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Saturday, June 9, 2012

Celebutard authors

Nicole Richie did it. The Sisters Kardashian did too. Snooki, Lauren Conrad, and Teresa Guidice did it more than once.

I’m not talking about making a sex tape.

These dimwits all wrote books. Everyone mentioned above, save Teresa, wrote novels. And by “wrote,” I’m guessing that means they slapped their name on something a publishing intern knocked out.

Don’t you need opposable thumbs to write a book?

These celebs have all added “author” to their multi-hyphenated bios. Well, I’ve got a few choice words that might sum you up: Fame-seeker. Cooch-flasher. Grammar bungler. Low forehead.

Teresa Guidice can’t even string words together with any sort of proper syntax. She’s like Jersey’s version of Yoda. “Kidding me you are?”

And box of hair Snooki is even less believable, not because she’s mostly likely illiterate but because she would never take time out of her GTL regimen to direct her ghostwriter. I see it going something like this: “Um, yeah, let’s write a book—is nonfiction or fiction the one that’s not real?—where there’s a girl who, you know, is DTF with a juicehead she meets at a club. Wait, is that a pickle?”

Fuck yes, I'm mad bitter. Like prescription eyeglasses, let me have this. I’ve never been cool or tan or on a reality show. But I write. I have been published. You can have your reality show, oily bohunk and what will assuredly be an orange baby. Just let me and other writers have our bylines. I may not be a triple threat but I can live quite happily with my multi-hypenate of blogger-author-malcontent.

(Note that I'm talking about a select group of "famous for no reason" celebrities who parlay their celebrity into other products to extend their brand. I love loads of television personalities—Hello, Stacy London!—who bring integrity, wit, expertise, and intelligence to book projects. I'm a niche, not a broad-brushed, hater.)

downfromtheledge said...

Let talented WRITERS write, instead of all these hobags dibbing their grubby fingers in every pot they can think of. Same with celebrity cookbooks and cooking shows...I'd much rather see someone deserving, who comes up from nothing, win out by talent than any pleasant-faced moron getting book deals. Well Tori Spelling isn't pleasant-faced, but you get the idea....

Lady Jewels Diva® said...

So in agreeance!

It pisses me off too, and yes, 99.9999% of celebs DO NOT write their own books. They get paid for their name and a ghostwriter owned by the pub house whips up some piece of fluffy gutter trash just to make money.

What does it say about publishing houses that they waste their money on shit celebs like this? I heard the book barely sold, so what a waste that was. In so many ways!


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Wednesday, June 30, 2010

Hooray for Etsy!

One of my cup cozies has been selected for an Etsy treasury (a treasury is a grouping of items from different sellers based on a theme). I'm not quite sure how my "Marbles" cozy fits with the "Fruits of Summer" theme, but it's colorful, and hey - I have no problem with the extra exposure!

The way treasuries work is that once they're created, views, comments and "hearting" (liking) the item bumps the treasury to the top of the list and the winner gets featured on the front page of Etsy, scoring the creator of the treasury and all the shops featured a lot of exposure, which usually leads to sales.

So - I would love if you'd take a look, comment and heart my item or any others included in this treasury! To heart an item you must click on the item, which will take you to the actual listing within the shop. Then over on the right you can "heart" the item - you'll be prompted to sign in.

If you don't have an Etsy account, create one, it's easy! Just maybe freeze your credit cards in a block of ice first because you will spend your entire paycheck there. For real.

Tuesday, June 29, 2010

I am inching my way through some books on welfare, welfare reform, welfare racism.

The first one was really moving, the author interviewed 30 women on welfare (from different states, different regions, different size/type of town/city/rural area), who have kids. The book goes topic by topic & you see the women’s situations compared to each others . . . there are so many common themes. Hard-work, determination, hopelessness, abuse, abandonment, lack of education. So, so many cases where the women were abandoned by the fathers. Lots of abuse, and a surprisingly high number of women who were married to the father of their children . . . and the father left the family or was abusive or was an addict. Not as many cases of women who were never married.

There were a couple examples of women who were disabled or who were unable to work because there simply was no work in their area. The majority (and I mean like 90%, not 60%) had worked since they were teenagers in factory jobs, waitressing jobs, caregiver jobs. The problem is that the work available in their area, that they could get to with their transportation, that they were qualified for – was so low in pay and benefits (no flexibility on hours, if your kid is sick you lose your job, no health benefits, no vacation) that in order to survive they had to get on welfare. And still they lived a meager existence.

In the welfare reform book I learned that each state is different, but that the 1996 federal reform act required states to make ALL welfare recipients work. Some states (possibly all of them) have exemptions to hand out to special cases (where someone physically can’t work, for example). Some states use all their exemptions, some states barely use theirs. The percentage of exemptions was very small compared to the percentage of cases who had to work.

What I’m seeing over & over is that the requirements put upon those who get welfare benefits, and the training/education opportunities just don’t do enough to actually lift the families out of poverty. So the families aren’t getting welfare any longer but they’re still living in poverty, and now mom isn’t able to be in the home at all to parent her kids.

Did you know that in the beginning, welfare was given out to women whose husbands had died, because women weren’t yet enough a part of the workforce that without a husband/provider, the family would starve? And that only women who were seen as “good” and “worthy” were given benefits? The women who had children out of wedlock or who left abusive husbands (and surely other situations) weren’t allowed benefits because they weren’t seen as promoting the ideal values for society?

The actual purpose of welfare in the beginning was to allow women to stay home and raise their children because this is how you created a healthy society. But today if you want welfare benefits you have to work or prove that you are actively seeking work, or are in some sort of educational program (and often then you still have to work).

Women who receive child-support payments from their children’s father only get a small portion of the payment (something like $50 a month) if they are on welfare. The state takes everything over $50 to offset the benefits they are giving to the woman/children. So even if a woman gets a total of $500 worth of benefits from the state, if her ex pays $700 in child support, she gets $50 while the state gets $650.

This may vary state-to-state or it may be all states, – did you know that there is a 5 year cap for receiving benefits? And many states don’t allow those to be consecutive years? Some states have a system like this: 2 years on benefits, then you must survive for 2 years off. Then you can have 2 more years, then you have 2 more years off. Then you can finish up with your last year of benefits, and then you are done and can never receive benefits again, no matter what.

Did you know that some states give as little as $64 a month for children born to a mother who is on welfare? There may be other states that give more or less but I don’t have that info. That doesn’t seem like a big incentive to have a child to me. AND those benefits are not necessarily cash!

Did you know that some states give ZERO benefits for a child born to a mother who is on welfare? Again – speaks to the motivation of women having babies so they can live off the state via their children.

When the 1996 welfare reforms went into place, a ton of money was put into the welfare system . . . also a ton of regulations, to the point that resources were spent on creating duplicate forms in multiple formats . . . entering data into multiple databases . . . training & re-training & re-training. Red tape grew & grew & grew. Employees who worked for welfare agencies were given raises while benefits to the individuals on welfare were actually cut.

The number of benefit cases from 1997 – 2001 were cut in half! It is harder to get welfare, it is harder stay on welfare, it is harder to transition from welfare to an above-poverty situation, it is harder to manage welfare.

Yet the myths - that most people on welfare are freeloaders who are lazy, don’t work, are milking the system and live on welfare their entire lives - persist.

Monday, June 28, 2010

Ashley realizes she has not yet filled out her FAFSA for school and needs to get that done ASAP. Unfortunately, she doesn’t have her tax return documents for 2009 because she emailed all her W-2s & stuff to George and Weezie and then got a direct deposit refund. They like to save on postage by not mailing your return to you, you have to come pick it up. Also, George has NO BUSINESS having anything to do with Weezie’s tax business, and messes up stuff with technology all the time. For example, he has attempted to send a fax, and when it beeped, he randomly began hitting buttons, which made the fax stop. Thus, the machine must be broken so: Someone call the repairman.

George: Hello?
Ashley: Hi Uncle (George), this is Ashley, how are you?
George: I’m fine, boo, what’s up?
Ashley: Well, I never got my 2009 tax return since we got direct deposit . . . can you send my return to me? I need it to fill out some important financial aid paperwork.
George: So when you gonna come by and get it?
Ashley: Well, we’re really not going to be able to. Can you fax it?
George: No, that’s too many pages to fax. You just need to come by and get it.
Ashley: Unfortunately, I can only get around on the buses and trains and Vincent is way out in the suburbs with our car and can’t get into the city anytime soon. Could you mail it?
George: grumbleneedtocomepickupyourdamnpapersgrumble I’ll just send the one part. Ok, what’s your fax number?
Ashley: 312-123-4567
George: Ok, I’m sending it now.

Ashley (seeing George’s phone number): Hello?
George: Beeeeeeeep beeeeeep beeeeeep fax noiiiiiiise beeeeeeeep
Ashley: Hello? Uncle George?
Ashley: CLICK *sigh*

Ashley (seeing George’s phone number): Hello?
George: Beeeeeeeep beeeeeep beeeeeep fax noiiiiiiise beeeeeeeep
Ashley: Hello? Uncle George?
Ashley: CLICK *$%!@*

George: Hello?
Ashley: Hi Uncle George
George: Hey, Boo, I just sent it
Ashley: Actually, Uncle George, that’s why I was calling, I wonder if you maybe sent it to the number I called from instead of the –
George: No, I sent it to the number you gave me!!
Ashley: It’s just that twice now, I’ve received a phone call from your number and when I answer, I hear fax machine noises. Usually I only hear that when someone is –
George: That was me calling you to tell you I sent it.
Ashley: . . . Ok. Thanks, Uncle George.
George: Ok, bye.

ASHLEY CRIES. Uncle George is the only one answering the phone.

A few minutes later, the fax arrives. Now, to fill out FAFSA stuff and see if he sent me enough info.

Saturday, June 26, 2010

PBS Independent Lens documentary: Crips and Bloods: Made In America is about how/why gangs got started in LA, how they’ve evolved and the conditions that keep the South Central LA community stuck in the cycle of gangs, drugs & violence. It also highlights the work that is being done to try to make changes . . . and the work that has to be done from outsiders in order to make change possible.

On the website, there is a map where you can hover over the different things like liquor stores, crime, home ownership & homelessness, gang violence, schools, prison statistics, employment, grocery stores, health clinics, hospitals – the information about the disparities of what is in South Central compared to more affluent areas of LA is disgusting.

The map also highlights some historical events that happened in South Central.

Definitely worth checking out if you get the chance!! You can check out a preview, look on the movie link above & on the top right of the screen. AND you can also find out when it will play next on your local PBS station – my station is going to show it again this Sunday, so it’s likely that yours will be showing it sometime soon as well.

From the director:
I made CRIPS AND BLOODS: Made in America because I was interested as a filmmaker and as a resident of Los Angeles in investigating why gang violence has been going on uninterrupted in Los Angeles for over four decades. I could not understand why this is going on in America and why no viable solution has ever been put into place. And it did not make sense to me, our country defeated Nazi Germany and Japan simultaneously and in less than a decade but we can’t stop gang violence. It made me wonder if as a society we would find a solution to this problem if instead of poor African American teenagers it were affluent white teenagers who were killing each other.

Kumasi, one of the principle characters in the film says this, “Part of the mechanics of oppressing people is to pervert them to the extent that they become their own oppressors.” I believe these young men involved in gang violence are carrying out their own extinction and the very sad truth is that our society is allowing this to happen. I hope people who view the film see these gang members as human beings caught up in a tragic nightmare and not as the animals and demons the media has made them out to be.

I believe people should see this film because this is a human rights issue that is happening inside of America and it’s happening every day in many of our largest cities—but it happens in silence. These young men are dying in silence and they are being incarcerated in silence. More people have been killed due to gang violence in Los Angeles than the long running sectarian conflict in Northern Ireland, yet very few know this fact. Young children in South Los Angeles are experiencing greater levels of Post Traumatic Stress Disorder than children living in Bagdad, Iraq. This is happening inside of our country.
—Stacy Peralta

Meet four of the men featured in CRIPS & BLOODS: Made in America.

“I grew up in a home where my mother worked two jobs, but had three boys. …We were unsupervised, so I found my supervision outside of the home.”

Skipp was born Clifford Townsend in Los Angeles. Forty-four years old at the time of filming, he became a member of the Rollin’ 20s Bloods at the age of 13. Although he became inactive in 1998, he feels as though he has never really left his gang. He has spent almost seven years of his life in the U.S. prison system and is currently working towards his bachelor's degree in child development. Skipp recently created his own organization specializing in community intervention, re-entry, mentoring and gang intervention. He also assists with training Los Angeles Police Department officers on community relations and works within the city’s school system to make an impact on at-risk youths.

“…But the point is this: I'm a walkin' time bomb. I'm gonna go off. Some day, somewhere, on somebody. The question is: 'Upon whom?'"
Kumasi was born in Bronx, New York and moved to South Los Angeles at age three. Sixty-one years old at the time of filming, he joined the Slausons at age 10. He still considers himself a Slauson, although the gang became inactive around 1967. Kumasi has served a total of five terms, or about 18 years, in the U.S. prison system during his life. He currently works as a consultant and activist within his community and as a consultant in the entertainment industry.

“So, a lotta times, man, I know morally I'm a good individual, but sometimes I gotta put that moral state of mind behind me and become an animal.”
Born in Los Angeles as Rodney Moralez, Shaka joined Mad Swan Bloods (currently known as Family Swan Bloods) at the age of 13. Twenty-eight years old at the time of filming, he still considers himself a Swan, although he became less involved with the gang after becoming a father, and has become inactive in recent years. Shaka has spent three terms, totaling six years, in the U.S. prison system. He is currently working as a hip hop and reggae artist in the music industry and is starting up a church and basketball program for at-risk youth.

“I grew up in a house where my grandma and my uncle, everybody was sellin' drugs. You, know what I'm sayin'? I grew up to where when the police raid, they handed me drugs to hide…”
Born Raymond Ford in Los Angeles, Scrap was thirty-two years old at the time of filming. Growing up in Jordan Downs Housing Project in Watts, he feels that he was born into a gang. Scrap became an active member of the Grape Street Watts Crips at 11 years old and became inactive in 2003, after his best friend was murdered. As a juvenile, he spent one year in a youth authority camp. He currently works full time as a football coach, and part time doing gardening work for the city.

Friday, June 25, 2010

Have any of you heard of the Value Tales books? I learned to read on these!

I had a large set of them, they're great! They feature an historical figure and some sort of value and tell a story of how that character learned the meaning & importance of that value, set in a short story of something real they did.

For example in the Value of Believing in Yourself, you learn about how Louis Pasteur (best know for his milk-pasteurization process) developed the Rabies vaccine even though people said it couldn't be done.

In the Value of Helping, we learn about Harriet Tubman and the way she helped slaves find their way to freedom via the Underground Railroad.

There are 24 books in the set, I believe, and you can order them individually or as a set. Great character lessons for kids as well as history lessons.

Kindness, Respect, Creativity, Fairness, Honesty, Humor, Imagination -- just a handful of the topics covered in this series. Historical figures like Madame Curie, Helen Keller, Confucious, Jackie Robinson, The Wright Brothers, Sacajewa, Abraham Lincoln, Beethoven . . .

Wednesday, June 23, 2010

Unnatural Causes

There is a series on PBS that I’ve caught portions of from time to time. It’s called “Unnatural Causes: is inequality making us sick?” That link will take you to the show site which has more information including videos, transcripts, other sites, articles.

The series as a whole looks at different groups & from different perspectives: Louisville, KY and people in low, middle & upper class – who gets sicker and who stays healthier . . . Why are infant mortality rates of African Americans twice that of Whites . . . Populations who have the highest rate of Type II Diabetes . . . communities that have lost industries seeing health issues skyrocket . . . Marshall Islanders whose lives were affected when the U.S. began using their outer islands for extensive nuclear testing after WWII (seriously, does this not make you say a huge WTF?!?!) . . .

A while back I saw the episode on Type II Diabetes and one of the industry episodes (there are 2, the 2nd one focuses on a Michigan manufacturing town).

The population with the highest rate of Type II Diabetes in the world are Native American tribes in Arizona, the Pima and Tohono O’odham. Researchers tie the rise in the disease to the water from the Gila River being cut off from them, as it was navigated to new settlements upriver by newcomers (who had new U.S. laws on their side). Basically they were no longer able to grow food (something they were previously able to do even in their dessert, through complex irrigation techniques) and eventually had to depend solely on “commodity food” from the government. Picture warehouses of Sam’s & Costco sized food packages of things like canned meat, chips, white bread, lard . . . little to no veggies or fruits & certainly not fresh – all canned. This went on for 100 years or so, it wasn’t until the last decade that fresh food was sent. On their entire reservation there is only one small grocery store with a tiny produce section.

It also mentioned that populations who have the highest rates of Type II Diabetes (African Americans and Aboriginal people in Australia were also mentioned) tend to be people who have been displaced from their original habitat. Makes sense – suddenly they no longer are able to find/grow/eat their usual foods and have to “make do” with what they can find or that is provided for them. Consider how today’s “soul foods” are tied to the leftover foods that were tossed to slaves, and how these foods have now become a part of African American heritage & culture. When looking at the Native groups, it was mentioned that “fry bread” is actually not a food that native peoples ever ate – it comes from the commodity food staples that were provided by the government after water supply was cut off – flour, lard, refined sugar . . .

The next episode moved to Richmond, California and looked at the Southeast Asian community there and the high rate of heart disease and other health problems that are exacerbated by the level of stress the residents feel from living in poverty. Their story was used to explain how low-income communities not only have to deal with the regular problems that everyone has to deal with, but that they have less RESOURCES to solve the problems, or to manage their health in relation to the problems. It went into a description of the way stress affects the body and what health problems often come from people who are feeling stress all day long.

Richmond was a war boom town (WWII) but when the war was over, industries left Richmond so many people moved from the city and out to the suburbs. The problem is that the only people approved for home loans were middle-income whites, so low-income whites and ALL people of color had to either relocate entirely, or stay within Richmond which was almost deserted and didn’t have an economy to support good schools, health services, public services, etc. If you’ve read The Spirit Catches You and You Fall Down, the community in that book is very similar to Richmond. The family focused on in this episode attempted to move out of Richmond but couldn't afford it. Their daughter was later murdered by a gang member who thought she was someone else. The father had a major heart attack due to his heart disease and even working will put too much strain on him to heal - they don't know how their family will survive without his income.

Lastly the special focused on High Point which was a neighborhood in Seattle that was also a war-boom area, set up with “temporary housing” back in the 40s, to house industrial workers. The war ended, industries shut down, but the workforce had nowhere to go so they stayed in the sub-par housing which was still standing 60 years later (hardly temporary). High Point was able to turn things around, though – community activists got together and fought for grant money (possibly also state or federal funding but I can’t remember for sure) and were able to tear down the bad housing and build new housing as well as community services like parks, community centers, clinics, gardens . . .

Unfortunately most low-income people are not used to having a voice or power and they are trained to not expect much or that if they try only the exceptional will be successful, so there are more Richmonds than High Points.

This stuff . . . not just specifically health, but all aspects of life which are affected by being poor, disenfranchised, uneducated, dis-counted, ignored, oppressed, etc. . . . this is what I have a passion for. I’m not sure how it will all work out, but this is the stuff I want to spend the rest of my life fighting and helping to change.

Tuesday, June 22, 2010

Here are some things I'd like to do, certainly not ALL the things I'd like to do. Some big, some small. Some I've done since writing the list a while ago, some I've done in the past but would like to do again.

· See/hike the Grand Canyon

· Go fishing

· Attend a woman’s labor & delivery

· Perform in a musical where I get to sing *and* dance (but I don’t need a lead role, chorus is fine)

· Jet ski

· Sew/knit something like a blanket, afghan, quilt or article of clothing

· Write a song

· Find a church home

· Teach dance

· Be with someone while they’re getting a tattoo (no, I don’t feel the need for one of my own)

· Celebrate my 25th wedding anniversary with a big bash

· Run (and finish) some sort of run (not a marathon! More like a 5 or 10K) that is for a good cause

· Take a cooking class

· Decorate a house (or just a room in someone else’s house)

· Host a holiday dinner

· Go on a trip in an RV and stop at unique restaurants & landmarks along the way

· Go horseback riding, not just around a corral, out on a mountain trail or something more extensive & scenic.

· Vacation in a cabin near a body of water & wooded area. Like a lake cabin or something quiet like that.

· Go to an amusement park and ride the best roller coasters

· Go to museums (art, historical, science, cultural)

· Go on tours of Chicago (cultural, trolley, riverboat)

· Go roller skating

· Go skiing

· Ride a bike

· See a band I love in a small club concert

· Learn to play the guitar

· Own a piano & play it regularly

· Spend time in these cities: Los Angeles, Seattle, Portland (OR), Boulder, Austin, Boston, Philadelphia, D.C. I could say NYC but Chicago is similar enough (at least in the things I’d like to get out of NYC). Boston & Philly probably are too, so they can stay near the end of the list. :) There are historical things in Boston & Philly that I’d like to check out.

· Get a professional massage

Monday, June 21, 2010

Finally - cozies in the house! My etsy shop is fully loaded while I work on a couple new product designs . . . coming soon (I hope)!

Thursday, June 17, 2010

America is an unstoppable oil dependency-breaking machine!!!!
Unfortunately the machine runs on oil.

Shocker: He gives Nixon more eco-friendly props than anyone else!

Tuesday, June 15, 2010

R.I.P., McSweeney's link. I just added a bazillion other blogs to my reader and your multiple daily posts are clogging things up. I still love you, I just don't have time for you. That can still be love, right? It's still love even if I only bother with you when I'm bored or need some amusement. I think.

One day I'll update the look of this place . . .

Monday, June 14, 2010

Because her assistant is out for the week, I've been designated a "delegate" for my campus president, so I can now send email on her behalf, set up meetings, etc.

Wednesday, June 9, 2010

~ we're moved. not fully unpacked. but the new place is what i think of, when i think of, "home." ~

~ someone nominated me in the facebook group "from: me to: you" and i came home the other night to these awesome, suprise, handmade gifts:

you should join the group and nominate someone to receive a surprise gift! ~
~ i'm neck-deep in commencement planning, it'll be over friday afternoon. ~

~ i have a friend who moved out to napa, works in the wine industry and has a boyfriend who owns a winery or vineyard or something . . . i sent her a message in facebook to laugh about how i'm finally a grown-up and have learned to enjoy wine. she replied by telling me she's going to send me some of their wine! ~

~ i've begun sewing again and hope to get some new items listed in my etsy shop soon! i'm experimenting with a couple new products as well as using some gorgeous new fabrics for my original cup cozies. what's funny is that i'm looking forward to staying up late, sewing and watching the final season of LOST, catching up on Heroes and getting started with Grey's Anatomy . . . just as much as i'm looking forward to the actual sewing. i've only ever watched 1-2 episodes of Grey's eash season - the whole glorification of infidelity thing always rubbed me the wrong way. but . . . ever since i learned that kevin mckidd joined the cast, i've been itching to watch it. he enters the show in season 5 so that's where i'll be starting. i may just fast-forward through all the scenes without him. and having said that, i think my crush may have just gone off the deep end. ~

he's so not my normal type . . . but . . . yowza.
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Want Lists are located here. NPB Baseball Want List is located here.

Wednesday, December 26, 2012

On the second day of COMC posts... mailbox gave to me: nine Topps Heritage cards. Yeah, it doesn't fit the song structure, but I don't care!
 This is my first look at Topps Heritage other than the blogs. Not that I was really surprised with what I saw, since it was all over the blogs many months ago. Yes, this is a Heritage Minors insert card I started off with.
 And then a little floating head. These are kind of cool, but floating heads freak me out.
 Chrome! Give this next video about a minute to really get started. Then you should get the joke.
Did you get it? Huh? The card has a blue sheen in the scan and... no, okay, that's not it.
 I've been there twice!
 That's a leg kick.
 Hey, it's the MLB version of Prospect Performers! Go Kemp Go!
 Shouldn't there be some serious connection between the two players?
 Black parallel with a cheater. Black listed! Ha!
Last, a Minors on-card autograph. I prefer the autograph box to just be faded - the abrupt big blank spot just looks bad. Or don't fade at all, and pick appropriate photos where the blue, black and/or red ink will show. But the Storm have the coolest hat logo I've seen in a long time.

More tomorrow!

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Sunday, 13 January 2013

I've been quiet lately, I know I have.  The final year of my course is speeding along and I have been trying to find a way of working that suits me.

Perhaps because my work is quiet in feel, I find I work better in my own space at home rather than in the noise and bustle of the university studios.  Plus each day I stay at home saves me 2 hours of travelling time and quite a lot of petrol money; yet I can't get over the silly feeling that somehow I am 'playing truant'.  Despite this feeling, since Christmas I have been strict with myself and have stopped dashing around, giving myself time to think about my work and where it is going.

a sneak peek

I have also been worrying that my work has been getting so restrained that it is barely there at all; this timely post from Fiona has really helped me to resolve that in my own mind.

So this week I shall be quietly arranging and rearranging my fragments of glass and hope soon to have some resolved pieces to show you.

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Helen Smith, artist and maker in glass, print and stitch.

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courtney - USA
Entered on May 22, 2008
Age Group: 65+

Some friends are there forever but most just come and go. I believe that friends are like trees; or at least parts of a tree. Some are the roots; they hold up the tree. Others are like branches; they might seem sturdy but if you step too far out on one it will break. Then you have the leaves that come and go with the seasons. Next there are the friends that are not a part of the tree but they still exist. They are the birds. The birds might stay for a while, make a nest, but then they disappear leaving the nest behind. I have had, and still may have, all those types of friends. That’s kind of why I’m writing this. Friends are a big deal to me. They are my life. If my friends were taken away I wouldn’t have anything. I think I would die without them.

When you are leaving 5th grade everyone tells you how much things will change; how much friends will change going into middle school. Also, this is when you find out who your true friends are. I never really listened to those people, not because I didn’t hear them but because I didn’t want to hear them. I thought that everything would stay the same; boy was I in for a surprise. As soon as I walked into the door everyone was in a frantic rush to be popular except a select few, my best friends.

For example when I walked in that day, the first day of middle school, I felt different. I felt things were going to be different, and they were. I walked up to one of my friends and just said hello. I expected a short hello and maybe a little chat about how our summer went. But all she did was give me a “hey,” then walked away to talk to someone she was never even friends with, but apparently now was. From that point on I realized things at school would never be the same again. I was pretty upset when that happened, I wasn’t expecting it. This was a big deal to me, this girl has been with me since pre-k, and we never even fought. I walked away knowing my tree was falling apart in a hurricane named middle school. Then one of my best friends came up to me, she comforted me, she helped me. She helped get me through it and she let me know she was there for me and always would be.

Okay well I am not going to lie. My best friends did change a little too. Like when I saw my friend Sam she had dyed her hair, Paisley buys clothes from expensive stores now, and another friends voice got deeper, but their friendship with me didn’t change at all.

Things weren’t always happy though because I did lose some friends. However they were just leaves on my tree of friends. Let me tell you something that I have learned over these few years, the same thing happens every year but if someone wants to go let them. They can only hurt you more if you don’t. Now I am in 8th grade and I could never be happier. I lost leaves over the seasons but I gained roots along the way.


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Friday, August 24, 2012

Tim Leeming in the Wednesday Journal

This blog has often featured the paintings of Tim Leeming (because he puts them in our shows -- and I like them)

But now, he has also caught the attention of The Wednesday Journal where I saw his face this morning, staring out from the front page of Oak Park's local weekly newspaper.

And, according to the text, someone in the Palette and Chisel gave him the idea to paint criminals:

Leeming, who has been working as a criminal defense lawyer for about 30 years, first got the idea for the series from a friend in the Chicago art club he belongs to. Artists are supposed to document their times, he said, and the idea arose during a time when urban areas were experiencing high crime rates and an unprecedented number of incarcerations.

By the way, there's quite a few reader comments at the end of the internet edition of the story - mostly taking Tim to task for 'romanticizing' reprobates.

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Tuesday, June 7, 2016

New Online University Course - Gentleman's Glittering Nightcap

This sweet piece is a miniature nightcap from the Stuart Era about 5" tall. The life-sized versions of these pieces were often worked in professional workshops and could be bought at the Royal Exchange. This miniature example is worked in coiling stems using a variety of stitches such as detached buttonhole, trellis, and spiral trellis plus reverse chain for the gold stem. The main flowers are all worked in gilt sylke twist with the supporting elements worked in soie gobelin. The nightcap lifts off of its base and reveals
an etui tower that holds needlework tools.

The story behind this piece is that it was the bargaining chip that pushed the production of the gilt sylke twist thread!!  Back when we were trying to get the GST made for the Plimoth Jacket, I needed to guarantee that I would purchase a certain amount of thread of each color.  Each production run would be larger than what the jacket project would need.  So I designed this piece to use the thread and highlight its wonderful character and taught it to a lovely group about a year after we started the jacket.  It did the trick and that is how we got GST produced!  Now in a larger color range, this thread will have a finite lifetime as it is very difficult to make and it takes a very special person to make it.
Lessons:  There are six stitching/history lessons with pictures of spectacular historic embroidered nightcaps

Options:  You can get the teaching project either with or without a slate frame that is sized for the project.

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Feathered Fleece Again

Finally got back to the fleece I bought when - October?   These are for my DGD's and are to be in their Christmas.   Hope the package makes it there on time....

I got tired of feathers and decided to fit a panto into the space.  I have never inserted a panto into a section of a quilt before so this was a good place to start.  All worked well, used blue painters tape to mark my panto start/stop and also taped over sections and re-drew some areas to have nice fill within the space.   I am pleased with the results of both of these.

Meandering feathers for Laura

Clematis flowers/vine for Julia

Detail of Clematis pattern.

Nancy said…
These look so warm and inviting! Nice job. See you in January.


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Lifespan of Social Metrics

Unlike metrics of simple systems, the metrics of complex adaptive systems have a life span. They grow in value over time. And then they decay in value as well. Take twitter. At first it was follower count – and that still matters some. But over time, people found ways to gain followers that didn’t coincide[…]


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Fantasy Baseball Focus: National League third base - Through The Fence Baseball

Fantasy Baseball Focus: National League third base

by Jamie Shoemaker | Posted on Tuesday, February 14th, 2012
| 1112 baseball fanatics read this article

Editor’s Note: Fantasy Baseball Focus is a breakdown of each league, position by position. Each team receives a fantasy analysis on the starter, backup and future prospect if there is one. In case you’re wondering, is there a schedule? Why, yes! Thanks for asking. On the right hand side of the page (your other right), look for the Fantasy Baseball Focus headline. Jamie Shoemaker will analyze the National League, while Dan Kirby handles the American League. Good luck in your fantasy leagues!

Fantasy owners expect a better year from Hanley Ramirez in 2012. (Mike Ehrmann/Getty Images)

Power-hitting third basemen used to be the norm, but in recent years the production has dwindled a bit. Third base has a nice mix of proven veterans and rookies to buy low on. Miami’s Hanley Ramirez will more than likely (if he doesn’t get traded) have at least one more shot to show the Marlins he still can be a threat. World Series hero David Freese is back and has fantasy owners salivating like rabid dogs.

Could this be the last year for the great switch-hitting Chipper Jones? Those who have been playing through the years knew drafting Jones was a for-sure pick. You can still draft him now, as long as you know what you will be getting. Solid play for around 130 games. But what if he goes out with a monster year? Which fantasy owners will take that risk? How about the decline of David Wright? Will anyone draft him and hope his numbers will go up just because the Mets altered the fences a bit or with hopes he will be traded to a team with a little more protection? All are valid questions as we dig into the third base crop.

For-sure pick – It means you’ll get consistency, nothing less, nothing more.
Sleeper – Underrated in drafts; can get in later rounds but might produce above-average stats.
Overrated – Might not produce at the hype he’s supposed to produce at.
Long-term value – Might not be the best bet for this year but excellent for keeper leagues.

Top-five third basemen

  1. Aramis Ramirez, Brewers — 2011 stats: .306/.361/.510 – 26 HR – 35 doubles – 93 RBI
  2. Pablo Sandoval, Giants — 2011 stats: .315/.357/.552 – 23 HR – 26 doubles – 70 RBI
  3. Hanley Ramirez, Marlins – 2011 stats: .243/.333/.379 – 10 HR – 20 SB – 16 doubles only 92 games
  4. David Freese, Cardinals — 2011 stats: .297/.350/.441 – 10 HR – 16 doubles – 55 RBI only 97 games
  5. Ryan Zimmerman, Nationals — 2011 stats: .289/.355/.443 – 12 HR – 21 doubles – 49 RBI

Atlanta Braves — Chipper Jones

Starter: Chipper has been around a long time. He managed to gut out 455 at-bats last year, denying critics who said he can’t finish 100 games a year. While most players would take his season any day, he’s just not what fantasy owners expect out of him. If you are a realistic owner who expects realistic stats (while drafting him in a realistic position), then he’s a perfect fit on your team. If you’re one of those who draft him in the first five rounds and expect him to contribute 24/7 like a top-five round pick, then you’re going to have a frustrating season. He hit 18 home runs with 70 RBIs and managed 33 doubles last year while hitting a .275/.344/.470.

Miami Marlins — Hanley Ramirez

Starter: Hanley had a horrible year in 2011 and cut his career stats basically in half. It was a miserable year for him and fantasy owners. We can speculate here all we want on what went wrong, what bad habits he picked up, etc. But it’s not going to solve what problem he had. Most of us would like to forgive and forget. Some of us will not. Bottom line: It was the first blip in his career, so there’s no reason to think it will continue. I do, however, express patience with him if he struggles from the start. I’m sure all the distractions in the offseason and adjusting to third base will affect his start. I expect somewhere close to his season average by the time the season ends: .306/.380/.506 with 25 HR and 41 SB.

New York Mets — David Wright

Starter: Wright had an extremely disappointing year last season, and if you were like the Mets are now, you were quietly trying to trade him. Nobody likes the guy in the league who’s trading his big star because everyone is asking the questions: Do they have a secret deal going? Why is he giving up? Why is that *** trading him to the guy leading the league? All are valid questions, and you should get those. The Mets will catch the same backlash if they trade him, as well, and one rumor that won’t die is the Phillies rumors. Wright only appeared in 102 games last year, and if he can stay healthy, he should bounce back. I do expect a decrease in RBI opportunities as Jose Reyes is no longer hitting in front of him. Wright strikes out a lot, and he would only be a steal if you can get him past round three.

Philidelphia Phillies — Placido Polanco

Starter: Polanco, unfortunately, hits like a second baseman, but not even a top one. He’s nothing flashy, not much power, not much in RBIs but he doesn’t strikeout much either. He’s a Punch-and-Judy hitter, if you’ve ever heard that expression. He won’t help you and he won’t hurt you either.

Washington Nationals Ryan Zimmerman

Starter: Zimmerman had a season like Wright did, appearing in one less game and having similar stats except for average. Zimmerman hit .289/.355/.433 in a down year, which isn’t bad. He had multiple nagging injuries last year, and understandably, he has a lot of fantasy owners a little skeptical. His abdominal tear last year wasn’t your normal injury, and I look for him to rebound back to his 25 HR, 90 RBI days.

Chicago Cubs Ian Stewart

Starter: Stewart is going to be given a shot at third base, which doesn’t mean you should do the same. He only played 48 games last year and played them pretty bad. At his best, he’s a .250 hitter with 15-20 home runs. That’s about it.

Cincinnati Reds Scott Rolen

Starter: Rolen had an injury-plagued year last year and only saw action in 65 games. He is lucky to get more than 120 games in a year and likely competes with Chipper on games played. Only problem is, he won’t touch Chipper’s production.

Pittsburgh Pirates Pedro Alvarez

Starter: Those who think Jason Heyward‘s season was a huge disappointment to their fantasy leagues are extremely happy compared to those who drafted Alvarez in high hopes of a powerful year. Alvarez took a major step back in his sophomore season, batting a mere .191/.272/.289 with only four homers. Fantasy owners will still draft Alvarez next year in hopes of buying low on him, which is possible, but it’s just not reasonable to expect too much at this point. The Pirates have loaded up on infield-type guys who are sure to cut into Alvarez’s playing time. If he can stay healthy. For me, it’s a wait-and-see game.

David Freese's World Series heroics are still fresh in the minds of fantasy owners. (John Biever/Sports Illustrated)

St. Louis Cardinals — David Freese

Starter: If you were like most fantasy owners last year, you took note in the playoffs when Freese just absolutely went off. Many of you, in yearly leagues, already are marking him down as your top third basemen. The postseason did nothing but help the Freese’s confidence, and though he only played in 97 games last year, he’s going to have a tremendous amount of pressure on him since Albert Pujols is gone. In the 97 games last year, he batted .297/.350/.441 with 10 homers, 16 doubles and 55 RBIs. It’s not unrealistic to expect 25 homers and 100 RBIs this season.

Milwaukee Brewers Aramis Ramirez

Starter: Ramirez rebounded from a poor 2010 season in which he hit .241, to hit .306/.361/.510 while only striking out 69 times last year. Aramis also hammered out 35 doubles. He should see an increase in RBI opportunities with the Brewers this year as he knocked in 93 last year while hitting 26 home runs. Nothing much else you can say here, he’s a for-sure pick.

Houston Astros Chris Johnson

Starter: Johnson didn’t perform as expected last year, but most will attribute that to the evil sophomore slump. Johnson isn’t a good choice for drafting either, he doesn’t walk much (less than 20!) and has a low average/on-base percentage. Not sure he’s worth a spot even if he shows improvement.

Arizona Diamondbacks — Ryan Roberts

Starter: Roberts was handed the full-time job in Arizona and he did a nice job. He hit .249/.341/.427 with 19 HR and 65 RBI. He also provides some stats in the stolen bases category with 18 swipes, which is rare given that third base is a power position. There is talk that if Aaron Hill doesn’t producE. Roberts could move over to second, and the Dbacks will fill the position via trade. I expect a similar season with a higher batting average, probably around .260.

Colorado Rockies — Casey Blake

Starter: Blake signed a one-year contract with the Rockies this off-season that made him the starting third basemen. His stats have been steadily declining, which was one of the main reasons the Dodgers let him go. He’s not worth drafting.

Los Angeles Dodgers Juan Uribe

Starter: After a big year with the Giants in 2011, in which he hit 24 homers and 24 doubles, he took a massive step back in 2012 in his first year with the Dodgers. In 77 games, he hit .204/.264/.293 with four home runs and only 28 RBI. If that doesn’t scare you away, I don’t know what will.

San Diego Padres — Chase Headley

Starter: Headley played in only 113 games last year due to a broken finger, but it’s not like many fantasy owners suffered from it because, most likely, he wasn’t on your team. He’s a pretty weak-hitting third baseman, and you can expect his average to be in the .260s with warning-track power. He’ll hit more doubles than home runs. Those in leagues where strikeouts hurt you should stay away. He doesn’t do enough good.

San Francisco Giants — Pablo Sandoval

Starter: Sandoval righted his career in 2011 when he hit .315/.357/.552 with 23 home runs in only 117 games. Owners would have liked for him to miss the DL a little more, and if he could have stayed healthy, it would have been a career year for Sandoval. Injuries weren’t a problem in the past two years, so I don’t expect injuries to be  of concern. The greatest thing about Sandoval, he doesn’t strike out much. It wouldn’t be a stretch to expect the same numbers next year, if not more.

Post By Jamie Shoemaker (120 Posts)

Jamie founded Through The Fence Baseball and is the President & CEO of Through The Fence Sports Corp. He also covers the Atlanta Braves with his column, Braves' March. In addition, Jamie also covers fantasy baseball and baseball rumors. Any questions, email him at throughthefencebaseball@gmail.com

Website: → Through The Fence Baseball

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Sunday, 20 March 2011

Last weekend I attended the annual Scottish Association of Writers conference. I'm a postal member of Erskine Writers so it's always nice to meet up in person with the group at the conference. Our group did very well - getting about 12 mentions in competitions and I'm pleased to group myself in amongst those mentions as I won the T.C Farries Trophy for the first part of my new young adult novel. This win means so much to me because I've been excited about this book right from the minute the idea started to unfold in my mind and it's so great to know that someone else sees some potential in it. I am now frantically trying to get it finished so that I can start sending it out. The photo above shows all of the first prize winners of the weekend (I'm the second person in the front row). I felt like I was at a press conference when this photo was getting taken as I kid you not there must have been about 20 cameras flashing in our faces!

The weekend came at just the right time for me as I was badly needing an escape into a world away from my day job and some time out just to completely switch off that part of my life and focus on writing, writing, writing. I was very touched by the encouragement and support from not only my own writing group (especially my Mum who I am lucky enough to have as a writing buddy in the same group) but other groups and I know that I will have a lot of people on my case if I don't get this novel finished!

Jane Wenham-Jones was one of the key speakers at the weekend. She was hilarious and also spoke a lot of important key truths. I attended her workshop and she made us shout out things which we feel stop us writing. A lot of valid reasons popped up - work commitments (that was mine), family commitments and so on. She gave validation to these points but basically told us that what really stops us writing is fear and lack of confidence. And I have to agree. I am nearly 20,000 words into my novel and am having flashes of doubt at every new chapter. Is it interesting enough? Are my characters engaging enough? Where the hell am I going with this...and so on...but I've not lost that excitement I had with the first page and that is keeping my faith alive in what I am writing.

It was lovely to win the T.C Farries; it's fantastic when someone tells you that you write well, that they love your idea, but what we all really need as writers is total belief in ourselves and our writing - this is what is going to get you through those last 60,000 words (or 100,000, depending what type of novel you're writing) And I am already thinking ahead here...that faith is what is going to allow you stand up in front of people and sell your stuff!!

Wednesday, 2 March 2011

Stylish Blogger Award

Thanks to Rosemary over at
for awarding me the Stylish Blogger Award. Through accepting this award I now have to tell you 7 things about myself and pass the award on to other blogs I like. So, here firstly are my 7 things:

1. I was the Dux of my Primary School and was also in line to be Dux of my High School but due to my point blank refusal to do Higher Maths was taken out of the running. This makes me sound like some sort of super intelligent swot but in fact I was in a very small Primary School at the time which focused heavily on English and Art (subjects I loved).

2. I worked for 3 and a half years in Cafe Cosmo at the Glasgow Film Theatre during my student days. I really wish I’d kept a proper journal of my experiences here as I met so many interesting characters-both staff and customers. Some of us were convinced that the cinema was haunted. Some Ushers in cinema 1 said that when they sat down at the end of an empty row they could feel the row move as if someone sat beside them and felt weird sensations of coldness. In the bar a lot of us had experiences where we heard our name being called (this happened to me on several occasions and I also sometimes felt a sensation of someone brushing past me). A male customer approached me one evening and asked me if the bar was haunted and then proceeded to tell me that he was ‘sensitive’ to these things and that I wasn’t to think he was crazy but he had heard a female calling his name and thought it was me at first but then realised I didn’t know his name. He told me that he thought the ‘ghost’ was called Amy and had died very young. Spoooooky! During my time here I also met some famous people (some of whom I didn’t recognise until someone pointed out who they were. I served Peter Mullan beer for about a month before I realised who he was – I thought he was a tramp). I served Gary Lightbody from Snow Patrol before they hit the big time (I was a fan from the very beginning so knew who he was as soon as he walked in the door) ...I was too shy to let on I knew who he was. He complained about the price of our Hagaan Daz ice cream.

3. I started writing when I was about 7. I used to staple bits of paper together to make ‘books’ which I illustrated. In primary 7 I had an unhealthy addiction to Sweet Valley High Books and wrote my own series of Sweet Dreams books in lined jotters, which again were illustrated and probably shockingly Americanised. I typed up my first proper ‘novel’ when I was about 12 called ‘Rhea the Rollerskater’ and sent it off to some poor unsuspecting publisher who responded with a very kind rejection. The rejections unfortunately are still rolling in 18 years later but I like to think my writing has improved slightly!

4. I had a fear of dolls when I was a child (and a very overactive imagination which resulted in my Mum having to remove several dolls and weird looking pictures from my bedroom when I was a wee girl!).

5. I have a Degree in Communications and Mass Media (I used to want to be a film director) and a Postgraduate Diploma in Careers Guidance (I now work full time as a careers adviser). For my 4th year dissertation for my Media Degree I wrote about the films of John Hughes, relating it to Youth Culture. It was shocking. There is nothing intelligent that you can say about Pretty In Pink, Sixteen Candles or Ferris Bueller.

6. I got my tonsils removed when I was 22. A truly happy graduation present as they caused me so much grief during my last year of Uni. They told me I would only get home the next day if I ate my lunch successfully. The nurse forgot to give me my painkillers but I still shovelled down all the cauliflower cheese so determined was I to get out of there!

7. When I was younger I had a bit of a spooky resemblance to the child in Thomas Cooper Gotch’s Painting ‘The Child Enthroned’.

And here are the blogs I'd like to give Stylish Awards to:
* Apologies for rubbish links - I'll need to see why it doesn't hyperlink properly when I try to insert them in my blog!


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New Scoring Scale

Scoring Scale

As we continue to strive to improve our competition we always look to measure changes on how they will affect the fun, fairness, and compete level at our events across all of our age and performance divisions. After consulting with a number of our adjudicators, we've made the decision to introduce new adjudication levels at the top and bottom of the scoring scale.

We are introducing a Platinum Thunder at the top end. This is an award that is super hard to receive and is replacing the higher end of our Lightning Gold range with something special. Previously, the Lightning Gold award spanned over 15 to 22 points depending on the performance divisions. For instance, this past season a Rock Star that scored a 285 received a Lightning Gold, but so did the routine that scored a 295. Now, for Rock Star anything over 290 will get Platinum and routines scoring 283 to 289.99 will get Lightning Gold.

We've also added a Bronze award on the lower end. This effectively has allowed us to tighten up the range between awards throughout our scoring scale so that routines score within a certain award level will be closer.

Here is a look at the new scoring scale:

Future Star DivisionShining Star DivisionRock Star Division
284.00-300.00 = Platinum Thunder287.00-300.00 = Platinum Thunder290.00-300.00 = Platinum Thunder
277.00-283.99 = Lightning Gold280.00-286.99 = Lightning Gold283.00-289.99 = Lightning Gold
267.00-276.99 = High Gold270.00-279.99 = High Gold273.00-282.99 = High Gold
255.00-266.99 = Gold258.00-269.99 = Gold261.00-272.99 = Gold
240.00-254.99 = High Silver243.00-257.99 = High Silver246.00-260.99 = High Silver
225.00-239.99 = Silver228.00-242.99 = Silver231.00-245.99 = Silver
210.00-224.99 = Bronze213.00-227.99 = Bronze216.00-230.99 = Bronze


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Slimbox2 Slideshow – WordPress plugin to add image lightbox and slideshow

Slimbox2 Slideshow is a WordPress plugin that implements a lightbox style affect to images using Slimbox2.

The main advantage of Slimbox2 Slideshow plugin is being able to show a slide show of ALL images in every single post.
Click here to see it in action (notice the slide count).

Additional functionality;

  • automatically add rel=lightbox’ tags to images.
  • automatically re-size images to fit in browser window.
  • based on jQuery library, no need for additional libraries such as or Prototype.

Slide show of all blog images (click me) – notice the slide count.

Standard images, showing grouping.
Emirates Palace at nightEmirates Palace entrance gateSonya with mangroves in the background

Image Map – yes it works
Test Images

1024x768 768x1024 800x600 600x800 640x480 480x640 320x240 240x320

  1. Upload folder ‘thydzik-slimbox2-slideshow’ to the  ‘/wp-content/plugins/’ directory.
  2. Activate the plugin through the ‘Plugins’ menu in WordPress.
  3. Under ‘Plugins’ > ‘Slimbox2 Slideshow’, you will find the ‘Slimbox2 Slideshow Options’ page. Next section will explain the options.

The following configuration settings are available with meaning;

  • Automatic Image Link Tagging – automatically add the HTML to image links to show images in a lightbox. Leave it at default ticked.
  • Automatic Resize – automatically resize images in the lightbox to fit the browser window. Large images will be shrunk and small images will be expanded.
  • Image Scaling Factor – used to determine how much of the browser window an image will be automatically resized to. The default value of 0.75 means the image will be scaled to 75% of the browser window. This value does not take into account border and caption.
  • Enable Slimbox on Image Maps – enable lightbox affect to be enabled for Image Maps.
  • Enable Slideshow on All – when ticked, all images and Image Maps will start in slideshow.
  • Slide Time – the seconds between images during a slideshow.

Slide show of all blog images

Simply create a link with url “#slide” or just “#s”. For images to appear in the slideshow, they must have a title attribute.

Why was Slimbox2 Slideshow created?

My wife and I were in a situation wanting  to show our photos to our friends, we had Lightbox but every photo needed to be ‘Next’ manually and that would only show photos in a single post. Slimbox2 Slideshow allows for one-click to start a slideshow of all your photos and sit back and enjoy.

Navigate to to see it in action.

Download Slimbox2 Slideshow from the WordPress Repository here

  • Hey, I’m wondering why my images in the lightbox popup show big gray spots, shown here:

  • Anne,
    Try the updated Slimbox2 Slideshow v1.1

  • I just updated, no spots. Thanks!

  • ana mendez

    Hello, slimbox2 is not working in my new wordpress
    but it is working on another: http://www.antoniomazzei,com

    i did the same thing on increiiiblebut it is not showing my images lilke slimbox2

    i dont know that to do :(

  • Ana,

    I have had a quick look at your gallery page

    You need to enable the “Link thumbnails to: Image File” option on the gallery.
    Give that a try and let me know.

  • hendrixl

    Hi, just uploaded your plugin and love it!  is it possible to have categories of slideshows?  see my website  On the home page “see our work” section ther are 3 images, one for floors, one for baths and one for showers. I’d like to have a different popup slideshow for each of these.  Is that possible?

  • hendrixl, unfortunately, not really with Slimbox2-Slideshow, you can but you will need to do some custom additional JavaScript.

  • hendrixl

    Hi Travis, thanks for getting back to me.  I can do a bit of programming, would it be possible to give me the code for that?  I see that you have done this on your blog page and is exactly what I need.

  • hendrixl, hopefully the code below isn’t obfuscated, you will need to do some custom JavaScript as follows;

    $.slimbox(images, 0, {slideInterval: slide_time, scaler: tss_scaling, loop: true});

    images; is an array of your images you want in a slideshow, similar to;

    [[“image1.jpg”, “desc1”], [“image2.jpg”, “descr”]]

    slide_time; is the time in seconds you wish each slide to show for.
    tss_scaling; is 0.75 or the scaler to fit images into the window.

  • motown

    Hi – I have several image sets on one page. Unfortunately the different image sets run together in one big slide show. How can I set the sets to run independently?


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Sunday, 22 July 2012

I Guess Spellcheck Couldn't Help?

In a 'Mail' article about a US pitbull attack that saw a woman's arm amputated:

And I thought it was the solid ones you had to watch out for!

Anonymous said...

Ah, I saw that. Armputated, yes?

Macheath said...

It's like something from Practical Magic 101:
'Compare the relative viscosity of the Gabriel Hounds and the Cwn Annwn and discuss with relation to what you know of other spectral beasts.'

Actually, with that in mind, you really wouldn't want to meet the owner of a dog known to be viscous, especially on a dark night out on the moors...

Anonymous said...

This is a fine example of Clarkson's Law being implemented.

JuliaM said...

" Armputated, yes?"

By the surgeons, yes. Too badly mangled. What struck me was that Animal Control was 'still deciding whether to destroy it'.

"It's like something from Practical Magic 101"


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Saturday, September 28, 2013

While browsing my computer recently I noticed that I have not yet posted these photos (apart from the one in my blog header) which were taken a number of months ago. This is what I wore when I was photographed for the 'Street Style' section of Her Fashion Box it was a really exciting experience and it introduced me to their lovely website.I was surprised that the photographers from the above-mentioned website were even in my area; it was certainly not what I expected while merely walking up the road to buy groceries. It certainly added a lot to my day. Soon it will be too warm to wear this outfit. This is a similar cardigan to the one which I have in black that I posted here and here. I'd like to style it in a similar manner to the outfit I posted which included the black version of the cardigan  here. It's also a great opportunity to match with my leopard print flats. I love leopard print and I've had these shoes for many years but I often don't know what to wear them with.  My reliable black skirt and 'Paris' inspired bag seemed like an obvious and beneficial addition to the outfit. Wishing you a wonderful weekend.

Valleygirl Cardigan
Revival Skirt
Forever New Flats
Equip Earrings
Diva Hair Bow
Forever New 'From Paris With Love' Bag

Wednesday, September 25, 2013

994008_10151610473715950_1453252181_nThis has been one of my favourite and most reliable dresses over the years and one which I know a few other bloggers own too (including my beautiful friend Jamie from Petite Panoply). I first posted it here (and for those of you who've asked if I ever have a different hairstyle, here is proof that I did once upon a time). I just love the feeling of wearing a dress for the first time in a particular season; it's only recently been warm enough to wear this so it almost feels like a new dress. I call this my 'Annie dress' and these are my 'Minnie Mouse' shoes' as many of you pointed out in my post here; Annie and Minnie Mouse make an obvious combination, surely?! I have a number of red and white shoes so I've always been lucky with matching shoes to this dress. Isn't the peter pan collar on this dress the loveliest finish too? For some reason I always pair my union jacket handbags with this particular dress; I like to wear small amounts of different patterns in an outfit. As much as I adore this bag, I do wish it would actually fit my phone. In other news...I'm starting a new job tomorrow. I couldn't be happier to have an opportunity so soon as leaving my previous job; even though I was only unemployed for a week and a half between jobs I was so bored and felt rather negative about life again. I still miss my other job and it will always have a special place in my heart. The only downside to my new job is that I'll be spending about 15 hours a week on the bus (I used to think 10 hours a week at my last job was a lot) so I'm definitely relying on you to keep me entertained during that time. I'll use the time to catch up on your blogs and write my posts.

Modcloth 'Polite and Day' Dress
Kmart Hair Flower
Florsheim Rhoda Kitten Heels
Dangerfield Bag
Kitty Cat Earrings

Linking to: What I Wore Wednesday

Monday, September 23, 2013

Oscar de la Renta Collection

I'm a little behind the rest of the fashion world when it comes to posting about New York Fashion Week. I rarely post about such events or runway fashion because I generally find catwalk displays unwearable and somewhat irrelevant to my personal style. However, there are occassionally collections which capture my attention and this was most certainly the case with Oscar de la Renta Spring 2014. I'm particularly drawn to the ruffles, vibrant colours, bold patterns and beautiful silhouettes. I adore the embroidery work, the eyelet detailing, full skirts, contrasting heels, the colour scheme (including my recent favourite colour of duck egg blue), the bright coloured flowers and the lovely materials. The colour pallette makes me long to own a beautiful bright yellow dress with a 1950s silhouette; it would be perfect for the warmer weather we're having here at the moment.

What is your opinion on the Oscar de la Renta collection?

See Oscar de la Renta

Friday, September 20, 2013

Today I wanted to show you my pretty new dress which I received courtesy of OASAP. I adore the style of this dress; I'm sure it's rather obvious from my blog that I'm quite partial to beautiful dresses with bows and lace overlays. It is extremely pretty, romantic, exquisite and girly; everything I'd look for in a dress. I love the mint and white colour combination; I believe it provides an excellent basis to style this dress with other pastel colours which is what I did with my headband and flats. In my opinion, this dress was just asking to be paired with a statement floral headband. As you can see, the outfit I wore in my last post inspired me to wear more flower crowns. I received a number of comments on this look today with a myriad of comparisons to fairies and ballerinas. This look primarily reminds me of a fairy and, as I'm sure we all know, one is evidently never too old to dress in a fairy inspired outfit. I've found a number of lovely treasures on the OASAP website. I definitely recommend you check it out.

Flower Pattern High Waist Knee Length Dress c/o OASAP
Lovisa Flower Headband
Wittner Daisy Flats

Sunday, September 15, 2013

On Saturday I attended the races at Rosehill Gardens with family (including my sisters in law from The Polished Edge!). I'd been looking forward to this event for many weeks; it is always one of the highlights of the year and I just love the opportunity to dress up in an outfit that I wouldn't normally have the chance to wear to many other events. (Oh and of course the free champagne wasn't too bad either)... The last time I attend was two years ago, I posted about it here and wore my vintage dress from the 1940s. This time I thought it would be the perfect opportunity to completely cover myself in as many flowers as possible! I've wanted to wear my first ever Bernie Dexter dress for quite sometime but I'd been saving it for this special occassion.

I know there are many bloggers who own this dress, (just look in the modcloth style gallery) so I felt like I'd joined the club when it became mine too. I think it's lovely to have such a beautiful dress which reminds me of all my friends from around the world. I feel so warm and happy, like I'm part of a fabulous community, when I wear this dress. To be honest there are a few aspects of this dress I'd change if I could in terms of the design. I believe it runs large, especially at the top so if I'd had more time, patience or money I probably would have had it adjusted to make it as fitted as I usually my dresses. It was also longer than I usually wear my dresses (it sat just below my knee) so I decided to have it hemmed. Obviously I had to be careful when choosing a new length because I didn't want to detract from the lovely pattern. I made it a little shorter than originally desired so I could wear a skirt underneath to make it appear as though the dress has netting. From the moment I saw this dress I had the idea that I wanted to add netting (especially pink!). In the absence of a sewing machine, or much free time, I decided that the most simplistic method would be to wear a skirt underneath and have the dress hemmed just short enough for the skirt to peek out. I'm happy with the way it turned out.

Isn't the peter pan collar on this dress just so adorable? My accessories just came together once I had the dress as the basis. These shoes, which complement my dress and also feature floral detailing were a must, and the pink belt seemed like an obvious choice. I also had the chance to try out a flower crown for the first time. As you probably know, I adore flower crowns; I've admire the flower crowns on so many blogs in recent times. Where I live flower crowns have just started to hit the shops, so they are now very easily accessible and I hope to add more to my collection. I wasn't sure exactly which styles of flower crowns would suit me the best (since I always tie up my hair) but I believe this one achieves a balance. I also felt quite revolutionary yesterday; I have a different hairstyle for once (notice the low bun instead of the high bun!?) I've totally always been one to embrace change!

I don't expect to find this week easy. It's my first week without full time work in a number of months and I already miss it so much. My workplace threw me a leaving party on Friday morning. I received a beautiful card, flowers and little cupcakes. So many people were sad to watch me leave and despite the irony of the situation, I actually felt very valued and supported. I wish there would have been another outcome to this situation. I miss it there so much and tomorrow morning is going to hurt. If I must see the positives, I have a job interview on Monday morning. Objectively it's so positive to have a potential opportunity so soon and also to be forced to get back out there instead of feeling sorry for myself. However, this whole situation hit me hard and I'm finding it almost impossible to move on. Right I'm not sure if there is any way to fill this void in my life.

Thank you for your continued support. Wishing you a wonderful week.

'Scene and Believed Dress' by Bernie Dexter via Modcloth
Ruche 'Fascination Embellishment Heels'
Review Belt
Modcloth 'Atmospheric Ambience Skirt' (worn underneath)
Lovisa Flower Crown
Diva Earrings

Linking to: What I Wore Wednesday

Friday, September 13, 2013

Item of the Week 033

I'm very excited to show you my absolute new favourite shoes which are recently acquired from Florsheim. These are my absolute dream shoes; the kind of shoes I could only ever imagine and fantasise about. I couldn't believe it when I initially saw them in the shops and they eventually became mine. I've never seen shoes like this before and it combines all my favourite elements in a shoe; polka dots, red and white, bows, patent leather and a level of uniqueness. I like the fact that they are different from my other shoes; I've never actually had a pair of sling back shoes before. They actually seem pretty comfortable and relieve pressure from the area in which I usually get the most damage from shoes. There's something about this style of shoes, the slingback combined with the pointy toe and the lower heels, which seems very classy and sophisticated. It is also chic and timeless. I love how the pattern makes such a statement and I adore the vintage vibe. These shoes add so much to an outfit; I've had so many style ideas already, I just can't wait to wear them as much as possible. I feel happy when wearing these shoes and it brightens up the day.

I'm on my way to my last day of work right now. I'm leaving a significant part of my life behind today. I can't believe what an impact such a relatively short period of time had on every part of me. I even turned into a morning person! I made some of the best friends of my life. For once I feel like I made a positive impact on others and gained a great deal of respect. The whole experience was such a personal journey; I proved to myself that I'm capable of more than I ever imagined. I hope that when I leave this evening, I can start to move on. I feel sad so I'm going to try and enjoy my shoes and look forward to the fact that I'm going to the races tomorrow!

Monday, September 9, 2013

1289943_10151576598345950_1140290319_nOn the weekend I wanted to showcase some of my recently acquired accessories and I thought this dress would provide the perfect platform. I usually have a pretty strict criteria when it comes to black dresses; I prefer as much detailing as possible so it doesn't look too plain (since wearing black is a little different from my usual colourful and patterned outfits). Im very happy with the black dress collection I've acquired over the years. My favourites are here, here and here.. I love the black dress I'm wearing in this post because of the lace, the low back and the netting (nettting on dresses and skirts is actually one of my favourite elements of fashion, I just wish there was more of it around). I also have this dress in light blue because I love it so much which I'm sure I'll post eventually...1174272_10151576589955950_820886468_nNow onto the accessories. I received this stunning Colourful Diamante Embellished Peacock Tail Necklace courtesy of Chicnova. The moment I received my package of lovely unique treasures, I was instantly drawn to this particular piece. I don't have a great deal of statement necklaces so this is definitely a special addition too my jewellery collection. I definitely recommend you check out the Chicnova website. Another accessory I love is this daisy bun ring which I purchased from Gloss. It seems like such a logical hair accessory for the ballerina bun; I'm quiet surprised these haven't existed in the shops before now. An extremely inexpensive accessory, I believe it adds so much to an outfit. The daisy is also one of my favourite flowers (probably second only to the rose) and I adore the vibrant purple shade. In addition, I thought it was the perfect opportunity to match my purple glitter flats and incorporate my rainbow beaded clutch bag. Yay for accessories!

Thank you for your continue support my friends. It's officially my last week at work so I'm feeling a whole range of emotions right now. I'm trying to remain positive but to be honest every day is a struggle; the whole experience still impacts me to a great extent. I would have given the world to have been given a fair chance, in fact I basically did give up my whole life for it. That was my dream job so it's hard to let go. I have a few potential interviews lined up at other organisations but, as I know from this experience, nothing is ever certain until it actually happens. To think that this time next week I could be unemployed is rather frightening since it reminds me of such a dark time in my life. I do, however, have a lot more motivation for search for jobs and apply for graduate programs; the two contract jobs I performed this year also look good on my resume. The workforce has given me confidence. I can honestly say there isn't much in life these days that scares me these days.

I've learned a lot over the last few months, both positive and negative. Unfortunately I've realised that workplace experience and postgraduate qualifications are paramount in order to get a professional job; having a law degree and a commerce degree just doesn't seem to be enough these days (as difficult as I still find that to believe). I used to think that the world would be mine once I had a law degree but that is simply not the case. As a result, I'm going to have a deep think about my long term plans and my career direction. I have no ideas right now, I just need to keep options open. As much as my recent experience has made me question whether or not hard work actually pays off, I do feel somewhat motivated to better myself and not entirely give up. My goals for life are widespread; I'd love to have qualifications in company secretarial and psychology and my ultimate goal remains making a meaningful impact in the fashion world.

I arrived home from work a few hours ago and I've been enjoying the spring weather while sitting on the balcony ever since. I just love it here, it's the place where I reflect on my life. I like to view the pretty pink cherry blossom trees, while typing on my pink laptop, while wearing a beautiful pink dress while enjoying delicious pink wine. It was a hard day for me. It's was my manager's last day (she is going overseas tomorrow) and when she returns in a month's time I will obviously no longer be working there. We were a wonderful team and I will miss spending every day with such a warm, friendly and positive woman. I truly believe I have made a friend for life and I hope we keep in touch as much as possible. I definitely see her as a role model and she's helped me a lot. I admit I did come home and shed  tear tonight. As devastated as I feel about this chapter of my life ending, I will never forget those few months of my life where I left truly happy and that one special person who helped me to start to believe in myself. It was incredible to find a wonderful friend who I was able to connect with. I just wish it didn't have to end so soon.

Wow, my blog is turning into a diary.

Colourful Diamante Embellished Peacock Tail Necklace c/o Chicnova
Dotti Vintage High Tea Dress
Guess Flats
Forever New Clutch Bag
Gloss Bun Ring

Linking to: What I Wore Wednesday