Mark Fast, the Canadian wunderkind knits designer who made a splash at London Fashion Week for using size 14 models, has been shortlisted for the Swarovski Emerging Talent Award for Ready to Wear.  Every year, the British Fashion Council recognizes an influential and directional designer who is emerging as an influential force in British Fashion.  Previous winners include Stella McCartney, Giles Deacon, Louise Goldin, and Antonio Berardi

Mark designs by hand on a domestic knitting machine. His work is formed onto the body as he knits, and he has devised innovative stitching techniques, blending lycra with viscose, angora or wool. He is inspired by the endless possibilities of lycra yarns, sculpting areas of tension and areas of volume over the body. Mark’s fascination with the cinema drives his creative process as he channels the energy of the characters who inspire him into his knits. Obsessed with texture, Mark’s most recent work explores the relationship of garments to the wearers body.

To draw focus to the draping, density and volume of the dresses as they relate to women’s bodies and to challenge traditional notions of fit and idealized body shape, Mark bucked tradition and used size 14 models in his SS10 runway show, causing an uproar at London Fashion Week.   To qurote Mark from a recent interview in Sunday Times Style, “Knits have a more intimate relationship with the wearer than tailoring or corsetry. The garment takes on the shape of the person inside it, and the finished look is always a collaboration between the two.”

Mark Fast will be available starting December at Curve LA and NY.

Nie lubię przekazywać złych wiadomości. Tym bardziej, jeśli po pierwszej, w dodatku niespodziewanej, pojawiają się kolejne i wydaje się, że czarna seria nie będzie miała końca. Otóż dzisiaj zbankrutowało kolejne już pismo skierowane do nieheteroseksualnych odbiorców. Mowa o hiszpańskim “Zero”.

“Czarną serię” rozpoczęły dwa brytyjskie tytuły: skierowany do lesbijek “crAve” oraz tygodnik “Pink paper”. Ten drugi był zresztą jedyną gazetą środowisk LGBT wydawaną na Wyspach Brytyjskich. W tej chwili wprawdzie działa dalej, ale wyłącznie jako internetowy serwis newsowy. Upadek “Pink Paper” był o tyle niespodziewany, że stał za nim potężny koncern mediowy MPG (Millivres Prowler Group) – wydawca takich tytułów, jak choćby znana nam wszystkim “Diva” czy skierowany do panów “GT”. O ile przyszłość “crAve” nie wygląda dobrze i jego okładki już raczej nigdy nie zobaczymy w kiosku, o tyle wydawcy “Pink Paper” zapewniają, że przywrócą tytuł, jak tylko uspokoi się sytuacja na rynku.

Zaledwie kilkanaście dni temu, gdy wydawało się, że kryzys ekonomiczny powoli mija, bankructwo ogłosił najstarszy i największy wydawca gazet LGBT w Stanach Zjednoczonych – Window Media. Zamknięto sześć tytułów, między innymi wydawaną od 40 lat, najstarszą amerykańską gazetę LGBT “Washington Blade”. Nic nie wskazywało na to, że Window Media może mieć kłopoty- “Washington Blade” sprzedawał się co tydzień w nakładzie 23 tysięcy egzemplarzy i uznawany był przez specjalistów od mediów za najbardziej wpływowe pismo branżowe nie tylko w USA, ale na całym świecie.

Kolejna ofiarą nierentowności okazało się niezwykle sympatyczne brytyjskie pisemko “Velvet”. Cieniutki kwartalnik wydawany pod patronatem Stelli Duffy rozważa wprawdzie powołanie do życia wersji online, ale wersja drukowana zniknie bezpowrotnie. Szkoda, bo “Velvet” był jednym z niewielu pism lesbijskich na rynku, które tak silnie zorientowane było na kulturę, literaturę i sztukę.

Wszyscy mieli nadzieje, że to już koniec pogromu wśród tęczowej prasy. Niestety. Dziś upadłość ogłosiło pismo “Zero”, największy hiszpański miesięcznik LGBT. W grudniu do kiosków trafi ostatni, 120 numer. Redaktor naczelny Miguel Ángel López przyznaje, że winę ponosi kryzys gospodarczy. Dochody pisma z reklam spadły w ostatnim roku aż o 60%, w związku z czym wydawca zwyczajnie nie miał innego wyjścia, jak zamknąć tytuł.

Nie ukrywam, że kolejne upadające pisma i ogólna sytuacja na rynku wydawniczym bardzo mnie martwią. Tym bardziej, że comiesięczne przesyłki od moich ulubionych wydawców są coraz cieńsze, mniejsze, lżejsze… Martwi mnie, że pisma, jeśli nawet nie znikają z rynku, zmniejszają częstotliwość, z którą ukazują się w kioskach. Tak na przykład stało się z “The Advocate”, który jakiś czas temu przekształcił się z dwutygodnika w miesięcznik.

Nie przekonują mnie argumenty, że wszystko można znaleźć w Internecie. Nie można. Nie takiej jakości, jak we wspomnianym przed chwilą “The Advocate”. Nie w takich blokach tematycznych, jakie funduje nam co miesiąc “Diva”. Nie o takim zapachu, jaki ma papier, na którym drukowany jest “Curve”. Dlatego boję się dnia, gdy w skrzynce pocztowej, zamiast zwyczajowej porcji fantastycznych artykułów, wywiadów i zdjęć, znajdę list z zawiadomieniem, że mojego ulubionego wydawcę trafił szlag.

]]> http://matthewlinley.wordpress.com/2009/11/26/rumours-from-leicesters-cq/ Thu, 26 Nov 2009 10:22:46 +0000 matthewlinley http://matthewlinley.wordpress.com/2009/11/26/rumours-from-leicesters-cq/

Thought this was worth sharing!

Leicester’s sparkling new theatre CURVE are rumoured to be planing for a radical new interpretation of Shakespeare’s History plays (with a sprinkling of the comedies and tragedies thrown in too). In true inside out fashion the action will flow through all the spaces of the multi million pound building across theatre square with the denouement taking place in the burial ground of St Georges churchyard.

The modern day production will be set around the time of the development of Leicester’s cultural quarter and follows a central character (called only city) and five Lords and Ladies of the court who – one by one – fall foul of the whims and fashion of the city, ending up buried in unnamed graves in the churchyard.

In a final chilling scene City is seen desperately seeking new courtiers to run the beautiful Cultural Palaces the City has created when he is confronted by the ghosts of the Lords and Ladies.

As putea compara spitalele din ROmania cu niste cosuri de gunoi : sunt pline de gunoaie (oamenii) si miros urat (la propriu). Mi-e scarba!

Ieri a fost ziua verisoarei mele deci ocazie sa mai ies si eu din casa. Ne-am adunat la ea in camin,a venit si varul meu si chiar era atmosfera draguta. Pana a inceput sa-mi sune telefonul …era colega mea de apartament care era destul de bolnava. Ma implora sa vin acasa ca ea moare (da da,melodramatic). Cu lacrimi in ochi (la propriu) am plecat spre ea,nestiind ce sa fac sau cum s-o ajut desigur.

Cand am ajuns am observat ca intr-adevar era rau asa ca am chemat o salvare . La telefon m-am rastit si la proasta familiei ca era batuta in cap,nu intelegea ca nu avem SCARA A,B,C ..este pur si simplu BLOC T56!!

Dupa o ora ajunge mini-salvarea…cu o hoasca supraponderala care nu putea sa urce 1 etaj..a luat-o cu liftu.

A consultat-o pe tipa si apoi a inceput sa faca glume de genu “hai fetito,nu te mai fandosi atat,n-o sa mori” si cireasa de pe tort “ia zi,vrei la spital sau nu?”

Am ajuns la spital…mai erau inca 10 oameni care asteptau,asta murea de frig,eu la fel(ii dadusem ei taiorul meu) si deja mi se facea scarba. Un bagator de seama isi dadea importanta in fata mea,imi venea sa-l scuip!

Intr-un final au luat-o si pe ea la consult..o viroza respiratorie…nicio problema doar ca era deja 2-3 dimineata si bani nu aveam..asa ca am luat-o pe jos de la spitalul Colentina pana pe Lizeanu.

A fost o noapte de cacat si n-a fost nevoie decat de 3 ore sa-mi dau seama ce scarbe de oameni cica “ne salveaza vietile”.

Si politicienii nostri mai vor sa fie votati. O sa ma duc la vot macar sa-mi anulez votul ca toti sunteti la fel : niste ordinari si hoti!

In recent weeks, Verizon has been running a series of commercials which emphasize that its 3G network is significantly larger than AT&T’s. AT&T has issued a statement that defends its wireless data options, and points out that there’s more involved than just 3G.

With the holiday shopping season looming, Verizon is trying to draw in customers with TV ads that point out one of its greatest strengths, its mobile broadband network. Commercials like “There’s a Map for That” and “Misfit Toys” show maps comparing its 3G coverage area to its largest rival’s, with Verizon’s being visibly much larger.

AT&T has responded by pointing out that its 3G service covers 233 million people or 75% of the U.S. population. It does so by concentrating on heavily populated areas.

This carrier also points that out it has an extensive 2.5G network using the EDGE standard. This is available to 301 million people, or more than 96% of the population. EDGE is slower than 3G, but it allows users to check their e-mail and access the Web.

AT&T also claims its 3G network is faster than Verizon’s, and has another advantage, too: it lets users talk and surf the web or send e-mail simultaneously.

This company has gone beyond issuing statements; it has filed a lawsuit over Verizon’s ads, claiming that they are misleading potential customers because they might think that it’s a coverage map for its voice service, too.

Other Advantages
AT&T’s statement talks about more than just networks. It also asserts that this carrier has other advantages, many of which can be summed up as “We have the iPhone, and you don’t”.

Apple’s very successful device has given AT&T twice as many smartphone customers as Verizon. It also lets this carrier tout the large number of third-party applications available for its phones.

AT&T is the exclusive provider of the iPhone, but Verizon has introduced a model it thinks can rival it, the Motorola Droid. This Android-based device offers several features the iPhone doesn’t, like a hardware keyboard, a much higher-resolution display and, of course, access to the largest 3G network in the U.S.

Hey guys so I recently got the new Blackberry Curve 8900 from AT&T and had to do a review of it against my main phone the iPhone 3Gs. Now even thought I’m doing this review let me first say that the purpose of the phones are soooo different. The iPhone is main purpose is for users who want a fun and entarining phone where as the Blackberry is more of a right down to business phone. So here we go my break down of some of the main features of the phones.

Browser  iPhone

To me the iPhone has a browser like no other. The curve browser is generally slower and takes a lot more to get to a site like zooming in to click links as well as not as full featured browser as the iPhone.

Music     iPhone

The main reason the iPhone has the best music is because its made by Apple which started the entire music player trend. The blackberry really comes no where close.

Signal    iPhone

Now the Curve is currently not 3G for AT&T but even with that calls on the Curve are not ever pleasant and you can hear a lot of background noise like the wind and the calls aren’t very clear. iPhone has a much better call quality.

Speed  Draw

This is actually a tie both phones offer quick responses to opening different functions on the phone.

Apps   iPhone

The iPhone wins hands down with apps. Blackberry has nothing close to the ease of the app store and apps on the iPhone. Even apps like Tweetie and easiser to launch and use then lets say Twitterberry. Apps on the Curve are not as full featured like iPhones Apps.

Design  Blackberry

I have to say Blackberry has a much nicer design then the iPhone. Its sleek and holds nice in the hand and looks more valuable where as the iPhone looks rather simple and plain.

Keyboard Draw

I have to say I enjoy both. iPhone touch keys are better spaced but can be a little hard to judge where as the Blackberry keys are nice to have an actual key but are a little too close together and cramped.

Camera  Blackberry

The Blackberry Curve 3.2 Megapixel and flash camera out do the iPhones camera and provide the better picture.

The BlackBerry Bold 9700 is here, and I can say that I haven’t been this excited for a BlackBerry since, well, the Bold 9000.

The new 9700 slims down the overall package size while maintaining the same great feature set, including Wi-Fi and 3G. Most importantly it sports a track pad rather than a trackball. This latest offering also boasts the 5.0 operating system. RIM hit its mark with the 9700, and it promises to impress.

T-Mobile users will be delighted with the Bold2 as their first 3G BlackBerry, and AT&T users will welcome it as a worthy successor to a proven device. Both these carriers are going to introduce this model later this month for $200 with two-year contract, and it’s already available in Europe.

I’ve only had this device for a short time, so I’m just giving my first impressions now; a more complete review will be available in short order.
BUILD & DESIGN

The Bold 9700 is smaller than its predecessor in every way — thinner, shorter, and not as wide, although they weigh about the same and use the same huge battery. The 9700 even feels a little smaller than the BlackBerry Tour. Despite its smaller size, it doesn’t make too many concessions in terms of usability.

What’s best is that it just feels solid. There isn’t play in the keyboard, and the battery compartment feels snug.

Screen
The HVGA display is still sharp, though not as big as its predecessor’s. Its rich resolution somewhat compensates for its smaller screen size while browsing — a topic I’ll cover more in depth in the upcoming full review.

The display is stellar, but it seems less bright than the 9000. The 9000’s screen is comfortably viewed in almost all lighting conditions at 10%, with the 9700 I’ve had to kick it up to 100% brightness.

Keyboard and Buttons
I loved the rubberized keys on the original Bold, and although they’re slightly smaller on the 9700, they are still easy to use and accurate.  I did notice that the keyboard seems to concave inward slightly near the center of the keypad.

A major improvement in this device is the more appropriately sized function keys: talk, menu, return, end.

One of the defining features of the Bold2 is its track pad. This one feels more comfortable and more responsive than that of the BlackBerry Curve 8520 that I recently reviewed.

The Bold 9700 adopts the now standard rocker key atop of the phone — lock on one side, mute/standby on the other.

Appearance
The styling has been reworked as well in the newest offering. Just a year ago the Bold impressed with its chrome accents and black finish. The 9700 pares down the glitz and is understated. The chrome convenience keys have been replaced with a rubberized black finish, the chrome is more subdued, and there is less of it. All welcome additions in my opinion.

The Bold 9700 offers the same touch of faux-leather on the back, but it covers only a small portion of the back cover; here I think the 9000 has the leg up.

PERFORMANCE

The BlackBerry Bold 9700 has solid performance with no notable glitches or falters during my initial testing. Menu transitions are smooth, navigation with the track pad is nearly seamless. Messaging and call quality has been consistently good so far.

OS and Software
The Bold2 comes with a standard set of software applications with no notable departures over other models. This includes BlackBerry Maps (likely T-Mobile only), DataViz Documents To Go office suite, instant messaging clients T-Mobile My Account, and some games (BrickBreaker, World Mole, Texas Hold’Em, Sudoku, and Klondike). Notably absent from the default software is BlackBerry App World, BlackBerry’s answer to Apple’s App Store.

The this model also offers Visual Voicemail as standard. Though it will not transcribe voicemail, it will tell you who called and the length of message.

The BlackBerry OS 5.0 software (v 5.0.0.330) performs reliably and offers many upgrades over previous versions.

Wireless
The Bold 9700 is the first BlackBerry from T-Mobile with 3G mobile broadband. Thanks to 3G, wireless coverage does seem improved in my test area, where previously T-Mobile coverage has fallen short.

Like other devices from this carrier, the Bold 9700 offers calling over Wi-Fi networks. This continues to work well, though I have noticed dropped calls when switching from UMA to wireless, and there is notable call quality degradation on stressed Wi-Fi networks.

Camera
The Bold2’s camera is vastly improved, though it’s only ‘on par’ with its contemporaries such as the Storm and Tour. The 3.2 megapixel camera sports flash and video recording (the Bold 9000 only had a 2.0 megapixel camera), and the camera offers auto-focus as well.

Annoyingly however, the camera can only be auto focused by using the right side convenience key. I’ve had bad luck in the past with convenience keys that have stopped responding over time, and if that’s the case the auto-focus feature will be for naught.
PRELIMINARY CONCLUSION

The BlackBerry Bold 9700 will be the RIM’s standard bearer for some time to come. After a disappointing offering with the BlackBerry Storm2, it’s reassuring to see such a solid performer.

It’s smaller, better looking, has a great track pad, and feels more solid than its predecessor. Initially there doesn’t seem to be much that it is missing. Indeed it seems that of all the ‘Berries in the store, this is the one I’d have.

Although T-Mobile USA has promised to release the BlackBerry Bold 9700 in the near future, it hasn’t revealed what it plans to charge for this upcoming smartphone. That hasn’t stopped this information from leaking out, however.

According to an unconfirmed report, this carrier is going to ask $200 for this smartphone with a two-year contract. Those who don’t want to sign up for a T-Mobile contract will have lower monthly service payments, but will have to pay more for this device: $450. An installment plan will also be an option: $22.50 per month for 20 months.

UPDATE: These prices have been confirmed.

This carrier also hasn’t given a specific date for the release of its version of this BlackBerry. Leaked information says that this will be Nov. 16.

An Overview of the BlackBerry Bold 9700
The Bold2 will have the same general design as its predecessor, including a QWERTY keyboard, but with a new look. It will be smaller than the original, and also have a slightly smaller screen, but at the same HVGA resolution. In place of a trackball will be an optical trackpad.

It is going to run BlackBerry OS 5.0 on a 624 MHz processor, and will have RIM’s standard suite of productivity and entertainment software.

This phone will include a microSD card slot, and be bundled with a 2 GB memory card for storing music, video, and other files.It will also include a 3.2 MPx camera, a GPS receiver and a 3.5 mm headset jack.

The BlackBerry Bold 9700 will be a quad-band GSM phone, with tri-band UMTS/HSDPA. Naturally, the T-Mobile version will support this carrier’s unique 3G frequency.  It will also have Wi-Fi and Bluetooth.

Coming to AT&T, Too
AT&T has also announced plans to release its own version the Bold2 later this month.

This carrier will also ask $200 for it, with a two-year voice and data plan and a $100 mail-in-rebate.

via Andi Moisescu.

Apropo, să-mi bag plua dacă ştiu cu cine să votez în turul 2. Pe Geoană nu pot să-l votez din motivele evidente. Plus că am, aşa, o scârbă când aud cuvinte gen “PSD, Năstase, Iliescu” şi nu numai.
Pe Băsescu nu pot să-l votez. Pe lângă faptul că e un wanna-be dictator nenorocit, are faţă de beţiv ordinar şi mai sunt încă anumite chestii care se adaugă la cv-ul său. Plus că iarăşi, am alergie la cuvinte gen “flota, Udrea, Cocoş, FLOTA, nene, FLOTA” şi altele.

Acum, rămâne de analizat la rece şi de ales răul cel mai mic.

pi.es. postu’ ăsta trebuia să fie mai lung, dar a fost zoso mai rapid cu cele 2 articole la care fac referire mai sus. Şi adevărul e că le zice bine. Mai bine decât le-aş fi zis eu în orice caz.

Antonescu. Crin Antonescu. Virulentul-sef, care musca in stanga si in dreapta rabic si ii baga in corzile discursului pe Geoana si Basescu, isi afunda acum capul adanc si umed in fundul coalitiei pentru un os de ros in viitorul Guvern.

Da, votul tau chiar nu conteaza. Stai acasa.

Asta a fost o întrebare pusă de un puşti de şapte ani mamei lui. Aaa…politica e o curvă! a răspuns femeia. Asta a fost reacţia prietenei mele la întrebarea kinderului.

Politica e o curva, politicienii sunt curvele, iar noi, poporul suntem cei care mergem la curve. După ziua de duminică, se pare că sunt vreo 3 milioane de oameni care o preferă pe curva PSD - ista, vreo 2 milioane pe cea a PNL-ului, mai sunt vreo 500.000 de nebuni ca şi Vadim (probabil cei de prin spitalele de profil), vreo 200.000 de microbişti de-a lui Becali, 300.000 de medici ameninţaţi de Oprescu, aproape 400.000 de unguri, 60.000 de roakeri, iar restul prieteni şi rude ale celorlalţi candidaţi.

Cei care n-au votat, adică jumătate dintre români, sunt fie plecaţi la munci,  fie au preferat să meargă la curve unde să-şi bage ceva la propriu, fie nu au apucat să se apropie de secţiile speciale pline de nomazi.

N-ai fumat spice-uri la viata ta? Esti praf! Esti nimic! Esti o nulitate! Sinucide-te

Coae, care-i moda cu leusteanul asta? Vad ca din ce mai multi curfutangii fumeaza spice-uri. Cum, nu stii ce-s spice-urile? Pai esti nimicul nimicului. Esti nulitatea absoluta. Spice-urile sunt cacaturile alea de tigari care cica te duc pe taramul lui Sandy Bell in perfecta legalitate. Ceva gen te duci in gradina, tai 5 legaturi de ceapa, iei o mana de leustean si una de marar, le usuci, iei o foaie de ziar, rulezi compozitia, o aprinzi si astepti sa te duca pe lumea copiilor neprihaniti.

N-am fumat. Si nici nu vreau. Dar aud prin jurul meu oameni care spun:

“-M-am spart aseara in ultimul hal”

“-Da ce-ai fumat?”

“-Un spice in 6 oameni.”

La fel de de bine puteam sa beau ca un porc ce sunt de 100 lei si sa ma prapadesc de 10 ori mai bine decat pulele care fumeaza astfel de porcarii…

De ce 100 de lei? Pai atat costa leusteanul de care vorbim. Dau 100 de lei pe 1 gram (1 GRAM!!!) care nu iti provoaca decat o stare de voma crunta… Sfinte cacat, 1 GRAM?! 1 gram de leustean a ajuns la 100 de lei?! Doamne, ce te faci si cu criza asta…

Sa luam o fraza de pe un site specilizat:

CorelDRAW had its 20th anniversary just recently. If a software can stand for 20 years it couldn’t be that bad, right? But yes, it looks awkward and many people simply ignore it, since it is not “cool” enough. Its designer community isn’t large and the software itself has some disadvantages, which make it look a bit awkward. Let’s reviews some advantages and disadvantages of using this software.

Introduction

Why is that only people already addicted to CorelDRAW use it? Maybe they know something we don’t. In this article, I’ll review some of the issues with CorelDRAW. I think the developers of this software have created a sharp program, but not so user friendly.

CorelDRAW is very precise and reliable. All the tools give maximum control, but you must fight your way through to learn them. It’s definitely not the software that you can take for a quick spin and easily create great artwork.

The good news is that when you get used to its feature set, it becomes part of your thinking and can be a strong tool for creating astounding artwork. Let’s review a few pros and cons of CorelDRAW.

Er…How Do I Navigate?

First of all forget about the Space Bar equals Pan thesis. CorelDRAW has a navigator board but I must admit it’s not the real thing and most people don’t even know where it is (small box at the lower-right corner of the interface).

The easiest way to navigate is to zoom in and out to the pointer area with your mouse. This can be tricky sometimes if your mouse isn’t smooth enough. Sounds strange but once accustomed to this navigation technique you will get addicted to it. If you still feel lost grab the Hand Tool (H) to pan, and press spacebar to change back to the previous tool.

What About Freehand Brushes?

This is a real pain. CorelDraw’s freehand tools are only a concept but are nearly impossible to use them. Just try to do a quick hatching with the the freehand tool. You will end up with a mess, since you will continuously select the previously drawn lines.

It’s OK though, as this is not primarily freehand painting or sketching software. There are some other industry standard tools on the Corel palette (for example Painter) which excel in this field. But once again this is a week point since the core concept of the software is not to painting.

The World’s Best and Easiest Curves/Nodes Management

When you get down to the details you will be amazed how easy is to use the bezier tool and how precise its curve management is. If you are after vectorization then Corel Draw is great. Corel Draw is excellent software when it comes to vector tools. You have all the control over the nodes and curves with mathematical precision.

The right-click context menu makes vectorization so precise that technical illustration is easy to create. I take a deep bow in front of the team who developed this. This part is the strength of CorelDRAW from the dawn of vector software.

Super Fine Gradient Mesh

You need photo-realistic vectors? Just grab the super easy gradient mesh tool and you will make unbelievable vector portraits in no time. The Corel company has bundled photo-realistic art already in the version 8 clip art, and don’t forget the Hedy Lamar illustration on the cover of version 8. If you check the Corel community galleries you will find some gorgeous photo-realistic portraits, though the galleries are sometimes awkward and the community isn’t very exciting.

Highly Controllable Boolean Operations

I simply love this part of CorelDRAW. When you need to cut, weld, trim or intersect just open up the shaping docker and you have maximum control over the Boolean operations and the resulting shapes. Actually, you can base your style on these fine set of tools. Check them out for yourself.

Strange and Useful Effects

The effect palette is also a strength of CorelDRAW. I use these tools most of the time, especially the contour tool. Try some of this for extra options.

Color Separation and Prepress Goodness

If you’re working in the DTP business, CorelDRAW is your humble servant. It corrects your mistakes silently and makes color separation and prepress work as easy as it can be. The main concept of this software, the precision, has its word in the printing menu.

Screen Refreshing

If you want to spare yourself from getting upset, then don’t forget to press Command + W often to refresh the screen. CorelDRAW tends to forget to do this for you, which can be quite annoying sometimes.

Trace!

CorelDRAW has top notch tracing software integrated. It is quick, highly-customizable, and precise. Even if you don’t like other parts of the software, trying Corel Draw’s trace is a must. As a plus they have included a font recognition routine in the X4 version, which uses What the font! to find out what font was used on your scan. Nice idea!

Who uses CorelDraw Anyway?

Some really great artists from all around the world use CorelDRAW. Here is a short list to demonstrate.

AtixVector (Santiago, Chile)

machine56 (Bandung, Indonesia)

umidelmare(Wonderland)

Igor Tkac (igortshirts)

anhem

trojza (Alexander Poslykhalin)

GruberJan (Tatsyana Prokofieva)

Alexxx1 (Alexey Oglushevich)

RookeMare (Denvah, Colorado)

Ramonova (Russia)

Bmart333 (Pittsburgh, PA)

Conclusion

CorelDRAW can be awkward, especially to new users, but powerful in the hands of a seasoned user. You must decide the right vector software for you.

If you are a fan of South Park, choose Corel Draw because all the characters, scenery, and props are drawn using this vector package, as wikipedia states.

Finally, below is some artwork from renowned vectorist Roberlan, which showcase the choosing a vector software platform controversy.

Download AI URL: http://www.imgcapture.com/?p=861

Material description:

Green background purple butterfly pattern, will be giving birth to the baby’s mother-body curve pattern, giving a very special feeling of delight. Is a very deep design of the content material. Expressed the baby when the pregnant women, feminine charm. The design has a very special meaning material

I had the opportunity to have a brief hands-on with a new Blackberry Curve 8530 for Verizon today.  My overall impression is that it is a good Blackberry (especially for persons new to the Blackberry experience), but old die-hards would be better served to go with the Tour.  Some additional notes:

- The touchpad feels a bit wonky (that’s right: wonky).  I don’t think it’s anything that I wouldn’t get used to, but I can say that I prefer the trackball over the touchpad.

- This baby is pretty bare-bones.  Not a whole lot to go bug-eyes over, which can be a blessing or a curse, depending on how you look at things.

- It is very responsive.  Not sure on the exact specs, but OS 5.0 runs very well on it without any noticeable hanging or lag.  Take this with some salt, though, as I did not have the phone activated nor loaded down with apps and multiple things running at the same time.

- The keys are a bit flatter than the 8330s have with a shallower travel depth.  Something to get used to and not a bad keyboard by any means.

- Didn’t test out camera or anything, so I can’t comment on those aspects.  The device feels solid and durable.

Crackberry has a great review if your interested in the full details.

Today I’ve added 2 new links on the Designer Resources page.

TECHknitter has a couple of really wonderful blog entries on the theory behind short-row shaping and then goes on to explain 5 different methods, including Japanese short rows.  A great resource!

Edited: November 24, 2009

Today I also added a link to the Knitty article on using short row shaping for bust shaping and creating shirt-tail (curved) hems.

Writers do not live in sync with the rest of humanity. Normal people have free time. Writers have time when they should be writing. This weekend I have been trying to combine the two. I’ve been on a tour of the new cultural institutions around my city, including the Fabrika independent arts centre, Phoenix Square cinema and The Curve theatre. I’ve drank a cup of tea at each, met three friends randomly I had not seen for some time, and written about a thousand words on the second draft on The Hundredth Master of Ninja Assassin. Both productive and relaxing…the only down side is that my hands are now shaking from caffeine overdose.

This tree was at the end of the winding road I showed you yesterday.  Here is a close up of the painting.  Unfortunately I’m guessing that this marks the site of an accident, but maybe it’s just a message of hope for a safe passage.