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Billy Joel Concert
Live music concerts have always been popular but really became a craze when the Beatles arrived on planet earth in the early 60s - over fifty years ago, and - believe it or not - I'd never been to one until a week ago. I love music but preferred Broadway shows and ballet when I lived in Manhattan, and I really don't care for throngs of people under one roof. Thanks to Peter's cousins that all changed when they invited us to join them at a Billy Joel concert at Madison Square Garden.
It was amazing! 18,000 - 20,000 of us slowly inched our way up multiple stair cases, through security, and finally to our seats. The concert had started before we got to our seats which meant the house lights were low, the stage lights were high, and Billy Joel's magical music was everywhere. For over two hours I was mesmerized watching one of the most talented individuals on earth perform on a rotating platform, so we could all see him "face-to-face" at some points during the concert.
To me the light show was equally as magical and breathtaking. I honestly had never seen anything like it in my life. Lights of different colors and combinations shone on Billy and the band, focusing our attention from the dark to the light; but, other times beams of light spanned across the audience - reds, whites, blues, and greens, making all of us part of this remarkable event.
So what did I do the day I applied for Social Security? I went to my very first live music concert - at Madison Square Garden, hearing one of my all-time favorite musicians and song writers - Billy Joel. This will never be topped. What an experience .... what a memory. All thanks to Brad and Wendy.
Here's a slide show to give you an even better idea what it was really like. As you can well imagine, Billy has his songs well protected so I couldn't attach one of his songs but I think New York New York is a pretty good stand in. Hope you enjoy.
Photos and Slide Show by Claudia Ward © 2016
Music: "New York New York" by Broadway Kids
Every American knows where they were on September 11, 2001. As many of you know, I was at work in downtown Manhattan just blocks away from the World Trade Center and I've written about it here three times: "September 11th" in 2011, "9/11" in 2013, and "911" in 2014. Today is the 15th anniversary of that horrific day - a day on which I always find myself in a quiet, contemplative state. As time has passed, the vividness of the images and memories of that day has lessened considerably being replaced with a heavy sadness for those who were lost and those who live.
The world changed that day and terrorism became a part of our global experience. Terrorism was not new on 9/11 but it was raised in the consciousness of every human being in the world that day. World War I, a.k.a. the Great War, was idealistically called "the war to end all wars" and we all hoped idealistically on that 9/11 that this monumental terrorist attack would be the last. Well, wars and terror continue to this day, the latter seemingly escalating rather than abating. Researching terrorist attacks since 9/11/01 revealed a staggering list that includes:
Aug 5, 2003 Marriott Hotel Jakarta, Indonesia
Nov 15/20, 2003 Istanbul, Turkey
Mar 11, 2004 Train bombings Madrid, Spain
Sep 1, 2004 Beslan, Russia
Jul 7, 2005 Subway London, England
Sep 20, 2008 Islamabad, Turkey
Nov 2008 Mumbai, India
Jul 2011 Oslo, Norway
Mar 2012 Toulouse, France
Sep 21, 2013 Westgate Mall Nairobi, Kenya
May 2014 Brussels, Belgium
Jan 2015 Baga, Nigeria
Jan 7, 2015 Charlie Hebdo Mag. Paris, France
Jan 9, 2015 Port de Vincennes Paris, France
Apr 2015 Garissa University Garissa, Kenya
Oct 10, 2015 Ankara, Turkey
Nov 13, 2015 Paris, France
Dec 2, 2015 San Bernadino, US
Mar 22, 2016 Brussels, Belgium
Jul 17, 2016 Nice, France
I don't know what to do with this. I hate the idea that we may need to accept that terrorism is a fact of life in the 21st century. I despair to think that there is so much hatred and intolerance in the world. I'm disheartened not to see a solution or end to all of it. I'm overwhelmed.
So on this day that symbolizes all of this for me, I will simply pray ... for us all.
Peconic Landing, Greenport, NY
Peconic Landing is a remarkable non-profit organization and "elder-care" community on the North Fork of Long Island, located in Greenport. It came into being 14 years ago and has grown in to one the largest employers on the North Fork with around 250 employees. More importantly, Peconic Landing is a nationally recognized "person-centered" community.
Everything at Peconic Landing is about the residents whether they are living independently in one of the campus cottages or being cared for in the Skilled Nursing Facility, and that has everything to do with the Landing's mission, their management, and their staff. Peconic Landing is considered one of the best places to work in New York State, and the respect and affection that the residents and staff have for one another is apparent all around the campus - cheery greetings and sincere smiles are exchanged indoors and out.
Care for and stimulation of the mind and body are evident everywhere on this 144 acre campus on the shores of Long Island Sound. The Metropolitan Opera and Broadway shows are streamed, live, into a number of auditoriums, there are numerous libraries, and art is everywhere decorating the halls and, of course, in the art studio. Lifelong learning is a banner cry embraced by residents and staff alike. Fitness centers, a pool, and numerous trails and courtyards are available to one and all.
Today I had the great good fortune to be invited to the Grand Opening of the $44 million expansion of Peconic Landing. The expansion includes a 16 suites for members with memory impairment, 16 additional accommodations for those requiring specialized rehabilitation, 46 additional apartments, and much much more. Some of my wave images are now hanging on the walls of these new wings. I am thrilled and humbled by the company I am keeping, and am honored that I was asked to contribute to this thriving, vibrant community.
A day in New York was "just what the doctor ordered" - literally. I had to go in to the city this week to see my doctor of 40 years, and in the process found Spring in full bloom. Spring on the East End seems to be in an arrested state. Daffodils were brutalized as soon as they showed their happy yellow blooms, with freezing temperatures and torrential rains, neither of which they could suffer without severe damage. Early hints of green in our endless hedge rows were stopped dead in their tracks and have remained suspended for weeks waiting for warmer weather. Apple and pear blossoms have refused to venture forth and the early harbinger of Spring, forsythia, is just now showing it's true colors. Everything is late here, but in New York the tulips along Park Avenue are standing proudly sharing their warm colors and optimism with us all.
Ambling along 61st Street, this dry cleaner's window caught my eye and made me stop to enjoy this caricature as well as the misspelling. Perhaps that was his ploy to get people to stop at his store - it certainly worked for me.
What's a day in New York without a special meal and one of our favorite restaurants is located right between my doctor and my dentist.
Over the past couple of years, I've rewarded myself for going to the dentist with a meal at the bar of Il Mulino on 60th Street, and we've come to know the bartender, Mirsada, quite well. The food and service here are superb, but being greeted by a friend truly makes it a warm and memorable meal. When Peter joins me, he and Mirsada talk bartender to bartender, and she's introduced him to Il Mulino's homemade grappas, some vintage ports, and this time, a special small-batch bourbon.
After our leisurely meal, we climbed on the Jitney satiated and ready for the 2 ½ hour ride home only to find our coach had to wend its way through a very animated Trump demonstration in midtown.
For some reason, it seemed an appropriate end to our day in New York.
"Twin Towers in Light" from www.prunejuicemedia.com
It's so hard to believe it's September 11th once more, let alone September 11, 2014 - 13 years after that fateful day, the day that changed all our lives and our way of living forever. Many of you know that I was downtown in Manhattan on 911; in fact, my husband and I had just moved in to an apartment just blocks east of the Trade Center which had turned my 50 minute commute to my job at One Wall Street in to a seven minute walk. I felt so lucky.
A week after 9/11, we were all trying to put our lives back in order. We rose every day, showered, dressed and headed to our jobs which happened to be only blocks away from Ground Zero. It took a Herculean effort just to put one foot in front of the other, but we all did it knowing each step took us just that much further away from the horrific events of that day. None of it made sense to us, the violence, the death, the destruction ... the stench, the ash, the crushed steel ... the hatred.
New Yorkers are a strange breed, I've been told. We're described as gruff, aggressive, and often rude, and maybe we are - New York is a big city with millions of residents and a million or more in daily commuters. We compete for everything - jobs, taxis, restaurant reservations, theater tickets, and seats on the subway, and we all want to end up "on top". But in the face of adversity, whether it's a blizzard, a transit strike, or a terrorist attack, New Yorkers band together like no others I've ever known. No one is a stranger to another at those times, and we would go out of our way to help each other - perhaps it's a crowded island mentality - who knows? All I do know is New York was an incredibly assuring place to be after 9/11. We were all in the same fragile place in our minds and hearts, all grappling with wrapping our heads around all we'd seen and experienced. We respected each other's weaknesses and human frailties, never asking "where were you" because we knew the pain it would cause remembering.
Several days after returning to our offices a friend posted a poem on a hall wall, a poem that was written by his young teenage daughter - a girl grappling with it all as well. I came across this poem a few weeks ago, found it just as poignant as it was in 2001, and got permission to share it with you here, as she says, "God Bless America".
I can't stop this hurt
of pain Filled with tears
These images won't leave me
Over and over they play
I can hardly turn away from the evil TV
Showing me pictures
of hate
I almost lost my father
The one I thought I could live without
But now I know
Life has changed
Now I know I need him
I lay in the grass
staring at the sky of smoke
Will it ever be the same?
They took the lives of innocence
Countless mothers and fathers
won't be coming home
The evil will laugh at the numbers....
All I can do is cry
It seems like it never stops
I can't run from this problemn
Why does my heart feel so heavy?
The look on my father's face no longer tells me
everything's going to be alright
he is just as helpless as I
Is it wrong to laugh?
Because this guilt I feel I can no longer hold inside
All I can do is sit and cry
wondering why them?
I stare blankly at the picture
of the twin towers hanging over my bedroom mirror
each morning
and I remember, that no matter
how many times I pinch myself
It's not a nightmare
they won't be there
All that remains is a memory
Piles of twisted unforgiving steel
that last week touched the sky
now lay in the streets
Hiding life underneath
It is not lonely me who cries alone each night
America is crying
No cheek has been untouched
Eyes are no longer dry
It's a mystery how this world works
what evils hide in its mist?
A husband with a pregnant wife
was taken
she gave birth just yesterday
no one can forget
The day the sky turned to gray and
flames touched the clouds
Terror came from above
No one will forget the faces
splashed with pain and tears
holding anger in their hearts
The dust seems to be clearing now
but our visions are still filled with uncertainty
Now the future is bleak and unsure
Yet We will recover,
But never again be the same
The day of Infamy as it has been called
has shaken our souls to the core
We will never forget
A young girl age 14
New York, New York © 2007 Peter Tooker
New York, New York "it's a wonderful town". I lived and worked in New York for thirty years and left the island of Manhattan behind me five years ago when I "retired" from banking. A good friend, who loves the city and has always wanted to live there, asked me a while ago, "Don't you miss the city?" To which I responded, "Only when I'm there."
I spent a couple of days in the city this week and I truly missed the city while I was there. "The City" is what New Yorkers call New York because there just isn't another one like it. It is one heck-of-a town, and honestly, when you live there it does feel like your town and that's everything to do with your neighborhood.
Your neighborhood – that's where you live … where you know the name of your dry cleaner, you smile at the gal who checks you out at the grocery store, the owner of the liquor store will hold the last bottle of your favorite wine for you, and restaurants will "squeeze you in" because you're local. Neighborhoods all have different characters – some center on ethnicity, some revolve around culture, some have evolved from a concentration of immigrants, and some have developed because of trends.
When I first lived in New York I lived in an area along 86th Street known as Germantown. The area was being "yuppified" by the likes of me back then but remnants of its historical concentration of German-Americans still existed like the fabulous German butcher, the annual Steuben Parade, and some wonderful German restaurants where we enjoyed spätzle, schnitzel, and strudel all in a beer garden.
Later I moved west along 86th Street, just around the corner from a neighborhood known as Museum Mile. "The Mile" was spread along over twenty blocks of Fifth Avenue - to the north was the Museum of New York, to the south was the Metropolitan Museum of Art, and the Guggenheim, a favorite, was in the middle. One of the best aspects of this neighborhood was its proximity to Central Park. Just across the avenue, we enjoyed the park in winter, spring, summer, and fall.
These neighborhoods were both on the Upper Eastside of Manhattan and are known primarily as residential areas. Our next move was to an area that had not been considered residential for generations – the Financial District downtown. This was attractive to us because it meant that my commute to work went from a 45 minute bus and subway ride to a five minute walk. As many financial companies consolidated and looked for less expensive places to do business, building after building south of Fulton Street became vacant. We first lived in a building on John Street, four blocks east of the World Trade Center, that had previously housed a large insurance company. Designed by the same architects who created the Empire State Building, this building was solidly built with windows that were meant to keep the sounds and soot of the city out, and thankfully so as we were living there on 9/11.
It was a challenge to stay downtown after 9/11, but we did and over the years that followed we watched downtown literally rise from the ashes. A love of New York brought businesses like Les Halles, Anthony Bourdain's restaurant, and De Niro's Tribeca Film Festival, and financial incentives brought building opportunities. A brand new apartment building was built on a formerly empty lot kitty-corner to the Fed on Liberty Street, and a year after they opened we moved in to an apartment on the 33rd floor from which we could see all the way uptown to the Empire State Building and the midtown basin.
Midtown Manhattan © 2007 Peter Tooker
A residential infrastructure wasn't completely in place when we moved downtown, but year after year more arrived, like grocery stores, dry cleaners, and restaurants that stayed open on the weekends. One of the greatest advantages to living downtown was the ease of access to every part of the city and all of its boroughs because almost every subway passed under our feet, and all three metropolitan airports, even Newark, were within easy reach. One of the best things about living downtown was the proximity to water – the East River, the Hudson River, and New York Harbor were all just a few steps away – with their ferries, water taxis, and wonderful vistas. It was great being among the first to call the Financial District home – we felt like pioneers and like we had the inside line on a new trend in the city – which in fact we did. The conversion of the Wall Street area to a residential neighborhood continues to this day. I even heard that One Wall Street, the landmark, art deco, headquarters for the banks I worked at for those thirty years, may also be sold to become condominiums. The ever-changing landscape and neighborhoods of New York, makes it a dynamic and memorable place to live. I miss those dynamics and all the character that comes with them – but I miss them "only when I'm there".
Once again it's 9/11 and our thoughts return to that horrific day, but thankfully the memories are not quite as poignant as they were several years ago. Today, twelve years later, when I recalled that day the image that came to mind immediately was not low flying jets headed for one of the towers and the gaping holes they created, the veil of acrid smelling smoke enveloping lower Manhattan, or the aftermath of monumental destruction. Rather it was of the flower market on Fulton Street that I passed as I was walking north to leave that hellish gray world behind.
As I wrote two years ago, the world for those of us who were downtown that day became one of complete silence and monochromatic gray. The residual dust from the Trade Towers wrapped lower Manhattan in a cloud of gray turning everything it touched the same color. It was like a heavy fog that wasn't going to lift anytime soon.
Several hours after the towers came down, lower Manhattan was slowly being evacuated and I decided to head north to a friend's apartment having linked up with a Canadian who was headed in the same direction. Walking slowly, the world was a very foreign place - silent and colorless ... until we turned to cross Fulton Street. There we saw a young Korean woman, covered in ash from head to toe with a hose in her hand - washing the ash and debris from her precious flowers. Their brilliant colors and the woman's actions struck me with their collective determination to survive - to rise up from the ashes and move on, as we all have had to do.
The Holiday Season in New York
There really is no place like New York City, and Manhattan to be exact, during the holiday season. Fifth Avenue is decked out in its finest - as it should be - and Rockefeller Center's ice skating rink is surrounded by musical minstrels dressed in smart uniforms. Around the corner is Radio City Music Hall and this year they had three camels - presumably for the Wise Men - waiting in the wings on 51st Street ... now that was a surprise!
Every shop is decorated to celebrate this remarkable season and at key locations we always find Salvationists ringing their bells- and this year they were dancing on Lexington Avenue!
I Found the Tinman
The Tinman © 2012 Claudia Ward All Rights Reserved
Shooting in New York earlier this week, we came upon a number of unusual sights on the streets and in the stores. This was one of my favorites and if you're in the East Village this weekend you too may find the tinman.
1 World Trade Center
Progress is finally being made on the World Trade Center and it looks like 1 World Trade will be elegant and stunning.
Photo © 2012 Peter Tooker iPhone
Claudia Danforth Ward
Open Window's Second Year
It's official, Open-Window is now two years old. I can hardly believe I began this blog on a cold January day, sitting at the island in my kitchen, 730 days ago. In the past two years, Open-Window has focused my days on creating stories, snippits, and photographs that I hoped you would find entertaining, sometimes informative, and maybe even amusing. We've covered a lot of ground and many diverse topics over this time ranging from Hawaii to Paris, Hamburger Relish to Caviar, Horse Racing to Airshow Acrobatics. As time has passed, we increasingly focused on the images and slide shows that would accompany a post, and have worked diligently to improve the quality of all that we delivered. Peter has continued to emphasize wide-angle HDR (high dynamic range) photography whether on his DSLR (digital single lens reflex-camera) or his, ever-handy, iPhone, and I have continued with my love of all-things-macro, although we each dabbled in the other's specialty just to keep it interesting.
Mexican Train Tiles and Turtles
Photo © 2011 Claudia Ward
Over the past twenty four months, we've made 388 postings to Open-Window which is an average of almost 4 per week, nearly every one containing at least one photograph and 60 of which included a slide show with music. When we embarked on this endeavor, we expected to focus on travel, food and photography. As it's turned out, the focus has been just that ... but in reverse - photography, food and travel. See, we'll photograph nearly anything - food that we eat, games that we play, children at the beach, machines of any sort, flowers and their residents, landmarks and landscapes, moon-rises and sunsets, and even light itself.
The Outer Banks of North Caroline
Photo © 2011 Claudia Ward taken with the iPhone using the Pro HDR App
This year has been quite a journey photographically as well as geographically. Peter and I traveled over 14, 500 miles. We drove the entire east coast from the east end of Long Island to Orlando, Florida, traversing Florida, and turning north to reach Memphis Tennessee. We crossed the states of Tennessee and North Carolina end-to-end (west to east), photographing some of this country's most beautiful scenery in the Great Smoky Mountains. When we reached the Atlantic Ocean, it felt like we'd returned home, for tidal waters are in our veins, and the days on the Outer Banks are now cherished memories. Early morning sunrises over the ocean, wild horses on the beaches, hang gliding from the dunes, and fish tacos are just a few of the things we captured in-frame. With tornadoes nipping at our heels from western Florida, to Memphis and eventually to eastern North Carolina, we headed home just hours before their destruction hit the locales we'd come to know and love. Atlantic City was our refuge from the storms, before returning to the calm, untouched East End.
Spanish Mustang on the Outer Banks
Thirty days and thirty nights, and 4,000 miles on the road gave us a tremendous, renewed appreciation for the beauty and diversity of this country we live in. A couple of hundred more miles were covered seeking out horses at Saratoga Springs in August. For one who isn't known as an animal lover, I do love photographing them. Whether in their stance or stride, they speak volumes to me and hopefully that is being captured by the lens. Finally, the balance of those miles (nearly 10,000) were accomplished by a trip to The Big Island of Hawaii, where we were able to photograph the incredible diversity of this island's landscape and all of its beauty from a helicopter.
Antique Hood Ornament
More locally, we visited Belmont Park just a week before the Stakes were run and attended the Hampton Classic Horse Show every single day it was held over Labor Day weekend. There were at least three Antique Auto Shows, one Road Rallye and a Mini Cooper Scavenger Hunt that we shot as well. Our beaches on the east end of Long Island are some of the most breathtaking in the country (right up there with North Carolina's) and we spent many happy hours either hip deep in snow in January or ankle deep in sand in August, capturing the undulating shapes of their dunes draped in snow or the power of their seas after a storm.
Light Painting for New Year's
Photo © 2011 Peter Tooker
The holidays that dot our calendars were also not ignored. Memorial Day is always an homage to the "Opening" of the Hamptons season. Flag Day, the 4th of July, Labor Day, Thanksgiving and the Christmas season were all duly noted and celebrated with photographs too.
Meaty Tomato painted by Barbara Andolsek
Let me also add, ever so humbly, that I have once again been thrilled that Barbara Andolsek continues to make paintings based on some of my photographs. Barbara and I have yet to meet but feel a friendship beyond pen-pals. Nearly 3,000 miles apart but with a shared appreciation for the beauty of the world around us, Barbara and I have forged a friendship that could only occur in this wonderful 21st century. It still astounds me at how incredibly open and selfless so many people are using the internet to connect, communicate, and share. I feel incredibly fortunate to be able to be a part of it.
The word "blog" is derived from the expression "web log", which originally was an online journal of sorts and has morphed, over time, into a platform for communicating and exchanging information and ideas. I want to thank you all for your enthusiasm and support over the last two years but more importantly for your participation - "communication and exchange" are exactly what has occurred when you've left comments for us, and you've made it just that much more fun and interesting.
So here is a slide show which represents a snapshot of Open-Window's second year. It's shorter than last year's and yet still longer than most at just under 10 minutes. Perhaps you can set aside a little time next Sunday morning. We've made this for you, to enjoy and remember a year that we shared, and for that I want to say with great sincerity "Thanks for the memories".
Photos & Slide Show by Claudia Ward & Peter Tooker © 2011
Music: Concerto in E-flat Major for Trumpet & Orchestra: 1. Allegro Con Spirito by Wynton Marsalis, National Philharmonic Orchestra & Raymond Leppard
P.S. Please feel free to leave a comment and let us know what you thought of year two and if there is something you'd like to see more of in the coming months.
New York City Subway Art
Peter and I love New York and truly believe there's no better way to get around than by the subway. Over the years the subway stations have certainly improved and mosaic art work has sprung up in several stations. When we were in the city recently we found this mosaic mural which neither of us had seen before. Peter took this HDR with his iPhone, once again validating the quality of its camera. Can anyone tell me where we found this mural in Manhattan? We know but do you?
© 2011 Peter Tooker, NYC Subway Art
Tulip Trash?
We came to City Hall Park to photograph the gardens but most had yet to bloom. It's still in the mid-40s here in New York today. But I was determined, and low and behold look what I found poking out of the trash. It never had a chance to truly blossom but I bet it would have been pretty.
Tulip Trash ©2011 Claudia Ward
Holidays In New York
Everything dresses up for the holidays in New York - the buildings, the boats and of course, the Christmas Trees. Dressing the columns of the New York Stock Exchange in lights depicting the American Flag began in 2001 - the Christmas after 9/11 and continued for eight years. That became one of my favorite holiday decorations, especially because it was in "my hood". The South Street Seaport puts christmas trees on all of the tall ships and even some tugs, elegant Fifth Avenue shops wrap themselves up as gigantic presents or cinch themselves in golden belts, and of course, Rockefeller Center brings out life-size toy soldiers to herald the season's Greetings.
When we posted Harbour Lights earlier this week, a friend who is a former New Yorker and now an ex-pat in the English countryside, said she'd "love to see some more shots of the city at holiday time." Well, this one's for you Deb, I hope you enjoy them.
Photos ©2006 Claudia Ward
Music: Guillâume, prends ton tambouri by The Christmas Revels
Merry Christmas and Happy New Year to one and all!
Harbour Lights in Downtown New York
Downtown New York holds a special place in my heart, as many of you know. It just suits all my sensibilities - the narrow streets, the architecture, the history, and easy access to views across the waters of the Hudson River, New York Harbor, and the East River. Perched above the East River, set deep in the South Street Seaport, is one of my favorite places in all of New York - Harbour Lights, a restaurant with one of the all time best views in the city, hands down.
Harbour Lights is on the third floor of Pier 17, tucked securely into the northeast corner of the building. Peter and I have been going to Harbour Lights for years and were so glad when we saw it reopen after 911. We've loved sitting out on the deck on a summer day, enjoying a lobster salad but even more enjoying the panoramic view of Brooklyn, the river with its three southern bridges - the Brooklyn, the Manhattan and the Williamsburg, and lower Manhattan. Spectacular on any day, this view is breathtaking at night when all the lights of these burroughs and bridges come up, and on a crisp evening around the holidays, there's no more festive location. Harbour Lights dresses itself elegantly in garland and white lights in December, but never seems to detract from the city just beyond it's picture windows.
Peter and I met friends here last week and of course Peter came with cameras in hand. He couldn't wait to see how HDR (High Dynamic Range) photography would reveal parts of the city we both love. We sincerely hope you feel the festiveness of the holiday season in downtown New York.
Photos @2010 Peter Tooker; Slide Show by Claudia Ward & Peter Tooker
New York's Thanksgiving Day Parade
I have lived in New York City, on the island of Manhattan, for 27 of my adult years, and in all that time I attended Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade only once, just two years ago, and boy did that make me regret not going before! I'd heard many a friend talk about seeing the balloons being inflated on the upper west side the evening before, and the incredible joy and excitement that is in the air on the day of the parade, but none of that ever enticed me away from watching the parade on television, as I have every year of my life. What a shame because I can honestly say it was one of the most wonderful experiences ever.
I polled a number of people in advance to determine where it would be best to stand. Hating crowds and not being very tall, I was hoping to find a vantage point that would afford us a fairly unencumbered view and the ability to photograph the floats, balloons, and, of course, Santa and his sleigh coming to town. I know I was asking a lot, but a girl can hope. The best advice we thought we'd received was to go up to the 70's, get on the park side of Central Park West and perch on top of one of the gigantic rocks - that would separate us from the crowd and create a good vantage point.
On Thanksgiving morning we targeted to be on the upper west side about an hour before the parade started which was a mistake. The subway left us on the west side of the avenue and there was absolutely no way to cross Central Park West; it was completely barricaded off and lined with police. We meandered north along Columbus Avenue which runs parallel to the parade route and saw the balloons queued up along 77th Street on the south side of the Museum of Natural History. Thinking we might be able to cross to Central Park if we continued walking north, we eventually came across the another queue of balloons along 81st Street. But it was still painfully evident that we weren't going to be allowed to cross to the park. We didn't know it immediately but eventually it became clear that we were smack dab in the middle of the staging area for the entire parade.
You see, the parade starts at 77th Street and Central Park West, and all of the floats and people stand at the ready along Central Park West, and the balloons float patiently together along 77th and 81st Streets. Faced with impenetrable crowds of clowns, jesters, pirates, cowboys, elves, dolls, band members, and balloon handlers, and hearing the announcers starting the parade, we stopped in our tracks and looked around, and to our immense satisfaction found that we were inside the grounds of the Museum of Natural History at the corner of 81st and Central Park West. From here we could see over half of the parade's participants waiting to be called to "Join the Parade". It was wonderful watching all these characters "before the curtain went up". We saw two cherry pies sharing breakfast from a paper bag and another one taking pictures, two brightly clad clowns dancing together under the sun, and the Raggedy Andys admiring Kermit the Frog as he turned from 81st Street.
Set back from Central Park West and 81st Street, we could watch and photograph the happenings on each with not a single soul in front of us to impede our view or dampen our joy. So we hope you enjoy the slide show of that wonderful morning - but remember it's still no substitute for the real thing. There's real magic in the air in New York, New York on Thanksgiving morning - try to experience it at least once in your life time.
Photos and Slide Show ©2010 Claudia Ward; Peter Tooker, Production Assistant
Music: New York New York by the Broadway Kids
Happy Thanksgiving everyone!
SoHo Slide Show - YouTube
SoHo is where we stayed earlier this week when Peter and I went in to New York to photograph the gardens in lower Manhattan. We've come to love this area of New York and thought we'd share some of the highlights of its history and photographs from "today".
SoHo, meaning South of Houston, is an eclectic section of New York, the core of which spans from West Broadway to Broadway, and from Houston to Canal. It's surrounded by Greenwich Village to the north, the West Village to the west (where else would it be?), Tribeca (Triangle Below Canal) and Chinatown to the south, and Little Italy and Nolita (North of Little Italy) to the east.
Residential at its start, the "SoHo" neighborhood with cast-iron warehouse buildings and cobblestone streets was built after the residential population moved north, circa 1850. The ornately decorated buildings that you see today housed merchandise and fabrics for the likes of Tiffany's and Lord & Taylor, displaying wares through the large first floor windows. When these businesses moved uptown as well, the area deteriorated into a sweatshop-filled slum known as "hell's hundred acres". Labor laws changed and the sweatshops were closed in the mid-1900s, leaving the buildings empty. Artists began occupying the vacant lofts in the '60s and by the '80s the neighborhood had fully morphed into SoHo, a neighborhood of high-end fashion boutiques, art galleries and gourmet restaurants.
Trendy and edgy at the same time, in SoHo a high fashion window dressing can have full-length graffiti as its neighbor, as you can see ...
Housekeeping: Click on the 360 and select either 480 or 720, the latter being high def. Don't forget the four arrows enlarges the slide show on your screen.
So tell us what you think? Did you know the history of SoHo? Leave a Comment and add some color to an already colorful story.
School's Out ...
After two and a half days of various classes and workshops in the city (New York City that is), Peter and I decided to reward the student body - literally. We went to one of our favorite restaurants in Manhattan - Balthazar - for lunch. Balthazar serves traditional bistro food in a perfect bistro environment. Tell me we weren't happy spending a couple of hours here!
Looking at the menu (and we recommend you do too), we grappled with our choices because there wasn't one thing listed that we didn't like. Peter decided to order completely off the appetizer portion of the menu and my eyes landed on Wednesdays' special, Koulibiac - a salmon dish wrapped in pastry with wild rice and spinach accompanied by sauteed mushrooms in a delightful white sauce. After sharing a sampler of east- and west-coast oysters and some delicious split pea soup with smokey bacon, Peter was served his "entree" - Chicken Liver and Foie Gras Mousse.
Being a bistro, tables are quite close to one another which is cozy to the clientele but can be challenging to the wait-staff. As one of the waiters was delivering lunch to our neighbors, he accidentally tipped my water glass over. I successfully caught it before it emptied all of its contents in my half eaten lunch plate but some "damage" was still done. I mention this not to criticize but, in fact, to compliment the staff as they efficiently corrected the problem by whisking my plate to the kitchen, replacing the paper that covered our table cloth and delivering an entirely new entree - all within a matter of minutes.
I certainly would have thought this would be enough compensation for what was obviously an accident, but not for the staff of Balthazar. Look what they brought to us ... homemade sorbets and assorted berries, "compliments of the house".
So our wonderful lunch became dinner for our last day in the city. For those of you who live in or around New York or plan to visit, we recommend you call to make a reservation at this very special restaurant. You'll probably have to wait to get through, but we assure you it's worth any amount of time.
For those of you who are interested, all of these photos were taken with the camera on our iPhone.
Like what we're writing about? Let us know, leave a comment and we can "chat".
New York, New York ...
it is a wonderful town, but it's been seriously testing that lyric the last two days. At last count we've had between 4 and 5 inches of rain in two days and we feel like drowned rats! But enough sour grapes, today is simply cloudy which is a marked improvement.
Peter and I came in to the city on Monday so that we could attend a number of workshops at the Apple Store in Soho, one of my favorite places in all of NYC. At the risk of sounding like a paid advertisement, which I assure you I am not, I have to say that the service provided by this company and especially at this store is superb. There is no such thing as a dumb question to Apple people, at least they never let you think there is and they're all so friendly! But the FREE workshops are phenomenal. Trying to establish a photography business, Peter and I can use all the support we can get and the workshops on setting up websites and integrating social networking into a business are proving to be invaluable. So we have one more day of "classes" and then return home to start using all that we'e learned.
Photo by Peter Tooker 2008 ALL RIGHTS RESERVED
In the meantime, we want to share this photo that Peter took of the NY skyline, pretty spectacular wouldn't you agree? Leave a comment and let us know, we love hearing from you.


We examine why investors seeking a sustainable income should consider looking outside their home region.
A "do-it-yourself" approach often seems attractive to investors: buy a handful of dividend-paying stocks and receive the income from these. There are many companies that have long track records of consistent dividend payments. These are often household name firms such as Coca Cola in the US or Royal Dutch Shell in the UK.
However, Shell is an instructive example. While it hasn't cut its dividend in 45 years, it did introduce a scrip dividend as a result of the 2014 oil price fall. This means part of the dividend was paid in shares rather than cash. It only returned to paying the full dividend in cash in 2017.
This leads us to the first reason to diversify, and it's the age-old cliché of not putting all your eggs in one basket. Just because a company has been a consistent dividend payer in the past does not mean it always will be in the future. Investors need to be sure that they have properly assessed the risks around a company (and its industry) in order to be confident that dividend payments can continue.
Conducting all the necessary research is a complex and time-consuming undertaking, so it's no surprise that many income investors prefer to leave the heavy lifting to a professional fund manager.
Funds focused on equity income will invest in a range of stocks and will have a target income yield that they aim to deliver each year.
The theory is that holding a range of stocks leaves the overall portfolio less reliant on each individual company. If a few firms cut their dividends, or see their share prices fall, hopefully others in the portfolio will offset this by raising their dividends or otherwise performing better than expected.
The chart below shows the current dividend yields of various global regions, and how these compare to the average yields in the past. As we can see, there is a noticeable variation with US yields, for example, currently lower than those available elsewhere.
Many investors prefer funds that invest in their home market. This has the advantage of eliminating currency volatility. But it can mean missing out on the higher income or more diverse range of opportunities offered by other regions.
The charts below show, on the left, the weighting of each region in the global index, and on the right, the percentage of stocks in that region with a dividend yield above 4%. As we can see, Asia punches well above its weight on this metric, with just 12.5% of the index but over 40% of the 4% plus yielding stocks. By contrast, North America is over 55% of the index but has just 12.7% of stocks yielding above 4%.
Please note: Emerging markets, and especially frontier markets, generally carry greater political, legal, counterparty and operational risk.
It's not just a wider group of individual companies that is available to global investors, but a greater depth of sector opportunities too.
The chart below compares the sector breakdown of the global MSCI All-Country World index with that of the MSCI UK. There are some substantial differences, notably in information technology which makes up almost 20% of the global index but is so small in the UK that it's included in "other". Similarly, consumer staples is over 17% of the UK market but just over 8% of the global index.
The third reason for diversifying therefore is that holding a global equity income portfolio avoids the sector skews of any one particular region. It can also help to mitigate potential currency volatility, as the various different currencies will rise and fall against each other at different times in the economic cycle.
For investors seeking a diverse portfolio, it can make sense to take a global approach. But expert skills are likely to be needed to assess the potential risks and benefits of such a wide set of opportunities.


Providing the Highest Quality Products for over 65 Years.
For over 65 years Paul's has been bringing the finest in fresh fruit and gourmet delights to the people of Louisville -- and helping them share their good fortune with friends and relations around the country. This season our selection of Fruit Baskets and Boxes are better than ever. And, each basket is individually hand-packed to ensure premium quality and an elegant appearance.
Paul's Markets have roots going back to the early farm-to-market days of the 1890's.
We don't have miles of aisles, so only the very best produce, meats & specialty items make the cut.
Meals are better with friends. These Kentucky Proud or Paul's Pick's brands are welcome at any table.


Hello everyone, I'm from the Philippines too. My father is a fishermen and I'd like to know more about fish, let me know some of your thoughts and opinions.
Hello Vinz, you are very welcome to the community. I'm sure that you are going to enjoy your stay in the forum. There is a lot of things to learn in the forum about fishes and aquarium. Even with your father being a fisherman gives you an extra edge in knowing more about fishes. So, try and make out time to stay with him and learn from him.
Hi, welcome in our community, we are here to talk about fish and all that is related to, feel free to ask us anything you want to know.


In Exception Taken, Jonathan Buchsbaum examines the movements that have emerged in opposition to the homogenizing force of Hollywood in global filmmaking. While European cinema was entering a steady decline in the 1980s, France sought to strengthen support for its film industry under the new Mitterrand government. Over the following decades, the country lobbied partners in the European Economic Community to design strategies to protect the audiovisual industries and to resist cultural free-trade pressures in international trade agreements. These struggles to preserve the autonomy of national artistic prerogatives emboldened many countries to question the benefits of accelerated globalization.
Led by the energetic minister of culture Jack Lang, France initiated a series of measures to support all sectors of the film industry. Lang introduced laws mandating that state and private television invest in the film industry, effectively replacing the revenue lost from a shrinking theatrical audience for French films. With the formation of the European Union in 1992, Europe passed a new treaty (Maastricht) that extended its legal purview to culture for the first time, setting up the dramatic confrontation over the General Agreement on Trade and Tariffs (GATT) in 1993. Pushed by France, the EU fought the United States over the idea that countries should preserve their right to regulate cultural activity as they saw fit. France and Canada then initiated a campaign to protect cultural diversity within UNESCO that led to the passage of the Convention on Cultural Diversity in 2005. As France pursued these efforts to protect cultural diversity beyond its borders, it also articulated "a certain idea of cinema" that did not simply defend a narrow vision of national cinema. France promoted both commercial cinema and art cinema, disproving announcements of the death of cinema.


text:
We Don't Need No Stenking Democracy
I argue with this guy down at the gas station about the dangers of government. He's of the view that government is always at risk of becoming too powerful, that we should be perpetually vigilant about that tendency, and nip it in the bud (to quote Barney) frequently, by nearbouts any means necessary--certainly voting among other things. I keep saying the problem we all have isn't government, but just power, and how people with power, in government or out, wield it frequently for their own self-interest, or institutional interest.
An example of this (examples abound, like mushrooms after a rain--hell, like mud after a rain in Chatham County) is surely why Mr. Greenspan shook his head sadly before Congress and admitted, after 40 years, "I was wrong." Another example--in government this time--would be the whitewashing of the John Yoo legal underpinnings of the Bush Administration's torture and generally extra legal approach to 9/11 by the current Justice Department. The institution does not want to be looking too closely at its former constituents, and Mr. Yoo was just doing his job.
My point with this gas station character--all I know about him is he's a fan of #88--is that this endless right wing radio propaganda assault on "government" is a red herring aimed at keeping a lot of folks stirred up and reacting against policies which are often in their own best interests, economic and otherwise. So I was saying the other day, democratic government is our own lever to power, dude. It might be a rotten two by four levering an oak stump, but it's all we've got. The people with real power always have better tools. But in non-democratic systems, we the people don't really have any tools at all.
And we had always better keep in mind that democracy is at best a fairly fragile reed. We're always talking about how Pakistan is a democracy--at least when the generals haven't explicitly taken over. But look how quick a democratic alternative, Ms Bhuto, was slapped down permanently. Or, to take another example--look how hard it has been for our supposedly monstrously powerful government to actually get any sort of health care reform enacted, even when everyone knows that there's a big big problem with the system we now live with.
I gotta go pick up some rocks now.

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaCommonCrawl


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text:
Q: Prove that a function satisfies the equation given a change of variables. (use of chain rule) Let $f: \mathbb{R}^2 \rightarrow \mathbb{R}$ be a function of class $ C ^ 1 $ such that:
\begin{align} 3x^2\frac{\partial f}{\partial x}(x,y) +2y^2\frac{\partial f}{\partial y}(x,y)=3(f(x,y))^2\end{align}
Consider changing variables:
\begin{align} u(x,y)=x , v(x,y)= \frac{1}{3x}-\frac{1}{2y}\end{align}
and let's define the function $g(u,v)=$. Prove that f satisfies the equation:
\begin{align} u^2\frac{\partial g}{\partial u} (u,v) = (g(u,v))^2. \forall (u,v) \in dom(g)\end{align}
So far the only thing I can think of is:
\begin{align}
u(x,y)=x \Rightarrow x(u,v)=u\\
v(x,y)= \frac{1}{3x}-\frac{1}{2y} \Rightarrow y(u,v)=\frac{3u}{2-6u}
\end{align}
I really don't understand how to go on, I would appreciate any help.

A: Set $z=f(x,y)$. From chain rule: $$z_x=z_uu_x+z_vv_x$$ $$z_y=z_uu_y+z_vv_y$$ This becomes $$z_x=z_u-\frac{z_v}{3x^2}$$ $$z_y=\frac{z_v}{2y^2}$$ Plugging into our original PDE yields $$3x^2\Big(z_u-\frac{z_v}{3x^2}\Big)+2y^2\Big(\frac{z_v}{2y^2}\Big)=z^2$$ This simplifies to $$3x^2z_u=z^2$$ which is equivalent to $$3u^2z_u=z^2$$ The solution to the aforementioned PDE is $$z=\frac{3u}{k(v)u+1}$$ where $k$ is a differentiable function of a real variable. Back substitution gives the solution to our original equation: $$z=\frac{3x}{k\Big(\frac{1}{3x}-\frac{1}{2y}\Big)x+1}$$

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaStackExchange


Recently, a fitness instructor said to me, " the saddest thing to see is a woman in her 60s who thinks that she needs to lose 10 lbs in order to be happy".
I think about the women who have nourished their children, built them a home, financed their dreams, traveled across oceans and earned PhDs. They have run businesses and marathons, raised the roof and jumped over the bar. These women quietly conduct the show, steering ships and turning tides. I stand in awe of their hips, wide from birthing nations. Their soft bellies and breasts were the safe cleft in the rock, the refuge for tiny hands and tender hearts.
They have come through all of this. They've stayed up night after night and have given beyond giving. They've been a lover, a mother, a leader, a servant. How could 10 lbs change what they see?
I agree, this is a sad place to be.
I am just at the beginning, streaks of grey here, softer curves there. My back clenches from reaching downward, my nights broken by hungry little hands. Will I remember all of this when I am that triumphant woman? Will I treasure all I have become to bring another through this world? Will I see myself with a silver lining?
I want the answer to be "yes" for me and for every woman, and this is what has inspired me to start talking about weight.
As a holistic health practitioner who is decidedly for the enjoyment of food, I feel it's time for me to finally weigh in on what seems to be one of the most talked about taboos of our time.
Weight is a serious health issue in our culture, one that needs to be healed. But, I don't think anything is going to change by introducing another diet program. Our health and weight will change, when we change our vision. Only then can we change the habits and choices that have brought us to this place.
My vision is that we will truly enjoy every morsel of delicious food we bring into our bodies; that it will be prepared lovingly and with appreciation for every being whose life helped bring it to our plates. We will give to ourselves with an intimate knowledge of just what we need and not want more. We will feel full with the greatness of life and all we have accomplished.
So how do we get there? This is what I want to discuss. Please Join me for a lively discussion about food, weight control and vitality. Enjoy scrumptious snacks and the opportunity to ask questions that are important to you.
A nourishing approach to improved health and weight control.


Hello everyone! For the past few weeks we have been trying HelloFresh. Companies, like this one, have grown in popularity recently, so I've been wanting to try one and of course share with you what I thought about it! If you aren't familiar with how HelloFresh works checkout their website.


What are alternatives to TurnTo?
Our experts suggest that you compare TurnTo with a few other CRM Software tools available from other vendors before you make the final choice. This approach to searching for TurnTo alternatives can make it possible to find more data on how alternate services differ depending on cost, available features, as well as vendor credibility. With that approach, you'll gather enough details for solid decision before you commit a long-term relationship with a vendor. Similarly, you can reduce the chances of buying a software that is either unreliable or does not meet all your specifications. Our review platform gives you tools to look at interesting services, while our reviews and customer rating can support your buying decision.
Our team of experts have evaluated TurnTo with a total score of 7.5/10 after a series of detailed tests. Actual clients of TurnTo have an average satisfaction rating with the product at 94% which reflects their attitude towards this service. If you devote some of your time to examining other TurnTo alternatives you will most likely find other products with similar or even higher ratings.
It may sometimes be a true challenge to locate a reliable CRM Software service that will not only match your needs but will also cover your budget limits. When you examine different alternatives to TurnTo you may want to pay attention not only to functionalities but also to a broad spectrum of aspects such as available plans, quality of client support, supported mobile devices and offered integrations. With decent time spent researching you should be able to locate an app that will have all the things you need at an inexpensive price.


text:
package xxx.screwdriver.forsakenscissors.objects;

import org.newdawn.slick.GameContainer;

import xxx.screwdriver.forsakenscissors.Game;
import xxx.screwdriver.forsakenscissors.UsableObject;

public class Spikes extends UsableObject {

	private static int SPIKES_SIZE = 41;
	private boolean active = true;

	public Spikes(float x, float y) {
		super(x, y, SPIKES_SIZE, SPIKES_SIZE);
		this.can_be_used_by_player = false;
	}

	public void update(GameContainer container, float delta) {
		super.update(container, delta);
		if (this.active) {
			if (this.checkCollision(Game.getInstance().getPlayer())) {
				Game.getInstance().getPlayer().damage(1);
			}
		}
	}

	public void onUse() {
		this.active = !this.active;
		if (this.active) {
			this.setAnimation("IDLE");
		} else {
			this.setAnimation("HIDDEN");
		}
	}
}

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaGithub


Gayathri Pai's Food Bytes: Pepper Flavored Vada Mala / Milagu Vadai / Hanuman Vada.
Pepper Flavored Vada Mala / Milagu Vadai / Hanuman Vada.
** This is a Vada that is prepared usually in temple where Lord Hanumanji deity resides. These vadas are offered as Naivedyam / Prasadam and then distributed among the devotees. This is usually as offering of 51, 108 etc. by devotees to Lord Anjaneya (Lord Hanuman) on the auspicious month of Margashir or on Saturdays when a desire is fulfilled etc. The one's available in temples depends from place to place, some make it soft like our own medu vada while some make it crisp with loads of pepper and it has a unique taste of its own which no individual can match while preparing it at home. It is always so that, any Prasadam from temples has the grace of lord in it and though the one's prepared at home is also with the same faith, somehow it is never the same.
** I tasted this first when I had been to Ayyappa Temple in Thane, then often my friend who was a Tamilian used to share the prasadam with me whenever she offered it to Lord Hanuman in their temples. I will always miss my friend who unfortunately had an untimely death suddenly and left for her heavenly abode 2 years back. That year was really bad with many of my friends faced unfortunate untimely death. We never know why God takes away the good people, maybe he too needs them with him. My tamilian friend Bhanu had shared with me the recipe of preparing this one, though I never prepared it till date as she always shared the same with me. Today I somehow remembered her and this Vada, so decided to prepare it for the first time. Though I came across some hitches while prepare, I successfully prepared all the vadas, 11 in total as my offering to Lord Hanuman as it was Hanuman Jayanti. Thanks to Lord for making my humble attempt successful, we all loved it very much.
** The recipe is really very simple, the difficult part is preparing the vadas. As I was in the habit of preparing the vada on my palm during other times, I could not do the same by placing and pressing them in between plastic sheets, the way she had advised. I successful did the same in my own method, yes on my palm which I always find easier. I will share the link with pictures to the preparation of Vadas, the way I do, I followed exactly the same method, except here the mixture was coarse and I made it into thinner disc and fried it crisp. As these Vadas are prepared in that manner. Just keep your palms slightly wet, just a layer / film of water, that's it. But if you prefer you can prepare by placing in between plastic sheets after applying them slightly with oil. Whichever you prefer. As I said I prepared patting on my palm. Thank God they turned out perfect, I felt fortunate and blessed indeed when the task was done.
** Here is the simple recipe for preparing the pepper flavored Vadas for Naivedyam ….
** Wash and soak the urad dal in plenty of water for about 1 hour. Drain, wash and put in an colander for all excess water to get drained off completely at least for 15 minutes. Keep shaking the colander in between. Let the water get drained off as much as possible.
** Put the drained urad dal in a mixer grinder and grind to a coarse paste without water. Keep mixing in between to get evenly ground mixture. Remember not to add water at all. Once the urad dal is ground to coarse powder add in the pepper corns and the salt and further grind it the pepper is also coarsely ground.
** Remove the ground batter cleanly into a flat bowl, add in the rice flour / powder and mix well. Remember not to add in any water. Lastly add 1 tblsp of hot oil and mix well. Now the mixture is ready to prepare the vadas. Keep the oil for deep frying ready on heat and bring to smoking point. Lower the heat to medium and wait for few minutes and then begin to fry the vadas.
** For preparing the Vadas : You can either make lemon sized balls and keep them between plastic sheets that are oil and press with the back of a lid to get evenly shaped round disk. Then remove the plastic make a hole in the center with index finger and then gently slip it on your hand and leave it into the hot oil. This is the general practice for preparing the vada.
** However, I personally am never comfortable with this method and prefer making on vadas on the palm of my left hand by patting it with my right hand fingers. I know, you may find it difficult or even funny, but I find this method easy and fast. You may follow any method suitable to you, you can check the pictures of other vada to which I will post a link at the bottom of the recipe for pictures or I suggest you check on any You Tube for the same.
** My Method : Keep a bowl of water ready. Sprinkle a few drops on the palm of your left hand and rub it evenly to form a layer / film of it on the hand. Now place a small lemon sized ball of the mixture on the palm. With the help of the right hand finger press slightly to evenly get a disc shape.
** Keep wetting your hand with few drops of water and also keep gently flipping the vada on hand to get evenly pressed round shaped vada. Make it thinner than the normal medur vada, but see to it that it does not crack or break while doing so. Now wet the index finger with water and gently poke a hole in the center to make a small round even hole. Gently lift the vada by slightly inverting your handing and slipping it on to the righ hand and leave it into the hot Oil.
** Be careful while you do it. Also see to it that your hands and not wet or else the water will drop in hot oil and splutter. That is why I suggest you either watch someone who knows prepare it or some video before you attempt the same. But once you learn the trick then it is breeze work. Initially, I too used to get worried, but now I am very comfortable with this method and find it very easy, neat and clean with a mess all round.
** Remember to make a hole in the center as this is important to pass a thread through the vadas to make a garland of the same to offer to Lord Anjaneya. Add in a few vadas at a time into the hot oil and fry till golden brown by stirring and flipping it often. Once the vada is evenly browned remove with a ringed spatula and put it on an absorbent paper for excess oil to get drained off. Repeat the procedure with the remaining mixture. I got about 11 thin crisp Vadas of 4 inch diameter with this amount of mixture.
"Pepper Flavored Vada Mala / Milagu Vadai / Hanuman Vada" is done and ready to be offered by making a garland / mala by passing a thread through the vadas and then tying the knot and offering as vada mala to Lord Anjaneyar / Hanumanji. The Prasadam can then be distributed among devotee or your relatives and friends along with your family. Remember to always share/ distribute the Naivedyam / Prasadam to people as it is believed that Prasadam distributed and had marks the importance of the offering and pleases the God much more than the rituals that are performed. Stay Blessed and do excuse for the late post, but you can always prepare it on any Saturdays and offer to Lord Hanumanji too.
** Here is the link to step by step picture of preparing the Vadas easily on hand … Please check the link give below and yes do be careful ….
** You can use the search option for "Vada or Ambado" where you will get many more dishes prepared using it. Do try out various types of dishes to relish and enjoy the same.


Great balls of fire! The Hubble Space Telescope has detected superhot blobs of gas, each twice as massive as the planet Mars, being ejected near a dying star. The plasma balls are zooming so fast through space that they would travel from Earth to the moon in 30 minutes. This stellar "cannon fire" has continued once every 8.5 years for at least the past 400 years, astronomers estimate. The fireballs present a puzzle to astronomers because the ejected material could not have been shot out by the host star, called V Hydrae. The star is a bloated red giant, residing 1,200 light-years away, which has probably shed at least half of its mass into space during its death throes.
The current best explanation is that the plasma balls were launched by an unseen companion star in an elliptical orbit around the red giant. The elongated orbit carries the companion every 8.5 years to within the puffed-up atmosphere of V Hydrae, where it gobbles up material from the bloated star. This material then settles into a disk around the companion, and serves as the launching pad for blobs of plasma, which travel at roughly a half-million miles per hour. This star system could explain a dazzling variety of glowing shapes uncovered by Hubble that are seen around dying stars, called planetary nebulae, researchers say.
The fireballs present a puzzle to astronomers, because the ejected material could not have been shot out by the host star, called V Hydrae. The star is a bloated red giant, residing 1,200 light-years away, which has probably shed at least half of its mass into space during its death throes. Red giants are dying stars in the late stages of life that are exhausting their nuclear fuel that makes them shine. They have expanded in size and are shedding their outer layers into space.
Sahai's team used Hubble's Space Telescope Imaging Spectrograph (STIS) to conduct observations of V Hydrae and its surrounding region over an 11-year period, first from 2002 to 2004, and then from 2011 to 2013. Spectroscopy decodes light from an object, revealing information on its velocity, temperature, location, and motion.
The data showed a string of monstrous, superhot blobs, each with a temperature of more than 17,000 degrees Fahrenheit — almost twice as hot as the surface of the sun. The researchers compiled a detailed map of the blobs' location, allowing them to trace the first behemoth clumps back to 1986. "The observations show the blobs moving over time," Sahai said. "The STIS data show blobs that have just been ejected, blobs that have moved a little farther away, and blobs that are even farther away." STIS detected the giant structures as far away as 37 billion miles away from V Hydrae, more than eight times farther away than the Kuiper Belt of icy debris at the edge of our solar system is from the sun.
The blobs expand and cool as they move farther away, and are then not detectable in visible light. But observations taken at longer sub-millimeter wavelengths in 2004, by the Submillimeter Array in Hawaii, revealed fuzzy, knotty structures that may be blobs launched 400 years ago, the researchers said.
A surprise from the STIS observation was that the disk does not fire the monster clumps in exactly the same direction every 8.5 years. The direction flip-flops slightly from side-to-side to back-and-forth due to a possible wobble in the accretion disk. "This discovery was quite surprising, but it is very pleasing as well because it helped explain some other mysterious things that had been observed about this star by others," Sahai said.


The Nor'Westers Exhibit on the second floor and the Loyalist Exhibit on the ground floor make up the two permanent exhibits in the museum that are able to be viewed year round (see our hours of operation for details).
The Loyalist Exhibit at the Glengarry, Nor'Westers & Loyalist Museum chronicles the migration of Loyalists led by Sir John Johnson of New York from the Mohawk Valley to the surrounding area during the American Revolution.
The Nor'Westers Exhibit delves into the rich history of the Canadian fur trade era throughout the eyes of the Hudson bay Company rival, the North West Company. Inevitably, the exhibit also tells of Canadian expansion into the west as the commercial interests of the companies and search for new routes led to exploration throughout heat would become the Canada we know. Focusing on key figures of the fur trade such as the Natives and North West partners, the exhibit is also of key interest to those wanting to know about prominent fur traders who played a key role in exploration with artefacts from the likes of David Thompson and Sir Alexander Mackenzie.
Notable artefacts in this exhibit are the writing desk of David Thompson, the Dorothy Grant Collection, the compass case of Alexander Mackenzie, and a 26 feet long birch bark canoe made by the late César Newashish, an Attikamek from the Manawan Reserve.


The JALT SD&D SIG will be holding its Early Spring Conference and Retreat 2018 in the famous hot springs town of Gero City in Gifu Prefecture. The theme of the conference is Performance-Assisted Learning: How to Get Your Materials Published. Presentation proposals can be on speech, drama, debate, or other topics related to performance-assisted learning. Presenters can present on the material they would like to publish. The presentation styles for the conference are PechaKucha (PowerPoint 20 slides X 20 seconds, automatically advanced) followed by 18 minutes of discussion time. (total of 25 minutes) OR Poster Session (55 minutes). To register, submit a presentation proposal or to find out more information on how to do a PechaKucha style presentation, please see the SD&D SIG Conference website.
There will be a networking event on the evening of March 26th from 17:30-19:00 at Izakaya Santoku near Gero Station. Please see the Conference website for more detailed information.


Faculty of Economics and Social Sciences, Institute of Political Science, Tubingen (DE), for the duration of 3 years from 1 October 2019. Annual salary is commensurate with experience starting from approximately 30.300 Euro.
Each doctoral student will contribute to the research project and write their individual dissertations within the scope of the project topics.
Deadline for applications is 7 May 2019.


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Anthony Maniscalco
Studies of Public Space and the Civic Contests Therein
My new article on "Little Island" appears in Urban Transcripts:
http://journal.urbantranscripts.org/article/a-little-island-on-pier-55-urban-austerity-and-the-eclipse-of-publicly-made-public-space-anthony-maniscalco/
Guest Editorial in New York Daily News
Don't make Times Square square
What Michael Bloomberg hath wrought, could Elmo, Spiderman and a bunch of desnudas put asunder?
It was our former mayor who looked over the chaos of Times Square — where cars and pedestrians messily clashed — and transformed it into one of the city's great public spaces for hanging out, rather than speeding through, a blocks-long pedestrian-friendly plaza made of tables and chairs.
Despite loud protests by the taxi industry, car owners, delivery trucks and some local businesses fearing the unknown, Bloomberg and his transportation commissioner, Janette Sadik-Khan, dug in and succeeded in creating the plaza, which has since been replicated in Herald Square and other parts of the city.
Metropolitiques.eu: "A Right to the Suburb? New Urbanism, Public Space and the Law"
The American suburb is changing. It is racially and economically diverse. Its sterile spaces are being redesigned for more community life. And yet, even in the community spaces in redesigned suburbs, rights to free speech and protest are legally denied, as the spaces are still private. As our suburbs become more like cities, can we create genuine public spaces for politics?
Citation in Setha Low's "Public Space and the Public Sphere"
Maniscalco's PUBLIC SPACES, MARKETPLACES, AND THE CONSTITUTION recently cited in Antipode by renowned scholar, Setha Low, in her 2015 essay, "Public Space and the Public Sphere: The Legacy of Neil Smith."
Read Prof. Low's essay here:
http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/anti.12189/full
Metropolitiques.eu: "Occupy Mall Street?"
HOW PUBLIC SPACE WAS EXCLUDED IN SHOPPING CENTERS
The quintessential suburb is home to the shopping mall, an indoor space of anchor departments stores, small specialty shops and food courts. This multi-tiered site of commerce is sometimes repurposed as a senior exercise track, a meeting place for holiday festivities, or YouTube-inspired flash mobs. However, as Tony Maniscalco explains, coordinated efforts and legal precedents have curbed the possibility of freedom of expression and assembly at shopping malls.
Hunter College Course Syllabus, Spring 2015
Department of Urban Affairs and Planning
URBP 787.1B
URBAN SPACES AND THE PUBLIC SPHERE:
DEMOCRACY, DESIGN, AND LAW
VIEW SYLLABUS
Found In Space
This new blog will record and comment on the kinds of interactions we find in public spaces. It will explore some of the quirks involved in sharing spaces like streets and subway cars, the places where we must see and identify with each other daily. It will look at how we negotiate, tolerate, and sometimes resist each other and our circumstances in the midst of urban visibility, diversity, and spontaneity.
Public Spaces…author, Anthony Maniscalco appears on televised town hall regarding upcoming elections
From the AIA Journal, Architect Magazine
New Judicial Ruling in the Pier 55 Contest
"Strexting" and the Fate of Urban Public Space?
Is Virtual Space Public?
Tweets by @@maniscalco_tony


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HomeNLIPW NewsroomIntellectual Property NewsOrion wins 'Choco Pie' Trademark Suit in Vietnam
Orion wins 'Choco Pie' Trademark Suit in Vietnam
April 10, 2018 Nathaniel Adebayo
Orion Corp, a South Korean confectionery company has won a trademark infringement suit it filed a Vietnamese rival in 2015 accusing the defendant of manufacturing and exporting a snack under the same brand as Orion's iconic bestseller Choco Pie.
Last week, Vietnam Intellectual Property Research Institute ruled in the favour of Orion sequel to the findings that the defendant Vietnamese products infringed on Orion's trademark rights.
It will be recalled that the National Office of Intellectual Property of Vietnam gave permission to Orion to use its signature snack brand and dismissed a petition filed by the same Vietnamese company seeking to cancel Choco Pie's trademark.
Choco Pie became a registered trademark in Vietnam in 1994 and was introduced to the Vietnamese people in 1995.
Orion began local production of the products after setting up a factory in Ho Chi Minh in 2006 and another one in Hanoi in 2009.
Choco Pie's cumulative sales in the country hit the 1 trillion won ($945.3 million) milestone in 2015, with sales reaching an all-time annual high of 222.4 billion won in 2017.
Choco Pie sells more than 500 million pies in Vietnam a year and remains the No. 1 snack in the country's pie market with a 64 percent share.
Choco Pie trademark
Orion wins Choco Pie trademark suit in Vietnam
Won Trademark Case
About Nathaniel Adebayo 298 Articles
Nathaniel is a News Reporting Intern at Nigerian Law Intellectual Property Watch (NLIPW). He has a passion for writing, capacity building and social media marketing. He is a graduate of Federal University of Technology, Minna, where he graduated with BTECHAGRIC. He is a member of Soil Science Society of Nigeria (SSSN) and the National Union of Campus Journalist (NUCJ). Nathaniel has served as Editor-in-Chief for a number of magazines and as a contributor to various online repositories. Email: anathaniel@nlipw.com
Cambodia: 60 Tonnes of Counterfeit Cosmetics to be Destroyed
Levi's Sues KENZO Over the Use of Similar Jean Pocket Tabs


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UPDATED: Jessie Ware Announces "Say You Love Me" As Next 'Tough Love' Single – Listen
Robbie Daw @chartrigger | August 12, 2014 11:13 am
For her next single off upcoming sophomore LP Tough Love, Jessie Ware will follow up the album's title track with "Say You Love Me." The song was produced by BenZel, and it's set to premiere later today on Zane Lowe's BBC Radio 1 show in the UK. UPDATED: The song has now premiered. Give it a listen below.
British singer Ware's previous single, "Tough Love," became her first Top 40 hit this past week when it debuted at #34 on her home country's singles chart. (If you can believe it, the closest she'd gotten before that was #41 with "If You're Never Gonna Move" in 2013.)
A press release notes that "Say You Love Me" was penned toward the end of writings sessions Jessie had for the album in New York. Catch her spare set of North American tour dates here.
Get an eyeful of even more pop music coverage, from artist interviews to exclusive performances, on Idolator's YouTube channel.
Tags: Jessie Ware
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A floral gourmand fragrance for modern women.
Sweet exotic creamy delectable & enchanting.
Top notes of jasmine petals.
Heart notes of white chocolate orchid & cupcake accord.
Base notes of orris root woods & musk.
Suitable for evening or colder seasons wear.


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text:
package com.rehivetech.beeeon.gui.adapter.dashboard;

import android.app.Activity;
import android.view.View;
import android.view.ViewGroup;
import android.widget.ArrayAdapter;
import android.widget.Filter;
import android.widget.Toast;

import com.rehivetech.beeeon.R;
import com.rehivetech.beeeon.gui.activity.BaseApplicationActivity;
import com.rehivetech.beeeon.model.place.Place;
import com.rehivetech.beeeon.network.provider.PlacesProvider;

import java.io.IOException;
import java.util.ArrayList;
import java.util.List;

/**
 * Created by martin on 26.3.16.
 */
public class PlaceAdapter extends ArrayAdapter<Place> {

	private List<Place> mPlaces = new ArrayList<>();

	private PlacesProvider mProvider;

	public PlaceAdapter(Activity context) {
		super(context, android.R.layout.simple_dropdown_item_1line);
		mProvider = new PlacesProvider(context);
	}

	@Override
	public int getCount() {
		return mPlaces.size();
	}

	@Override
	public Place getItem(int position) {
		return (mPlaces != null && mPlaces.size() > 0) ? mPlaces.get(position) : null;
	}

	@Override
	public View getView(int position, View convertView, ViewGroup parent) {
		if (mPlaces != null && mPlaces.size() > 0) {
			return super.getView(position, convertView, parent);
		}
		return null;
	}

	@Override
	public Filter getFilter() {
		return new Filter() {
			@Override
			protected FilterResults performFiltering(CharSequence constraint) {
				FilterResults results = new FilterResults();

				try {
					mPlaces.clear();
					if (constraint != null) {

						List<Place> places = mProvider.getPlaces(constraint.toString());
						if (places != null) {
							results.values = places;
							results.count = places.size();
							mPlaces.addAll(places);
						}
					}
				} catch (IOException e) {
					((BaseApplicationActivity) getContext()).runOnUiThread(new Runnable() {
						@Override
						public void run() {
							Toast.makeText(getContext(),getContext().getString(R.string.ClientError___XML), Toast.LENGTH_SHORT).show();
						}
					});
				}

				return results;
			}

			@Override
			protected void publishResults(CharSequence constraint, FilterResults results) {
				if (results != null && results.count != 0) {
					notifyDataSetChanged();
				} else {
					notifyDataSetInvalidated();
				}
			}

			@Override
			public CharSequence convertResultToString(Object resultValue) {
				if (resultValue != null) {
					return ((Place) resultValue).getAddress();
				}
				return null;
			}
		};
	}
}


Restaurant Prime Waterfront Location! URGENT SALE!
Waterfront locations for restaurants are difficult to beat and this opportunity is no different.
Showing good revenue growth in 2nd year but due to personal reasons the owner must sell asap - WIWO.
Don't miss out, opportunities in this location do not become available often.


Our Lucky Pipe Lollipops come with 24 hard candy lollipops on your choice of stick. This item comes in green and is irish creme flavored. Also available in apple or barley. Each lollipop is hand-poured; slight variations will occur.


Charlie Wooldridge received the Duke of Wellington Trophy from Lord Christopher Wellesley and his son Oliver after Twelve Oaks won this prestigious final 8-7. They defeated Christopher Bruckner's Asian Art/Cool Hooves in a tense game that only got going in the second half.
With a strong entry of 11 teams and played as a qualifier for the 12-goal HPA Victor Ludorum, this final had all the ingredients to be a memorable match. However both teams struggled to find space in the first half, with the umpires' whistles regularly in use. Twelve Oaks' Jacinto Crotto, later named the Most Valuable Player, produced some flashes of brilliance, but any flowing polo was regularly brought to a halt by a whistle. So at half-time the score was reading 2-2 and it was clearly still anyone's game.
So the many spectators at Guards Polo Club were surprised – and delighted – to see both teams transformed in the second half. Crotto started the action by converting a penalty, with team-mate Hugo Taylor delivering a fast run to goal. Jamie Morrison brought the Twelve Oaks score up to 5-2, while Taylor confirmed the Oaks' dominance by scoring again – all within the first half of the third chukka. This was what everyone had come to see. Asian Art/Cool Hooves did not let Twelve Oaks have all their own way and Tom Brodie produced a big hit to score and his team found another goal before the end of the chukka.
So the fourth chukka started with both teams on full revs and a 6-4 scoreline to Twelve Oaks. Wooldridge's team successfully converted a penalty at the start of this period and with Morrison also scoring, Twelve Oaks were back in contention with an 8-4 lead. Sebastian Dawnay was in fighting mode though and fired through two goals for Asian Art/Cool Hooves. So when this team successfully converted a penalty with only a minute remaining of the match, extra time could be on the cards, especially when Asian Art were awarded another penalty. Sadly Brodie sent this wide and with no time left on the clock, Twelve Oaks won the day.
Hugo Taylor received The Images of Polo Best Playing Pony prize for the 10=year-old grey gelding Polaco. All the players though received delicious goodies from Mosimann's and armfuls of Roses Only roses.
The sub final had been equally close – this match going into an extra, fifth chukka. Honours went to Andrew Dechet's Kildare. They narrowly beat Maximilian Kirchhoff's Snake Bite 8-7 – with Manu Plaza scoring the golden goal.
Twelve Oaks: Hugo Taylor (2); Charlie Wooldridge (2); Jamie Morrison (3); Jacinot Crotto (5). Asian Art/Cook Hooves: Tom Brodie (4); Sebastian Dawnay (3); Nacho Gonzalez (5); Chris Bruckner (0).
Kildare: Jamie Grayson (1); Andrew Dechet (2); Fabio Lavinia (3); Manuel Plaza (6). Snake Bite: Maximilian Kirchhoff (0); Pedro Harrison (4); Matt Perry (5); David Ashby (3).


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The aniconic and digital image
Heather Barton rethinks the spiritual and soft space in Malaysian New Media Arts at the First National Electronic Art Exhibition
Hasnul Jaimal Saidon, I'm Trying to Locate, black & white video projection
photo Peter Spillane
There is, it might be argued, a kind of 'techno-orientalism' surrounding new technologies when thinking the machine, soft-space and the digital-image in the western psyche: a pairing of high end technology with Asia in the western imaginary, if you will, however empirically inaccurate.
It gives rise to a ponderous situation where westerners operate with a technology and therefore a thinking which they do not 'own'. When using new imaging technologies in the visual arts—if the modernist Greenbergian axiom around form and content and a Benjaminian assertion regarding the complex form of training imposed by modern technology can be indulged—what results is a kind of 'blank canvas' at the heart of thinking the digital image.
It was in this light that encountering the First National Electronic Art Exhibition at the Malaysian National Gallery in Kuala Lumpur raised particular considerations. If granted the license to think speculatively for a moment, one might wonder if the aniconic formulation of the image particularly in traditional Muslim art as it influences contemporary artists working with multi-media technology in Malaysia, does not somehow afford a greater propriety towards the digital image (if this is not to engage in a kind of [techno-]orientalism itself of another order).
The confounding of historical concepts of representation and analogy in western philosophies of the image are well documented in relation to the digital image (Binkley, T "The Digital Dilemma", Leonardo, Supplemental Issue, Pergamon Press, Japan, 1997). What marks eastern philosophies of the image, particularly within the Islamic tradition, is the aniconic as opposed to iconic relation to the image that exists in the west. The aniconic are those images and symbols relating to deities that are non-figurative or non-representational.
Within Islam, Allah is inexpressible therefore non-representational. "No vision can grasp Him…" (Qur'an [Koran], 6:103). The spiritual order determines the aesthetic-formal order. Stylisation techniques exercised in calligraphy, illumination, geometric pattern and arabesque form the foundations for a tradition where the artwork in fact functions as a 'cosmogram'. Not only does the aniconic concept of art in Islam make for an art practice arguably predisposed to a knowledge and use of the digital image—"knowledge and use" here in the Deleuzian sense of 'savior' which is an ability to make active, "a knowledge by description", "a competence to produce" rather than reproduce (Deleuze, G. Negotiations, Columbia University Press, USA, 1995). But the 'cosmogrammatic' nature of the artwork when applied to the digital image overrides criticism often raised in relation to the electronic image in the west: that it is slick, glossy, dazzling, decorative, all surface and therefore superficial.
Surface ornamentation is the core of spiritualising enhancement, not a superficial addition in the Islamic concept of the artwork. This is not to add foreign elements to the shape of the object but to bring forth its potential, ennobling the object. "Through ornamentation the veil that hides its spiritual and divine qualities is lifted." (Esa, S. Art and Spirituality, National Art Gallery, Malaysia, 1995) In Islam, beauty is a divine quality, God is beautiful and loves beauty. Beauty in art is that which generates the sense of God. Since beauty is a divine quality its expression has to be made without showing subjective individualistic inspiration. There is therefore no distinction between the material and spiritual planes. In creating beauty the artist is engaged in a form of spiritual alchemy and in doing so the soul of the artist undergoes a process of spiritual cleansing. This raises some very different notions around the artwork than those generated in the west around questions of abstraction, the sublime and the beautiful.
This is also not to say that the works exhibited during the First Electronic Art Exhibition in Kuala Lumpur were traditional in terms of technique or concepts. Far from it. The works that drew upon traditional methods or concepts did so with a rigorous critical distance and engagement. Nor were the traditional methods and form that were used and conceptual frameworks employed exclusively Muslim. Hindu, Taoist, animist and Christian traditions and metaphysics also come into play in Malaysian culture. But most contemporary artists in Malaysia have trained under a western art history syllabus with the majority, it seems, completing graduate degrees in the west. So there is certainly an engagement with western art history and art markets but often put to work in relation to eastern systems of ideas.
Mohd Nasir Bin Baharuddin's four monitor video floor piece, for instance, works precisely in this manner. It encourages a deceptively pious response, although for a westerner one is even less sure why. The viewer is ceremoniously positioned by the work—submitting to its lure, sitting submissively at its feet, as it were, encircled by silent monitors across the soft opaque screen of which, runs a fluid arabic calligraphic script. The effect is mesmeric and contemplative. However as the artist, who is also the curator at Gallery Shah Alam, points out to a Muslim observer there would be questions as to why the monitors containing sacred script have been placed on the floor, indicating a lack of reverence. The script, however, is not from the Qur'an but Jawi, an arabic script spoken in Bahasa Malaysian (which is also written in a roman script) and which in fact many Malaysian Muslims do not even read themselves. And the text, far from being the word of god is everyday diary extracts. Baharuddin's trick is a gentle one and works along side the temporal enquiries of the work, which are figured so that the piece never 'begins' as such. An allusion perhaps to the 'awan larat' (arabesque), a pattern so interconnected that it is impossible to trace the beginning of each motif. Within the installation the viewer is placed in one physical position but one which triggers many different and simultaneous readings of the position. The space in the midst of the monitors is also the space of the traditional cross-legged village story-teller, but the 'audience' of monitors tell story fragments that becomes the viewer's, the 'centre-piece's' own, confusing the places of teller, told and tale.
Hasnul Jaimal Saidon's CD-ROM work, Ong (slang for "hot streak"), from his solo show Hyperview, was shown along with his I'm trying to Locate, a video-projected, corner piece that creates the optical illusion of a three dimensional space out of a flat wall. The black and white piece uses Chinese pictograms, English and Bahasa scripts over a textured electronic weave evoking traditional Songket. Textiles, historically have a sacred and ceremonial function as does calligraphic script which is said to be "the divinely written pre-eternal word which brings the faithful into immediate contact with the Divine Eternal Writer of fate and from there even profane writing has inherited a certain sanctity." (Islamic Calligraphy, Leiden, 1970) This work and the others exhibited, while either overtly concerned, less so or not at all, with contemporary interpretations of traditional Malaysian cultural forms, never dip into parochialism. The works could function in the context of any international gallery in addressing the medium to be read along side works by Gary Hill, Mary-Jo La Fontaine or Eder Santos.
Hasnul, who also heads the Fine Arts Programme at the University of Malaysia, Sarawak, curated the exhibition with Niranjan Rajah whose on-line work The Failure of Marcel Duchamp/Japanese Fetish Even! is available on http://wwwhgb-leipzig.de/waterfall/ [link expired]. The piece is a parody of Duchamp's Etant Donnes which, in Rajah's words, interrogates the ontology of imaging while marking the problem of cultural constituencies on the internet.
The historical component of the exhibition saw the mounting of a posthumous retrospective of the work of Ismail Zain, a veteran in the field of computer art. Ironically computer art was being produced by Zain and others in Malaysia before video art, which did not come until after computer art had been explored and developed. In producing collages reminiscent of early political photo collage, Zain said of his work "in digital collage there are no harsh outlines. The new medium is much more malleable, like clay". (Noordin Hassan interviews Ismail Zain, Ismail Zain retrospective exhibition catalogue, National Art Gallery of Malaysia. 1995)
Ponirin Amin, one of the country's leading printmakers exhibited a number of woodcut/computer prints, as did Dr Kamarudzaman Md. Isa. The strong traditions of printing, textiles and woodcutting saw these forms being integrated with computer generated elements to produce object based works, which ironically overcome the complaint among artists operating in the west have about the lack of collectability and therefore saleability of work in new media.
Other works included those by Wong Hoy Cheong, the Matahati Coterie, British, Kuala Lumpur-based artists David Lister and Carl Jaycock, a 3D animation using wayang puppets, screen and live performance as well as pieces from YCA (Malaysia's Primavera) and winners from the Swatch Metal Art Award, Bayu, Kungyu and Noor.
RealTime issue #23 Feb-March 1998 pg. 25
© Heather Barton; for permission to reproduce apply to realtime@realtimearts.net