Having written about my sporting icon of the decade Ryan Giggs and my fellow trainee journalist colleagues gave their nominations, here are the final ten for the vote so have your say on your favourite:

Not that I would try and influence your decision but go on, vote for Giggsy, you know you want to!

Y bueno, las pijadas del diseño no me van mucho, pero esta es, creo, bastante original. Que no cree precedentes.

Es obra de Mike Giepert, y lo he visto ahora mismo en ffffound!

In all your works, either at home or at the place of your service, do not forget that all your strength, your light and your success are in Christ and His Cross; therefore, do not fail to call upon the Lord before beginning any work, saying: Jesus, help me! Jesus, enlighten me! Thus your heart will be supported and warmed by lively faith and hope in Christ, for His is the power and glory unto ages of ages.

John of Kronstandt

http://www.ccel.org/ccel/kronstadt/christlife.ii.html

A diversion from the usual topic of this blog here but I thought compelled to wade into the debate started by my fellow Cardiff trainee journalist Josh Pettitt regarding the top sporting icons of the noughties.

I’ve plumped for a pugilist who has had a lot of publicity lately after victories against Ricky Hatton and Miguel Angel Cotto. Manny Pacquaio.

I’ll say only a few words about him because it only requires a few words and a video of his highlights to display why this guy is an icon not just of modern boxing but of all sport.

Ridiculous hand speed, a diamond chin, a tightened defence since working with legend Freddie Roach and an unprecedented ability to carry his power up through no less than seven weight divisions, from flyweight up to welterweight. He has become the complete fighter.

His fame has only really risen to icon proportions in the last few years, particularly after his demolition of British favourite Ricky Hatton. Here is the painful lesson in full:

He has taken on all the big names of recent boxing history including Marco Antonio Barrera and Oscar De La Hoya and beaten them. And who can forget the classic series of fights against Erik Morales. He may have three losses but there is no denying he is one of the best fighters of this generation, and a shining light among a sport that is not what it used to be.

His latest triumph, against Cotto, sealed his place in boxing folklore for years to come and looks likely to have set up a super fight with Floyd ‘Pretty Boy’ Mayweather which will have all boxing fans, avid or otherwise, salivating from all sorts of places.

Oh and did I mention he’s a musician, actor and politician? Enough said. Beat that Lance.

Read about the other contenders:

Roger Federer

Ryan Giggs

Zinedine Zidane

Lance Armstrong

Michael Schumacher

Usian Bolt

Cristiano Ronaldo

Shane Warne

Steven Gerrard

ledder, originally uploaded by sizzled.

grandmaster caz puts on his pants just like you and i, one leg at a time. only difference is that his pants are a patchwork quilt of leather and what appears to be horsehair.

Great list.  The Idiot Programmer Weblog:  http://www.imaginaryplanet.net/weblogs/idiotprogrammer/?p=83400773

Vintage re-worked Schiaparelli print silk bag by Esther B

UK based designer Esther  Burdett has created this collection of exquisite ‘eco must haves’ using vintage Schiaparelli news print silk . Each bag is completely original, made from limited edition silks and frames, and  are fully-lined and  hand-stitched by  Esther . Each bag is a limited production piece.. Her work is inspired by the idea of transforming and reworking beautiful – perhaps forgotten – fragments of the past into new forms, to be treasured all over again.
With a long-standing passion for collecting, Esther carefully selects staple elements of couture such as fine antique and vintage silks, laces and other precious found objects. Whether it be 19th-century hand-worked lace, an exquisite piece of printed silk or a beautiful antique bag frame, each piece is chosen for its exquisite quality and intricate detail.

Esther B’s style of work embodies the quintessential glamour of  the great Hollywood screen sirens. Esther says “the glamour of the 1920s and 1930s and Hollywood starlets of the 50s are all inspirational to my designs”. LOVE the use of the Schiaparelli pink for the lining…..

www.estherb.co.uk

Dolphin became the default file manager when KDE went to 4.0, so Kubuntu users already know what a great program it is (unless they preferred to stick with the previous default file manager, Konqueror). While Ubuntu’s desktop environment, Gnome, has certainly stepped up of late when it comes to visual effects, screenlets and the like, KDE has always been about “bells and whistles”. And while Gnome can end up looking pretty stunning, the same can’t be said about its default file manager, Nautilus, which is about as plain as they come.

Dolphin, on the other hand, has the little niceties one would expect of a KDE file manager, like animated folder icons, and a lot more. There is an easy to access zoom slider for thumbnails, and has some pretty unique “views”. You can customise it in ways you could only dream of in Nautilus or Thunar, like not only add extra panes, but also move them where you like, and resize them to your needs.

If you look at the above pic, you’ll see that you can add a Folders (“tree”) pane and put it above the Information pane on the right (you could put it under Places, of course, but why not save that for shortcuts). Also, you can add a Terminal to the bottom, so whatever folder you’re in, you can just type commands without having to open a terminal in each folder (or continually change paths).

The views are “Icons“ (like the same in Nautilus, but smaller, and just the icon, no preview), “Details“ (your standard row-by-row format with information next to each file), “Columns“ (starts off with 2 columns, and every sub-folder you click on opens another), “Preview“ (turns your icons into thumbnails, and folders will show previews of pics inside), and “Split“ (gives you 2 columns you can browse with).

When you are in “Split“ mode, you can look at the beginning and end of a large folder at the same time, or use the second column to browse another folder or drive. The “Columns“ mode offers another interesting and useful way of browsing, so you certainly have a few choices in ways to browse.

Some things to note are that with Dolphin, like other KDE file managers, the default is to treat a single-click as a double-click. This can confuse Gnome users, as even slowly clicking a file will open it. All you need to do to select a file is click the green + that appears in the top left corner when you hover your cursor, and it will select it. But if you’re selecting a file simply to know the filesize, like you would in Nautilus, then you don’t need to, as that information will appear in the status bar and the Information pane simply by hovering your cursor over the file.

Not only that, but if you are in “Icons“ view, hovering over picture files will show the preview in the Information pane. In “Preview“ mode, another nice feature is that when you hover your mouse cursor over a folder, its preview thumbnail will cycle through other pictures in the folder (which you can see in the second pic, as the selected folder looks different from the preview in the Information pane).

So there are some great reasons to try out Dolphin. There’s a lot more you can do to customise its interface, and if the single-click/double-click issue ends up annoying you, then don’t worry, you can change the setting to what you’re used to. You can change that and other default settings via Settings > Configure Dolphin.

While Dolphin needs certain KDE libraries, etc, to function, any such dependencies will be installed with the program into your Ubuntu/Gnome system. Mark it for installation in Synaptic, or enter in a terminal:

sudo apt-get install dolphin

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Circa 1937– Springfield, Massachusetts. Since the creation of the Indian Motorcycle, the Indian Factory (the Wigwam) has been the greatest of its kind in the world. The tremendous facilities of this factory are laid out over 12 acres of floor space– nothing short of an actual visit will enable you to visualize the manufacture of today’s Indian motorcycles. In making a tour of the 35 departments of the factory, a person would walk a distance of 7 miles. The row upon row of machinery, if placed end to end, would alone stretch out over 1 1/2 miles. Indian leadership has been maintained thru the years by that manufacturing expertness which finds its outlet in making each new Indian better than the best Indian which has gone before it. When you ride on an Indian, you ride on the Best. — Image by © Lake County Museum

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When you think of classic American Iron, two brands typically come to mind– Harley-Davidson & Indian. Well, Harley-Davidson always comes to mind– and if you know a thing or two about bikes, then hopefully you’re familiar with Indian too.  For those of us that came along after the heyday of American manufacturing, it’s easy to overlook that in the early days there were literally dozens (some even say hundreds) of companies producing motorcycles right here in the US.

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Indian co-founder Oscar Hedstrom on left, CA. 1902.  And I suspect that’s him on the right, ca. 1901.

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Dig around and you’ll find an amazing archive of stories behind companies like– Ace, Cleveland, Crocker, Cushman, Emblem, Excelsior/Henderson, Flying Merkel, Flanders (mainly accessories), Iver Johnson, Marsh, Pierce, Pope, Reading Standard, Schickel, Sears, Thor, Whizzer, Yale, just to name a few.  Out of the crowded pack, two iconic brands emerged, and for years went head-to-head for dominance on the race tracks, and in the hearts of the American motorcycle enthusiast.  In the end, one clearly came out on top.  And while we all know who won– it’s interesting to glean from the many missteps that would eventually lead to Indian’s demise.

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A vintage Indian motorcycle on display at the Guggenheim Las Vegas. -- Image by © Ted Soqui

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Indian is recognized as being the first major player on the scene, rolling out production (all of 3 bikes) in 1901– two years before Harley-Davidson.  Started by Oscar Hedstrom & George Hendee, a couple of bicycle racers and self-taught engineers, they set out by essentially bolting Hedstrom’s small engines on to Hendee’s bicycles, and from there they quickly honed their craft to create some of the best motorcycles of that era.  Indian became the force to be reckoned with, and first-to-market with innovation after innovation– the first V-Twin engine, the first two-speed transmission, the first adjustable front suspension, the first electric lights and starter, and many more.  Indian was clearly dominant in the marketplace, and on the race track– setting and breaking speed records hand-over-fist.

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Indian originally began manufacturing under the corporate banner of the Hendee Manufacturing Company, which was later reincorporated as the Indian Motocycle Company (an apparent nod to the European style of “Moto” motorcycle company names — i.e. Moto-Guzzi), early Indians were inspired by Hedstrom’s work with “pacing” bicycles, see below–

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Circa 1910 -- A track cyclist is shown in practice behind an early Indian motorcycle. -- Image by © Underwood & Underwood.

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Competition with Harley-Davidson in the early days was fierce, and factory sponsored racers were expected to be loyal– it was pretty unheard of for guys to switch allegiances back then without controversy.  Legendary Indian riders over the years like Bobby Hill, Bill Tuman, Ernie Beckman (all a part of the legendary “Indian Wrecking Crew” of the 1940s & ’50s) Ed Kretz, Burt Munro, and Mad Max Bubeck were motorcycling Hellcats in their respective days, and their exploits and success became synonymous with the Indian brand.

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Circa 1914– “Baker and O’Brien, transcontinental motorcyclists, back of White House.”  –How American is that, I ask you? Erwin ‘Cannonball’ Baker (right)– After the record-setting five-month, 10,000 mile transcontinental run by Baker on an Indian motorcycle in 1914, a New York newspaper writer compared Baker to the Cannonball Express train and he picked up the famous moniker that would stick with him the rest of his life.  Harris & Ewing. (images via Shorpy).

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You’d be hard-pressed to find anyone in motorcycling history more interesting than ‘Cannonball’ Baker. His record attempts often put him directly in harm’s way.  In one three-flags record attempt back in 1916, Baker had to change routes several times to avoid vast forest fires. In another run he took a turn at a high rate of speed and came upon a herd of cattle in the road. In trying to miss the herd, Baker turned sharply, hit a hole in the road and was thrown off his motorcycle into a fence– which in turn bounced him right onto the back of one of the cows. The surprised cow bucked him off and he ultimately landed in a ditch off the side of the road.  Baker took his skills overseas and set numerous records in foreign countries, most notably Australia and New Zealand.  Baker began shifting his focus and most of his record attempts were in automobiles.  In 1922, he ran in the Indianapolis 500 and finished 11th.  Baker also worked for Rickenbacker Automobiles, which was owned by the famous World War I flying ace Eddie Rickenbacker. Eventually he became an AMA race official, and later was named national commissioner for NASCAR. Not a bad run, eh?

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Circa 1911–  Motorcyclist Oscar Godfrey poses with his Indian motorcycle during the B.M.C.R.C. trials at Brooklands. — Image by © Hulton-Deutsch Collection.  Indians fast growth was fueled by early and impressive wins, such as the Isle of Man TT in 1911– when Indian riders Godfrey, Franklin and Moorehouse finished first, second and third. Indian star rider Jake De Rosier set several speed records both in America and at Brooklands in England, and won an estimated 900 races on dirt and board track racing.

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Circa 1914, Brooklands — J.C. Brooke sitting on his Indian motorcycle at the Brooklands Easter Meeting in Scotland. — Image by © Hulton-Deutsch Collection.

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Circa 1920. Herbert McBride, who recently broke the world’s motorcycle record for amateurs on his Indian.  His time was 105:24 miles per hour, which beats the old professional speed record. — Image by © Bettmann.  Speaking for myself, shots like these give me the chills.  The beauty of form and function coming together simply in all things, in a way that’s matter-of-fact and with a sense of pride, but not boastful.  The practical mix of quality apparel and accessories that are no nonsense and get the job done– all topped of with a neckerchief (tucked-in of course, so as not to flap in one’s face)– a nod to more civilized times. *

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With all their success early on, sadly Indian soon began a slow descent stemming from several changes in ownership and top management over the years. While great innovations continued at Indian, they often went unappreciated by a market that simply wasn’t willing or able to pay the steep prices that came along with them.  Bikes like the Model H– the first true board-track factory racer ever offered for sale directly to the public. It was loaded with features like a four-valve-per-cylinder,  overhead-valve engine and a lightweight rigid frame that was free of racing “nonessentials” such as brakes, fenders or a throttle (the bikes were run with the carbs wide open).  The Model H carried a top speed of over 120mph along with a whopping price tag of $375, roughly a third more than a fully equipped Chief of the era. Problem was that not too many club racers had that kind of dough to part with, and the motorcycle-buying public also lacked the finances, but also didn’t have the balls to get on the beast– so relatively few were built. But for Indian, it still notched a moral victory of sorts.  For those few Model H bikes were pure Hellcats in the capable hands of their sponsored riders, whom they “loaned’ them to with great success– bringing home trophies and track records almost everywhere they competed.  Still, perhaps there was an important lesson there that Indian should have filed away for future consideration–

Know your market, and what they’ll pay you for– and what they won’t.  Meaning that you should resist over-engineering a commodity product far beyond the end-user’s expectations– without their buy-in, and at their expense.  Always fully understand the specific needs you aim to address with your product, along with the price ceiling associated, and focus on delivering against that.  Don’t go cutting corners, but also be careful not to be driven by vanity to take it to the extreme where it’s no longer relevant (in terms of practicality or value) to the consumer– that is, unless you want to own them all.

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More proverbial writing was on the wall, when in 1913 Oscar Hedstrom left Indian after heated disagreements with the Board of Directors regarding their questionable accounting practices  that inflated the company’s stock values.  Co-founder George Hendee was not far behind, with him resigning in 1916.  The “powers that be” at Indian tapped Hedstrom’s long-time assistant Charles Gustafson and Charles B. Franklin (an Irish immigrant and former rider for the “Indian Rules” team that swept the Isle of Man TT in 1911) to pick up the company’s top engineering duties.  In the years that followed, Indian released Franklin’s iconic V-twin powered designs that would become the hallmark of the brand.

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Circa 1922, Los Angeles, California -- Speed demons beware... the Los Angeles motor corps with their new fleet of Indian motorcycles all ready and waiting to set out after Californian motorists who like to step on the gas. -- Image by © Bettmann.

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To be continued…

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Virgin of Guadalupe

I am one of those Russian/Polish girls
whose high cheekbones make men’s hearts beat faster,
make them weak in the knees.
Is it my fault I get nervous when I hear a mazurka,
feel guilty when I worship old icons, chant novenas to

faded photos of my oppressed ancestors?

The ones who fled to Chicago,

in search of religious freedom and better food

and never looked back?

They might condemn my crucifix-obsession,
my retablo of the Virgin of Guadalupe that lives at eye level,
directly across from my bed.
She’s small, five by eight, old & faded,
more Shroud of Turin than brightly painted Mexican
mujar. She gives me peace, helps me write,
dissolves the barriers of faith.

This morning the Virgin stares me down. Goads me to transgress.
Go ahead! Write those dirty books, she laughs, I dare you!
The ocean waves outside my window lull me into stupor.
Hail Mary, Full of Grace.
Let’s get lost in the mystery.
Those cheekbones!
Those cheekbones!
Ah! Those cheekbones!

Alexis Rhone Fancher

All Rights Reserved

© 2009

Project Icon Set Download
These icons are free for commercial use! These 18 icons cover all aspects of project development and are transparent png files.

Social Media Cloud Download
These 25 social media cloud icons are free for personal use with a link back to the designer’s site. 60 X 60 pixels.

Smiley Icons Download
20 cute emotion icons from a Chinese designer called Manto.

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Extensive icon pack for windows programs.

Basic Download
42 high quality icons for your web application, software or GUI design.
Sizes: 64х64, 48×48, 32х32 & 16х16.
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These icons are free for commercial use with a link back to pixel-mixer.com.

Sleek Download
50 stock icon in PNG and ICO formats. Free for personal and non-commercial use. May use commercially if designer is contacted.

Grayscale Download
Icojoy team is happy to present a new free icon set. These icons are free to use in any kind of project. There are 32 16X16 icons in ico, icns, tif, and png file format.

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Really cute monster icons in icns, ico, hxq and pgn formats.

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Snazzy cars icons in png format created for free use.

Thanks for reading! Check me out

fewch, originally uploaded by sizzled.

taken at sneaker pimps in nyc when this type of thing was something i cared about

The World Health Organization (WHO) recently released a comprehensive report entitled “Women and health: today’s evidence tomorrow’s agenda.” The report documents the difficulties that women worldwide face when seeking healthcare at all stages of life. Findings in the report indicate that though women live six to eight years longer than men, on average, they often lack essential healthcare throughout their lives.

According to Reuters, women seek medical services more often than their male counterparts, especially before, during, and after pregnancy. In addition, women in the United States pay approximately 48 percent more than men for healthcare services. The report discusses the fact that in many nations “sexual and reproductive health services tend to focus exclusively on married women,” therefore assistance during childbirth can be particularly difficult to access for “unmarried and marginalized women, teenagers and sex workers.” Further, the WHO report notes that 99 percent of the estimated 500,000 women who die during childbirth each year are in the developing world where there is an extreme shortage of medical supplies and trained healthcare providers.

The Boston Globe reports that 15 percent of deaths in adult women worldwide occur in maternity, and one in five deaths among women in this age group is linked to unsafe sex. The WHO report indicates unsafe sex, stemming from the dearth of information regarding safer sex strategies and contraception, has also contributed to the spread of HIV and other sexually transmitted infections. In sub-Saharan Africa, one in four women who wish to delay or stop bearing children do not use any family planning methods, according to the WHO. A National Public Radio (NPR) report indicates that HIV is the number one killer of women ages 15 to 49 worldwide. Further, in 2007, 15.5 of the 30.8 million global cases of HIV-positive adults were women. Reports indicate that the largest portion of these individuals live in Africa, where six percent of women of childbearing age have the disease. NPR reports that, per the CIA World Factbook, half of the women ages 25 to 29 in Swaziland are infected with HIV – a small nation with a total population of one million people, 26.1 percent of whom are HIV-positive.

Women in resource-limited regions are at a particular disadvantage, as these areas often lack access to screening and treatment resources for diseases like cervical cancer, the second most common type of cancer in among women. A study of the introduction of the HPV vaccine published in the New England Journal of Medicine in 2007 stated “Of 274,000 deaths due to cervical cancer each year, more than 80% occur in developing countries, and this proportion is expected to increase to 90% by 2020.” Complications related to pregnancy, including unsafe abortion procedures, are among the leading causes of death among girls aged 15 to 19 in developing nations. Though these issues are substantial concerns in middle- and high-income nations, the WHO report indicates that road traffic injuries are the leading cause of death in girls between the ages of 10 and 19 in these regions. Among women over the age of 60, chronic diseases account for almost half of the deaths worldwide, and cardiovascular disease – generally considered a “male disease” – is the primary cause of death for this age group.

Discussing the importance of the comparative women’s health report, Dr. Margaret Chan, director-general of the WHO, said “The obstacles that stand in the way of better health for women are not primarily technical or medical in nature. They are social and political…It’s time to make sure that women and girls get the care and support they need to enjoy a fundamental human right at every moment of their lives, that is, their right to health.” The overview statement for the report echoes this sentiment, explaining that “we will not see significant progress as long as women are regarded as second-class citizens in so many parts of the world…women are excluded from educational and employment opportunities…and have no freedom to spend money on health care, even if it means saving their own lives.”

Discuss This and Other Important Health Topics in the iCons in Medicine Forums

^June on far right

This post has been inspired by, the motion picture, Walk The Line – June Carter’s grace, strength, and humor are infectious.  I admire her  fiery and passionate personality.

Reese Witherspoon’s depiction of June Carter was excellent.  In fact, she won an Oscar, BAFTA, Critics Choice Award, and a Golden Globe (just to name a few!) for best performance by an actress in a leading role for Walk the Line in 2005.

source: walk the line movie trailer

June Carter Cash – Bio

Valerie June Carter was born June 23, 1929, in Maces Springs, Va., the second of the three daughters of Mother Maybelle Carter of the legendary Carter Family. Her mother taught her to play autoharp (and later guitar) and in 1939, she and sisters Anita and Helen Carter were appearing on Border Radio as members of the Carter Family.

When the original Carter Family retired in 1943, she sang and played rhythm guitar in the family group, Mother Maybelle and the Carter Sisters, on various radio stations. From 1950 onwards, for many years, they were regulars on the Grand Ole Opry.

Although not possessing the finer vocal talents of her sisters, she did develop a flair for comedy, which she used to good effect in a character she called Aunt Polly. In 1949, she enjoyed a country and pop hit with a duet version of “Baby It’s Cold Outside” with comedy duo Homer & Jethro.

In 1952, June married Carl Smith, with whom she performed at Nashville’s Grand Ole Opry, and their daughter, Rebecca Carlene (later to record under the name Carlene Carter), was born in 1955. After their divorce in the late ’50s, Carter was managed by Colonel Tom Parker and toured with Elvis Presley, and while living in Nashville, she met and briefly married local police officer Rip Nix with whom she another daughter, Rosie.

In the early 60s, June began to work with Johnny Cash’s show, soon being joined by her mother and sisters. In 1964, her recording with Cash of “It Ain’t Me Babe” made both country and pop charts and in 1967, they had a No. 2 country hit with “Jackson.” She married Cash on March 1, 1968. From that point, her career has naturally run in conjunction with his as she continued to be a regular and expected member of his show. The following year they were voted Vocal Group of the Year and their son John Carter Cash was born in 1970.

Following a long absence from the spotlight, she returned with the 1999 album Press On, which won a Grammy for best traditional folk album. The 2003 album Wildwood Flower also won two Grammys. She died on May 15, 2003.

In 2005, a film based on her romance with Cash, Walk the Line, was Oscar-nominated for Best Picture. Reese Witherspoon, who played Carter Cash, won an Oscar for her role. That same year, Columbia Legacy issued a two-disc set, Keep on the Sunny Side: June Carter Cash — Her Life in Music.

]]> http://switchedonva.wordpress.com/2009/11/23/a-few-of-my-favourite-things/ Mon, 23 Nov 2009 11:09:29 +0000 switchedonva http://switchedonva.wordpress.com/2009/11/23/a-few-of-my-favourite-things/

Nope, I’m not going to break into song or anything like that.  I am going to tell you about this wonderfully talented person called Jacqui Lawson who has a website where you can buy a subscription (at a very reasonable price) to her musical, animated e-cards.   Not only are they clever, the service Jacqui provides is wonderful and we’ve never had ‘failure to launch’ problems.  Take a look when next you have time. There’s something for every occasion.

Tip of the day:  Visit Widgitbucks for some truly fabulous Christmas widgits and icons that ‘glow’ and some very interesting reading!