the night. Why? Because I’m a softie. And because I need to sleep, too. And because my little boy wants his momma to lay next to him.  My days are numbered with how long he will ask me to do that… so, I (happily) oblige.

On December 1st, while away at my in-laws house, A learned how to climb out of his pack n’play. I knew that day was coming, but when I actually saw him do it? I was shocked. He got his legs over the side so easily, he actually looked like he has been practicing that move for months. By the time I was upstairs, he was already in the hallway. The next day, he attempted an escape from his crib. I know he would only try this when he was awake, and left to fuss, so as a temporarily solution, I hid one of Otto’s old bed’s under his crib, and we pulled it out at naptime and bedtime… just in case he fell out, he would have a soft landing.

Around this time, I also realized that I was probably making things worse by allowing A to come in our room at night. I will never be that mom that says our children have no place in our bed, because frankly, what is ours is theirs and there is nothing in the world like sleeping next to your little baby. Nothing.

BUT, I needed to start helping A make better sleep habits.

A discovered the dog’s bed peeking out from his crib one day at naptime, and asked me to pull it out. So I did. And? He grabbed his pillow and lovies and fell asleep on it. In under 2 minutes. So I let him stay there. Instead of fighting his nap (like he always had), he just curled up and went to sleep. This went on for a few weeks…

By this point I had made it  a real “bed”. It has a sheet, and a pillow, and a blanket. It has bolsters on 3.5 sides, and frankly, doesn’t look much different than the blow-up toddlers beds I have seen on Amazon.

Not that I feel I have to justify my decision, but Otto basically slept on this bed a total of 10 times since we bought it for him. In fact, this dog bed was more expensive than A’s crib mattress (which, maybe explains why he sleeps better on it!).

While I was home over the holidays, A and I did “One Nap Bootcamp” – my own, completely made-up, could-totally-fail, 10-day course in getting him down to 1 nap, and sleeping through the night. On the dog bed. If it worked, we would transition him to a toddler bed. If it didn’t, well, I resigned myself that I’m just going to be tired and that I’m not telling anyone, ever again, that my kid doesn’t sleep through the night. Because I’m SO over the crazy looks and the “have you tried/you have to/it’s because” explanations everyone has given me the last 20 months.

The first few nights, A was up at least once, maybe twice, but each time I’d go in his room and ask him to lay back down, and he did. Sometimes I would fall asleep too, but I tried really hard to only stay for 10-15 minutes, and then once he was asleep, I would leave. If he woke up at 6, I would bring him in bed with me, and we’d both sleep until 8 or 8:30. This was BLISS.

Last week, we decided to tweak a few things. I realize what I’m about to say makes me sound like some superstitious athlete (which I was), but we decided to try a few small things just to see what happened, and this is what we stuck with after his first night of sleeping 9-6:30, in his room... In the dog bed.

• Only cotton jammies – no more fleece
• Warm milk before bedtime
Positive reinforcement before he closes his eyes*
• Raising the temperate 1 degree in his room

We’ve now had 8 wonderful nights of our little guy, happily asking to go to sleep, and staying in his room until anytime between 7 – 8:30 in the morning. Once in a while I will have to go in and tell him to lay back down, but he falls back asleep quickly and stays asleep. OHMYGOD!

We are giving A one more week of the dog’s bed, before we transition him to a (real) mattress on the floor. We’ve learned our lesson, and are letting him try a soft mattress that we already have in the house, before we buy one. If that works, in February he will move to his twin bed (still in his room), and sometime this summer we’ll move him into his “big boy room”.

Of course, now that I have “big boy room” on the brain, I’ve been on the hunt for some inspiration. I'll be sharing his new room inspiration soon!

If you are reading this and your baby or toddler doesn’t sleep through the night – you are not alone, and you are NOT crazy. Do whatever works for you, and if that means you need to buy a dog bed from L.L. Bean, you have my  support.

*This idea came from the book, Moms on Call – Toddler Edition, which I will review next week

{Project Playroom}: Part II / Inspiration

As I shared on Monday, we've started working on our big playroom makeover. Our goal is to have this room function as a playroom, office & guest room - on a budget.

Of course, once we decided this was going to be our next project, I turned to Pinterest for some ideas. You can see the whole board, here, but here are some of my favorites.

Source: bhg.com via Jillian on Pinterest

And finally, here is the mood board I created to keep me on track when shopping for this room. Some of the items you see we already own, but I wanted to make sure they would still work in the new space.

I hope to be back next week sharing some of the progress we've made!

Linking up with Debbie Doo's!

Long Overdue Christmas House Tour

I know, I know. I'm SO late. What can I say? I was busy enjoying the holidays!

So without further ado, our Christmas Home Tour!

All the decorations came down this past weekend, and I have to say, I'm loving the extra space back in my living room! I love having them all up, but after the 1st, I'm ready for them to be away.

Happy Wednesday, friends!

Mommy & Me

Posting for no other reason than to share this picture of my wild monkey & me. I was so desperate to get him to stay still for a nano-second, so that we could get one non-iPhone picture during my 10 days off with him... no such luck.

But I love him anyways!

Linking up with Emily for Mommy & Me Mondays.

{Project Playroom}: Part I / Current Playroom

Hi friends!

Welcome to our newest project - Project Playroom!

When we first looked at our home in 2008, the bonus room was a huge selling point. Without a basement, we knew we would need all the extra storage we could get, and this room kind of sold us on the house. Not many split-level homes have this extra space on the 4th floor, so we knew how lucky we were!

Unfortunately I don't have a "before" picture, but suffice it to say this room was a mess. Faux wood paneling, a moss green Berber carpet that had definitely seen better days, and years worth of dust & dirt in every corner. For 2 years, this room served as our attic, until little A (Baby P back then) was about to make his entrance. This room was the last big project before our little guy was born, and we're so SO thankful to have this usable, extra space in our home.

Here is our extra space looks today: part guest room, part playroom, part office, part storage.

I'll be sharing our home goals soon, but we have some big plans for this room in the new year!

Our goal is to turn this space into a true playroom for our little guy, and a permanent office for both me & C. While our office needs are different, we thought it would be best to share this space. I currently work at small desk in our guestroom, and it truly is perfect for me. But since we hope to turn that room into another nursery (one day!), we figured it would be easier to make the transition now while we are reworking the space upstairs. This space will also continue to function as a guest room, since much of our family, and almost all of our friends, live out of town.

Here is our project list - we can't wait to get started!

• find a new, plush (kid-friendly) rug
• add an additional large basket for toy storage
• replace blue bins on 2nd shelf
• child proof TV with anti-tip brackets
• create an art area (maybe a chalkboard & a rotating gallery for A's artwork)
• add a gate at the top of the stairs
• find a way to keep toys organized, and easy-to-find

• create/build a two-person desk in the dormer
• add shelving for storage
• make a functional/fun message station for reminders & invitations
• find 2 desk chairs
• create a functional filing system for household paperwork

Guest Space:
• add wall-mounted sconces near the bed
• update bedding
• add throw pillows along wall

• add/make window treatments
• build a closet door for small storage space
• add a closet rod to small space for off-season jackets
• add artwork to stairway

I'll be sharing my Pinterest inspiration & a mood board, soon. Seeing it makes me even more excited about this space!

Twenty Thirteen Resolutions

I love all that a new year brings. The hope and promise of new beginnings and a clean slate. The opportunity to re-prioritize and reflect, and choose what to focus on for the next 365 days.

I’ve already mentioned it in my 2012 Resolution Recap, but I love resolutions. It appeals to the list-maker in me, and I love having something to reference to keep myself accountable. Last year I kept my resolutions in a little notebook I carry all the time, and I truly believe it helped me stay on track for the year.

1) Learn to sew, apply eye makeup, and check my tire pressure
Sewing is something I’ve always wanted to learn, and I’m looking forward to working on some projects I’ve been dreaming up. Applying my eye makeup is something I’ve always struggled with. I wear the same colors every day, and rush to apply my mascara as I’m waiting for the train to pull into the station each morning. I’d love to learn a new day and night look that I can do easily and that makes me look like I’m actually sleeping through the night ;) And checking my tire pressure is just something I need to learn to do. End of story!

2) Lose 5 more pounds
I was able to get back to my pre-baby weight in 2012, but that is still 5 pounds heavier than I was when we got married. I don’t feel like I have to fit into any particular size, but I remember how great I felt about my body 3 years ago, and would love to feel that way again.

4) Continue to read one book a month
Because I commute to work, this is pretty easy for me to accomplish. I loved reading one book (sometimes 2!) a month last year, and look forward to finding some new favorites again in 2013. I’ve already started my book for January, and will share it as soon as I’m done!

5) Learn to photograph in manual
Something I wanted to learn last year, but didn’t. I know learning this could really help my photography (of both my family & my home), and I’m excited to challenge myself in this way. Santa was very generous this year, and brought me a new camera lens & tripod, so now I have no excuse to not work on my photography skills!

6)  Continue to grow my business
Staring my business last year was one of the hardest, but most rewarding, things I have ever done. I’m excited to work on some new projects I’ve been thinking of, and to see how far this dream can go.

7)  Cook one meal a month
We all know that I’m not the cook in the house. I have a wonderful, handsome husband who also happens to be one of the best cooks I know. Many people are shocked that I don’t cook, but frankly, I don’t have time. If I cooked, we wouldn’t eat dinner until 8:00 every night, and well… that’s not feasible. I do however, want to learn to make more than scrambled eggs and my token salmon in puff pastry.

8) Less Internet & Social Media
I had planned for this to be a resolution for months, and then on New Year’s Day, I accidentally left my phone at home while we were with my family. It was so liberating to not have something to check out of habit, and just BE. I use my train ride to catch up on my blogs, and I don’t feel that time takes away from being with my family. But when I’m home, I’m guilty of checking social media while A is playing away on the floor. I want to be more present, and putting my phone away is the best way to do that.

9) Be more green
While I made a lot of strides in 2012, I am still guilty of being lazy when it comes to some things. This year, I want to use less plastic (specifically water bottles) move all of my magazine subscriptions to our iPad, and actually remember my reusable bags when I go to the grocery store.

10) POML (Project Organize My Life)
This deserves its own post, so I won’t go into too much detail now. But I’d like to continue setting monthly goals for getting our home organized, and creating more attainable routines. From cleaning, to managing our pictures, and organizing our recipes, I want to simply.

11) Take some time for ME
I think it is natural for moms to always put themselves last, but I do need to start taking a little bit better care of myself. You know... all the good things: drink more water and less coffee, get out for more walks, take my vitamins & get a little more sleep. Pray more when I need some grounding, and find more time for a glass of wine or a phone call with my friends.

Looking forward to the new year, and all that it brings!

Happy New Year & 2012 Resolutions

Happy New Year, friends!

I had the BEST 10 days off, and spent some much needed quality time with my boys. A and I had so much fun being home together, and tried to fit in as much playtime as we could. It's going to be hard to leave him tomorrow morning! How could you not love this face?!

The last few years, I feel like the new trend in blog-land is to not make new years resolutions. And while that may be for some, I love making resolutions. I'm a Virgo, through and through, and lists & goals keep me centered. Before I make my resolutions for the new year, I love looking back to see how I did the year prior. I don't ever beat myself up over not meeting any of my goals for the year, but making progress on all some of them does give me a great sense of accomplishment.

2012 Resolutions

• Get back to my pre-baby weight
I'm happy to say that this summer, I was finally back to my pre-baby weight. I earned every pound of the 29 I gained with A in 2011, and was blessed with a wonderful pregnancy and a very healthy 7 pound, 15 ounce baby boy. A was just around 16 months when I met that goal, and it honestly felt great. My body has certainly changed since having a baby, and I now seem to be a size larger in most brands, but I'm OK with that.

• Read one book a month for the entire year
This was such a great resolution, because it forced me to pick up my Kindle on a regular basis. In the past, I had a tendency to read in spurts, only to not read again for months. You can read all about the 18 books I read here, and plan to continue this resolution next year, too!

• Learn to use my DSLR
Ahhh - this goal I didn't do so great in. I'm guilty of always shooting in auto, because it is easy and my pictures seem to come out pretty good. Next year I plan to make this goal more specific, and try to learn to shoot in manual

• Launch Bella Carta Boutique Website & grow business
Complete! I plan to do a separate post all about this, but launching my business this year was one of my proudest moments. I am also happy to share that between Etsy and private orders, we had an extremely successful holiday season. It was full of stress & late nights, and lots of growing pains, but I wouldn't have it any other way! You can read all about the Etsy launch here!

• Start a blog
Pretty obvious, but yes, I started this blog. The amount of time and organization that it takes to manage a blog was definitely a shock at first, but I feel like after 5 months I am in a little bit of a groove. I don't feel the same pressure I did at first, to post every day... 3 times a week seems to be manageable for me, and I love that the blog keeps me accountable for my projects. Starting a blog was a dream of mine for many years, so I'm thrilled to have finally accomplished this 2012.

• Become a little more "green"
This resolution was pretty vague, but I do feel like I've done a pretty good job with this. C and I are both extremely environmentally conscious, both in our home and in our lives, and have really made this a priority. This year, I made my own homemade cleaners, was able to significantly reduce our junk mail by discontinuing many catalogs we receive each week. I started (but didn't finish) to create a way to manage Bella Carta's accounting all online, so that I can avoid printing out receipts & invoices all the time.

• Project Organize My Life
This resolution deserves a whole post in of itself, but having a disorganized home kind of drives me crazy. It sounds ridiculously unattainable, but what I truly strive for is order in our everyday life, so we can spend more time doing the things we love. I hate that I have to do a huge purge of our linen closet or pantry 4 times a year (for an hour or more each time) - if it was all organized to begin with, it would never get to that state. Here are some of the things I set out to accomplish this year.

     - Organize our Photos: find online storage, organize pictures in folders on computer & get albums printed
     - Work on our Living Will: write & sign our will, choose guardians & executors of our estate
     - Create a filing system: mail, receipts, taxes, health insurance documents & Otto's vet information

I'm happy to say most of these things are done. I'll share more about each of them in a later post, but having each of these items taken care of has made so many things easier.

Phew! It's been a good year!

On a personal note, 2012 was all I could have imagined and more. We watched our little baby grow into a rambunctious toddler, and embraced the new family dynamic that came along with it. C and I feel more settled into our roles as parents, and have carved out some time for ourselves, too.  That's not to say that our year wasn't also full of challenges, but knowing that we've gotten through them all as a family has only made us stronger.

The last few weeks have been heart wrenching for me, personally, as I've struggled to find my 'normal' after the Sandy Hook shootings. I found it hard to not feel guilty during the holidays, as so many families were still grieving for their babies. All of this has made me slow down a bit, and just soak in every moment I can. I've never been one to take anything for granted - I know my life, and my family, are all enormous blessings - but this holiday season I savoured it all a little bit more. I've made it my own personal vow to turn off the tv / put away my phone / get off the computer more often, and just BE. Be a mom, be a wife, a daughter, a friend... because those are the things that matter. My resolutions? They are important (to me), but never more important than my family.

I hope you all had a wonderful holiday with your families! Here's to a healthy & happy new year!


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My Birthday

Today was my birthday, and while I'd love to say it was some extraordinary day... really, it was just an average day. I'm not complaining... ordinary days are my favorite. I took the day off to spend it with my little guy, and we had lunch with Daddy after a little visit to our new preschool. My little guy decided he was WAY too excited about momma's birthday to take a nap, so he pushed my buttons all afternoon, and then C and I left for parent's night at school. But I spent the day with the people I love, and that's all that truly matters.

If you follow me on Instagram, you saw this post last night... but yesterday, A gave me the BEST birthday gift, ever.

He said, "momma? love youuuu", for the first time.

I'm pretty sure he was asking for a "tookie" (cookie), but STILL. He told me he loved me.

If you've been reading for a while, you will know A's speech is something we've struggled with. I'm proud to say he's grown leaps and bounds in the last few months, and basically never (ever) stops talking. To hear him put together 2, and 3-word phrases, honestly brings tears to my eyes.

And to hear him say he LOVES me?! I cannot put it into words.

Here's to my last birthday as the momma of one!

Five on Friday: Waiting on Fall

Linking up with the ladies from A. Liz Adventures, Carolina Charm, Hello! Happiness and The Good Life Blog for another 5 on Friday! Today I'm sharing all the little things I'm loving (& buying) to get ready for fall!

I've been a little obsessed with holiday jammies lately (for A, not for me!).  Here are a few Halloween jammies I've purchased in the last week... and I may or may not have also purchased 3 sets of winter/Christmas jammies, too!

And if you are looking for some more adorable jammies for your little, check out my dear friend Emily's post!

These two plug-ins found their way into my basket at Yankee Candle. I think the little owl will find a home in our kitchen, and the jack-o-latern in our bathroom. And of course I had to add a few fall scents too ;)

Fall beers are my favorite. Just ask my husband. I wait all year for all the pumpkin & harvest beers to be released. While I won't be enjoying these this year, you better believe I'll be stocking up on some to keep in our spare fridge until January. Shock Top Pumpkin Wheat is on the top of my list!

This adorable wreath is going to be my next DIY. I made a similar one a few years ago, but I like the idea of the larger pine cones for the front door. Add that ribbon is the perfect golden yellow for fall.

I love how simple & sweet this saying is. The chalkboard in our dining room has been blank for some time, so I this weekend I'll be adding my own "eat, drink & give thanks".

Hope you all have a wonderful weekend!

Our Guest Room (and the beginning of The Nursery Chronicles)

The only room I've never shared on the blog is our guest room. Aside from paint, molding and new closet doors, this room has been pretty much looked exactly like this for the last 3 years.

For a long time, this room also served as my office. My father-in-law built me the desk (above), and we installed a a shelf to hold supplies for Bella Carta. Last year when it became apparent I'd need a little more room to work, we decided to make a new workspace in our playroom.

The rest of this stuff? That's what we're cleaning out. This little room will soon become the twins' nursery.

Oh yeah, this room is teeny. 10x9.5' to be exact....
And it needs to fit not one, but two babies.

For a long time I thought we'd move A in here, and make his room the new nursery. But after some more thought, I think it makes more sense for A to have the bigger room. For one, we've worked really really hard to get him to sleep through the night, and I'm not really sure I'm ready to risk changing that for the sake of the nursery. Also, A actually plays in his room... which means that once I move the big IKEA chair out, there will be room for some more of his toys...

from the living room...

Because we also need to make room down there for some baby paraphernalia. You know, swings, bouncers, etc.

Moral of the story? Lots of cleaning out & moving around is happening around here. I have some ideas of how to make this room work with two cribs, and a plan for the rest of the changes we need to make (to prepare for the craziness that will ensue in January).

Hope to share some progress, soon!

Happy Monday, friends! Hope everyone has a wonderful week.

Five on Friday: Birthday Edition

August is birthday month, so I'm sharing my birthday wish list. Subtle, right?

Linking up with A. Liz Adventures, Carolina Charm, Hello! Happiness and The Good Life Blog for another 5 on Friday!

How perfect is this cardigan for fall? Since I'm already feeling so big, I have a feeling that leggings and some cozy cardigans are going to be my work-from-home and weekend staple.

I've been coveting a pair of Kendra Scott earrings for so long now, that I can't believe I don't own a pair. Every time I get an email for 15% off, I say to myself, "today is the day!" ... I think these would be perfect to dress up or dress down, and would add a little fun to my everyday "work" uniform.

The Naked 2 Palette. In keeping with my new year's resolution, I really want to learn how to apply eye makeup. Properly. With so many wonderful reviews, this seems like the perfect shadow collection to experiment with.

I think it's finally time to say goodbye to my iPhone. Nothing seems to work, especially since it has a mind of its own and decides to shut off for 20-30 minutes for no reason (with a full battery). Love this case for the new iPhone 5! If I could just figure out a way to get all 3,000 pictures onto my computer...

I pinned this vest today, and I was so excited... until I realized it was for crewcuts! Do you think I can just order the biggest size and call it a day? Maybe I'd fit in it after the twins were born.... maybe. So cute though, right?

In all seriousness, finding out about our two little angels on the way (and hearing they are healthy), was the best birthday gift I could have received. Can't wait to love on them, and make A a big brother!

Hope you all have a wonderful weekend! The Mr. and I are sneaking away for a date night when his parents come to visit, and I am so SO excited. C is looking forward to the amazing wine list... and me? Stuffing my face without bribing anyone to have "one more bite"!

Maine Vacation Pictures {Finally!}

Some (very) long-overdue vacation pictures! It's taken me 3+ weeks to get these off my camera... oops!

It's a little insane how many pictures I take on vacation, so I tried to keep these to my very favorites.

blowing kisses to the seagulls

he's laughing so hard he's screaming - he thought the waves were hysterical

maybe one of my favorite pictures of the week - A, and his little cousin, B

my 8-week babies bump

9 weeks

Five on Friday

Helllllo Friday! I'm so happy you're here!

First and foremost, thank you all so much for all the messages and well wishes about our big news! We were completely overwhelmed with the outpouring of love & congratulations. We're so excited for this next chapter in our lives, as crazy as it may be!

So now that our secret is out, I'm sharing five baby & pregnancy items that I'm loving (or lusting after) lately!

Linking up with Darci & friends for another installment of Five on Friday!

I never saw the need for a pregnancy pillow when I was pregnant with A, but now that I'm already as big as I was at 20 weeks, I see one of these in my future. And this one is super duper stylish, to boot.

My dear, dear friend (and mom to a 4.5 year-old AND 10-month old twin boys) was here for a night last week, and gifted me with her "bible" to twin pregnancy. I cannot remember their exact weights at birth, but both of her boys weighed well over 7 pounds when she delivered at 37 weeks, and she swears by this book. I'm almost done, and have already learned so much about maternal nutrition and all the things I need to be doing to keep these babies in as long as possible.

These Loft jeans are from the end of my first pregnancy, but have made an early appearance with this pregnancy. While I can still wear my pre-pregnancy jeans with a belly band, some days its nice to have a break from them. And now that I had to go on the site to find a picture, I see these are 60% off. Hello, second pair!

Stripes are my weakness. That is all.

This pictures pretty much make my heart melt.


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"An arbitrary succession of more or less irritating sounds"

Thursday, 21 April 2011

Candlewax oligarch

Whatever else it is - a mesmerising piece of pulsating, shimmering live 'playthrough', most obviously - the Keith Fullerton Whitman work in progress 2011. is (unsurprisingly) no loping dubsteppery. Boggling at its SoundCloud tag, the literal-minded still await a take on the genre from KFW - who after all has some kind of dance music form in his Hrvatski guise (though not lately, admittedly - they may be waiting some time).

Anyway, recorded 'live to "glass"' - whatever that means - just this Monday (perhaps the second half of the title is the time it was taped?), the piece provides some kind of self-riposte to his striking recent comment that "now that it [generator] has run its course, i've yet to come up with a "next step" that doesn't tread over the same old ground; i'm uncomfortable with the endless recycling of materials that i suppose make up a "career" in music ... at least enough to shy away from performance opportunities that don't offer something new and/or truly sympathetic to the spirit of furthering things."

Context: "generator is over ; it was exactly a year in the doing, during which i learned a ton about approaches to live electronic music that don't essentially involve lying to your audience; an experiment which helped clear the air & lent much to my own mental stability..."

Note also that this year should bring "an lp for the "no" label covering the final two "generator" performances (i.e. my solo sets at high zero 2010 & the "propensity of sound" festivals, taking place exactly one day apart & offering two completely separate variations of the piece that i consider the definitive versions)."

"... here's a little video documenting a series of recordings I've been carrying out in the home studio (aka Much Wenlock) utilizing electric guitar & a few different configurations of guitar pedals (here the chain goes :: Fairfield FourEyes -> Moog Ring Modulator -> Visual Sound Visual Volume -> Strymon El Capistan -> Boomerang III -> Strymon BlueSky, with expression pedals controlling the FourEyes SVF frequency, the Ring Mod's carrier frequency, and the El Capistan's delay time) ...

this comes pretty close to what I've been going for :: a muted, aleatoric musique concrète approach to "live" guitar music, with little in the way of traditional "guitarisms" ... to me it sounds like something that would have been broadcast on the RAI in 1956 ..."

While we're here...

Important: LMYE only makes music available that artists/labels have chosen to share freely. Let us know if something here shouldn't be.

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Reclaimed Bespoke Island

    Reclaimed Bespoke Island

  • Product Code IS0015
    • Handmade reclaimed solid wood island with a waxed finish
    • Also available handpainted in any Farrow & Ball colour from the colour card, as in the example shown
    • Oak worktop
    • Internal shelves
    • Matching wood handles
    • Panelled sides and back
    • Measurements: 150cm Width x 79cm Depth x 90cm Height

    MADE TO ORDER. Please contact us for bespoke requests, or come along to our showroom here in Yorkshire to see further examples of bespoke pieces.

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Latest News

Rigzone: A Primed Pump: Midstream Prepared for the Permian’s Pinch Point

As rig rage drove up the U.S. count to a level not seen in years, production in the prolific Permian Basin entered 2017 under the shadow of a bottleneck that threatened to choke the flow of all that black gold.

But as luck would have it, the midstream sector saw that coming.

During January alone, midstream companies shared their expansion plans to increase capacity by more than 300,000 barrels per day (bpd), hauling hydrocarbons from the Permian Basin.

Analysts had forecast production increases would fill incremental capacity, and create problems for producers in the basin by the third quarter, extending until new capacity could be added. Now, if capacity tightens to a pinch, the point would only last a month or two, said Justin Carlson, vice president and managing director of research at East Daley Capital.

“And if rigs continue to ramp the way they’ve ramped in the Permian, it could mean that we [still] don’t have enough capacity,” Carlson said. “It would not shock me to see another incremental expansion on one of these systems to respond to production growth that producers and – the forward curve – is currently justifying.”

According to East Daley calculations, there is a strong correlation between WTI oil prices and the Permian rig count, which teetered close to 300 at the end of January. For every $1 change, five rigs were either added or dropped from the Permian within three months.

Read the full Rigzone article here.


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Monday, March 5, 2012

EMU Tennis Club has Sped up their Training

Eastern Mediterranean University Continuing Education Center Tennis Club has started its prep training with Çağlar İzkan who will coach the 10-12 age group athletes attending the tennis tournament organized by the Turkish Tennis Federation between the 1st and the 4th of March, 2012. Names of the young athletes who will attend the tournament in the Antalya Alibeykoy holiday resort are listed below;

From EMU Student Council Presidency to Young Businessmen Association Presidency

Eastern Mediterranean University (EMU) is proud of her graduates who are successful in their careers. EMU Graduate Gökhan Gökten graduated from the Faculty of Architecture in the year 2000 and has since taken over the Gökten Construction Industrial and Trade Co. Ltd. The company is very large and it operates out of the Iskenderun region of Turkey. Gökten has been the president of Iskenderun Young Businessmen Association for three terms, the president of the Turkish-American Businessmen Association Çukurova branch and the vice-president in general along with being a member of the board of directors of Turkey Young Business Confederation.
Gökten stated that the biggest reason for his success comes from the education he received from EMU and added that in today’s rapidly changing world, competition is extremely important which EMU taught him how to handle such situations. While Gökten studied at EMU, he was the president of EMU Student Council which helped him learn and understand the responsibilities of such a position.

EMU Graduate Burak Çetinay Earns a Job in Fujitsu, a World Renowned Company

Eastern Mediterranean University (EMU) graduate Burak Çetinay has made significant achievements at the world-renowned Japanese technology giant Fujitsu. He graduated from the department of Electrical and Electronic Engineering and shortly after his graduation he was employed as a system engineer working in system integration companies. He continued his career to become a Disaster Recovery Business Continuity Solutions expert.
In 2002, he started working at the Servus Company where he fulfilled his duties by marketing the Hitachi Data Storage Systems within Turkey. He managed to land a job at Fujitsu in 2007 and has been continuing his career henceforth. He is currently employed as the Channel Sales Director.
Çetinay stated that EMU has made a huge impact in his career and that the education he received while studying at EMU not only taught him the necessities but also taught him how to lead and become a leader in his field. He stated that prospective students of EMU must pick a field that they love and that they should know their goals in order to achieve them. He concluded his words by adding that studying in EMU will benefit them for the rest of their lives.

EMU Faculty of Law Providing Support for the Legal System in Turkey

Eastern Mediterranean University (EMU) Faculty of Law, in collaboration with the Turkish Bar Association, and Chamber of Notaries, continues to support the promotion of new laws in Turkey and related application-based in service training projects.

Core laws such as the Turkish Criminal Law, Criminal Procedure Law and the Turkish Civil Code as well as Civil Procedure Law, Commercial Code and the Law of Obligations are being altered one by one, which affects the way of standards that were apparent for the last 85 years.
EMU Faculty of Law continues to support the campaign.  Changes in the “Civil Procedure Law” were put into effect throughout Turkey on October 1, 2011 and Assoc. Prof. Sema Taşpınar Ayvaz, Dean of Faculty of Law, attended numerous meetings regarding the changes. Within the context, the Dean of the Faculty of Law Assoc. Prof. Sema Taşpınar Ayvaz attended the “Civil Procedure Law” seminar as well as the seminars held in Elazığ, Malatya, Diyarbakır, Kayseri, Bursa, and Antalya.
Assist. Prof. Sema Taşpınar Ayvaz stated that they will continue to provide assistance for lawyers in better adapting to the changing laws as the laws which have changed are proving to be difficult to deal with.
In the coming days, a seminar entitled “The Developments and the Applications of Commercial Law” will be held and EMU Faculty of Law academic staff member Prof. Dr. Aynur Yongalık will be taking part in the event.

Wixforth Spoke at EMU: EURO will be Reborn from Its Own Ashes

Embassy of the Federal Republic of Germany Financial and Business Advisor Uwe Wixforth and the Germany Ambassador to Cyprus Dr. Gabriela Guellil held a conference entitled “EURO Crisis: Germany’s Perspective” on February 27, 2012. EMU Rector Prof. Dr. Abdullah Y. Öztoprak also attended the conference organized by the Faculty of Business and Economics, Department of Finance and delivered an opening speech. Dr. Guellil stated that EMU is the best place to have such a conference due to the ethnic diversity of its students and faculty members.  Dr. Guellil talked about what can be done in order for the EURO to be as strong as before and what the role of Germany is in the EURO Crisis. Dr. Guellil added that in later semesters, she will establish a greater dialogue with EMU and Turkish Cypriots in general.
Uwe Wixforth stated that “Euro” crisis should should be entitled as the “Debt” crisis. Wixforth suggested a 3 pronged approach to the crisis which especially affects Greece as follows;
  1. Scrapping a portion of the debt lent to Greece (107 Billion EURO’s)
  2. The Greek Government to increase the effectiveness of the public sector by privatizing, laying off workers from overemployed companies and take measures to reduce tax evasion.
  3. Make use of the IMF, the European Union and the EU Central Banks Rescue Package (130 Billion Euros) that can be implemented in steps.
In his speech, Uwe Wixforth mentioned that by creating a competitive economy, “EURO will be reborn from its own ashes”.

“Cyprus Night” Will be Held at EMU

Eastern Mediterranean University (EMU) Directorate of Social and Cultural Activities in collaboration with EMU Student Council have organized a Cyprus Night that will be held on March 2, 2012, Friday night at 07:00PM in EMU Beach Club.
According to the information received from the event manager Evşim Erel, traditional Cypriot dishes will be served, regional folk songs will be performed andtraditional games will be played.
The night will reflect the traditional Cypriot culture and on top of the great activities that will be held on the night, local music groups “Zenga” and “Kurşiniler” will perform.

EMU Continues to Rise on an International Scale

At the end of 2011, “Webometrics Ranking of World Universities” which provides evaluations and rankings for over twenty thousand universities throughout the world has improved the rank of Eastern Mediterranean University (EMU) amongst 12 thousand other universities.
Eastern Mediterranean University (EMU) has risen over 400 places since the end of 2010, moving into the 1025th spot and proudly presenting the flag of TRNC. Webometrics Center is based in Spain and is operating under the Spanish National Research Council (CSIC). After a detailed survey was conducted, EMU was placed in the 1025th position. Only 13 of the 18 higher education institutions operating in the Greek Side of Cyprus have managed to qualify and the best of them being the University of Cyprus was ranked 1057th proving yet again that EMU is the leading university in the whole of Cyprus. Other universities in TRNC were ranked 3382nd and 8093rd respectively.
Webometrics has adopted the Berlin Principles on Ranking of Higher Education Institutions where they strictly adhere to the guidelines that are put into effect. Official webpages of the universities are evaluated according to the Volume, Visibility and the Impact of it taking into account the institutions scientific production (in terms of published articles, conferences, thesis, reports, monographs etc.) and the Support materials (Course materials, databases, digital libraries, staff pages, workshops, etc.)

Eastern Mediterranean University has raised its Web presence in the year 2011 and with the evaluations that were completed by Webometrics, it demonstrated the quality of EMU’s publications.
With the success achieved by EMU, the university has become the 426th best in Europe and the 12th out of the 180 State and Private Universities with a Faculty of Medicine and the 6th out of the ones without a Faculty of Medicine in Turkey.


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Lesson 18 – AutoFocus Fine Tuning (Back Focus and Front Focus)

In this photography lesson I will show you a simple method of testing auto focus in your camera, see if you have front or back focusing problem and how  to do an AF fine tuning.   INFORMATION FROM THE VIDEO: Your camera can have back focusing or front focusing problem.  If you focus on the eyes with the wide aperture (let assume around f/2), your DOF should be as it is show in this image: If you are focusing on the eyes and you get just nose in focus, you have a FRONT FOCUSING problem as it is shown in … Continue reading