Cally’s beautiful collection of critters through the magnifying glass.

A coffee filter pinned to hemlock tree delivers the beetles to their new feeding grounds.

US had been hit hard – their branches bearing the tell-tale signs of lacy white residue running along the underside of their needles. It was time to act, before the hemlock’s fate echoed that of the American Chestnut.

 The USDA’s search for biological control mechanisms in 1991 led to the source of HWA: southern Japan. It was there that the study of Japanese hemlocks revealed an HWA natural predator – the Sasajiscymnus tsugaebeetle, also called the Sasi (or St) beetle. Four years later, after considerable testing, the USDA concluded that the Sasi beetle would not reproduce in the absence of its food source, HWA, and was safe for release in the US.

It was time for the beetles to fulfill their mission. Massive predator beetle releases occur annually on public lands in an effort to bring native eastern hemlocks back from the brink of decline. The HWA feeds on the hemlock needle’s sap, ultimately robbing the tree of its nutrients and foliage, leading to discoloration, falling tree limbs and eventual death. As the Sasi

beetle puts its natural appetite for HWA to work, a biological equilibrium is established between predator and prey, allowing native hemlocks to retain enough foliage and nutrients to produce

No larger than a pin-head, the beetles will hopefully bring about biological equilibrium by feeding on HWA.

new growth. This method of biological control promotes a natural cycle over an entire hemlock area, unlike the chemical control of HWA which is expensive and must be repeatedly administered to individual trees.

Patrick Horan, a retired professor, became active in hemlock restoration in 2003. Discouraged with the results of chemical treatment, he began small-scale beetle releases on his property in western North Carolina, assessing their progress over the course of years. As new foliage began to appear on the treated hemlocks, Patrick recognized the impact that the Sasi beetle could have on private lands. “Sasi predator beetle releases on private lands can make important contributions to the ability of our eastern hemlocks to survive and recover in the presence of HWA,” Patrick said. At longer term release sites in Brevard, Patrick reports healthy hemlocks, covered with new foliage growth, that are recovering from HWA damage.

Teaming up with private landowners and land trusts including Carolina Mountain Land Conservancy and Foothills Conservancy, Patrick is paving the way for the Sasi beetles to enter privately-held land. A recent beetle release on Foothills Conservancy’s Catawba Headwaters Preserve gives hope to hemlocks in the beginning stages of decline. Healthy hemlock stands are integral to forest health as they mitigate the impact of nutrient runoff and help to regulate water temperature.

Patrick Horan’s generous donation and release of nearly 600 Sasi beetles will hopefully help to protect the forest diversity of our land trust’s Catawba Headwaters Preserve,” said Andrew Kota, Foothills Conservancy’s Stewardship Director. “The results of the release may not be apparent for years, but the concept of establishing a nautral, long-term predator-prey relationship is sound and it was difficult to find any reason not to try protecting hemlocks by this approach.”

As the foraging beetles spread within hemlock stands, they will hopefully boost forest vitality as they consume the pesky adelgid. It’s a tall order for such a tiny beetle and only time will reveal their collective impact on hemlock health. Until then, once the beetles are introduced, the waiting game ensues while nature takes its course.

FCNC’s Stewardship Director, Andrew Kota, pins a package filled with beetles on an infected hemlock tree, releasing them to feed on HWA.

Foothills Conservancy is an eight-county, regional land trust based in Morganton, North Carolina that has worked to protect iconic places like Chimney Rock and natural sanctuaries like Wilson Creek, among many other biologically diverse landscapes and watersheds in the Blue Ridge Mountains and foothills. For more information on Foothills Conservancy’s land protection projects completed since its inception, visit www.foothillsconservancy.org. To learn more about Patrick Horan and how you may be able to help hemlocks on your property using Sasi beetles, visit www.savinghemlocks.org.

Volkswagen New Beetle Automatic Skip Ad:

You know this moment when you want to watch a YouTube video but you need to watch an ad before and wait for 5 seconds before you can skip it? Well, in the new Beetle ad, Volkswagen will skip it for you. The spot will be automatically skipped the same way the new VW Beetle will skip gears with DSG Tiptronic.

Agency: AlmapBBDO.

Volkswagen Golf GTI YouTube Fastest Ad:

In order to promote the speed and sporty features of the Golf GTI, VW ran the fastest YouTube ad lasting for only three seconds. Right after the ad, a banner leading to the Golf GTI microsite will appear while you are watching your selected YouTube video.

Agency: DDB Spain.

Volkswagen Original Parts Ad:

In their fight against imitations and fake car parts, Volkswagen placed YouTube banner ads on parody videos. When watching an imitation video, you will get a message saying: “Don’t accept imitations. Prefer original parts.” with a VW logo next to it. If you click on the banner it will lead you to the original video.

Agency: AlmapBBDO.

“As a designer, I am extremely textile based, being creatively inspired by material qualities, fabric manipulation, colour and print. My work often includes a large amount of machine embroidery, focusing on sensitive detailing and working with fabrics that have an interesting surface application or appeal. 
Nature has always been a large inspiration throughout my work as a designer, therefore I wanted to explore this in greater detail.

The beetle is such a beautiful insect, yet it is often overlooked due to misconception. The metallic colours, intricate detailing and beautiful textures on the shell have given me large amounts of inspiration for my final product collection.

The Unique Selling Point of the garments is the sensitive selection of materials, strong print, fabric processes and the attention to fine detail. Designers such as Phillip Limm, Burberry, Antoni and Alison, Peter Pilotto and Modern Love are example competitors, with Fenwicks being a key store competitor. Materials and components are high quality with a luxurious feel to reflect the target market, whilst fabric processes stand out, helping to create statement pieces that will be wearable time and time again. Hidden detailing, such as printing inside pockets and detailed finishing teams well with the innovative branding that helps to create a range to reflect the chosen price point.”   Gina Pearce

When speaking with Gina about how she wanted to go about the shoot, she showed me images which were very clean and clinical looking. The images were very bleached out with white backgrounds and just small details and textures could be made out. When it came to location we shot in the university building Arkwright, where the walls are white and there are large white windows. The only slight problem we had was the ugly grey carpet on the floor, which we ended up covering with white card and the problem was solved.

The sun was shining straight through the windows which was perfect for the effect we wanted to achieve. Positioning the model directly infront of the window meant the light was bursting in from behind, creating a really bright white backdrop. I wanted to keep some of the detail of the windows behind the model in the image, so that it did not look like she had been cut out and placed on a white background. Overall the effect worked really well and I managed to keep lots of detail in the face and clothing whilst bleaching out the background.

Rachel McCarthy from BOSS model management was absolutely amazing to work with. She was professional, took direction very well and was also very friendly to work with. As you can see from the pictures she photographs beautifully and I would strongly recommend her. You can find her page here!

Not only did I love working with Gina, Rachel and Becky but I also love the final collection itself that Gina has produced. I hope she does well in the fashion design industry and that I shall work with her again soon.

Gina Pearce – Illustrations

Gina Pearce – Illustrations

Model : Beckie Knight

On Sunday Alison and I made our way over Stanford Hall for this year’s annual show which is organised by the Leicestershire and Warwickshire Volkswagen Owners club. I usually take my beetle to display in the Historic VW line-up but, this year we decided to bring my Audi A3. Last year’s show was one of many which fell fowl of the appalling weather being postponed to later in the year. By the time we got to Stanford Hall, at about 10.30 am, the show was in full swing and looked to be busier than ever!

There were lots of great VWs for sale including some nice, early stock examples, along with the lowered and custom cars which are always in plentiful supply. One of several which caught our attention was a very straight and original split screen pick-up which was a fresh import from Ohio in the US.

The concourse area was packed with immaculate VWs of all kinds from early air-cooled models right through to recent vehicles including the Audi TT and New Beetle. The Splitscreen Van Club always have a huge presence at this show as they have their AGM the same weekend and then cruise to the show en mass. The Historic VW display was also impressive and seems to be getting better each year.

We left after lunch having enjoyed wondering around the show for most of the morning, in sunshine for a change!

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i hope you haven´t missed his Older N Faster movie

Last weekend I made a trip to Phoenix, Arizona. This bug was taking some shade under my car. It’s an Iron Cross Blister Beetle. The bright colors are a signal that it’s toxic.

]]> http://bhsjournalism.wordpress.com/2013/05/06/apples-first-car/ Mon, 06 May 2013 18:36:34 +0000 jesusespinoza1996 http://bhsjournalism.wordpress.com/2013/05/06/apples-first-car/ BY JESUS ESPINOZA

While Volkswagen’s recently announced iBeetle isn’t the iCar, the Apple-produced automobile long-rumored to be in developement, it may just be the closest thing consumers can expect to see in the immediate future.

The product of an unprecedented cooperative endeavor between Volkswagen and Apple, the iBeetle, which will be released as both a basic model and the iBeetle Cabriolet,is said to boast iPhone connectivity, having been designed with a docking station for the iPhone 5 in the dashboard. The docking stations is said to provide users with access to a host of the iPhone’s functions, including navigation, hands-free calling functionality, and limited media streaming. iPhone’s synced to the iBeetle are said to be able to power the vehicle’s GPS, as well as the car’s stereo, and is reported to be able carry out these process remotely, by means of a wireless connection.

A special Volkswagen application said to correspond to the vehicle will allow the iPhone to integrate with other services in the car, a relationship which provides a number of potential applications, the usage of which has been classified as being part of a number of vehicle “modes” The Expert mode, as well as seven different drive modes, allow the driver to view information about the car, including oil and coolant temperatures, as well as a compass, whereas the Trainer mode allows the driver to compare driving times and distances. Reader mode lists messages from Facebook and reads them out loud, while Photo mode is designed to send photos taken in the car to friends. The latter of the two applications is said to also include Spotify and iTunes integration, so that drivers can listen to their friends’ favorite music while behind the wheel.

Volkswagen states that the car has also been designed to mirror Apple’s smartphones in appearance, and will be available in different shades of gray, white and black. Volkswagen hasn’t released pricing for the iBeetle yet, but it has revealed that advanced sales will begin in October 2013.

We are over the moon! Of course, the price was high and the wait was long, but we are drivin’ on! The shiny new license plates even look legitimate. We hurriedly hop on the bike and make our way to RMA. We arrive, all smiles, and show our new shiny plates to Valon. He is impressed, I can tell. He does stop what he is doing to take us over to our car. With great hoopla and fanfare we take out a screwdriver and remove the old plates. I decide that I would like to keep one of the plates for posterity, and choose to keep the back plate, which is somewhat more legible than the front. We lovingly place the new license plates on their new home and take a million photos.

Chuffed, we go to the ‘motor room’ to take a look at the motor, which is now on a table, rather than in the car. Valon gingerly presents us with the bad news. The motor, along the way, has been stripped, adulterated, battered, and abused. Holes have been bored where no holes should be, crankshafts have been skimmed, and parts are oversized. I knew parts of the body were falling apart, but we did not expect the motor to be in such a bad condition. Valon tells us he will write up a list of the essentials and we can decide what we want to do.

Somewhat deflated we decide it is best to wait and see what the list looks like; no point in ruining the good vibes we have from the license plate progress. On our way out, I am informed that I cannot keep the license plate or the new ones will be revoked. I am sure that is not actually the case as every second car has only one plate in Kabul (or none, as is often the case). Begrudgingly, however, I agree to return the old plate to the Ministry. We have enough to contend with and I know when to pick my battles.

On the way home I ask my husband if  the car is registered in my name or his so one of us can start work on the road pass.

It turns out, foreigners are not permitted to register a car in Afghanistan, and so the registration does not bear my, or my husband’s name; but rather, the previous owner’s.

Interesting. I wonder what problems that will pose at every border-crossing…. one step forward, two steps back!

I’ll post the Close to Home event first – seems more fitting to do so and I don’t know why either. It’s at the Fifth Ave VW dealership so it doesn’t end up being too big but big enough for everyone to come chill and have a good time. There’s BBQ, some games to play and of course – voting and awards. We went quick to snap some pics and then we went off to the shop.

I personally hate taking pics of cars when their owners are planted in a lounge chair directly behind or beside the car. It makes it awkward for probably the both of us – so why do you do it? I’m staring through the viewfinder, you’re staring into the camera and really, all I want is a picture of your car – not you smiling in it too. That is one of the reasons why I didn’t get as many pics as I could have. That, or a huge group of people are standing behind some nice builds like their guarding it or something. Don’t be that guy.

Anyway – here’s what I got. And I’ll put this out there right now – I know practically nothing about the Volkswagen scene. I do appreciate and love that shit, but I can’t name specifically anything made before a GTI MK5. LOL

This was interesting. I can dig it.

Oldschool van

Don’s Golf R on Volk LE37′s. An interesting look for sure – completely different than what you would normally put on a VW, especially since it’s more of a “JDM” wheel. It looks far better in person than the pics that I saw though. Love the colour of the car though.

This one had a Porsche BBK on it.

Another interesting look. VW guys can always pull off the craziest shit and no one will ever say anything.

This was probably my favourite car of the show. Simple, bagged, nicely staggered wheels and to the point.

Another one of my favourites. GTI MK6(?) on EDIT 0.05′s by 3DSM (Thanks to Zeev for correcting me on these).

Hippie interior. Like.

This VW had a sick rootbeer paintjob. Super clean and paint matched centers on his wheels.

An interesting look. Fully vinyl’d and coloured on. Fitment is awesome, I think it would’ve looked a lot cleaner without all that but whatever.

EDIT: I’ve been correct – thanks to rodman. The car is actually plastidipped and has been that way for about 10 months. First car I’ve seen upclose that has been fully plastidipped.

Moving onto the oldschool beetles.

Loved this colour.

And this…

No idea what this was but the paint was amazing.

EDIT: Another informative comment by Don Camacho – this is a Karmann Ghia. It later won the people’s choice air cooled car that day. Thanks Don!

Closing out with an engine shot.

Tomorrow – the Tiffany GTR!

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This is my official entry for the Doodlers Anonymous’ online contest entitled, “Doodle Your Ride.” I’ve also seen the other entries by my fellow artists. Their works are great! If you want to see the other entries just click this link –> http://doodlersanonymous.com/submissions.php?showcaseID=17

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