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Waiter at Lucille's Smokehouse Bar-B-Que receives $1,000 cash tip
Concord, California – At Lucille's Smokehouse Barbecue in the Sun Valley Mall in Concord, the favorite customer among the staff these days is most likely a plumber from Pittsburg named Brian Murphy.
"There's no better feeling than helping someone out in their time of need," said Murphy.
That help came this past Sunday, and was videotaped.
When Murphy had dinner there with two friends, he gave his waiter, Peter Murray, the tip of his life. It was money he raised online through the Venmo Challenge to help workers during the pandemic.
He gave the waiter $1,000 in cash.
That was on an $80 tab. A tip of more than more a 1,000 percent tip.
"It doesn't take a lot to make a big impact in somebody's life like this. And I was really interested in seeing the reaction of this random server at this random restaurant we had picked," Murphy said.
Murray has worked at Lucille's for about four years.
"It blew my mind. I had no idea this was going to happen," Murray said.
Murray shared some of the tip with his co-workers and says he will put what's left towards rent.
"I can't believe there are people out there in the world that are that generous and want to help people," Murray said.
"The minute we told him he kind of got taken aback and paced back and forth like he didn't know what was going on. That was the icing on the cake," said Murphy.
Murphy said he'd seen the Venmo challenge online on other places and wanted to try. He says some 250 people donated anywhere from 50 cents to $100.
Then Murphy decided on Lucille's.
"The fried chicken is so good. That definitely played a part in why we wanted to go here," he said.
But there was one more detail. Murphy had raised $1,400 and had $400 of it left over.
"On the way out we wanted to tip the host too," said Murphy.
So host Kyle Toy also received a generous tip.
"It was a really nice gesture from Brian," said Toy.
"I really like pulling the community together to try and help somebody," said Murphy.
Murphy says he's thinking about doing this again, at another business.
Pink 'Police Car' & 'Mercedes' Stolen: 3 Little Owners Devastated


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Amazon's Jeff Bezos: "We Had Our First $10 Billion Quarter"
Leena Rao @LeenaRao / 12 years
Amazon just released results for its for its fourth quarter ending December 31, 2010. The company's sales came in at $12.95 billion, which is up 36 percent from $9.52 billion in fourth quarter 2009. Net income increased 8 percent to $416 million in the fourth quarter, or $0.91 per diluted share, compared with net income of $384 million, or $0.85 per diluted share, in fourth quarter 2009. Analysts expected $0.88 per share on revenue of $13 billion, which is short of the quarter's sales of $12.95 billion.
Founder and CEO of Amazon, Jeff Bezos said in a statement: We had our first $10 billion quarter, and after selling millions of third-generation Kindles with the new Pearl e-ink display during the quarter, Kindle books have now overtaken paperback books as the most popular format on Amazon.com. Last July we announced that Kindle books had passed hardcovers and predicted that Kindle would surpass paperbacks in the second quarter of this year, so this milestone has come even sooner than we expected – and it's on top of continued growth in paperback sales.
As usual Bezos and Amazon remain coy about the actual number of Kindles sold but refers to sales in the millions of third-generation kindles. And for every 100 paperback books Amazon has sold, the Company has sold 115 Kindle books; and the company has sold three times as many Kindle books as hardcover books. Additionally, the U.S. Kindle store now has more than 810,000 books.
Amazon's North America sales, were $7.21 billion, up 45% from fourth quarter 2009. International sales, which include Amazon's U.K., German, Japanese, French, Chinese and Italian sites, were $5.74 billion, up 26% from fourth quarter 2009. Worldwide Electronics & Other General Merchandise sales grew 60% to $7.39 billion.
For the full year, net sales increased 40% to $34.20 billion, compared with $24.51 billion in 2009. Net income increased 28% to $1.15 billion in 2010, or $2.53 per diluted share, compared with net income of $902 million, or $2.04 per diluted share, in 2009.

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaCommonCrawl


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On: Cokey Falkow
By Helen Herimbi "I won't say f*** in every second sentence," assures Cokey Falkow. With his one-night only stand-up comedy show taking place at The Wits University Great Hall in Johannesburg this evening, Falkow wants big laughs from open-minded people. "I'm not a really, really, really rude comic, I mean,...
On: South African Comedy Awards
By Helen Herimbi Knock knock? Who's there? The South African Comedy Awards, of course. OK, so I am not a comedian, but the first (ever) Comedy Awards promise to honour the professionals. On September 17, deserving stand-up comedians, funny actors, writers and others will be awarded at the Artscape Theatre...


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Turniej o Srebrny Kask 1990 w sporcie żużlowym - coroczny turniej żużlowy organizowany przez Polski Związek Motorowy. Dwudziesty piąty finał odbywał się w Zielonej Górze. Tomasz Gollob wygrał Srebrny Kask.

Wyniki

Pierwszy finał
 18 września 1990 r. (wtorek), Gorzów Wielkopolski
Ze względu na opady deszczu nie odbył się pierwszy finał. Jako zaliczono wyniki jednego finału w Zielonej Górze na następny dzień.

Drugi finał
 19 września 1990 r. (środa), Zielona Góra

Bibliografia

1990
1990 w sporcie żużlowym
1990 w polskim sporcie

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaWikipedia


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Joel Nakamura Mixes the Ancient and the Modern with Compassion... and Spam?
By Mia Nakaji Monnier / 22 Jun 2010
A giant fly hovers, poised on translucent wings that appear too small to support his weight, his face a bright, whimsical Tiki mask in shades of blue, green, and yellow. Protruding from his body are three pairs of human-like legs in black and gray patterned tights. In the distance, his friends watch, their faces frozen in horror and amusement. The fly's eyes burn with concentration as his tongue strains toward his prey: a winged, rectangular can of Spam.
"Unnatural Selection"
This is Joel Nakamura's painting, "Unnatural Selection," and like the rest of his work, it has the uncommon ability to capture an audience with its vibrant weirdness. In this one painting, an entire story waits to unfold—Nakamura's finished product comes across as an invitation to viewers to let their own imaginations pick up the narrative where he left off. Taking influence from the stories and artistic techniques of numerous cultures, Nakamura creates a compelling world, retelling myths that have existed for generations while adding to them the lighthearted, accessible, and even provocative touch of modern popular culture.
The artist at home in Santa Fe.
"I was always interested in the strange, the bizarre, the unusual," says Nakamura, a 51-year-old Sansei. "I liked any TV show narrated by, or starring Leonard Nimoy." The artist grew up in Whittier, California—a suburb of Los Angeles that he describes as "the hometown of Richard Nixon"—and graduated from the Art Center College of Design in Pasadena. His fascination with the uncommon drew him to leave Southern California for Santa Fe, New Mexico, a town steeped in Native American and Spanish cultural history. "You can't help but be influenced by the environment here," he says. "It is a very creative place."
Joel Nakamura's artwork, largely done with polymer paints on tin, draws from the tradition of Spanish tin arts and retablos (devotional icon paintings), as well as Native American petroglyphs (cave paintings), both of which are part of the New Mexican landscape. Many of his paintings share the characteristically expressive shapes of local petroglyphs, such as his playful work, "The Hunter and the Hunted," which pictures an early hunter running with a spear as he is chased by a humorless, blue alien in a spaceship.
"'The Hunter and the Hunted' is a what if kind of story," says Nakamura. "I like to begin with a story to build around. I particularly like stories of cryptozoology-- Cupacabras, Bigfoot, ghost stories."
The inclination to bring different cultural elements together in his artwork comes from Nakamura's own multicultural American experience. During WWII, his Nisei parents spent time in the Japanese American concentration camps, and though they never spoke about their wartime experiences with bitterness, they did make an attempt to fit into mainstream American culture. Added to this, the fact that there were few other Asians in Whittier at the time meant that "of course we ate some Japanese food, like tempura and noodles, and we participated in some traditions, but my family tried very hard to blend," Nakamura explains. "I think to some degree our eyes turned away from Japan." Raised with limited knowledge of Japanese culture, he instead remembers trips with his parents to visit museums, art exhibitions, cultural events, and ruins, including the ancient Pueblo dwellings of Mesa Verde National Park in Colorado. Through these experiences, he developed a deep appreciation for folk art that only grew with time. Now a reader and admirer of Joseph Campbell, renowned writer and mythologist, Nakamura draws insight from Campbell's reflection, "myths are public dreams and dreams are private myths."
This sentiment, that myths are shared dreams that unite peoples, pervades Nakamura's work. His paintings convey a genuine fascination and curiosity, and in them, through color and movement, ancient myths return to life. Whether or not we recognize the stories they tell, the images he creates appeal to the senses and impart Nakamura's own enthusiasm to his audience.
In his painting, "African Myth: How Man Got Fire," Nakamura presents a praying mantis, her shape and position comically exaggerated. Her eyes bulge and though her mouth is full of menacing insect teeth, something about her expression appears concerned. She rubs her front legs together and from that friction springs a fire whose warm glow encircles the mantis's entire body. Behind her, a man and an ostrich run across the African savannah.
"African Myth: How Man Got Fire"
The average person knows no more about this story than what Nakamura provides in his title, but that doesn't matter. Everything about the painting engages—the color, the hidden patterns in the leaves and the glow of the fire, even the insect's cryptic expression. Rather than treat myths as artifacts to be handled delicately, Joel Nakamura takes liberties, mixing narratives and styles from vastly different sources and bringing them together with humor and compassion.
His works need no context, and because they have the power to stand alone, they also have the power to instill a sense of curiosity in viewers, leading them to investigate these myths on their own. In this way, Nakamura's artwork plays a role in preserving stories that may otherwise be lost in time.
"I think there is always a danger in forgetting who we are as a culture and as people of color," he says. "We try hard to assimilate into western culture." The forced Americanization of people of Japanese heritage during WWII is certainly an example of this assimilation. Just as Native American culture has been stripped away throughout American history, Japanese American communities also underwent a forced change during the war, leaving future generations disconnected from the cultural narratives of their parents and grandparents. Nakamura says that, growing up, he knew only Japanese words for food, as well as a few token bad words. Years later, he is making an attempt to get in touch with his roots. "I am learning to become more Japanese for the first time through my practice of a ikido, a Japanese martial art," he says. "Now my Japanese is made up of aikido terminology—and I can count to thirty-one."
Nakamura has been learning Japanese through his practice of aikido.
His Japanese heritage also provides Nakamura with artistic inspiration. "I am very taken by the J-pop movement in art," he says, a movement which includes modern artists such as Takashi Murakami and Yoshimoto Nara as well as retro icons like Godzilla and Ultraman. He has also experimented with forms of Japanese folk art such as daruma and kokeshi dolls. The results, works with titles like "Blue Godzilla," "Ultraman," and "Tako Rikishi (Octopus Sumo)," are visually stunning hybrids that combine the simplicity of traditional Japanese forms with the bold colors and imaginative designs for which Nakamura is known.
"Sakura Dreams"
"Sakura Dreams," embodies this mixture. The name of this striking kokeshi doll is a combination of Japanese and English and, though the cherry blossoms painted on her body are a universally-recognized symbol of Japan, the dreamy style of her face feels distinctly Southwestern. "Sakura Dreams," like Joel Nakamura and a rapidly growing number of people in the United States, is an American blend, a product of an increasingly multicultural, globalized society.
In this kind of society, it is easy for people's stories to fall between the cracks or to be eclipsed by the dominant western narrative. For Nakamura, art is a way to preserve identity—both his own and those of cultures whose folklore is in danger of being forgotten. "The danger is that we are now identified by what we consume more than what we produce as a nation," he says. "As artists we can at least have the ability to be identified by what we produce. I try hard to preserve stories as visual mythology for many cultures."
"[Nakamura] is a mythmaker of enormous talent," says critic Matthew Porter in a 2006 review of the artist. "What [his paintings] really are is one talented artist's musings on the infinite balances, imbalances, complements and contradictions that comprise the 'human condition.'" Nakamura's work will only become more relevant as people continue to move and mix among each other. Rather than think of this hybridization as a loss or confusion of culture, we can look at it the way we look at Joel Nakamura's artwork: as a beautiful, imaginative, and blended representation of what was, what is, and what could be.
"Hydroponics," from Nakamura's latest exhibit, "Tako Niwa (Octopus Garden)."
* This article was originally written for the Japanese American National Museum Store Online. Custom art pieces and other items by Joel Nakamura are available for sale through the Museum Store. (June 2010)
© 2010 Mia Nakaji Monnier
art identity joel nakamura pop culture
Mia Nakaji Monnier
Mia Nakaji Monnier is a Los Angeles-based writer and editor. She was born in California to a Japanese mother and American father, and has lived in eleven different cities and towns, including Kyoto, Japan; small town Vermont; and suburban Texas. To contact her or see more of her work, visit mianakajimonnier.com.
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* Discover Nikkei is a project of the Japanese American National Museum, made possible through the generous support of The Nippon Foundation
The award-winning Museum Store of the Japanese American National Museum features distinctive Asian American merchandise for all occasions and generations. Their unique product line represents the essence of the Japanese American experience, while also promoting an appreciation of America's ethnic and cultural diversity. All proceeds from the Museum Store support Museum programs and exhibitions.
The articles in this series were originally written for the Japanese American National Museum's online store [janmstore.com] to give a deeper understanding of the authors, artists, and traditions featured in the store.
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Home Enterprise CeBIT Ready to Cut IT's Gordian Knot
CeBIT Ready to Cut IT's Gordian Knot
By Erin Joyce | May 25, 2004
UPDATED: CeBIT America rolls into New York City this week, with an army of tech experts geared up to help decision-makers untie or just cut any Gordian knots of decision-making for the enterprise.
Featuring a range of tracks, including the Future of Open Source, everything you ever wanted to know about Windows 2003 and Beyond, Securing the Enterprise, Computing Architectures and Leveraging the Services Economy, the three-day conference is geared for the enterprise customer and seller. Also in attendance -- those who are constantly changing the technology world through innovation.
The show is the North American equivalent of the giant CeBIT trade show that draws hundreds of thousands to Hanover, Germany each year. Bill Cell of CeBIT America said the focus and goals are the same with the New York show as with other global versions: It brings together buyers and sellers of Information and Communications Technologies to share industry perspectives, network, and conduct business.
"It's to provide what a senior level manager is looking for," Cell said. Plus, the conference is about providing a more rounded view of the industry for enterprise IT execs that toil in one sector such as wireless but may need to get up to date about another sector, such as open source development, for critical buying decisions.
Organizers said between 10,000 and 12,000 attendees have pre-registered for the event. Mark Dineen, managing director of the conference, said the goal is to deliver the highest possible value to buyers and marketers of enterprise technology.
Although Tom Siebel, the former CEO of the Siebel, was slated to deliver the keynote Tuesday, as of Monday, CeBIT-America's Website said David Schmaier, executive vice president of Siebel, would deliver the keynote address. In early May, Siebel stepped down from his role as chief executive. The company has come under criticism recently for being slow to adapt to the trend of offering software in an on-demand capacity. Siebel is still chairman, but his departure as CEO cleared the way for a former IBM senior executive and vice president, Michael J. Lawrie, to take the reins.
Other keynoters slated to speak include Kathryn Walker, executive vice president of network services for Sprint Corporation. She is expected to discuss 3G development as well as Sprint's plans for upgrading its wireless data and voice networks for enterprise customers when she takes the keynote stage Wednesday.
Anthony Scott, the CTO for General Motors, is scheduled to discuss major enterprise issues when he delivers a keynote address Wednesday afternoon.
Bell said the organizers are borrowing some techniques from the German version of CeBIT, such as providing more networking opportunities among sectors, such as pharmaceutical or financial services and vendors to those verticals. Recruiting for interest groups, such as the Wall Street Technology Association, is also a new and improved feature at this year's show.
The idea is that a set of managers from a corporation can show up at the conference and, within a few days, be up to speed on the options in order to fulfill their specific IT needs or mission.
That Tony Scott, the CTO of GM is giving a keynote speech, helps explain the focus of the conference, Bell said. "We're talking about a company that spends about $3 billion to $4 billion a year on technology alone."
But the concerns now go beyond the matter of upgrading desktop PCs, he added. The company is looking at using technology to help drive its bottom line, or get suppliers on the same page, and same networks, as car dealers. Not to mention the role of technology in driving innovation in the next generation of cars.
Industry wide, IT spending on software and hardware continues to be one of the leading drivers of sales growth. A recent report from the Semiconductor Industry Association showed an increase of 11.5 percent on chip spending in the first quarter, the fourth successive quarter of strong growth and the third straight quarter of double-digit growth. Research and consulting firm TowerGroup is pointing to a $71.5 billion year for IT spending in the financial securities industry and a new report out by Forrester Research suggests small- to medium-sized businesses will increase IT spending by 6.6 percent over 2003.
Still, even as the economy improves, Cell added, people are still cautious about spending, even as budgets start to ramp up. "They're going to ramp it up slowly and carefully."
And CeBIT wants to help cut some through some of the confusion about what to buy.
Updates prior version to reflect GM's Tony Scott keynote is scheduled for Wednesday.